The Co-Parent (The Relationship Quo Series Book 3) Read online

  The Co-Parent

  By Nicole Strycharz

  “That’s why they call it co-parent. You’re my co-pilot. We share the load. We keep each other focused. Keep each other navigated. Why? Because we’re carrying precious cargo. It’s our job to keep flying. Together. For our child.”

  Third Book in The Relationship Quo Series

  Text copyright © 2016 by Nicole Paulette Strycharz

  All rights reserved. No Portion of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Nicole Paulette Strycharz.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Acknowledgments

  My first Thank You, goes to my readers. You are all keeping my dream alive with your support and your reviews and all the loyal following. This has been an adventure and you guys made it a good one. My ARC squad: Angelica, Martha, Cindy, Ava, Danielle and Laurie! Donna, Amos, Rachel and Chloe…did I mention I adore you guys? The Queens of my European fandom. To Des for giving Brianna a voice!

  To my book family! My ‘write or die’ crew, I hope you know you guys light my creative fire and I don’t think there’re words for how precious that is.

  Roisin Black, your books absolutely belonged in here. Your talent is a reflection of your soul; bright, endless, profound, and beautiful. You made me fall in love with you through your books, and now I count you one of my closest friends. I still live for the day I can hug the life out of you. You who always seems to know when I need her hopeful words! You are such magic to me, and I believe in you always.

  To Mom because anything good in my life is from you. You’re my superhero. I’m still trying to grow up to be just like you.

  To Jon, because you’re my co-pilot and I can’t fly without you.

  And to someone who tried.

  Chapter One

  BRIANNA

  November 2007

  I was fifteen when I woke up from a nightmare in my foster family’s house. I was sweating like crazy and gripping at the sheets before knifing upward in the dark. Problem is…it stayed dark after that.

  To backtrack, I’d been losing my sight over the years. This wasn’t a shocker. It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. When my parents found out, they wanted the best for me, so they stocked my college fund like there was no time to lose. Happens to be there wasn’t.

  They died on 9/11. We lived on the West Coast but they sometimes had to fly east for work. Since they had no living family I went into the system and became the new and improved Orphan Annie.

  My hair is orange-red and my eyes are an eerie pale blue. I don’t have freckles like Annie, but I have a butterfly-shaped birth-mark on my thigh. My parents didn’t leave me a half a locket; they left me the best education opportunities life could buy.

  I didn’t get adopted by a singing billionaire and his secretary but I did end up with two of the best gay dads on the planet. Too bad I wasn’t with them when I woke up in the dark that night, but my best friend Chloe was there. Even as the prelude to blindness unfolded.

  “Bri?” Chloe turned on the light in our bedroom. At least I think she did, I heard a click but things were so blurry.

  “Chloe?” I reached out with tears making my vision worse, “Chloe, is it happening? I can’t- I can’t see.”

  She sprung my way and wrapped me up in her arms. She rocked me and told me it was okay but no matter how much I cry and pull at her pajamas I can’t find her.

  “Bri,” she hugged me tight, “picture light, okay? Picture day time and us hanging out after school. We’re at the park okay? Not this bedroom, we’re in the park, and it’s hot as hell and too bright, and the grass is crazy green but the sky is ocean blue…”

  I whimpered into her arms, “I’m s-scared, just keep talking okay? D-don’t stop.”

  “I won’t.” she pet my hair back, “Moses is there too. He’s got those awful braces on from last year. Remember how we used to tease him? He’s there too. Talking about…science class and nerdy stuff…”

  Moses…Moses is Chloe’s other best friend, and like my big brother. They’re older than me by a couple years but they treat me like one of them.

  I tried picturing what she was painting for me even as the fear took time to settle. “I like rainy days too…”

  She gave a nervous laugh, “well, that’s good luck then because it just got cloudy and now you and me and Moses are all running for cover.”

  I laughed and sniffed before squeezing her. When I opened my eyes, the black wasn’t so bad, but it was darker than ever before.

  Chloe after that night devoted herself to helping me learn basics. She even taught me how to do my own makeup. We learned how to get me around the city, how to help me listen. I had tutors but my friends were the true teachers.

  Moses was there too, constantly helping me, protecting me…

  Right out of school as the oldest of us all, he became a yoga instructor. Chloe went to a new family, that kept her under lock and key and I got sent to a foster couple that was gay. They were the best parents I could ask for, and they ended up adopting me when I was sixteen. They too taught me everything I would need to know about living without sight and I’m so grateful…because five days after I turned twenty, I woke to another nightmare…and it stayed dark.

  Three Years Later

  “Didn’t know that when Pat said, blind date…that she actually meant…blind date….” said Freddy.

  Here I am at a nice restaurant...hmm, I think it’s nice. Could be a dump, I wouldn’t know.

  I smiled, “yeah…she uh, she tends to leave that out a lot. Sorry.” I tucked hair behind my ear and waited for a response.

  “So, you can’t see at all?” he asked.

  I felt a little hot under the collar of my dress. I may not see people but in many ways, I see them better than most. So much carries in a person’s tone and energy. The way they breathe, the way they sound when they shift, the silence. It’s all very telling. Fred’s voice is telling me this is weirding him out which is making me self-conscious.

  I shrugged, “that’s not true; I see the color black.” I tend to use humor as a crutch to combat depression or pretty much any other human emotion.

  He laughed but it was a short barking sound. “Right, yeah…that’s…so…” he cleared his throat. “Do you have like a caretaker or something?”

  I cocked my head, “I’m not a toddler.”

  “Of course not, but I mean…this date it’s for like…a helper too? Isn’t it?”

  I sighed, “um…no…no…I came for the same reason you did.”

  “It’s just that, I have a really demanding job so taking care of someone else would be difficult and nearly impossible for me.”

  I fought some embarrassment, “Listen, I wasn’t scouting for a slave, I was just interested in a date. My friend Pat, said you wouldn’t care about the blindness and she said she’d tell you so I came here thinking you’d- I don’t know, be decent. Treat me like a normal human. Not be a dick. Tall order, I know. No, I don’t want a helper; I can take care of myself. I’m independent and fine on my own. I just wanted to know what it would be like to date a nice guy. She said we had a lot in common so here I am, all dressed up, no ulterior motives. If this isn’t what you’re looking for at least get through the date and don’t call me back like a normal guy.”

  He was silent and I felt my heart race. I twisted my hands around the handle of my walking stick under the booth and waited.

  He took forever to answ
er so I snapped, “hello? Did you hear anything I said?”

  “I’m so sorry Miss, I was in the back…did you want a drink?” The sound of the waitress’s voice made me blush.

  Then it made me realize…“The guy that was sitting across from me is gone isn’t he?”

  I think she was calculating a less hurtful answer as she summarized what I was saying. “Oh, um. Yes, he uh…he’s gone.”

  I felt a little hurt but relied on wit. “Hmm, wonder if my proposal of marriage scared him? I just thought it would unite our countries and stop the wars.”

  She laughed in a sad way, “men are jerks. Would you like a free desert? On the house?”

  I was struggling with some tears of humiliation so I shook my head no, with a smile and she left. I sat there a long time thinking about where life was headed.

  Then my phone rang and I slipped my hand into my very organized bag. Order is what defines my life. I found my phone and felt for the answer button. “Hello?”

  “Hey, beautiful!” Moses’ voice soothed me right away. Especially when I heard Chloe yell, “hey, Boo!” in the background. They sound like they’re in her jeep.

  “Hey, guys…” I smiled, “what are you up to?”

  Moses explained, “we are headed to a party in Beverly Hills. My friend Jacob is hosting again. Come with us. We’ll pick you up.”

  I lined the edge of the table with my finger, “okay. I guess. Yeah.”

  “Where are you? Home?”

  I shook my head like he could see me. “No, I’m at a place where humans gather to eat.”

  He laughed, “and which of these human gathering places are you in? California is pretty big. It might take time for us to find you.”

  “Levito’s. On the corner of 8th.”

  We hung up and within twenty minutes I heard them coming my way. Moses and Chloe started as friends. They were tight since they were kids but I found out a while ago that they’ve been dating steadily for months and this is a relief to me. I always heard the love in how they spoke to and about one another, but they were really slow to see it themselves.

  They slid into the booth I was in but across from me, and by the die down of their laughter I summed up they realized why I was here and why I was alone.

  Chloe reached over and touched my hand, “was tonight that date?”

  I shrugged again, “I wasn’t really in the mood for tonight anyway. I just wanted to gussie up.”

  Moses’ deep voice rippled into my ear, “he skip out?”

  I raised my brows, “I’m pretty sure he ran. Skipping is a little girly.”

  “I’m sorry Bri,” said Chloe.

  I sat back and shouldered my purse, “don’t be, I mean it. He sounded unattractive. I’m not sure but he had a ‘ho, ho, ho,’ chubby kinda laugh.”

  Moses sounded frustrated, “his karma was just fucked.”

  I scooted out of the booth and tapped my walking stick against the floor, “come on. Party in the Hills. Maybe I’ll meet a tall, dark stranger.”

  Chloe came to slip my arm into her elbow, “I’m sorry he was an asshole.” She said.

  Moses sounded like he was standing in front of me now, “you look amazing. He’s an idiot.” He put in.

  I hope I look amazing. Looking good makes feeling bad, less awful. I even went to a cosmetic store to get my makeup done. A salon friend gave my hair some wicked long curls and I’m in heels; a blind girl’s biggest nightmare. The night was a bust but at least I look good. I’m the pretty girl that got ditched not the frumpy one.

  “May he find what he’s looking for,” I said about Mr. Fred. He should’ve been properly warned about my impairment so I don’t harbor hard feelings.

  My friends led me to Chloe’s Jeep and once we were inside we headed to Jacob’s. This isn’t how I was hoping my night would go but it’s a nice plot twist. That’s life, isn’t it? Plot twists are great in books, and movies, but when they happen in real life you panic or sulk. Not me. I refuse to be beaten by life’s whiplash. That’s why when something unexpected happens, like my date deserting me and ending up driving to a mansion for a party, I just mentally yell out, Plot Twist! And move on…

  GABRIEL

  When Jacob told me there was a party I didn’t even need encouragement. I threw on a black button down and dark jeans. I pushed into a charcoal vest and grabbed wallet, keys, and phone before hopping into my steel colored Jaguar.

  I love America. At least I love California anyway. Coming from the UK I travel non-stop for work but I love that too. I’ve made friends everywhere on the globe but California is my favorite.

  Jacob is a client of my company and I count him as a good mate. I sped through the streets to get there and after joining I had a drink in my hand in less than five minutes. This is usually what my life looks like.

  Party, drink, sex, work, repeat.

  On occasion, I throw being high in there or sleeping. I have insomnia some nights, though so that’s rare.

  “Hey, man,” Jacob came up and shook my hand. His house is in clubbing mode, so lights out except for the aquatic glow from his wall-long fish tank and the TV set to a hip hop radio. There are bodies grinding and dancing and the massive pool out back is lit up with veranda lights.

  “Hey,” I said with a firm handshake back. “Great party,” I called over the music.

  “Thanks,” he pushed his thick black glasses up his nose, “the girls I invited out by the pool; they’re swimsuit models for G’s Magazine. You need to make a stop out that way before the night ends.”

  I laughed, “alright yeah, I’ll give it a go.”

  “Oh, and keys…” he presented a big glass bowl. Jacob has a hardcore rule about drinking and driving so he makes all of the drinkers throw their keys in.

  I sighed and tossed mine. “Better lock those little buggers up. My car is worth more than my life.”

  He saluted me then went to mingle. I wasn’t even done with my drink when I saw her. My eyes locked like a weapon on a target and my stomach went whacky. She is that stunning. That fantastic. I think I always had a thing for redheads but now it’s an obsession.

  She came in with a tall guy and another hot girl. My first worry was she was with the tall guy, but he was holding the other girl’s hand and they kissed so that must mean the ginger goddess is single.

  She held on to the arm of her girlfriend as they stopped to talk to people, but I noticed she never focused on the people she spoke to. Her expressions were engaged but her eyes weren’t.

  I stood in the middle of the living room like a stalker, and just watched her move, watched her talk. There’s a natural light that seems to emanate from her skin. She’s swathed in a long, snug, black dress with a slit in the side that starts at the middle of her shapely thigh. I’ve never seen such an appealing shape on a woman. She’s long-waisted but her hips are very wide, so when she walks, it looks like she’s gliding down a runway.

  Letting my eyes travel up I notice her breasts are more than a handful. She’s proportioned just right with a posture that makes looking at her chest mandatory.

  She smiled at her guy friend and a dimple appeared on her one cheek. That’s it. I think I’m in love. As in love as someone like me can be anyway.

  I started running people over to get to her but this party is a flowing river of guests and by time I reached where she came in she vanished. It physically hurt to lose sight of her and I stretched my neck over the dancers but she’s nowhere.

  “Oh my God!” A woman with short black hair and big gray eyes invaded my body space reeking of booze. “Holy shit! You’re Gabe Gilmore! The millionaire from England! Oh my God! No way!” She grabbed my arm and shook it. “Will you sign my bra? Holy fuck, Carla!” She screamed her friend’s name and I winced. “Carla! Get over here!”

  Her friend was shorter with wavy blonde hair. “Shut the front door!” Said Carla as she covered her mouth and squealed.

  “You seriously have to give us your autograph!” said the first.<
br />
  I tried to see past them for the mystery beauty but she was gone. “Uh, sure, alright then. Either of you got a pen?”

  They almost got into a catfight trying to produce one. They thrust it at me and I set down my drink to take the frilly sunflower pen Carla handed me. The first girl pulled up her shirt and revealed a light gray bra. “Right here,” she slurred, “Right on the side. Oh my, God, it’s fucking Gabe Gilmore.”

  I laughed and bent my head to see. I signed her bra in time for her friend to slip her arm around my neck and whisper in my ear, “sign your name on my stomach…” then she convulsed with giggles.

  Any other night this would be a nice offer since Carla is hot. “Maybe next time, Love.”

  The first girl screeched, “Ahhhhh! His accent is so sexy! Uggghhh just like, talk all night long.”

  “I actually have to be off. You two were a delight, though.”

  Carla pouted, “you didn’t sign for me.” She pulled down her top and tapped the full top of her breast, “right here, I wanna have it where I can see it.”

  I came close enough to sign and she whispered with her friend. When I capped her pen and handed it back the first girl gave me a chin lift, “you could totally do us both. We’re fine with that. There’re beds upstairs…”

  Carla lifted her eyebrow.

  I stayed all smiles, “that is so tempting but I have a rule about doing drunk girls so…”

  “Awww,” they said in unison.

  Carla touched my arm, “you work out, don’t you? God, Lil, feel his arms…”

  So the first girl is Lil, okay. Now I have two women feeling up my arms. “I read that you’re like…royalty,” said Lil.