The Best Bride

by Susan Mallery

  She glanced at the badge on his chest. “You work for the Glenwood sheriff’s department, too?”

  “Sure thing.” Kyle pulled up one of the striped wing chairs and sat down. “I used to work in San Francisco, but Travis offered me a job here in Glenwood. I was glad to come home.”

  Travis shrugged. “I couldn’t have my baby brother off making trouble in the big city.”

  “Hannah’s the youngest now,” Kyle said, sounding pleased with the fact. “We have a little sister.”

  “I don’t feel very little,” Hannah said.

  Kyle leaned forward in the chair. “Yeah, but we’re still bigger. If this guy starts hassling you, you just let us know and we’ll take care of him.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Don’t you start any trouble with my son-in-law,” Louise said. “Nick looks very nice.”

  Travis winked. “I don’t know, Louise. He’s kinda pale. Like he hasn’t been out in the sun.”

  Hannah glanced at Nick’s lightly tanned skin, then at his blond hair. He was certainly different from all the men here, she realized. But she liked the contrast.

  “Maybe we should drag him outside,” Kyle said.

  “Don’t even think about it.” Hannah held up one hand in warning. “I like him just the way he is.”

  Nick’s hand continued to stroke the back of her neck. Shivers started at her shoulders and worked their way down to her toes. She felt him looking at her, but she didn’t dare meet his gaze. She didn’t want to know what he was thinking. There would be hell to pay as it was. However, she couldn’t risk being separated from him so soon. Not until they got their stories straight. Oh, Lord, why hadn’t she thought Louise might be part of a big family? And why had she resisted so much when Nick had asked for personal information? It was her stupid independence and stubbornness. She hated having to depend on anyone for anything.

  The other two brothers drifted toward them. Soon most of the adults were gathered around their sofa. More chairs were moved close by until everyone was seated and listening intently.

  She was starting to figure out who was who. At least with her half brothers. Travis and Kyle seemed the most easygoing. Craig had the hint of gray at his temples and Jordan was quiet.

  “Do you work?” Travis asked.

  Nick started to say something. Hannah elbowed him discreetly, afraid of what he would say. “Yes,” she answered. “I’m a communications officer in Southport Beach. That’s in Orange County, near Huntington Beach.”

  “She’s a cop, too.” Kyle grinned. “We all are.” He motioned to his brothers. “Except for Jordan. He’s the black sheep of the family. He’s a firefighter.”

  “That’s great,” she said weakly. As she’d suspected. Law enforcement officers. Except for Jordan. If the truth came out… She shook her head. She didn’t even want to think about that.

  “Dad was a cop,” Craig said. He sat on the floor while his very pregnant wife leaned back in a wing chair. “Third generation.”

  “Where is my—your father?” she asked. The brothers exchanged glances. Hannah turned to Louise. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ask something inappropriate.”

  “It’s all right.” Louise patted her hand. “Earl Haynes moved to Florida some years back. He doesn’t visit here. I haven’t had contact with him for about sixteen years. The boys might have heard something.”

  Travis shook his head. “Not really. We aren’t very close.”

  Hannah sensed undercurrents of tension in the room, but she didn’t know what they were about. Obviously, Earl Haynes wasn’t anyone’s favorite person. Were they upset because of her?

  Jordan sat with his wife on his lap. He played with her fingers. “What do you do, Nick?”

  The panic was instantaneous. Hannah opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say. Nick didn’t have any such hesitation.

  “I’m in real estate. I just finished up a project developing some residential houses on a cliff by Newport.”

  “How long have you two known each other?” Louise asked.

  Nick slid his fingers down Hannah’s back, then picked up the hand resting on his thigh. He brought it to his mouth and kissed the back. Had she been standing, the moist heat from his mouth would have driven her to her knees. Damn the man for taking advantage of the situation.

  “The time has gone by so quickly,” he said. “It feels like it was only yesterday when we had our first conversation.”

  She wanted to slap him. She wanted to scream. She wanted to disappear and never be heard from again. He held her hand loosely, circling her palm with his thumb. If she protested, everyone would know something was wrong. No doubt Nick had worked that out, too.

  “It was about five years ago,” he said at last.

  “How did you meet?” one of the wives asked. Hannah wasn’t sure, but she thought her name might be Elizabeth. She had medium brown hair and pretty eyes.

  Nick smiled at Hannah. “Do you want to tell the story, darling?”

  At this moment in time, she could barely remember where she was, let alone come up with some tall tale about their meeting. “You do it so much better,” she murmured. “Go ahead.”

  The slight smile warned her he was about to pay her back for not wanting to share personal information on the drive north. She sent up a quick prayer that it wasn’t too awful.

  “We met on a cruise. Actually, we were in port at the time, St. Thomas,” he began.

  Someone sighed. Hannah breathed a sigh of relief.

  “It was very romantic,” he continued. “The sea, the sand, Hannah throwing up in the bushes.”

  She straightened and glared at him. His smile was so sweet. He was loving every minute of this torture.

  “I know you don’t like me to tell the story, honey, but this is family. They can handle it.” He glanced at her brothers. “Hannah’s not much of a drinker. A couple of those umbrella drinks and she’s under the table. Or in this case, over the bushes.”

  Hannah could feel everyone’s attention on them. A heated flush started to crawl up her cheeks.

  “I took her back to the ship and took care of her.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “For me, it was love at first sight. Hannah didn’t see it that way. She resisted me, but in the end I wore her down.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Hannah doesn’t trust easily, but she was worth the effort.”

  A couple of the women sighed. “That is so romantic,” said Jill, who was obviously nine months pregnant. “I know it’s just the hormones, but I think I’m going to cry.” She sniffed loudly.

  Kyle’s wife—Hannah wasn’t sure of her name—handed her a tissue from her pocket. “We should all have romantic stories to tell.”

  “Our story is romantic, Sandy,” Kyle said. “At least I think it is.”

  Sandy laughed. “You go on thinking that,” she teased. “No one is going to tell you differently.”

  Hannah listened to the banter. She was still stunned by Nick’s story. Everything had been a complete fabrication until the end. She really didn’t trust anyone easily. How had he figured that out?

  The conversation died down and Hannah could see they were in for another round of questions. Rather than face that, she tried to distract them. “There are a lot of children here,” she said. “You like large families.”

  Craig rubbed his wife’s swollen belly. “We seem to be a fertile group.”

  Hannah had to agree with that. It’s a good thing she’d never played fast and loose with birth control.

  “You doing all right, honey?” Louise asked.

  “I’m fine. Just a little overwhelmed.”

  “If it gets to be too much, remember you can always duck outside. They’ll understand.”

  Hannah looked at the woman who had given birth to her. She was filled with questions. Why had she sent her child away? What were the circumstances around her pregnancy? Did Earl Haynes know he had a daughter?

  There were even more questions, but she knew t
his was neither the time nor the place. It was too public. She was going to be around for a couple of weeks. She and Louise would have plenty of chances to talk alone.

  Louise clapped her hands together. “What have I been thinking? I’ll bet the two of you drove straight through, didn’t you? Did you even stop for dinner?”

  “Not exactly,” Hannah said.

  “You must be hungry.”

  “No, we’re not—”

  “I’m starved,” Nick interrupted cheerfully.

  Louise stood up. “Come with me,” she said firmly. “There are plenty of leftovers. We had a potluck, so you’ll have a wide choice. Fortunately, all the boys married women who are great cooks.”

  Hannah found herself standing up and following Louise. Nick was right behind her, as was the rest of the family. She held in a whimper. It had been bad enough that everyone wanted to sit around and talk to them. Now they were going to have an audience while they ate dinner.

  The kitchen was as large and well proportioned as the living room. A huge greenhouse window stretched out above the sink. The cabinets were bleached oak, the countertops alternating white and cobalt blue tiles. One end of the center island held a cooktop, while at the other was an eating area with tall bar stools.

  “Sit here,” Louise said, ushering them toward the island. “I’ll have everything put together in a minute.”

  A couple of older kids had followed the adults in, hoping for extra dessert, but they were quickly shooed upstairs.

  Louise checked the contents of the extrawide refrigerator on the wall at right angles to the sink. “We’ve got roast beef, some ham, salads, vegetables, bread, baked beans. Anything you don’t like?”

  “I’m easy,” Nick said, sliding onto a stool.

  Hannah settled next to him. “Anything is fine. We appreciate this. You don’t have to go to any trouble.”

  Louise paused and smiled at her. “You’re my baby girl. Nothing is too much trouble.”

  She moved quickly around the kitchen, familiar with the layout. Holly, who Hannah had figured out was married to Jordan, helped. Apparently, this was their house. In less than five minutes, steaming plates were removed from the microwave, cold salad was heaped into bowls, and Elizabeth—or was it Sandy?—offered wine.

  Hannah shuddered at the thought of liquor. She hadn’t completely recovered from the previous night. Louise poured ice water for her and a beer for Nick. Just as Hannah wondered if everyone was going to stand there watching her and Nick eat, Louise said, “Baseball.”

  Travis looked at her. “What?”

  “Basketball? Isn’t there a sporting event on television tonight?”

  Kyle grinned. “I think she’s trying to tell us something.” He leaned over the island and grabbed Nick’s plate. “Come on. The women are throwing us out. Let’s go to the den. There’s a big-screen television in there. You can eat in peace.”

  Nick hesitated. Hannah stared at him. If he left, she would be alone. Their eyes met. She read concern and compassion in his gaze. If she didn’t know better, she would swear he really cared about what happened to her. Which was a completely crazy idea. Nick only cared about himself. Right?

  She thought about all he’d already done for her and it was only the first day. He was worth a whole lot more than four hundred dollars. Or three hundred and ninety, a little voice whispered in her head as she remembered the heat and pleasure of their ten-dollar kiss.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said.

  He touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. For one oddly unsettling moment, she wanted the contact to be real and not simply because he was playing a part. Then he followed the men and she was left alone with six strange women.

  Her appetite deserted her and she set down her fork. Now what?

  Louise took the seat next to her. The two pregnant half sisters-in-law, if that was the relationship, took the other two. The remaining three leaned against the counter.

  “You look lost and confused,” said one. She had long brown hair and pretty eyes. “I’ll make it easy,” the woman continued. “I’m Elizabeth. Brown hair, brown eyes. Average-looking.”

  The other women hooted at that remark. “Oh, sure. Average,” Jill said. She was easy to remember because she looked like she was going to give birth at any moment. She shifted on the stool. “I’m Jill. Red hair, short.”

  “And pregnant,” Hannah said.

  Jill patted her tummy. “Any day now.”

  Hannah turned to the other pregnant woman. “Holly, right?”

  “That’s me. Jordan’s my husband and this is our house.” She smiled shyly. “We were just married in January.”

  Elizabeth moved next to Holly and hugged her. “Newlyweds and this one already five months pregnant. Do these boys know how to get the job done, or what?”

  Hannah laughed.

  “I’m Sandy.” She was about Elizabeth’s height and age, with shoulder-length hair, freckles and huge green eyes. “I’m married to the baby. That’s Kyle.”

  “Which leaves only me. I’m Rebecca.” Rebecca was tall and slender, with thick curly hair that spilled over her shoulders nearly to her waist. Her perfect face belonged on an eighteenth-century portrait. “I’m married to Austin, who is a Haynes brother in spirit if not in blood.”

  Hannah stared from one to the other. “I’m not sure I’ll ever sort you all out, but I’ll try.”

  Louise gave her a quick hug. “I’ll make everyone wear name tags.”

  Elizabeth stared at Hannah. “You have the Haynes features, all right.”

  “She’s very pretty,” Louise said proudly. “I knew she would be.”

  “I don’t think I’d use the word pretty,” Hannah protested.

  “Oh, I would.” Sandy grinned. “And your husband is very handsome.”

  “For a guy with blond hair,” Elizabeth teased.

  “I happen to like Nick’s blond hair,” Hannah said.

  Elizabeth leaned close. “He’s a natural blond, right?”

  All the women shrieked with laughter. Hannah joined in, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. Not with the teasing. She liked these women. What made her stomach clench was the fact that everything about her was a lie. Would they be as open and friendly if they knew the truth?

  She always worried about people being whom they pretended to be. Despite being married to cops, none of these women seemed to have doubts about her story or to wonder if she might not be telling the truth. They trusted her.

  For a half second, she thought about coming clean. Then Louise raised her glass and said, “I’d like to propose a toast. To my beautiful daughter and her charming husband.”

  Hannah had no choice but to raise her glass of ice water and drink.

  Louise urged her to eat, then leaned back on her stool. “I’m a very content old woman.”

  “You’re not old,” Elizabeth told her. “Barely what? Forty-one?”

  Louise chuckled. “You always were my favorite. No, I’m going to be forty-seven very soon. All right. I’ll retract the old, but not the rest of it.” Her expression turned serious. “Thank you for coming to visit me, Hannah. You’ve made me very happy.”

  When Hannah’s eyes burned, she told herself it was only because she was tired. She’d barely gotten any sleep the previous night. It wasn’t emotion. She didn’t know this woman or these people. They certainly didn’t matter to her.

  Conversation flowed around her. The women had obviously spent a lot of time together. Hannah enjoyed listening to them. She would have liked to grow up in this kind of family. To be part of something.

  She finished her dinner. Her stomach full, she felt the exhaustion of the day finally catch up with her. She yawned. “Oh, excuse me,” she said and covered her mouth.

  Louise frowned. “You made that drive all in one day. No wonder you’re tired. Come on. Let’s collect that husband of yours. We can visit more in the morning.”

  The women trooped into the den. It was nearly as spacious as the liv
ing room. The leather furniture all faced the big-screen TV on the far wall.

  She and Louise led the way. As they entered the room, the men were laughing. Hannah noticed their attention was focused on Nick and not on the basketball game. What had he been telling them? After the cruise story, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

  Nick glanced up and saw her. “Hi, honey.”

  “Hi. I thought maybe it was time for us to head off to the hotel.” Where she would have her own private room with a shower. Where she could finally be alone.

  “Good idea.”

  But before Nick could stand, Travis pushed to his feet. “It’s early. You can’t leave so soon.”

  “They’re tired,” Louise said. “They’re going to be here two weeks. We’ll all have time to get to know each other.”

  “I agree.”

  Hannah thought the brother speaking was Jordan. As he stepped into the light, she was sure.

  “But you’re not going to a hotel,” he said. “We have plenty of room right here.”

  “We have room, too,” Travis said. “Right, Elizabeth?”

  His wife joined in the invitation. “Yes, of course, you’re welcome to stay. The guest bathroom has a wonderful claw-footed tub. It’s very romantic.”

  Hannah fought down panic. She wasn’t interested in romance. She wanted, needed, some time alone. She and Nick could not share a room. It wasn’t possible.

  “You’re all very sweet, but we can’t impose,” she murmured, not daring to look at Nick. She could just imagine what he was thinking about their sharing a room.

  Craig glanced at her. “You’re safe from us. Jill and I live too far from here to bug you about staying. Although you’d be more than welcome.”

  “The hotel is—”

  “Wait!” Sandy walked to the middle of the room. “I have the perfect solution. I understand Hannah wanting to stay at a hotel. After all, the family is a little scary at first.”

  There were murmurs of agreement.

  “As a compromise, I’d like to offer our gatehouse. It’s currently empty and furnished.” She smiled at Hannah and Nick. “It’s a fully equipped one-bedroom apartment. You’d be close by and staying with family, but you’d have some privacy. You guys might have been married for five years, but you’re still acting like honeymooners.”