Hired Bride

by Jackie Merritt

  Dr. Lucinda called Red Rock for an ambulance, then ran out to her car for her medical bag, returning with it to give Maria a tranquilizing injection. Wyatt and Devin held Maria down until the shot took effect. Then, when she was no longer shrieking and squirming hysterically, they put a pillow beneath her head and sat next to her on the carpet.

  Claudia undressed the boy and began sobbing when she found the birthmark. “He is Bryan, he is.”

  The questions started in earnest, making the parlor buzz: How had Maria ended up with Bryan? Was she the kidnapper? Was Taylor really her child? And then, when they looked at poor Maria and the condition she was in, the questions died down and a great melancholy descended upon the group.

  After an interval Maria began talking, more to herself than to anyone in the room. “Ryan will never marry Mother. She will never have any of their money. The Fortunes think they’re so great, but I showed ’em. Going to that sperm bank, and getting impregnated with Matthew’s sperm was a brilliant idea.” Maria stopped to laugh, and it was definitely not the laugh of a sane person.

  Lily began to weep, and Ryan gave her his handkerchief and put his arms around her. Maria rambled on. “And so James was born, Matthew’s biological son, and no one knew.” Maria’s expression turned ugly. “But Matthew found out…or something…because now he has James and dared to change his name to Taylor.

  “But I have Bryan…and I can’t care for him any longer. I have no money, and it’s Ryan Fortune’s fault. He will never marry Mother.”

  Dr. Lucinda chanced a question. “Maria, how did you get Bryan?”

  “It happened the day of his christening. I brought James to the nursery. I was going to present him to the Fortunes. Then demand the money and recognition that I deserved. I’d show Ryan for dumping my mother thirty years ago. But when I returned to get him he was gone—a ransom note in his place. Someone had taken him, thinking they had Bryan. I didn’t know what to do so I took Bryan and moved the note to his crib. I knew no one would help get James back, but they would find him if they thought he was Bryan.”

  The ambulance arrived, and Dr. Lucinda conferred with the paramedics, relating Maria’s mental state. The medics strapped her to a gurney and put her in the ambulance. Lily and Ryan followed the ambulance to Red Rock in their own vehicles. Claudia and Matthew took Bryan to the hospital to be checked over.

  Those who stayed behind hugged Gwen and Zane and said a solemn good-night. Finally everyone was gone except for Dallas, Zane’s brother, and Maggie, Dallas’s wife. They lived on the ranch in their own house, so they were in no rush to leave, and they felt bad that the engagement party had turned into something so traumatic. But even so, everyone was thrilled that Bryan had finally been returned.

  “It’s all right,” Gwen told them. “I feel sorry for Lily, but everyone else must be so relieved.”

  “Lily is probably relieved too,” Maggie said. “She’s been worrying a great deal about Maria.” Then she said, “Gwen, there’s enough food in the kitchen to feed a small army. Let’s you and me let the staff go home and set out supper for the four of us.”

  “Is that all right with you, Zane?” Gwen asked.

  “Yes, of course,” Zane replied.

  Maggie led Gwen to the kitchen and told the staff that the party was over and they could leave. Some of them, the ones that knew Maggie well, asked about Maria and Bryan, and she answered their questions. Gwen saw the same incredulity and shock on their faces that she’d seen on the family members’ faces.

  When they were alone, she said quietly to Maggie, “No one ever suspected that Maria had Bryan?”

  Maggie stopped with a handful of silverware. “A while back—shortly before Hannah and Parker’s wedding, I believe—Cole, Maria’s brother, went to her trailer to see her, although she had never encouraged visitors. At any rate, she wasn’t there. Cole peeked through a window and, I heard, saw some baby furniture. Since Maria had never mentioned even caring for someone else’s child, let alone having her own baby, Cole became very suspicious and naturally thought of Bryan. I don’t know how long he waited for Maria to come home, but when she didn’t, he left.

  “He went back later, but she wasn’t there and neither were her things. She had learned about Cole’s visit from a neighbor, and maybe was concerned that he’d seen too much. Now, of course, we know the reason she ran away, but at the time the only thing people could do was speculate. Cole thought he might be overreacting, so he never told Wyatt—the sheriff—about the incident. Since then no one has known where Maria was living. As I said before, Lily has been worried sick about her.”

  “Maggie, Maria was at Hannah and Parker’s wedding. Didn’t Cole think to ask her about what he’d seen?”

  “I would think he would have,” Maggie murmured. “To tell you the truth, Gwen, I haven’t kept up on every detail of the investigation. Dallas and I have only been married a year, and I guess I’ve just been too busy being happy.” Maggie frowned. “That sounds terribly selfish, doesn’t it? And it’s not a hundred-percent true, either. You see, my own family never had money, and I’ve had so many adjustments to make that—”

  Gwen broke in excitedly. “Maggie, I’m going through exactly the same thing right now! Oh, please tell me how you did it. I’ve been driving myself crazy worrying about never really fitting in to the Fortune family, no matter how hard I try.”

  “Gwen, you already fit in. So did I, even though I didn’t know it. Not that your life won’t change. As I said, I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments. But looking back, they were mostly adjustments in attitude. My attitude. Great wealth is so awe-inspiring to a woman who never had an extra dollar in her purse—and that was the way I lived before marrying Dallas.”

  “Maggie, that’s the way I live! It never occurred to me that someone else might have gone through the same agony because the man she fell in love with happened to be a Fortune.”

  Maggie smiled. “It makes it a little easier to deal with, knowing that you aren’t the only one, doesn’t it?”

  “It does, it really does. You and Dallas look so happy together.”

  “We are. He’s a wonderful man, Gwen, a wonderful husband and a great father.”

  “You already have a baby?”

  Maggie laughed. “I had a five-year-old son when we got married, and Dallas adopted him. You must have seen Travis the day of the barbecue.”

  “I probably did. I’m sorry that I don’t remember him.”

  “Don’t apologize. Everyone’s kids were running all over the place, and you had your hands full with your own three and their two little friends.”

  Gwen looked a bit sheepish. “Yes, well, I’m not proud of my motive for bringing Tommy and Liselle that day. I did it to shock Zane into the very real world of parenting. Until that day he hadn’t even asked how many kids I had, even though I had told him I was a mother. I thought he simply wasn’t interested in anything but…”

  Gwen faltered and Maggie picked up the thread. “But getting you into bed?” she said with a grin.

  “Don’t tell me it was the same for you and Dallas!”

  “Pretty darn close.” She laughed. “Gwen, let’s get this food on the table. We can talk while we work.”

  “Zane and Dallas are probably wondering what’s taking us so long.” Gwen could hardly believe how lighthearted she felt. Talking to Maggie had worked wonders.

  While they set the table in a small dining room and carried in platters and bowls of food, they continued their conversation.

  “Do you recall meeting my mother at Hannah’s wedding?” Maggie asked.

  Gwen had to think a moment. Then her eyes widened. “Rosita! Yes, of course I recall meeting her. And you know what she told me after looking at my palm, don’t you?”

  “Mama tells me just about everything,” Maggie admitted. “She was right, wasn’t she? She usually is, you know. You and Zane are going to be married right after the first of the year, just as she predicted.”

  “She
also said we were going to have four children,” Maggie said slowly. “Do you think she was counting the three I already have?”

  Maggie’s dark eyes twinkled merrily. “That’s something she didn’t tell me. Maybe you should ask Mama when you see her again.”

  Ryan called while they were eating, and Zane and Dallas each got on an extension and spoke to their father. Maggie and Gwen waited at the table until their men returned.

  Dallas spoke first. “The doctors checked Bryan over and the boy appears to be in good health. They would like him to stay the night for a few tests, but it’s only a precautionary measure.”

  “Thank God,” Maggie said quietly. “Claudia and Matthew must be in seventh heaven.”

  “I’m sure they are,” Dallas replied.

  Zane said, “Maria has officially confessed to the kidnapping, but her doctors are certain she will never go to prison. Her mental problems are severe and possibly irreversible. Whether or not that’s true, she needs help badly. Dad said he was told that she will probably serve her sentence in a mental rehabilitation facility. For Lily’s sake, I hope her condition is curable.”

  Dallas added, “Apparently Maria did a lot of talking during her confession. She said that everything she did was to protect her mother, whom she wholeheartedly believed was going to be taken advantage of by the Fortunes for a second time.”

  “A second time?” Maggie asked with a small frown. “When was the first time, or is that a figment of Maria’s imagination?”

  Dallas looked at his wife. “The first time was when our Uncle Cameron seduced Lily and she got pregnant with Cole.”

  “What?” Maggie gasped.

  “Dad knew about it, but he didn’t intend for the rest of us to ever know. Maria’s rambling confession told just enough of the story that Dad figured we’d better hear the truth from him. What happened back then was that Dad and Lily were in love, but Uncle Cameron was spiteful and always tried to take what was Dad’s—including Lily. He lied and told Lily that his and Dad’s father, our grandfather, would never permit one of his sons to marry a woman who wasn’t rich, and that Ryan had succumbed to pressure and was going to break off the affair.

  “Lily was young and naive, and Cameron finally wore her down and seduced her. She knew right away that she’d made a horrible mistake, and she ran away from the ranch because she couldn’t even look Dad in the eye anymore. Anyhow, she found out she was pregnant and talked to Cameron about it but all he offered her was an abortion.

  “She chose to keep the baby and a longtime friend, Chester Cassidy, agreed to marry her and pass off the baby as his own. Lily and Chester had two more children together—Hannah and Maria. Years passed, Chester died, and Lily and Dad met again. You know the rest of the story.”

  “And Maria knew all of that?” Gwen asked.

  “She figured out some of it because Cole has the Fortune birthmark,” Zane said quietly. “Maria is…well, she’s always been different, and I guess she couldn’t help it. Mental illness is a terrible curse. When one is physically ill everyone rallies and sympathizes, but people rarely recognize mental illness in its early stages, and we tend to avoid those who behave erratically.”

  “Yes,” Gwen said in a rueful whisper, recalling how she had practically run to get away from Maria on Hannah and Parker’s wedding day. “It’s all very sad,” she added while wiping away a tear.

  “Yes, it is,” Maggie agreed, blinking back tears herself. “Dallas, this isn’t going to come between your father and Lily, is it?”

  “No,” Dallas replied positively. “I don’t think anything could come between them again.” He rose. “Let’s put away the rest of this food and call it a day. Zane, Gwen, I don’t mean to be rude, but Maggie and I would like to go home, and I’m sure you two would like to do the same.”

  “Yes, it’s time,” Zane agreed.

  They drove in silence for miles, each lost in their own thoughts. Then Gwen reached out a hand and laid it on Zane’s arm.

  “Are you all right, Zane?” she asked gently.

  He took his left hand from the steering wheel and covered hers on his arm. “If you love me, then I’m all right,” he said huskily.

  “Please don’t ever doubt it,” she whispered emotionally.

  He squeezed her hand, then returned his to the steering wheel. “Gwen, I was thinking of my family’s history, and wondering if there’s anything at least one Fortune hasn’t experienced. Tonight was traumatic—no one could ever say it wasn’t—but it brought Bryan back, and I know it made me count my blessings. I’d bet everyone who was there tonight feels the same.”

  “I know I do.” Gwen took a tissue from her purse and dried her eyes. “I realized something quite profound tonight, Zane. I’ve known for a long time that I was in love with you, and it was an incredible moment when I finally believed that you loved me, as well. But tonight, for the first time, there’s something in here—” she touched her chest “…that knows it’s right. I never really thought it was, you know.”

  “Because I have money and you don’t. Gwen—”

  “No, wait, that’s all over with, darling. You must believe me.” She was thinking of her little chat with Maggie in the kitchen, but it didn’t seem right to talk about things that Maggie might have told her in confidence.

  Then an impish impulse struck her. They needed something to laugh about. Tonight’s events had been so deathly serious, and it would be good if they could lighten up a little.

  “Actually, dahling,” she said with an exaggerated drawl, “I’m looking forward to spending your money.”

  Zane’s head jerked around from downright shock, then he caught on and let out a whoop of laughter.

  “Yes, dahling,” he returned in kind. “How about the two of us spending my money together?”

  “That sounds divine, dahling, simply divine.”

  The rest of the trip back to San Antonio was filled with jokes, laughter and very bad accents. But it was lighthearted, and lighter hearts were what they both needed that night.

  Christmas was a wondrous day for Gwen. Santa had been especially generous with her children. Zane came over in the morning and stayed all day. Her parents, Ramona and her kids came for dinner, all with more gifts. By the time Gwen closed her eyes late that night, she felt as though she were floating on a heavenly cloud of complete and utter bliss.

  Two days later she got dressed in a fabulous new outfit and went with Zane to Ryan and Lily’s wedding.

  How different this arrival was from her arrival at the first wedding she’d attended at the Double Crown Ranch! Now she was on Zane’s arm as his intended bride, and she felt like a part of the Fortune family, even if it wouldn’t be official until the fifth of January, the date they had set for their own wedding.

  The house and grounds were decorated so beautifully—Hannah’s work, obviously—that Gwen got teary-eyed. Everyone was there—all of Ryan’s and Lily’s children and friends, except for poor Maria, of course. And it was indeed a joyful if emotional affair. The ceremony made a lot of people cry. Maria should have been there. How sad it was that instead she was incarcerated in a mental institution, Gwen thought, knowing in her heart that the tear she saw in the corner of Lily’s eye was for Maria on this happiest of days for herself.

  After the ceremony the reception began, and dozens of people offered toasts to the newlyweds.

  Ryan could not have been happier. His and Lily’s wedding was the biggest, most lavish Texas-style wedding in recent history, and they were surrounded by loving friends and family. Even some distant relatives had attended, coming from far and wide. Ryan scanned the crowd. There was Cole, Lily’s son, and his bride-to-be, Annie Jones, and Lily’s daughter Hannah with her husband, Parker Malone.

  All of Ryan’s children were present: Matthew, Zane, Dallas, Vanessa and Victoria. Matthew and Claudia were now the proud parents of two beautiful boys, Bryan and Taylor. Vanessa and Devin were expecting Ryan’s next grandchild, and Dallas and Maggie were al
so expecting a second child.

  Holden and Logan, Ryan’s nephews, had brought their new brides to their uncle’s wedding, and others caught Ryan’s eye: Jace Lockhart and his new wife, actress and screenplay writer, Ciara Wilde, and Ryan’s long lost sister Miranda Fortune, who had come to the Double Crown Ranch in anticipation of her daughter Gabrielle’s wedding to Wyatt Grayhawk.

  Ryan lifted his glass of champagne to another toast, then heard Sam Waterman’s voice. Sam had been hired shortly after Bryan’s disappearance to help with the investigation, but there was no question that he’d become a friend. But Sam wasn’t merely making a toast to the newlyweds.

  “Ryan, Lily, I’m sure you’ll pardon my taking this opportunity to make an announcement. Mary Ellen and I eloped and were married at a civil ceremony in Austin.”

  Mary Ellen was the widow of Ryan’s deceased brother, Cameron. Her marriage to Sam, a man that Ryan respected and liked, felt like a special gift to Ryan on his own wedding day. He squeezed Lily’s hand and offered a toast to Sam and Mary Ellen. The event progressed joyously.

  Zane held up his glass of champagne to Gwen. “Soon it will be our day, my love,” he said softly. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?”

  “A dozen times, my darling,” she whispered.

  A devilish gleam entered his blue eyes. “Did I ever show you the bedroom I used in this house until I went away to college?”

  “No,” she said quite calmly, belying the quickening beat of her heart. “You never did.”

  “Your education could never be considered complete unless you saw that room.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.”

  Zane finished off his champagne in one gulp, then took her drink from her hand and set both glasses on a nearby table. “Come on, sweetheart, there’s something in that room you have to see.” He chuckled. “Or there will be when we get there.”

  “You are a wicked, wicked man.” But she let him take her hand and lead her through the crowd.

  They were almost out of room when a man who bore a striking resemblance to Ryan said, “My name is Teddy Fortune. I saw a news report about your family—about the kidnapping of Bryan and the parallel of that case to the kidnapping of Kingston Fortune’s first son in 1942. I know this might sound crazy, but I think I’m related to you.”