Two Little Secrets

by Linda Wisdom

  “Well, what I saw was good,” Nora said. “If I’d gone to Hawaii, I would have ended up with someone who looked like Kermit the frog.”

  “That last guy you dated sounded like Kermit,” Ginna joked, then shrieked when Nora splashed water at her. “I’d be careful if I were you,” she warned. “I’m not the one whose hair was just done.”

  Nora patted the tousled curls pinned to the top of her head.

  “I’m just hoping my date tonight is a prince and not a frog,” she said.

  “Since I created a coiffure masterpiece, he better take you someplace befitting your beautiful self,” Ginna told her.

  “I’ll be sure to tell him you said that,” Nora joked. “What about you, Gin? Do you think Zach’s The One?”

  Ginna shrugged. “I’m afraid to think about it,” she admitted. “Easy way to jinx a good thing.”

  “I suggest you think about it, m’dear.”

  Ginna knew exactly what her friend meant. “There is no way I’d mention children to Zach. It’s a perfect way to send a man running for the hills.”

  “Unless he’s The One,” Nora said slyly. “Then I doubt he’d run.”

  Ginna rolled her eyes. “I don’t intend to test the theory.”

  “I thought you were over Denny when you faced him in court,” Nora said.

  “I was over him way before I filed for divorce. But I’m not sure I’m interested in getting married again.”

  “Liar,” Nora accused. “You don’t want to become so involved with a man that the subject of marriage will come up, because that will automatically lead to the subject of children.”

  Ginna flinched at her friend’s direct statement, but Nora wasn’t about to back down now.

  “Just because Denny was a bastard doesn’t mean that Zach would be. A majority of men who want to get married also want children, Ginna.”

  “Face it, Nora, I have it in writing that I can’t have children. It was bad enough when we tried and I couldn’t get pregnant. Then I’m thinking it’s Denny. After all, he did have the mumps when he was in college. But to find out it’s me? I come from a large family, with a history of large families.”

  “And has one member of your family said a thing about this?” Nora demanded. “Have Brian or Mark or Jeff ever introduced you by saying, ‘Hi, this is my barren sister?’ How often has your mother insisted you’re still a wonderful person and you can adopt?”

  Ginna winced. “Jeez, Nora, why don’t you just cut one of my veins? No wonder you and Mark broke up.”

  “Mark and I broke up because he made the mistake at that bar of ending up in a corner with that slutty fire-department groupie who was all over him,” she said bluntly.

  “Oh, yeah, that was the last time he tossed back a couple of boilermakers.” Ginna sighed. “I adore Zach, Nora. I think he is the most wonderful man to come along in a very long time. But I’m not going to risk my heart by falling in love with him.”

  “Easier said than done.”

  “HEY, GIN, WHEN YOU ASKED us to trim the bushes, you didn’t say you wanted all of it done in one day,” Mark Walker whined that afternoon as he studied the bushes lining the walkway to Ginna’s front door.

  “Yes, she did, lamebrain. You just refused to listen, as always.” Jeff, eldest of the Walker brothers, opened a bottle of water and promptly swallowed half the contents.

  “You know the deal. No work. No free haircuts,” Ginna informed her brother Mark, who was still frowning at her.

  “I have a date tonight,” Mark said, running his hand through brown unruly locks.

  Ginna picked up the pruning shears and handed them to him. “Better get to work, then.”

  “The lawn mower’s low on gas,” Brian said, checking the tank. “You still have some in the garage?” he asked his sister.

  “Look at this. The guy gets married, becomes a dad and he’s suddenly Mr. Responsibility in spades,” Mark groused good-naturedly, pausing to strip off his T-shirt and toss it onto the steps. He realized his mistake when Casper growled and attacked the shirt. The dog picked it up with his teeth and whipped his head back and forth. Mark didn’t bother trying to grab the shirt back. Not after the last time, when he’d lost the battle to the dog. And his favorite T-shirt.

  “Great, Mark, get half-naked, so my female neighbors go nuts again,” Ginna muttered, setting a cooler on the front steps. Past experience with her brothers taught her it was easier to keep cold drinks in a cooler outside than to have them tramping dirt on her carpet. While they worked hard as paramedics and firemen and were responsible in their work, they seemed to revert to their teenage years when they descended on her house.

  She looked at her brothers. All tall, dark and handsome, with blue eyes that easily melted a woman’s heart. She just saw them as pains in the butt who accused the family dogs of burying her Barbie dolls. Jeff and Brian might be married now, but it didn’t stop other women from looking. Not that the men ever looked anywhere but at their wives.

  Mark perked up as he looked around. “That cute little blonde still live two doors down?”

  “Yes, she does. With her husband, the professional wrestler,” she said.

  “Wrestlers are out. Paramedics are in.” Mark flexed his muscles.

  “Come on, Mark,” Brian ordered. “Gail and I are taking the baby in for new pictures this afternoon.”

  Ginna mimed cracking a whip. “Get to work, or I’ll call Mom,” she threatened.

  She smiled as her brothers immediately headed to their separate tasks.

  “When do we meet your new guy?” Jeff asked.

  “Never,” she said promptly.

  Brian pretended great interest in his sister as he walked around her.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  “Looking for fingerprints. Maybe we need to get him checked out,” he said to his brothers. “Make sure he doesn’t have any deep dark secrets.”

  “He’s absolutely normal, which is a wonderful change from you lunatics.” Ginna gestured for Casper to follow her. “Remember, you have to go through the kitchen to get to the bathroom, not through the front door. I just had the carpet cleaned.”

  “You can cut my hair today, right?” Mark asked. “I’ve got a hot date tonight.”

  “I told you I’d do it, but I have an early dinner date, so I want you guys out of here by one.”

  “You’re not having sex with this guy, are you?” Jeff asked, leaning on his rake. “And if you are, you’re having safe sex, right?”

  “Jeff!” Ginna felt the red steal up her throat and into her cheeks.

  “Jeez, Jeff!” Brian and Mark yelled in unison.

  “Do you think I want to think of my sister having sex?” Brian asked his brother.

  “No more talk about sex!” Ginna shrieked. “I don’t interfere in your lives. You don’t interfere in mine. So help me, I hear one more word about Zach, I’m calling Mom. And then I’m calling Gail and Abby.”

  The three men grumbled their way back to their chores. Ginna’s threats were never made lightly. They applied themselves until she disappeared around the side of the house.

  “I’ll get his full name. You get someone to run it for a criminal record,” Brian told his brothers.

  ZACH WASN’T SURE what to do when he found the sidewalk in front of Ginna’s house and her driveway crowded with two sport utility vehicles and a pickup truck. There was no missing the baby seats in the back of the two SUVs. Or the Firemen Are The Hottest sticker on the back bumper of the truck.

  He rang the doorbell, positive he could hear laughter from the rear of the house. He refused to back down when Casper appeared at the screen door. Or when a muscular man appeared behind the dog.

  “Hey there, you must be Zach,” the man said, holding out his hand. “I’m Brian Walker, Ginna’s brother. Come on back. I’m afraid she’s running a little late. We do her yard work for her and she gives us free haircuts.”

  “Which goes to show who’s getting the better
deal here,” Ginna called out. “Please tell me they swept the walkway.”

  “They swept the walkway,” Zach said obediently, looking at three men who stared at him with a don’t-mess-with-our-sister-or-we’ll-have-to-hurt-you look. He didn’t need to be told they were all related. All four shared the same brilliant blue eyes and brown hair.

  “Jeff and Mark,” Ginna said, gesturing to the man seated in a chair in front of her, then at the brother holding a bottle of water and leaning against the counter. “Don’t let them say anything mean to you. Guys, this is Zach Stone.”

  Mark narrowed his gaze as he leaned forward and shook Zach’s hand. “You look familiar. Have we ever met?”

  “He writes a magazine column,” she explained. “Which lets you out, Mark, since we all know you prefer only magazines with pictures.”

  “She’s always shown you her good side, hasn’t she?” Jeff asked. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Suddenly one day she’ll turn into this insane creature that belongs in a science-fiction movie.”

  “Her idea of threats involves calling our mom.”

  “Works every time,” she said proudly, brandishing the hairdryer.

  “Only because we were stupid enough to call her bluff one time,” Brian told him.

  “They were having water fights on my front lawn,” Ginna explained. “They got Casper so excited he was howling. I thought my windows would shatter next. I told them if they didn’t knock it off, I’d call Mom. They didn’t. I did. She drove out here and set them straight.”

  “Our mother is small but mighty,” Jeff explained. “What about you, Zach? Any family in the area?”

  “Any insanity?” Mark muttered. “Ow!” He turned his head and glared at his sister. “There better not be any bruises.”

  “You should be so lucky.”

  “I have a sister and nephew who live in the area,” Zach replied. “Our parents live back East.”

  “Okay, you’re done,” Ginna told her brother, taking away the towel that had covered his chest.

  Mark stood up and hugged her. “Thanks, sis.”

  The other two men set their water bottles on the counter and paused long enough to give her a hug.

  “Nice meeting you, Zach,” Jeff said. “I just want to say if she shows any strange tendencies, don’t worry. They always go away after the full moon.” He ducked as Ginna snapped a towel at his head.

  “I’ve always been convinced they’re adopted,” she told Zach after her brothers had left.

  “I tried that with my sister,” he said. “Nobody believed me, either.”

  “I’m sorry I’m running late. This was the only day they could do the yard work, and getting them over here at the same time is no less than a miracle. I’ll be ready in no time. Help yourself to anything in the refrigerator.” She started to leave the kitchen.

  “Hey, wait a minute.” Zach grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. “Hello,” he murmured, kissing her slowly.

  She laughed softly and pressed herself against him, parting her lips to allow his tongue access.

  A plaintive whine and paws batting at them finally convinced them to part.

  “Give me ten minutes,” Ginna said, moving away.

  “I’ll time you,” he teased.

  Zach sat down at the small oval wood table, surrounded by a wraparound bench, in the breakfast nook. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the backyard. Freshly clipped grass and bright flowers met his gaze.

  The house was warm and homey, the kitchen a room that looked well used, instead of just a place to store food. Judging from the rows of cookbooks lined up along white-painted shelves, she did a lot of cooking. The copper-bottomed pots and pans hanging from hooks overhead confirmed that assumption.

  He noticed that a brightly colored pottery bowl with Casper’s name painted on the side held kibble, while another bowl was filled with water. Both sat on a plastic mat depicting a cartoon of a drooling dog looking upward in hungry anticipation.

  The real-life dog sat in front of him, ever watchful.

  “Her brothers told you to keep an eye on me, didn’t they?” he said to the dog.

  He knew his kids would adore Casper. They’d be ready to chase him and roll all over him. Trey had been asking for a dog lately, but Zach had been putting him off with the explanation they needed to wait awhile. Then Emma asked for a kitten. He feared if he didn’t hold fast, he’d end up with a zoo. And if he kept feeling this guilty about keeping Emma and Zach a secret, he’d probably give in and buy them any pet they wanted.

  “I bet you like kids,” he said to the dog.

  “Like them? He loves them.” Ginna swept in looking entirely different from the casually clad woman he’d seen when he arrived.

  While she had looked great in the denim cutoffs and tank top she’d been wearing, she looked downright elegant and sexy in terra-cotta silk slacks and a matching long blazer that remained open over a pale-peach top. She’d pulled her hair up and back in an intricate twist.

  “You are beautiful,” he said honestly.

  “Thank you.” She beamed, spinning in a tight circle. “And my sister-in-law thanks you. Jeff’s wife, Abby, makes just about all my clothes. I keep telling her she could make a fortune doing this professionally. She makes all her daughters’ clothes. They have twin girls and Abby likes to see them dressed alike but with individuality. I swear, she can look at an outfit in a magazine and copy it. Besides, I wanted us to match,” she teased, straightening his dark-coral-and-brown tie lying neatly against a cream-colored shirt tucked into dark-brown slacks.

  “You weren’t kidding when you said you’re very close to your family,” he said as they walked outside to his vehicle.

  “We grew up in a pretty rural area,” Ginna explained. “There were times we only had each other. My parents were very family-oriented, and I guess it seeped into us. But there are times when they’re all a bit much. You’re lucky you hadn’t shown up an hour earlier. Those three get together and they suddenly revert back to their high-school days. Very sad.” She shook her head in mock sympathy.

  “They’re right, you can be a scary woman.”

  “Be careful, Zachary.” She leaned over to murmur in his ear. “The full moon starts tonight.”

  “Good thing I like to live dangerously.”

  THIS TIME ZACH CHOSE the beach. The restaurant was built on a cliff directly behind it. Tiki torches stationed in military order alongside the balcony and candles set on each table gave a romantic air. Ginna loved it all.

  They sat on the balcony overlooking the beach so they could watch the surf come in as the sun set over the water. The breeze was cool, but they felt no desire to go inside just yet. The salty tang of the sea blended with the spice of Ginna’s perfume.

  Ginna fingered her wineglass. “There’s something so relaxing about the water,” she said idly. “Actually, I think it’s just me and water. As long as there isn’t a sailboard around.” She smiled.

  “Understandable.” He sipped his scotch. “I’d finally decided those sailboards were designed to see just how much stress a person could take. I was beginning to see them as colorful firewood.”

  “Amazing, isn’t it? All because we were given the same seat on the plane,” she mused. “What kind of fate factored into that?”

  “Someone who pressed the wrong computer key,” Zach guessed.

  Ginna shook her head. “It’s never that simple.”

  “It depends on who makes your reservations for you.”

  She made a face at him. “Come on, Zach, don’t be so logical. Whether we like it or not, things happen for a reason.”

  He kept his eyes on her face. “A good reason, but sorry, I’m still voting for logic.”

  “It’s not as much fun as waiting to see what will happen. To just do it,” she argued playfully. “You went there for fun, didn’t you? To relax?”

  “My trip was a gift from my sister,” he replied. “She decided it was time for me to take a vacation.”

>   “And you didn’t think you needed one?”

  Zach shrugged. “I guess I never gave it a thought one way or another.”

  “Then you needed it. There’re times when you need to get away from everyday life and think about just yourself for a short period of time,” she said.

  “Is that what you did?” he asked. “Go out there to think strictly about yourself?”

  “In a way.”

  Zach looked out over the water that was turning a darker blue as the sun disappeared. “Because of that court case with your ex-husband?”

  She could feel her smile slip off her lips. “A celebration of sorts,” she admitted. “A way of putting the past to rest. Total closure.”

  “Was it? Total closure, I mean?”

  Ginna frowned, wondering where his questions were going. “I have no feelings one way or another about my ex-husband,” she said firmly. “We stopped being a couple three years ago. After it was over, he went his way and I went mine.”

  “But he hurt you,” Zach said.

  She started to say something, then snapped her mouth shut. She looked off as if she was searching for the right words.

  “What he wanted wasn’t possible,” she said finally. “When he realized that, he went on to find exactly what he wanted.”

  “Then he definitely was a fool,” Zach said quietly.

  Ginna’s smile held a hint of sorrow as she looked at him. “No, just a human being who couldn’t handle unexpected surprises thrown his way.”

  JUST A HUMAN BEING who couldn’t handle unexpected surprises thrown his way.

  Ginna’s quietly voiced statement haunted Zach as they sat inside for dinner. The sorrow in her eyes hadn’t left right away, but she eventually bounced back into the cheerful Ginna he’d come to know. Still, he couldn’t get her words out of his head as he ate his swordfish.

  What kind of surprise would prompt a man to end a marriage? Especially a marriage to someone like Ginna? His forehead furrowed in a frown.