Pirate's Gold (23 page)

“Come in, come in,” Lydia insisted, moving out of the doorway. She rambled for a minute in rapid Spanish before realizing that Maren couldn't understand a word she was saying.
“Dios,”
she whispered. “It's Holly.”

Maren's eyes widened in horror. She grabbed Lydia's arm as she imagined a gamut of horrible accidents occurring. Her heart felt as if it had stopped beating. “What's wrong? Has something happened?”

Lydia nodded gravely. “That woman called!” she spat out.

“What woman—who called? Is Holly hurt?”

Lydia attempted to allay Maren's worst fears. “She bleeds, but it's from the heart,” the elderly woman whispered. “That mother of hers…” Once again communication was broken by Lydia's rapid stream of Spanish.

“Hold on, Lydia. Calm down and explain to me what happened—
in English.
Where's Holly now?”

“She's down at the beach…I think…. She wouldn't talk to me….”

“What about Kyle?”

“He's with her.”

Maren's worries subsided slightly. Slowly she let out a gust of air. “Maybe I shouldn't intrude.”

“It wouldn't be intruding. Holly needs you…”

“She's got her father.”

“She needs a woman who cares for her,” Lydia stated emphatically.

“Like you.”

“
Dios,
no!” Lydia replied, shaking her graying head. “I am like the grandmother…with you it's different.” She took Maren's arm and hustled her toward the back door. “You go. Maybe you can talk some sense into her.”

More to placate Lydia than anything else, Maren decided to track down Holly and Kyle. If there had been some family disturbance with Rose, Maren doubted that she could help and secretly thought it better for father and daughter to work it out alone. However, she slowly descended the weathered steps and squinted into the dusky twilight. Several hundred yards northward she spotted Kyle and Holly sitting on the beach. Maren took her time approaching them.

“Lydia insisted that I come looking for you,” she stated when she was still several feet away from the two huddled figures. Kyle looked up, and the lines on his face indicated the strain he had been enduring. Holly refused to raise her eyes, but Maren noticed the wet tracks from recent tears on her cheeks. Maren's heart ached for the sad girl with the trembling lower lip. “If I'm intruding…”

“I'm glad you're here,” Kyle interrupted, but Holly refused to comment. “Maybe you can explain a few things to Holly,” he suggested, his gray eyes pleading.

Maren took a tentative seat near the girl. “Maybe I can. I was a fifteen-year-old girl myself once,” she allowed, rubbing the toe of her tennis shoe into the sand.

“Did your mom work?” Holly charged, her frail voice catching on a sob.

“Yes, she did,” Maren admitted. “She was a schoolteacher. Taught English at the high school I attended. It was a terrible burden. I
never
got away with anything.”

Holly lifted a suspicious eye, as if to see if Maren were bluffing. The sincere look on Maren's studious face convinced her that Maren was for real. “Did she ever miss your birthday?” Holly asked in a voice so low it was lost in the surf.

Maren frowned as she thought. She studied the disappearing horizon before turning to Holly. “I don't remember. I doubt it. She was pretty big on birthdays, Christmas and all the other holidays. I think I'd remember if any of them were skipped.”

“Yeah, I though so,” Holly sniffed, stiffening her spine. Kyle placed a comforting arm over his daughter and pulled her against his side. The look he cast Maren was filled with the pain he was bearing for his child.

“Is that what happened?” Maren asked softly. “Did your mom forget your birthday?”

Holly had trouble trusting her voice. When she replied, it quavered. “Oh, she remembered all right. It's just that she thinks she has to stay in Texas longer than she planned and…well…she won't be able to see me on my birthday. I'm going to be sixteen…and…she promised me a big party.” The tears Holly had been fighting slid silently down her cheeks. “She doesn't love me,” the girl said flatly.

“Oh, I doubt that,” Maren responded, with a gentle smile. Slowly she reached out and touched Holly's curly hair. Kyle's eyes reflected his surprise. “I'm sure your mother loves you very much,” Maren maintained as Holly broke into sobs. “Some people have difficulty expressing their love…”

“She's sending me a birthday present,” Holly interrupted angrily. “But she can't seem to find the time to come home!”

Maren hesitated, finding it hard to defend Rose. “Look, Holly, I know that sometimes it's hard to understand your mother. But you have to think about it from her perspective. Her career is very important to her…”

“More important than I am!”

“I don't think so.” Kyle eyed Maren suspiciously, but Maren continued. “She probably knows that you're safe and well cared for here with your father, and right now she can't afford to let her career slide. Soon you'll be grown and out of the house, and what will Rose have other than her career?”

Holly let out a ragged sigh, and her teeth sank into her lower lip. “You act as if you understand her—why would you?”

“I'm only trying to give her the benefit of the doubt…and, if it's a party you want, I know one where you'll be an honored guest…” Maren's eyes held Kyle's confused gaze. The angle of his chin warned her that she had better know what she was doing.

“What party?” Holly asked, distracted at least partially from her own misery.

“Well, it might not be as grand as a sixteenth-birthday party, but I'm planning a celebration next week because I've just finished a very important piece of business.” Kyle's eyebrows lifted in interest. “And the best part is that I think all of the members of Mirage will be there.”

“Really?” Holly sniffed back her tears.

“Really. What do you say?”

Kyle looked as if he were about to interfere, but the determination in Maren's gaze deterred him.

“Oh, Maren,” Holly sighed, temporarily forgetting her woes. “Is it all right if I bring a friend?”

“Of course.”

In a gesture overflowing with gratitude, Holly wrapped her small arms around Maren's shoulders and smiled. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I…I'm sorry I gave you such a bad time the last time you were here.”

“It's all right…”

Abruptly Holly stood. “I'm going to call Sara right now. She'll be out of her mind!” With that she cast one last smile at her father, turned and raced back toward the house.

A cryptic smile spread over Kyle's thin lips. “It seems that you've just won another victory,” he decided as he watched his daughter disappear up the stairs along the cliff face. “Holly thinks you're wonderful.”

“Of course she does,” Maren said with a slow-spreading grin. “I just offered her the chance of a lifetime: to meet J. D. Price, teenage heartthrob and hunk
extraordinaire.
” Her laughter warmed the night.

“So you think you bribed her?”

Maren shook her head. “
Bribe
has such a distasteful connotation. I prefer to think that I charmed her.”

“Just like her old man?”

Maren smiled wickedly. “Well, maybe not in the same manner.” She sobered as a thought struck her. “Holly went to the doctor last week, didn't she?” Kyle nodded. “Well, what's the prognosis?”

Kyle closed his eyes. “Dr. Seivers seems to think that she's fine. Her uterus seems to have healed properly and though there's a slight chance that more problems could arise, he's not worried.”

‘Thank God,” Maren whispered in relief.

“You really care for her, don't you?”

“Yes,” Maren admitted with a shy smile. “I was only kidding before. She's the one who's charmed me.”

Kyle's arm reached out in the darkness. Moon glow caught in her eyes and he pushed on her wrist, causing her to lose her balance. She fell back on the white sand, her hair framing her face in tangled waves of auburn silk. Leaning over her, Kyle studied the finely sculpted shape of her oval face and the mystery in her blue eyes.

“I've missed you,” he admitted in a voice as rough as the sea. Leaning forward, his lips brushed softly against her throat. At the tenderness in the gesture, she gasped. Her love for this man seemed to overflow into the night.

Watching him through a dark fringe of lashes, she was forced to concede the truth. “And I've missed you…hopelessly.” She lifted her head and captured his lips with hers, feverishly showing how desperate her longing had become.

“How long can you stay with me?” he asked, dark gray eyes holding hers fast.

“As long as you want me to…” she sighed.

“Forever?”

One word hung in the air between them, drowning out the sound of the relentless tide.

“Oh, Kyle,” she answered, yearning with all her heart to accept his proposal and share her life with him. There was nothing she wanted more in this life than to share his darkest secrets, love his only child and sleep with his arms wrapped securely around her breasts each night.

“I'm serious, Maren. You know that. Please marry me.”

How could she refuse that which she most wanted? On this lovely star-studded night, lying on the silver sand, his body pressed urgently against hers, she could find no objections to his request. “Of course I'll marry you, Kyle,” she sighed, giving in to her most intimate desires. “I'd love to.” She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of his lips molding impatiently to hers.

“Dear God, Maren,” he said, lifting his head to contemplate the enigma in her eyes. “You don't know how long I've waited to hear those words.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he kissed her once again. A warmth, starting in the deepest region of her soul, began to spread slowly through her body. How many nights had she lain awake aching for this man? Now at last, he was hers.

T
HE WEEK PASSED BY
in a flourish and rush of activity. Maren spent every waking moment at the office, and she was so absorbed in the final editing of the Mirage video and planning for the celebration that was to take place that she had little time to notice anything else. It was Friday afternoon before she could catch her breath, and the party was scheduled for the next day.

At four o'clock Jan came into the office carrying cold drinks from a nearby fast-food stand. “You're an angel,” Maren said gratefully as she accepted the opaque paper cup and took a long drink.

“You've called me a lot of things,” Jan remarked with a sad smile. “But that's the first time you referred to me as an angel.”

“An oversight on my part,” Maren thought aloud. “But it doesn't matter. When all the dust has settled on the buyout, you should be getting a raise.”

Jan's smile quivered. “How did you arrange that?”

“I'm in tight with the boss.” Maren laughed, giving Jan a broad wink and playful smile. She felt lighthearted and incredibly happy. There was a disturbed light in Jan's large brown eyes, and Maren imagined that things weren't going well for Jan. The secretary seemed nervous—as if she wanted to get something off her chest.

“So tell me,” Maren prodded gently. “How're things with you and the baby?”

Jan perked up at the mention of her pregnancy. “As well as can be expected, I guess. I did have a little trouble last week, but it wasn't anything serious.”

Maren's smile faded. “What kind of trouble?”

Jan waved off the concern in her employer's gaze. “Nothing really. Last Wednesday morning I bled—just a little.”

“Why didn't you stay home?” Maren asked, astounded. “You could have had the day off—or the rest of the week, for that matter.”

Jan shook her head and bit her lower lip. “I had too much work to do…”

“Cary could have handled your work. Look, I don't want you jeopardizing your health or the baby's…”

“It's no big deal…I saw the doctor, and he seems to think everything will be fine if I just take it easy…”

“Are you?” Maren demanded, trying not to sound overly concerned. Jan's worries about her pregnancy explained the secretary's nervousness and anxiety. Jan was worried sick about losing the baby. It didn't seem fair. First Jan had trouble with Jake…now this.

Tears clouded Jan's gaze, and she tried vainly to hide them by wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I wish you wouldn't worry so much about me, Maren.” She bit at her lower lip. “There's something you should know.”

“What's that?” Maren asked quietly.

“Oh, God, Maren, I wish—” The telephone rang before Jan could finish her thought. Jan started to get up to answer it, but Maren waved the secretary back into her chair.

“I'll get it,” Maren said with a heartfelt smile. Jan looked tired and distraught. At least Maren understood her worries. Setting her soft drink aside, Maren picked up the receiver. “Festival Productions, Maren McClure speaking.”

“What happened—did you get a demotion?” Brandon's voice charged with a nervous laugh.

“Not exactly.” Maren's tone was frigid, and Jan knew immediately that her boss was involved in a private conversation. Ignoring Maren's gestures for her to remain in the room, Jan hoisted herself out of the chair and waved at Maren, before silently mouthing her goodbye.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Jan whispered as she left the room, smiled at Maren and shut the door thoughtfully behind her.

“I hadn't heard from you in a while and I thought I'd call to check up on you,” Brandon stated with a nervous laugh. “What's new?”

Maren's spine stiffened. “I was going to call you, as a matter of fact,” she replied.

“Oh?” Brandon's voice was interested but wary. He could sense a difference in his ex-wife.

“I wanted you to know that I'm planning to get married this summer.”

There was a surprised gasp on the other end of the phone. “Anyone I know?” he asked, with just a hint of sarcasm.

“Kyle Sterling.” Why was she so reluctant to give Brandon that bit of information?

“
The
Kyle Sterling? Jesus Christ, Maren!”

Maren broke the uneasy silence that had settled over the stilted conversation. “So, I've been giving some thought to you.”

“Nice of ya,” he retorted angrily.

“I've decided to give you ownership of the condominium, Brandon. Since I don't use it, I don't really need it, and the couple who rent it are planning to move at the end of their lease, which is in about six weeks. I've already had the papers drawn up. You can pick them up from Elise Conrad, at her office.” Once again there was weighty silence as Brandon considered Maren's offer. She silently prayed that he would accept the condominium they had shared when they were married. It held too many memories of the wasted marriage, and Maren never had the heart to live in it. As it was, she had rented it and used the income to pay for Brandon's medical needs. She would only be too glad for him to accept that piece of real estate, which still reminded her of the painful divorce.

“Is this the kiss-off?” Brandon asked.

“I think it's time we went our separate ways.”

“Easy for you to say. You're marrying into big bucks, so you don't want to bother with a cripple!”

“Brandon, you're not a cripple. I've talked with your doctors and your physical therapists. They all seem to think that you're fine. And your career counselor says he can put you into a job as soon as you're willing. I think…” she paused, wondering just how to handle him, and then decided that honesty was what he needed. “…I think it's time you decided what you want to do with your life.”

“And what would you say if I told you I wanted you?” he asked softly.

“I'd say that you're wrong. We tried, Brandon. It didn't work.
You're
the one who decided that.” When he didn't immediately respond, she concluded: “It's up to you whether you want the condo or not. Just give Elise a call. Goodbye.” With finality, she replaced the receiver. “Thank God it's over,” she murmured as she pulled herself upright and hurried out of her office to look for Jan. Maren had been left with the uncanny feeling that Jan had had something she wanted to discuss with her before the conversation was cut off by Brandon's untimely telephone call.

When Maren entered the reception area, she realized that Jan must have left for the weekend. The clutter on Jan's desk had been cleared and there was no sign of the blond secretary. Whatever it was that Jan had wanted to say would just have to keep.

Within a few minutes Ted, from production, stopped in with the finished product of the Mirage video.

“Better late than never,” Maren quipped as she accepted the cassette. “How does it look?”

“See for yourself,” Ted suggested with a smile and a weary raking of his fingers through thinning blond hair. There was a satisfied look in his eyes.

“That good, is it?” Maren asked as she placed the cassette into the recorder and watched as J. D. Price and the rest of Mirage sang and acted out the lyrics of “Yesterday's Heart.” A pleased grin stole over Maren's lips. “It's a winner,” she thought aloud.

“You bet it is,” Ted agreed.

“Now we'll really have something to celebrate tomorrow,” she replied, rewinding the tape and watching the video a second time.

“It should be a big day,” Ted surmised, lighting a cigarette.

“It will be interesting to see Mirage's reaction to this tape,” she said, mentally noting that Kyle's reaction would be just as worthwhile.

“I think J.D. will be pleased.”

“Let's hope so,” Maren murmured as she took the cassette from the recorder and locked the black cartridge in the file cabinet. “We'll find out tomorrow night, won't we?”

“We'll knock 'em dead,” Ted predicted as he turned to go. “And let me tell you, it's been a long time coming. After that unscheduled blowup with the fireworks, I was ready to throw in the towel.”

“Good thing you didn't.”

“I guess so. See ya tomorrow.” He ambled out of the office leaving Maren to turn out the lights and lock the door.

 

S
ATURDAY DAWNED PERFECT
for sailing. The party, which was primarily to celebrate the buyout of Festival Productions by Sterling Records, was to be held on Kyle's yacht, at his insistence. After an afternoon of sailing around Santa Catalina Island, the yacht would return to her private berth near Long Beach. At that time, Maren planned to unveil the Mirage tape, hoping that everyone involved with the making of the video would get to see it.

Invited guests streamed onto the yacht under the brilliant Southern California sun. Some of the guests were dressed casually in beachwear, while others stepped onto the deck in glamorous gowns and dripping in jewels. When the eclectic group seemed complete, the gleaming white vessel set sail for the short trip.

Maren was in a festive mood. She was dressed casually and felt as carefree as the wind. Mingling with the guests, she accepted congratulations on the sale of the production company. And for the first time in several years, she felt unburdened with thoughts of her ex-husband. She was free to love again, and she was hopelessly in love with Kyle.

Sunbathers crowded the polished wood deck, while other guests clustered in the main salon, drinking champagne and sampling a lavish display of hors d'oeuvres. Liveried waiters were prompt to refill a glass or offer the trays of appetizers. Champagne flowed from a fountain near an extraordinary seafood buffet.

“You really know how to throw a party,” Maren teased when Kyle made his way over to her. A flash of white teeth warmed his tanned face.

“Thank you.” He placed a possessive arm around her waist and leaned over the railing to watch the prow of the yacht knife through the clear blue-green water.

“Who're you trying to impress?” Maren asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Just one lady,” he admitted with a devilish grin.

“You didn't have to host a party to impress me,” she sighed. The wind caught in her hair and pulled it free of her chignon. Salt sea spray caressed her face. “I was already interested.”

He leaned with his back to the railing, and his gray eyes roved over the crowd milling on the deck. His smile broadened as his eyes rested on his daughter. She and her friend were sunning themselves while sitting in lounge chairs. “I've got some good news,” Kyle announced, letting his eyes linger on Holly.

“Oh?”

“Well, actually, it's good news for me, but it might be a difficult adjustment for Holly.” His lips drew into a contemplative frown. “Rose called this morning.”

At the mention of Kyle's ex-wife, Maren's stomach knotted. “She wanted to talk to Holly?”

“That's the surprising part. She didn't want to speak to Holly at all. As a matter of fact, she didn't want Holly to know about the conversation until she'd worked out a deal with me.”

Maren was instantly on guard. “What kind of a deal?” she asked anxiously.

The waiter interrupted Kyle's response by offering slightly unsteady glasses of champagne from a silver tray. Kyle accepted one for himself and handed another to Maren. When the slim steward disappeared into the crowd, Kyle continued. “It seems that Rose has finally seen the light.”

Maren took a drink of her champagne. “What do you mean?”

“Rose has taken up with some singer in the movie. He's not playing the lead, but that's beside the point.”

“What is the point?” Maren asked, raising her brows in anticipation.

“Rose assured me that the new man in her life is not just a casual fling. But there is a problem. She wants to cut a record with him, and she's going to move in with him. He lives somewhere near Dallas and the last thing he wants is Holly.”

Maren raised her eyes to meet Kyle's angry gaze. “So Rose is going to give you custody of Holly after all—just because this guy doesn't like kids.” Maren couldn't hide her surprise. Her heart bled for Holly.

“That's about the size of it,” Kyle admitted grimly.

Maren disguised her disgust. “Good. Holly deserves to be with you.”

“With
us,
” Kyle amended. “She'll be with us.”

“And I'm thrilled about it,” Maren said honestly, with tears shining in her eyes. “I can't think of anything that would make me happier than living with you and your daughter.”

Relief flooded Kyle's ruggedly handsome features. “You're a very special woman, Maren McClure,” he stated, taking her into his arms and kissing her softly on the lips. “Do you think that I could persuade you to drive to Las Vegas with me tonight so that we can quit talking about getting married and just do it?”