Читать книгу Another Woman's Son - Anna Adams - Страница 9

ISABEL WOKE, groggy from lack of sleep. Tony’s crying pulled her to her feet, but then she heard Ben’s comforting voice, and Tony laughed. Isabel sank back, dragging a pillow over her face.

It all came back. Her sister and her husband had found the love Will had apparently never been able to feel for her. They’d had Tony together. They’d run away, only Tony surviving in the wreckage they’d left behind.

Tony. Her nephew. Her husband’s child. Leaving would be so easy.

Except she loved Tony with a mother’s heart. None of this was his fault, and Will had already ruined enough of her life. She might never learn to forgive Faith, but Will’s falseness wasn’t about to destroy her love for Tony.

She tossed the pillow toward the headboard and climbed out of bed. First, a shower that felt more like baptism into a crazy, borrowed existence. Then she put on jeans and a snug green sweater and began to unpack the bag she’d left in the middle of the floor last night. Thank goodness, she’d brought enough clothing to take her through selling her house.

She was hanging her things in the closet when Ben knocked on the door. “You awake?” he asked softly from outside.

“Come on in.” She looked for Tony, but Ben came alone.

He held out her cell phone. “Leah.”

Great. One free breath would have been nice before she had to face her former mother-in-law. “How’d you explain my staying here? She doesn’t know—”

He put his hand over the phone. “She knows you were separated. Why would you stay in that house? And why are you trying to protect Will?”

“He was still her son.”

Ben looked disgusted as he passed the cell.

Isabel replaced his hand with hers, blocking their voices again. “What did you say?”

“Hello, and that I’d find you.”

Maybe she was overreacting, but she wasn’t used to this angrier version of Ben. “I’m sorry. She— I know she can be awful, but she loved Will.”

“As long as he stayed in line.”

“She loved him as much as she can love anyone.” She brought the phone toward her ear.

“Wait.” Ben held out his hand. “Tony’s downstairs. He must have seen you last night because he keeps calling for you.”

“I’ll come down.” Armed with her last ounce of nerve.

“Thanks. He’ll feel better after he knows you’re here.”

She hoped Ben was right. They might be setting Tony up for another loss, because she had to find her own life soon. She couldn’t linger forever on the edges of Ben and Tony’s.

She spoke into the phone. “Leah?”

“I thought you’d hung up. What took so long?”

“Ben and I were talking about Tony. How do you feel now?”

“Exhausted. I know people are going to talk because I didn’t show up, but I can’t manage to get out of bed yet. Are you going to visit me, Isabel? I’d like to hear about my son’s service.”

Leah must be delirious. “You want me?” Despite her claims to be Isabel’s second mother, Leah had treated her as if Will had married the hired help.

“We’re all that’s left of my son now. We must help each other through our grief.”

“Huh?” The many dramas of Leah Barker annoyed the hell out of Isabel, but she bit her tongue. “Calm down, Leah. I’ll come up to Philadelphia in a few weeks, but I have to close the house first.”

“The house? Doesn’t it belong to Will?”

“You haven’t changed that much.”

“Pardon me?”

Isabel almost laughed at Leah’s stronger, affronted tone. “You’re protective,” she said, “of Will. I’ll let you know what the attorney says about the house.”

“And everything else.”

Just like that, her attitude wasn’t so funny. Isabel still owned the things she’d brought into her marriage. “You have nothing to worry about, Leah.”

“Why are you staying at your sister’s house?”

Just the question to turn the knife in Isabel’s wounds. “Ben asked me and I want to spend time with Tony.”

“Don’t you care what people will think? After all, you and Will were separated.”

“What are you implying, Leah?”

“I’m worried about my son’s reputation. You should be, too. I know you had problems, but he loved you.”

That bastard. He’d probably fed his mother the same story he’d given Ben—that Isabel had cheated on him. He’d never realized he didn’t have to hide his flaws from Leah. She refused to see them anyway. Eventually, he’d have persuaded her Faith was a victim he’d saved from a bad marriage, too.

“I loved Will, Leah. Let’s leave it at that. I need to get off the phone and go start on the house.”

“If I come stay with you, will you move back in?”

The threat didn’t scare Isabel. Leah hadn’t even come to her beloved child’s funeral. She’d hire an attorney before she’d travel all the way to Virginia to grab her share of Will’s belongings.

“Sure,” Isabel said. “Let me know when you’re coming.”

Her mother-in-law was silent for several seconds, no doubt planning her next offensive. Isabel smiled. “You’ll fill me in on what you’re doing?” Leah took another tack. “You should call me each evening.”

“I’ll have Ray Paine give you an update.”

“Ray? He’s Will’s attorney.”

“And mine, and I wish you wouldn’t crowd me, Leah.”

Again, she fell silent. “Let’s not argue, honey. We won’t pretend I didn’t think you were wrong for Will. Maybe I was right, maybe not, but you’re all I have left of my boy, and I don’t want to lose you. Maybe I’m trying to make sure you don’t cut all ties with me.”

“By accusing me of burglary?” Any non-succubus would know that was a mistake.

“I don’t want you to cut me out. I have the right to make demands.” The bubble of her arrogance deflated. “I hate situations I can’t control.”

A family trait. “I don’t like people who try to manage me. And being called a criminal puts me off, Leah. Why don’t you say what you mean instead of playing games?”

“Would you believe me if I told you how much I care about you?”

Care seemed like a strong word for what Leah appeared to feel, but she was trying to preserve their tenuous connection. Will must not have told Leah the “Isabel cheated” story after all. Leah would never forgive disloyalty to her son. “I might suspect you had an ulterior motive.”

“I do care. I’m protective of my son’s things, but you were part of his life. I wish I’d been nicer to you while you and Will were married.”

Leah had stopped making sense, but Isabel couldn’t turn her back on Will’s mother. Grief could make a woman talk crazy. “Don’t worry, okay? I won’t take anything that belongs to Will, and I won’t disappear without telling you.”

“You’re the only person I can talk to about…”

“Shh, Leah. Don’t upset yourself. Is anyone staying with you?”

“Janet’s here.” A friend who’d shown her the ropes of being a popular Philadelphia wife. Janet had never liked Isabel, either.

“Go do something with her awhile. Something that takes some energy.”

“You mean like shopping?”

Isabel laughed. She’d had silver polishing or cooking breakfast in mind. “Whatever keeps you busy. You don’t have to deal with everything today. Work your way into getting used to—” She couldn’t say Will’s death. “To what’s happened.”

“I think you’re right.”

It never took much work to persuade Leah to pamper herself. “I’ll call you later.”

“Thanks. And I’m grateful for the advice, too. We’ll talk soon. I still wouldn’t mind knowing what you plan to do about my son’s things.”

Leah couldn’t stop, and Isabel wasn’t a saint. For now a call was the best she could offer.

“POCK, DADDY, POCK!”

Which translated to Take me to the park across the street, Dad. Ben wiped cereal off the wall and picked more out of Tony’s hair. “Just a minute, Son. Let me chisel the kitchen clean first.”

At least he’d stopped begging for his “Iz-bell.”

Just as Ben wiped the last splat of cereal off the counter behind Tony’s high chair, Isabel came into the kitchen, like a woman taking possession of enemy territory.

“Morning,” she said, her cheerfulness obviously an act.

How had Leah put her in this mood?

“My Iz-bell.” Tony kicked so hard the whole chair rocked. Ben and Isabel reached for him at the same time.

“Let me.” Her eyes, soft with love, distracted Ben. His house felt starved for love.

Isabel eased his cooing son out of the high chair. Tony wrapped his legs around her as if he were either wrestling or claiming her for all eternity.

“I love you, baby.” She said it with wonder. That was the worst thing about cheating spouses. They made you forget what kind of person you were.

“You really thought you could stop loving him?” Ben’s throat tightened as Tony planted a wet, cereal-specked kiss on Isabel’s cheek. She looked at Ben, eyes wet.

The heavy air inside his house seemed to lighten.

“I’d better take him.” Ben reached for his boy. “You’re still going out?”

Nodding, Isabel stared at Tony as if she couldn’t get enough of him. Giggling, Tony burrowed his face into her hair. “He’s fine, despite what he must have seen in that accident.” She hugged him again until he wriggled. “You can have him in a sec, and then I have to call Ray before I go.”

“Why?” He didn’t want to hear anything more about this legacy idea. He wet a paper towel with warm water and tried to clean some of the detritus his son had rubbed on her cheek and neck.

The way she set her stubborn jaw equipped him with plenty of elbow grease. “I want to discuss setting up a trust fund for Tony, and while I was talking to Leah I realized I’d better find out for sure about my legal rights.”

“Don’t think you can run over me about Will’s money. No one provides for my son except me.”

“Be sensible. You can’t see the future. Who’d have believed three months ago that all this was waiting for us? When Tony grows up, he might need—and want— Will’s legacy.”

“Will always said you hated business matters.” He closed in again, trying to finish the cleanup.

“What Will actually meant was that he hated for me to ask questions about the business. He felt I was challenging his role as the great provider.” She dropped the sarcasm. “Another reason to feel idiotic for trusting him. I may be penniless.” She freed one hand and pushed his paper towel away. “What are you doing to my face?”

“Cereal.” He scrubbed off the last grains and then showed them to her. “Tony shared with you.”

“Is it in my hair, too?” But when she turned to let him search the brown strands, Tony grunted and tightened his legs.

“My Iz-bell, Daddy.”

“Aunt Iz-bell,” Ben said for maybe the billionth time.

“Uh-huh.” Tony nodded with vigor. “My Iz-bell.”

They had bigger problems. Someday Tony would grasp what aunt meant. “Okay, buddy. Let’s finish cleaning you both before your Iz-bell has to hose her self down.”

“No.” Tony resented even a paper towel coming between them. Ben had to laugh. Otherwise, his boy might tempt him to cry. “I told you he’s lost too many people lately.”

“Ben.” Without warning, Isabel put one arm around him.

She seemed too close. He couldn’t get enough air. What the hell had his voice betrayed? As his lungs screamed, he let her hold him, and he was almost as grateful as his son.

This was good, he told himself, even as he hated the devious path his thoughts took. She wouldn’t hug him if she didn’t feel attached. The more attached he made her feel, the safer he and Tony would be.

But he must have hugged back too tightly. Tony began to squeal, and Isabel laughed, moving away.

“I guess we needed that.” She picked up Tony’s bowl from the table and set it in the sink. “It’s been too long for all of us.”

Fighting remorse that was pointless, since he’d have used any innocent, unsuspecting soul to keep his son, he followed her to the sink. “More cereal.” He smoothed it out of her hair and ran the paper towel over his son’s face, to Tony’s squirming disgust. “And we’re all ready to go.”

“Go where?” Isabel asked. “I mean where are you and Tony going?”

“The park, if you don’t want our company.” He tossed the paper towel into the garbage can as the doorbell rang.

Isabel turned with a wary look that reminded him she really had been through the same experience that had changed his life. “I was surprised no one brought the traditional casseroles.”

“I asked them not to.” How else did a guy act when his wife died, leaving a brief, informative note about her affair? “I don’t know if she told anyone else the truth. Every time one of her friends shows up I’m afraid something will happen that makes me lose Tony.” He circled Isabel and his son, heading for the front door. “Those damn suitcases, for instance.”

“I know. I plan to repeat Mom’s theory about Will giving Faith and Tony a ride to her and Dad’s house.” Annoyance tightened Isabel’s voice.

“I’m glad you told me. It’s a better excuse than anything I came up with.”

“Have you considered a DNA test?” Isabel asked.

He turned back, bleak. “I won’t leave a trail of evidence that proves I have questions about Tony’s paternity, and Faith’s affair explains why my marriage had turned into an endurance test.” He looked miserable. “I can’t make myself prove my son belonged to another man.”

“He never will.”

Isabel’s desperate comfort provided little relief. He passed through the dining room where the table was still set for Faith’s next dinner party, and entered the hall. He reached for the door, wishing he could plaster a do-not-disturb sign to the other side.

George and Amelia were on the threshold, George taking a quick scan of the neighbors, Amelia clinging to his arm as if she might sink without his assistance. “You’re exhausted.” She was one to talk, with her grayish hair flying from a bun he’d guess she hadn’t repaired since yesterday. “I knew we shouldn’t leave you alone. You have too many memories in this house.” She peered over his shoulder. “Where are Tony and Isabel? Not awake yet?”

“It’s almost ten,” George said. “No kid sleeps this late. Have you eaten, Ben? We thought we’d take the family out for breakfast.”

“I’ll give Tony his bath and dress him for you, Ben,” Amelia said. “And maybe later we could take him to the park.”

“I’ve already dressed him. We painted the kitchen with cereal, and we’re headed to the park.” Aware he owed Isabel a random act of kindness here and there, he prepared the path for her to go her own way. “Except Isabel has some work to do at her house.”

“How is she this morning?” Amelia pushed past him. “Isabel?”

“In the kitchen, Mom.”

Her happy voice startled him.

“There she is.” Amelia rewrapped a striped scarf around her throat. “We’ll all visit the park. We’ll get a bite to eat and then work it off on the baby swings. I’d love some fresh air.”

“Are you nuts?” George took his wife’s arm. “In that skimpy overcoat, you’d freeze in minutes.”

“It gets colder than this in Philadelphia.”

“And you huddle by the fireplace every time it snows.” He nodded toward Ben. “You go. Amelia and I will say good morning to Isabel and then find ourselves some breakfast and a paper. We’ll bring something back. Maybe those doughnuts Tony likes.”

“You don’t have to leave because Tony and I are going out. Come on into the kitchen. I have coffee and a paper, George.”

“Don’t want to make a mess of your kitchen.” George prowled like a caged animal under his daughter’s roof. “We’ll see Isabel and then go our own way. Besides, Amelia likes her own copy of the crossword puzzle.”

“I never—” Amelia began, but George’s strange expression stopped her from finishing.

Ben closed his own eyes, swearing a blue streak in his head. Faith might have followed Will’s lead and told her father some god-awful story. Always a daddy’s girl, she wouldn’t have been able to run out on her marriage without trying to swing her father onto her side.

George often told his girls they were the best things that had ever happened to the world. According to Faith, he’d never been able to live with flaws, so she’d always tried to hide hers. George would have to convince himself Faith was blameless. Her affair, and then passing Tony off as Ben’s child. Her actions would have forced George to take sides between his two girls.

For Isabel’s sake as well as his own, Ben prayed he was wrong and Faith hadn’t found the guts to confess. “Isabel, your mom and dad are here.”

They found her with the top of Tony’s high chair up, wrestling him into his coat.

“I’ll do that. He hates it.”

“I used to know the tricks.” Isabel gave up and hugged both her parents. “Did you sleep well, Mom? You look tired.”

Ben concentrated on Tony, pulling up his hood and tying the laces in a bow. Tony pushed at his hands with his usual resistance.

“We slept fine.” Amelia backed away from her to study the room. “Isn’t this kitchen lovely? It could be a show home, Ben.”

Isabel leaned against the sink and he tried not to notice her white-knuckled grip on the granite counter. “It’s lovely,” she said with magnificent blandness.

“Amelia.” George pulled her close and kissed her temple. “You’re being tactless.”

“I’m not comparing you to your sister, Isabel.” Amelia breathed deep. “I’m looking for signs of Faith. I miss her so much.”

Isabel forgave immediately and hugged her mom again. “It’s all right. I do understand.” But her bleak expression told a different story.

Ben wished he could pull her away from her mom, but that would draw attention to the two of them being in some bad situation together. He couldn’t afford to make the Deavers look more closely for the reasons their other daughter had been in that car with their son-in-law.

Isabel moved away from her mother with the excuse of returning Tony’s mitten. “Mom, are you and Dad going to the park with Ben and the baby?” She held the glove for Tony and he slid in his hand.

Ben watched, bemused. Her way was much better than his usual method, all but pinning his boy to the floor. And he still rarely maneuvered Tony’s thumb into the right spot.

“We haven’t eaten breakfast,” George said again.

“Too bad. You could both use the exercise after being cramped in cars and hotel rooms.”

Ben lifted Tony, absently kissing his forehead for the sake of keeping close contact. “You know you’re both welcome to stay here.” The last thing he wanted was the two of them in constant watch mode, but now that Amelia had said she couldn’t sleep surrounded by Faith’s memories, he offered without fear she’d accept.

“Thanks, but we tend to talk at night when we can’t sleep, and George wanders. He’d only annoy you.”

Amelia kissed Tony’s forehead, too. Appreciative of all the attention, Tony wrapped his arms around his father’s head.

“If you’re sure.” Aware of Isabel’s heavy suspicions, he was ashamed of playing both her and her parents. Last night, his plan had seemed like a good idea. When she decided to tell her parents everything about Faith and Will he’d know. The change in her would be as obvious as the twirl of a weather vane.

“I’d better get this little guy out of here.” Ben tried to pull Tony to a less tipsy position, but Tony liked perching above the world. He thumped Ben’s head, a small, mischievous snowman playing a convenient drum. “We may drop by the house later, Isabel, to see if you need any help.”

“Would you like a hand, Isabel?” Her mother’s anxious question softened Isabel’s glance.

“I have to do it all myself. Even if you could help, I’d have to look over everything first, because some items go back to Leah.”

“How is she?” George didn’t sound as if he really cared. As easy to read as his daughter’s, his tone asked how any woman could take to her bed rather than saying a last goodbye to her son. “On her feet again?”

“Dad.” Isabel said no more. They’d obviously discussed—even argued—about George’s attitude toward Leah.

To his shame, Ben felt a little satisfaction that Isabel and her parents weren’t entirely in sync.