Christmas at Bravo Ridge

by Christmas at Bravo Ridge (lit)

  "Well, it's just that she happens to be a complete bitch."

  "Hmm. And her best friend is Tabby Ellison, right?"

  He scowled. "I know where you're going with this. Don't."

  "So Tabby's a nicer woman than Lianna, then?" The question kind of hung in the air between them.

  Finally, he shrugged. "Tabby? Who's Tabby?" He wrapped an arm around her and nuzzled her hair.

  Corrine laughed. "Excellent answer."

  Javier Cabrera was a no-show, which everyone had more or less expected.

  Corrine got to know Tessa and Mary a little. She liked them both. Tessa was tall and sturdily built, with pale blond hair. It only took one look in her eyes to know she had a tender heart. Mary was a calm person, honest and direct. Corrine could respect the Bravos a lot more now she knew the kind of women the three oldest sons had married. Tessa, Mary and Mercy were all good women. Strong and levelheaded, loving. And kind.

  The afternoon and evening passed like most good times—swiftly, in a warm glow of family togetherness, of laughter and lively conversation. Corrine chatted with Mercy, and with Abilene and Zoe, the Bravo daughters. Abilene was pursuing a masters degree in architecture. Zoe, the baby of the family, had been to and dropped out of three colleges. She laughed and said she had no idea what she would do with her life.

  It was after nine and Kira had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room when Corrine started thinking that maybe they ought to head back into town. Matt had gone off an hour and a half before with a couple of his brothers—presumably to the game room for a few hands of poker or a little nine ball.

  The game room was at the back of the house, not far from the sun room, accessed by the central ground-floor hallway. Halfway along it, Corrine heard voices from beyond the open door to one of the many rooms that lined the wide hallway.

  Without really considering that she was eavesdropping, she slowed her steps.

  "I know that you and your husband have been living apart." A woman's voice, soft and musical, with a pleading note. Corrine knew whose voice it was: Luz Cabrera's.

  "Davis put you up to this." It was Aleta's voice, aloof and proud, her slight drawl more pronounced than usual. She was upset. Really upset. She always sounded like the queen of Texas when she got angry.

  "No. I swear to you. I know because Mercy told me. Not from Davis. Your husband and I avoid each other. We're both happy with that. I asked to speak with you because I want you to know—"

  "I have no idea what you could possibly say that would make any difference to me, one way or the other." Aleta's voice quivered with emotion.

  Corrine considered rushing in there and rescuing Matt's mom from a situation that had to be terrible for her.

  But then again, Aleta had a right to fight her own battles. Plus, Luz had seemed like such a nice woman—the whole adultery issue aside.

  Luz spoke again, but so softly that Corrine couldn't make out the words. As she stood frozen with indecision, someone in the room shut the door.

  Now Corrine heard the voices very faintly. And that decided her. This was not her fight.

  She moved on down the hall, past that closed door, to tell Matt that they really did need to get going. And she ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach, the one that promised some terrible disaster was about to occur.

  Chapter Nine

  But nothing out of the ordinary happened. Corrine found Matt. They returned to the front of the house to get their sleeping daughter and say their goodbyes.

  Aleta appeared as they were going. She looked perfectly fine, composed and unruffled. She said that Davis had promised he would take her back to Corrine's a little later that night.

  Corrine longed to grab her and hug her and demand, Are you really all right? What happened between you and Luz?

  But she did no such thing. Matt picked up their daughter and settled her on his shoulder. They thanked Luke and Mercy for a wonderful Thanksgiving.

  Mercy pulled Corrine close in a hug. "So then, Christmas dinner?"

  Corrine laughed. "As far as I know, yes. I'll call you…."

  "Good."

  At Matt's house, they put Kira to bed and she and Matt went to his room. They took a long bath together in his giant bathtub with the massaging jets. They made love.

  It wasn't until he'd turned out the light and they were both on the brink of sleep that she said into the darkness, "Something went on between your mom and Luz tonight."

  For a moment, he said nothing. He was lying very still. She began to think he must already be asleep.

  But then he shifted toward the edge of the bed. The lamp popped on. "What?"

  "Something happened between—"

  "Wait. Got that part. But what happened, exactly?"

  So she told him what she'd heard in the hallway. "I was certain there would be big trouble."

  "Certain, how?"

  "It was something in your mom's voice. If she'd had a weapon, Luz would've been toast."

  "But whatever it was, they worked it out, right? They must have. My mom seemed fine as we were leaving."

  Corrine nodded. "Yeah. She did. If I hadn't heard their voices in that room, I never would have guessed that anything went on."

  "So whatever they said to each other, it wasn't the end of the world."

  "Guess not."

  He reached for the lamp. The room faded into darkness. He scooted close and gathered her into his arms.

  "I had a good time tonight," she whispered.

  She felt his lips in her hair. "I'm glad."

  Corrine rested her head on his chest and let his strong, steady heartbeat lull her to sleep.

  * * *

  However, as it turned out, something serious had happened between Aleta and Luz.

  Corrine learned what early Friday evening, after Matt dropped her off at her house to get ready for work that night. He took Kira back to his place, because the plan was that Corrine would return to Matt's after the Rose closed up for the night.

  She found Aleta's suitcases lined up against the wall in the entry hall.

  Matt's mom was waiting for her on the sofa in the living room. Aleta smiled at her. A tender smile. The smile of a mother, of a really good friend. "I know you have to get to work. But I was hoping we could talk for a minute or two?"

  Crazy, but Corrine felt tears scald the back of her throat. She swallowed them down. "Going back to Davis, huh?"

  Aleta patted the sofa cushion next to her. "Come over here. Sit by me."

  Corrine dropped her purse on a chair and went to sit beside her. "Well?"

  Aleta wrapped an arm around her. "Thank you."

  "No need for thanks."

  "Maybe not. But I do need for you to know that being here, with you and Kira, has been the loveliest time for me—which is really something, if you think about it. Before you took me in, I felt almost as though my life was over. I had no idea how to sort it all out. But you gave me what I needed—time and a warm, loving place, in a truly difficult phase of my life, Corrine. And I am so grateful."

  "Whatever I gave you…" Corrine's throat was so tight, it almost hurt to speak. "…you gave back to me, a thousand times."

  "How sweet of you to say so."

  "I don't know about sweet. It's just the truth. And speaking of the truth? Last night I overheard you and Luz talking…" Corrine explained what little she'd heard. "And then someone shut the door."

  "That was me. I suddenly realized anyone might go by and hear us."

  "Well, you were right. Someone did go by. I wanted to bust that door down and save you—but then I realized you would probably rather fight your own battles."

  "Yes, I would. But you've been worried." Aleta squeezed her shoulder.

  "Yeah. You seemed okay when we said goodbye last night. But I was still…you know, concerned."

  "Put your mind at ease. Luz only told me what I needed to hear. That my husband loves me. That Davis didn't hide the truth from me for more than twenty years. That he never k
new Elena was his. Luz swore to me she didn't tell him. And she's certain he never figured it out. She reminded me that if he had known, she would have heard from him about it. At the very least, he would have insisted on giving her money. He never did. She said that men can be blind when seeing the truth will only cause pain and trouble. Somehow, that made total sense to me."

  "She…eased your mind, then?"

  "She did, yes. And she apologized to me for all the harm and hurt she's caused. She said she doesn't believe her husband will ever return to her, that what they shared is broken, forever. That it can never be fixed. She also said that if at least Davis and I can work things out, some of her burden will be eased. That's how she put it, her 'burden.'"

  "The poor woman."

  "I realized I like her," Aleta said wonderingly. "I think she's a good person who made a couple of very bad choices. And she's certainly paying a terrible price for what she did. Yes, she and Elena have reached a kind of truce. But they're not close anymore. That has to be hell for her—that her own daughter doesn't trust her. And Luz does love Javier. It broke my heart to see her face when she said his name. To love a man that much and to know you'll never hold him close again."

  Corrine saw the truth shining in Aleta's eyes. "She's helped you forgive Davis."

  "That's right. She has. Her taking me aside and insisting I hear her out…It was the final nudge I needed to realize how much I love my husband, to see that I do, absolutely, want our marriage back. Because I…" Aleta whipped a tissue from the box on the coffee table and dabbed at her suddenly brimming eyes.

  Corrine's eyes were wet, too, by then. She took a tissue of her own. "You've doubted him, doubted his love for you."

  Aleta made a low, sad little sound. "I did wonder if it was all a lie, our life together. I wondered if maybe he had married me for my wealth and social standing more than for myself."

  "But you're past that now."

  Aleta swiped at her eyes, dabbed at her nose. "I am. Yes. Davis can be pigheaded and overbearing and judgmental and so annoyingly superior."

  Corrine chuckled through the tears. "Tell me about it."

  "But I love him."

  "Oh, I know you do."

  "And during the past couple of months since I've moved out, as he's pursued me relentlessly, he's finally succeeded in convincing me that he loves me, too."

  * * *

  At his house, Matt hung out with Kira until eight. Then came the bedtime rituals—her bath, her story, a good-night kiss. He turned out her light and closed her door and went to his room, where he took off his shoes and stretched out on the bed.

  When he woke up it was ten after two. He went downstairs to wait for Corrie.

  At five of three, he heard her car pull up in front. He headed for the foyer and opened the door for her so she wouldn't have to fiddle with her key. She came up the steps in her usual pea coat, tight jeans and cami, a dark blue one this time, that matched her eyes.

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the warmth of the house, shut the door with his foot and kissed her hello.

  "Long night?" he asked when he lifted his head and got a closer look at the shadows under those beautiful eyes.

  She leaned her head on his shoulder. "You'd better believe it. We had three fights break out. That's a record, I'm pretty sure. Jealous men. Angry women. They all seemed to be at the Rose last night."

  "You want a drink or something?"

  "If I never see another drink, it's going to be too soon."

  "A bath, then?"

  "Now you're talkin'."

  So he ran a bath for her, poured in the bubble-making stuff she liked and didn't wait for her to invite him before climbing in with her.

  "Come here," he said, once he'd settled in among the bubbles.

  She floated around so she could lean back against him. He gathered her in and pressed his cheek to the top of her head, thinking that his house always felt more comfortable, more like home, when she was in it.

  She said, "Your mom has moved back in with your dad. When you dropped me off last night, she was waiting to tell me, with her bags all packed."

  He wasn't particularly surprised. "It was bound to happen."

  She sighed and rested her arms on top of his, which were wrapped around her waist. "Yeah." Idly, she stroked his forearms. Her touch felt so good. She said, "I'm gonna miss her, though."

  He kissed her temple. "I know."

  "And I need to find a new sitter for work nights."

  "No rush." He cupped her breasts. They felt just right in his hands. "Kira can stay with me in the meantime."

  "Too bad next week you're gone."

  He dipped his head and brushed a kiss on the moist, sweet-smelling curve at the base of her neck. "We can find someone, don't worry."

  "I'm not worried." She sent him a soft smile over her shoulder. Her skin was pink from the steam that rose off the water, her hair curling into corkscrews at her nape, her body smooth and slick and tempting against his. He wished he'd brought a condom into the bathroom with them. She said, "Your mom told me that she and Davis would love to have her at their place any time I need a sitter."

  He considered the fact that he would have to leave the bathroom to get protection. Inconvenient, to say the least.

  She laughed, a low, very sexy sound. "Did you hear what I just said?"

  "Every word. And if my mom will take Kira, no problem then." He caught her nipples between his fingers.

  She made a tender little moaning sound. "If you keep doing that, I'll be too breathless to tell you what actually happened between your mother and Luz."

  Reluctantly, he wrapped his arms around her waist again. "Tell me." She did. When she finished, he said, "Well, it's good to hear she's finally realized the obvious."

  "What do you mean, the obvious? Why wouldn't she have doubts? He had an affair, Matt."

  "A long time ago, an affair she's known about since right after it happened—and haven't we been through this all before?"

  She huffed a little. "Yes, we have. Though apparently you didn't hear what I said then."

  "Oh, yeah. I heard you, loud and clear. And I agree. He screwed up. Royally. And he's one lucky bastard he didn't lose her for good, that she's finally willing to forgive him. But still…"

  "What?"

  "It's just so obvious he loves her. That he's always loved her."

  "To you, maybe. Apparently, not to her—and come on, think about it. Mercy told me your dad tried to mess things up between her and Luke. And between Ash and Tessa. And Gabe and Mary. Okay, maybe his interference between Luke and Mercy was more about the whole family feud thing than about Mercy personally. But when he tried to get Ash to forget Tessa and Gabe to dump Mary, well, there's only one reason why he would do that. He didn't think they were good enough for his sons. And then there was the way he treated me…"

  Matt pulled her closer. "Come on. Do we have to go into all that again?" And then he had a sinking feeling. He took her shoulders and floated her around so he could see her eyes. "Has my dad done something?"

  She looked confused. "Something…?"

  "You know, has he said anything that hurt you, has he—?"

  "Matt." She lifted a bubble-covered hand and laid her fingers against his lips. "No. Truly, in the past four years or so, your dad has been a perfect gentleman to me." She let her hand drop beneath the water again.

  He wiped the froth of bubbles from his mouth. "You're sure?"

  "Of course, I'm sure. I have no issues with your father—well, not recently, anyway. I haven't forgotten the way he treated me in the past. But as of now, he's always civil to me and he loves Kira. I could hardly ask for more from him. And that wasn't my point. Will you let me make my point?"

  "Come back here first."

  "Oh, all right. She turned to rest against him again. The water buoyed her, so he wrapped his arms around her and she settled in good and close. "You listening?" she demanded.

  "I am."

  "My poin
t was that your dad wanted his sons to marry up, the way he did, that he married your mother because she had money and connections."

  "Uh-uh. He married my mother because he loves her."

  "But he wanted a wife who knew the 'right' people, a wife with a fat bank account."

  "So? He got what he wanted. Love and a rich wife. Is that so bad?"