by Diane Darcy
Abruptly he snatched his wallet off the dresser and tried to wrestle it into his back pocket. When it wouldn’t fit he shoved it inside his jacket.
If that was how she wanted it he’d go along with her.
For now. They didn’t have time to fight anyway. But eventually they needed to have it out. He glanced at the bed they used for sleeping. He couldn’t go on like this for much longer. Something had to change.
He noticed the time on the bedside clock. Seven-forty. They’d never make it on time. “Come on. We need to leave. I told you I wanted to be there by eight o’clock.”
She picked up a long rectangular bottle from off the dresser. “Why the big hurry? I thought the party didn’t even start until eight.”
He watched as she sprayed perfume on her neck and wrists, and breathed in deeply, smelling the light, enticing fragrance. She’d worn this scent ever since he’d known her, and for some reason, right now, it reminded him of better times. Of when she’d loved him. When she used to tell him she loved him.
He pushed the thought away. Everyone went through bad patches in their marriage. At present, he needed to focus his energy on getting tenure at the University. Emily needed to feel secure. Then life would be better. He hesitated, slipped his fingers into his front pockets, then pulled them out again when he realized it made the tuxedo look worse.
Maybe she wouldn’t be so cold toward him if she understood what was at stake tonight. He cleared his throat. “I want a chance to talk to Jeff Johansen alone.”
He watched her. No reaction. Couldn’t she at least face him when he spoke to her? If she understood what he was trying to do for her...he sighed. “Emily, I didn’t tell you this, but two weeks ago I gave Jeff my new history text book to read. I’m hoping to get a chance to talk to him alone.”
He glanced up at her, but she still didn’t look at him. “I’m hoping he’ll put in a good word about me to the board members.” He shrugged. “Perhaps it’ll influence the board’s decision about my application for tenure.”
When she lifted her head to stare at him, he shrugged. “You know how standoffish Jeff is. I figured, possibly, if I asked him for a recommendation in a social setting instead of at the University...then maybe he’d say yes.” He shrugged again and cleared his throat. “Anyway, it’s worth a shot.”
Face blank, she nodded, then moved to walk out of the room.
Mouth falling open, Sam watched her go. He spills his soul, tells her his plans and...nothing! “Hello!” Sam’s fists clenched. “Did you hear what I said? You do want to stay in Utah, don’t you? You do want to continue to live near your mother, don’t you?”
She stopped in the doorway to glance back at him. “Did you want to talk about something?”
He made a sound of disgust. “Never mind. I just thought you’d be a bit more excited about my getting tenure.”
“That would be very nice for you.”
Nice for him? He watched as she headed toward Jared’s room. Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth, then followed.
Didn’t she care about anything anymore? This was their future he was discussing. Emily was the one who wanted to live in Salt Lake City forever, and Emily was the one who wanted to stay in this house, and Emily was the one with a mother in the same city. Was it too much to ask for a little enthusiasm? He brushed a hand over his face. What he wouldn’t give for ten extra minutes and a cigarette.
Following her down the hall, he heard her talking softly to Jared. “Sweetheart, I know you don’t need a baby-sitter, but we probably won’t be home until one o’clock or so. I’ll feel better knowing you aren’t alone in the house, all right?”
“But Mom, I’m almost twelve. It’s so dumb. If my friends knew I had to have someone over to baby-sit--”
Sam stepped into the room. The kid had no right to complain. Not after what he’d done. “And whose fault is that young man? If you could act like a responsible person rather than a hooligan then you wouldn’t need a babysitter, would you? After what happened, you’re lucky a babysitter and forty hours of community service are all you have coming.”
Sam rubbed one hand over his face. “Come on Emily, we don’t have time for this.” He started to leave the room, but when he caught sight of Jared’s blue eyes, so like his mother’s, glaring at him, it set him off again. He’d get respect from his own child if from no one else.
“Do you know how humiliating it was for me to be called down to the police station? To be told my son had been throwing snowballs at cars? To find out you’d broken a car window like some common vandal? If that’s what you do for fun over your Christmas vacation then you deserve to be watched twenty-four hours a day.” Sam realized he was pointing his finger to emphasize each word and, inhaling, lowered his hand.
“Like you were a saint when you were a kid, Dad.” Jared turned his back to sit at his desk, blond head bent, shoulders hunched.
Sam stepped closer to glare down at Jared. “Well, if I wasn’t, at least I was smart enough not to get caught.”
Emily stepped between them. “Sam--”
He spoke over her shoulder. “And I still want to know who you were with. Why you think you have to protect someone who gladly let you take the rap for the broken window is beyond me.”
“Sam, just drop it.” Emily glared at him, her arms crossed and her face tight.
Like mother, like son. Sam was the bad guy as usual. “I’m just trying to discipline our son. You’re too easy on him. He needs to learn there are consequences to bad behavior, and you need to stop interfering.”
“Sam. I said drop it.”
Frowning, he glanced from Emily’s set face to Jared’s bent head, then ran a hand through his hair. “What do you two want from me?”
Jared turned in his chair, his eyes condemning. When had Jared started looking at him like that? What had happened to the little boy who used to worship him? Perhaps Jared was just turning into a teenager a bit early. Emily really needed to spend more time with him. Keep him out of trouble. Sam rubbed his throbbing temples. As soon as he got tenure, maybe he’d have to do it himself.
The doorbell rang and Sam let out an exasperated sigh.
“That must be your mother.” He glanced at his watch. Twelve minutes until eight. “And she’s late. Come on, we need to go.” He grabbed Emily’s elbow and gave a tug. When she resisted, he scowled at her, then turned and left the bedroom.
He hurried down the stairs to open the front door, wincing as frigid air blew into the entryway. Alice, his elegantly clad mother-in-law stood on the porch, which explained the drop in temperature. She didn’t resemble anyone’s idea of a baby-sitter. Or a grandmother either, for that matter. His lip curled. After two divorces and one husband buried, she wasn’t hurting financially. She could afford to look as if she’d just stepped out of a salon.
Her make-up was perfectly applied, as usual. Short red hair, slightly curled, swept away from her face, emphasizing the chilling stare she fixed on him. As always, she surveyed him like he was a bug in need of squashing.
“Hi, Mom.” Her eyes flickered, and he smirked. She hated him calling her that. He stepped aside and gestured with a hand. “Please, come in.”
“Thank you.” Raising her chin, she eyed him coldly. “Your tuxedo is too tight.”
Witch. As she swept past, her clean, slightly tropical scent, floated by. “Mm. Nice perfume, have you got a hot date later?” He hit his forehead with his palm. “Oh, no, I remember now. You were free to baby-sit because you had nothing to do on New Year’s Eve.” He bared his teeth in a mock smile. “If you’d like, I could set you up with one of the professors at the University.” He winked. “We have a couple of old timers without spouses.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I hope they don’t have anything good to eat at the party, Sam.” She slowly smiled. “It looks as if your outfit might explode if you take even one bite of food.”
Emily came down and shot him a glare before hugging Alice. Sam’s jaw tightened. Now what did h
e do? “Can we leave?” Emily and her mother both ignored him as they moved up the stairs.
Sam waited about thirty seconds. “Emily! Time to go! What are you doing? It’s not like Jared and his grandma have never met. Let’s go!”
No response. Muttering under his breath, Sam stomped back up the stairs and into Jared’s room. Predictably Jared’s grandmother was fussing over him, one hand on his slim shoulder, as she praised a drawing she held in the other. His mouth tightened. Jared hadn’t shown him the picture.
“Emily, now would be nice.” Stalking forward, he gave her arm a sharp jerk.
She winced. “Sam, that hurt!”
His breath stilled in his chest as sudden nausea clogged his throat. He swallowed, then sucked in air. He’d never hurt her before. He opened his mouth to apologize, but the three glares burning into his face stopped him and he closed his mouth tightly.
Why should he apologize? If she hadn’t disappeared up the stairs, he wouldn’t have come after her and it wouldn’t have happened. As she frowned at him and rubbed her arm, he glowered right back, willing his queasy stomach to settle. Not his fault. He would not apologize.
Tapping his watch with one finger, he scowled at Emily. “It’s now five minutes until eight. In this weather it’ll take twenty minutes to get to my boss’s house. The party starts at eight which means we’re late.”
Alice sniffed and he shot the interfering hag a glare, which she returned. He jerked back to Emily. “For reasons I have already explained to you, I want the chance to talk to my boss alone.” He jerked his thumb toward the door. “If you could please move your butt out to the car, maybe we could get there before the party ends.”
He heard his mother-in-law gasp, but before she could say anything, Jared lunged forward, fists clenched. “Leave her alone!”
An unwanted flash of memory assaulted Sam and he recalled the protective defense he’d felt toward his own mother when he was a boy. He shoved the memory away. He didn’t have time for this.
Emily held up both hands to stop anyone from saying anything else. “We’re leaving now.” She leaned forward and kissed Jared’s cheek. “Love you, Baby. Be good for Grandma.”
Straightening, she walked past Sam, not even glancing in his direction. As he moved into the hall he tried to take her elbow, but she jerked away, hurried down the stairs, grabbed her coat and raced out the front door.
With a sigh, Sam followed, moving more slowly. Jerking her arm had been a mistake. But why couldn’t he ever get any cooperation around here? Why was everything always his fault?
Buttoning his long overcoat he closed the door and caught up with Emily, stopping beside her on the sidewalk. She pulled up the hood on her coat to block the lightly falling snow, but otherwise, didn’t move.
“What are you waiting for?” He followed her gaze to where an unfamiliar car was parked in the driveway. Parked directly behind his car in the garage, blocking them in. He inhaled cold air and gestured toward the car. “What is this?”
When she didn’t answer, he stepped forward and threw both hands in the air. “What is this?”
Jerking his head to the side, he spotted Alice’s BMW across the street, sitting under a blazing street light, snow already dusting its frame. He scanned the road and his mouth fell open. There were cars lining both sides of the street. He turned back to Emily. “Who’s car is this?”
Emily crossed her arms and said nothing.
He heard voices and strode forward, in front of the car and past the garage until he could see the neighbor’s front porch. The neighbor’s dog barked wildly through the six-foot wood fence, and startled, Sam jumped, then smacked the wood. Someone needed to put that dog out of its misery. He watched as their neighbor, Kendra Wakely, greeted a young couple on their well-lit porch.
Emily came up beside him. “I told Matt and Kendra their guests could park here.” She glanced at him and shrugged. “I thought we’d be gone before they arrived. Let’s just take my car.”
He looked at her car, covered in snow, parked off to the side of the driveway, and snorted. “I don’t want to show up at my boss’s fancy house in your piece-of-crap Plymouth.”
“Fine,” she said, her voice tight. “Let’s just stay home then, okay? That would be fine with me, because with the way you’re acting tonight, I don’t feel like going to a party anyway.”
“The way I’m acting?” The dog barked again, and Sam glowered at the fence, then pulled Emily back toward the house. “You’re the one slowing us down, making us late.”
She jerked her arm away from him. Again. His head pounded viciously. He pointed to the car in the driveway. “You’re the one letting people park in our driveway, and I get the blame for acting badly?” Sam blew out a harsh breath and tried to calm down. “Anyway, it’s not like we can miss it.”
Emily brushed snow off her coat sleeves. “Perhaps you should go without me.”
His lips tightened as he glared at the insidious car parked in his driveway. He would love to leave her home. But Jeff really liked Emily, and Sam needed her in his corner tonight. Besides, Jeff would want to know why he’d come alone, and the last thing Sam wanted was give the impression things were bad at home. Not with tenure on the line.
He turned back to her. She was giving him the blank stare again and his lip twisted. Maybe they should stay home. Going might be a sure way to prove to his boss that things were bad at home. But then he’d lose his big chance to talk to Jeff with a drink in his hand.
“So, shall I stay home?”
“No. I need you to come with me.”
“Fine.” She blew out a breath and the cold air changed to mist between them. “Do we need to ask someone to move their car?” She gestured toward the Wakely’s house. “If so, I want to make one thing clear. Just leave Matt alone, okay?”
His mouth dropped open. “Leave Matt alone? Why don’t you ever worry about Matt leaving me alone? How about a little wifely support?”
She crossed her arms, pursed her lips and stared fixedly at the streetlight two houses down.
Sam gritted his teeth. They’d never get out of here at this rate. Shoving his hands into his overcoat, he glared toward the neighbor’s house. If he asked Matt to have the car moved, their big-mouth neighbor would no doubt start an argument, and that would take too much time. Besides, Sam would get the blame for it. He grimaced. Some day he needed to kick Matt’s skinny butt, once and for all.
But not at this moment. He considered his mother-in-law’s BMW across the street. He could have Emily ask her mom if they could take her car. It was even nicer than his. But he didn’t want to go back inside.
He sighed. “Have you got your keys?” At her nod, he grimaced. “All right, let’s just go.” He’d deal with Matt Wakely later.
Sam yanked the frozen passenger door open and Emily climbed inside the car. After he’d cleared snow off the piece of junk, he eased his tightly clothed body behind the steering wheel and glanced at Emily. She sat stiffly, eyes forward, arms crossed. He needed to talk her into a better mood, sweeten her up before they arrived.
He cranked the ignition and the engine turned over a few times before the car finally started. He flipped on the defrost and the windshield wipers. What did she want to hear?
“Look, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings or anything, okay?” He watched her closely. No reaction. Forcing a smile, he leaned over as much as his clothing allowed and tried to hug her stiff body. “I’m sorry.”
She drew away. “Look, fine, whatever. If we’re going, let’s just go.”
Pulling back, he studied her in the dark interior. Fine. As long as she acted like a loving wife once they got there, she could act however she wanted now. After turning on the headlights, he backed the car out of the driveway and onto the freshly plowed road. Tonight needed to be perfect for him, and she’d better not mess it up. He let out a pent up breath. What he wouldn’t do for a cigarette.
* * *
Arms crossed, Sam watched from his
position against the wall as Carl Thurman veered to grab a glass of champagne before pushing through the crowd and making his way over. At thirty-eight they were the same age, and at six feet the same height, but the similarities ended there.
Sam noticed Carl’s scalp through his thin blond fuzz and ran a hand through his own dark hair, thanking good genes for its thickness. No baldness in his family. On the other hand, Carl had a reed-thin body that owed nothing to counting calories or exercise.
Carl reached him, took a huge gulp of champagne, then turned to survey the room. “What’s wrong with Emily tonight?”
Sam searched the crowd, finally catching a glimpse of his wife before she turned the corner in the L-shaped recreation room. She’d ditched him the minute they’d arrived, and he’d hardly seen her all evening. Not that he was surprised. Lately, she’d been acting as if he carried a contagious disease. As soon as the tenure thing worked out, he’d have to spend a little time making up with her.
He sighed. With Jared, too. When he had tenure, then they could all be happy. He picked up his soda from the side table, and shrugged. “Who knows? All I ever get from her anymore is blank stares or attitude.”
“You’re married. What do you expect?” Carl’s avid gaze continued to search the room. “Ouch, look at that.”
A long-haired, twenty-something blonde in a red miniskirt flirted with the man beside her. Then the crowd shifted, hiding her from sight.
Carl sighed. “I want one of those.”
“You’d better watch it. Never say things like that with your wife in the same room.”
Carl grinned. “Are you kidding? That just makes it more fun. So, have you had a chance to chat with Jeff?”
“Not yet. But I will.” Sam glanced around the crowded room. “What did they do, invite everyone they know?” The party was being held in the basement, but people were also touring the huge house, so a constant flow of people continued up and down the stairs.
Sam appraised the tastefully decorated room, with its leather furniture, plush carpet, artwork and toys. A crowd stood watching two men shoot baskets on an electronic machine. Others were playing ping-pong or shooting pool, while others stood in groups or gathered at the buffet table at the far end of the room. “Being head of the History Department must pay more than I thought.”