“As an actor, I can make myself into anything you want. A Texas billionaire?” he twanged. “How about an English count related to the royal family?” he asked, switching to a British inflection.
The accents rankled. Unable to think rationally, she attacked an obvious fact to distract him from the truth: that his very presence had begun to mess with her comfort level.
“You don’t have the wardrobe to carry it off. I doubt either the billionaire or the member of the royal family shops for clothes at the local Goodwill.” When he looked as though he might continue to argue, she said, “My taxi’s here,” and motioned to the yellow cab pulling to the curb nearby.
Brant shook his head, rolled the luggage to the cab and put the bags in the trunk once the cabbie had flipped the lid. When Brant opened the cab door for her, he said, “It’d be fun, and you’d be saving me from a week of boredom.”
“No way, mister.” She got into the cab, grabbed the door handle and shut the door. The last thing she wanted to do was provide him with entertainment.
“I have other clothes,” he shouted as the cab took off.
It was only when Marley was on board her plane for Pittsburgh that she realized she’d forgotten her guitar.
The one thing she could rely on to get her through this pending wedding.
CHAPTER THREE
MARLEY SAT BACK AND WATCHED the young women, relatives and friends, gathered for Lindy’s shower on Sunday. She had intended to remain nonchalant and not mention her engagement. And she managed it, right up until Chloe, the sister closest to Marley in age, noticed her ring.
“You’re engaged!” Chloe grabbed Marley’s hand and nearly pulled her arm out of the socket.
Questions flew at her from her other sisters. “What does he look like?” from Jen. “How long have you known him?” asked Morgan. “When do you plan to get married?” squealed Franny. “How come you never said anything before?” The last from Lindy, who looked very upset. Marley managed to answer questions by showing Brant’s picture on her cell phone. Her well-rehearsed lies seemed to satisfy everyone and eventually, when the spotlight returned to Lindy, Marley thought she could finally relax.
No such luck. Lindy took her hand and examined it. “Your nails are so...so stubby.” She looked up. “People will notice it, Marley, when they look at the ring.”
Marley glanced down at her left hand. Had Brant noticed her fingers when he’d held her hand a few nights ago? “I play the guitar, remember? I can’t have nails touching the strings.” Her hands never matched, the right one having longer nails because she used them as picks.
“Well, you’ll need to do something about them for my wedding. Maybe some fake nails.”
Once Lindy finished with the examination, her focus turned to the ring. “He must be very rich.”
The large cubic zirconia that served as Marley’s engagement ring overshadowed the half karat wrapped in a Tiffany setting on Lindy’s hand. Marley cringed from the comparison and slowly pulled her hand out of her sister’s grasp. If only she could soothe Lindy’s pride and tell her the obnoxious stone had no value compared with her genuine diamond.
Why had she created this bogus engagement? Why? She never meant to hurt Lindy. Marley tried to remain inconspicuous and concentrated on crafting a bouquet of all the ribbons from the gifts for the wedding rehearsal.
With Chloe’s help Marley took the many presents from the bridal shower and placed them in her rental car. Keeping the gifts dry had turned into a nightmare, thanks to the unending rain. It would have been welcomed back in Arizona, but since she had arrived in Pennsylvania the previous day, it had become nonstop depressing.
“Why have you been so secretive?” Chloe asked. She added another group of packages to the collection. “When did he ask you to marry him?” Chloe’s short blond hair had lost its stylishness and now hung limply because of all the rain, whereas Marley’s hair had begun to curl, a problem she always had in high humidity. Marley pulled her sister under the protection of her umbrella.
“It just happened.” Marley really wanted to avoid the subject, fearful she might not be able to keep her false story straight.
“Well, I expect a great deal more explanation.” Chloe dragged Marley into the open garage. “We talk, email, text nearly every day, and Brant’s name never came up.”
Marley crossed her fingers. “I don’t have secrets, honest.” She hoped this would end the discussion.
“Well, I do.” A warm glow brightened Chloe’s features. “I’m pregnant.” She clutched Marley’s arm. “Now, don’t go saying anything. We want to be sure before...” Chloe paused and a shadow crossed her face. Two years ago, into her second month, Chloe had lost her baby. Marley empathized, remembering the struggle her sister had gone through.
“A baby! That’s so exciting.” Marley drew her into a hug. “Does Al know?” A small part of Marley wished she was the one having a child. No chance of that when she’d had to create a fiancé and her biological clock was running out.
“Of course. I don’t show, yet, and Lindy will absolutely kill me if I can’t fit into that form fitting bridesmaid dress.” She paused. “But we haven’t mentioned it to Michelle. She’s been dying for a sister, so once I start to show, we’ll tell her.”
“When’s the baby due?”
“In seven months.” Chloe pressed her lips together. “And I have a favor to ask.”
“Sure, what?”
“Could you watch Michelle?” When Marley hesitated, Chloe added, “Not all the time. Just on those days I have morning sickness. Which has been a freaky misnomer this pregnancy. I spend more time with nausea at night. We end up exhausted, and Michelle tires us out even more during the day.”
“Of course. I’d love to.”
“Wonderful.” Chloe gave Marley a quick kiss on her cheek. “Michelle adores you. I’ll bring her over tomorrow and tell everyone...tell them you want a chance to...I don’t know, see what it’s like to have kids. Since you’re getting married and you want the practice.”
Great. Another lie. Only this one had some truth. She really would love to have children.
* * *
AFTER SEVERAL TRIPS carrying the shower presents through the living room of her family’s house, Marley met her grandfather. “You haven’t even given a decent hello to your poppy. When you plan on doing that?”
Marley smiled. “Soon as I get these gifts upstairs. Want to join me?”
“Can I help?” he asked, following her.
“Thanks, but this is the last of it and this one’s lightweight.”
Once she deposited the package on the stacks collected in the large playroom, she turned to her grandfather and threw open her arms. She welcomed his strong squeeze.
Although his thin white hair gave away his age, he still had the trim shape and posture of a much younger man. She grasped Poppy’s arm. “Come with me to my room.”
When they reached her old bedroom, Poppy glanced around. “Looks like this has turned into a storage area.” He pointed toward a collection of dressers piled on top of each other. Several other pieces of furniture, including her old desk and chair, stood stuffed in a corner. “And I don’t see your grandmother’s favorite rocker.”
“It’s my favorite now. I took that and the antique treasure chest to my place in Phoenix.” She paused. “And you know that because you helped me get them into my car.”
Poppy chuckled. “Sure wish you’d had room for some of this other stuff. But at least you left me some place to sit.” Poppy lowered himself into a wooden rocker, and Marley sat on the patchwork quilt that covered the double bed. He started rocking slowly.
“Honestly, when you and your sisters get together, it turns into a regular hen party, and us old roosters never get to see you.”
“What do you mean? I’ve be
en here for every wedding, baptism and special birthday.”
“It’s not enough. I’d rather have you close by so you could play the guitar for me.” He lifted a gnarled hand. “Since Mr. Arthur Ritus took over my hands, and you moved away, I gave the guitar to one of the great-grandkids. Don’t know as I’ll ever hear it again.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t bring mine. Too much luggage this time. I’d love to play a few songs for you.” She felt really down, not being able to give him that tiny pleasure. Darn Brant.
Poppy rocked several times, staring past her. “You’re not upset with me, are you?”
Leaning toward him, she asked, “Why would you say that?”
“You wanted to major in music, and I...I should have kept my mouth shut.” He looked away and pressed his lips together.
“Poppy. You didn’t steer me wrong. I asked for your opinion because I knew you’d give me good advice. I love mathematics, and it’s led to several excellent jobs.”
“You still teach math?”
“No longer in the high school. But I work as an adjunct, a part-time teacher, at a local community college in the evening.”
“Pay well?”
Marley chuckled. “No. I make my real money as an accountant. See, another reason math was a good choice. And I never gave up on my music. Play every day and often with some bright young men who live in my building. They’re forming a band.” Marley fluttered her fingers in front of him. “Lindy says I need to do something about my nails. Can you imagine me strumming away with false nails?”
Poppy shook his head and grew thoughtful. “So I hear you’re next in line...” Good, the rumor mill was already working. “...if your mother doesn’t beat you to it.” He chortled. “You going to show me that ring?”
Marley hesitated. If her mother didn’t beat her to it? Was her mother seeing someone? Maybe so. Marley hadn’t seen much of her since she arrived.
Marley kneeled in front of him, lifting her hand so that he could grasp it.
He nodded several times before releasing her hand. As she stood, he said, “Sure hope you found someone stable.”
Marley was momentarily unable to speak. She hated deceiving her grandfather. He had always been forthcoming and honest with her. Finally, she said, “I certainly hope so.”
“What’s he do? Heard he had a horse ranch. Those things cost a pretty penny. Sounds like you’ve found yourself someone with money.” Visions of Brant in his threadbare clothing momentarily clouded her thoughts. But then he did have a unit in her high-rise condo building, and those didn’t come cheap. Hers had cost every last penny of the inheritance from her grandmother.
“He manages.”
“Well, you bring him around here so I can check him out. I can tell if he’s a prowling alley cat.”
* * *
MICHELLE ARRIVED MONDAY before lunch, and after a busy day Marley and Michelle went to bed early. Sleep was a sometime thing with a four-year-old kicking and squirming through the night in Marley’s double bed. A crack-of-dawn riser, Michelle was already up, poking and pulling Marley’s hair to get her attention.
Marley dragged herself to a seated position, barely able to open her eyes. Since Chloe had dropped Michelle off the day before, Marley had spent every hour with the girl, playing games, puzzles, hopscotch and anything else she could think of. Again she cursed herself for forgetting her guitar. If Brant hadn’t distracted her...Marley playing the guitar had always worked at occupying her sisters’ attention.
“Let’s play hide-n-seek,” Michelle said and bounded for the bedroom door.
Didn’t Michelle ever tire? Marley wondered. “Wait. Wait till I’m up,” she told her niece. “Go down and see Granny and get breakfast. We’ll play when you come back.”
When Michelle took off, clunking down the stairs to the kitchen, Marley flopped back on the bed. At least she’d have a few minutes of undisturbed sleep...
She awoke to someone screaming in the hallway.
“I could kill you!” Lindy yelled.
When Marley made it to the hall, she found Lindy staring at Michelle, who was sitting crying on the floor in the spare bedroom. The room Lindy had her wedding dress in. A room that was usually locked.
Lindy turned on her in fury. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching her? She just ruined my wedding dress!” A bright red blotch ran down the back of the gown where the plastic covering had been ripped away. An empty pink child’s cup decorated with princesses lay on the floor.
Marley rushed in and picked up the child.
“I tripped,” the little girl said, burying her tear-streaked face in Marley’s neck. “I’m sorry.” Lindy came into the room, and Michelle tensed in Marley’s arms.
“Sorry doesn’t cut it.” Lindy turned to Marley. “Why is she here, anyway?”
“I’m...” What was the reason? “I wanted to see what it would be like taking care of children...now that I’m getting married.”
“Well, my solution is don’t have any!”
CHAPTER FOUR
THE NEXT TWO DAYS didn’t improve as tempers ran hot, especially the bride’s. At least the woman at the cleaners promised to do her best and return the dress by Saturday morning in time for the wedding.
Marley’s babysitting assignment turned into several days of dealing with Michelle while Chloe suffered through bouts of nausea. And her mother, who usually could be found in the kitchen when she wasn’t serving meals to clients in her catering business, had disappeared. Maybe she was dating someone.
Lindy avoided her and Michelle, and everyone else managed to disappear into their own activities. On Wednesday morning, Michelle again woke Marley by pulling her hair.
“We have to get ready.”
Marley opened one eye. “Why?”
“We’re going to Kenny.”
Instantly, Marley felt revived. Kennywood Park. Her sisters and their children had planned a day trip to the park, including Chloe, provided she was up to it. As much as Marley adored her niece and enjoyed the park, she wouldn’t have to go. And that meant she’d be free! After several days of watching the munchkin, she’d have some time to herself, even if it only meant catching up on her sleep.
Marley pawed through the girl’s clothes that she’d washed the night before. “Shorts?” Marley held up the red ones and saw a frown settle immediately on her niece’s face. “Great! I’ll put on my red shorts, and we’ll be twins.” Magically, Michelle’s expression brightened. Marley packed all the girl’s cleaned clothes into her Dora suitcase.
Was it only Wednesday? Four more days, not counting today, to go before she could take off for home. Home. She missed Phoenix and its low humidity. Marley forced a comb through her hair, endless curls that had assumed a life of their own. Her constant companion started to laugh and pointed at the uncontrollable bush on top of her aunt’s head.
“You look funny.” After some tickles, the giddy girl dropped the subject.
The rain had subsided for the present, and the dreaded daytime heat hadn’t started yet. Marley dressed in red shorts, a sleeveless T-shirt and her sandals, grabbed Michelle’s hand and headed for the kitchen staircase. They passed the assortment of gifts stacked in the playroom on the second floor while Michelle pulled her pink suitcase with Dora emblazoned on the side.
Buster, the family’s old mixed-breed dog, bounded over, and Marley leaned down to pet him, roughing his neck and ears the way he liked. Michelle went to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. “He’s glad to see me.” After the watchdog wagged his tail and pulled out of the embrace, he rambled toward the stairs that led to the living room, where he usually stayed.
Michelle started after the dog, and Marley had to rush to reach her. “Come with me. We’ll get some breakfast.” She pulled the girl in the opposite direction and headed toward
the stairs that led to the kitchen. Having two staircases had provided easy access and escape for her and her sisters but had often proved a bane to their parents and grandparents.
Michelle pulled back. “I don’t want to. I want to go to Kenny.”
“Your mother will take you later.” Marley sighed. This experience with her niece had been a wonderful revelation. Children were tolerable in small doses.
As they passed Lindy’s room, Marley had another idea. Should she risk waking her? Had Lindy finally forgiven her for the stained dress? Hesitantly, Marley knocked on the door. “Lindy, you decent?” They’d had little time to talk since her arrival thanks to the spilled juice.
“Marley? Sure, come in.”
Lindy sat in the middle of the bed, dressed in summer pajamas, rubbing sleep out of her eyes as Marley entered the room. Lavender violets covered the white walls as well as the curtains, bedspread and canopy bed. A menagerie of stuffed animals lay strewn around the purple rug and topped every available surface. Marley pushed several aside to sit on the edge of her sister’s bed, while Michelle warily glanced at her aunt. When Lindy didn’t appear ready to scold her, Michelle dived into a group of bears on the floor and began to play.
Although twenty-one, Lindy still looked like a child hardly old enough to take on married life. Her long blond hair was swept over her shoulder in loose abandon. Marley had always considered Lindy—the baby of the family—a little spoiled. But then hadn’t she contributed, always giving in to any demands made by her sister or the family.
After making a face at Michelle, Lindy leaned across the bed to greet her niece. “Hi, Shelley.”
“My name’s Michelle.”
“Oh.” Lindy straightened, suppressing her amusement. At least she wasn’t scolding any more. She turned to Marley. “You’re sure an early riser, all dressed and everything. Did the past few days make you decide to have kids?”
An Act of Love Page 3
