by Debra Lee
“She looks like you,” Elaine said. Then she slowly turned her gaze to Mary and added, “Nothing like Kyle.”
Mary wasn’t about to argue. Jena didn’t resemble Kyle much now. She had Mary’s black hair and blue eyes. But if one looked close there was a slight curve to her mouth that was unmistakably Kyle’s.
“Lisa is the spitting image of her father,” Elaine went on to boast. “If one didn’t know better her baby picture next to his, the one his mother gave me, of course, looks like a duplicate.”
She had to rub it in about Kyle’s mother giving her his baby picture, Mary thought. Audrey Frederick never showed any signs of liking Mary. In truth, Mary knew she considered her beneath what her son was capable of finding for a life mate. But Mary had stopped letting that bother her a long time ago. Or so she had thought.
“What do you want, Elaine?”
Elaine walked around the couch and stood face to face with Mary. Actually, she towered over Mary by nearly six inches.
“I’ve come to tell you it would be in your best interest to let Kyle off the hook completely.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The monthly checks. You can’t expect me to stand by and allow Kyle to give you a small fortune for a child that isn’t even his.”
“Kyle is Jena’s father.”
Arching finely penciled eyebrows, Elaine said, “And you are prepared to prove that?”
“If I have to.”
“Be ready,” Elaine warned and brushed against Mary on her way to the door. Before she opened it she glanced over her shoulder to Mary. “I can make your life a living hell if I so choose. Remember that, Miss Mary Murray.”
She was already out in the hall when Mary grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and hurled it against empty space. The next one she picked up and tossed smacked into Reilly as he stepped into the doorway.
Mary’s hands swung to her mouth. “Reilly! You okay?”
“If you don’t want company, Mare you should shut your door.”
Mary grinned. “It wasn’t you I was aiming at.”
Reilly took a quick peek down the hall and shut the door. “That was Elaine Frederick I passed out there, wasn’t it?”
“The one and only wicked witch of the east.”
“What’d she want?”
“To threaten me.”
“What?”
“She’s not satisfied Kyle agreed not to see Jena again. Now she wants me to stop accepting his financial help.”
“Don’t worry about it. Kyle might be a jerk, but he’s not stupid. Rumor has it he’s considerin’ throwin’ his hat in the political arena. Forgettin’ his financial responsibility to Jena would be political suicide. Unless he’s tryin’ to hide the fact he has an illegitimate daughter.”
The word illegitimate stung, but Mary refused to hold onto the pain. “That would be Elaine’s doing. Running for office as well since Kyle never mentioned politics when we were together.”
Reilly shrugged. “I could a heard wrong.” He suddenly was smiling from ear to ear. “I got good news. You remember that agent I told you about? The only one out of dozens who agreed to represent me?”
“Yes.”
“Well he heard from a publisher today.”
“And?”
“They want it, Mare. They want to publish my book.”
Mary flung her arms around him. “Oh, Reilly that’s wonderful.”
When she pulled back Reilly was looking at her in that way again. The look she wasn’t sure of its meaning.
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Mare. All those months ago when you told me to do it, I did. I wrote the novel I never got around to writing before.” He paused long enough to get that look again. “I’d do anything for you, Mary.”
Mary gazed into those sincere blue eyes and she finally understood. Reilly was in love with her. That’s what the look was. She recognized it because she had that look once.
She didn’t know what to say. Reilly was a great guy. She always enjoyed his visits. And she could talk to him about anything. But she wasn’t in love with him.
She almost wished Jena would begin to stir. Knock on the door, Ellie. Let the telephone ring. Anything so she wouldn’t have to deal with this. But there were no interruptions.
“I’m in love with you, Mary Murray. Have been forever.”
Mary stammered. “Reilly, I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. I’m not pressin’ you for some kind of answer here.” He paused then became the carefree Reilly she knew. “But I do expect you to celebrate with me.”
Mary finally exhaled. “That, I can handle.”
“Great. We’ll blow this town away tonight.”
“No wait. I can’t tonight. I go back to work tomorrow.”
“We’ll make it an early night then.”
Mary didn’t want to disappoint him. But she knew she would be terrible company. She’d be worried about Jena the entire time they’d be out. Especially since she’d planned to spend this last night with Jena before she got back into the daily grind of work again.
When his offer didn’t change her mind Reilly said, “Tell you what, we’ll celebrate right here. You, me and Jena.” He arched his brow as he gazed into her eyes. “Do we have a deal?”
“You’ve got a deal, Reilly Jackson.”
Chapter Eleven
“Don’t worry about a thing. Jena and I will do just fine,” Ellie assured as she reached for the baby Mary had cradled in her arms.
Before Ellie could get a hold of her Mary stepped out around her and into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.
“The breast milk is in the front. Use that first. And—”
“Mary,” Ellie said firmly enough to get Mary to look at her. Once Ellie had her attention she finished. “Give Jena to me and go to work.”
“Guess I already told you everything before.”
“Ten times.”
Mary leaned over and kissed the sleeping baby on the forehead. Then she placed her in Ellie’s arms.
Mary continued to smile all the way to the door in an attempt to fight back the tears. The minute she stepped into the hall and pulled the door shut behind her the struggle to be brave began to fade. By the time she descended the stairs and went outside the tears gushed from her eyes.
The crisp air of this October morning went unnoticed as Mary started the five block walk to work. Tears continued to wash away her mascara and blush she had taken the time to apply earlier.
Over the past weeks she had gotten used to seeing herself without makeup. So it didn’t matter if her tears washed it all away. She wasn’t out to impress anybody anymore anyway.
There was a time she wouldn’t think of stepping outside her apartment without first putting on her face. Every black strand of her hair had to be in place as well. Having Jena changed all that. Or was it the day Kyle walked out on their life together that had changed Mary’s desire to put her appearance above all else?
Always out to please someone else had only brought her heartache. So what did paying attention to what she wore or smeared on her face matter? If people didn’t like the way she looked that was not going to be her problem anymore. As it turned out she liked herself a whole lot better now when she caught glimpses of herself in a mirror. Which helped convince her that age-old saying of what you see is what you get would be her motto from now on.
Nelson Richards greeted Mary at the door with a welcome back and generous smile. He was on his way out of the building. A typical Monday for him was spent at the county courthouse.
Mary was glad it was Monday when she finished chatting with Kathy and found her way into her own office. By the looks of her desk it was going to take a week or more to get caught up with her work. At least she’d be plenty busy. Hopefully so much so that she wouldn’t be missing Jena every second of the day.
No such luck. It didn’t matter if she was returning order to th
e filing system or entering material into the computer, thoughts of Jena never strayed far. Was she napping? Was Ellie feeding her now? Had they gone for their daily stroll yet? Was it too cold outside for a stroll?
Finally it was three minutes before twelve this last time Mary glanced at her watch. She quickly finished entering the document she was working on into the computer.
She was about to grab her purse and head out when she heard the front door open. The next second she saw and heard Carol greet Kathy with a brisk hello before bouncing into Mary’s office, all smiles.
“Talk about perfect timing or what?”
“Perfect timing for what?” Mary asked.
“Lunch, what else,” quipped Carol as she followed Mary out of her office.
“See you in an hour,” Mary told Kathy as she continued on her way without breaking her stride. Carol was a few steps behind by the time they reached the door.
Mary didn’t look back when she said, “I’m going home for lunch.”
Carol followed her outside and stopped in her tracks. Mary forged onward without paying any attention to her and Carol hurried to catch up.
“But I thought I’d treat you since it’s your first day back.”
“Thank you but I want to check on Jena, Carol. You’re welcome to come along.”
Carol’s strides to keep up halted. “What and watch you feed and rock that kid for an hour, totally ignoring me. No thanks.”
By the time Mary glanced around to tell Carol she was being ridiculous she was jay-walking across the street to her car. Mary stood still long enough to watch her slide behind the wheel and speed off without so much as a glance in her direction.
Mary walked the five blocks home in record time. Her thoughts were filled with seeing Jena. Occasionally thoughts of Carol mingled with those thoughts.
What was wrong with Carol anyway? It’s not like they’d made plans to go out for lunch or anything. Somehow Carol was going to have to come to terms with the fact that Mary couldn’t drop everything whenever she needed attention. Jena needed Mary’s attention more. And probably most of it now that she’d be away from her five days a week.
If Reilly could understand so must Carol. Or at least Mary assumed Reilly understood. He acted as if he did. After he prepared a delicious spaghetti dinner for them the night before and wanted to linger, he had no objections when Mary ask him if he’d mind leaving. She explained she wanted to spend the remainder of the evening alone with Jena.
Mary thanked him for cooking and he bid her and Jena a simple goodbye and was on his way. No show of jealousy or a childish temper tantrum like Carol just displayed.
Jena was fast asleep like Ellie told Mary before she hurried into the nursery.
As much as Mary ached to reach into Jena’s crib and wake her she restrained herself. By the time she grabbed a sandwich and chatted a few minutes with Ellie about how the morning went she’d be awake.
Mary waited until five minutes before one and Jena hadn’t budged from the spot in her crib since the first time she’d checked on her. Mary knew she was already going to be late getting back to work and make Kathy late for her lunch break. Mary had no choice but to be on her way.
She hadn’t gotten all the way outside of the building when she spotted Carol leaning against her car in the parking lot.
“It’s about time. I was beginning to think you weren’t going back to work,” Carol called over to her the minute Mary stepped outside.
“I’m late, Carol,” Mary said and moved on.
“So get in and I’ll drive you.” When Mary stopped to look over at her Carol encouraged further. “Well come on or we’ll both be late.”
Mary joined Carol inside the car. But before Carol turned over the key in the ignition Mary needed to know something. “Does this mean you’re not mad anymore?”
“Who’s mad,” Carol answered simply with a smile and drove off.
One thing Mary had always admired about Carol was that she wasn’t one to hold a grudge. When the occasion arose for her to fly into one of her rages once the ranting and raving ended it was over. Finished. But right now Mary wasn’t so sure that was a good thing. When they had time they had to have a discussion about Carol’s feelings for Jena.
Chapter Twelve
The brand new traditionally designed two story house had been built dead center on the acre wooded lot. Around the back, trees had been cleared for the Olympic-sized swimming pool a crew of workers was finishing up with. The landscaping was contracted for early spring, provided the money was available.
Elaine kept that piece of information from the contractor. She was confident by spring the financial agreement Kyle had made with Mary Murray would be null and void. The subject she was in the middle of discussing with her mother-in-law inside the house.
Audrey Frederick’s visit had initially been to check on her granddaughter’s progress. After she peeked in on Lisa in the upstairs nursery, she joined Elaine in the library. This was her son’s favorite room in the house. Kyle’s law books lined the walls. Around the room were antique pieces of furniture that were passed down through the Palmer and Frederick generations.
Elaine took a break from her and Audrey’s intense conversation to glance out the floor to ceiling window. She appeared to be checking on the workers outside. But Elaine looked past the men. Her mind raced for a way to rid Audrey of her concern. Then she’d have full approval of the choice Kyle made for a wife and mother to Audrey Frederick’s first and only grandchild. At least the only one she claimed.
“If I’m going to use my influence to assure Kyle wins that Senate seat, we must eliminate this problem, Elaine.”
Elaine glanced over her shoulder at the model thin woman who was pushing sixty. Audrey sat perfectly erect on the edge of the high-backed Victorian. The chair was a house warming gift from one of Audrey’s distant cousins who had since passed away.
If only Audrey Frederick would pass on. Elaine was careful to hide the smile the thought brought. In reality she knew she couldn’t be that lucky. Her mother-in-law might look one step from the grave, but Elaine knew differently. Audrey was as sturdy as a rock, inside and out. And it would be a mistake to get on the wrong side of the woman, which Elaine had no intention of doing.
“I want that Murray woman and her baby out of our lives too, Audrey, but what more can I do? We’ll just have to wait and see how she responds to my visit yesterday once she’s had time to think about it.”
Even though it seemed impossible, Audrey sat taller. “A threat is not going to produce results, Elaine. You must take action.”
Elaine turned away from the window and gave Audrey her undivided attention when she said, “Do you have something in mind?”
Audrey’s narrow mouth twitched before twisting into a sly grin. The one that alerted Elaine the woman was up to no good. But then, Elaine was game for a little fun.
“I’m working on a plan, my dear. When I have it all worked out, you’ll be the first to know. Because you see, I’ll need your help.”
An exciting chill raced through Elaine in anticipation of what the woman was plotting. She couldn’t wait for her to reveal her plan. But what excited Elaine more was Mary Murray and her brat were not going to be a financial burden to her family much longer.
***
Reilly sat at his kitchen table pecking away on his keyboard. Part of the deal he had verbally agreed to with the book publisher was that he’d make some revisions on his manuscript. Reilly decided to get a head start before officially signing the contract.
His fingers came to a halt when he saw he had typed Mary’s name across the page. He backspaced out her name and didn’t attempt to replace it. It was pointless to continue. He couldn’t concentrate. Every time he thought he knew what he wanted to say, his thoughts drifted off to Mary.
Reilly had exercised the patience of a saint and applauded himself for it. But when Mary had asked him to leave last night, a knife stabbed into his heart. Maybe if Jena hadn’t
been fussing Mary would have at least taken time to add a kiss to her thank you for cooking dinner for them.
Last night wasn’t the first time Jena came between them. The little rascal was distracting Mary more and more from noticing just how much Reilly loved her. Something had to be done about that and he suddenly knew what it was.
Reilly wanted to kick himself for not thinking of it sooner. He had his answer. Now all he had to do was put things into motion.
***
Ellie was in Mary’s living room folding a load of towels and stacking them on the coffee table when Mary burst inside.
A quick hello and she scooped Jena out of the swing she was perfectly content in.
“Oh I missed you, pumpkin,” Mary said and planted kiss after kiss on different parts of the baby’s face.
Ellie continued folding. Mary finally noticed the woman wasn’t smiling like she normally did when she watched Mary smother Jena with affection.
“Is something wrong, Ellie?”
It took Ellie a few seconds to respond with what Mary thought was a forced smile. “Nothin’s wrong. I’ll just put these away and be heading over home.”
It was all Ellie could do to keep back the tears burning her eyes before she hurried toward the linen closet in the bathroom. She lingered there a few minutes after she had the towels put away. She needed the time to get a grip on herself. It just wouldn’t be fair to burden Mary with the heartbreaking news she received from her son-in-law a few hours earlier.
Mary had enough problems of her own. Then again, if she told her about her daughter’s loss maybe she’d appreciate how lucky she was to have been blessed with Jena. But then, Ellie believed Mary already knew Jena was a gift from God.
And Jena was such a perfect baby. A healthy child. Some women were producers of full-term healthy babies time and time again. No doubt Mary’s next baby would be as vibrant as Jena. And maybe when Mary has the next one she’ll be married. A child needs a mother and father. And there was nothing that would convince Ellie otherwise.