Once Around (37 page)

"
Really? Just watch me."

"
You've seen the settlement. I'm being more than fair. I'm willing to own up to my mistakes."

"
Doing that well, are you?" She couldn't keep the edge from her voice. She didn't even try. "You must be a happy man, Robert. That's what you always wanted."

"
I told you I regret my mistake. What if I made the custody issue negotiable? Would you fly down to the Caribbean this weekend and get the divorce?"

"
Our marriage might be negotiable, but my baby isn't. I'll make a deal with you: You keep the house and the car and the money. I'll keep the baby."

She didn
't wait for his answer. This time she was the one who turned and walked away.

#

The wedding of Jessica Wyatt and Spencer Mackenzie took place at twelve noon on Thanksgiving Day in the library of Miriam Cantwell's house. Dr. Van Lieuw gave Jessy away while his sister played Lohengrin on the piano. Ginny the housekeeper and her husband Harry were in attendance as were a few of the neighbors who were home for the holidays. Welcome candles glowed at every window, both in the main house and the carriage house. Miriam presided over the festivities from a motorized wheelchair that was festooned with flowers. She wore an elegant pale blue dress with a brocade collar and she appeared to be having the time, of her life.

Which was more than anyone could say about the bride.

"Jessy's hands are shaking," Rafe whispered to Molly. "She looks as if she's going to faint."

"
Look at Spencer." Molly shook her head in amazement. "He looks calm and collected." And happy. She couldn't help but notice the look of happiness in his eyes as he and Jessy exchanged rings. None of it made the slightest bit of sense. Nobody in his or her right mind would ever have predicted this wedding, and they certainly wouldn't have predicted Jessy to be the one who looked like she wanted to bolt and run.

Molly had been the picture of contentment at her own splashy wedding. She
'd sailed through the proceedings on a cloud of happiness, secure in the knowledge that this marriage would be forever and a day, that nothing—not time or circumstance—could possibly come between her and Robert. She hadn't figured that life itself would do exactly that. Seeing him yesterday had left her with nothing but relief and a mild touch of residual sadness that she could have settled for so little the first time around.

But there was the baby
, the one wonderful thing she had to show for her years with Robert. She wouldn't have missed this baby for the world.

She wondered about Rafe
's wedding. His marriage. Had he believed it was forever, too, or had he somehow known it came with an expiration date like milk and cents-off coupons? Did he ever think about his ex-wife and wonder how he would feel if she walked through the door? Suddenly Molly wanted to know everything them was to know about him. She couldn't get the image of him, alone and living in his pickup truck, from her mind. She couldn't bridge the gap between his married life in. Montana and that. Miriam's words had cut deep into her heart. At first she'd been so afraid of what she might hear that she'd blocked out the sheer wonder of the story. He'd been, as low as a man could get, but nothing had been able to crush the basic kindness in his beautiful soul.

How
had he ended up living in his truck? What had happened between him and his wife that sent him across the country into a downward spiral of loneliness?

Tonight was the night she
'd ask those questions. It was time she found out more about the man she loved.

#

The bride and groom left not long after dinner. Rafe shook Spencer's hand then hugged Jessy. She felt like a hummingbird in his arms, all fluttering heart and fragile bones.

"
It's going to be okay," he said to her. "You're going to be happy."

"
I must be crazy," she whispered. "We don't stand a chance."

"
Nobody does. It's up to you to beat the odds."

She looked up at him as if he
'd said something profound, and when Spencer pulled out of the driveway, Jessy turned and blew a kiss to Rafe.

"
What was that all about?" Molly asked. "Flirting with new brides isn't kosher."

He g
rinned and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Jealous?"

She shot him a saucy look.
"Should I be?"

"
No," he said, no longer kidding around. "You shouldn't."

He tilted
her face up toward his and kissed her deeply. She tasted like ice cream and pie. Tonight, he thought. Tonight he'd tell her how he felt, the wonderful things he saw in their future, the father he wanted to be to her child.

"
Miriam's. exhausted," Molly said as they walked slowly up the drive to the main house, the candles glowing warmly in each window. At that moment he had everything he'd ever wanted in life, and it could only get better.

Dr. Van Lieuw met them at the door.
"The happy couple left on their honeymoon?"

"
Two nights in a B and B, then it's back to work for both of them," Molly said. "I guess they'll schedule a honeymoon later on."

Van Lieuw nodded
, but Rafe sensed he wasn't paying attention.

"
What's wrong?" he asked the doctor.

Van Lieuw glanced over at Molly then back again at Rafe
, and there was something about that look that told Rafe everything.

"
It's Miriam, isn't it?" he asked.

"
Yes," Van Lieuw said quietly. "She's gone."

Chapter Twenty-two

Three days later Miriam was buried in the family plot north of Stockton. She had specif
ied in her will that she wanted: a brief, private funeral, and her wishes had been met. A few people took the lectern to say a few words of praise, but it wasn't until Rafe started to speak that Molly began to cry. She didn't really know Miriam, of course. Her loss was one of association, not history the way it was for Rafe. He spoke briefly and eloquently about what Miriam had meant to him, and when he sat down again, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

He reached for. Molly
's hand, and she held it tightly, Wishing she could ease the sorrow he felt over the loss of his friend. Of course Miriam was much more than a friend to him. She was family. His sorrow ran deep and wide. He hadn't slept last night.. Neither had Molly. She'd lain awake upstairs, listening to the sound of chisel against wood as he worked on the cradle.

She hadn
't told him yet about Robert's unexpected visit. With the preparations for the wedding, there had been so much going on that she simply hadn't had the chance. Or at least that's what she told herself. Then Miriam's sudden death had relegated Robert's visit to an even lower level of importance. Besides, she'd handled it. She'd stood up for herself against his offers of money and her freedom and proved she was no longer the needy pushover of a wife he'd known. When she'd turned her back and walked away, she'd regained a part of herself she'd believed lost forever.

The mourners went back to Miriam
's house for a buffet meal put together by Ginny and her husband. Miriam's relatives surrounded Rafe, peppering him with hugs and questions and memories. Molly mingled the best she: could, but she felt terribly out of place. Rafe must have sensed it because a second later she felt the familiar, loving weight of his arm around her shoulders.

"
You look beat," he said "I know you didn't sleep last night. Why don't you go back to the carriage house and take a nap?"

"
I would," she said, "but I can't sleep in the afternoon."

"
Go rest," he said. "There are some books on the nightstand that'll put you to sleep."

She didn
't want to leave but she knew that she needed to get off her feet for a little. while. "Just for an hour," she said. "I want to be with you when they read Miriam's will."

"
There won't be any surprises," he said. "I'll continue paying off the carriage house to the bank, same as before."

She hoped he was right. Death had a way of changing everything. Agreement
s that worked smoothly suddenly fell apart in the face of family pressure and legal wrangling.

Jinx was waiting on the top step.
"Poor baby." She bent down and tried to scratch Jinx's head but couldn't quite reach. "You can sleep on the bed with me," she said as she opened the door. "I promise."

She fed Jinx while her tea was brewing
, then carried the mug upstairs. Rafe was right. She was beyond exhausted. The thought of undressing for just an hour was terribly unappealing, so she laydown carefully on top of the feather bed and closed her eyes. She heard Jinx's nails tapping their way across the floor then felt the slight dip of the mattress as the cat landed next to her. Jinx fell asleep within two seconds.

"
You snore, "Molly muttered. "What a dirty trick."

Rafe had said he had some sleep-inducing books on the nightstand
, but she didn't see anything more than 'a woodworking catalog. That would do it, she thought, but she'd been hoping for something a little more intriguing. Maybe he meant to say in the nightstand, not on it. She slid open the drawer of the one closest, on Rafe's side.

Perfect. A dog-eared copy of
On the Road
was buried under a pile of old letters, bank statements, and photographs. Her father had worshipped at the altar of Kerouac and Kesey, which was probably one of the reasons she'd never read either man's work. Now was as good a. time as any to see what the attraction was all about. Her dad no longer had a hold over her life. She was in charge now, and it felt wonderful.

She sat up against the headboard and opened the book. She hadn
't finished the first paragraph when she noticed a photograph on the comforter next to her. He must have been using it as a bookmark.
Sarah,
it read on the back. His wife? She turned it over and was surprised to see a photo of a newborn baby, one of those
I'm two hours old
shots of a wrinkled little red face swaddled in blankets.

A niece
, she told herself. A friend's daughter. Maybe one of Miriam's grandnieces. She put the photo aside..

She couldn
't get comfortable. Jinx's snoring was too loud to ignore and to add insult to injury, the baby woke up and decided it was time, for calisthenics. She sipped some tea, flipped through the book. She found the story unsettling. This wasn't the time to read about a group of men who kick off the confines of real life and hit the road like a group of aging Peter Pans. No, it wasn't the right time at all.

She must have fallen off to sleep at last because suddenly she realized ninety minutes had slipped by a
nd she was late for the reading of Miriam's will. She quickly brushed her hair and her teeth, put her shoes back on, then headed across the lawn once again toward the main house. These things never started on time. They were probably all still eating Ginny's tuna casserole and reminiscing.

The kitchen was quiet except for the whir of
the dishwasher. She moved into the hallway. No sign of anyone. She heard a faint rumble of voices coming from the living room—no, wait. The library. She hurried down the hall and ended up face-to-face with a closed door.

"
... my sister Agnes, my portfolio of stocks and bonds with the proviso that she..."

Oh
, great. They were already deep into the bequests. She couldn't barge into the room now. She barely knew Miriam. Joining them now would be a sign of disrespect, and that's the last thing she wanted. She could hear everything from out here. Maybe she'd just stay and listen so she'd be there for Rafe when it was over.

#

Rafe was paying minimal attention to the proceedings. The funeral had been bad enough. Listening to Miriam speak from the grave was too damn sad. She'd thought of everyone from Ginny to Dr. Van Lieuw to her family. He didn't want anything from her. She'd already given him more than any parent ever could have given a natural-born child. She'd given him friendship and guidance and a kick in the butt when he needed it. She'd given him a home and the sense of family.

He could move on now with only his memories and not feel cheated. He had Molly and the baby
, and that was enough for any man.

The lawyer turned his attention toward Rafe.
"And now we come to Rafael Garrick, who is the son God granted me late in my life. Rafe has been my son, my friend, my defender. Knowing him, watching him grow roots, I want those roots to continue to grow, and so..."