"Bless you," he said quickly, his hand moving to pat her back.
She glared up him. "Do not– Aaa–aaaa–aachu!"
"Bless you again, sweetheart."
"Shut-up, En–" She shook her head wildly. "Aaaaaaaaachu!"
"Gesundheit."
In a lightning fast move, she wrapped her arms around his bare legs and propelled them both back onto the bed, sending several pillows and a quilt tumbling to the floor in the process.
Enrique landed with a grunt but quickly turned the tables on Audrey. He straddled her and pinned her arms over her head. "Oh, no, you don't!"
She grinned unrepentantly. "Oh, yes, I do!" Then her eyes widened and her nose twitched. "I–aaa–aaa–"
"Here." With one hand, he grabbed a pillow and pressed it over Audrey's face as she sneezed and then thrashed around, her muffled squeals of laughter still loud enough to make Enrique cringe.
Then they heard a loud knock on their bedroom wall. "Hey!" Ricky Jr.'s voice caused them to freeze and Enrique lifted up the pillow so a red-faced, disheveled Audrey could hear, too. "Could you keep it down in there, Mama and Papa? I have school in the morning, ya know."
"We'll be good, mijito," Audrey called out, her words laced with humor. "We promise."
"Don't make me come in there," Ricky Jr. called out playfully, giving the wall a final knock before burying his head under his blankets.
Enrique and Audrey stuck their tongues out at each other. "It's your fault," they both whispered at the same time, each dissolving into muffled laughter at the other's words.
"Whew." Enrique settled next to Audrey and held out his arm, waiting until she turned off the bedroom light and tugged up the wrinkled quilt before wrapping a strong
arm around her and sighing. "You do smell good," he said in a low voice, smiling into the darkness.
She chuckled. "I should." She sat up a little and stripped out of her nightgown, tossing it onto the floor before snuggling back into her place with a happy grunt. "Mm… Better."
"Much." He ran his fingers up her bare back, lightly rubbing her spine as he went. "Now, tell me why you're not going to Missouri when I know you want to."
Audrey felt a big portion of her good mood vanish. She let out an unhappy breath. "Why should I go, Enrique? I'd rather stay here."
He nodded a little. "Good."
She blinked. "Really? You don't think I should go?"
"Not really." He made a dismissive motion with one hand. "I never want you to go away because I miss you when you're gone. But that's not the point. Gwen didn't give enough notice to plan for such a big trip. That was presumptuous of her to think you'd want to go or that we could afford something so large at the last minute."
"Inside Gwen's invitation was a first class plane ticket. She didn't have to do that," she murmured into his shoulder, her hand finding its way to his chest where her fingers played with the dark, curly hair there. "But it's not like she can't afford it either." The anger and hurt she felt towards Gwen reared its head with little provocation. "And what about her snooping in our business? How can I forgive that?"
"You don't know that she has."
"I told you what Katy said. Somebody's been checking us all out. She had her friend look. It only makes sense if it was Gwen."
"Why does that make sense?" He twirled one of Audrey's curls between his fingers.
"Because Gwen would do something like that. She's always been nosy."
"If she did do that, and we don't know that she did, I don't appreciate it either." He bussed her cheek. "She had to find you, didn't she? Maybe she hired someone and that's how they tracked us down."
"Hm."
"It's not like we have anything to hide, Audrey. We're doing really well, right?" Unexpectedly, he smiled, white teeth flashing in the muted light. "Our savings account is accruing faster than I realized. I was really surprised when I met with the loan officer last week. We won't even need a loan to fix up the apartment for the kids."
Audrey shifted uncomfortably. Finances and the amount of overtime she worked had always been a bone of contention between them. They both earned a good, living wage. But when she wanted something extra, something frivolous, or if she wanted to buy a special gift, she had to put in extra time at work to get it. And that tended to tweak Enrique's pride. "I umm…" she started reluctantly, "I did work a lot of extra hours this summer." She was a recreational specialist at a local YMCA, and this had been one of the busiest summers she could remember.
"I know." His tone grew melancholy. "I wish you didn't have to."
"Aww… Ricky." She tugged on his hair affectionately. "I did it because I wanted to, not because I had to. You know that."
"Yeah," he relented with a deep sigh. "I know." He forced his mind back on track. "If you go to Missouri, you'll have to rent a car right? Or maybe you can use one of your parents' cars. And what about work?" he reminded, his body relaxing under her familiar touch. "You'd have to take a few work days off. Could you even do that? You know I want us to visit my uncle in Oaxaca this Christmas."
"I could," she admitted, biting her lower lip as she thought. "I have more vacation built up than I can even use this year. And none of it will carry over till next year."
"But you'd want to spend your vacation with her?" He scrunched up his face. "I remember how she made you crazy and how rotten she was. Why would you want to see her again?" He knew the answer already, but he also knew that Audrey needed to come to her own conclusions in her own time. And talking always helped.
"She wasn't always that way," Audrey heard herself saying. "Dammit, Ricky, why am I defending her? It's not like we're even friends anymore."
"No, but you were once."
"And she blew it."
"You're right," he agreed softly. "She blew it. And nobody changes that much over time."
Audrey's brow furrowed and she shifted in bed, resting her chin on his chest and peering up to try and find the dark eyes she knew would be looking back at her. "Some people do, don't they?"
He smiled a little. "I have faith that they can. And it won't be just her there," he prompted, knowing for certain Audrey would love to see her other childhood friends.
"I'm crazy to even think about it," she whispered, wishing he'd talk her out of what she was about to decide. "But just hearing from Katy was so wonderful. I've missed the brat." Then she thought of Nina and Jacie and all the things they had to talk about and, despite herself, even some things that she found herself wanting to share with Gwen.
"You might be crazy, but you're crazy with me. And that's all I need." He leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft, heartfelt kiss. "C'mere." He tugged her higher onto his body and wrapped both his arms around her back, his lips moving to her neck where the powder tasted slightly bitter but the skin underneath was so salty sweet that he didn't care.
She moaned softly when his mouth found a particularly sensitive spot and his hand moved down to the soft skin of her bottom. "I'll think about how to lose 40 pounds in a few weeks… later…" she decided on a slightly uneven breath, her hips moving forward of their own accord.
"Mmm… You do that, querida," he breathed against her skin. "In the meantime, I'll enjoy every luscious inch of you."
She felt more than heard his rumbling chuckle and she gladly returned his loving touch, all thoughts of trips, diets, and the past banished in the wake of a vibrant and happy present.
* * *
Present Day
Town & Country, Missouri
"No!" The sound of exploding glass echoed throughout the house. Gwen closed her eyes for a moment, hearing nothing but her own panting breaths and the wild thumping of her heart. "Christ." She was alone in her bedroom and half-dressed for a dinner out that night when she foolishly decided to get directions to the new restaurant from her laptop. While online, she checked her email. And there it was. Another blackmail demand. After venting her anger, though, she did as the private detective had instructed and printed out a hardcopy for her private file.
Tears leapt to her eyes and she wiped at them with a shaking hand. She dropped the printout of the latest blackmail threat on her bed and slowly walked across the room to pick up the remains of her shattered crystal brandy snifter. She hadn't meant to throw it.
"Gwen?" A voice sounded from outside the room. "Honey? Are you all right?"
When she heard her husband's voice, she jerked in reaction and a sliver of glass cut deeply into her index finger. She hissed in pain as crimson drops splashed onto the pale carpet, leaving a spotted trail as she moved. "Just a minute, Malcolm." She clenched her hand to her chest and dashed back to the bed to pick up the email before he could see it.
She didn't make it.
Malcolm strode into the room, his worried eyes scanning the room as he tried to figure out where the crashing noise had come from. "Are you okay?"
Gwen plastered on a tight smile and retracted the hand that had been reaching for the paper. "I thought we were meeting at the restaurant," she said, a red stain blossoming on her bra where she held her injured hand.
"I forgot my wallet so I– Jesus, Gwen, you're hurt!" The tall man rushed across the room and grabbed his wife by the biceps. "Let me see." His hands ran lightly over her body as he searched for other injuries.
"It's nothing." She tried not to look at the email that was lying in plain view on the bed. She decided it would be best to put as much space between her and it as possible. Roughly, she tried to pull out of his grasp. "Just a little cut. I'll go to the bathroom and–"
"Let me look." His heavy brow furrowed in confusion over his wife's strange behavior.
"It's nothing," she insisted, shocked when she looked down and saw blood spilling between her clenched fingers and running down her naked torso to pool at the top of her nylons.
"I'm the doctor in the family." Frustration leaked into his voice. "Why don't you let me tell you if it's nothing?"
"You're a damned dermatologist, not Marcus Welby, M.D.!"
Malcolm blinked a few times and released his grip on Gwen's arms and took a step backwards. "What in the hell is wrong with you?"
When she finally focused on the bewilderment and concern showing so plainly on his face, her features instantly softened. "I don't know. I'm sorry." Helplessly, she began to cry, the thought that she could be seconds away from fracturing the relationship with the man she loved so dearly too much to take.
Malcolm pulled her into a tight embrace, heedless of the blood. "Shh." He whispered into her hair, pressing his lips into its fiery strands. "It'll be okay. I'll take you to the hospital. Here…" He gently disengaged from her embrace and stripped out of his stained shirt. He held it beneath her hand to catch the droplets. "Can I see it now?" His gaze dropped to her hand and when she awkwardly uncurled her fist he let out a low hiss of sympathy. "That's a bad one." His gaze lifted and he gave her a serious look. "It's going to need stitches."
She sniffed and cursed her own stupidity. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Even dermatologists go to medical school, Gwen, remember?"
Gwen suddenly felt very ashamed and a memory of Malcolm studying for his med school exams with a very young Tucker lying asleep in his lap flashed behind her eyes. "I know that. I-I was just scared, I guess." Her voice conveyed true regret and a healthy dose of fear. "I don't like hospitals."
"I have a feeling you'll like the scar you'll get even less than the emergency room. I could sew it up here, but–"
The blood suddenly drained from Gwen's face and a million tiny black spots invaded her peripheral vision.
"Whoa!" He grasped hold of her firmly and guided her to the bed just as she began to sway. "You'd better sit down."
Her eyes widened as the thought of where he was heading jerked her back to alertness. "No! I–" But before she could stop him, Malcolm picked up the paper containing the latest blackmail request so that she wouldn't sit on it.
"What?"
Gwen swore at that moment her heart stopped beating completely. "I-I-" She floundered for something to say, praying he wouldn't look at what was in his hand. "I don't want to drip on the comforter."
He waved his hand in the air. "I don't give a damn about the comforter. Stay put. I'm going to set this over here." He waved the email and then quickly set it on her dresser, not bothering to read a word of it. "My bag's in the closet. Hold my shirt to the cut. I'll be right back."
Gwen let out a shaky breath and ran for the dresser as soon as he disappeared into his walk-in closet. She stuffed the email inside her top drawer and barely made it back to the bed before Malcolm returned with a black leather medical bag and his gym bag.
"I can give you a shot for the pain, sweetheart." He stroked the back of her wet cheek with his knuckles.
She shook her head. "I don't need that. I just want to go and get this over with and have a nice dinner with you." She smiled weakly. "I was looking forward to that new restaurant in the city.
He brushed his lips against her cheek. "Me, too. But I think we'd better save that for another night. Let me at least start taking care of this." Gwen didn't even notice when he used tweezers to remove a large sliver of glass from her finger. She didn't even feel the bandage being wrapped around the cut or the clean t-shirt Malcolm extracted from his gym bag and gently slipped over her head.
She stared across the room with unseeing eyes as her husband worked, thinking of only one thing. And how she would do anything to keep from losing it.
* * *
Present Day
Rural Missouri
A black Mercedes CLK500 convertible roared up the long, oak tree-lined driveway. Seeing the speeding car through the front window of the parlor, a stout woman with friendly eyes framed by bushy silver eyebrows strode out to Charlotte's Web Bed & Breakfast with a purposeful gait. She was headed for an old but immaculately kept carriage house, which now served as a garage for guests. The woman straightened an imaginary crease out of her cargo pants and shoved her hands into her fishing vest as she rocked back on her heels and waited for her guest to emerge from her car.