by Francis Ray
I had a wonderful time. It was the best night of my life. He took me to my first five-star restaurant. The maître d— and all the waiters acted like we were royalty. I knew it was because of Wes. We had an expensive bottle of champagne. He said the bubbles sparkled like my eyes. He told me I was pretty and smart. It was as if I had waited all my life for him. We came back to my hotel room. He kissed me and I just melted. I couldn—t stop. It was too wonderful.
Madison skipped over the intimate details. But at last she knew the answer to another question.
Bridget had known Wes was married. Distraught, she had gone home to Amarillo without hopes of seeing him again. Then she—d found out she was pregnant. The pages clearly showed her panic, her fear of telling Wes, then her hope that he would eventually marry her, her near-depression when he would not.
I know I—ve disappointed Aunt Velma, but I already love this baby I—m carrying just as I love the father. He didn—t trick me or promise me anything. It wasn—t his fault that he thought I was on the pill. I could have stopped him when I saw he didn—t have protection. I didn—t. I just wanted him to love me.
I just got off the phone with Wes. He begged me not to have an abortion. His wife lost a baby. He said she still grieves. I told him no matter what I—m having the baby and I—ll love it. I want our baby. I believe Wes does too. It—ll help make up for the one he lost. He also still grieves. I can hear it in his voice.
Madison—s hands clenched the diary. Could she really believe Wes had grieved for their child? Was it possible? All this time she—d thought their baby hadn—t mattered to him. She—d been mistaken. Why couldn—t they have grieved together? Opening the book again, she continued to read.
I—m in labor. I called Wes, but he can—t come although he -promised me he—d be with me. I—m afraid, but he said he—s sending his best friend. He—s already booked a flight from Dallas.
“You weren—t able to keep your promise to either of us,” Madison whispered. There was no bitterness in her voice, just acceptance that Wes had shirked his responsibilities to both of them. He was charming … and weak.
Madison turned the page to see which one of his cronies he—d sent in his place. She expected to see the name of one of his golfing buddies. She blinked. That couldn—t be right. Hands trembling, she held the book closer and reread the entry.
Zachary is here, but it won—t make up for Wes not being with me. I miss him so much.
Zachary. A crippling pain swept through Madison
Zachary had stayed with Bridget, coached her during her long labor, taken her and Manda home from the hospital. In the months that followed, he—d returned at least once a month to see that they were all right. He—d been the one to pay for Miss Taylor—s eye examination, the one to help Bridget find a nursing facility for the elderly woman, the one to install central air when their window unit stopped working.
He—d been the one Bridget called when she needed help.
He—d known all along. He—d lied to her.
Betrayal. Madison closed her eyes, but was unable to keep them closed or stop from reading.
The last notation was of Bridget coming to Dallas to visit Wes. Bridget had accepted that Wes would never leave his wife and marry her. But she was going to do her best to see that her daughter knew her father.
Simmering with anger, Madison was waiting for Zachary when he arrived late that night. He had played her for a fool. Just as Wes had. More so because, as much as she had once loved Wes, she loved Zachary more.
She stepped back when he reached for her, angrily shoving a bulging duffel bag against his chest. “Take your things and get out.”
Clearly stunned, he let the bag drop to the floor. “Madison, what—s the matter?”
Her hand trembling, she shoved the book at Zachary.
“What—s that?” he asked.
“What—s that?” she retorted. “Bridget—s journal, that—s what! I know. I know everything. All about Wes and Bridget. All about you being there for Manda—s birth, the trips to Amarillo. The deceit. The lies.”
“Oh no,” he groaned. “Madison, please let me explain.”
She evaded the hands reaching for her. “You knew everything and you never told me! You—re as big a liar as he was!”
“I love you,” he pleaded, his face pinched, his body trembling, his world turn upside down.
She laughed raggedly. “You don—t know what love is. Get out and don—t come back.”
“I didn—t tell you for this very reason,” he tried to explain. “Please understand. I knew how you—d react. I know I waited too long and I—m sorry, but please listen to me.”
“I—ve listened to enough lies.” Stepping around him, she opened the door wider. “Leave and don—t come back. This time I will call the police.”
He didn—t move. “Wes was my brother. Manda was my niece. I couldn—t turn my back on either of them. Then he was gone and Manda needed you.” His voice softened. “You needed each other. You would have never let either of us stay if you—d known, then I fell in love with you and was scared of losing you.”
“You don—t know what love it,” she said, her voice shaking. “Love means being honest, trusting, sharing. Things you know nothing about!”
“PI—”
“No! No more. I—ll never forgive you,” she said, tears streaming down her cheek. “You knew! You knew everything and you never told me!”
“Please try to understand why I did what I did. Please believe I love you,” he said, his face ravaged with anguish and remorse.
Madison shook her head. The ache inside was so devastating she couldn—t speak for the pain.
“Talk to me,” Zachary begged. “Don—t do the same thing to me you did to Wes. Don—t shut me out.”
She gasped. “How dare you!”
“I dare because I love you and I—ll be damned if I—ll let you get away. Did you ever think if you had reached out to Wes things might have been different? By your own admission you shut your emotions down because you didn—t want to feel. You shut him out. You didn—t share your grief. You gave up on your marriage, on him.”
“He didn—t want to talk about the baby,” she said, her voice trembling with remembered grief and anger.
“Because he thought men weren—t supposed to show their emotions.” Zachary leaned his face closer to hers. “You—re slicing me apart, Madison. I hurt. Don—t shut me out. Don—t do this to me. To us. Fight, hit, scream, whatever it takes, but please don—t shut me out. Talk!”
“You hurt me!” she blurted, hating the scalding tears that streamed down her cheek, wanting to hate him just as much. She couldn—t. “I—ve been unbelievably stupid to let two men, two brothers, lie to me, and I swallowed every word.”
He grabbed her and held on when she tried to twist free. “You know I love you!”
Miserable, she shook her head. “I don—t know anything anymore.”
His hands fell, away from her. “You—re tired. Go to bed.”
“I don—t want to go to bed!” she retorted, swiping a hand across her wet cheeks.
Zachary held out his handkerchief. “What do you want to do?”
She sniffed again, but she had fire in her eyes when she answered. “Drive your truck into the Trinity River.”
He handed her his keys. “I—ll get Manda. Lord knows how we—ll get back.”
Her hand clamped around the key ring. “You—d let me, wouldn—t you?”
He stared down at her with unwavering love. “Haven—t you learned I—d do anything for you?”
Once, she believed that was true. Now she wasn—t sure what she thought or felt. Exhausted, she brushed the last lingering tear away, pushed the keys back into his hands, tried and failed to ignore the pleasure that raced though her at the brief touch. “Just go.”
“I won—t let you push me out of your life. I—m not losing you. I—m coming back in the morning and we—re going to talk.”
He stared at her, daring
her to refuse. Madison said nothing.
“Believe me, this isn—t over.” Taking an envelope from his pocket, he held it out to her. “Here, you—ll need this for Manda.”
Too tired to respond, she simply look it from his hand.
Turning away, he left, closing the door softly behind him.
Madison stared at the closed door, Bridget had taken two men from her. First Wes, then Zachary.
Fighting more tears, she turned and saw the duffel bag on the floor, She picked it up and buried her tear-streaked face against the rough fabric. How could he have betrayed her when she loved him so much?
“Oh my god,” she moaned. She lifted her head abruptly. Had she told him? Surely she had. She recalled all the times he—d told her he loved her, but try as she might, she couldn—t remember her telling him.
Not once.
She told herself she should be glad. At least her pride wasn—t totally shattered. But then she remembered how giving Zachary had been. How eager to give her what she needed, what she wanted. Her hands on the bag clenched. The envelope crackled. She stared at it, wondering if she should just loss it. She didn—t want anything from him. She didn—t need him. She could take care of Manda by herself. Couldn—t she?
Sniffling she dropped the duffel bag, then opened the envelope and pulled out a legal document. Her hands began to tremble.
A.J. and Vanessa had signed over any claims to Manda. They agreed that the baby should remain in Madison—s custody and care. The names of two witnesses were at the bottom. Betty Spears, the maid, and Zachary Holman.
Even as she rejoiced that she wasn—t going to lose Manda, Madison thought of the one person who had made it possible. Zachary, She had no doubt that she would have lost Manda if he hadn—t intervened.
Once again, he had moved heaven and earth to take care of them.
Madison—s hand tunneled through her hair. Was Zachary right? Would things have been different if she had pulled herself out of her own pain and misery and anger at Wes long enough to reach out to him? Would he have turned to her? Would they have helped each other to heal?
Fresh tears formed on her lashes. She had no way of knowing. She did know that she hadn—t tried very hard. Zachary was right. She had enclosed herself in her grief and hurt to the exclusion of everything and everyone. She—d pushed Wes out of her life just as she bad pushed Zachary away.
But she wouldn—t be a fool again. She jerked the front door open, desperate to stop Zachary before he drove away, and gasped when she saw him hunched over on the steps, his head in his hands.
He surged to his feet and whirled to face her; hope and love shining in his dark eyes. “Madison.—
“Don—t go,” she pleaded. “Please don—t leave me. I love you.”
His eyes widened. In one step he was inside the house, kicking the door shut behind him. His arms closed tightly around her. “Say it again, please.”
Laughter spilled from her lips. “I love you. I love you.”
His mouth covered hers in a kiss that left both of them trembling. “I love you so much. I never meant to hurt you or betray your trust.”
“I finally figured that out. To you loving means forever.” Her smile faded. “You were right about my shutting Wes out. It takes two to make a marriage work. I stopped trying.” Her finger stroked his strong jaw. “You wouldn—t stand for me doing that for too long. Your not leaving proved that.”
“I couldn—t make myself leave.” He kissed her palm. “I had a better example than Wes about how a marriage should work.” His head rested against hers. “I realized something tonight about myself as well. Deep down I hadn—t gotten over A.J. turning his back on me until I stood in front of his house and thought about how much he and Vanessa had hurt you. For me, that was the end of it.”
“Then we—re both free of the past, she said. “But, if you ever lie to me again …”
He kissed her quickly. “Never,” he vowed.
“And you—re going to marry me?”
He didn—t hesitate. “Tomorrow, if you want to fly to Vegas.”
She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “People will talk, you know.”
His thumb made lazy circles on her arm. “I don—t care. Do you?”
She searched her heart and listened to the comforting beat of his. “No. But the last couple of days have taught me that secrets never stay buried. Louis was even hinting at the identity of Manda—s father.”
“What do you want to do?”
She lifted her head. “Talk with Miss Taylor in the morning and, if she agrees, call a news conference. First, we—re going to wake my parents and sister. Introductions and explanation are long overdue.”
Fifteen minutes later, Madison hung up the phone in the den, still a bit stunned. Her parents had suspected her marriage was in trouble. They—d waited and worried lor her to come to them. With Zachary—s arm around her, she—d tried to explain about her pride and fear for her mother—s health, but was brought up short when her mother asked, “When Manda is older how will you feel if you know she—s having problems, but she won—t open up for you to help her?”
Madison hadn—t had to think long. “Miserable. A failure as a mother.” She—d blinked back tears. “Mama, I—m so sorry.”
“You—re forgiven since you—re giving us another grandbaby to spoil, and a son-in-law.”
“A yummy one at that,— Dianne chimed in on the three-way.
Madison had smiled through her tears. “I love you.”
They—d chatted a few minutes more, then she—d hung up with a promise to call the next day to discuss wedding plans. “Your parents are next.”
Zachary—s mother cried when he told her he was getting married. Any doubts that Madison might have had that his mother and father would dislike her because she—d been married to Wes quickly faded. They were happy for them both and they were coming for the weekend.
“Now that that—s taken care of, how about we take care of each other?” Zachary slipped off her robe and pulled Madison down on the couch.
His zipper rasped as she tugged. “An excellent idea.”
After discussing her plans for a news conference with Gordon the next morning, he persuaded her to use the Noon Day time slot. They could use the first fifteen minutes to expound on the need for volunteers, donations, and programs to help children in abusive situations. The last fifteen would be Madison—s. It was Zachary—s idea to use the tape of the man in Miss Taylor—s room which had arrived that morning to illustrate what lengths unscrupulous people went to to uncover information.
“Counting. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”
“This is Madison Reed, back for a special segment of Noon Day. Be sure and tune in tomorrow for the new host, Paula Dennis.” She switched to camera three. “What I—m about to tell you is very personal, but I feel it—s necessary if I am to live a life without fear. If Manda, the baby who I—m adopting, will live without fear. Because of my so-called popularity, people may be tempted to use any means necessary to ferret out information, no matter who they hurt.” Camera one zoomed in for a close-up of her face, composed and determined.
“What you—re about to see is the tape of a man who went into the room of Manda—s great-aunt to get information about her father. Roll tape.”
The camera picked up Louis Forbes when he got out of the cab, tracked him as he entered the building and lost him when he entered Velma Taylor—s room. It picked him back up when he came out, his eyes wide and frightened, two minutes and thirty-eight seconds later.
Madison—s hands clenched. She wished they were around Louis—s neck. With difficulty she controlled her anger. Louis would get his. She—d made sure of it.
“The man you just saw was my agent. My ex-agent. When he left Miss Taylor—s room she was having chest pains and was later diagnosed as having had a heart attack. He did nothing to help. What he did was unconsionable. He snuck into her room to find out the identity of Manda—s father. He jeopardized a life for
profit. To stop him and any other unethical person from any further harassment of Miss Taylor, myself, or Manda, I—ll give the name of Manda—s father.”
Briefly, she paused, and gazed unblinkingly into the eye of the camera; “Wes Reed.”
Standing off-camera, Gordon had to glare at the camera crew for them to be quiet. “The public thought Wes and I had a perfect marriage. It obviously wasn—t. He fell in love with a bright, intelligent woman who died before her time. Unknown to the public, my co-workers, or our closest friends, Wes and I were about to file for divorce. He had taken a position in Chicago, and I was being courted for one there as well.”
She paused briefly. A little more and she—d be finished. “Without the slightest hesitation or regret, i will decline the position and remain in the Metroplex.”
Gordon pumped his fist.
“There are two special reasons for my decision. One is Manda; and the other one I—d like you to meet.” Madison stood and beckoned. Zachary walked onto the set, a smiling Manda in his arms.
“This is Zachary Holman, a man of incomparable measure, the man I love and plan to marry.” She leaned into him as his arm circled her waist. “It has taken me time to figure it out, but I know who holds my tomorrow. Talk, speculate, whisper. It matters not. This is what matters.”
Lifting her head, she kissed him as their arms circled each other. “Love is all that matters.”
“Fade to black,” Gordon said, his grin huge and ecstatic. The cameras stopped rolling.
His arm still around Madison, Zachary walked off the set counting his blessings. The police would handle Louis. No one messed with Zachary—s family. He had more happiness than he ever thought possible. It was only going to get better. He also knew who held his tomorrows and they were in his arms.
EPILOGUE
AS MADISON PREDICTED, PEOPLE talked, speculated, whispered, but true to her word, she didn—t let it bother her because the people who supported and loved her far outweighed the people who didn—t. Besides, she was too happy preparing for her wedding, moving into Zachary—s house, finding a balance between caring for her new family and work, and renewing old friendships.
