Emeralds, Rubies, and Camouflage (3 page)

The playfulness had vanished from Dane’s voice and he sounded perfectly serious. Holt inwardly groaned and fell back into the desk chair. He should hang up. Right now.

“I’m listening,” he said between gritted teeth. “What’s going on?”

“Myra was engaged to her daughter’s father – Bobby-something. Anyway, he was gone a lot as a long-haul
trucker, on the road about seventy or eighty percent of the time. Apparently on one of those trips to Las Vegas he hooked up with someone and he dumped Myra by text message. Basically he didn’t want to get married or be a father.”

“Asshole,” Holt muttered under his breath. He couldn’t stand it when men acted like children.

“A real loser,” Dane agreed. “Myra had been staying at home with Amelia
and only working part-time doing in-home child care for spending money. Of course this Bobby cut her off without a dime and they weren’t exactly rolling in it to begin with. She couldn’t pay the rent on her condo so they had to move.”

“Christ,” Holt groaned, rubbing his throbbing temples. He had a pretty good idea where this was going. Some of the cases he took pro bono were single mothers left
in the lurch. “So she moved in with you.”

“We love having her here but she feels like she’s imposing. She needs a steady job. Something she can do well. Her self-esteem is in tatters as you can well imagine. Amelia is asking about her father and Myra’s trying not to throw the jerk under the bus. A totally classy move in my book. She needs a break, Holt. I know she’ll work hard for you. If you
don’t want her I’ll find her a job somewhere else, but your situation was the best. Live-in. Reasonable hours. A good preschool only half an hour away…”

Dane’s voice trailed away placing the ball firmly in Holt’s court. He’d seen the desperation and sadness in Myra’s soft brown eyes and knowing that he had the power to take it away made it impossible to say no. She probably would do a fine job
and he shouldn’t let his libido run his business.

“You’ve talked me into it. I’ll give her a call and let her know she has the job. I hope she can start right away. Things are really stacking up in the office.”

“I’m sure she won’t mind. We can help her move if she needs a hand.” Holt could hear the smile of satisfaction in Dane’s voice. “Thanks. I think she’ll do a great job for you.”

“I’m
sure she will. I’ll see you in the office on Monday for the weekly meeting.”

“New guy brings breakfast,” Dane teased. “I like cinnamon bagels.”

“Got it. Four Egg McMuffins.”

“See you then,” Dane rang off, leaving Holt staring out of the window of his office. He’d given in and now he was going to have Myra around all the time. Every day. And every night. He could only hope that being around
her day after day dimmed the instant attraction he’d felt when he met her. Perhaps the more he learned about her the less he’d like her.

It wasn’t much of a plan but it was all he had at the moment.

*

Dane Braxton hung
up the phone and grinned. He’d known his friend couldn’t resist a sad story like Myra’s but it had been even easier
than he’d predicted. Holt had barely put up any resistance.

“You better have the answer to back up that smile,” Lily Braxton teased as she settled onto Dane’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Myra and Holt are perfect for each other. I just know it.”

“He’s going to hire her,” Dane confirmed and received a long, hot kiss as reward. When it finally ended he straightened the neckline
of his shirt where she’d shoved the fabric aside. He had to meet clients in ten minutes and he couldn’t do it smudged with lip gloss. No matter how pleasant it might be to get that way. “He’s going to call her so don’t act like you already know.”

“I won’t,” she promised with a sigh. “I hope this works. Holt always seems so lonely and Myra needs the kind of man that he is. They both deserve to
be happy and in love.”

“You want everyone to be in love.” Dane lifted her from his lap and set his gorgeous wife on the edge of the desk. She was wearing a bright red sundress today that was a perfect foil for her long dark hair. She’d brought sunshine to his own life not so long ago. He simply couldn’t imagine a future without her.

Lily slid into her shoes that had somehow slipped off when
they’d been kissing. “We’re so happy that it makes my heart hurt when I see people that aren’t. Holt thinks women won’t want him for himself all because of a few scars. Myra isn’t that shallow of a person. She’ll see through to the man he really is.”

“What if they don’t fall in love? Will you be disappointed? It might not happen. Maybe they’ll just be friends.”

“All we can do is set the stage
and make sure they have time to get to know one another.” Lily tapped her chin. “Maybe we should throw a party. A chance for Holt to see Myra all dressed up and looking amazing.”

Lily was clucking over Myra like a mother hen. She needed to have more confidence in her friend. “We don’t need to. The club’s charity soiree is coming up, remember? If Holt doesn’t ask her to be his date we’ll make
sure she goes with us.”

“You hate the club soiree.” His adorable wife wrinkled her nose. “After last year you said never again.”

He had said that. He said it every year and then went anyway. The soiree was for one of Dane’s favorite charities so he would be there with an open checkbook while encouraging all his other wealthy friends to do the same.

“And I am now eating those words. I just hate
seeing any of my family, that’s all. But I doubt they’ll come this year. I heard someone say they were spending some time in the Mediterranean.”

Dane could only hope they stayed there for awhile. The less he saw of his family the better.

“So that’s our plan,” Lily stated, standing and moving toward the door of his home office. “We throw Holt and Myra together and see what happens. I’m keeping
my fingers crossed for them.”

So was Dane. Otherwise Holt was going to turn into a lonely hermit of a man and he was too good of a person to let that happen.

‡

“M
ommy, when are
we going home?” Amelia asked as Myra walked hand in hand with her daughter down the stairs of Holt Winslow’s house. They’d unpacked in the lovely suite of rooms Myra had been given and were now going to explore the house and grounds. Everything was
almost too good to be true. First, she’d been offered the job and now she and Amelia were inhabiting a wing of the large mansion that was as big as the condo they’d lived in previously. Amelia even had her own room and Holt had assured Myra that she could decorate any way she liked.

In addition to a crap ton of toys Myra had brought Amelia’s princess sheets and comforter, hoping it would help
her daughter settle in more easily. At almost four years old Amelia was a smart and inquisitive child. Too smart. A child as intelligent as Myra’s daughter made being a parent easy and difficult all at the same time. Myra wouldn’t have Amelia any other way. She was the one ray of sunshine in an otherwise gray future. There wasn’t anything Myra wouldn’t do to make sure Amelia was happy and healthy.

“This is our new home, Amelia.” At least that’s what Myra hoped it would become over time. “Mommy has a new job here with Mr. Winslow. Aunt Lily said this house has a swimming pool just like her house. You can learn to swim. Wouldn’t you like that?”

“Daddy said he was going to teach me to swim. When will Daddy be here?”

Myra didn’t know how to answer her daughter’s question.

But there was no
way she was going to tell Amelia that her father didn’t want her anymore or that he had clearly moved on with his life. Bobby had cleaned out their joint checking and savings accounts and then sent Myra a “so long” text. He had little concern for Amelia’s welfare or anyone else’s beside himself. Somehow she would protect her daughter from that nasty bit of information. After all, this was about
Myra’s choice of men.

The fact was she had lousy taste when it came to the male sex.

“Daddy won’t be here at this house, but maybe you can send him an email later on.”

Not that Bobby would answer that email, which would leave Myra in an even more awkward position with her daughter. As usual he had left Myra holding the bag. She didn’t want to speak ill of Amelia’s father but right now she was
hard-pressed to say anything nice. It was best if she said nothing at all unless forced.

“I want to send him a picture. Will you take a picture of me and send it to Daddy?”

Myra patted her daughter’s back more to soothe herself than Amelia. “Of course I will. We’ll do it tonight before bed.”

Her daughter nodded, infinitely more interested in the new scenery now than pictures and emails. Amelia
was usually a well-behaved child but being intelligent she asked a lot of questions.

“Why do you have to work here? What about all my friends?”

Because getting a job with flexible hours and decent pay in this economy is almost impossible
, Myra wanted to say but didn’t. She’d been expecting the plaintive wail in her daughter’s voice eventually but she’d hoped it wouldn’t be this soon.

“This
job will give us time together and they even provide a place to live. We can maybe see your friends on the weekends, but you’ll make new friends. Lily said there’s a great preschool about a half hour away. You’ll start there tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t want new friends. They probably won’t know how to have fun.” Amelia stuck out her lower lip and jumped from the last stair to the gleaming floor
of the living room. Myra had plenty of experience with her daughter’s moods and Amelia was getting into her stubborn “I want what I want when I want it” mode. Now was not the time for it. Sometimes Myra simply had to pull rank.

“Of course you want new friends,” Myra said briskly as she turned them toward the kitchen. “Everyone wants more friends. You’re going to be fine.”

No matter what I have
to do.

“We’ll be having dinner in about an hour,” Fiona said with a big smile when they entered the large, sunny kitchen. “I hope you like baked ziti. If you’re doing some exploring you might want to head down to the stables and see the horses.”

“We do,” Myra assured her. “It’s one of our favorites. And we’d love to see the horses. Does Mr. Winslow ride?”

“Sometimes. Mostly he likes to drive
fast and ride around on one of his motorcycles getting muddy and risking his fool neck. He’s something of an adrenaline junkie.”

“What’s an adrenaline junkie?” Amelia piped up.

“It’s someone who really loves doing daring things like climbing mountains and sky diving.” Myra was used to Amelia’s nonstop questions.

Amelia’s brow knitted. “That sounds scary.”

“It is. Don’t do it,” Myra warned,
almost faint at the thought of her baby jumping from a plane. She had a healthy respect for heights and luckily Amelia did as well. “Take up a nice safe hobby like the piano.”

“That sounds boring. Jill’s brother builds rockets and sets them off in the backyard.”

Jill’s brother was probably going to spend his adolescent years in reform school but Myra didn’t say it out loud.

“You’re going to
have your hands full with that one when she gets a little older. My daughter is in college now but those teen years were something else,” Fiona laughed.

“I’ve got my hands full now,” Myra sighed. “Sometimes I think all my brain cells were transferred to her during childbirth. She’s so smart and sometimes I feel so stupid.”

“You seem to be doing a pretty good job.”

“Thank you, I hope so. Is
there anything I can help you with?”

Myra didn’t like feeling at loose ends. Mr. Winslow had told her they would start tomorrow as he had to go into the office today.

“I’m fine,” Fiona assured her, opening cabinets and pulling out a few pots and pans. “Enjoy the good weather with your daughter.”

“I will, thank you.”

Myra and Amelia exited the house through the French doors off the kitchen
and headed through the backyard to the barn that could be seen in the distance. It was a warm and sunny day, the humidity already high despite the calendar which clearly said it was still only spring. By the time they reached the horse barn Myra’s white cotton shirt was clinging from a layer of perspiration that covered her head to toe.