by Leah Vale
Heaven help her.
Approaching the circular drive, she heard Harrison groan softly when a sleek, silver, Jaguar sports car, parked nearly in the center of the drive, appeared in his headlights.
"What?"
"My dad must have skipped the banquet after all."
This was going to be oh-so-much fun.
Harrison parked his car off to the side of the front door, and Juliet sat staring up at the beautiful house. A house full of Harrison's people.
She muttered, "I wish no one was home."
"We have to face them sometime, Juliet. It's better for everyone if we do it sooner rather than later."
She turned to look at him. "What are you going to say to them?"
Sliding his hands from the steering wheel, Harrison grabbed hold of one of her hands and gave it a squeeze. "That you and Nathan are moving in."
She couldn't bring herself to ask for how long. "Your dad will be thrilled."
He laughed. "Probably not. But Grandmother will be. And I have a distinct feeling Ashley won't mind, either."
Nathan woke up. At the sight of the huge house he yelled, "Nanna!"
Harrison raised an amused-looking eyebrow at Juliet. "Nanna?"
"She taught him to call her that."
"Is that what he calls your mother?"
"No. My mom makes him call her Phyllis, but since he can't say that, he mostly grunts at her."
Harrison regarded her silently, his pity sneaking out through the softness of his eyes. The reminder of the world she was leaving gave her the kick in the butt she needed to get out of the car and on with a better life for her child.
"If you'll get my duffel, I'll get Nathan."
Harrison's eyes cleared and he grinned. "Deal."
He didn't seem to be having second thoughts.
Yet.
The butler opened the heavy, carved door before they reached the top step. "Good evening, Rivers, Jones." He reached out a finger and touched a groggy Nathan, who was balanced on Juliet's hip, lightly on the nose. "And Nathan. It's so good to see you are no worse for wear."
Juliet wasn't surprised to discover Dorothy Rivers didn't exclude her staff from family worries. Of course, how could a person work in someone else's home and not know everything that went on? Donavon probably knew every juicy little bit.
She shifted from one sandaled foot to the other. God only knew what he'd heard about her.
To Juliet and Harrison he said, "It's truly a blessing," as he ushered them in.
"That's the understatement of the millennium, Donavon," Harrison answered, then smiled down at Juliet. His repeating her phrase sent rejuvenating warmth into her parts frozen by dread. She returned his smile even though hers felt a little weak at the corners.
Harrison handed her bag over to Donavon. "Could you put this in the yellow guest room?"
Without so much as a blink Donavon answered, "Most certainly," and took the faded old army duffel, carrying it off like one of Dorothy's best.
With a big hand to the small of Juliet's back, Harrison urged her toward a set of double doors. She tucked Nathan's head beneath her chin and hesitated at the sound of muffled voices behind the doors.
"Come, it's off to the lion's den," he said.
"Why do I get the feeling you're not joking?" she croaked.
He flashed her a wry smile, but continued to guide her toward her doom. When she halted, he glanced down at her feet as if he thought her sandals had glue on them. "Come on. Let's get this done." He looked back into her eyes and added, "Grandmother won't rest until she sees for herself that Nathan is all right."
Juliet scowled at him. Reminding her of her failings as a mother was not what she needed right now. She dug in her heels further.
With a sigh, Harrison went forward without her and pulled open the study doors. The flee instinct had Juliet stepping into the shadow of one of the doors.
"Harrison," she heard Dorothy exclaim. Nathan came fully awake and struggled to get down. Juliet whispered, "Not yet, sweetie," then shifted him toher other hip and edged closer to the door, but not so close that she couldn't see into the study.
She was such a coward.
Dorothy rose from a chair in front of the cold fireplace and went to her grandson. "I've been very concerned. Tell me, darling, what has happened?"
Harrison took his grandmother's hands in his. "What should have happened some time ago." He turned toward the doorway, obviously where he expected her and Nathan to be standing.
She knew he wanted her to join him, but she couldn't. Not yet.
His handsome brow crinkled in a puzzled frown and he looked about to call to her when his father, looking like a refugee from Dynasty in his tuxedo, stepped around the desk and interrupted him.
"Glad to hear you've come to your senses, son. I'm assuming we're going to sue for complete custody?"
Juliet felt the bile kick up in her stomach.
Harrison shot his father a hard look. "I'm not suing anyone for anything, but Nathan is coming to live here."
George rocked back on his heels. "Excellent. Now, I've already taken the liberty of contacting some of the better boarding schools. They aren't as easy to come by anymore around here. And they have waiting lists..." He trailed off when he noticed Harrison's glare. "You take issue with my involvement?"
Juliet hugged Nathan tightly to her. Boarding schools, my rear. She would disappear with Nathan before she let them ship him off. The urge to leave right then and there made the bottoms of her feet itch. What had she been thinking coming here? What was Harrison thinking?
In answer to her question he said, "There will be no boarding schools and no custody battles. Juliet and I have agreed to-"
George butted in. "I'm glad she came to her senses. I'm sure she realized after being here today that this is where Nathan belongs. Though I still think your only course is to cut ties with that bunch of inbred yahoos by gaining complete custody."
Dorothy drew in a sharp breath. "Now, George-"
"No." His father held up his hand to stave off Dorothy's protest. "No, Mother. You have to admit that Harrison's son is in peril with his mother. If not physical peril anymore-one could only hope she'd learn from this latest incident-then most certainly psychological peril. The girl is what she is. What her environment has made her. And, Harrison, if you allow your son to remain in that environment in any way, shape or form, or to even have much in the way of contact with his mother, he'll be tainted in the same manner. Branded with the same epithet."
Juliet held her heart still in her chest, waiting for the pronouncement of the verdict she'd been handed at her birth. The words reverberated in her head even before they left George Rivers's mouth.
"White trash."
Juliet blinked away her tears, blaming them on outrage, not the hurt that made her feel like she was being filleted. A hurt she couldn't bear to acknowledge. Besides, she didn't care what that jerk thought of her. Other than Nathan, the only person's opinion that mattered was the big, glorious man standing inthe center of the room, still gently cradling his grandmother's frail hands in his own.
"Dad," Harrison said in a tone as smooth and hard as steel. "Juliet has more dedication to those she loves in her little finger than you have in your entire uptight body. She would never refuse to see someone she loved just because it caused her pain. If you want to see or speak to me again, you'd better rethink your opinion of the mother of my child." He sounded sincere, but had he said it because he knew the object of this nightmare conversation stood outside the door? Or because he wanted to punish his father for not being there when his mother died?
A thought bloomed in Juliet's head and spread down to her belly like a strangling weed. He'd already told her he thought it was a bad idea to care very much. What if his father eventually struck a cord in Harrison that changed his mind about her?
The man was right after all. A bitter taste filled her mouth. No matter how long she had fought to deny it, to refuse it, the fact re
mained-she and her family were losers. Dead-enders.
Trash.
She didn't belong in this wonderful house with its lovely paintings, side tables and level porches. She didn't belong with that incredible man, no matter how right being in his arms felt.
Hiking her sweet, once-again-sleepy baby higher on her hip, she started backing away from the door. She was totally delusional to have even considered coming home with Harrison, let alone actually doing it. The smart thing would be to get out of there before she made a bigger fool of herself. But she needed their stuff.
Juliet turned and headed for the stairs. The Yellow Room. She had to find the Yellow Room. Harrison had told Donavon to stick her duffel in the Yellow Room. How could she have thought she'd belong in a place with named rooms?
Pausing at the base of the huge, free-standing curving staircase, she tried to remember which way Donavon had gone, but she hadn't paid attention. And the tears in her eyes made it hard to see. This house was so damn big she didn't stand a chance of finding her and Nathan's things before Harrison came looking for her. She didn't want to face him with the truth about her ringing in her ears. She turned on her heel and headed for the front door. He could mail her the stupid duffel.
Hearing footsteps coming fast on the marble-tile floor behind her, Juliet increased her pace. Wouldn't it be rich to have the butler rush to open the door for her and usher her, bawling, out into the night. She yanked the door open herself with her free hand and hurried outside, not bothering to close it behind her.
"Juliet!" Harrison. It was Harrison behind her.
Her heart, what was left of it, caved in on itself like a stomped-on can at the sound of the emotion in his voice. How could she tell him goodbye?
"Juliet, wait!" Harrison shouted more forcefully at her back. When he'd first seen her heading for the door he'd ridiculously thought she might be going out to retrieve something from his car. But when she ran across the drive and headed for the lawn in the direction of the main road he knew she was bolting. Her pace wasn't that of someone going for an evening stroll.
He wasn't surprised. Damn it. Why hadn't he cut his father off sooner? Before his dad spewed out all those awful, hurtful things about her? She would never gain confidence in herself with his father adding to the damage already done to her. Her running away wouldn't help, either. And, what was most important, he wasn't about to let her disappear from his life.
He broke into a run and reached for Juliet's elbow. "Juliet." He snagged her arm and brought her up short. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked in a low voice, mindful of his sleepy son on her hip.
She wouldn't look at him. "Where I belong." She snatched her arm out of his grasp.
Harrison damned himself for not sending her and Nathan straight upstairs before he went to talk to his father. "You belong here."
"Right." She curled her lip, but its trembling defeated her sneer. "I'm not welcome in there-"
He took hold of her arm again. "Listen, I told him-"
"No. You listen, Harrison. I'm not welcome in there. And for good reason. I don't belong in there, or anywhere else in your world. I don't know how to dress, how to act. I'm no debutante. I could never belong with you." Her last word caught on a sob.
"You're wrong, Juliet. You belong where you'll be appreciated. And that's with me, in there."
She shook her head sadly, as if she pitied him. "It showed in how your father is just dying to throw his arms around me and welcome me to the club. I'm certain he can't wait to split the morning paper with me over a cup of joe-sorry, I mean a double latte, skinny. No, wait-" she held up her hand, looking a little wild around the eyes "-you guys probably have Donavon read the paper for you."
"Are you done?"
"Yes, I'm done." She pulled her arm out of his hand again. "I am absolutely done." She hitched Nathan higher on her hip and started to walk away.
"Like hell," he growled. "I'm not going to let you walk away from me."
She stopped cold and turned to face him. "Why, Harrison? Why? Because you can't stand it when things don't go the way you want? Because you can't stand not being in control?"
He stared at her, beautiful in the moonlight and her anger. Why, indeed? Why was her walking away from him tonight absolutely, positively unacceptable?
He didn't fear losing contact with Nathan; he believed her when she'd said she wouldn't keep Nathan from him. No matter where she ended up, he felt certain he would still have access to his son.
So why was he so against her living somewhere other than the estate? It wasn't as if having her close was the answer to his problems. Far from it. Because he did like being in control, and she threatened his ability to maintain control with every breath she took.
He simply refused to lose her. And he wanted more than anything to take care of her.
Guilt didn't seem the likely motivator anymore; there were far too many different ways he could have assuaged his remorse for altering the course of her life. If she were right and he did have some unconscious need to try to run her life, then so be it, because he was past trying to fight the protective urges she stirred in him, and he profoundly believed she would benefit from them.
He extended a hand toward her. "I don't want to control you in the way you think, Juliet. This isn't some power trip. I want to help you. Make your life better."
She didn't take his hand.
He blew out a breath and looked up at the star-filled sky. The only thing she'd believe was the truth, even if he wasn't prepared to explain the reasons behind it to her or himself. "I want to take care of you. You and Nathan." He looked back at her, wishing he could see what judgment her expression held. "Let me take care of you."
She relaxed her rigid posture and retraced the steps separating them. "Oh, Harrison, we just can't-"
The sound of his grandmother's voice cut her off.
"Excuse me, you two," she called to them as she crossed the drive, loud enough to get their attention but not loud enough to rouse Nathan.
Harrison stood silent until she reached them, his emotions running too high to trust his voice.
"It's getting a bit chilly out here for our little angel. I would havefetched him sooner, but I only just learned from Donavon that Harrison had brought the two of you home with him. I'll take Nathan inside and get him tucked in bed." She reached for him, ignoring Juliet's half step away, and took the quilt-wrapped toddler.
Juliet looked lost and alone without her baby in her arms.
His grandmother sent her a reassuring smile. "The Yellow Room has a queen-size bed, so there will be plenty of space for you to cuddle in with him when you two are done out here." She turned and started walking back to the house. Over her shoulder she said, "As soon as he's comfortable here, we'll get him set up in a room of his own with a crib and everything."
Grandmother stopped and looked back at them. "Oh, and Juliet. I am so thrilled to have you moving in, also. Don't you worry about Harrison's father. He'll change his tune the second he gets to know you. And if he doesn't, you go right ahead and give him the toe of your shoe like Harrison did. While change can at times be frightening, it is the only way to discover new possibilities." Dorothy Rivers's grin outshone the moon.
God, how he loved that old lady.
Harrison pulled in a deep, calming breath of crisp night air. Crossing his arms over his chest, he turned away from his grandmother's retreating back and faced Juliet with both brows raised. "See? I'm not the only one who thinks change is good. Do you believe her?"
Juliet brought her big, tear-filled gaze up to his, her lower lip trembling. "Are you sure this will be okay? With everybody?"
"I'm certain."
She visibly swallowed. "But your dad could get even by deciding not to retire or he could pick someone else to be chairman."
He took her hands in his. They were icy-cold. "Sweetheart, let me worry about the company. I'm good at it. Now, let's get you inside."
Juliet allowed him to walk her back
to the house, her slender hand cold and stiff in his. When he continued walking past the study where his father was pacing back and forth, the look she gave his dad changed from wary to speculative.
She continued to watch the study doors as Harrison led her upstairs. "Harrison?" she asked softly.
"What?"
"Has your dad always been that..."
"Judgmental?" he offered.
"Big of a jerk?"
He chuckled, delighting in her straightforwardness. He didn't get enough of that in his world. "No. Actually, he was a pretty nice guy, and a great businessman, before my mom died."
She nodded. "Maybe you should send him to count gold Formica speckles with good old Ophelia."
Harrison nearly stumbled at Juliet's quick take on his father. "I'm not sure I could do that to your mother."
She made a noise in her throat. "Mom probably would be a good match for him." She shook her head. "It's wild how different people deal with death in so many different ways."
Ignoring the familiar twinge of pain in his heart, Harrison guided her toward the west wing, previously occupied only by his grandmother. "That's what happens when you care too much."
Her grip on his hand tightened ever so slightly. "Too bad we can't control how much we care."
"Who says we can't?"
She gave a mirthless laugh. "You're kidding yourself."
He was saved from having to argue the point when they reached the Yellow Room and heard Grandmother singing a lullaby. They stepped into the dimly lit suite as Grandmother rose from the bed. Nathan was snuggled down and clearly asleep.
"Ah, good," she whispered. "I didn't want to leave him alone in a strange room until you returned, but I'm afraid if I stayed next to him on the bed I'd be asleep in a moment or two, also, so I was moving to the chair. But since you're here, Juliet, I'll put myself to bed. See you in the morning, darlings." She patted Harrison on the arm as she walked past.
With raised brows, Juliet took in the pleasant-sized room and adjoining bathroom decorated entirely in pale-yellow tones.
He had to chuckle. "Yep. It's yellow."
"I pretty much figured it would be," she whispered back, and slipped her hand from his to go to the bed. She lightly touched Nathan's head. "I'm glad he's asleep. He's had a heck of a day."