by Robin Wells
Without a word, Annie moved onto the sofa beside Susanna and patted her hand. The woman grasped Annie's fingers as another tear escaped. "Forgive me. Lately I seem to cry every time I talk about her."
"That's perfectly natural," Annie said softly.
"That's what my therapist says." Susanna opened her purse and pulled out a tissue. "After the accident, I couldn't cry. I just held it all in. It felt like it was too deep, like it would just tear me up if I let it out."
Annie's heart filled with sympathy. "It must have been awful."
"It was. A friend finally dragged me to a doctor, and I'm much better now." Susanna gave a rueful smile. "It doesn't always seem like it, though. I cry at the drop of a hat."
"My grandmother always said a good cry was healthy."
"Is that right? Your grandmother was a wise woman. My grandmother taught my mother and me that a lady never shows any emotion. She was a very proper Southern lady from Charleston. A lady, she said, is always pleasant and reserved. Not to mention well-groomed and hospitable."
Annie grinned. "Don't forget trustworthy, loyal, and brave."
Susanna laughed. "Are we talking about ladies, Cub Scouts, or labrador retrievers?"
"Probably all three."
Susanna smiled. "I'm not sure Grandmother would have approved of the bravery part. That implies that a lady might have some spunk, and I'm sure spunk was considered an undesirable trait."
"I happen to think it's highly desirable."
"So do I, dear." The woman smiled at her. "So do I. And I can tell you have a lot of it."
"You do, too. Otherwise you wouldn't- have come here."
She grinned. Annie grinned back. They might have just met, but Annie felt completely at ease with the older woman, as if she'd known her all her life. "Would you like to meet Madeline?" she asked impulsively.
"Oh, I'd love to!"
"Then follow me. She's out in the backyard."
"Oh. Tom, she's so adorable! You just can't imagine." Susanna leaned forward, her voice filled with enthusiasm as she told him about her encounter earlier that afternoon with Madeline. "She looks just like Jake. She has his thick dark hair and his brown eyes. And her smile! It could charm the raisins out of a cookie."
Tom's eyebrows rode low over his eyes. He hunched over his mahogany desk and drummed the eraser of a pencil on the desktop, his displeasure almost palpable. —I can't believe you went to see her."
Susanna's spirits sank. "Why not? She's Jake's baby."
"A baby conceived behind his back, by a woman he'd never met."
"Well, that's certainly not the child's fault. And Annie was no more to blame for the mix-up than Jake was. It was entirely the doctor's fault."
"Damn it, Susanna, it doesn't matter whose fault it is. What matters is that the whole thing is a mistake—a mistake that you're compounding by trying to drag this total stranger and her child into the bosom of our family."
"It's not a mistake. It's a child."
"You sound like a damned bumper sticker."
"And you sound like a damned ass!"
Tom stared at her. Susanna's hand inadvertently flew to her mouth. It was the first time in her life that she'd ever used the word.
Her husband's lips tightened, and a nerve twitched in his jaw. "I'll assume that you didn't mean to say that I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and presume that was the Prozac talking."
Anger flared in Susanna's chest. "That wasn't Prozac. That was me."
Tom's knuckles blanched around the pencil. "The Susanna I know doesn't talk like that. You sounded just like my mother after she'd popped a few too many pills."
"Antidepressants don't impair judgment like your mother's tranquilizers did," Susanna. replied. "If anything, they help people think more clearly."
Tom's lip curled. "Oh, so clear thinking was what led you to call me an ass?"
"I didn't say you were an ass. I said you sounded like an ass. And when it comes to the topic of Jake's baby, you're certainly behaving like one."
"That's quite enough, Susanna."
"Yes. I suppose it is."
Rising from the leather chair, Susanna whipped out of his office and down the hall. She'd nearly made it to the reception area when she collided with a tall blonde coming from the opposite direction. The impact made the other woman drop her purse.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Susanna knelt down and helped the blonde collect the scattered contents. "I should have been paying more attention to where I was going." Susanna retrieved a lipstick, a gold key ring and a plastic box of breath mints from the burgundy carpet. She handed them to the woman, whose shoulder-length hair swung forward, obscuring her face. "Here you go," Susanna said. "I think that's everything. Oh, wait—there's one more thing by your foot."
Susanna reached out and picked up a shiny plastic packet. She realized it was a two-pack of condoms as she placed it in the woman's hand. Susanna felt her face flame. "I'm so sorry," she murmured again, starting to rise.
The blonde dropped the condoms in her purse, then straightened and flung back her hair. Recognition poured over Susanna like a glass of icy water.
It was Kelly—the woman from the airport. The woman she'd seen with Tom. She was wearing a fire- engine red suit with a short skirt and a fitted jacket, and she looked hot as a five alarm fire. Susanna's stomach tightened like a neck in a hangman's noose, but years of training forced her to smile. "Kelly. How nice to see you again."
"Yes." Kelly snapped her bag closed and hung it on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry about running into you."
"No harm done." Kelly gave a tight smile.
"Are ... are you here to see Tom?"
"Yes." Kelly tossed her hair, then adjusted a heart-shaped pendant that swung between the lapels of her suit to nestle in her decolletage. "We have some business to discuss."
I'll bet you do. With two condoms in your purse. The thought sent a. wave of shock crashing through her, leaving her feeling seasick. Susanna fought it off with a brave attempt at a smile. "Tom told me you worked together on the LaMarr case."
"Yes."
The woman added nothing more. She didn't say she had come by to tie up loose ends or that they were working on another case. She didn't offer any explanation for today's visit, or give any reason for her presence in Tom's office. She simply looked at Susanna, her eyes cold and vaguely hostile.
Tension hung between them, awkward and out of place. "Well," Susanna finally managed. "It was nice seeing you."
"Yes." Without another word, the blonde turned and continued down the hall, her slim hips swaying as she went.
Susanna turned toward the reception area, her heart somewhere in the vicinity of her knees. Her only thought was to leave the building before she burst into tears.
And then she heard Jake's voice behind her. "Susanna! My secretary said you were looking for me earlier."
Susanna slowly turned around, her stomach tightening again. Jake stood in his office doorway. His forehead creased into a worried frown. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," she said in strangled voice.
Jake's frown deepened. He stepped forward and took her by the arm. "Come on into my office."
He led her to a chair opposite his desk, then sat beside her. "What's wrong?"
"It's ... nothing." Susanna looked down at her lap. She was embarrassed to bring up the topic of Kelly. "Something's wrong. Is it the baby?"
Susanna had called Jake that morning, told him of her plan to go to Lucky, and gotten directions to the ranch. She reached out now and patted his hand. "Oh, no! Madeline is beautiful, Jake just beautiful! She looks exactly like you."
Jake smiled in a way Susanna hadn't seen since Rachel's death, a way that lit him up from the inside out.
"And I really liked Annie, too," Susanna continued. "She's very warm, very easy to talk with. She seems like a wonderful mother."
Jake nodded, his eyes still aglow. "She adores Madeline."
"And Madeline adores her. It l
ooks like your child has a wonderful home."
Jake's smile faded. "Yes. I suppose she does. And as much as I want to be a part of her life, I don't want to mess that up."
"I'm sure Annie will work with you," Susanna said. "She. seems very flexible." Her mouth tightened. "Unlike someone else I could name."
"Tom?„
Susanna nodded.
"I take it he's not happy you paid a visit to Lucky."
"He's furious. He doesn't want me. to have anything to do with Annie or the baby. He doesn't want you to, either."
Jake leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I know."
"Well, he's wrong. Don't pay any attention to him."
Jake leaned forward. "I appreciate your support, Susanna. But I don't want to be the cause of problems between you and Tom. That's why you're upset, isn't it? You argued about the baby."
"That's not the problem. Not the main one, anyway." "Then what is?"
To Susanna's chagrin, tears sprang to her eyes. She reached up and wiped them away.
"Come on, Susanna," Jake gently urged. "'fess up. You told me your therapist said suppressing your feelings isn't healthy."
She drew a ragged breath and slowly nodded. She did need to talk. But more than she needed to talk, she needed to know the truth. "I ran into Kelly in the hallway.”
Jake's eyes immediately grew wary. "Kelly Banyon?"
"Yes." Gathering her courage, she forced herself to look him in the eye. "Jake, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the truth, no matter how much you think it might hurt me. Is something going on between Tom and her?"
Jake went still. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I need to know."
"Susanna, I can't imagine Tom being unfaithful to you."
"I couldn't, either, until the last few weeks. But lately, I've been picking up on something. There's something different about him. And that woman ..." She hesitated. "Well, I get very weird vibes from her."
"Weird, how?"
"I don't know how to describe it. Hostile, like she hates me. She doesn't even know me!"
Jake shifted uneasily on his chair.
"Is there a business reason for her to be seeing Tom?" Susanna pressed.
Jake nodded. "They're working out an addendum to the LaMarr merger agreement."
That, at least, was reassuring. "Does she come here a lot?"
Jake hesitated.
Susanna slowly exhaled a long breath. "I was afraid of that."
Jake leaned forward. "Susanna, I don't think anything is going on. Tom is not that kind of man. But Kelly.. He raked his hand through his hair and blew out a breath. "Well, she's not above trying."
Susanna's spirits plummeted.
Jake reached and patted her hand. "Look, you have nothing to fear. You're a beautiful woman. Tom loves you. You've been his whole world for ... how many years have you been married?"
"Thirty-three."
"... for thirty-three years," he continued. "I know you didn't ask for my advice, but I'm going to give it to you anyway."
Susanna managed a wan smile. "I suppose you really can't help yourself. After all, you're an attorney."
Jake grinned back. "My advice is to go home and forget about Kelly. Before you know it, she'll quit sniffing around and go track easier game."
Susanna reached out and softly patted Jake's cheek. "You're a dear man, Jake. No wonder Rachel adored you."
"Tom adores you. Remember that. Now, go home, forget about all this and concentrate on keeping your home fires burning."
Susanna forced a quick nod and ducked out the door, a lump the size of Texas in her throat. She didn't have the heart to tell Jake her deepest fear: that her home fires had grown too cold to be rekindled.
Jake rapped briskly on Tom's closed office door five minutes later, then sauntered in without waiting to be invited. He found Tom seated behind his desk, a contract spread out before him. Kelly stood close beside him, her arm stretched over his, her breast all but resting on his shoulder as she pointed to something on the paper. Tom looked up and as Jake entered. "Yes?"
"We need to go over a few things," Jake said.
"All right. I'll drop by your office as soon I finish up here."
"That's okay. I'll just wait." Jake deliberately plopped himself in a chair opposite the desk.
Tom drew back from Kelly. She leaned closer, her long red fingernail tracing a line on the contract. "This is the part I'd like you to reconsider," she murmured.
Tom adjusted his tie and nodded. "I'll, uh, look it over and get back with you."
"Why don't we discuss it over lunch tomorrow?" Kelly suggested. She leaned forward, exposing an eyeful of cleavage.
Tom rubbed his jaw. "Well, I ..."
"Oh, gee," Jake interjected. "Don't you have that museum trustee luncheon tomorrow, Tom?"
Kelly shot Jake a poisonous smile. "What are you—his personal Palm Pilot?"
A muscle twitched in Jake's cheek. "No, but it looks like you're applying for the job."
Tom cut a sharp glance at Jake, then turned back to Kelly. He cleared his throat uneasily. "I'm afraid I'm tied up for lunch tomorrow."
"Well, then, I'll call you in the morning and see what your schedule is. Perhaps we can get together later."
"Why don't you just buzz his secretary and get her to fax you the changes?" Jake suggested. "That way you won't have to take up any more of Tom's time."
If looks could kill. Jake would have been a goner. "There are some fine points that need to be ironed out," Kelly said carefully. She pulled her purse off the desk and turned toward the door.
Tom politely rose from his chair and rounded his desk. "Thanks for coming by."
"My pleasure. I'll talk to you tomorrow." The blonde's hips swayed provocatively as Tom walked her to the door.
" 'Bye," Jake called, deliberately remaining seated despite all of his upbringing to the contrary.
Judging from the disdainful look she shot him, Kelly didn't miss the slight.
"Close the door behind you, would you?" Jake called. Kelly's lips pulled in a distorted simulation of a smile as she pulled the door closed.
Tom eyed Jake warily as he strode back behind his desk. "What was all that about?"
"Just doing you a favor."
"Favor?"
"Yeah. I was saving you from the jaws of a man-eating piranha."
Tom gave a scoffing snort. "Kelly's a good attorney, but I think I can hold my own against her."
"I'm not talking about her legal skills."
Tom froze as he lowered himself into his chair. "Then what the hell are you talking about?"
Jake leaned forward and picked a silver letter opener off Tom's desk. "Come on, Tom. She's a sexual predator. She sets her sights on a man and goes after him like a big-game hunter. She wants to add you to her trophy case."
"If you're trying to be amusing, you're missing the mark."
"I'm not trying to be amusing. I'm trying to be a friend." Jake paused, letting the words hang in the air. "To you ... and to Susanna."
A reddish stain crept up Tom's neck. "A woman like Kelly doesn't need to pursue men. She probably has to beat them off with a stick."
"I'll bet that's not what she uses"
"Very funny, Jake. Very funny."
"I'm trying not to be funny." Jake looked Tom right in the eye. "Look—the scuttlebutt around the courthouse is that her conquest list includes a senator and a former governor. She has a thing for married men who are rich, powerful and older."
Tom gave a sardonic smile. "Well, then, that eliminates me."
"No, it doesn't. It fits you to a T."
Tom's expression grew grim. "Just what the hell do you want me to do, Jake?"
"Nothing. I want you to do absolutely nothing." And I mean that literally. "I just want you to be aware of her reputation, that's all."
Tom shifted in his chair. His gaze struck Jake as tellingly evasive. "Okay. Consider me aware."
"Good." Jake look
ed at him for two long beats. "You should know that Susanna saw her here this afternoon, too. She was upset."
It was Tom's turn to pause. Then he shook his head. "Susanna wasn't upset about that. She was upset because we argued about her little field trip to the boonies to see that—that woman and her baby." Tom tapped a pen on his desk and fixed a cold eye on Jake. "I don't want Susanna involved in this mess of yours. That woman and her child are not a part of this family."
It was a familiar technique of Tom's—going on the attack whenever he felt defensive. It worked well in court, but it wasn't going to work now.
Jake slowly rose from his chair. "That's my child, and that makes her part of my family." His voice was low and, soft, but it was strong as tempered steel. His gaze was equally hard and unrelenting. "I've always considered you and Susanna family, too, and I don't want that to change. But you need to understand something: I have a child now, and . I intend to be a father to her. From here on out, Madeline will be a part of my life, and that means she'll be a part of the lives of the people close to me. Susanna understands that. She accepts that, and she's ready to welcome Madeline with open arms. I hope you'll decide to do the same." Jake turned and strode out the door.
Tom watched him go, his chest as heavy . as a bag of gravel. He had the awful feeling that everything he cared about was slipping away, like sand under his feet in an outgoing tide. He leaned back and turned his chair toward his credenza, only to have his gaze snag on a series of photos.
Rachel at the age of eight, sitting on his lap in this very chair, gazing up at him adoringly. Rachel holding up a wide-mouthed bass she'd caught in a father-daughter fishing tournament at Lake Tenkiller when she was twelve. Rachel wearing a black gown and mortarboard, proudly holding up her college diploma.
Rachel. A lump big as a golf ball formed in his throat. She'd been the light of his life, the axis of his world, the sweet, soft, candy-nougat center of his heart. No achievement, no possession, no personal accomplishment could ever rival the pride or joy his daughter had given him.
And now Jake had a daughter. Did he really want to deny Jake the experience of fatherhood? Hell, even if he did, did he think he actually could? Tom leaned his head back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Susanna's right," he muttered. "I am a damned ass."