No Wife Required!

by Rebecca Winters

  “But you don’t know Lorraine, Patsy. She’s the only woman in the world for me. I never considered getting married until I met her. All I want is the chance to tell her that, and to beg her forgiveness for the way I’ve treated her.”

  Lacey thought she was going to faint.

  “If she’s as terrific as you say, she’ll forgive you. Like you told me, nobody’s perfect. Making mistakes is part of being human.”

  “But I made a bad one, Patsy. So bad I can’t even talk about it.”

  “I understand. I’m sorry, Max. We’re all rooting for you.”

  “Thanks, Patsy. Call me again. Hello, you’re on the air.”

  “Max?”

  “You’re speaking to him.”

  “This is Larry, the cabdriver who drove you home from the airport three weeks ago. I’m sorry to hear you’re still in such bad shape. I’ve picked up a lot of sad fares in my time, but I have to tell Lorraine if she’s out there listening, that what she did to you by moving out of her condo and leaving no forwarding address was cruel.”

  “Yeah. It was cruel, but I deserved it, Larry. She was always so sweet, so loving, and all I ever did was tromp all over her feelings again and again till she couldn’t take any more.”

  “Well, I’ve got her picture, the one you gave me. I’ve been looking for her. If I find her, I’ll call in and let you know where I saw her.”

  “Thanks, Larry. I owe you big time. Now I’ve got to go to another call. Hello, this is the Max Jarvis show. You’re on the air.”

  “Hi, Max. This is Casey. Don’t get too down. The same thing happened to me, so I hired a blimp to carry a sign saying, ‘Forgive me, Jean. Please marry me.’ It flew over the city all day long and cost me a fortune. But it worked. She called me that night and now we’re married with five kids.”

  “I’m happy for you, Casey. Thanks for your novel idea. My outlook has been so bleak, I just might try it. Good night, Casey. Call in anytime.

  “You know, if it weren’t for all you listeners out there helping me to get through this, I don’t know how I’d handle it.

  “The guys on my crew told me I got what I deserved and haven’t been speaking to me since. When I discovered Lorraine had left Florida without telling anyone, I felt as if someone had slammed a crowbar into my gut.

  “I’d finally gotten to the point where I could tell her the truth about my life, and she was gone. It’s like she’s disappeared off the face of the earth. Three weeks without her has been like three years. I’ve got to find her. I’ve got to make her understand. My entire life’s happiness depends on it.”

  His pain was so tangible, Lacey felt it to her bones.

  “Hello. You’re on the air.”

  “Max?”

  “Dear God, is it you, Lorraine?”

  “No. It’s Valerie.”

  Valerie?

  Lacey was so stunned, she fell back in one of the kitchen chairs.

  “When did you get back from Japan?”

  “Today. I saw your message on the back door and have been trying to call in, but the lines have been continually busy. I finally called your producer and he let me break in because I’m family.”

  “My producer is crazy about Lorraine, too. Have you heard from her, Valerie? Please say you have.”

  “No. She hasn’t returned any of my calls from Tokyo, and I don’t know where she’s living.”

  Lacey heard him smother an epithet. “If she hasn’t told you anything or made contact, and you’re her twin sister, then I guess it’s pretty hopeless.”

  “What you’ve done to her must be pretty bad. It’s the first time in our lives she has refused to confide in me, and that lets me know she’s in agony.”

  “She’s not alone.” The tremor in his voice reached Lacey’s heart. “I have to find her and talk to her.”

  “My sister’s the sweetest, kindest, most giving and generous human being I’ve ever known. One of the true innocents of the world. To see her in this kind of pain hurts me because up to now she’s always been resilient and fun-loving.

  “In fact she was always so happy, Daddy called her his sunshine girl. But. since meeting you, she’s changed. I don’t know Lorraine like this and I don’t think she could take being hurt any more.”

  “Do you think I want to hurt her?” he cried.

  It was almost embarrassing to Lacey to hear Max express his innermost feelings over the airwaves. But it also touched her heart that he would humble himself and break down in front of an audience of thousands.

  “If anything, my crime has been loving her too much! I refused to believe a woman like her existed until it was too late.”

  After a sustained pause Lacey heard her sister ask, “Have you ever told her that, Max?”

  “I would have, but she left the Everglades while the crew and I were in the park taking pictures.”

  “Well, don’t lose hope yet. We aren’t twin sisters for nothing. She’s a Radio Talk addict. I bet she’s listening to you right now.”

  A rush of heat covered Lacey’s body from head to toe.

  “I pray to God you’re right, Valerie.”

  “Listen—I have my own methods of finding her. It shouldn’t take me very long.”

  “Just so you know, I’ve already contacted everyone she knows, but not even Nester or her pastor know where she’s living. They’ll call me as soon as they come up with anything.”

  He called them to help?

  “I’ve got another idea. I’ll let you in on it later. In the meantime, good luck, and if I haven’t said so before, welcome to the family.”

  “Thanks, Valerie, even if it is premature. You don’t know what that means to me. Lorraine, if you’re listening... Please phone in. Without you, I’m nothing. I love you, sweetheart. Please give me one more chance.”

  By now the tears were falling fast and furiously.

  “My producer says the calls are stacked up. Hello. You’re on the air.”

  “Max—it’s Greg.”

  At the sound of Greg’s voice, Lacey buried her hot face in her hands.

  “Does this mean you’ve located Lorraine?”

  “Not yet, but Annette and I have been working nonstop on it. We’ve been keeping an eye on her usual haunts.”

  “I’ll never be able to thank you enough, Greg.”

  Just how long had Max been discussing their personal lives over the air?

  “Lorraine? This is Greg. Remember me? Your brother? I know you’re listening. I have to tell you, you were right about us. It’s Annette I love, and we’re getting married at Thanksgiving, so you’ve got to come out of the woodwork because Annette wants you for her maid of honor.

  “If you could forgive me for being such an idiot, surely you can forgive Max. The man worships the ground you walk on. What more proof do you need? Come on, Lorraine. Why don’t the four of us make it a double wedding? Think about it and give in. You know you want to. You know you’re dying to marry the hotshot talk host from California.”

  Lacey found herself laughing and crying, all at the same time.

  “He’s had his reasons for being so cruel. Just hear him out, Lorraine. Remember Mr. Osana in A Majority of One? He went over to Mrs. Jacoby’s and they started all over again. Remember him saying, ‘You’ll accompany me to parades and concerts,’ and she said, ‘And you’ll come to my house for Thanksgiving.’ Remember how you cried, Lorraine?”

  Greg. She shook her head. Trust him to quote from her favorite movie of all time. Unable to stand it another second, she phoned the business line. Rob answered.

  “Rob? This is Lorraine,” she said, already out of breath.

  “Lorraine?” he cried in disbelief, almost damaging her eardrum. “Whatever you do, for the love of heaven, don’t hang up! Max will fire me if that happens. Just hold on.”

  She swallowed hard, feeling frightened and excited all at the same time. “I have no intention of hanging up. Can you put me on before the end of the program? It’s almost time.
”

  “I’m transferring you now. Max is going to have a heart attack.”

  “Don’t tell him who it is. I want to surprise him.”

  “Surprise is hardly the word for it. Please be nice. Life has been hell around here since he got back from his trip. He’s very fragile, Lorraine,” he whispered in a somber tone.

  “I’ll be nice. I promise.”

  She could hear Max saying they had time for one more call. “You’re on the air. Hopefully you’re one of Lorraine’s clients. I’ve been trying to locate her through her work, but so far I’ve been totally unsuccessful.”

  Her hand shook. “H-hello, Max? I-it’s Lorraine.” She almost dropped the receiver. “I’m very hurt and confused, but I’m willing to talk at your place after the show.”

  The silence spoke volumes. When he finally made a noise, he was all choked up. “Did you listeners hear that? Lorraine’s going to give me one more chance. Prayers do get answered, as her pastor said. If a miracle happens, by Tuesday afternoon I’ll be able to announce that I’m getting married to the woman of my dreams.

  “A wise woman named Dr. Walker called in last week to say that if I didn’t start divulging something of my personal life over the air, I’d never gain credibility with my Utah audience.

  “Right now I’ve got to work on gaining credibility in Lorraine’s eyes. Wish me luck. Have a good night. I know mine’s going to be one to rewrite the history books.”

  The next few minutes were a blur as Lacey threw on her coat, grabbed her purse and dashed out of her apartment to the car park below.

  A nasty hail storm followed by pelting rain were wreaking havoc, forcing her to cross town at a snail’s pace. Habits died hard as she drove around to the carport and realized Max’s and Valerie’s cars were in their stalls. There was no room for Lacey’s.

  Sighing with frustration, she rolled down her window so she could see to back out and park in front.

  “Leave the car there, Lacey. Neither your sister nor I is going anywhere on a night like this.”

  His deep voice startled her. It seemed he knew her better than she knew herself or he wouldn’t have been waiting in back. After three weeks’ deprivation, the reality of his physical presence made her nervous and light-headed.

  Neither of them said anything as she got out of the car. He rolled up the window and locked it, then followed her inside his condo.

  Lacey walked through to the living room, experiencing an overwhelming sensation of homecoming. She didn’t understand how she could feel this way when Max had done nothing but deride and humiliate her from the beginning.

  “I’d help you off with your coat, but if I were to touch you right now, I wouldn’t be able to stop.”

  With her heart practically jumping out of its cavity, Lacey lifted her head and their gazes locked. Maybe it was a trick of light, but he looked leaner in his dark trousers and sweater.

  Lines at the corners of his mouth and the bruised smudges beneath his eyes gave him a gaunt appearance. She could tell he’d lost weight. Anyone who knew him would think he’d been ill, yet she found him more desirable than ever.

  Unfortunately, she knew her five pound weight loss had the opposite effect, making her drawn and pale. Even her black curls lacked their usual luster.

  “I came over here to ask you to stop making our private lives public. Haven’t you done enough?” Her voice came out in a strangled whisper.

  His jaw hardened. “I did what I had to do to find you again. All I ask is that you listen to me for five minutes. If you still want to walk out of here when I’ve finished, I swear I won’t stop you. You’ll be free of me and I’ll never mention you on my show again.”

  Free of Max?

  Unbidden tears filled her eyes and she quickly averted her head, subsiding into the nearest chair with her coat still on. “I—I know what you’re going to say, Max, and I can’t see that telling me about the woman who destroyed you will make the slightest bit of difference.

  “You’re obviously a man who can love only once. She marked you for life, and you’re not capable of having a relationship with anyone else. I couldn’t live with a ghost between us, because that’s exactly what it would be. Deep in your heart you’ll never be free of her.”

  To her horror, tears spilled down her cheeks like a gusher.

  “In a sense, you’re right,” he murmured, his words like another dagger plunged into her heart. “For all her faults, my mother will always be my mother.”

  “Your mother?” Lacey’s head went back and she stared at him in shock.

  Slowly he nodded, but she could see he’d gone far away from her. “You’re very much like her. Not in looks. But you’re beautiful in the feminine way she is, you always smell divine. The way you move, the way you talk in that husky voice. Everything about you makes a man, young or old, want to carry you off to some isolated place and keep you to himself, forever.”

  The realization that he was talking about his mother put such a different complexion on things, Lacey was in a daze. All this time she thought he’d loved another woman and had been scarred for life.

  His mouth twisted unpleasantly. “Her power was too strong for my father to resist. Unfortunately, a ring and a piece of paper meant nothing to a woman who needed, who craved, the attention and gratification of every male around.

  “For so many years I believed her when she’d tell me a friend of my father’s was visiting from another country. Our home was like a hotel. But until my teens, I hadn’t worked it out that men only spent the night when Dad was away on business.”

  Lacey got to her feet, unable to contain the flood of emotions Max’s words had evoked.

  “One night I needed to talk over a problem with my dad, but he wasn’t home. In desperation, I made the mistake of going to Mother. She was in bed with one of my dad’s colleagues and didn’t even know I’d opened the door. I left home that night and went to live with my best friend for a while.”

  “Max—” she whispered heartbrokenly as she watched him rake a hand through his hair.

  “Dad found out where I was and came to talk to me. It was a scene I don’t care to remember. When I asked him if he knew what kind of a woman Mother really was, he admitted that he did, but that she couldn’t help the way she was. He needed her, and had chosen to look the other way.

  “At that point in time, I think I despised my father more than my mother. In my pain, I lashed out and told him she was like a sickness with him, that no woman should ever mean more to a man than his own honor and self-respect.

  “Dad tried to explain, but I couldn’t handle it, and I left home for good.”

  “How awful for you!” she cried.

  He nodded grimly. “I thought it was the end of the world. My friend’s parents let me live with them until I was out of high school. I’d saved enough money from a part-time job to get me to Ceylon where I worked as a longshoreman.

  “Occasionally I called Dad to keep in touch. He begged and pleaded with me to come home. He said he’d divorce Mother, but I knew he didn’t mean it. Whenever she wanted to make up with him, she knew exactly how to go about it. He could never refuse an invitation to her bed.”

  “Didn’t she ever try to get in touch with you?”

  “No. I was an encumbrance. I only remember one time my father raising his voice to her. It was when he told her he thought they ought to have more children and she said one was more than enough.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Lacey murmured aghast.

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “All that’s in the past. I finally grew up, went to college and saw the world in the process. Through a roundabout way, it led me into broadcasting.

  “I’ve long since reconciled my differences with Dad. Mother eventually went off with another man and I understand she’s living somewhere in Australia. The good news is, when I went to see Dad last time, he informed me that he’d filed for divorce. He’s met a wonderful woman and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets m
arried again.”

  “Do you think he’s over your mother?”

  Max took a deep breath. “If he isn’t, then God help him. But I don’t want to talk about my parents anymore. I want to talk about us.

  “You have to understand that when I first met you, I felt a quickening inside that terrified me. Without sounding conceited, I confess that in my travels and work, I’ve known a lot of beautiful women and have gotten close to one or two, but I’d never been hit by an instantaneous, emotional response before. It all started with your husky voice.”

  “I loved your voice, too. I loved everything about you, even though your arguments infuriated me most of the time.”

  “The first night you called in on the show, I knew I wanted to get to know you better. When you came to the studio as my guest, you looked at me out of those incredible green eyes, and I fell hard. But I knew I was in the most serious trouble of my life when I thought you were married to my next-door neighbor.”

  A nervous hand went to her throat. “When you gave me your address, I realized you had no idea I lived next door. I couldn’t wait to see you again and explain about Valerie because I was intensely attracted to you, too.”

  “I know.” His vibrant voice penetrated the air. “That’s what was so terrible. Brad was away, and you were there, alone... I couldn’t help but remember the man who slept in my father’s bed while he was out of town. I was sickened by my own adulterous thoughts.”

  “Now I’m beginning to understand why you were so cold to me.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” he groaned. “One night while I was shaving, I could hear your voice plainly through the wall. You were talking to George, talking about the trip you were going to take with him.”

  It was so awful, but so funny, Lacey couldn’t hold back the laughter, but it was mingled with her tears.

  “You wouldn’t have thought it was so hilarious if you’d been in my position,” he growled, but there was a light shining in his gorgeous blue eyes. “Some man was going to sleep over and George had to hide in the storeroom, never mind that his girlfriend was missing him like crazy. And all this fooling around was going on while Brad was away.”