The gangly redhead, whose face was a field of freckles, hissed in return, “And you were the one who said learning to sign and read lips was a mistake. Nevertheless, to answer your question, of course I saw what you saw.”
“There is going to be trouble. Mom’s back was to the wall when she asked my half brother to take on Bess and John’s job. With Birch back there is going to be hell to pay. What should I do, Harry?”
“All he said was he was the illegitimate son, which is true, and that someday he was going to own the place. It’s a stretch, but it is possible. If you start blabbing now, you might start something you aren’t prepared to finish. When in doubt, do nothing.”
“I don’t like Celia. She’s flirting with Jeff right under everyone’s nose.”
“You just met her, Sunny. Sometimes first impressions . . .”
“I saw the way she looked at you and me and our wheelchairs and the dogs. I’m an open-minded person. I could look beyond that, but I can’t look beyond the revulsion I saw in her eyes. She didn’t even try to hide it. I’m telling you, Harry, I see trouble, I feel trouble, and I smell trouble. If you expect me to keep my mouth shut, then we should go back to the center now.”
“Then let’s say our good-byes.”
“Are you leaving so soon, Sunny?” Iris asked.
“Early to bed, early to rise. We aren’t supposed to get excited,” Sunny said.
Iris grinned. “Ohhh, I like the way that sounds.”
Sunny’s gaze swiveled to the bar. She shrugged. “Want to walk us to the van after we say our good-byes? One of the guys took the dogs out a few minutes ago.”
“You bet. It’s time for Sage and me to leave, too.” Iris’s voice trilled when she said, “I just love that brother of yours.”
“Sage loves you just as much, Iris. He told me his world wasn’t complete until you came into his life. It’s so comforting to be loved.” Again Sunny’s gaze swept the length of the bar. She turned her chair with ease, increased the pressure on the hand control as she whipped down the room, ignoring Celia’s outstretched leg.
“For God’s sake!”
“How clumsy of me. Sorry,” Sunny called over her shoulder as she brought the chair to a halt next to her mother.
“I saw that, Sunny.”
“I swear, I’m getting worse and worse.”
“Really,” Fanny drawled. “Then how do you explain the wheelchair race you won two weeks ago at the center?”
“Pure dumb luck,” Sunny drawled in return. “Harry and I are leaving now. We’ll see you next week. Bye everyone!”
Birch wrapped his arms around his sister. He whispered in her ear, “So, big sister, what do you think of my new wife? She’s a knockout, isn’t she? She’s kind of reserved at first, but once you get to know her you’re going to love her. She’s really big on family.”
“I’m happy for you, Birch. Remember your promise to come out to the center to see me. What do you think of Harry?”
“A nice guy, Sunny.”
“Yeah, he is. We look out for each other. He’s doing better than me. He pushes me to my limit, and that’s good. I’m glad you’re back. I really missed you. We all missed you, especially Mom.”
“Well I’m home now. You’re going to get sick of looking at me. Iris is motioning to you, so you better get going.”
Outside in the cool evening air, Iris looked up at the stars. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Do you want to talk about it, Sunny? I can come out to the center tomorrow if you want.”
“What’s wrong, Iris?”
“Nothing. I did see that little byplay in there.” Iris dropped to her haunches and reached for Sunny’s hands. “It’s the strangest thing, Sunny, but suddenly I feel this fear. I don’t think I ever experienced fear before. At least not like this. I shouldn’t be telling you, and if Sage heard me, he’d say my imagination is working overtime. I’m afraid of her, Sunny. My God, I just met the woman, and I’m afraid of her.”
“Come out to the center tomorrow afternoon. We’ll talk on my turf. I’m a little braver there. If it’s any consolation to you, I kind of feel the same way. It’s like we’ve been . . . invaded. We do need to talk. Bring Billie if she wants to come. Three heads are better than two.”
“Okay.”
Iris watched until the van’s taillights were dots of red on the winding road. She felt herself shivering until her husband’s arms circled her shoulders.
“You okay, honey?”
“I’m fine.”
“Why so quiet this evening? Everyone seems kind of pensive. This was supposed to be a happy night. Birch is back with his new wife, and he’s happy. The family is together again except for Dad.”
“Do you think Birch changed? Being his twin, you would be more aware than the rest of us.”
“He’s happy. That’s the only change I see in him. I would imagine there will be fireworks when Mom tells him Jeff is going to run the casino. I think he’ll accept it. It was his choice to stay away. Life goes on. Mom will never go back on her word.”
“What do you think of Celia?”
“Didn’t we have this discussion a little while ago? It’s a loaded question if I ever heard one. She seems pleasant. Birch is crazy in love with her. Sunny detested her on sight. They got off to a bad start, but I think Birch can make it right. No one wants to be on the receiving end of Sunny’s wrath. It doesn’t matter that she’s disabled—her brain is as sharp as ever, and that mouth of hers is still the same. She listens to Harry, though. Strange, isn’t it?”
“They’re so good for one another. I can’t tell you how much I admire Sunny.”
“We all do, Iris. If we’re lucky, maybe they’ll find a cure for multiple sclerosis in our lifetime.”
“Sage, Birch must have told Celia about Sunny and Harry. Yet
. . . I saw the way she looked at Sunny. It wasn’t distaste. It was revulsion. Sunny saw it, too. I’m not sure about Harry, though.”
“Iris, that’s a terrible thing to say. Sunny . . .”
“I know what I saw, Sage. It’s not my imagination. It’s too nice a night to argue about something that . . . I was going to say that doesn’t concerns us, but it does concern us. Celia is now part of the family. You need to know, Sage, that I will step in if it looks to me like Sunny is getting the short end of the stick. I won’t tolerate it. Neither will your mother.”
“Jesus. It sounds like the three of you drew battle lines, and this is only the first shot. It is possible you misinterpreted the whole thing?”
“Wrong. Count us as four. Billie saw it, too; she was steaming. I’m afraid, Sage, and I don’t know why.”
“Fearless Iris. I don’t believe what I’m hearing,” Sage said, trying to make a joke of the whole thing. When his wife’s expression didn’t change, he felt his own first stirrings of fear. No, second stirrings of fear. The first ones were at the airport and on the ride home. Dependable, down-to-earth, commonsense Iris never got rattled, never showed fear. She looked problems in the face, studied them, resolved them. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, praying his own fears would dissipate.
Iris snuggled into her husband’s embrace. “I love you so much, Sage. There aren’t any words in my vocabulary to tell you how much.”
Sage felt his heart start to pound. His wife was professing her love and yet the words had an ominous ring to them. Fear jumped into his throat. He felt the urge to roar like a lion, giving notice he was protecting his own. He almost snarled when Birch came up behind him. His voice was less than cordial when he said, “What’s happening?”
“Nothing. I came out to get some air. I guess I really did miss this place. I like Marcus Reed. Mom seems really happy. Now, tell me, how do you like Celia?”
Sage’s heart continued to thump and grind in his chest. Birch looked like his answer was something he waited for all his life.
“Trust you to pick a real looker. We just met and didn’t have a chance to get acquainted. By the way, where is she?”
“Playing twenty-one. This is all so new to her. She’s like a kid at Christmastime. It’ll wear off in a week or so. I figured I’d let her indulge herself. Iris, you’ll take her under your wing, won’t you?”
“Well . . . ah . . . sure. I don’t have much free time with the kids and all. You know me, I cook and bake and take the kids on outings. Do you think she’ll like being around kids?”
“Are you kidding? She loves kids. She can’t cook or bake or do that homemaker stuff. I was hoping you could teach her, Iris.”
“For you, Birch, anything. Give me some notice, and I’m all yours.”
Sage slapped his brother on the back. “Time for us old married people to hit the road. We get up with the kids at the crack of dawn. We’re usually in bed by ten, so it’s past our bedtime. We’ll say good night. If we don’t see Celia, explain for us.”
“I’ll do that. Good night.”
“I’m glad you’re back, Birch.”
“Me too.”
“What can I do to make that frown disappear, Mrs. Reed?” Marcus asked.
“Until six o’clock my world was almost perfect. Then, in one instant, it changed. Right now I should be the happiest woman alive. All my chicks are in the nest, my wonderful husband is at my side, my two best friends are finally going to get the vacation they deserve. Billie and Thad are here, and so are Josh Coleman and his family. I haven’t seen any of them all evening. I’m a terrible host. What’s wrong with me, Marcus?”
“Your son brought a wife home. A wife you didn’t get to approve or disapprove of.”
“I’m sure she’s a lovely girl . . . woman. This wasn’t exactly the ideal time to introduce her. We all gave her short shrift as my father would say. Tomorrow we’ll arrange dinner or something so she can be the center of attention. If not tomorrow, then maybe this weekend at Sunrise. Josh said his family was staying on through the weekend. I really want to get to know all of them.”
“Honey, when are you going to tell Birch about Jeff?”
“In the morning. I invited him for breakfast. He said Celia likes to sleep late. What do you think of her, Marcus?”
“In my day we would have called her a dish. She’s a beautiful young woman. It’s obvious to anyone who looks at Birch that he’s completely in love.”
“But what do you think of her?”
“I think I want to know why you didn’t do that Fanny thing with your arms and your lips. I don’t think I ever saw you act so formal. Even with the Colemans whom you just met. Everyone kissed and hugged.”
“I meant to and wanted to. Then I looked in her eyes. I knew I didn’t want to hug or kiss her. I reacted to my feelings. Did Birch notice?”
“If he did, I don’t think it bothered him. Men are usually oblivious to things like that. How would Ash have reacted?”
“Oh, Marcus, I was just thinking the same thing. Isn’t it wonderful that you and I can talk about the children’s father without either one of us getting upset. To answer your question, Ash would have sized her up in a heartbeat. He had such a way with women. In minutes he would have known her strengths and weaknesses. He’d go on from there, well armed. He could outhink and outguess just about everyone expect me. He admitted that to me once. I’m sorry to say Ash wouldn’t have liked Celia one little bit.”
“You look tired, Fanny. Let’s say our good nights and head upstairs. Tomorrow is another day.”
“This is wrong, Marcus. We’ve all formed opinions on the run where that young woman is concerned. I’m sure she’s wonderful if Birch chose her for his wife. This . . . can be overwhelming at first. There was the long plane ride, choosing clothes quickly, the apprehension of meeting our family, all these people. Tomorrow I’m sure we’ll meet the real Celia.
“It’s wall-to-wall people,” Fanny said a moment later. “Unless we page everyone, we’re out of luck. Let’s just head upstairs to bed.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Celia Thornton watched her mother-in-law make her way to the private elevator that would take her to the penthouse. The penthouse that Birch promised would be hers.
The champagne flute in her hand started to shake. She set it down next to one of the slot machines as her gaze swept around the entire floor. She tuned out the world as she listened to the bells and whistles, the voices, the sounds of money dropping into metal trays. This was certainly very different from Ardmore, Alabama, population 1096. She shivered when she thought of her last day in the small town.
“I’ve been looking all over for you, honey.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this, Birch. Money smells, did you know that?”
Birch laughed. “Tomorrow or the day after, I’ll take you into the counting room. We had to buy a hydraulic lift to move the money from place to place. Money is heavy and, yes, money smells. Amazingly, people get sick from handling money. Are you ready to call it a night?”
“Yes. How do you get used to this?”
“After a while it becomes just a place. The noise, the smoke, the late hours, it gets to you eventually. My father loved it. They called him The Emperor of Las Vegas. It was in his blood.”
“Will they call you The Emperor if you take over?”
“I doubt it. Tell me, what did you think of the family. Aren’t they great?”
“Absolutely. I know I made the wrong impression. I should have listened to you about this dress. Do you think they sell sackcloth in the boutiques?”
“My sisters and mother aren’t glitzy people. Aunt Bess and Aunt Billie are plain people, too. We even eat plain stuff. My father was the glitzy one because he had a very high profile. He tried to mold Mom into what he wanted her to be, but it didn’t work. In the end he wanted her just the way she was. My mother is probably the most wonderful woman in the world with my sisters close runners-up. You’ll fit right in. Didn’t you just love Iris? I was jealous when Sage started going with her. Mom, Sunny, and Billie loved her on sight. I think she’s perfect.”
Celia’s head bobbed up and down. “Are you saying you want me to be like your sisters, Iris, and your mother?”
“Hell, yes. When something’s perfect, don’t mess with it. You’re going to fit right in, honey. Iris will take you under her wing and show you the ropes. Wait till you see Sunrise. We’re all going to go up there this weekend. I just made a snap decision here, but I know Sage and Iris will agree to a weekend get-together.”
“I see. What if I don’t fit in, Birch?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” His voice was so puzzled that Celia grimaced.
“I’m not a nester, Birch. I’ve always been a free spirit. You told me that was one of the reasons you fell in love with me. I don’t like rules and regulations. I like new things, new places, new interesting people. Costa Rica was fine for me because of you. I was somebody else there. I had to conform. That was part of the deal when I signed on. I didn’t make a deal with you, Birch, to cook and sew and do all those housewifely things. Maybe later. For now I want to experience this wonderful place. I don’t want a schedule, and I don’t want someone making decisions for me. Is this going to be a problem for us?”
“I think the question is, what will you do? Do you plan to get a job?”
“A job!” She made the word sound obscene. “Will we need another income? We never discussed this. If you need me to work, I will. I thought . . . hoped, I could stay home for a while. I guess everyone in your family works, huh?”
“Yes. Iris worked for a bit while she was pregnant. She tutored for several months after Lexie came along. The kids and Sunrise are a full-time job now. Billie loves working. Sunny would, too, if she could. She has great ideas and shares them in the middle of the night when she can’t sleep.”
There was a nip to Celia’s voice when she said, “How cozy.”
“Obviously we need to talk, Celia. We can do it upstairs or tomorrow. I don’t like things to fester. It might be good to do it after I have breakfast with my mother.”
“Does
that mean I’m not invited?” The nip took on an edge of frost.
“It’s not a question of inviting. We have business to discuss. You like to sleep late. Breakfast is at seven.”
“Does that mean I’m not part of this business? In Costa Rica you never made a decision without talking to me about it. We were a team. We worked together, and we shared together. Why is this different?”
“You know what I mean. You aren’t going to be working here, so what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is I thought we talked about everything. You know all there is to know about me. Now, suddenly, I’m finding out all these things you never bothered to share with me. I’m beginning to think you were deliberately hiding things. Is there anything else you haven’t shared with me?”
“I resent your tone and your implication, Celia. Those things weren’t important to me over there.”
“How could a trust fund not be important? How could all this wealth and prestige not be important?”
“To me it isn’t important. I’ve seen firsthand what money does to people. I’m just as plain and ordinary as the rest of my family. You said you felt the same way.”
“I had no choice but to feel that way. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth the way you were. I like the idea that you and I will never have to scrounge for money. I don’t think that makes me any less a person. Security is important to everyone.”
“This is a family business. I don’t make solitary decisions. I don’t think Mom would mind if you tagged along.”
“Tagged along.” The frost in Celia’s voice could have chilled milk.
“Poor choice of words. I’m tired, Celia. Mom won’t mind if you sit in on the meeting.”
“I beg to differ, Birch. Your mother doesn’t like me. I saw it in her eyes. Maybe it was the dress, maybe it’s something else. Maybe she doesn’t like me because you married me without her approval. Some mothers are like that.”
“My mother isn’t like that. You’re imagining things. My mother is the fairest, most impartial person walking this earth. She waits till she has all the facts before she makes a move. Everyone loves her, and she loves everyone in return. This town owes a lot to her. I take umbrage, Celia, at what you just said. I saw her welcome you.”
Vegas Sunrise Page 3