“Yes. For a few months now,” Mary said, just above a whisper.
“Why hide?” Flora asked. “That’s the question here, young man.” Again, directed at him. “Was there a reason you had to sneak behind our backs?”
“We weren’t sneaking,” Lance said. “It’s just that our feelings developed rather fast. We’ve worked closely together for six months now.”
“And we became best friends,” Mary said.
“One thing led to the other.” Lance took Mary’s hand. Clammy palms. “Before we knew it, we were in love.”
“Married? Mary, I’m confused. Just last month you were telling me how you would never get married again,” Dax said.
“Lance wore me down,” Mary said. “He’s very persuasive.”
“That doesn’t sound like Lance,” Flora said. “He’s actually quite passive and allows women to walk right over him.”
“Flora,” Lance said, horrified. This was the problem with having two mothers. Two pains in the rears to deal with instead of one like most people.
Flora sniffed. “I’m just saying the truth.”
Mary scooted closer to him. “That’s just the surface. Underneath lies the heart of a lion.”
He glanced at her, surprised. Did she mean that?
“He decided he wanted me and came after me hard. A girl can only resist Lance Mullen for so long before she wakes up from her stupor to realize the finest man she’s ever met loves her and she can’t ever let him go.”
A lump in his throat made it impossible to respond. Please, God. Let her truly believe that one day.
“I’m enormously pleased,” Dax said. “We were already family, but this seals the deal in a whole new fashion.”
“I was hoping you’d see it that way, sir,” Lance said.
“And Mary, I guess this means you like the Mullens after all,” Dax said.
“Dad, don’t tease. I’m embarrassed by how I acted. Brody hates me.”
“Does your mother know?” Flora asked.
“We told her and Doc last night,” Lance said. “And Brody, who acted like a complete ass.”
“Don’t mind him,” Flora said to Mary. “He hates change. Always has.”
“I have fences to mend,” Mary said.
Flora’s eyes fixed on him like two shiny buttons sewn into a scary doll. “Honestly, Lance, how could you deny your mother a wedding? There’s only you two boys.”
How could he deny Flora a wedding? He hid a smile behind his hand.
“It’s not funny, young man,” Flora said.
Mary sat forward slightly. “We needed to get married faster than we would’ve planned.”
Flora’s penetrating glare was enough to cut the couch in half. “You’re pregnant?”
“Mary? Is it true?” Dax’s calm expression changed to one of deep concern.
“Yes, and given my health issues, Lance and I thought it best to forget an engagement and a wedding.”
“For health insurance,” Dax said.
“Right,” Mary said. “He wants me to have the best.”
Dax nodded, stroking his chin again. “Very practical. But are you both sure? This is a big commitment. And a baby right away? It’s a lot to handle.”
“Dad, it’s fine. We’re in love.”
Dax looked over at Lance. “You’re aware, then, of Mary’s past.”
“Yes, sir.”
“She’s been through enough in one lifetime. If you hurt her, I’m not sure I can control what befalls you.”
Lance smiled. He liked Dax Hansen enormously in that moment. “I understand, sir. I would never hurt her.”
“Losing a child isn’t something you can understand, Lance,” Flora said. “But the rest of us in this room know only too well. This is not a game.”
Lance, irritated now, turned to the woman who had once changed his diapers. “Flora, I’m not sure what your point is, but I’m quite aware of the seriousness of her situation, which is why I insisted we get married right away. I’m not a child.”
“I know that.” Flora raised one eyebrow. “But you’ve not always made the best choices.”
“As in?”
“The girl in New York, for example,” Flora said.
“In the past, I’ve not had the best taste in women.” Why did she have to bring that up in front of Dax? “But I’ve married the finest one there is.”
“I just want what’s best for you,” Flora said.
You’re not acting like it. Soon she would pull out naked baby pictures just to complete his humiliation.
“Dax, I promise to take care of Mary and our baby. I have the means to do so. And the heart to do so. There’s nothing for you to worry about in that arena.”
“Lance is a good boy,” Flora said. “A responsible boy. He’s very kind and caring to his mother. They say to look at the way a man treats his mother to know how he’ll treat his wife. Not the natural leader his brother is, of course, but he has other good qualities.”
“Flora, seriously?” Lance shook his head, amused and embarrassed at the same time.
“And, if she can forgive you for depriving her of a wedding by gaining such a beautiful daughter-in-law, then what can I say?”
Dax laughed. “Flora, dearest, I think you’ve said enough.” He reached across the table and offered him his hand, which Lance shook for the second time that morning. “Welcome to my family, son. I’m very happy for you both. Mary’s precious to me. For her to have found a young man of integrity and kindness is a dream come true.”
Finally. Someone on his side.
“And a baby.” Flora fluffed her curls. “It’s about time.”
There were about to be more babies than even Flora could handle at one time.
“When’s the due date?” Dax asked.
“Third week of September,” Mary said. “We shouldn’t be telling anyone, but we were forced into it last night.”
“Brody kept pushing,” Lance said. “Why so sudden? Why so soon? Until Mary had to tell him.”
“That sounds like him,” Flora said. “Brody’s overprotective of his younger brother. And, he’s a bull in a china shop if there ever was one.”
“But he’s still your favorite.” Lance said.
“Why would you say that?” Flora’s tone was one of great injury. How could he dare question her love of him? “I love you both equally.”
“I’m just teasing you,” Lance said. “I know I’m your favorite.”
“You’re most certainly not my favorite. Especially today.” Flora blessed him with one of her signature glares of disapproval.
“When will you see a doctor?” Dax asked.
“Doc recommended we find a specialist in the city,” Mary said. “We’ll know more about what the plan is after that.”
Flora nodded. “We’ll go with you to the appointment. It’s best to have more than one person there to ask questions. You know how doctors can be.”
“Go with us?” Mary gripped his knee.
“The kids might rather do this solo,” Dax said. “They don’t need us.”
“Well, you better call me the minute you know anything,” Flora said.
“You’ll be our first call,” Lance said.
“Terrific. Now, who wants a muffin?” Flora asked. “I made my special wheat germ and carrots recipe.”
“I thought that was Kara’s recipe?” He knew it was Kara’s recipe. She’d made it the first morning she worked for the Mullens.
“Kara’s recipe? That’s rich. As competent as she is, she doesn’t make up recipes. That’s my department.”
Lance smiled. “I’ll take two.”
“That’s my boy,” Flora said.
In the evening, Lance joined his friends for their weekly poker game, which had morphed into more like a monthly game. With everyone busy with wives and family, Lance was the only one still available for their weekly game. As usual, they met in Brody’s game room. They sat around the poker table in their usual spots. Clockwise
, with Brody at twelve, then Zane, Kyle, Lance, and Jackson. Besides Kyle, who always wore designer jeans and trendy sweaters or shirts, the rest of them wore faded jeans and sweatshirts. Minnie, the tuxedo cat who acted like a dog, snoozed on the bar’s counter, only occasionally opening her eyes to make sure Brody remained at his place at the table.
He loved these guys. Kyle had named them the Dogs when they’d first started playing poker together back in their college days. What had started as a cheesy joke had become sacred. The men around this table were as close as brothers.
College life at USC seemed far away now. What days those were. They’d all shared an off-campus house and lived on pizza and cheap beer. Kyle and Brody had brought home a different girl every week. Zane had preferred monogamy, if changing girls every six months counted as such. Jackson hadn’t dated, his heart still broken by the girl he thought he’d lost to a highway in Kansas.
And Lance? Well, his troubles with women were the same as they’d been in high school. Our sweet, reliable friend Lance.
Meanwhile, Kyle had entertained twins in his bedroom.
“You remember the twins?” Lance asked now.
“Kyle’s twins?” Zane asked.
“Trish and Trash,” Brody said.
“Not Trash,” Kyle said. “Tracie. Trish and Tracie. You’re just jealous, Mullen, because you never had twins sharing your room.”
“I could have,” Brody said. “Quarterback of the football team gets triplets if he wants.”
Lance shook his head, pretending to be appalled. “You guys were all man whores back then.”
“Except for me,” Jackson said.
“And me,” Lance said.
“We know your excuse,” Kyle said to Jackson. “But Lance here should’ve been enjoying himself like the rest of us.”
“I never got past the friend zone,” Lance said. “You know that.”
“We tried to teach you, grasshopper,” Kyle said. “But you were a slow learner.”
“I know,” Lance said.
“If by slow you mean respectful to women, then yes,” Jackson said. “Unlike the rest of you clowns.”
Zane laughed. “If I recall, the girls threw themselves at us, not the other way around.”
“Those were good times,” Brody said. “So many girls.”
Lance set his cards aside in disgust. “I’m out.”
Zane put his cards face down on the table. “I fold too.”
Kyle tossed two more chips into the center of the table. “I’ll raise you.”
The other two still in the game met his bet and they all turned over their cards. Kyle fanned four kings on the table. He’d won. Again.
“What the hell, Hicks?” Zane asked. “I didn’t think you were smart enough to count cards.”
“It’s pure luck, baby.” Kyle grinned as he scooped the pile of chips into his stack.
“Why was I such a disaster with girls?” Lance asked. “Why did girls treat me like the house mascot instead of a conquest like the rest of you?”
“Well, you were younger,” Kyle said. “Brody’s little brother.”
“No, that wasn’t it,” Lance said.
Zane watched him from across the table. “You’re actually serious. What’s bugging you?”
“Is this about the blond I saw you with the other night?” Kyle asked. “Because she looked into you.”
“I’m not seeing her again,” Lance said.
“You going to tell them why?” Brody asked.
Lance shot him a dirty look.
“Honor said she has a friend she wants to set you up with,” Zane said.
“Nah, I’m good,” Lance said.
Kyle dealt the second hand of the night. Lance had a lousy pair of twos. He asked for three new cards when it was time and was given three fours. A full house. Maybe it was a sign? They played the rest of the hand in silence. Amazingly, Lance won.
“So, guys, I have a bit of news.” Lance pulled his bounty into his stack of chips.
“Understatement of the century,” Brody said under his breath. He thrust his cards across the table and headed to the bar.
“Dude, what’s up?” Kyle’s head was cocked to one side, observing him, as he shuffled the deck of cards. “Everything all right?”
“Sure, yeah.” Lance chugged from his beer to buy time. He had to tell them, but suddenly he wished he was anywhere but here. “It’s been an interesting couple of days.”
“Did something happen?” Zane asked.
“Kind of, yeah. I got married in Vegas a few days ago. To Mary.”
Kyle dropped the card deck. Zane jerked backward with such force he almost knocked over his chair. Jackson stared at him with a blank expression. At the bar, Brody tossed a beer cap at the wall.
“She’s pregnant,” Lance said.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kyle asked.
“Pregnant?” Jackson asked. “You’ve been sleeping with Mary?”
“I’m in love with her.” He was careful not to say she was in love with him. The fewer lies the better. “She’s pregnant and needs insurance, so we just went for it.”
Zane’s eyes had reduced to slits. “You’re in love with Mary Hansen?”
“Mary? Bookstore Mary?” Kyle asked.
Lance threw up his hands in exasperation. “Right. Dax Hansen’s Mary. Who else would I be talking about?”
“I don’t really know,” Zane said. “Because you’ve not been dating Mary Hansen.”
“We’ve spent every day together for months.”
“I thought you guys were just friends,” Kyle said.
“We were, but things changed,” Lance said.
“Something doesn’t add up here,” Zane said.
“I concur,” Jackson said. “What’s really going on?”
Brody strode across to the table and gripped the back of his chair with his long fingers. “He had a one-night thing with her and now she’s trapped him into marrying her.”
“Shut up.” Lance stood hard and fast, knocking his chair over. Minnie leapt from the counter and ran under the couch. “Just shut your big fat mouth.”
“What’s the point of lying to the people closest to you?” Brody asked.
“Hey, take it easy.” Jackson stood, holding his hands out like a kindergarten teacher with angry boys on the playground.
“Dude, you were not in a relationship with Mary without telling us,” Kyle said. “That’s not how you roll.”
“I didn’t tell you about the girl back east,” Lance said.
“Good point. Maybe you’re a habitual liar,” Brody said.
Lance lunged for him. Kyle was too quick, jumping up from the table and pulling Lance back. “Calm down, buddy.”
“Brody, you need to check yourself,” Zane said.
“You guys are delusional,” Brody said.
“Let’s take this over to the couch,” Jackson said. “And talk through everything.” Jackson wrapped his fingers around Lance’s shoulders and guided him over to the L-shaped couch. Zane went to the bar and came back with a bottle of scotch and five tumblers.
“Fess up.” Zane poured them all a drink as everyone took a seat. Other than Brody, who lurked behind the couch.
“Tell us what’s really going on,” Zane said.
“We’re not going to judge you,” Jackson said. “We’re here to help.”
“Fine. On New Year’s Eve, after we left your place, Zane, she was restless and sad. You know how birthdays and New Year’s Eve can do that.”
Zane and Kyle nodded.
“She asked if we could go back to my place and have some drinks. After a few tequila and lemonades, one thing led to another.” He tossed back a portion of his drink. “The morning after, she told me she’s incapable of being in a relationship. She thinks all men are cheaters.”
“Why is that?” Kyle asked.
He shared briefly about her past, including the cheating husband and the loss of her baby. “So, I kept my dist
ance. Then, a few nights ago she told me she’s pregnant. I had to do the right thing. She needs insurance, for one.”
“So, you’re just married for the insurance?” Kyle asked. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“Why would you lie to us about it?” Zane asked. “I mean, other than it’s none of our business.”
“We’re the Dogs. You know that doesn’t hold up as a valid argument,” Kyle said.
Lance grimaced. How true that was. “We didn’t want her dad to worry about how this would all fall out after the baby comes. Or, Flora and Mom, for that matter. She was embarrassed about the whole one-night stand thing.”
“I feel for her on that.” Kyle spoke with surprising tenderness. “Apparently getting a girl pregnant after a one-night stand is yet another thing you and I have in common. I’m proud of you for doing the right thing.”
“What if she just wants to get her greedy hands on his money?” Brody asked. “You guys are naïve to think that isn’t a possibility.”
“That doesn’t seem like Mary,” Jackson said. “She’s lonely, but not conniving.”
“None of us know her,” Brody said. “What would make you say that?”
“I know her,” Lance said.
“Do you?” Brody wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Is it even your baby?”
“We have no reason to believe she’s a liar,” Kyle said.
Lance gripped his knees and leaned forward. “I’m in love with her.” He turned to address his brother. “Everything I told you last night is true, except she doesn’t love me.”
“You’re in love with Mary for real?” Kyle asked.
Lance nodded, miserable. “Head over heels.”
“Well, crap,” Zane said. “I did not see that coming.”
“She’s been hurt,” Lance said. “She has no intention of letting herself get hurt again. She thinks all men eventually cheat. So, I’m once again in the friend zone.”
“Until she downs a fifth of tequila,” Brody said.
“Watch it,” Lance said.
The muscles in Jackson’s face scrunched up in one of his notorious worried grimaces. “To clarify, you’re in love with her and you’ve entered a marriage based on a business arrangement.”
“That’s right,” Lance said.
“You’re secretly hoping you can get her to fall in love with you despite her declarations never to get involved again. Is that right?” Jackson ran his hand over his closely cropped blond hair.
Tainted Page 10
