Читать книгу The American Wife - Kristina McMorris - Страница 20

Free hand curled into a fist, TJ waited for the call to connect. Any more pacing and his shoes would leave a permanent groove in the floor. His ear felt feverish against the metal receiver. Behind him in the living room, a floor model radio delivered seeds of hysteria. The quiet of dusk amplified the man’s reports: mandated blackouts, potential sub sightings, a climbing toll of Navy casualties, a list of precautions to keep families safe.

At last came a buzzing on the line. Years lingered between each ring.

“Answer it,” TJ snapped.

Another ring … and another …

“Allisters.” It was one of Jo’s brothers, didn’t matter which. They all sounded alike.

“It’s TJ Kern. I was wondering—”

“Who?” The question competed with chaotic conversations in the background.

“TJ,” he repeated louder.

“You callin’ about the meeting?”

“Meeting?” TJ said, thrown off.

“The block meeting.” The guy sounded annoyed. “For standing guard at the beaches. We’re figuring out shifts. You wanna come, we’ll pick you up on the way.”

Jesus. Were enemies invading the coast? TJ had never even held a rifle before. Apparently it was time he learned.

“Uh, yeah. Okay.”

“Fine. See ya soon.”

Then TJ recalled his greater concern. “Wait, don’t hang up.”

A mumbled response trickled through, indiscernible amid the noise.

“I was looking for Maddie. I know she and Jo were supposed to be up north, visiting—”

“Hang on.” He yelled in a muffle, “Shut your traps, will ya?” The volume lowered half a notch. “Now, what’re you sayin’?”

TJ rubbed his thumb over the knuckle of his fist, bridling his own annoyance. “I was asking about Jo.”

“Hey, Jo! Phone’s for you!” TJ winced from the guy hollering into the mouthpiece. A rustling and a clunk followed.

As TJ waited, relief swept over him. Jo was back in town. That meant Maddie must have stopped over at the Allisters’ on the way home.

“Hello?”

“Jo. Thank God. Is Maddie still there?”

“TJ, is that you? Here, let me go in the other room.” More sounds of rustling with the handset and cord, then the chatter dimmed. “I swear, I can’t hear myself think in this place.”

No wonder she retreated to the ballpark to find some peace.

“I was just trying to find Maddie,” he said, “since I hadn’t heard from her yet.”

“Oh. I don’t know. She didn’t tell me what time she’d be home from her trip.”

“I—don’t understand. Didn’t you two travel together?”

“Together? No. Why’s that?”

He wasn’t in the mood for razzing, if that’s what this was. “To visit your cousins. In Sacramento.” The lengthy pause reinstated his panic. “Jo, where the hell’s my sister?”

He heard her exhale, at a loss. “I don’t know, TJ…. I don’t know.”

“I repeat,” the broadcaster declared, “we are in a state of emergency. Authorities recommend that everyone stay inside and tune in for further details.”

A state of emergency. The death count rising.

In a combustive flash, he saw his father on the hospital bed. His mother lay lifeless on a silver table so shiny he could make out his own reflection. The memory of rain pelted his eardrums, interrupted by the screech of brakes.

But that screech was real. A fresh sound. He turned to the window.

“TJ? You there?” Jo said.

Maddie was stepping out of a taxi in a coat and hat, yet relief had no chance of regaining its footing. “She’s here,” he said, and slammed the handset onto the cradle. The bell inside pinged.

TJ faced the door with arms crossed. Air labored through his nose. He was a bull preparing to charge.

She didn’t see him until she’d closed the door behind her and set down her case. Her demeanor shrank beneath his gaze.

“Where the hell have you been? And don’t you dare lie to me again.”

Flushing, she fumbled for a reply.

“There’s a goddamned war going on out there. You understand that? Got any idea what that means?”

She straightened, lifting her chin in feeble defiance. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Yeah? Then why don’t you prove it by telling me where you’ve really been.” He pressed her with a hard stare.

“I … think we should discuss this later. When you’ve had a chance to calm down.”

The challenge to his temper only inflamed it more. “Well, that ain’t gonna happen for a while. So why don’t you start explaining yourself.”

She locked on his eyes and replied firmly. “You’re not my father, TJ.”

“You’re right. But maybe I shoulda been. I guarantee, then, you wouldn’t be traipsing all over the place with God-knows-who, doing—” An impossible sight cut through his words. A gold band gleamed from Maddie’s finger. Her wedding finger.

She wouldn’t … couldn’t have. Yet the evidence was smack in front of him.

“You got married?” he breathed.

Her gaze fell to the ring. The answer was clear. What he didn’t understand was why. Why’d she run off and elope? Why’d she keep it from him? His mind seized the most obvious reason, and the air in his lungs turned to lead.

“Maddie, are you pregnant?”

Her forehead bunched. “Oh, God, no.” She gave an insistent shake of her head. “No, it’s nothing like that.” She reached for his arm, but he moved backward.

TJ wanted to feel grateful, but all he could think about was which asshole was responsible. Which one would trade a girl’s innocence for lustful kicks. Why else would a guy have persuaded her to sneak around? Anyone with good intentions would have been up-front, not treated her like a dirty secret. Like a mistress. Like a whore.

He muscled down the thoughts. Left to roam free they just might unlock the cage inside, setting loose the constant rage that prowled back and forth behind the bars.

A succession of honks summoned his face toward the window. The silhouette of a pickup appeared, its headlights off.

“Come on, Kern! Let’s move it!” Jo’s brothers, plus a few other neighbors, crammed the truck from cab to bed. The fading sunset outlined their rifles pointed straight at heaven.

TJ grabbed his jacket from the coat tree. With any luck, he could take his fury out on an enemy bomber orphaned from its flock.

“Where are you going?” Maddie asked as he headed for the door. “TJ …,” she pleaded.

In need of escape, he simply walked out.