by SUE FINEMAN
“Sounds like an apology,” said Marvin. “Might I suggest chocolates?”
“I knew my grandfather kept you around for a good reason. By all means, add a box of chocolates.”
“Yes, sir.” Marvin looked quite pleased with himself.
Blade had always been a loner, self-sufficient and wary of being close to others. It felt strange to have people like Marvin at his beck and call and to have them depend on him for their livelihood.
Blade and Maria spent most of the morning going through the kitchen and figuring out which things to keep for themselves and which to put aside for Angelo and Teresa. Maria had left most of her kitchen things for Fred. Aside from the kids’ furniture and toys, she’d left with very little from her marriage. There wasn’t much worth fighting for, except her car and the kids.
Bridget was such a big help, Maria said, “I wish we could take you home with us, Bridget.”
Blade snapped his fingers. “I almost forgot. Maria, would you call Cara and see if she replaced Lila yet? If she hasn’t, she might have an opening for Bridget.”
Maria made the call and, after explaining the situation to Cara, handed the phone to Bridget. “It’s Cara Andrews, my cousin’s wife. She wants to talk with you about a job in Gig Harbor, Washington.”
After Bridget talked with Cara, she said, “I got the job, and she said she had a place for me to live. She said she won’t need me all the time, so I can work for you and Mr. Banner a couple days a week after you get married.”
Maria burst out laughing. Cara was playing matchmaker, like she did with Angelo and Teresa, and with Tony and Catherine. Mom pushed the others together, but Mom wasn’t any too sure that Blade would make good husband material. Maria wasn’t too sure about that herself, and neither was Blade.
After seeing the seventh set of dishes, all with more place settings than she’d ever seen before, Maria took charge. She chose one set for each of her married siblings, two sets for Blade, and the ones with the pink roses for her mother. She didn’t ask Blade what he thought, because she knew he had no idea what to do with dishes.
For a brief moment she felt guilty giving these things to her family, but if she didn’t, Blade would give it all away. The china was delicate and expensive, and she couldn’t see giving it to someone who wouldn’t appreciate it. Her family would cherish the fine china. She’d find a piece of art work to take back for Cara and Nick, and something else for Al, so they didn’t feel left out. Al was a long way from having a home of his own.
“We’ll let the movers do the packing, but I want you to supervise, Bridget.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Bridget had been making notes as they were sorting.
The house may be worth twelve million empty, but between the artwork, antique furniture, first edition and autographed books, delicate china and crystal, and other expensive furnishings, it was worth a great deal more furnished.
Marvin brought a florist box and a big box of candy to the kitchen, “Delivery for Mrs. Fredricks.”
Maria opened the flowers and smiled. Blade was going all out to convince her to marry him, and she’d enjoy the attention while it lasted. “Thank you, Blade. They’re beautiful.”
The last time she’d received flowers had been the day her divorce became final. Nick had sent them to her with a note of encouragement. As the only other member of the family who’d gotten divorced, he understood the significance of the day. Today a chapter ends, he’d put on the card. Here’s hoping the next chapters are happy ones.
<>
The rest of the day went by much too quickly. They found generations of treasures stored in trunks in the attic. Blade had gone downstairs to get something to drink when Maria found a beautiful English pram and a cradle that must have belonged to several generations of the Banner family. She had four beautiful, healthy children, but seeing the cradle reminded her of the four who didn’t make it.
Blade came upstairs and handed her a glass of iced tea. He sat on the floor beside her. “If we don’t make a baby, we’ll give the cradle to Angelo and Teresa or save it for Molly’s kids.”
She sipped her drink. “You’re talking as if it’s a foregone conclusion that we’ll marry.”
“Aside from the Harley, it’s the only thing I’ve ever really wanted.”
“Me or the inheritance?”
It took him a minute to answer. “It’s a package deal, Maria.”
Her heart broke a little. She’d known all along that this was about business, and he’d just confirmed it. “So you get control of your grandfather’s business and enough money to keep you in luxury for the rest of your life. What do I get out of this deal? Besides you.”
He looked up. “You’ll marry me?”
“I didn’t say that. I want to know what’s in it for me.”
“Besides hot sex every night?”
She stared him down. He set his glass on the floor and rubbed his hands on the legs of his jeans. “Time to deal, huh? Okay. What do you want? Money? Security? A baby? What?”
“I want a man I can trust, Blade. And I want to be sure you won’t leave me and my kids without the means to take care of ourselves if you wake up one morning and decide you can’t handle married life.”
The light went out of his eyes. “So this is what it comes down to. How much do you want, Maria?”
“You don’t have enough money to buy me.” She walked toward the attic door, and Blade jumped off the floor and caught her arm.
He turned her to face him. “What do you want, Maria?”
“I want a man to love me and my children. They need a real father, not a man who will forget they exist the minute he walks out the door. That means taking care of them until they’re grown.”
“Child support?”
“Nurturing. Teaching Molly what to look out for on her dates, telling her she’s pretty, and making her feel good about herself. Helping Robbie with his star gazing and encouraging him to be the best he can be. Playing catch with Andy and Jimmy, teaching them about being a man. If you can’t be a real husband and father, if all you want is your inheritance, then the kids and I are better off alone and broke. We’ll get by without your damn money, and you can live in your big new house all by yourself.”
He let go of her arm and Maria walked down the stairs. He didn’t know her well enough to know what was important to her. Blade saw a woman in need, one whose husband didn’t love her, and he thought he could use her to accomplish his goal.
Was there something wrong with her, or did she just choose the wrong men? Maria locked herself in her room and stretched out on the bed, trying to make sense of her relationship with Blade. The sex couldn’t be better. She’d never felt more desired or been more satisfied, but would it last? Or would he get his inheritance and then drop out of her life for good?
She’d watched the love between her parents grow stronger over the years, but maybe what she and Blade had right now was as close to love as it would ever get. Could she be satisfied with that?
Someone tapped on the door. “Maria, we need to talk,” said Blade. “Let me in, honey.”
“I can’t talk to you now.”
“Then let me hold you.”
As if that would help her to think.
A minute later, he was in the room. He’d come through the door connecting their bedrooms, a door she’d forgotten was there. He knelt beside the bed and stroked her hair as if soothing a sick child. “Honey, I don’t know how to be the kind of man you want. I’m like a feral cat that comes close enough to be fed, but not close enough to be picked up and petted. I don’t know what to do with these feelings between us, Maria. And I don’t know beans about raising kids.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I have four kids, and if you think I’m going to walk away from them like their father did, you can forget it.”
“I’m not asking you to walk away from them. Why do you think I had Al design a big house? It sure as hell wasn’t all for me. The house is for you and the kids a
nd your mother. And Daisy, of course. After we move, we’ll get her a cat of her own to play with.”
“We’d drive you crazy.”
“Okay, tell you what. If you don’t want me to be a regular husband and father, if you don’t want me to be part of your family, we’ll get married and not tell anyone except the attorney here in New York. I’ll give you ten million, half in company stock, no strings, and if you want to get a quiet divorce after I get my inheritance, I’ll go along with it. You and the kids can keep the house.”
“Ten million?”
“You’ll get it all if I die. I had Gerry make a will before we left Gig Harbor. First time I’ve ever had anything to leave someone, except my Harley.”
Maria couldn’t believe he’d done that. “You left everything you own to me?”
He shrugged. “Who else? You and Andy will take care of my Harley, won’t you?”
She choked out a laugh. “I don’t believe you.”
“Yeah, I know. Sometimes I don’t believe me either. So what do you say? A quiet little wedding in New York?”
“We don’t have time, Blade. There’s too much work left to do here. As it is, I don’t think we can get everything done before we have to leave.”
“Then ask Angelo and Teresa to take care of the kids next week, so we can finish up here.”
She sat up. “You still want to marry me?”
He sat beside her and took her hand. “Honey, I want to do more than marry you. I want to be a real husband, but if you don’t think I qualify for the job, I’ll take whatever you’ll give me.”
“Debbie won’t do?”
He groaned. “I’d rather marry Bridget.”
Leaning into him, she whispered. “Don’t say that too loud.”
Blade held her with a tenderness that Fred had never possessed, and she drank it in. Maybe on some level he did love her. It felt like it. Was that love strong enough to keep them together?
He handed her three pages. “This is the first draft of the house plan, with approximate room sizes. If you want Bridget full time, we’ll build her a room over the garage. Or we could make that a playroom or home theater or something. Whatever you want. I don’t care who sleeps where as long as you share my bedroom.”
She put the plan back in his hands. “It’s too late to plan a church wedding, and I don’t want or need a full-time cook.”
“If we can make it work, we’ll have a church wedding this summer. If you decide you want out before then, I’ll understand.”
“I’ll think about it, Blade. That’s the best I can do for now. No promises.” She couldn’t believe she’d even consider another marriage.
Everything he’d done in the past few days had been with the assumption that she’d marry him. He was trying to buy himself a wife not just with money, but with a big house, a will that left a fortune in her hands if he died, and honesty. Fred would have told her he loved her because he knew that was what she wanted to hear.
Blade wouldn’t say those words unless he meant them.
<>
Gerry glanced at the calendar on his desk. April 7th already. If Blade wanted the rest of his inheritance, he had less than a month to marry. Why hadn’t the attorney in New York told him about that stipulation after his grandfather’s funeral? Why was it in there in the first place? Gerry would have advised his client to leave it out, yet this guy had not only put it in, he hadn’t told Blade about it. And he didn’t give Blade a copy of the will or the entire private investigator’s report.
Something didn’t smell right about this guy.
As much as Gerry liked Blade, he didn’t want the man to marry Maria. She’d be miserable with a guy like that. She was proper and respectable, with a close family, and he was a maverick, a loner who did things his own way and on his own terms.
Blade’s stepmother’s trial had been postponed again, but in reviewing the evidence the police had collected, Gerry was afraid there wouldn’t be a trial. The officer had failed to inform her of her rights when he arrested her. It was a stupid oversight. Sunny didn’t have the money for bail, but if the case blew up, she could be out on the street before Blade and Maria got back from New York.
If Sunny didn’t have the money for bail, she didn’t have the money to get her car out of the impound lot, and she didn’t have money to buy drugs or even get a room to sleep in. She’d be out on the street, broke and desperate.
Desperate people were often dangerous people.
<>
While Blade went through his grandfather’s private papers, Maria and Bridget finished sorting the bedrooms and tagging everything, until the only room left was the room Maria and Blade shared.
Maria consulted the floor plan Blade had given her and realized they’d filled every bedroom. Mom would love this bedroom furniture, but it wouldn’t fit in her house. No matter. The house Angelo and Teresa were going to build had four bedrooms. “This furniture will go to Angelo and Teresa, Bridget.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Bridget wrote it on her list.
“What did we miss on this floor?”
“Nothing I can see, but there’s more rooms upstairs, and what about the attic?”
“One floor at a time, Bridget.” With the attic and basement, there were five floors to go through and generations of treasures. Strange that Blade wouldn’t want to keep a house with so much family history connected to it. Cara had kept her family’s home in California, but women were more sentimental about those things. It didn’t really make sense to keep a house if he had no intention of living in it.
<>
Blade took the combination Colin Jacobs had given him and opened the safe in the study. The safe was hidden behind a portrait of James Banner, the first Banner to occupy the house. Blade’s great-great-grandfather. The portrait would hang in his own study, along with the portrait of Edward Banner, the grandfather he’d known too briefly.
He found two boxes of jewelry in the safe, both men’s and women’s, some of it quite old and undoubtedly valuable. Definitely keepers. A bank bag held twenty thousand in cash, more than Blade had ever seen in one place at one time. The papers were more interesting, especially detailed private investigator’s reports on each member of the Board of Directions of the Banner-Covington Shipping Corporation. Edward Banner’s handwritten notes gave Blade an insight into how his grandfather’s mind worked.
“Blade?”
He looked up to see Maria standing on the other side of the desk. “Maria, would you like to choose a wedding ring from here…” He opened the boxes of jewelry and pushed them across the desk. “… or buy a new one?”
She picked up an intricately carved ring with rubies and diamonds. The gold was badly tarnished, but the precious stones glittered in the light from the desk lamp. Blade had no doubt they were real gems. Everything in this house was real.
“This is gorgeous, but I’d be afraid to wear it.”
He pushed the zippered bank envelope across the desk. “I’m sure you and Sophia will find a good use for this.” He held up both hands. “No strings, Maria. It’s a thank you for helping me with the house.”
She pulled the bills out and flipped through them. “Good Lord, Blade. How much is here?”
“Twenty thousand. How are you coming upstairs?”
Maria closed the bag and pushed it back to him. “The second floor is as finished as it’s going to get until after we leave. Bridget has her notes and she’ll supervise the packing. What else did you find in the safe?”
“Information on members of the Board of Directors of my grandfather’s company.” Colin Jacobs served on the board, and since he had the combination to the safe, Blade assumed he’d removed his own PI report. If he had nothing to hide, wouldn’t he have left it there with the other reports?
After Maria left the room, Blade called the PI who’d done the investigating for his grandfather. He explained the situation and asked if he could purchase a copy of the missing report. “If you still have a copy.”
/> “My files go back twenty-some years, Mr. Banner, and I keep copies of everything. If I sent a report to your grandfather twelve years ago, I’m sure I have a copy in my files. Are you staying at the house on Long Island?”
“Yes. I expect to be here for a few more days. Are you the one who tracked me down for my grandfather?”
“Yes, sir, but Colin Jacobs was the go-between.”
“In that case, I’d like complete copies of all the reports you did on my grandfather’s behalf.” Jacobs wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the information, including the marriage by forty stipulation in the will. For the first time since he learned of the stipulation, Blade wondered if Jacobs had snuck that one by Edward Banner.
What did Jacobs have to gain if Blade didn’t inherit the entire estate?
He found Marvin sipping coffee in the kitchen. Blade pulled up a chair and sat down across from him. “Marvin, how well could my grandfather read the last few weeks of his life?”
“Not well at all. We canceled his subscription to the Wall Street Journal last year because he could no longer read without a magnifying glass. And then he became too weak to use the glass. A sad state of affairs for a man as bright as Mr. Banner.”
“Did Mr. Jacobs come here often?”
Marvin nodded, and Blade knew he wondered about the questions, but Blade couldn’t quit now. “How long has he had the combination to the safe in the study?”
“I believe Mr. Banner gave him the combination before you were found.”
No, not before he was found. Blade’s instincts told him that Jacobs knew long ago where to find him. He just didn’t pass that information on to the old man.
“Has Mr. Jacobs removed anything from the house?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” said Marvin. “Is something missing?”
“The papers in the safe aren’t complete. Did anyone else have the combination?”
“I have it, but I have never opened the safe or given anyone the combination.”
“Of course not. My grandfather trusted you, and so do I. It’s that crooked lawyer I don’t trust.” Jacobs still hadn’t given him a copy of the will or the information on the company that he’d requested.