by Rhodes, Beth
The weight of her head was wrong, so wrong, and she strained her neck to keep it up where it belonged, finally just letting it fall back. There was no fight left in her. And now there was no heat either except for where David’s body met hers, and she wanted to curl into him, wrap herself in his warmth. “David,” she moaned again.
“I gotcha.” His voice sounded oddly tender, like it had last night when they’d made love. She wanted to remember every second of last night. After going to bed upset, angered by his disappearance and late return, she’d slept soundly only to be awakened by him.
“We’re really married now.” Her words were slurred and the sentence was like a drum corps in her head.
He took her to the bedroom, laid her on the bed, and dragged the covers over her. She shivered against the heavy fabric and wished for more, more blankets, more heat, more of David. “I’m cold,” she said, clenching her jaw to stop the chattering.
More weight on top of her locked in the heat and for a minute she was able to relax. A hand brushed at her hair, but she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes. She merely hummed in approval.
She must have slept, and when she woke, her throat was on fire. The sheets around her were damp from her own sweat. She kicked the covers away and lay spread eagle.
David came through the doorway, holding a glass of water.
“Please,” she begged, seeing him, which made him grin. A real smile—so rare. He helped her sit up, and she crossed her legs in front of her. But her hands shook. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
He brought the glass to her lips. “Influenza.”
She drank, one gulp then another.
“Slowly,” he advised, pulling the cup away.
She whimpered, which sent her into a fit of coughing. And the coughing tightened around her abdomen. She panicked and put her hand over her stomach. “The baby.”
“I spoke to your sister early today. She said get lots of rest. Tylenol will help, but no drugs.”
Maria gazed up into his face, wanting to cry—scared that something would happen. “What time is it?”
“Almost four in the afternoon.”
“I slept all day?”
“I don’t know if I’d call it sleep, but yes.”
She touched the side of his face. “Why did you let them do that?”
“They deserved one good hit,” he answered with a self-deprecating smile. “I did knock up their sister.”
Heat flooded her system at the reminder. She took his hand, turned it over, and drew her finger along the line of his palm. “Don’t let them do that again. You aren’t to blame any more than I am, so unless we take it together, you don’t.”
He shrugged. “Some things are taken care of man to man.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Get some rest. Your sister said it might be three or four days.”
Maria gasped. “But, we leave on Tuesday.”
“No. I’ve changed your flight.”
“You changed my—”
He hadn’t said theirs. Just hers. He would leave without her. She’d mistaken their love-making for an emotional connection. He was all business, just like he promised their marriage could be, even if sex was part of the deal.
“Flight,” she finished, laying back down on the pillow and curling up. He’d taken care of everything, and this time, she didn’t even get a say. But she was just too tired to fight it. Her great desire to gain independence seemed like such a stupid thing at this moment. “Could you…cover me again?”
Silence met her request, but he picked up the blanket and straightened it on the bed.
And there was regret in his voice, apology as he took her hand. “You have your family here to take care of you, so maybe this is a good thing. When you’re feeling better, you’ll be able to stop at work, give them your resignation…and say goodbye to your family without—”
The news made her head pound, or maybe that was the fever. The dreaded sense of depending on her family added on top of the way he’d taken care of things for her. She looked right at him. “I’m a failure.”
“What?” David looked at her funny, both of him did.
She closed her eyes, opened them again. Yup, two. Her head hurt. “I’ll never really be free, will I?”
“What—? Wait, what—” He narrowed those green, green, green eyes.
“Your eyes are green. But you’re so dark—dark hair, olive skin. And where did that come from anyway? Not your German or Irish side.”
“My dad is actually part Mediterranean—” He broke off. “Wait, go back. What do you mean by free? You’re free, Maria. I didn’t force you to do anything. I thought we were in this together—”
“You changed your flight, too,” she interrupted, not making any sense. He was frustrated; she could tell, but she couldn’t keep a thought in her head, they all swam together, and without meaning it at all, tears were falling down her cheeks.
“Oh, shit.” He sat next to her, his weight pulling on the covers and trapping her. Cool fingers stroked her neck in a tender caress. “I thought it best. I’ll be able to get to Florida and back to Vermont sooner so I can be there when you arrive. You need to let yourself get better. I’m worried the travel, while you’re sick, would be too much. Take your time, Maria. Pack a few more bags. I’ve left instruction with Zack for shipping anything you want.”
He was thinking ahead, planning for a life she’d ridiculously agreed to. As she lay helpless in this bed, her mind fogged by fever, blurred by pain, his actions spoke of love, a love he hadn’t confessed.
She was leaving Red Bluff for good, leaving the young woman behind who’d spent a lifetime torn between wanting space and needing her family. It was both scary and exciting.
Her hand drew the cover even further over her head, and she let another tear escape.
David patted her back, hesitated, then pulled the covers back and tunneled those strong hands gently through her hair. “Do you need anything? Tylenol?”
She nodded, but didn’t speak, didn’t think she could make words without releasing more of the flood.
“Hey.” He leaned over her and pulled her back into his embrace. “We’re going to make this work, Maria.”
She nodded. He believed that. She didn’t understand his confidence. This man, who thought love was the hitch in a marriage rather than the glue. She rolled into the circle of his arms and hugged his middle. Her ear rested against his chest and she listened to the steady beat of his heart.
Could she love enough for both of them?
~*~
David sat for another hour. He had a book at his elbow, but it couldn’t hold his attention like she did, lying there in bed with her eyes closed. Every now and then, she’d sigh or roll over to her side. Anabel had left cool washcloths in a bowl on the table next to the bed.
He lifted one, folded it in thirds, and placed it on her forehead.
Her eyes opened, just a little, and she smiled at him before they slid back shut. He had to leave her soon. In his head, he knew she was fine. People didn’t die from the flu—not usually, not in this day and age.
The worry alone surprised him, and it pissed him off that he could be such a coward. But, for the first time since he’d walked away from her, the idea of losing someone stared him in the face. He sighed and checked his watch. Time.
He left her side and found the majority of the Rodriguez family amassed in Zack’s living room. Michael and Lucas stood with their arms crossed over puffed-up chests. Catalina paced in front of the fireplace with her cell in her hand, texting—fingers flying.
Anabel sat in the rocker, unexpectedly serene looking. Her eyes found his gaze as he came through the doorway. He saw the question in them.
“The fever is still up. She had a rough day, but the Tylenol is helping her rest.” He might as well have been on trial, standing before this group. “She’s a little upset that I’ve changed our travel itinerary, but I believ
e it’s for the best.”
“You’re deserting her.” This from the hothead, Jaime, the one away at college most of the time. What was he doing here now, anyway?
They were rounding up the troops, he imagined.
Juan grinned from his lounge on the couch. He was the only one who seemed relaxed, as if he was actually enjoying himself. For some reason, that put David at ease. “Look, I know this turn of events has been remarkable—”
“That’s one way of putting it.” Mike murmured.
“Unexpected,” David continued and rubbed at the ache in the back of his neck. “But Maria is my wife.”
“Also debatable.” Lucas this time.
Anger flared in David’s bones. “We’re married, and anyone who says differently or tries to convince her otherwise while I’m gone will answer to me. Maria belongs with me now.” He growled, his hand threading through his hair, and the strength of feeling behind those words stopped him cold.
Catalina stopped her pacing and her mouth hung open.
Mrs. Rodriguez was gazing at him with something like approval in her eyes. Mike’s arms dropped to his sides.
Lucas stormed out.
“David?”
He turned, found Maria in the doorway behind him. How much had she heard?
Her face was pale, gaunt, and her eyes were glazed over from the illness. She leaned toward him, her feet not quite fast enough. “I won’t lea—”
The words were cut off as she fell forward.
David caught her before she hit the floor, and lifted her back into his arms. He scowled at the group before him. They shouldn’t have been arguing where she could hear. She needed rest, not the chaos of her family’s indignation.
He laid her back in bed when Mrs. Rodriguez came up behind him and held out a small bottle. “Smelling salts.”
“People still use that stuff?”
She smiled, patting him on the back, and opened the bottle. Waving it under Maria’s nose brought the wanted effect. “Usually it’s my Lena who does the fainting,” she said.
“Thank you.” And in an instant he knew it was more than just the smelling salts he was grateful for. Anabel might not be happy her daughter had married him, but she hadn’t been cruel, either. And she wanted to help.
“You take care of my daughter—be good to her—or else.”
He chuckled. Maybe accepted was going a bit too far. “I will. I promise. She’ll never want for anything.”
She lifted a brow. “We’ll see.”
11
Flying back to Vermont, David thought of those days, early in his career when he actually considered bucking the system, saying no to his dad. He’d had a job—a boring, office job in a finance department as another bean counter in a long line of bean counters, but he could have moved up quickly enough and made VP within ten years.
But, grandpa had stepped down, and he’d wanted young and fresh as the face of March Industries. That meant David—heir apparent, only son of Greg March. He’d come back. Out of respect? Obligation?
Love for the older man, mostly. His grandfather was his one constant in years of turbulence and uncertainty. Maybe that was his problem. He hadn’t touched based with Grandpa in too long. Why?
Ever since meeting Maria, even as far back as October when his mom had pulled up into his driveway and given him Grandma’s ring, his world had been off-kilter. There had been a pull to want more from his life. A risk, for sure. And seeing Maria in California with her family again, watching the vitality from her life disappear with being sick, shook him up—more than he liked to admit.
The plane started its descent, making David’s stomach flip, but he had a funny feeling it wasn’t the loss of altitude. He was afraid her place in his life was becoming necessary. Leaving her behind had set off all sorts of uneasiness inside him, making him worry—what if something happened to her? What if she changed her mind? And never came back?
He dug into his pocket for his phone, took a step, and ran into a woman, moving too fast through the terminal.
“I’m so sor— David.” His mom’s surprise left him stammering.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” David tucked his phone back into his pocket as awkwardness filled the air around them.
“How’s Maria doing?”
He cleared his throat. “Um, she’s fine. In California still.”
“Okay. Good. Well, I have a plane to catch.”
“Okay.”
But neither of them moved.
“Look—” He started.
“I’d like to talk—” She spoke at the same time and stopped.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“We should talk, David.”
His insides twisted. “What good would it do?”
“It’s been a long time.”
He didn’t respond, but kept his eyes on hers, seeing something in them he refused to acknowledge.
Colleen looked ahead as an announcement came over for a flight to Albany. “I have to go.” She put a hand on his arm. “Give me a chance, David. Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem.”
He shrugged. “You better go.”
She leaned in and kissed his cheek, surprising him even more. And then she was gone.
He hated that she made him doubt. What did she mean, things aren’t what they seem? Running his hand through his hair, he dug back into his pocket for the phone.
Time to get home.
Time to take care of business.
He was passing baggage claim when his phone rang. Dad. “We need you in Tampa, David.”
“My flight is for Wednesday,” he confirmed, loosening his tie as he walked toward his car in the parking lot on the north side of the airport. “Donald promised exclusive viewing until we both looked at the contract. Even if I can’t get down there, everything’s going to be fine.”
“Donald has been schmoozing up to Valiant Industrial all weekend—”
“Like hell,” David interrupted.
“Like a bitch in heat is more like it!”
David cringed. “Back off, Dad. It’s only Monday. I’m getting on the road for home.”
“Well, hurry up.”
“Hey Dad,” he asked before he could chicken out, and he cleared his throat. “What happened when mom left?”
“We moved on.”
“No, I mean…what happened that she didn’t get any visitation rights?”
The silence on the line made David frown. “Dad?”
“She left, didn’t want anything to do with us, David. Why are you asking about this now?”
“Just curious, I guess.”
His Dad made a sound of disbelief. “Forget it, David. She left us. That’s all you need to know.”
“Need to know, huh?” He didn’t like it. He didn’t always like his dad’s methods, but he was good at getting the job done. And no matter what, he’d never done anything to put the business at risk, ever. The business was more important to him than most things in life.
Maybe that was the problem. Life wasn’t business.
“Dad—”
“Now that’s enough, David. Put it away with the past, where the past belongs.” He huffed over the line. “Don’t let her pushing in now let you forget how it was when she left.”
David sighed. It had been hell, for a long time. With a father checked out for the first year…and a housekeeper trying to make up for the lack of a maternal role model. But, now…all these years later, he wondered if there was more.
His dad had shown some mean colors in the last couple weeks.
Could he trust him?
“I’ll see you in a bit, then.” He dropped the subject. For now.
He settled in the car and turned it on, waiting as the heater warmed up. “Call Brandy,” he said to his phone and listened to the ring until it stopped.
“March Industries.”
“Hey, Brandy.” Hearing his secretary’s voice was an unexpected balm. Work, he knew. Work didn’t fail him. He r
elaxed into his seat. “I need to change my flight.”
“Hm. It’s already done.”
He smiled. “I guess you’ve been hearing about Valiant?”
“No guessing involved. Although I didn’t cancel your Wednesday flight, so feel free to take your time.”
“Maybe it can be fun to be the rebel on occasion, but I need to get down and back as quickly as possible. We’ll do it his way,” he spoke, smiling at the same time. Brandy had been with him since his indoctrination into the company. At times, she knew his job better than he did. But even more than that, she kept his image clean. She was his PR magician.
“How is Maria doing?”
That gave him pause. Second person in a half hour to ask about Maria. “How—?”
“Mrs. Kraus was in yesterday, she said something.”
“Oh.” He set his phone in the holder and hit speaker, before he put the car in reverse and backed out. “She’s better.”
“Good. That’s good to hear. By the way, the Lynnbrook Little League called again and want to know when to schedule practices this year.”
Crap. “I forgot about that.”
“You have Thursday evenings open again.”
“Fine.”
“Great.” He could hear the smile on her face. “I’ll let Bob know.”
He’d been coaching the U8 team for three years. All part of the job, he always told himself, but… as Maria could probably confirm, he was a big fat liar. All those kids. They’d gotten to him, reminded him of being that age.
And hell, he just wanted them to have some fun. Not all of them got it at home.
“Thanks Brandy.” He touched the end button as he pulled onto the main road and headed east.
The roads were clear all the way to Lynnbrook. When he hit the village limits, he dialed the number for Donald Mason in Tampa and got a voicemail. “I’m coming down early. Be there tomorrow. About noon. Let’s say we catch a few holes…been a while since I pulled the clubs out. I’m looking forward to some warm weather.”
