by SUE FINEMAN
“Andy will probably sleep in his,” Maria said on their way out to the car.
Blade nodded. “That’s what I did when I got my first motorcycle jacket.”
Crazy man.
That’s me.
After they were in the air again, Maria examined her wedding ring. “You had it cleaned and polished.”
“I sent Marvin out with a few things yesterday.” He lifted her hand to his mouth for a kiss. “I know this isn’t the way you wanted to get married, Maria. This is only temporary, honey. We’ll do it up right the next time.”
“If there is a next time.”
He couldn’t reassure her, because Blade didn’t know what the future held for them. Right now, he took it one step at a time, and the first step was to get through this mess in New York.
<>
The plane landed at the Tacoma Narrows Airport in Gig Harbor. Blade’s car was still parked at Sea-Tac, where it would stay for another day or two. One of Cara’s guards drove them to Maria’s house, where Nick and Cara, Angelo and Teresa, Sophia, and the kids were waiting. Blade carried in the small painting while Maria hugged every member of her family. She’d refused to remove the ring from her finger, so she held it out and said, “Look what Blade gave me for helping him with the house.”
After everyone admired her ring, Blade said, “We brought presents.” He pulled two tiny boxes from his pocket. Handing one to Sophia, he said, “This one is for you, Sophia. Something to wear to church on Sundays.”
She opened the box and gasped. “It’s beautiful.” The antique cameo broach was ringed with emeralds.
“Glad you like it,” said Blade. He handed another box to Molly. “And this one is for the princess.”
Molly’s eyes grew as she gazed at the diamond and pearl earrings in the box. “Thanks, Blade. I love them.”
“Those are real, Molly,” said Maria. “So take good care of them.”
“I will.”
Blade handed a small package wrapped in brown paper to Robbie. “One of these is to read and study and the other one is a keepsake. It’s very old.”
Robbie opened the package with two books inside. One was the rare edition book about Leonardo de Vinci and the other was a more recent book that detailed some of de Vinci’s inventions. The boy’s face glowed. “Thanks. This is awesome.”
Maria handed Blade the big bag from the store in Las Vegas and motioned Jimmy and Andy forward. Blade pulled out the jackets and helmets and pulled them on the boys. Andy bounced with excitement. “We have a date for a ride Sunday afternoon, if it doesn’t rain. If it does, we’ll do it the first nice day after that. Okay, guys?” Blade turned to face Maria. “I promise I’ll take very good care of them, Mommy.”
“I know you will.”
Blade glanced around the room. “Maria brought back enough wine to supply the family for the next year or two, and the last package is for Nick and Cara.” He unwrapped the painting and handed it to Cara. “For the museum.”
Cara examined the painting and handed it to Nick so she could hug Blade. “Thank you so much, Blade. This will have a place of honor in my grandfather’s museum. He searched for this painting for years.”
Blade opened his hands. “Angelo and Teresa, your new furniture will be on the moving van next week.”
“We thought you meant you’d save a piece or two for us,” said Angelo. “We never expected you to furnish our whole house.”
“I didn’t think the diplomats who bought the house would appreciate it as much as you would.”
While the others talked and laughed, Sophia gazed into her daughter’s eyes and she knew. That wasn’t a thank-you ring on her finger. It was a wedding ring. Why would Maria keep something that important a secret?
Blade had endeared himself to the family with his gifts, but Sophia didn’t trust him. What kind of man would take a woman from her family and marry her somewhere else? Why didn’t they get married right here at home?
Something wasn’t right.
<>
The party was winding down when Nick and Cara left. Angelo and Teresa walked out the door a minute or two later. The guard hung around to take Blade back to the Staff House, only Blade didn’t seem any too anxious to leave.
Somehow in all the confusion, Daisy slipped out the door. A godawful smell assaulted Maria’s nose. “Is that a skunk? Oh, Daisy!”
Blade whistled and one very stinky dog ran down the street and jumped into his arms. She was shaking, but not as much as she would when Maria got through with her.
“Blade, hold onto her while I get the bucket and see if we have any tomato juice.”
“We have some,” Angelo called from down the street. He took off running and Teresa stood there, halfway between the houses, her hand over her nose and mouth.
Maria found the plastic bucket in the garage. She and Blade would also need tomato juice baths before they could go into the house, so she sent the guard to the nearest store to buy “as much tomato juice as they have on the shelf.”
Angelo raced back with a big can of tomato juice and Blade shoved a very frightened and smelly little dog into the bucket. She barely fit. Maria opened the can and poured it over Daisy, working it into her fur. The puppy whined from the overpowering stench and the cold tomato juice.
“You little stinker,” Marie said. “You’re in big trouble this time.”
Daisy whined. “I know it’s cold,” Maria said gently. “It’s all right, baby. It’s okay.”
“Looks like you’re getting two baths today, Daisy,” said Blade. “One in tomato juice and the other in Tide.”
“Shampoo,” said Jimmy.
“She didn’t mean to,” said Andy.
Blade shot him a withering glance, and both boys shut up. Maria knew her clothes and Blade’s were ruined, and the boys were still wearing their new leather jackets. At least they hadn’t touched the dog. “Boys, leave your jackets and helmets outside on the porch and go inside. Grandma will take care of you.”
Drenched in tomato juice, Daisy bolted out of the bucket. Blade did a diving tackle and caught her, but she squirted out of his arms like a greased pig and landed in Maria’s lap. “Hang on to her, Maria.”
“I’m trying,” said Maria, but she laughed so hard, Daisy got away. The dog ran circles in the street and then rolled in the grass. Tomato juice dripped from Blade’s now ruined shirt, and Maria’s face and clothes were splattered with red. They both reeked of skunk.
Maria wiped tomato juice off her face and made a face. Blade laughed, rolled her down on the grass, and kissed her thoroughly. Seconds later, one shivering, soggy reddish dog pushed her way between them.
“Ooh, yuk!” Andy called out the window, and Blade didn’t know if the kid was talking about the dog, the smell, the tomato juice, or the kiss.
Blade held onto Daisy and glanced at Maria. “You realize we’ll have to take a bath in that stuff.”
“I know, but Daisy goes first or we’ll have to start over.”
By the time they got Daisy washed and in the kennel, the guard had returned with a load of tomato juice. While the guard drove Daisy to the groomers for another bath, Maria and Blade went into the garage with the juice, a can opener, a big tub, and a stack of old towels. They closed the door and stripped down. Blade emptied his pockets and shoved all their clothes in a plastic garbage bag and sealed it up. Maria stood in the tub first, and Blade washed her down with tomato juice. She leaned her head back and he worked it through her hair.
“Baptism by skunk and tomato juice,” Blade said with a laugh. “Do you and the kids have this much fun all the time, or did you save this for our wedding day?”
“It’s not funny,” Maria said, but she couldn’t stop laughing. “I’m freezing.”
She stepped out of the tub, wrapped a towel around herself, and went inside to shower. Three more big cans of tomato juice later and Blade was finished. He wanted to get into the warm shower with Maria, but he’d have to wait his turn. Sophia may have fi
gured it out by now, but the kids didn’t know they were married, and this didn’t seem like the best time to break it to them.
A half-hour later, Blade had showered and pulled on a well-worn pair of men’s sweats someone had left for him in the bathroom. He came out to find Maria giving her boys a stern lecture on training Daisy. “I know she’s still a puppy and she loves to play with other animals, but a skunk is not a pet like Fluffy. It’s a wild animal, and Daisy doesn’t know the difference. She has to be trained.”
Andy looked up with pleading eyes. “Blade, will you train her?”
He looked at Maria, eyebrows raised. Is this a daddy kind of thing?
She nodded slightly, and he said, “We’ll see if we can find an obedience class. In the meantime, don’t take her out front without a leash.”
The wedding ceremony wasn’t memorable, but this had definitely been a memorable wedding day. Too bad they couldn’t have a memorable wedding night.
<>
As soon as Blade left, the kids started in on Maria. Robbie shouted above the others. “Mom, Dad said we could come back.”
“We don’t need Dad,” said Molly. She crossed her arms. “And we don’t need a new one, either, Mom.”
“Mommy, do we hafta go back to Seattle?” asked Jimmy. “I like it better here.”
“Yeah,” said Andy. “Blade is gonna take us out on his motorcycle and—”
“Mom…”
“Mommy…”
“Maria, what about…” Mom’s voice added to the din, and Maria’s head already pounded from Daisy and the skunk.
Finally, Maria held up both hands. “One thing at a time. What’s this about your dad? Isn’t he marrying whatshername?”
“No,” said Molly, “and I’m not living with Dad. If you go back to him, I’m staying here with Grandma, and if you marry that grease monkey with the cool bike, I’m not—”
“Don’t you dictate to me, young lady,” Maria snapped.
“Pleeease, Mom,” said Robbie.
“Robbie, whatever else happens, I promise you I’ll never go back to your father. I had a reason for divorcing him, and we’re going to stay divorced.”
“He said it was your fault.”
Mom groaned, and Maria knew she had some serious damage control to do. Fred must have broken up with his latest honey, or maybe he figured if they got back together, however briefly, he’d be off the hook for child support. In any case, hell could freeze over before she’d go back to Fred. Besides, she was married to someone else.
Her words to Robbie ended Jimmy’s and Andy’s protests. Blade had already won them over, but not Molly. And not Robbie.
“Go get ready for bed, boys. Robbie, one of those books Blade gave you came from his grandfather’s library. It’s very old and worth a lot of money, so take care of it.”
“I will, but I want to live with Dad,” he whined.
“I know, honey,” she said gently. Nothing she could say or do would make him understand that Fred didn’t really want him. Fred didn’t want any of the kids. She wouldn’t let Robbie go anyway. He needed his mother and his siblings more than he needed a neglectful father.
The phone rang and Molly ran to answer it, the boys went downstairs to get ready for bed, and Maria was left alone with her mother.
“Fred has called here every day since the boys came home from Seattle. He said if you don’t call off your attorney, he’ll take Robbie away from you.”
“Did you call Gerry?”
“Yes, I did. He said he’d take care of it. You have a court date on May third with the same judge who granted your divorce. Gerry said Fred would be in big trouble because he didn’t do what the judge ordered.”
“Remind me to call Gerry in the morning.” Fred was playing with Robbie’s heart and upsetting the other kids to get back at her. She’d rather give up the child support than put her kids through this turmoil. Fred wouldn’t pay it anyway. She could tell Fred the truth, so he’d back off from wanting to take Robbie, but Fred wouldn’t keep it to himself, and Robbie wasn’t ready to hear that Fred wasn’t his natural father.
Blade would take care of the kids. Whether they stayed married for the long term or ended it in six months, Blade wouldn’t leave them without the means to support themselves.
Chapter Twelve
After the kids went to bed that night, Maria sat in the living room with her mother. Mom already knew something was up, so Maria told her about the wedding in Las Vegas. “We couldn’t wait, Mom. The attorney put something in Blade’s grandfather’s will about him getting married before he turned forty or he wouldn’t get his inheritance, and his birthday is in a few days. There are some things going on with the Banner-Covington Shipping Corporation, and Blade doesn’t want his grandfather’s company to fall into the wrong hands. He thinks this crooked attorney put the marriage by forty condition in the will without his grandfather’s knowledge, but there’s no way to prove it now without tying up Blade’s inheritance in court and leaving the company in limbo for months, maybe years. It seemed easier to get married than for Blade to fight it in court.”
“So you’re not staying married?”
“I don’t know. Being around a big family might be more than he can handle. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll end it quietly without telling anyone else.”
Mom rubbed Maria’s hand. “Do you love him?”
“Yes, and I think he loves me. We need time to see if it’ll work. All I’m asking is for you to keep it to yourself for now and give him a chance to spend time with us.”
“I don’t like this, Maria. I don’t like secrets.”
Maria squeezed her hand. “I know.” The quickie wedding with the Elvis impersonator wasn’t ideal, but they’d accomplished their goal. They were legally married, and Blade’s attorney in New York could do what had to be done.
<>
The kids were eating breakfast the next morning when the doorbell rang. Andy ran to the door. “Daddy,” he squealed.
Why did Fred come here on a Friday morning? It was too early in the morning to deal with him. It was always too early to deal with Fred. Maria grabbed Daisy and walked to the door to tell him to come back another time, but Fred had already come inside.
“What’s that smell?”
“You,” she said, glaring at him. On a weekday morning, he hadn’t come to see his kids. Molly glared at him, finished her breakfast, and disappeared into the bathroom. Fred ignored her as if she didn’t exist. To him, she never had.
Andy and Jimmy babbled on and on about school and Daisy and the skunk, and Fred ignored them, too, as he always had.
“I’ve come for Robbie,” he said.
“You what?”
“I’ve come for my son. If you and the other kids want to come along, that’s fine, but Robbie is mine. He comes with me.”
Maria turned to look at Robbie’s face and saw the torment. He was torn between staying here at Grandma’s house and going with his beloved Daddy. Maria felt desperate to say or do something to keep him with her, but she was too surprised to speak. Why hadn’t she seen this coming? He didn’t say two words to the other kids, and he wanted to take the one who wasn’t his? Nothing like ripping the kids apart and turning them against each other, but Fred wouldn’t care about that. He only cared about himself.
“Mom, can I go?” Robbie asked, and Maria’s heart dropped.
She couldn’t stop Robbie from going without making herself the bad guy again, and Fred knew it. “Robbie can come for a visit after school is out.”
Blade stepped into the open doorway and scanned the intense scene inside. He knew without asking who the man was. Andy had Maria’s nearly black hair, but aside from that, he looked like his blond father.
Moving into the heavy silence, Blade said, “Good morning. I left my wallet in the garage. Have I come at a bad time?”
“Of course not. Blade Banner, this is my ex-husband, Robert Fredricks, Fred.” Maria said his name with contempt. “He came to take R
obbie.”
One look at Maria’s eyes and Blade knew she’d do anything to keep from losing that kid. I’ll take care of it, Maria. Trust me.
“Mommy,” a little voice called from downstairs. “I can’t find my other shoe.”
Maria pushed the front door closed behind Blade and went downstairs, leaving the two men alone with Robbie and Sophia.
“I don’t suppose you could wait until summer to—” Sophia began.
“No,” Fred said harshly, and Sophia muttered something under her breath. She clearly didn’t like the man, and Blade didn’t like him either.
In an effort to keep him talking while Maria took the other kids to school, Blade said, “Nick tells me you’re in the investment business, Fred. I’m looking for someone to handle a rather large amount. What kind of experience do you have?”
Fred’s eyes lit up with interest. His voice softened, and as the rudeness faded, he magically turned into Mr. Nice Guy. “How much are we talking about, Blade?” he asked, and Blade knew he had the guy’s full attention.
Get the other kids out of here, Maria. I won’t let Robbie go. Maria left with three of his kids, and Fred didn’t notice. What a jerk! No wonder she divorced him. The only thing he cared about was money.
“Can you recommend some good stocks and mutual funds, steady, long-term investments that don’t present too much risk?”
“Of course I can. That’s why I’m in business.”
Sophia cleared off the table, and Robbie sat beside his father, a hopeful look on his face. Blade knew he had to tread carefully or he could cause more harm than good. It would tear Maria in half to lose one of her kids.
“Fred, Maria is helping me with a project in New York, and we were hoping to take the kids with us in June. I thought it would be an educational experience for them to see the Statue of Liberty and the Trade Center site. I’ve also arranged a tour of one of the ships in my grandfather’s company. Surely you wouldn’t want Robbie to miss that.”
