"And that's why you don't want children, because of this baby that you lost?"
"Yes."
Raymond sat back in his chair. "I have to admit I'm surprised. I never imagined you'd been through such a terrible experience. You've always seemed so young and pretty, untouched by life." He paused. "Come back with me to L.A."
She tensed. "I can't leave Mary Bea. We just brought her home from the hospital, and her mother hasn't returned yet."
"Why can't you leave her with her uncle?"
"Because I promised Maggie I would stay. And Mary Bea, too."
"You promised me you'd help me win this account," Raymond reminded her, suddenly all business again. "This is very important to the agency, to our future together. You should have a sense of responsibility, a loyalty to me, to the company, to your job. I don't understand what's going on in your head, Elisabeth."
Her name seemed wrong on his lips. Maybe that was the problem; she'd become Lisa again. But that would change, she told herself. She just needed to get herself together again. "I just need a few days, Raymond. I know it's inconvenient, but it's important to me. And it's not that much to ask, is it?"
He let out a sigh. "I suppose not."
She gave him a smile. "I do appreciate your driving all the way down here to see me. It means a lot to know that you care that much about me. I'm sure Maggie will be home today or tomorrow, and I promise I will come home as soon as she walks in the door."
"I hope you do," he said, getting to his feet. Pausing, he gave her a long, measuring look. "But don't come back until you know what you want, Elisabeth -- for both our sakes."
His cryptic words hung in the air between them as she walked him to the front door. He kissed her on the cheek and then left. She stood in the doorway, watching his car pull away, and wondered if he wasn't taking her future with him. At least, the future she'd been planning to have the last few years.
Nick came up behind her. "He didn't stay long. No quickie in the kitchen?"
She shot him a dark look. "You had no business getting in the middle of our personal conversation."
Nick frowned as he gave her a searching look. "He's old, Lisa. What are you doing with him?"
"He's fifty-two," she said tightly. "Not that it matters. We have a lot in common. Age doesn't make a difference."
"Doesn't it?"
"Not in our case, no."
"I guess you finally found that father figure you were always looking for."
"That isn't it at all. Raymond doesn't try to change me, to take over my thoughts, to rule every aspect of my life. He's a good man."
Nick stared at her for a long moment. "Maybe he is, but you still haven't told me that you love him."
"I love him," she said, feeling as if she had to push each word out.
"Not very convincing."
"Well, I'm tired." She moved into the house and shut the door. "And I really wish you hadn't told him that we were married."
"How was I to know it was a secret?"
"You didn't have to say anything. You were just trying to stake some claim on me."
He tipped his head. "Maybe I was."
The doorbell rang again, and her pulse leapt. "Maybe Raymond decided to come back. I didn't like the way he left." But when she opened the door, there were two other people on the steps, two people she really didn't want to see -- Bill and Kathy Maddux, Nick's parents.
Bill was an older version of Nick, long, lean legs, a strong build and gray hair. Kathy was a short, rather plump blond with a big smile.
"Lisa," Kathy said with amazement. "Good heavens, I haven't seen you in ages. Give me a hug." She opened her arms, and Lisa couldn't help but respond. The warm greeting seemed surprising given their conflicted past, but then again Kathy was a generous woman.
"Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?" Nick asked, as she stepped back and gave Nick's father an awkward smile. "Your trip doesn't end until Friday," he added.
"Tell him, Bill," Kathy said to her husband.
"You tell him."
Kathy rolled her eyes. "Your father got seasick."
"The boat was just too damn big. Couldn't find my way half the time," he said gruffly.
"They were on a cruise of the Greek islands," Nick said to Lisa.
"That's right," Kathy said. "We went halfway across the world, and all your father wanted to do was read his golf magazines."
"Now if they'd had a golf course on board, I'd have been happy."
"Anyway, we decided to come home early. We missed everyone. Where's Maggie?"
"Why don't you both come in and sit down?" Lisa suggested. "Nick made cookies. Would you like one?"
"Nick made cookies?" Kathy asked, putting a hand to her heart. "Good heavens! What exactly did he want from you, Lisa?"
Lisa felt a rush of heat splash across her cheeks at the teasing question. It reminded her of the way things used to be.
"I made the cookies for Mary Bea," Nick interjected. "She just had her appendix out."
Kathy's expression turned to worry. "Oh, my goodness. Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Lisa said. "She's sleeping."
"Oh, I have to go see her. I promise I won't wake her up. Come on. Bill. Let's go check on our sweet thing."
As they left the room, Lisa turned to Nick. "What are we going to tell them about Maggie?"
"I don't know. I'm thinking."
"Think fast. They'll be back in a second.
"Maybe I'll let you explain it."
"No way. They're your parents. And I'm sure they don't care much for me anymore."
"My mother just tried to squeeze the life out of you."
"She was being polite."
Nick looked at her in amazement. "Are you kidding, Lisa? My parents love you. They always have."
"Not after I left you the way I did," she said.
"They told me it was my fault."
"They wouldn't have said that."
"Oh, they did, trust me."
"Your dad has never been able to look me in the eye since that terrible night in the hospital."
Nick put his hands on her arms and gave her a little shake. "You could find rejection in an ant who decides not to make his home in your kitchen. My father doesn't look anyone in the eye when it comes to personal, emotional matters. He can't let his feelings show, whether they are good, bad or indifferent. You're the one who used to tell me that, remember?"
"Yes, I guess I did," she said slowly. Something else she'd forgotten. Why was her view of the past so distorted?
"My parents know that what happened to Robin was no one's fault. And we both share the blame in what happened to our marriage." He gazed into her eyes with a deep, sobering intensity. "We both do, Lisa."
"I know," she whispered, her eyes blurring with weary tears. "And you don't know how many times I wished I'd done things differently."
"That makes two of us."
"Mary Bea is still asleep," Kathy interrupted, as she walked down the stairs with Bill at her heels.
Lisa stepped away from Nick's grip. "That's good to hear. Would you like something to drink or eat?"
"Right now I just want information. And maybe a cookie," Kathy said, turning toward the kitchen while her husband muttered something about catching the news on television.
Once in the kitchen, Kathy sat down at the table and gave Nick a determined, motherly glare. "All right. What's going on?"
"Cookie, first?" Nick asked with a smile, as he sat down at the table and slid the plate over to her.
"Chocolate chip, huh? Lisa's favorite." Kathy sent them each a speculative look. "Yes, I'll take a cookie, but you're not going to distract me with food. I can eat and listen at the same time. What's going on with Maggie?"
"Maggie needed to get away for a few days to get her head straight," Nick said.
"Straight about what?" Kathy asked.
"I don't know." Nick rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "She's a little nuts at the moment."
"
What does that mean?" Alarm rang through Kathy's voice, and she leaned forward. "Is she having some sort of a breakdown?''
"Nick, you're scaring your mother." Lisa softened her voice deliberately, hoping to ease some of the anxiety she could see on Kathy's face. "Maggie had some questions about Keith's death that she needed to resolve. That's all."
"She thinks Keith might still be alive," Nick said bluntly.
"Well, don't sugarcoat it, Nick," Lisa said in disgust.
"She's a mother, she can take it."
Kathy put a hand to her heart and took several deep breaths. "Why would my usually sensible daughter think that her husband is alive, when we all know that he died in a fire almost a year ago?"
"She thinks she saw him," Nick replied.
Kathy gasped. "What?"
"It's a long story. There are all sorts of other things, insurance money, missing cash." Nick shook his head. "I'll admit, I'm getting worried. Maggie was supposed to be back on Sunday. She doesn't even know Mary Bea had her appendix out, because her cell phone died, and we keep missing her when she occasionally calls in."
Lisa hated the look of worry that crossed Kathy's face. She and her husband had just come back from a long overdue second honeymoon. They were rested, relaxed. At least they had been.
"Well, I'm glad you're here, Lisa," Kathy said with a sigh. "It's good to see you again, and it's especially nice to see you and Nick together."
"Forget it, Mom. She came down at Maggie's request, and she's marrying someone else in a month." Nick shoved back his chair and stood up.
"Oh." Kathy looked taken aback, but she quickly recovered. "Congratulations. I hope you'll be happy."
"Thank you. I think I'll check on Mary Bea. If you'll excuse me..." Lisa headed out the door, feeling a desperate need to escape. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her upcoming marriage with her ex-in-laws.
* * *
As Lisa left the kitchen, Nick walked over to the window and looked out at the backyard. He knew what was coming, and it didn't take more than a minute.
"You still love her, don't you?" his mother asked, as she joined him by the counter.
He shook his head, but he could see the disbelief in her eyes.
"Oh, Nick. I'm sorry."
"I don't love her," he denied, because it was what he was supposed to say. You weren't supposed to love a woman who'd walked out on you at the darkest moment of your life.
Kathy put her arm around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You two were so in love. I used to envy you."
"Why would you envy us?"
"Because you reminded me of the way I used to feel when your father and I first met."
"Yeah, but you lasted, we didn't," he said, his voice suddenly so tight he could barely say the words.
"We didn't go through what you did." She straightened up and looked him in the eye. "You and Lisa were both very young when Robin died. Heavens, Lisa was still breast-feeding. Her hormones were going crazy. I never held her responsible for the way she acted then. She didn't know what she was doing."
"Yeah, well my hormones were just fine, so what was my excuse?" He shook his head in self-recrimination. "I had no excuse."
"You were hurting, Nick. Drinking was not the answer, but you were so overwhelmed with pain that you couldn't handle the real world." She paused. "You have a great depth of love. When you commit yourself to someone, you go all the way, no holding back. You give everything you have to give. When you lost Robin, you lost a big part of yourself. When Lisa ran away, she took the rest."
"Well, I won't make that mistake again."
"That's what I'm afraid of. You haven't been serious with anyone since Lisa. I don't want you to end up alone, Nick, without a wife, without children."
"Maybe I'm better off without children. I certainly couldn't protect the one I had."
"That's the hardest part about being a parent, accepting that you can't protect your children from getting hurt. You can take all the precautions in the world and worry yourself like crazy, but each individual comes to this world with a life to live, no matter how long or how good or how scary it might be. We give our children life, but sometimes we forget that they're the ones who actually have to live that life."
Nick smiled and gave his mother a hug. "Thanks."
"Here's another bit of advice," she said. "Lisa's not married yet."
"Do I have a sign on my back that says sucker?"
"No, it says stubborn fool. You still love her. And she's here."
"Because of Maggie, not because of me."
"So what?" She waved her hand in the air. "You've got a second chance. Take it. If you don't, I think you'll regret it more than anything else that's happened."
He was afraid she might be right. "I'll think about it."
"Good. Now what are we going to do about Maggie?"
"You just said children have to live their own lives. How come you're giving me advice and worrying about Maggie?"
"Oh, shut up and give me another cookie. On second thought, give me the whole plate. I need something to do while we wait for Maggie to call."
Nick handed his mother the plate of cookies, then looked over at the phone and willed it to ring. It remained ominously silent.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lisa wasn't baby-sitting, she was hosting a family reunion, she thought wearily as she brewed another pot of coffee. Kathy and Bill refused to go home until Maggie called. Silvia and Carmela had arrived just before five to check on Mary Bea, and they'd all ordered out for pizza before Lisa could think of suggesting that anyone go home.
Now it was after eight and there was still no call from Maggie. What the hell was her friend doing? Maggie had been gone a long time, and this business about Keith was unsettling. There was no way he could be alive. No one could have survived the fire.
"My father wants to know if there are any cookies left," Nick said as he entered the kitchen. "Your Aunt Carmela wants to know if we have any mint tea and your mother-- ''
Lisa held up a hand. "Do they think this is a restaurant?"
"Yes. And we're the waiters."
"They're treating us like children. Have you noticed that? I swear my mother gives Roxy more respect than she gives me. Lisa, dear, are you sure you told the pizza man how to get to the house?" she mimicked.
Nick laughed. "My father suggested I didn't know how to work the remote control because I couldn't find golf on any one of two hundred and sixty-seven channels. Can you imagine?"
"You do not know how to work a remote control? Is the man nuts? You are the master. The grand master."
"Okay, that's enough."
She smiled. "So when are they leaving?"
"They're not."
"What do you mean, they're not?"
"My mother says she's not going anywhere until Maggie calls. Roxy graciously offered my mother her bed, and Dylan suggested my father take the bed in his room and he'd sleep on the floor. You'll notice that Dylan never offered to do that for me."
"I guess you don't rate. I should just give them Maggie's bed. Then they could sleep together. After all, they're still on their honeymoon."
"I know. My father actually kissed my mother when she handed him some pizza." Nick shook his head in bemusement. "It's crazy."
Lisa couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. "It's nice. They're still in love after all these years."
"I guess. Kind of sappy."
Nick sighed as his father shouted for his coffee. "That's it. We're out of here."
Lisa looked at him in surprise. "We can't just leave. The children..."
"There are more baby-sitters here than there are children."
"Mary Bea is still weak," Lisa protested, although it was halfhearted. Getting out of the house was the best idea she'd heard all day.
"Mary Bea is propped up like a princess in the living room with six people seeing to her every whim. Her fever is gone. She has no more stomach ache, and my mother and y
our mother know more about taking care of kids than we do." Nick sent her a wheedling smile. "Come on, let's go. We'll sneak out the back."
"My purse is in the other room."
"I'll pay."
"We should at least leave a note."
"Fine." Nick grabbed a piece of paper off Maggie's To Do list and scribbled the words "Back later, Nick." Then he took Lisa by the hand and pulled her out the door before she could think of another reason to say no.
They snuck down the side yard like thieves in the night, or at least like two runaway teenagers. Unfortunately, they had to pass very close to the living room window, and Nick paused as they heard his mother ask his father to close the window. They were literally trapped, because to move on the crunchy leaves would only draw attention to themselves. To stay might mean discovery if Nick's father happened to look out the window.
Suddenly the situation struck Lisa as funny, and she couldn't help the giggle that snuck past her lips. Nick put his hand over her mouth.
"Sh-sh," he said. "They'll hear you."
Lisa bit down on her lip to prevent another laugh. Heavens, she hadn't had this much fun in years.
Bill pulled the window down halfway, but he didn't bother to look outside. "Is that better, dear?"
"Yes, sweet 'ems," Kathy said in a cooing voice. "You're a darling. Come here and give me a kiss."
"Oh, God, I might just be sick," Nick muttered. "I don't know who those people are in that house, but they are not my parents."
"They're honeymooners."
"Who have been married for forty years. Come on, let's go, before they start looking for us."
They dashed across the lawn to the driveway and slipped into Nick's car. He put the car in neutral and rolled down to the edge of the driveway, not turning on the ignition or hitting the lights until they were as far away from the house as possible.
As they turned the corner and headed toward the highway, Lisa let out a sigh of relief. "We've escaped."
"And not a moment too soon." He flung her a quick glance. "So, where do you want to go? And don't you dare say L.A."
"Anywhere, Nick. Surprise me."
"All right. I will."
* * *
One True Love Page 25