He dropped his hand and drew back. “Just wanted to seal the bargain.”
“I—” She stopped, finding herself unable to form a coherent sentence.
He smiled, but he looked as shaken as she felt. “I know you said no intimacy, but we need to give at least the appearance of love at first sight.”
Lil took a deep breath. What had she gotten herself into? “When should we tell Mari?”
“I had planned to tell her earlier today, but I haven’t had the chance, too many people around, so I’ll—” He bit off the words.
She narrowed her eyes. “You were going to tell her even if I’d said no?”
He hesitated, then smiled wide and cocky. “Caught me. Look, I’m not an idiot. I could see she wouldn’t be able to handle motherhood or my life, for that matter.”
“You tricked me! I thought you—”
“Does it really change anything? I need a mom for my kids, you need money for the old homestead. We’re both getting what we want. Mari has nothing to do with it.”
Lil fumed and tried to sort out his logic. She gave up. She’d made a commitment, and he was right. Her mission was to preserve her family’s heritage, save Patsy Lee and help him save his children. Protecting Mari was an added bonus, even if Mari didn’t think she needed protecting. “I think we should tell Mari toni—”
“You don’t need to tell Mari one damned thing!” Behind them, an unsteady Mari crashed through the underbrush and into the clearing. Seamus followed, grabbed Mari’s arm to keep her from falling. She shook him off, clamped her fists on her hips and glared at Jon and Lil.
Lil felt Jon stiffen. His plan to gain custody depended on total secrecy, and Mari had never been one to keep secrets unless it was in her own best interests. Lil wondered how much they’d overheard.
She stood up. “Mari, Seamus—I—we—”
“I saw the whole thing!” Mari’s face contorted in anger. “Do you think you’re invisible from up there on the deck?”
Lil was relieved. Mari had seen the whole thing, but she hadn’t heard anything. “Mari, we couldn’t help it. I’m sorry. So sorry.”
Tears spouted from Mari’s eyes. “The whole fucking family was watching you. Watching you in the moonlight, talking, leaning on each other, kissing each other and—How could you do this, Lil? How could you? It was supposed to be me! Me! You’ve made a complete fool out of me, you’ve ruined my life, and I’ll never forgive you, never!”
“Mari—” Lil moved forward, reached out, but her hand brushed only the back of Mari’s blouse as she turned and ran back through the trees.
Seamus stared straight through her. “What are you doing, Lil?”
“I, uh—” She retreated to Jon’s side, giving herself a moment to recover her wits. It was time to pretend. She hesitated, then laid a hand alongside Jon’s cheek. Under a light stubble, his skin was smooth, taut. Her fingers trembled. Except for her father, Henry, and Robbie, she’d never felt another man’s face. Jon’s eyes grew amused. He tilted his head to capture her hand between his shoulder and chin, then twisted to lay a kiss on her palm. It took an effort, but she didn’t flinch. She looked back at Seamus. “I …” Looking at the concrete set of his jaw, she couldn’t continue.
Jon raised his head and gave Seamus an artless smile, but when he spoke steel underlay his words. “We’ve fallen in love,” he said firmly.
Without another word, Seamus turned on his heel and marched up the hill. For a few long moments, Jon and Lil stood rooted in place. Lil didn’t know where to look—certainly not at Jon.
“Shit,” Jon muttered.
That about covered it. Lil started up the path. She hesitated near the top and waited for him. In the face of Mari’s rage, he was better than no ally at all. Taking a look at her face, he grasped her hand, and they mounted the steps together.
On the deck, Mari sobbed in Seamus’s arms. Zinnia fluttered around the pair, and Sidney fluttered around Zinnia. Three-Ring watched them with undisguised fascination. Muttering to himself, Pop slipped into the cabin, but Lil noticed he stayed just inside where he could watch and hear. Looking wild-eyed, Stan muttered, “I think I left the stereo on in the boat,” then almost killed himself with a quick vault down the steps. Peter and Lydia huddled in whispers. Patsy Lee tore her eyes away from an apparent enthrallment with the nighttime sky. “Um, I’ll go start the dishes.” She glided inside.
Lil’s stomach churned. “Where are all the children?”
“Fortunately, playing flashlight tag out front.” Alcea watched Mari, lips pursed in distaste. “What is this all about?”
A lounge chair creaked. Lil glanced over her shoulder. Zeke had settled back, hands behind his head, looking for all the world like he expected high entertainment. She frowned, and he winked. Instead of angering her, somehow the wink settled her stomach.
“I’ll tell you what this is all about!” Mari pushed away from Seamus. Tears ran in funnels down her cheeks. “How dare you, Lil? How dare you decide what’s right for me? Don’t give me all this shit about love-at-first-sight. I may have been drunk yesterday but not that drunk. You despise him.”
Lil winced, and Jon squeezed her hand. She waited for the rest. There was no appeasing Mari until the rampage subsided. Zinnia tossed an alarmed look at her youngest, but when her gaze turned on Jon and Lil, it was full of speculation.
“I trusted you, I’ve always trusted you, and I can’t believe—just can’t believe—you’d betray me like this.” Mari balled her fists into her hair. “I hope you and Jonathan Van Castle rot in hell. You can just go fuck yourself. I mean it! Just f—”
Zinnia gasped. Expression neutral, Seamus grabbed Mari and gave her a sharp shake. Face crumpling, she collapsed on him again.
Over her shoulder, Seamus pinned Lil with a gaze as hard as malachite. “You are out of your mind. This man isn’t worth the trouble it would take to squash a bug. He’s evil.”
Jon’s mouth dropped open. “I beg your pardon.”
Seamus ignored him. He stared at Lil, his face so full of accusation, she had to struggle not to blurt out the truth.
“He’s not,” she finally uttered but without any heat. Jon stared at her, but she ignored him. She thought she understood Seamus’s reaction, and she didn’t blame him. She knew it must wound him to see someone taking Robbie’s place—and his.
Seamus’s mouth tightened. He gave Jon a look of pure venom, then wrapped an arm around Mari and led her inside. Feeling bereft, Lil let him go. She’d explain later. She owed him that, and he was so close-mouthed, she could trust him with the truth.
Jon turned to the rest and made some garbled explanation that she couldn’t remember later. In the face of her family’s dead silence, Jon’s party made awkward farewells. All except Zeke, who seemed as unperturbed as ever.
When Jon said good-bye to her, he took her face in his hands. His fingers nestled under her curls, and his thumbs stroked her cheeks. The intimacy widened her eyes, until she remembered they were supposed to be in love, and everyone was watching. She made herself relax, but her heart pounded. One corner of Jon’s mouth quirked, then he lightly kissed her lips. Butterfly wings, and her heart soared after them.
She yanked the miscreant organ back to earth. “Don’t do that.” She kept her voice low.
His grin spread, but concern shaded his eyes. “Courage,” he whispered, and with that, he was gone.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE NEXT DAY, Lil again joined Jon on the houseboat, resigned to play her part and do right by his children. Jon had called earlier to propose another lake excursion so they could tell his children of their impending marriage. She was no less exhausted this morning than she had been last night, but even another party was better than facing her family.
As before, Jon met her at the dock, this time giving her a low whistle. She blushed, adjusting the straps of a pale blue sun dress she’d borrowed from Alcea. She relinquished the beach bag she held into his outstretched hand, and climbed onto t
he boat.
“How are you holding up?” He glanced toward the cabin as they made their way aft. “Was it bad?”
“Bad enough. But Mother put a stop to it.” Lil paused, wishing she knew exactly what her mother was thinking. Surprisingly, Zinnia seemed to accept everything Lil had told them. In fact, even Pop’s resistance to her engagement had faded once Zinnia had pulled him aside for a chat. They’d returned united to support her.
Jon smiled. “Your mother’s a good egg. What about Mari?”
“She left last night to go back to Cordelia with Seamus.” Her stomach clenched. She’d never seen Mari so unforgiving.
They’d reached the sun deck. It was empty.
“She’ll get over it.” Jon turned to set down her bag. When he straightened, he caught her looking at his tanned, hard belly below his torn-off tank top. He winked.
She blushed and looked away. “Where is everyone?”
“Just us today. Us, the kids and Captain Sam.”
Above them Sam gave her a salute. She called a good morning, then followed Jon below to the cabin.
Inside, Melanie sat curled with a book. She wore an orange headband that pulled her bangs back and matched a terrycloth cover-up that was stiff with newness. Orange flip-flops decorated with purple, rubber flowers sat on the floor beside her. She confided Tina had gone shopping for her yesterday while everyone else was at the picnic, but she would still get her “spree” in the coming week.
With a cape tied round his shoulders, and his bowl-cut hair flying, Michael zinged from corner to corner with a Power Ranger doll. He was stuffed into a life jacket. Spotting Lil, he ran up to her. “Good! You’re here, and now I can have my present.”
Puzzled, Lil looked at Jon, but he only smiled. “In a minute, bud.”
She settled next to Melanie while Jon chased his son around the room, finally plopping on the opposite bench with Michael in his lap.
When Michael had stopped wiggling, Jon tweaked his nose. “I have a story to tell.”
Michael stuck his lip out. “You said we’d get a present.”
“I said a treat. The story’s part of the treat.”
“I want a different treat.”
“Shhh. Just listen, buddy. I promise you’ll like it.”
Michael looked skeptical but subsided.
“Once upon a time, there was a boy, a singer, who’d never found his lady fair, but one bright, beautiful day, a day made for dreams coming true, an angel in a white swimsuit appeared—”
Michael giggled. “Angels don’t wear swimsuits!”
Eyes lighting, Melanie hooked a glance at Lil.
Jon went on in this vein, elaborating on their meeting, spinning fantasy out of air. He got so caught up in his own words, Lil was certain he’d start crooning any minute. “…and so the boy and his own special blue-eyed angel decided to get ma—”
Melanie wriggled around to face Lil. “You’re going to marry my daddy!” She threw her arms around Lil and hugged her so tight, Lil lost her breath.
Michael frowned. “But what happened to the boy and the angel? And where’s the treat?”
Jon sighed and ruffled his hair. “I see I may have made things more complicated than I needed to.” He poked a thumb to his chest. “I’m the boy.”
Eyebrows puckered in concentration, Michael nodded.
“And that—” Jon pointed at Lil. “Is the angel. She’s also the treat.”
Michael’s brown eyes popped. “You mean you’re in love?” he breathed.
Jon gave Lil a wry glance. “Yessir, we are.”
“Yippee! She’ll make the best mom ever. She knows important stuff and she likes Texas Ranger and she reads and everything!” He scrambled out of Jon’s grasp and threw himself at Lil and Melanie, landing on them with a grunt.
Even as she laughed and returned their hugs, Lil wondered at Melanie and Michael’s enthusiasm. They’d spent only one day in her company and a few hours at the family picnic. Were they that starved for love? The fact that Jon had bounced between prospective brides like a Ping-Pong ball didn’t seem to bother them at all. Was this the kind of behavior they expected from him? She put her concerns aside for later thought.
After that, the morning was spent gliding along the shoreline. Jon and Lil sat cross-legged with the children on the sun deck, playing with Michael’s X-Men, then followed Melanie’s lead and affixed decals into a sticker book. When the sun grew hot, Lil changed into her swimsuit, and Sam anchored the houseboat so they could swim. At lunchtime, Jon hauled out a tray filled with peanut butter sandwiches, pickles, chips and root beer. “No shrimp salad.” He grinned at her. After dining al fresco, they tossed swim rafts overboard and floated like the puffball clouds overhead.
Lil watched Jon through half-closed eyes. Without his entourage, he was different today. More relaxed, his smile more ready. He splashed with Melanie, then tossed Michael from a raft and swam after him, never letting the boy drift too far out of his reach. He wasn’t a bad father. A little too indulgent sometimes, a little inattentive at others, but she could see he tried. Zeke might be right…. He did care. A lot.
Gradually she relaxed. With the children acting as buffers, Jon proved an easy companion. She learned he had a weakness for M&Ms, both peanut and plain, and hated lime gelatin.
“Yuck,” he said.
“Yuck,” Michael affirmed.
His idol was Willie Nelson, his rival, Diamond Rio, and the band had been nominated Entertainers of the Year for this year’s Country Music Awards. They faced stiff competition in the form of Alan Jackson. “He’s good, I’ll give you that.” Jon grinned. “But we’re better.”
To her surprise, he was also widely read. “Nothing else to do on the bus, except play cards with Sidney, and he cheats.”
Their talk ranged widely. They avoided discussion of recent events, and simply got to know each other. She learned he could be sensitive. When talk turned to Robbie, she’d grown quiet, and he’d changed the subject. When she asked about his family, he easily talked about the children’s grandmother, Dodo-short-for-Dorothy, and the ties he felt with Zeke and Three-Ring. But he steered away from any conversation concerning his childhood. Nor did he bring up his ex-wife, Belinda.
She remained curious about her but was hesitant to ask him any questions. Not even the children mentioned their mother, unless she prodded a little, and then they didn’t say much. It was as if the woman didn’t exist. She couldn’t help but wonder. After all, if it weren’t for Belinda, she wouldn’t be getting married.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ONE WEEK and three days later, on the first Saturday of August, Lil stood beside Jon amid a torrent of lace and yellow satin ribbons. The scent of roses from her mother’s garden spiced the air. Early evening sunlight drenched the beamed hollow of the Royal Sun Banquet Hall, packed with bodies politely perspiring under their formal dress.
The preceding ten days had been a whirlwind of press parties, preparations, dress fittings, publicity photos and legal papers. She’d spent more time with the children than she had with Jon. As the wedding approached, he’d been forever huddled with Peter or Sidney or his publicist. When they had seen each other, it was for a photo op or interview.
In front of a crowd peopled with both famous faces and the familiar ones from her hometown, she faced a judge and promised to have and to hold for the rest of her life. She felt vaguely faint. Reporters and photographers packed the rear of the hall. Videos whirred and cameras clicked, filming the event for posterity.
Peter, Jon and his publicist had carefully orchestrated the media. She’d objected to the attention at first, especially when her natural reserve had proved no defense with reporters. The more reticent she was, the more questions they hurled at her. Over time and with Peter’s coaching, she grew more adept with her public appearances, and even started to enjoy some of the fuss, except for a few rough days when someone uncovered her past and trotted out the details of Robbie’s death. But she tried to take even that i
n stride for the children’s sake. Jon had explained that “going over the top on the Ozzie-and-Harriet thing” would later benefit his custody case. She deferred to his judgment but wondered if he wasn’t more concerned with his daily sales report than with Melanie and Michael.
She was grateful to the media for a different reason. If she had to play the adored and adoring fiance, it was easier in front of cameras and reporters. They gave the whole affair the air of a performance. She could ignore the amusement that crossed Jon’s face when she forced a dewy-eyed gaze, and she could discount the blip in her heart when he caught her hand or pressed a kiss on her cheek. The press made it easy to ignore the pain when she thought of her first wedding. Her real wedding.
She was learning to handle the attention, and she could handle the gaze of the cameras. But standing here at the altar with Jon, she wanted to flee from her family’s eyes. They bore holes in her back.
She shifted in her pastel yellow shoes.When the matching tulle of her dress brushed Jon’s pants, he cleared his throat and reached up to straighten his tie, already held solidly in place by a diamond pin. His attire was Western formal, honey leather and silk, coordinated with her dress. She moved the dress out of his way. The glass beads festooning her from the top of her veil to the tip of her long train sparkled. Brushing back a strand of hair, Jon smiled his thanks. Sidney had wanted to weave a leather band through his hair, but Jon had put his foot down.
Sidney had both flown into raptures and sank into despair at the news of a wedding, ecstatic at dressing the bride and groom but moaning at so little time. He’d wanted to drape her in “a heavenly blue that will match your eyes” but to her private delight, Jon had insisted on yellow. She hadn’t known they shared a fondness for the color.
Sidney’s disappointment over the blue dress was sharp, but Peter placated him with the suggestion he revamp her wardrobe. She hated to admit it, but that task had been fun, even though Sidney’s haute couture leanings conflicted with her more pedestrian tastes. Learning of the dispute, Jon had again intervened, and she’d filled a closet with casual attire in the pastels she preferred. Working as hard as Sidney, the troops of decorators and florists and caterers and musicians had also performed miraculous feats in just over a week. Amazing what money could do.
SING ME HOME (Love Finds A Home - Book One) Page 12