by HELEN HARDT
Jade held out her hand. On it sparkled a gorgeous solitaire diamond.
I smiled and looked at Talon. “So you finally did it.”
“Yeah. She’s stuck with me now,” Talon said.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” I said. But then my heart sank just a little. It hadn’t occurred to me the previous evening, but Jonah hadn’t said anything about marriage when I told him I might be pregnant. Although he had seemed very happy about the possibility of a baby. Was he planning for us to live together our whole lives and raise our child? I didn’t know. Right now I needed to be happy for Talon and Jade. This was a huge step for Talon, one he had been considering taking for a while. I was glad he’d finally done it.
“This is awesome, Tal,” Jonah said. “When’s the big day?”
“As soon as possible as far as I’m concerned,” Talon said. “But of course Jade wants a big wedding.”
“No, my mother wants a big wedding,” Jade said. “I would like to go to Jamaica.”
“Wow, Jamaica. That would be amazing,” Jonah said. “In fact, the doc and I might just tag along with you.”
“We should all go,” Jade said. “How long has it been since the two of you had a real vacation?” She looked to Talon.
“Vacation? I’m not sure I know the meaning of the word,” Jonah said, laughing. “But with all the things going on—”
“With all that going on,” Talon said, “we could all use a goddamned long vacation. I’ve been taking so much advantage of my men that I feel kind of bad about leaving on vacation. But damn, I could use one.”
“Yeah, and one in Jamaica. The beach is…” Jonah sighed. “It’s been so long since I’ve been to a beach.”
“Joe loves the water,” Talon said to Jade.
“Then it’s settled,” Jade said. “I don’t care what Brooke Bailey wants. We are all going to Jamaica, and you and I will get married there.”
Jonah looked at me, his eyes full of love. “How would you feel about a double wedding?”
My heart nearly melted as my skin warmed. Love bubbled through me. I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t say anything.
“Damn,” Jonah said. “It was never my idea to propose marriage in front of my entire family. That just slipped out.”
Was he proposing only because of the baby? That wasn’t what I wanted. I touched his arm. “You know I may not be—”
He placed his hand over my lips. “Melanie, it doesn’t matter. I’ll never love another woman. Will you be my wife?”
I looked around the room. Talon, Jade, and Marjorie were all wide-eyed.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I asked.
He smiled at me, his eyes glowing. “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything, ever.”
I smiled ear to ear. “Then yes, Jonah. I would love to marry you.”
Marjorie squealed. “Oh my God! This is going to be so much fun. A double wedding in Jamaica!”
“You’ll be my maid of honor, of course,” Jade said to Marjorie. “Who will you be asking, Melanie?”
A brick hit my stomach. I had no siblings, and I was such a loner. I didn’t have very many friends. I smiled shakily. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.”
“Well, think fast,” Marj said, “because let’s get this thing moving. We all need a vacation.”
I couldn’t fault Marj’s observation. The vacation would be good for every person sitting at this table. But if they were planning to get this moving quickly, I’d have to do some thinking.
How had I gotten to be a forty-year-old woman with no friends? I had been depending on myself for so long it never even occurred to me to have a girlfriend. I had never been lonely. I always enjoyed my own company. About the closest thing I had to a friend right now was Ruby Lee. Maybe she could use a vacation.
“And you’ll be my best man, Joe,” Talon said.
“What about Ryan?”
“He can be yours.”
“Are you okay with that?” Jonah asked.
“Of course I am. Why else would I have suggested it?”
“I mean, you really want me? If I had gone with you that day…”
“Damn it, Joe, we’ve put all that behind us, remember? We’re going to be happy now. If I were holding any kind of grudge against you, I wouldn’t want you as my best man. You’re my big brother, and that’s why I want you.”
“Wait a minute,” Marjorie said. “Can Joe be a groom and a best man? It won’t work. We won’t have the right amount of people.”
“Marj, who cares?” Talon said. “This is our wedding, and we’re going to do what we want to.”
Marj huffed. “Fine, then. We’ll be one guy short, but no matter.”
“I’ll ask Bryce to come along. God knows he could use a vacation. He can stand up for me as well,” Jonah said.
“There you go, Marj,” Talon said. “It’s all settled.”
“So now we just need a date,” Jade said. “Life is crazy at my office right now. Only one city attorney—me—and no mayor.”
“All the more reason you need a vacation,” Marjorie said.
“True.” Jade nodded. “And as far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.”
“How about in two weeks?” Talon said.
“Let me text Dolores,” Jonah said.
“We all know I’m free,” I said.
“Still no word on your medical board issue?” Talon said.
I shook my head. “I’ve been meaning to get in touch with Miles Bennett at the hospital, but things have been…a little busy around here.”
“You can say that again,” Jonah said. “We’re going to get this all taken care of. You need to get back to practicing. Your patients need you.”
So much had been going on that I’d had a hard time giving my patients a thought during the last couple of weeks. But I missed them, and I missed working. Talking to Bryce the previous evening had proved that. I’d nearly forgotten the joy I got from my work, from helping people.
“Dolores says she can make the vacation work for me in two weeks,” Jonah said. “So it’s settled, then?”
“Sounds like it is,” Talon said.
“Perfect,” Marjorie said. “You just leave this all to me. I’ll plan the best wedding ever.”
“Good,” Jade said. “Honestly, I don’t have any time to help you.”
“Don’t you worry. Your maid of honor is on the job.” Henry had fallen asleep in her arms. “I’m going to go put him to bed, and then I’ll get started on it.”
Jonah and Talon exchanged wary glances. “This is going to cost a lot,” Jonah chuckled.
I shuddered. “I don’t want you to go to any expense.”
“Doc,” Talon said, “it’s all on us. Don’t worry.”
“Melanie,” Jonah said, “we all deserve a vacation, and this is our wedding. Let me treat you. Please.”
“All right.” I smiled. “I don’t know how I got lucky enough to get involved with this great family.”
“Doc,” Talon said, “we’re the lucky ones.”
“Agreed,” Jade said.
“Agreed a hundredfold,” Jonah said, taking my hand and laying a light kiss on it. “We are the lucky ones.” Then he stood. “If you’ll excuse us, Melanie and I have an errand to run.” He squeezed my hand. “I think our little sister has all of this under control, so we’re not needed here.”
“Before you go, Joe,” Talon said, “I’ve been thinking…”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“When are you going to see Larry Wade again?”
“As soon as I can get away,” Jonah said. “I have a lot more questions for him, after my ordeal with Wendy Madigan.”
“I think”—Talon rubbed his forehead—“I’d like to go with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
Chapter Forty–Four
Jonah
Melanie had insisted on going home before taking the pregnancy test. I wanted h
er to use the bathroom at the drugstore, but she wouldn’t hear of that. Now, as I sat on my bed, wringing my hands and waiting for her to come out of the bathroom, my heart raced.
I wanted a positive result so much.
I kept telling myself it would be okay no matter what. That we would have more chances to have a baby. But Melanie was right about one thing. Neither she nor I were getting any younger.
I rubbed Lucy’s soft head as I glanced at my watch. Melanie had said it would only take a minute.
This was the longest minute in the history of the universe.
Finally, Melanie strode out of the bathroom, the expression on her face unreadable.
I arched my eyebrows.
She came and sat down on my lap. Still no smile.
“Baby,” I said. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
“Well,” she said, “there will be other times.”
My heart sank, but I had to be strong for her. “Yes, sweetheart. We’ll have lots of babies. As many as you want.”
She bit her lip. “I think I’d like one.” Then she beamed. “After this one.”
Her words took a moment to sink in. Then I smiled at her.
“Positive.” She held out the test stick showing two blue lines.
I stood with her in my arms and spun around the room. “This is the most wonderful news.” Then I sat down. “I’m so sorry. That can’t be good for the baby.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“Damned right you will be. We’ll get the best prenatal care for you. I’ll have the best doctors in Denver flown in.”
She laughed. “There are many perfectly good obstetricians in Grand Junction.”
“This is so amazing, Melanie. I love you so much.”
She cupped my cheek. “I love you too, so much.”
* * *
A few days later, I sat with Talon in the visitation room at the prison, waiting for the guard to bring Larry Wade out to us. Talon was rigid, his face pale. I had told him on the way over that he didn’t have to do this, that if he found he couldn’t, it didn’t show any weakness on his part. But he was determined.
I opened my mouth to repeat my earlier words but then thought better of it. He clearly wanted to do this, no matter how difficult it was going to be for him.
He had seen photos of Larry but had never seen his face in person. Larry had always worn a mask during the time Talon was held prisoner.
I cleared my throat. The guard was bringing Larry toward us. “Here he comes, Tal.”
Talon nodded. No words. Not that I expected any.
Larry sat down with a plunk. “What do you want today, Steel?” He looked at Talon. “I see you’ve brought company. Who’s—” He stopped abruptly, eyeing Talon.
“This is my brother. Talon.”
Larry showed no emotion. Nothing at all. And I’d thought Simpson was the iceman.
“I’ll be right over there.” The guard gestured.
I nodded. I looked toward Talon, but he didn’t look like he had anything to say, at least not yet.
“You have anything to say?” I asked Larry.
“Why should I?”
“Just so we’re clear, you don’t talk to him,” I said to Larry. “He’ll talk if he wants to. If he doesn’t want to, he won’t.”
Talon was tense next to me. I squeezed his shoulder and then turned back toward Larry.
“I have a lot of questions for you today, Uncle Larry.”
“I’m sure I won’t have any answers for you.”
Talon stood abruptly and walked toward the door to the visiting area.
“Shit,” I said under my breath. I looked at Larry. “I’ll be right back.”
I followed Talon out the door. “Tal?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Joe. I tried. I guess I’m not ready.”
“It’s okay. We’ll go.”
“No. We came all the way out here. You have questions you need to ask. Take as long as you need. I’ll be outside getting some fresh air.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I just need some air.” He shook his head. “Your strength, Joe. It’s humbling.”
“What?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
“The way you deal with him. You own that room, that table. You own him. You’ve always been that way. You’re not scared of anything. You never have been.”
Wow. This was what my brother thought of me? Unbelievable.
“I’m scared of a lot of things, Tal.”
“You sure as hell never show it. You faced off Tom Simpson and Theodore Mathias unarmed. Twice.” He shook his head. “Fucking amazing. I’ve always looked up to you. Always. You’re a good man, Joe. A strong man who always tries to do the right thing. That’s why I want you for my best man. You’re the kind of man I want to be.” He cleared his throat. “Now go on back in there and get the information you need. I’ll be fine. I’ll text you if I go anywhere.”
He walked off before I could answer. Was that really how Talon thought of me? After I’d let him down twenty-five years ago? I wasn’t worthy of his praise. But I’d deal with feeling unworthy later. I walked back into the prison and into the visiting room. Larry still sat at the table. I sat back down.
“Your brother doesn’t seem to have a lot of guts,” Larry said.
“If you mention my brother again, I will have your throat slit in your sleep tonight.”
That sobered him up a little. “What is it that you want now, Steel?”
“Information, Larry. The usual.”
“I don’t know where Simpson and Mathias are.”
“Funny enough, I actually believe you. My questions concern someone else. Wendy Madigan.”
“I don’t know anything about Wendy Madigan.”
“You were in the future lawmakers club with her.”
“So?”
“I have a lot of questions about that club and what you did there. But I won’t go there yet. You told me once that Wendy wasn’t who she seemed to be. I need you to elaborate.”
“Figure it out yourself.”
“I’m serious, Uncle. I will have your throat slit tonight. I can pay those guards off to do anything, and if they don’t want to do it, they’ll have one of your fellow prisoners do it.”
Larry sighed. “Might make my life a whole lot easier, to tell you the truth.”
Time for a different tactic. I needed Larry alive. If his impending death no longer scared him, I needed to find something that would.
“I can smoke Simpson and Mathias out. They’ll make your life miserable.”
Yup, that got him. He paled and clenched his hands onto the sides of the table, his knuckles whitening.
“Look, just answer one question for me. What the hell was the relationship between Wendy Madigan and my father?”
“They were lovers. You already know that.”
“Was my father in love with her?”
“At one time.”
Not surprising, though my stomach clenched. “Was my father in love with my mother?”
“Yes. I believe he was. But I didn’t really have anything to do with your father. Or my sister, for that matter.”
“Were Wendy and my father having an affair while he was married to my mother?”
“Only Wendy and your father know the truth.”
“Tell me why Talon was taken.”
“Talon was never supposed to be taken. I’ve told you that.”
“I know that. And you know as well that Wendy told me something entirely different. I had the opportunity to talk to her recently.”
“She’s lying.”
“I haven’t even told you what she said yet.”
“The bitch is a liar. She’ll say anything to get what she wants. She’ll shatter your world if it will get her closer to her ultimate goal.”
“What’s her ultimate goal?”
“Surely you’ve figured that out by now.”
I let out a breath. “My fa
ther.”
“Your father.”
“But he’s dead.”
“Is he?”
Yes, he was. I knew that as fact, but still, a chill coursed through my body. Was Larry suggesting that Bradford Steel was alive? “His body was cremated. Yes, he’s dead. Wendy knows that.”
“Maybe he’s dead, and maybe he isn’t. It doesn’t matter. Reality was never a concern of Wendy’s.”
How well I knew the truth of that. But I’d play along. “What makes you say that?”
“I’ve told you before. She isn’t what she seems.”
“Yes. And I’ve told you before that I need you to elaborate.”
Larry shook his head. “She’s a smart woman. Very smart. A genius. Cunning. She’ll do anything, and I mean anything, to achieve her ultimate goal. She doesn’t care who she hurts.”
“Did she have anything to do with Talon’s abduction?”
“Is that what she’s claiming now?”
“I have reason to believe that, yes.”
“I’ve told you before. Talon wasn’t meant to be taken. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. The others didn’t know who he was when they took him.”
“I can’t believe that. They both knew my father. They would know who his sons were.”
“If they took him on purpose, they didn’t tell me about it. I’ve told you before. I advised them to return him unharmed. They wouldn’t listen.”
I cleared my throat. “Wendy is claiming that Talon was taken as a way for her to punish my father.”
“For what?”
Just how honest could I be with Larry? What the hell? Why not go all out? “I’m not exactly sure, but I think it has something to do with my youngest brother, Ryan.”
“Shit. That bitch is worse than I thought.”
“Give it up, Larry. Tell me what you know.”
“I’ve warned you before about the truth, Steel. It’s a dark room with no escape. You sure you want to go there?”
Did I? Or did I want to go home and start my life with Melanie and my child? The latter sounded much better. I could walk out of here and leave the past behind. Let Uncle Larry rot in his cell until his trial. Let Tom Simpson and Theodore Mathias stay on the run. Mills and Johnson would find them eventually. Let Wendy Madigan rot in the psych ward at the detention center where she was now being held, no doubt knee-deep in her delusions about me and my father and my brother. Let Ryan live out his life as the third son of Brad and Daphne Steel, not Wendy Madigan’s bastard.
