My Favorite Husband

by Pam McCutcheon

  He glanced around at the possible candidates. It should be a woman, to make sure Amalia was the one who actually peed on the stick, or whatever she had to do. Kelly and Grace were out, for obvious reasons. “Candace, will you be my witness . . . and let us all know how it comes out?”

  “Of course,” Candace said.

  Chaz didn’t know why she was being so helpful, but he didn’t care. From the interest on Kelly’s face, at least his wife would stick around long enough to hear the results.

  His spirits rose. Once Kelly learned Amalia had lied about being pregnant, maybe she’d stay even longer so they could kiss and make up.

  Then a horrifying thought struck him. That is, if the test showed what he expected. What if it didn’t? What if Amalia was pregnant with another man’s child . . . ?

  16

  A niggle of doubt tickled Kelly’s conscience. If Chaz was so insistent on the pregnancy test, could it be because he knew he was right?

  Maybe. Then again, Amalia was equally as insistent that she was carrying his child. Who should Kelly believe?

  Well, it didn’t matter. The results of the pregnancy test should clear that question up. But . . . then what? If Chaz was telling the truth, did that mean Kelly should reconsider her decision?

  She shook her head in disbelief. She’d flip-flopped back and forth so much lately, she felt like a damned pancake. Never mind. She was too confused to even think about all that now. She’d just wait and see how she felt when the results were known. But one thing was for sure. She had to stop being wishy-washy and make a damned decision.

  Candace stood up and glanced at her watch. “I doubt the hotel gift store has a pregnancy test, so it’ll take me a little time to find a drugstore and get back here and perform the test with Amalia. Shall we meet back here in about an hour?”

  Chaz nodded. “Good idea.”

  “Why don’t you come with me?” Candace said to Amalia. And she must have taken pity on Chaz, for she added, “Your brothers can come, too.”

  Amalia pouted. “No. They must watch Chaz so he not get away.”

  Somehow, with the mere lift of an eyebrow, Candace managed to give the impression that Amalia’s suggestion was absurd. “You needn’t worry about that. Chaz is as interested in the outcome of this test as everyone else.” She glanced at Chaz and when he nodded, Candace added, “I promise he’ll be here when we return.”

  “That’s right,” Chaz said and headed for the door. “I’ll be in my room. Call me when you get back.”

  He opened the door but halted abruptly when he came face to face with Amalia’s brothers. “Explain it to them,” he said curtly.

  Amalia did so with poor grace as she and Candace exited and the brothers followed.

  Once Chaz headed off to his room, Kelly didn’t see any reason to stick around, so she left as well.

  “Can I come with you?” Scott called after her.

  “Sure.” It would help pass the time.

  As Kelly and her brother settled themselves in her room to wait, Scott smiled and asked, “So, which way do you want this to go?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you want her to be pregnant or not?”

  “How can you ask that?” Kelly said in disbelief. “Why would I want her to be pregnant?”

  “Because if she is, that would mean you’re right about Chaz. Or would it?”

  Confused, Kelly said, “I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

  Scott shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter what the test shows, does it? If she is pregnant, then that’s no guarantee that Chaz is the father.”

  “True, but—”

  “And if she’s not pregnant, that’s no guarantee that Chaz didn’t sleep with her.”

  She hadn’t thought about it that way. “You’re right.” Her shoulders slumped. Either way, she still wouldn’t have conclusive answers.

  “Which means you still have a decision to make.”

  “No, I already made it.”

  Scott shook his head. “Not really. That was a knee-jerk reaction. I know it seemed like a good idea at the time to renounce both of them, but is that what you really want? To spend the rest of your life alone?”

  Kelly lifted her chin. “What makes you think I’d be alone?”

  His mouth quirked in a sad smile. “I don’t really, but it’s hard enough finding one person in a lifetime who seems like the perfect mate. You found two. Do you want to tempt fate by trying for a third?”

  He had a point, but she hadn’t expected her carefree brother to espouse such a view. Was he lonely? She had concentrated so much on herself over the past few years, she didn’t really know how her brother’s love life was going. “Maybe not.”

  He grinned, his uncharacteristic melancholy suddenly wiped away. “Besides, you’ve already trained these two husbands. It’s be a shame to have to start all over again with a new one.”

  Kelly laughed at the thought of training Chaz to do anything. “What do you suggest?”

  He pondered for a moment. “Can I assume Spencer is out of the running?”

  “Yes, I don’t really love him. And I told him so.”

  “Do you love Chaz?”

  She hesitated. That was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? “Yes, but I don’t know if I can live with him.”

  “Why not?”

  That’s right—Scott didn’t know. “Chaz is planning to leave for Turkey right away.” Her mouth twisted in a grimace. “But he waited to drop that little bombshell until after we made love and I was naked in his arms.”

  Scott winced. “Too much information, Sis.”

  “Well, you asked. See why I’m so upset?”

  “Can’t you work it out somehow?”

  “No. He won’t stay here and look for another job, and I can’t go through losing him again.” She gave Scott a pleading look. “You know better than anyone what I went through. I can’t spend my life waiting for him, never knowing if he’ll come home or not.”

  Scott nodded thoughtfully. “That is a problem. But I see why he doesn’t want to stay.”

  “What?” She stared at him in disbelief. “I thought you were on my side.”

  “I am, always, but I can see his side, too.”

  “What side?”

  “You know Chaz is a thrill seeker. He’s never going to be happy with a nine to five job. If he stays, he’ll be bored out of his skull and miserable.”

  Scott didn’t get it. “If he loves me, he’ll stay and work it out.”

  “If you love him, you’ll let him go,” Scott countered.

  “Hell, he’s going anyway. I can’t stop him.”

  “You’re at a standstill, then.”

  “Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. You’re very glib, but the fact is, I’m not enough incentive for him to stay here.” And that still hurt.

  “No, I think it’s the opposite,” Scott said softly. “I think you’re too much for him.”

  She scowled at him. “That might sound good, but it doesn’t make sense.”

  Scott shrugged. “What I mean is, if he stayed, he would try to please you, but he’d be so miserable, he wouldn’t be able to do that, and that would hurt him. It’s obvious the man adores you.”

  “Is it?” she asked in a small voice. “I haven’t seen much evidence of it.”

  “Yeah, right. Pull the other one. What do you call the fact that he dressed up like a make-believe character and climbed up three stories to romance you? Sounds like love to me.”

  “Well, maybe.” He had tried awfully hard, hadn’t he. Could Scott be right?

  “Hell, even Amalia sees it or she wouldn’t have had to call in her personal bodyguards to keep him away from you.”

  She hadn’t looked at it that way. . . .

  “You have to decide if you believe him or not.”

  “I’ve tried to believe him, I really have,” Kelly protested. “But how could he have resisted Amalia for five years? Just look at he
r.”

  “I have. And I’m sick of her after only a few days. Can you imagine what five years with that woman would do to a man? I’m surprised he’s sane. Hell, I’m surprised he’s still heterosexual.”

  “But—”

  “And any man who loves you as much as Chaz obviously does wouldn’t give a piece of work like that a second look.”

  “You really think so?” And why did she sound so damned needy when she asked that?

  “Of course I do,” he said in exasperation. “Think about it. When he was with you, did he ever stray? Or even look at another woman?”

  “No. . . .”

  “Then why would you assume he did with Amalia? People don’t change that much.”

  She hesitated, unable to answer his question, especially since he had a good point.

  “Why are you so willing to believe the worst of him?” Scott persisted.

  “I don’t know.” Kelly paused, thinking. Had she taken his love for granted? Was she being too harsh? “Chaz says I’m punishing him for being gone so long.”

  “Are you?”

  She’d thought it absurd when Chaz said it, but there could be a kernel of truth there. “Maybe.”

  “Then don’t you think he’s been punished enough?”

  She couldn’t think straight. Too many things were floating around in her head. Unlike the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, Kelly couldn’t believe six impossible things before breakfast, let alone a dozen conflicting ideas.

  But one thing was clear. Scott was right. Chaz was a very honorable man. And if that was true, she had to believe Chaz was innocent of everything Amalia had accused him of.

  Relief filled her. Of course he was. If Kelly had been thinking clearly, she never would have doubted him.

  “Okay,” she admitted. “So I believe Chaz is telling the truth. So what? That still doesn’t change the fact that he’s leaving me again.”

  “Then give him a reason to stay.”

  “I did the other night. Several times. Hell, it was the best sex of our lives. If that doesn’t make him stay, what will?”

  Scott held his hands out in a warding gesture. “I so don’t want to know this.”

  “He’s leaving,” she said again, more firmly. “And it’ll break my heart.”

  “Then give him another reason to stay,” he repeated.

  “Like what? Pretend I’m pregnant like Amalia did? Even if I was willing to lie like that, which I’m not, it’s way too early to tell.” Besides, she was on birth control because of her wedding to Spencer.

  “No, I mean help him find something else here to interest him. A fun job.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Something dangerous like testing parachutes, or teaching people to bungee jump . . . or working at the post office. Something that would satisfy his desire for adventure but still keep him here.”

  “I’d still be scared to death he’d kill himself,” she protested.

  “Well, maybe. But at least he’d be here, and happy. Which would you rather have? Chaz in Turkey where you have no idea what kind of danger he might be in . . . or Chaz here in a known danger?”

  “I’d rather not have him in danger at all,” she snapped. That was the whole problem. “It’s the waiting and worrying that kills me. The not knowing.”

  “And if he stayed here in a boring job just because you asked it of him, would you love the man he would become?”

  Damn Scott—he was right. Chaz wouldn’t be the man she loved if he weren’t impulsive, flamboyant, larger than life. If he lost that, he wouldn’t be himself anymore. And she would miss that terribly.

  For the first time in the past few days, she was absolutely certain about something. She wanted Chaz in her life, no matter what. They’d find some way to work it out together. They had to.

  Now she just had to find Chaz and convince him.

  * * *

  As Candace drove back to the hotel with all three Garcias in her car, she marveled at the difference in them. She had thought she would feel uneasy with the large men around, but once Chaz was out of the picture, they relaxed and became more human.

  As the two men joked and teased their little sister who they clearly adored, it became obvious the family was very close. It went quite a ways toward explaining why they were so adamant about Amalia getting married, even if the man she wanted didn’t want her.

  Their demeanor changed as they came back to the hotel and headed back upstairs, where the brothers became stern sentries of their sister’s virtue once more. And when Spencer let Candace and Amalia into the suite, the Garcia brothers automatically took up positions outside the door without even being asked.

  “Sorry,” Candace said to Spencer with an apologetic smile. “But can we use your bathroom for this?” Candace was reluctant to let any of this madness into her room. Besides, everyone was returning to his room to learn the results of the test anyway.

  “Of course,” Spencer said. “I’ll just, uh, go . . .” He waved vaguely in the vicinity of the open door to the hallway.

  “It’s all right,” Candace said in amusement. “You don’t have to help.”

  He turned red. “I didn’t think . . .” Shaking his head and giving Amalia’s brothers a speculative glance, he said, “Never mind. I just need to get some . . . uh, shaving cream from downstairs. I’ll be right back.”

  Candace followed Amalia into the bathroom, but luckily, she seemed to recognize what was necessary and did it without Candace having to explain. A little uncomfortable with the situation, Candace turned her back and busied herself with reading the box while Amalia followed the instructions.

  When she finished, Candace said, “Okay, now we need to wait a few minutes.” They waited in an uncomfortable silence while Candace wondered what to say to Amalia if the test turned out negative, which she rather suspected it would. When time was finally up, Candace said, “Let’s check it.”

  Amalia picked up the tester and handed it to Candace, beaming. “See, I am pink.”

  Surprised, Candace looked at it, then patted Amalia’s hand. “Yes, there is one pink line, but that doesn’t mean you’re pregnant.”

  “Why not?”

  Candace showed her the box. “See? You must have two pink lines, to form a plus sign. You’re not pregnant, Amalia.”

  Amalia frowned, but she didn’t seem terribly disappointed or surprised.

  “I think you knew that all along, didn’t you?” Candace asked gently.

  Amalia shrugged and wouldn’t meet her gaze.

  “Why did you say you were?” Candace asked. What had it gained her?

  Amalia sighed. “You don’t understand.”

  “Can you explain it to me?”

  “Why?” she asked, pouting.

  “I’d like to understand.” Candace needed to know if lying was a way of life for this woman or if she had a good reason for what she’d done.

  When Amalia hesitated, Candace added, “I don’t want to judge you, I just want to know why you said you were pregnant.” To know if she could trust her enough to hire her.

  Amalia sank down on the edge of the tub and ran her hands through her long tangle of hair, her expression somber. “I come home after five years with Chaz in the jungle, and you know the first question my mother ask me?”

  “What?”

  “She ask me when do we get married.” Amalia threw her hands in the air. “What can I say? I know she is right. I live with him for many years, we should marry.”

  “But it doesn’t work that way in our culture,” Candace said gently.

  “But my mother, she not understand that. It is a matter of honor. Honor for me. Honor for my family.”

  “But there is no honor in breaking up another woman’s marriage. You can see Chaz loves his wife. Can’t you give him up?”

  Amalia shook her head. “I cannot go home without a husband. My mother throw me out.”

  “Don’t you have a job that would help you live on your own?
” Surely she wasn’t totally dependent upon her family.

  “No. My brother Francisco get me the guide job to work with him. I hate that job. All the time work in the jungle.” She made a face. “I never go back there again. I must marry Chaz.”

  Candace was beginning to comprehend a little more. Amalia did have a good reason for insisting on marriage, at least in her mind. No wonder she’d pursued Chaz so assiduously. “Do you want to go home?”

  Amalia shrugged. “I haf no choice.”

  “But what if I gave you a choice? What if I offered you a job here, in Colorado?”

  Amalia eyed her suspiciously. “What kind of job?”

  “One where you would wear lovely clothes, make lots of money, and have your picture in magazines all over the world.”

  “Such a job . . . it is possible?”

  “Yes, it is. I’m the publisher for Pizzazz, and we’re looking for a young woman to represent our magazine, someone who is the essence of Pizzazz.”

  “What is this . . . pizzazz?”

  “It is what you have—excitement, a zest for living, a love for the finer things in life.”

  “I can get a visa?” Amalia asked doubtfully.

  “Yes, of course. Who knows, you might become a supermodel.”

  Amalia’s eyes widened—that word she knew. To entice her even more, Candace added, “Why, you might become so famous you could even hire your brothers as bodyguards.”

  “Oh, no,” Amalia said. “Juan is a teacher at the university and Gilbert owns three restaurantes. They would not like to be my bodyguards.”

  Candace blinked. That would teach her to judge on appearances. “Well, will you think about the job? If you take it, you’ll have men fawning all over you. You won’t need Chaz.” Or her mother’s approval.

  “I think about it,” Amalia said, the wheels already seeming to turn in her head.

  Good. Maybe the lure of the job would get her mind off Chaz, so he could reunite with Kelly and free Spencer. Candace patted Amalia’s hand. “I’m glad to hear it because I just heard a knock. It sounds like the others are arriving and I’ll need to tell them the truth.” She checked her watch. They were a little early.