Vegas Sunrise

by Fern Michaels

  “You make her sound like a saint,” Celia sniffed.

  “If you knew the half of what my mother has had to endure, you’d swear she was a saint. We’re bickering, and if we don’t watch it, we’re going to have a fight. I don’t like fighting, and I don’t like confrontations. I had enough of that to last me a lifetime. I’m going upstairs. If you want to stay down here, then stay.”

  “If that’s the way you feel about it, I will.”

  Birch stalked across the casino floor. He didn’t look back.

  Celia headed for the Harem Lounge. She settled herself on the same stool she’d vacated earlier. “Scotch on the rocks. I’m Celia Thornton. I’ll run a tab.”

  “I’m buying. Put it on my tab,” Jeff Lassiter said smoothly as he slid onto the stool next to Celia.

  The sole occupant of Room 2711 paced the floor, his eyes going to the small travel clock perched on the nightstand. The minutes and hours ticked by slowly. Twice, Birch ordered double shots of scotch from Room Service. The third time he ordered, he asked for a bottle. At 3:45 he slipped between the sheets of the huge double bed. He thought he was drunk. If he were really drunk, he wouldn’t be able to see the bright, red numerals on the travel clock. More minutes ticked by.

  The numbers on the clock read 5:25 when he heard Celia’s card key slide into the lock. He rolled over, his head in the crook of his arm. His position allowed him to observe his wife as she stumbled into the bathroom and undressed. What in the goddamn hell was she doing all this time? Well there was only one way to find out.

  “Birch! I thought you were sleeping. I tried to be quiet.”

  “You’re drunk, Celia,” Birch snarled.

  “I am not. I did have a few drinks, though.”

  “How many is a few? All I have to do is pick up the phone and call every bar in the casino. They’ll tell me right down to the number of ice cubes in your drinks. I’d rather hear it from you.”

  “What’s gotten into you, Birch? So I had a few too many. So what. I enjoyed myself by talking to people, nibbling on pretzels, watching the entertainment in the lounge. I didn’t object when you said you wanted to go to bed. You were tired, and I wasn’t. That’s the bottom line. You have to get up in the morning as you pointed out. I don’t since I wasn’t invited to share breakfast with you and your mother the saint.”

  Celia took the slap high on her cheekbone, reeling backward to clutch at the shower curtain. The second slap caught her full on the mouth, splitting her lip. “Don’t ever, by word or look, talk about my mother like that again.”

  “You hit me! You struck me!” Celia howled as she staggered to the mirror. The horror of what she was seeing made her shriek at the top of her lungs. Birch slapped her again.

  “Shut up or Security will be knocking on the door. You stepped over the line, Celia. The women in my family do not hang out in the bars. The women in my family are ladies. I don’t want you to forget that. I’ll get you some ice.”

  “I don’t want your goddamn ice. I just want you to get the hell away from me. How dare you strike me! How dare you! Another thing, Birch, don’t ever tell me what to do again. I won’t tolerate it. We aren’t in a Third World country now where women have to endure abuse like this. Do it again, and I’ll personally fry your ass. I don’t want you to forget that.”

  “You sound like some floozie in a backroom bar. I won’t tolerate that kind of talk from my wife. My God, Celia, what’s happening to us? We never had a cross word between us the whole time we were in Costa Rica. I’m beginning to wonder what kind of life you led before I met you.”

  Celia’s shoulders tensed at her husband’s words. Her voice was a hushed whisper when she said, “It’s the liquor. You know I can’t drink. Look. I’m sorry. I behaved like . . . unlike myself. Let’s start over. I’m apologizing, Birch.”

  Birch’s eyes were wary, his shoulders stiff when Celia stepped close to lay her head against his chest. “Just hold me the way you used to. Let’s put this behind us and forget today ever happened. I have an idea. I’m going to take a shower since I reek of cigarette smoke. Order us some coffee from Room Service, and we’ll sit and talk until it’s time for you to get ready for the meeting with your mother.”

  Birch strode to the French doors that led to the balcony. He stared out at the city of lights, a city that never slept. His city now. His and Celia’s. Suddenly he wanted to cry the way he had when he was a small boy. He looked at his watch. Sage said he got up with the chickens. He walked back inside, called Room Service, then dialed his brother’s number. “Did I wake you, Sage?”

  “No. Is something wrong, Birch? You sound funny.”

  “I just hit my wife. Not once but three times. I needed to tell someone.”

  “Uh-huh. I guess my question should be, why?”

  “She was out all night drinking. She said things, I said things, she took shots at mom and I blew up. Would you ever hit Iris?”

  “No.”

  “What would she do if you did?”

  “If I had to take a guess I’d say she’d kick my ass all the way to Arizona, then she’d take the kids and beat feet. Dad never laid a hand on Mom, Birch. Grandpa Philip never touched Grandma Sallie. Maybe you need to talk to someone.”

  “I am. I’m talking to you. You’re better than any high-priced shrink. You know me. Can you get away for lunch, Sage?”

  “Sure. Name the place.”

  “The Fox and Hound at twelve-thirty.”

  Birch opened the door for the waiter, tipped him, then poured coffee into two cups just as Celia emerged from the bathroom, her golden blond head wrapped in a white towel, her body wearing a second towel sarong-style. Her left eye was swollen shut and her lips were puffy and bruised. Birch blinked.

  “I don’t think I can drink the coffee, Birch. Maybe if I had a straw. I wanted it more for you than me anyway. When you go downstairs would you send up some papers and magazines. I don’t think I’ll be going out for some time. Makeup won’t cover what you did. I want your promise, Birch, that you will never do this again. If you do, I’ll leave. The only reason I’m staying now is that I was wrong to do what I did. However, that doesn’t give you the right to use me as a punching bag.”

  “I’m sorry. Now, what do you want to talk about?”

  “Us. Here, this place. Your family and what they expect from us, me in particular. I want us to share everything like before. I don’t want us to have secrets from one another. I don’t want things between us to change just because we’re living in a new place. We’ll deal with the rest of the stuff as it comes up. Were you jealous, Birch?”

  Birch sipped at his coffee. It didn’t feel right. Something was missing. Sadness welled in him. He tried putting his arm around Celia’s shoulders. In the past he always felt good when she snuggled against him. For some reason he felt empty now. Things were moving too fast for him here in Sin City. In that one split second he knew that he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by coming back to Las Vegas. His eyes burned unbearably. “We’ll talk later, Celia. I have to shower and dress.”

  “You’re still angry, aren’t you?”

  “Disappointed would be a better word. You have my word that I’ll never hit you again.”

  Celia’s voice was that of a little girl when she said, “Okay, Birch.”

  His back to her, Birch didn’t see the ice-cold calculation in Celia’s eyes. He was also unaware of the way her hands balled into tight fists of anger as she pummeled the sofa cushions.

  “Where do you think you’re going, Mrs. Reed?” Marcus asked, his voice tinged with sleep.

  “I was going to order us some coffee. You don’t have to get up, Marcus.”

  “It doesn’t work that way, Fanny. You get up, I get up. Let’s just lie here and talk.”

  Fanny snuggled closer. “I love waking up knowing you’re next to me, and I can touch you if I want to. I’m so glad you found me that night, Marcus. My whole world had just been knocked right out from under me. And then
, suddenly, there you were. I knew right at that moment something good was going to happen for us.”

  “I knew, too. It happened. Look at us now.”

  “Are you sorry you retired, Marcus?”

  “Are you kidding!”

  “You led such an exciting life flying to the Orient, Europe, South America on a moment’s notice. You met wonderful, exciting people who controlled huge corporations, even small countries. This must be so tame compared to that time in your life. I worry, Marcus, that you will start to miss the excitement.”

  Marcus leaned up on one elbow. “Fanny, look at me and listen to me. It was a job. I hated the hotels, the thick, rich food, never knowing from one day to the next where I’d be. My body never seemed to catch up with the different time zones. I lived in fear that I would get sick in some damn foreign country and die because I couldn’t speak their language and they couldn’t speak mine. I should have quit or retired a long time ago. I would have but there was nothing on my horizon but work. I settled. Until I met you. The only thing I can say for all those years was it paid well and helped me to help make my sister’s life more comfortable. She was all I had. When she died, I worked harder because it was all that was left for me to do.

  “Then I met you and your family, and I knew what I’d been missing all those years. I wanted to belong to someone. The sweetest words I ever heard were when you told me to drive carefully because you cared what happened to me. You gave me the key to that little house in the cottonwoods. I was so bone tired that day. I knew then that I loved you.”

  “I knew I loved you then, too. Just think, Marcus, if I hadn’t been in the Harem Lounge that night, if my feet hadn’t been hurting, we might never have met. We wouldn’t be lying here right now.”

  “Don’t think that, and don’t say it,” Marcus said.

  “I like it that we’re going to grow old together. We need a purpose, though. We should both start to think about doing something meaningful, something we can do together. It’s important to give back, to contribute.”

  “I agree. When the people across the street engaged my services it was impossible to get them to understand that little adage. They were so locked into the old ways they refused to open their eyes. They were eaten with jealousy over you and couldn’t understand how you, a mere woman, could be so successful. In some ways it was quite comical. That was one of the reasons I made up my mind to meet you. I heard just last week that your colleagues across the street donated three million dollars to add an extension on to the main library. It was done anonymously. You’re responsible for their generosity. They all look out for you and your family. You are aware of that, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. I know in my heart you had something to do with that.”

  “They listened. This town, these people, they take care of their own, Fanny. They watched Sallie for years. She never asked for anything. She was fair, and she gave back. Then you came along and did the same thing. It doesn’t matter that you’re on one side of the fence and they’re on the other.”

  “It sounds so nice when you explain it like that. They helped me, Marcus, more than once. I hope they know they can count on me.”

  “Trust me, they know that.”

  “Marcus, I would trust you with my life. I know my kids feel the same way about you.”

  Marcus leaned back into his pillow. “Until I met you, Fanny, my life was like a page in a notebook with a few scribbles on each page. After I met you there were more words on the pages and then, when I had the good sense to marry you, the pages became full and made sense. I think I have a whole book now.”

  “Do you think we should get it published?” Fanny teased.

  “No. However, I do think we should make meaningful entries from time to time. Like now. I’d like it very much, Mrs. Reed, if you’d make love to me.”

  “Would you now, Mr. Reed?”

  “Oh, yes, Mrs. Reed, I would.”

  “If I make love to you, will you make love to me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Then I think we should get on it right away so we don’t waste any more time.”

  A long time later, Fanny stirred. “Shhh, Marcus, there is no reason for you to get up. I have just enough time to shower and meet Birch. Later, let’s go on a picnic.”

  “Hmmmnn.”

  “You look like a satisfied man. I like that, Mr. Reed.”

  Marcus rolled over and opened one eye. “Wait till you see what I can do on a picnic.”

  Fanny giggled. “Promises, promises. I’m going to hold you to that promise, Mr. Reed.” Marcus’s light snores followed her into the bathroom. “Thank you, God, for blessing me with this wonderful man.”

  Birch took a moment to watch his mother at a table set far back in a corner. She must have chosen it for privacy. She was pretty, as pretty as he remembered. He felt sad when he noticed the fine wrinkles on her face and the gray in her hair. His mother was getting old. Had he expected her to be forever young? Yes, yes, yes. She noticed him then and smiled, her gentle loving smile he had thought about thousands of times over the years. Suddenly his world was bright, warm, and wonderful. He smiled in return as he strode toward the table.

  “You look wonderful, Mom.”

  “I was going to say the same thing to you. You look so much like your father it’s downright spooky. It’s not a bad thing,” Fanny added hastily.

  “You look happy, Mom. I don’t think I ever saw your eyes sparkle until now.”

  “I am deliriously happy. My family is doing well. Sunny has exceeded mine and the doctor’s expectations. Jake, Polly, and Lexie are super little kids. Jake is so good with his mother. Sometimes I want to cry at the way he loves her. Your dad did a wonderful job with him. He talks about Ash all the time. Sage and Billie run Sunny’s Togs and Rainbow Babies like the pros they are. We’re on the Big Board now. The Colemans are doing well. I guess I should say the Kingsleys. Billie really doesn’t like the fishbowl life in Washington, though. I’m meeting later today with the other branch of the family. Last night you barely got to say hello. Marcus is a wonderful man. I want you to get to know him. He makes my life complete. Someday, I don’t know when, we’ll talk about your uncle Simon. Please don’t be bitter where your father is concerned. He did what he felt he had to do. That doesn’t make it right. It was his choice. In the end, when it counted, he came through for all of us. That’s what we have to remember. We made our peace, Birch.”

  “I guess I have a lot of catching up to do. One minute I feel like I’ve never been away, and the next minute I’m sorry I came back. Life was simple back then. I hope you don’t feel like I let you down.”

  “I never thought that, Birch, even for a minute. You did what you had to do. Life is too short for recriminations. I wish you had let me know you were coming back. Because I didn’t know what to do when Bess and John announced their retirement, I offered the job to Jeff Lassiter. He has a three-year contract. He knows the business since he worked at the casino summers and holidays when he was in college. You’ll be working under him, Birch. When Jeff’s contract is up, we’ll discuss our options. I can’t and won’t go back on my word. Your salary will be $100,000 plus the penthouse. Do you have a problem with any of this?”

  Hell yes he did, but he wasn’t going to admit it. “Since it’s a done deal, I guess not. How are we going to, you know, divvy up the workload?”

  “Jeff’s waiting for your input. I don’t think he’ll step on your toes, and I don’t expect you to step on his. I want you to work in harmony. The others like him. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. I’m sorry, honey, if this isn’t what you expected.”

  Birch forced a lightness into his voice he didn’t feel. “You know me, Mom, go with the flow. I can handle it.”

  “If things go awry, or they aren’t working, I expect you to come to me. We’ll work it out. I want your promise, Birch.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  “I scheduled a meeting for you and Jeff for two o’clock i
n the office. This place is now yours, Birch.”

  Mine, but my half brother is calling the shots. How the hell was he going to tell Celia he was second banana?

  “So, what else is on your agenda today, Birch?” Fanny asked when she finished her coffee.

  “Actually, Mom, I’m going out to the center to see Sunny. Celia will probably sleep the day away. I’ll be back in time for the meeting. I missed you, Mom.”

  “And I missed you. Give Sunny a hug for me.”

  “Will do.”

  Birch stared at the rehab center where Sunny now lived. As pretty and picturesque as it was, it was still an institution. He felt a lump form in his throat. Why Sunny? Of them all, Sunny had always been the most vibrant, the most daring, the most courageous. As a youngster and then as a teen and young woman she’d been fearless. Her athletic prowess was beyond measure. She’d bragged last night about winning a wheelchair race here on the grounds. The lump in his throat seemed to be getting bigger as he roll-called memories of Sunny besting him and Sage in every sport—their father, too. How had it come to this for his sister?

  Eyes burning, Birch climbed from the car. He loved Sunny almost as much as he loved Sage and Billie, maybe more. Sunny was special. She was always in his face telling him like it was, sparing nothing. He should have been here for her. Caught up in his own misery, he’d left her to flounder.

  Birch’s sneakers slapped at the flagstones as he loped his way to the reception area inside the center. He waited patiently until the young doctor finished working on a chart. He held out his hand, a smile on his face when he introduced himself and asked to see Sunny.

  “Sorry. Visiting hours are Sundays only unless arrangements are made earlier.”

  “Are you saying I can’t see my sister?”

  The doctor nodded, his pen poised in midair.

  Birch’s mind raced. What would his father have done? Would he have used charm or bluster? Charm on a woman doctor, brash bluster and intimidation on a male doctor. Well, hell, if it was good enough for the old man, it was good enough for him.