Webb held Judy Conway in his arms, their bodies intimately pressed together as they exchanged a heated kiss. Jeff Henry’s gasp and Regina’s cry alerted Webb and Judy to the fact that they were no longer alone, that someone had caught them.
Judy jerked out of Webb’s arms and looked pleadingly at her daughter, who stood in the foyer staring at her, shock and dismay etched on the girl’s features. “Regina, please, I can explain.”
“No, you can’t!” Regina ran to the door, swung it open, and fled from the house.
“Oh, Lord,” Judy said, then raced after her daughter.
Jeff Henry watched as Judy caught up with Regina on the walkway, and he listened as she pleaded for understanding.
“Please, sweetie, let me explain,” Judy said.
“What is there to explain? I caught you kissing a married man—and not just any married man, but Senator Porter. My God, Mother, his poor wife is an invalid! How could you?”
When Regina hurried down the sidewalk to the driveway, Judy followed. Jeff Henry closed the front door just as Regina got in her car and sped out of the driveway.
“Well, brother-in-law, that was quite a display.” Jeff Henry turned and all but snarled at Carolyn’s philandering husband. “How will Judy ever explain that kiss to her daughter? She can hardly say, ‘Dear, it was all right that I was kissing Webb Porter. You see, he’s your father.’ Then again, perhaps she will tell her. How would you handle that?”
“Judy won’t tell Regina,” Webb said with supreme confidence.
Webb was a cocky, egotistical womanizer. He had betrayed Carolyn dozens of times over, with countless women. Just how many illegitimate children had Webb fathered? Jeff Henry wondered.
“No, she’ll keep your little secret, won’t she? Just the way…Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters except that we protect Carolyn from all this ugliness. So help me”—Jeff Henry balled his hands into fists and shook them at Webb—“if you do anything to hurt Carolyn, I’ll—I’ll—” Jeff Henry spluttered. Rage boiled inside him. “I thought your affair with Judy ended years ago. You swore to me that it had. You promised me that you’d keep your dalliances out of Spring Creek and protect Carolyn from any gossip. What happens if Regina tells someone what she saw here today, in my house?”
“My affair with Judy did end years ago,” Webb said. “But I still have feelings for her, as she does for me. You of all people should understand what it’s like to love a woman who can never be yours.”
With that said, Webb stormed out of the house. Jeff Henry stood in the open doorway, a feeling of immense sadness welling up inside him. But one simply couldn’t dwell on life’s sorrows, could one? A gentleman bore his cross without complaining.
Searching for any sign of Judy, he saw none. Undoubtedly, she had walked home, leaving without finishing up dinner. That meant no prime rib meal tonight. Oh, well. Under the circumstances, poor Judy couldn’t be held responsible for her actions. He and Cybil would just have to dine out this evening, perhaps join some friends at the country club.
Chapter 19
The moment Ella heard the knock, she jerked open her office door, grabbed Heather’s arm, and dragged her inside without saying a word. After slamming the door behind them, Ella gazed at her best friend, knowing her feelings showed plainly on her face.
“What’s wrong with you?” Heather asked. “You sounded frantic on the phone. Has something else happened since the break-in at your house last night? Another letter?” Ella shook her head as she released her tenacious hold on Heather. “Another phone call?” Ella shook her head again. “Then what?”
How could she tell anyone, even Heather, that she had been half out of her mind ever since she’d had sex with Reed Conway, right here in her office, less than six hours ago? Ella had amazed herself by actually presiding in the courtroom as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn’t made the most monumental mistake of her life during her lunch hour today. But she had to talk to someone, and God knew she couldn’t tell either of her parents what she’d done. Aunt Cybil might understand, considering her penchant for bad boys, but her aunt’s advice wasn’t likely to be sensible or even helpful.
And you think Heather’s will be? Ella couldn’t help being amused by her choice of confidantes.
“No, nothing like that,” Ella said. “It’s just that this has been a killer afternoon and I needed a shoulder to cry on. I had to sentence a seventy-year-old woman to thirty days in jail and I hated doing it, but she left me no choice.”
“Mrs. Sherer, right? You shouldn’t feel bad about locking up that nutcase. My God, her yard is an eyesore and she has refused to do anything to clean it up. This was her third time in criminal court. You simply did your duty.”
“Yes, I know, but I rather like Mrs. Sherer and admire her eccentricities. She’s certainly her own woman, willing to go to jail rather than give in.”
“I call that being stubborn to the point of stupidity.” Heather narrowed her gaze as she inspected Ella thoroughly. “Something else is going on here. More than your having a bad day in court. Come on. What gives?”
“I’m swearing you to secrecy.” Ella grabbed Heather’s arm, led her friend toward the leather sofa, then stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at the couch where she’d lain beneath Reed and experienced the most incredible sex of her life. Would she ever be able to sit on that sofa again?
“You’re worrying me, you know that?” Heather pulled loose from Ella’s tenacious hold and stared at her. “Want to tell me what the hell’s going on? You’re acting very peculiar.”
“If you ever breathe a word of what I’m about to tell you, I’ll kill you even if I have to hunt you down to do it.” Ella inhaled, then exhaled slowly.
Heather lifted her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “Uh-oh, I have a nasty little feeling that I’m going to regret being privy to this information. It’s about Reed Conway, isn’t it?”
“How did you know?”
“My God, it is. It is about Reed. What happened? Did he kiss you?”
“Lower your voice.” Ella felt the heated flush creeping up her neck and spreading across her cheeks. “Yes, it’s about Reed.”
“He did more than kiss you, didn’t he? And don’t you dare try to deny it. That bright pink blush on your face gives you away.”
“My parents are home. They rushed back from the Gulf because of last night’s break-in. I called the house and left a message with Bessie to tell them I’d be running a little late because something had come up here at work. I feel as if the truth is written all over my face, and the minute I enter the house and they see me, they’ll know.”
“They’ll know what?” Heather asked.
“That Reed and I…that we…today…here…” she glanced meaningfully at the sofa. “I don’t know what happened.” Ella shook her head frantically. “Scratch that! I do know what happened. I lost my mind. I did something so stupid, so incredibly stupid.”
Heather fell into the nearest chair, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. “You and Reed…on the sofa?” She gazed at the tufted-backed, burgundy leather couch. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“No,” Ella corrected, “I’ll be damned. Lord help me, I am damned. I had sex with a convicted murderer, a man who hates my father—and vice versa—a man who is little more than a stranger to me, who has been out of prison only a few weeks and—”
“So how was it?”
“What?”
“How was the sex?”
“Oh, God!”
“That good, huh?” Heather grinned.
“Unprotected sex,” Ella said.
Heather let out a long, low whistle. “Well, I’ll say this for you: when you decide to walk on the wild side, you don’t do it by half measures. You risked it all, didn’t you?”
“I have never, in my entire life, done anything I’m ashamed of, nothing that was illogical or unreasonable or…” Ella groaned. “What am I going to do? What if he tells someone? You know how men are about th
eir conquests. He’s bound to tell his cousin Briley Joe and Lord only knows who else.”
“You can always deny it,” Heather suggested. “After all, who would believe him? The proper and dignified Judge Eleanor Porter doing the nasty with Reed Conway.” Heather’s lips twitched as if she were on the verge of smiling. “Tell me something. Have you fallen in love with him?”
“What? Heavens, no!” How could Heather ask her such a thing. In love with Reed Conway? Ridiculous. She didn’t even like the guy.
“Mm…So, are you going to see him again?” Heather’s mouth finally burst into a smile. “I mean, if the sex was great and—”
“I didn’t say the…No, I hope I never see him again, but since this is a small town, I’m sure we’ll see each other occasionally. When he left, he said that he’d see me around.”
“You’re angry with him for that comment, aren’t you,” Heather said. “When it was all over, he didn’t say or do anything romantic and you were offended.”
“I was not offended,” Ella said. “I’m glad he didn’t try to get all mushy and romantic on me. After all, it was just sex.”
“Was it? Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” But that was what bothered her the most—she wasn’t sure. Yes, it had been sex. Great sex. But it had been more, hadn’t it? At least for her. “Do you think I should contact him and ask him not to say anything about what happened?”
“If you’re serious about not wanting more of what you got today, then you’d better stay the hell away from him.” Heather rose from the chair, then went over and put her arm around Ella’s shoulders. “Remember that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. If you go talk to him, you’re liable to wind up flat on your back again.”
“Ooh…If my father ever found out about what happened, he’d go ballistic.”
“Let’s hope that Reed isn’t the type to kiss and tell.”
The insistent ring of the doorbell buzzed through the house, alerting Mark, who’d just taken off his coat and tie, that someone was eager to see him. As he made his way from the bedroom, he undid the top two buttons of his shirt. He hoped whoever was so determined to disturb him wasn’t a client or business associate. He’d had a long, hard day, and all he wanted was to fix himself a bite of supper, watch some mindless show on TV, and go to bed early.
Through the sheer-curtained French door, he saw a woman’s outline, and by the time he reached for the doorknob, he realized it was Regina. The minute he opened the door, she rushed toward him. He instinctively spread his arms wide and engulfed her in a tender embrace. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She quickly buried her face against his shoulder. He patted her on the back.
“Regina, honey, what’s wrong?”
She clung to him, and he had to admit he rather liked holding her. What he didn’t like was the way she kept crying. Something or someone had upset her.
“Oh, Mark, I—I still can’t believe what I saw,” she said.
Continuing his comforting caresses, he asked, “What did you see?”
She lifted her head and looked directly at him. Her face was blotchy from crying, her nose pink, and her eyes slightly swollen. “Since I got off work early today, I went by the Carlisles’ house to surprise Mama with a ride home. But I’m the one who got the surprise. Oh, Mark…” Regina burst into fresh tears.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, kicked the door closed, and led her down the hall to the living room. “Come on over here and sit down. Then I want you tell me what’s upset you so much.”
She followed without protest, clinging to his hand and sitting as he instructed, but she never released her hold on him. “Mr. Jeff Henry and I walked in on Mama and Senator Porter kissing. Right there in the Carlisles’ house.”
Mark felt as if he should shake his head or pop his ears to improve his hearing. Surely he had misunderstood Regina. “Say that again, please.”
Regina tilted her head to one side and glared at Mark. “Senator Porter and my mother were kissing. And I don’t mean a peck on the cheek. I mean a passionate man-woman kiss.”
“What did they say when y’all walked in on them?”
“Mama said she could explain. But she can’t. How could she ever explain kissing a married man?”
“I take it that you didn’t give her a chance to explain.”
“No, I didn’t. I just got in my car and drove away. I came here, to you. I didn’t know where else to go or what to do.”
Mark cupped her chin in the hollow between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m glad you came to me. I hope you know that you can always count on me. But honey, sooner or later you’re going to have to talk to your mother.”
“I know, but just not now. Not tonight. I can’t.”
He skimmed his fingertips over the side of her face. “Then stay here as long as you’d like. I’ll fix us some supper and then later, if you’d like, you can go home and see what your mother has to say.”
She clasped Mark’s hand tightly in hers. “You know that I’m illegitimate, don’t you?”
“Regina…”
“I have no idea who my father is. My mother has refused to discuss the circumstances of my birth with me. I thought”—Regina took a deep breath, then released it.—“that her affair with my father had been a one-time thing, that they had loved each other and for some reason simply couldn’t get married. But now, after seeing Mama with Senator Porter, I wonder how many men there have been. How many affairs has she had? Is she having an affair with Senator Porter?”
“You won’t know the answers to these questions until you talk to Judy,” Mark said. “But don’t assume the worst about your mother and don’t judge her so harshly. You don’t have all the facts.”
“I don’t have any of the facts.”
Mark brought Regina’s hand to his lips, kissed her, and said, “Come into the kitchen with me. We’ll grill some chicken, toss a salad, and spoon up some sherbet. Helping me with supper might take your mind off things, at least for a little while.”
Regina nodded. A tentative smile played at the corners of her mouth. “You’re wonderful. Thank you for being so good to me.”
How he loved this woman! This beautiful, emotionally fragile doll. “I’m glad you think I’m wonderful, but honey, you don’t ever have to thank me for being good to you.”
Mark led her into the kitchen, removed her jacket, tied an apron around her waist, and lined the ceramic tile counter with various items. “Why don’t you marinate the chicken while I run to the bedroom and change clothes?”
She nodded and quickly set to work. Mark rushed to his bedroom, stripped off his suit trousers and starched white shirt, and replaced them with a pair of khaki slacks and a navy blue cotton pullover shirt. Then he picked up the phone, dialed, and waited.
“Hello,” the woman’s voice said.
“Judy, this is Mark Leamon. I thought you’d want to know that Regina is here with me. She’s going to stay for dinner and then I’ll see that she gets home safely.”
“Is she all right?”
“Look, I’ll be honest with you. She told me what she saw this evening.”
“Mark, I can explain.”
“You don’t owe me any explanations,” he said. “But you do need to be honest with Regina. I don’t know why you’ve never told her who her father is, but—”
“I couldn’t tell her. I still can’t.”
“Then I’m afraid you’re going to have a problem.” Mark paused to consider what he was about to say. “Regina has suffered a great deal in her life, and although she’s a survivor, she isn’t emotionally strong. You know that probably better than anyone. From now on, I’m not going to let anyone hurt her again. Not even you.”
Silence. A long, painful pause. “You love my daughter.”
“More than anything.”
“Then help her, Mark, because I can’t.”
Ella had forced herself to eat a few bites of the delicious meal Bessie had prepared, but everything
had tasted like cardboard. She was eaten alive with guilt. She never kept secrets from her father. Although she didn’t discuss her love life with him, he’d always been aware when there was someone special in her life. From the time she’d first started dating, she had turned to her father for his approval or disapproval of her boyfriends. A thumbs-down from Daddy had meant she didn’t see the guy again.
You aren’t dating Reed Conway, she reminded herself. No, you skipped the dating stage and went straight to the…Stop this, right now! You’re driving yourself crazy. Act normal or Daddy will figure out that something is wrong.
Since the dining room remained in utter chaos, the family had eaten dinner in the kitchen. Her mother had complained and her father had promised a speedy repair to the destruction in the dining and living rooms. Bessie had spent the better part of the afternoon cleaning up the kitchen, which had received only minor damage. Broken dishes, scattered items, and spray paint on the back door.
“Frank tells me that there’s nothing more he can do,” Webb said as he paced the floor in the den, the one downstairs room that had been left unscathed by the intruder. “There is no evidence against Reed, so he can’t arrest him. And Frank has tried warning him, but that doesn’t seem to do any good.”
“I’m afraid of that man.” Carolyn wrung her hands nervously. “What if he doesn’t stop at just breaking into our home?”
“Since there is no evidence against him, how can you be so sure that Reed Conway is the one who broke in and—” Ella said.
“How can there be any doubt?” Carolyn glared at Ella. “When Jeff Henry came over to see me the moment I arrived home, we discussed this very thing and agreed that there is no one else it could be. No one has ever broken into our house. This family hasn’t had any problems—not until Reed Conway was released from prison. Jeff Henry said he didn’t think it was a coincidence, and neither do I.”
“But you’re condemning a man without evidence,” Ella said.
“Why are you defending him?” Webb demanded.
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