Midnight Promises (25 page)

She frowned at that. “Meaning?”

“The opening could be a week or two later than we originally anticipated, but there are always glitches in starting a new business. Tom and the others swear it’s nothing to worry about.”

She couldn’t help the chill that swept over her. Nor could she seem to stop herself from asking, “Are you on budget?”

Elliott frowned at the question. “Karen—”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s a reasonable question.”

“But it’s not your concern,” he said, then flushed. “I take that back. Of course it’s your concern, because we’ve invested our savings in this, but you need to trust me that we’re okay.”

“Would you tell me if there was a problem?” She could see by the way he avoided her gaze that he would not. “Elliott!”

“Yes, of course,” he said eventually. “If there were a problem that could affect our finances, I’d tell you. There’s nothing like that happening now.” He held her gaze. “I swear it.”

She knew she had to take him at his word. She owed him that level of trust. She couldn’t keep undermining him by questioning every little decision he made, no matter how difficult it was for her to remain silent. “Okay, then. That’s good enough for me.”

He sighed and held her gaze. “Is it really, or is it always going to be this way when it comes to money?”

“I’m trying,” she said, wishing she could promise that she was finally past all that ingrained panic.

He studied her intently, then slowly released a sigh. “I know you are, but you’ll see,
querida,
I will always be here to take care of you and our family.”

Though she knew he meant it to be reassuring—and it mostly was—she could also hear what she imagined to be the condescending tone of his father, the proud provider of all important things. It sent a chill down her spine.

“Elliott, promise me something,” she said earnestly.

“Anything,” he said at once.

“Don’t ever feel you need to keep things from me. Even if something’s bad, I need to know. I don’t need you to protect me or leave me out. I can handle anything, as long as I’m not blindsided.”

“I would never do that,” he said, his tone mildly indignant.

She nodded, but the truth was, they both knew he would. It was the Cruz family way, at least for the men of the family. What they viewed as protection and taking charge, Karen saw as patronizing. She wondered if she and Elliott would ever see eye to eye about that.

* * *

“We need a family day,” Elliott announced over breakfast on Sunday morning. “I’ve already told my mother we’re not coming for Sunday dinner.”

Karen stared at him, open-mouthed, with shock. “You’re willing to ditch your mother? When did you get to be so brave?” she teased.

“It’s not bravery. It’s desperation,” he declared. “We need some time together. We’re going to pack up the car and drive over to the beach.”

Even as Daisy and Mack whooped with delight, Karen still couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the plan. “You’re actually taking a day off? Now—with so much to do at the gym?”

“We’ve had no quality time together as a family since the renovations began,” he said. “The men said they could spare me for today. That’s the great thing about working with this group of guys. They understand the importance of family. We’re all working two jobs essentially, so we’ve been rotating breaks to give everyone time at home. Today it’s my turn, since you and the kids have the day off, as well.”

“And we have the entire day to ourselves?” she said, still not quite believing it, but with anticipation finally beginning to kick in. “What did your mother say?”

“She said it was about time I took a break. I’ve had three calls from her in the past two weeks, telling me I was working too hard.”

Karen grinned. “Yay for Mama Cruz!”

Elliott laughed. “I’m going to tell her that just this once you appreciate her interference.”

“I do,” Karen said. “And I’ll be more than happy to tell her that myself.” She turned to the kids. “Run and put a swimsuit, a towel and whatever toys or books you want into your backpacks. We’re leaving…” She turned to Elliott. “How soon?”

“A half hour,” he said.

She frowned. “That’s awfully fast. I thought I could make fried chicken and coleslaw to take with us.”

“Nope. We’re going to grab lunch when we get there. Hot dogs for the kids and a whole passel of spiced shrimp for us. How does that sound?”

“Expensive,” she said candidly, but refused to worry about the cost just this once. “And wonderful. Okay, kids, hurry. I get the sense that Elliott is impatient to get this trip underway.”

The drive to the South Carolina coast was a long one, with the kids increasingly impatient about reaching the ocean. They’d only been once before, and so long ago, she doubted Mack even remembered, though he claimed he did, mostly to annoy Daisy, who kept telling him he’d been too little.

“Was not!” he said.

“Were, too,” Daisy retorted. “You were a baby.”

“Mom!” Mack protested.

Karen turned around. “The quickest way to get Elliott to turn this car right around and go back home is for the two of you to keep fighting.”

Daisy and Mack gave each other mutinous looks, but at least they fell silent.

Karen leaned closer to Elliott and whispered, “I think I’m almost as impatient as they are. This is such a treat. Thank you for thinking of it.”

“We all deserve it,” Elliott said. “I want us to be a family that makes lots and lots of memories we can store away.” He gave her a quick glance. “Did you bring the camera?”

“Of course.”

A hopeful grin curved his lips. “And you’re wearing your bikini?”

“Nope,” she said, then grinned at his disappointed expression. “But I brought it!”

“The sight of you in that will be more than enough to make my day,” he said with feeling.

As they neared the coast, Karen could smell the tang of salt in the air and feel the softness of the breeze. It was completely different from Serenity. Even before the sweet coconut aroma of sunscreen could be mixed in, just the scent of the air spoke of relaxation, vacations and fun, something that had been in very short supply during her lifetime. She realized now that she should have made more of a tradition of these day trips for the sake of the kids. Elliott was right. It was the sort of thing that made good childhood memories.

As soon as Elliott had parked the car, the kids tumbled out of the back. They’d worn their bathing suits under their clothes, so they headed straight out onto the sand with Elliott to choose a spot, while Karen went to a nearby restroom to change. Self-conscious about every stretch mark that showed when she donned her bikini, she covered herself with one of Elliott’s T-shirts, then made her way to the beach to join them.

“Here comes Mom!” Mack shouted, filling a sand pail with water and racing toward her, obviously intent on getting her soaked.

“Don’t you dare,” she said as he lifted the pail, but her laughter only encouraged him to send the water flying in her direction.

“You’re in trouble now,” Daisy called out, giggling as Karen took off after her son, only to be scooped up by Elliott and carried out into the chilly water, then unceremoniously dunked.

Both Daisy and Mack were staring, wide-eyed, when she surfaced sputtering.

She stared at her husband, who was making no attempt at all to control his mirth. “You did not just do that,” she said.

Elliott chuckled. “I believe there’s evidence that I did. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

In response, she dove beneath the surface, grabbed his ankle and hauled him under. She’d only accomplished it by catching him completely off guard, but the shocked look on his face when he came to the surface was priceless.

“Now we’re even,” she said, as the kids splashed into the water to join them, laughing and squealing about how cold the ocean was.

“I like the pool at Aunt Adelia’s better,” Mack said, shivering. “It’s warm.”

“Because it’s heated, dummy,” Daisy told him.

“You do not call your brother a dummy,” Karen said, but she had little enthusiasm for disciplining them on a day like today. “Mack, if you’re cold, go back to the blanket and wrap up in a towel. The sun will warm you right up.”

“But I want to stay with you guys,” he protested, even though his lips were turning blue, and he was shivering.

“I’ll come with you, buddy,” Elliott said, heading up to the beach with him.

Daisy turned to Karen. “Mom, you look happy.”

Karen smiled. “I am happy.” It occurred to her to wonder how she normally looked to her daughter. “I’m happy all the time,” she said. “Doesn’t it look that way to you?”

“Mostly, since you married Elliott,” Daisy agreed. “You used to look sad or scared before that. Sometimes now you do, too.”

“Grown-ups have lots of things on their minds,” Karen told her. “Some of them are sad. Some things make us worry. But the bottom line is that you, Mack, Elliott and our life together make me the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”

Daisy looked relieved. “I’m glad. I don’t want you to ever get a divorce again. Mack and I love Elliott. And we love having a great big family with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandma who bakes cookies.”

“Hey, I bake cookies,” Karen protested, teasing her.

“Not as good as Grandma Cruz’s or as Frances’s.” Daisy’s expression turned thoughtful. “Or as good as Erik’s.”

Karen knew she should probably be insulted, but how could she be when there were so many people in her life taking such good care of her children, filling them up with treats, and showering them with love? For way too many years she’d been alone and scared and overwhelmed by financial worries. She needed to take the time to remember, once in a while, just how far she’d come.

And she also needed to give herself credit for getting there mostly on her own, even if it had been with the support of an amazing circle of friends she was still learning to trust and appreciate. Whatever crises might lie ahead, it was reassuring to know she’d never have to face them alone again.

14

A
fter a long morning on the beach, the kids were clearly starting to fade from the combination of sun, swimming and salt air. Elliott suggested they find a casual restaurant Dana Sue had recommended, then head on home since Monday was a school day.

“No,” Mack protested, though he could barely keep his eyes open. “I want to swim and swim and swim.”

“You turn blue every time you go in the water,” Daisy said. “And all you do is complain about being cold.”

“But it’s still the best fun we’ve ever had,” Mack enthused.

Elliott smiled at his exuberance. “And you,
niña?
” he asked Daisy. “Have you had fun?”

She nodded. “I can’t wait to tell Selena. She’s going to be so jealous. Ernesto never takes them to the beach.” As if realizing that she’d touched on a sore topic, she frowned. “Maybe I shouldn’t say anything, after all.”

“I think you can tell Selena about what a great time you had,” Elliott told her. “But maybe you could think about asking her if she’d like to come along next time. That way she wouldn’t feel as if you’d left her out or were bragging about something she doesn’t get to do.”

Daisy’s eyes lit up. “There’s going to be a next time? And she could come?” she asked excitedly.

Elliott turned to Karen. “What do you think?”

Karen nodded at once. “I think we’ve started a new family tradition. Whenever we have the time for a special outing, this is what we’ll do. Agreed?”

Elliott grinned at the enthusiastic shouts from the backseat. They’d needed a day like this, just the four of them. Whatever it had cost in terms of time and money was worth it. He hoped Karen truly understood that, so there could be future outings without her weighing the rewards against the expense.

At the restaurant, the kids barely made it through their late lunches before they were fighting to keep their eyes open. Karen’s eyes, however, were still brimming with a delight he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s been a good day, hasn’t it?” he asked her.

“It has, and it’s been a good reminder about how important it is to leave our cares behind every now and then. They’ll still be waiting for us tomorrow, but they won’t look as daunting after a day like this. I’ve been so cautious for so long, I didn’t know any other way to be. Thank you for showing me that we can find a way to have some balance.”

Elliott gave a nod of satisfaction. “Then I’ve accomplished my goal,” he said. “I’ve put a smile on your lips and some color in your cheeks.”

“You most definitely have,” she said, then leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. “Thank you.”

Almost immediately, though, she picked up another shrimp and studied it as if it were a specimen in a lab. “What spices do you suppose they used? These are delicious.”

Elliott chuckled. “I knew you wouldn’t get through the entire meal without wondering about that.”

She winced. “I’m very predictable, aren’t I?”

“In the best possible ways,” he said, “which is why I stopped on the way in and spoke to the hostess while you and the kids were in the restroom.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and held it tantalizingly out of her reach. “The chef’s list of spices.”

She regarded him with amazement. “You’re kidding,” she said excitedly, trying to grab it. “Most chefs won’t divulge their trade secrets.”

“But this one has a local cookbook and it’s all in there. The hostess made a copy of the page, when I explained how fascinated you are with recipes.”

“I knew that charm of yours would come in handy,” she teased, once more trying to nab the piece of paper.

“Not just yet,” he teased. “What’s my reward?”

She grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a kiss that had his blood stirring.

“Not bad,” he said.

She frowned at his less-than-enthusiastic review. “That was an excellent kiss!” she protested.

“Where will it lead when we get home?”

She laughed then. “I didn’t realize this was a negotiation. In that case, I imagine we could work out something that would be mutually satisfying.”

“Okay, then,” he said and handed over the piece of paper.

She was immediately absorbed in the list of spices, the tip of her tongue caught between her lips. With her brow knitted in concentration, she looked so intense and cute, it took every bit of restraint he possessed not to haul her into his arms and kiss her again, but with her promise still ringing in his ears, he could wait a little bit longer.

That didn’t mean he didn’t hurry just a bit to pay the bill, get Daisy and Mack settled in the car and get on the road. And if they made the trip just a little faster going home, well, he thought just this once the extra speed was justified. After all, who knew what the reward might be when she discovered he’d actually bought her a copy of the chef’s entire cookbook?

* * *

Adelia had lost her last shred of patience with Ernesto. Her visit to his office had accomplished nothing, except perhaps to make him more defiant than ever. He obviously hadn’t believed for a moment that she would end their marriage. And the truth was, as desperately as she wanted to reclaim her self-respect, she wasn’t sure she could do it, either.

Just imagining the fallout with the family was daunting enough, to say nothing of what might happen if Ernesto somehow turned the tables in court and managed to slip out of any obligation to provide well for her and the children. She’d never held a meaningful job, and while she wasn’t afraid of hard work, adjusting to a work schedule after being a stay-at-home mom would be a difficult transition. She couldn’t help thinking she’d be shortchanging her children, and yet, other families did just fine with the mother working. Look at Karen and Elliott, for instance.

She knew she ought to make an appointment with Helen Decatur-Whitney, who had a reputation for winning big for her clients in cases like this, but that would make the whole possibility of divorce a little too real. On some completely unrealistic level, she kept thinking her husband would come to his senses. So far, though, there was no evidence of that happening. Either he didn’t care or he was counting on her devotion to her faith to maintain the status quo, which clearly suited him just fine. She provided him with the perfect excuse to make no commitment to any of these women who wandered through his life.

In some ways the worst part of all this was not having anyone she could confide in. Mama was out of the question, as were her sisters and Elliott. She thought of Karen, who’d offered more than once to listen without making comments or judgments, but after the way Adelia had behaved toward her sister-in-law before Karen and Elliott had married made just the thought of it too embarrassing. Still, that might eventually be her best option. Karen was certainly the only one within the family who had experience with divorce.

Adelia wished she’d maintained some of her friendships from high school, but once she’d gotten involved with Ernesto, she’d centered her life around him, then later around their children. She saw now what a huge mistake that had been. She had a lot of acquaintances from her volunteer work, but no one she felt close enough to that she’d be willing to confide her deepest fears and secrets to them.

“What I need,” she decided one morning after the kids were off to school, “is a job.” A part-time job would be the perfect transition just in case things progressed to the next level and she actually filed for divorce. She suddenly wanted the sense of independence that would bring.

However, just expressing the thought aloud was so shocking, it took her a minute to absorb what she was considering. She had a degree from college in business, though the diploma was so dusty and her memories of her schoolwork so far in the past, she wasn’t sure it mattered. Who would hire her based on that? What would she list on her résumé—a dozen school committees and volunteering at the library?

And who in Serenity would be hiring these days? The town had been hit by the economic downturn just like every place else, despite town manager Tom McDonald’s best efforts to revitalize the community’s downtown area. His cousin Travis’s country music radio station and Raylene’s boutique were the newest businesses on Main Street. She doubted either were hiring or that she’d be qualified for the work, anyway. Thinking about her lack of skills combined with the likely lack of opportunity was discouraging, which had her reaching for the cake she’d baked just that morning.

Sadly, that was another habit she’d gotten into—eating to stuff down her frustrations. She still had twenty pounds of so-called baby weight, even though her youngest was now in second grade.

“Well, I can’t just sit here eating cake all day,” she muttered, shoving the plate away in disgust. She needed to do something positive, something to boost her spirits, something she could control, since it was evident that for now the fate of her marriage was out of her hands.

“What I ought to be doing is exercising,” she said, though the idea was utterly abhorrent to her. She’d never understood her brother’s fascination with the joy of sweating. How many times, though, had he suggested that a good workout could relieve stress? Wasn’t that what she needed as much as losing those extra pounds? Maybe she’d even splurge on a massage and a facial, while she was at it. At least if she eventually walked away from Ernesto, she could be in great shape and thumb her nose at him as she left.

Twenty minutes later she walked into The Corner Spa. She was hesitating in the reception area when Maddie Maddox stepped out of her office, smiling when she saw her.

“You’re Elliott’s sister, aren’t you? Adelia, is it?”

Adelia nodded.

“Did you come by to see him? I think he’s with a client, but he should be free in a minute.”

“Actually I wanted to sign up for a membership and then maybe see if you have a personal trainer other than my brother who could work with me? Letting Elliott boss me around might be more than I can take right now.”

Maddie laughed. “I can understand that, and I can certainly help with the membership. Jeff Matthews is our other trainer, and I’m sure he’d be happy to work you into his schedule. Why don’t I start you on the paperwork, and I’ll bring him in?”

She left Adelia filling out forms in an office that smelled of lavender and other scents that seemed to have a relaxing effect on her. Adelia couldn’t be sure if it was those or just taking a positive step that had her feeling better already.

Twenty minutes later, she’d signed up for a six-month membership, scheduled her first session with Jeff for the following morning and made an appointment for a massage after that. She was on her way out when Elliott spotted her. He regarded her with surprise.

“Hey, sis, what are you doing here?”

“I signed up,” she announced, thinking he’d be pleased that she’d finally taken a step he’d long ago recommended. “And Jeff’s going to work with me.”

Elliott frowned. “If I’d known you were interested, I’d have worked you into my schedule for free.”

She shook her head at once. “Not what I wanted.”

He grinned, finally getting her decision. “Does your baby brother actually scare you?”

“You have a reputation as a tough taskmaster,” she admitted, “but it wasn’t that.”

“What then?”