The Best Bride

by Susan Mallery

  She stopped in front of him and lowered her hands to her sides. “When did you join my side?”

  He was tempted to tell her he’d always been on her side, but didn’t think she’d believe him. “When you offered me four hundred dollars in cash.” He raised his eyebrows. “Make that three ninety.”

  At the reminder of their kiss that morning, she spun on her heel and resumed pacing. On her next pass, he stood up and grabbed her hands. She was tall, but he was taller. He towered over her by a good five or six inches. With her, he needed the advantage.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he promised. He held her fingers firmly and stroked her knuckles with his thumbs. She didn’t pull away. She didn’t react at all. If it wasn’t for the fluttering pulse he could see at the base of her throat, he might have thought his touching her didn’t affect her in the least.

  “I want to believe that,” she said softly. “I’m just not sure. This is so much more than I expected.”

  “It must be scary.”

  Her dark eyes widened. “Terrifying. If I’d known what I was getting myself into, I would have come clean about the divorce right away.”

  “You still can.” God, he hated it when he got noble.

  She shook her head. “No. It would be too difficult to explain. I can’t imagine what I would say.”

  “I could tell them.”

  “Oh, right.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me laugh.”

  Her assessment irritated him, but he ignored the flicker of hurt feelings.

  “We’ll stick with the original plan,” she said. “You stay here tomorrow, then the day after—Sunday—you pretend to get a business call that requires your return to Southport Beach. I’ll stay up here for a couple of weeks. Once I’ve established a relationship with Louise and my brothers, I’ll explain everything.”

  Her plan was never going to work. “Sounds great,” he muttered.

  She glared at him. “What? What are you thinking? You don’t think I can pull it off?”

  He gave one last squeeze on her fingers. She was going to pull away fast enough to give him rope burn. Just as soon as he said what he was thinking. Too bad. Being close to Hannah had a warming effect on his whole body. Some parts were downright steamy.

  “Establishing relationships isn’t your strong suit,” he said.

  As expected, she jerked free of his touch, then backed up a couple of steps. “What are you talking about?” she asked between clenched teeth. “I’m a very friendly person.”

  “Uh-huh. That’s why you date so much.”

  “Until a few months ago, I was a married woman.”

  “A separated woman, Hannah. There are plenty of men interested, so don’t give me any bull about that. You chase them off because you don’t want to get close.”

  “I do not. I don’t believe in dating anyone at the station. I don’t want to be talked about.”

  “You don’t want to risk getting close.”

  She planted her hands on her hips, nearly vibrating with fury. The wayward strand of hair fluttered by her neck. He wished he could smooth it back over her ear, but if he got that close to her right now, he would put several body parts at risk.

  “I don’t see you with a wife and three kids.”

  Touche´. “Not that you know about.”

  She turned her back on him. “I’ll have you know I have lots of friends.”

  “Name five.”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “Name one.”

  “Alice.”

  “Where is Alice?”

  “She lives in Chicago. We went to college together. So I’ve not only established a relationship, I’ve maintained it.” She stalked to the fireplace and stared at the neatly stacked logs.

  “When was the last time you spoke to her?”

  She cleared her throat. “It’s not the quantity of time in a relationship that counts. It’s the quality.”

  “So it’s been what, a year?”

  “Christmas,” she snapped, facing him. “We spoke at Christmas.”

  “That’s not a close friend, honey. That’s a pen pal.”

  “Don’t honey me, and don’t pass judgment on my relationships. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  But he did. He knew all about Hannah Pace and how she held the world at bay. He’d known from the first time he’d seen the wariness in her eyes. The wall she’d built around her was hard to break….

  “Dealing with a large family is going to be difficult,” he warned.

  “I’m more than up to the task.” Her hands returned to her hips and she raised her chin. “Where exactly do you get off telling me my faults as you see them?”

  “I know what you’re good at and it’s not lying.”

  Amazingly, she smiled. “You’re right. But you’re an expert, right? So I’ll run any false stories by you first.”

  “Good idea. Let’s start by getting our stories straight.”

  “If this is a ploy to get personal information out of me, you can just forget it.”

  It was clear she’d been badly hurt. Was it a particular individual or some unfortunate turn of events? He hoped she would risk caring enough to let her family in. They could be her salvation.

  He thought about taking on that job himself but knew it was way out of his league. Better for both of them if he did what he’d agreed to and moved on.

  She glanced at her watch. “It’s late. We should go to bed.”

  “No problem,” he said. “Which side do you want?”

  She grabbed his arm before he could head to the bedroom. “Just a minute, Romeo. We’re not sharing the bed.”

  “No?” He tried to look innocent. “I wouldn’t mind. You can even take advantage of me.”

  “Gee, thanks. I think I’ll pass.”

  “I’m willing to let you work off another ten bucks for a kiss.”

  Her gaze dropped to his mouth. He felt it as intensely as if she’d stroked him with her fingers. Desire flickered in her eyes. She blinked it quickly away, but he’d seen it. He was pleased to know he wasn’t the only one who was thinking how great they would be together.

  Sweet Hannah. He had a sneaking suspicion that she would be half shy innocent, half wild temptress in bed. He couldn’t wait to find out if he was right. But not tonight.

  She took a step toward him and leaned close. For a second, he thought she was going to kiss him, then she grinned. “I’d rather pay the money.”

  He reached over and tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Liar.”

  She walked into the bedroom, then returned carrying a pillow and a blanket. She tossed both at him. “The sofa looks really comfortable, Nick. Enjoy.”

  Chapter Six

  “I can’t believe I’m sitting here having coffee with my mother,” Hannah said.

  Louise smiled and leaned forward to pat her hand. “I’m just as surprised. A few months ago, I was sure I’d never see you. Now here you are.”

  Sunlight poured into the small, bright kitchen. It was a beautiful late-spring morning with warm temperatures and clear skies.

  “Do you think Nick is going to be all right?” Hannah asked. When Louise had called and suggested they spend the morning together, Hannah had agreed. They had a lot to talk about. Jordan had dropped off Louise at the gatehouse, then had asked Nick to come along to help with the restoration on Jordan’s Victorian house.

  Hannah would have preferred Nick to stay nearby where she could monitor his conversations, but he’d left before she could protest. Now she watched the clock and wondered what exactly he was talking about. No doubt her brothers wanted to grill him about his life and their marriage. Would Nick come up with more absurd stories as he had yesterday? Maybe she should have given in and provided him with a little personal information when he’d asked.

  Too late for second thoughts now, she reminded herself.

  Louise smiled. “Nick will be just fine. The boys will take care of him.
Besides, men love building things together. Next to sports, it’s the ultimate male bonding experience.”

  “I suppose. Although it’s hard to think of my half brothers as boys. They’re all grown-up.”

  “I guess they are. To me, they’ll always be the Haynes boys.”

  Hannah took a sip of her coffee. “Jordan’s house. That’s where we were last night?”

  Louise nodded. “I’m staying with them because Holly has her own store and doesn’t want to give up working until she can’t be on her feet anymore. I’m helping around the house so she doesn’t have to work all day, then come home and worry about that. Over the past five or six years, I’ve worked for all the Haynes boys.”

  “I wonder if I’ll ever get them straight. Okay, I know Holly and Jordan, and this is Sandy and Kyle’s place.”

  “Right.”

  Hannah drew in a breath and frowned. “One of the women was very pregnant. Whom is she married to?”

  “That’s Jill, and her husband is Craig. He’s the oldest. They live outside of Sacramento.”

  “All these couples having babies.” She shook her head in wonder.

  Louise laughed. “Once those boys learn how to do a thing, they just keep doing it. In this case, they’ve figured out how to fall in love and have children.” The older woman gazed at her fondly. “You’ve already managed the first part, haven’t you? Nick is quite a charmer.”

  “Charming is what he does best,” Hannah agreed, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. She didn’t want to get into a discussion about the love she and her pretend husband supposedly had for each other. The whole concept unnerved her. Love was one of those things that was really fun to read about, but in real life it often fell short of the mark. She’d seen the things people did in the name of love. In her mind, it was a whole lot smarter to stay out of trouble and not get involved.

  Louise studied her for a minute. In the bright morning light, Hannah could see the lines around her eyes and mouth. She didn’t look old, but she wasn’t a young woman anymore, despite how great she looked in a fuchsia T-shirt and tight-fitting jeans.

  “You must have lots of questions for me, Hannah. I want you to feel free to ask me anything. After all these years, I’m tired of keeping secrets.” Louise’s blue eyes darkened. “I daresay you’re more than a little angry with me, too.”

  Hannah didn’t want to admit to any strong emotions, even anger. She clasped her hands around the coffee mug. “I’m not sure what to ask.”

  “Then I’ll start with what happened, and you stop me if you think of anything you want to know. Is that fair?”

  Hannah nodded. This conversation made her nervous. She was still wrestling with the reality that this stranger actually was her mother. She knew that Louise had been quite young when she’d been forced to give up her child and was only in her forties now, but Hannah couldn’t shake the image of a frail old woman as her parent.

  Louise drew in a deep breath. “I was seventeen when I caught your daddy’s eye. Earl Haynes—” she paused and smiled “—well, let’s just say he was better-looking than all his sons put together. Oh, some might say I was exaggerating, but that’s how I felt about him. He was a handsome man. Charming. He came to the high school to talk to the senior class about drinking and driving. A couple years before, a teenager had been killed in a car accident. Ever since, the adults had taken underage drinking really seriously.”

  She brushed her short blond hair away from her face. Hannah noticed her earrings were beautiful and unique. A tiny teapot dangled from one ear, while a cup and saucer sparkled from the other.

  “He made his presentation to each of our history classes. I was right in front of the room. I remember thinking he was older, but so handsome. He had a smile that made me melt like butter on a hot griddle.” Her face flushed. “I’ll admit that I was just seventeen and innocent, but I knew his reputation and I knew he was married. In class, I couldn’t stop looking at him and I had the feeling he’d noticed me, too. That afternoon, when I walked home, he was waiting for me at the house. Sitting bold as you please, right there on the front porch.”

  She shrugged. “Mama worked in a bar at the edge of town. She left right before I got home from school and didn’t get back till after midnight. I’d always been a good girl. Never got into trouble. Until then. There was that whole big empty house with no one in it but me and Earl. I just couldn’t resist him.”

  She took a last drink of coffee, then rose to her feet. “The affair went on for some time,” she continued. “Until after I graduated from high school. For a long while, I didn’t think anyone knew, then I started to hear the whispers.” She moved to the kitchen sink. “I was so embarrassed. I wanted to stop, but I loved him. Or thought I did. And he said he loved me. So I continued to see him. Then I found out I was pregnant.”

  She ran the water and washed out the cup. Instead of facing the room, she continued to stare out the window. “My mother found me crying in my room one night. She wanted to know if Earl had dumped me. It was the first time I realized my mother knew what was going on. She told me later that the bar had had some trouble with its liquor license. Earl could have shut it down at any time. He told my mother he would have, too, if she interfered.”

  Louise turned back to Hannah. “She needed that job. She didn’t have any other skills. I found out later that she was sick. She died of cancer a few years after that, but back then, the symptoms were starting. She couldn’t chance being laid off. So no one stopped Earl. Not even me.”

  Hannah didn’t know what to think. She hadn’t thought about the circumstances of her conception. An older married man taking advantage of a young woman. The notion left a bad taste in her mouth.

  “This is a small town,” she said slowly. “There must have been a lot of gossip.”

  “Plenty. Once I knew I was having a baby, I left. I never told Earl why. I just said I was tired of it and that I was moving on.” Her mouth twisted down. The bright fuchsia lipstick that had seemed flattering a few moments ago now stood out garishly against her pale skin. “He begged me not to go. Said he loved me. I didn’t believe him. I knew his reputation. I knew that what I’d done was wrong, but I was finally going to make it right. I went to one of those homes for unwed mothers. They took care of everything. I learned to type and do office work. Their agency found a nice couple to adopt you.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She raised her chin and blinked rapidly. “They were a nice couple, weren’t they?”

  Hannah nodded. “Very nice. Lovely people.” Her throat started to tighten.

  “I’m glad. Really. It was for the best. I know it was. The only thing is…” A tear slipped down her cheek. She brushed it away and sniffed. “The only thing is, they wouldn’t let me hold you. They said you were a healthy little girl and they took you a-away.” Her voice cracked. “I thought that was wrong. They should have let me hold you.”

  The simple story had been acted out by thousands of women thousands of times all over the world. Innocent girls seduced and left pregnant gave up their babies every day. This shouldn’t be any different. Yet Hannah found herself fighting tears. Her anger faded, drained away by sadness.

  “Tell me about them,” Louise said. “The people who adopted you. What are they like? Are you a close family? Did you tell them about my letters?”

  “I…” She wasn’t sure what to say, then decided the truth would be easiest. “They were killed in a car accident when I was four.”

  Louise gasped and covered her mouth.

  Hannah shrugged. “There wasn’t any other family. I was raised in foster homes.”

  “No,” Louise murmured. Tears spilled onto her cheeks. “Oh, no. Hannah. No. I can’t… Oh, that’s so wrong. It’s so unfair.”

  Louise crossed toward her. Hannah didn’t remember standing, but suddenly she was in her mother’s arms. They were both crying, Louise with great choking sobs and Hannah silently.

  None of it had been fair, she thought grimly. Not what happened to Lou
ise and not what happened to her.

  “I’m so sorry,” Louise apologized tearfully. “This is all my fault.”

  Hannah drew in a deep breath and straightened. She brushed her tears away and tried to smile. “It’s no one’s fault. It just happened. I turned out fine.”

  “But I wanted more than fine for you. I wanted the best.” She moved to the counter, tore off a paper towel and handed it to Hannah, then took one for herself. “I wish I’d known. I would have come for you. All those wasted years.”

  “We’re together now.”

  Louise wiped her face and offered a shaky smile. “So we are. You’re right. That’s what’s important. We can’t do anything to change what happened.”

  They both returned to the kitchen table. Hannah fought against unfamiliar emotions. She hadn’t believed she could be affected by details from the past. Nor had she expected any of it to matter to her. Obviously she’d been wrong.

  “I’m glad you wrote to me,” she said impulsively.

  Louise leaned back in her chair. “It was your brothers’ idea. As soon as they found out about you, they wanted me to find you. I’d thought about it for a long time, but I’d been afraid. They gave me the encouragement I needed.”

  “I’m surprised they were so willing to have a stranger invade their lives. And under such difficult circumstances. It can’t be easy for them to think about the past.”

  “Probably not.” Louise smiled sadly. “They’re sweet enough not to blame me completely. They know what their father is like. I wasn’t the first woman he…well, there were plenty of others. Still, they’re happy to meet you, although your being female complicated everything.”

  “Why? What difference would that make?”

  “I think I’ll let them explain about that.”

  Hannah decided not to pursue the matter. She had other, more pressing questions. She sorted through them in her mind and found the one that concerned her the most. “Are you very ill?”

  Louise raised her eyebrows. “Ill? No. Why?”

  “In your letter you said we should get together while there was still time. At first I assumed it was because you were old and frail. But that’s obviously not it, so I decided you must be sick.”