Page 32 of No Mercy

They both sounded like fun. “I can swing the spa day if it’s on a weekend, but I’m not sure about a girls’ night out.” I had Sam to consider, and I wasn’t going to assume that Rock would be around to stay with him.

“We all have kids, too. Snake and Robin have four, and they have a fantastic babysitter. On girls’ night out she takes care of all the kids without any problems. She has a wonderful way with them, and they all love her.”

As I listened to Audra’s praise of the babysitter I realized that I wasn’t sure about leaving Sam with a stranger. “How many kids are we talking about?”

“Well, if you go with us she’ll have eight, but her license is for ten.”

That caught my interest. Maybe it would be okay. “She has a license?”

“Yeah, she’s majoring in child psychology and just loves children. She’s CPR certified, too,” Carol added.

I grinned at that, and then realized that I hadn’t offered any refreshments. “Would anyone like some wine? Or maybe some coffee? I brewed a fresh pot.” I started to get up.

“No, we’re good.” Audra spoke for everyone, and I made eye contact with Trish and Carol to make sure that they agreed with her. They indicated that they were good. “We just came by to introduce ourselves and invite you out Thursday night. You’ll come, won’t you?”

The thought of a night out was tempting. I was so close to accepting until I remembered that it was a week night. “It’s a school night.” How could I have a late night out if Sam had school Friday morning? What kind of mother would that make me, to put my needs above his? Although, having my own friends doesn’t make me selfish.

“We forgot to tell you that the kids usually sleep over. Robin and Snake have a big house and plenty of room.”

“And this Friday is a teacher’s work day, kids are out of school,” Trish reminded me.

I had forgotten! It grew silent as the women waited for my response. Part of me wanted to go, to just spend some time with other women and have a couple of drinks, and maybe do a little dancing. I hadn’t done that in ages, I’d been too focused on work and Sam. Sam would make new friends in school, but I thought that maybe if I left him with the other kids there would be at least one his age.

Their eager expressions finally won me over, and I smiled. “I guess it’s girls’ night Thursday.”

Smiles greeted my decision before Audra said, “Great! You won’t be sorry, we all have a really good time.”

“You have to treat yourself once in a while,” Trish said. “You deserve two days a month. It will make all the other crap thrown your way that much more bearable.”

She was right, and two days a month was nothing in the grand scope of things. In my past I’d had friends at work and had gone on a few dates, mostly with Tom, which had usually included Sam. It had just been the two of us for a long time. Sure, I’d made time to get a haircut and the occasional pedicure, but to spend a whole day at a spa pampering myself? I was especially looking forward to that.

“And don’t worry about Sam, Robin has seven-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. He’ll have someone to play with,” Carol spoke up, breaking into my thoughts.

And now I was looking forward to Thursday night.

“Oh! Oh!” All gazes swung to Audra, who was wearing a smile from ear to ear. “The baby is kicking up a storm right now.” She giggled. “He’s looking forward to a girls’ night out, too,” she joked.

“He?” I asked.

Audra nodded. “We found out last week that we’re having a boy. He’ll be my third, we already have a girl and a boy.”

“And this little fella,” Carol began, drawing my attention, “is my second boy.”

I glanced at Trish. I gauged her to be around my age, pixie-like, pretty, even with the tiny scar on her chin. Freckles dusted the bridge of her small nose, and her brown eyes were the same color of her curly locks. “Do you have any children?”

She shook her head, the sad look in her eyes belying the tiny smile on her face. “No, but we’ve been trying.”

“It will happen, honey,” Audra spoke up, reaching over to pat Trish on the arm. “And trying is the fun part.”

Trish’s face lit up at Audra’s attempt to make her feel better. “Yeah, Fox is using the excuse of us trying to have a baby to get into my pants every chance he gets. He’s wearing me out!”

“I’m sure,” Audra said. “We’re married to a bunch of horny, highly sexual, alpha, bad asses.”

Carol scoffed. “Don’t include Craig in that club. There’s nothing alpha about that man.”

“Hey!” Trish said with spirit. “I’m married to a computer nerd, too, and Fox is as alpha as they come. You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but he was a Navy SEAL.”

Laughter floated around the porch, and I found myself enjoying the obvious closeness that existed between the women. I already liked them and was looking forward to getting to know them better. Before they left we’d set up a spa day date, and I’d been invited to a cookout the club was holding for their families on Saturday. Trish explained that most Saturdays were kept for families, unless the men were involved in club business that took them away from the clubhouse. Friday and Saturday nights were heavy party nights, and once a month they held open-house for non-club members.

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