Amelia

by Marie, Bernadette

  “How many miles?”

  Amelia shrugged. “I have no idea. We have to sell it. This is the car loan.”

  “This? That car loan is nearly seventy thousand dollars. I was expecting a gold plated Hummer.”

  “I don’t know cars. I know how to kick the crap out of you in one if you pull any funny business. But I seriously don’t care about cars.”

  “It’s in mint condition. Minus the amount of boxes shoved in it.” He gave her a look that said that might have been a mistake. But again—she didn’t care.

  “Seventy grand and it’s yours.”

  After opening the door to the Blazer she pulled a duffle bag out of the front seat and swung it over her shoulder.

  She noticed him wince at the price, but then she’d seen the flash of maybe in his eyes.

  “It would look nice in your driveway for now though. Especially since I don’t have anywhere to park it.”

  He nodded. “Sure. That’s not a problem.” He looked away from the car and back at her. “Did you tell Penelope and Vivian you were back in town?”

  “No.” She wasn’t used to having to report to people. “How am I going to explain that I stayed here?”

  “Right.” He raked his hands through his sandy hair leaving trails where his fingers had gone. “I suppose we should get you a hotel room tonight and return your trailer.”

  “Sounds horrible.” She walked toward him. “But yes. That is exactly what we should do.”

  Once more Sam drove to Oklahoma City and they returned the rental trailer. After the morning they’d had he figured they were in need of steak. So he found a steak house and they had a late lunch away from prying eyes.

  “What do you suppose Adam’s father wants to say to us?” she asked as she filled her mouth with a bite of steak stacked with a bite of potato.

  Sam shrugged. “I’m assuming he wants to wrap his head around three wives.”

  “One wife. Two women with children.”

  Sam wiped his mouth. “It’s all strange. But I’m an optimist. I think this is going to work out for the three of you. You’re staying is giving those two some hope.”

  Amelia picked up her water and took a sip. “I think they could use that. I could use that,” she said nearly under her breath.

  He reached his hand across the table and covered hers. “You’re going to tell them about us, aren’t you? I can’t keep hiding my feelings for you and eating in the city.”

  Her hand tensed under his and she slid it away. “When the time is right. We have a lot to think about first.”

  Sam nodded, retracted his hand, and cut off a piece of steak. He shoved it in his mouth.

  Patience. A lawyer had patience. But damnit, he didn’t want to hide.

  He chewed on the piece of meat and thought. It had only been a week. One week. How stupid of him to have moved things along like he had.

  He swallowed. Okay, she’d come to him. She’d been rolled up in those sheets as much as he had. But to her it was sex. To him it was a whole lot more.

  Patience, he reminded himself one more time. It would all work out.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Mustang had been parked in Sam’s driveway and most of the boxes had been stored in his garage. She’d owe him for that.

  Amelia settled herself on her bed, pillows propped up behind her, and an old Friends episode on the TV. She pressed Penelope’s phone number and listened to the ring.

  “Hello?” The kind and innocent voice answered and Amelia swallowed hard. She knew she was about to bust out a slew of lies.

  “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “Oh, we’re doing very well together. Vivian taught me how to make meatballs. Do you know how to do that? I’ve never cooked. Well nothing more than something that comes in a box.”

  Amelia let out a small laugh. The woman was unlike any she’d ever known.

  “I’m glad it worked out. I just wanted to tell you I’m back in town. I got a hotel room for a few weeks. Sam says the lead on the town house is good, but we can’t move in for a few weeks.”

  “Oh. Well, Vivian said I could stay here too. With her and the girls as long as I needed.”

  Amelia turned off the TV and sat up. “She did? And you’re okay with that?”

  She could hear a door close and Penelope’s breath grew deeper as though she’d been walking. “I think she needs a friend. I don’t think she has any.”

  “So you’re bonding?”

  “Yes,” she said softly. “Adam’s parents, well, his mother isn’t too nice to Vivian. His dad is okay.”

  “What about her parents?”

  “They live in Washington. Seattle. I guess she grew up in Parson’s Gulch, but when she married Adam and moved away with him after his first deployment they moved.”

  “And he brought her back here?”

  “I guess. She doesn’t like to talk about it too much. I don’t think she and Adam had a real good relationship.”

  Amelia thought that was obvious.

  “If things are good, then I think you should stay with her. Did Sam tell you about meeting with his parents tomorrow?” she asked as she reclined back on the bed.

  “I think it’s just his dad. I hope it’s just his dad. His mom scares me. I’m glad I’d never met them. I certainly don’t think I would have married him.”

  The thought made Amelia stifle a laugh. “If you need me I’m here, okay?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” Amelia hung up the phone.

  It was petty of her to be so protective of Penelope—especially with Vivian. But there just was something that bothered Amelia about Vivian. She couldn’t pin point it. She was nasty mean on Monday and by Wednesday was making them dinner. People didn’t usually drop their barriers like that.

  Then the thought struck her and she sat back up. What if the two of them were plotting against her? What if…

  She actually laughed out loud. How stupid was that? Who cared? She didn’t have anything more than they did. In fact she had the liability of that stupid car in Sam’s driveway—not them.

  Amelia had never been girlie. She’d never cared to be friends with other girls and she certainly would never have cared if they were spending time together without her. So why was she so worried about Vivian and Penelope?

  It was petty. She was being stupid.

  She clicked the TV back on and relaxed. But something still nagged at her and then she knew what it was. What if Penelope told Vivian about her and Sam? That would ruin Sam. Now she was a bit more understanding of her feelings.

  She let out a breath. Good. It wasn’t all estrogen based. That she could deal with.

  ~*~

  It was already freaking hot, Sam thought as he made sure the conference room was ready for anything. He had boxes of tissue for crying women. He had extra bottles of water in the refrigerator and a carafe of coffee already filled with another pot brewing.

  Leave it to his mother to need a day to shop before she moved—she had to choose this day.

  Penelope and Vivian walked through the door together. He’d have to admit to himself it wasn’t a sight he thought he’d ever see. The two of them smiling, together. Okay, the weekend together must have done them some good.

  “Good morning, Sam,” Vivian said and he made himself smile. The woman still scared him.

  Penelope simply smiled then drew in a breath. “Good morning. Is your mother here?”

  “She took the day off to shop. I expect you’ll be fine. Other than this morning’s meeting, we don’t have too much going on today.”

  She nodded nervously. “I’ll put my stuff in my desk and get the room set up.”

  “I already did that.” He walked toward her. “Are you okay?”

  “She’s been throwing up all morning,” Vivian said and the snide tone was back. Sam decided that made him more comfortable.

  “The baby?” he asked softly.

  “Some.” Pe
nelope rested her hand on her stomach. “The rest is nerves. I don’t want his parents to hate me. And we didn’t tell them who we were the other night. They probably want to sue us.”

  “They have nothing to sue you for.”

  She nodded with his answer, but it didn’t change the fact that looking at her made him nervous.

  “Where’s Amelia?” Vivian asked looking around the office.

  “I’m sure she’ll be here soon. I haven’t talked to her,” Sam said with a clear conscience. He hadn’t talked to her since she checked into the hotel room and they’d made love on her bed one more time.

  The thought had him loosening his tie.

  “She called Penelope last night. I know she’s in town.”

  “Yes. She dropped Adam’s car off at my house before she got a hotel room. She needed a place to store it.”

  Vivian narrowed her eyes. “I have a decent size lot. She could have brought it to my house.”

  Now his nerves were caught in his throat. “Yes. She could have, I suppose.”

  She ran her tongue over her teeth and gave him a nod.

  The door to the office opened again and a man walked in. He could only assume this was Frank Monroe, Adam’s father.

  From what Sam could remember of Adam, this man shared many of the same strong features. And being ex-military, as he knew he was, the hair cut would have given that away.

  “Hello, Frank,” Vivian’s voice was soft and shook just a bit.

  “Viv.” He acknowledged her with a nod. “And you’re Penelope, right?” He shifted his glance.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He let out a grunt and another nod before fixing his eyes on Sam.

  “Mr. Jackson?”

  Sam moved toward the man who stood a good four inches taller than he did. “Yes, sir. Sam Jackson.”

  Frank shook his hand. “Thank you for meeting me.” Frank looked around the office. “There is one more, right? One more woman?”

  “Yes, that would be me.”

  Amelia’s voice came from behind the man. He stepped to the side and looked down at her.

  “I’m Amelia.” She held out her hand and shook it.

  He cleared his throat. “You’re the actual wife?”

  “So they tell me. But we all share that title, sir.” She looked toward Sam. “Are we ready?”

  “Yes.”

  Sam showed them to the conference room. He noticed that when Amelia walked past him she didn’t acknowledge him. It was best, but he didn’t like it. A smile would have been nice.

  The women all took the same seats they had the last time they’d met, but Frank took the seat Sam would usually occupy. So he sat next to Vivian.

  “Mr. Monroe, is your wife coming?”

  Frank Monroe rested his arms on the table and clasped his hands. “No. I asked her to stay home. She’s very fragile right now and I’m not sure we’d accomplish much.” He made eye contact with each woman. “Vivian told us about the predicament you’re all in. I’m sure you can appreciate that as the father of a fine soldier this is very hard for me to believe.”

  Sam watched as Penelope forced herself to blink, Vivian looked down at the table, and Amelia met Frank’s eyes. She rested her arms on the table in the exact same manner he had.

  “Sir, I’m sure you also can appreciate that none of us were prepared for this. It came as quite a shock to all of us.”

  Frank made a noise as if he were sucking the words out from between his teeth. “I’m a big enough man to admit that men, and women, make some pretty amazing mistakes. I’d say that Adam did just that.” He stood from his chair and paced the small space before him. “I’m not proud of what my son did. He was a good soldier. That doesn’t always relate to being a good husband. Look at the house he had his family in. A providing husband would have taken better care.”

  That said a lot, Sam thought. At least the man wasn’t candy coating his son to be someone they all knew he wasn’t.

  He walked around Sam and to the other side of Vivian, resting his hand on her shoulder. “Vivian stood by my son since high school. I have two beautiful granddaughters. I thank God for them. But she knows my wife has always had reservations against her.”

  Sam watched as Vivian wiped at her eyes. He pushed a box of tissue in front of her, but she refused it. Obviously in front of Adam’s father tears were seen as weakness.

  Frank moved to the other end of the table and rested his hands palm down. He took a breath. “I’ll make this short and sweet. I have recently come into the knowledge that Adam wasn’t necessarily responsible for getting in the paperwork for your marriage.” He nodded toward Vivian. “I can’t condone what he did by marrying others when he should have at least honored the vows he made to you.”

  He was speaking to Vivian, but he kept his focus down.

  “I’m told you’re pregnant with my son’s child as well?” He looked up and focused on Penelope until she met his eye.

  “Yes. Yes, sir.”

  He gave her a slow nod. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you,” her voice was soft and she sounded fragile.

  “You have my support.”

  Penelope’s eyes grew wide. “I do? I—I mean, thank you.”

  Frank pulled out a chair and sat down. “Vivian also shared with us that the three of you are going to go into business together. She says that Adam’s bills are more than what is expected from his insurance policies.”

  “I have those here if you’d…” Frank held a hand up to stop Sam.

  “I’m aware of his habits. I find it admirable that three women who had an unfortunate relationship with the same man are willing to work together.”

  “Sir,” Amelia spoke up. “Their children deserve the best. I’m sure you understand that. Adam isn’t here to be part of their lives. At least the children will have each other.”

  “Like I said, that’s admirable of you. Especially you.” He looked at Amelia. “You could walk away and you haven’t. I looked into you, you know. Your mother was a well decorated solider.”

  Amelia pushed back her shoulders. “Yes, sir, she was.”

  “It looks to me that she and your father raised a very fine woman.”

  Amelia batted her eyes rapidly. “Thank you, sir.”

  He nodded and pulled folded papers from his back pocket. He laid them on the table and flattened them out.

  “I have decided that it is time my wife and I move from this area and retire. I have a hankering to own a boat and do some fishing. She…well she needs to separate herself from what’s going on.”

  Frank picked up the papers and walked toward Sam. He handed him the papers and took his original seat.

  “My mother lived right in town. The house is on Main and Pine. The house itself is about one hundred and ten years old. It needs paint, some updated wiring, and the floors could be redone.” Frank rubbed his hand over his mouth then clasped them together. “I’ve rented the house out over the years. I’ve used the garage for storage as well as the attic. But the yard is enormous. The living space on the second floor is very roomy. And I think the main area would be a wonderful place for a daycare facility.”

  All three women raised their heads and their eyes focused on Frank Monroe’s.

  Sam looked down at the papers Frank had handed him. “Sir, this is the deed to the property.”

  “Yes. I’m signing it over to the ladies. I guess specifically to Amelia as she’s the heir to Adam’s estate, but it’s for all of you. I know you’ll have to put into it before you can open, but this is what I can do for my grandchildren.” He then looked at Amelia. “And my son’s wife.”

  The air in the room grew thicker and Vivian’s sobs were now only matched by Penelope’s. But it was Amelia who stood and walked to Frank.

  He stood and looked down at her.

  “Sir, this is very unselfish. I’m not sure thank you is adequate.”

  She moved into him and wrapped her arms around him. Frank arms tensed be
fore he embraced her, then he stepped back and cleared his throat.

  He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Here are the keys. Anything left in the house is yours as well. You can keep it. Sell it. Donate it. I have what I needed.” Frank turned to Sam. “I want to make sure you’re financially set for taking care of all this above what the insurance will pay you. I know you’ve been helping these fine women out. I appreciate that.”

  Sam stood. “I’m taken care of, sir.” Telling him that he was hoping to be an integral part of their lives for a long time was probably not appropriate.

  Frank gave another nod and pursed his lips. “Vivian,” he said and waited for her to look up. “I’m sorry for all the years of pain my wife might have caused you. Adam was her light. When his focus became you…well…I’m sure you understand.”

  “I do.”

  “You’re doing a fine job with the girls. I’m very proud of them. And you.”

  Vivian stood. “Thank you, sir. That means a lot.”

  “You’ll let us visit when we are in town?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you’ll keep us updated about the girls?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Okay.” He tucked his hands into his front pockets. “I guess that’s all.”

  He turned to leave but Vivian moved and stopped his exit.

  “Thank you. You have no idea what comfort this brings to me to have your support and this gift.” She sniffed back her tears. “I loved Adam. I did. With all my heart from the moment I met him. I never could have seen this coming, but I loved him. And you’ve always been there for me and the girls. I appreciate that. This gift will take care of them—us—for a long time.” She moved in and kissed him on the cheek.

  When she stepped back he cleared his throat again.

  “Vivian has my cell phone number if you all need anything.”

  He moved past her and left the office.

  Sam looked down at the papers in front of him. “This is official. The three of you now jointly own the house at Main and Pine.”

  “It’s a wonderful house,” Vivian said softly. “His wife always wanted to live there.”

  “They never moved in?” Amelia asked.