“Well, at least you know that won’t happen now, working for your sister.”
“Yes, I’m quite lucky.”
None of the women he’d dated—or married—
would consider herself lucky to live in a run-down apartment supporting two siblings. Another interesting thought.
“We’d better hurry. I need to be back at work.”
“A half hour for lunch is ridiculous.”
“No, I requested it. That way I get home earlier for Paul. I like to have as much time as possible with him.”
“Say, I forgot, but after I visit with Gramp, can I pick Paul up? I’ve got a few things to do that I think he’d enjoy.” He waited for her response, unsure whether she’d trust him with her beloved little brother.
“There’s no need—”
“Susan, I
want
to. In fact, we might even invite Manuel along, too. Paul seems to enjoy his friend.”
“Yes, they’re like brothers. If you’re sure you want both of them, I’ll give Rosa a call.”
“Yeah, do that.”
Pete Lowery was sitting up in bed when Zach got to the hospital. “Gramp, you’re looking good”
“Yep. I’ve surprised the doctors. They thought I was a goner.” He beamed at his grandson.
Zach muttered beneath his breath. “Me, too.” fortunately, while Gramp’s heart may have recovered, his hearing was still slightly off. “Glad to hear it,” Zach added.
“You enjoyed the hotel suite?”
“You bet. Susan loved it.”
“She’s a sweet thing. How did you find her?”
Zach drew a deep breath. “Well, I stopped off at this diner one day, when I’d come to town to check with our banker, and she served me coffee.”
“She’s a waitress.?”
“Nope. She works in public relations for the diner, and when she gets coffee for herself, she sometimes helps the waitress out by refilling everyone else’s cups.”
“Public relations? I bet she draws a lot of attention.”
“Yeah.”
“Where is she?”
“At work.”
Pete glared at him. “You gonna make your bride a slave? She shouldn’t have to work the day after her wedding.”
Zach decided to let Susan bear the blame for this one. “I told her that, but since we hadn’t planned on marrying this soon, she said she couldn’t leave them in the lurch. She’s very responsible.”
“The minute she starts a baby, you make sure she stays at home and is taken care of. We don’t want anything to go wrong.”
Zach rolled his eyes. “Gramp, I know how to take care of what’s mine. Susan and I are coming back to see you tonight, after we have dinner with more of her family that I just met. But I have to go now. I’m taking Paul shopping.” He leaned over and patted his grandfather’s shoulder.
Then he remembered something else he’d better straighten out while he had a chance. “Oh, by the
way, Paul is her brother, not her son. And she has an eighteen-year-old sister named Megan. She’s been trying to support them the last four years.”
“She’s a good girl,” Pete said simply, still beaming at Zach.
He nodded and left the hospital room. He hoped Gramp was right. But he still wasn’t sure.
The next few hours, he had more fun than he’d had in a long time. After picking up Paul and Manuel, he headed for the stores. The two little boys were astounded when they discovered they were to be treated to new clothes.
Zach did run into a little trouble when he suggested Paul and Manuel each choose several shirts.
“I don’t think we should buy more than one shirt,” Paul said, his blue eyes serious.
“Why not, buddy?”
“I don’t think Susan would want me to.”
Zach frowned. “Why not? Doesn’t she like you to have nice clothes?”
“Yeah, but when Aunt Kate or Aunt Maggie want to buy me lots of things, Susan says just one, please.”
Zach wanted to dismiss Paul’s worry, but the little boy’s serious face made him reconsider. “Okay, how about I buy you one pair of jeans and a shirt and shoes and, uh, maybe a cowboy hat for when you come out to the ranch, and Gramp buys you the other stuff.”
Paul thought Zach’s idea was a brilliant one, but then they had to deal with Manuel’s concerns about strangers buying him things, too. Zach couldn’t remember working so hard to spend money. Once he’d
satisfied both boys’ consciences, they made more rapid progress.
He particularly enjoyed buying them cowboy boots and hats.
“But I won’t be going to visit the ranch,” Manuel whispered to Paul.
“Paul may want to invite you,” Zach said, having overheard the anxious whisper. “Wouldn’t you like to come with Paul? Don’t you like horses and cows?”
Manuel beamed at him. “I love ’em. Paul said you had puppies, too.”
“Oh, yeah. We’ve got puppies, and I think they love little boys.” He was rewarded with big grins. Ruffling first one boy’s hair and then the other’s, he decided he could get used to having kids around.
“You know, by next month, it may be a little cold out on the ranch. I think we’d better check out those windbreakers over there, too.”
Now that he’d convinced them there would be no problem with Susan and Rosa, the boys entered into the spirit of the shopping spree.
“This is even better than Christmas,” Paul said, squeezing the packages against his little chest. “Can we buy something for Susan? She doesn’t usually get presents ’cause me and Megan don’t have much money.”
“That’s a good idea, Paul,” Zach said. He wasn’t sure Susan would appreciate anything from him, but every bride should have a present. And Gamp would expect it.
Since there was nothing in the children’s department
for Susan, they swung by the jewelry counter. Zach, with both boys’ taste consulted, decided on a diamond tennis bracelet that would sparkle on Susan’s delicate wrist.
Then they loaded all their packages in the trunk of his car and headed for the apartment. Once there, they reversed the procedure. Each boy carried several packages, but Zach bore the brunt of the shopping.
Susan was already home. She came out on the landing as they started up the stairs.
“There you are. We’ve been worried—” she broke off, her eyes widening as she saw the packages. “Good heavens, what have you done?”
Chapter Six
S
usan couldn’t believe her eyes. Even the boys were loaded down with packages. She waited for an answer to her question.
“A little shopping,” Zach said easily. “I thought the boys needed a few things.”
“It’s okay, Susan,” Paul hurriedly said. “Zach only bought us one of everything. Gramp bought the other ones.”
She struggled to compose herself. Since Zach had taken it upon himself to purchase clothes for her brother and his friend, she’d have to deduct that amount from the check he’d given her and repay him. She only hoped he’d been practical.
“I see. And did you enjoy yourselves?” she asked, smiling at the boys. It would be mean to take away their pleasure.
“Oh, yeah. And look at my hat!” Paul exclaimed,
using the packages he carried to point to the hat on his head. “When we visit the ranch, we need hats, Zach said.”
“I’m going to visit the ranch, too,” Manuel added in wonder.
“That’s wonderful. It will be a great experience for you.” Then she looked at Zach and her smile disappeared. “We need to talk.”
“Anything wrong? Did the hospital call?”
“No. Nothing. Manuel, your mother is looking for you.” She waited as the little boy ran across the landing and opened the apartment door. Then she turned to Paul. “Why don’t you take your new things and put them away, sweetie.”
“Don’t you want to see them first?” the boy asked anxiously, as if he knew she was upset,
“Oh, yes, of course. Come in and show me what you bought” She led the way into the apartment and sat down on the lumpy couch. Five minutes later, Paul had torn open all the packages and had his riches spread around him.
“You made some wonderful selections, Paul. They’ll be great for school this year.” She was sincere, but she also resented Zach having the pleasure of shopping with her little brother. He’d spent more than she’d planned for Paul, she noticed. And her shopping tour wouldn’t have been at the expensive stores named on the bags.
“I’ll go put them away now,” Paul said with a big grin.
She was glad she’d convinced him of her delight. She didn’t want him upset.
As soon as Paul left the room, Zach spoke. “Now, tell me the problem. Are you jealous?”
Anger filled her. “Yes! I’m jealous that you spent all and more of the money I’d intended for Paul’s clothing. And that I didn’t get to... to shop with him.”
“I didn’t spend your money!” he snapped.
“Yes, you did. How much?”
“None of your business!”
She closed her eyes, then opened them. “Of course it’s my business. Why would you spend your money on
my
brother. And Manuel. How much?”
Zach stood and began to pace around the small living room. “I’m not going to let you pay for what I purchased. It seemed to me that Paul didn’t have much in the way of a wardrobe, so I thought—”
“How generous of you! If you’d told me he embarrassed you, I would’ve tried harder to find a sitter.” Bitterness filled her. This man could afford anything he wanted. He didn’t seem to understand how different their lives were.
“Don’t you ever say that again! Paul never embarrassed me. He’s a wonderful kid.”
Her heart swelled with his praise, but his opinion didn’t eliminate her difficulties. “Look, I appreciate what you did. You gave both boys a lot of please, but I will, of course, pay for the clothes. Except maybe the cowboy hat and boots.”
“You don’t like them?”
“They’re nice, but not too useful for school wear.”
“I wore them to school.”
The picture that appeared in her head of Zach as a little boy, clad in his Western wear, was sweet and melted her anger a little, but she didn’t agree with him. “You didn’t go to school in Kansas City.”
“True. But maybe you should consider moving away from here. This isn’t a good neighborhood for a little boy to grow up in.”
A lot of responses bubbled up in Susan’s throat, but she pushed them back. As if she didn’t know the dangers inherent in their situation. Hadn’t she had nightmares about both Megan and Paul and the possibilities that could occur?
“How much do I owe you?” she asked for the third time.
Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. Susan swung it open, expecting to see Rosa, and she wasn’t disappointed. There was a worried frown on her friend’s face.
“Susan, Manuel said—I mean, I’m sorry, but I can’t pay—we will pay a monthly amount until—”
Zach stepped forward, interrupting. “Please. The clothes are a gift from me and my grandfather. There is nothing to repay.”
“But—but they are so expensive,” Rosa protested, wide-eyed, her bottom lip trembling, “and we cannot do anything so grand for our two younger children.”
“Rosa,” Susan said, taking her friend’s hands. “it’s okay. Just think of the clothes as an early Christmas present.”
“But it’s August!”
Susan smiled, letting her sense of the ridiculous take over. “Just tell the children that some Santas have to deliver early because they have so many stops to make.”
After that, Rosa expressed her thanks numerous times before she withdrew to her own apartment.
“Damn, I have never had such a hard time delivering a present,” Zach protested. Before she could say anything, he felt inside his jacket pocket and drew out a long, thin box. “We’d better get this over and done with, too. You have to wear this because Gramp will expect it.”
“Wear what?” she said, staring suspiciously at the box.
He grabbed her left hand. “Where’s your wedding ring?”
“In—in my purse. I put it there this morning because I didn’t expect to announce... Anyway, that’s where it is.”
“I need to get it sized, but I’ll do that tomorrow. And put this on.” He thrust the box at her.
It seemed to Susan that if she opened the box, she would be even more deeply involved in their lie. Zach’s unwavering stare, however, made escape impossible. She took the lid off the cardboard box only to discover an elegant box inside. When she opened it, the gleaming diamonds of a tennis bracelet sparkled.
She immediately shut the lid and thrust it back at Zach. “No, I can’t accept this.”
“Susan, Gramp will have expected me to give you
a wedding present. If I don’t, he’ll know we’re not serious about the marriage.” He handed it to her again.
“So—so this is a prop? And when it’s over I give it back to you?”
His gaze shifted away from her. “Sure. That’s fine. But you need to wear it to the hospital tonight”
“Okay, you keep it until we get to the hospital. I’ll put it on then.”
“Don’t you want to wear it to your sister’s tonight?”
“No! They know the marriage isn’t real. It would look bad for me to be wearing diamonds that—no. I don’t want to wear the bracelet until I have to.”
Zach went back to the hotel to shower and change for their evening, irritation filling him. He’d given women diamonds before, in particular, his wife. Every time, the women had shown a lot of enthusiasm... and gratitude...for his gift.
They’d never been shoved back at him.
And the commotion he’d created because he’d bought a few articles of clothing for the boys was absurd. He’d understood a little better Susan’s reaction, however, as he’d listened to Rosa. And felt a little less justified. Rosa had told him she had two other children, smaller than Manuel, who had received nothing. That bothered Zach. But he couldn’t offer money to Rosa. That would be crass.
Susan and her family and friends were definitely
new experiences for him. But it was because of her that he was in this situation.
When he arrived back at the apartment, Paul and Susan were ready. Paul was wearing one of his new shirts, jeans and cowboy boots. Susan had changed into the powder blue knit outfit she’d worn the first day he’d met her.
She looked beautiful, as always.
The tennis bracelet and wedding ring would add a touch of sparkle, but, of course, she was wearing neither. Irritation filled him.
“Can’t you at least wear your wedding ring to your sister’s?” he asked as he started the car.
She hesitated, than opened her purse and took out the ring, putting it on her finger. “I’m afraid it might slide off.”
Paul spoke from the back seat. “Will Ginny and James be there tonight, too, Susan?”
“More family?” Zach demanded, irritated all over again that these people insisted on meeting him. As if the wedding were real.
“Yes, Paul. Those are the names of Maggie and Josh’s children,” Susan added for Zach’s benefit. “Nate is Kate and Will’s little boy.”
The short drive was silent after that exchange. Until they pulled into Kate and Will’s driveway.
“Nice place. What does the man do for a living?”
“He owns Hardison Enterprises. And Josh has his own security firm. They live near here.”
Zach bit his tongue, but he wanted to know why
Susan was living in such a poor section of town when her relatives were obviously loaded.
After they’d entered the house and introductions were made all around, Susan joined the other women in the kitchen, Paul went upstairs to play with his cousins and Zach found himself sitting in the den with the two husbands.
After generalities were exchanged, he asked the question that had been bothering him. “I hope you’ll excuse the impertinence of the question, but if you two are doing so well, why is Susan living in that apartment? Don’t you know that’s not a safe neighborhood?”
He wasn’t sure what reaction he’d expected, though both men had seemed decent enough, but laughter wasn’t it.
Will Hardison turned to his brother-in-law, Josh, as he chuckled. “It’s clear he doesn’t know Susan very well.”
Josh agreed. “You’re right. If he did, he wouldn’t ask that question.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Before either of us knew the girls, Kate and Maggie tried to share what they had with Susan. She wouldn’t take anything from them.”
“Since then,” Josh continued, “we’ve all tried to help out Susan, but she’s too stubborn and proud. We thought we would be able to pay for Megan’s room and board and had plans to tackle Susan about it this week. Now we can’t even do that.”
“We’ve even offered her a place to live. She won’t
accept.” Will shook his head. “All three of Mike O’Connor’s girls are hardheaded.”
“Why did they just get together eighteen months ago? Susan’s tight-lipped about her past.”
“Her mother left Mike after about six months. She was one mixed-up lady,” Josh explained. “Never told him about Susan.”
“Then—men Mike isn’t Megan and Paul’s father?”
“Nope. And we don’t know who their fathers were.”
“Fathers?”
“Megan and Paul don’t have the same father. Susan knows that for sure, but that’s about all she knows. I only found out because I was doing the investigation. Susan doesn’t volunteer much about her life. But I gather it’s been a tough one.”
Zach frowned. He kept finding much to admire about Susan.
“If you can find a way to get her out of that hellhole she calls home, we’ll be glad to finance it,” Will added, watching Zach.
He squared his shoulders. “I don’t need financial help to take care of Susan. But, like you, I’ve not been offered much of a chance.”
The other two men nodded solemnly, in complete undersrending, which soothed Zach. It was nice to know he had some fellow sufferers.
Susan was surprised at how quickly the three men seemed to have established a friendship. The six
adults dined in perfect harmony. The children were fed upstairs by the full-time nanny that Kate and Will employed.
“Your ring is beautiful, by the way,” Kate offered during a lull in the conversation.
Susan blushed, automatically hiding her hand in her lap. “Thank you.”
“Don’t you like it?” Maggie asked.
“Of course I do. It’s just that...that since the marriage isn’t real—”
“The ceremony was fake?” Will asked, his brows rising.
“No!” Zach returned emphatically. “The ceremony was legal, performed by our minister.” Then he shrugged. “What’s more, Susan signed a prenuptial agreement that defined the terms of the marriage.”
Will chuckled, and Susan and Zach stared at him.
“Sorry. It’s just that Kate and I had an agreement, too. And look what happened to us.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Josh agreed. Susan was embarrassed at the warm look he shot his wife.
“What lawyer did you use, Susan?” Kate asked.
“Lawyer? I didn’t use a lawyer,” she assured her sister. She didn’t understand why Kate even asked that question.