Not quite able to hold his gaze, Maggie ran her finger back and forth across his bottom lip. “Since I threw out most of my clothes,” she said, her voice uneven, “half my closet is empty. And since you don’t have a place to live—” taking a breath, she met his gaze “—do you want to move in?”
There was a sudden glimmer of raw emotion in his eyes, and he abruptly looked away. Maggie saw him try to swallow. He waited a moment, then looked back at her. “You have no idea,” he said, his voice very strained, “how much I want to do exactly that.”
Her own throat closing up a little, she touched his cheek. “Then come home,” she whispered.
Tony shut his eyes and the muscles along his jaw contracted. He swallowed again, then released his breath. It was a long while before he spoke. “What about Kelly?”
“She’ll be fine.” Maggie smiled softly and stroked his cheek. “In fact, she’ll be thrilled.” She leaned down and kissed him. “I don’t want to miss one more day with you,” she whispered against his mouth.
“Ah, God, Maggie,” he said, wrapping her in a fierce embrace. “I love you so damned much.”
Tears burning her eyes, Maggie hugged him back, feelings for him welling up inside her. This was right. They had both come home.
Epilogue
It was cold and damp, and Maggie sat a row below Tony in the old wooden bleachers, huddled in the shelter of his body. He was hunched over her, his arms looped around her, his chin resting on the top of her head. He chuckled and gave her a hug. “Having fun, Tink?”
She put her arms over his, hugging his warmth. “This is insane. We’re going to freeze.”
“Nah,” he said, giving her another hug. “We’re going to have fun.”
Maggie smiled to herself and snuggled closer. It was the end of April. And here they were, sitting on a wobbly set of bleachers at a go-cart track, waiting for the first outdoor race of the season to begin. And they were here, freezing their butts off, because her daughter—her baby—was about to get into one of those things, zip around the track, dodge through all the traffic and hopefully not get in a wreck.
And it was all Tony’s fault. And Mario’s. And half the Parnelli clan’s. They had all encouraged Kelly, and Mario and Tony, God forbid, were convinced she was going to make one hell of race-car driver. Go-carts were her start—next year it was going to be stock cars. They had it all planned. And they were all here—all the Parnellis, except Tony’s grandmotherwaiting for their new step-daughter/granddaughter/niece/ cousin to do them all proud and bring home the checkered flag. Kelly, needless to say, was having the time of her life.
Maggie looked across the track to the pits, emotion making her throat close up a little. Her son was standing beside Mario Senior, right in the thick of things, and Shawn was laughing at something the older man had said. Lucky. God, she was so lucky.
Shawn and Haley had both written their last final exam a few days ago, and they were both home for the summer. Just before Christmas, Spider and Jeanne had bought a little house around the corner from the shop, so Tony had fixed up his old apartment for her two oldest, and that had been a godsend.
Her son had been pretty reserved about her marrying Tony. It had taken him awhile to adjust—and the apartment had been the first step. But then Mario Senior had taken him under his wing, and in no time at all, they were thicker than thieves. And in no time at all, Shawn had been absorbed into the Parnelli brood. Mario Senior had even given him a summer job, working with a raft of other Parnelli cousins and uncles. The older man had plans. Everybody had plans, usually cooked up behind Maggie’s back and in Italian. About two months after she and Tony were married, she had given up and thrown her Spanish tapes into a drawer. She was now taking Italian. It seemed like the smart thing to do.
Trying not to shiver, Maggie let her gaze sweep over the crowd, another smile surfacing when she spotted a tall blonde. La Goddess and Le God had crossed the track and were inspecting Kelly’s go-cart. Stevie had designed Kelly’s racing suit, and it was spectacular, to say the least. Stevie and Mitch had pretty much been adopted by Rosa Parnelli as well. Tony and Mitch played handball twice a week, and the four of them often went running together in the morning. Maggie was so proud of herself. She could keep up, and run and talk at the same time without collapsing from oxygen starvation.
Haley appeared at the bottom of the bleachers, a tray of hot dogs and cups of coffee in her hand, a screaming-neon yellow-green beret yanked down over her ears. She grinned at them, then clambered up, her screaming yellow scarf trailing on the weathered seats. Plunking herself down beside Tony, she passed her mother a hot dog and a cup of coffee, then gave Tony a poke in the ribs. “So, Dada,” she teased, “are you going to set me up with that gorgeous cousin of yours?”
Tony took a bite of the hot dog Maggie offered him, then cuddled her closer. Maggie could tell he was grinning. “Not in this lifetime, chickie. I’m not letting you near any damned Italian.”
“Ah, come on, Pa. My life’s a drag. And he’s pretty darned cute.”
“He’s pretty darned bad,” Tony retorted.
Haley’s tone was very dry. “Coming from such an angel.”
“I am. Ask your mother.”
Hanging over Tony’s arm, Haley checked with her mother. “Is he?”
“Umm,” answered Maggie around a mouthful of hotdog, almost choking.
“Yeah. Right.”
Tightening his arms around her, Tony leaned down, putting his face against hers. “Hey, Toots. Are you having fun yet?”
Maggie grinned. “Just be nice about it when you thaw me out, okay?”
He gave her another squeeze. “I think I want to thaw you out right now,” he murmured against her ear.
She grinned again and gave his arm a little hug. “Later.”
Kelly won the race, well ahead of the pack. The whole Parnelli family carried on as if she’d won the Indy 500. Which, in many ways, wasn’t out of line. After all, she had brought home the checkered flag.
Maggie grinned. But then, so had she.
* * * * *
eISBN 978-14592-7929-2
DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION
Copyright © 1996 by Judith Mulholland
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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Printed in U.S.A.
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Excerpt
Dear Reader
Title Page
Books by Judith Duncan
About the Author
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Copyright
chive.
Driven To Distraction Page 27