Building Blocks (By Design Book 7) Read online

  Building

  Blocks

  J.A. Armstrong

  Text © Copyright 2016 Bumbling Bard Creations

  All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced

  without permission.

  ISBN 10: 069270745X

  ISBN 13: 978-0692707456

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  Governor Candace Reid sat behind her large maple desk attempting to massage away the throbbing in her temples. She looked over at the mountain of folders that stood stacked on the corner of her desk and closed her eyes. Defeat was never an option for Candace, not in any facet of life. Lately, she felt as if she needed forty-eight hour days to complete everything. And, at the moment, one thing was weighing on her mind above all others. Road repairs, bridge construction, community revitalization projects and budget initiatives all took a back seat to a little boy named Cooper. Candace lifted her glasses from the bridge of her nose and placed them in the drawer of her desk. She closed her eyes for a brief second, took a deep breath and lifted the phone receiver inches away.

  “Hello?” a familiar voice came on the line.

  “Hi.”

  “Candace?” Jameson asked. “Bad day? You sound beat.”

  “No, and yes, I am.”

  Jameson chuckled. “He’s fine,” she told her wife. “He’s taking a nap.”

  “Fever gone?” Candace asked.

  “Yeah. He really is okay. I promise,” Jameson assured her wife.

  “Maybe I should send my regrets to Senator Stevens.”

  Jameson sat down on the couch and shook her head. “No, you should not. He’s okay. I think he is kind of looking forward to spending some time with Spencer and Marianne, to be honest,” Jameson told Candace.

  “I don’t know.”

  Jameson smiled. Cooper had come into their lives unexpectedly and changed everything in an instant. Candace had met him on what was supposed to be a routine community stop to visit a shelter for women and children. Routine was not a word that ever equated to life for Candace and Jameson. Cooper had immediately and simultaneously stolen and broken both Candace and Jameson’s hearts. He had already endured a lifetime of upheaval at the tender age of four. Moving from place to place, at times homeless with a mother who Candace was certain loved him, but had been unable to care for herself much less a child. Cooper’s mother’s sudden death had placed him into a cavernous system laden with millions of cracks—cracks that without someone’s intervention he likely would have fallen into. That was not a scenario that either Candace or Jameson could live with. And so, again the Fletcher-Reid family grew by one.

  For the last month, Candace and Jameson had endeavored to be certain that one of them was home every night at bedtime and every morning when Cooper would wake up. It was a commitment to make their son feel secure—to assure him that for more than a million sleeps and a million wakes he would find that home was with them. Tonight was supposed to be the first time that Cooper would fall asleep in someone else’s care. It seemed ill-timed. Earlier in the week, Cooper had fallen prey to a nasty ear infection. Candace had made the decision to stay at the farmhouse for the first two days until she could no longer avoid the need for her presence in Albany. She had left late the previous night albeit reluctantly. Tonight, she and Jameson were expected to make an appearance at a benefit for the Democratic Party honoring Senator Martin Stevens.

  “Candace,” Jameson called over the line to her wife compassionately. “It will be okay.”

  Jameson heard the heavy sigh that escaped her wife and smiled again. She had not thought it would be possible to fall more deeply in love with her wife—she had. Candace had always been devoted to her family. Her devotion to Cooper did not surprise Jameson, but watching Candace with their son moved Jameson in ways she could not have expected. In truth, Jameson would have preferred to stay home with her family. She did feel it was time that Cooper experience the reality of life in their family. That reality would dictate that there would be times he would fall asleep and perhaps even wake up in a different house or with a familiar face other than his parents’ making him breakfast.

  “Are you worried more about Coop or Marianne dealing with all three of the kids?” Jameson wondered.

  “Maybe a little of both. I can’t help it, Jameson. I felt horrible leaving last night when he was still sick.”

  “I know,” Jameson said. “He slept all night and he is much better today.”

  “I can send our regrets.”

  “You could, but you are not going to.”

  “Oh?”

  “No, you are not. I bought a dress for this shindig of yours, you know?” Jameson told Candace.

  “Shindig? How much time have you been spending with Pearl anyway?”

  Jameson laughed. She was relieved to hear a bit of levity in Candace’s voice. Candace always had a million people clamoring for even a moment of her time. Jameson continually marveled at the way Candace managed to juggle all of it and give attention to people’s needs and opinions. At the end of any day, Jameson knew that Candace’s top priority would forever be her family. She also was aware that Senator Martin Stevens had a unique ability to annoy the hell out of her wife.

  “If you want, I can make a play toward the senator and spill a drink on him when he starts talking too much,” Jameson offered knowingly.

  Candace laughed. “You might need to keep a bottle at the ready in that case,” she said.

  “Ha! I knew it! Coop is your ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card!”

  “You are a lunatic. And, I would never use our son as an excuse.”

  “Yeah, right,” Jameson teased. She could tell that Candace was still apprehensive, but she could also hear Candace’s light chuckling. “Come on; I haven’t gotten to dance with you in a long time.”

  Candace smiled. “You liked that Inaugural Ball, admit it.”

  Jameson had enjoyed Candace’s inauguration. She always loved to watch Candace at work. She loved the way people looked at her wife with admiration, and Jameson had enjoyed every moment of standing beside Candace. Jameson often recalled that evening. Her heart had soared at the sparkle in Candace’s eyes as she had reached for Jameson’s hand and led Jameson to the dance floor.

  “I just wish I knew why they have to call them balls,” Jameson deadpanned. “Don’t they know by now that we are lesbians?”

  Candace laughed again. “You are nuts.”

  “Feel better?” Jameson asked.

  “I do,” Candace said.

  “I’ll have him call you before I leave, okay?”

  “When are you headed this way?’ Candace asked.

  “Marianne took Spence and Maddie to the store with her. She should be back in about an hour. I’ll leave once she gets settled in.”

  “What kind of dress did you buy?” Candace asked.

  “What kind of dress did you buy?” Jameson returned.

  “Something you’ll approve of,” Candace said.

  Jameson grinned. “Low cut, huh?”

  Candace laughed again. “I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

  “Is it?”

  “Goodbye, Jameson.”

&nbs
p; “It is.”

  Candace kept laughing. “I’ll talk to you.”

  Jameson hung up their call with a smile. “It is.”

  ***

  “Jay?” a small voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Hey, Coop,” Jameson greeted the little boy. Cooper rubbed his ear and yawned. “How’s the ear?”

  “It’s okay,” he said as he made her way to her.

  “Itchy?” she asked.

  Cooper shrugged and yawned again. “I’m firsty.”

  “And, still a little sleepy,” Jameson observed. She scooped him up, and he wrapped his arms and legs around her gratefully. “Juice?” she asked him. He nodded.

  “Jay?” he asked as she sat him at the table.

  “Yeah, Coop?”

  “Is Miss C. at work?”

  “Yes, Cooper. Candace is at work. And, remember I told you that we have to go somewhere tonight for a while. You are going to stay here with Marianne and Spence, okay?” she said as she placed a cup of juice in front of him. Cooper nodded and gulped down the juice. “Whoa,” Jameson laughed. “Slow down, buddy.”

  “Sorry,” he said softly.

  Jameson smiled at Cooper. He had a tendency to apologize for everything no matter how much she and Candace sought to reassure him. She kissed his forehead. “You don’t have to be sorry, buddy. I just don’t want you to choke. Okay?” Cooper nodded. Jameson winked at him. “Want some more?” she asked knowingly. Cooper nodded again. “A man of few words today, huh?”

  Cooper giggled. “Jay?”

  “Yeah, buddy?”

  “Me and Spen can watch a video?” he asked.

  “I’m sure if you ask Marianne politely, she will let you two watch a video, yes.”

  “Addlin!”

  “Aladdin,” Jameson corrected him with a smile. “How come you like that one so much?” she asked him curiously.

  “Genie is funny,” Cooper explained. “He’s blue!”

  Jameson laughed. “He is blue. I wonder why he is blue?”

  “He’s a genie, Jay.”

  “Oh, of course,” Jameson said. “Are all genies blue?”

  “I don’t know. He’s da only one I know,” Cooper said before taking another sip from his juice.

  “Well, that makes sense.”

  “Jay?”

  “Hum?”

  “When will Miss C. be home?”

  Jameson smiled. Cooper adored her, and she knew that, but he had a unique bond with Candace. And, Jameson could not deny that she sensed he still held his share of insecurity that one day Candace might leave too. Candace also sensed it. Jameson sat down beside Cooper again.

  “Candace is at the big red house, buddy. And, tonight we both have to go to a big dinner. We will both be home late when you are already asleep. But, we’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow, okay?” Jameson watched as Cooper considered her answer. “Would you like to call her?” Jameson asked. Cooper nodded a bit sheepishly. “We can call her, Coop. She loves when you call her.”

  Cooper brightened measurably. He watched Jameson as she retrieved her phone and pressed the screen a few times. “Hey, Susan. Yeah. I promised to have Coop call.”

  Cooper smiled when Jameson handed him her phone. “Say hello when she answers, so she knows it’s you,” Jameson whispered. Cooper sat up in his chair and waited.

  ***

  “No, that is not going to be adequate, Bill.”

  “Candace, be reasonable,” Bill DeGrasso implored his boss.

  “I hate that word, Bill.”

  “We don’t have enough support in the legislature for broader measures,” he said. “It’s too costly for their taste. You know they do not want to cut to spend.”

  “Governing is all about where to cut so that you can spend where it’s needed,” Candace said.

  “I’m telling you that the votes are not there.”

  “And, I’m telling you to get me the votes to pass it,” Candace said flatly just as the phone on her desk beeped.

  “Yes, Susan?” Candace answered. She smiled. “Excuse me for a minute,” she told the group gathered in her office. “Put it through…. Hello?”

  “Hi, Miss C.,” Cooper’s voice came across the line.

  “Well, if it’s not my favorite caller,” Candace said. She heard Cooper giggle. “How are you feeling?”

  “Itchy.”

  “Itchy?” Candace asked. “Your ear is itchy?”

  “A little,” Cooper answered. “Jay let me call.”

  “I’m glad she did.”

  “Jay gave me juice,” Cooper told Candace.

  “She’s good like that.”

  “Yep. Me and Spen are gonna watch Addlin tonight.”

  “Aladdin again?” Candace chuckled. “You like that genie.”

  “Yep,” Cooper agreed. “He’s funny like Jay. Only Jay’s not blue.”

  Candace laughed. “No, she’s not.”

  “’Cause she’s not a Genie, else she’d have to live in a bottle too.”

  Candace shook her head in amusement. She could only imagine the expression on Jameson’s face as she listened to Cooper. “You are feeling better.”

  “Yep. Are you at work?”

  “Yes, sweetheart, I am,” Candace said. She waited but Cooper said nothing.

  “I miss you,” Cooper whispered.

  Candace closed her eyes. “I miss you too, Cooper. I will see you tomorrow, though…. Cooper?”

  Cooper handed Jameson the phone and ran out of the kitchen.

  “Candace?”

  “Jameson? What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” Jameson confessed with a sigh. “Hold on, okay?”

  Candace took a deep breath and waited.

  “Coop?” Jameson called up the stairs.

  Cooper came running back with his stuffed frog and handed it to Jameson. He stretched out his hand for the phone. Jameson handed him the phone with a puzzled expression.

  “Jameson?” Candace called over the line.

  “It’s okay, Miss C.,” Cooper answered.

  “Cooper?”

  “I gave Jay Fwoggie. He knows da way,” Cooper told Candace.

  Candace choked back a wave of tears. Spencer had given Cooper his stuffed frog months earlier before Cooper had moved in with Candace and Jameson. Cooper had gotten upset at the end of one of their visits, and Candace’s grandson had given him the frog to cheer him up. Spencer had told Cooper that Froggie knew the way back home. It had not escaped Candace’s notice that the stuffed frog went everywhere with Cooper. The knowledge that Cooper had thought to give Jameson the frog now told Candace two things—Cooper loved them, and Cooper was afraid they might not find their way back.

  “That was very sweet, Cooper,” Candace praised him. Cooper smiled. “We’ll take good care of him, I promise.”

  “If you get lost, he can find me,” Cooper said.

  Candace closed her eyes. “Cooper, we will always find you. I promise, sweetheart.”

  Cooper kept smiling. “Okay,” he said happily. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Cooper,” Candace said. “Let me talk to Jay, okay?”

  “Okay!” he said. He handed Jameson the phone. “Can I draw?”

  “Yes, Coop, you can go to your room draw,” Jameson told him. She watched him scurry back up the stairs.

  “That’s it,” Candace said. “I’m canceling.”

  “No, you are not.”

  “Jameson…”

  “No,” Jameson said firmly. “You know I am right.”

  Candace did know that Jameson was right. “I don’t have to like it.”

  Jameson chuckled. “I don’t like it either. We have to do this. You know it, and I know it.”

  “I hate that he is still so afraid.”

  “So do I, but I think I have an idea.”

  “Oh?” Candace inquired.

  “Yeah, but I need you to trust me.”

  “Why do I not like the sound of that?”

&
nbsp; “Do you trust me?” Jameson asked.

  “You know that I do.”

  “Then trust me!” Jameson said.

  Candace sighed. “I do.”

  “Good. I will see you in a couple of hours.”

  “Yes, you will,” Candace agreed.

  “Go do governor things,” Jameson instructed her wife.

  Candace chuckled. “I’ll try.”

  “There is no try, Candace. You’ve seen the movie.”

  Candace rolled her eyes. “Goodbye, Genie.”

  “You love me in blue,” Jameson said.

  “Guilty as charged. But, please stay out of the bottle.”

  Jameson laughed. “I’ll try. Please try not to worry, okay? I’ve got this.”

  “It would help if you would grant me three wishes,” Candace joked.

  “We’ll see just how low that dress is.”

  Candace laughed. “Lunatic. See you in a bit,” she said as she set the receiver down.

  “I am positive that I don’t want to know,” Shell told her mother.

  Candace grinned. “Cooper has an infatuation with genies.”

  “Uh-huh,” Shell said.

  “Now, about this bill,” Candace shifted gears.

  ***

  Jameson took a step into the bedroom that she and Candace shared at the Executive Mansion and froze. Candace had her back turned to Jameson. Her head was forward slightly as she attempted to fasten the clasp of her necklace. Jameson closed the short distance between them and let her hands fall onto Candace’s shoulders. “Let me,” she whispered.

  Candace looked into the full-length mirror to capture Jameson’s gaze. She smiled at the gleam in Jameson’s eyes.

  “It is low,” Jameson whispered.

  “Not that low,” Candace replied.

  “You look stunning,” Jameson said in awe.

  “You are biased.”

  “Not so,” Jameson said.

  Jameson often wondered what Candace saw when she looked in the mirror. One thing that Jameson did know; she was hardly the only person who looked at Candace in awe. As confident as Candace was in the political arena, she could be incredibly self-effacing when it came to comments or compliments on her appearance. Candace may have possessed confidence; she also possessed humility. For Jameson, that made Candace infinitely more attractive. Jameson fastened the clasp on the string of pearls and leaned into Candace’s ear again. Candace closed her eyes as Jameson’s warm breath caressed her neck.