A Wife by Accident

by Victoria Ashe

  “Why don’t we just wait for the Bellmarks?”

  “Coward,” Gary whispered. “You know, these horses were bred as war horses, big enough to carry both a knight and his armor into battle after traveling for weeks.”

  “But if he’s too big for most people to ride easily, why did you want him?

  “He fits me just fine in case you haven’t noticed. Besides, once I see something I like, I generally don’t let it go.”

  The Bellmarks circled back and stopped in front of Gary and Hayely. Mr. Bellmark called out, “Do you two want a turn? I think we’re hogging the horses.” His cheeks were stained a happy red from the brisk ride in the cool spring air.

  Gary wrapped his arms around Hayely and squeezed her shockingly close against his body. “No, you two take all the time you want. Have fun. There’s a trail that runs up the hills off the back of the property. See the gate there?”

  “You’re sure it’s alright?” Mrs. Bellmark asked with just a hint of breathlessness in her voice.

  “Come on, Hilda,” Mr. Bellmark said with a chuckle, “Can’t you see they’d rather be doing exactly what they’re doing right now?”

  “Ah, honeymooners,” she sighed. “Remember those days, dear?”

  “We’ll just be inside fixing lunch,” Hayely quickly clarified as she squirmed away from his embrace. “The man at the stables will take care of the horses, won’t he Gary?”

  Gary nodded. “Just drop them off and come inside when you’re ready.”

  With a hearty laugh of understanding, the older couple turned their horses at a more leisurely pace than before in the direction Gary had pointed.

  Hayely’s nearness to him affected him more than he’d like to admit, and he hadn’t missed her kindness toward the Bellmarks. He checked himself mentally. She was just doing her job. He held her hand anyway as they walked into the house together.

  •

  Hayely had almost finished cooking lunch by the time the Bellmarks walked inside after their horseback adventure. She would have had the meal prepared several minutes sooner if it hadn’t been for Gary’s meddling. Every time she turned around, she had to slap his hand away some ingredient on the counter. His energy was impossible to repress whenever he seemed happy or determined.

  She smiled up at him. Without his usual stern manner and scowl of seriousness, he looked like the strikingly handsome, energetic thirty-something man he truly was. When Mr. Bellmark finally came to the table after showering away a great deal of horse hair, Gary finally left Hayely’s side and sat next to him. Hayely sighed and set the table around them.

  Mrs. Bellmark came into the dining room with a book in her hands, its pages yellowing with age and held together by a large rubber band. Carefully, she removed the band and set the book down on the wide table in front of Hayely.

  “I thought you two might like to look at pictures while we eat,” she explained. “We kept regular pictures of Gary and Charlie for about seven years. Couldn’t keep up with those two monkeys after that.”

  Hayely placed several hot dishes full of food onto potholders to avoid singeing the expensive and well-polished table she’d recently purchased for the dining room. In spite of the lesser accommodations, she realized that Gary and Charlie always seemed to wind up sitting with her at the tiny kitchen table. It was nice to have an excuse to use the big dining room table for once. She looked over Mrs. Bellmark’s shoulder and recognized a picture on the first page.

  “We have that one hanging up in the den,” Hayely pointed out.

  “That’s the first one we ever took of Gary. It was right after he came to live with us.”

  Mr. Bellmark added, “He and Charlie were like two peas in a pod. Inseparable.”

  “Right through college,” Mrs. Bellmark said. “They went to the same school only a year or so apart. Moved to the same town after that.”

  “He became my brother,” Gary said. “I was lucky in the sense that I got to choose my family. Living with the two of you in the boys’ home gave me chances at life that most kids in my position only dreamed of.”

  Mr. Bellmark put his gnarled hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “I know you want to pass that gift along, Gary. I admire you for that.”

  “No business talk at the table,” Mrs. Bellmark chastised.

  Gary grimaced. “I remember that tone well.”

  For a while they ate and stayed safely in the realm of small talk until Mrs. Bellmark turned the page of the photo album again. “See this group picture? We took this right after we opened our doors. What year was that anyway? I can’t recall now. So many of them were just babies when they came to us.”

  Hayely saw loneliness and open fright in the eyes of the tiniest children, and a front of bravery in the picture of a ten-year-old Gary. He was one of the oldest there.

  “I can’t imagine growing up without my parents. They weren’t always easy to live with but still—”

  “Well, as soon as you and Gary have children, they’ll have the best of lives. All the advantages. Have you thought about babies yet?” Mrs. Bellmark stopped talking and looked expectantly at Hayely for an answer.

  Hayely looked fleetingly at Gary. He had stopped eating with his fork full of food suspended in mid-air as if her next words would chart the future of the universe. What would he have wanted her to say? They hadn’t discussed the subject, so Hayely blurted out what was in her heart.

  “I want children. I do. If I could plan out my life perfectly, I’d pick a career I could control, so that I can work out of the house and raise my babies. No daycare nightmares. No nannies with values that might not be like ours. Do you know what I mean?”

  Where in the world had that answer come from? If she had looked up, she would have seen Gary beaming with an arrogantly pleased smile that threatened to split his handsome face.

  Mrs. Bellmark nodded in deep agreement. “Gary, my boy, you have a wise young wife. Hayely, you’re right. There’s no more joy in the entire world than a good marriage and a bunch of fat healthy babies to call your own.” She winked at her husband and tossed her white ponytail back over her shoulder.

  “Did you ever have children? Other than the boys in the boys’ home I mean?” Hayely asked with more interest than she now felt.

  Mr. Bellmark nodded. “We started very young. Had two daughters almost fully grown by the time we opened the home.”

  Gary still hadn’t stopped smiling as he silently lifted his fork to his mouth again. He shook his head and looked pleased if not bewildered.

  Mr. Bellmark dabbed his chin with a napkin and set it down on the table. “Well, Hilda. About ready to take off?”

  Hayely looked at Mr. Bellmark with an expression of dull surprise. “You’re going somewhere?”

  “We’ll have a hot time on the old town tonight,” the elderly couple both sang out in unison as if they’d practiced the line a hundred times before. Hayely looked with envy at their joy after so many decades together. That’s what I want, she thought suddenly. That and nothing less.

  An ache had begun in the center of her and she felt as if something vast had gone missing there. But that was ridiculous. If anything, she was closer to where she wanted to be than before, wasn’t she? Maybe she would miss what Gary and his home had come to symbolize for her. He represented all the possibilities of all the things she wanted. It would be natural to miss that influence when it was gone.

  Mrs. Bellmark tucked the album under her arm and they all walked to the front door together. “It’s really been wonderful visiting with you,” she said warmly. “See you early tomorrow then?”

  Hayely nodded and responded with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “Yes, tomorrow at the office.”

  Mr. Bellmark shook Gary’s hand and gave Hayely a quick hug. “Take care of him,” he instructed and turned to Gary. “And you take care of her. She’s one of a kind.”

  Mr. Bellmark’s kindness was nearly Hayely’s undoing. “Excuse me, but I just remembered something I have
to check,” she said and turned to leave before the Bellmarks could see the tears that threatened. “See you tomorrow morning,” she called out.

  Hayely walked quickly from the foyer and headed for Gary’s den, the only room she could think of far enough away and insulated enough to hide the sound of her sobs from the departing guests. Suddenly and so unexpectedly, a wave of dark emotion nearly drowned her. Babies? She couldn’t think of starting a family, couldn’t consider the laughter of small children in the big house, especially couldn’t let herself imagine a child with Gary’s perfect cheekbones and her silver eyes. She wasn’t acting any better than a schoolgirl writing her boyfriend’s name after hers in her diary.

  She was full of ridiculous thoughts. She and Gary weren’t even romantically involved. A family life like that might never be hers. She suddenly thought of her arrangement with Gary and regretted it bitterly as the tears started to flow in earnest. No love, no real job, no real life, she thought. It was as if everything she’d ever wanted was always an inch away from her fingertips and she could never cross that tiny distance to grasp it.

  •

  Following discretely behind after a few minutes, Gary stepped into his den and reached back to lock the door behind him without taking his eyes off Hayely. He’d sent the Bellmarks on their way out to spend the evening at one of those luxury hotels they’d seen in a brochure, but not before Gary knew they’d sensed Hayely’s distress.

  “What’s going on? I can’t begin to understand what’s happening inside that head of yours. You haven’t acted the same for a couple days now. Not since the Banquet for sure.”

  Hayely’s eyes glowed like hot mercury. “Why do you even care, Gary? Really. This is all just a big game to you anyway.”

  He studied her distraught face for a moment. “What in the world are you talking about?”

  “This arrangement.This fake, hateful, horrible marriage. I thought I was strong. I thought I could agree to your terms. But I’m not doing very well at being professional. My feelings get in the way and it’s terrible.”

  Gary’s eyes swam with confusion. “You hate me. You regret marrying me,” he stated flatly.

  Of course she did, he thought. How could he have expected her to completely brush aside the way he’d forced her to marry him in the first place? He’d planned on talking to her ever since that look passed between them at the Banquet. He’d thought he’d sensed the spark of something real. But mostly it seemed he’d been a fool to think he could overcome such a bad start in so little time.

  “No, you big burly—architect,” she spat when no insult would come quickly enough to mind. “What I regret,” she said miserably, “is that I’m just a six-month convenience you’re getting too used to, that’s all.”

  “Just a convenience?” At least she didn’t say she hated him. There was a chance still. Gary wanted to tell her that the agreement they’d signed was meaning less to him by the day and she was meaning more. How much more, he didn’t know. But he wanted to find out.

  And Hayely wanted to ask him if he had any idea how painful it is pretending for the entire world that she had something she didn’t.

  Instead they stood silently looking at one another.

  “You just don’t understand,” she said.

  Gary gathered Hayely into his arms. He was at a loss where such emotion was concerned, when a woman cried as if her heart were snapping in half. The time had come. He had to make sure she understood how he felt about her, make it clear how unbelievably stunning she had grown in his eyes.

  “Hayely, I have to tell you something.”

  “I know. I’m terribly unprofessional. I’ve heard it before.” She sniffled against his sleeve and then straightened. “What?”

  “I do understand. I want you to stay past the six months.”

  Her silver eyes glimmered. “I’ve heard that song before, too.”

  “Ah hell.” Gary pulled her close up against his broad chest. “Just stay.”

  Hayely wiped the remaining tears away, her eyes still bright. “You like me.”

  A touch of crimson stained his cheeks and he nodded.

  “How much?” she asked.

  With his hand resting gently on her cheek, he lowered his lips to hers. He caressed her softly at first and she gasped as his kiss invited her to open her heart to him.

  Hayely was energized beyond reason. Never, never in her controlled life had a man’s kiss sent her reeling into oblivion. She couldn’t even pull a coherent protest together.

  She stood up on her toes to reach him and twined her hands into his hair. The thought that she was kissing Gary Tarleton, her boss, crossed her mind but she didn’t think to move away. She didn’t think at all with his lips pressed against hers.

  •

  Gary had been kissed by women, many women whose touches stopped him cold almost instantly. He’d sensed the greed, the ulterior motives in them. But all he felt in Hayely’s kiss was unbridled yearning. What he wouldn’t give to do more. But there were limits, and this was all too new. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss.

  “Why, Mrs. Tarleton, I had no idea.” He put his hands around her waist and held her at arms’ length before she pulled loose and walked backward out of the room. Smiling.

  Chapter Eight

  If Charlie thought Gary and Hayely had feelings for one another the day the photographer had come to the garden, it paled in comparison to what he saw when he went into work.

  By the time Charlie walked in, Hayely had already dropped off a plate full of peanut butter cookies and brownies in the break room and taken an expedited tour of their corporate headquarters. She jumped shyly from her seat on the corner of Gary’s desk when Charlie opened the door.

  “Hi,” she said. “We got here early today.”

  Hayely mentally gave herself a swift kick for stating the obvious out of embarrassment. Could anyone sense the change between them? She glanced quickly at Gary, scanning for some hint from him and couldn’t see anything specific that would give them away. She wasn’t sure what she was worried about. After all, it had only been a kiss.

  Charlie looked at Gary, thinking that his friend had traveled back ten years into his youth overnight. “So I see.”

  “Well,” Hayely pressed, “how was the big date with Carla?” She was caught between her own personal elation and wanting to hear his news.

  Charlie smiled brightly, his eyes fairly glowing. “She’s really great. We had the best time together. So,” he said deliberately changing the subject, “what do you think of our humble workplace?”

  “It’s huge. I’d imagined you and Gary sitting on cardboard boxes with plywood for desks. I thought I’d see nails all over the floors, hardhats on the walls and a telephone covered with greasy fingerprints. Nothing like this.”

  Charlie smiled. He still suspected that Hayely didn’t fully comprehend exactly who Gary was or the extent of his empire. How could she? She hadn’t been exposed fully to Gary’s world yet. Truth was, they had existed much the way she described when Gary first started the business a decade before. But as revenue crept up high into the millions and was now nearly past that, the headquarters had gradually transformed out of necessity into a shining, modern office building.

  Gary rested his hand on Hayely’s knee as if it belonged there permanently. “We take up the biggest skyscraper in town now. It’s amazing. And you should see our other offices. I designed most of them myself and even helped build a couple of them with my own two hands. That’s the best. And that’s why Charlie here is so amazing. While I’m out playing in the dirt, he keeps things running right here. That’s a luxury few company owners can afford these days.”

  Hayely couldn’t imagine she had ever truly thought Charlie was just a personal assistant, because she was growing some suspicions after having looked at his big office. “What’s your title exactly?”

  He ran a hand over his wayward red hair. “I guess it’s COO, if you want to get technical.”

  Hayely l
aughed. “Typical. I should know by now how you two downplay everything.”

  The intercom on Gary’s desk buzzed an abrupt interruption. “I’ll be right out,” he answered into the phone and then announced, “The Bellmarks are in the reception area.”

  Together the three of them strolled down the carpeted halls to greet the couple, dressed impeccably for the occasion. Gone were Mrs. Bellmark’s jeans and sweatshirt and in their place was a navy blue suit of obvious quality. Even Mr. Bellmark wore a suit and tie complete with polished black shoes instead of his brown cowboy boots.

  “The only time we get to wear these monkey suits is when we visit an office or go to church,” they informed Hayely. “And today’s the day for business talk.”

  With Gary’s fingers entwined in hers, Hayely took the lead on her second tour of the day. “Can you believe this?” She stopped and opened a door to the break room. “Gary even has a place where his employees can take naps at lunch.” The room next to the one that held all the coffee and doughnuts boasted a row of cots with heavy curtains that could be pulled around for privacy.

  Charlie cleared his throat. “I think the benefits are more important than that even. Full medical, dental, vision, three weeks of vacation per year. Oh, and after every five years of service, Gary sends employees on a paid, three-month sabbatical.”

  “Generous, my boy,” Mr. Bellmark acknowledged with a nod. “I’ve taught you well.” He gave a merry wink up at the much larger man.

  Hayely felt Gary tense slightly. She may have been mentally reliving the previous evening, but Mr. Bellmark’s answer about the boy’s home, she was certain, was the only thing on Gary’s mind at the moment.

  Hayely couldn’t resist, “He’s set up an intern program with scholarships for local kids, too. Ten students get a full ride each year if they’re lucky.” Gary’s grip on her fingers was nearly painful and she squeezed back to let him know it.

  “They’re bragging,” Gary said quietly.

  “It’s good that those around you show such love and loyalty. Even the receptionist sang your praises when we told her who we were. That tells me much about the man you’ve become,” Mr. Bellmark said as he patted Gary hard on the back. “I think we both know that Hilda and I aren’t here at your office to tour the break room pastry selection, though. Think we could go to your office and shut the door behind us for a little while?”