by Pat Ballard
“Matt, we have to talk.” She sat in the chair opposite him.
“Don’t you like roses?” Matt joked, not liking the seriousness in her voice.
“Please don’t be flippant, Matt. We really need to talk.”
“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”
“Do you think we’ll be able to get through the conversation without a phone call from Molly?” Hanna couldn’t believe she’d allowed that to slip out.
“Now who’s being flippant?” Matt asked. “Hanna, Molly works in my friend Dave’s office. I’ve been working on a project with Dave that’s taking up a lot of time, and that’s where I’ve been and that’s why she called yesterday. I’m telling you the truth. Molly is a happily married mother of two. But thanks for being jealous,” he added with a sudden twinkle in his eyes.
“Oh, you’re so impossible,” Hanna said, throwing a rose at him. She believed him because she wanted to, and suddenly felt her spirits rising a little. “Matt, the house has sold. We have to move out.”
“When?”
“Two months, according to Houston.”
“Then there’s no real hurry,” Matt concluded.
“Don’t you know how fast two months can pass? We—I have to find a place to live. It’s just so strange. No one’s even come to look at the house. They don’t even know what they’re getting. This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
“Well, if we don’t find a place to live by the time the new owner wants to take possession, we could always go on that honeymoon we never got.” Matt’s voice was teasing, but Hanna’s pulses leapt at the thought.
“Where would you want to go on a honeymoon?” she asked.
“Anywhere with you would be a honeymoon,” he said, coming toward her.
“Yeah, that’s a good, safe answer,” Hanna said, dodging away from his outstretched hand. “Seriously. Where would you want to go?”
“I would love to go to that cabin of your grandfather’s you talked about. That way we could be together with no interruptions. We could make love all night and sleep all day, or make love all day and sleep all night. Or—and this is better, we could make love all day and night and not sleep at all.” Matt captured Hanna’s wrist and pulled her against him
“Is that all you think about?” she asked, feeling her pulses leap at his touch.
“I told you, when you’re around, it is. You make my blood run so hot, I might have a stroke if I ever did get a chance to be isolated with you.”
Hanna watched his lips ascending to hers and forgot about tomorrow and all the troubles that lay ahead, as Matt lowered her to the bed of rose petals covering the floor. They made long, sweet love, then fell into an exhausted sleep with the wonderful scent of roses wafting around them.
Sometime later, Matt roused them enough to go upstairs to bed, where they both slept soundly for the first time in several nights.
Hanna awoke feeling rested and content. Matt was still asleep, so she eased from the bed and headed downstairs to get some coffee.
Sitting in her favorite chair on the deck, she looked out over the landscaped gardens. The peaceful scene with birds singing around her was one she had taken for granted, until now she knew it would no longer be hers.
Her grandfather’s face appeared, unwanted, in her mind’s eye. “Oh, Grandfather, what have I done?” Her heart ached with the loss she felt.
“Things aren’t always what they seem. You’re going to be okay.” Houston Couch’s face replaced Grandfather’s.
What had Houston’s words meant? And why had he looked so mischievous? Mischievousness was not one of Houston’s more common attributes.
Did he know something else about the will that he hadn’t told her yet? Frankly, she was getting tired of all the little ins and outs of Grandfather’s will. Why did Grandfather have to make this such a mysterious affair? Why not just get it over with in one session and be done with it? She was sure he mistrusted her mother so much that he felt this was the only way to proceed. But what a pain!
“So here you are!” Matt’s voice preceded him. He was trying to balance a cup of coffee and a Danish in one hand while he closed the sliding glass door with the other.
Hanna’s pulses clamored at the sight of him. His only apparel was a pair of cut-off jeans and thong sandals. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt, and the morning light glistened off the dark curls on his chest. Would she ever get tired of looking at him? Of being around him? Of making love with him?
He placed his coffee on the wrought iron table and slid a chair as close to Hanna’s as it would go, then plopped down in it.
“What a beautiful, beautiful morning. Now, this is the way life should be. A good night’s loving with a hot, steamy woman, then wake up and enjoy a morning like this with her. Life is good.” He grinned at her before stuffing a big bite of Danish in his mouth.
Overcome by his antics, Hanna burst into a peal of laughter. He seemed rested and relaxed, and she loved him even more like this.
“Whatcha laughin’ at, woman?” He asked around a mouthful of Danish. “You makin’ fun of the way I eat?”
“Now would I make fun of you?” she asked innocently, between giggles.
“I just think you might be that kind of hussy, you hussy!” He crammed the last bite of pastry in his mouth, washed it down with coffee, and leaned toward her. “Gimmie a kiss, Baby.”
“What is wrong with you?” Hanna squealed, slapping at him playfully.
“It just dawned on me this morning when I woke up that I’m truly happy for the first time in my life,” Matt said, suddenly serious. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever been with, and I love making love to you, but I also enjoy just being with you like this. I feel like a moonstruck kid this morning.”
Hanna could only stare at Matt. Had he possibly just said those words, or was she dreaming? He hadn’t said he loved her, but he had said all the other things that mattered. It was almost as good as hearing him actually say it.
She ached to tell him she loved him and felt the same way he had just described, but she was afraid to say too much. So she said nothing.
As they sat gazing deeply into each other’s eyes, they were vaguely aware of a door slamming somewhere in the house. Then a voice pierced the air.
“Hanna! Where are you?”
“Mother?” Hanna said aloud, disbelief flooding her face.
“Well, damn!” Matt ground out through clenched teeth.
Chapter 10
“There you are!” her mother chirped as she came through the sliding glass doors, Henri and Will trailing closely behind her.
“The perfect little family,” Matt muttered for Hanna’s ears only.
“Why, Mother, what a surprise!” Hanna said, getting up from her chair to give her mother a token kiss of welcome. “I didn’t expect you home from Europe so soon. And, Will, given the circumstances, I didn’t expect you home for a long, long time.” She could barely keep the sharpness from her voice when addressing her brother.
“Will told us you’d put the house on the market, and I came back as fast as I could to get this foolishness stopped!”
“It’s too late, Mother, so you might as well go back to Europe and have some more fun.” Hanna seemed to see her mother for the first time in her life. Mary Rockwell, or Mary Dupri as was actually the case, was a shallow, selfish woman.
As she stood beside the man who had helped her appreciate she was a worthwhile human being, Hanna realized all of her old intimidations and inhibitions were gone.
“What do you mean, ‘it’s too late?’” Will interjected.
“The house has already sold,” Hanna said.
“Well, did you get the right price for it?” Mary asked hastily.
Matt spoke up. “She got the appraised price for the house.”
Mary glared at him. “You just stay out of this. It’s no affair of yours.”
“Mother, Matt is my husband. What’s my affair is his affair, and I would
appreciate it if you didn’t speak to him like that.” Hanna couldn’t believe she stood here defending Matt when a few weeks earlier it had been him defending her. But, vaguely, she wondered how Matt knew what the house had been appraised and sold for. “I’ll tell you what, Mother. I’m sure you’re all tired from your rushed trip back to the states, so why don’t we meet at dinner tonight, and we can discuss what the future holds for us all.”
“Oh, all right, dear, but I’m really anxious to know how the profit breaks down,” her mother said, and turned and went back into the house with Will and Henri close on her heels.
“Does she mean what I think she means?” Matt asked.
“Oh, yes. She wants to find out how much her cut is going to be from the house.”
“You’re not really considering—?”
“Matt, would you like to come with me to Houston Couch’s office?” Hanna interrupted him.
In less than an hour, Hanna and Matt were in the lawyer’s office.
“Very interesting,” Houston said, looking up from the papers Hanna had retrieved from the safe in Grandfather’s office. “No, I wasn’t aware of the investigation of Mary and Henri in regards to your father’s death. But since nothing was proven, how you use this is strictly up to you. You’d probably even be able to reopen the case if you wanted to. I’m sure your grandfather didn’t make a stink about it for the sake of adverse publicity.”
“No, I don’t want to reopen the case. But I’ll use this information to get my point across to them tonight. Will you come to dinner with us? It’ll be at seven o’clock.”
“Sure, I’ll enjoy seeing the look on everyone’s faces when you drop your bombshell,” he chuckled. “Seems kind of Sherlock Holmes-ish, doesn’t it? Showdown at the dinner table! Your grandfather would be proud of you.”
“Well, we’ll see how it goes. But Houston, you said ‘bombshell.’ Make that plural—‘bombshells,’” Hanna said.
“What do you mean?” both men chimed together.
“You’ll see,” she said.
At seven o’clock, Hanna wasn’t surprised to find everyone on time and seated around the huge formal table in the dining room. Cook had done a wonderful job of setting the table with just enough casualness to take some of the harshness away. Hanna glanced around the table at all the faces and wished she could read each one’s mind.
Matt sat beside her, looking wonderful in a tan suit that enhanced his dark brown hair and piercing eyes. What was Matt’s real game plan, she wondered? Even though she knew he was completely on her side tonight, and she knew no one would ever make her feel more like a woman than he did when they made love, and even though she knew she would love him forever, there were still too many unanswered questions surrounding him.
She watched her mother talking low and excitedly to Henri, whom Hanna had insisted join them for dinner, much to his surprise. Hanna realized as she watched her mother that she had never paid any attention when Mary talked to Henri. She was surprised at how Mary’s face was alight with pleasure even after all these years of marriage to Henri. It was apparent that her mother really did love him. But she was too shallow to give up the money and social standing the Rockwell name could offer her, so she had lived a lie all these years.
For the first time in her life Hanna felt pity and compassion for her mother’s weaknesses, and she realized the stronger she became, the more apparent her mother’s weaknesses would become to her.
And Henri. Although at first he seemed extremely ill at ease sitting at the “big table,” he soon relaxed and was now contentedly listening to whatever Mary was telling him. He was a handsome man, Hanna assessed. He, too, was dressed in a suit, and Hanna realized she had seen him out of his chauffeur’s uniform only a few times in her life. Watching him closely, she was startled to see a sharp resemblance to Will. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? It was so strange how one could overlook the obvious.
Had Will ever noticed it? Probably not. Will was so involved in his own little world he didn’t notice much of anything, Hanna thought. As she switched her attention to her brother, she found him smirking at her.
“Well, Sis, you got everybody sized up in that calculating little head of yours?”
“You know, Will, it’s the most amusing thing. I was just looking at everybody, thinking how little I know of each of you.”
Suddenly, Mary and Henri stopped their conversation and looked at Hanna questioningly. But at that moment, Cook came in with the meal.
Conversation lagged while everyone began tasting the delicious food. Cook had really outdone himself tonight, and Hanna was glad. At least the food would be enjoyable, because what she had to say at the end of dinner, she was sure, certainly wasn’t going to be enjoyed by most of them.
Hanna felt in total control tonight. It was the first time she had ever been in the same room with her mother and not felt like a second-rate citizen. Never again. She felt alive and excited. She was about to be free of everything that had held her back all these years. She was about to be her own woman, starting her life all over with no chains holding her back. No harsh words from her mother or Will could ever make her crawl back into her shell and hide. She felt like a bird that had been set free after a life spent in a cramped, little cage.
She looked up to find Houston, seated across the table from her, smiling as he watched the emotions play across her face.
“Hanna, you look exceptionally beautiful tonight,” he said, tipping his wine glass to her.
“Well, thank you, Houston,” she answered, tipping her glass in return, knowing he was taking great pleasure in what was about to come down.
Everyone was almost finished eating when Mary spoke up. “Hanna, this suspense is killing me. When are you going to tell Will and me how much money we have coming from the sale? We have to go back to Europe in a few days. As you know, it will be better for Will if he stays out of this country for a little while.
“And get this, Henri just found out his great uncle recently died and left him a huge old French castle and quite a large bank account, so we really do need to settle up here and get back there as soon as possible, so Henri can settle his business affairs.”
No wonder her mother had looked so excited since she’d returned home. She was married to a wealthy man, and she thought she was going to get an additional chunk of money from the sale of Rockwell Place.
“Really, Henri? You’re now a wealthy man with a home in France?” Hanna turned her attention to Henri, who was beginning to look uncomfortable with the whole subject.
“Yes,” he answered, “I guess I’m one of those people who really did have a rich uncle.” His embarrassed laugh gave credence to his discomfort.
“And did you know about all of this before you left for your European trip with Mother?” Hanna persisted.
“Well, uh, we—”
“No, Hanna,” Mary interrupted, “he found out about his uncle after we were in France. The lawyers in charge of the estate had been trying to get in touch with him.”
Hanna could tell when her mother was lying. The corners of her mouth started to twitch just the tiniest bit.
“So, Hanna, come on, how much?” Now Will was letting his eagerness show.
“How much what, Will?” Hanna was determined to hear him say it.
“How much money is coming to Mom and me from the sale of Rockwell Place?” He didn’t seem embarrassed to ask the question. But why should he? He still believed he was a rightful heir.
“I’m afraid, Mother and Will, that you won’t receive anything from the sale of Rockwell Place.” Hanna’s words dropped like an exploding bomb.
“Whaaaat?” Mary and Will screamed together.
“I’ll sue your fat ass!” Will yelled, pointing at her, then looking quickly at Matt as if afraid Matt would come after him.
“Will! Shut up! I’ll handle this,” Mary screeched at Will, then turned on Hanna. “Surely you don’t think you can get away with this!”
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��And why wouldn’t I be able to get away with it, Mother? Rockwell Place is mine, as I’m sure you know.” Hanna couldn’t believe how quiet and controlled her voice sounded, in comparison with her quaking insides.
“But, honey—” her mother suddenly changed tactics, whining—“you know how hard it’s going to be for Will and me to live on just our allowance.”
“Oh, yes, the allowance will be stopped at the end of this month, also,” Hanna added to the brewing fury.
Matt and Houston watched as Hanna stood her ground and met the challenge from her mother and Will.
“That’s it!” Will bellowed, slamming his chair back and starting to leave the room.
“Sit down, Will, there’s more.” Hanna’s voice remained calm, but there was no mistaking the authority in her statement.
Surprised at Hanna’s new demeanor, Will sank slowly back into his chair.
“Mother, were you ever going to tell me that you’re married to Henri?”
“Oh, man, I can’t take any more of this,” Will said. “You have really lost your mind.”
“Mother, tell him. For once in your life, be honest with your children,” Hanna insisted.
She almost felt sorry for her mother as she watched the remaining color drain from her face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mary said, the corners of her mouth twitching more now.
Hanna reached down beside her chair and brought up a brown manila envelope. She took out the copy of the marriage license she had gotten from the bank lockbox.
“It says right here that you and Henri were married two weeks after my father was killed in that crash. Did you really think Grandfather was so stupid he didn’t know what was going on between you and Henri?”
“Mary, it’s over,” Henri spoke up. “It’s finally over. We can let the world know, now, how much we love each other. Stop denying it. We’ll go back to France and start over. Make a new life for ourselves.”
Hanna watched as her mother sank dejectedly into her chair, knowing she had lost the battle.
“So it’s really true?” Disbelief sounded in Will’s words. “But that shouldn’t affect me, I’m still a Rockwell. Even if the old man never treated me as if I were, I should still get my allowance and a share of the house, since I won’t even have a place to live now.” He was almost crying from frustration.