The Ready-Made Family (Silhouette Special Edition)

by Laurie Paige

“Come on,” he said, taking her arm.

  “What is it?” She looked at him in alarm, then away.

  “You’re having aftershocks,” he told her. “I know the very thing for that.”

  She went with him…reluctantly…but she went. “I have to talk to you.” She sounded desperate.

  “Take your clothes off,” he ordered when they reached their bedroom. “First we’re going to get com- fortable, then we’ll talk.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Isa stared at Harrison’s back. He was bent over the hot tub, adjusting the temperature of the water. When he was satisfied, he flicked a switch on the wall. The water swooshed through the jets and foamed into bubbles.

  Sitting naked in a.hot tub didn’t seem the best ap- proach to what she had to tell him. She clenched her arms across her body, but nothing could dispel the trem- bling that seemed to be overtaking her. Now that the emergency was over, she was falling apart. No wonder Harrison thought she was a basket case.

  He turned around and saw her standing in the middle of the room. “Need some help?” Without further ado, he started removing her clothing.

  “Are you getting in, too?”

  “No. Perhaps another time,” he added, giving her an odd perusal that made her tremble more. There was a determined gleam in his eyes. She didn’t know what it. meant, and she was so tired of walking a tightrope of guilt and fear.

  She desperately needed to be alone. She didn’t know how much longer she could control the waves of emotion that swept over her. Images of a knife flashing bright and hot in the sun appeared every time she blinked her eyes.

  Harrison could have been killed because of her, be- cause she’d self-righteously involved him in her family problems when she’d had no right to do so. She’d been wrong, and he’d nearly paid with his life.

  He unbuttoned her blouse and slipped it from her.

  She didn’t think she could confess all her sins sitting naked in a hot tub. “I think…we need…”

  “Some peace and quiet,” he supplied in a husky murmur. He kissed her shoulder while he removed her bra. “Did I ever tell you how lovely you are?”

  “No…yes…when we…”

  “Make love, yes.” He chuckled as he whisked her shoes and slacks and underpants off. “I think it other times, too.”

  Tears rose, urgent and burning, to her eyes. She blinked them away. She had to stay calm, rational. She had to…had to tell him he’d been right about his fa- ther….

  He rubbed her shoulders, massaging the muscles that were clenched as hard as lead pipe. “Relax,” he or- dered softly.

  Swooping, he lifted her into his arms and walked across the carpet to the tub. There, he set her on her feet on the first step. The warmth crept over her chilled flesh.

  “Sit,” he ordered.

  She did as he said.

  “I’ll be right back.” He left the room.

  She sank into the bubbling warmth up to her neck and let her head rest on the slanted back of the tub. Freed of his presence and the need to hold on to her control, she let her mind drift.

  She imagined how different life would be if Harrison were to love her. If, at the end of their year, he would refuse to let her go. Perhaps, if she didn’t tell him about her father…

  A knot settled in her throat. She couldn’t accept their marriage on that basis. To build a life, then see it de- stroyed when he found out the truth would be foolish.

  The tears pressed closer. She fought them off.

  “’Here.”

  She opened her eyes. Harrison held a towel ready for her. She stepped out with the weariness of a mountain climber who’d failed to reach the top and had only the long trek to the bottom of the mountain before her. He dried her off over her protest, then wrapped her in her warm nightgown and robe.

  After urging her into an easy chair, he propped her feet on an ottoman. He handed her a mug of steaming liquid. It was an effort to reach up and take it.

  The scent of spices wafted under her nose as she lifted the mug. “What is this?”

  “Hot tea with a spot of buttered rum. Drink up.” He guided her hand to her mouth.

  She took a sip.

  “Another drink,” he encouraged.

  The warmth went all the way to her toes. She took another sip, then another. When she finished, a delicious lassitude seeped through her. “Are you trying to get me tipsy?”

  He sat on the ottoman, her feet snuggled between his thighs. “Maybe I’m trying to take the edge off that keen mind of yours.” To her surprise, he displayed a deck of cards. “How about a game?” He cut the deck into halves and fanned the cards on his knee.

  “Now?” Her voice cracked. She cleared it self- consciously. She had to confess before she lost her nerve. “I have something to tell you—”

  “Let’s play Truth. Whoever wins the cut gets to ask a question. The other has to answer truthfully.”

  He was in a strange mood. Perhaps it would be better to indulge him. Later, when she could gauge his temper, she’d tell all. Then she had a favor to ask of him.

  “All right,” she agreed. “Aces high?”

  “Yes.” He laid the deck on his knee. “You go first.”

  She cut the cards and looked at the bottom one. A ten.

  He cut and got a seven. She’d won the first cut. She tried to think of something.

  “You like Rick, don’t you?” she finally asked.

  His dark brows went up slightly, but he nodded. “Very much. He has the makings of a fine man.”

  Relief washed through her. “You were both wonder- ful today. I didn’t know what was going on when you crashed through the door like a demolition team.”

  He laughed, a quiet chuckle that reached right down into her soul. Her throat closed as longing slashed through her.

  “Next cut,” he said. He went first. His jack beat her five. He studied her for a long minute as if searching for the precise question he wanted to ask. “Why did you leap in front of Moe’s knife?”

  Again he surprised her. She tried to bring her thoughts together, but the words seemed to run in every direction with no logic. She put a hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from his candid gaze. “Well, be- cause… I thought…he was going to hurt you. He was trying to stab you.”

  He reached out and brought her hand down to her lap. “I want to see your face.”

  The tension increased. She sat up straight, then moved her hand away from him. He let her go. She pulled her feet onto her chair and wrapped her arms over her knees, pulling them against her body, hiding from him as if he could see her guilty heart through the clothing that covered it.

  She felt exposed, vulnerable to his male determina- tion. She realized when it came to force of will she was no match for his driving strength. “What do you want?”

  The faintest tremor entered her voice.

  He fanned the deck, then gave her first choice on cutting the cards. She picked-up the top four or five.

  “You saved my life today. It’s hard to think of the proper words to thank a person for that,” he said con- versationally.

  She stared at the ace. “It was nothing. I didn’t think about what I was doing. I just reacted.”

  “It was a brave thing to do,” he murmured. His ex- pression was solemn. He picked up one card. “Remind me to buy you a new purse.”

  “That’s okay. You needn’t.”

  He flashed his card. An ace. “A draw,” he said when she held hers out. They cut again. He won.

  “After we had Moe tied up, you looked me over before going to see about Rick’s injury. Why?”

  She closed her eyes and saw the blood on his shirt, the flash of the knife in the hot sun. Time stopped as she relived the danger, throwing herself forward, reach- ing out, afraid, so afraid he would be hurt.

  “I saw Moe slash at you with the knife,” she finally said in a harsh whisper. She licked her parched lips and looked at him. “There was blood on your shirt.” She shook her head whil
e the knot of fear crept into her throat.

  Afraid. She’d been so afraid for him.

  He lowered his eyelashes to sexy levels as he studied her with a steadfastness that made her uneasy, as if he didn’t believe what she said.

  “I wanted to make sure you weren’t cut,” she ended.

  “I wasn’t.”

  She nodded. Words failed her. She’d thought she would die when Harrison and Rick had burst through that door like a couple of Power Rangers to the rescue. She giggled suddenly.

  “What’s so funny?” he demanded softly.

  She told him. “But the cardboard caused you to slip. That scared me.” She stopped and looked at him help- lessly, caught up in her fear for him once more.

  He touched her cheek, rubbed along her jaw and un- der her chin. “I was scared, too. I was afraid he’d hurt you before we could stop him.” He shuffled the cards absently.

  “It’s strange to have someone worry—” She stopped.

  “Yes. That’s what’s nice about being married—cou- ples are there for each other…through good times and bad, in sickness and health…” He held the deck out to her.

  She ignored it. She had to tell him the truth about their past. “I have to tell you something.” Each word hurt her throat as she spoke. “About the mining claim.”

  If he was surprised by the change of subject, he didn’t show it. “We can discuss that later. There are more important things right now. It’s your cut.”

  She shook her head, beyond games at the moment. Emotion rushed up from her heart. She was going to cry. Please, no, don’t, don’t, don’t…

  “No, I have to tell you,” she insisted, not meeting his eyes. She hugged her knees close to her body, lock- ing herself in, holding her aching heart together.

  He picked a card and held it between both hands.

  “I talked to Mr. Parker,” she said.

  Again he appeared surprised at the subject. He held the cards out to her. She took one.

  Isa stared at the diamond pattern on the back of the card she held and told her husband the entire conver- sation and all it had disclosed to her.

  “That’s why you’ve been so quiet since the party. I thought Helen might have done something that hurt you. I saw she was trying to cut you out, then you reversed the situation on her. I was proud of you.”

  He apparently didn’t understand what she was telling him. She tried again. “Rick and I have no claim…no rights at all where you or the mine is concerned.”

  “That’s why my father filed the second time in his name only. Your father had signed over his share of the mine.”

  “Yes.”

  “I had a hard time believing Dad would cheat any- one, but it was beginning to look that way.”

  “Yes,” she said steadily. “It was my father who lied from the first. I shouldn’t have believed him.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” There was pity in his gaze.

  “Please don’t be kind.” She managed a faint smile. “It only makes things harder.”

  “A husband and wife can discuss anything.”

  That was easy for him to say. He, male that he was, believed he could control the world. She knew it wasn’t so simple. He turned over his card. A king. He tugged hers out of her hand and held it beside his. A queen.

  “Don’t you see? I forced you into marriage. I thought that claim gave me the right. I used it to justify every plan I made. I came here with the intent of blackmailing you.”

  “That was rather obvious. I fell for your scheme hook, line and sinker, didn’t I?” He laid the deck aside.

  “Yes,” she said glumly. She hesitated. “I don’t blame you for hating me.”

  The silence burned between them.

  “I don’t hate you.”

  She ignored him. He was being gallant, and she couldn’t bear it. She had to get the rest out. “I’ll get out of your life as soon as possible.”

  He gave her a hard stare, but said nothing.

  “I’ll give you a divorce.” She forced her gaze to his, openly pleading now. “Would you let Rick finish out his year? I don’t think he’ll be a lot of trouble. I know he admires you tremendously. He’ll do what you tell him.”

  To her dismay, he shook his head.

  She put her hands over her face. She was going to fall to pieces in front of him. “I have to…have to…” She lunged upward, needing to escape. She got no far- ther than placing one foot on the carpet.

  Harrison caught her to him. The world tilted wildly while he turned with her and sat down, holding her easily with his greater strength while she struggled to be free, to get away before she made a total fool of herself.’

  “Easy,” he said softly. “Don’t fight. I’m not going to let you go.”

  She recovered enough of her poise to quip, “Watch it. I’ll drown you with tears if nothing else works.”

  He tipped her head across his arm and gazed into her eyes. “There are tears in those beautiful eyes. I had wondered if you ever let yourself cry.”

  “Lots of times,” she said flippantly. “You saw them once.”

  “Shhh.” He laid a finger over her lips, then left it there in a caress.

  She closed her eyes as longing spiraled deep into her. “Today has been too much, I think. I’m all topsy-turvy inside. Too many emotions rushing about…”

  “I know. I have to get to you while your defenses are down. I won the last cut. There’s one thing I want to know.”

  “What?” She kept her eyes closed.

  “When you dived in front of that knife, did you know you were in love with me then or did you realize it later?”

  She couldn’t breathe. Every muscle in her body froze for an instant. She opened her eyes and watched him warily. “What makes you think that…that I…” She took a breath and tried to divert him. “You have a colossal ego.”

  He smiled slightly. “I suppose I’ll have to take the edge off that sharp tongue of yours. The easiest way to do that is to kiss you senseless.” He proceeded to do so.

  When Isa came up for air, she was clinging to him, his body hard and pulsing against her. She snuggled her head in the groove of his shoulder, unable to meet his knowing gaze.

  “Hiding?” There was laughter in his voice.

  “Yes.” She knew he wasn’t going to let it go.

  “You have to tell the truth. It’s part of the rules. Say you love me, and I’ll let you rest. Otherwise, I’ll have to keep at it until you confess.”

  Did he want her total humiliation? “Please,” she said on a shaky note. She had no defenses left, no smart remarks, no blank smiles, no shield to hide her heart.

  “Yes,” he murmured, “to whatever you want. My home, my fortune, such as it is, are yours. There’s just one catch—I come with them.”

  Only the sound of popping bubbles from the hot tub broke the silence.

  “Wh-what?” She was afraid to take anything for granted. She might be dreaming.

  “My father and I used to go on fishing trips up in the mountains. I finally understand why he wanted to see my mother first thing when we got home. He’d al- ways rush into the house, calling her name. Knowing your woman is there, waiting for you, makes a man feel good.” His voice dropped to a husky tone. “That’s how you make me feel.”

  She dared to look at him then. His gaze burned hotly over her. She saw desire, patience, humor, but there was more.

  He gave her a stern frown. “I don’t want to hear any more talk about our year being up. For us, I want a lifetime. It’ll take me that long to get past that poker face of yours and find out what makes you tick.” A lazy grin floated over his mouth. “I’m determined to do it, so don’t try to stop me.”

  “You want me to stay?”

  “Always.”

  “Rick, too?”

  “Yes, and anybody else you want, as long as I get you at night.” His sexy cadence sent a shiver over her.

  “Oh.”

  “What? No sharp-tongued r
emark? No retort to put me in my place?”

  Dazed, she shook her head. She was dreaming. She had to be. Things like this didn’t come true in real life.

  “There’s one thing you have to tell me.” Now he was all wistful seriousness. “Do you think you could learn to love me half as much as I love you?”

  In the game of life, there comes a time when a woman has to take her chances.

  “I think I loved you when we went to Tahoe.” It was scary to admit it. It left a woman open, vulnerable to emotional blackmail. “But I thought I shouldn’t.”

  “Because you were going to blackmail me?” His smile widened at her guilty blush. “I was attracted to you from the first. I was also furious at being black- mailed. We had to dance all around the truth before we could admit it, didn’t we?”

  “Yes.”

  The gold band sparkled when she lifted her hand to caress his face. He caught her hand in his and kissed the palm, then pressed it to his heart. “I love you. You’re the only woman I could imagine marrying, the only one I’ve ever wanted like that.”

  “Am I dreaming?” she asked.

  “Not a chance. Not until I get done with you, and that won’t be for an hour or two or three or…”

  She sighed as he nuzzled her neck. Then he settled her more securely across his lap and ravished her. It was the most wonderful sensation in the world. He seemed to like it, too.

  When he carried her to their bed, she had no objec- tions.

  She had definitely gone soft in the head, she reflected drowsily much later that afternoon. Her husband lay close to her, sound asleep, one leg thrown over hers in sweet intimacy.

  Blackmailers must be clear-thinking.

  Blackmailers must be ruthless.

  She started laughing. She’d been the most muddled blackmailer in history. She’d fallen in love with the vic- tim.

  But then, he’d fallen in love with her, too.

  So it had evened out in the end.

  eISBN 978-14592-7361-0

  THE READY-MADE FAMILY

  Copyright © 1997 by Olivia M. Hall

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.