by Helen Conrad
“So tell your mother to give it up, Kat,” he was saying softly. “Don’t let her get in too deep. If she thinks she can win at this game, she’s a fool. She’ll only get herself hurt.”
She stared at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tanner,” she said at last. “This isn’t a game. My mother isn’t playing a part. She’s real, a real person. And I... I just want answers. I just...” Her voice almost broke and she had to look away for a second. “I just want to protect my mother.”
He stopped and stared down at her. For the first time a tiny doubt flickered in to unsettle him. She looked so sincere, and his inclination was to take her in his arms and hold her against his chest and promise to take care of anything at all that might be troubling her.
Which showed how foolish he was. Still a sap, after all these years.
She was a crook, dammit. He had to remember that. Determinedly hardening his heart, he said, “If your mother’s anything like you, I can see why my uncle is having a hard time keeping his hands off her.”
She would have slapped him, but his hand shot out and caught her wrist. He laughed, and before she could spit out how much stronger her intense dislike was growing, there was a knock on the door and suddenly the maid was back in the room, carrying an armload of gladioli and a piece of paper in her hand.
“Ah, Senor Carrington,” she said, smiling happily at the two of them, completely oblivious to the tension in the air. “Your wife left a message with the desk, as you did not answer at your room. She said to change your meeting time to three-thirty, please.”
Kat stood stock-still, unable to breathe. Tanner stood in shock as well, but he recovered more quickly,
“My wife?” he asked, glancing at Kat and then back again.
The maid looked happily at the paper in her hand. “Senora Shelley Carrington?”
He laughed shortly. “Oh, I see.” He held out his hand for the paper. “Thank you.”
Kat felt vindicated and repelled all at the same time.
“Liar,” she whispered as she slithered past him.
“I’m not married, Kat,” he said, catching hold of her hand just before she escaped out the door.
“Then I guess your uncle must be.” She made an elaborate show of shrugging, pulling her hand away. “At any rate, some Carrington wife is meeting you at three-thirty. What have you been doing, hiding her away from this hotel so no one would find out about her and ruin your plans?”
“Kat..”
But she didn’t have to listen to him any longer. The door was open and she was out of it and racing down the hall toward the elevator. She felt like a castaway in a very tiny boat with the sharks circling faster and faster. The waters weren’t safe for landlubbers. All she wanted to do was head for shore, collect her mother and get out of here. It was time to go home.
CHAPTER FIVE:
Shelley Jumps the Gun
Fabulous Frauds was the name of the tattered book she found in the stall at the open-air marketplace along the beach. The subtitle read, “How Charismatic Con Men Charm Away Hearts and Nest Eggs.”
She picked it up and thumbed quickly through the index, looking under Carringtons but there was no listing.
“It’s probably not his real name anyway,” she muttered to herself, ignoring the curious look of the salesperson.
She bought it just the same. You couldn’t be too careful. Besides, she might learn something from reading case histories of other swindlers.
Then she continued strolling through the colorful mercado, eyeing the brightly embroidered shirts and crisply woven leather sandals, soaking in the atmosphere of a little piece of Mexico adrift in California. But at the same time, her mind was racing, mulling over the problem with her mother and what she was going to do about it.
She’d rushed back to the cottage as soon as she’d left Tanner, but her mother had already left with the colonel, just as she’d feared. How long could an afternoon sail last? Not forever. They would be back by dinnertime, surely, and once she got her mother alone, the truth would come out.
She had to get the full picture and accept it once Kat told her about the address list the colonel kept by his bedside. That would tip the scales—she was sure of it. Kat only hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much to learn the truth about the man.
It would have to hurt enough, she supposed. She flashed back for a moment to how it had felt when Jeffrey had said goodbye. That had hurt plenty. The worst part had been the bewilderment. She couldn’t believe he could really do that---just erase their love, erase their time together and casually walk out the door.
But he had. She’d learned people could do such things to other people. It was best to protect yourself.
Yes, it would probably hurt her mother a lot to find out what kind of man the colonel really was. But it would hurt even more to find it out after she’d committed herself to him, and possibly lost all her money to him, as well. And if he really was married—well, one of them definitely was.
If it was Tanner, Kat would feel sick. But if it was the colonel, her mother would be in for a feeling of horror. And if she didn’t find out until it was too late... that would be a far more damaging blow. Better to get it over with quickly.
But for now, she had to wait. She’d changed into a pair of snug jeans and a gingham shirt and had tied her hair back with a blue ribbon. She was feeling casual, enjoying sightseeing. She’d pushed Tanner Carrington to the back of her consciousness. At this distance, he didn’t seem so threatening to her peace of mind. The kiss had been a natural reaction, that was all. It wouldn’t happen again.
She shivered suddenly and looked around, wondering if she’d stepped into a draft. The sidewalks were growing more crowded. A man was selling bunnies in a stall. She stopped and watched as they snuggled alongside one another, their bright little eyes alert but completely unsuspecting of what lay ahead. Kat only hoped nice people who wanted pets would buy them. They were so sweet looking, so innocent. The innocent needed to be protected, after all. She frowned, filled with resolution, and moved on.
The marketplace was teeming with tourists from the hotels. Most of them spoke English, but Kat heard German and Japanese along other languages she couldn’t identify.
Suddenly one voice stood out from the throng. High-pitched and piercing, it caught Kat by surprise and she whirled to see who had called out.
“Shelley!” the voice was shrieking. “Oh, Shelley Carrington! Over here! Shelley Carrington, it’s me, Claire Osage.”
Shelley Carrington. Where had she heard that name before? When she was with Tanner Carrington, that was where. This was the woman the maid had called his wife.
Suddenly he was with her again, in spirit if not in the flesh, and she felt the power of his presence. Shelley Carrington was here. She had to get a look at her.
The gray-haired lady who had called out was close by, a typical tourist dressed in pink Bermuda shorts and carrying an armload of purchases. But there were too many people around for Kat to see Shelley.
She had to push her way through the crowd, and at first she couldn’t see who it could possibly be, but as she watched the woman running toward the street, she realized her destination was a small green sports car that had been driving past. She finagled her way behind a tourist, craning to see this Shelley Carrington person, and dreading it at the same time.
The car had pulled over and a young blond woman was leaning out the window.
“Claire Osage,” the driver of the sports car was calling back, laughing. “Fancy coming all the way down to Bahia to see you.”
Kat pushed her way almost to the car, heedless of the annoyance of those whose toes she stepped on. Then she stopped and stared, not bothering to hide her interest, her eyes wide, her heart beating in her throat.
The thought that either Tanner or the colonel was married had been bad enough in the abstract, but it was worse— much worse—in reality.
The woman was beautiful, her face delicately elegant, her
hair silvery and tossed by the wind. She was driving a small, rather beat-up sports car and was dressed in simple cotton, but she had an air of modest sophistication that created quite an impression.
She was probably in her late twenties—younger than Tanner, nowhere near the colonel’s age. Stunned by the picture the woman made, Kat stood eavesdropping with no shame at ill, despair in her heart.
“It’s so nice to see you, Claire,” Shelley Carrington was saying. “Give my best to your family.”
“Oh, but my dear,” the older woman insisted, leaning forward earnestly, clutching an orange papier-mache donkey to her chest, “we must get together. Strangers in a strange land, and all that. How about dinner? I’m staying at the Mephisto.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Shelley said with what looked very much like genuine regret. “I’m meeting Tanner for a snack in a cafe in just a few moments. He’s here, too. And we have a lot of family business to attend to. I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you this time. Maybe when we’re both back in Destiny Bay.”
She was putting the woman off in the nicest way possible. The woman had to know it, but she didn’t seem to mind. They said goodbye. Shelley glanced once at Kat, no doubt curious at the bystander hanging on their every word. She smiled and began to drive away,
Kat watched her go, her pulse pounding, her heart full of fear. She didn’t think she’d taken a single breath during that whole conversation.
The woman was beautiful, a perfect match to Tanner. And she had definitely mentioned him, spoken of a family connection. Could she really be his wife?
Why did that fill her with such revulsion and stick like a lump in her chest? It might have something to do with a certain kiss and her own over-the-top reactions to it. Not completely realizing what she was doing, she began to walk very quickly after the car, following it as it made its slow way through the maze of heavy traffic.
She was numb, not really thinking, no plan in mind. But she had to know. If this was Tanner’s wife, she wanted to face it now. She needed to. When she saw the car pull into a parking lot just ahead and saw the open-air restaurant beside it, she knew this was where Shelley was to meet Tanner. If she watched, she might be able to tell what their relationship was.
Positioning herself a little less conspicuously this time, she took note as Shelley pulled into a space and turned off her engine. She couldn’t take her eyes off her. What she was going to gain from watching the woman, she didn’t know. She only knew she couldn’t look away.
Shelley opened the car door and swung out of the driver’s seat, and that was when Kat’s heart stood still. Her hands went to her face. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Shelley Carrington, this woman who was said to be Tanner’s wife, this lovely creature who looked like an idol of goodness and generosity—Shelley Carrington was very, very pregnant.
“Oh, no,” Kat breathed when finally she could breathe at all. “Oh, no, no, no...”
Shelley walked across the blacktop and onto the walkway leading into the restaurant, her step light and quick for someone so obviously close to her due date. She smiled at the hostess and was seated right away in the outdoor section at a table not far from where Kat was standing. And all the time, Kat watched, unable to believe her eyes.
She felt like a criminal herself. She felt like a fool. But mostly, she felt an overwhelming wave of guilt. Here she’d just come from kissing Tanner Carrington, and if she was perfectly honest, she would have to admit she’d thoroughly enjoyed that part of their encounter.
She was attracted to the man, despite the fact that she despised him. Up to now, she’d been only mildly annoyed by that. After all, he was a smooth, charming, great-looking guy. So she was attracted to him. It didn’t mean anything. She certainly hadn’t planned to do anything to follow up on it.
But now things had taken on a whole new dimension. Now he was very likely a married man. And even worse, his wife was pregnant. She couldn’t be attracted to him. And he certainly shouldn’t go around kissing people. The man was worse than a swindler; he was also a philanderer.
She turned numbly, wanting to go back to the hotel and think things through, but it was too late. There he was, coming toward her with a sardonic grin on his face. He was still dressed in the beautiful suit he’d worn earlier and he made a stark contrast to the tourists in their flashy, trashy vacation clothes.
Snakes, she reminded herself as she watched him approach, her blood boiling, often wore disguises.
Tanner was sunnily unaware of her animosity. “Hello there,” he said cheerfully, enjoying the way she looked with her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright. “Back for more so soon?”
Her eyes narrowed. Her jaw tightened. Her lip curled. “You animal,” she snapped at him. “You….you beast!”
He stopped in front of her, slightly taken aback. “That bad already? I was just a mere cad an hour ago, as I remember.”
She glared at him, her angry eyes piercing his. “You’re worse than that. There are no words for what you are.”
He raised one dark, supercilious eyebrow, his gaze searching hers for clues. “This sounds serious,” he said softly.
“It is serious.” She whirled and pointed toward where Shelley was seated, looking over a menu. “Look at her,” she demanded. “It’s Shelley Carrington, isn’t it?”
Tanner looked and immediately relaxed. He’d been looking forward to seeing his cousin.
“Ah, yes, there she is.” He smiled, as he always did when Shelley was around. She was one of the few women he trusted totally and absolutely. “Would you like to meet her?”
Kat blinked at him and drew in her breath, scrutinizing his shining eyes, looking for the slightest hint of remorse and finding nothing but good humor.
“Meet her?” she breathed. “You’ve got to be crazy.”
He frowned. It was finally sinking in. Kat was upset about something.
“What’s the matter, Kat?” he asked, searching her eyes for clues. “What have I done?”
She stared at him, aghast, then waved a wobbly finger in Shelley’s direction. “Look at her! She’s pregnant.”
“That’s true.”
He still couldn’t figure out why that made her angry. He tried a lopsided grin, then quickly squelched it when it only seemed to fan her fury. Still, he couldn’t resist a wisecrack. “That fact has become pretty obvious to just about anyone who sees her, I’d say.”
Sparks flashed. She took a deep breath, shaking her head. The man was unbelievable.
“She’s pregnant,” she repeated passionately. “And yet you have the gall to run around behind her back, pretending...”
“Pretending?” Ah-hah. A tiny light snapped on in his head. He frowned. She didn’t still think Shelley was—-“Pretending what?”
She swallowed hard, glaring at him. “Kissing,” she managed to get out huskily.
“Ah, kissing.” He grinned and leaned closer still, his eyes looking deep as crystal caverns and glowing with something more than humor. “Kissing you?”
“Yes!” The word came out like a cry from a drowning cat.
He chuckled, his eyes softening. “Believe me, she doesn’t mind.”
Anger choked her. She shook her head. “How could she not mind?”
“She’s like that.” He looked at her speculatively, and then, suddenly, it was clear to him. “Ah,” he murmured. The amusement in his eyes deepened. “You think that Shelley is...”
He choked back a surge of laughter. Kat was still hung up on what the maid had said. She thought Shelley was married to Tanner.
“I don’t believe it,” he murmured, shaking his head, his eyes sparkling. He ought to tell her the truth right away. But somehow, he couldn’t.
“Say, here’s an idea,” he suggested instead, tongue in cheek. “We could check out about the kissing stuff.” He touched her playfully, his hand on her hair, fingers threading through it. “How about an encore right here? Then we could ask her...”
She hit ou
t at him ineffectually, grazing his shoulder. “You’re despicable. You are the most hateful man I’ve ever met,” she retorted, trying to keep her voice down.
“Possibly.” His grin was downright lascivious and his hand curled harder into her hair, gathering it up into an unbreakable grip, pulling her face toward his. “But you like me anyway, don’t you?”
Her mouth dropped open and she sputtered, probably because his words hit too close to home.
“Like you?” she repeated, twisting her face away from his. “How could anybody like you? Especially that poor woman...”
At that moment the woman in question raised her head and caught sight of the two of them standing near the entryway. She smiled and waved. Kat just stared at her, wishing she could fall through the floor, but Tanner took his hand out of her hair and waved back.
“Come on.” Tanner’s fingers circled her wrist and tugged at her. “Why don’t you come on in and meet this pitiful, wronged wretch?” He nodded toward Shelley, smiling, and gestured toward Kat, raising his eyebrows in question.
“Of course,” Shelley called out. “Bring your friend along, I’d love to meet her.”
He laughed softly, not giving up his hold on Kat’s arm. “You see? She’s not only tolerant, she’s very, very generous.”
Kat stared into his sparkling gaze and a sudden feeling of doubt began to grow in her, She frowned suspiciously.
“Tanner,” she said, “be honest with me.”
“Kat, honestly—“ he looked deep into her eyes, his own full of a mock sincerity that only confused her further “— you’re going to like Shelley, and she’s going to like you. Come on and meet her.”
Warily, drawn by some compulsion she wasn’t sure she understood, she let Tanner take her inside and introduce her to the exquisite Shelley, sitting down to chat. It was because she had to know the truth, she kept telling herself. That was all it was. Was this Tanner’s wife or not? Somehow she couldn’t find a way to come right out and ask.
“I’m so sorry to horn in here,” Kat began nervously at one point.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Shelley said quickly, stopping her protestations and holding out a hand to her with a ready smile. “I love meeting Tanner’s friends. They’re usually so interesting,”
