Axel:A Bad Boy Romance(6)

Axel cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "We're gonna hit the big  time, Hayden," he said with a shake of his head. "No more cheap flights  for us. This is how we get to the big times. This is the next step in my  career."



"But, first, we have to win," Hayden reminded him.





Chapter Six



"Are you nervous?" Marie asked as she squeezed Cate's hand.



"Nope," Cate answered cheerfully as she took a little skip. That made  one of them. Marie was nervous as hell. Cate had never been to daycare  before. Back in Arizona, Austin had refused the very idea. Marie had  been a stay at home mom, what would be the point of daycare? He had  scoffed and then threatened her that she should never bring it up again.



Cate was "desperate for school," as she called it. She loved playing  with other kids and had been excited about it ever since Marie had told  her she would finally get to go. It was also out of necessity, Marie did  need to actually work at the museum, so Cate would need to be at  daycare at least part time. But this was harder than she had thought.  She couldn't remember the last time she had gone a full day without her  daughter. What if Austin had been following them and was just waiting  for the perfect opportunity to grab Cate and take her away?



Marie looked around her, searching for anyone suspicious or familiar.  But there were only a few people in the street and one car driving past.  She was acting paranoid. Austin had no idea where she was. He couldn't  get her. He wasn't going to find her. She had done everything. She had  left her cellphone and credit cards on the table with her short note:  I'm not coming back; don't look for me. That was all it said.



She had traded her black SUV in for cash. From Arizona they had taken a  bus for five hours to Phoenix where she bought another car, in cash.  From there she had just gone. No one knew where she was and she had left  no trail for Austin to follow. Her only fear was that Austin would go  to the cops about Cate, but Marie was hopeful he wouldn't do that. He  was private security and he hated the police. He would want to find  Marie himself and she was hoping with no trail to follow he would get  bored and eventually let her go.



Sunflower Daycare was possibly the most cheerful place on earth. The  walls were painted a soft yellow and there were several different little  playrooms where children ran around, amusing themselves with dolls and  trains. Marie opened the door and the full sound of a dozen kids  laughing filled her ears. She couldn't help but be happy in a place like  this.



"Hello! You must be Marie and Cate," said a cheerful looking young woman  behind the counter. She came around and knelt down to smile at Cate who  gave her a shy little wave. "Are you ready for your first day?"



You can do this, Marie said as she looked through the window. This was  for the best, both for her and for Cate. So why was it so hard to walk  away? Cate was already sitting in a circle with another girl putting a  Lego castle together. She was having fun and the daycare workers knew  not to let anyone else take her home. Marie felt tears brimming in her  eyes, but she blinked them back. She was not going to cry. Today was a  happy day; Cate was finally getting to play with other kids and Marie  was going to get to do whatever she wanted.         

     



 



She met Austin when she was fifteen and she had been with him ever  since. They had broken up a dozen times during high school, but they  always got back together. He would break her heart and then come back on  his knees begging for a second chance the next day. Then in their  senior year she found out she was pregnant. She always tried to be  careful, but Austin had a tendency to forget. He claimed the condom was  uncomfortable and he promised he would pull out.



She was glad for their mistake. It gave her Cate. But, still, she  couldn't help but dream about what her life could have been like if one  of those breakups with Austin had stuck. If she hadn't had Cate at  seventeen, if she had gone off to college instead  –  her life could have  been completely different.



Standing on the street she looked up and down trying to figure out where  to go. Across the street was a little coffee shop. Marie walked across  the street and into the dimly lit and warm shop. A handful of people sat  in front of laptops typing away and Marie went up to the counter and  ordered.



She ordered a vanilla latte and sipped it as she walked down the street.  Austin had never allowed her to order an expensive espresso drink. He  told her they were a stupid waste of money and she should just put more  milk and sugar in her coffee. It was the way Austin controlled the  little things that had really set her off. Somehow the bigger things  were easier to forget. The violent fights had been rare enough that she  could blame them on a bad day. But then he started digging in on little  things and telling her what she couldn't have. Her coffee order, the way  she liked her meat cooked, the temperature in the house, if she liked  them one way and Austin liked another, they would always end up going  with Austin's choice. She wouldn't want to fight with him so she would  back off and let him win and before she knew it she was doing anything  to keep him happy.



How had it happened? She could never remember the first time had had hit  her. He had always been a little mean and rough. But he always  apologized, and she thought that meant something. Plus, she was so  lonely. In high school she lived with her miserable maiden aunt and her  five cats. Austin was her savior. He treated her nicely and took her out  on fancy dates and defended her and held her hand and in all of that  she forgot how he could be violent and cruel. She told herself it was  just a phase and things would get better. But it never got better. He  was always pushing her and he only grew meaner and more violent as the  years passed.



She walked passed the gym and peered inside. She had never belonged to a  gym before. Austin refused to pay for one. Her dream from the other  night came rushing back to her. She could feel the rope against her skin  and the touch of the man whose face she could no longer recall. She had  never thought of the gym as a sexy place before, but the world was her  oyster now.



She wasn't brave enough to walk in. All those lithe people expertly  working out on their machines intimidated her and she hurried by. She  strolled back to the museum and let herself in through the back door.  Ingrid was sitting behind the computer with a pair of reading glasses  perched on her nose.



"Welcome back. How was the daycare?"



"Lovely," Marie admitted. "I hope she's not having too much fun," she whispered quietly.



"Oh, she'll have a great time, but she'll still want her mom when the  day's over," Ingrid said. "I was just sitting here and putting together  the budget for our annual fundraiser."



"A party at the mansion, that sounds wonderful," Marie said turning to  the other woman. She could imagine it in her mind. The halls strung with  lights, waiters in black ties and suits, women in fancy dresses sipping  champagne and talking over the elegantly painted portraits.



"Well, we have it down at the Holiday Inn. You would, of course, be invited."



"Oh," Marie said, the note of disappointment clear in her voice.



"Something wrong? You don't sound happy."



"It's just...This is such a pretty house and it's big enough to hold a  big party. It just seems like a shame to have this big, beautiful house  and then have a fundraiser at some hotel ballroom. I mean, is the hotel  historical or nice in any way?"



"Well...no," Ingrid said after a moment. "And attendance has been shrinking these last few years."



"I just think a fundraiser should be something fun and interesting that  people want to go to. Otherwise it's a chore. The goal is to raise money  and happy people are generally more likely to part with it," Marie  turned around to see Ingrid staring at her. Ingrid's reading glasses  were pushed down her nose and she was looking at Marie over them with a  pencil in one hand. Marie looked down at the floor feeling suddenly  self-conscious. "I'm sorry," she said quietly eyes glued to the floor.  "I shouldn't have-"         

     



 



"No," Ingrid interrupted. "Don't apologize, I think you're right. We've  always debated having the ball here, but everyone was worried we might  damage something. But if it's just guests of the museum and we rope off  the more delicate and expensive items..." She trailed off and looked at  Marie. "The problem with having it here is it's a lot of work and I put  this whole show on basically by myself. I would need a lot of help."



"I could help," Marie said looking up at Ingrid hopefully. "I'm not a  professional or anything, but I've planned a bunch of parties." Mostly  they were Christmas parties for Austin's company, but they had been lux  and lavish affairs. Catered with an open bar and passed hors d'oeuvres,  the house decked out to mimic a winter wonderland. It was one of the few  things he gave her credit for doing well.