Shady Intentions - Carlin's Story --------------------------------- All the characters--excluding Serena, Darien, Raye, Chad, and some extent Rene--are mine, all mine! If you want to use them, however, you may, if you ask permission. :) "Shady Intentions" is going to focus on Carlin's role she plays with Serena's ultimate decision to get back with Darien. However it goes far beyond that. The first few chapters are going to nostalgic and revisit a few earlier written chapters of "Shady Business." After they are out of the way, the true beginning of Carlin's story will begin. This story may be long in coming since I'm currently working on what will eventually become (hopefully!) my first novel. Sit back and enjoy the ride. :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What are you doing?" Serena jumped at the sound of Carlin's voice behind her. She rubbed her hand over her stomach and went back to what she was doing. Gazing up only when Carlin came around, Serena said, "I'm reading a review of my story." "And?" Carlin tapped her nails and sighed in exasperation. Since writing her little book, Serena had been less forthcoming in her words. Serena gave a slight chuckle. "They seem to like it." Seeing she wasn't going to get anything out of her, Carlin changed the subject. "How are the kids doing?" Serena smiled. Her little brood had been busy. "Rene and that boy Elios are 'going out,' Dory has found a girlfriend, Gareth is the same as ever and Chandra is still making me thank God for preschool." Carlin laughed and gazed at Serena's growing stomach, "When are you due?" "Eight weeks. I still think it's a fluke." Serena would cling to that statement until she actually gave birth. "Ha, and I'm the Pope." Looking pointedly at Carlin's stomach, Serena asked, "When are you due?" "Rene?" "Yep." Serena's daughter Renata--Rene for short--was a little precognitive and had a tendency to predict when her aunts were going to have babies. "Not until November." Carlin was thanking her lucky stars for that one. Her first three had been born in summer months and her set of twins was born during a blizzard--in April. "How's Galen taking it?" "He's beside himself. He's still chuckling after the last time I was pregnant." Galen McHail was Carlin's husband of ten years. He had a lamentable tendency to laugh the whole time Carlin was pregnant with twins. "Maybe you should shoot him in the foot." "And hear him whine the entire time I'm pregnant, no thank you." Serena laughed and asked, "When is you're book coming out?" Serena wasn't the only one who had aspired to be an author. One day it just came to her... "About the time you have this one." "What's it about?" "About how Galen and I made it through what we did." Carlin smiled at their triumphs and tribulations over the years. But made it, they did. "From the beginning?" "Only a bit." "Let me read." Serena was already grabbing for the manuscript Carlin had brought with her. "Okay...but you're in it." Serena rolled her eyes and began thumbing through. "Let me know if there's anything too dirty." Carlin thought a moment and said, "Not too bad." "I'm almost afraid to ask." Serena shook her head and closed the cover. "Just read." Carlin said, pushing it back toward her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She lazily kissed him and let her hands trail down his face. She had needed this all day. Kieta had been griping at her, although she had been crying. Their father's funeral had been a big one-well, big compared to her mother's. Arden Blade had been a successful businessman, but a terrible father. His daughters had found a common bond in their abilities and in their relationship with one another. "Carlin, please..." She pulled away and looked into his face. His green eyes were full of passion. She didn't want to feel alone in this tonight... She had wanted him for so long, and he didn't have a clue. She took a swig of the champagne bottle and held it out to him. He took a drink and kissed her, letting the champagne travel from his mouth to hers. She swallowed and smiled at him. He was clearly drunk now. Maybe drunk enough not to remember... They had been childhood friends. She and he had gone to school together in the small village of Chequoa Beach in Michigan. They had gone to the same high school. But he never saw her, not in that way. Not in the way she had always seen him. She kissed him on the lips again and began tugging at his shirt. She wouldn't be alone tonight... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Galen woke the next morning and squinted against the morning sun. He smiled and reached over the other side of the bed. But his hand encountered empty air. He had a hell of a hangover, but he remembered. Oh did he remember... ...The smell of Carlin's hair... ...The way she clutched his arm... ...The way she screamed his name went she... Galen swung his legs out of bed and grabbed his clothes off the floor. He took one last look and saw a letter on the bed. Her flowery script had written his name boldly across the top. He ripped it open and stared in disbelief. He sat on the bed and stared at the last line. ...P.S. Don't bother to look for me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carlin pulled her hair over her shoulder and shuddered. Galen was going to be angry when he read that letter. But it would be for the best. She tapped her small stomach and smiled. That night hadn't been for naught. She would have her goal. She grabbed her bags and walked to where her car was waiting. Time would tell if Galen felt the way she did, but until then, she'd have to be on her own... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two months later, Carlin sat on her toilet, waiting to see if she was pregnant. She had known the risks of sleeping with Galen. She had also known the consequences. However, this is what she had wanted. A child from Galen... She stared at the stick and slowly watched it turn blue. She smiled then made a mad dash to get her telephone. She would have to make a call to the doctors office and schedule an appointment. As soon as she got to the telephone, she was startled to hear it ring. She picked it up and said, "Hello?" The next words would turn everything upside down for the next few hours and the months to come ahead. "Car? This is Rene. Get a room ready, I'm coming home." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Someone (sorry for not remembering who you are) had made a comment about this being the story rewritten again. Only a few chapters will be used. "Shady Business" was meant to be written from Serena's POV of things. The coming up chapters will be a jumbled up mess of all the remaining chapters of "Shady Business." As always: Send Q's or C's to silver_moonangel@yahoo.com Or visit: Silver Dreams - http://www.geocities.com/silver_moonangel/