The Bachelor (21 page)

He couldn’t imagine how she’d known his mother wasn’t home so she could come in and make herself comfortable. Not that he
cared, as long as she got the hell out now. He glanced over his shoulder, but she hadn’t made a move.

“I love a man who plays hard to get.”

The distinct sound of laughter traveled up from the front hall. His mother’s laughter and a man’s rumbling chuckle. At the
sound of other people in the house, Alice’s eyes had opened wide.

Just what he needed, Roman thought, an audience. He motioned for Alice to move, but she sat up in shock.

“… see a light on upstairs. Roman, is that you?” Raina’s voice grew louder and accomplished what Roman couldn’t.

Alice flew out of bed. “Oh, my God.” She dove for her clothes. Scrambling to pull on her pants, she danced around on one foot,
attempting to get one leg inside jeans that had been turned inside out.

“Roman? If it’s you, answer me.”

“Don’t you dare,” Alice hissed.

“I thought they taught you the basics back in kindergarten,” Roman commented. “If you sat down and put only one leg at a time
in there, it might make things easier.”

Raina’s footsteps sounded louder than his pounding heart and, now that he stopped to think about it, sweeter than anything
he’d heard in a long while. There was nothing like being caught to kill off interest, and if Alice’s beet-red face was any
indication, she wouldn’t be returning here or facing him anywhere, anytime soon.

He waited until Alice had calmed down enough to get her leg into half of her jeans before calling down to his mother. “I hear
you, Mom. I got back a little while ago.”

A male voice spoke with Raina—Eric, probably—which explained why she hadn’t made her way up the stairs. She only walked the
steps once in the morning and again at night. Roman had been considering speaking to Chase about turning one of the rooms
downstairs into a bedroom to accommodate Raina’s health.

“I want to hear all about your weekend,” Raina called and he heard her footsteps on the stairs at a quick pace that surprised
him.

“Ooh, no!” This time Alice shrieked in panic.

Roman, still standing in his doorway, turned back to his bedroom in time to see her kick the pants away. She’d instead yanked
up the comforter, wrapping the beige quilting around herself like a shroud.

Strange and stranger, Roman thought and shook his head. “By the way,” he said to Alice. “Dr. Fallon’s here too. But don’t
worry. Thanks to years of doctor-patient confidentiality, I’m sure he knows how to be discreet.”

Besides, Roman thought, things could be worse. It could be Chase, Mr. I-Only-Report-the-Facts, pounding up the stairs behind
his mother.

Raina reached the top step and walked up to him. Roman blocked her view of his room as best he could. “Hi, Mom. Feeling okay?”
He glanced over her shoulder to where Eric stood behind her.

“The stairs winded me. Let’s sit on your bed and talk.” She started to push past him and he gently held on to her arm. “You
can’t go in there.”

“Who’s there? Is it Charlotte?” she asked, sounding excited at the prospect.

“No, it’s not Charlotte, now please—this is a big enough mess without you getting involved or upset.” Raina shook her head
and tried to see over his shoulder.

Behind her, Dr. Fallon rolled his eyes, as if to say,
Once she’s on a roll, I can’t stop her,
something Roman understood too well.

“Okay, see for yourself,” Roman whispered, putting a hand to his lips, silently asking his mother to keep quiet. It wasn’t
his job to protect Alice from her stupidity, but he’d rather Raina take a quick peek and disappear than humiliate the woman
by bulldozing in.

He stepped into the room, his mother behind him, in time to see Alice trying to open the window with shaking hands. But as
Roman immediately realized, the latch was secure and Alice was in no jeopardy of height or success.

“I think we should let Eric take care of her, Roman. She’s obviously disturbed and upset,” Raina whispered, then grabbed his
hand and pulled him out of the room.

Realizing he faced his mother in his underwear, Roman snagged his jeans, which he’d left on the floor. He’d survive the embarrassment
better than Alice. “You’re right. Let’s go downstairs, okay?” Roman led Raina out.

He quickly detoured into the bathroom to pull on his pants, then he returned to the kitchen in time to see his mother take
a spoonful of antacid liquid.

“Would you make me some tea?” Raina asked. “All this excitement’s gotten to me.”

He glanced at her, concerned. “Are you sure it’s just heartburn? Nothing heart-related? I can get Eric—”

“No. I’m fine. Just some normal indigestion.” She patted her chest. “That girl needs Eric more than I do right now.”

“Just don’t neglect your health if something’s really wrong, okay?” He checked the teakettle for water, then turned on the
burner beneath it.

“I think Alice could use a sedative and a good talking-to. What was she thinking?” Raina shook her head and settled herself
into a chair.

“That reminds me. What were
you
thinking, leaving the house wide open?”

“May I remind you, in the lifetime I’ve been living in Yorkshire Falls there’s never been a reason to use a lock?”

“Five thefts over the last week isn’t enough of a reason for you?”

“I agree, and we’ll discuss that later.” Eric walked into the room. “Alice is waiting in the hall—fully dressed,” he said
in a lower voice. “I’m going to drive her home. I promised her that word of this wouldn’t get out.” His gaze settled not on
Roman, who had every reason to keep this incident quiet, but on Raina, who Roman figured would love to burn the phone wires
and share her eventful night with friends.

“I’m sensitive enough to know when to keep quiet,” she said, hurt flashing in her eyes.

Roman placed his hand over hers. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to insult you, Mom. He’s just being cautious.”

“Exactly. Thank you, Roman. Raina, I’ll call you.” Eric’s voice softened. “I’m sorry our evening got cut short.”

“I appreciate you getting me out of the house. You know the boys feel better about my health when I’m with you.” She gave
him a wary glance. “I’ll just enjoy tea with my son. You and I can always spend time together.”

“Tomorrow night works for me.”

“Let’s stay in tomorrow, okay?” Raina expelled a prolonged sigh.

Eric stepped forward, but she waved him away. “A cup of tea is all I need. Norman’s grease is just lying in my chest. Someone
ought to break into his place and steal all the lard from his cabinets.”

Eric laughed, then turned to Roman. “I’m not sure whether to tell you to watch out for your mother or yourself.” He chuckled
and before Raina could respond, Eric walked out, leaving her without the last word.

The teakettle began to sing and Roman stood up to get it. “You know, I think Dr. Fallon’s good for you.”

“You aren’t angry?” Her voice sounded soft and worried.

He glanced over his shoulder, surprised, then got back to work, steeping the tea bag in the water and adding her one teaspoon
of sugar before rejoining her at the table. “Angry at what? The man obviously makes you happy. You’re getting out with him,
smiling more than you have in years, and despite your health scare—”

“Maybe that’s because you’re home.”

“Or maybe it’s because a man’s finding you special and you like the attention.” He set a mug down in front of her.

“Don’t let your imagination run away with you. He’s a lonely widower and I’m keeping him company. That’s all.”

“You’ve been a lonely widow for the last twenty or so years. It’s about time you started living your life again.”

She glanced down, staring into the cup. “I never stopped living, Roman.”

“Yes, you did.” He didn’t want to have this deep conversation, yet he couldn’t deny the time had come. “In some ways you stopped
living—and you changed how we lived as a result. Roman, Rick, and Chase, the bachelor brothers,” he said wryly.

“You’re saying it’s my fault you boys are still single?” His mother sounded outraged and hurt.

He steepled his fingers in thought. He wanted to tell her there was no blame involved, no fault, but he couldn’t lie. “You
and Dad gave us a great family life.”

“And this is a bad thing? Bad enough to make you steer clear of marriage and family?”

He shook his head. “But you were devastated when he died. It was almost as if life stopped. You … you lived in pain—”

“That eventually dimmed,” she reminded him. “I wouldn’t have traded one minute with your father. Not even if it meant I wouldn’t
have suffered or grieved. If you don’t feel pain, you haven’t really lived,” she said softly.

He’d already realized he hadn’t been living—when he’d connected with Charlotte this weekend. And as his mother spoke, he realized
why. In an effort not to repeat the painful grieving process he’d seen his mother go through, Roman had opted to run, to travel,
keeping his distance—from the town, his family, and Charlotte. Charlotte, the one woman who he’d always known, or at least
sensed, could tie him to Yorkshire Falls and keep him here.

The one woman who had the power to hurt him, to make him
feel
the very pain he feared, should she die or leave him in any way. But his one night with her proved he couldn’t live without
her either.

She was worth any risk.

“I’ve lived and I’ve loved. Not everyone can say the same. I’ve been lucky,” his mother said.

A wry smile twisted Roman’s lips. “You could have been luckier.”

A combination of sadness and happiness, of obvious memories, settled in her eyes. “I won’t lie. Of course I’d rather we’d
have grown old and raised you boys together, but then I wouldn’t have this chance with Eric.” Her concerned gaze met his.
“You’re sure you aren’t upset about that?”

“I think he’s good for you. Nothing about that upsets me.”

She smiled. “You do realize you can’t run away from life forever.”

He wasn’t surprised she’d read his thoughts. His mother had always been perceptive. He’d inherited the trait that had helped
shape his career, but it was a pain in the ass when used against him. And it was that perceptiveness which left him too open
to seeing and feeling his mother’s hurt.

“Well, I suppose you can keep running, but think about how much you’d be missing.” She patted his hand in the motherly gesture
he knew so well. “And you’re too smart to continue on with something that’s an escape and not a solution. So, having said
all that, where does Charlotte fit into your life now? And don’t tell me she doesn’t.”

She’d returned to her mission. “You know me better than to think I’d tell,” Roman said.

She raised her gaze toward the heavens. “Girls. Why couldn’t God have given me one girl with my boys, so I could understand
what just one of you were thinking?”

“Come on, Mom. You know you like to be kept guessing. It keeps you young.”

“I’d rather drink from the Fountain of Youth,” she muttered. “Speaking of girls,
you
told me you were going to visit an old friend who’d moved to Albany last night, but Samson tells me he saw Charlotte leaving
in your car.”

“For a man who’s the town recluse, he’s too full of information.” Roman wondered who else had seen them leave. Not that it
mattered. He intended to make an honest woman out of her, no harm to her reputation involved. Unless marrying a Chandler who
had a rumored fetish for women’s panties was a problem.

As amazing as it seemed, even to him, he was ready to make a commitment now—one that offered more than he’d envisioned after
losing the coin toss. But before he approached Charlotte with the idea, he needed to convince her that he could and would
make a good father and husband, that he wanted more than a long-distance marriage of convenience. Exactly how much more, how
much he was willing to sacrifice in his career, his travel, he still had to think through. He had commitments, people relying
on him, and a real enjoyment of his job he didn’t want to lose when this leave of absence was through.

But his goal now was personal. His mother’s grandchildren would be the by-product of that goal, but not the reason for Roman’s
marriage. He felt light-headed and dizzy, much like the day of his first AP assignment.

“You could have told me you were going away with Charlotte,” his mother said, interrupting his thoughts.

“And have you questioning the poor woman? I figured I’d spare her.”

An amused gleam lit her gaze. “Well, I can still do that despite your intent to keep me in the dark. But I won’t. She has
enough on her hands now.”

His inner alarm went off. If Alice had been crazy enough to crawl into his bed, who knows what else was going on in this town?
“Why’s that? Another panty theft?”

His mother shook her head. “No, and Rick’s plenty annoyed that no one got you off the hook last night, that much I can tell
you. Not that the police consider you a suspect, but with Alice and the ladies in town still in an uproar—”

“Mom, what’s wrong with Charlotte?” He interrupted her rambling.

“Sorry. I got carried away.” She flushed.

He didn’t like the sound of her voice or the frown on her lips. “What’s going on?”

She sighed. “Russell Bronson’s back in town.”

Roman muttered a curse.

“Behave yourself,” his mother said, but the sympathetic look on her face told him she understood just why he was upset.

The timing of Charlotte’s father’s return couldn’t be worse. Just because Roman had come to terms with himself, his past,
and his future didn’t mean Charlotte had. He’d been struggling with himself from the moment he’d come back to town and lost
the coin toss. Despite his attempts to stay away, Charlotte was the only woman he wanted in his life. The only woman he wanted
to sleep with, the only one to have his children.

Originally he’d made that choice due to losing the coin toss. It’d been a selfish, unemotional decision because he’d still
been running. Still thinking of himself more than Charlotte, no matter how much he’d attempted to convince himself otherwise.
He’d had a need. She’d been the one he’d chosen to fill it. So simple. So stupid. She deserved so much more—a man who loved
her, who’d be there for her, and who would give her the family life she’d been denied as a child. Roman wanted to be the man
to provide her with all those things. But she’d never believe him, especially not now.