Read A Family Circle 1 - A Very Convenient Marriage Online
Authors: Dallas Schulze
Tags: #Romance, #Fiction, #General
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"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 remember 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.
S
am 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?"
"She's fine," Liz said hastily. "She's just stranded. Her car won't start."
"It's a wonder that thing ever starts." Sam relaxed back in his chair. He tuned out the bustle around him with practiced ease. Nearly fifteen years on the job had given him the ability to concentrate on the matter at hand, regardless of what was going on around him.
"That's what Bill says. But Barney is more reliable than he looks."
"Barney?" Sam's eyebrows rose. Barney who?
"Nikki's car. Michael named him."
"The car has a name?" That rolling junk pile is named Barney? "Isn't there a puppet or something named Barney?"
"A dinosaur. The most irritatingly happy creature you've ever seen. He's purple. Nikki's car is purple."
"So your son named the car Barney," Sam finished for her.
"Children aren't always as imaginative as they're cracked up to be," Liz said dryly. "Anyway, Barney has the croup, and Nikki's stuck for a ride.1 She called me and I told her Bill would pick her up, but it turns out Bill's working late tonight, and I really don't want her there after dark."
"Want her where?" It seemed as if he'd spent most of the conversation asking questions.
"At Rainbow Place," Liz said, sounding surprised that he had to ask.
"Of course." What the hell was Rainbow Place? A shopping mall? A restaurant? And why would Liz assume that he'd know what it was?
"I was hoping you might be able to pick her up. If you can't, I'm sure she can get a cab."
Sam glanced at his watch. He'd put in a good ten hours and there was nothing urgent pending—at least, no more than there usually was.
"I'll pick her up. Can you give me the address? I don't have it handy." Which was true enough, since he didn't have it at all.
"I have it right here."
Sam's brows shot up at the address she was giving him. He suddenly understood Liz's concern about Nikki being there after dark. He wasn't sure he wanted to be there after dark. So what was Nicole Beauvisage Walker, pampered rich girl, doing in a neighborhood like that?
"I know Nikki will appreciate this, Sam," Liz said, obviously relieved to have the problem solved.
"No problem."
He hung up the phone and stared at the address scribbled on the outside of a fast-food bag that had been lying on his desk. What was Rainbow Place? And what was his wife doing there? There was one way to find out. He got up and reached for the coat draped over the back of his chair.
Half an hour later, he pulled the Bronco up to the curb in front of the address Liz had given him. There had to be a mistake. This couldn't be the right address. But painted across the front of the building, in bright, crayon colors were the words Rainbow Place, complete with rainbow arcing across the wall.
Sam shut off the engine and got out, careful to lock the truck. The neighborhood wasn't as bad as he'd expected it to be, a small pocket of tattered respectability in the midst of urban blight. The houses nearby were shabby but neat-it was obvious that the occupants might not have much money, but they hadn't stopped caring about their homes.
He stopped in front of the tall chain-link fence that surrounded Rainbow Place and studied the assortment of playground equipment that filled the small yard. The fence itself had been painted in a variety of bright colors, which made it look a little less starkly functional. The scene was bright and welcoming. And completely bewildering.
A nursery school? What was Nikki doing at a nursery school?
The gate was locked, but there was a bell with a hand-lettered sign that read Ring Me. Sam took the suggestion and pressed his finger on the bell. A moment later, the door of the house opened and a slender young African-American woman came out. She stopped on the other side of the fence and eyed him suspiciously. Seeing her up close, Sam realized she was younger than he'd thought—probably not more than seventeen or eighteen.
"We don't allow solicitors," she told him firmly.
"I'm not a solicitor. I'm here to pick up Nikki. I'm her husband." It struck him that the words came more easily than he might have expected. More than he'd have liked?
"Nikki doesn't have a husband," the girl said flatly.
Obviously Nikki hadn't felt it necessary to tell everyone in her life about her marriage. Sam was surprised by the sharp little pinch of annoyance he felt.
"Yes she does, and I'm it." He tried a smile and got nothing but a cool look in response. "How about if you tell her I'm here and we'll see if she admits to knowing me?"
"What name shall I give her?"
He thought of pointing out that it was unlikely Nikki had more than one husband, but remembered that even that was under dispute. "Sam Walker."
"Wait here."
"I'm not planning on scaling the fence," he muttered as she turned and walked back up the path.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket and hunched his shoulders a little against the chill in the air. Thick gray clouds hovered overhead, blocking the late afternoon sun. Rain was predicted sometime before midnight.
But Sam wasn't concerned with the weather, present or future. He kept looking at the cheerful playground and the brightly painted stucco building. Just where did Nikki fit into this picture?
A few minutes later, the teenager returned. "Nikki says you can come in," she told him. Her expression was slightly more welcoming than it had been before his identity had been confirmed. "I'm Jade Freeman. I'm sorry about making you wait, but Nikki hadn't told us about getting married."
"We've only been married a little while." Sam stepped through the gate, waiting while she relocked it.
"Still seems odd she didn't say anything."
It seemed odd to him, too, but he couldn't say as much. He smiled and tried to look unconcerned. The look Jade gave him suggested she was wondering if Nikki had had a reason for concealing his existence. Under other circumstances, Sam might have been tempted to drag his knuckles on the ground and maybe drool a little to confirm her obvious suspicions, but at the moment he was more interested in finding out what Nikki was up to.
Jade pushed open the front door, which was painted an eye-searing shade of pink, and led him into a narrow front hall. The walls were a soft white, the better to show off the rows of crayon drawings and finger-painted masterpieces that covered them like one-of-a-kind wallpaper.
"Nikki said you could wait in the office," Jade told him.
Sam glanced through the door at the tiny room, which was nearly filled by a bartered wooden desk. A personal computer and stacks of paper concealed its surface. There were more examples of children's artwork tacked to the walls and several boxes of disposable diapers stacked in one corner.
"Where's Nikki?" he asked.
Jade had already started to walk away, but she turned back at his question. "She's with the children, but she said you should wait here."
"I'd like to see her, please." Seeing the refusal in her expression, Sam tried a coaxing smile. "I gave up devouring small children years ago."
There was a flicker of humor in her dark eyes. "Found a new hobby, did you?"
"Hanging by my heels from rafters."
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "We don't have any rafters handy."
"Then you don't have anything to worry about."
She studied him a moment longer, and then, with a half shrug, turned away. It wasn't exactly the warmest invitation Sam had ever had, but he wasn't complaining. He heard Nikki's voice even before Jade stopped in the doorway of another room. She looked over her shoulder and put her finger to her lips.
The warning was unnecessary. Sam didn't think he could have found his voice if his life depended on it. There were a dozen children in the room, ranging in age from toddlers to perhaps five-year-olds. They were sprawled on the floor or seated in child-size chairs, their attention firmly directed toward the woman sitting cross-legged on the floor at the front of the room.