by Cathie Linz
Big Bertha, indeed. Kelly would have found this entire situation very amusing. Too bad she wasn’t here to enjoy it with him.
“Welcome to your new home, Chocolate,” Kelly said as she opened the front door to her town house.
The place looked different to her. She looked around. Nothing had changed. The plump ivory couch with raspberry chenille throw pillows was still the focal point of the living room off the cathedral ceiling foyer. The pair of hibiscus plants near the sliding door were blooming, the flowers a vivid pink that picked up the colors in the large oil painting over the couch—a beach scene meant to depict the coast of Italy. The painting reminded her of the beach on Pirate’s Cove. She could almost hear the hypnotic sound of the surf, feel the warm, soft sand beneath her bare toes.
Looking down she saw ivory carpeting beneath her feet and Chocolate spread out on that carpeting, his muddy feet testimony to the rain that had fallen shortly before their arrival.
Okay, so she’d have to make a few adjustments. Ivory carpeting might not be the best choice here. She could change that. Dark brown wouldn’t show the dirt as much.
She headed for the kitchen, bringing Chocolate with her. The hallway was tiled in eggshell ceramic squares and would be easier to clean than the carpeting. The dog clearly liked the kitchen, heading straight for the shiny white fridge.
“Your food isn’t in there, it’s in here.” Kelly set the bag of groceries on the small pine table that she’d picked up at a local flea market.
Chocolate checked out the equally shiny fronts of the dishwasher and stove before returning to Kelly’s side to investigate the bowl of dried dog food she’d set down for him. He ate a few of the nuggets before looking up at her reproachfully as if to say, “These aren’t leftovers. Where’s my lasagna?”
“This is dog food. It’s what you’re supposed to be eating. I left the lasagna back on the island, okay? I can make more, but don’t think it’s going to be your main meal. Those days are over. You’re starting a new life now.” She reached for the paper towels and dampened one before belatedly wiping the dog’s paws. “Maybe I should just put you in the shower,” she muttered. The memory of the last time she’d given Chocolate a bath set her back on her heels. Justice chasing her after she aimed the garden hose at him, Justice telling her he had a terrible ache, Justice kissing her as if there was no tomorrow.
But tomorrow had come, and with it had come the heartbreak of knowing that he’d only been playing a cruel game with her.
The fates were playing a cruel game with him. Justice had decided that much when it had taken him hours to find a car to rent because of some kind of big tourist event in Beaufort. Just his luck that rain had started to fall as soon as he drove north to Nashville and continued all night. Just his luck that a semi had jackknifed, closing one lane of the interstate and backing up traffic at the start of Nashville’s early morning rush hour.
His shoulder throbbed painfully by the time he arrived on Kelly’s doorstep, a sharp reminder of how he’d come to be here and the journey he’d taken to arrive at this point. He’d had plenty of time to think during the long drive, plenty of time to work on what he was going to say to Kelly when he saw her.
This time he had a plan. As Kelly had said, a Marine usually had a plan. Something else she said once kept coming back to him, as well. When he’d told her she was sexy, she hadn’t believed him. She’d told him that she wasn’t the kind of girl who gets the guy.
Well, all that was about to change. She was exactly the kind of girl for this guy. And he’d tell her so. He just wasn’t sure how. He wasn’t at ease with fancy words the way his brothers were. He’d never been a smooth talker. Fact was, he’d never been much of a talker at all. He preferred to have his actions speak for him.
Which meant taking Kelly in his arms and kissing her the moment she opened the door. Only problem was, he had a feeling she’d slug him if he tried it. No, first he had to explain things to her, convince her that while he may have briefly considered using her as a way of getting back at Barbie, it had only been because he’d been suspicious of her motives in helping him, in kissing him.
Okay, so that was his plan. First he’d briefly explain, then he’d take her in his arms. Or at least his good arm. And he’d tell her about his plans for their future. Good. That sounded like a plan.
He looked for the doorbell, finally finding it on the wall at a right angle from the door. Stupid place to put a bell. Maybe he should have combed his hair or shaved or brushed his teeth or something first. Too late now. Where was she? A car he assumed to be hers was in the driveway, which meant she was home. It was still too early for her to be out.
He rang the bell again. He heard the sound of a dog barking on the other side of the door. The aforementioned canine had noticed his arrival. He noticed she didn’t have a peephole on her front door. He’d put one in for her.
Finally he heard the sound of the dead bolt being undone.
Sweat pooled above his lip, and his palms were damp. Ridiculous. He’d faced death unafraid and here he was, scared of a little thing called love.
The door opened. Kelly stood there, her hair tousled, her Tennessee Titans sleepshirt sliding off one bare shoulder, her big brown eyes looking at him as if he were the scum of the earth.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded in a frosty voice that was still husky from sleep.
“I came to see you.”
“What for?”
“To talk to you.” Brilliant, Wilder, he mocked himself. Tell her, tell her why you’re here. “I came to tell you…”
“There’s nothing you could tell me that I’d want to hear.”
She tried to close the door in his face, but he moved quickly to put his foot out, preventing it from slamming. “Kelly, listen to me, this is important. I drove all night to tell you…” The words froze in his throat, not because he didn’t love her, but because he did. Not because he didn’t mean the words but because the words meant so much. He swallowed and started again. “To tell you that…that…that I…I…I love you.”
Chapter Eleven
“Is this your idea of a joke?”
“No,” Justice replied, taken aback by her accusation. “It’s my idea of a romantic declaration.” Clearly he’d done something wrong here. This was not the reaction he’d been hoping for.
During the long drive up he’d envisioned her falling into his arms, and the two of them making love. Apparently that wasn’t going to happen this second. Maybe he should have worked more on that speech the way his mother had advised him to.
“Look, I don’t know what kind of devious plot you’ve come up with this time…What are you grinning at?” Kelly demanded.
“Devious. It’s one of those words you use like trifled with and trouncing. That’s one of the things I love about you. Your prodigious vocabulary.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Have you been drinking?”
“I wish,” he muttered, starting to feel like an idiot. “I don’t suppose you have any whisky in the house, do you?”
“No. And even if I did, there’s no way I’d invite you in for a drink. Not after what you did to me.”
“You’re talking about what your sister said.” Justice knew he’d have to address that matter sooner or later. He’d just hoped it would be later. “It wasn’t true.”
“Right,” she scoffed. “Now you say that. Now when you’re trying to reel me in like some fish you’ve got on a baited hook. Well, I’m not a fish.”
Justice blinked at her, baffled by this turn in the conversation. “Right. I know you’re not a fish,” he said carefully.
“And I’m not taking the bait.”
“Look, I’m really not much of a fisherman, so could we cut the fishing references here?” he asked. “I’m trying to tell you that I love you.”
“Stop saying that.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted to hear.”
Uh-oh. Big mistake. He could see the fury flaring i
n her eyes.
“How like a man to say something simply because he thinks it’s what a woman wants to hear.” Her sharp words dripped ice.
“That’s not the only reason I said it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Marines don’t lie.”
“Of course they do,” she shot back. “Especially if they’re Force Recon Marines and lying will get them their objective.”
She watched the light in his blue eyes dim. “I’m no longer a Force Recon Marine.”
She found herself almost reaching for him before remembering where that had landed her last time, in his arms, half-naked. She sighed. “Justice, I don’t know how to help you.”
He stiffened his shoulders. “I didn’t come here looking for help.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“I already told you…”
“And I told you that I’m not buying your claim that you love me. So why don’t you tell me the real reason?”
“You’re impossible, do you know that?” he growled in frustration.
“Thank you so much for sharing,” she retorted.
“Do you love me?”
His point-blank demand left her speechless.
“Well, do you?”
“I’m closing the door now,” she said.
“Wait. You don’t know what I’ve gone through to get here. I was on a boat with Big Bertha.”
“Then maybe you should show up on her doorstep instead of mine.”
Slam.
Justice hadn’t even gotten to greet the aforementioned canine, who had docilely sat at Kelly’s feet and stared at him in commiseration.
A Marine never surrenders. Which meant it was time for plan B—calling reinforcements.
When the phone rang later that morning, Kelly fully expected it to be Justice demanding once again to know if she loved him. Instead it was her father, demanding to know if she’d lost her mind.
“What were you thinking, going off to help your sister’s ex-husband that way? After all the things he did to her.” Roger Hart sounded outraged. “Instead of thanking his lucky stars that she married him, he took off with the Marines, abandoning her.”
“Justice didn’t abandon her, Dad. She grew bored when he didn’t make her the center of his universe.” She heard her father sputter on the other end of the phone.
“I can’t believe you’re taking his side in this.”
“Dad, their divorce was over ten years ago. It’s time to move on.”
“That’s what Mrs. Wilder said when I called her, but—”
“Wait a minute,” Kelly interrupted him. “You called Mrs. Wilder? When?”
“Yesterday. I remembered hearing something via the grapevine about the Wilders moving to the Phoenix area so I took a shot and called information down there.”
“You had no right to do that.”
“I had every right. I was worried about my daughter.”
“You were worried about Barbie, but you’ve got two daughters, not just one.”
“I know I’ve got two daughters.”
“Really? Because you don’t often act like it. You always take Barbie’s side in any issue, because she’s the beautiful one and I’m only the smart one. Talk about playing favorites. I’ve been quiet about it in the past, but I’m not going to sit here and let you harass Mrs. Wilder because of your mistakenly placed loyalty to Barbie. Mrs. Wilder has been a good friend to me over the years since Mom died, she’s been there for me more than you or Barbie have been.”
Her announcement was met with a stunned silence at the other end of the line.
“I’m sorry,” she said more quietly. “I didn’t mean to get all emotional like that.”
“Have you and Barbie been fighting?”
“No, actually we had a wonderful talk yesterday and cleared the air.”
“Because I’ve gotta tell you,” her father continued, “I feel like I’ve stepped into the Twilight Zone. You’ve always been the dependable one. It’s not like you to fly off the handle this way.”
Kelly rolled her eyes at Chocolate, who was lying at her feet on the kitchen floor. Oh, yeah, she’d always been the dependable one, and look where that had gotten her. In a mess. The bottom line was that she needed love as much as the next woman. She just wished she’d chosen someone else to love, someone without a track record with her sister.
“So shoot me if I don’t want Justice Wilder hurting my youngest daughter the way he did my oldest one.” Roger’s voice was becoming increasingly agitated. “Shoot me for being a father concerned about both his daughters. Yes, I said both and I mean both. Okay, so I may not be the most demonstrative person, but you’re both my kids—I care about you, and I worry about you.”
“I’m fine, Dad. You don’t have to worry.”
“Good. That’s all I wanted to hear.” Kelly had to smile as he quickly went on to change the subject to something less personal, talking about his business trip to California. He’d recently left his middle-management position with a multinational company to become a business consultant. Like Justice, her dad avoided emotions if at all possible.
So why had Justice come to her front door claiming he loved her? A Marine hates to lose. That was another fact. Maybe she’d hurt his pride when she’d walked out on him. That had to be it.
Even if Justice did think he loved her, Kelly didn’t think she was ready to open herself up to him hurting her again. She couldn’t believe his emotions for her were serious. Not the way they’d been for her sister.
By the time she’d said goodbye to her father, she’d reached the decision that the sign above her kitchen sink referred to her relationship with Justice as well as to her life at the moment: “Nobody said it would be easy, but this is ridiculous.”
She’d told Justice she didn’t do easy, that she liked a challenge. At the moment, easy looked very appealing for a change.
The phone rang again. This time is was Mrs. Wilder. “I just spoke to my dad,” Kelly said. “I’m so sorry if he gave you a hard time.”
“He was just concerned about you. I could understand that. I told him that Justice wouldn’t hurt you. I’m sorry that wasn’t the case.” The older woman’s voice was filled with regret and sympathy.
Kelly blinked away tears. “How much do you know?”
“Only that you wouldn’t have left the island ahead of schedule if something hadn’t gone wrong, like Barbie showing up.”
“What did Justice tell you?”
“My oldest son barely said two words beyond the fact that he wanted your phone number and address. I gave them to him, but only after making him promise he wouldn’t hurt you again. He cares about you, Kelly. He might not be able to say the words…”
“Oh, he said the words all right. Showed up just after dawn this morning on my doorstep announcing he loved me and demanding to know if I loved him.”
Mrs. Wilder sighed. “When I told him to work on a speech, that wasn’t what I had in mind. What did you say?”
“That I didn’t believe him.”
“Justice won’t have liked that.”
“He said he thought I wanted him to say that he loved me, so that’s why he said it.”
Mrs. Wilder groaned. “I had no idea he was so romantically inept. But, hon, I think he really does love you. He’s always been one to believe in actions over words. He doesn’t give me flowery cards on Mother’s Day, but he always sends me a big bouquet of my favorite red carnations without fail. He did come after you, Kelly.”
“Because a Marine hates to lose.”
“I don’t think that’s the reason.”
“You’re his mom, it’s your job to think the best about him.”
“True,” Mrs. Wilder admitted. “But you’re my friend, and it’s my job to tell you the truth.”
“Even so, your first loyalty is going to be to Justice and I can understand that.”
“Give him a chance, Kelly. I know you don’t want to get hurt again
, but give him a chance to explain why he did whatever it is you think he did.”
“I gave him the chance when we were still on the island and he didn’t say a word in his own defense.”
“Was Barbie there?”
“Yes,” Kelly admitted.
“Well, that probably affected his common sense.”
“Don’t you see, I don’t want a man who is still so deeply affected by my sister. I want someone who’ll love me for myself.”
“I understand. And I think Justice is that someone. Give him one more chance, Kelly. Don’t close the door on your future happiness without doing that much. I’d hate for you to look back years from now and regret that fear held you back from reaching for your dreams.”
“I must be dreaming,” Joe Wilder said. “This can’t be my oldest brother, Justice, calling me for romantic advice. Being an expectant dad must have affected my hearing.”
“Shut up,” Justice growled into his cell phone. He was holed up in a discount motel fifteen minutes from Kelly’s town house. Maybe after he got some sleep, and some advice from his married brothers, he’d be more successful dealing with Kelly.
Joe hooted with laughter. “No, this is too good to let pass without marking the occasion.”
“Forget it. I’ll call Mark instead.”
“No way.” The Wilder brothers were very competitive. “I can give you better advice than Mark can.”
“He courted a princess.”
“I courted my commanding officer’s daughter,” Joe reminded him. “Much harder to do. Hey, what are you doing!”
A second later Justice heard his sister-in-law, Prudence’s, voice. “Don’t ask Joe for any romantic advice,” she told Justice. “Your brother doesn’t have a clue. You need a woman’s perspective. What seems to be the problem?”
“My wife is bossy,” Joe called out in the background. “Have you noticed that?”
“I’m also pregnant with your child and dealing with morning sickness so don’t mess with me, Wilder.”
“Sorry,” Joe and Justice both said in unison.
“I meant that comment for my husband,” Prudence said. “So talk to me, Justice.”