by Gina Wilkins
“So when are you getting married? Have you talked about it at all? You aren’t going to try to earn your degree first, are you? That will be two or three more years yetmuch too long for an engagement.”
Dana moistened her lips. “We really haven’t discussed it,” she prevaricated. “As I said, we’ve only just gotten engaged.”
“Cody looks like the impatient type to me,” Barbara said. “I wouldn’t think he’d want to wait very long once he’d made up his mind to do something.”
Dana only smiled. Barbara didn’t know, as Dana did, that Cody would go to almost any extreme to avoid getting married. A practical joke was as close to an engagement as he’d wanted to get, according to him.
Barbara was searching Dana’s face again. “Dana? You do love him, don’t you?”
Dana swallowed hard. It took all the willpower she possessed to keep her smile steady. “Of course I do. How could you even ask now that you’ve met him?”
Seeming to find reassurance in Dana’s light tone, Barbara’s smile returned. “You have a point there. With his looks and his charm—not to mention that wicked smile of his…he’s probably had women falling in love with him since he started to shave.”
“If not before,” Dana agreed, resisting an impulse to roll her eyes. Good thing Cody hadn’t heard that! she thought. His overinflated ego certainly didn’t need any more encouragement.
“Well, no matter how attractive and charming he is, he’s still a lucky man to have you,” Barbara insisted loyally.
Dana chuckled and kissed her stepmother’s pale cheek. “You’re prejudiced.”
“I’m entirely objective,” Barbara argued, then laughed softly. “Or maybe not. I love you, Dana.”
“I love you, too,” Dana replied, dismayed when her voice broke on the words. Her smile faltered and she was forced to blink back a mist of tears.
Barbara’s hand tightened on Dana’s. “None of that now,” she scolded gently. “This is a time for joy, not sadness.”
Dana dashed impatiently at her eyes with her free hand. “I know.”
“I’m so looking forward to tomorrow,” Barbara said, determinedly cheerful. “It will be wonderful to have all my family together again.”
Dana forced a smile. “Yes, it will be nice to see Lynette and Alan again.”
“I’m sure you’re looking forward to introducing them to Cody.”
“Of course.”
“If only they didn’t live so far away,” Barbara said with a faint sigh. “Andy hardly knows them. And you get to see them so rarely.”
“They lead very busy lives in New York.” New York, Dana thought with that familiar tightness in her chest. So very far away.
Barbara nodded, looking worried, though she didn’t share her thoughts.
Dana was tempted to bring up Andy’s guardianship, to repeat her wish to raise the boy, her doubts that Lynette and Alan could provide a happy home for him. She hesitated only because she was afraid Barbara would make a sudden connection between Dana’s desire to get custody of Andy and her conveniently timed engagement.
She decided to wait. Surely an opportunity would arise during the weekend for her to argue that she could provide the best home for Andy. Maybe Lynette and Alan would suggest it themselves, particularly if they believed Dana was engaged now. She suspected that they would be relieved not to have the responsibility of a child thrust onto them-at least, she hoped they would. Dana had never been able to read Lynette well, and Alan was little more than a stranger to her, even though he and Lynette had been married for six years.
“Mom! Cody’s been teaching me how to shoot baskets. I’m already a whole lot better!”
Both Barbara and Dana looked around when Andy burst into the room, still bouncing with excitement. Cody followed more sedately, looking a bit apologetic for their precipitous entrance. He hesitated in the doorway, but Barbara motioned him in.
“Come tell me all about it,” she encouraged them.
Dana dragged her gaze away from Cody, chiding herself for noticing how very good he looked all windblown and disheveled from the game, his golden hair tumbling onto his forehead, his damp T-shirt stretched tightly across his muscular chest and arms. If she wasn’t very careful, she was going to forget that this was all a charade for Barbara’s benefit, she reminded herself sternly. That Cody was here only as a lark.
She had little doubt that getting lost in this particular fantasy would be the worst mistake she had ever made.
Barbara found it necessary to take another pain pill later that afternoon. It was obvious that she wouldn’t be joining them for dinner that evening. Dana urged her to rest and recover her strength for the next day, when Lynette and Alan were to arrive.
“Cody and I will take Andy out for dinner and a movie or something,” she added. “It’ll be fun.”
Barbara smiled wanly and closed her eyes, her face almost as white as her snowy pillowcase.
Her heart aching, Dana slipped quietly out of the room, closing the door soundlessly behind her.
Given a choice of entertainment, Andy immediately requested that Dana and Cody take him ice skating.
Dana groaned. She’d put in a long day already. She wasn’t sure she was up to an evening of ice skating. “Wouldn’t you rather see a movie?” she asked hopefully. “There’s that new space adventure film.”
“I saw it last weekend with Benji and his mom,” Andy answered. “I’ve seen a lot of movies lately.”
“Then maybe we could—”
“The kid wants to ice skate, Dana,” Cody cut in. “Let’s take him skating.”
She sighed, looking from Cody’s bland smile to Andy’s eager expression. “Okay. Ice skating it is.”
Andy cheered.
Cody slid an arm around Dana’s shoulders. “Why don’t you slip into one of those little skating dresses, darlin’? You know, the kind with the itty-bitty skirt and no back and a front cut down to—”
“I think not,” she said coolly. Then, remembering her role, she gave Cody a saccharine smile. “I’m not sure your heart could take it, darlin’.”
He pressed a hand to his chest. “You just might be right, honey.”
Andy chuckled. “Dana usually just wears jeans and a shirt when she takes me skating. But some of the girls wear those little dresses, Cody. And some of them look fine.”
Cody’s eyebrows shot up with interest. “Yeah?”
Andy nodded enthusiastically, enjoying the male bonding. “There’s this one—she’s older, like fifteen or sixteen, maybe. And she has long hair and long legs. She looks kinda like Kristi Yamaguchi.”
Stepping away from Cody’s encircling arm, Dana looked at her little brother skeptically. “I thought you didn’t like girls. You said they were yucky.”
“I don’t like girls,” Andy answered gravely. And then grinned in sudden mischief. “I like women.”
Cody laughed and gave the boy a high five. “A young man after my own heart.”
Dana gave him a repressive look. “He’s too young to be turned into a sexist, playboy pig like—”
She stumbled to a halt.
“Like?” Cody inquired blandly.
“Like, er, some guys,” she muttered, her eyes telling him exactly who she meant.
“When are we going to leave?” Andy asked, anxious to get started.
“I’ll go change,” Dana told him. “We’ll plan on leaving in half an hour. Go wash you face and hands, okay? You, too, Cody,” she added, making Andy giggle when Cody rolled his eyes.
Something told Dana that it was going to be an evening that would try her patience. The look in Cody’s eyes as he moved away warned her that he’d had all the seriousness he could take for one day. He was in a mood for mischief…and she just happened to be the closest target.
The ice rink was in the center of the Mall of Memphis. Above it was the food court, a horseshoe-shaped grouping of fast-food counters with tables in the center, overlooking the ice.
Andy seem
ed to think it a great treat to have so many foods to choose from. He spent several minutes debating between pizza, tacos or a burger. He finally selected pizza.
Cody seconded that choice, and he and Andy got into line at the. Italian counter while Dana slipped over to the Chinese establishment for a lighter stir-fry dish. She tried to give money to Andy first, but Cody imperiously sent her away, telling her that dinner was on him. She allowed him to buy Andy’s pizza, but insisted on paying for her own food.
They selected a table next to the rail, so that Andy could easily watch the skaters below while they ate. He pointed out a few he thought were particularly good, laughed at the beginners and regaled Dana and Cody with tales of his previous adventures there.
Watching the pleasure in the boy’s eyes, Cody thought of how difficult it must be for a lone child living in a house where sickness was a constant companion, death an inevitable guest. He was determined that Andy was going to have a good time for this one evening.
He pointed out an arcade, saying that it looked like a good place to digest their food for a while before going out on the ice. Andy quickly agreed.
Dana was watching Andy, too. During the evening, she saw the way Cody went all out to entertain the boy, from dinner to the arcade, to a toy store, to the skating rink and finally to an ice cream parlor for a late dessert. They were all tired when they returned to Barbara’s house, Andy halfasleep from the short drive, but Dana didn’t doubt that her little brother had enjoyed the evening more than he’d enjoyed anything in a long time.
For that alone, she could forgive Cody almost anything.
Oh, sure, Cody had teased and taunted her all evening. Spouted his usual annoying nonsense whenever she would listen. Made a few heavy-handed passes that she’d countered with a smile for Andy’s benefit.
More than once during the evening, she’d longed to hit him right in his sexy mouth. But then she’d looked at the exhilaration shining in Andy’s round green eyes, and she’d been more tempted to kiss Cody’s sexy mouth just for making Andy smile.
That was, of course, the only reason she could possibly want to kiss him.
Hilda met them at the door when they walked into the house. “Barbara wants you to come up and tell her goodnight,” she said.
“She’s awake?” Dana asked in surprise.
Hilda nodded. “Slept most of the evening, but she woke up a half hour or so ago. She ate a little soup, and now she’s waiting to hear how your evening went.”
Dana glanced at Andy and noted with a pang that part of the joy had already left his face. He’d gone from a fantasy evening to the grim reality of home, and it broke her heart that he was as aware of that fact as she was.
He was too young to deal with this, she thought angrily. Much too young to have to face the loss of a second parent in so short a time.
It was all so terribly unfair. And she intended to do everything she could to make up for his early misfortune. Even if it meant devoting the next ten years of her life…or more—to making him happy.
Barbara was sitting up in bed, waiting for them. She smiled when she saw them, and Dana thought the lines of pain had eased during her rest.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked, including them all in her question.
“Great!” Andy answered. “We played games at the arcade—look at the cool yo-yo I got with my prize tickets. It lights up when you spin it, see?”
“Yes, that’s very cool,” his mother assured him gravely. “What else did you do?”
“Cody bought me a football at the toy store. He said we could play touch tomorrow if the weather’s nice. And then we ice skated. Cody’s real good, Mom. He said he takes his niece and nephew skating in Little Rock. He can even do spins.”
Cody grinned. “I’m not exactly Brian Boitano, Andy.”
Andy shrugged, unfazed, his allegiance firmly established. “You’re good,” he repeated. “One lady said he should have gone professional.”
Remembering the starry-eyed, miniskirted bleached blonde who’d managed to fall gracefully at Cody’s feet on three occasions, Dana snorted. “Professional what?” she muttered just for Cody’s benefit.
Cody poked her with his elbow.
“Cody kept trying to talk Dana into letting him pick her up and spin her around over his head like they do in pairs skating, but she wouldn’t let him,” Andy continued, to his mother’s amusement. “He promised he wouldn’t drop her, but I don’t think she believed him.”
“I didn’t,” Dana said flatly. “He isn’t Christopher Dean, either, Andy.”
“Who’s that?” Andy asked.
“A champion pairs skater,” Cody supplied helpfully.
“Oh. Well, anyway, we had fun. Cody taught me how to do a simple spin, and he said someday he might teach me how to do an easy jump.”
“Did you do anything else?” Barbara inquired.
“We had ice cream sundaes, with hot fudge and whipped cream and nuts and a cherry on top. Cody said I needed the calcium,” Andy said with a grin that showed he was in on the joke.
Barbara was smiling. “It sounds like you had a wonderful evening.”
“Yeah,” Andy said. “It was really—”
“Cool,” all three adults finished in unison with him, then laughed.
Andy giggled.
“It’s getting late,” Barbara said a moment later. “You’d better get ready for bed, Andy.”
“Okay.” Dana thought that it was an indication of how tired he was that he didn’t even attempt to delay his bedtime. He kissed his mother’s cheek. “‘Night, Mom.”
“Good night, sweetheart. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Andy turned to Dana and gave her a hug. “‘Night, Dana. Thanks for taking me out tonight.”
She held him tightly for as long as she thought he’d allow her to, then reluctantly released him. “Good night, Andy. And you’re welcome. I’m glad you had a good time.”
He’d already turned to Cody. He shuffled his feet as though unsure how to part from his new hero. “Uh, thanks, Cody.”
Cody threw one arm around the boy for a rough, affectionate, utterly natural hug. “‘Night, Andy. See you tomorrow, okay?”
Andy returned the hug eagerly. “You bet.”
“It seems you have a new admirer,” Barbara commented to Cody as soon as Andy had left the room.
“Andy’s a great kid,” he replied easily.
“Yes.” Barbara’s eyes gleamed…whether with pride or unshed tears, Dana couldn’t quite tell. “Thank you both so much for taking him out tonight. I haven’t seen him that excited in quite a while. It was obviously a special evening for him.”
“I had a good time,” Cody answered, wrapping an arm around Dana and pulling her close to his side. “Even if Dana wouldn’t let me lift her over my head and spin her around,” he added teasingly, looking meltingly into her upturned face.
It’s only an act, Dana reminded herself quickly, steeling herself against the shivery reaction that coursed through her at his touch, his gruff, sexy tone. Only an act.
She slipped her arm around his taut, slim waist and smiled. “I’m afraid that would test my confidence in you just a bit too much for my peace of mind, darling.”
His arm tightened and he dropped a light kiss on her mouth. “Oh, ye of little faith,” he mocked her. “If I didn’t know how much you love me, my ego would be hurt.”
“Impossible,” she assured him through a forced smile. “Your ego couldn’t possibly be dented—sweetheart.”
Barbara laughed and shook her head. “You two are impossible. Do you always carry on this way?”
“Always,” Dana replied.
“One would think you almost disliked each other at times,” Barbara chided, though she didn’t look concerned.
“One would be wrong,” Cody said, then kissed Dana again, a bit longer this time.
Only for Barbara’s benefit, Dana told herself a bit more frantically. She sincerely hoped Cody would believ
e her suddenly glazed eyes were just part of the act.
Whatever his other failings might be, the man certainly knew how to kiss. She could only imagine how good he’d be if he weren’t playacting.
Looking not so secretly delighted, Barbara waved them away. “I’m sure you’re ready for some time alone this evening,” she said without even pretending to be subtle. “Good night, both of you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Bidding her good-night, Dana and Cody left the room.
Cody caught Dana’s arm when she would have gone into her bedroom with only a cursory good-night for him. “Come into my room for a minute, will you?”
She looked at him suspiciously. “Why?”
He exhaled forcefully through his nose. “I just wanted to ask you something. I’m not going to ravish you.”
Irked at his tone, she tossed her head. “I never thought you were,” she lied, and brushed past him into his room. She turned to face him when he came in behind her and closed the door. “What did you want to ask?”
“Has Barbara made a will?”
Dana frowned. “Uh, why do you want to know that?”
“Humor me. Has she?”
Still watching Cody’s face, Dana nodded. “Yes. She’s had one since Daddy died.”
“The will must name a guardian for Andy.”
Dana winced. “Yes.”
“And—?”
“It’s Lynette,” she admitted, then added hastily, “Of course, I was just eighteen when Daddy died, and Lynette was already twenty-one and married, so obviously—”
Cody silenced her with a raised hand. “You have no reason to believe Barbara has recently changed her will?”
Dana shook her head. “No.”
“Then Lynette is the boy’s guardian.”
“Only after Barbara is gone,” Dana returned. “And only if I haven’t talked her into changing her mind in the meantime.”
“Which you’re going to try to do this weekend.”
“Which I’m going to do soon,” Dana corrected him. “Not necessarily this weekend. I’ll wait until the time is right, though obviously it will have to be soon.”