Karen couldn’t imagine it. Neil was simply too fierce and big to do something so gentle.
“Becky’s more at peace now that she’s seen the doctor and the baby. But we need to get her parents to back off. She’s still considered a runaway, and I have no doubt they’d bring Nolan up on charges for God knows what if given the chance.”
“What can I do?”
“I need some facts checked. I don’t know how the laws are different here than in California. Becky still won’t be eighteen when the baby is born, but close to it. She could just stay hidden until she’s eighteen, but that’s no way to live.”
“If Neil and I were there, I’d have my husband knock on her parents’ door and tell them to leave her alone or go to jail.”
“I thought about that, actually. We should look into the resources for abused kids who want to escape their parents.”
“Is Becky willing to go to the police?”
Karen cradled her head in her hands. “Not yet. But I think if it was that or risk the health of her baby…she’d rat her parents out. And rightfully so.”
“It would still be hard on her.”
“I’d like to find a way to keep Zach and Michael’s family out of the drama as much as possible. Hilton is a freakin’ small town. So if it comes down to it, I might ask for some help here.”
“We’re here for you. Or I can ask Rick to go.”
Rick was a good friend of Neil’s, a fellow retired Marine and nearly as big as Mr. Stoic himself.
“I might take you up on that.”
Gwen sighed. “So how is everything else? I saw that Michael came home long enough to pack and leave again.”
Neil and his security team, including Rick, monitored the house and probably knew more about the two of them than was necessary.
It was Karen’s turn to sigh. “Michael’s sister figured out what we’ve been up to…and why.”
“Oh, my.”
“She called Michael on it. But he’s not ready for the rest of his family to know what’s going on.”
“Oh…and what about Zach?”
“He doesn’t know.”
“That’s not what I’m asking, Karen. What about you and Zach?”
“I don’t want to have feelings for him.”
“But you do.”
Karen nodded though no one could see the gesture. “I do. He’s kind and thoughtful. He makes me laugh…makes me feel safe.”
Gwen hesitated. “Have you…?”
“No. Well, we’ve kissed. The guilt was so awful I couldn’t do more than that. But the guilt is fading, Gwen. It’s like the more time we spend together the harder it is to see why we’re trying to stay apart. And he knows that Michael and I are getting divorced.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I didn’t see keeping the lie. Not when the sister already knows, and Michael and I weren’t planning on visiting again. Not together anyway.”
“Does Michael know about Zach?”
“No. Which is killing me.”
Gwen clicked her tongue. “This is so easily solved.”
“How can you say that? I’m falling for my husband’s brother. There’s nothing easy about that.”
“Tell Michael.”
“Michael will hate it.”
“Oh, Karen. Michael might have his faults but he does love you. I’m sure he’d want to see you happy. So long as his secret doesn’t get out, he can’t fault you for falling for his gene pool.”
Karen played with the diamond on her finger. “I don’t know.”
“You’ve given up your life for a year to help keep Michael’s secret hidden.”
“And I’m getting paid to do it.”
Gwen snickered. “You know what’s funny about that? I wouldn’t put it past you to sacrifice yourself for a friend without the pay. Look what you’re doing for those kids. You’ve known them less than two weeks and you’re hiding runaways, sleeping in motels…Karen, my dear, you’re a bleeding heart to the highest degree. Yes, Michael came to us, but had you known him, the real him, before meeting through Alliance you might have offered to marry him just to help him out.”
Karen wanted to deny her friend, but couldn’t.
“I have to tell him about Zach.”
“Yes. You do,” Gwen agreed. “Call Michael. I’ll make some calls here and see what we can do for your runaways.”
Thirty minutes later Karen connected with Michael. Her hands shook as she held the phone but Gwen was right. The longer this secret stayed inside her, the harder it was to let out. If she told Michael about her feelings for Zach, and he hated her for it, then at least she was the one to tell him and he wouldn’t find out from someone else.
“Hey? How’s Canada?”
“Cool and wet. Are you still in Utah?”
“Yeah. St. George.” She brought him up to date on the kids, and the progress.
“How’s my brother handling all the drama?”
She thought of the milk and doughnuts. “Really well,” she said with a smile. “You two really are a lot alike.”
“In some ways.”
“Listen, Michael…I told Zach that you and I were getting a divorce.”
Silence hung for a moment. “I guess that was coming. Has he told my parents?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“I think my mom would have called had she heard.”
“They’re all still up at the cabin.” So Karen thought. By now, who knew?
“We knew the breakup would be hard.” He sounded so at ease with their divorce.
“Uhm, Michael…remember when we were driving to your parents and we were talking about wanting to be with someone?”
Again, there was silence. “Yeah?”
“Well, you told me when you hooked up with Ryder.”
“Yeah? There’s someone you wanna see?” She knew his playful tone would soon change.
“There is…but…”
“Go for it, Karen. Just be discreet. We had an agreement. We’re good.”
“Michael. It’s not that simple.”
He laughed. “Sure it is. Relaxing, too.”
“Michael! Just…oh, God this is hard.”
He stopped laughing. “Karen, sweetheart. I get it. You’re horny. No one gets that more than me.”
“Stop, Michael. It’s not just sex. I mean…it might be, but…” The farther she got into the conversation the harder it was to say his name. “It’s Zach. OK. I have it bad for Zach.”
Complete silence hung over the phone.
The smile Michael wore while he joked with Karen about the need for sex slowly slid from his face while he dropped into the chair of the executive star trailer he lived in while on set.
Fuck. Oh, Fuck.
“I didn’t want it. I’ve tried to deny it.” Karen’s voice wavered as she spoke; her words ran into each other like a freight train piling up cars. “I’m sorry. I’ll just keep ignoring it. Forget I said anything.”
He couldn’t forget this.
Karen started to cry. “I’m sorry, Michael. I’ll call you later.”
“No! Wait. This takes a few minutes to absorb.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “So sorry, Michael.”
“Zach? Really?” Michael ran his free hand over his face and glanced at the ring he’d worn for over a year.
“Yeah.”
“Damn. I think I saw this coming.”
“You did?” She hiccupped into the phone.
“Yeah. I saw him watching you. Noticed the tension between you both.” He understood more than most what it felt like to have feelings for someone he could never have. Not openly in any event. “Has he…have you?”
“No. Well. I kissed him, we’ve kissed, but that’s all. And he doesn’t know about you,” she said quickly.
“You can’t tell him.” Yet Michael knew that it would only be a matter of time before something slipped from Karen. It wouldn’t be her fault. When two people were intimate, certain trut
hs had a way of revealing themselves. Even Ryder knew that he and Karen only had a paper marriage.
“Of course not. I would never do that to you, Michael. Ever.” She wouldn’t mean to. Damn, he had to figure out a way to tell Zach himself about his sexuality. He owed it to Karen so she didn’t have to lie.
“If he figures it out, you need to tell me.”
“I will.”
He chuckled. “I have a strong desire to kick his ass,” he confessed.
“Being territorial?”
“Yeah. Which is kind of sick. I have no right.” No right at all. Karen was his best friend, not his lover.
“Of course you do. We’re married.”
He sighed. “In name only. I’d be even more upset if he wanted to bang Ryder.”
Karen laughed. “I don’t think Zach plays for that team.”
The thought of Zach and Ryder made him laugh. “No. I’d think I’d have figured it out if he did. Wow.”
“I’m sorry, Michael.”
“Why do you keep apologizing? I doubt you set out to have the hots for my brother.” As they spoke, some of the earlier tension eased. His friendship with this woman was too important. Besides, he loved his brother, and Michael couldn’t think of a better person for Karen than Zach.
She choked on her one-word answer. “No.”
“I still wanna kick his ass.” He was playing with her now, and hoped it made her smile. The thought of her crying over him left a heaviness in his chest he didn’t like. His thoughts quickly twisted to the paparazzi and the press. Oh, damn…this is going to get ugly. “Just be careful, Karen. The media would have a field day with this…with you.”
She paused before saying, “I don’t have to act on anything with Zach.”
Not act on it? He heard the guilt in her voice and needed to remind Karen of their honesty commitment to each other. “No. Karen…we wouldn’t be having this conversation if you were in complete control here. My brother’s a good guy. The fact you’re both holding back means you give a shit about my feelings. He’s still a complete dick for hitting on my wife…but how can I blame him? You’re hot.”
She laughed.
He kept talking. “And if you and I were happily married I doubt you’d be giving out the vibe of availability. Goes to show we needed to work on ending this charade before now.” Yet selfishly he liked having Karen around. No one drove away the loneliness like her; no one knew him better…and loved him despite all his faults.
The reality that they were splitting up hit him.
“I’ve loved being your fake wife, Michael.”
He felt moisture behind his eyes. “I’ve loved being your fake husband.” He swallowed, hard, and said the only thing he could. “I’ll file when I get home.”
She started crying again, making it damn hard to avoid joining her. “I can move out when I get back.”
“No need…not right away. I’m going to be up here for a while.” He cleared his throat and looked around his lonely trailer. “Are you crying?” He wanted to dry her tears.
She hiccupped. “Yeah. Stupid huh?”
He swallowed the knot in his throat. “Naw…liberating. I’d cry but people might think I’m gay. Gotta go get pissing drunk and beat on someone. Wanna fly my brother up here to help a guy out?”
Her laughter caused the knot to untie and he leaned against his seat. Then she sobbed again. “OK, you have to stop the waterworks. The piece of paper is going to be ripped up. That’s it. I still love ya. And I’ll always have your back. Us Gardners are loyal that way.” Zach will be, too.
Karen sucked in a deep breath he heard all the way in Canada. “So how is the producer? Asshat or hottie?”
“That’s my girl.” He ignored the moisture in his eyes and kept talking…kept laughing. “He’s hot, but a complete asshat.”
She laughed, and Michael felt it deep inside his heart.
“Isn’t your leading lady Angie McMillian?”
“Yeah. Anorexic and just this side of a bitch.”
“Really? She always seemed so sweet on TV.”
They talked as they always had for a little while, and Michael knew they were going to be fine.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Zach drove Nolan down to St. George, and followed his GPS to the hotel where Karen said she and Becky were staying. The last time he’d been in St. George had been with Tracey to visit her family. Nolan had been a beaming ray of sunshine ever since the picture of his kid ended up on Zach’s cell phone. He went from a nervous, unsure kid to a proud daddy before Zach’s eyes. The transition was so unexpected he couldn’t help but stare. He actually felt sorry for Becky’s parents if Nolan ever had a moment alone with them…or if they tried to stand in their way of being together.
Zach found himself admiring the young man as he pulled off the freeway an hour later and zigzagged through the crowded streets of the larger Utah city.
“I could have driven myself,” Nolan said as they pulled into the hotel parking lot.
“Your car will lead the authorities to Becky.”
“I don’t think anyone is looking for us here.”
Zach pulled into a parking space. “Let’s not take any chances right now. You have the weekend off, and Karen and I will figure something out over the next few days.”
They walked to the outside balcony of the hotel room.
Nolan knocked on Becky’s door. She opened it only after Nolan whispered that it was him. The teenager slipped into the room and Zach moved on to Karen’s door.
She looked as if she’d just stepped from the shower, something he and Nolan had taken care of back at his house before he shoved an overnight bag in his truck in case he ended up stuck in the city. Then they hit the road to St. George.
“Hey?”
Karen opened the door wider and he stepped inside.
Her skin smelled like flowers, and her hair was a cloud around the edges of her face. She was so damn beautiful. He shoved his hands in his pockets, even though he wanted to touch her.
“Hey.”
“I dropped Nolan off with Becky. He wanted to stay here with her.”
Karen smiled and the room lost oxygen. “They probably want to stare at the ultrasound picture all night.”
Zach grinned. “Yeah. That was something.”
“Makes it real. It’s not just a blue line on a pregnancy test anymore.”
He couldn’t imagine everything Nolan was going through. One thing he did know, the kid was in for the long haul.
Zach nodded toward the door. “Wanna go grab a bite to eat? Bring them back some takeout?”
“That would be great.”
They told the kids they were leaving, and Zach led Karen to his truck and opened the door for her to get in.
They found a quiet Italian restaurant and Karen insisted on ordering a bottle of wine. The wine was surprisingly good but the company was what kept him smiling.
“I talked to Gwen. She had a suggestion that I think we should consider.”
“What’s that?”
Karen was ripping through a bread stick and washing it down with the cabernet.
“Talking to Becky’s parents. Let them know we’re aware of their abuse. Tell them that Becky will go to the authorities if they don’t let her walk away.”
“Isn’t that an empty threat at this point? Becky didn’t seem interested in pressing charges.”
“I think if she felt threatened, that would change.”
“To protect the baby?”
“Or Nolan. She’s scared, but with each passing day, she’s getting stronger. They’re going to be OK. We’ll get them over this hurdle.”
“You’re an incredible woman, Karen.”
She sipped her wine and shook her head. “No. Just a sucker.”
Their food came and she dug in with an appetite that rivaled his.
“I think Nolan is being watched. The police drove by the site three times that I saw.”
Karen paused midbite. “D
id they follow you here?”
“No. And Nolan’s car is still in the garage. The sheriff goes to church with Becky’s parents. Knows them really well according to Nolan.”
“That can complicate things. She can always petition the court to emancipate her, but she has to prove she can care for herself and prove to the court that her parents aren’t fit.”
“To do that she’d have to reveal their abuse.”
Karen sat lost in her own thoughts for a minute. He reached out and touched her hand.
“That’s hard to do. So many people don’t believe the victims.” She shook her head. “We’ll figure it out. I suppose it’s time for me to investigate all the legalities of helping out runaways.”
“You keep saying that. What exactly do you envision when you think of helping out kids like Becky and Nolan?”
Karen sat back and the shadows of her past drifted from her face when she spoke.
“I always saw a big house…you know, one of those colonial, or maybe even Victorian jobs with lots of bedrooms. Like those used in bed-and-breakfasts?”
“Yeah.”
“It would have to be remodeled for extra bathrooms of course…and probably a larger kitchen than those old houses normally have. But I want something that feels like a home. I’d have it on some kind of registry for runaway safe houses. There would be rules of course. No drugs, no violence…that kind of thing. No bullying. And the kids would have to work part-time, be in some kind of continuation school, or be studying for the GED. If they’re really young, and this is the part where I’d need legal guidance, they’d be registered in school.”
“It sounds like you’ve thought a lot about it. Why hadn’t you put your plan in motion before now?”
Her blue eyes left his. “Timing. But that’s changing.”
“You know what you’re talking about is a full-time job, right?”
“I’m not afraid of hard work. And I’ve made some crazy rich contacts over the last few years. Plenty of them have expressed interest in helping me fund-raise and pilot my idea.”
Zach could see her rallying an entire village on behalf of disadvantaged kids.
The Weekday Brides 04 - Single by Saturday Page 21
