Valentine's Day

Max looked concerned. He started to put Jamie down in the crib but the baby was having none of it and started to whimper for real.

“Uh-oh,” she said, looking down at the baby lovingly. “It looks like it’s going to be one of those nights.”

“One of what nights?” Max said as he pulled him back up into his arms.

“We’re going to have to walk him.”

“What do you mean?”

She smiled at him. “You’ll see. I’ll take the first shift. You can watch and learn.” She shrugged. “Or go ahead and go back to bed,” she added, giving him an out. “Whatever.”

She changed his diapers and put on a fresh shirt and they tried putting him down to sleep again, but, just as she’d feared, he was totally awake and ready to play.

“No hope,” she said cheerfully. “He going to need some coaxing to get back to sleep.”

She pulled Jamie’s blanket around him and put him to her shoulder, then started out toward the living room. Max followed close behind, slumping onto the couch as she began to pace with the baby in her arms.

“They love this,” she told him. “The longer you walk, the happier they get.”

“But do they go to sleep?”

“Ah, that’s the question. That’s why we’re doing this. But sleep can be long in coming.” She held Jamie close and kissed the top of his head. “There were nights I spent hours walking Michelle. Luckily, I think Jamie is a better sleeper than she was. He ought to go out pretty quickly.”

He watched for a few minutes, then said quietly, “You’ve never told me much about your marriage, Cari. What was your husband like?”

“Brian?” She bit her lip. This wasn’t one of her favorite topics. “He was just a guy.”

“There’s something I’ve wondered about,” he went on. Rising, he met her on one of her passes and took her hand in his, spreading her fingers. “No rings. Why is that? As a widow, I would think you would want to have that sort of memento of your marriage.”

She stared at her own hand and nodded slowly.

“I used to have rings.”

“What happened to them?”

She looked up into his face. “I sold them.”

He narrowed his eyes, searching her face as though he wanted to understand. “You sold your rings?”

“Yes.”

Jamie began to stir, and she pulled her hand away from Max so that she could start pacing again.

“I had a beautiful wedding set with a very pretty diamond,” she went on as she walked. “But I sold them. They went to pay for me finishing college and starting on my real estate license.” She smiled at the irony of it all. “Brian never knew that he financed my new start in life.”

Max had a point about the rings. If she’d valued her marriage, she would have kept them, no matter how tight money got. But she couldn’t really grieve for Brian, not the way she knew she should. By the time he’d died, she’d known she was going to have to leave him one way or another.

He’d made life with him impossible and had pretty much killed the love she’d once had for him. When she thought about it now she couldn’t believe she’d stayed as long as she had. What had kept her with him once she’d known he was getting more and more irrational? The fear of admitting failure, she supposed.

“So you’re getting a real estate license?” he noted, interested that she would have chosen a field so close to his. “Why? Residential real estate is dead as the proverbial doornail in most areas right now.”

“I know. But real estate always comes back. And I want to be ready when that happens.”

He nodded, glad for the evidence that she was an optimist. He liked that about her.

She smiled at him. “In the meantime, I don’t mind working as a waitress. It’s honest work and I can make a decent living as long as I only have myself to take care of.”

Jamie chose that moment to begin happily making motorboat noises. They both laughed.

“It doesn’t sound like he’s falling asleep,” Max said.

“Not yet,” she replied. “It takes a while sometimes.”

“Let me take my turn,” he said, reaching for the baby. “You sit down and tell me about your marriage,” he said.

She gazed into his eyes. “Why do you want to know?” she wondered.

He touched her cheek with the palm of his hand. “Because I care about you,” he said simply. And as he said the words, he knew it was true. He’d never known a woman like Cari before, never had a relationship like this. He liked her. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to know more about her. That had never happened with a woman before. But it felt right.

“Sit. And talk.” He began to pace with Jamie cuddled nicely in his arms.

She sat. She usually hated to talk about the past. But tonight the words just started to flow out.

“I knew Brian for years. All through high school. I had no excuse.” She sighed. Wasn’t that the truth? It was amazing how one could delude oneself. “I knew what he was like. But I had the young girl’s syndrome, thinking love would conquer all, marriage would change him, I would change him, my love would show him the way.”

“Change him how?” Max asked.

“Change him from being a jerk, I suppose,” she said with a short laugh. “Change him into a decent person and a good husband and father. It didn’t happen, of course.”

“It hardly ever does,” he agreed.

She nodded. “Living with Brian was like living with a human geyser. You never knew what might set him off, but you knew he was going to blow. And it was over something different every time.”

Max’s tone was tense. “Was he violent with you?”

She hesitated. What was the point of going over all that? “Only a little.”

She could see the veins in Max’s neck cord and she hurried to add, “I knew where it all stemmed from. His father was an alcoholic and he had a very rough childhood. You always think that love and goodness will heal things like that. And they so seldom do. It’s just not enough to overcome the damage that sort of childhood does.”

It was funny. She’d never told anyone, even Mara, all these details. So why was she telling Max? Of all the people in the world, he was probably the one who least needed to know these things about her. But it was such a relief to tell someone about it.

“I don’t want to make it sound like unrelieved agony. It wasn’t like that at all. There were many good times. He could make me laugh. And he loved the baby.” Her voice softened as she thought of her baby. “Michelle was a perfect baby, all pink and plump and smiling. He was so proud of her. And yet…” Her voice got a little rough.

“When she cried, he would go crazy. He couldn’t stand it. It almost seemed as though he thought she was trying to get to him on purpose. He took it personally. I would do everything I could to keep her from crying.” She choked as painful memories surged. “Sometimes he would smash things,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “And then he would leave.”

Max stopped in front of her, staring down. “But he didn’t hurt you? Or the baby?”

“Not…not really.” She was skimming over the truth a bit here, but she really didn’t want to dredge all that up again. “I was afraid of that, though. He would just get so irrational. There was no telling what he would do eventually. That last night, he was so angry.”

She closed her eyes as she remembered, and her voice became almost robotic.

“He grabbed Michelle and raced out to the car with her. I ran after him, pleading with him to leave her, but he threw her into the backseat and started the car up. She was screaming at the top of her lungs. I was frantic. I managed to get into the car before he had time to lock the doors. We took off down the street. I was trying to climb over the seat to get into the back to take care of Michelle when he…he…” She closed her eyes again, seeing it as though it were yesterday. “We crashed into a fence and then a tree.”

She took a shuddering breath and looked up into his face. His beautiful eyes were filled with compassion and reflected her pain. Somehow that was so comforting.

“It could have been my fault,” she hurried to add. “I’m just not sure. The way I was climbing over the seat, only thinking about getting to Michelle, not about how I might be interfering with his driving. I can’t put all the blame on Brian.”

Max snorted. “I can,” he muttered, beginning to walk again.

“I was in the hospital for about a week. A couple of broken ribs and injuries to a few internal organs.” She shrugged. “I got better. They didn’t.” She took a deep breath. “They didn’t tell me that Brian and Michelle were dead at first. I kept asking for her.”

Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head angrily. She didn’t want to cry. She’d done enough crying to fill an ocean, and she’d thought she didn’t have any more tears to give. But there were always more.

Max was leaving the room. She blinked after him.

“Where are you going?”

“He’s asleep,” he told her softly. “I’m putting him in his crib.”

She nodded, rising to follow him. By the time she got to the nursery, he’d put Jamie down and covered him. He turned and took her in his arms, raining kisses on her face and muttering something in Italian.

She laughed with tears still filling her eyes. When he kissed her, she kissed him back, giving him her passion as well as her joy. But only for a moment.

“No,” she said, pulling away from him. “Max, no.”

He said something in Italian. She didn’t understand the words, but she knew his meaning. She shook her head.

“No,” she said again. “Max, you’re going to marry C.J. You’re going to belong to another woman. We can’t.”

This time the Italian was a curse word she fully understood, but he released her, only to grab her hand and hold it up.

“You should have rings,” he said with Italian intensity. “You should have beautiful jewelry to match your beautiful eyes. You should be draped in diamonds.”

She laughed aloud. What a concept!

“I don’t need jewelry,” she told him. “It just gets in the way.”

He shook his head in disgust at her attitude, and then he kissed her again. Gently but firmly, she pushed him away and led him to the door of the room.

“Good night, Max,” she told him, her growing affection for the man shining in her eyes. “Better get some sleep.”

“Yes,” he reluctantly agreed. “Don’t forget. We’re driving out to the ranch in the morning.”

“I’ll be up early,” she promised.

He gave her a crooked grin. “So will I. We have no choice. We play by Jamie’s rules these days, don’t we?”

The drive to the ranch went through some beautiful Texas landscape. Max filled the time with stories his mother had told him over the years of adventures she’d had growing up in the Texas countryside, stories that made it sound like an ideal place for an old-fashioned upbringing. But the arrival, when it came, was anticlimactic.

“This can’t be it,” Max said, staring at the dilapidated buildings on a hill that appeared to stand at the end of the driveway leading up from the highway where the Triple M Ranch sign hung by one corner on a rusty archway.

There was a gate, but it gave easily to a little push from the nose of the car. They drove slowly up the long entry. Straggly trees lined the way, only a few of them still alive. The buildings were empty. It was pretty obvious no one had been living there for quite some time.

“I don’t see any sign of cattle,” Max said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he gazed out over the dusty plains surrounding the hill. “This doesn’t even look like a working ranch.” He shook his head. “And this certainly doesn’t look like the ranch my mother told me about all my life. They’ve let it go to hell. It’s a damn shame.”

Cari could see how disappointed he was. “Maybe we came to the wrong side of the property,” she suggested.

He shook his head. “No. This seems to be it. No wonder C.J. didn’t want me coming out here.”

“Well, we can have our picnic here at least,” she said, beginning to unload the car and set up a shaded place for Jamie.

Max agreed, though he was grouchy about it. She felt sorry for him, but she couldn’t help but wonder how this was going to impact his plans. If this made him look at things more realistically, maybe it was all for the best.

They spread out a ground cloth under a tree and opened up the picnic basket to find fried chicken and biscuits and corn on the cob.

“In February?” Max said, looking at the corn suspiciously.

“It’s either imported or frozen,” Cari agreed. “Not quite up to the quality you expect in the good old summertime, but it tastes pretty good.”

They ate and chatted and played with Jamie, and gradually Max’s mood improved. He got to the point where he could see some of the good things in the land around him, such as the wildflowers just beginning to poke up their heads, and the white, puffy clouds scudding by in a pure blue sky.

“You know, I have to admit, this place could have fit in with my mother’s stories in better times. But beyond that, I had a different picture of the ranch in mind.”

“Did you?”

“Yes. I realize now it wasn’t even based on what she’d told me. I watched that TV show. What was the name of that ranch on it? Southfork? Well, that was sort of the picture I had in my mind. A big house. A big barn. Lots of big cars parked out front. A helicopter pad out back. Miles and miles of expensive fencing. Some cattle, maybe.”

She smiled, nodding. “I’ve seen the show.”

“Even though this might have been an impressive place in its day,” he said, “it was never like Southfork. Still, it was probably a good working ranch. Too bad that time seems to be long past.” He grimaced. “I’m glad my mother isn’t here to see this. I hope no one ever tells her about it.”

They drove back to the city, taking the long way and enjoying the scenery. Max’s mobile chimed and he pulled over to take the call. He looked serious as he listened, but Cari was playing with Jamie and didn’t pay too much attention. When he’d hung up, he turned to her.

“Bad news,” he said shortly. “Sheila won’t be coming back.” His gaze flickered over Jamie and he winced slightly. “They found her body in the river. Seems to be drug related.”

“Oh, Max!”

They both looked at the child who was happily playing with a ring of plastic keys, totally oblivious to the fate of his mother. Then they looked at each other and without a word, came together for a long embrace. This was a tragedy for a baby, but at least he was too young to understand what an earthshaking event had just contorted his life. Perhaps it was best that way.

Back in town, Max made some calls and came up with more news.

“The police haven’t been able to find any relatives for Sheila, and neither have any of my people.” He looked deeply into Cari’s eyes. “Everything is going to ride on the DNA results.”

She laced her fingers under her chin as she considered that. “And if they come back negative?”

He looked pained. “Cari, if that happens, it will be out of my hands. If I have no marriage or blood ties to Jamie, there is nothing I can do. I’ll have no right to keep him here.” He shook his head. “Even all those lawyers I pay so much money to won’t be able to fix that one.”

She shrunk back. “So he would go into the county system.”

“I imagine so.”

If that happened…

Oh, it couldn’t happen. Blindly, she turned and hurried back to the nursery. Jamie was sound asleep, but she had to hold him. Hadn’t there been a time she’d vowed not to fall in love? That time seemed very long ago.

CHAPTER NINE

“AS I UNDERSTAND it, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.”

Cari straightened as Max came into the nursery two days later. She gave him a mischievous smile.

“You are correct, sir,” she replied.

He stood gazing down at her, a twinkle in his eyes.

“Is it true that this is a fairly important day to women in this country?” he asked.

She frowned, wondering what the catch was going to be. “Well, it can be.”

“Good.” He smiled like the proverbial cat. “I’ve made arrangements.”

“Arrangements?” Did she really have to hear about the details? “Are you going to do something with C.J.?”

His dark gaze was like velvet. “No. I’m going to do something with you.”

“Me.” Her eyes widened. Why not C.J.? Wasn’t that the woman he was supposedly going to marry? Maybe not. She knew he’d been working on that for the past few days.

“There’s got to be a way to convince her to sell that wreck of a ranch,” he’d fumed more than once. “I’m willing to pay her twice what it’s worth. And I want her to close on this as soon as possible. I want to begin renovating the place before my mother finds out what a mess it’s in.”

“She claims she’ll never sell.”

He’d stared at her with haunted eyes. “She has to sell,” he’d said. “She’ll do it. If I can just find the right approach.” But he didn’t sound very convincing.

And now he was talking about taking her to a romantic dinner instead of C.J.

“I can’t go anywhere,” she protested. “I’ve got to be here for Jamie.”

He nodded. “We’re going to bring him along.”

She gazed at him suspiciously. “Where are we going?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Nowhere.”

“What?”

He grinned, chucking her under the chin. “It’s a surprise. You wait and see.”

And then he was gone.

She sighed, half laughing. Anyone watching the two of them over the past few days would swear they were lovers. And in truth, she felt like his lover. The only things missing were commitment and some honest-to-goodness lovemaking. But neither of those things could happen with C.J. lurking in the wings.

And of course there was the constant awareness that this was a passing fancy, something meant to last for days, not years or a lifetime. But she was intrigued that he meant to celebrate Valentine’s Day with her and not with C.J. And just what would C.J. have to say about that, she wondered?

The phone call came the next afternoon, just as Cari began getting ready for their Valentine’s dinner. The DNA test results were in. Max was asked to meet with a panel of lab technicians and legal representatives, and he left right away. Cari stayed behind and worried.

They’d had a small memorial service for Sheila. C.J. and Randy had come. Cari had taken Jamie as well, just so someone could tell him in later years that he had been to a ceremony honoring his mother’s life, even if he had no idea what it was all about at the time.

And now they were going to find out whether Jamie would be staying with Max, where Cari was completely sure he belonged, or not. It was nail-biting time. She went into the nursery and watched Jamie sleeping. If they had to give this adorable child up, surely she wouldn’t be able to stand it.

She heard Max come in and she ran to the front room. One look at his face told her all she needed to know. The test had come in with a positive match. With a shriek of joy, she ran to him and he swung her up in the air, both of them laughing with happiness. Tears streamed down her face. It was the best moment she’d had in many years.

They went into the nursery and Max looked down at the little child who carried his brother’s legacy. Finally he was free to let his heart fill with love for the boy without reservation. This was truly a special day.

“The first thing I need to do is call my mother,” he noted.

“Not now,” she protested. “The time difference.”

He shook his head. “She won’t care. Not when she hears what I’m calling about.”

“Does she have any idea that there is a baby?”

“No. I didn’t want to get her hopes up so I never told her about Sheila’s claim.” He grinned, shaking his head. “This is just incredible, isn’t it? I can hardly believe it.”

Cari nodded happily. She was bound and determined not to let herself think about the fact that this meant it was the beginning of the end for her and her connection to Max. She would think about that tomorrow. Tonight, they would just enjoy the news.

“Now we really have something to celebrate,” Max said.

Two hours later he was leading her, with Jamie in the stroller, to the elevator.

“Did you talk to your mother?” she asked.

“No. It turns out she is staying with a friend. But I left a message for her to call me as soon as she gets my message.”

“Good. Now tell me. Where are we going?”

He shook his head, eyeing her with thinly veiled affection. “My lips are sealed. I ought to put a blindfold on you. That way you might actually be surprised.”

“No blindfolds,” she said. “I promise to be as surprised as I need to be.”

She’d assumed they would be eating somewhere in the hotel, but she hadn’t realized it would be a private conference room. When he opened the double doors to let them enter, she gasped. Max had ordered up decorations, and the staff had filled the room with red and white balloons, with white lacy streamers hanging from the rafters and beautiful potted trees covered with white and red birds in each corner. A small table was set with delicate china and gleaming silver. In the corner, a guitarist was setting up his music and soon was playing soft, romantic melodies.

Cari was enchanted. She’d never seen anything more beautiful. She turned to Max, her eyes shining.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said.

“Oh, Max, thank you. This is lovely.”

He dropped a kiss on her lips and then escorted her to her place at the table and rolled the stroller up next to her. Luckily, Jamie had fallen asleep as soon as they had started on their journey through the hotel, so she would have some time to devote to Max and the wonderful dinner he’d ordered up. She tucked the blanket around the baby, then straightened and noticed a long, flat velvet box had been set in front of her.

“Max,” she said warningly.

“Just a little Valentine’s present,” he said.

Her heart was beating in her throat as she pulled open the box, then drew her breath in sharply. She was almost blinded by the flash of fire from diamonds—more diamonds than she’d ever seen in one place before.

“What…?”

“Let me help you.”

He came behind her to put on the necklace. It was surprisingly light for something with so many diamonds. She looked at her own reflection in the mirror on the other side of the room and she could hardly breathe. She’d never seen anything so beautiful.

“And to go with the necklace…” He reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a matching bracelet. “One without the other would be incomplete,” he said as he put it on her wrist.

“Oh, Max.” She was stunned and over-whelmed. “Oh, Max, I can’t—”

“Yes, you can,” he said firmly. Going down on one knee so that he could look into her eyes, he was adamant. “Cari, don’t insult me by refusing my gift. I can well afford it. You don’t have to feel any special obligation or gratitude or anything like that. It’s just a gift. A token of my affection for you. And you know very well that’s for real.”

He kissed her gently, softly, and with a purity of emotion she could hardly stand to accept. It was like looking into the sun. It was almost too much to bear.

Looking at his face, she realized how much more than handsome he was. There was honesty and integrity there, and an earnest desire to make her happy. Her heart was full. Yet she was uncertain.

“But I don’t need gifts to prove that,” she protested.

“No, you don’t need them. But it makes me happy to give you diamonds. Can you allow me that happiness?”

She looked at him in wonder, and then she laughed. “Oh, Max,” she said. “Do you always get your way?”

“Of course.”

Dinner was served, and it consisted of a wonderful Italian pork dish in a pinot noir reduction sauce along with a cheesy pasta to die for. There was also a lovely salad and the pièce de résistance—a heart-shaped baked Alaska. They ate with gusto and sipped red wine and talked and laughed, and when the meal was over, they danced to the music the guitarist played.