by Sable Hunter
“I feel like a new bride.” She pulled his head down for a kiss. “I’m fine. Right now, I’m heading back into the house to find Annalise’s bridal book to put out for the guests to sign. She and Cecile have left to go to the hair salon.”
“You didn’t want to go and get yours done?” Like a man, Alex had to ask the wrong question.
Scarlet looked stricken. “No. Should I have? I was just going to throw some hot curlers in it? Do you think that will be all right?”
He grabbed her hands and held her still. “You are beautiful, you don’t need to do a thing. I wasn’t trying to imply that you needed to get your hair done.” He laughed, and she realized they were having a typical couple conversation. “Go, gorgeous. Do what you need to do and know that you are the most beautiful woman here.” He leaned into whisper to her. “Including the bride.” Scarlet kissed him again, before heading to the main house.
Alex took the opportunity to call Doc Gibbs and make sure they were on for the first dialysis consultation the following morning. After the wedding, he and Scarlet had some serious things to discuss.
* * * *
Scarlet looked first in Annalise’s bedroom, but the book wasn’t there. Standing still a moment, she considered where else she might look. Taking one step toward the hall, she walked straight into somebody. It was a man. At first, she assumed it was Alex, and almost put her arms around him. But, then her body, so used to Alex’s touch, instinctively knew that this individual was too soft and not broad enough. Backing up a step, she looked up to apologize. Recognition was her first reaction, then a wave of uncomfortable trepidation assailed her. “Rick?”
“That’s right, church mouse.” Rick didn’t give her a chance to get away. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and spun her around, pinning her arm painfully behind her back.
Scarlet gasped from the pain. “Why? What do you want?”
“Want isn’t the right word, Crip. I could never want a woman like you. No man in his right mind would ever want a woman like you. Alex Stewart doesn’t really want you.” Scarlet struggled and Rick increased the pressure. “You had better be still, or I’ll break this arm—snap it like a twig. Does that hurt?”
“Yes, it hurts. But, you’re wrong! Alex loves me.” Scarlet stated emphatically. At her declaration, LeBeau pulled the trapped arm up sharply, causing Scarlet to nearly pass out from the pain.
“I told you, one more word like that and I’ll do more than dislocate your shoulder. All of this is a joke, church mouse. We’re in cahoots, Alex and me. ” Rick said with a sneer. “Just like when you thought you would be attending the prom. You’re not really married. Who would want to marry you? The truth will eventually come out and everybody will laugh and laugh at you. The church mouse getting a man? Alex is going to enjoy the look on your face when he tells you that this was all a great big hoax. Your hot-shot boyfriend is really in love with your sister and I have proof. He doesn’t really love you, you’re a stand-in. Listen to this, church mouse.”
Still holding on to her, Rick took a small recorder out of his pocket and pressed play. Alex’s voice came over it, unmistakable. “I don’t love Scarlet. I don’t want to marry her. I love Annalise.”
Scarlet shut her eyes as the pain assailed her. God, what was she going to do? Was it all a lie? As one who is dying, Scarlet’s last few days flashed before her eyes. Alex loved her, didn’t he? “Alex loves me.” Scarlet stated, but not with as much certainty as before. Suddenly, Rick jerked her hair back sharply, bringing her to her knees. Scarlet bowed her head, not knowing what the next moment would bring. “What do you want from me, Rick?” she asked with resignation in her voice. Lord, she hoped he didn’t have a gun. Scarlet never even considered calling for help, there was no way she would knowingly lead anyone else into danger. She would just ride this out, find out what he wanted, and then, hopefully, he would let her go.
“I want what you had. Did you know that your daddy was really mine? Oh, he came off like a big Christian man, but he had two women and two families. Only, I was hidden. I was cast aside. You, you ugly, bitch, you’re my half-sister. And I hate your guts. I want you to be miserable. If you’re miserable, I can be happy. Now, I want you to admit that you’ve gone too far. You’re assuming too much. Admit that you don’t deserve to be happy.” A rivulet of fear traveled down Scarlet’s spine as Rick Lebeau’s hands slid from her hair to her neck. “Shall I squeeze the breath from your body? How does this feel? Can you breathe?”
At first it was a caress, which turned Scarlet’s stomach, but then his fingers tightened around her neck and for the first time, Scarlet feared for her life. How ironic. If what he said was true, her own brother was going to kill her. Somehow, she wasn’t shocked. She always knew that life with her father was not what it should be. He always came off as so self-righteous. Perhaps, he had protested too much. Now, it looked like it might be all over. She had been prepping her mind for months, readying herself to accept her mortality. What a shame that just as it seemed she would have a real chance at life, another cruel twist of fate seemed destined to take it away. “Why do you care so much? What my father did to you wasn’t my fault. I never knew anything about it!”
Suddenly it all made some horrible form of sense. Jeff Ramsey and his hatred for Annalise, Rick LeBeau and his hatred of her. Her father’s harsh attitude toward her clubfoot and her kidney disease. It was all connected. His grip on her neck was suddenly a vise and Scarlet knew that she needed to do something if she wanted to live.
“I despise weak people like you, church mouse. The world would be better off without you. I can’t resist, I have to hit you. It’s going to feel so good. I hate you for taking my daddy away from me, I hate you for having the family that I never had.” Rick’s voice iced over and he let go of her neck long enough to land a blow against her temple.
Scarlet gulped with pain and then she spoke in a small, defeated voice. “My childhood wasn’t anything to write home about. You, of all people ought to know that.” With another crushing blow, he hit her again. Desperate, she asked. “If I say what you want me to say, will you let me go?”
“I can’t promise anything, but let’s try it, sis.” Rick’s mind was obviously affected. He kept one hand around her throat and the other kept an unforgiving pressure on her arm and elbow. “Say, I am nobody.”
“I am nobody.”
“Say, No man will ever want me.”
“No man will ever want me.”
* * * *
Alex had been watching the house and knew that Scarlet had had ample time to find what she needed and return to the yard. An uneasy feeling was niggling at his mind. Unable to shake it, he went to see about her.
Entering the house, he heard voices. Scarlet’s he recognized, and the other sounded oddly familiar. Following the sound, he couldn’t believe his ears. What the hell? When he rounded the corner and saw that monster LeBeau with his cruel grip on Scarlet, he almost vaporized with fury. And when he heard what that shit was making her say, he lunged.
“You let her go, you piece of trash!” Seeing Alex, the former Longhorn linebacker, rushing him, LeBeau slung Scarlet to one side like so much cotton batting. “What do you mean treating her like that? What did she ever do to you?” Alex didn’t give him time or air to answer, he picked him up and flung him out in the hall, and when he landed in a heap, Alex followed him and repeated the process. As soon as he got him outside the B&B, Alex called Bobby over to hold his ex-employee, while he returned to find his baby. God, if that idiot had hurt her, he would kill him with his bare hands.
“Scarlet, baby!” Alex called out, rushing to where he had last seen her. She sat where LeBeau had left her, an almost blank look on her face. “Are you all right?” Alex knelt at her side, his hands lifting her hair to see the damage that the rough hands had done to her soft skin. There were black and blue fingerprints on her neck, and an angry welt was beginning to show itself on her right temple. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.
Let me carry you to bed, you need to lie down. I’ll call the doctor.”
“No. No. That won’t be necessary. I’m all right. Just a little bruised that’s all.” He pulled her to him, but something was wrong. Scarlet held herself back just a little, a tiny stiffness that sent a chill deep into Alex’s soul.
“Scarlet, what’s wrong?” Alex asked with fear in his heart.
“I’m fine,” she answered softly. Scarlet looked at Alex, with a confused, disoriented expression on her face, as if she kept waiting for him to explain what had happened. “He didn’t really hurt me. He told me that he was my half-brother. Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Scarlet’s voice was vague and disconnected. She was scaring Alex to death. “I think he was just trying to scare me, that’s all.”
“Your brother? You’ve got to be kidding me! Tell me everything. What did he say to you?” Alex helped her up, still trying to examine her body. He found the marks on her arm and noticed that she kept it protectively against her, as if it brought her pain. Something was wrong. It was more than just her physical injuries. Scarlet should be clinging to him, letting him comfort her. Instead, it was if she were somewhere else. She had withdrawn from him.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “He just wanted me to admit that I was nobody important and that I had no right to be happy.” Her voice sounded so distant, as if her mind was otherwise occupied. Scarlet was answering the questions automatically, without feeling or emotion.
“Talk to me, Scarlet. What’s wrong? I can tell something has happened besides the obvious.” Alex was desperate. He couldn’t fix it if he didn’t know what was broke.
Alex was chilled when Scarlet turned to him and smiled a little far-away smile. “Everything will be all right. Let’s go down and tend to the wedding preparations. We’ll sort all of this out later.”
Bobby had called 911 and LeBeau had been arrested for trespassing and for assault and battery. Scarlet had been cooperative, but Alex could tell that something had changed. She was saying all the right things, but her heart wasn’t reaching her voice. He hovered near her, touching her at every opportunity. She never flinched from his touch, but she offered none of her own. The timing was piss-poor. There was no place and no opportunity to talk to her, he would just have to wait until after the wedding and reception to get her alone and get to the bottom of this mess.
* * * *
Scarlet didn’t know what to think. Everything had been so wonderful, so perfect. And now? Now she wasn’t so sure. She needed to be alone and work it all out in her mind. Alex wasn’t acting any different, he was as loving and attentive as ever. But, if this were all a joke, if everything he had said and done had been a farce, Scarlet thought she just might die. Funny. If this were a joke, then so was the insurance card. Something in her rebelled, there was no way that Alex could be that cruel.
But Rick LeBeau was a different story. He had always hated her, and now she knew why. In their scant dealings, he had always been the aggressor, and she had never knowingly antagonized him about anything. It was intimidating to realize that you irritated someone else just by being alive.
Scarlet stood at her spot at the garden gate, welcoming each guest, making sure everyone knew where the restrooms were and where to put their wraps. No one seemed to notice the bruising, she had hid it well with make-up.
Alex was advising the parking attendants and greeting business associates, but he checked on her every few minutes. Everything that Rick had said to her and the tape he had made her listen to was playing and replaying in her head. Alex wasn’t in love with Annalise, he was in love with her...wasn’t he?
Scarlet mechanically took care of business. Questions and variables were hurdling through her mind like ricocheting bullets. On her way to take her place with the rest of the wedding party, her cell phone beeped in her bejeweled evening bag. Who could possibly be calling? There wasn’t anyone else that would call her. “Hello?”
“Is this Scarlet Evans?”
“Yes.”
“You probably don’t remember me, but this is Sandy Moffett at the County Clerk’s office. I just called to let you know there was a problem with that marriage license that was filed for yours and, uh, Alex’s nuptials.”
“A problem?”
“Yes, I don‘t have all the information, but I wanted to call and let you know that you aren’t married.” Was that a muffled laugh that she heard? “You will need to reapply for a new license. I hope this isn’t a tremendous inconvenience.”
“Have you contacted Alex?” Scarlet’s voice was weak and she had to force herself to speak up loud enough for the woman to hear her.
“I’ve tried, but so far, I haven’t been able to get through. Could you let him know?”
“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible. Could you keep trying his cell?”
Scarlet knew who Sandy Moffett was. She was the woman who had made no secret in her attraction to Alex. Oh, God! Scarlet felt like she was going to throw up. Her legs were weak and she was trembling all over. God, it was true! There was no wedding. Alex didn’t love her and she had been the brunt of the most elaborate punk of the century. How they must be laughing! What would Annalise say? Tears welling up in her eyes, Scarlet sought a quiet place to shelter her nervous breakdown. Heading into the pool house, she thrust the door open and sank to her knees. How could she face Alex, now?
Flashes of memory kept invading her thoughts—the touch of Alex’s hands and lips upon her body, the rapture they had shared. How could he have faked that? He had been attracted to her or there was no way he could have made love to her like he did. Something wasn’t right. Trying to pull herself together, she tried to separate what she knew from what she thought she knew. Reliving every moment that she had spent with Alex, she tried to remember even one time when there was a hint that he did not love her. There was none. Either he was the greatest actor since Clark Gable or he was sincere. And that meant that Rick LeBeau was responsible for the whole thing.
There was one character trait that Scarlet had always prided herself on, and that was the ability to view the facts and then face them for what they were. After analyzing the horrible events from every angle, Scarlet made a decision.
She had no reason to doubt Alex.
He said he loved her, and he had shown her that he did in every possible way.
So, Scarlet decided to believe him.
Unwilling to wait another moment, Scarlet went to find her husband. As she walked out of the pool house, a sight greeted her that took her right back to square one. Standing before her was Alex, and in his arms was Sandy Moffett. Unable to bear the sight of him in the arms of another woman, she stole quietly away.
* * * *
“Sandy, I told you that this wedding was private.” Once again, Alex was trying to extricate himself from the blonde’s clutches.
“I knew you didn’t mean it. You want me here.” She ran her fingers through his hair, he pulled her hands down. “Tell me the truth Alex, aren’t you even tempted to kiss me?”
“No, I’m not. I am a happily married man.” Alex was emphatic in his rejection of her.
“Well, that’s not exactly true.” Sandy said with a twinkle in her eye. “There was a problem with the license. It was rejected.” Sandy’s words were said so flat and commonplace that at first Alex didn’t digest them.
“What did you say?”
“You aren’t married to that woman, Alex. Your special license was rejected. Don’t ask me the details, I’m just a lowly clerk.” If Alex hadn’t been in public, he might have been tempted to throttle the bitch standing before him. If the special license had been rejected, he knew it had been her doing.
“Well then, I’ll just have to see that it gets fixed. Won’t I?” He stepped back from the poisonous woman, her very presence turning his stomach. “Can you see yourself off of my property or would you like my help?” He stared at her cold and hard. Sandy should be able to tell by the steely determination in his eyes that Al
ex was deadly serious about her leaving. So, she left.
Alex scanned the crowd, looking for Scarlet, but she was nowhere to be seen. He wanted her to know nothing of what had just transpired. He would move Heaven and Earth to fix this. Scarlet had been through enough today. All he wanted to do was get this ceremony behind him, go to the police station and take care of the LeBeau crap and come back so he could be alone with his wife.
The parking was done and the guests were taking their places. Soon, it would be time for him to join his brothers and the pastor to wait for their cue to begin the wedding ceremony. Dressed in an Armani tux, Alex supposed he looked pretty good. Surveying the crowd, he couldn’t miss the stares of the women as they watched him hungrily. But he didn’t give a damn. The only pair of eyes he wanted watching him were Scarlet’s.
Taking a deep breath, he looked around to search for her. Before, he could take another step, a small pair of hands slipped around his waist. Relief washed over him like a warm spring rain. “Would you hold me, please?” Her simple request was the sweetest words he had ever heard.
Turning to her, he pulled her close and pressed butterfly kisses all over her face. “Gladly.” His heart was hammering as if he had run a marathon. Now this was more like it.
Scarlet held him tightly. She didn’t understand, and she didn’t know what was going to happen. What she needed was time to think, alone, away from Lost Maples and away from Alex. So, what he didn’t know was that this was good-bye, at least for a little while. “I just wanted to tell you thank you for everything you have done for me.” She let him hold her tight, and she allowed herself to sink into his hard warmth one more time.
“This will soon be over, baby. I have to go take care of business at the police station, but just as soon as I can, I’ll come home to you.“ Scarlet didn’t say anything, she just clung to him, breathing in his precious scent.
She wouldn’t be here when he came back.