Men Made in America Mega-Bundle

by Gayle Wilson, Marie Ferrarella, Jennifer Greene, Annette Broadrick, Judith Arnold, Rita Herron, Anne Stuart, Diana Palmer, Elizabeth Bevarly, Patricia Rosemoor, Emilie Richards

  He stood up. “So instead, you decided we’d both sacrifice—you as a martyr, me like some blind bastard who didn’t know what hit him.” He stared at her as though he’d never really seen her before. “God, Lisa. I had no idea you could be so deliberately cruel.”

  “I didn’t look at it as being cruel. I considered it a necessity.”

  “You considered it. You decided. Who in the hell appointed you God, Lisa?”

  Lisa was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Adele and her self-righteous speech, and for the first time she realized how Drew must be viewing her actions. She remembered how helpless she had felt to discover Adele’s machinations; how angry she was to have such little control over what was happening in her life, and she had an explosive insight into what Drew must be feeling at the moment.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  He continued to stare at her while twin expressions of distaste and disgust danced across his face. “You’re sorry?” he repeated with angry disbelief. “You’ve gone to great lengths to destroy everything you and I ever shared or hoped to share and all you can say is ‘I’m sorry’?” Drew ran his hand through his hair, suddenly feeling trapped in the room.

  Grabbing a pair of denims lying nearby, he pulled them on. Then he found a shirt he’d had on earlier. He pulled on his socks and shoes and strode to the door. “I need some air,” he muttered, refusing to look at her. He jerked open the door and walked out, slamming it behind him.

  Now what? she wondered. Where do we go from here? Her actions as viewed through Drew’s eyes had been less than admirable and showed a great deal of immaturity. Would he consider the fact that she had still been in shock over their baby’s death? But then, so had he, and he still had to live with her walking out on him.

  Lisa sank down on the side of the bed. She had always been impulsive, had always been a worrier and had often wondered if perhaps she and Chicken Little had a great deal in common.

  Had she unnecessarily destroyed a marriage? She still didn’t know how Drew felt about the actual news. He was too incensed over the delay in his learning about it.

  Lisa could not find it in her heart to blame him.

  Ten

  Drew found himself in the orchard behind the hacienda, the moonlight creating patterns of light and shadow through the limbs. He walked to the far side of the trees so that the hacienda was hidden from view.

  He wanted to be alone. He wanted to think instead of feel. Wearily he ran his hand over his face. God, but he was tired of emotions. They ate at him. They would never leave him alone. His feelings for Lisa felt like a voracious animal, constantly chewing at him whenever he had tried to relax during the months they had been apart.

  Drew had tried to view that time as a necessary healing period for both of them. Now he had to face the fact that Lisa had never meant the separation to be temporary. She had arbitrarily decided their future for them and for a little while back there in that room he’d felt such a fierce anger—almost a hatred toward her—that it had frightened him. How could she have ignored every principle of communication needed in a successful marriage—the need to be open, honest and share your feelings, even those negative feelings that appeared at times to be so destructive to a relationship? But she had decided instead to make an unilateral decision, without giving him the opportunity to face the problem, either by himself or with her.

  The walk had helped to relieve some of the violent emotions churning within him, and now he had to face the reality of what she had told them.

  Lisa would never be the mother of his children.

  He still found that knowledge unbelievable. In fact, he refused to believe it until he had an opportunity to talk with the doctor. Had she even considered getting a second opinion? Probably not. Knowing Lisa, he was sure she had heard the news and panicked.

  But what if it were true? What if the cold facts remained as Lisa believed them to be. Did he want a family so badly that he would ignore what he and Lisa shared and find someone else?

  He shook his head in confusion and dismay. What could she have been thinking of? Didn’t she understand anything about him?

  Why hadn’t she felt comfortable discussing the matter with him? He didn’t understand her either. Did she think he saw her as some sort of baby-making machine, to be discarded if it proved defective?

  At least he now knew what he was up against. After all those months wondering if she was in love with someone else, picturing her with other men. Some of the images had almost driven him out of his mind.

  So she couldn’t have children. What was wrong with their adopting children? Had she even considered that? Did she think he wouldn’t have a child in his home that wasn’t his own flesh and blood? Lisa was one of the few people who knew his background. How could she possibly think he couldn’t love any child they took into their home?

  He could still feel the anger eating at him, and he forced himself to calm down. He wouldn’t be able to forgive her overnight, he knew that. But for both their sakes, he needed to place all his destructive, negative reactions to her news in their proper perspective.

  Despite everything, they still loved each other. His feelings concerning love were still pertinent. Love really could work miracles in each of their lives, and maybe God already knew what child or children should be placed in their home to be nurtured by them.

  If he could only forgive Lisa her deception.

  He thought back over the past few weeks and the circumstances that had brought them together. If Lisa hadn’t needed the money so badly, she would never have agreed to do this film with him. If she hadn’t done the film, he recognized now, he would probably never have learned the truth.

  She hadn’t been able to hide her feelings for him once they were together again. Drew found it significant that Lisa had decided to tell him the truth—at long last. He’d been so braced to receive unpleasant news that, at the time, he hadn’t paid much attention to how upset she was. How did she feel about their relationship now? Did she want to continue it?

  Drew recalled the early years of their marriage when they’d been building their relationship. Now was the time when they were forced to discover whether that relationship had been built on rock or sand.

  “Oh, Lisa, if only you’d told me sooner,” he muttered. What would he have done or said then that he couldn’t do or say now?

  Drew spent several hours thinking about his choices.

  Lisa glanced at her travel clock beside the bed. Only five minutes had passed since the last time she’d looked. It was almost three o’clock. She knew Drew wouldn’t come back to her tonight, and she wondered what he was thinking. Had he gone to his room?

  She lay there trying to think of something more she could have said to have made it easier, but nothing came to mind. She had been wrong not to have told him—she knew that now. Twelve months had gone a long way toward easing the pain of losing their baby and then discovering they couldn’t have another one.

  Why hadn’t she trusted him more?

  The sound of a key in her door brought her out of a light doze. She watched as the door opened. From the hallway light she saw Drew’s silhouette as he quietly came into the room and closed the door behind him. Lisa’s heart jerked in her chest so much that she felt sure it was shaking the bed.

  Drew walked over to the bed and began undressing. Then he slid into bed beside her.

  “Lisa?”

  She turned over, facing him. “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry for getting so angry with you.”

  “I understand. You were right. I have really made a mess of things.”

  He pulled her over to him and held her close. “We’re going to work it out. Some way, somehow, we’re going to make our marriage work. It’s too important to give up on.”

  They lay there together, wondering where to begin.

  “Conchita, my love. We must turn back.” A weary Reynaldo held the young woman in his arms.

  “No, Reynaldo. We
can’t. If my father catches you, he will kill you.”

  “Oh, my love, your life is worth so much more to me than mine. You are ill, querida, and we must get you to a doctor. I love you too much to risk your life any longer.”

  The scene took place in the blazing sunlight atop a barren hillside. Reynaldo and Conchita had done their best to escape, but her father’s men were relentlessly pursuing them. The heat and the unfamiliar ruggedness of the life they were living had been too much for Conchita, and she had collapsed. Reynaldo knew they would not make it to Mexico City now. All their hopes and dreams were gone. Now they had to face the consequences.

  The scene was one of the last they needed to shoot in Mexico and it had been grueling. Everyone’s temper was on edge and numerous retakes had been made, either because of lines that had been flubbed, or, as in one instance, when the camera inadvertently picked up the white streak of a jet in the overhead blue of the sky—something not exactly in keeping with the 1800s.

  The palpable tension between Lisa and Drew had communicated itself to everyone on the set. In the two days since Lisa had told Drew why she’d left him, they had done no more than make casual conversation over meals and on the set. He continued to stay with her, but he had made no more overtures to her and Lisa knew in her heart that he’d made his decision.

  For a short while they had been able to enjoy the vacationlike atmosphere of the hacienda and to enjoy each other’s presence. However, reality has a way of intruding on the most idyllic times. Nothing had really changed between them. The divorce was still pending and Lisa knew she’d made the correct decision. Obviously Drew had no intention of suggesting a change.

  In the meantime, they had a movie to complete. Drew’s tenderness as Reynaldo toward his beloved drove a spike into Lisa’s heart. She’d always known he was an excellent actor. The loving expression in his eyes, unseen by the camera, had caused such a pain within her that she had not had to fake the feeling of sickness that Conchita was supposed to be experiencing.

  Tom felt confident that the scene they had just finished was going to be a powerful one. Both Drew and Lisa projected such an aura of love and devotion for each other that he wouldn’t be surprised to see it picked up on the film. Whatever had happened to cause the two of them to split, it had nothing to do with their obvious love for each other.

  Adele and Morey greeted Lisa and Drew when they walked into the lobby that afternoon.

  “What the hell are you two doing down here, of all places?” Drew exclaimed, shaking Morey’s hand.

  Adele watched Lisa for some sign that she had forgiven her for her deception, but Lisa said nothing.

  “We happened to be in the neighborhood,” Morey explained, “so thought we’d stop by and say hello.”

  “Happened to be in the neighborhood?” Drew repeated. “We aren’t exactly near anywhere you could be visiting.”

  Morey glanced at Adele and smiled. “Oh, I don’t know. Acapulco isn’t that far away.”

  Drew watched Adele as she returned Morey’s glance with a smile. “Acapulco. Well. How was it?”

  Morey looked at Drew blankly. “How was what?”

  “Acapulco,” Drew answered patiently.

  “Uh, oh, it was great. That is, what we saw of it.” He looked at Adele with a hint of apology. “We, uh, well, we decided to get married while we were down here. So to be honest, we haven’t done much sightseeing.”

  “Married!” Lisa stared at the older couple with total disbelief. “You two are married?”

  “It isn’t exactly unheard of, you know,” Morey replied.

  Drew started laughing and stepped between the uncomfortable couple. “I think it’s great.” He draped his arms around their shoulders. “That calls for a celebration drink, don’t you think?” he asked Lisa.

  She was stunned at the news. Adele getting married after all these years? And to Morey, of all people? She shook her head. Who was it who’d said truth was stranger than fiction?

  Lisa hugged Adele. “I’m happy for you, Adele. I really am.”

  Tears formed in Adele’s eyes as she peered down at the smaller woman. “Thank you, Lisa.”

  They both acknowledged their quarrel wasn’t going to destroy the relationship they’d shared for so many years.

  Later they gathered around a table in the quietly luxurious lounge while Morey brought them up to date on what had been happening since they’d been in Mexico.

  Drew seemed more relaxed than he’d been for several days. He pulled Lisa next to his side on the padded bench seat, a possessive arm around her shoulders. Lisa caught Adele’s sparkling glance at Drew’s unconscious, yet very telling, body language.

  Yet, Adele had been instrumental in getting them back together. Lisa believed in Adele’s motives—she had wanted her and Drew to work things out. How could she fault her for that hope?

  “It all started when Adele put me up to giving you that sob story about Lisa needing the money she’d make on this film,” Morey explained with a wide grin.

  “What?” both Drew and Lisa shouted in unison.

  Morey looked at Adele in surprise. “I thought you told me Lisa found out you had lied to her?”

  Adele stared at her new husband and wondered how a man with so much tact and diplomacy could suddenly forget all his training. Perhaps marriage had unhinged him somewhat. She shook her head.

  Turning to the other couple, Adele attempted to soothe their feelings. “Lisa discovered that Drew didn’t need the money to make this film. I didn’t tell her that Drew was told the same story.”

  Drew and Lisa turned to each other, Lisa hastily pulling away from him. “You mean you thought I needed the money for this film?”

  “Are you telling me that you thought that I needed the money?” he asked with a mingling of disgust and disbelief.

  Then they both turned to the other couple and demanded in unison, “How could you say those things!”

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, their reactions had comedy overtones and Morey and Adele couldn’t resist the humor. They burst out laughing.

  Drew turned to Lisa. “I thought you needed the money.”

  Incensed, Lisa muttered, “And I thought you agreed to make the movie because you wanted to see me again. I never could quite believe that you could have made any bad investments. You’ve always been so careful with money.”

  “Bad investments? Is that what they told you?”

  They both turned to the other couple and glared.

  Still chuckling, Morey wiped his eyes and picked up his glass for another drink. “Such indignation. My God, you two, who do you think you’re kidding? You would never have gone along with the idea if we hadn’t cooked up something. And it worked. Tom told me the other night on the phone that Sands of Sierra is going to be a real blockbuster of a movie. That you’ve both turned in some fantastic performances, and from my own observation, it certainly hasn’t hurt your relationship any. So what’s the problem?”

  “I don’t like being lied to,” Drew said quietly, and Lisa vigorously nodded her head in agreement.

  “All right. Fair enough. We owe you an apology for not telling you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But did our ruse work?” he asked with undisguised curiosity. “Or didn’t it?”

  Drew and Lisa looked at each other once more and each saw his or her own thoughts mirrored in the other’s expression. Yes, it had worked, up to a point. At least now they were communicating on certain levels.

  Drew slowly turned back to Morey. “Just don’t ever let anything like that happen again. I’d hate to lose you as my agent,” he said quietly.

  Morey nodded. “You have my word on it.”

  “That’s good enough.”

  Adele thought it was time to change the subject. “How much longer do you have down here?”

  “We should be through by the end of the week,” Drew answered.

  “Then what are your plans?”

  Until that moment D
rew hadn’t allowed himself to think about what would happen to the two of them once they left Medico, but when he heard Adele’s question, he knew exactly what they were going to do.

  “Well, your devious machinations accomplished one thing for me—I found out why Lisa left me.” Once again he pulled her next to him, his arm clamping her along his side. “Lisa found out that there’s a possibility she can’t have any more children….”

  Lisa stirred. A possibility! It was much more than a mere possibility!

  “But instead of getting a second opinion, or even coming to me and telling me what she learned, Lisa decided to give me my freedom so that I could find happiness, presumably with another woman who would have my children.”

  “But that’s ridiculous!” Morey exclaimed, then grunted when he received a sharp jab in the ribs from Adele’s elbow. “I mean, uh, you two have been so happy together and…”

  “Yes.” Drew nodded. “But Lisa felt she knew what was best for both of us. I just found out all this a few days ago.”

  Lisa could feel the steady rhythm of Drew’s heart from her position next to his side and, from the tension she sensed in him, realized he had not forgiven her. She wondered if he ever would.

  “What I hope to do when we get back to L.A. is to consult with at least one other doctor, and if all the findings are the same, then we are going to adopt a family of our own.”

  “We are?” Lisa lifted her gaze to Drew’s.

  “You better believe it. You are going to be the mother of my children. You are going to continue to be my wife and if you ever attempt another stunt like that again, you will receive the paddling of your life across that delectable backside of yours.”

  Since the last part of his statement was uttered rather tenderly in a very low voice in the vicinity of Lisa’s ear, she didn’t feel as rebellious as she might otherwise have felt at the threat.

  Adele leaned forward and touched Lisa’s hand. “Why didn’t you let anyone know, honey? Why did you feel the need to carry such a burden alone?”