by Jayne Castle
“What have you four been doing in that den?” Liz demanded severely.
“Plotting,” Jeffrey assured her thickly. “Came up with a fantastic idea for getting that guy Sheffield in California, didn’t we?” He looked to his companions for support.
“Wonderful idea,” Nolan enthused. “Don’t know why we didn’t think of it before.”
“Over a bottle of whiskey?” Sabrina clarified archly.
“More creative that way,” Jeffrey confided.
“I see.” Sabrina eyed Matt, who was grinning with wicked satisfaction.
“It’s a brilliant plan,” Bennet enthused, smiling fondly at his daughter. “And all perfectly legal.”
“Absolutely,” Matt echoed, lounging happily against the wall.
Sabrina shook her head, amusement in her eyes as she regarded the faces of the four smug men. “I’m sure the plan is a total stroke of genius,” she murmured gently. “But there’s no need to go ahead with it.”
Matt’s eyes narrowed. “Sure there is. It will be the perfect revenge, Sabrina. Banker’s justice and all that. Get the whole episode out of your system.”
“It’s not in my system. Not anymore.” Even as she spoke the words aloud, Sabrina realized they were the truth. “Forget the brilliant plan, men. I’ve got more important things to worry about these days.”
“For instance?” Matt inquired.
“Wondering if you’re going to get drunk like this and embarrass me frequently after we’re married,” Sabrina informed him.
Matt’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He closed it again immediately, his eyes riveted on Sabrina.
“On that note,” Liz said firmly, “I think we will take our leave. Come along, brilliant banker, let’s get going.” She reached into Jeffrey’s pocket and removed the car keys.
“Time we were running along, too,” Mary said smoothly. “The keys, Nolan?”
Sabrina’s brother fumbled in his pocket and meekly turned over the car keys. “Good night, Sabrina. See you tomorrow.” He sounded disappointed.
“Good night, Nolan.”
“I believe I will retire for the evening myself,” Bennet Chase informed everyone grandly, and walked a little unsteadily, but with great dignity, out of the room.
Within a few minutes Sabrina found herself alone with Matt, who was still staring at her.
“That’s what I said to Valdez,” he explained thickly.
“What did you explain to Valdez? Who’s Valdez, anyway?” Sabrina was firmly leading Matt toward her bedroom. It wasn’t an easy task, because he was concentrating more on talking to her than on walking.
“Friend of mine. And I told him it didn’t matter anymore. Got more important things to worry about.”
“What didn’t matter?” She had him almost through the bedroom door now.
“Evening the score; settling things.”
“When did you realize that?” she asked mildly, pushing him gently down on the bed. He watched intently as she knelt in front of him to untie his shoes.
“The night I left Buena Ventura.”
“What’s wrong with Dad?” Brad appeared in the doorway, looking uneasy.
“I’ve disgraced myself, but Sabrina’s going to marry me anyway,” Matt said genially. “Aren’t you, Sabrina?”
“Your father’s had a little too much to drink,” Sabrina told Brad as she tugged at a shoe.
“Are you going to marry him?”
“It looks like it.” The shoe came off. Sabrina went to work on the other one.
“Wait’ll I tell Cindy.”
“What’s Cindy got to do with any of this?” Matt asked.
“Cindy has a home computer and apparently has some strong notions of propriety among adults.” Sabrina stared down at Matt’s bare foot, wondering what to do about the knife sheath strapped to his ankle.
“That reminds me, Dad,” Brad said quickly, not wanting to miss the opportunity. “Do you think we could talk about getting a home computer for me? It would be useful for schoolwork and stuff.”
Matt leaned over, pushed Sabrina’s hands aside, and unstrapped the knife sheath. He set it carefully on the table beside the bed. “I have a feeling I should answer that question in the morning.”
“Believe me, when I explain the alternatives, you’ll probably think a home computer is the cheapest investment you can make this summer,” Sabrina warned in a low tone.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Matt reiterated. Brad shrugged, pleased with the initial progress. “Okay. You guys going to bed now?”
“Your father definitely is.” Sabrina stood up, her hands on her hips.
“I think I will, too.”
“Don’t forget to put on that new shirt we bought today before you come downstairs in the morning,” Sabrina reminded him absently. “I don’t want you showing up in fatigues at breakfast.”
“Okay,” Brad said again. He started out the door and turned on the threshold. “You two definitely are going to get married?”
“Definitely,” Matt murmured, and collapsed back against the pillows. His eyes closed.
“Well, there’s no point standing here and yelling at him tonight,” Sabrina observed. “Guess I’ll save it until morning. Good night, Brad.”
“Good night, Sabrina. Wonder what Dad talked to your father and your brothers about all evening in the den?”
“An interesting question,” Sabrina muttered.
Matt awoke at three in the morning, feeling unnaturally alert. It took him a moment to reorient himself, and then he felt Sabrina beside him and relaxed. He had an incipient headache and was very much afraid it would be worse by morning. But he could live with that. He could live with just about anything, he decided. Sabrina was going to marry him.
“Matt?” Her voice sounded sleepy.
“It’s okay, honey. Go back to sleep.”
“As long as you’re awake, I’ve got a couple of questions,” she persevered.
“Such as?”
“What happened after you went into the den? I thought the four of you would end up in a brawl.”
“Your brothers and your father are men of reason and so am I. Why should we brawl? Besides, we discovered we all have something in common.”
“What?”
“You.”
She stirred and levered herself up on her elbow. In the shadows she looked warm and nicely sleep-tousled. But, then, Matt reminded himself, she always looked warm and inviting to him. “Matt, I want to know what happened in that den.”
He shrugged against the pillows and the movement jolted the baby headache. “Not quite what I expected, if you want to know the truth. I had this great scheme in mind utilizing reverse psychology.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“It was a very clever idea, you know. I figured that if I could antagonize your family sufficiently they’d insist you ditch me. The more they insisted, the more you’d refuse to do what they wanted. But it didn’t work out that way. I wound up telling them the details of what happened on Buena Ventura and how you took care of Brad for me. Then I explained how I felt about you. They understood my sentiments. They also understood that I didn’t intend to let them or anyone else get between you and me. We talked for a long time and in the end we all understood each other,” Matt concluded, oversimplifying nicely.
Sabrina sounded bewildered. “What about the fact that you’re unemployed? What about getting kicked out of the Army? Didn’t they get upset about all that?”
Matt yawned, remembering the initial tension in the den. “Oh, a little. But I convinced them to look at my positive points.”
“Which are?” Sabrina prompted suspiciously.
“I’m helpful, thrifty, and loyal.”
“You’re not going to tell me everything that happened in that den tonight, are you?”
“You wouldn’t understand it all, Sabrina,” he said as gently as possible. “Just as I don’t understand why I came out and found you agreeing to marry me.”
>
“You may have a point,” she admitted, snuggling closer. “Talking to Liz and Mary helped me get some things straight in my head. Things I’ve known all along but hadn’t put in order.”
“Maybe that’s what happened in the den,” Matt suggested sardonically. He’d gone into that den fully intending to pursue his baiting of Nolan, Jeffrey, and Bennet. But he had changed his mind almost immediately. Somehow it had become infinitely more important to establish his claim on Sabrina in her family’s eyes. The scene in the den could have easily turned into a brawl.
He remembered the moment when he’d told the Brothers Grim that if they didn’t lay off he would take Sabrina and leave the house. When he’d promised them that she would go with him without an argument, the light of sweet reason had appeared in Nolan’s and Jeffrey’s eyes. Bennet Chase had gotten the same helpful illumination a few minutes later when Matt had said he would take care of Sabrina, regardless of who got in his way. After that the whiskey Bennet Chase had dragged out had helped smooth the way for further conversation. It was toward the end that they’d all hit upon the brilliant idea of ruining Talbot Sheffield.
“You’re sure you don’t care anymore about Sheffield?”
“I’m sure. Certain you don’t need to prove yourself to the Army?”
“I’m certain. We’ve changed since we first met in Acapulco, haven’t we?”
“Maybe. Or maybe things have just gotten clearer.” They lay in silence for a long time and then Matt exhaled slowly and rolled over on top of Sabrina. “Hell,” he growled.
“What’s wrong?”
“It feels like someone’s going to work inside my head with a sledgehammer.”
“You’re telling me you don’t want to make love because you’ve got a headache?” she asked in mocking disbelief.
“Duty calls,” he answered valiantly. Deliberately he insinuated his legs between hers.
“Forget it. I’ll get you an aspirin. And then I’ll massage your head for you.” She wriggled out from under him and slid off the bed.
In the darkness he watched her as she fumbled in her purse for the aspirin. She was wearing one of his T-shirts, he realized. They had only picked up a few essentials for her and Brad this morning. A nightgown had not been on the list, apparently. He liked seeing her in the T-shirt. It gave him a comfortably possessive feeling.
“I was right about you that first night in Acapulco,” he said suddenly.
“How’s that?” she asked absently, stepping into the bathroom to run a glass of water.
“You weren’t the type to go roaming around, picking up men in bars.” He knew he sounded complacent. An uncharitable observer might even have labeled him smug.
“So I’ve heard,” she said, coming toward him. “But what type am I?”
“You’re the type to run a tacky souvenir stand, marry a sleazy ex-adventurer, and continue the ongoing war against the IRS.”
“It does sound like a well-rounded life.”
Chapter Eleven
The first one down to breakfast the next morning, predictably enough, was Brad. He was in an extremely good-natured mood, sitting at the round kitchen table and watching hungrily while Sabrina made pancakes.
“Where’s Dad?” he inquired as he drank orange juice.
“Still in bed.” Sabrina smiled, remembering Matt’s utterly still figure.
“When are you guys going to get married?”
“Don’t rush us, Brad. This is a big step, you know,” Sabrina told him mildly.
“I know,” Brad said quite seriously. “I wasn’t sure it was such a good idea at first. That’s why I was sorta rude in the beginning.”
“I figured you were a little upset,” Sabrina said, flipping pancakes.
Brad hesitated and then said quite carefully, “Some people don’t exactly like the idea of having someone else’s kid live with them.” The fact that he spoke from experience was very plain in his voice.
“Not everybody gets along with everyone else in the world. We probably do okay because I grew up used to having brothers around.”
“Nolan and Jeffrey?” The explanation intrigued Brad. His hazel eyes brightened. “Yeah, that might explain why you’re getting used to having me around.”
It was as if he was relieved to have a solid reason for her tolerance so that he wouldn’t have to fear the prospect of having her change her mind, Sabrina realized.
Before Sabrina could respond to the comment, her father’s voice interrupted from the doorway. “Fortunately for you she hasn’t forgotten everything she learned while growing up with two brothers, Brad. I see she can still flip pancakes.”
“And I still hate doing laundry,” Sabrina answered with a grin. “All those years of having to keep track of Nolan and Jeffrey’s wardrobe took their toll. Luckily Matt doesn’t seem to mind that end of things.”
“Listen to her,” Bennet Chase complained as he sat down at the table. “You’d think I’d made a little slave out of the girl. Was it my fault she was the only female?”
“You chauvinist.”
“What’s a chauvinist?” Brad asked.
“Something I’m going to make certain you don’t turn into,” she vowed as she served up the pancakes. “It’s going to be one of my missions in life while you go through your impressionable teen years.”
“Be careful, Brad,” Bennet advised. “I think she’s serious.”
Brad didn’t appear to mind. He wolfed down his pancakes and then announced he was going to explore the neighborhood. Bennet Chase gave his daughter an amused glance as the boy disappeared.
“A handful.”
“But a nice kid,” she said lightly.
“And I assume he goes with the territory?” Bennet said quietly.
“Oh, yes.” Sabrina smiled. “He’s definitely part of the package. I’ve discovered that when you deal with marriage you’re dealing with a very large package. I think it would have been simpler and neater in a lot of ways to continue with plan A.”
“I’m afraid to ask what plan A was.”
“A series of charming, lighthearted affairs that would last from now until I was in a rest home.” Bennet winced. “What changed your mind?”
“I found a man who needs a home, not an affair. Matt just isn’t cut out for a fleeting, superficial romance. He needs something more solid and secure. It’s his nature to do things with a lot of commitment and intensity. He’s been floundering a bit during the past couple of years because all the things that had been solid in his life, like his career, had been destroyed. But now he’s reestablished himself.” Sabrina sat down to eat a batch of pancakes with her father. “How’s your head this morning?”
“I thought I was holding up nobly.”
“I just noticed you were moving rather cautiously.”
“Haven’t tied one on like that for years. Can’t even remember the last time. Bankers aren’t supposed to do that sort of thing, you know. Your future husband may be a bad influence on the family.”
Sabrina poured syrup. “I don’t know about his influence on your morals, but he seems to have pulled off a small coup in the den last night.”
Bennet grinned unexpectedly. “I like him, Sabrina. He’s not at all the kind of man I would have chosen for you—”
“I know. He’s not the kind I would have chosen for myself. Except that I did choose him,” she corrected herself absently, remembering how she’d picked Matt out of the crowd in the hotel lounge that first night.
“But I think I can entrust you to his care,” Bennet finished calmly. “I had the distinct impression from the way he handled the three of us in the library last night that he’d go to hell and back for you. A father can’t ask for more than that from his daughter’s future husband. But I think what really interested me was that after he told us the whole story of these past few days, I knew you’d do the same for him. That really made an impact. My God, Sabrina, I wanted to kill Matt for having put you in jeopardy. But then I realized how str
ong the bond must be between the two of you for you to have gotten into that situation in the first place. In a sense, I’m grateful. I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever marry and establish a home of your own. You’ve spent so much of your life trying to avoid all the plans I made for you that I was coming to think you’d avoid this one, too.” Bennet paused. “Did you really feel that I made a slave of you?”
“No, of course not,” she told him gently. “And you made certain Nolan and Jeff had their share of chores.”
“I had some notion of trying to teach you housekeeping,” Bennet admitted with a sigh. “I thought that it was my duty as your parent to teach you the sort of things women always seem to know. How to cook and clean and pick up after a man or a child. The kind of things your mother always did when she was alive.”
Sabrina smiled whimsically, barely remembering her mother. “Women who wind up raising small boys alone are always worried about providing them with a proper role model; afraid of feminizing them, I suppose. I guess it’s natural that a man who got stuck raising a little girl might have a reverse set of worries.”
Bennet nodded slowly. “I sure as hell did worry at times,” he admitted fervently. “But lately I think I’d begun to worry most of all that I’d done something very, very wrong in raising you. You’re thirty years old and not once have you come anywhere near marriage. You can’t imagine how that made me feel, Sabrina. I know women aren’t truly happy unless they’re married and have children of their own and I’ve been terrified that I’d ruined your life somehow; made you unable to find fulfillment in a home and family.”
Sabrina made a rude noise.
Bennet frowned. “I’m serious, Sabrina. A lot of men never discover that kind of fulfillment because they’re too busy with the outside world. The woman naturally inherits the problems and the rewards of raising the family. But in a sense I was lucky. I was forced to find out for myself just what it means to make a home. And I … I didn’t want you to miss the experience because I’d somehow turned you off the whole thing.”
