The Marriage Contract (5 page)

Shrugging, she
said, “So much is changing all around me, I don’t know what to think.”

He pulled
himself up from the sand and extended his hand to help Cara to her feet.  “Come
on.  Let’s walk to the jetty.  Surely that hasn’t changed.”

They walked a
few moments in silence except for the distant sound of laughter on the far side
of the beach and the roar of the waves rolling into shore.  Devin couldn’t help
but think there was something more buried under the surface of Cara’s control. 
The years had mellowed her some.  It amazed him how he could still read her at
all after all this time apart.

They trudged
along the sand, virtually alone on the private beach except for some scattered
beachcombers.  More than once he’d stolen a glance in Cara's direction only to
find she was staring at him.  God, how he missed those brown eyes. 

When he'd first
hired Brenda to be his assistant, he noticed her soft brown eyes and
immediately thought of Cara.  They'd haunted him ever since.  Not Brenda's, but
the memory of Cara's cinnamon eyes twinkling laughter up at him just like they
were now, leaving him with a dead feeling inside for what he was missing.

As they reached
the jetty, he reached for Cara's small hand and helped her onto the first
boulder.  Together they balanced themselves, jumping from one massive rock to
the next until they reached the jetty’s point.

Cara plopped
down on a boulder, smooth from years of taking a beating by the incoming tide,
and sat cross-legged. 

“I think my mom
has been pushing me harder these days because she doesn’t want me to be alone
when they move to Florida.”

“She wants you
to be happy.  She loves you.”

“Yes, she
does.  And despite her crazy ways, I love her.  But I’m nothing like her.  She
is the epitome of domestic life.  I can barely fry an egg.  If it weren’t for
takeout and microwavable food, I’d starve.”

“I’m sure
that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“Okay.  I make
mean pancakes.”

Devin lifted
one knee and rested his arm across it as he sat on the boulder next to Cara. 
“Manny isn’t around to keep tabs on you, and your parents are going to be a few
thousand miles away.  Can you blame your mother for wanting someone to watch
over you?” 

She laughed
wryly.  “I’m a big girl, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Yeah, I
noticed.”  Much more than he cared to admit.  So much about the two of them
sitting together, talking, made it seem as if the seventeen years apart never
happened. 

And yet,
feeling the heat from Cara’s body, seeing the sun bouncing off the waves of her
chestnut hair, he felt like he was seeing this incredibly beautiful woman for
the first time.  He was sure she'd been just as beautiful seventeen years ago,
but somehow, he'd forgotten that part of her.  He snapped his gaze out to the
bay and stared at the safety of a bobbing sailboat coming into shore. 

“Besides, I
won’t be alone. I have friends.  And Roger will still be here.”

Devin twisted
himself around.  “Who's Roger?”

He didn't
realize his mouth had dropped open until he saw a full blown smile stretch her
incredibly delightful lips.  “Ma didn't tell you about Roger, did she?”

“No.”

Cara rolled her
eyes and looked away.  “Figures.”

Ruthie hadn't mentioned
another man in Cara's life during their phone conversation.  But now he
wanted—no, needed—to know who this Roger guy was.

 “I’m sure it
was unintentional.”

“Want to bet? 
I've been with Roger for over a year and they haven't been able to put up with
each other for more than five minutes the whole time.  I’ll bet Ma didn’t even
invite him to my birthday party.” 

Devin
chuckled.  “Over a year, huh?  I've never made it beyond a few months.  But
then I've never been one for longevity in the relationship department.”

“Well, to mom,
it's been a year too long.  Roger is just as bad.  He's thrilled beyond belief
that my parents are moving to Florida.  The farther away the better.”

She fiddled
with a seashell that was imbedded in a crack in the boulder until it came free,
and then tossed it to the surf. 

Cara hadn't
said she was in love with the man.  She'd merely said involved.  A woman in
love would be betrayed by the emotion in her eyes, no matter what words she
spoke.  He was deftly accurate at reading emotion, however fleeting, in the
eyes of people under question, whether it be a potential client, a juror, the
prosecution, or a woman in love.  Since he saw no emotion cross Cara's face
when she mentioned Roger by name, he could only surmise that she no longer was
in love with him.  If she ever was at all.

She drew in a
deep breath and looked out at the white caps rolling in.  

“The holidays
must have been lively around here.”

Cara rolled her
eyes and sputtered, “You have no idea.” 

She was smiling
again.  Not just her mouth but her whole face.  Her eyes lit up like fire flies
on a hot August night and her high cheekbones, delicately colored by the sun,
brought back warm memories.  In the sunlight, he could see the sheen of
moisture that filled her eyes.  “I’ve really missed this.  Just you and me
talking like this.”

He did, too. 
He just didn’t realize how much until that moment.

“Me, too.”

Reaching out,
he touched her hand, stroking the soft flesh with his thumb.  A whirl of heat
spread through him like melted butter on a toasted bagel.  He took in a deep
breath of salt air and pulled his hand away, uneasy with this newfound emotion
gripping him. 

He'd been right
to come here, no matter what the cost to his career.  It was what he needed. 
From the few moments he'd just shared with Cara, he knew she needed it to.

 “We should be
getting back.”

He just
nodded.  Then in a lighthearted tone, he said, “Be easy on your mother.”

Cara quirked an
eyebrow and gave him a wicked grin.  “Like she's been easy on me?  What do you
take me for, Devin?”

Glancing over
his shoulder at a couple of beach-goers, he did a double take.  In the distance
was what looked like an elderly couple stripping their clothes.  “We’d better
head out now.  It looks like they’re about to turn this public beach into a
nude beach.”

“Huh?”  She
glanced in the direction he’d motioned to, but the couple had already made it
to the water and submerged.  “It’s kind of early in the day for skinny dipping,
but it’s probably one of the locals who live along—.”

The sound of
laughter had them turning around just as they jumped off the last boulder onto
the sandy beach.  Cara gasped and focused her attention on the nude couple
dropping to the sand.

Her hands flew
to her mouth.  “That’s no ordinary blue haired lady!”

“Who is it?”

Cara’s face went
as white as a sheet.  “That’s my grandmother!”

* * *

An hour later,
Devin was sitting at the small harvest kitchen table, diving his spoon into a
delectable slice of Ruthie's famous lemon meringue pie.  Cara had excused
herself to make a phone call.

“You outdid
yourself, Ruthie,” Devin said, taking the last bite.

Ruthie smiled
her pleasure and lifted the plate, silently offering another slice of pie.

“Maybe later,”
he replied, gesturing with his hand to his stomach.

“There's plenty
left for after dinner.  I have some nice steaks from the butcher marinating right
now.  Getting them all ready for the grill.” 

Ruthie moved
about the kitchen putting pots and pans in the pickled white cabinets and
wiping the counter of spills that weren't there.  The radiant smile on her face
made it clear she was enjoying this “mess” she'd created for her daughter, and
she made no bones about hiding it.

“You're so
transparent, Ruthie,” he finally said.     

“Am I?”

“You asked me
to come here to break up Cara and her boyfriend, didn't you?”

She grunted
under her breath.  “She told you about him.”

“You don't like
him?”

She stopped
cleaning her already clean surfaces and turned to face him, leaning her hip
against the counter by the sink.  “He's...fine,” she said tersely.

Fine.  No
elaboration.  He was going to have to pry it out of her.  He was good at that. 
He used the one thing he was sure would get a rise out of her and make her
reveal all. 

“I'm sure that
it's just a matter of time before they marry and she gets pregnant with-”

“Over my dead
body!  And that won't be any time soon, mind you.”  Pointing a finger at him,
she added, “If I have my way, there will be no marriage between Cara and
Roger.”

As crazy as
Cara had always gotten about her mother’s antics, Ruthie had always been a good
judge of character, just the kind of person he could have used in the courtroom
to review a panel of jurors.  If she had some beef with Roger, then she had to
have had a good reason.  Otherwise, why waste time calling a man in Manhattan
that her daughter hadn't seen in years.  Cara could easily have given her
plenty of grandchildren with this Roger guy.  

“He's not a bad
guy, is he?” he asked.  An ominous thought crept into his mind, causing his
heart to pound in his chest.  “He doesn't hurt her or anything?”  He’d kill the
bastard.

She shook her
head and waved a hand at him.  “No, no.  Nothing like that.  Roger is a
perfectly
fine
gentleman.”  She breathed a heavy sigh.  “He's just not
you.”

He chuckled. 
“She's a grown woman, Ruthie.  She has a right to choose a man she wants to
spend her life with.”

“Not if she's
choosing wrong.”

“And you think
she is?”  

“Roger is the
kind of man a woman chooses when she wants stability.”

“There's
nothing wrong with stability.”

  “He is not
marriage material, and he is certainly not the man who will be the father of my
grandchildren.” 

There was
something deep beneath the surface of Cara’s relationship with Roger.  But
Ruthie went back to polishing already clean surfaces, leaving Devin to wonder
just what this fine Roger was all about.

“Don't you
think you're being a bit calculating?  I mean, Cara is a very independent
woman.  She perfectly capable of taking care of herself,” he said in Cara’s defense.

Ruthie held her
hand to her heart in mock exasperation. “Calculating?  You wound me, Devin.”

He smiled,
knowing that Ruthie truly did not have a mean bone in her body.  “Well, maybe
calculating was a bit harsh.  How about-”

“Concerned,”
Ruthie decided for him.  “I’m concerned for the well-being of my daughter and
my future grandchildren.”

“But what about
Cara?  Doesn’t she have a right to be with the man that she chooses?” he asked.

“Of course she
does.  That’s my whole point.”  Ruthie threw her hands in the air as if the
light bulb she’d trying to turn on finally illuminated.  “She’s already chosen
him.  She just doesn’t know it yet.”

Well, that was
Ruthie for you, Devin thought with a wry grin.  She had her own way of thinking
about how the world revolved around the sun.  Underlying her reasoning was a
healthy dose of mother knows best.  If he was going to be an ally for Cara, he
had his work cut out for him.

* * *

Cara plopped on
her bed and stretched for the telephone on the white wicker night stand. 
Noting the time on her digital alarm clock, she took a deep breath and dialed
Roger's number.  After what she and Devin just witnessed on the beach, she
wasn’t sure if she was ready for the next plunge on this roller coaster ride of
a vacation. 

Roger answered
on the first ring.  “Good afternoon, Roger-” he began to say his usual spiel,
but Cara cut him off.

“It's me,
Roger.”  She hoped she didn't get him in the middle of something.  But that was
ridiculous because he was always in the middle of something.  The last time
she'd interrupted him while working at home, he practically bit her head off
about consideration.  “I didn't pull you from a huge project, did I?”

His voice was
strained with patience, giving her the answer.  “How is the beach?” he
answered.

“Good.  The
same.”

“And Mother
Dearest?”

“She hates it
when you call her that.”

Roger
chuckled.  “I know.  But she hates me, period, so we're even.”

Cara rolled
onto her back and stretched out on the floral down comforter, letting her legs
dangle over the side.  “Unfortunately, I fit into this equation, so it's not
exactly even.”

“Are you coming
back to Boston?” he asked, a hint of optimism coloring his tone.

“No.  I still
plan on staying until Labor Day.”  She cleared her throat before asking her
next question, and steeled herself for the battle to come.  “I was hoping you
could get away for a few days and come down here.”

Silence.

“Roger?”

She heard his
sigh carry over the phone line.  “You know how I feel about visiting your
family.”

“Yes, but it's
me, too.  It'll be three weeks until I'm home.  Aren't you going to miss me?”

“Westport is
not that far from Boston.  You could drive up for dinner, stay overnight.  They
don't have you locked in your room, do they?”

Cara
stiffened.  It was a losing battle to expect Roger to willingly come down to
her parents beach home and enjoy it.  He'd never stayed more than a few hours
at a time and the animosity flowed freely between Roger and her mother.  “My
parents are having a birthday party for me.  Did you know anything about that?”

She heard the
exaggerated breath carry over the line again and figured he’d probably been
purposely excluded.  She’d have to fix that with her mother later.  His reply,
however, was much softer than she’d anticipated.  “No.  But I was hoping we
could have a more private celebration, like say, at the Bay Tower?”