Authors: Gwynne Forster
“Tara’s in school, Alexis is grocery shopping and Henry’s wherever Henry is this time of day.”
The comment about Henry struck him as funny, and he laughed. Telford stared at him. “What’s come over you, Russ? Don’t misunderstand me. Whatever it is, I like it. We all do. But seeing you break into a laugh is so damned strange. You should see how your face and your eyes light up when you laugh.”
He lifted his right shoulder in a quick shrug. “Nothing and nobody stays the same. Not even you.”
“Damn straight. I’m changing before my own eyes.”
Velma would laugh at that, Russ thought, and she’d have something witty to say about it. “You’re happy, Telford, and you can’t imagine how glad I am for you. Alexis is as different from Mama as sugar is from salt.”
“I didn’t realize that still bothered you. Knowing what Alexis sacrificed for Tara, and seeing how she loves and
cares for her child helped me get over Mama and her selfishness.”
“Uncle Fentress told me why she behaved as she did. That didn’t excuse her, but it helped me to understand her. It doesn’t cut as badly.”
They walked toward the kitchen, looked in and didn’t see Henry and went down to the basement recreation room. “I’d like to know what he said, but it hardly matters. I’ve put it behind me. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to love Alexis. Tell you what… Let’s throw a few darts,” Telford said. “It’s been ages since I beat you at this.”
Drake found them there. “How’s it going, brother?” he asked Russ, his arms open in their usual greeting.
“Haven’t got a thing to complain about. Life’s good.”
Drake stepped back and looked at Russ. “Same old sourpuss. You’re looking fit, man.”
“Don’t be so sure about the sourpuss,” Telford said.
After they discussed their projects, and each reported on his aspect of the work, Russ sat against the arm of the leather sofa and crossed his knees. “I’ve decided to take a part of the money Uncle Fentress left me and restore a row of boarded-up, vacant houses in Baltimore. Of course, I’ll have to purchase them. They’re on the edge of a slum neighborhood, but if I do what I’m planning, the area is bound to undergo some gentrification. I’ll make the housing available to homeless families, so I’m not after financial returns. They’ll be known as the Joshua Harrington Victory Homes. The owner abandoned the property, so it belongs to the city. I put in a bid this morning, and I got the impression they’re eager to unload it. Since I’m developing it for homeless families, the cost will depend on the plans I submit.”
“I take it you’ll be the architect,” Drake said.
He nodded. “That’s the biggest outlay.”
Telford stood, stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and walked to the other end of the room and back. “All right, you’re laying out the money for the property, materials and manpower, but you need a builder, so why not use me?”
“Right,” Drake said. “Let Harrington Brothers do the job. You’ll get what you want, and we’ll all honor our dad. What are we going to do about the Sparkman holdings in Eagle Park and Frederick?”
“According to his accountant, it’s all income-generating property,” Russ told them. “Why don’t we change the titles to Harrington Brothers, maintain the property and split the monthly yield?”
“Works for me,” Telford said.
“Me, too,” Drake assured them, “and dealing with it this way is less of a hassle. Besides, the value of good real estate increases.”
Russ threw the dart that remained in his hand and missed the bull’s-eye. “I forgot to mention that I’m giving Henry a substantial amount. Who knows? If Bennie ever catches him, he’ll need every penny he can lay his hands on.”
Drake stared at him as if he were from outer space. “
Bennie?
You’re kidding.”
“No I’m not. Henry can hardly stand her. He suggested he wouldn’t mind if I shot her.”
Remembering the conversation, he threw his head back and laughed. Visions of Bennie chasing Henry flooded his mind, and he laughed until he almost lost his breath.
“Sorry,” he said when he could control his laughter, “Bennie with Henry makes as much sense as a toy poodle with a greyhound. Not to worry though, Bennie’s chasing the wind.”
He noticed that Drake stared at him. “This is the second
time I knew you to laugh this way. Keep it up. I’m told laughter makes you live longer.”
“Yeah,” Telford said, “and if we’re all nice to Henry, maybe he’ll forget how to make cabbage stew.”
“Don’t even think it,” Russ said. “We’re always nice to Henry, and he always does as he pleases.” He heard the wistful note in his voice. “Still, I wouldn’t exchange him for anything.”
“Neither would I,” his brothers said in unison, and then announced that they also planned to give some of their inheritance to Henry.
“And he’ll leave it all to Tara,” Russ said, “but if that will give him pleasure, it’s fine with me.”
“Seen Velma?” Drake asked him.
“Uh…she’ll be here Friday.”
“So you’ve seen her,” Drake insisted.
“Yes.”
“Now look, brother, nobody ever accused you of being talkative, but why so taciturn? If you want me to back off, just say so.”
“I know you have my interest at heart, Drake, and I appreciate it,” Russ said, “but I’m treading through a veritable minefield right now, and I don’t want anybody’s ideas and feelings to influence me but my own.”
“Just answer this,” Drake persisted, “are you living with her?”
“No way. Trial marriage isn’t for me. I wouldn’t invest myself to that extent without a firm commitment from the woman, and shacking up implies the opposite.”
“Considering how conservative you are, I don’t know why I asked.”
“Conservative? I wonder what you’d have said if you’d seen me at the Silvertone Lounge in Baltimore night before last.”
Drake sat forward. “You were in the Silvertone?”
Russ nodded. “Sure was, and I had a ball.”
“Next, somebody’s going to tell me you danced half the night,” Drake said.
He didn’t know when he had so enjoyed rattling Drake. “Not quite that long. About three hours. The music was mind-boggling.”
“And so was the woman, I’ll bet,” Telford said. “I hope she doesn’t prove to be as closemouthed as you.”
“Considering the changes that have come over him,” Drake said to Telford, “I’d welcome the woman with open arms even if she made a living collecting cans and didn’t have a tooth in her head.”
He didn’t know why, but aggravating Drake—the certified Harrington lover man—was sweet music to his soul. “Don’t get carried away, Brother,” he said to Drake. “You and Telford are not the only Harrington men who can make a woman weak in the knees.”
“What?”
they asked in unison.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Telford asked.
He crossed his heart and grinned just to exasperate them further. “Never felt better. Life is sweet.”
“I’m going to wake up and find this is a prank someone’s playing at my expense,” Drake said. “I can’t wait till Friday. I bet she’ll talk.”
“I have no fear of that,” Russ said. “Look, I have to work on my plans for renovating those houses. I should have something to show you in a couple of days.” He started up the stairs, turned and looked back at them. “Don’t bother to speculate. Any idea you get will be the wrong one.”
“What do you make of it?” Drake asked his older brother. “He’s a different man. Not only is he giving out all this laughter, but he’s downright talkative. If you weren’t
witnessing it along with me, I might think I was losing my sanity.”
“Oh, come on. Russ is in love, and furthermore, I’m sure he knows it.”
“You think so? I was leaning toward that, too. I hope it’s Velma.”
Telford patted Drake’s shoulder. “Not to worry. Of course it’s Velma. But I’m a little surprised. He intimated that he had some reservations about her.”
“If she can bring this out in him, he’s probably decided that whatever he didn’t like isn’t important.”
“Not Russ,” Telford said. “He may be besotted with her, but his eyes are wide open. That brother doesn’t allow himself to get hoodwinked by anybody, Drake—not even you or me.”
“She’s good for him,” Drake said, “and I’m rooting for her.”
“And she will need all the support she can get. Beneath this new facade is the old Russ. He can’t discard thirty-four years of himself overnight, unless he got amnesia, and that hasn’t happened.”
Velma turned into Number Ten, John Brown Drive as nightfall set in, parked in the circle and walked back to the trunk of the car to remove her suitcase and the items she brought for Henry. But as she opened the trunk, his arms encircled her.
“I’ll get that for you. Come on inside, it’s very cold out here.” He hugged her. “I’d kiss you if I didn’t think we’d have icicles dripping off our chins. If Drake saw that, he’d be a nuisance for the remainder of my life.”
“Then how about a nice little dry kiss?”
“Yeah. Why not?” He kissed her nose, then brushed
his lips over hers. “I’d as soon wait. It’s too cold to feel anything. Come on.”
He hung her coat in the hall closet. “Wait here while I get your bag.”
“There’s also a shopping bag of food for Henry, and a wrapped package for Tara.”
“Go on down to your room, and I’ll bring them. Oh, yes. Rub a towel over your face until you warm it up.”
His laughter warmed her, set her clock to ticking properly. “And you rub yours,” she said. “Cold lips aren’t much more inviting than cold stew, unless, of course, you’re short of opportunities.”
“I’ve been four days without opportunities,” he grumbled.
“I know, darling, but we can fix that.”
He eyed her with a stern facial expression. “Is that another one of your double entendres?”
With a playful slap on his buttocks, she said, “Hurry back. I want to get out of these clothes. I’ve had them on since seven this morning.”
“Right. Be back in a minute.”
Inside the guest room, she kicked off her shoes and sat down in the overstuffed chair that Alexis had covered in gold, antique satin. There was no denying her sister’s exquisite taste. “But I no longer think that way,” she said to herself. She rushed to answer his knock, and he dropped the suitcase beside her feet and pulled her into his arms.
“Don’t overdo it, baby,” he said. “When I walk out of here, I have to go straight to my brothers, and that will be tantamount to passing military inspection.”
“Telford, too?”
“Sure. They’re both curious about what’s going on with me.”
“And you didn’t tell them.” She didn’t question him, but stated a fact.
“I figured they’d have more fun guessing.” His lips—warm, firm and sweet—pressed her mouth, and she opened to him, took him in and feasted on the loving he gave her. “When can we talk? I’m anxious to know what you have to tell me.”
“About half an hour. Can we meet in the den? I…I hope you’ll see it my way.”
She could see that he forced the smile. “I hope so, too.”
“I
t’s not a good time for us to get into anything deep,” Russ told her when she met him in the den as she’d promised. “Telford just told me that our foreman will be joining us for dinner and later to discuss our projects in Philadelphia and Eagle Park. Drake’s leaving Monday for Barbados, and we need this conference.”
She understood, and maybe she’d better wait to tell him what the doctor said, for he had as much as warned her that the treatment alone wouldn’t insure a loss of weight.
“I just got a plum of a job right there in Baltimore,” she told him. “It’s a national fraternity that scoffs at Greek letters, a society of intellectuals, and they didn’t question the cost.”
“Where in Baltimore?”
“They’re renting the Horseshoe Club, and from what I can gather, that’s class.”
“It definitely is that. That job will probably bring you some good business.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
He didn’t seem disappointed that what she told him had no direct bearing on their relationship, and she let herself relax. Alexis peeped into the room.
“Drake told me you were here,” Alexis said, spreading her arms to welcome her older sister. “My, but you’re looking great.”
“She always looks good,” Russ said, precipitating the sharp rise of Alexis’s eyebrows.
“Can’t argue with that. The brothers are having a conference after dinner, so you and I will have a chance to catch up.”
“Seems like it,” Velma said, to which Alexis replied, “But you’d rather be with someone else. I certainly don’t blame you.”
Russ’s arm slid across her shoulder, warming her from her head to the bottom of her feet, and she automatically leaned closer to him. Her sister’s knowing look sent a rush of heat to her face, and she stopped herself just before she turned and buried her face in Russ’s shoulder.
“You’re closer to him than when you were last here,” Alexis said to Velma as they sat in Velma’s room sipping after-dinner coffee. “I know he cares for you, but has he told you?”
“In so many words, yes. I just can’t seem to open up to him. I want to, and I trust him completely, but I can’t seem to—”
“Let him see your shortcomings,” she finished for Velma. “Until you do, and until the two of you can discuss the most intimate and painful things and still love and respect each other, you’re not going anywhere. Russ is ready for that, and he isn’t going to wait forever until you get there.”
“He said he would be patient with me while I fumble my way.”
“But he didn’t give you until forever, I’ll bet?” Alexis’s pause indicated a diffidence not usually associated with her self-assured sister. “He…uh…I think he’s refusing to cast his lot with a woman who doesn’t like herself and who isn’t self-confident enough to accept and appreciate his feelings about her. There! I said it.”
“
What?
He said
that?
When?”
“Several weeks ago. He seemed unhappy as well as adamant, but today, something’s changed.”
“I suppose he’s hopeful. I lay off my diet when I’m with him, but I’ve made up my mind to lose weight, and that’s that.”
“That’s your right, but you shouldn’t do that because you think someone else looks better than you do. Besides, Russ likes what he sees when he looks at you and what he feels when he holds you.”
“You can talk. Just look at you, Alexis. There isn’t a model in this world who looks better than you do.”
“Nor one who holds Russ Harrington’s interest.”
“This isn’t about Russ—it’s about me. Okay?”
“All right, but this goes deeper than your weight. If you packed away your caftans, and bought a wardrobe of lovely, flattering clothes, your weight isn’t the core of the problem. And you’ll discover that I’m right.”
“I appreciate that you’re telling me this because you care about me, and maybe you’re right, but I have to find my own way.”
“I know, and I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”
She hugged Alexis, the one source of love and affection that she could count on for nearly her entire life. “That’s the one thing I’m sure of.”
They sat quietly for a few minutes, each in her own thoughts. She had to straighten out her life. Already thirty-one years old, if she was going to have a family of her own, she’d better get started. Thoughts of Tara and the joy she gave to everyone who knew her prompted her to ask, “Does Tara spend the night away from home often?”
“Oh, dear, no. Grant Roundtree’s having a pajama party for five of his friends, and Tara would have raised a ruckus if we’d refused to let her go. She needed a playmate, Grant doesn’t live too far away, and they’ve grown very close.”
“I noticed that at your wedding. That little boy is as protective of her as a man is of his woman.”
“He copies his father’s behavior with his mother. Adam is a strong family man and a devoted husband.” She locked her hands behind her head and released a sigh. “But Telford doesn’t like to come into this house and find that Tara isn’t here. She lights up his life.”
“Well, those guys will talk all night, and I won’t get my kiss, so I might as well turn in.”
“Play your cards right, and you can soon kiss him, turn over and go to sleep,” Alexis said.
“Oh, yeah? I might kiss him and turn over, but you can bet I wouldn’t be going to sleep.”
Alexis’s throaty, sexy laugh reminded her of the sound of their mother’s giggles when she was alone with their father, intimate times more often followed by bickering and loud accusations. Quickly, she shut out the memory, kissed her sister good-night and watched her as she glided down the hall, a tall, willowy slip of elegance.
“I’ll never be tall,” she said to herself, “but one day, I’ll wear a size twelve or fourteen.”
After breakfast the following morning, Saturday, she dressed in pants, two sweaters and walking shoes, put
on a cap, scarf and gloves, got her coat and started out to brave the brisk late February cold. She knew from the conversation the previous evening at dinner that the brothers would spend the day trying to find out who was stealing their tools and supplies. Russ felt as if he should spend time with her, entertain her, but she wasn’t a child and she let him know it. She’d be there when he and his brothers finished their work.
She returned to the house around ten, her face feeling like a glacier, and went into the kitchen intending to get a hot drink. The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” Henry said, left her and took his time getting to the door.
“I want to speak with Russ Harrington.” The voice, soft, cultured and feminine, got her attention, and she forgot about the hot drink.
“What you want with him?” Henry asked. “He’s not here.”
“It’s personal, and I’m not leaving until I speak with him.”
“I said he ain’t here. You planning to camp out here on the steps in the cold?”
He closed the door and nearly knocked Velma down, causing her to wonder at the source of his anger. She wanted a look at the woman, but decided she had better not risk opening the door. Instead, she called Alexis.
“You mean he closed the door in her face?” Alexis asked as she rushed down the stairs.
“I didn’t interfere,” Velma said, “because Henry usually has a reason for being obstinate.”
“You’re right, but no matter who she is or what she wants, I can’t let her stand out there in this freezing weather.”
Velma wanted nothing to do with the woman, so she started to her room, but stopped when she heard Henry speaking on the telephone.
“I don’t know who she is, Russ. As far as I know, she ain’t never been here before. She’s maybe an inch taller than Velma, don’t seem to weigh too much, lean face and looks like she might be a Native American…. All right, but that’s gonna cause more trouble than you wanna deal with.” After a long pause, Henry continued. “It’s no matter. Alexis let her in and gave her a seat in the living room. Yeah? All right, I’ll tell her.”
He stopped in front of Velma. “Yer headed to the right place. Whatever this is, it ain’t nothing Russ done wrong. There ain’t a crooked bone in his body.”
“Thanks” was as much as she could manage, and she went on to her room.
Shortly after one, she decided that whatever was going to happen had happened, refreshed her makeup, combed out her hair and headed to the kitchen for a sandwich and tea.
“That’s the biggest damned lie I ever heard,” she heard Russ say, his voice low with controlled anger. “Where do you get off coming here, upsetting my family with this nonsense? We had a one-night affair, and I made certain that you didn’t get pregnant. ‘No commitments, no promises, no regrets, just tonight,’ you said. I was needy, and I took what you offered, but I am not a fool. I put on not one but two condoms, didn’t trust even that, and withdrew.”
She nearly dropped the sandwich on the floor as she grabbed the edge of the counter for support. She didn’t consider it eavesdropping, as no one made an effort to whisper, so she continued to listen. At last, unable to resist getting a look at the woman, she made herself walk to the living-room door, leaned against the wall and sucked in her breath.
The woman’s beauty met any standard, taller than she
and much slimmer. She wanted to turn away, but couldn’t and stood rooted to the spot.
“I want a DNA test, and I want it Monday,” Russ said. “I would support my child because it was mine, but you’re not sticking me with responsibility for another man’s stupidity. I’ll meet you at the courthouse in Eagle Park Monday morning at nine. If you’re not there with that child, I will sue you for slander. And bring the birth certificate. I want to see who you listed as the father.”
“When were you with her?” Telford asked, with the calmness of one discussing a balmy day.
“The third day of January before last, fourteen months ago.”
“How old is your child, Miss?”
“Parker,” she said. “Iris Parker. Almost five months. I didn’t carry him quite full term.”
“I see,” Telford said. “I believe Russ when he says he made a special effort to protect you. He doesn’t lie. But if, by chance, that child is a Harrington, we’re behind you one hundred percent. If you’re lying, you’ll hear from me.”
“And from me, too,” Drake said. “I don’t believe for one minute that you have a child by my brother. Why didn’t you tell him you were pregnant? Not every man wants to father an illegitimate child. If it was his, he had a right to the choice.”
He walked over and faced her. “You know what I think, Miss Parker? You read in
The Maryland Journal
that Russ inherited a lot of money. Right? Well, remember this—there isn’t one fool in this house.”
Alexis rose from the big beige leather chair that she favored. “I’ll see you to the door, Miss Parker. Don’t forget to be at the courthouse with your son at nine o’clock Monday morning.” She opened the front door. “Goodbye.”
Velma met her sister in the hall. “Why would she lie, Alexis?”
“For the reason Drake gave her. This has nothing to do with your relationship with Russ.”
“Of course not. That is, not unless it’s really his, then—”
“Then nothing. It happened before he knew you existed.”
She peeped out of the oval window beside the front door. “Hmmm. A Chevrolet.” She turned to her sister. “Alexis, did you see how that woman looked? A real beauty queen. Flawless. I wouldn’t like to be compared to her.”
“But you’re already doing it. You come with me.”
She grabbed Velma by the arm and walked with her to her room. “Did he marry her? Wasn’t he so sure he didn’t want a relationship with her that he went to great lengths to make sure he didn’t
have
to marry her? Velma, don’t start comparing yourself with that woman.”
“But if that’s the type he chose, it’s the type he likes, otherwise why did he take her to bed?”
Alexis blew out a long breath. “You are being deliberately dense. You know darned well that a man can take care of his needs and not have an iota of affection for the woman.”
“Yes, I know, but she’s—”
“She’s to be pitied. Be careful how you treat Russ about this.”
She was sure that her mouth fell open. What was wrong with Alexis? “How
would
I treat him? I believe every word Russ said. He would never lie about a thing like that. It’s just that fate can be nasty sometimes.”
Alexis released a long breath. “Thank the Lord. I was afraid you were losing your common sense.”
Velma couldn’t help grinning. “Fear not—the important thing is what I
am
on the verge of losing.”
Alexis threw up her hands. “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know about it.”
“Why not? I may one day be able to wear your sleek clothes.”
“Will you please stop dwelling on your size? Focus on this new situation, and remember that Russ loves
you
.”
“If so, that makes you and him the only people who ever loved me.”
“Velma, please don’t say that. Our parents loved us. I know they did.”
“I don’t need that kind of love. If what you say is true, why did Papa walk off the day after Mama died leaving me, an eighteen-year-old kid right out of high school, to take care of the funeral and look after you and me? I remember his note verbatim—‘I’m sorry, but I’m leaving. I just can’t stay here now. Sell the house. The money ought to see you through school. Papa.’ The note was on my pillow in an envelope with thirty-six hundred dollars cash.
“I let you believe he was brokenhearted, because I didn’t want you to hurt the way I hurt. Well, maybe he was, but not as much as I was having lost both of my parents in two days.”
“Oh, Velma. Forgive him. He was only human.”
“I will, but not until I confront him. No man who loved his teenaged daughters would be that cruel.”
“You aren’t going to—”
“I just made up my mind, and nothing you can say will stop me. Right now, I’m going to find Russ.”
He didn’t see her when she entered the den, but he sensed her presence seconds before her telltale perfume confirmed that she stood beside him. If she didn’t stand with him now, if she didn’t believe in him, he wanted no part of her. With sharpened senses, he looked down at her, not knowing what
to expect. She reached up, eased her hand behind his neck and urged him closer.