Angel in Disguise (12 page)

He had been intensely stupid to plan so poorly for this trip. Plan? He hadn’t planned. He’d shown up. His irresponsibility had gotten them into this mess. They weren’t in any danger, thanks to Sunny, but they could have been.

If anything bad did happen, he deserved it. Sunny, however, did not. She had trusted him, and all he had done was test her strength and scare her to death. For all her bravado, he knew she was frightened. There had to be a way to ease her fear.

“You d-didn’t happen to bring one of those little handheld TV sets, d-did you?” That ought to catch her off guard. “I think the Angels are pl-playing tonight.”

“We’re here to commune with nature, not watch baseball.”

Pete grinned in the dark. He loved her sassiness.

“But I like to w-watch TV before I go t-to sleep,” he complained, still fooling around, although his chilled stuttering was unfortunately real.

“Get it through your head, Maguire. There’s no TV.”

“Then, y-you’ll have t-to tell me a b-bedtime story.”

“The Three Bears?”

“T-too scary when you’re in the w-woods.”

“Little Red Riding Hood?”

“That’s another w-woods story.”

“You’re pretty picky. Maybe you’d better choose.”

“Tell me the s-story of Little Sunny K-Keegan.”

“That’s a boring story.”

“I’ll be the j-judge of that.”

She groaned as if she hated talking about herself.

“C’mon, I’m w-w-waiting.”

“All right! Okay, once upon a time…”

“I l-like it already.”

“You’re easy to please.”

He chuckled, tickled that he’d gotten her mind off her worry. “Once upon a t-time…” he repeated, leading her back.

“In the enchanted land of Beverly Hills…”

He grinned in the dark.

“There was a large castle where a king and queen lived. They loved each other very much and were busy from dawn until dusk entertaining royalty from all over the world and taking care of their subjects. Then, one day, surprise! A little princess arrived. She had the king’s red hair and brown eyes and the queen’s… Actually, she wasn’t like the queen at all, which was a shame, for the queen was lovely and fair.”

“You’re lovely and f-fair,” he protested.

“Who’s telling this story?”

“You are, but g-get your facts right. It’s a g-good story by the w-way.”

“Not bad for a P.E. major, huh?”

“No, real g-good. Keep going.” He definitely had her mind off his supposed hypothermia, and his shakes were almost gone.

“Everyone called the little princess Sunny, except the queen who demanded that people call the little girl Alexandra.”

“Alexandra! You look like a S-Sunny to me.”

“Are you going to keep interrupting?”

“Sorry.”

“Princess Sunny-Alexandra liked to play in the tower, which was a playhouse in a very large tree. Though the queen wouldn’t allow the princess to climb trees, the tree playhouse was so adorable, the queen couldn’t resist showing it off to her friends who thought she must be an excellent mother.”

He’d just as soon have his own mom.

“Sunny loved her playhouse, though she played school there, not house, except when Charles the chauffeur climbed up for tea parties and drank pretend tea with her from tiny china cups. Charles was her best friend. His wife, who was the cook, and her sister, Sunny’s nanny, were dear friends, too. Almost like family.”

The chauffeur, the cook and the nanny. They were the ones who’d raised her? That broke his heart.

“To the queen’s horror, she discovered Princess Sunny would rather play ball than dolls. The king ordered knaves to build a really great basketball
court on the castle grounds, and the queen didn’t speak to the king for a week.”

Too bad the king didn’t send the queen to the dungeon.

“The princess shot a lot of baskets as she grew up.”

“Career preparation?”

“I guess.” He felt her stomach shake in silent laughter.

Man, it felt great, knowing he could make her laugh.

“The queen didn’t like all that basketball-shooting, but the king liked the idea of the princess being a ballplayer like he was when he was a prince, so she learned to play pretty well. Sometimes the king came to her ball games—which she liked—but not as often as he promised, because the king was very, very busy.”

Pete didn’t like the sound of that. He’d never be too busy to watch his own kid play ball.

“The princess went to college, played basketball, became a physical education teacher and began teaching and coaching. In January of her third year of teaching… Could I have a fanfare here?”

Fanfare? “Tat, tat, tahhh!” He gave it his best and was rewarded when her stomach shook again.

“The year of her twenty-fifth birthday, the king introduced the princess to a gallant knight in shiny bright armor.”

“Please, don’t let it be Daniels.”

“But it was. Sir Bruce,” she confirmed.

“Sir Skuzz,” he corrected, and she snickered.

“Sir Skuzz was a great favorite of the king and queen for this knight had big royal dreams and wanted to be just like the king. To prove it, he showered the princess with lots of attention.”

“Any knight would, with a princess so fair.”

“The queen was ecstatic that the princess had snagged such an eligible knight, and the princess thought she was in love.”

“Thought?”

“Yes, the poor twit didn’t examine her feelings too closely, being so caught up in receiving unusual approval from her parents and being the object of this handsome knight’s affection. It was only natural that when he gave her a big fat diamond, she accepted.”

“Under those conditions, what princess wouldn’t?”

“The princess helped Sir Skuzz campaign for the next year and a half. Once he was elected, the queen worked on a June wedding and the princess worked on her golf game. Royal wives don’t play a lot of basketball, you know.”

“I suppose not. Was the princess happy?” Her answer was important to him.

“Well, she thought she was.”

That wasn’t good enough, not by a long shot.

“Fortunately, she attended a very good church and got to know the Lord. After she jilted Sir Skuzz, things really got better. The Lord gave her a good job, and she became the famous coach of the San Josita Tigers who came from behind and unexpectedly won the regional championship. Ta-dah. The end.”

“Can’t be. The Three Bears is a longer story than that.”

“You could have had The Three Bears.”

“Heard it before. Your story was better.”

Her head lay on his shoulder, and he nestled his chin against her forehead, knowing this very good girl deserved so much better than she’d had.

Why would a mother insist on calling a child Alexandra, especially when the child’s big, beautiful smile and warm, butternut eyes made her so obviously a Sunny? How could any father put his work over a daughter who lived to please him?

Not wanting to stir up any more hurtful memories, but wanting to understand better, he asked, “You were an only child?”

“One and only.”

“Any pets?”

“A dog lived at the same address.”

“He wasn’t yours?”

“Technically he was, but he lived in his own house and had his own fenced-in yard. Visits to Peppy were discouraged.”

“Why? Was he a guard dog?”

“No, just a mutt with a cute, photogenic face. Mother didn’t allow me to play with the ‘dirty beast.’ Only, he wasn’t too dirty for me to play with when there were photographers around.”

Photographers? Why would they want to take pictures of Sunny and her dog. “I don’t get it,” he said flatly.

She sighed. “This is turning into a long story.”

“It’s a long night.”

“I’ve already told you more than I should have. This is not stuff I want people to know.”

“Do you think I want them to know I’m an occasional cripple with a fake face who collapsed on a date and had to be taken care of? We’ve got some trust going here, haven’t we?”

Against his shoulder, he felt her nod.

“Okay, then,” he said, patting her back, hoping for her sake that this was a good idea, wishing for his own that he didn’t feel so darn bad for her. “Start with the dog. Why were photographers taking pictures of you and, what’s his name, Peppy?”

“Peppy was for photo ops. So was I. It’s easier to get elected if you have a pet and a kid.”

“Elected? Sunny, who are your parents?”

She sighed. “Sam and Eleanor Keegan.”

Senator Sam Keegan? She hadn’t been kidding with all that talk about royalty. The Keegan name was almost as big as the Kennedys. Senator Sam always made the shortlist of potential presidential candidates.

“Shocked speechless?”

“No way,” he lied. “I was just thinking that I voted for your dad, too.”

“That’s okay. I think he does a good job. My parents both inherited wealth, and could have jetsetted through life, but they’ve genuinely tried to make a difference.”

“And that’s so noble it excuses their neglect of you?”

“They didn’t actually neglect me,” she said defensively.

He knew better, and it made him sick. Still, it
wasn’t good to criticize a person’s family. “Do you see them often?”

For a second he thought she wasn’t going to answer, but she took a big breath and said, “I’ve only seen them once, the day after I left Bruce at the altar.”

“Want to tell me about it?” he said, hoping Sunny would unload on him and feel better.

“Not really, but if you know this much, you might as well know the whole thing. If you’re sure you want to.”

“Absolutely.” He stroked her hair, his heart already aching for her.

“Keep in mind, this was the day after I caught Bruce red-handed, but he had convinced them I had done him a great injustice. When I persisted with the truth, Mother said even if I weren’t mistaken, infidelity was part of politics and a small price to pay for being the wife of a powerful man.”

Pete let out a slow whistle.

“It gets worse. Daddy said, with me by his side, Bruce could make it all the way to the White House where he’d be a wonderful president. If I cared about my country, I’d stop pitying myself and help Bruce the way Mother had helped him.”

“And you said…?”

“I said I just didn’t feel that patriotic.”

“Good for you!” He gave her a kiss on her temple.

“Mother was livid, and launched a personal attack. I’d heard it all before, so none of it got to me until she said Bruce only proposed to me to get Daddy’s endorsement.”

“People say things like that when they’re mad,” he said, downplaying the cruelty for Sunny’s sake, but furious inside.

“When I thought about it, though, Daddy did announce his endorsement of Bruce shortly after we became engaged, and Mother didn’t begin planning the wedding until he was elected.”

“Coincidence,” he said with more conviction than he felt.

“Hardly. They don’t call Daddy a kingmaker for nothing.”

“But a trade-off like that is so old-world. How could your dad guarantee a political office for Bruce any more than Bruce could be sure your dad would stick to the deal?”

“Men have gambled for higher stakes. Bruce knew how disappointed my father was that he missed his own nomination for president. If Daddy couldn’t make it to the White House himself, the next best thing was putting his daughter there.”

“Daniels would marry you to buy your dad’s support?”

“Sure he would. He needs me—only not in the traditional sense.”

How had she borne such deceit, such disregard for her worth? He cupped her head, nestling her face into his neck. “No wonder you went on
Dream Date,
” he murmured.

“It turned out pretty good, didn’t it?” Yawning, she snuggled against him. “I can’t believe I told you all that.”

“I’m glad you did.” He shifted to his good side, rolling her over beside him. Her head lay in the hollow
of his arm, and he wrapped his other arm around her middle. She laced her fingers through his, not something she had to do to promote shared body heat, just the natural act of a loving woman.

Wind howled through the pines, the sides of their small tent held fast against the blowing snow. Her even, deep breaths signaled she was out for the count. Man, she’d fallen asleep quickly. How could she do that, lying on this rock hard ground in the middle of all this…nature? Of course, her hip wasn’t a constant ache, and she wasn’t all worked up by a story of neglect and deception on the part of people she should have been able to trust.

Careful not to wake her, he nuzzled her hair. He was nobody special, just a broken-down carpenter with extra bucks in the bank, but as long as Sunny needed him, he’d be there for her.

Chapter Seven

G
ive or take five minutes, Sunny awoke at six every day, eager to rise and shine. But waking on Big Bear was different. It was cold out there, and she might as well stay warm and cozy in the tent…in the sleeping bag…in Pete’s arms.

Hello! Her eyelids flew open. This was a first, waking up with a guy. After twenty-eight virginal years, she’d have to say it made a nice change. Pretty great, in fact. One of his arms was her pillow, and the other tucked nicely across her middle. His legs cupped hers in true spoonlike fashion.

It was intimacy she’d never allowed, not even when she’d been wearing Bruce’s ring. Being the daughter of rich, influential parents, she’d grown up questioning the motives of men. The first boy who’d liked her because she was a Keegan had been in kindergarten, or so her mother claimed. Even through college, she’d suspected every romantic move a guy made.

But Pete hadn’t cajoled her into his arms. Necessity brought them together. Was it wrong to enjoy it a moment longer? Was it wrong to dream of a future where love was real and secure?

Maybe not. But the feel of Pete’s strong male body shaped behind hers was mind spinning, the very kind of temptation she warned her girls about. If he woke now, when her early-morning inhibitions were so relaxed, and kissed her like he had yesterday, what would happen? Could she resist giving in to that? Would she want to?

She ought to. She knew what she believed in. First came trust, then friendship, then marriage. Total intimacy came with total commitment. That’s what she wanted.