Page 25 of Outlaw

Not just for Stevie either. I had several bikinis, cover-ups, a couple of sundresses, some shorts and tops, and a drawer full of panties, bras, and nightgowns. The sizes were accurate, and the lingerie looked more expensive than anything I’d ever owned. Most of my underthings had come from Target. When I did splurge, it was at Victoria’s Secret. The ones that had been bought for me here were from neither. The delicate lace and silk ranged from white to a dark rose.

The bathrooms were also stocked with every toiletry we could possibly need. High-end lotions sat on the counter, along with face creams and salon-quality hair products—from shampoo to heat-protecting oil. I didn’t own half of this stuff and wasn’t sure what to do with some of it. How she had managed to buy all this in such a short amount of time I didn’t know, but I was impressed.

The large, oval tub that looked big enough for three people had bath salts, body wash, soaps, bubble bath, and something called bath potpourri in a basket on one side and a cluster of whitepillar candles on the other. The thought of soaking in there, under the warm, scented water with the candlelight, sounded heavenly. It still didn’t make me want to live here for a year, but it wasn’t a bad perk to the situation. My tubs had always been small shower combos.

Stevie was high on life. The entire day had seemed to bring her one new exciting thing after another. After spinning in circles and running around to explore her room, which she had labeled the princess room, she was determined to go swimming. Knowing that, this evening, she was going to be told about the change in our lives, I gave in.

She chose a shiny pink two-piece with a tutu attached. She was well aware of how adorable she looked and admired herself in the mirror while I coated her with the sunblock that had been among all the other items in our bathroom.

I’d had a harder time choosing a swimsuit from the three that Jayda had chosen for me. When I had gone with the sky-blue one simply because it covered my bottom more than the other two, I’d been thankful for the cover-up even if it was slightly see-through. I wouldn’t have chosen any of the bikinis for myself or even tried them on. They were too revealing. Jayda had much different taste in swimwear. I was flattered she thought I could pull these off.

When I stepped into the hallway, Stevie came twirling out of her room to meet me with a huge grin on her face. “I feel like a weal-life pwincess, Mommy,” she said in a singsong voice, then slipped her hand into mine.

This was fun and new, but I feared that when she found out it was about to be a more permanent thing rather than a short visit, it might not be so exciting. She had been planning for her new room in Hudson’s house and the school she was going to attend, and then there was the wedding. Being a flower girl was a big deal to her. All of that was going to be taken from her. I wasstill struggling to process it all. How would a four-year-old?

“You definitely look like one,” I agreed.

She bounced, barely able to control her anticipation.

Following the same route that Jayda had used to bring us to our rooms, we went back down a long hallway, turned right, then went to the winding staircase that led down to the foyer. It was a straight shot back through the house, passing the great room, a library, a toilet room, another hallway that led to the kitchen, and then a large sunroom before coming to the doors leading out onto the patio. Disney Plus still lit up the screen, and Jayda turned around from placing items in what I hadn’t realized was a refrigerator by the bar. It blended in with the cabinets. Her eyes scanned us with a pleased smile.

“Everything fits okay then?” she said, closing the door.

“Yes, thank you,” I told her.

She waved a hand. “I enjoyed it. If only I got paid to spend someone else’s money every day,” she said. “This refrigerator has bottles of water and oat milk in cute little boxes that have straws, and in the freezer up here are Popsicles.” She glanced from Stevie to me. “They’re all-natural fruit with no artificial colors, flavors, or added sugar.”

I appreciated that she’d thought of that.

“Thank you,” I said as Stevie tugged on my arm.

“Let’s go swim!”

“I’ll walk over with y’all and show you where the towels are,” Jayda offered.

We followed her down the smooth black stone tiled path to the pool that really should be at some fancy resort. Stevie released my hand and took off at a run for the slide. I waited until she got to the top and came down with her little fists in the air, beaming, before I turned to look over at Jayda, who was watching her too. When Stevie emerged from the water, Jayda shifted her gaze to me with amusement tugging at her lips.

“This is where you will find towels. The doors are kept closed because this is a warmer and keeps them toasty for you.”

A warmer for pool towels. I almost rolled my eyes but refrained.

“That’s fancy,” I said instead.

Jayda pressed her lips together, grinning. “Yep,” she replied with a pop at the end, sounding as if she thought it was ridiculous too.

“Mommy, watch!” Stevie called out.

I turned back to her. She was clambering out of the pool. The slide wasn’t going to get old anytime soon.

Jayda excused herself after telling Stevie to have fun.

Slipping off the cover-up, I left it on one of the teak bed-sized loungers, which were covered, like a cabana. Sheer white curtains hung from all four corners of the slated ceiling that I assumed could be drawn together to close yourself inside. There were three of the loungers on both sides of the freeform-style pool. One end had two different rock waterfalls that cascaded down in gentle waves. The slide curving around the right of them. The other end had a gradual slope to enter the pool with two umbrellas coming out of the shallow water and lounge chairs underneath for those who wanted to sit and enjoy the cool water, but not submerge themselves in it. I decided that was more my speed and went to sit under the shade while watching Stevie exhaust herself.

Another cheer went up just before she hit the water with a splash. Smiling, I sat down and spread my legs out in front of me. I tried to take her to the neighborhood pool where Hudson lived every weekend, but it didn’t compare to this. She didn’t seem to miss having the other kids to play with, and I sure didn’t miss the noise.

With all this…fantasy-style living, I was beginning to think that Stevie might not mind this so much. But Hudson…my stomachsank as I thought about him. He was going to be hurt. He had become my friend. We talked every day. Worked together. Spent our free time together. I was going to miss that. I was going to miss having a life. One where I went to work, had friends, lived.

What would I do here other than sit by a pool? I had no friends. I had nowhere to be. It was going to get lonely. I didn’t see me and Linc becoming friends or spending time together. Even with Stevie’s laughter ringing out and her sheer joy, my heart sank. No amount of nice things, fancy tubs, or elaborate pools could replace having someone. The feeling of belonging. Being wanted.

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