His smile and mood were infectious, and she nodded and grinned herself. “Ready.”
Switching gears, he gripped the steering wheel and started whistling a catchy tune. It was the first time in a week or so, it seemed, that they hadn’t been at odds with each other; the first time that Hannah felt that her husband wasn’t going to storm at her for some imagined wrongdoing. Thus far into their relationship, he seemed more like a caretaker than a husband.
He continued whistling, smiling over at her every now and again. His hand reached for hers, and he linked their fingers together. He stopped whistling long enough to raise her hand to his mouth and kiss her knuckles.
“Who’s Judy?” The question was out even before Hannah realized she was going to ask it. Her timing might be lacking, but she was relieved to have the subject out in the open.
Riley stopped whistling; his happy sound was cut off abruptly as a weary silence filled the cab.
“What makes you ask?” He merged with the flow of traffic as they followed the highway that curved around Sinclair Inlet, his gaze not wavering from the roadway.
“I’m not stupid, you know,” she returned, resenting his attitude. “I heard you and Burt talking. If you were involved with someone else, the least you could do is give me fair warning.”
Riley’s frown deepened. “Judy and I are not involved—at least not the way you’re implying.”
“I wasn’t implying anything,” she answered primly. “I was just trying to save myself from future embarrassment.”
“Future embarrassment?”
“Yes. It’s obvious your friends know nothing about me, and others might share the same concern as Burt had about...Judy. I don’t mean to make a federal case out of it.” Indeed she deeply regretted bringing up the subject. “All I want to know is if someone is going to give me weird looks and then inconspicuously inquire about Judy when you introduce me.”
“All Burt did was ask a simple question. One, by the way, that was none of your business,” Riley returned shortly. His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“None of my business,” she repeated calmly. Obviously she was traipsing across ground he had no intention of mapping. “I see.”
“It’s obvious you don’t. Damnation, woman, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“I most certainly am not,” she replied, doing her best to hold back the flash flood of anger that threatened to drown her. “If anyone is being unreasonable, it’s you. Apparently the subject is a touchy one and best dropped. I’m sorry I said anything.”
“So am I.”
It seemed that Riley wasn’t watching the road as well as he should have been, because a car shot past them and the driver hammered on the horn as he sped by. Her husband muttered something under his breath that Hannah pretended not to hear.
“Are there others?”
“Other what?” Riley shouted. His frustration with her was clearly getting the best of him.
“Women,” Hannah explained serenely. “I should know about them, don’t you think? It might save us both a good deal of embarrassment.”
“Are you asking for a list of every woman I’ve ever made love to? Is that what you want? Are you sure that’ll be enough to satisfy you? I married you, didn’t I? What the hell more do you want? Blood?”
The knot that formed in Hannah’s throat was so large it made swallowing difficult and conversation impossible. So he and this Judy had been lovers. He’d implied as much by suggesting he list his affairs for her. Tilting her chin at a regal angle, she stared out the side window and dropped the subject entirely. He seemed relieved at the silence, although it grated sharply on Hannah’s nerves.
Once they had passed through the gates at Bangor, Hannah watched with interest as they wove their way through a maze of streets toward the assigned housing. The long rows of homes were identical, painted gray and adorned with white shutters.
Riley pulled the van into the driveway of a corner lot and leaped out. He came around and helped Hannah down, then sorted through his keys until he found the one he was looking for.
“The house is quite a bit larger than the apartment,” he said as he unlocked the front door, his eyes avoiding hers. He paused, then added, “The second bedroom is considerably smaller than the other.” He seemed to be waiting for her to comment.
“I don’t mind taking the smaller one.”
Her answer didn’t appear to please him, and after the door was opened, he stalked back to the truck and lowered the tailgate so the others could start to unload.
Left to her own devices, Hannah walked inside alone. It was a pleasant home, clean and well maintained. The living room was spacious, and had a brick fireplace and thick beige carpet. The kitchen was more than adequate with a raised counter for stools. The bedrooms were as Riley had explained—one larger than the other.
As she’d agreed, Hannah chose the smaller one for herself, leaving the door open. When Burt appeared carrying her two suitcases, she directed him into the room.
“I thought these were your things?” he said, and from the confused look he wore, he was sure he’d misunderstood her.
“Yes, please. The bedroom set I ordered will be delivered sometime this morning.”
Burt looked over his shoulder, as if he fully expected Riley to appear and jerk the suitcases out of his hands and deposit them in the master bedroom.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Positive,” she answered with a gentle smile.
Riley happened upon them just then. He hesitated when Burt scratched the top of his head, set down Hannah’s luggage and walked out of the smaller bedroom.
“Did you have to make such an issue of the fact we’re not sleeping together?” he asked between clenched teeth.
“I wasn’t making an issue of it,” she returned sweetly. “Truly, Riley, I wasn’t.”
Grumbling, he stalked out of the house.
* * *
Riley returned to the van where his friend Steve was standing on the back lifting out the cardboard boxes for the others to haul inside.
“So you and Hannah aren’t sharing a bedroom,” he teased, taking delight in doing so. “I never thought Riley Murdock would allow any woman to lead him around by the nose.”
Riley didn’t deign to comment. He’d wanted to tell his three best friends about the marriage. The slight hadn’t been intentional. There’d been enough to do in the past week, getting ready for the move, without worrying who knew about his marriage and who didn’t. It wasn’t as though he were trying to keep it a secret, and he regretted his lack of foresight now.
Matters weren’t going well between him and Hannah. The woman was more stubborn than anyone he’d ever known. He’d insisted she not lift anything, concerned for her health and that of the baby. Every day, it seemed, she took delight in defying him. Invariably he lost his patience with her. She never argued with him, not once, but his tirades left her pale and withdrawn. Afterward, Riley felt like a heel. On more than one occasion he hadn’t been able to live with himself and he’d gone to her and apologized, feeling like a brute for having chastised her. Just when things seemed to be working out between them, Burt had mentioned Judy Pierce. His friend certainly hadn’t helped his cause any.
Judy was a friend—nothing more. But Riley sincerely doubted that he’d ever convince Hannah of that. The two had dated a few times over the past several years, but nothing had developed from it. His friends might have drawn a few conclusions about the relationship, conclusions that Judy herself might have implied. It didn’t matter what Judy had told the others; she meant nothing to him and never would.
There hadn’t been another woman in Riley’s thoughts, night or day, from the moment he’d met Hannah. She’d had him twisted up in knots for months. Riley had never experienced frustration the way he had since meeting her. Attempting
to locate her after she’d run out on him had demanded time, effort and money. When everything he knew how to do had failed, he’d resigned himself to never seeing her again, only to have her thrust back into his life like a sharp knife. A double-edged one, at that. She was his wife now, but he might as well have entered a seminary, for all the good it did him to have spoken marriage vows.
Frankly, Riley didn’t know how much longer he was going to last under this insane arrangement. If anyone had told him he would go more than a week after his wedding without making love to his wife, he would have sworn they were crazy. He’d agreed to Hannah’s terms for one reason only. Perhaps it was a bit conceited of him, but he’d firmly believed he’d have her in his bed within a matter of days. After that first night, when he’d upset her so badly by sleeping at her side, he hadn’t even tried. Hannah certainly hadn’t gone out of her way to encourage his attentions. The kiss they’d shared in the apartment had been his first sign of hope in days. Once they got moved in and settled down a little, he’d work on getting her into his bed. If everything went right, it shouldn’t take long.
The furniture and boxes were nearly unloaded when the truck from the furniture store arrived. The two men delivered the oak frame, mattress and nightstand and within a matter of minutes were promptly on their way.
Riley had hoped their timing would have been a little more to his advantage, but since Hannah had already let the others know they weren’t sharing a bedroom, it didn’t much matter.
The last of the furniture was in place and Riley was unloading what remained of the boxes when Don approached him, looking apologetic.
“What’s wrong?” Riley asked. “Did you break something?”
“Not quite.” The electrician pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, glanced up at Riley and shrugged. “I’m sorry, man, I didn’t mean anything.”
“What the hell did you do?” Don wasn’t exactly known for his tact.
“I called Hannah...Judy. I swear it was a mistake.... I just wasn’t thinking.”
Riley groaned. “What did she do?”
“Nothing. That’s just it. She corrected me and then went about organizing the kitchen. It was the way she looked—so, hell I don’t know, fragile, I guess, like she didn’t have a friend left in the world. It got to me, man. It really got to me. I tried to apologize, but everything I said only made it worse.”
Riley knew from experience the look Don was talking about. He’d been the recipient of “the look” several times himself this week. Riley wondered if his wife realized she possessed this amazing talent for inflicting guilt. It wasn’t anything she said, or even did, but when she lowered her eyes and her bottom lip jerked, it was all he could do not to fall to his knees and beg her forgiveness. To his credit, he hadn’t given in to the impulse. At least not yet.
“I think you ought to go talk to her. Clear the air about Judy before someone else makes the same mistake.”
Riley nodded.
“We’ll wait out here,” Steve suggested. Since he was the only one of the four who was married, Riley readily agreed. Women were known to be unreasonable about the silliest things. He should have explained about Judy when Hannah had asked, but something inside him had hoped she might be a little jealous. Keeping her in the dark about an old girlfriend could help his cause. Apparently he was wrong again. Damn, but he wished he’d paid closer attention to women’s feelings when he was young.
He found her in the kitchen, unpacking dishes. She glanced up at him, and her gaze narrowed into cold slits. Riley paused. He’d never seen her wear that particular look before, and instinct cautioned him.
“Hannah.” He said her name gently.
She slammed a pan on the stove and winced at the crashing sound it made. For an instant he thought she was going to apologize, she looked so shocked. She surprised him once more by straightening out her arm and pointing at him as though he were in a police lineup and she was identifying him for the authorities. Her mouth opened and closed twice before she spoke.
“We might not be sleeping together, but there’s something you’d best understand right now, Riley Murdock.”
She braced her hands against her hips, digging her fists into her waist. Her slate-gray eyes flashed like nothing he’d ever seen. Her hair had pulled free of its tie and soft brown waves spilled haphazardly over her shoulders. Riley had seen Hannah frightened, humbled, browbeaten and mussed from lovemaking, but he’d never seen her like this. She was so damned beautiful, she took his breath away.
“Is something wrong?” he asked innocently, almost enjoying her outrage.
“Yes, something’s very wrong. I want one thing understood: I will not tolerate infidelity. If you’re in love with this Judy, then I’m sorry, but it’s me you’re married to and I fully expect...no, I demand that you respect our wedding vows.”
To the best of his knowledge, Riley had never given her cause to believe he intended to do otherwise. He wasn’t sure what Don or one of the others had implied, but he’d best clear up the misconception now, before matters got out of hand.
“I’ll honor my vows.”
She hesitated as if she weren’t entirely sure she should trust him. After a long moment, she nodded once and mumbled something he couldn’t hear.
“Tell me,” he said, walking toward her, fully intending to take her in his arms; a couple of kisses might reassure her even more. “You wouldn’t happen to be jealous now, would you?”
“Jealous?” She threw the word back in his face as though he’d issued the greatest insult of her life. “If you can honestly mistake integrity and principles for jealousy, then I truly wonder what kind of man I’ve married.”
With that she turned and walked into her bedroom and closed the door. Hannah had probably never slammed a door in her life, he realized.
Air seeped between Riley’s clenched teeth. He’d done it again. Just when he was beginning to make headway with her, he got cocky and said something stupid. It was becoming a bad habit.
He let a few moments pass, then decided to try once again. He knocked on her bedroom door, but didn’t wait for her to answer before turning the knob and walking in. A husband should be allowed certain rights. Hannah turned and glared at him accusingly.
“I didn’t mean what I said.”
She held a blouse to her front and stared stonily back at him. “I see. So you fully intend to cheat on me.”
“No, dammit.” He jerked his fingers through his hair. “You’re purposely misconstruing everything I say.” His patience was wearing paper-thin. “I shouldn’t have said anything about you being jealous. Judy doesn’t mean anything to me. I haven’t seen her in weeks. We may have talked twice in the last three months. I’ve been trying to cool the relationship. She resented that.”
Hannah deposited the blouse in the closet with the others. “I see.”
“I don’t wish to argue with you, Hannah. Can we drop the subject of Judy now?”
She lowered her gaze and nodded. “I...I didn’t mean to shout earlier. I don’t generally get angry like that.... It must be the pregnancy.”
“I understand what you’re saying.”
“You do?” Her beautiful gray eyes leveled with his.
He nodded. “You see, I’ve had this problem for several months now,” Riley admitted, stepping across the room. “There’s been this woman on my mind.”
Her eyes were unbelievably round, and she was staring up at him. Her moist lips immobilized him, and in that moment he knew he had to taste her again. His need was beyond reason, beyond his control. He reached for her, barely giving her time to adjust to his embrace before his mouth smothered hers. He caught her unaware and used it to his advantage to slip his tongue into her mouth. He expected her to protest the unfamiliar invasion, but she surprised him once more by giving him her own. Their mouths played with each other, danced, sang, rejoiced in the intimacy th
ey shared.
Sliding his hands down the length of her spine, he drew her to him, pulling her into the heat of him. For an instant she resisted, and Riley feared he had gone too far, frightening her when that was the last thing he wished. He wanted to make love to her, the way he’d been dreaming about doing for nearly four months. Every minute she made him wait seemed like an eternity.
Hannah wasn’t like any other woman he’d known. She was delicate and sweet and deliciously provocative, innocently provocative. He couldn’t hold her without experiencing the sensation of walking through a field of blooming wildflowers. With his hands at her hips, he dragged her closer, letting her feel the heat rise in him. He edged his way toward the bed, thinking if he were able to get her on top of the mattress, he might be able to remove her blouse. The thought of tasting her breasts, of holding them in his hands once more, was so powerful he lost his balance. He caught himself and her, before they went crashing to the floor. It was then that he noticed the framed picture lying on top of an unpacked box.
He stopped abruptly as a cold chill raced over him. His eyes narrowed as he looked down on her. “Who’s that?” he demanded.
Five
“Who is he?” Riley demanded a second time. Instinct told him the photo wasn’t one of a relative. He knew he was right when Hannah’s gaze shot toward the box in question. The look that came over her features was incredible, a mixture of pain and of love so strongly mingled that it was as if she were no longer aware of who or where she was.
“Jerry Sanders,” she answered in a voice so low Riley had to strain to hear. “We were engaged.”
“Engaged?” Riley repeated the word, not because the news shocked him or because he didn’t believe her, but because...if she’d been engaged to Jerry Sanders, then why the hell had she been a virgin? Furthermore, why had she gone to bed with him? Questions came at him like exploding rockets.
“He...died a...few months back...in a car accident.” It was apparent that even speaking of her former fiancé was painful for Hannah.
Navy Families Page 7
