For Better or For Worse

by Debbi Quattrone

  Alex was at a total loss. He had no answers. No advice. No nothing. “What are you going to do?”

  She lifted a shoulder. She looked so frail, so resigned. “The same thing I’ve been doing. Work the odd temp job on days I feel well enough. Sometimes doctors will do a freebie now and again.”

  He wanted to ask what would happen if she didn’t have the surgery, but he couldn’t do it. “How about some dinner?”

  She smiled. “Not hungry. How about you take me back to the B and B?”

  “Maybe you should stay here.”

  “I’m heading back to New York tomorrow.”

  “Why so soon? Don’t you want to go through some of your dad’s things?”

  Her eyes welled up. “I can’t. Not yet.”

  How stupid of him. Of course it was too soon. He knew better. “Yeah, I understand.”

  She got up from the table. “I can still call a cab.”

  “No way.” He pushed his chair back. “I’ll take you. Maybe I can still talk you into having dinner with me along the way.”

  She smiled. “Thanks anyway, Doc.”

  He watched her walk out the back door ahead of him. She looked so small and defeated. And damn, but he didn’t have a clue how to help her.

  * * *

  “SIT AND HAVE some coffee with me.” Maureen Cooper motioned to a chair. “I heard the shower. Jenny should be down shortly.”

  Alex accepted the steaming mug from Maureen. “How’s she doing?”

  Maureen joined him at the table. “I didn’t see much of her last night. After you dropped her off, she chatted a few minutes with the twins and me and then went to her room.”

  “She didn’t eat any dinner?”

  “None that I know of. She refused my offer of meat loaf and mashed potatoes. What did the doctor say yesterday?”

  Alex cradled the warm mug in his hands and stared thoughtfully at the dark brew. He had to be careful what he said about Jenny. Not just because it wasn’t right to discuss her personal problems, but also because he thought he might have a solution for her. One that would require the utmost discretion regarding her medical condition.

  “I didn’t really talk to him. I assumed it wasn’t anything serious, probably stress and fatigue.”

  “I bet she’s pretty shocked.” Maureen glanced over her shoulder toward the doorway. “Ed never had a history of heart disease and he seemed fine when I saw him just a few days before he died.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not unusual.”

  “I guess.” Maureen seemed distracted. “The medical examiner still maintains Ed died of natural causes.”

  Alex frowned. “Why wouldn’t he?”

  Her eyes met his, uncertainty clear in their green depths. “No reason. It’s just that—well, don’t you think it’s odd that with no serious health problems or history of heart disease, he suddenly has a fatal heart attack?”

  Alex glanced toward the doorway. This was a conversation Jenny didn’t need to hear. “I wouldn’t say it’s odd, certainly not unheard of. People die without warning from heart attacks all the time.”

  Her somber gaze fastened on his. “Did I tell you I found him with the box of chocolates I’d given him? He’d already had a couple of pieces.”

  Alex was at a loss to make the connection. “I’m not following you.”

  She hesitated. “A guest had left the chocolates with a thank-you note. I don’t like the twins having so much sugar so I gave the box to Ed.”

  Ed wasn’t diabetic. “What does that have to do with Ed’s death?”

  She frowned, her gaze wandering toward the window. And then she looked at him and smiled. “Nothing. I’m being silly.”

  He shot a quick glance toward the door, wary of Jenny overhearing and getting upset. “Finding a dead body is traumatic enough. Finding a friend is horrifying. You have every right to be disconcerted.”

  “We should hear Jenny—the bottom stair usually creaks,” Maureen assured him, lowering her voice. “Anyway, you’re right. Let’s forget it.”

  Troubled eyes belied her words. “Maureen, listen, what you’re doing is quite common.” People did it with their pets all the time. “You were the one who found him. It was a shock. There’s no rhyme or reason to his death, but you’re searching anyway. Ed died of natural causes. There is no blame here. The medical examiner would have determined otherwise during the autopsy.”

  Maureen forced a smile. “You’re right.” She’d been foolish to bring up the subject, she decided, except she wasn’t thinking straight. Responsibility for Ed’s death nagged at her.

  She suspected Owen Nevil was involved. The man was ruthless. He hated her guts for having gathered enough evidence to get his brother, Carl, convicted of murder in New York. He could have left the poisoned chocolates for her, and he wouldn’t stop at this failed attempt.

  Most people didn’t realize there were poisons that didn’t show up on toxicology screens. No reason people should. No reason for them to know about her life as a cop in New York, either. But she’d done all she could for now. She’d taken steps to have the chocolates analyzed. She trusted Scott Hunter. He’d taken the chocolates to the forensic lab for her. So far, nothing had been found.

  Alex watched Maureen briefly close her troubled eyes. He’d had no idea how hard it had been on her, finding Ed. “Nothing that happened is your fault. You were unlucky enough to be the one to find Ed. That’s all.” When she wouldn’t look up, he tugged at her hand. “Understand?”

  “Yeah, I understand.”

  “Could you try to sound a little more convincing?”

  She smiled. “Yeah, yeah.” And then her expression sobered. “Just be careful, okay?”

  He frowned. “Is there something more you aren’t telling me?”

  She reached over and covered one of his hands with hers. “No. You’re a good man, Alex. Thanks for listening to my crazy ramblings.”

  The step creaked, and they both looked toward the door. It must have been a floorboard, because Jenny was already standing there, her gaze trained on the hand Maureen had laid over Alex’s.

  Maureen quickly withdrew it. “Good morning.”

  “Hi.” Jenny’s gaze went to Alex. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “Have a seat.” Maureen got up. “I’ll get you some coffee. The other guests have eaten, but I’ll fix you some strawberries and cantaloupe and freshly baked blueberry muffins.”

  “Just coffee will be fine.”

  “Wrong.” Alex rose from the table and went over to the counter to retrieve the bowl of fruit.

  “Excuse me?” Her hair was still a little damp, she wore no makeup, and the freckles stood out across her nose, making her look really young.

  “You have to eat, Jenny.”

  Her gaze skittered to Maureen, who busied herself with the coffee.

  “I’m going to be leaving soon,” Jenny said, her voice tight with annoyance. “I’ll pick something up while I’m on the road.”

  “I need to talk to you,” he insisted.

  Her gaze flew to Maureen again.

  He took Jenny by the elbow. “Let’s go sit in the living room. Okay with you, Maureen?”

  “Be my guest.” She didn’t even look up.

  “Wait a minute—” Jenny tried to put the brakes on.

  “Would you rather we talk in here?” He sent a meaningful look toward Maureen.

  Jenny glared at him, then led the way into the large gathering room. She didn’t sit on the sofa but stood with her arms folded. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate you taking me to the hospital yesterday and waiting for me and all that, but you can’t ride roughshod over me. I won’t let you.”

  Alex wondered how much of his conversation she’d overheard. He didn’t want Mau
reen’s suspicions hanging over Jenny’s head—she had enough on her plate.

  “Did you know Maureen found your father?” he asked, testing the waters.

  “Maureen?” Her eyes widened in genuine surprise and her gaze drifted toward the kitchen. “Oh, my God, she didn’t tell me.”

  “It’s not that important. I just wondered if you knew. She was good to him, inviting him for holiday dinners and stocking him up with food whenever he delivered his free-range chickens to her. She was actually picking up her order at Ed’s place when she found him.”

  “I had no idea. Thank you for telling me.” She started to return to the kitchen.

  “Wait,” he said, satisfied she hadn’t overheard anything upsetting. “That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  Alarm flashed in her eyes again.

  “Why don’t we sit?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll be sitting the entire ride back to New York.”

  “Okay.” He paused, knowing she wasn’t going to make this easy. “I think I have a solution to your problem.”

  Interest sparked in her eyes. But then she drew back subtly with a wary expression. “I didn’t ask for your help.”

  Alex had expected her to balk. Father and daughter were as stubborn as they came. “Will you at least listen, or are you going to let pride stand in the way of your health?”

  Her expression turned sheepish. “Okay. I’ll listen.”

  Alex cleared his throat. He really wished they were sitting down. “Marry me.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  JENNY STARED AT Alex. She thought he had just asked her to marry him. She was losing it for sure. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to drive to New York today. One day of rest would be more prudent.

  “Jenny?”

  “Maybe I do need to sit down.”

  He put a hand on her lower back, guiding her to the sofa, and sat beside her. “I guess I should explain my line of thinking.”

  “That would help.” Not that she was certain she wanted to hear this.

  “I gave it a lot of thought last night. I have savings and investments but probably not enough to cover—”

  She gasped. “Of course not. I wouldn’t accept your money. I didn’t tell you about the surgery so you’d—”

  “Jenny, please.” He held up a hand. “I know that. Let me finish.”

  Difficult as it was, she kept her mouth shut, but her thoughts went haywire. Alex didn’t owe her anything. Why was he doing this?

  “You can’t get insurance, not with having already been diagnosed. But if we were to get married, you would automatically be covered under my policy.”

  She stared at him, dumbfounded. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Why not? It makes sense.” His face darkened suddenly. “The marriage would be in name only.”

  “I know.” She hadn’t even thought that far yet. What he was proposing was crazy.

  “You’d have to live at my place for appearances. We don’t need the insurance company getting suspicious, and if they nose around, we’ll be covered. But you’d have your own room, your own space. No one but us need know the circumstances of the marriage.”

  He looked so calm, so in control, yet tired. As if he’d stayed awake most of the night figuring out the logistics and ramifications of his offer.

  “I don’t know.” She could barely form a coherent sentence. “I have to think about it.”

  “What’s there to think about? You have no money and no job.”

  She flinched.

  “I’m not trying to be cruel. I simply want you to understand there is no room for pride or emotion here. This is your chance to get your life back.”

  Her palms had grown clammy, and she dragged them over her jeans. “This is risky. If the insurance company finds out, you’ll be in legal trouble.”

  He lifted a brow. “Believe me, I’ve thought of that. I’m not in the habit of defrauding an insurance company. But we’re talking about your health, Jenny. If you don’t have the surgery...”

  He didn’t finish the sentence, but she knew what he was thinking. If it hadn’t been for a year of intense therapy, she’d be doing nothing but think about the consequences of leaving the growing tumor.

  “I did some research last night,” he continued. “Your recovery time, with physical therapy, can take up to eight months. You’ll stay with me until you’re fully well again, and then you leave. Go back to New York, Boston. Wherever you want. You’ll owe me nothing.”

  A lump had lodged in her throat, and she wasn’t sure she could speak. Not that she knew what to say. This was an incredibly generous offer. He’d been a good friend to her father, but she scarcely knew Alex.

  She cleared her throat, and after two attempts asked, “Why are you doing this?”

  His mouth curved in a smile that warmed his eyes and turned them a remarkable shade of gray. “If you have to ask, you’ve lived in the city too long.”

  She gave a nervous laugh. “You have to admit, this is kind of over the top.”

  He shrugged. “There’s nothing your father wouldn’t have done for anyone in this community.”

  She nodded. That was the truth, but it didn’t give her a free pass, especially since she’d fled as soon as she was able. “I want you to think about this some more,” she said, and he started to protest, but she held up her hand. “This time let me talk.”

  “Okay.” He relaxed against the sofa, his long legs stretched in front of him. His jeans were old and faded but neatly pressed.

  “You said yourself we’re talking about a long recovery period. Throw in the time we have to wait for the insurance to kick in and getting an appointment with the specialist, the preparation and surgery itself, and we might be looking at over a year.”

  He nodded patiently.

  At his apparent indifference, annoyance nudged her. “That’s a long time.”

  “Are you done?”

  “I can’t ask you to put your life on hold like that.”

  He spread his hands. “How would my life be on hold? I work at the clinic six days a week and then I come home each evening. Nothing would change. Of course I’d check on you while you’re home recovering and make sure you’d get to physical therapy, but that’s nothing.”

  “I meant your personal life.”

  He frowned. “I just described my life.”

  “What about a love interest?” Her gaze wandered toward the kitchen, and a thought suddenly occurred to her. Maybe that’s what he and Maureen had been discussing when Jenny came downstairs. They’d looked awfully cozy, hands clasped, voices lowered...

  Alex laughed. It was a nice sound, and she liked the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, as if he laughed a lot. “That’s nothing to worry about, I assure you.”

  “Aren’t you seeing anyone?”

  “No.” He followed her gaze toward the kitchen. “Not Maureen, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “No,” she said quickly. “Okay, so I thought maybe there was something going on there.”

  “Nope. She’s a nice lady, and I like her a lot. But she’s only a friend.”

  Jenny experienced an odd kind of relief. Why, she had no clue. “But there may be someone else. Not right now. But later, in five or six months. You might even find someone you want to marry—”

  The amusement left his face. “That won’t happen,” he said quietly.

  “You say that now, but you don’t know.”

  “I know. I’ve already been married. It was great. I loved Sara. I still do. But she’s gone.”

  Jenny shuddered at the finality in his voice. Pain shadowed his eyes. She’d put it there by bringing up the subject. If only she’d kept her big mouth shut.

  “Look, Jen, I’ve al
ready thought long and hard about what this arrangement will mean. I didn’t make the offer lightly. All you have to do is accept, and we’ll get the ball rolling.”

  “Why did you call me Jen?”

  His eyebrows dipped in a frown. “I didn’t realize I had.”

  “I like it.” She smiled. “It sounds more mature than Jenny but not as stuffy as Jennifer.”

  “Good. Then I’ll try to remember to make it Jen.” He held her gaze, no hesitation showing in his. “So, what do you say? Will you marry me?”

  The way his full lips lifted in a slow smile shouldn’t have caused a nervous flutter in her tummy. She swallowed hard. “Yes,” she said, wishing she didn’t sound so darn breathless. The proposal wasn’t for real. “I’ll marry you.”

  * * *

  IF TOM CHRISTEN was surprised by the sudden request to officiate their marriage, he didn’t show it. Alex had liked the Episcopal priest the moment he’d met him. Even though the marriage wasn’t for real, Alex was glad Tom would perform the ceremony.

  “Are you ready?” His friend and partner, Tuck McCabe, ducked his head into the room as Alex was fighting a losing battle with his tie.

  “I can’t believe I have to wear a suit for the second time in three days,” Alex muttered.

  Tuck grinned. “You could’ve just worn a sport coat and slacks.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He’d decided against showing up at church dressed too casually. Even though Tuck knew the true reason for the marriage, Alex figured he ought to keep up the appearance that the ceremony was a very special occasion for him.

  “Maureen called. She’s on her way. I’ll tell everyone you’ll be out in five minutes, okay?”

  Alex nodded and kept struggling with the tie. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to do the damn thing. What was his problem? Anyone would think he was really getting married today.

  He hoped it was a good decision to exclude guests. Both he and Jen decided the quieter they kept things, the better. Let people get used to her being around town. Maybe then there wouldn’t be so much gossip. The important thing was to get the insurance paperwork in motion.

  As far as Tuck knowing the truth, Alex needed a witness to stand up for him, and although Tuck was a relative newcomer to Cooper’s Corner, he and Alex had hit it off right away. Their professional partnership gave Alex some freedom from work that he hadn’t had before, and Tuck was a good listener when Alex needed him.