by Shirley Wine
Dad says it's wrong to lie.
With Jordan's words echoing in her ears, she took care to edit her words. The last thing she wanted was to be proven a liar to the boy who was fast becoming the centre of her world.
"I'm so sick of being in here." Jordan looked up from the photos, eyes stormy. "I want to go home."
Veronica's heart raced, had she made a mistake bringing Jordan these photos? But then knew that in rebelling against the restrictions of his illness, Jordan was so much stronger.
Just a few short weeks ago he'd been too sick to care.
"Of course you do," she said in a comforting murmur. "Professor Carey is pleased with your progress. You just have to be patient."
"I don't want to be patient."
His petulant expression made Veronica chuckle. Today he looked just like any normal ten-year old boy, disgruntled with life.
Normal in Jordan's case was nothing short of a miracle.
She sincerely regretted Leon's absence. He should be here sharing this wonderful moment.
"You keep making progress and you'll be out of here before you know it."
Jordan looked past her and beamed. Veronica turned just as Leon gripped her shoulder. She looked up at him and her heart stopped a moment and then raced at a mile a minute. The expression in his eyes made her tremble.
"Hello," he said his hand firm on her shoulder. "Missed me?"
Missed him?
Veronica couldn't help grinning. That huge house echoed without him. And that big bed—Yeah! She missed him, much more than she realised.
He picked up the tube and spoke to Jordan, his smile wide. "Hi, son, Prof Carey says you'll be able to get out of your bubble later this afternoon and if you keep on making progress you can come home sometime next week."
Acutely aware of the pressure of Leon's hand, Veronica was content to watch the interaction between father and son.
"Really? That soon?" Veronica looked up at Leon filled with excitement. Leon glanced down at her and his lazy smile made her heart leap in her chest.
She was acting like a love struck teen!
On their return to Claremont, Veronica received a further surprise.
All her books and personal possessions from her Albany cottage were stacked in boxes in the Blue Room. "How did these get here?"
"I brought them with me on the plane," Leon said laconically as he poured a cup of tea from the trolley Cassie wheeled in. "I've also had your furniture shipped and leased the cottage."
Veronica stared at him, so flabbergasted she couldn't think of a single thing to say.
This unilateral decision left her winded.
What did he think she was? Some mindless bimbo?
"You brought them?" she asked carefully, eyes narrowed. "You've been to Auckland? You've packed up my things and leased my house?"
Anger fizzed and burned growing in intensity.
It was her house, her belongings and yet Leon had not even given her the courtesy of asking her permission.
"You needed your personal belongings." Leon calmly sat down in the other armchair. He looked at Mutley curled up on her lap. "Don't tell me you're not pleased to see your feline friend?"
Veronica carefully slid Mutley off her lap and stood up. "That's got nothing to do with it."
Leon looked at her, eyes narrowed to grey slits. "Then what's got your knickers in a twist?"
She paced, anger at his highhanded actions expanding into rage. They may be married, but did that give him the right to sort through her personal possessions without her permission?
"My knickers are not twisted," she said through clenched teeth. "You have no right to touch my things without consulting me. It's an infringement on my privacy."
Leon put his cup down with a decided clink.
"And here's me thinking you'd be pleased to be reunited with your belongings."
"That's not the issue." She stepped towards him vibrating with anger. "I resent being treated like some mindless puppet."
His derisive snort of laughter stoked her temper.
"You're far from a mindless puppet. You're a stubborn, opinionated little minx." He raked a hand through his hair leaving it disordered. "But then you always have been."
The words sat between them with all the tension of an unexploded bomb.
"And what do you mean by that crack?" She stepped closer hands clenched so tightly the knuckles gleamed white.
"You, Veronica, have caused more dissension in the Karvasis family in eleven years than in all the preceding two hundred years put together."
She gave a scornful bark of laughter. "In your dreams."
"Not just my dreams, Veronica." He leaned closer, the fire in his eyes burning holes in her psyche. "You had my brother twisted in bloody knots."
His words hit her with the force of a punch in the solar plexus. Suddenly, inexplicably Yannis was there between them, a solid presence in the quiet room. As he'd done the other night, Leon deliberately placed his brother between them.
Why?
Then she remembered that photo of Yannis in the credenza and had her answer.
Dear God, why hadn't she got rid of that last trace of Julia's malice? To her, that photo was a visible reminder Jordan was unreachable. Her heart thumped and then began to race. "Just what are you accusing me of, Leon?"
"Do you expect me to forget it was primarily over your sweet, innocent face that my brother committed suicide, because I haven't!"
Veronica pulled away from him. She didn't think her heart could beat faster but it thrummed a frantic tattoo in her chest. What was Leon implying?
"I didn't know your brother was a married man," she said in a suffocated voice. Her palms damp with dread and anger.
"So you say," Leon retorted grimly. "Given your age, I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt, but—"
When he stopped she stared at him for a few tense moments and then prodded. "Don't stop there, Leon."
He rounded on her, his voice cold and lethal, grey eyes glittering in his pallid features. He stepped closer and Veronica had to tilt her head to meet his eyes.
"You may not have known Yannis was married but you knew damn well I was a married man when you set to work and tried to tie me in knots as well. You deliberately set out to break up my marriage."
"That's a lie!" She glared at him.
But Julia's words ghosted through her memory with uncanny accuracy. You deserve to be alone, your punishment for breaking up a marriage.
Julia and Leon's marriage? Horror blindsided Veronica.
"Is it?" Leon faced her, his voice soft and lethal in its precision. "Since returning here, you've blamed Julia for the hard decisions you were forced to make. If there's any blame, it rests at your door, Veronica, not Julia's."
He gripped her chin tilting her face up, forcing her to meet his gaze. She shivered at the anger she saw reflected in his eyes.
"You arrived here, young, nubile and pregnant, and rubbed salt in a very raw wound. Julia was told a month before you arrived she would never conceive. When you realised the enormity of your situation, and marriage with Yannis would never happen, you set about finding a replacement and looked in my direction."
Ice flowed through Veronica's veins and lodged in her heart. "I never—"
"You did." Leon cut off her denial.
He released her chin and paced across the room, turning to face her.
"It was nothing obvious. You came to me for comfort. You sought me out for advice. In your excitement at the baby moving, you held my hands on your pregnant belly. Your actions while innocent enough stoked Julia's jealousy to white heat and rubbed her nose in her infertility."
A fiery surge of heat flooded Veronica's entire body. She trembled from head to foot. Those things had happened.
"I never meant to," she stammered.
"Maybe you didn't. But come between us you did. Let me tell you, Veronica Langdon, Julia and I came too damn close to a divorce over you. Would you have cried if w
e'd split? I don't think so."
Veronica lifted hands to her hot cheeks, mortified.
"If you felt like that, why ask me to marry you?" she asked in a choked voice.
Leon titled his head as he looked at her. His whole stance radiated menace, pride and some other unfathomable emotion.
"You've given Jordan a chance of life. Another baby will ensure it." Leon had never pulled his punches and made no attempt to do so now. "I'd been without a woman for years and we are good in bed."
I did ask?
Veronica stared at him, stricken.
Is this how he sees me? A willing bed mate and someone who can give him children?
His cruel words cut her to the heart. With a choked cry she turned on her heel and fled from the room.
As she prepared for bed, his words echoed in her mind and like a snowball, gathered force with each repetition.
His accusations had stripped her pride and her heart bare.
Leon didn't love her, and what's more, he wouldn't allow himself to her love her.
Why did I ever think this marriage would work?
No way was she sleeping with him.
Curled up in a tight ball in the centre of her own bed, with a shiver, Veronica knew she'd done the unthinkable.
She'd fallen fathoms deep in love with him. Her juvenile crush had morphed into an emotion capable of crippling her.
Suddenly, the blankets were stripped back.
Leon loomed over her. "Why are you huddled here? You belong in my bed."
Strong, powerful arms lifted her and carried her through to his room. He tossed her on the bed and followed her down pinning her there by his superior weight.
"This was my stipulation in our marriage agreement. Or have you forgotten?"
"I didn't know then that you despised me."
She struggled against him but it was futile, he was far too strong.
"What does that have to do with this?" He kissed her with ruthless intent, plundering her mouth until she lay pliant in his arms.
"I hate you," she whispered, glaring at him when he lifted his head.
"Do you? I don't think so." He laughed softly, his smile one of smug, masculine satisfaction. "Making love with you, Vic, doesn't necessarily involve liking you."
She stiffened in his arms, her heart and mind icing over.
From somewhere she dredged up the remnants of her battered pride. She angled her chin and said haughtily, "Then let's get it over with, so I can at least get some sleep."
Leon went so still, his expression so savage that for one horrified moment, Veronica was truly afraid. With an explosive huff of breath, he almost flung her away, turned over, offering her the broad expanse of his bare back as he leaned up and switched out the light.
Trembling in heart and limb, Veronica moved putting the width of the bed between them. Why, in God's name, had she agreed to this travesty of a marriage?
I should have listened to Kathleen. I could have helped Jordan without marrying Leon and saved myself his heartache.
Chapter Fifteen
Leon looked around the room that had been home for Jordan for the past few weeks, checking under pillows and in drawers for any items left there.
It was amazing how much stuff had accumulated in the short time they'd been allowed to bring him items from home.
"Here, Dad, you missed this?" Jordan dived under the bed and brought out a Gameboy cassette. "It's one of the games Vic brought me."
Ah, Veronica.
"Take it easy, Jordan," Leon said briskly. "You sit in the chair while I finish packing your things, okay."
"But I'm going home."
"I know you're going home, but you still have to be careful. Remember what Prof Carey told you."
Jordan was reluctant but did as he was asked. Leon watched him trying to gauge his mood and find the words for this difficult conversation. How would his boy react? "Did you enjoy Veronica's visits?"
Jordan wrinkled his nose, swinging his feet as he sat in the chair. "She's okay for a teacher."
Leon crouched down in front of him until they were at eye level. "She's a little more than a teacher, son."
Jordan's legs swung a little harder. "I know she gave me some of her good bones."
"Bone marrow, it's slightly different. And yes, part of Veronica's now inside you and she's a big part of your body makeup."
Jordan gave him a horrified look and clapped his hands to his skinny chest. "Does that mean I'll grow lady boobs like hers?"
Shit! What does Jordan know about lady boobs?
"Don't fret, you'll still grow into a normal man," Leon said, grinning at his son's dismayed expression.
And it's only because of Veronica I can actually say this with any degree of confidence.
"Vic's got such big boobs."
Leon gave the boy a startled glance. Forget those thoughts, kid. You're far too young.
Had Jordan noticed what he'd noticed that night he'd seen Veronica in that bar? Thoughts of his new wife made guilt hit him upside of the head, her stricken expression seared into his eyeballs.
Making love doesn't necessarily involve liking you.
The echo of his scathing words added to his discomfort.
What the hell came over me to say something so bloody crass?
After all she'd done for him and Jordan, Veronica didn't deserve his anger. Small wonder she'd given him the cold shoulder ever since their quarrel.
"Is Vic going back to New Zealand now I'm going home?"
"No, she's staying with us at Claremont."
Have you even told him we're married?
"But I thought she went to the beach."
At a loss as to how to answer, Leon stood up and continued packing items in Jordan's suitcase. "Veronica wasn't well enough to go to the beach so she stayed with us at Claremont."
"She told me she'd gone to the beach." Jordan gave him a stern look. "Did she lie to me?"
Oh hell! Why didn't I think to check with Vic as to what she'd told Jordan?
He grimaced. As Vic had gone out of her way to avoid him, there was no chance of any conversation.
Can I blame her? After being so damn tactless?
The uncomfortable thought made Leon squirm. Pushing his discomfort aside, he sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his son.
"She did go to the beach, but the week before she gave you bone marrow, she needed to come here every day for a special injection and as she doesn't have a car, it was easier for her to stay at Claremont and have McKenna bring her into the clinic."
Jordan seemed satisfied with this explanation and Leon eased out a relieved breath.
"Why did she need an injection?"
Leon tried for an explanation Jordan would understand. "The injection made it easier for the stem cells in her bone marrow to graft onto yours."
"Did she puke after her injections, too?"
Leon suppressed a grin at Jordan's avid look, the little ghoul. "She often felt sick."
"Yeuck! Those injections were so gross."
"Gross maybe, but they did make it so you could get better."
"So why's Vic staying with us? Doesn't she want to go back to her little house? She told me she really loved it and has a neat garden."
This kid has the tenacity of a Rottweiler. Leon decided there was no way around it except to give Jordan the blunt truth.
"No, she's staying at Claremont because she's now married to me. Veronica is my wife and your new mother."
Jordan looked at him, with an expression that astounded Leon. His illness had intensified the mannerism. As he faced his son, Julia's long ago words ghosted through Leon's memory. Our little boy's an old soul, don't you think?
Now, facing Jordan's piercing scrutiny, he was inclined to agree.
"Why did you marry her?" Jordan's lower lip protruded. "I don't need a new mother."
I'm not his mother. You and Julia took good care of that.
Leon sighed and raked a hand through his hair. T
his was proving much more difficult that he'd thought. "I married Veronica because I was lonely."
"Why are you lonely? You've got me 'n Cassie 'n McKenna."
"Sure we've got each other, and Cassie and McKenna, but that's not the same for me as having a wife. And Veronica is your real mother."
"She's not my mother, my Mum is dead. You sleep with her?" Jordan asked his dismay palpable. "In my Mum's bed?"
Geeze, who is this kid?
"Yes, son, Veronica and I sleep together. And no, we don't sleep upstairs in your Mum's room," Leon explained patiently. "We all sleep downstairs."
Leon sent Cassie a mental thank you.
She'd anticipated just such a reaction.
When he'd asked her to prepare the large upstairs master suite for him and Veronica, she'd just looked at him, blue eyes flashing. Are you out of your mind? How do you think Jordan will react? Think about the family time you all spent there? Do you think your boy will forget?
"What about her cat? Did she leave Mutley behind, too?"
Leon didn't miss the revealing too, and Jordan's horrified expression was enough to know he needed to tread warily. "No, Mutley's now at Claremont with Vic."
"Vic showed me photos. He's cool." Jordan's legs swung rapidly. "But she's not my Mum."
Leon chose his words with care. "Vic is your birth mother, Jordan, and you do share her genes. This is why she could give you bone marrow. But she doesn't want to be your mum, she only wants to be your friend."
Jordan's leg swinging slowed a little, his brow puckered in a frown. "The same as she's your friend?"
"Veronica is my wife." Leon's sex hardened. Not quite, son. You're too young for a sexy, sassy friend like Vic.
"How did her cat get to Claremont?"
"I arranged for Mutley to be flown over from New Zealand for Vic, she missed him so much. Mutley's now at Claremont." Leon grinned and shook his head. "He's one dynamite cat."
"He's huge?"
Leon was so relieved with the change of subject he ran with it. "Not only is he huge, Jordan, he's a thief. You have to watch him or he'll steal the food off your plate."
"I can't wait to see him." Jordan swung his legs, eager to be gone.
"Then I guess we'd better finish packing."
~***~
