Fergus’s eyes widened. “Why ever not? What in hell is going on here?”
“I suggest that Sharon and I tell you about it, and then you can talk to Tracey,” Anna said. “Forcing her to be here will only make things worse.”
“That’s fine with me,” Fergus replied. “It was Sharon who wanted you both present.” He looked at Sharon. “Is that all right with you?”
She was too drained to offer any resistance. “Yes,” she said between sniffles, “but let’s sit down first.” Her knees felt rubbery and she wasn’t sure how much longer they were going to hold her up.
Sharon and Fergus settled themselves on the sofa, and Anna chose the wing chair.
There was a rather strained silence as each waited for one of the others to start. Finally Fergus impatiently broke the tension. “Anna, suppose you tell me what everyone is so unwilling to talk about.”
Anna leaned back and crossed her long, slender legs. She hadn’t yet changed from the blue suit she’d worn to work. “Tracey confessed to me this morning that she’s nervous about living in the same house with Sharon now that Sharon’s been charged with killing her boss.”
Fergus stiffened and bit back an oath as he forced himself to be quiet and not interrupt.
“Unfortunately Sharon overheard the conversation,” Anna continued, “and she insists that she’ll move out immediately.”
Fergus winced with the onslaught of empathetic pain he felt for Sharon. It was almost as if he were connected to her by a physical bond. Dear Lord, she’d been dealing with this alone all day. Why hadn’t she told him this morning? Didn’t she even want his emotional support? How many more of these continuing setbacks could she bear? How much more of her silent rejection of him could he stand?
He glanced at her, huddled next to him on the sofa, fighting back the tears and sobs she had every right to give vent to. It was sheer agony not to reach out and hold her, comfort her, even though she apparently didn’t want his comfort, but if he did he’d lose his objectivity completely, and right now she needed his expertise more than she needed his empty assurances that everything would be all right. They both knew it wouldn’t.
“No way are you moving out,” he said between clenched teeth.
“But I can’t stay here,” Sharon protested. “Tracey’s scared to death of me. She’s afraid I’ll murder her in her sleep.”
“Then it’s up to Tracey to move.” His tone made it plain that he was not open to argument. He looked at Anna. “How do you feel about this? Are you afraid of Sharon, too?”
“Of course not,” she said scornfully. “Sharon couldn’t harm anybody or anything, and I won’t hear of her moving out. The two of us have shared this house for almost four years. I consider her more like a sister than just a friend.”
Again Sharon’s tears started to flow, and Fergus could no longer resist the urgent need he had to touch her, however lightly. He reached over and took her hand in his.
But before he could say anything Anna continued, “I agree with you that if anyone moves out it will be Tracey. She’s the newcomer. She’s been with us for over a year and I deeply resent her lack of loyalty. Everyone who knows Sharon at all knows she’s not capable of committing any crime, least of all murder.”
A sob convulsed Sharon, and she squeezed Fergus’s hand in an obvious effort to control her emotions. “Your...your faith in me means more than I can ever tell you, Anna. You’re the closest thing I have to family and I love you, but I really think it’s me who should leave. After all, I’m the one who’s in trouble.”
Fergus felt as if Sharon had slapped him. How could she say that Anna was the closest thing she had to family? He was her family! He was closer to her than Anna could ever be. Had been ever since her parents had been killed in a boating accident shortly after he and Sharon had become lovers. From then on he’d been father, brother, lover and husband to her.
How could anyone else be closer than that?
But, of course, he’d forfeited that relationship when he’d gotten involved with Elaine. He’d never stopped loving Sharon, but she couldn’t believe him then and she wouldn’t believe him now. She hadn’t even contacted him when she was arrested for a murder she didn’t commit, even though he was recognized as one of the top defense attorneys in the country.
His attention snapped back to the subject at hand when Anna spoke.
“You’re in trouble, but it’s through no fault of your own.”
“That’s right,” Fergus agreed. “And if you move now it’s going to look like both of your housemates think you’re guilty and have kicked you out. That would be a public-relations disaster, and I can’t allow it. I think it’s about time we had a talk with this young woman. She’s hidden in her room long enough. Do one of you want to go get her or shall I?”
Anna chuckled and stood up. “I think that in the best interest of all of us I’d better do it,” she said, and left.
Sharon pulled her hand out of Fergus’s and shivered as she folded her arms across her chest. She looked so forlorn and alone that all his good intentions dissolved, and he reached for her and snuggled her in his embrace. She didn’t protest, but buried her face in his shoulder and continued to tremble.
He caressed the top of her head with his lips. “Honey, I’m afraid you’re going to be sick if you stay this keyed up. Do you have a tranquilizer you could take?”
She shook her head. “I don’t take pills. They’re nothing but a crutch, and it’s too easy to become addicted.”
He should have known. While they were married she wouldn’t even take an analgesic for menstrual cramps.
“That’s true up to a point,” he agreed, “but sometimes crutches are necessary in order to give the body, or the nerves, a respite so healing can take place.”
She snuggled closer and he tightened his arms until her soft breasts flattened against his chest and her thigh crushed against his. He knew she was too upset to be aware of the intimacy of the contact, but he gloried in it.
He also silently cursed the swift quickening of his body, which was going to torment as well as embarrass him, since there was no way he could act on it, even if they were alone. She’d be outraged if he made a pass, and he couldn’t chance that. Not yet. Not until he found a way to convince her to trust him again.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said, “but I don’t have anyone to rely on but myself, and I need all my wits about me. I can’t afford to dull my mind with drugs.”
He cringed at her unthinking cruelty. If she’d deliberately set out to hurt him she couldn’t have done it more thoroughly.
“What do you mean you don’t have anyone to rely on?” he demanded. “You’ve got me.” He heard the pain in his tone, but couldn’t disguise it.
He felt her muscles tighten just before she raised her head and looked at him. His expression must have given away his inner torment, because she immediately looked contrite.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean... That is, I’m terribly grateful to you for coming down here to defend me, but I was talking about family, or long-time close friends. Ever since...uh...since the divorce I’ve had to grow up and take care of myself because there’s no one to do it for me.”
Fergus knew he deserved her rebuff, but he wasn’t going to accept it without protest. After all, it was his efforts to take care of her that caused most of the friction in their marriage.
He took her by the shoulders and sat her up and away from him. “Dammit, Sharon, I’m your family! And although I can’t blame you for not believing it, I’m also your best friend. The divorce didn’t nullify that. I’ll always be there for you. All you have to do is let me know you need me.
“Who else would you turn to if not me? You’re not involved with another man, are you?”
He knew he was coming on too strong, being unreasonable, but he couldn’t help it.
For a moment she looked stunned, then she ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. “No, but—”
“H
ave you been in the past?”
He knew immediately that question was a mistake. Her dewy eyes hardened and her jaw clenched.
“That’s none of your business!”
His heart sank. Did her reluctance to answer mean that she had been involved with a man, or men, in the past few years? Or was she just offended by his asking?
He was saved from persisting and making a further fool of himself by the sound of footsteps on the hardwood floor of the hall. Anna appeared in the doorway, followed by Tracey.
It was obvious that Tracey had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her makeup was streaked with tears. Fergus knew he’d have to handle her carefully. He didn’t want her to fall apart on him or, worse, to get mad at him and take it out on Sharon by disclosing her fear to her friends and the media.
Anna walked across the room and sat down, but Tracey stood just inside the door, her head bowed and her gaze lowered. She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, and looked like a repentant schoolgirl. Fergus devoutly hoped she’d never be called by the prosecution if this case went to trial. All she’d have to do is get on the stand and the jury would sympathize with her before she even opened her mouth.
“Come on in, Tracey, and sit down,” he said as kindly as he could manage.
Without raising her head to look at him, she walked over and sat down on the raised hearth of the fireplace.
Fergus stayed seated beside Sharon as he talked. “I understand you no longer want to live in the same house with Sharon.” He kept his tone low and slightly sympathetic.
As if on command, one tear fell from each eye and Tracey sniffled. “I’m...I’m sorry.” She spoke barely above a whisper.
“There’s no need to be sorry,” he said. “If that’s the way you feel, then I agree that you should leave.”
That brought her to attention. She raised her head and looked at him. “Me! But I thought...”
“Sharon and Anna are even willing to refund your prorated rent for the rest of this month to help with your moving expenses,” he assured her, and saw the looks of unpleasant surprise her two housemates threw his way. “Do you have relatives in the area where you can stay until you find another apartment?”
Her eyes widened. “Yes. No. That is... Sharon said she’d move out.”
Fergus was having a hard time maintaining his tone of gentle concern when what he really wanted to do was yell at the spoiled brat, who was obviously used to everyone catering to her wishes. “Oh, but that was before she understood her legal rights. She and Anna were here for several years before you joined them, and neither of them has any intention of leaving, so that puts the ball in your court.”
Tracey was no longer meek and submissive. “You mean I have to leave?” she asked uncertainly.
“Of course not,” he answered softly. “You’re welcome to stay. Did you say you have relatives living nearby?”
Tracey looked stunned. “Well, yes, fairly close. My parents live just across the river in Mascoutah, Illinois, but—”
“That should be an easy commute,” he said thoughtfully. “They wouldn’t mind if you moved back home, would they?”
“No, but I don’t want to—”
Fergus forced a smile. “Good. Then it’s settled. Sharon can stay at my suite at the hotel tonight while you start packing.”
He caught Sharon’s mutinous expression.
“Fergus, I can’t—”
He gave her a warning glance, but kept his tone amiable. “It’ll be all right. You’ll have your own room, and after all, we were married at one time. Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry, and whatever it is you have cooking in the oven smells delicious. Will it be long before dinner’s ready?”
Tracey stood up, looking somewhat stunned at the turn of events. “Ten minutes, fifteen at the most,” she said. Then, for the first time since she’d come into the room, she looked directly at Sharon. “Please don’t be mad at me, Sharon,” she pleaded.
She looked so unhappy that Sharon couldn’t be cross with her. “I’m not mad at you, Tracey,” she assured her roommate. “But I am sorely disappointed by your lack of trust in me.”
With a sob, Tracey hurried out of the room, leaving the other three sitting in silence.
Sharon was the first to break it. “Fergus, you could have at least discussed it with me before you told her I’d stay with you at the hotel tonight. I don’t like that idea.”
She kept her voice low so it wouldn’t carry.
He shrugged and followed her example. “I know you don’t. It’s uncomfortable for me, too, but it was all I could think of on the spur of the moment. If you’d discussed this with me earlier we could have decided on a plan of action, but since you didn’t I had to improvise.”
She knew he was right. She’d made a mistake in judgment and had no right to blame him if she didn’t agree with his decisions.
It was Anna who brought up the next objection. “Do we really have to give her this month’s rent back?” she asked softly. “After all, it was her decision to leave. Nobody asked her to.”
Fergus grinned. “That’s not altogether true,” he said. “I more or less forced the issue, although I doubt she’ll ever catch on, but it’s important that she continue to think of you both as her friends. She’s a self-centered airhead, but she’s also expert at playing on people’s emotions. If she thinks she’s being treated unfairly she could do a lot of damage to Sharon’s case. I’ve had experience with her type.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Anna said, “but I hope it doesn’t take us too long to find another tenant. It’s tough for Sharon and me to split the rent just two ways. Especially if Sharon isn’t getting paid during her suspension.”
The mention of her suspension brought another wave of despair to Sharon, but Fergus’s reply eased it.
“I promise you, Anna, Sharon will be able to keep up her share of the household expenses. I’ll talk to the hotel’s lawyers in the morning, and I also have a solution to your lack of a third tenant—”
“Dinner’s ready,” Tracey yelled from the dining room, interrupting the discussion.
“We’ll be right there,” Anna called, then turned her attention back to Fergus. “You were saying?”
He shook his head. “We’ll go into that tomorrow,” he said, and stood. “There’s not time now, and besides, I think I’d better discuss my idea with Sharon first. She doesn’t like for me to make decisions for her.”
He reached out his hand to her and pulled her up to stand beside him, leaving her to wonder just what devilish plot he was going to charm her into agreeing to next.
* * *
After dinner, while Anna and Fergus did the dishes, Tracey halfheartedly started packing her belongings, and Sharon changed into slacks and a blouse, then gathered up the things she’d need for her overnight stay at the hotel and tossed them into her small suitcase.
It was a little after nine by the time Fergus and Sharon arrived at the hotel, and so far neither of them had alluded to their earlier conversation. She knew him well enough to know that he’d open the discussion when he was good and ready and not before. As for her, she was emotionally exhausted and wasn’t sure she could handle an argument if that’s what it became.
When he unlocked the door to his suite and stood back for her to precede him she had mixed emotions. She knew she shouldn’t have agreed to this. It was not only unwise, but dangerous.
She hadn’t realized how dangerous until she’d felt the leap of joy that flooded through her when Fergus told Tracey that Sharon would spend tonight at the hotel with him.
Oh, she’d managed to tamp it down and protest, but it flared up again when he overrode that protest. She hadn’t even put up a fight, but meekly, even thankfully, had submitted.
Now they were going to be closely confined all night in these two rooms. How was she going to sleep knowing he was just on the other side of the wall? On Wednesday night when she’d stayed there she’d been so
shocked and terrified that sleep had been a welcome escape, but after two days in the company of the man who was her ex-husband, her defender and her protector, she knew that she still loved him as totally as she had while they were married.
As Sharon swept past Fergus and into the living room of his suite he felt a profound sense of relief. All the way over he’d been afraid she’d change her mind and insist on checking in alone at another hotel, or taking a separate room by herself at this one, but she hadn’t.
So why was he relieved? Having her share these two rooms with him would guarantee him a hellish night. He’d spend the rest of the evening striving to keep his hands off her, and the remainder of the night fighting the overwhelming temptation to join her in her bed and seduce her into making love with him.
Just the thought of it made him shiver with desire and escalated the tension headache that had been building all evening.
His memory of their uninhibited lovemaking during their courtship and marriage was only too vivid. Her passion had matched his own, and the result was combustible. They’d gone up in flame so often it was a wonder they didn’t have scars.
But, of course, they did have scars. At least he did, and he was certain she did, too. Not from the fire that had consumed them during those happy times, but from the holocaust that had ripped them apart when his surprising and totally unwelcome attraction for another woman had blurred his judgment and thrown him a curve. A curve he’d fumbled badly.
His wounds had only partially healed during the intervening years, and now that Sharon was back in his life again, no matter how tenuously, they tended to tear open a little more during each encounter, until they were once more raw and bleeding.
If it was painful for him it must be agony for Sharon. He’d not only wronged and humiliated her at the time of their divorce, but now she was charged with a murder she didn’t commit and she was forced to depend on him for her very life.
He knew she didn’t trust him, would probably never trust him again, but still she was totally dependent on his skill and knowledge of the law to save her from a terrible miscarriage of justice.
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