The Daughter-in-Law (9 page)

“I want a husband I can respect,” Nicole answered after digesting the question.

“Good,” Alexandra said, “because that means you’ll be giving me a son I can respect.”

Jonathan was waiting at the top of he steps. “Talk about smelling the roses. I thought you two would never come back.”

“There’s a lot to talk about in a garden,” his mother answered. “But now I have to spend some time with my other guests.”

The two boats had already sailed, so they wandered down to the cabana building, ordered drinks, and then sat and enjoyed the illusion that the pool was pouring out into the Sound.

“So, you survived the third degree. Hopefully Mother didn’t resort to the rubber hose. What did she ask? Insanity in the family? Any sexually transmitted diseases?”

“She asked if I loved you.”

“Oh!” They looked at each other for a moment before he continued, “And did you tell her?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact.”

Another pause. “So tell me. I’d like to be the second one to know.”

“I told her I did. Very much.”

“Did she believe you?”

“Is that important to you?”

Now it was Jonathan who recognized the mine waiting to be stepped on. “I suppose it is. I’d like to have Alexandra on my side.”

“And if she isn’t? If she decides I’m not right for you?”

“Don’t be silly. She’s already bragging about you.”

“Jonathan, if it came down to me or your mother, or me or your father, would I stand a chance?”

His eyes darted off into space. “That isn’t a fair question, Nicole. I’d like to think that we’d all get along. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, does it?”

She set down her drink. “Do you know that’s the toughest question I’ve been asked all day?”

Neither of them answered the other, and they let the conversation drift off into other areas. When the sun began to fall in the west they went back to the gatehouse and gathered up their things. They were both very quiet during the drive back into Manhattan, lost in their separate thoughts. The gauntlets were down on the table. Jonathan had to decide whether he would defy his parents, if it came down to that, in order to marry Nicole. Her decision was less complicated. Would she marry Jonathan at the cost of the Donner family fortune? Neither of them was anxious to make the difficult choice.

ELEVEN

J
ACK WANDERED
into Alexandra’s bedroom, still wearing his trousers and shirt, but shuffling in bedroom slippers. “Great party. You really outdid yourself. Pam and her friends seemed to have a marvelous time.”

She was sitting up in bed, reading a magazine article. “Thank you,” she said, responding to the compliment.

He sat on the edge of her bed. “Did Pam mention our gift?”

“She was thrilled. She’s trying to get one of the girls to go with her. And she’s hoping she can change the itinerary. She’d like to change the week in Russia for an extra week on the Riviera, if that’s all right with you.”

He shrugged. “Fine with me. I wouldn’t go to Russia myself if it weren’t on business.”

They sat quietly, until Alexandra asked what he thought of Jonathan’s date.

“Great looker,” he answered. “She really knows how to shake it on the dance floor.”

“Did you talk to her?”

He seemed taken back. “Why would I talk to her?”

“Because she and Jonathan are quite serious.”

Jack smirked. “Jonathan? Serious? The only thing he’s serious about is getting into her pants.”

“No, I think they’ve passed that stage.”

“Well, good for him. It’s nice to see him finish what he starts.” He leaned over, kissed her cheek, and started to take his leave.

“Jack, do you ever wonder what it would be like if we had bombed on that minicomputer company? If it had failed and dragged us down with it?”

“Data General? It did fail. But we were off the deck long before it went under.”

“I mean if we hadn’t made all that money. If we both just went to work like everyone else ...”

“We would have found a different winner. I told you the first day you came to work for me in that little office above the savings bank. I had no intention of being like everyone else.”

“I never had any doubts about you. But what if you hadn’t made it so big? If each of us didn’t have so many things to take care of?”

“You mean if we were losers? Hell, I never thought about that. It’s not something I ever want to think about.” He smiled. “Why are you asking? Did you bet it all on a horse?”

“No, nothing like that,” she laughed. But then her expression became serious. “It’s just that today I asked a young woman who says she’s in love with my son whether she loved him or his money. Isn’t that a hell of a question to ask someone your son cares for?”

Jack chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it. Today Jonathan is in love with the girl. Tomorrow he’ll be in love with a new motorcycle. The next day it will be something else. How long does he ever stay involved with anything?”

“Still, I wonder if you should have Lambert find out what he can about her?”

He looked at her sternly. “I’ve got more important things for Lambert to do than check out Jonathan’s latest bimbo. Hell, she’ll be old fish by the time he finds out anything.”

“I don’t think so. This time it seems to be different.”

“Okay,” he conceded. “If it makes you happy, I’ll put him on it. Just leave me a note with everything you know about her.” He stopped in the doorway and called back to her. “Don’t let the housekeepers clean up the room where she’s sleeping. Remember when I wanted to check on that bond salesman who slept in the cottage? Lambert said the place was as clean as an operating room when the housekeepers got through with it. He couldn’t even find a fingerprint.”

TWELVE

N
ICOLE LET
the romance cool a bit. Not to the extent that her conduct announced rejection, but enough so that Jonathan Donner couldn’t quite take her for granted. When he called on Monday for dinner on Wednesday, she lied that she was already committed with something at the office. Thursday? She hemmed a bit. Sure, but it would have to be early, a way of telling him that there would be no nightcap. Then on Thursday, when he mentioned a Block Island sailing race, she let her face fall with disappointment. “Oh, I wish you had mentioned it sooner. I’d love to, but I have plans for the weekend. Nothing exciting, but it’s a commitment to a dear friend and I can’t really break it.”

The following week he called Monday and suggested a quick bite and maybe a movie to her answering machine. She didn’t return the call until Tuesday, explaining that she hadn’t gotten in until “real late.” Then she surprised him with news that she had scheduled a sky dive for the following Saturday. Maybe he would like to join her.

“Sure, but I’d like to see you before the weekend,” he pouted.

She paused long enough to seem like she had been glancing at her appointment book. “Well, we could do the dinner and movie on Wednesday, if you’re free.”

Then, on Wednesday, when he was about to dismiss his limousine at her front door, she begged off the implied nightcap. “I’ve got a hell of a day tomorrow. The auditors are in.”

The message was clear. He didn’t have an exclusive on her time, and she didn’t expect one on his. If he wanted to have her on call, he was going to have to make a commitment. One that was binding no matter what his father said or how his mother felt. And Jonathan picked up on the message: Nicole Pierce was different. Other women might throw themselves in front of his car just to get his attention. And they might wait up all week for his phone call. But
Nicole wasn’t all that awed by his fame and fortune. She didn’t come free.

She was just stepping out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her head and another tucked in under her arm, when her telephone rang. She had no intention of answering it until she heard the voice on the machine.

“Answer the phone, Nicole. I know you’re there. I just saw the limo drop you off. Very impressive! I just want to offer my congratulations. So pick up the phone before I go up there and kick down your door!”

She stood staring at the machine. He wasn’t going to hang up, and the one thing she knew about Jimmy Farr was that he didn’t take “no” for an answer. He wouldn’t hesitate to kick down her door. She picked up the receiver.

“Hello, Jimmy.”

“Nicole! Great to hear your voice. It’s been a long time.”

“How did you find me?”

“Your picture in the paper. On the society page of all places. Most of my friends never get past the police blotter. But there you were at a very uppity party, with about a billion dollars hanging on your arm. You’ve never looked more beautiful!”

“What do you want, Jimmy?”

“Just to see you, Nicole. It’s been too long.”

“Our business is finished,” she snapped. “We’re all even.”

“Nicole, would I call you over the nickels and dimes you still owe me? We’re both onto bigger things. You seem to have latched on to one of biggest pigeons in New York, and I just wanted to offer my services.”

“No thank you. I’m on a new page now Jimmy, and it’s not about you. In fact, you’re not even in the book.”

Jimmy Farr’s polite tone was suddenly menacing. “Don’t even think like that. With all I have on you I’m always in your book. Don’t make me remind you.”

She felt a long forgotten pang of fear—the fear that he could cause with just a look or a gesture. “You don’t scare me,” she lied. “I’ve gotten over that.”

“Well, then, maybe I’ll have to scare you again. Real soon.”

“I’m hanging up, Jimmy. And then I’m disconnecting the phone.”

That was exactly what she did. But she took her cell phone with her and sat with her back pressed against the door of her apartment, waiting for him to come pounding. She was still sitting there when she woke in the morning, and breathed a sigh that at long last she seemed to have faced him down.

THIRTEEN

O
N SATURDAY
Nicole and Jonathan met at the jump center, and formed up into a team with two other men. Nicole stood directly in front of him, and had him watch every step of her preflight safety checks. He verified the packing of her backup parachute and her main canopy. He checked the settings on her AAD, making sure it was calculated to the specific altitude of the runway. Then he went over her harness, testing all the clasps and rings.

“Now you,” she said. “I’ll go over your gear.”

“I’m checked out.”

“Sure, but it can’t hurt. And it will help me review the checklist.” They went through all his equipment just as thoroughly.

They formed their plan on the ground with the other jumpers. Follow the leader down to six thousand. Then, on the leader’s signal, they would come together, grasp hands, and form up into a star. At three thousand, they would break up and open into a box fifty yards square. Deploy the main canopy chutes at eighteen hundred. Then fly down to the landing flare.

They went to ten thousand feet, toured the jump area, and then crowded to the door. The plane banked and they went out one behind the other with less than a second interval between them. Quickly, each of them found the tracking position and steered into a place in line behind the one they had appointed leader.

He proved to be a good flier. He shot off in a straight line back toward the landing area, then pulled into a climbing turn. The second man and Jonathan were able to stay right with him. Nicole was wide in her turn and then too abrupt in her climb, stalling out and falling back. But she kept them in sight, regained her forward speed, and was able to cut across their circle and get back into position. The leader went into a left turn and then a dive. This time it was the second diver who turned too wide. Jonathan and then Nicole flew by him. They leveled off, went flat to reduce speed. Then the
leader signaled, flipped so that he was facing the line behind him, and held out his hands. Jonathan closed on him immediately. Nicole oscillated a bit before she was able to reach out and catch on. The fourth jumper had a difficult time joining up, at first unable to close on them and then overshooting his mark. They were all electric with adrenaline by the time they were able to form the star, and they were past their target altitude of three thousand feet.

The leader let go, raised his head and backed out of the formation. The other did the same, flying away from one another as they passed through two thousand. Just enough time for one quick stunt, Jonathan decided, and he did a tuck and spin like a diver off a springboard. Nicole watched for an instant, and then popped her pilot chute. She was the first to deploy.

They were still falling away from her when her main chute filled, stretching its broad wing over her head. She used her toggles to turn slowly until she picked up the smoke signal, and then steered upwind of the landing area. She had nothing fancy in mind, just a well-controlled descent and, hopefully, a running landing.

Two chutes were filling below her. She felt an instant of panic when she couldn’t find Jonathan. He was tumbling when she last had him in sight, probably falling through the eighteen-hundred-foot deployment altitude they had agreed on. He was cutting it close. Where was he? She pulled a toggle, dumping air from one side of the wing. Immediately, the chute turned, swinging her out like an amusement park whip.

There he was, a hundred feet below her. His chute was filled and he was steering up wind, right into the haze from the marker flare. She completed her turn, found herself too far to the north, but still over wide-open field. To hell with hitting the landing marker, she decided. She’d land away from the others. Nicole watched as Jonathan adjusted his glide path, and touched down dead center in the box. She settled down a hundred feet away, stayed on her feet, and doused her chute. And suddenly she was able to breathe again. They were both down safely.

“You scared the bejesus out of me,” she scolded Jonathan when he came over to help her.

“Did you see that landing?”

“Great! Wonderful! But why in God’s name did you start doing spins?”

“I had plenty of room.”

“We were supposed to keep an eye on each other.” There was hurt in her voice.