Another Man's Wife

by Dallas Schulze

  Gage ended the kiss as abruptly as he’d begun it. Lifting his head, he stared down into Kelsey’s face, seeing the color that had come up in her face and, when her lashes lifted, the dazed look in her eyes. He took a purely masculine pleasure in that look and in the fact that her fingers were wrapped in the fabric of his shirt.

  In that moment, he knew that whatever lay in the future, they couldn’t return to the past. His head filled with the soft feminine scent of her, he felt a surge of totally unfounded confidence. With work and time, they’d find a way to move forward.

  “Friends be damned,” he said.

  He dropped another quick kiss on her mouth before striding from the kitchen, leaving her staring after him with dazed eyes.

  Chapter 11

  “You’ve been staring at your fish like you expect to find the answer to the meaning of life hidden under it. Is there something wrong with it?”

  Clair’s quizzical tone made Kelsey realize that she wasn’t exactly holding up her end of the conversation. She forced a smile and made an effort to throw off her preoccupation.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to space out on you. The fish is fine. In fact, this is a terrific restaurant.” The remark was a deliberate attempt to distract Clair from asking the questions Kelsey could see in her eyes. It worked like a charm.

  “Anton’s done a fantastic job with the place, hasn’t he?”

  Anton was the new man in Clair’s life, a tall, lanky chef who, despite his name, had been born and raised in Cleveland. The restaurant was his brainchild, the menu a mixture of Tex-Mex and California cuisine that had drawn considerable praise for its innovative combinations. Personally Kelsey had never seen any reason to pair habañero chilies, raspberries and duck breast cooked rare, but she was willing to concede that maybe she spent too much time with a six-year-old who regarded anything unfamiliar on his plate with deep suspicion.

  Kelsey listened as Clair quoted a few of the more noteworthy bits of praise that had been heaped on Anton—not to mention his duck breast. It was nice to see her old friend so happy and in love. She hoped Anton proved more worthy of that love than Clair’s first husband. At least Anton didn’t seem likely to have a portrait gallery to converse with. And she supposed true love could survive a few underdone duck breasts. Though, if it were her, the chili-and-raspberry stuff would have to go.

  “I’ve been rattling on almost since we sat down.” Clair fixed her with a bright, expectant look. “Tell me what’s happening with you.”

  Kelsey stared at her while half a dozen possible replies flashed through her mind. She discarded each of them in turn. Clair wouldn’t be interested in how the gardens were doing or the new restaurant that had called and asked if she could supply them with a fair percentage of their fresh vegetables. She made a mental note to speak to Anton, see if he would be interested in having her supply his restaurant, though she’d have to be careful not to ask what bizarre things he might plan to do to her carefully grown produce.

  She could mention Danny’s latest escapades but she knew that wasn’t what Clair wanted to hear. When Clair asked what was happening with her, she meant only one thing: was there a man in Kelsey’s life?

  “Nothing,” she said. She put a bite of fish in her mouth and tried to look as if she wanted to concentrate on her meal. What on earth was in the sauce that decorated the fish?

  “Nothing?” Clair frowned in disapproval. “You’re too young to have ‘nothing’ going on in your life, Kelsey. When was the last time you had a date?”

  “College,” Kelsey answered promptly. She grinned at Clair and debated whether or not to ask exactly what it was she was eating. If nothing else, it might serve to change the subject. The fish was a perfectly innocent piece of red snapper, but the sauce was definitely...unique. She took a sip of water to wash the taste out of her mouth.

  “What about Gage?”

  Kelsey felt her expression stiffen and made a deliberate effort to relax. “He started a new job two months ago and won’t be home until sometime around the first of the year.”

  That was just the right tone, she congratulated herself. Exactly the tone you might expect someone to use when they were discussing a friend. Certainly nothing to make anyone suspect anything else.

  “I still can’t believe that you’re living with a guy who’s that gorgeous, not to mention that he’s nice, and you’re nothing but friends.”

  “Believe it.”

  “I do.” Clair waved her fork in a gesture that was supposed to indicate her faith in Kelsey’s veracity. “I believe you. I think you’re nuts but I believe you. He’s just too damned gorgeous to leave lying around unclaimed. I mean, is that even legal?”

  Kelsey laughed as Clair had intended and hoped her friend wouldn’t hear the hollow sound of it. It was nice that Clair believed her when she said there was nothing but friendship between Gage and herself. It was too bad that she was no longer quite so sure herself.

  She considered that thought an hour later as she left the outskirts of Santa Barbara and headed the car north on Highway 101. Nothing but friends? She and Gage? Not exactly an accurate description anymore. Not after what had happened last time he was home. Not now that— But she wasn’t going to think about that right now. She couldn’t think about that right now. Not until she’d had time to let it sink in.

  Two months, and all it took was Clair’s mentioning his name to bring the memories tumbling back over her. She’d been a fool to think that things could ever go back to the way they had been. When she and Gage had made love, they’d crossed an invisible barrier, and there was no stepping back over it and forgetting what had happened. Not when two months later her skin still tingled at the thought of his touch.

  But tingles or not, the situation hadn’t really changed since he’d left. She ignored the small voice in her head that suggested it had changed a great deal. She still had to consider what was best. Not necessarily what she wanted most, but what was going to cause the least amount of damage to all their lives. She’d spent some long, sleepless nights, particularly this past week when it had been brought home to her that there could be no going back to what used to be. And out of all the uncertainty, she’d come to one solid conclusion: Gage couldn’t be her “roommate” anymore.

  It just wasn’t going to work. She wanted—needed—him to stay a part of their lives, but they had to put things on a different footing. And that wasn’t going to happen as long as he lived in the same house. She’d made the decision last night, in the wee hours of the morning. She’d shed a few tears afterward, but her conviction had remained. They couldn’t put things right until he moved out. When she got home, she was going to write him a long letter explaining her thinking.

  But when she got home, the message light on the answering machine was blinking. As always whenever Danny was out of her sight, she lived with the secret, niggling fear that something terrible might happen to him, so she dropped her purse on the table and jabbed her finger on the appropriate button even before she kicked off her shoes.

  “Kelsey?”

  She froze at the sound of Gage’s voice. It sounded as if he were standing in the room with her, and she didn’t have to close her eyes to picture his leaning against the counter, a wicked grin curling his mouth, his electric blue eyes laughing at her. And that lock of hair that always fell onto his forehead like a dark question mark and made her fingers itch to push it back.

  She was so absorbed in the vision her mind had painted that she missed hearing his message and had to rewind the tape to play it again.

  “I’m at LAX. I’ll be home as soon as I can catch a ride. I know you’re not expecting me.” He was speaking slowly and carefully, as if he had to concentrate on each word. Kelsey frowned and bumped up the volume on the answering machine. “I’ll explain when I get there. Just wanted to give you some warning.” There was a pause, as if he’d thought about saying more. But if he had, he must have changed his mind and hung up instead.

  Kelsey replaye
d the message twice, analyzing every word. What did he mean by “I’ll explain when I get there”? Explain what? And why was he talking with such deliberation? But no matter how many times she played the tape, he didn’t say anything else.

  She hit the Reset button with an irritated punch of her finger. Looking at the clock, she did a quick calculation based on when he’d made the call and realized that, depending on how long it had taken him to arrange transportation, he could be here any minute.

  Her heart thumped in sudden panic. She wasn’t ready for this. Her expression grim, Kelsey headed for her bedroom. When in doubt, change clothes, she thought, unbuttoning her blouse as she went. At least Danny was with Marilyn and Bill for the afternoon. Thank heavens for small favors—she didn’t have to worry about him when she talked to Gage. Because, whether by letter—which she’d much prefer—or face-to-face, she had to tell him the same thing: he had to move out.

  What was she going to say to him? Hello, Gage. Nice to see you and, by the way, you’re evicted?

  She pulled open her closet doors and stared at the rack of clothing without seeing it. In her mind’s eye, she could picture Gage’s face, could see the shock in his eyes, the hurt. She couldn’t do it. Kelsey braced one arm on the edge of the closet door and leaned her forehead against it, her eyes closed. She just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t look him in the eyes—those gorgeous blue eyes—and tell him she didn’t want to share a house with him anymore.

  You have to. Either that or tell him the truth. The thought was enough to make her shudder and close her eyes. She’d have to find the strength to ask him to leave. Unless—She brightened as a new thought occurred to her. Maybe he was only going to be here for a few days. If that was the case, then she could wait until after he’d gone back to South America and write him a letter just the way she’d planned. It was a coward’s way out, but she wasn’t too proud to take it.

  Feeling as if she just might survive this new crisis, Kelsey changed into a pair of jeans and a hot pink T-shirt, hoping the bright color would bolster her courage. She brushed her hair, avoiding her reflection in the mirror as she did so. She already felt shaky enough without seeing the doubts she knew must be in her eyes.

  Kelsey spent the next half hour getting Gage’s room ready. Though he’d always insisted that he was perfectly capable of making a bed and could probably even wield a feather duster if he tried, she’d always put fresh sheets on his bed, dusted the room and checked to make sure that the bathroom he shared with Danny wasn’t overstocked with action figures and bathtub-scale battleships.

  It was a way of welcoming him home. In the past, she’d used the time to think of all the things she wanted to tell him—things Danny had said or done, what was happening in her business. But today all she could think of was how she was going to get through this visit and offer up prayers that it was a short one.

  Once Gage’s room was ready, Kelsey made a pot of coffee and then sat at the kitchen table, staring at nothing. There were any number of things she could have done. Between running a business and raising a child, there was never a shortage of tasks to occupy an idle moment. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything, not with Gage about to arrive, not when her stomach was in knots over what to say to him.

  It was almost a relief when she heard a car pull up to the curb. A moment later, a door slammed and then the car pulled away. Kelsey stayed right where she was, her entire body rigid with tension as she waited for Gage to walk into the house.

  What was taking him so long? Was he trying to torture her? The last thought was so completely irrational that she gave a choke of laughter and then clamped one hand over her mouth, afraid she was on the verge of hysteria. She dropped her hand and drew a deep, slow breath. This was Gage she was waiting for, not Charles Manson. There was no reason to be nervous. It wasn’t as if he could just look at her and know anything, after all.

  Was he crawling up the damned walkway?

  Just when she thought the waiting would be the death of her, she heard his footsteps on the porch. The chime of the doorbell seemed loud as a trumpet blast. Kelsey shot to her feet, her pulse beating much too fast. Why was he ringing the doorbell? Had he lost his key?

  She hurried into the entryway and then hesitated with her hand on the doorknob. What if she’d gone through all this and it wasn’t Gage? What if it was some kid trying to sell her a magazine subscription so he could win a trip to Walt Disney World? In the mood she was in, she could probably give him a look hot enough to blast him all the way to Florida.

  “Kelsey?”

  Well, that answered one question. It was definitely Gage. Kelsey drew a deep breath, stretched her mouth in a smile she hoped felt more natural than it looked and pulled open the door. But the smile vanished, and her rehearsed greeting went right along with it.

  “Oh, my God! What happened?”

  “I missed a step,” he said lightly.

  And that had to be the understatement of the year, Kelsey thought as she took stock of his injuries. One side of his face, from forehead to chin, was marked by nearly healed friction burns, and his right arm was in a sling.

  “Must have been a hell of a step.”

  “Yeah.” One corner of his mouth quirked in a halfhearted smile. “Think I could come in?”

  “Of course.” She stepped back from the door.

  But he didn’t immediately step inside. He stood in the doorway for a long moment, his left hand braced on the doorframe. Kelsey looked at him a little more closely, looking past the obvious injuries and seeing the gray tinge to his face, the haze of pain and exhaustion that dulled his blue eyes. She realized suddenly that he was holding himself upright with sheer willpower.

  She was beside him in an instant, easing herself between him and the doorframe, getting her shoulder under his left arm, wrapping her arm around his waist.

  “Lean on me.”

  “I’m too heavy.” There was a slurred sound to his words that frightened her.

  “If you pass out in the entryway, I’m going to drag you onto the porch and leave you there,” she told him sharply. “Put your arm around me.”

  “I’m okay,” he told her, but he was already obeying her.

  “Can you make it as far as your room? Or shall we try for the sofa?”

  “Sofa’s too short. I’m okay.”

  “Sure you are.” She didn’t trouble to hide the skepticism in her voice. But he was right about the sofa. It wasn’t long enough, or wide enough, for that matter. He’d be miserably uncomfortable, and it looked as if he had enough to make him uncomfortable without adding a too-short sofa to the list. Of course, if they couldn’t make it to his bedroom, he wasn’t going to be real comfortable on the floor in the hallway, either.

  She realized almost immediately that he was in even worse shape than he looked, which was saying something. Besides the damage to his face and arm, he was favoring his right leg.

  “Lean on me,” she all but pleaded.

  “Too heavy.” The words seemed to take an enormous effort. “I’m okay,” he said again, and she wondered if he thought repetition would make it a reality.

  Willpower alone seemed to be keeping him upright. He allowed her to guide him but refused to put any of his weight on her shoulder. Kelsey didn’t argue with him any further, concentrating instead on directing his footsteps, which showed an alarming tendency to weave. Questions nagged at her: What had happened? How badly was he hurt? But they’d have to wait. Right now the most important thing was to get him to bed before he passed out.

  It was a step of less than two inches that caused the problem. Since Gage’s bedroom had once been a porch, there was a shallow step down into it. It wasn’t much but it was enough to throw off his already shaky balance. He tripped and, in trying to recover, brought his weight down solidly on his right leg. Kelsey heard him suck a sharp, pained breath between his teeth. She saw his eyes close and felt him sag against her and realized that he was going to black out.
/>   “Don’t you dare!”

  She didn’t know if he heard her or not, but at least he didn’t collapse on the spot. Her one thought was to get him into the bed. Using every bit of strength she had, she shoved him in the right direction. Half dragging, half pushing, she bullied him the few feet necessary. She felt the bed come up against the back of her knees and saw Gage’s eyes roll back in his head at the same instant. Wrapping her arms around him, she tugged him toward her, letting his weight carry her backward onto the mattress.

  The bed frame creaked in protest at the impact of their combined weight. For several long moments, Kelsey didn’t attempt to move, content to simply lie there and savor the relief of having gotten him here. Gage was sprawled half on top of her, his body a deadweight. It didn’t take long for her lungs to protest the effort just to breathe, and she wiggled out from under him. Ten minutes later and more than a little winded, she had him lying on his back and had managed to get his boots off.

  She stood beside the bed and watched him sleep. His breathing was deep and regular, and his color was a little better. She suspected that his condition was more a result of exhaustion than it was of his injuries.

  What had happened to him? Why hadn’t someone called to let her know that he was hurt? And how bad were his injuries? He was lying so still. It was only when she saw him like this that she realized she’d never seen Gage in anything less than the peak of health, never even seen him with a cold or flu.

  Kelsey wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself against a sudden chill. It was frightening to see him like this, to see him so vulnerable. It made her realize how much she’d come to depend on his strength. He’d always been there when she needed him, solid as a rock, something she could hold on to no matter what. Seeing him helpless shook her to the core.

  After checking his pulse one more time, she turned and left the room. She was willing to bet that Gage hadn’t told his family that he’d been hurt, probably hadn’t even told them he was home yet. She’d call Cole.