Twins for the Soldier

by Rochelle Alers

  He extinguished all of the lights, leaving the one under the stove hood on, and then took off the robe and slipped into bed. The mattress on the sofa wasn’t as thick as the one on his bed, but it was better than attempting to cram his six-three frame on a six-foot sofa. The only other alternative was sleeping on the floor.

  Punching the pillow under his head, Lee managed to find a comfortable position as he closed his eyes. He thought about spending the day with his sister, and then Angela. Both had asked for his help. Viviana needed him to help her resurrect her business and Angela needed safe haven from her mother-in-law who hadn’t gotten over grieving the loss of her only child. It was as if life had thrown Joyce Mitchell a curve not once but twice—she’d lost her husband as well as her son.

  He did not want to think about Justin’s mother or the man who’d scammed his sister. Instead, he wanted to focus on the promises he had made over the years: he had promised his mother that he would always look after his sister; promised Angela and Justin they would remain friends for life; and he’d promised Justin, as his best man, that he would be there and protect Angela if anything happened to him. Those were his last waking thoughts before he drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  Angela woke and within seconds knew she wasn’t in her own bed. Sitting up, she saw a monogrammed silver money-clip on the bedside table. Realization dawned as she recalled what had happened to send her running to Lee. Although she wasn’t prone to bouts of melodrama, Angela felt as if she was a character in a daytime soap opera on television. It wasn’t the first time she and Joyce had disagreed, but this time, she’d been particularly frustrated after the fatigue of driving nonstop for nearly twelve hours from Florida, cutting her vacation short by a week.

  She’d just gotten used to getting up later than usual to while away hours in her parents’ lanai or swim in their in-ground pool, while they assumed the responsibility of entertaining their grandchildren. However, her plan to do nothing more strenuous than breathe was interrupted when her mother had suggested taking Zoe and Malcolm to Los Angeles to visit their cousins. The die had been cast when Angela signed and notarized the necessary documents allowing her parents to travel with her children. Her father had suggested that she stay at the house for the duration of her vacation, but Angela had declined. She’d dropped her family off at the airport and continued northward to West Virginia.

  The instant she walked through the door, she’d told Joyce she had come back early because her parents had taken the kids to California, and when they returned she was enrolling them in day care. What ensued was a litany of invectives that had rendered her temporarily mute. Turning on her heel, Angela had walked out and called Lee, knowing if she’d stayed it may have resulted in a physical confrontation. She had had enough of Joyce treating her as if she was some annoying insect or a thing no better than gum on the bottom of her shoes.

  It was no longer about saving face in front of her children but maintaining a modicum of dignity and self-respect. Angela had been raised to respect her elders but it had become more and more difficult to do so living under the same roof with her mother-in-law. Viviana had agreed to let her stay at The Falls House and hopefully she wouldn’t have to wear out her welcome before finding a house in town that would suit her needs and that of her children. And if she was able to secure a pre-approved mortgage then perhaps she would be able to close in time to enroll Malcolm and Zoe in day care.

  Angela swung her legs over the side of the bed and as her feet touched the pale gray carpet she saw it. Walking to the door, she picked up the single sheet of paper. Lee had left her a note to say he had gone for a swim. Her stomach made a rumbling sound that reminded her that she hadn’t eaten in sixteen hours. Lee had told her that she wasn’t a guest and that meant she was free to raid his kitchen and prepare breakfast.

  * * *

  Lee felt invigorated from swimming laps in the Olympic-size indoor pool. He’d left a note for Angela in case she woke and found him gone. He swiped his keycard and opened the door to the tantalizing aroma of something sweet. He walked into the kitchen to find Angela barefoot in a black T-shirt over a pair of white leggings. She had covered her braided hair with a white bandanna. The scene of domesticity was like a punch in the gut. Now he knew what the men in the unit were talking about when they said they couldn’t wait to get home to their wives.

  Lee was one of a few who had remained single or didn’t have a steady girlfriend. He’d found it difficult to form a lasting relationship with any woman because women always seemed to want to know about his childhood. They weren’t content to accept that he had come from a broken home. He didn’t want to explain that his father had deserted his family while his wife lay dying from an inoperable brain tumor. Talking about his past would dredge up memories he’d buried and didn’t want to relive again.

  “This is a scene I can really get used to. I wouldn’t mind getting up every morning to a fabulous breakfast with homemade muffins.”

  Angela turned and smiled at him. “That’s not happening, sport,” she teased. “If you want what you call a fabulous breakfast every morning, then I’d expect an incredible supper every night. And please don’t tell me you forgot how to cook because I remember you grilling the most delicious steaks I’ve ever eaten.”

  “Maybe that’s something we can work on. Right now I need a shower and then I’ll help you.”

  “I’ve got everything under control. All I have to do is cut up some fruit. Do you still like your eggs over easy?”

  “Yes.” It was apparent Angela hadn’t forgotten a lot about his food preferences, while Lee hadn’t been able to forget anything about her. And it had taken nearly a four-year absence for him to realize that every woman with whom he had become involved he had compared to Angela.

  If he’d had to look up the word friend in the dictionary then Angela and Justin’s names would be the definition. Both were loyal and uncompromising. It wasn’t as if their relationship was without disagreements but it was never malicious. And from the moment Angela invited him to join her and Justin at their lunch table, a friendship had formed and cemented.

  Lee stood under the spray of the showerhead, washing his hair as he reminisced about not maintaining close contact with Angela after he’d joined Special Forces. He wouldn’t have been able to reveal where he was going or the mission to which his team had been assigned. He’d felt that he’d owed to his aunt and sister to let them know he was still alive. Becoming an elite soldier going out on covert missions made him aware of his mortality and there were instances when he second-guessed himself whether he wanted a wife and children to mourn his passing.

  Viviana had asked him why he hadn’t married and the answer was that the woman with whom he was in love was his best friend’s widow.

  He washed and rinsed his body, and wrapping a towel around his waist, he went into the bedroom to dress. When he emerged Angela had set a bowl of sliced melon and strawberries on the table with a tray of blueberry muffins. She’d removed a platter of crisp bacon from the oven.

  “I like a man who keeps a stocked fridge.”

  Lee walked over and kissed Angela’s cheek. “That’s because I like to cook.”

  She smiled at him. “That’s where you differ from Justin. He couldn’t boil an egg even if his life depended upon it. He claimed he didn’t need to learn to cook when his mother was one of the best cooks and bakers in the county.”

  Lee knew Angela was right about Miss Joyce’s baking prowess. Her cakes, pies and muffins had won a number of ribbons whenever there were baking competitions. He didn’t tell Angela he didn’t want to talk about Miss Joyce because he had offered her an alternative to living with her mother-in-law. She would move in with his sister, which would give her the space she needed to plan the future for her and her children.

  He removed two mugs from the overhead cabinet. When he’d first checked into the suite he was pleasantl
y surprised to find place settings for four, small kitchen appliances, and cookware from muffin tins to baking sheets along with an assortment of sauces and frying pans.

  Lee could easily become accustomed to sitting across from Angela and eating breakfast as if it was something they did every morning. They ate without talking while tunes from a station playing love ballads filled the suite. And each time he glanced up he saw Angela watching him. He wondered what was going on in her beautiful head.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked after a comfortable silence.

  A mysterious smile parted Angela’s lips. “How easy it is to get used to us having breakfast together.”

  His impassive expression concealed his innermost feelings. He was in love with Angela and he couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t loved her. Even when he experienced guilt about coveting his best friend’s girlfriend he had continued to love her from afar. Lee was able to distance himself emotionally once she became another man’s wife, but seeing her again now that she was a widow, those feelings were back—this time stronger than ever.

  “That can be arranged if you come over every once in a while.”

  Angela lowered her eyes. “Do I have to make a reservation?”

  One of his eyebrows lifted slightly. “No. Why would you ask me that?”

  “I don’t want to intrude on you in case you have female company.”

  He leaned forward. “The only female company I anticipate having is you and Vivi.” His answer seemed to satisfy Angela as she picked up her fork and pierced a piece of fruit. Her question about inviting a woman or women over made him wonder if she was perhaps jealous. He shook his head. That was only possible if her feelings for him went deeper than friendship, and he doubted whether she’d ever want more from him than companionship—something she could get from any man.

  “As soon as you’re finished I’ll take you to get your car before you meet Vivi.”

  Angela felt as if she’d been doused with cold water. It appeared as if Lee wanted to get rid of her when she’d wanted to spend more time with him. There was something about his gentle manner that made her feel safe—safer than she ever had with Justin. Lee projected an inner strength that had allowed him to grow up to ignore the malicious gossip about his father. Not once had he broken—not even when the police accused him of burglary. Even after he was exonerated he refused to speak of the ordeal. He ranked in the top one percent of their graduating class and instead of going to college he’d joined the army.

  Whenever he returned to The Falls, Angela found him changed. He’d become way more mature, confident and disciplined. The last time he came back it was for Justin’s funeral, and he’d been an army ranger. And when he had to go through the most grueling test for the elite military forces, he’d succeeded where so many failed.

  She met the large blue-gray eyes framed by thick black lashes, eyes that were so beautifully strange in a face that the sun had turned a rich mahogany. She examined the narrow bridge of his straight nose with slightly flaring nostrils and the firm lips that rarely parted in a smile. There were times when she wondered if he’d never learned to smile. And the few times she saw him smile she was transfixed because it seemed to light up his entire face.

  Pushing back her chair, she stood, Lee rising with her. “As soon as I get my things I’ll be ready to leave.”

  Chapter Five

  Even before Viviana opened the massive oaken doors to allow her entrance Angela was aware of how much the Wolfe mansion had changed since her last visit, which now seemed eons ago. Even though the residence was no longer the Wolfe House but known as The Falls House after it was converted to a boardinghouse, Angela still thought of it by its former name.

  The exteriors showed signs of obvious neglect, while the interiors reminded her of a woman who favored secondhand fashions from a bygone era. The rugs in the entryway were threadbare and the needlepoint cushions on the antique straight-back chairs bore signs of visible wear.

  Viviana extended her arms and hugged Angela. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

  Angela pressed her check to Viviana’s. “Thank you, but you may come to regret saying that.”

  “I doubt it,” Viviana said cheerfully. “Now that I’ve temporarily closed the boardinghouse, I could really use the company. My father left to go back to Philadelphia earlier this morning, which means there’s just going to be the two of us for at least a couple of weeks. Come with me and I’ll show you your bedroom.” She glanced at Angela over her shoulder as they walked past the parlor into a great room and to the circular staircase leading to the second story. “Leave your bag here. I’ll send it up in the dumbwaiter.”

  Angela followed Viviana up the staircase. Lee’s sister had lost weight, as evidenced by the way her jeans were sagging around her slim hips. It was almost impossible to keep a secret in The Falls and people were taking bets as to when Viviana would marry her live-in boyfriend, because it had been a while since anyone had seen her with a steady man. However, the gossips were silenced when he abruptly moved out and subsequently Viviana announced she was closing the boardinghouse. Judging by her appearance it was evident the breakup hadn’t been easy for her, and Angela wondered if the reason Lee had come back to Wickham Falls was to support her emotionally.

  The runner on the second story landing had been removed and rolled up at the end of the hallway. It was the first time Angela had ventured upstairs in the house where she had come with Justin to study with Lee. They would gather either in what the Wolfes referred to as their drawing room or in the kitchen whenever Aunt Babs invited them to stay for supper. Its size never ceased to overwhelm her, and she’d always felt the appliances were better suited for a restaurant’s commercial kitchen. Lee’s aunt and uncle’s decision to convert a wing of the house from a private residence to a boardinghouse was a no-brainer. The prior generation of Wolfes had closed their coal mines, which had not only diminished their wealth but also their standing as the most infamous family in Johnson County.

  Viviana stopped and opened a partially closed door. “This is your bedroom, and I’m across the hall in case you need anything. I hope you like it.”

  Angela entered the room and held her breath. The elaborately carved antique mahogany king-size four-poster draped in sheer mosquito netting was the bedroom’s focal point. She was drawn to the trio of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a veranda with views of verdant hills and mountains in the distance. The suite had everything she would want in a bedroom: en suite bath, a reading corner and a window seat with enough room to double as a daybed, and a round table with two pull-up chairs. She opened an armoire to find a flat-screen television.

  Angela turned and smiled at Viviana. “I love it. Thank you so much.”

  Viviana returned her smile. “Don’t thank me. Thank Lee. He’s the one who suggested you stay here. I suppose it can’t be easy living with Miss Joyce.”

  Angela went completely still, and wondered if Lee had told his sister about her dustup with her mother-in-law. “You know about us?”

  “Girl, please,” Viviana drawled. “Everyone knows she’s a pain in the neck. I don’t think she can get along with anyone more than five minutes, while you’ve been living with her for years. Anytime you need a break from her you’re welcome to bring your adorable twins and hang out here. We still have a nursery with a connecting door from the master bedroom. It hasn’t been used since I was a baby, so it’s time for someone to occupy it.”

  Angela’s eyelids fluttered as she attempted to hold back tears. Knowing she had someplace to go with her children if or when she found it impossible to continue to share the same roof with Joyce was something she couldn’t have imagined before Lee returned to Wickham Falls. Her other alternative was accepting her parents’ suggestion she live with them until she purchased a house in a nearby gated community.

  She didn’t want to leave Th
e Falls, not only because Justin was buried in a section of the local cemetery set aside for veterans, but also because she wanted to raise her children in a small town. Even though her son and daughter would never get to know their father, Angela wanted them to hear from others that knew him that he was an honorable man.

  Angela, like many others living in Wickham Falls, knew the town did have social problems, but fortunately not on the same scale as larger cities. The mayor, town council and the sheriff’s department had developed an initiative to combat an increasing opioid epidemic sweeping the state.

  “I’ll give you a set of keys so you can come and go whenever you want. Do you have anything planned for today?” Viviana asked.

  “I’m going to the bank to file for a pre-approved mortgage, and then head over to the real estate company to see what they have on their listings.”

  “What are you looking for?”

  “A house that’s turnkey and with at least four bedrooms. I want Malcolm and Zoe to have their own rooms and the extra bedroom can be for guests. Of course I want enough property for a backyard for the kids to play and if I want to eventually entertain.”

  Viviana pushed out her lips, seemingly deep in thought. “You should be able to find something on the other side of Pike Road.”

  Angela scrunched up her nose. Pike Road was across the tracks and many of the properties were run-down. “If I do find something there it will probably need a lot of work.”