The Comeback Girl

by Debra Salonen

  He was carrying his guitar and a plastic binder. His songs, she thought. No matter what else came of this marriage, Donnie had given her son a wonderful gift—music.

  “I could use your help setting the table,” she told him. “I set out the red-and-white checked tablecloth.”

  Donnie rested one elbow against the counter and shuffled through the day’s mail. “Where’s Lucas?” Donnie asked.

  Kris sprinkled a few shakes of the herb into her bubbling pot of spaghetti sauce. “I don’t know. Zach, do you know where he is?”

  “Nope.”

  Monosyllabic-grunt-boy had returned. Kris would have been pulling out her hair except that Donnie constantly assured her that Zach was “a neat kid.”

  “Maybe he’s in the music shed,” Kris suggested, holding the stirring spoon to her lips to sample the sauce.

  With the liquid too hot to touch, she blew on the spoon. When Donnie didn’t answer, she glanced his way. The look in his eyes was every bit as heated as the mixture on the spoon.

  Zach made a sound of pure disgust, and she hastily dropped the spoon back in the pot. “What did you say?”

  His upper lip curled back in a sneer. “Nothin’.”

  Before she could respond, the phone rang. Nobody moved to answer it. After the third ring, Kristin pounced on it. “Sullivan residence…I…I mean…hello.”

  “It’s Sandy. Put Donnie on.”

  The snappish tone made Kristin hold out the receiver. “It’s definitely for you.”

  Donnie walked around the counter to sit down on a stool. He took the portable unit from her hand then turned his back to them. Kris could hear every word he spoke, but she made a concerted effort not to listen. “So, Zach,” she said, “how’s the new song coming?”

  “Okay,” he mumbled.

  Normally, she wouldn’t let his prickly tone put her off, but Donnie’s fierce “Don’t even think it” distracted her.

  Zach gave her a knowing look and walked into the dining room, leaving her with Donnie. And Sandy.

  “For the last time, Sandy, let it go,” Donnie said. Kris heard exhaustion and frustration in his tone. “We can’t plan for Christmas until I know whether or not I have the job.”

  Impulsively, Kris poured him a glass of juice. Since his back was to her and she didn’t want to walk around the island, she leaned across the counter, practically lying on her belly and tapped his shoulder.

  When he turned to look, his eyes widened and his gaze dropped. Kris glanced down and discovered the bow neck of her sweatshirt was stretched about as low as it could go. She scooted backward, almost knocking over the glass. Donnie rescued it and mouthed “Thank you” as Sandy’s voice droned in the background. Kris wasn’t sure if he was grateful for the drink or the peepshow, but for some reason, she didn’t care. It was enough to see him smile.

  Dinner went surprisingly well, she thought an hour later. After hanging up the phone, Donnie left to shower and change. Kris had a cup of tea to steady her nerves.

  Lucas showed up just in time to eat, claiming to have been in his room studying. Kris decided his guilty look meant he’d probably been playing video games.

  When they were finally gathered together at the table, she decided it was the perfect moment to share her good news. “I got a pleasant surprise from my attorney today. Ty’s decided not to fight me for custody. I guess he realized he couldn’t win,” she said, unable to disguise her glee. “He’s suggested a very fair and flexible arrangement.”

  She looked at Zach and told him, “He’s even willing to pay for your college, Zach. Isn’t that great?”

  There’d been a few lines about why Tyler felt it was important that Zach stay in Gold Creek for his entire high-school experience and what Ty would do if Kristin pulled up stakes, but overall his offer was remarkably generous. It included child support, which would go straight into Zach’s savings.

  “And he’s moving here.”

  “When?” Donnie asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. But I think this means we don’t have to go to court. We won.” She toasted Donnie with her water.

  “I don’t get it,” Lucas said. “Nothing’s changed, right? So how does that mean you won?”

  Kris had noticed a listlessness in Lucas the past few days, but she’d marked it down to worry. Who could blame him for being tense and distracted?

  “This is what I wanted,” she told him. “I’ll be Zach’s primary-care provider—like your dad is for you—but Zach will have the option of staying as much as he likes at his dad’s. That would be difficult if Tyler lived somewhere far away, like Seattle.”

  “Or South Africa,” Lucas said, his mouth full of pasta.

  Since nobody seemed as happy as she was, some of Kristin’s high spirits fled. Donnie took a second helping of ravioli. Lucas ate with his head down, barely taking the time to swallow. Zach kept his eyes on his plate, too, but at least his posture was better.

  “So, guys,” she said, changing the subject, “how was homecoming? Were the bands any good last night?”

  “They were okay,” Zach said.

  “They sucked,” Lucas mumbled. “Even we’re better than them.”

  Zach snorted. “Like hell we are. We stink.”

  Lucas bristled. “Speak for yourself.”

  Zach’s face turned red, but before he could explode, Donnie said, “I should have a little time next week to help you work on your finger positions, Zach, but you’re doing fine. Which is a good thing because I can’t teach you much more. My musical talent has been reduced to singing a little ditty now and then.”

  He looked at Kris when he said that and she felt her face heat up. It was a blatant reminder of the passion they’d shared the night before the wedding.

  “Mom.”

  The word punched into her thoughts. She gulped, and something she hadn’t quite finished chewing lodged in her throat. A hunk of bread, she thought, reaching for her water glass.

  She opened her mouth to cough, but no air would go up or down. She tried to swallow and even squeezed her throat to help it along, but whatever was blocking the passage only became more securely imbedded. She thumped her fist against her chest, trying not to panic.

  “Mom?” Zach’s voice went up the way it did when he was a little boy. “Are you okay?”

  She tried to nod, but her eyes were watering and she was having trouble focusing.

  “Donnie, do something,” Zach cried.

  Donnie was already on his feet. He rushed around the table and pulled out her chair. He jerked her to her feet. Her fingers tingled and little silver dots danced across her vision.

  “Breathe,” he ordered. Locking his arms around her belly, he pulled her back into his body so firmly she thought she might break in two.

  A tiny bit of air found passage, but the clog was still there. Her arms flapped uselessly; tears streamed from her eyes. She didn’t want to die.

  “Dammit, Kris, breathe.” This time he repositioned his hands and jerked even harder.

  Her jaw dropped open and the obstacle popped clean out of her mouth like an automatic ball server she’d seen in action at a tennis club.

  Kristin crumpled as oxygen returned to her body. Her head was spinning and it hurt like hell to swallow, but she could breathe.

  Donnie held her limp body and lowered his head to the back of her neck and whispered, “Thank God. Oh, thank God.”

  Embarrassed and so giddy with relief she could have wept, Kris pried his hands apart so she could face him. “You saved my life,” she whispered. Her throat burned but she felt obliged to add, “Can you believe I did something that dumb?”

  “Yes,” Donnie said, his face suddenly contorting in fury. “Yes, dammit, I can. That was stupid. My God, Kristin, you could—”

  Zach, who’d gone white with fear, leaped to his feet and pulled Donnie’s arm back.

  “Leave her alone,” Zach cried. “She almost died.” Even though he was a hundred pounds lighter, Zach pushed
Donnie away. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

  Lucas suddenly sprang out of his chair and was facing Zach before Kristin could blink. “Hey, she’s his wife, man. Stay out of it. He can talk to her any way he wants.”

  Clearly incensed and needing an outlet for his anger, Zach tackled Lucas. Although Lucas was twenty pounds heavier, surprise and self-righteous indignation tipped the scales in Zach’s favor. The two went down, taking the tablecloth and several plates with them. Angry cries and the dull thud of fist to flesh blended with the sound of dishes shattering on the hardwood floor.

  “Zach. No.” Kris’s strangled cry seared her already raw throat.

  Donnie swore and reached down to wrap Zach, who was on top, in a bear hug. He wrestled him back and out of the way of Lucas’s vicious kick.

  Lucas tried to sit up, but his right arm buckled. His nose was bleeding, tears of anger and outrage diluting the bright-red stream.

  Kris grabbed a water glass and a napkin from the table and dropped to her knees beside him. “I’m so sorry,” she said as loudly as possible. Every syllable hurt.

  To her surprise, Lucas passively submitted to her ministrations. She dabbed cool water around his nose, which was already swollen and inflamed. “How’s your wrist?”

  Lucas looked across the room to where Donnie and Zach were talking. Suddenly, he jerked back and pushed her hand away. “I’m okay.”

  He lumbered to his feet and left the room without a backward glance. Zach disappeared, too. His obvious shame at losing control of his emotions broke her heart. Kris would have thanked him for coming to her defense, but he hadn’t given her time.

  Later. She’d talk to each of them in private. Zach would rant, and she’d let him. Because he needed to vent his frustration. She didn’t know what Lucas would do.

  Donnie picked up the plates, put them on the table, then walked to her side. “That was entirely my fault. I’m sorry,” he said somberly. “I’ll talk to them after they cool down.”

  She could tell he felt remorseful; there was even a little tremor in his hand as he waited to see if she would accept his apology. “Donnie,” she said, moving into the shelter of his arms. “You saved my life.”

  He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. He raked her teeth and the top of her mouth with his tongue. His lips were cruel, demanding, and he barely gave her time to breathe, but that was okay. She’d breathe later.

  Finally, she put both hands on his shoulders and pushed. It took a minute for him to respond. When she had his attention, she said huskily, “Our bedroom is more private. Are you coming?”

  THE ALARM THAT RANG had an unfamiliar trill, but Donnie sat up anyway.

  Blinking, he looked to his left and spotted his wife curled on her side facing him. The down comforter had slipped to reveal her bare shoulder.

  Donnie punched his pillow into a thick wad so he could think. They’d made love three times last night, each better than the one before. The first had been an affirmation of Kris’s close call. He could have lost her. Just like that. And the thought had made him crazy. He’d handled things poorly, but she’d forgiven him.

  After an hour in the privacy of their bedroom, they’d visited their sons. Kris with Lucas. Donnie with Zach.

  Zach seemed to accept Donnie’s apology with grudging respect—especially after Donnie told him, “I love your mom, Zach. I don’t think I really understood how much until I nearly lost her.”

  Donnie didn’t know how Kris’s talk went with Lucas. When he slipped into his son’s room, he’d found the boy staring blankly at the ceiling. Donnie had noticed Lucas’s general moodiness, but he’d attributed it to all the changes in the kid’s life.

  He vowed to pay closer attention to his son—as much as the schedule Jonathan and the campaign manager had devised for him would allow.

  “’Morning.”

  He turned his chin. Kristin was staring at him, clear-eyed, a hint of a smile on her lips.

  “Hello, beautiful.” He squirmed down to face her. “How’s your throat?”

  She adjusted the quilt and raised up to rest her head in her hand. “Better, thank you.”

  He glanced at the clock sitting on the black lacquered bedside table. He liked the Oriental influences Kristin had brought in; the look was much less prosaic than his boring oak cabinet. Suddenly a thought hit him: his boring oak cabinet was where his condoms were stored.

  I made love to my wife three times last night and not once did birth control cross my horny little mind.

  “Oh my God.”

  Kristin cocked her head inquisitively, her mop of messy curls bouncing with such provocative charm he almost forgot his sudden panic. “What’s wrong?”

  “We didn’t use birth control.”

  She sat up, drawing the covers around her. “Guess we were too busy thinking about other things.”

  Her voice still hadn’t returned to normal after the choking episode. They’d tried hot tea with honey at midnight, but the Lauren Bacall tone he found so sexy remained.

  “It was my fault,” he said, seeing her pensive frown.

  The line between her eyes deepened. “It was? You planned to weaken my resistance with the Heimlich maneuver, then seduce me and get me pregnant?”

  He smiled because it surprised him that she could joke about something this serious.

  She scooted closer and laid her chin on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s okay. This isn’t the right time of the month for me to get pregnant.”

  “But it could happen,” he argued.

  She moved back. “Donnie. Trust me. I know my body. I didn’t when I was eighteen, but I do now.”

  He wanted to believe her. But the thought of a baby made him jump out of bed. He tugged on his sweats and walked to the window. “We never talked about having more children.”

  Kristin grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed and pulled it on. She fluffed up the pillows behind her and sat stiffly. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “Accidents happen. Neither Zach nor Lucas—”

  He didn’t have a chance to complete the thought because she flew out of bed and marched to where he was standing. “Don’t even think it. Life happens, Donnie. If a miracle took place last night—and that’s what it would take for me to be pregnant—then we’d be blessed. If you’re not okay with that, then you’re not the man I thought you were.”

  Donnie ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’d love to have more children with you, but you’ve got to admit this would be pretty lousy timing.”

  She turned abruptly. She took two steps before pausing to look over her shoulder. “What part of this whole thing would you call good timing?”

  “Kristin…” He started toward her, but she walked to the bathroom and closed the door.

  Donnie listened to the sound of the shower running.

  As he made the bed, he realized she was right. He’d overreacted. Again.

  He straightened the pillows. A baby with Kristin.

  The thought made him smile as he smoothed the comforter on her side of the bed. Unfortunately, he’d blown it. He’d acted like an idiot, and he had a feeling Kris wasn’t going to accept this apology as easily as she had all the others.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  KRISTIN WATCHED Jenny feed Lara the last of her strained peas. The toddler made a raspberry sound, spraying pureed green mush in all directions.

  “Lara,” Jenny said, laughing. “This stuff is good for you.”

  The child smiled angelically while her mother wiped splatter from her chubby cheeks. Jenny looked across the table to where Kris was seated and said, “So, tell me again. Why are you mad at Donnie? You don’t want a baby. He doesn’t want a baby. There is no baby. But he’s still in trouble?”

  Kristin had fled to the Rocking M before she and Donnie could finish their conversation. She’d known he wanted to apologize. To kiss and make up, but she’d needed some distance to make sense of what she was feeling.
Not just anger, but hurt.

  “I don’t think he trusts me, Jen.” Kristin took a sip of her now-cold coffee, then rose and walked to the sink. From the window, she spotted Zach and Sam talking to a cowboy astride a horse. Sam was holding Tucker, who looked ready to launch himself into the saddle. She couldn’t help but smile.

  Maybe the real reason she was upset was that she wanted a baby. Donnie’s baby.

  “Sorry, sis, but you’re going to have to walk me through the logic. You’ve lost me.”

  Kristin dumped the coffee in the sink, then turned around to face her sister. “The reason Donnie first asked me to marry him was so I could move into his house and take care of his son while he went off to the FAM program, right?”

  “And to help you out, too. In case Tyler took you to court,” Jenny added. She plucked Lara from the high chair after disposing of her daughter’s messy bib. “But he changed his mind about going because it wouldn’t have been fair to Lucas.”

  “So he said,” Kris returned. “But what if the real reason was that he didn’t think I could be trusted to take care of his son?”

  Jenny made an impatient sound. “Oh, Kris, that’s ridiculous. Donnie’s a good man. He was just trying to do the right thing. For all of you.”

  “That’s what I thought. Until this morning.” She took a breath to steady her emotions. “He didn’t believe me when I told him I couldn’t be pregnant. And he was terrified at the thought of us having a baby. That’s when I started to wonder. Maybe he doesn’t trust me. About anything.”

  “I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill.” Jenny crossed the room and passed Lara to her. “Here. Entertain this young diva for a few minutes. Maybe you’ll think twice about wanting to get pregnant,” she added with a wink.

  The little girl went willingly into Kristin’s arms, and Kris felt emotions percolating deep inside. She’d love to have a little girl of her own. Donnie’s daughter.

  “Hello, sweetie,” she told her niece.

  Lara’s eyes sparkled. Her fine hair—the part not matted with peas—made wispy curls above her perfect ears. Lara answered with gibberish until she discovered Kristin’s necklace. Her eyes went wide with wonder as her tiny fingers investigated the polished stone beads.