Even as she and Paula talked, Lacey was struck by the first spark of an idea. Suddenly she felt her energy returning and her spirits mending. She grabbed Paula by the shoulders and hugged her.
“You are a genius,” she declared. “I’ve got to run.”
“Hey, I have you down for painting the entire living room today.”
Lacey opened her purse and took out the hundred-dollar bill Kevin had given her as a joke a few nights earlier. “Pay someone,” she said, handing it over. “I have a long drive ahead of me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Lacey didn’t waste a second before taking off for Cape Cod. Even though she was wearing paint-spattered jeans and an old blouse, she refused to go back to the apartment to change into something more presentable. What she had to say to Kevin was far more important than the way she looked. Half the time he didn’t notice what she was wearing, anyway. She did pull off the bandana she’d tied around her head and ran her fingers through her hair to get rid of the tangles. At least there was no paint in it.
As she drove she considered all the implications of her idea. She couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t had this brainstorm before. During all those lonely months when she’d had nothing to do but think, no solution to the real problems in her marriage had come to her—probably because she hadn’t even know exactly what those problems were. She’d focused too much on Kevin’s health and not on the reasons he might have had for driving himself so hard.
Now, after less than forty-eight miserable hours apart, she had recognized the perfect answer, one that had been staring her in the face all along.
Perhaps the reason it seemed so easy now was because of the time she and Kevin had spent together on Cape Cod. In all of that painful self-analysis, they had brought themselves right to the brink of discovery. They might not have reconciled, but they had certainly laid all of the groundwork.
She had to be right about this, she thought as she reversed the drive she’d made only two days before. This time she felt so much more hopeful, not just about fulfilling her own needs, but about finding common ground that she and Kevin could share again, about recapturing that sense of purpose that had made their relationship so special.
Excitement and anticipation spilled through her. She deliberately turned on the oldies station and sang along with all the nostalgic hits, laughing at the happy memories that came back to crowd out the sad.
Her mood lasted until she turned into the driveway and saw Brandon’s huge tank of a luxury car parked beside the house. Why was he back out here today? she wondered with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why was he here when she so desperately needed to be alone with Kevin to see if they could finally fix their lives?
She drew in a deep breath and reminded herself that she was the one who’d said quite plainly that she wouldn’t be coming back this morning. She had no one to blame but herself if her father-in-law had taken that to mean that it was up to him to keep Kevin company.
Of course, it was unlikely that Brandon was inside making soup or playing cards with Kevin. It was far more likely that he’d brought along a stack of work on the pretense of keeping his son occupied.
Feeling oddly uncertain, Lacey looked down at her old clothes and wondered if she ought to drive to the nearest boutique and buy something new. She could already envision Brandon’s disapproval. Only her desire to share her idea before she had second thoughts prevented her from leaving. That and an awareness that it was long past time when she had to impress her father-in-law. His visit last night had finally put them on a friendlier footing that she was sure would last and grow.
She walked slowly up the walk, then found herself ringing the doorbell, rather than using her key. It was Kevin who opened the door.
His face looked haggard, as if he hadn’t been getting nearly enough sleep since she’d left. There was a faint stubble on his cheeks that she yearned to reach out and caress. As tired as he looked, he’d never seemed more desirable. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and hold on until the dark days had gone for good.
And there was no mistaking the sudden spark of hope in his eyes when he saw her.
“You’re back,” he began inanely.
She understood the awkwardness, because she was feeling it as well, that and so much more. Trepidation, hope, love.
“Did you forget your key?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s in my purse. I wasn’t sure if I should use it.”
“Lacey, this is your house as much as mine. More, probably.”
She shrugged. “I realized that Brandon was here. I thought maybe, I don’t know. I thought maybe I should wait and come back later when we could talk.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Just then Brandon appeared in the doorway to the living room. He searched her face, and then, as if he’d seen something he approved of—maybe her new-found confidence—he nodded. He turned at once and went back. It was more discretion than he’d ever displayed before.
“Come on in,” Kevin said. “Dad and I were just finishing up.”
“That’s right,” Brandon said, when they’d joined him. “I’ll be on my way in just a minute.”
It was clear though, that he had been ensconced in the living room for some time. Files were spread on the coffee table. As Lacey walked in, he punched a long series of numbers into a calculator. He nodded in satisfaction, jotted them down and then stood up.
“I’ll leave you two. I’m sure you have a lot to discuss,” he said, sounding as if he couldn’t wait to get away. “Kevin, your instincts were exactly right. Those figures look good. I’ll tell Jason to get on with things.”
“That sounds good,” Kevin said distractedly, his gaze still fixed on Lacey.
“You don’t have to rush off,” Lacey felt compelled to say to Brandon, though she wanted nothing more than to see him leave.
He grinned at her then. “You’re a lousy liar, girl. Same as Kevin.” He grabbed his coat and headed for the front door. “He’s been trying to kick me out since I got here, but was too polite to come right out and say anything to my face.”
“Drive carefully,” she told him.
“Always do.”
He left the room then, and Lacey stared out the front window while she waited for Kevin to come back. The last thing she overheard Brandon ask was when Kevin intended to get back to work.
“I’ll have to let you know about that, Dad.”
Lacey noticed Brandon had left the files and the calculator behind. She was tempted to toss the papers into the fireplace, but she left them on the coffee table, waiting to see what Kevin would do about them.
When he came back into the living room, his expression was cautious. “I’m surprised to see you back so soon,” he began, his tone wary. He’d shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as if he couldn’t quite figure out what else to do with them. He kept his distance, standing over by the fireplace, rather than joining her.
“No more surprised than I am to be back.” She hesitated, then couldn’t keep herself from asking, “You’re not going to let Brandon push you into going back to work too soon, are you?”
He held up his hands. “Lacey, please don’t start on that.”
“I can’t help it,” she said, gesturing toward the mess on the coffee table. “Just look at what he’s brought. There’s enough there to keep you busy for a month.”
“It’s just Dad’s way of making sure I’m not too lonely out here. He needed an excuse to come back.”
Lacey wrestled with the idea of Brandon making up excuses for any of his actions. She couldn’t imagine it. Then again, in his relationship with his son, anything was possible. She suddenly realized that ever since Kevin had turned down that job at Halloran Industries years ago, Brandon quite probably had feared another rejection. He had never taken Kevin’s presence at the company for granted.
At the same time, she and Kevin had taken each other for granted. They had operated for years no
w under the misguided notion that their relationship would always remain exactly the same. No wonder the past year had been so rocky.
“Are you ready to go back to work?” she asked finally.
“That depends.”
“On?”
“What happens with us.”
She shook her head. “No, you can’t pin that decision on us, on me. What do you want to do with the rest of your life?”
She thought she knew the answer to that, but she had to hear him say it, had to know if the plan she’d devised made any sense at all.
“Actually, I do want to go back to Halloran,” Kevin finally admitted with an obvious sigh of relief. “Tradition seems more important to me now. Working with my father and my son creates a bond that most men never have. I want that in my life. I didn’t realize until recently how much I counted on that sense of continuity. I think I understand finally what it must have done to Dad when I walked away from it.”
“Then you should go back.”
He shook his head. “Not at the cost of destroying our marriage.”
“Working at Halloran Industries could only destroy our marriage if we allow it to, if we attach some symbolic significance to it the way we did before,” she said with a trace of impatience. “I think we’re both past that. The important thing is to keep a balance in our lives, to keep the priorities straight. I don’t want you obsessed with our marriage, any more than I want you obsessed with work. Isn’t that what you were saying to me earlier?”
“Yes, but—”
“No,” she said softly. “No buts, Kevin. This is about what you think is right for you.”
“But I can’t decide that in a vacuum. What do you need? What will make you happy?”
She turned to stare out the window as she searched for a way to explain what she was feeling, all the discoveries she’d made.
“I think maybe I actually have an answer to that,” she said, finally turning back from the window and meeting his gaze. “I came back here so I could run it by you.”
“So, tell me,” he said.
Lacey drew in a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking, maybe we could form a Halloran Foundation, something we could work on together.”
“Give away Halloran money?” Kevin teased, pretending to be scandalized by the very notion.
“Stop,” she said. “I’m serious. You and your father have always been very generous, but this could be something we do in a more organized fashion.”
Kevin’s gaze was suddenly more intense. How many times had he looked just that way when they’d bounced ideas back and forth long ago? Her confidence had grown simply by seeing the way he respected what she thought.
“Go on,” he said, the first hint of excitement in his voice. “I think I see where you’re going with this.”
Now, with that slim bit of encouragement, Lacey couldn’t keep the enthusiasm out of her voice. “Okay. The way I see it, we’d set up a trust, an endowment, whatever. That would become the basis of the Foundation. That’s where you and Brandon come in. You have to make the commitment to set aside the money to do this.”
“And where do you fit in?”
“I thought I could evaluate applications, seek out the organizations and individuals that really need help, help establish programs. All those committees I’ve served on have taught me a lot about fund-raising and grant proposals and effectively run charities. I think I could weed out those that are poorly operated. I’d handle all the day-to-day things, the paperwork. The Halloran board would okay the grants.”
Even as she talked, the tiny seed of an idea took root and flourished. She could see from the excitement in Kevin’s eyes that he shared her enthusiasm.
“Yes,” he said and added his ideas to hers until the Foundation seemed more a reality than a sudden inspiration that had come to her only hours ago.
“Don’t you see, Kevin? The best part would be that we’d be doing it together, we’d share the same focus again, even if it’s only one small aspect of what you do at Halloran.”
He got up and moved to the window to stand behind her. His arms circled her waist. “I think it’s the most wonderful, generous idea I’ve ever heard.”
She turned in his arms until she could study him. She searched his face. “Really?”
“Really,” he said, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. Lacey felt her heart tumble.
“Do you think Brandon will go for it?” she asked, unable to keep the anxiety out of her voice.
“I think he’ll love it.”
“Kevin, I know this doesn’t take care of everything. I know it’s not some magical solution for us, but it’s a start.”
His lips touched hers then, capturing all the excitement and adding to it. Anticipation and joy touched off a spark that sent fire dancing through her veins.
“God, I love you,” Kevin murmured, when he finally pulled away. “There are so many things I want to say to you, so many things we can do together, now that we know our marriage is here to stay. That is what you want, isn’t it?”
“More than anything.”
“What about the house?” he asked.
“Which house?” she asked, thoroughly puzzled by the change in direction.
“The one in Boston. Jason told me there’s an interested buyer.”
Lacey just stared at him. “You put it on the market?”
He nodded. “Before I left the hospital.”
“Why?”
“It was awfully cold and lonely without you. Frankly, I kind of like it here. You and me, walking on the beach, warming up in front of a fire.”
His hands swept over her, slowly stroking until she could imagine those nights of loving in front of the fire as vividly as he could. Then it didn’t matter at all that she’d worn paint-spattered clothes, because he was sliding them off her, kissing every inch of her bare flesh until the fire in the hearth was nothing compared to the one deep inside her.
“Oh, my beautiful Lacey,” he whispered, his gaze locked on hers. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t come back, so afraid that my stupid pride would keep me from coming after you.”
“Would you have come after me?” she asked, her voice breathless as he skimmed his fingers over her breasts.
“Yes. I realized finally that I have no pride at all where you’re concerned. You hadn’t been gone fifteen minutes when I knew that I was wrong to let you go. The only way to work things out was to do it together.”
“Of course, I did do some pretty incredible thinking while I was away from you,” she taunted.
“But look how much more clearly you’re thinking now that we’re back together.”
She moaned as his fingers slid lower, over her belly and beyond to the precise spot where she yearned to be touched. She arched into the teasing touch. “This doesn’t have anything to do with thinking,” she told him when she could manage enough breath to say anything.
“That’s not what I heard,” he told her. “Making love starts in the head.”
She slid her hand up his thigh until she reached the hard evidence of his arousal. “But that’s not where it finishes, is it?” she taunted.
“Lacey, dearest, darling…”
“Yes?”
“If you keep that up—”
“That is my intention,” she said.
“Lacey!”
“You had something else in mind?” she inquired pleasantly.
Kevin groaned. “No. No, I think you’ve got it.”
“Then come here, please.”
She arched her back as he drove into her. He pulled back, then entered her more slowly, establishing a tantalizing pace that was just one shade shy of unbearable.
“You’re getting even, aren’t you?” she asked him as he withdrew again.
“Would I do that?” he inquired, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
“You would.” She concentrated very hard on not letting him drive her over the brink until she could take him with her.
Unf
ortunately she found it very difficult to concentrate on anything but the sensations that were throbbing through her with increasing intensity. The excitement she’d felt about the Halloran Foundation was nothing compared to the excitement generated by this one Halloran man.
“Kevin,” she murmured finally.
“Yes.”
“I think it’s time to stop playing games.”
The spark of amusement in his eyes gave way to a dark, burning desire as he lifted her hips and drove into her one last, exquisitely slow time. She felt herself tightening around him, holding him deep inside her until there was nothing left to say, nothing left to do except give herself over to the thrill of coming apart in his embrace.
For the longest time after their passion was spent, they stayed right where they were, curled up in front of the fire, the reflection of the flames dancing over their perspiration-slicked skin.
“So what do you think?” Kevin asked eventually.
“About what?”
“The house.”
After the past half hour, there was only one possible answer as far as Lacey could tell. “Maybe we could make do with an apartment in the city and live on the Cape. I don’t think I want to give up what we found out here.”
“I certainly don’t want to give up times like this,” Kevin agreed.
“Are we really okay, though? I’m not dreaming the way I feel right now, am I?”
“Lacey, if it’s a dream, then I’m caught up in the same one.”
“But will it last?”
“Who can say? I can only promise you that from now on we’ll never take each other for granted again. Maybe what happened to us was all for the best. We both learned to appreciate what we have, and next time we’ll both fight harder before we risk losing it.”
“Will there be a next time, then?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so. There will always be crises in a marriage. Most people these days opt out at the first sign of trouble. I don’t want us ever to do that again.”
“Is that your sense of Halloran honor talking?”
“No, Lacey, it’s my love.”
* * * * *
Honor Page 16
