A Family Circle 1 - A Very Convenient Marriage Read online

  "Last night, when you dragged me onto your lap, you knew I was worried that he might suspect something, that that was why I sat down on the arm of your chair."

  "I couldn't resist," he admitted without the least sign of repentence. "You were doing such a good job of playing the doting bride."

  "You took advantage of me.''

  "You got your revenge," he reminded her. "You drove your elbow halfway to my spine, and I'm probably permanently crippled from the damage you did when you stepped on my foot."

  "Good." She nodded in satisfaction. "Maybe that will teach you not to treat this situation like it's some kind of game."

  She turned and stalked into the bathroom without giving Sam a chance to respond. He stayed where he was, his eyes on the closed door. The bed beside him was still warm and a trace of soft, floral scent clung to the sheets.

  It occurred to him, not for the first time, that this mar-riage-of-convenience business wasn't nearly as simple as it had seemed at first.

  Chapter 10

  The rain of the day before had given way to deep blue skies and warm sunshine. Breakfast was a noisy affair, involving a great many good-natured insults tossed back and forth about who'd burned the bacon and who'd undercooked the pancakes, both of which were perfect as far as Nikki could tell.

  After the meal, Nikki helped to clear the table. She and Rachel talked easily as they worked, and any silences were filled in by Mary, who seemed to never run out of questions about anything and everything.

  "You're very good with her," Rachel commented, after Nikki had fielded a particularly convoluted inquiry.

  "I like children," Nikki said, her face soft with affection as she watched the little girl carefully carry a plate from the table to the counter.

  "Mary could use some cousins. Not that I'm hinting or anything," Rachel added, smiling.

  "I... We haven't really discussed that." Nikki was pleased by the steadiness of her voice.

  "Well, there's plenty of time," Rachel said comfortably.

  Nikki murmured an agreement and made her escape as quickly as possible, retreating into the living room, which was momentarily empty. She couldn't take much more. Her conscience was already screaming bloody murder. How could she have been so incredibly blind? To think that this marriage wouldn't affect anyone but her and Sam.

  She wandered around the room, touching a knickknack here and there but not really seeing anything. They'd be leaving here soon and she might never come back. It wouldn't be all that hard to avoid visiting Sam's family for the next eleven months. After all, she didn't care what they thought of her. Did she? She shied away from the answer to that question.

  Finding herself next to the piano with its row of photographs, it occurred to her that there was probably a picture of Sam's wife. Seized by a sudden curiosity, she bent to look at them.

  There it was. Picking it up, she carried it over to the window, where the light was better.

  It was an informal shot, obviously taken at their wedding. Nikki guessed that Sam had been in his mid-twenties and the woman at his side looked a little younger. They were smiling at the camera, but there was something about them that suggested they were aware only of each other. They looked young and very much in love.

  Her eyes skimmed over the quietly pretty brunette and focused on Sam's face. This was a different man than the one she'd married—younger, with fewer shadows in his eyes.

  Nikki was so absorbed in the photograph that she didn't hear Sam's voice until he was right outside the living room. She couldn't be caught standing here with his wife's picture in her hand. In a panicked flurry, she stepped behind the open drapes. She regretted the move immediately. She was going to look like a complete fool if anyone caught her lurking behind the drapes like a second-rate burglar. But it was too late to change her mind.

  "I don't want to argue with you about this. Just take the check," Sam was saying.

  "I don't want it." It was Cole's voice, and he didn't sound happy. "I can come up with the money on my own."

  "How? By selling your plane? Then how are you going to earn a living?"

  "I'll manage," Cole said tightly.

  "You don't have to manage. I've got the money. When the time is right for Mary's surgery, it will be paid for."

  Mary's surgery? What kind of surgery? Nikki's heart clenched at the thought of something being wrong with the beautiful, dark-eyed little girl.

  "Where did you suddenly come up with this kind of money?" Cole asked. "Unless they've started paying cops a helluva lot more than they used to, you don't have this kind of bucks."

  "Nikki's rolling in the stuff. When I told her about Mary's surgery, she wanted to help." Nikki wondered if she was the only one who heard the strain in Sam's voice.

  "No." Cole sounded adamant, and she heard him move abruptly away and then back again, as if he couldn't stay in one place. "It would be bad enough if it were your money, but I'm sure as hell not going to sponge off your wife. I'll pay for it myself," he insisted stubbornly.

  "Don't be an ass." Sam didn't trouble to soften the sharpness in his voice. "Nikki is family now. She wants to do this."

  Which was true, even if Sam didn't realize it.

  "No." Nikki didn't need to be able to see him to know that Cole was shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

  "Swallow your damned pride and think of what's best for your daughter."

  "What's best for her is to have a father who doesn't take charity," Cole said sharply.

  "This isn't charity, dammit! I'm family. And don't tell me you wouldn't do the same damned thing if the situation were reversed."

  "It isn't reversed and I don't want your wife's money. I'll do it on my own."

  "So your pride is more important than Mary's health?" Sam snapped furiously.

  There was a brief silence, and Nikki half expected to hear it end with the sound of Cole's fist connecting with Sam's jaw. But the next sound wasn't that of a fist against flesh. Cole sighed, a quick, harsh sound that held both anger and resignation.

  "I hate it when you're right. No, my pride isn't more important than Mary's health. I'll take the money." The words sounded as if they'd been pulled from him.

  There was a pause, and Nikki imagined Sam handing him the check.

  "This... means a lot to me, Sam, to both of us. Thank you."

  "You'd do the same for me."

  "Yeah, but I wouldn't be so obnoxious about it." Nikki was relieved to hear a trace of humor in Cole's voice.

  "I'm oldest. I get to be most obnoxious."

  "You're very good at it."

  "Thanks."

  "I'll catch Nikki before you guys leave and thank her," Cole said.

  "No!" Sam must have realized that his response was too sharp, because he softened it immediately. "She'd be embarrassed. I'll pass on your thanks."

  "I'd really like to say something to her myself. This means a lot to Mary and me. I'd like to thank her."

  "No, really. She's...very self-conscious about having money and... I know it would just make her uncomfortable."

  Nikki bit her lip to hold back a chuckle at the blatant discomfort in Sam's voice. Obviously, she wasn't the only one finding herself floundering under the false pretenses they'd created.

  "If you're sure." Cole sounded doubtful.

  "I'm sure. I'll tell her how much you appreciate it."

  There was another silence, and Nikki mentally urged them to leave. Her nose was starting to itch and she wasn't Sure how much longer she could resist the urge to scratch it.

  "I've got to ask you something, Sam." Cole sounded uneasy. "You didn't marry Nikki to get the money for Mary's surgery, did you?"

  Her itchy nose was immediately forgotten. Nikki held her breath, waiting for Sam's response. Would he tell Cole the truth?

  "Have you looked at Nikki?" Sam's tone was rich with amusement. "Can you imagine anyone marrying her for her money?"

  Cole's tone didn't lighten to match his brother's. "I can imagine you doing
it if you thought it would help one of us," he said slowly. "You've been trying to protect us ever since we were kids."

  "I was the eldest. There wasn't anyone else."

  "Yeah, but we're not kids anymore. If you married Nikki so you could give me this money, I don't want any part of it. I can still figure out a way to pay for the surgery."

  "I think you've seen too many movies." Nikki wondered that Cole didn't hear the false note in Sam's light tone. "I married Nikki because I wanted to. She's beautiful, she's intelligent, and the fact that she happens to be rich just worked out well for you and Mary."

  "You're sure?" Nikki could imagine the searching look Cole gave his older brother.

  "I'm sure. Now, will you put the damned check in your pocket? I don't think I've ever seen anyone so reluctant to take money. God help Ed McMahon if he ever tries to give you any."

  Cole laughed reluctantly. "Maybe you should call and warn him."

  "Maybe I should. I've got to find Nikki. We have to hit the road pretty soon."

  Nikki waited until she was sure they were gone before leaving her hiding place. Thank heavens neither of them had seen her. It would have been a little difficult to explain why she was hiding behind the curtains with a picture of Sam and his first wife clutched in her hands.

  She carried the photo back over to the piano, but before setting it down, she stared at it for a few more minutes, her thoughts spinning with all she'd learned. In the past couple of days, she'd seen the man she'd married in a whole new light. He'd been married and, from the way Rachel spoke, he'd loved his wife.

  He was devoted to his family, enough so that he'd married a woman he didn't know to get the money for his niece's surgery. Why hadn't he told her that was what it was for? She'd assumed he was driven by greed, while holding her own motives up as pure and noble. The memory of her smug condemnation of Sam as a fortune hunter made her squirm inside.

  "Sam's looking for you." Rachel's voice came from directly behind her. Nikki started and spun around, guiltily aware of the photo she held.

  "I was just... looking at some of the pictures," she blurted out.

  Rachel's dark brows rose in surprise. "You're family, Nikki. You're welcome to look at them all you like."

  Aware that she'd reacted oddly, Nikki forced a smile. "Lena used to always accuse me of getting into things I shouldn't. I guess I still half expect her to catch me with my fingers where they don't belong."

  Rachel smiled. "I haven't slapped anyone's fingers in a very long time."

  "Oh, she never slapped my fingers. She just gave me this long-suffering look and then took me out to the kitchen and put me to work helping with dinner." Nikki's face softened with affection. "She spoiled me rotten, actually."

  "Is Lena your mother?"

  "Oh no. Lena is our housekeeper, only she's always been more like a mother to me. Marilee is my mother, and I doubt if she'd notice if I had my hand in a tank of piranhas." There was amusement rather than condemnation in her tone. "Not that she doesn't love me," she added, with more duty than conviction. "But Marilee lives in her own little world and she doesn't pay much attention to anything outside it."

  If Rachel thought there was anything strange about the fact that Marilee's child apparently hadn't been a part of that world, she didn't comment. She held out her hand for the photo. "Which one were you looking at?"

  Nikki reluctantly handed it over, wishing she hadn't given in to the moment's curiosity about Sam's wife. "I just wondered what she looked like. Sam.. .hasn't said much about her."

  Which wasn't a lie. Sam hadn't said anything about her.

  Rachel studied the photograph for a few seconds before lifting her gaze to Nikki's face, her eyes shrewd. "Did Sam mention Sara at all?"

  Nikki opened her mouth to say that, of course, Sam had told her that he'd been married before. But she couldn't get the he out. She shook her head.

  "We... haven't really known each other all that long," she said quickly, trying to forestall the questions she saw in Rachel's eyes.

  "Sam told me it was a whirlwind courtship," she murmured.

  "I suppose it seems foolish to you—us marrying so quickly, I mean."

  "I'd known Sam's father less than a month when we got married and we were very happy. Sometimes you just know something is right," Rachel said slowly.

  "Yes."

  And sometimes you know it's wrong and do it, anyway.

  Rachel hesitated a moment longer, her eyes searching. Nikki felt as if she had the word phony emblazoned across her forehead in flashing neon lights. But she obviously didn't look as guilty as she felt.

  "I think Sam's about ready to leave." Rachel reached past Nikki to set the photograph on the piano.

  "I'll go find him." She was vividly aware of Rachel's eyes following her as she left the room.

  ❧

  "I think Jason finds your mother attractive," Nikki said, glancing at Sam as the truck pulled away from his mother's house.

  "I figured that when he decided to stay in Los Olivos over the weekend. Should I be asking to see his credentials?" He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at her with a quick smile.

  "They're impeccable. Besides, I don't think they're heading for Vegas quite yet."

  "I don't know. Mom was blushing like a girl."

  Nikki had noticed the same thing, along with the fact that Jason had seemed younger than he had in years.

  "Would you mind if they fell in love?"

  "Why should I?" Sam gave her a surprised look. "Jason seems like a nice guy and Mom could certainly use some happiness in her life."

  "But what about when we get a divorce? If they get together, won't that be awkward?"

  "Let's worry about that when the time comes," Sam suggested. "They aren't married yet."

  "True." Nikki stared down at her wedding ring, twisting her hand back and forth to watch the way the light changed on the gold band. She hadn't planned on saying anything, but the words were suddenly there. "I heard you talking to Cole this morning."

  Sam stiffened, and she felt the look he shot in her direction. "Talking about what?"

  "About the money. About Mary's surgery. What's wrong with her? Why does she need surgery?"

  He took his time answering. This wasn't a topic he'd ever expected to discuss with Nikki. But she knew enough now that there was no reason not to tell her the rest of it.

  "There's a hole in her heart."

  "Will she be all right?" There was real concern in her voice, in her face.

  "The prognosis is very good. They'll do the surgery sometime in the next couple of years probably. I don't know what all goes into deciding when to do it. But they generally wait until a child is a little older. It doesn't cause her too many problems. And once the repair is made, she should be fine."

  "And that's what you wanted the money for? That's why you married me?"

  "Yeah. Max knew about the situation with Mary, and he thought it would be a good solution." He flicked on his turn signal. Nikki waited until he'd made the turn before speaking again.

  "What about insurance? Wouldn't that pay for the surgery?"

  "Cole runs a delivery service. A one-man, one-plane operation, and he's still paying off the plane. No insurance, not a lot of ready cash. We'd have come up with the money eventually. Gage is the only one of us with any money in the bank, but it wasn't enough. Keefe was trying to sell his ranch. Our marriage made things a lot simpler."

  "And you don't mind making that kind of sacrifice for your brother?"

  "He'd do the same for me. We're family." The simple statement summed everything up for him. "Besides, it's a pretty decent salary for a year's work, not to mention it's only a part-time job. And the living conditions aren't bad."

  He shot her a quick grin which she didn't see. She was staring out the windshield with an expression he couldn't read.

  "Your family seems very close," she commented.

  There was a wistful note in the comment that made Sam rememb
er her surprise when he'd asked if her family would be getting together for the holidays. He hadn't given much thought to it at the time. He'd just been relieved that there was no conflict with spending Thanksgiving with his family. She'd commented that her family was not close. Apparently, she'd meant it. Which reminded him of something else.

  "Did you mean what you said to Molly—about changing your name to Walker? I assumed you'd want to keep your own name."

  "I don't know. It might be nice to have a name that I didn't have to spell every time I make a reservation or order something over the phone, even if it is only for the next year. If you'd rather I didn't..." She let the words trail off in question.

  "I don't mind." In fact, he was finding that he minded less and less about this marriage. When it had begun, it had seemed like a year doing hard time. Once they'd called a truce, he'd begun to think of it as more of a minimum security sentence. But after the last couple of days, the prison analogy didn't seem apt anymore.

  When he'd married her, he'd seen Nikki as a means to an end. But the longer he knew her, the more he saw her as a person, one he was coming to like.

  He frowned at the highway in front of the truck. It was one thing to like her, but he didn't want to find her attractive. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to have much choice about it.

  Chapter 11

  Sam picked up the phone, tucking it between his chin and his shoulder so that his hands were free to keep shuffling through the papers on his desk. Where the hell had he put that report? "Walker."

  "Sam?" The woman's voice was vaguely familiar.

  "Speaking."

  "This is Liz Davis, Nikki's friend."

  "I remember." The redhead with the cute kid and the suspicious husband. He moved another stack of papers in search of the elusive report. "What can I do for you, Liz?"

  "I'm sorry to bother you at work, but it's about Nikki, actually."

  "Is something wrong?" The report was forgotten as his attention focused sharply on the conversation. "Is Nikki all right?"