Burnham Cole had been the officiating minister at her wedding. Because Ricky had not belonged to any church and her pastor had refused to marry them without counseling, Ricky had gotten someone from Pedro Plains to do it instead.
This meant that she was not legally married to Ricky!
She read the rest of the article, gobbling up the words with rapt attention. Those persons who got married by these fake pastors were told that they should legalize their marriages as soon as possible with reputable marriage officers. Those who were filing for divorce should drop the process, as they were not married in the first place.
Marla slammed the papers shut and grinned. Thank you God! Seriously, thank you. My get out of jail free card!
"What are you grinning about?" Ricky came into the kitchen with a surly look on his face. Marla had pleaded that she was not feeling well and he had had to go around to his guests and assure them that Yuri was hallucinating. It had not been pleasant after that.
Marla grinned wider at Ricky's churlish behavior. She was not legally tied to this self-centered beast. Her name was really Marla Roundtree, not Marla Mills. She was single and pregnant for Yuri Scarlett, who had a girlfriend, a gorgeous girl who looked like she had just stepped off a fashion runway.
Her smile dipped a little but even that was not enough to dampen her spirits.
She got up and stretched clumsily. "I have so many things to do. First, I am going to call Yuri," Marla announced.
Ricky looked at her sharply. "Why on earth are you so bold this morning? Last night changed nothing. Yuri's threats are empty and ludicrous; he can't fight me for this baby. I am your husband. Legally that child belongs to me."
Marla grinned. "That's where you are wrong, buster. Read the headline. You and I are not legally married. You paid an illegal marriage officer to get us married and that means...no divorce necessary, or annulment, or whatever...which is a relief because I had palpitations thinking about the many ways that you would block the divorce when I finally tried to get out of this sham of a marriage."
She laughed as Ricky grabbed the paper and scanned through the article.
"I still have that tape of you killing that man!" Ricky said, looking up at her, harassed.
Marla laughed. "I didn't, my father did, and now he is dead. Good luck on getting someone, anyone, to believe that I did it. And your stupid tape would have to be doctored to show me doing anything untoward. I can readily own up to throwing him out to sea and you know what...I will. I wouldn’t mind getting it off my conscience. As a matter of fact, I am going to the station and I am going to tell Inspector McLaren what really happened."
"I am going to destroy the Scarletts," Ricky growled.
"No, you are not!" Francine said, buttering her toast and looking at Ricky calmly. "You are going to get help for this Yuri issue that you have. My God! Listening to you now, I had no idea how bad it has become."
"Stay out of this," Ricky growled at Francine.
"I am not staying out of anything." Francine looked at him stonily. "I am still custodian of your wealth till you are thirty. Maybe it is time I have a closer eye on your activities. You have been given too much freedom. You are sitting in that chair like a spoiled little rich boy, threatening to destroy a family! Have you forgotten that I did not exactly come from money? I was a poor girl too. Maybe in my over-eagerness to give you all that I did not, I did you a disservice but please, Ricky, stop this nonsense!"
"I am going to pack," Marla said gleefully.
"Marla, get back here!" Ricky snarled. "Now!"
"Nope." Marla looked over her shoulder at him. "I am going to pack up my things, then I am going to stay with the Scarletts. I can't spend one more day in this hell hole. After that I’ll bury my father tomorrow and next, who knows? One thing is for sure, I won't be in Treasure Beach if you are around. Goodbye, Ricky. I can't say the last five years were a pleasure because they were not."
"What are you going to leave in, huh?" Ricky asked, a crazed look in his eyes, "You have nothing; are you going to walk?"
"Of course she is not going to walk," Francine said, "You can take the Range Rover Marla. By tomorrow we will sort out the paperwork. Consider it a gift for your five years of stress. Oh and wait." She walked toward the living room and got her bag and her checkbook.
She wrote a check, her hands flying fast over the paper. She handed it to Marla, and touched Marla on the shoulders. "Please don't take this whole sordid story to the press. This money is a good faith gesture."
Marla looked down at the check and her eyes widened.
She glanced over at Ricky. He was shooting daggers at her. He was angry but impotent to do anything further in the face of her determination. Maybe she should have done this years earlier.
She looked down at the check again and said out loud, "The world should know about Ricky."
"No," Francine pleaded. "Think about your baby. You will need a fresh start, not running around catering to reporters. In time you can forgive Ricky. I promise you, I will get him the help he needs."
"There is nothing wrong with me!" Ricky bellowed. "This is overkill!"
"We'll see!" Francine turned to her son threateningly.
Chapter Eighteen
When Marla showed up at the Scarletts at midday after a long interview with Inspector McLaren, she was wiped out and feeling downcast and guilty. The inspector had given her a long lecture about hiding the truth, making his job harder and obstructing justice.
They had long suspected that it was Trip's wife who had finally snapped and killed him because of the abuse she had endured at his hands. She had deepened their suspicion when she got married two weeks after his death to a British writer who had come to Treasure Beach to write a book.
The whole family migrated soon after.
The Inspector had glared at her and told her he couldn't even charge her father since he was dead anyway, but he would be subpoenaing the tape from Ricky to confirm her story and then he would consider the case closed.
And now, with her car filled with all the things she had wanted to take from Ricky's, she was at the Scarletts’ door.
Lloyd was lying on a lounge chair on the veranda. He was snoozing but got up when she shut the car door.
"Hello." Marla smiled at him tentatively.
"Marla," Lloyd frowned. "You do know that Yuri left early this morning to go back to Kingston."
Marla shook her head. "Well, I didn't know. I ah...I left Ricky and I have nowhere else to go." Her eyes filled with tears. "This was always my bolt hole."
Lloyd opened his arms and she ran in them, sobbing her heart out. Much later, when she thought that she didn't have any tears left, Daisy took her to Terri's old room and she slept for hours.
The sleep of the tired. The sleep of the free. When she woke up Daisy was sitting by the bed. "You shouldn't be so stressed while pregnant."
"I know," Marla whispered hoarsely. "I must have had all of that bottled up."
"I told Yuri you were here," Daisy continued. "He should be here shortly."
Marla frowned. "That’s a lot of driving."
"He didn't care," Daisy said, looking pointedly at Marla's belly. She looked away. "I heard that the party was very interesting."
"Yes." Marla nodded.
Daisy looked like she wanted to pry more out of her; instead she said, "Want something to eat? I made chicken soup with lots of dumplings, the way you like it."
"Thanks." Marla grinned.
Daisy patted her hand and then left. Marla went to the en suite bathroom and had a shower. She felt refreshed and reborn and curiously light. Whatever happened after this, she was ready for it.
She wrapped herself in the largest towel she could find in the towel bin. She would have to go and get one of her cases from the car. She heard a knock on the room door.
"Come in, Daisy. I have to go and get my stuff from out of the car. I should have taken something out earlier but..."
She opened the bathroom door
and realized that she wasn't talking to Daisy. It was Yuri.
He was leaning on the door.
"Hey."
"Hey," Marla said, feeling tongue-tied and self-conscious. She was wrapped in only a towel. Her belly was straining against the material. She knew she resembled a mini-barrel.
Yuri's eyes were eating her up though. "You look great," he finally said as she stood there frozen.
"So do you...I mean…thanks," Marla said, jumbling up all of her thoughts into one. He did look good. He was in a gray shirt and jeans but he looked so good and real, and she suddenly had the fear that she was dreaming.
"Want me to go and get your suitcase?" Yuri asked.
"Sure, there is the key." She pointed to the key on the side table.
Yuri picked it up and nodded. "Any particular one you want me to get? Your car looks pretty packed."
"The one on the passenger seat." She sank down on the bed when he left, only perking up when Daisy carried a tray with the soup to the room; she placed it on the side table and left. "I know you two have to talk."
Marla nodded. Yes, they did. They hadn't spoken properly for years. And now here they were, parents-to-be after one emotion-fueled night.
They still had a truckload of conversations left for them to get through. Her skin prickled in nerves. She didn't know what the future was going to hold for her or Yuri.
They would be parents, yes. They would always have that connection, but could there be anything else between them? Or had it all been destroyed?
There was a knock on her door again and she perked up. Yuri came in with her bag.
"I am going to take a shower too," he said, pausing as if he didn't want to leave. "I'll be back soon."
Marla nodded. She couldn't resist the tiny pinprick of emotion when she saw him hesitating at the door. When he left she changed into an ankle-length kimono dress and had her soup. It was delicious, as usual. It brought back memories of rainy afternoons when they had to stay around the house and Daisy would cook. Troy and Yuri had always made fun of her—that she hogged all the dumplings.
She smiled and put down her empty bowl. She didn't have long to wait for Yuri to come back. He smelled familiar, like Irish Spring body wash.
"Remember when Pops got the case of Irish Spring from his sister in England? That was like years ago, wasn't it?" She grinned. "He still has some, doesn't he?"
"Yup." Yuri pulled one of the two armchairs in the room and moved closer to the bed. He leaned forward. "We found a few of them in his room. Troy and I irreverently used them when we came by for the funeral."
Marla's eyes met his and held. "I am sorry," she said softly.
"What happened?" Yuri asked. He steepled his fingers under his chin.
"I have to start at the beginning, which was five and a half years ago." Marla started talking. She didn't leave anything out, even the recent development that she was not really married to Ricky and the lecture she got from Inspector McClaren.
Yuri stayed quiet until she finished.
"And here I am," she finished.
Yuri closed his eyes and swallowed convulsively. "I could kill Ricardo Mills right now."
"I know. My father actually tried. He was the one who messed with the brakes on the Porsche." Marla sighed and laid back in the bed.
"What?" Yuri leaned closer to her. "He almost killed me in the process."
"I know," Marla murmured. "I don't know what happened to my dad in the last couple of years."
The baby chose that moment to kick her and she clutched the area where he kicked.
"Let me feel," Yuri said softly. She placed his hand on her belly and he smiled. "Do you know what sex it is?"
"Boy." Marla smiled.
Yuri gripped her hands over the baby and squeezed them. "I can't believe this happened to us."
"I know," Marla whispered.
"Can you come to Kingston and have the baby?" Yuri asked. "Could you consider moving to my place for the time being? I promise you, Marla, I will take care of both of you for the foreseeable future."
"What about Amoy?" Marla whispered.
Yuri pulled away his hand from Marla and sighed. "She knows that the baby takes precedence right now."
The baby. Not her. Marla's heart jumped in fear. She had killed it. She had killed whatever they had between them.
This was not the Yuri who had passionately asked her six months ago if she could come to Kingston with him. He was different. It was subtle, but still there.
She wanted to ask Yuri if there was any chance for them but she didn't. He looked like a man who was tormented.
"You still work at that company, SofServ?" she asked instead. She didn't really know anything much about the Yuri of now.
"Yes, I still work there. Well, technically I own it."
He went on to tell her about Pops' will and his new house and she realized that Ricky's threats to ruin the Scarletts had only been empty air. They could more than take care of themselves now. At least that was one less thing to worry about.
She watched as Yuri spoke, his eyes warm brown and dark in the lamplight, his neat straight nose with the flare at the tip, his generous pink lips. He was a beautiful male. What if she had called Ricky's bluff five years ago? What would have happened then?
She should not have given in to Ricky's blackmail. She answered her own question. She would have had Yuri.
Her father would most likely be alive and in prison; at least if he was in that controlled environment he wouldn't have drunk himself to death. Her life would have turned out much different. She would have been happy. They would probably have more than one child by now; they would be happy.
Now, what was she?
She was just the woman having his child after one night of pent-up emotions gone awry.
He probably was grieving his grandfather and was at the lowest ebb in his life and she had taken advantage of him. He had wanted to leave. She had been the instigator. She had deliberately kissed him and pressed her body to his. Yuri probably didn't even like her anymore.
When he finished talking about his life in the past couple of years, he rubbed his face. A wary look crossed his face. "I am going to make some phone calls. You'll be okay tonight?"
"Yes." Marla nodded. "Definitely. I am pretty used to this room and this bed. I used to share with Terri when it was too late to go home, remember."
Yuri nodded. "I remember."
"The funeral is at one tomorrow."
"Okay." Yuri got up from his chair. "After that, we can leave for Kingston. I can ask Reuben to drive up your vehicle. He needs to go to the airport anyway. He was bemoaning the fact that he didn't have anybody to give him a ride and he didn't want to leave his car at the airport."
"Sure." Marla nodded. "How is he by the way?"
"Fine." Yuri grinned. "He is going to the States to get married to a woman he has not even met face to face. They met on a Christian dating site."
"Good Lord." Marla chuckled. "Now that should be interesting. Somehow I did not imagine conservative Rueben doing something like that."
"Yeah. We Scarletts are definitely going outside the done thing these days." Yuri got up and put back the chair. "Night, Marla."
"Night Yuri." She looked at him, searching for a softening of his expression, anything to give her some indication that she meant something more to him, but he didn't look at her again. He let himself out and closed the door softly.
*****
John Roundtree's funeral was short and to the point. They churched him at the same spot where they buried him; a few of the community members had shown up.
They left as soon as it was over. Yuri glanced over at Marla. She had been silent since they got in his car. She cradled her belly and snuggled in the seat.
He looked at her in her simple black dress and flat shoes. He had never really sat down and admired a pregnant woman before. Maybe because he never had this sort of bond with one before.
She looked softer and rounder al
l over; he couldn't squash the sense of protectiveness that he felt toward her. It was scary, this overpowering feeling.
Last night after they had talked, he had stayed up for most of the night, rehashing what she told him. He had been unable to sleep and had gone to the kitchen for a cup of tea and found his mother in there.
He had ended up telling her everything.
"That poor, poor girl." Daisy shook her head. "You never know what is happening in people's lives, do you? Sometimes we judge and assume the wrong things. I thought that since she married Ricky she thought she was too posh for us, that's why she didn't visit anymore."
Yuri nodded. "I knew he had something over her. I couldn't have imagined that this could be it. I guess it is a blessing though that Ricky got that Burnham guy to perform the wedding. Which means Marla is single, free and disengaged. No wrestling with Ricky over my child."
"And on the bright side," Daisy looked at him shrewdly, "you both can get married…now, before the baby is born."
"That has never been a good enough reason to marry anyone," Yuri countered.
"It's Marla," his mother had winked at him. "You will be living with Marla and your baby. This is your chance to be a real family. It’s something you have always wanted. Just think about that."
And he had thought about it and now he was in the same car with Marla, who was carrying his son, and he was wondering if her just being Marla was good enough anymore. When had he changed?
"Tired?" he asked her when she released a soft sigh.
"Not really." Marla twisted her lips ruefully. "Just sad. Death is so final. My dad's life was so...so...empty and aimless. I don't want my life or my son's life to be that way."
"I don't want that for our son either," he corrected her gently.
Marla chuckled. "Sorry."
"Have you thought of names?" Yuri asked.
"No." Marla shook her head. "I was mainly thinking of escape. I had this plan that after today I would just drive away to somewhere, anywhere…check into a guesthouse or rent a place and then disappear."
"I am happy that you didn't do that," Yuri said grimly, "because I would worry. You have precious cargo."
Scarlett Baby (The Scarletts Page 13
