The Backup Plan

by Sherryl Woods

  If this was his idea of a surprising first date to put some life back into their marriage, he had succeeded admirably. She was going to have to work hard to top it. Hang gliding, perhaps? Flying lessons? Up until today, she’d been thinking dance lessons, but now that seemed far too tame for two people who were still young enough to live on the edge a little. She refused to let the image of broken bones deter them.

  With her mind drifting, Dorothy hadn’t been paying much attention to where they were going. When Mar shall turned off the highway and onto the road to Covington Plantation, she was startled. Why here, of all places? He’d never shown a lick of interest in it before.

  But maybe that was the point, she concluded, feeling a smile steal over her face. She was grinning from ear to ear when he skidded to a reckless stop in front of the gracious old house. He cut the engine and they both sat there, he with his gaze on the house, she trying to adapt to the sudden silence. It was the first time it had been this quiet here in months. The workmen had obviously gone for the day.

  Marshall finally climbed off the Harley and turned to help her off. He met her gaze, his eyes filled with a glint of uncertainty.

  “How do you like the date so far?” he asked.

  “It’s not what I was expecting,” she said.

  His gaze narrowed. His brow creased with worry. “Do you mean that in a good way?”

  She stood on tiptoe and kissed him until the uncertainty disappeared from his eyes and the furrow in his brow eased. She’d never before known her husband to be anything but totally self-confident. Seeing the hint of vulnerability, knowing how hard he was trying to please her gave her even greater hope for the future.

  “I mean it in the very best way,” she assured him. “I hate to tell you since we’re in the middle of nowhere, but I’m actually starved. I skipped lunch, since I figured we’d be going someplace for dinner.”

  He laughed. “Do you honestly think I’d let you starve to death? Assuming Cordell followed my instructions, everything’s under control.”

  It was yet another startling twist to this evening that seemed to be filled with them. “You spoke to Cord? I thought you didn’t approve of him.”

  He shrugged. “I realized I don’t know him well enough to be judgmental. Since you seem rather fond of him, I called this morning to tell him what I had in mind. He said he’d handle it on this end. I must admit I was impressed by how quickly he caught on and how willing he was to help.”

  Butterflies danced in Dorothy’s stomach. “What on earth have you dreamed up, Marshall? I can’t imagine what you’ve done.”

  “Come with me,” he said. “Around back, I believe.”

  Dorothy took his outstretched hand and walked with him around the side of the house. There, on the veranda that overlooked the gardens, was an elegantly set table with flowers and candles. Nearby sat a bottle of champagne chilling on ice.

  “I wanted to go with lobster, since that’s what we had on our wedding night, but I was afraid if we got held up it would spoil,” he said apologetically. “There should be a cooler around here with all the other dishes, though.”

  Dorothy stared at him in amazement. “You remember what we ate on our wedding night?”

  “Of course I do,” he said. “It was the most important night of my life.”

  Her eyes suddenly swam with tears. “How have I missed it all these years?” she murmured with genuine regret.

  “Missed what?” he asked, rubbing away the trail of tears with the pad of his thumb.

  “That you’re such a romantic?”

  “I think we stopped looking at each other in that way years ago,” he said. “I realize now that it happens unless people make the effort to keep the romance alive.”

  Dorothy wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist and laid her cheek on his chest. “But we’re not going to let that happen ever again, are we? Promise me that, Marshall.”

  “We won’t if I can help it.”

  She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I do love you, Marshall. I think all this is what I missed. I thought I’d never have another chance at it.”

  He gave her a sad look. “Were you ever tempted to find it with someone else?”

  She thought of the mild flirtations that had kept her alive through the years, but that’s all they’d been. Her loyalty to her husband had kept her from acting on them.

  “Tempted,” she admitted candidly. “But you’re my husband, Marshall. That means everything to me. What about you?”

  “No one ever measured up to you,” he told her. “They couldn’t.”

  “Why did we let things drift along for so many years?” she asked him. “Why didn’t we fight for this?”

  “Maybe it just wasn’t time,” he said. “But we’ll get it back, Dorothy. One date at a time.”

  “You’ve set a pretty high standard,” she lamented. “What on earth will I be able to do to top it?”

  “All you’ve ever needed to do to keep the magic alive for me is to be by my side.”

  “You deserve more,” she said at once. “And I promise I’ll think of something. Meantime, let’s see what sort of food has been left here for us.”

  In the cooler there was a Caesar salad, a chilled potato soup, cold roasted chicken and strawberries with a huge bowl of whipped cream. Dorothy grinned when she saw them.

  “Did we actually eat the strawberries on our wedding night or did we put the whipped cream to a better use?” she inquired, a teasing note in her voice.

  Her husband gave her a wicked grin. “Surely you remember that much,” he replied. “I certainly found it memorable.”

  She regarded him with genuine affection. “It’s coming back to me.”

  Over the years she’d forgotten that there had been very good times. Not everything had been about her resentment over the unexpected pregnancy or being trapped into a marriage she wasn’t ready for. In fact be fore she’d found out she was carrying Dinah, she and Marshall had been wonderful friends and lovers.

  She met her husband’s gaze. “Why did you decide to come here for dinner? I was so sure you’d opt for one of Charleston’s fine restaurants, the way we usually do for special occasions.”

  His expression sobered. “Too ordinary for a night like this. Besides, I know how much this place means to you. I also know I haven’t shown nearly enough interest in the things that matter to you. I wanted you to understand that I intend to change that, starting tonight.”

  “Thank you,” she said, touched.

  “Will you give me a tour later?”

  “I’m not sure if we have any working lights in the place,” she said.

  He gestured toward the candles on the table. “We can tour by candlelight. It can be the start of a tradition for this place, an annual candlelight tour.”

  She grinned. “Don’t those usually happen at Christmas?”

  “We’ll make this a private tour,” he suggested. “Surely there will be some perks for the woman who made all this happen.”

  “If there aren’t any planned, I’ll definitely see to it,” she said, reaching across the table and linking her hand with his.

  “Of course you will. You’ve always done anything you set your mind to.”

  “I didn’t make a good marriage for us,” she lamented.

  “You can’t take the blame for that. It belongs to both of us,” he said. “And from this moment on, we’re not looking back. We’re looking forward. Agreed?”

  She looked into his brilliant eyes and saw the possibilities. “Agreed,” she whispered softly. Tonight wasn’t a panacea, but it was a magnificent start.

  “What on earth do you suppose my parents were thinking?” Dinah fretted as she and Cord sat in the kitchen eating the fried chicken, collard greens and cornbread that Maybelle had left for them. Everything was considerably colder than it had been intended to be, because it had taken them a long time to slip out of her bed once they’d known for certain they were alone in the house.

 
“That they wanted to do something outrageous,” Cord said.

  “But why? My parents aren’t the type to do outrageous things.”

  “Maybe they are. How well do children ever really know their parents? Few of us ever see them as people. We put them into the parent niche and expect them to stay there, for better or worse.”

  She regarded him curiously. “In your case it was for the worse, wasn’t it?”

  His gaze shut down. “Bobby and I did okay.”

  “But it must have been so awful to have kids like me treating you as if you weren’t good enough to associate with us and then to have a lousy support system at home, too,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’ve been all grown up for a long time now. I survived. I don’t need you deciding to pity me at this late date.”

  She was about to apologize for that, too, but she realized he wouldn’t appreciate it. Better to let the subject drop. However miserable Cord’s childhood had been, he hadn’t let it hold him back.

  In the silence that fell, she went back to thinking about her parents. “Where do you suppose they went? I can’t imagine they’re having dinner in some biker bar, though, come to think of it my mother was certainly dressed for it. I have the strangest feeling those clothes she had on came out of my closet with the possible exception of the T-shirt. I have no clue where that came from.”

  She glanced at Cord and thought she detected a vaguely guilty expression on his face. “You know something, don’t you?” she accused.

  He grinned. “Just a little,” he admitted.

  “Spill it now.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure I should.”

  “Did anyone specifically ask you to keep it a secret?”

  “No.”

  “Then you won’t be breaking any confidences by telling me,” she concluded triumphantly. “Spill it.”

  He leaned back in his chair and gave her a long, considering look. “What are you going to do with the information if I give it to you?”

  “Well, assuming their lives aren’t in imminent danger, I’m not going to do anything.”

  “Then this is nothing more than curiosity?” he asked, amusement appointment in his eyes.

  “Curiosity, concern, whatever. Tell me.” She frowned as another thought occurred to her. “And while you’re at it, tell me why you know about this and I don’t.”

  “I know because your father needed my help.”

  Now there was a stunning twist. Dinah couldn’t imagine her father turning to Cord for assistance with any-thing. “Did he want you to build something?” she asked, mystified.

  Cord laughed. “No, nothing like that. He wanted to surprise your mother.”

  “I’d say the motorcycle would do that,” Dinah said wryly.

  “Only part of the package,” Cord assured her. “And to be honest, he didn’t mention that part to me.”

  “Then what did he tell you?”

  “He wanted to have dinner set up for her on the veranda at Covington Plantation. I took care of getting everything in place before I left there to pick you up.”

  “He planned a special meal just for the two of them?” Dinah asked, completely stunned at the magnificence of the gesture. It was perfect. She couldn’t think of a thing that would please her mother more. Amazingly, she’d never thought of her father having a romantic bone in his body, but it was apparent now that he did.

  Cord nodded. “Did it up right, too. Candles, flowers, champagne. He had a cooler filled with food sent over from the same restaurant they went to on their wedding night.”

  Dinah set down her fork and stared at Cord in amazement. “But why? It’s not their anniversary.”

  Cord’s lips twitched. “Some folks think it’s acceptable to do impulsive, romantic things any old time,” he said. “Take us, for instance. We seem to be making a habit of coming home to your place or mine and climbing into bed in the middle of the afternoon.”

  Dinah winced. “I’m going to get you fired for that one of these days, aren’t I?”

  “I’m not worried,” he said. “I am curious, though. How long do you expect to keep up that particular tradition?”

  She studied his expression, but she couldn’t read anything into it. “What are you asking?”

  “Just wondering when you’re going to get bored and go wandering off in search of more excitement,” he said in such a casual tone that there was no mistaking that the question was anything but casual.

  Dinah knew she had to phrase her response very carefully. They’d never been about permanence. Surely Cord understood that. He wasn’t any more interested in commitment than she was. And once she’d accepted that the quick fix of marrying Bobby was no longer an option, she’d somehow assumed that she’d eventually get her act together and move on. The progress she’d made today with Warren had reassured her that it wouldn’t be too much longer before she’d be able to take off and resume her old life, or at least some variation of it.

  “You’ve gone awful quiet all of a sudden,” Cord said. “Should I read anything into that?”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “In other words, you are gonna pack up and leave once the shrink pronounces you cured of whatever’s been on your mind,” he concluded flatly, his eyes suddenly dull.

  “Journalism is my career,” she said, knowing that she’d hurt him somehow, but unable to be anything less than honest.

  “Last I heard we had a few television stations right here in Charleston,” he commented. “I’m pretty sure those folks who cover the news around here and tell us about the rain showers on the way aren’t doing it from halfway around the world.”

  “I cover wars,” she said fiercely, trying to make him understand.

  “Which came damn close to destroying you,” he retorted, real heat in his voice. “And that’s what you want to go back to doing? Putting your life and your sanity on the line?”

  “It’s what I do,” she said, helpless to explain it in any other way.

  Cord nodded, his face devoid of expression. “Then I guess that says it all.” He tossed aside his napkin and stood up. “Good night, Dinah.”

  She chased after him and caught his elbow. “Cord, don’t be angry with me.”

  He met her gaze. “I’m not angry,” he told her.

  “Disappointed, then,” she said. “You should be glad. If it weren’t for you, I might never be ready to go back. You helped me a lot.”

  He leveled an icy look into her eyes that made her wince.

  “Does my heart good to know that sleeping with me was real useful,” he said, his voice dripping sarcasm. “I’ll be sure to put that on my resume with the next woman who comes along. Maybe even add it to my business cards: Cord Beaufort, Cures What Ails You. Has a real nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

  He brushed past her and walked out of the house, leaving the door standing wide open behind him. She might have felt better if he’d slammed it. There would have been some passion in that. Instead, she had the feeling that he was just giving up and walking away without a backward glance.

  Well, what the hell did you expect? The question immediately popped into her head and reverberated there, awaiting an answer she didn’t seem to have. What had she expected?

  She realized then that, despite all the evidence she’d seen to the contrary, some part of her had continued to think of Cord as the same insubstantial, no-account guy who could be easily dismissed when the time came. She hadn’t given one single thought to how her actions might affect him. She’d simply been grateful for the time and attention and the sex that he’d willingly shared with her.

  Not until she’d watched him walk out that door had she realized how much she was going to lose if he walked out of her life for good. Or if she walked out of his.

  Suddenly desperate to make sense of it, she instinctively picked up the phone and called Maggie.

  “Can you come over?” she asked without preamble. “Or could I come there?” />
  “You had a fight with Cord,” Maggie guessed at once.

  “How on earth did you know that?” Dinah asked.

  “It was bound to happen.”

  “Why was it bound to happen?”

  “Because you’re you and Cord is, well, Cord.”

  “Which makes absolutely no sense,” Dinah retorted.

  “I have a bottle of Pinot Grigio open. Maybe by the time we finish it, I can make you understand,” Maggie said.

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Make it five. I have a date on his way, so I don’t have all night and this conversation could take a while.”

  Instantly guilty, Dinah said, “Maybe I should wait till tomorrow. I don’t want to intrude on your date.”

  “You won’t,” Maggie said with a laugh. “Believe me, I am kicking you out the instant he shows up. It’s taken him too darn long to getting to asking me out.”

  “You’re going out with Warren Blake,” Dinah guessed. “I knew it. I knew he wanted to ask you out.”

  “You’re wasting time. Get over here now,” Maggie said, ignoring Dinah’s guesswork.

  “I’m on my way.”

  If Dinah had been startled by the news of Maggie’s big date, she was even more stunned when she walked in and found Cord sitting on Maggie’s sofa.

  “You!” she said, her temper stirring. “You didn’t waste any time finding someone new, did you?”

  He scowled at her. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Maggie rolled her eyes. “Heaven save me from people who don’t communicate,” she muttered. “Okay, here’s the deal. I have a date rolling up here in about fifteen minutes.” She glowered at Dinah. “It is not Cord ell. However, you two obviously need to talk, so I am going to wait for my date outside. Do not leave this room until you’ve settled things. Lock the door on your way out.”

  “There’s nothing more for us to say to each other,” Cord said, already on his feet. “Dinah’s made up her mind to go back overseas.”

  Maggie gave him a shove in the middle of his chest that had him sitting right back down. Dinah was impressed by her gumption, if not wildly enthusiastic about her friend’s determination to force this confrontation.