by Deborah Camp
“Hold off on that. We should be back in Atlanta Sunday. I’ll keep in touch while we’re away.”
“Is the departed a close friend or relative, sir?”
“A friend. Someone I’ve known for several years.”
“I’m sorry, Levi.”
He smiled at her switch to familiarity. Darla kept a professional countenance usually, although over the past three years they’d forged a close connection since she handled his schedule and kept him organized and on point. “Thanks, Darla. Let me know if you run into any problems with rearranging my appointments.”
“Will do, but I don’t anticipate any. There is one social engagement on Friday night.”
“Yes, I saw that. The museum fundraiser. Send my – I mean, our regrets and a ten-thousand-dollar check from the company, please.”
“Very good, Mr. Wolfe,” Darla said with a smile in her voice, obviously amused by his correction. “Takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?”
He nodded. “It does. How long was it before you started thinking of yourself as Mrs. Reynolds?”
“It still surprises me sometimes. I think of Mrs. Reynolds as Guy’s mother.” There was a beat before she said, “Jason Abraham is heading for the elevator.”
“I’m on my way.” Levi stood, grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his chair, and hurried out of his office for the lunch meeting.
Mouse sat on the couch arm and stared unwaveringly at every kernel of popcorn Levi put in his mouth. Finally, Levi tossed a piece onto the floor and the gray Chihuahua pounced on it.
“She wears me down until I have to give in,” Levi said when Trudy poked him in the ribs. He angled his head back so that he could see her face better. She lay on top of him, her legs tangled with his, her sweatshirt riding up to reveal a slice of her back and the waistband of her of olive green yoga pants.
“Quit feeding her. You’re making it worse,” she scolded him before focusing on CNN again. “We need to vote most of these jokers out of office in the next election.”
Levi shifted, getting more comfortable on the couch and rested his palm on the small of her back. Her skin was warm and silky soft. “The problem is that they turn into corporate and special interest puppets the moment they’re elected, if not before.”
“That is definitely part of the problem,” she agreed, then shifted her attention to him. “What was your lunch meeting about today?”
“We purchased six old office buildings in Decatur that we plan to refurbish. The first crews should be on site by the beginning of May, so Jason is setting up the work crews and tying up the final licenses and permits. Shep and Val Mendelshon are handling the interior upgrades and décor.”
“Six buildings. Wow. A lot,” she murmured.
“Yeah. Jason projects a twenty-four month timeline on it with the first two buildings ready to lease eight months out.”
“That’s not a lot of time. Your crew can get two buildings completed in eight months?”
“The ones we’re tackling first are in the best condition. Just need to rewire them and update the restrooms. Stuff like that. We’ve done it before. We can do it again.” He set the almost empty bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her. “When were you in Eureka Springs last?”
“Four years ago. One of our cousins got married there and Sadie was a bridesmaid. It’s a cool place. Too bad we’re going under such sad circumstances.”
“I suppose your mother will have a gigantic meal ready for us tomorrow afternoon when we get to Tulsa.”
“Of course she will. Dad’s picking us up at the airport and the whole bunch will be there for dinner. Sadie and her family and Derek and his family.”
“Trudy and her family,” he added, kissing her forehead. “I like being your family.”
“I like it, too. But we aren’t bringing the whole family with us. Mouse is staying here for Wes to look after. Aren’t you, sweetpea?” She patted her thigh and Mouse answered the invitation by settling against her. “I think Darla might be pregnant.”
Levi almost choked on his own spit. “What? Why? She told you that?”
“No.” She rose up to peer at him in wry amusement. “I have a hunch, that’s all. I can sometimes tell when someone is prego before they show. I saw her this morning and it hit me that she’s knocked up. Probably only a month or two. She might not even be sure.” She rested her cheek on his chest again. “And I might be wrong. Why are you so flabbergasted? She’s married and her eggs are aging right along with her. She’s about thirty or maybe thirty-one.”
“Thirty-two. Her birthday was in February.”
“And Guy is a little younger. What is he . . . twenty-seven?” She looked up to see him nod. “Darla probably thinks they should start having kids while their odds of conception are still really good.”
He projected to when Darla would be on maternity leave. She’d be damned hard to replace – even for a couple of months. Might be time to install a child-care facility at WEI for his employees. He’d discuss it with his VPs when he returned from Eureka Springs.
“And in a year or so, we’ll add to our little family.”
His brain froze for a second and then it felt like he broke into a sweat. He stared at Trudy’s smug expression and could find no words.
“Because we’re going to get pregnant, right?” she added, forcing him to speak.
“Uh. Well. Did we say in a year? I thought maybe we’d wait two or three years.”
She shook her head. “No, Levi. That’s too long. Look at it this way, it takes nearly a year to get prego, carry the child, and deliver it. So, in the next few months, I say we go for it.”
“Go for it.”
She grinned at him in a mildly sympathetic way. “How’s Quintara?” she asked, saving him from commenting further on the prospect of daddyhood. It’s not that he didn’t like the idea of having a child with Trudy, but he wasn’t ready. But then, how did one get ready?
“Levi? How is Quintara?” Trudy repeated.
“Oh! Right. She sounded really sad. I think she and Glenn hooked up a time or two.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me. He had a penis and liked females.” She glanced up at him with a grin and he chuckled. “Well, it’s true. She gets around. Quintara’s sexual appetite is legendary. Even more than yours used to be.”
“Used to be? I still have an appetite. My craving is just for one delicacy now.” He nipped the side of her neck, making her squeal a little and escape him.
She sat on the side of the couch and grabbed the popcorn bowl. Her attention went to the television while she munched on the kernels.
“Quintara said that Glenn’s car ran off the road and down a steep ravine. You know how twisty that highway is going into Eureka Springs. There are sheer drop-offs. He went through a guardrail and over the side of the mountain. I figure he might have dozed off. It was at night and he was returning from Fayetteville.”
She stopped chewing and set the bowl onto the coffee table again. “When did it happen?”
“Last night.” He squinted at a commercial for Volvos that had cars doing their version of a tango. Dumb-de-dumb-dumb. Suddenly, a little shiver danced up his spine and his gaze snapped to Trudy. She stared at the television, but he knew she wasn’t watching it. A worried expression pinched her brows together. “Are you thinking about your episode last night?”
“Huh?” She blinked, coming out of her thoughts. “Yes. It reminded me of it.”
“You think it’s connected?”
She fingered the necklace she wore almost all the time. The first gift he’d ever given her. “I don’t know. I hope not.”
He planted his hands on either side of his hips and hitched himself up to a sitting position. “I’ve been going back to that all day, too. It’s like a throbbing tooth, you know?”
“Boy, do I know!” She pressed her hands flat against her cheeks that were turning pink and then glanced back at him. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, Levi. G
lenn probably did doze off at the wheel, and his accident had nothing to do with what I saw.”
He brushed her bangs away from her eyes. “I hope you’re right about that, baby. Because if someone ran him off the road, either by accident or deliberately, I’m going to make damn sure that person is identified and arrested.”
“Those roads are treacherous, especially at night. And I bet he was tired.”
Levi nodded, but inside he was shaking his head. He knew, as well as Trudy, that when she had odd, disturbing dreams, nefarious things were afoot and neither one of them were big believers in coincidences.
Chapter 2
“You’re a real part of our family now, Levi. My son-in-law.” Cleo Tucker patted his shoulder and her earthy brown eyes shone with sweet sentiment. “I already love you. Did you know that?”
Levi swallowed, his gaze sliding past her to where Trudy sat at the kitchen table with her sister Sadie. They were looking at the photos that had been taken in Las Vegas at their wedding. Trudy smiled up at him as tears filled her green eyes. He shook his head at Trudy’s sentimentality and his own inward cringe. God, how was he supposed to respond to her mother? “I didn’t . . . but, thank you.”
“You’re embarrassing him, Mom,” Trudy said with huskiness in her voice. She swiped at her eyes. “And you’re making me get all weepy because I’m so happy and I love you and Daddy so much.”
Cleo’s laugh was part amusement and part cooing at her daughter. “Oh, I know you’re happy, honey. It’s clear to see.” She patted Levi’s shoulder again, then swept her hand lightly across it before giving his upper arm a quick squeeze. He feared another Tucker bear hug was imminent. “I just want you to know that our door is always open to you, Levi. George and I do wish we could have attended your wedding, but—.”
“Mom,” Trudy said, drawing out the word. “Come on, cut us some slack. We wanted a private ceremony, just like you and Daddy had. You had your big weddings with Sadie and Derek.”
“Yes, but I just thought I’d get to help with one more. And George and I were dirt poor back then and couldn’t afford a proper wedding with guests and all.” She gave a little sigh and sat at the table to look at the six photos again. “And this is all the pictures that were taken?”
“Yes. It was a small chapel,” Trudy said, picking up one of the photos of her and Levi with the Elvis impersonator who had married them. “Johnny – he married us – sang Love Me Tender after the ceremony. It was so sweet.”
“Was he an actual clergyman? Are you sure it was all legal and everything?” Mrs.Tucker asked, fretfully.
“Yes, Mother, it was on the up-and-up.”
“What faith was he?”
Trudy giggled and glanced at Levi. “I don’t know. Let’s say, ‘interfaith rock and roll.’”
Chuckling, Levi ran a hand over Trudy’s soft, glossy hair. “You would have approved, Mrs. Tucker. It was candlelit, romantic, and respectful. And Trudy, as you can see from the photos, was a breathtakingly beautiful bride.”
Trudy’s eyes glimmered with fresh tears before she focused on the photos again. “And isn’t Levi handsome in that dark blue suit?”
“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Tucker agreed. “Are these pearls on the bodice of your dress, honey?”
“Yes. I’d bought it a few weeks before, thinking I could wear it to a charity event or dinner party. Something like that. Then I realized that it would be perfect to get married in since it’s that lustrous oyster color. It has seed pearls and tiny rhinestones all over the bodice. I love the long, sheer sleeves, too.”
Nodding, Levi recalled how much prettier it was pooled around her feet in their hotel suite.
“What did y’all do on your honeymoon? Did you see any shows?”
“Uh . . . no.” Trudy’s cheeks pinked up. “We honeymooned at the Bellagio.”
Mrs. Tucker nodded. “And where else did you go?”
“We didn’t go anywhere,” Trudy said, laughing a little under her breath when Sadie elbowed her in the ribs. “We pretty much stayed in our suite for three days and three nights.”
“Oh.” Mrs. Tucker looked from grinning Sadie to blushing Trudy. “Oh!” She let go of a tittering laugh and glanced up at Levi. “Next topic. When are you planning on giving us another grandchild to spoil?”
“And on that note, I think I’ll join the men.” Levi thrust his hands into his pants pockets, spun on his heels, and strode into the living room, ignoring the guffaws and taunts of the women at his back. The Tucker men were sprawled on the sectional sofa and recliners, all eyes glued to the television screen.
“Sit down, sit down,” George said, motioning for him to join them.
“The Thunder is playing the Mavericks. You like basketball, Levi?” Bryce, Sadie’s husband, asked. He held his two-year-old son, who was fast asleep.
“Yes, but baseball is my favorite sport.” Levi eased down onto the sofa, not wanting to awaken the sleeping Clark. Bryce noticed and waved a dismissive hand.
“He sleeps through everything. Gotta train them early, you know? Isn’t that right, Derek?”
Trudy’s brother chuckled. He was a new father, his wife having given birth to a girl only three weeks ago. “Yep. The TV, radio, or music is on almost all the time at our house and little Audra is already falling asleep to it.”
Levi stared at the TV, but couldn’t get his mind on the game. He glanced at his wristwatch. They’d need to be leaving for Eureka Springs within an hour. He could hear dishes and pots clattering and water running in the kitchen where the women were cleaning up after the lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and corn-on-the-cob.
“So, you like married life, Levi?” Derek asked with an evil smirk. “I read a couple of articles in magazines Karen brought home and it seems like lots of people who know you were shocked as shit that you actually married my sister.”
“First of all, very few people actually know me well enough to make that assessment, and secondly, I like being married. In reality, the people close to me were surprised that Trudy would actually go through with it. Their money was on her getting cold feet.” More like coming to her senses and realizing she should run like hell, he thought, but kept that to himself.
George grunted out a short laugh. “Gotta admit, we were surprised when Trudy called and said the deed was already done.”
“You’re smart to do it that way,” Derek said. “Planning our wedding was one of my least favorite things to do. Karen was a basket case by the time the big day rolled around.”
“I remember that,” Bryce said, chuckling. “She broke out in hives the night before.”
“She did!” Derek grinned. “Thank God she had a long-sleeved wedding dress because her arms were covered in welts. Looked like I’d been whaling on her.”
“Sadie was a Bridezilla.” Bryce ran a hand down his face as if the memories were almost too painful. “Harping on this and that. I tell you, I was this close to calling the whole thing off.” His thumb and forefinger almost touched. “Her mother came to the rescue, though. Mrs. Tucker had a little talk with her and Sadie calmed down enough for me to tolerate her.”
He felt Trudy’s presence in the living room even before he lifted his gaze to hers. His wife stood on the threshold between the dining and living rooms, a soft smile on her lips. His wife. He felt closer now to her than ever before. He’d heard that marriage doesn’t change things – especially if you’d been living together before taking your vows. But that was bullshit. Everything had changed for him. The knot of worry in his gut had loosened and the shadow on his heart had lifted. She was his. Legally and totally his. Yes, she could still leave him, but not easily or quickly. Even his psychiatrist had noticed the difference in him. They both knew his utter relief at being married had a lot to do with his abandonment issues, but Dr. McClain had also acknowledged that for the first time in Levi’s life, he was related to someone who wanted him and loved him back.
“It’s time for us to hit the road,” Trudy announced a
s she turned and embraced Cleo. “Thank you for everything, Mother.”
“Trudy Louise, I wish you and Levi could stay another day or two.”
“I know, but we can’t. The funeral is tomorrow.” She gave Sadie and Karen hugs and kisses before embracing her mother again. “We’ll be back in a couple of months. I promise.”
“I’m glad you stopped for a quick visit,” Cleo said. She moved toward Levi with her arms open wide.
Levi let her envelope him in a tight hug, glaring at Trudy, who was unsuccessfully smothering a giggle. Then it was Sadie hugging him, then Karen. And then Derek, eyes laughing, said he wanted a hug, too. Instead, he got a fist-pop on the shoulder from Levi. George and Bryce shook his hand and pounded him on the back with their free hands hard enough to make him wonder if they’d dislodged a rib or loosened some of his teeth. He felt like a tenderized steak by the time he slipped behind the steering wheel of the rented Maserati Ghibli. He told himself he would get used to the Tucker farewell, but a part of him doubted it. Trudy settled in beside him and belted herself in.
“People are going to think we’re showing off at the funeral. You couldn’t rent a Ford or a Toyota?”
“Nope.” He ran his hands over the leather-wrapped steering wheel. “I haven’t driven one of these in a few years. It’s nice to get reacquainted.”
She gave him a “boys-will-be-boys” look and then waved again to her mother and father, who stood on the front porch with tears glistening in their eyes.
“They always cry when we arrive and when we leave,” Levi said, perplexed.
“That’s right. They love seeing us and they hate seeing us leave.”
“Us? You.”
“You, too.” She patted his knee. “But, mostly me.”
He chuckled, appreciating her frankness. “Eureka Springs, here we come.” He checked the time on the digital readout and released a sigh of content. “Good. We’ll be rolling in there before dusk. I booked a treehouse cottage for us.”
“A wh-what? Treehouse? Like a real treehouse?”
“It looks nice. It’s a small cottage, but yes, it’s in a tree. We don’t have to climb up into it. There are ramps. I thought you’d like that.”