Double Fault (8 page)

She clenched her fists. How could he think like that? Didn’t he know that people rarely followed rules when emotions were involved? Of course he did! It was what he was saying. He was telling her that because his emotions weren’t involved it was going to be easy to agree to some sort of routine. A plan that would leave them both free to live their own lives whilst ensuring Ben and Lauren had a stable home.

She felt the brittle object inside her that she supposed was her mended heart begin to break in two again as she realized her three years of struggle had gained her nothing. She would soon be trapped inside the sort of marriage she’d been running from when she walked out on Pierce. She could still remember the painful soul searching she’d gone through before she cut him out of her life; how she’d tried to balance his right to know about her pregnancy with his distaste for anything domestic, especially children. In the end she’d decided to tell him and had gone looking for him, hoping against hope that once he knew she was pregnant his attitude would change. She would have told him too if she hadn’t walked into that jokey discussion in the bar, the one that had broken her heart at the same time it made up her mind for her.

One thing her mother had taught her before she died was that whatever happened in life you always had to accept the consequences of your actions. And because it was her own forgetfulness that made her pregnant, Kerry had decided the responsibility for her babies was hers alone. She had also decided she wasn’t going to subject her children to the same sort of childhood she had known. As far as she was concerned a life without a father would be infinitely preferable to living with one who didn’t want them. She wouldn’t subject them to the same sort of misery she had suffered.

There had been something else too and even in the worst moments after she’d left him, even when her father had delivered the final blow that almost broke her, it hadn’t changed. She had never begrudged Pierce his freedom.

Hiding Ben and Lauren’s existence from him had been her final act of love because she didn’t want to do what her mother had done. She didn’t want to turn him into a reluctant father with no time or patience for his children…except that suddenly it wasn’t like that anymore. Now her world was falling about her ears because this new Pierce Simon did seem to have time for his children after all, and quite a lot of patience too.

She closed her eyes as she tried to come to terms with the change in him and wondered again why he’d turned his back on his career. Maybe if she’d followed his matches after she left him she’d understand, but it was the one thing she hadn’t been able to do. One brief glimpse of him on a sporting highlights program had convinced her of that, and she had never watched tennis again.

“It’s not that difficult. All we need are a few ground rules Kerry, not a full length thesis,” his biting remark brought her back to the breakfast table with a start.

She opened her eyes and gave him an apologetic shrug. “My mind was drifting. Sorry.”

His voice softened slightly. “No suggestions then?”

She shook her head.

“No rules about housekeeping, or tidiness. No stipulations about the children’s bedtime and how many sweets they’re allowed to eat?” He was teasing now and there was a shadow of the old Pierce in the blue gleam of his eyes but she felt too tired to respond, and it wasn’t because of her broken night. It was because of the deep down, grinding weariness that was the result of three years of managing alone. After a moment he seemed to sense it because he stood up and started to clear the table.

“Not to worry. We can discuss it later at
Greenleas
.”

His mention of the sports complex brought her to her senses with a gasp of horror. “What time is it? I’m meant to be laying out a buffet in the church hall down by the shore by eleven o’clock.”

He frowned. “Find someone else to do it. We’ve a wedding to arrange.”

“
You’ve
a wedding to arrange,” she corrected icily. “And just to make things easier for you, I don’t give a damn about the arrangements so you can do what you like. I do care about Mel though and I won’t let her down. You heard me talking to her on the phone last night so you know I promised to help out.”

“That was before you had problems of your own.”

“Well at least you admit to being a problem,” Kerry was surprised to find a smile creeping across her face because suddenly Pierce looked exactly like Ben when he couldn’t have his own way.

He glared at her. “What’s so funny?”

“You are. You look just like Ben when he’s having a tantrum. I always wondered where he learned that ferocious scowl,” she couldn’t stop grinning.

Her unexpected amusement broke the tension between them. Pierce returned her smile with a wry grin.

“It can’t be taught. It’s genetic.”

“So is obstinacy,” she reverted to their quarrel with a shake of her head. “And I intend to go to work whether you like it or not. Besides, there isn’t anyone else.”

Surprisingly he gave in. “Okay but there’s plenty of time yet so you can relax because with two of us it won’t take so long.”

“You don’t mean…you’re not expecting to come with me?” She stared at him in amazement as she pictured the incongruity of Pierce Simon helping out at a conference buffet.

He gave a sudden grin. “Why not? It’s a long time since I went to the seaside.”

“Oh do be sensible! You’ll be bored out of you mind while I’m working. For goodness sake go back to
Greenleas
and leave me alone Pierce. I won’t run away…I haven’t the strength these days.”

“You know I’m almost inclined to believe you, so let’s just say I’m coming with you because I think you need some help,” he finished stacking the plates in the sink and then returned to the table and pulled her to her feet. He stilled her protest by placing a finger on her lips.

“No! No arguments. We go together or you don’t go at all.”

Kerry gave in after one look at the determined expression on his face. She knew when she was beaten. There would be no further concessions.

* * *

“It says turn right at the
next set of traffic lights,” Kerry glanced at the instructions she was holding and then looked at the road ahead. The traffic lights were about three hundred yards ahead of them. Pierce flicked the van’s indicator switch and then slowly pulled across to the outside lane of the dual carriageway.

Within minutes they had turned into the car park of a barn-like building bearing the legend
St Michael’s Hall
in faded green letters. Pierce killed the engine and then frowned at Kerry.

“Were you going to tackle all those steps on your own or are you expecting some help from the people who own the hall?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. This is Mel’s thing, not mine. I should have checked with her. I usually just supply the food.”

“I guess Mel must be a seven foot Amazon then,” he suggested hopefully, his mood so unexpectedly light-hearted that Kerry found herself smiling at such an unlikely picture.

“She’s bigger than me.”

He grinned at her. “Now that is not exactly a miracle of biology. You may be many things Kerry, but big is not one of them!”

She pulled a face. “Surely you know the best things come in small packages!”

“Did I ever say differently?” Suddenly tension was back, easing between them, flowing from his fingers as he put his hand on her arm. It was a different tension though. A tension brought back by a familiar repartee about her fragile five foot three frame. It was something he’d often teased her about and her indignant retaliations had nearly always ended in lovemaking, with Pierce very effectively proving to her exactly how he thought small was beautiful. A whole history of memories was between them now, binding them together in the close confines of the van.

She deliberately smashed them with a brittle laugh. “Come on, we’ve a lot to do before twelve o’clock.”

* * *

They finished at three-thirty. Pierce loaded the last empty box onto the van with a sigh of relief.

“That’s one way I really wouldn’t like to earn my living. Are you serious about this Kerry, or is it just a way of earning a crust?” He shut the rear doors with a weary shake of his head.

“A crust just about sums it up,” she gave a tired little shrug as she waited for him to unlock the passenger door. “But it is important to me because it’s something Mel and I have achieved on our own.”

He frowned. “What if I said I didn’t approve and I wanted you to give it all up?”

“I couldn’t,” her answer was prompt. “Mel relies on me, and I owe her. Besides, I enjoy cooking. It’s the only thing I’m really good at.”

“Then you’d better talk to Mel about running the whole thing out of
Greenleas
. It’ll be simpler if you’re both working in the same building, and I’m sure I can find you an office as well as some kitchen space. You can even have a go at running the snack bar in the Spa if you like. You might prefer it to what you’re doing at the moment and there’s a lot of potential for expansion. The members are always saying they’d like to be able to buy more than coffee and donuts without having to use the main restaurant. Mind you, if you do decide to take it over it will have to run like clockwork.”

“You’re not offering us any favors then?”

“Damn right I’m not! I run a business not a charity and the minute you’re not up to scratch, you’re out.”

Kerry gave him a sharp look, not quite daring to believe what he’d just offered her. “In that case aren’t you being a bit premature? You haven’t even met Mel yet, and yesterday I showed you the sort of mess I can get myself into. You’re taking an awful lot on trust Pierce, especially for somewhere as upmarket as
Greenleas
.”

To her surprise he grinned at her as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Don’t forget I’ll be living with one of the partners. That has to be some sort of security. Are you interested or not?”

She nodded hesitantly. “I think so. I’ll have to talk it over with Mel of course, but it’s exactly the sort of opportunity we’ve been looking for. What sort of food are you thinking of?”

He fitted the key into the ignition. “It’s up to you. Once the centre opens officially it won’t just be gym and spa members either. You’ll be overrun with customers from the hotel as well as the conference centre. And later there will be a golf course, and kids from the tennis school.”

“And you really think we can handle it?” She stared at him wide-eyed as he pulled out of the car park.

“The food we served today was very good, so I’m prepared to give you a chance. And you don’t have to do it all on your own. Call in other experts; take on some more staff if you have to. Anything as long as it works.”

They travelled several miles in silence while Kerry digested his offer. It was the chance she and Mel had been looking for and although, despite his denial, it smacked of charity, she knew it suited him sufficiently for her to have few qualms about accepting. If she was going to marry him then she was going to accept his dowry as well.

She wondered what Mel’s reaction would be, both to Pierce and to his offer, and decided her friend would be in favor of both. Pierce because he would provide the children with a much needed father, and
Greenleas
because it was another step up the ladder of her ambition.

She smiled. Mel was an enigma. Tallish and blondish, she was physically very ordinary, and yet she still somehow managed to look a million dollars whatever the situation, while her languid manner hid an abundance of energy that Kerry had only ever seen surpassed by Pierce. And like Pierce, her energy was never wasted.  It was always directed towards whatever project she was working on, which right now was to run a very successful catering company. Well, it seemed as if her long awaited chance was coming. No more hit and miss affairs as they struggled to service small local conferences. Instead they would be managing their very own bistro with all mod cons thrown in.

“Let’s stop at Mel’s on the way home?”

“Why do I have the feeling this has nothing to do with our forthcoming wedding and everything to do with
Greenleas
?” Pierce gave a wry smile as he obediently followed her directions, and before long they had parked in her friend’s driveway and climbed down from the van.

Mel opened the door before Kerry had time to ring the bell. She stared at Pierce.

Kerry blushed as she introduced him, only now realizing how difficult her explanation was going to be. “This is Pierce.”

“I know who he is,” Mel shook her head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell Dad you were Pierce Simon when you met him? He’s been muttering all day about how he’s sure he’s met you before.”

All this was delivered in Mel’s usual forthright manner as she proffered an elegantly manicured hand. Pierce took it with a grin, clicked his heels together and bowed low.

She chuckled. “I’m immune to that sort of behavior. Save it for Kerry. She’s much more gullible.”

“I know she is. That’s why she’s going to marry me next Saturday,” Pierce dropped the bombshell without preamble and then, before she could respond, he elaborated. “And we’ve come to tell you I’m bringing a dowry.”