A Family For Ronnie (Harlequin Treasury 1990's)

by Julie Caille

  Alicia inhaled a deep breath of sultry summer air and smiled to herself. Thanks to The World of Pooh—a gift from her to Ronnie—their evening together had gone better than she’d expected. At first the child had been distant and uninterested in the book, but his natural curiosity had taken over when she’d started to read aloud. By the time Pooh had fallen out of the honey tree, Ronnie had been cuddled next to her on the sofa, enthralled. And for the first time in her life, she’d come close to knowing what it felt like to be a real mother.

  Displaying the usual energy of a child, Ronnie scampered ahead, peering at the various species of exotic birds with their bright, colorful plumage. “Hey, Uncle Luke, look at this one!” he exclaimed. “Boy, is it funny! What kind of bird is it?”

  Alicia moved along the fence to stand next to her excited nephew, who was staring with widened eyes at a peculiar-looking creature with a huge white-and-gold beak. Luke joined her at the child’s side, but to her surprise he did not answer the question.

  Alicia scanned the small sign affixed to the wire mesh that contained the bird. “It’s a Javan Rhinoceros Hornbill,” she told Ronnie. “Well, that makes sense, doesn’t it? The beak looks like a rhino’s horn.” As they moved from cage to cage, Alicia continued to read the identifying signs, but Luke remained curiously silent. She glanced at him with a frown. “Luke, are you all right? The heat isn’t bothering you, is it?”

  “No,” he said, not moving. “Is it bothering you?”

  She shook her head. “You just seem kind of quiet, that’s all. I thought maybe you weren’t feeling well.”

  “I’m fine.” His firm tone invited no further inquiries.

  Alicia sighed and looked back at Ronnie, who had begun to flap his arms and screech for the apparent edification of a large king vulture. As the vulture stared back in haughty silence, Luke strode over and lifted Ronnie high into the air.

  “He says you’re hurting his ears,” Luke told the little boy. “He says a majestic bird like him would never make a horrible noise like that.”

  Ronnie giggled. “How do you know what he’s saying?”

  “I just know.”

  “Okay, then what’s the rhino bird saying?”

  “Let’s go see.” Shifting Ronnie so he rode piggyback, Luke walked back to the Javan Rhinoceros Hornbill and stood very still. “Can you hear him? He’s saying, ‘Oh, woe is me, woe is me. This big beak is sooo heavy, you should all feel verrry sorry for me.’”

  Ronnie found this hilarious, and from then on insisted that Luke put words into the mouths of every bird or animal they saw. Alicia joined in, and for a while they were laughing so hard that passersby turned and smiled, no doubt thinking them a happy family.

  After more than an hour in the August sun, they headed for the gaily colored snack bar located near the Hippo House. They’d viewed everything from lions and giraffes to lemurs and tamarins, and even Ronnie was ready for a break.

  Bypassing the tables with their red, orange and green umbrellas, they carried their drinks to a shady spot of grass and sat down. As they sipped their sodas, Alicia decided that the excursion had been good for Luke. Stretched out as he was, with the weight of his torso supported by his elbows and his eyes holding a faraway expression, he looked like a man at peace with the world. Yet as she gazed at him, her own peace of mind fled, ousted by a sharp and tingling awareness.

  She made a tiny grimace. This had been happening all week, and there didn’t seem to be anything she could do about it. One minute she’d be fine and the next she’d be absurdly conscious of him, not only on the physical level, but on an emotional level, as well. And then she’d relive their kiss, replay every moment of it in her mind. She’d feel his strength and heat all over again, remember the urgent way he’d pressed against her and her own answering excitement.

  He must have sensed her looking at him, for he turned and looked at her quite suddenly. “What are you thinking about?”

  “You.” The honest reply just slipped out, and she wished she’d had time to fabricate an alternative.

  “Yeah?” His lips curved. “What about me?”

  “I was, uh, just wondering if you had a nice time last night.”

  “It was all right. I stopped by the hospital first—”

  “What do I do with this?” Ronnie interrupted, waving his empty paper cup.

  Luke gestured. “There’s a trash can over there.”

  “I’m hungry. Can I have an ice-cream sandwich? Pleeease?”

  Luke sat up and removed a dollar bill from his wallet. “Make sure you get a couple of napkins.”

  Alicia watched Ronnie skip over to the refreshment stand, then turned back to Luke. “How is Joey doing?”

  “He’s getting better. He was cracking jokes left and right. I stayed with him until Nora got there, then I went to work out at the fitness center.”

  “How long have you been doing that?” Again, he’d surprised her. She’d been so sure he’d have gone to Christina.

  “Three or four years,” he admitted with a grin. “Ever since I noticed I was getting flabby.”

  “You? Flabby?” Alicia had to smile. Idly, she glanced back over at Ronnie...or at the empty spot where the child had been. “Where’s Ronnie?”

  Luke’s head jerked around, and in a swift movement he levered himself to his feet. “Jeez, I don’t know. He was there a minute ago. Wait, there he is! What the—”

  Alicia grabbed her purse and scrambled up as Luke started down the sidewalk in a lithe, steady jog that would easily overtake Ronnie’s shorter steps. As she tossed the empty cups in the trash, she heard Luke call Ronnie’s name. The child did not turn or respond. In fact, he ran faster in the opposite direction.

  Bewildered, she hurried after them, her sandals slapping on the hard pavement. She saw Luke reach out to Ronnie, take him by the shoulders, but to her amazement the little boy resisted Luke’s attempt to check him.

  “No!” Ronnie yelled. “Let me go! Let me go!”

  When she caught up to them, Luke was trying to calm Ronnie down. “Hey, stop fighting me, squirt. Tell me what’s wrong. Come on, Ron, it’s me, your favorite uncle, remember?”

  “Let me go! I’ve got to go after her!” The child writhed and twisted, his legs kicking like small pistons.

  Alicia caught hold of Luke’s arm. “Better let him go before someone accuses us of kidnapping him.”

  Looking grim, Luke stepped back, hands lifted in mock surrender. “Okay, you talk to him then.”

  “Ronnie, love, who do you want to go after? Who did you see?” Alicia put an arm around the child’s shoulders. His whole body was shaking with sobs.

  “M-Mommy! I saw Mommy!”

  Alicia’s breath caught with dismay. “Oh, darling, that’s just not possible.”

  “I did, I did!”

  “Where did you see her?” Luke cut in.

  “There!” Ronnie pointed, tears streaming from his face. “It was her! I know it was!”

  Across the top of Ronnie’s head, the adults exchanged a dismayed look. “Why don’t we go take a look?” Luke suggested gruffly.

  Docile now, Ronnie allowed them each to take one of his hands. Alicia’s heart twisted with pain. Common sense told her they had to do this, but at the same time it seemed so horribly cruel.

  “What color was she wearing?” she asked.

  “Red. With white dots. She was with another lady.”

  Side by side, they walked past the rhinoceros area, alert for any sign of a woman in red. No luck. They passed by the bears, then circled around to the big cats. And then they saw her—a tall, slim blond woman wearing a pair of red shorts and a red-and-white polka-dot blouse. She stood in front of the snow leopard’s cage, next to a dark-haired woman with a stroller.

  From the back, she looked exactly like Caroline.

  At once, Ronnie tried to pull away, but just in that instant the woman turned around. Ronnie froze. “It’s not her,” he whispered in a numb little voice.

 
Luke scooped up the child and carried him to a nearby bench. Alicia followed and sat down next to them, stroking Ronnie’s back as he clutched his uncle, sobbing softly into Luke’s shirt.

  “That happens to me, too, darling,” Alicia murmured. “Sometimes I see someone who reminds me of your mom or dad. When you lose someone, I guess that’s bound to happen. And it hurts so much, doesn’t it?”

  This time she must have said the right thing, for although Ronnie turned his face away, his hand crept out and settled on her shoulder. Alicia took the little hand and held it between both of hers. She and Ronnie had taken a small step forward.

  Chapter Seven

  Ronnie’s bedroom door slammed so hard the walls of the house seemed to shudder.

  Anxiety spurted through Alicia as she selected a dress to wear to Brown Elementary’s first open house. Things had been going so well since that day at the zoo. Ronnie had seemed almost happy during most of the past two weeks.

  But a few days ago that had changed, and today was the worst day of all. From the moment he’d come home from school, Ronnie had been difficult. He’d sulked, refused to talk, played with his dinner and even been mean to poor Daffy.

  A large crash followed by a rapid succession of thuds indicated that the tantrum was far from over. Alicia grimaced, dismay feathering down her spine. Something had to be done; it sounded as if Ronnie was tearing his room apart.

  Thrusting her arms into the sleeves, she made a barefoot dash for Ronnie’s room, one hand clutching the front of the dress together as she sped down the hall. At the same time, the bathroom door jerked open and Luke emerged. Momentum propelled her straight into him, his superior size and weight forming a wall of solid muscle that stopped her short.

  Strong hands shot out to grip and steady her. Shirtless, with stray dabs of shaving cream clinging to his face, Luke stared first at her face, then down at the scantily clad length of her body. Transfixed, she stared back, blushing scarlet as his eyes raked over her, his pupils dilating with a recognizable flare of male lust. Somehow she’d lost her grip on the edges of the dress, which now hung open as though she’d intended to display herself for him. No slip shielded her. She felt as naked and vulnerable as she had in the bikini—more naked, in fact, for both her bra and panties were sheer, with only the tiniest swirls of white silk to protect her modesty. Worse, her paralyzed limbs couldn’t seem to move, so that the moment stretched into an agonizing eternity.

  Another loud crash shattered the spell.

  Releasing her, Luke strode down the hall and jiggled the knob on Ronnie’s door while Alicia hurriedly fastened the buttons on her dress. “Hey, Ron, let me in. I want to talk to you.”

  “No,” said a sullen, childish voice.

  “Why not?”

  “I told you I’m not going.”

  Luke tried the knob again. “Come on, we want to talk to your teacher. See the stuff you’ve been working on.”

  Alicia came up behind Luke, hoping the flush on her face had faded. “Ronnie, please let us in,” she pleaded. “Darling, we know you’re upset about something. We’re upset, too—even Daffy,” she added as the dog ambled over. “Daffy wants you to open the door. She’s unhappy because she knows you’re unhappy.”

  Silence answered her, then reluctant footsteps dragged across the floor. The door opened, and Ronnie stood looking up at them, his face set in a bleak expression. “I don’t want Daffy to be sad.”

  “Then tell Daffy what’s wrong,” Alicia said in a gentle voice.

  Ronnie shuffled over to the collie, who sat patiently, ears pricked, soft eyes puzzled. With a hiccup, he dropped down onto his knees and wound his arms around the animal’s neck. “Oh, Daffy, please don’t be sad. I’m sorry I made you sad.” For long seconds Ronnie said nothing more, then a whispered disclosure tumbled out. “Everybody else’s mom and dad are going to be there. But mine won’t because they’re dead.”

  The words should not have stunned Alicia the way they did. She should have guessed the problem. Better yet, she should have anticipated it. Berating herself, she looked helplessly at the top of Ronnie’s bent head, wishing that something in her limited experience with children had prepared her to deal with this.

  Luke’s expression told her he hadn’t expected it, either. She saw him close and open his eyes; then he went down on the floor and gathered the little boy onto his lap.

  “Well, Ron,” he said, his voice low and matter-of-fact, “I don’t have any words to say that can set things right. I wish I did. But I can’t bring your mom or dad back. They’re gone from this life, Ronnie. But I can promise you that wherever they are, they still love you and they’re still watching over you. And they expect me and your aunt Alicia to do our best for you.” He cleared his throat. “That’s what we’re trying to do. We want you to take us to your open house tonight because we’re proud of you and because we love you.”

  “Very much,” Alicia added, dropping down on her knees. She smoothed Ronnie’s soft blond hair, filled with tenderness for her sister’s child.

  Ronnie lifted his face. “I love you, Uncle Luke,” he said dolefully. “But I don’t love Aunt Alicia, and I don’t want to live with her.”

  Alicia sucked in a breath. The brutal words, uttered with such childlike candor, cut into her like a whip. “Excuse me,” she said after a shocked instant. “I have to finish getting dressed.”

  Unable to bring herself to look at Luke, she climbed to her feet and returned to her bedroom. Hands shaking, she leaned against the closed door and pressed her palms to her cheeks.

  Since their outing at the zoo, she believed she had breached Ronnie’s defensive wall. Except for those first few days at Luke’s store, she’d been here for him every day after school. She’d read to him, talked to him, taken him places. She’d demonstrated her growing love for him in every way she knew how. He had seemed to respond.

  Fraught with a sense of failure, Alicia sat on the bed and strapped on her sandals. All her life she had tried to please, to be perfect, but it seemed she was never quite good enough. She’d failed as a daughter, as a fiancée and as a wife. And now it seemed she’d failed again, this time as a mother figure. Her lips twisted. She might as well throw in the towel and go back to Boston. She wasn’t wanted here.

  Yet even as she went to the dresser and picked up her hairbrush, her fighting instinct took over. She couldn’t give up. Of course the child didn’t love her yet. Love didn’t happen overnight, or even in three short weeks. And one couldn’t expect a six-year-old to be tactful.

  A light tap intruded upon these thoughts.

  “Who is it?” Alicia set down the brush.

  “Ronnie.” The child’s voice was barely audible through the closed door.

  She walked over and opened it. “Yes?”

  “I—I’m sorry,” he quavered, his face pale and resolute. As though he had something else to say, his lips moved, but no sound came out. Instead, he spun around and fled down the stairs.

  While Alicia watched him retreat, Luke emerged from his room, one hand shoving his wallet into his back pocket while the other hand jingled his car keys. When he saw her, he walked over to her. Dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a plaid sport shirt, his raven black hair curling and damp from his shower, he looked so sinfully attractive her heart somersaulted. “Did he apologize?” he asked, his voice a bit gruff.

  She nodded and bit her lip.

  “Good.” Luke seemed to hesitate, then he brushed a hand down her arm. “I know he hurt you. I could see it in your face. I’m sorry.”

  Alicia shrugged. “I’ll get over it. Anyway, he’s the one who’s hurting. His needs come first, remember?”

  “But he’s got to learn he can’t say things like that.”

  “Even if he means it?”

  “He didn’t mean it. He’s become real fond of you.”

  “Fond isn’t the same as love,” she noted wryly.

  Luke lifted her chin with his fingers. “No,” he agreed, his eyes holdi
ng hers. “But it’s a first step, isn’t it?”

  * * *

  Children and parents swarmed like ants along the crowded halls of Brown Elementary. Voices mingled in a babble of enthusiasm, but Luke hardly noticed the noise as he strode along the corridor. Like a film rolling past, he kept getting flashes of the scene that had taken place earlier—Alicia in that incredibly sexy lingerie, Alicia touching Ronnie’s hair, Alicia flinching from the child’s unwitting cruelty.

  She walked silently beside him, her head held high and her face composed. He couldn’t help admiring how lovely and fresh she looked, how her pretty, floral dress conformed to her curves and accentuated her femininity. But though her face was calm, her expression had a shuttered quality that disturbed him.

  When they entered Ronnie’s classroom, she seemed to collect herself and come to life. She smiled and admired Ronnie’s artwork and the animal mobile hanging over his desk. She made polite conversation with the mother of the little boy who sat next to Ronnie. But Luke knew it was all an act. She was still hurting and hurting bad. And it bothered him.

  A lot.

  When Alicia wandered over to a group of pictures mounted on the wall, Luke trailed after her, intending to say something—anything—that would put a real smile on her face. Then he noticed what had drawn her attention—a photograph of a smiling, mustached chef holding a large plate of insects—and knew he had found an avenue.

  Moving up behind her, he tried to unscramble the large colored letters titling the exhibit. Many. That word he could manage, even though his recalcitrant brain put the “Y” at the front. The next word stopped him. Leopep? Staying calm, he struggled to look at the individual letters, to see them in the order that they really were, but they still fought him.

  Then a voice from across the room clued him in. “Many People in the World Eat These For Lunch,” a dad with a loud, deep voice read. Luke breathed a sigh of relief and transferred his attention back to Alicia.

  “Looks yummy,” he murmured, gazing at a picture of some sort of giant beetle held between someone’s teeth.