“Do you think she’ll let us pick our own material?” Jessie asked, wincing.
Jacob worked the tangle free and moved on to the next. “I’m sure of it. What color do you want?”
“Blue! No, green!”
Jacob finally made it all the way through Jessie’s hair. He pulled it up into a ponytail and had it in a scrunchie in record time, a testimony to the fact that he could do most anything when he put his mind to it.
Meggie wanted her hair in a braid, but finally allowed Jacob to stick it in a ponytail when he pointed out that he wasn’t nearly as good at doing braids and it might make them late for dinner. Allie had to go to the bathroom just after he’d locked the door behind them, but finally, with fifteen minutes to spare, all three girls were buckled into the Explorer.
They chattered nonstop all the way over to Michelle’s condo. There was no doubt his daughters were excited about the advent of a woman in their lives. Chalk up another point for Eleanor Wilson.
* * *
JACOB WAS HAVING DINNER with four strangers. He’d done his darnedest to initiate a couple of conversations, but when his efforts fizzled, he figured he just had to ride this one out. He didn’t have a hope in hell of understanding it. Michelle had barely looked at him since he’d walked in her door. And the triplets were acting like robots from a Miss Manners book.
They’d been their loud bouncy selves right up until they’d pulled into Michelle’s driveway. But the minute they’d climbed out of the 4x4, they’d become polite little mice. He wondered if he could bottle up some of Michelle’s air to take home with him. Only for special occasions, he amended quickly. Most of the time he welcomed the life the girls brought into his home.
Thank goodness for Michelle’s cat. Noby had taken to the girls as soon as they stepped in the door, wrapping herself around their legs and earning herself three slaves for life. Even Meggie demanded her turn to hold the fluffy Persian. Noby had managed to keep things rolling until Michelle had announced that the hamburgers were ready.
“Can I have some more catsup, please?” Allie asked, her hands in her lap.
“Here you go, Allie. You need some help with that?” Michelle was responding to his daughter’s needs before Jacob could reach for the bottle.
“What?” Michelle asked when she caught him staring at her in surprise.
“You called her Allie,” he said, impressed.
Michelle frowned. “Isn’t that what you call her?”
“It’s just that people usually mix us up,” Allie said in her most adult voice.
Meggie reached for a piece of bread. “It mighta been a lucky guess,” she said.
Michelle grinned. “Need some help buttering that, Meggie?” she asked.
“Nope.”
Michelle’s effort with Meggie’s name went unrewarded. Jacob could have told her that would happen, simply because she’d offered to help the most independent of his children, though he’d have given his right arm to hear Meggie say yes. He watched as his daughter butchered her bread, leaving more butter on the knife than anywhere else. Michelle sent him an expectant glance, her smile replaced with a frown when he didn’t take over the buttering. Which would have been the worst thing Jacob could have done at the moment. It was far more important for Meggie to complete the task herself than for the bread to be edible when she was finished.
Meggie’s bread ripped and balled into pieces, but she ate it, anyway. Michelle gave him a disapproving glare.
Michelle had a lot to learn.
CHAPTER SIX
“FRANK STEELE HERE, Mrs. Colby.”
Michelle’s heart rate doubled as she recognized the detective’s raspy voice. It’d been almost a week since his last call.
“What’d you find out, Frank? Did they recognize his picture? Does anyone know where he went from there?”
“It’s not that easy, ma’am. I had to rely on a translator, and according to him, your husband was never in that village. And yet everyone got real nervous every time I pulled his picture out. So I figure Brian was there all right, but for some reason they don’t want me knowing that.” He paused, and Michelle heard him take a long drag on a cigarette. Scooping up Noby, she sank into the nearest chair.
“So now what?”
“We’d be back to square one except that last night, on a hunch, I spread the word I was leaving in the morning. I figure there’s always an odd one out, and maybe, if someone had something to say to me, I could push their hand a little. So sometime past midnight, I’m in my tent and I get this visitor. It’s a young woman called Jazmin. I’d seen her watching me a couple of times in the village. Anyway, as it turns out, she speaks English. She tells me about this guy Karim, who’s threatened to level the village if anyone ever speaks about the American who lived with them for so many months. She says the American looked different from the picture I showed her—he had a beard and wore his hair in a ponytail—but she’d know his eyes anywhere. She says he called himself Ahmed and that she worked as his translator while he learned Arabic.”
Michelle’s chest was so tight she could barely breath. “Did this woman say what happened to him?” After all the years of waiting she wasn’t sure she was ready for the truth.
“Only that while he’d lived in the village for about a year, he’d been gone far longer and there was nothing to be gained by my hanging around. It was obvious my questions were more painful to her than frightening. She was affected in a personal way. I’m sorry to have to say this, ma’am, but you’re paying me to find out what I can—I was left with the impression that Jazmin was in love with your husband.”
Michelle didn’t want to hear that.
“She didn’t say anything else? Like why he was there or what he did during that year?”
“She did say that he helped a lot of the villagers, like fixing things that were broken. They were all very fond of him. She said he made them laugh a lot.”
“That sounds like Brian.” The ache inside Michelle was almost overwhelming.
“As far as I can see we have two options left,” Frank said in his emotionless tone.
“Which are?”
“Either find this Karim or give up.”
“Then find Karim.”
“You may be asking the impossible, ma’am. Whoever this Karim guy is, he’s got enough power to scare an entire village, and it’s my guess he has other such villages under his thumb. If he doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be.”
“I don’t care how long it takes, Frank. I have to know.”
“I’ve always had a fascination with this part of the world, ma’am, so I’m willing to stick at it, as long as you’re sure…”
“I’m sure, but, Frank?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
“Always. I’ll be in touch…”
* * *
MICHELLE PLAYED racquetball with her father late that afternoon—sort of. She lost to him so badly he didn’t even tease her about it. And she was preoccupied all through dinner. She knew her parents were worried about her, but she just couldn’t confide in them. Not yet. Not until she’d come to terms with the fear—the jealousy—that was threatening to rise up and engulf her.
She kept seeing Brian, her Brian, looking at some village beauty the same way he’d looked at her, smiling, laughing. Brian’s laugh was contagious. And somehow, although she’d tortured herself with visions of him in endless situations—hungry, holed up in the dark with rats, locked in chains, running, hiding, suffering from amnesia—never once had she pictured him laughing.
And never once with another woman.
Michelle stopped in at a craft store on the way home from her parents and walked up and down every aisle before leaving empty-handed. She went to the grocery s
tore and bought a basketful of things she didn’t need. She didn’t go near the ocean or look at the Hollywood sign. She didn’t go to any of the places that reminded her of Brian—the places that usually gave her comfort.
But he followed her everywhere.
She finally pulled into her driveway some time after nine, her mind still screaming with questions. Did he hold her? Did he kiss her like he kissed me?
Carrying in her groceries, she locked up for the night. Had another woman been in love with Brian? While she’d been here missing him so badly she was only half-alive?
Had Brian loved her—this unknown beauty? Had he given her his heart? His love was sacred to Michelle—hers alone. It had transcended thousands of miles, endured years of deprivation and loneliness. It had kept her alive during the loss of their son. But was this relationship she honored with her loyalty, her life, a sham?
Michelle twisted the solid gold ring on her left hand. Maybe she was being ridiculous. Maybe she was the one endangering their love by allowing doubts to intrude. If she only believed in Brian when believing was easy, then her loyalty meant nothing. Frank could be wrong. And even if he wasn’t, even if the young woman had fallen in love with Brian, it didn’t mean Brian had either encouraged or returned her feelings. Michelle sat down on the couch next to Noby.
Brian’s picture was smiling at her from the end table. She picked it up, meeting the loving look in his eyes with her own. But he wasn’t looking at her. He was gazing at some young village beauty… .
Michelle reached for the phone.
* * *
“HELLO?” JACOB GRABBED the phone after the first ring so it wouldn’t wake the girls. He’d learned to cherish the hour or two of quiet he got each evening almost as much as he cherished the chaos of his days.
“Hi. Am I interrupting?”
His newspaper landed on the floor beside the couch as he sat up. “Michelle? No. Of course you’re not interrupting. Is something wrong?”
“Everything’s fine,” she said, and he wondered why she didn’t sound fine. “I just wanted to get started on those costumes.”
“Tonight? The girls are eager, too, but they’ve been in bed for more than an hour.”
She laughed, self-consciously, he thought. “I didn’t mean tonight, Jacob,” she said, sounding more like herself. “But tomorrow would be a good time for me if the girls don’t already have other plans. I could pick them up after school and take them to the fabric store. We’ll need patterns and material.”
The girls? As in, all three of them at once? Jacob hadn’t figured on that.
“We’re going in-line skating tomorrow, but I guess we can do that after dinner,” he said. He couldn’t let her take all three of them at once. Not on a first outing. Maybe not ever.
“You take the girls in-line skating?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“With training blades?”
“No. They haven’t needed them for over a year.” He was rather proud of that fact.
“Aren’t they a little young for that? They could sprain an ankle or something.”
“They could sprain an ankle walking in the yard.”
“I just thought little kids still did roller skates, you know, with four wheels and all.”
She really sounded worried. “Some do. But the girls wanted in-line skates last year for Christmas. It seemed like fun, so we all went and learned how to do it. You ever done it?”
“Yeah. I’ve got my own blades.”
“There’s a track down by Lomen Elementary. You ever been there?”
“No. I usually just stay around here.”
“So why not take Allie to the fabric store after school while Jessie, Meggie and I make dinner, and then we can all eat and go skating together.” Jacob was quite pleased with the plan. It left him with two-thirds of the disaster-waiting-to-happen. “The girls would love it,” he added for good measure.
“Sounds good, except that I need to take all three girls with me if they’re going to choose their own materials and patterns.”
“So, do Allie tomorrow, and Jessie and Meggie can each have a day later in the week.”
“But then we’re that much further from getting started. It would really be easiest to just take them all at once.”
Jacob thought of the triplets in a store—any store. “No, it wouldn’t.”
“What’s the matter, Jacob? Are you regretting asking for my help?” She was really making this difficult.
“No. I’m just trying to prevent you from running out on us before you even get started.”
“I don’t understand.”
He was sure she didn’t. “Michelle, taking a seven-year-old into a store is a serious endeavor. You’re so busy reminding the child not to touch and answering the million and one questions she comes up with that it’s hard to concentrate on what you went in for. Now multiply that by three and add in the little extra ingredient of needing their opinions to complete your mission. You get the picture yet?”
“I think the fabric store will survive.”
“It’s not the store I’m worried about.”
“You don’t think I can handle it.”
“Their mother couldn’t.”
“I’m not Ellen.”
“No, you’re not. But neither do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into. Trust me on this one, okay?”
“It sounds to me like you’re the one who needs to do some trusting, Jacob. We’re only talking about a trip to the store here. It’s not like I want to take them off for a weekend or something.”
“I know what we’re talking about. Far better than you do. Believe me, partner, doing for three isn’t as easy as doing for one. And doing for three at once is sometimes so chaotic nothing gets done at all.”
“I could use a little chaos in my life, Jacob. It’s so dull right now I’m surprised I don’t sleep right through it.”
Jacob smiled. He couldn’t help it. “Okay, lady, you’re on. You take the girls. I’ll make the dinner. But don’t you dare come in here tomorrow night and tell me you have other plans for the next couple of months.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. You might as well face it, Jacob. You’re stuck with me.”
Her words rang in his mind long after he’d hung up. She hadn’t meant them the way they sounded. Logically he knew that, even if for a minute there he’d wanted them to be true more than anything he could remember wanting in a long, long time.
* * *
“HERE’S A GOOD PATTERN for you, Jess. See, she even has a little crown and everything like a real princess.” Allie held the picture so her sister could get a look at it.
Jessie gazed at the picture. “Michelle, Allie found my princess dress. See?” Jessie began twirling as if dancing at a ball. “I’m a princess, see?”
Trying to keep one eye on Meggie, who was sitting at the other end of the table looking in a McCall’s book, Michelle leaned over the Simplicity catalog Allie had open, catching Jessie’s princess act in her peripheral vision.
“Be careful, Jessie,” she warned. “There’s a…” She raised her head just in time to watch Jessie knock over a display of thread. Spools rolled in every direction, under the pattern table and out into the aisles.
“Oops,” Jessie said with a grin, running to catch some spools that were rolling under a row of chairs.
Thankful that the display had only been half-full, Michelle hurried to help Jessie gather up the thread before one of the employees came over and kicked them out of the store. Allie sat in her chair and watched.
“You missed one under there,” she said, pointing to a round table full of fabric remnants.
Michelle reached for the spool.
“I want thi
s dress,” Meggie suddenly announced.
Michelle took a second to go look over Meggie’s shoulder. Of Jacob’s three children, Meggie was the hardest one to get to know. The little girl didn’t seem to like Michelle much.
She’d chosen a bridal gown.
Michelle returned the last spools of thread to the rack and took Jessie’s hand. “We’ll come back to the patterns, girls. Let’s look at some material.”
Holding on to Jessie’s hand, she had the other two walk in front of her as she directed them to the organza display.
“Don’t touch, girls,” she said as Allie and Meggie reached out to run their fingers through bolts of material along the way.
Michelle heard a thunk beside her. Jessie had her face buried in a bolt of fake fur she’d already pulled off the rack.
Michelle righted the bolt. When she turned back, the triplets were no longer in sight. She heard them, though, and followed their voices over to the organza.
“I want this one!” Jessie said, pulling at a bolt of shiny red material. “I want this one, Michelle, okay? Can I have this one?”
“You can’t have that one, Jess. Everyone knows Cinderella wore a blue gown,” Allie said. She grabbed the end of a bolt of royal blue organza. “You have to have this one.”
“I want the red one,” Jessie said, her bottom lip jutting out. “Cinderella wore red.”
Meggie walked silently around the display of material.
“I’m telling you, Jess, Cinderella wore a blue dress. Don’tcha remember that plate we got that broke?”
Michelle wondered if she was supposed to intervene. But how could she without choosing sides?
“I want a red dress. Red’s my favorite color. And Cinderella’s dress was red.”
Allie stomped her foot. “You have to wear the blue.” Jessie’s eyes were filling with tears.
Letting her instincts guide her, Michelle stepped between them. “Okay, girls, what’s the problem?” She was glad Jacob wasn’t here—he’d fire her on the spot.
“Cinderella has to wear blue, and Jessie wants red,” Allie said. Jessie sniffled, looking to Michelle to save her from heartbreak. But clearly Allie expected Michelle to back her up, too.
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