by Nancy Martin
“Nora, you’ve been marvelous,” Grace said. “I know you’ve kept my mother from doing her worst here.”
Nora shook her head. “That wasn’t me. Luke kept her from going too far overboard.”
“Thank you both,” Grace said.
Nora smiled. “The party is a big hit, Grace. The ballet company is receiving more donations than they expected, and you’re getting wonderful coverage. If your mother doesn’t stage her own dance number, it will be a perfect night.”
Grace said, “It would be just like her to steal the thunder.”
Luke said, “I think I’ve got that covered.” He removed the champagne glass from Grace’s hand and set it on the nearest table. “There’s one more person who wants to talk to you tonight.”
“Who?”
Luke steered her around the television cameras and headed toward the bar. “I’ve spent the week with your mom. Lemme tell you, Princess, she’s not the easiest person to get along with. And I could see that she might be tempted to grab your spotlight. So I made a call and invited somebody who can keep her occupied.”
“Good heavens,” Grace said, her throat going dry at the sight of the man standing at the bar with a strong drink in his hand. “Daddy?”
Hedgehog Barrett looked as out of place as a bull at a symphony concert. His bullet-shaped head was shaved clean, and his square jaw was set with the determination of a man who’d been invited to the wrong party, but he intended to stick it out. He wore a tuxedo—one that fit him better than Grace might have expected—but his bowtie was crooked. And his dated ruffled shirt was going to make Mama crazy.
He spotted her, though, and his expression cleared. “Gracie!”
He wrapped her in a hug and swung her off her feet until she laughingly cried. “Put me down, Daddy!”
He obeyed, but kept hold of her hand and spun her in a circle so he could admire her appearance. “Aren’t you pretty as a picture! My little girl is all grown up for sure.”
“I’ve been grown up for years, and you know it.”
“I don’t see you often enough, do I?” He gave her a hearty kiss on the cheek. “I guess I gave up my rights to you a long time ago.”
Grace held him fondly. “Let’s mend our ways.”
Her father gazed into her eyes, his suddenly dewy. “You got a deal.”
Luke said, “I was afraid you wouldn’t show up, Hedgehog. I’m glad to see you made it.”
Luke towered over Grace’s father, but Hedgehog Barrett made up for the difference in their heights by weighing at least twenty-five pounds more—all of it bristling with manliness. He shook Luke’s hand with his gnarled paw, grinning. “Good to see you again, son. You survived your week of training camp with my wife?”
“I’d rather run drills in hundred degree stadium heat than go through the table manners ordeal again.” To Grace, Luke said, “I met your dad a couple of days ago at one of his gyms. I wasn’t sure he’d really come tonight, so I had to apply a little extra pressure.”
“You drive a hard bargain,” Daddy said.
“What kind of bargain?” Grace asked.
“We won’t talk business tonight,” Daddy said, squaring his shoulders. “I’m ready to do my job. Where is she?”
“Over by the cameras, I’m sure,” Luke said, craning around to find Grace’s mother in the crowd. “Yeah, there she is.”
“Daddy, what are you doing?”
“I’m gonna keep her busy,” Hedgehog said. “And out of trouble. To give you a chance to shine, sweetheart. Think she’ll be surprised to see me?”
Grace thought her mother would be more than astonished to see her husband turn up at a gala event, dressed in evening clothes, no less.
“Wish me luck,” Daddy said. “Here I go.”
He launched himself across the ballroom with the air of a man setting off to do battle with a fire-breathing dragon.
Grace turned to Luke. “What bargain did you make with my father?”
He shook his head. “Nothing serious, I’m sure. He wants me to take a look at his gyms.”
“Take a look at--? What for?”
“He wants to retire. But he’s not running boxing gyms, exactly. He’s got a bunch of programs for inner city kids going, and he doesn’t want to see them fall apart. He wants somebody to take them over.”
“Would something like that interest you?”
“Maybe. Depends. On a lot of things.” Luke tilted his head. “Hear that bell? It means dinner is served. How about we find our table?”
“How do you know what the bell means?” Grace asked as Luke propelled her through the crowd. “Have you really gone through training camp with my mother?”
Luke said, “I may never live it down. This way.”
All of the football players had been seated at the same table together with their respective dates, and Luke held Grace’s chair for her. For the next hour, their table was the noisiest one in the room as they drank and ate and drank some more—all the while cracking jokes and pushing Dear Miss Vanderbine’s table manners to the limit. Blood tossed dinner rolls at Darrell. Jaydonna threatened to jump up and dance on the table. Only when the television cameras swooped close did they sober up and pretend to be enjoying themselves with more decorum.
Darrell Washington raised his glass to make a toast. “To Grace—Dear Miss Vanderbine. May she sell a hell of a lot of books.”
As dessert was served, various dignitaries from the ballet company got up to the podium to make speeches, but that part of the festivities thankfully didn’t last long. Several dancers arrived to perform a short program, and the football players were the first guests on their feet to applaud the performance. After that, the music started, and couples rushed the dance floor. Grace began to relax, feeling as if the most stressful parts of the evening were over.
“How about it?” Luke asked, tugging her toward the floor.
Not the most traditional invitation to dance in a ballroom, but Grace couldn’t resist. She loved dancing with Luke.
Minutes later, they bumped into Mama and Daddy in the crush. The older couple appeared to be gazing deeply into each other’s eyes as Hedgehog Barrett expertly guided his ex-wife around the floor. If Grace wasn’t mistaken, her mother’s face looked adorably pink around the edges.
“Mama!” Grace said as Luke swept her closer to her parents. “I don’t ever think I’ve seen you dance before.”
“Grace, dear, I can cut quite a rug--with the right partner. We’ve had such a good time these last few days, haven’t we, Luke?”
“Yes, ma’am, we have.”
“Grace, dearie, however did you meet our wonderful Luke? Such a darling boy! He never heard the word surrender.”
“Exactly what has gone on here the last few days, Mama?”
“We needed a publicity stunt to draw attention to your book. So Luke corralled all of his friends and we conducted an old fashioned etiquette course.”
“Do you mean you taught all the football players how to behave at a party like this?”
“And we saw that they were properly dressed and combed. I must say, Mr. Mitchell was a bit of a problem at first, and Mr. McCoy needed some extra tutoring, but Luke was a big help. He kept them all in line for me until they bought me my whistle. After that, I managed quite well on my own.” Mama pulled on the necklace around her neck and from her bosom drew a gold-plated whistle. It had looked like a piece of jewelry to Grace up until now, but she realized as her mother waggled it in the air that it was indeed a football coach’s whistle.
“You did a wonderful job, Mama. Thank you.”
“Thank Luke. He’s so hardworking! So determined! And so much fun!”
“I don’t believe it,” Grace said to Luke. “You won her over.”
He lifted his shoulders. “I like a challenge.”
Daddy had been dancing with her mother, but he sent Luke a firm look. “Don’t you two have something more fun to do than talk to the older generation?”
Luke obediently spun Grace in the opposite direction. “Let’s leave them alone,” he said in her ear. “I get the feeling those two have unfinished business.”
“What business? They haven’t seen each other in years.”
“That’s not what I hear,” Luke said.
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Don’t get that Dear Miss Vanderbine look in your eyes, Princess,” he warned. “Your parents have been meeting each other every few months since their so-called divorce.”
“How do you know that?” Grace demanded.
“Hedgehog told me. They were hot for each other from the beginning, but they decided he wasn’t good for her career. So they split up—but not exactly. They have a special hotel in Atlantic City where they’ve been meeting for years.”
Grace thought of all the “long weekends” her mother took in Atlantic City—weekends she’d always claimed were important meetings that required her attendance. “Why would either one of them think her career might be hurt by him?”
“He’s Hedgehog Barrett,” Luke said. “She was Dear Miss Vanderbine. That’s a big conflict of interest.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Grace turned her head as if to march over to her parents then and there. Only Luke’s strong arms held her back. “Staying apart for such a silly reason—it’s terrible. Think of all the time they wasted being apart.”
Luke pulled her close. “You don’t know how good it is to hear you say that, Princess.”
A moment later, they bumped into Darrell and Jaydonna on the dance floor and switched partners just as the music changed. Luke and Jaydonna whirled off together, laughing.
Darrell was a more sedate dancer. He must have seen something Grace wanted to hide in her expression, though, because he said, “Don’t you worry about Luke and Jaydonna, Gracie. They’re just having a little fun together.”
“I’m not worried,” Grace said. She had simply been unwilling to give up Luke to anyone just then. She gave Darrell a smile. “Anyone can see how much Jaydonna loves you.”
“And how much the Laser is falling for you.” Darrell gave her a closer look. “Hold on, are you blushing? Damn, I think you are! That’s a good sign, right?”
“I don’t know,” Grace said. “Is it? Everything’s happening so fast.”
“Fast is good. I knew I was going to marry Jaydonna about five minutes after I met her. Her and me—we were meant to be together.”
“You’re so much alike,” Grace agreed.
Darrell shook his head. “We’re exact opposites. She likes to get out and party, I like to stay home and have a good time, just the two of us. She’s patient with the kids, teaching ‘em real careful, and I just want to throw ‘em in the pool and see who can swim the best. But we make it work, you know?”
Grace didn’t believe him about being opposites. She could see how similar they were, and that their professional athlete’s mindset—hard work, dedication, discipline—was part of their marriage, too.
Darrell went on, “Laser, he’s got to find a new life for himself, you know? Something he can get excited about, put all his energy into. So many guys like us, we spend all our money too fast, and then it’s gone, and we have to start all over again from scratch. I don’t want to see Laser blow it. Why don’t you see what you can do for him, Gracie?”
“I think he’s being careful,” Grace said.
“I hope so,” Darrell said. “’Cause I don’t want to be supporting him in his old age.”
Luke and Jaydonna spun past them, but Darrell put out his arm to catch his wife. She jumped against him with a wide smile, and Luke switched back to Grace just as smoothly.
Luke said, “What were you two talking about so seriously?”
“You,” Grace said when he had his arms around her again. “And me.”
“Just so it was the two of us together.” He gave her a surreptitious kiss. “Ready to blow this joint?”
Grace figured she had made as much of an impression on the social event as Dear Miss Vanderbine could without taking over the whole affair. There wasn’t much point in remaining to the bitter end of the party. She smiled up at him. “Where are we going?”
“Let’s get your luggage,” Luke said, his voice going rough. “Then we’ll go to my hotel.”
Grace tried to find Nora Blackbird to say good-night, but Nora and her sister were nowhere to be found. She hoped they were going back to Blackbird Farm together, making amends. Grace also wanted to say good-night to her parents, but they were locked in an embrace on the dance floor, and it looked as if nothing less than a crowbar was going to pry them apart. So Grace and Luke headed for the ballroom door.
In the doorway, a tall, gaunt woman with a cane stopped them.
“You’re Grace Vanderbine, aren’t you?” the woman demanded in a querulous, high-pitched voice. Her face was stern—gray eyebrows drawn down tight over flinty eyes and a hawk-like nose. She wore a dated green dress that might have been expensive once, but it looked as if it had seen far too many gala events.
“Yes, I am. How do you do?”
The woman ignored Grace’s outstretched hand and pulled herself up tall and straight. “I’m Pamela Waldrop-Hicks. I find shaking hands with women in social situations to be abhorrent.”
Grace decided not to take offense. “I heard you weren’t feeling well, Mrs. Waldrop-Hicks. Are you quite all right now?”
“I’m healthy as a horse!”
“I’m glad to hear it. This is my friend, Luke Lazurnovich.”
“Hey,” Luke said.
Pamela Waldrop-Hicks rolled her eyes. “Hey? What kind of greeting is that, young man?” Then she blinked. “My gracious, you’re tall.”
“You’re tall yourself, good-lookin’.” Luke gave her his most engaging smile. “You want to come have a drink with us? I hear they mix a pretty good gimlet around here.”
The older woman narrowed her eyes and almost smiled. “How did you know gimlets are my favorite drink?”
“Just a guess,” Luke said. “Classy lady like you….”
Pamela Waldrop-Hicks ducked her head like a shy debutante. “Are you flirting with me, young man?”
“Is it working?” he asked.
“Well, you’re the first man here tonight with enough courage to speak to me like a human being. Everybody else acts as if I’m going to bite their heads off. I like a bold man, you know. One who looks me dead in the eye.”
“You wanna dance?” Luke asked.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” she said, lifting her cane apologetically. “But as you can see, I’m not as spry as some of these younger girls.”
“Too bad.”
Pamela Waldrop-Hicks turned back to Grace. “I must admit this party has turned out better than I expected, Miss Vanderbine. Your mother rounded up a good crowd and made the ballet some extra money. Brought in fresh faces. This affair mixes the old with the new, and I suppose I shouldn’t stand in the way of progress.” She put out her hand to shake. “You did a good job with your mother’s book, too. I apologize if my written remarks came off too high-handed. In the morning, I’ll send a letter to the editor to make a few revisions. Shall we shake hands now?”
Grace shook the older woman’s hand as graciously as she could manage. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”
“Run along, now, you two. Have a gimlet with me in mind.”
Luke winked at her. “See you around, Pam.” To Grace, he said, “C’mon, we have unfinished business.”
13.
They kissed in the elevator. “I am so glad to see you,” Grace whispered to Luke.
“This has been a hell of a long week,” he said. “And I’m not just talking about the time I spent with your mother.”
They retrieved Grace’s luggage from her Mama’s room and kissed all the way down to the lobby. Out on the street the hotel doorman whistled them a cab.
Then, in the midst of glowing happiness, it happened all over again.
As Luke was han
ding Grace into the back seat, a firecracker went off. In the same instant, something snapped against the side of the cab.
“What the hell?” Luke said, turning from Grace.
The doorman shouted, “Gun!”
Someone screamed, and Luke slammed against Grace just as another bang sounded. This time, it was Grace who cried out. Luke jammed her against the cab, shielding her.
A man had stepped out from behind a hedge of potted trees. Around Luke’s shoulder, Grace had only a second to register that he was of medium height, heavy build, pointing a gun at Luke. Or her.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. One second, the gunman was pointing his weapon. In the same second, Luke’s friends appeared in the doorway of the hotel. Jaydonna yelled something. Darrell shoved her back against the revolving door. Leon and Blood pushed out from behind her. The gunman wheeled toward them, gun extended.
Luke shouted—by that time he had one arm around Grace’s head as he forced her down onto the curb, so the noise was muffled—and the whole team of football players scattered in different directions.
Grace thought they were all trying to escape gunfire. But as if executing a perfectly choreographed play, in the next second they all seemed to plunge toward the gunman—converging on him from four angles.
He hadn’t a prayer of escaping—he was too small and slow footed--and he must have known it. He threw the gun toward the hedge. He turned toward the street. He ran past the hood of the cab.
Luke’s friends moved incredibly fast on him. In another instant, they would have tackled him on the pavement.
But another car appeared from the street. It swung in close to the hotel, and the thug had no chance to escape it. Grace heard the impact, heard him scream, heard the screech of brakes too late.
Luke cursed and said to her, “Stay where you are.”
And he went after his friends.
Grace clambered up onto the curb, frightened and furious. Jaydonna appeared beside her, equally shaken. They wrapped their arms around each other. Blood’s pregnant wife appeared, weeping, and Leon’s date arrived, barely holding back hysterics.
Jaydonna said, “Who was that? What happened? There was a gun!”