For the Love of Pete

by Sherryl Woods

  “Sure,” Maggie said at once. “It’s best if you use fresh vegetables, but you can make it in no time if you use the packages of frozen vegetables.”

  “Are you finished yet?” Ashley demanded impatiently. “We’re not here to swap recipes.”

  “Do you want some more?” Melanie inquired, giving Ashley another of those daunting looks that effectively silenced her, at least temporarily.

  “No, I’m finished,” Jo said with some regret. If she could have forced down another bite, she would have been able to postpone this conversation.

  “Your color’s better,” Ashley noted.

  “But there’s still no sparkle in your eyes,” Maggie commented. “What happened here today?”

  “I got a call from Pete’s ex-wife. Let’s just say she’s not happy with me and leave it at that.”

  “Where the hell does she get off calling you?” Ashley demanded. “If she has a problem, she needs to take it up with Pete.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Jo said. “And, believe me, she’s made her unhappiness known to him, too.”

  “What did he have to say?”

  “Last night, he told her to butt out. He doesn’t know about what happened today. He doesn’t know that she warned me she’ll use Davey to come between us. She wants to force Pete to choose between his son and me.”

  To her relief, all three of her sisters looked totally scandalized by that.

  “She doesn’t stand a prayer in court,” Ashley said. “If Pete needs help fighting her, tell him to come to me.”

  Jo regarded her with surprise. “You’d go to bat for him?”

  “On something like that? Of course.” She frowned. “Unless you don’t want me to.”

  “No, of course not. I think it would be great. I just don’t want it to come to that. It’ll be better for everyone if they can work this out between the two of them without involving lawyers and a judge.”

  “Why is his ex-wife all of a sudden focusing on you?” Maggie asked.

  “I guess Davey went home and told her about me and she went all weird and jealous.” She debated not getting into the rest—into the past—but knew she’d feel better once the whole story was out there. “I almost think I understand some of what she’s feeling.”

  Her sisters stared at her blankly. “You’re sympathizing with her?”

  “No,” Jo said at once. “Not sympathizing, exactly.” She sighed. “It’s a long story.”

  “How long can it be?” Maggie asked. “You haven’t known the man that long.”

  “Actually I have,” Jo admitted. “I’ve known Pete for over seven years.”

  “Oh, my God,” Melanie whispered softly, her eyes filled with sudden understanding. “He’s the one.”

  “The one what?” Maggie asked.

  “The one she was always hiding out from when she came down here while each of us was staying at Rose Cottage,” Melanie said. She looked at Jo. “I’m right, aren’t I? He’s the person you were avoiding?”

  Jo nodded. “I’ve been involved with Pete since I was eighteen years old,” she finally admitted. “Or rather, I was involved with him that summer, and have been regretting it ever since because of how things turned out.”

  All three sisters stared at her as if she’d started babbling in some incomprehensible language.

  “How?” Ashley asked.

  “When?” Maggie chimed in.

  Melanie frowned. “Wasn’t he married?”

  Jo scowled at her. “Of course he wasn’t married when we met,” she said. “But then he was, and that put an end to things.”

  By the time she’d explained it all, her sisters were staring at her with stunned expressions.

  “And you never said a word,” Ashley said. “I don’t believe you could keep something this huge from us. Your first big romance and we never suspected a thing.”

  “You were all caught up in your own lives by then. And the whole pregnancy and marriage thing came up so soon after I got back to Boston that there was hardly any time to mention that I’d fallen in love before I would have had to say that he’d broken my heart.”

  “And then I had to go and hire him,” Ashley said, her expression grim. “No wonder you were so furious with me.”

  “You didn’t know,” Jo said. “And it turns out that it was the best thing that could have happened. We’ve moved past all that, or past most of it, anyway.”

  “Then you’ve forgiven him? You trust him to do right by you now?” Maggie asked.

  Jo nodded slowly. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I think I do. But I can’t be the kind of woman who gets between a man and his son, no matter how much I want a future with Pete. I could never have done it back then, even if he’d given me a choice, and I can’t do it now.”

  Ashley gave her a look filled with resolve. “Then we won’t let it happen that way. Tell Pete about his ex-wife’s call—and I mean every single vicious word of it—then tell him to come and see me if his wife doesn’t start to see reason. I’m sure I can put a legal spin on things that will wake her up.”

  “Then you think there’s still a chance for us to work this out?” Jo asked Ashley.

  “Absolutely,” her sisters said, obviously in total accord.

  “If he’s the one you want, then he’s the one you should have,” Melanie said. “And just to lock it in, I think I’ll send Mike over here first thing in the morning to work out that business partnership.”

  “Maybe now’s not the right time to do that,” Jo protested. “Don’t get me wrong. I want to do it and I want to stay here, but if things don’t work out for me and Pete…”

  “They will,” Ashley assured her. “Have you ever known any of us not to get what we want when we fight for it together?”

  A grin slowly spread across Jo’s face. For the first time all afternoon, her heart felt lighter. “Now that you mention it, no.”

  “Then let’s not even consider the possibility of ruining that track record,” Ashley said, giving her an encouraging smile. “Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  When Pete checked his messages at midafternoon, he had three from the D’Angelo sisters—one each from Ashley, Maggie and Melanie. But none from Jo. That alone told him that where he needed to be was Rose Cottage, and he didn’t need any one of them telling him that. Something had happened, and the sisters were on the warpath. Even his answering service had gotten that much. Each message had been marked URGENT.

  Pete called his secretary and had her reschedule the rest of his appointments and drove straight to Rose Cottage. When he knocked on the door, he wasn’t sure what sort of response he expected, but it wasn’t a woman who looked as if she’d spent most of the day crying and the rest trying to cover up the evidence.

  “You’re here,” she said, looking surprised. “Who called you?”

  “Ashley, Maggie and Melanie, in that order. They left messages. Since it had to be about you, I came here instead. What’s going on?”

  “I went a few rounds with Kelsey this morning,” she said succinctly. “She called and shared her displeasure about our relationship.”

  Pete felt his blood begin to boil. “She did what?”

  Jo summed up their conversation. “My sisters thought you ought to know what she’s threatening. Ashley says she’ll be happy to give you legal advice, if you want it. I’m still hoping it won’t come to that.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

  “How the hell is it your fault?” he asked heatedly. “This is Kelsey, start to finish. I’ll handle her.” He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “You okay?”

  She nodded, though he couldn’t help thinking she still looked wounded. The only way to wipe that expression from her eyes, though, was to settle this with Kelsey once and for all. The urgency of that was the only thing that could have gotten him to leave Jo alone right now.

  “Then I’m going to get this straightened out,” he said with grim determination.

&n
bsp; She regarded him with worry. “What are you going to do? You’re not going down there and have some huge fight in front of your son, are you?”

  Since that was precisely what Pete had intended, he faltered at the warning note in her voice. “No,” he said retreating. “But I have to get through to her.”

  “Then make her come here. Tell her you need to talk and to get someone to look after Davey. Maybe he can stay with a friend tonight.”

  “I don’t want her here,” Pete countered. “I don’t want her anywhere near you.”

  “She’s not going to come near me, not when she has a chance to be with you. Come on, Pete. It’s the only way.”

  “I suppose,” he said skeptically. “Maybe we should have this meeting in your sister’s office. That way Kelsey won’t be able to misinterpret every word out of my mouth.”

  “Having a lawyer there, at least this first time, will only put her on the defensive. You have to try to work it out on your own.”

  Pete understood her logic, but the thought of actually inviting Kelsey to come here to talk made him nervous. He knew better than anyone just how easily she could misinterpret the overture.

  But what could happen, really? It wasn’t as if she could make something happen between them, not the way she’d managed to when he was twenty. He could control this meeting.

  He tucked a finger under Jo’s chin. “I’ll call her,” he said. “And I swear to you I will get this resolved tonight. Then you and I have a date, okay?”

  “Let’s not make any kind of plans just yet,” she pleaded. “Just keep all your focus on making this okay so you won’t lose Davey.”

  “I’m not going to lose Davey,” he said with finality.

  Jo grinned at his conviction. “Then tomorrow morning we’ll celebrate that,” she promised.

  “Eight o’clock? My place for pancakes?”

  She slid into his embrace and held on tight. “My favorite way to start the day,” she told him, her words muffled against his chest.

  “Next to making love, mine, too,” he said, smiling as he heard her chuckle.

  “That goes without saying,” she agreed, then lifted her gaze to his. “Make this work, Pete, please.”

  “I’ll do my best, darlin’. That’s a promise.”

  Even as he said it, though, he wondered if his promises meant a damn thing to her. He couldn’t blame her if they didn’t. So far, his track record wasn’t exactly stellar.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Pete paced through the house he’d once shared with Kelsey, debating for the thousandth time if he’d made the right decision by asking her to come here. Too late now, though. She was on her way.

  Instead of regretting the invitation, he needed to be planning what he was going to say to make her see reason. Unfortunately, he doubted there were sufficient words in the English language to make his ex-wife see past her own self-interest. He’d always known how self-absorbed she was, but her threats this morning only proved it.

  It was nearly seven by the time he saw her headlights swing into the driveway, The knot in his gut twisted even tighter. He went and opened the door to avoid the awkward moment when she’d have to decide whether to ring the bell or walk right in. He was pretty sure he knew which she’d choose, if only to make a point that she still had a right to be here. Since she didn’t make a habit of showing up, he’d never bothered to change the locks. Maybe he should do that just to make his own point.

  “You made good time,” he said when she got to the door.

  “Rush hour traffic wasn’t too bad, for a change.”

  “You have any trouble finding someone to stay with Davey?”

  “He’s doing a sleepover next door,” she said defensively. “You can call if you don’t believe me.”

  Oh, how he was tempted to do just that, but someone had to start the mutual respect and trust needed here, and it might as well be him.

  “I believe you,” he said, drawing a look of surprise.

  “You do?”

  “You’re not going to lie to me about something you know I can check out for myself, Kelsey. I want to trust you. I always have.”

  “Yeah, right.” She walked into the living room and tossed her fake fur jacket over the back of a chair, then looked around. “You haven’t changed much.”

  Pete shrugged. “I didn’t see any point to it. It’s okay.”

  She frowned at that. “Just okay was always good enough for you, wasn’t it?”

  “And it was never good enough for you,” he replied, regret, rather than accusation, in his voice. But even if he’d built his dream house while they were still together, it wouldn’t have been enough. All she’d ever cared about was leaving for a more exciting life.

  “I suppose that’s true,” she said. “Do you have any wine in the house? I could use a glass.”

  “You can’t drink and then drive back to Richmond,” he said.

  She gave him a seductive smile. “Then I’ll just have to crash here, won’t I?”

  “Kelsey!”

  “Oh, don’t go all weird on me, Pete. It’s not as if we haven’t slept under the same roof and in the same bed before. Maybe we should do that tonight, for old time’s sake.”

  “I don’t think so. What we had is over, Kelsey. Surely you know that by now. Hell, it was your idea to end it.”

  She ran a polished red nail down his cheek, then sashayed toward the kitchen. “Maybe I’ve changed my mind,” she called over her shoulder as she apparently went in search of the wine she wanted.

  Pete bit back a sigh. He was not going to let these seductive games of hers get in the way of the discussion they needed to have. If he overreacted and got her angry, they would wind up settling nothing. Besides, she was mostly talk.

  She came back from the kitchen with two glasses of white wine and handed one to him. He set it aside.

  “Let’s talk about making peace,” he said quietly. “For our son’s sake.”

  Her expression brightened. “That’s exactly what I’d hoped you’d say.”

  “You did?”

  “It’s time to put the past couple of years behind us, Pete. We can start over, make a home for our son.” A smile touched the corners of her lips. “Maybe give him a baby brother or sister.”

  Pete stared at her. His mouth had gone dry, but he managed to squeak out one word. “What?”

  “Don’t look so shocked, sweetheart. We both know this is for the best. You believe in family. I’ve had my taste of freedom. It’s past time for us to get back together and be the family Davey wants.”

  Pete shook off the panic crawling up his spine. “What exactly are you suggesting, Kelsey?”

  “Darling, isn’t it obvious? I want to move back home.”

  “You mean here, to town,” he said, hoping he’d gotten it all wrong, though she was expressing herself pretty clearly for once.

  She regarded him with tolerant amusement. “No, of course not. I mean right here, with you. This is our home, after all. Maybe we can even have that big wedding we missed out on the first time around.”

  The words hung in the air, leaving Pete speechless.

  She put aside her own glass of wine and twined her arms around his neck, her breasts pressed against him. “Isn’t that the news you’ve been waiting for all this time?” she asked, her face radiating confidence. “Davey and I are coming back to you.”

  Jo was going just a little stir-crazy waiting to hear from Pete. She knew they’d made plans for breakfast, but she wasn’t sure she could wait till morning to find out what had happened when he saw Kelsey.

  She sat at the kitchen table and watched the minutes tick off the clock. Each one felt as if it took an hour to pass. Surely the stupid clock was broken.

  Since she didn’t dare call Pete’s and risk throwing a monkey wrench into whatever delicate negotiations were happening there, she called Ashley and announced, “I’m going out of my mind.”

  “Why? What’s happened?” her sister asked
at once. “Do you need me to come over?”

  “No, I just need you to talk me down.”

  “Down from what?”

  “This lonely limb I’m sitting on.”

  “You’re talking in riddles. Stop it right this instant or I will come over.”

  Jo laughed. “I’m not literally on some limb.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Pete called Kelsey. She’s supposed to be here now, so they can try to work out this mess.”

  “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

  “It should be, assuming she’ll listen to reason. I’m not convinced she will.”

  “I’m sure Pete can handle her,” Ashley soothed. “He was married to her, after all. And if he can’t, he has me as legal back-up. Based on what you’ve told me about her neglect, he has more than ample grounds to reopen the custody arrangement and file for permanent custody.”

  “He won’t do that unless he has to,” Jo reminded her.

  “But it is a nice piece of leverage to have, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose. I just hate anything that turns Davey into a pawn between them.”

  “Which just proves that you’re a better woman than his own mother.”

  “You’re biased.”

  “Not about this,” Ashley insisted. “The evidence speaks for itself. You’re putting the child’s needs before your own. And just so you know, now that I understand the whole story, I have to admire Pete for doing the same thing seven years ago, even though it cost both of you very dearly.”

  “I know,” Jo said softly. “Me, too. He’s a good man, Ashley. I don’t want to be the reason he or Davey gets hurt.”

  “Not you, sweetie. Kelsey will get full credit for that one, if she doesn’t see reason. You didn’t break them up. That happened long before you even came back to town.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Look, if you’re so worried about what went on over there tonight, why don’t you go on over?” Ashley suggested. “Pete probably figures you’ve crawled into bed by now and he doesn’t want to wake you. There’s no need to wait till morning.”

  Jo thought about that. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. She’ll be gone, so it’s not as if I’ll get her all stirred up again. If she’s not gone, I’ll turn around and leave. She’ll never even know I was there.”