The Manning Sisters (26 page)

Christy nodded, hating the way she continued to sit in her parents' home, saying nothing when it felt as if the foundations of her world were crumbling at her feet. Her mother and father and Jason were all looking at her, waiting for some response, but for the life of her, Christy couldn't give them one.

Her eyes met with her brother's.

He winked broadly. “Mom and Dad are sparing no expense. If the wedding's half as elaborate as the engagement party, then your big day's going to be spectacular.”

Eric Manning chuckled. “It isn't every father who has a daughter as special as Christy.”

Christy forced a smile although she longed to stand up and beg them to put an end to this craziness. She didn't love James. She loved Cody. She couldn't possibly go through with an engagement to a man she didn't intend to marry.

She glanced from her mother to her father, both of them staring at her with bright, eager smiles, as though waiting for her to burst into a song of praise for their efforts.

“I…I…” The words froze on her lips.

“Honey, look,” Elizabeth murmured devotedly to her husband. “Christy's speechless. Oh, sweetie, you don't need to say anything. Your father and I understand. If anyone should be giving thanks, it's me. I was so miserable after my fall. Planning this party was the best thing in the world for me. I've loved every minute of it. Keeping it a surprise has been so much fun.”

There had to be a plausible excuse she could use to avoid this farce of an engagement party. “I don't have a dress.” The words escaped her lips almost as quickly as they formed in her mind.

“Not to worry,” Elizabeth said, her eyes glowing even brighter. “I thought of everything, if I do say so myself. I went shopping the other day and picked out a dress for you. If you don't like it, or it doesn't fit, we can exchange it first thing in the morning.”

First thing in the morning.
The words echoed in her ears. “I…I'm supposed to go back to work.” That sounded reasonable to her. After two weeks away from the law firm, Christy was expected back. They needed her. They were short-staffed without her. She couldn't demand additional time off to exchange a party dress.

“No need to worry about that, either,” Eric said. “James has that covered. He talked it over with the office manager, and she's given you two extra days off with pay.”

“Tomorrow, of course, will be filled with all the last-minute details for the party,” Elizabeth rattled on, rubbing her palms together.

“You didn't tell Taylor?” Her older sister would've said something to her; Christy was sure of it.

“Well, not right away. I mailed her a long letter and an invitation so it would arrive the day you were scheduled to leave Montana. I'm guessing she has it by now. I couldn't take the chance of mailing it any sooner for fear you'd find it, and I didn't want to say anything when we phoned in case she inadvertently let the cat out of the bag. I wanted to keep this a surprise.”

“I see,” Christy murmured.

“Your father and I don't expect Taylor to fly home for the party, not so soon after having the baby. She and Russ will come out for the wedding. Which is something else we need to discuss. Talk to James, sweetie—the sooner we have a date, the better. There's so much to do, and I so want this wedding to be carefully planned. I can't tell you how much I've learned in the past two weeks. Right after the party tomorrow night, we're going to sit down and discuss the wedding.”

Christy nodded, simply because she lacked the courage to explain there would never be a wedding, at least not one in which James was the bridegroom.

“You are surprised, aren't you?” Jason demanded, looking exceptionally cocky, as though he was the person responsible for pulling this whole affair together.

Surprise was too mild a word for what Christy was experiencing. Even shock and dismay were too mild.

Horror and panic more aptly described her feelings.

James! She needed to talk to James. He'd help her. He'd understand, and then together they'd clear up this mess. Together they could confront her parents and make
them
understand.

She stood before she realized what she was doing. Everyone in the room seemed to be staring holes straight through her. Glancing around, she offered them each a weak smile.

Always dutiful. Always obedient. Never causing a concern or a problem. Christy was about to destroy her good-girl image.

But first she had to talk to James.

 

Two messages were waiting for Christy on her answering machine when she returned late that afternoon. The first was from Cody and the second from Taylor.

Christy didn't answer either.

Instead she sat in her living room, staring into space, weighed down by guilt, pressured beyond anything she'd ever experienced and entangled in circumstances beyond her control.

How long she stayed there Christy didn't know. Here she was safe. Here she was protected. Here she could hide.

That small sense of security, however, quickly disintegrated. Knowing there was nothing else she could do to stop the progression of events, she stood and walked into the kitchen. She paused in front of the phone, then abruptly picked it up before she had a change of heart.

Cody wasn't home, and she left an all-too-brief message. Her next call was to Taylor.

“Christy, what's going on?” Taylor burst out the instant she recognized her younger sister. “I got this crazy letter from Mom about a surprise engagement party for you. What's happening?”

“You mean about the party?” Christy asked. Her voice lacked any level of emotion. She had none left.

“Of course I mean the party,” Taylor cried. “Do you mean to say you're going through with it?”

“I don't have any choice.”

“Christy, you can't be serious! What about Cody? I thought you were in love with him. I may be out of line here, but I could've sworn you…” She inhaled deeply. “I'd better stop before I say something I shouldn't. Just answer me one question. Do you or do you not love Cody Franklin?”

Christy wiped the tears from her face and nodded wildly. “You know I do.”

“Then it seems to me you're allowing Mom and Dad to dictate your life.”

“You don't understand,” Christy whimpered.

“What's there to understand?”

“Mom broke her leg—” She couldn't go on, wondering if she should even try to describe this hopeless mess. Even if she did it was doubtful Taylor would understand.

“I know about Mom's accident,” Taylor returned impatiently.

“She was terribly depressed afterward. I saw it, we all did, but apparently it didn't go away like everyone expected it would. Then Dad came up with the brilliant idea of planning this engagement party.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Mom put everything she had into it, and now—”

“Christy, I know it's difficult, but you've got to remember Mom and Dad planned this party without consulting you.”

That was true enough, but it didn't change the facts. “I can't humiliate them. I thought if I talked to James, told him about Cody, everything would work out, but then I discovered I couldn't do that, either. I wanted us to face Mom and Dad and make some kind of decision together about the party, but that's impossible now. Everything's so crazy…. I can't believe this is happening.”

“Do you mean to say James doesn't know about Cody yet?”

Christy closed her eyes.

“Christy?”

“I…couldn't tell him.” She stiffened, waiting for the backlash of anger that was sure to follow.

After a short silence, Taylor said, “You
couldn't
tell James about Cody?”

The trouble she had forming the words was painfully obvious. “You heard me.”

There was another silence. “I see.”

“How could you possibly
see?
” Christy demanded, keeping her voice level, when she wanted to scream at the accusation she heard in her sister's voice. “I went to him, fully intending to tell him everything.”

“Then why didn't you?”

“For two months James has been preparing for the most important trial of his career.”

“You mean to say you're worried about James's
career?
At a time like this?”

Christy ignored her sister's outburst. “A businessman from Kirkland…You must know Alfred Mulligan. He's the one who does all those crazy television ads. Anyway, he's been charged with cheating on his taxes. The whole case is extremely complicated, and you know as well as I do how messy this kind of thing can get when the federal government is involved.” She waited for Taylor to agree with her.

“What's that got to do with anything?”

Christy hated the angry impatience she heard in her sister's voice. It was all too clear that Taylor was upset with her. Christy felt Taylor's disapproval as strongly as a slap. All her life she'd experienced love and approval, especially from her family, and it hurt more than she could bear to feel such overwhelming censure from her only sister.

“You don't understand,” Christy tried again. “James has been working day and night for weeks to get ready for this trial. It was scheduled for the first of next month, but he learned this afternoon they've called the case early. He's making the opening statement tomorrow morning.”

“I'm afraid I don't understand the relevance of all this.”

“I don't expect you to. James has worked himself into a frenzy. I've never seen him like this. So much hangs in the balance for him.”

“That's fine, but I still don't—”

“He has a chance to win this case, but it's going to be difficult,” Christy went on, cutting off her sister's protest. “James knows that. Everyone does, but if by some miracle he can pull this off, it could mean a partnership for him.”

“Oh, Christy,” Taylor said with a groan.

“If I broke off the engagement now, it could ruin everything for him.”

“That's James's problem, not yours.”

“Maybe it is his problem. I don't know anymore. I do know that I can't do this to him. Not on the eve of the most important trial of his career. Not when James has finally been given the chance to prove himself. If anything went wrong, I'd always blame myself.”

The silence hummed as Taylor considered her words. “What about Cody?” she asked finally. “Have you given any thought to
his
feelings?”

“Yes.” Christy had thought of little else. Never in her life had she asked more of a person than she was asking of Cody. Another woman had destroyed his trust, and there was nothing to assure Christy that he'd want anything to do with her after this.

As painful as it was, as difficult, she found she couldn't humiliate her parents and risk destroying James's chances with this case.

Even if it meant she lost Cody.

S
omething was wrong. Cody felt it instinctively, all the way to the marrow of his bones. Christy had left two separate messages on his answering machine, and every time he'd played them back, he'd felt an achy, restless sensation. It wasn't what she'd said, but how she'd said it. She sounded lighthearted and cheerful, but beneath the facade, Cody heard unmistakable confusion.

He'd tried to phone her back, but to no avail. Unable to sleep, he rose in the early morning hours and drove around the back roads outside town, trying to make sense of what was happening. Or not happening.

He couldn't find the answers, not when he didn't understand the questions.

His greatest fears were about to be realized. Once again he'd fallen in love, involved his life with a woman who couldn't be trusted.

Christy isn't Becca,
his heart shouted, but Cody had virtually given up listening.

The sun had barely crested the hill as Cody sat in his Cherokee, looking at the valley below, pondering what he should do. If anything. Dammit all, he should never have let this go so far. Becca had taught him everything he needed to know about women and love.

Dawn burst over the hillside, with golden rays of sunlight splashed against the rugged landscape, and small patches of light on the horizon.

Cody released a jagged sigh, then started his car. As much as he'd like to turn his back on the entire situation and pretend the past two weeks with Christy hadn't happened, he knew the effort would be futile.

He glanced at his watch, knowing Russ and Taylor would be up and about. He needed to talk.

The light from the kitchen window glowed as Cody approached the ranch house. He pulled in to the yard, turned off the engine and waited until the door opened and Russ appeared on the back porch.

Climbing out of the car, Cody joined his friend.

“I thought that was you,” Russ said, opening the door in mute invitation.

Cody removed his hat and set it on the peg while Russ walked over to the coffeepot and automatically poured him a mug.

“Taylor's feeding Eric,” Russ said. “She'll be out in a few minutes.”

Cody nodded and straddled a high-backed wooden chair.

Russ sat across from him. “Personally I don't think this thing with Christy is as bad as it sounds. Although, to be honest, if I was in your shoes, I don't know what I'd do.”

Cody hadn't a clue what his friend was talking about but decided not to say anything, hoping Russ would explain without him having to ask.

“How're you holding up?”

“Fine.” Cody was about to drop the charade and ask his friend what was going on when Taylor came in, wearing a long pink housecoat. Her hair was mussed and fell to the middle of her back. She offered Cody an apologetic smile, and once more he was left to interpret the meaning. His gut was tightening, and he didn't know how much longer he could go on pretending.

“Good morning, Cody,” Taylor greeted him, helping herself to a cup of coffee. It seemed to Cody that her smile conveyed more concern than welcome.

It was all Cody could do not to leap to his feet and demand someone tell him what was happening.

“I suppose you're here to talk about Christy?” she asked gently. If Russ hadn't said a word, Cody would've guessed something was wrong just from the way Taylor was looking at him—as if she wanted to put her arms around him and weep.

“Christy's been on my mind,” he answered brusquely.

“You realize she doesn't have any choice, don't you?” Taylor added. Her eyes, so like Christy's, appealed to him to be open-minded. “Russ and I've gone round and round about this and—”

“Any choice about what?” Cody demanded. His friends exchanged a surprised look.

“You mean Christy didn't get hold of you?”

“No.”

“Then you don't know about the engagement party?”

“All I got was two messages in which she sounds like Mary Sunshine. I
knew
she wasn't telling me something. I sensed that right away.”

It took a moment for the news to hit him. Engagement party? That meant she was still involved with…If he hadn't already been sitting down, Cody would have needed a chair fast. He'd heard of men who'd had their feet kicked out from under them, but he'd never understood the expression until then.

“Oh, dear.” Taylor reached for her coffee and it was clear that she was upset. Her hands trembled, and her eyes avoided meeting his.

Cody transferred his attention to Russ, who looked as uncomfortable as his wife. “What's going on?” Cody asked in a deceptively calm voice.

Once more, husband and wife exchanged glances as if silently deciding between themselves who would do the talking. Apparently Russ presented his wife with the unpleasant task, because she swallowed, then turned to Cody. “My sister's caught in a series of difficult circumstances.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Apparently my mother took the two weeks while Christy was here in Montana to plan an elaborate engagement party. It seems her spirts needed a boost, and my father thought involving her in planning a party would help. Unfortunately he was right. Mom threw herself into the project and arranged the event of the year, starring Christy and James.”

“Are you telling me she's going through with it?”

“She doesn't have much of a choice. The celebration's scheduled for this evening.”

This second bit of information hit Cody with the same impact as the first. “You've got to be kidding!”

“I wish we were,” Russ said, his expression annoyed. “My in-laws mean well, but Christy's trapped in this fiasco simply because there isn't time to cancel it now.”

“What about James?” Cody asked, stiffening as he mentioned the other man's name. Every time he thought about the Seattle attorney, he struggled with anger and jealousy. James Wilkens had far more claim to Christy than he did. They both loved her, but it was James who'd given her an engagement ring. It was James her parents wanted her to marry.

“James is another problem,” Taylor whispered.

Cody didn't understand. “You mean he's refusing to release her from the engagement?”

“He doesn't know Christy intends to break it off,” Russ said without preamble.

Cody would've accepted just about anything more readily than he did this news. Christy had played him for a fool, used him the same way Becca had, for her own selfish purposes—whatever they might be.

“She's going to tell James everything,” Taylor said heatedly in her sister's defense.

Cody didn't bother to comment, still reeling from this last news.

“When I talked to her, she'd just returned from seeing James. She'd gone to him with the best of intentions, wanting to tell him about you and break off the engagement before it went any further. She was hoping the two of them could discuss the engagement party and decide what could be done.”

“She didn't say a word about me to James, did she?” At Taylor's wilted look, Cody decided that was all he needed to know. He stood, emptied the contents of his mug into the sink and set it on the counter so hard that it almost shattered.

“She couldn't tell him,” Taylor cried. “If you love Christy the way you claim, you'll listen long enough to find out why.”

Cody did love Christy, but he didn't know how much more battering his heart and his pride could take. He stood frozen, waiting for Taylor to continue.

“If she told James about you, she might put his entire career in jeopardy.” For the next ten minutes Russ and Taylor took turns explaining the situation as best they could.

“Christy doesn't have any choice but to follow through with this farce of a party, don't you see?”

Taylor did an admirable job of presenting her sister's case; Cody would give her that.

She kept her pleading eyes focused on him. “If it'd been up to her, she would've ended the engagement five minutes after she got home.”

Cody didn't respond, although it was apparent his friends were waiting for him to say something.

“You've got to appreciate the situation Christy's in,” Taylor went on. “What would
you
have done had the circumstances been reversed?”

Cody closed his eyes, pondering the dilemma. What would he do?

He just didn't know.

 

“Oh, sweetheart!” Christy's mother exclaimed, stepping back to examine the effect of the full-length layered blue dress. “You look like an angel. Eric, come and see.”

Eric Manning, wearing a white tuxedo with a pale blue cummerbund the same shade as Christy's dress, stepped gingerly into the living room. He eyed his youngest daughter and nodded approvingly. “You make an old man proud,” he said with a warm smile.

“You've never looked lovelier,” her mother added.

Christy managed a smile. She had no idea how she was going to make it through this party. She might be able to fool her parents, but surely someone would notice. Rich would. Of her three brothers, she'd always been closest to Rich. He'd take one look at her and immediately guess that something was wrong.

Not that it would make any difference. She'd stand before family and friends and pretend to be madly in love with James, pretend to be an eager bride-to-be. But the only thing Christy was eager for at the moment was to put this evening behind her.

 

“I'd like to propose a toast to the happy couple, my sister Christy and the love of her life, James Wilkens.” Rich Manning raised his champagne glass to the couple.

Christy grinned at her brother and fought the urge to empty her champagne glass over his head. Of all the guests, she'd expected him to realize how miserable she was. Instead, he'd unwittingly made things even worse.

Smiling faces nodded appreciatively at her brother's words before the party-goers sipped the vintage champagne. The round of toasts had been going on for several minutes. Christy wasn't sure how much more of this she could endure.

Her father had proposed the first toast, followed by her uncles and all three of her brothers. Each seemed to add something to the list of blessings they wished for her and James.

Christy swallowed another sip of champagne as her fiancé stood at her side, tall and debonair. She could barely look at him without being overwhelmed with guilt. They'd spent two hours in each other's company, and neither had spoken more than a handful of sentences.

In retrospect Christy wondered how she could possibly have agreed to spend the rest of her life with James. He was wonderful, but it was increasingly obvious that they were painfully mismatched.

Hoping she wasn't being conspicuous, Christy scanned the gathering, wondering if it was possible for anyone to read her thoughts. Not that it would do any good.

“Would you like something to eat?” James asked, glancing toward the linen-draped tables where trays of hors d'oeuvres lay waiting.

Christy shook her head, positive she wouldn't be able to keep down a single bite. “Nothing for me, thanks. What about you?”

“I'm fine,” James answered.

The music started, and a handful of couples were making their way to the gleaming wooden floor. “I've always been terrible at this sort of thing,” James confessed, reaching for Christy's hand. “But I suppose it's expected of us.”

Christy nodded, wanting nothing more than to escape. A path was cleared as James led her to the dance floor and slipped his arm around her waist, careful to maintain a respectable distance between them. The music was slow and melodious, a love ballad, whose words seemed to ridicule her more than anything that had preceded the dancing.

James smiled into Christy's eyes as they moved across the floor. Soon other couples joined them.

Her fiancé seemed to relax a little more now that they weren't the only two on the floor. For that matter so did Christy. “I'm sorry I haven't been myself this evening,” James murmured regretfully.

Christy was ashamed to admit she hadn't noticed. Her whole attention had been focused on simply getting through this ordeal.

“The Mulligan case is going to take up a lot of my time over the next few weeks, and I can only hope you'll be patient with me.”

Christy was horrified to realize she'd forgotten all about the trial and how important it was to him. “Oh, James, I'm so sorry. I didn't even ask how everything went this morning.”

“Not as well as I'd hoped,” he mumbled under his breath.

“I'm sorry,” she said again. “But I understand you're going to be busy. In fact, it might actually work out for the best. You see, I met—” She wasn't allowed to finish.

“I knew you'd be understanding,” he said, cutting her off. He smiled gently and drew her toward him. “You always have been.”