“There! Another girl cut loose to make men crazy.” Beaming, Brett gently wrapped the baby in a towel and handed her to Amanda. Her vision misted as the full impact of what they’d done—what she’d done—hit home.
The paramedics arrived shortly thereafter as Brett was pushing on Kiley’s abdomen to deliver the placenta. He allowed the trio to move in to take over mother and child. He stripped off his gloves and tossed them in the trash. Amanda did the same, then fell into his arms.
He pulled back and looked at her, wonder in his eyes. “You were nothing short of amazing.”
“You don’t have to sound so amazed by it.”
“Can you blame me? Just this morning you paled at the sight of a needle.”
“Now that it’s over I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” She grinned up at him dazedly. “Suddenly I have a much better understanding of how you must feel every day.”
He chuckled. “I don’t feel this high over my work all that often. Bringing life into this world is a unique pleasure and a privilege. The most satisfying part of my job.”
She began to laugh and cry all at once. “Guess I don’t know how I feel right now.”
“Try proud.”
Rochelle arrived moments later as the paramedics were easing the weary mother and baby onto a stretcher.
Catching a dirty look from Brett, the nurse chose to keep Amanda between them. Before Brett had a chance to speak, Kiley came rolling by. “You coming with me, Doc?”
He gave her a quick, encouraging smile. “Naturally.”
“In the ambulance?”
“Naturally!” He touched her damp temple then stood back so the paramedics could ease the stretcher down the short bank of stairs to the foyer. At which point he turned to his tardy nurse in fury. “What happened to you?”
Rochelle swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I misunderstood, thought you wanted me at the school for the shots.”
“Why the hell would I want that? What did Jen tell you?”
“She told me Kiley contacted you—as she had so many times before with Dr. Stanley Hickock. I knew she was alone this weekend. Figured she just had some abdomen pains again and panicked. Thought you’d go calm her down and come back to the school. You gotta admit, Brett, her due date isn’t for a few days and first-time mothers are often late.”
Brett hesitated, then begrudgingly stabbed a finger at Amanda. “Scared witless of a simple immunization, she took your place here today, Rochelle. And under the circumstances, did a damn fine job.” With that he skimmed down the short staircase and out the door.
Rochelle stood her ground with her nemesis. “Okay, let me have it.”
“Maybe later. Right now, I gotta sit down.” Amanda sank onto the nearby sofa.
“I suppose you’re pretty pleased with yourself.”
“Do I look like it?”
Rochelle studied her. “No, guess you don’t. You look like the survivor of a disaster.”
Amanda sniffed. “That is exactly what I am. How can you possibly tend people this way all the time?”
“Because I love it.” With a more confident smile, Rochelle paced a bit, then sank beside her on the sofa. “Suppose, considering how decent you’re being, I do owe you some thanks. If Brett had been left alone to cope, he might very well have been angry enough to fire me right on the spot.”
“He just might have,” Amanda agreed. “I’m beginning to believe he can be quite ruthless—without explanation.”
Rochelle reached over and patted her knee. “All things considered, I feel I owe you a favor in return.”
“Yeah?” Rochelle’s chummy tone made Amanda sit up and take notice.
“He knows.”
“Excuse me?”
“Brett knows exactly who you are. Amanda Pierpont, wild and wacky newspaper heiress.”
“Oh, really.”
“Really. And he doesn’t like it one bit.”
AS AMANDA AND ROCHELLE went about tidying up Kiley’s kitchen, the nurse explained how Beatrice had checked out the magazine layout Amanda had spilled coffee on, realized Mandy was the Pierpont heiress and quickly reported her findings to Brett, who promptly went ballistic.
Rochelle dropped some towels directly into a garbage bag. “Beatrice told me all this cousin-to-cousin, confided that there had even been an emergency family meeting about it at the boarding house.”
Amanda was on her hands and knees scrubbing a linoleum floor for the first time in her life, awkwardly slopping water ’round the floor with a sponge. “She never let on she was the least bit suspicious. I wonder why she made such a big deal about it?”
“I wondered, also, and asked. That was when she realized she’d let too much slip. Even though she and I are the ones who are truly related, it’s the bunch over at the Scherer place that holds her deepest loyalties.”
Amanda pondered the situation. “This certainly explains why Frank was acting funny today. Whatever’s going on, he and Della have decided I deserve the benefit of the doubt.”
“Why are you here at all, Mandy? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Problems with my own family,” she admitted. “My own family of one, Lowell Pierpont. He made me so angry, I needed to escape, think. To do that I had to go undercover.”
“So you had a fight with your father and chose this burg to hide out in.” She was stupefied. “It’s tough to believe you couldn’t solve your problems back in luxury. Tough to believe you have any real problems!”
Amanda felt equal measures of patience and pity. “I am grateful that I came to realize I needed distance from it all to gain a clear perspective.” Realizing she was still doubtful, she added, “People can be enormously happy with the simple things. You’re surrounded by living proof.”
Chapter Sixteen
Brett didn’t return to the boarding house until well after dinner. He discovered Mandy seated at the kitchen table paging through a magazine when he entered through the back door.
“Hey, there, Doc Handsome.”
“Hello.” He had come in the back in the hope of avoiding interaction with their in-house heiress. All he wanted was a hot shower and to lie on his bed and listen to public radio. His eyes darted ’round the room looking for backup. There was none. “Where is everyone?”
In a rather cheery voice Amanda gave him a rundown. “Frank followed Colonel Geoff out the door ’round seven to join him on one of his constitutionals. Rochelle insisted Beatrice join her at the Blue Parrot Lounge tonight for some fun. Della took Tess and her friend Hailey back to the park.”
“To watch the fireworks I suppose. It’s a tradition on concert day.”
“Hungry?”
“No, I picked up a hamburger at the hospital.”
“So how is Kiley doing?”
“Very well. Thanks again for all your help.”
“You’re welcome.”
He set his medical bag on the counter and gestured to her magazine. “I suppose you’re still trying to decompress.”
“Nothing like a good magazine to soothe. At least most of the time. Some people get far too excited about them.”
The implication was clear. She knew that he knew her secret. He was too strung out for this now. If only he’d come in the front door. Seeing no way around it, he walked to the cupboard to get a glass. “The revealing magazines tend to make people excited. Especially those magazines that are too revealing for a girl’s own good.”
“What bothered you most, Brett? My scanty outfit or my roots?”
He smacked the plastic glass down on the counter. “Hard to choose. I don’t care for cheesecake shots and I don’t care for rich players.”
She sighed. “I’m truly sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Didn’t mean for you to find out about me that way.”
“So you intended to tell me sometime?”
“Of course. I’ve been working through some personal issues first.”
“Personal is right! But it’s my business we’re talking about
here.”
“I don’t follow.”
He smiled thinly. “Amanda Pierpont, celebrity reporter. Tracking down a poor, innocent child!”
She stared blankly. “What the hell do you mean?”
“Oh, c’mon. What other reason brought you here if not to report on Tessa Frye, onetime movie star of Wizards and Wands?”
“What has that kid got to do with us?” Then sudden realization fell upon her. “Your Tess is Tessa Frye?”
Brett’s blue eyes darkened in fury. “Don’t play innocent with me after all you’ve done.”
“Like what?”
“You slink into town under false colors, crash into a car to get my sympathy. Then go on to wage a campaign to worm information out of all of us. When nothing shakes loose, you get my child a haircut reminiscent of her Hollywood days, hoping that might force the issue.” He nodded self-righteously. “It all became so clear when I realized who you were.”
Amanda was stunned by his conclusions. “I vaguely remember the Wizards plotline about a child sorceress in a family of good witches. And I recall a news item on the toddler actress losing her mother in a car accident. But I didn’t pay much attention at the time. I never actually saw the movie and children were never my beat.”
“But her face was everywhere. There were dolls, games, puzzles.”
“None of which interest me.”
“Well, I have every right to be cautious about reporters. They made my life miserable for a while. When my wife Sarita was killed in the single car crash in the Hollywood Hills, rumors suggested that she was seeing a huge star, got dumped and went crazy. Even the police couldn’t verify what really happened. The vultures kept digging, though, even hounding Tess. The story finally cooled down, but the invasion left me furious. I refused a movie sequel offer for Tess and skipped town to start over away from the spotlight.”
The very idea that Brett would believe she—or any responsible reporter—would be petty enough to chase down Tess was unreal. Anger swelled inside her. “Oh, Brett!” She hopped to her feet and charged him, poking at his chest. “What you’re suggesting would be disgraceful, reckless reporting.”
Her offensive move plainly took him off guard. “Well, how am I supposed to know what Amanda Pierpont would do? You have a history of reckless behavior.”
“But reckless only to myself. I have made mistakes. But I’ve been trying so hard to mend my ways, to be a more thoughtful human being.” She clapped her hands to her face. “All this time I thought we were getting somewhere, that I’d finally discovered what real love means. Why, I even told you I loved you! No wonder you didn’t reply in turn. You don’t even trust me!”
“I do want to trust you.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a shake. “Give me a chance, a convincing excuse for your purpose here.”
She gazed up into his desperate eyes, realizing he was frazzled and dirt-tired by the day’s events. But his heartless conclusions about her were unforgivable. “No, you figured out your own nasty reasons. You don’t deserve the real ones.”
“How can we go on if you won’t tell me?”
“Go on?” she cried in disbelief. “You accuse me of wanting to betray Tess and expect us to just go on? More and more I’m beginning to wonder, is there any sign of intelligent male life anywhere on earth? Even one?” She dashed out with a sob and a slam of the screen door.
Brett charged into the living room only to discover Della and Tess hovering near the doorway. He froze in shock. Della was repentant. “We came back early. Hailey had a stomach upset. I tried to take Tess upstairs, but we heard voices and you know how stubborn she is.”
Tess glared at him. “Is Mandy mad at me?”
He knew his surprise showed. “No, no, honey.”
“I heard my name yelled out.”
“We were talking about you in a nice way, Tess.”
“Did you make her cry, Daddy?”
He shoved his hands into his pants’ pockets. “Well…not on purpose.”
The child stomped her tennis shoe. “You made her cry. I heard. Now she won’t be my friend.” With an anguished expression much like her friend’s, Tess dashed out of the room and up the stairs.
TESS DECIDED TO WAIT UP for Mandy. It was the kind of secret wait-up deal that nobody else would like, making herself at home in Mandy’s bedroom after midnight.
Tess had just put on some very pretty pink lipstick from Mandy’s cosmetic bag when that funny phone began to hum. Standing on tiptoe, Tess found it in its regular top drawer hiding place.
“Hello?”
“Finally! I’ve been calling and calling. Where’ve you been?”
“Kindergarten.”
“Put my daughter on the line right now.”
“She isn’t here. I’m baby-sitting her room.”
“Wherever you live, it must be pretty late. You should be asleep.”
“But I have to wait for Mandy. I have to tell her I love her.”
“You sound funny. What’s wrong?”
“Everything.”
“What has she done? My daughter. What has she done?”
“Daddy made her cry.”
“Oh?”
“She cried and ran away.”
“I see. The same old tricks.”
“Don’t you care that your little girl is crying?”
“Well—”
“Daddies are s’posed to dry those tears.”
“I suppose they are. Wonder where she’s gone this time.”
“She probably went to Ivy’s house.”
“So you’ve decided to tell me a name for a change.”
“Oh, I can tell you Ivy’s name. Just not my name. See?”
“Yes, dear. What’s Ivy’s last name?”
“Waterman. In school I have to call her Miss Waterman. No, Ivy.”
“Hmm. I haven’t heard that name in quite a while. Should be able to track her down. Good night, dear.”
“Good night.”
Tess returned the phone to the drawer and stifled a yawn. Crawling onto the center of the bed, she fell asleep.
Sometime later Tess sensed someone in the room. She fluttered to life. “Mandy?”
“No, honey, it’s Daddy.”
She rubbed fists in her eyes. “You come to dry my tears?”
He sat on the edge of the bed. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for Mandy to come home.”
“This is no place for you. It’s one in the morning.”
“She needs me! And she has a mean daddy, you know.”
Her dad frowned. “More to the point, how do you know?”
“He calls all the time on her little buzzy-bee phone.”
“And you speak to him?”
“You never asked me if I talk on her phone, only if I listen to her talk.”
“Oh, Tess.”
“I think Mandy runned away from home. And Lowell wants her back.”
“So that’s it.” Her dad shook his head. “Her trip here is all about the princess herself. And not my princess.”
“What did you say, Daddy?”
Brett gathered Tess close. “You are my princess, I said. And I want you to stay away from this room from now on.” He stood, cradling Tess in his arms. “So what else do you and Lowell talk about?”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t tell him my name or where we live. Because he is a stranger.”
He chuckled. “Good to know you do obey some rules.”
“But I told him about Ivy tonight. He really liked that.”
Brett carried Tess toward the door, pausing to shut off the light. “Then I guess all we can do is let nature take its course and see where Mandy lands.”
Tess curled her arms around his neck. “I think she should land right on top of you, Daddy.”
He laughed. It was a funny laugh. “That would be an event.”
AMANDA OPENED Ivy’s apartment door early Monday morning to find landlord photographer Oliver Pratt on the other si
de carrying a tray loaded with breakfast goodies.
“Morning, sweetie.” He whisked in uninvited, as he had half a dozen times since Amanda’s arrival Saturday night. “Must say, Ivy’s pink nightshirt does wonders for the both of us. I just may park in your camp for good one of these days.”
“You’re just sucking up because you’ve discovered I’m rich as sin,” she retorted, slamming the door shut after him.
“Just as easy to love a rich girl,” he crooned. With brisk steps he went about setting out breakfast on Ivy’s table. Stifling a yawn he went on. “I’m tired as sin and it’s all your fault. Been on the Internet half the night downloading information about the two of you. Gee, you girls know how to have fun. With a capital F.”
Ivy appeared then, in a yellow nightshirt similar to the one on loan to Amanda. “I see the fly on the wall is back.” She bristled as Oliver flashed her a knowing look. “I’m warning you now, I wouldn’t care for my background to hit the streets.”
“You’re fairly safe. I had to surf some turbulent seas to connect the two of you. People here will be focused on Amanda and her background. Beyond that, you know they’re satisfied with local gossip. Who pinched who at the pops concert. Which shop has the cheapest lampshades.”
Ivy grew alert. “Which shop does have the cheapest lampshades?”
“Do you really care, Miss Got Rocks?”
“Like Amanda, I am estranged from my wealthy family, and I’m living on my teacher’s salary. So don’t get any ideas about even raising my rent.”
His lips puckered in disappointment. “So this means I won’t be choosing between the two of you. It’s Amanda Pierpont for certain who will be getting this larger lemon muffin.” He moved to the table, picked up a knife and began to slather the giant yellow pastry with what looked like whipped butter.
“I made coffee,” Amanda announced, then shuffled barefoot to the kitchen to get it.
The threesome sat at the table to eat. While the girls each nibbled on a single muffin, Oliver quickly gnawed through two, as well as some orange slices.
“So, Amanda, what are your plans?” he asked.
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