Motives, Book Two: Live and Learn, #2

By Amanda Vint

Eleanor is looking to start afresh, and with her family by her side, nothing can go wrong... or can it?
When Stephen's sister shows up to escape the rough crowd of New York, she brings with her more than her own issues and has an agenda that nobody sees coming. With the peace and quiet thrown into turmoil, Eleanor is about to discover the real reason why Tasha has come to stay.
When Eleanor's mother turns up in California, Eleanor hopes to regain some normality, and welcomes the hopes of forming a strong mother-daughter bond and expanding her support network. But as she knows so far, her relationships are never that straightforward, and Eleanor wonders whether she is truly capable of keeping things together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amanda Vint
• Release date: Jun 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215949665

Amanda Vint

Amanda Vint started writing romance novels in July 2016, self publishing her debut novel "Live and Learn" in the October of the same year. Following on from the positive feedback that the first book prompted, it then went on to become a series; with the next books "Twists and Turns" and "Clarity" being published. Specialising in the romance genre, she also uses her educational background in the field of psychology to incorporate a darker side to some characters, thus adding dramatic plot twists to the storylines. Amanda loves to connect with her readers and has a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AmandaVintBooks) and blog (www.amandavint.com) dedicated to doing so.

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Contents

Chapter One – Remembering

Chapter Two – Tears and Tantrums

Chapter Three – Unexpected 

Chapter Four - Preparations

Chapter Five – The Big Day

Chapter Six – Worry

Chapter Seven – Normality

Chapter Eight - Intrusion

Chapter Nine – Starting Over

Chapter Ten – The Mother

Chapter Eleven – The Stranger

Chapter Twelve – The Gathering

Chapter Thirteen – Business as Usual

Chapter Fourteen – Awareness

Chapter Fifteen – Revelations

Chapter One – Remembering

It had been 7 months since that day - the day that changed my world from being on its knees, to standing tall. A whole 7 months. I wasn’t sure where my mind had been for the duration, as I was too busy trapped in a world of heartburn and baby clothes. I was huge, and not just your average huge - humongous, huge!

I thought back to the fateful day of my first scan. Stephen holding my hand, while the lovely lady holding the ultrasound stick thing, blobbed a dollop of freezing cold gel on my womb area. I flinched at the feel of it – why did the gel have to be so cold? So with eager eyes and fretful minds, we watched; watched as the blurry mass of something growing inside of me was blown up into full screen mode.

There’s baby... The lady with the stick on my belly smiled. And there’s the other baby.

Stephen nearly fell off his chair. Two babies? Oh yes, I didn’t do things by halves, and apparently neither did my ovaries. At my four-month scan, it was revealed to us that I was expecting a boy and a girl. At least we were done - one of each, which was very nice. I had bought a few lemon-colored baby things when I had hit the three-month stage, but at least now I was able to buy everything in all the colors of the rainbow, and not just stick to pink or blue. I wanted to be as prepared as possible, and not have to second guess what to buy.

We’d moved into a new house on the outskirts of California. Close enough to be within reach of where was home, but far enough to be away from my old house – and its new occupier.

David: I had not seen sight nor sound of him, but it was like living on a knife’s edge, waiting for him to rear his ugly head at any moment. Stating that he’d ‘be in touch’ last time I'd had the unfortunate luck to run into him when I was moving out of my old place, it stuck with me – stuck with me like glue.

I could tell it had with Stephen as well. If we ever went shopping to the local mall and anyone happened to bump into me by accident, he’d be immediately on guard wondering whether it was him trying to grab me again. As much as it was easy to become nervous because of the threat of him popping up at any moment, I knew I had to carry on with my life: Our life.

We were so happy, and I couldn’t remember the days of not having Stephen by my side. It was like he had always been there, always protecting me, and like I had known him all my life.

He hugged me close in times of need and laughed with me in times of happiness. That’s all that I could’ve wished for after being married (albeit briefly) to a complete psycho. I'd never had stability with David. When I looked back, I could never keep up with what mood he was going to be in. All was well if he was in a good mood, but when he wasn’t, boy, did I know about it! I found that out fairly quickly when I had gotten with Stephen, and I was glad to be rid of David, and not to have spent years of misery living alongside the arrogance.

But, I had moved on, and I was now happily engaged to a man whom I adored, we were expecting twins, and I was arranging our wedding. We had decided that, judging by the way things had moved in the past, we would shift the wedding forward and marry before the twins were born.

Why break the habit of a lifetime and take things slowly?

We’d figured that it might be a strain to try and look after babies at the wedding reception while trying to say our vows, and that baby sick and night feeds weren’t really romantic on a wedding night. The wedding was in three weeks’ time, and I was just about set with the preparations.

With the wonderful gift of twenty million dollars that my father had left me, we were able to have whatever we wanted in such a short space of time. In the process of moving house, expecting twins, and generally getting through one day at a time, Stephen had taken up a college course to become a physiotherapist, whilst still working a job at his friend’s automotive business – I don’t know where he found the energy for it all.  

His passion wasn’t in chauffeuring or selling cars, so I was glad that the money had given him the opportunity to follow up on his dream and know that whatever happened, there was a financial back-up plan. As optimistic as I was, after a few months of carrying two babies in my belly, I thought it was better to wait until I had given birth before looking into starting up a designing business again.

The hope of the future still stuck with me. Luckily it had been a fairly constant presence throughout the turmoil of what had occurred within the past two and a half years. I was fairly certain that my source of hope stemmed from the constant stream of support that Stephen had provided me with. He never faltered. Of course there were times when he was frustrated with things, and times where he had reached breaking point and nearly knocked ten bells out of David, but in general he was the calm, down-to-earth one, who kept me on the straight and narrow.

Paris really was the love capital of the world – it had brought me my love and made me discover the different realms of feeling that could occur between two people. I would be forever grateful to the place.

Anyhow, because of me being heavily pregnant around the time we would marry, we decided that we wouldn't be going on honeymoon straight away. A part of me was wary of that fact because it felt like history was repeating itself. But there was a valid reason for delaying our honeymoon, and for the safety of our children I wouldn’t risk anything. We’d taken many trips together in recent times, including one to New York to see his mom and sister.

Stephen’s mom, Jeanie, was a lovely lady and I was fond of her immediately. She had a lot of sass about her, and I saw her as a real battler of life, a fighter, and from what she had been through with Stephen’s estranged father, I had a lot of respect for her.

We'd clicked as soon as we met, and I knew that it was important that we maintained a friendship because Stephen was so close to her – not in an apron-strings sort of way, but in a loving way that wouldn’t be intrusive upon our relationship.

Stephen had been the ‘man of the house’ in his little family, and I did find it had impacted somewhat on his sister when he had moved to California. Tasha, although pleasant in the grand scheme of things, didn’t seem to click with me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I think it was viewed by her that I had taken her brother away, but she was always welcome to stay in California with us anytime she liked.

She was a fairly immature seventeen-year-old, and I figured that at that age, I suppose I would have looked at things the same way. Let’s face it, I pouted enough when I felt like my mother had abandoned me at the grand old age of twenty-six!

We had all chatted about each other’s lives, and I thanked his mom for teaching Stephen how to make such lovely picnics! We laughed and she said she used to often take them for picnics because they could never really afford big days out, so that was her way of treating her children. It was heart-warming to hear.

I thought back to my own childhood, and the contrast was apparent. I’d had everything I could’ve ever have wished for as a child, and for that I was truly grateful to my wonderful father. Stephen had told his mom about what had happened with David, and we had spoken about it in some depth ourselves. It seemed to be common ground for us both, as we had each been stung by men who we thought had loved us.

Stephen’s mom and sister were living in a two-bedroom house in quite a rough part of New York. I’d had a word with Stephen about giving them some money to move from there and buy a nice place, but Stephen wouldn’t have any of it. His view was that he was not with me for my money, and with him still working as he studied, he would donate his wage each month to his mother, to make sure that they could get by.

While I could've viewed that as being sweet, I also thought that it was dumb, as pride didn’t make anyone’s living environment more secure, and I could see myself that Jeanie and Tasha were struggling in that neighborhood.

Maybe that’s also why Tasha didn’t like me as much, because even though Stephen donated as much money as he could, he wouldn’t take a dime from me for them, so they weren’t living the way we were. Resentment? I didn’t know - I was clutching at straws.

The last time we were at their house I was sat in the kitchen of the cramped, fairly run-down place that they lived in, talking with Jeanie over a cup of coffee. Stephen had taken Tasha around to her friend’s house, and I thought that I would bring up the issue with her.

Jeanie, I hope you don’t think I’m being impolite, but I was wondering whether Stephen had brought up the issue of money with you?

She had looked at me blankly. What do you mean, Eleanor?

I mean... I can’t stand the thought of you being in this neighborhood, and I’ve asked Stephen to give you enough money to get out of it. Somewhere lovely, where you and Tasha could have a nice little garden and more security.

Jeanie laughed. I don’t mind it here. It’s affordable and the people aren’t too bad.

I’d looked out of the kitchen window which was facing a brick wall - hardly a sea view. In the distance I could hear car engines and horns being beeped, and the faint sound of people shouting at each other. How did anyone ever rest listening to that?

Jeanie, here... I’d pulled out my check book from my bag. Let me give you something to get a new place... please...

Jeanie placed her hand directly on the check book so I couldn’t open it.

Eleanor, I’m not being nice to you because you've got money. I could see where Stephen got his pride from. I’m okay, honestly. I’m familiar with the surroundings and me and Tasha will be fine. She removed her hand and continued to drink her coffee.

I may as well have talked to that brick wall that was facing the kitchen window. I then left it at that and decided not to bring the issue up again. I didn’t want it to seem like I was viewing them as some sort of charity case, and I didn’t want to offend her. The last thing I wanted to do was offend my future mother-in-law.

Upon leaving their house, I was pleased to find our black 4x4 that we had hired to take us to and from their house from the hotel, still had its alloys intact. I knew Stephen had grown up here, though, and it all made sense how he had learnt to fight the way he had – he'd grown up streetwise, unlike myself.

Exiting New York on the airplane was like stepping out of a foggy room into the sunlight. The skies opened up and it was a new lease of life. As much as the shopping, and hustle and bustle was great for a while in the concrete jungle, I was always pleased to leave and re-enter the sanctity of my hometown.

Eleanor, do you want a sandwich? Stephen’s voice pierced through my thought bubble.

I turned myself on my garden chair and looked at him.

Er, yes please. I smiled, holding my belly, as when I moved the weight of the babies somewhat restricted my movement.

Okay, sweetheart, I’ll tell Penny.

Ah yes, Penny. The darling housekeeper that I thoroughly adored had joined ranks with us once again, and we had reinstated her as chief cook and bottle washer in our new home. I couldn’t be without her, and as soon as the twenty million had cleared in my account and we’d found a new place, I was straight on the telephone to Penny to tell her. Penny was delighted and came back to us straight away. Luckily it had all happened quickly, and while other jobs were in the pipeline for her, she refused them all and came back to us.

Talking of beloved staff, the wonderful Roger was back with us as well. I loved his stories, and him and Ross were still together and going strong (as predicted). As much as Roger slated Ross, they were definitely stuck for life, and I knew Roger secretly adored him in every way.

Roger had told me that he was ready and waiting for me to have the babies so he could do their hair, as soon as they had some. I knew that my little prince and princess would be adored by Penny and Roger, and the new house was already home, since I had the people I loved dearly around me.

My sister, Michelle, had visited often. Since she was never ready for children of her own, she took it upon herself to come around to the house and maul my belly as much as she could, savoring the new life growing inside of me, whilst thoroughly detesting the idea of ruining her own figure.

I’d asked Michelle to be my bridesmaid (again), and although she laughed about the idea of being my bridesmaid for the second time within a year, she finally agreed - after snorting her drink through sheer amusement.

I’d spoken to my mom a few times, but nothing much came of that. She was still with Adrian, and they seemed to be all loved up in Florence. My mother had said to me that she would come and visit once I had given birth to the twins, but I didn’t hold out much hope of that happening. Once again, she didn’t seem bothered to make her way back to California for my second wedding day, so the closeness between us was never going to grow in any way, shape, or form.

I’d ordered my dress from a store called Blooming Brides – it did make me chuckle. It was a maternity store which catered for brides who were ‘in the family way’. I was glad that I'd found the store, because there was not a chance I would have been able to try and squeeze myself into a regular bridal gown. It would’ve looked ridiculous.

Apart from the swollen ankles and overgrown hands and feet, the only good thing that I liked about myself throughout this pregnancy was the vast increase of bra size. I loved my new pair of beauties, and Stephen didn’t seem to mind, either. It was the cheapest boob job in the world, but I suppose it came at the price of an inflated belly and a dozen bottles of heartburn relief medicine.

As much as I was looking forward to my wedding day, I did wonder whether my rush to marry again was a wise one. I had leapt into things last time and look how that had turned out. I was hoping that my judgment was somehow more refined these days, and Stephen was a million of the supposed ‘man’ that David ever was.

We had decided together that we were getting married at a nearby church. It was a dainty little white building, and I’d loved it as soon as I laid my eyes on the place. There was a lovely female pastor at the church, that agreed to marry us. It took some doing as the church frowned upon the fact I was a divorcee, but after we relayed the tale of what had happened in the past, to the pastor, she agreed to marry us – providing we attended church every Sunday until the wedding day. Although neither myself nor Stephen were overly religious, it was a small price to pay to get married in such a quaint little place.

As I sat mulling over the past few months in the gardens of our beautiful new home, I felt a kick from one of the babies. It was getting more uncomfortable for me, and the kidney digs were painful. Stephen came outside, holding a plate of sandwiches, beautifully made by Penny, and sat on the chair beside me.

What are you thinking about, beautiful? He smiled, placing the plate in front of me.

Lots of things. But mainly about how uncomfortable the babies must be, because I’m fit to burst! I laughed.

Stephen laughed. Hold on in there, because you’ve got another couple of months to go.

Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I tried to desperately find a position which didn’t make my ass numb.

I know, I know... I reached for a sandwich, I can’t wait to not have a belly full before I’ve even eaten.

Stephen grinned. You still look gorgeous... most beautiful woman in the world to me right now. He leant forward and stroked my ever-growing belly.

As much as I was uncomfortable, this was one of the very few reasons I cherished being pregnant. The look in Stephen’s eyes when he looked at me was indescribable. Those chocolate pools would glint, and you could see that he was the proudest man in the whole world. In turn, this gave me a sense of pride which was priceless. Whether or not we would have come into money again, I couldn’t have bought this for anything.

As we sat enjoying our lunch, Stephen’s cell rang – it was his mom.

Hi, Mom, he answered, whilst gulping down the remnants of his lunch.

I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the line, but Stephen’s expression changed from being happy and at ease, to looking worried and concerned. Stephen continued to hum a bit throughout the conversation, and then agreed to something which I was in the dark about. He wished his mom a good day and then hung up the phone. He sat there for a while, holding the cell phone in his hand as if he was mulling something over.

What’s wrong? I asked, whilst clearing my plate of any sandwich remains – my appetite had increased throughout this pregnancy, and I was always hungry.

That was my mom...

I chuckled. I know that! I hope there’s no other ladies in your life that you say you love them at the end of your call! I laughed, but Stephen didn’t laugh along with me. I promptly stopped laughing as I could see something was wrong. Well?

Stephen snapped back from his train of thought and turned to me. Sorry, Eleanor, my mind is somewhere else. As I was saying, that was my mom... she was talking about Tasha.

What about her? I asked, feeling a slight concern for the girl that didn’t like me.

She’s been having a hard time and has started hanging around with a group of people who are not a good influence.

What kid hadn’t in that neighborhood? I wanted to say that, but I bit my tongue – Stephen already knew my views on the area and didn’t need me insulting where he grew up again.

Stephen continued, Tasha been dabbling in drugs and alcohol, so my mom is really worried about her.

I knew there was something not right when we last went to visit. Tasha seemed a bit off.

Yeah, well, when I dropped her off at her friend’s house, there was a large group of boys hanging around outside... I didn’t like it, Eleanor. I didn’t like it one bit. I got out of the car and made my presence known, but you know what the cocky little shits can be like.

Yeah, I used to be married to one.

So what’s going on, Stephen?

He paused and took a gulp of his glass of lemonade.

Sorry, Eleanor... I eyed at him as he looked back at me sheepishly, She’s coming to stay with us.

Chapter Two – Tears and Tantrums

Great, I was expecting twins and getting married soon, and we were going to be lumbered with a delinquent teenager, who didn’t seem to like me at the best of times. They say you married the family, and yes, it did seem to be that way. Tasha was too old for a nanny, which was a real pity, otherwise I would’ve debated hiring one for her.

I loved Stephen, but geez, this wasn’t going to be easy. I could’ve strangled him when he’d announced to me that his sister would be staying with us. Why didn’t he at least briefly ask me before he agreed to it? I suppose he was helping out his mom, and bless Jeanie, I loved her to bits - but still? I was always more than happy to have Tasha coming to stay with us, but to actually be taking her on while she was in the midst of some alcohol and drug-fueled bender phase? I wasn’t prepared for any of it at all.

I knew what Jeanie was trying to do - she wanted her in nicer surroundings, away from the rough crowd she was mixing with, and we had lots of room to spare in our new home, but it really wasn’t ideal to have her here while there would be babies around. What if she was to bring drugs into the house? Alcohol? What if the babies grabbed hold of any of these substances? It didn’t bear thinking about.

Why me? Just, why me?

Tasha was arriving the next day, so as much as my inner voice protested at the arrival, I set to work on making up one of the guest bedrooms in a more teenage-friendly style. Penny was on hand to help me, thank goodness, as lifting and bending were not as easy nowadays.

So, Miss. Eleanor, how long is Tasha going to be with us for? Penny queried.

I don’t know, Penny. It seems I’m in the dark about everything to do with this visit.

Penny could tell by my tone that I unimpressed. Why, Miss. Eleanor, do you not like Tasha?

No, it’s not that. Tasha seems okay. She has just made it clear that she doesn’t like me very much, when I’ve talked to her in the past.

Oh well, you know what teenage girls are like, Penny sang in her lush Jamaican tone. Dey are temperamental at de best of times! You know my eldest daughter was a nightmare at dat age? She huffed and puffed at every little ting! Now she is all grown up and we are like best friends. Give it time. She’ll come around.

I knew Penny was right, and she was always the voice of reason. Penny had three daughters, so had had plenty of experience of the teenage phase. The only experience I'd had was actually living it, but at that age I didn’t think about how immature I was. I thought that I was so grown up and knew everything. I could sympathize with that, and I was sure that Tasha would grow out