Barri Bryan - Return to Paradise.html

by Return to Paradise (NCP) (lit)

  "No," he argued, "That is obtuse. It's stupid to get turned on by a triangle of curly red hair wiggling around under a gauzy gown, but that's what happened."

  Kate studied his face for some sign that he was joking, and found none. "I suppose I should be flattered that you found me attractive."

  "But you aren't?" He asserted with caustic contempt.

  With his frank admission, her anger died away to be replaced by a nervousness she couldn't control. "Yes, I am." Kate laced her shaking fingers together. "But I don't think being attracted to a patch of hair is..." She glanced toward the door, hoping for some sign of her mother. There was none. "Sexual attraction alone -- seems wrong..." The more she tried to explain, the more hopelessly mired she became in the quagmire of her own words. Sheer exasperation made her toss her hands in the air and declare, "I don't want to talk about it."

  "Well, I do," Hank shot back. "What was so wrong with what we did that you don't want to do it again?"

  "I didn't say it was wrong. I said we shouldn't do it again." Lord, she sounded like a teenager in the throes of guilt over her first sexual escapade.

  Hank tasted the pie. "This is good." He laid the fork on the table. "Give me one good reason."

  "What about Gina?" Kate grimaced at that thought.

  "Hank grinned. She's not a true brunette."

  "I know," Kate snapped, angered anew by his cavalier reply, "That sex is no more than fun and games to you, but I can't be that blasé about it. I refuse to be one of your women."

  "Are you jealous of Gina?"

  With sudden insight she knew she was. "No. Of course not. Why should I be?"

  "The same reason I don't like you spending the weekend with Taylor. Does he know by now that you are a true red head?"

  "That...How...? My Lord, what a question." She was set to tell him that York knew no such thing, when some instinct of self preservation stopped her. Maybe her best defense against this virile, aggressive man was the misguided belief that she had been with York. Unable to find a suitable reply, without blurting out the truth, Kate blew breath through her mouth, and gave Hank the dirtiest look she could muster.

  "Cat got your tongue again, Katie?"

  Lady charging through the back door just head of Cody, spared Kate the pain of having to answer.

  "Hey, Hank." Blissfully ignorant of the battlefield he was invading, Cody extended his hand toward Hank. "I thought that was your horse tied out there."

  Hank shook Cody's extended hand. "Howdy, Cody."

  "What happened to you?" Cody took in Hank's muddy clothing, his agitated expression. "You look like you were run over by a Mack truck."

  "The equivalent," Hank returned, dryly, as his gaze moved from Cody to Kate.

  Cody's appearance was all that was needed to prompt Belle to step around the door, and back into the kitchen. "Well, Cody, I thought I heard you come in. Sit down, I'll get you some coffee, and a slice of apple pie."

  Hesitantly, Cody asked, "Are we interrupting something?"

  As Kate lowered her head, and Hank cleared his throat, Belle replied, "You could starve to death waiting for these two settle their differences. Sit down, I'll get your food." Taking plates from the cabinet, she asked, "Hank would you care for more coffee or pie." "No thanks, Belle." Hank's spurs jingled, as he walked toward the back door. "I have to go. But I'll be back. We can talk then, Kate."

  Belle insisted on dragging out the goodbyes as long as possible. "It was so good of you to come by, Hank."

  "Yeah." Hank replied.

  Hank was stepping outside when Belle added, "Don't be a stranger now, Hank."

  "I don't intend to be, Belle."

  "Say hello to your Aunt Cat," Belle called out the back door as Hank rode away. Then turning, she asked, "Isn't he a nice man, Cody?"

  Cody wasn't fooled. "Depends on how you want to look at it, I reckon."

  "He's a nice boss," Belle said. "I think he'd be a nice catch, too."

  "The last few days he's sure had a burr under his saddle." Cody's eyes twinkled. "I think Kate can do her own fishing."

  "Don't start, Mamma" Kate warned, "I have more important things to think about. Suzie and David will be here tomorrow. I have my plans all made. David can stay in Cody's camper. Suzie can sleep with me."

  The weighty matter of Suzie coming to Paradise caused Belle to postpone her interrogation about what had happened between Hank and Kate, and concentrate on her granddaughter's approaching visit. "My granddaughter is up to no good. I can feel it in my bones."

  "You don't know that for certain, Belle," Cody argued "Can't you give her the benefit of a doubt?"

  Belle was too involved with Cody to pay any attention to Kate when she said, "Good night, Mamma."

  "Good-night, Katie baby."

  When she made her ride the next day, Kate gave the line shack a wide berth. Her encounter with Hank was best forgotten. Suzie would be at Paradise by the time she got home, she would think about that.

  Kate stayed longer than usual in the barn, taking her time as she rubbed Ringo down, and put fresh hay in his stall. The Cadillac Coupe de Ville parked in front of the house told her Suzie and David had arrived. She was anxious to see Suzie. Why, then, was she keep finding excuses to linger in the barn?

  She could only procrastinate so long. Kate began to walk toward the house, thinking as she went that she must be careful. One false move, one careless word, and she could lose her daughter again.

  "Hi." Kate smiled at the four people seated in the living room.

  "Mom!" Suzie rushed to embrace her mother, then turned, toward the slight built man who had followed her across the room. "This is David."

  "Cody and I were wondering what happened to you, Kate," Belle smiled too sweetly in Kate's direction. "We thought maybe you stopped at the line shack."

  Over Cody's chuckle, Kate warned, "Mamma!"

  David Gardner was not what Kate had expected. He as a slight built man with an easy smile, a receding hairline, and a glib tongue. "Now I know where Suzie gets her good looks."

  "You look tired, Mom." Suzie motioned toward the couch. "Sit down. You shouldn't be out in the sun, riding a horse."

  "Riding every day is good exercise. I've never felt better in my life."

  Belle chimed in, "And she doesn't spend all her time riding. There's a line shack up the way. She stops there, sometime."

  "Have you been here long?" Kate sat down on the arm of the couch and nudged

  Belle's back with her fingers. "How are Michael and Sharon?" As she spoke, Kate assessed David Gardner. He emitted a quiet air of confidence that was not in the least intimidated by Belle's veiled innuendos or Kate's unbending demeanor.

  "They're both well. Michael sends his love." But Suzie was nervous. "Sharon says to say hello to everyone."

  An uncomfortable silence fell. It was a quiet resulting not from a lack of things to be said, but from the fear of saying too much. Cody broke the awkward hush by announcing he had chores to do.

  Belle decided to accompany him. "I want to see after my baby chickens."

  Kate slid from the arm of the couch to occupy Belle's place on the sofa. She decided a direct approach was the best way to diffuse this tense situation. "Tell me about your wedding. When will it be, and where?"

  "We're still not sure." Suzie seemed reluctant to discuss details of her coming marriage.

  "Are there problems?" Kate knew she was being blunt, maybe offensive. At this point she didn't much care. Something was amiss here, and she intended to find out just what that something was.

  David was the one who answered. "Not between Suzie and me, but the truth is, my divorce wasn't final until the first part of last week. Suzie refused to set a definite date for our wedding until I was legally free."

  Suzie leaned forward in her chair, anxiety carving every feature of her lovely young face. "Mom, please don't be upset."

  "Why should I be upset?" Suzie had failed to mention that David had a wife. This certainly put a different
light on the situation. "A little shell shocked, maybe, more than a little surprised, but certainly not upset." She sounded exactly like her mother. Kate sighed, thinking that it was no easier being on this side of the fence.

  "Mrs. McClure -- Kate." David interrupted. "May I speak frankly?"

  "You mean you haven't already?" Kate bit her lip. "You don't have to say more. Neither of you owes me an explanation. Mr. Gardner, your past is not my concern."

  Not the least intimidated by Kate's caustic words, David asked, "Do you think we could be on a first name basis?'

  "I only met you a few minutes ago."

  "But I'm in love with your daughter, and I intend to marry her, with or without your blessings." David made a visible effort to reign in his rising anger. "It's important to Suzie that you approve of our union. I would be more at ease if you allowed me to explain."

  Put that way, refusing seemed petty. With a reluctance bred by doubt, Kate nodded her consent. "I'll listen, but I don't promise more than that."

  David expelled a deep breath. "I met Suzie at our Christmas office party last year."

  "Yes, Suzie told me that much."

  "I was immediately attracted to her." A self depreciating smile teased the hard lines around David's mouth. "I was afraid to tell her I was legally tied to another woman, even thought Marsha and I had not lived together as man and wife for several years."

  Suzie let her eyes linger over David's troubled face. "I was attracted to you, too."

  David lifted Suzie's fingers to his lips. "I didn't tell Suzie about Marsha, and I lied about my age. I will be forty-one in two months. I conveniently dropped five of those years when I told Suzie my age. I knew she wouldn't give me a second look if she knew the truth."

  Quickly, Suzie came to David's defense. "But David confessed all this later, when we realized we loved each other. There is nothing between us now but love and understanding."

  "And an ex wife." Kate injected her words with a little fang of venom.

  Tears began to collect in the corners of Suzie's huge brown eyes. "Mom, please don't do this."

  David put a comforting arm around Suzie's shoulders. "Your mother will come around, Angel. I promise. I'll find a way to make this right."

  Kate felt herself relenting. This was the man her daughter had chosen to marry. She would have to accept that. "Now that you have explained, why don't we forget the past, and think about the future?"

  "Oh, Mom, thank you for understanding!" Suzie wiped at the tears that had collected in her eyes. "You don't know how scared I was."

  Kate relaxed against the back of the couch, relieved to have this painful encounter behind her. "I'm not sure I do understand, or approve. I do appreciate your honesty."

  Relief softened David's features. "I felt I owed you that explanation."

  Suzie ran a possessive hand over David's arm. "Didn't Dad and I both tell you Mom would be understanding?"

  Resentment stiffened Kate's spine as she sat bolt upright. "You discussed telling me this with Jim? Why?" Before the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could recall them.

  Suzie's hand tightened on David's arm. "I talk over many things with Dad. He's all the family I have in Dallas, besides Michael, and I'm not sure Michael approves of my marrying David."

  David kissed Suzie's cheek, then suggested that she go visit with her grandmother for a while. "Let me talk to Kate alone. We can iron out any problems that might arise."

  Suzie stood slowly to her feet. "Is that all right, Mom? Will you discuss this with David?"

  "I'm not sure I know what this is, but go. Grandma is at the chicken house near the barn."

  As Suzie's back disappeared through the kitchen door, David turned his attention to Kate. "I hope you don't think I was being high-handed, sending Suzie away, and assuming you will discuss this rather delicate matter with me instead of your daughter, when we have only just met."

  "It might help if I knew what delicate matter you wish to discuss." Even as she spoke, Kate upbraided herself for being so caustic. This man would soon be her son-in-law, whether she approved of him or not. In a much more civil tone, she added. "Why don't you tell me what we are supposed to be talking about?"

  David walked slowly across the room, then turned to faced Kate. "My divorce was not a pleasant experience."

  "Divorces seldom are." Kate retorted.

  David glared at her before his gaze softened, and he began again to speak. "Marsha and I had been separated for almost five years. There were no children, I assumed she would comply with my request for a divorce. That was not the case. She fought me every step of the way." He paused, and sent Kate an anxious, questioning look. "She named Suzie as co respondent. The entire sordid mess was spread all over every paper in Dallas. Surely you read about it."

  "I don't read the Dallas papers," Kate informed him, caustically. "I didn't know."

  David moved to the other side of the room. "There was a great deal of publicity, much of it unpleasant. I didn't mind for myself, but it was most distressing for Suzie."

  By now David was pacing across the room again, his agitation mounting with every step. "On the heels of all this messy business with Marsha, Suzie doesn't want to be married in Dallas."

  Small wonder that Suzie had been so distraught. "Then where will you go?"

  "Suzie would like for us to be married here, under the oak trees in the back yard, where her grandmother and Cody exchanged vows."

  That came as a surprise. "Why?" Kate questioned bluntly.

  "Because she's sentimental. She wants all of her family present at her wedding. She didn't say so, but I believe she thinks that having the wedding here is the only she can be assured of your presence. "

  "Is that the delicate matter you wished to discuss?" Kate couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice.

  David stopped pacing long enough to nod in Kate's direction. "Suzie is trying very hard to make amends for her past actions." He ran one hand through his thinning hair. "Basically, that's the delicate matter."

  "What about your family? Would they object to the wedding being here?"

  "My father is my only living relative." David's slight form fitted itself into Cody's overstuffed chair. "He thinks an out of town wedding would be best. Our law firm does have a public image to maintain."

  She had to ask, and there was no easy way. "And what about Jim?"

  Her words were a signal for David to begin his pacing all over again. "That is the crux of this delicate matter."

  "Jim doesn't want to come here?" Kate could understand that. "David, will you sit down. please? You're wearing a trail through Grandma's rag rug."

  David stopped pacing and perched on the edge of the couch. "Thank you for the 'David'. More to the point, Jim is afraid you don't want him here."

  "I don't." Kate saw no reason to mince words. "My divorce was not a pleasant experience, either."

  "Suzie blames herself for that divorce. I think you know that." David came to stand directly in front of her. "She so wants to make amends."

  "Suzie is not responsible for what happened between Jim and me." Kate assured him. "But I'm not sure Jim's coming here would be a good idea. I would have to talk to Mamma. This is her home, too"

  "Then you would consider it?" David began to pace the floor once more. Then, stopping suddenly, he turned. "I think you will find your husband a changed man."

  "He's my ex-husband, and we all change with time and experience." Impatience put a definite snap into Kate's voice. "I have to talk to Mamma."

  "Do you think she will object?"

  "To the wedding being here? I don't think so. To Jim's coming to Paradise? Who knows? Mamma is not the most predictable person in the world. Will you sit down, David? We can work something out."

  David sighed with relief as he eased into the overstuffed chair. "Suzie is sure her grandmother will object to her marrying an older, divorced man."

  The thought impinged that the parallels in David's divorce from his firs
t wife, and Jim's dumping Kate were staggering. "The only way to know what Mamma thinks is to ask her. But don't ask if you don't want to be told in graphic terms."

  David confided, "That's what Suzie is doing now. We planned our strategy carefully."

  "Divide and conquer?" Kate realized, belatedly, David and Suzie had plotted their every move.

  "I hope you don't think us calculating. This is very important to Suzie."

  "I suspect you always calculate the odds before you act." Her statement sounded like an accusation. In a way, it was. "There are some practical factors to be considered. This is not a large house. We can't accommodate more than one or two extra people overnight,"

  "We thought of that. We have made some tentative plans."

  "Who, exactly, is we?" Resentment cracked Kate's voice.

  "Suzie, Jim, my father, and me."

  "And what did we decide?" She scorched him with a searing glance.

  "Please don't think us presumptuous." David extended his hand in a pleading gesture. "This is as painful for me as it is for you. Suzie is so afraid that you will reject her again. She is fearful that you will hate her for becoming involved with a married man. I don't think she could bear that."

  David's concern for Suzie tempered Kate's resentment, softened her reply. "I love my daughter. I would never do anything to hurt her, and I don't intend to lose her again, ever. Now, tell me about your plans."

  "My father owns a recreational vehicle. He would drive that here. Jim would be welcome to stay with Father."

  Kate thought that Jim had managed to worm his way into the good graces of the Gardners. "I see you planned all this even before you talked it over with me." How petty and vindictive she sounded.

  "Suzie wants her family together for her wedding. Is that too much to ask?"

  It wasn't, and Kate said so, just before the mingling of voices and the sound of footsteps heralded the return of Belle, Cody, and Suzie.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  "What is this for?" Kate looked from the sizeable check she held in her hand toward the tall man who sat across from her.