Married Or Not?: Married or Not? / Ian's Ultimate Gamble

She scowled. “What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that you don’t need to keep checking on me. I’m fine.”

“Ah. You must be feeling better.”

“I am. In fact, I’m going home today.”

“Good for you.”

“So you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Okay.”

“I’m waiting for the nurse to come help me dress. So if you’ll excuse me…”

“Want me to help? I’m right here and it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve helped you to dress…or undress.”

Her sigh was filled with frustration. “No, Greg. I do not need your help to dress or undress. Thank you for coming but—”

“But don’t let the door hit me in the—”

“Goodbye, Greg.”

He shrugged and walked out of the room. Hoo-boy. His powers of persuasion better kick in really fast or he was going to be in bigger trouble than he already was.

He’d finally had to face his real motive in helping her. The fact that she had no family was part of the reason, but the hard fact was that he was in still in love with her. He was supposed to be completely over her by now. Instead, he hadn’t wanted to leave her side since the accident. Once he realized that his feelings for her had never changed, he knew that he would provide whatever she needed to heal, whether or not she was comfortable with his help.

After signing her release papers, Sherri was placed in a wheelchair and taken to the lobby. When she looked outside, she didn’t see her cab. Well, it should be here soon.

“You can leave me here by the door while I wait for my taxi,” she said to the nurse.

The woman looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “I don’t think so,” the nurse replied. As the automatic doors opened for them, the nurse continued, “You aren’t going home in a taxi, honey. Your husband is taking you home.”

The doors closed behind them as Sherri whipped her head around. She saw Greg, leaning against a black sports car parked at the front entrance, his arms folded over his chest, his ankles crossed. At the moment he was in profile, gazing across the parking lot.

Panic set in. “He’s not my husband!”

The nurse chuckled. “Well, that’s good to know. Then can I have him? Whoever he is, he’s here to take you home, according to your discharge papers.” She continued to push Sherri’s chair toward Greg.

Greg saw them and straightened. He wore wrap-around sunglasses and still had on the dazzling white T-shirt and snug-fitting jeans he’d worn earlier. He’d finished off his haute couture ensemble with sneakers that might have been white in a far-distant past.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“I am here to whisk you away in my chariot, milady,” he said with a bow.

“That really isn’t necessary,” she said, looking over her shoulder at the nurse, intending to ask the woman to take her back to the lobby. The only problem was that the nurse was staring at Greg with a dazed grin on her face.

Sherri quickly ran through her options and realized that she had been outmaneuvered. She rubbed her forehead where an ache began to throb. “Great,” she muttered, and said nothing more while Greg and the man-hungry nurse helped her into his car.

Once inside, she stared straight ahead pretending he wasn’t there, which was a little difficult to do when he leaned over and carefully fastened her seat belt. “I know you’re glad to be out of the hospital. No one can sleep well with all the activity going on.”

She didn’t reply. There was no way she could interact with him and keep her distance, and it was essential that she remain distant.

They’d been driving for about ten minutes when she broke her silence. “Wait!”

“For what?”

“This isn’t the way to my apartment.”

“I know.”

“What are you doing, kidnapping me?”

“Nothing so dramatic. I thought you might like to go to Barton Springs and enjoy the sunshine.”

“Greg, it’s a hundred degrees today.”

“We’ll park in the shade.”

The pounding in her head intensified.

He found shade and pulled beneath one of the huge live oak trees. He left the engine and air conditioning running while he removed his seat belt and turned to her.

“I know I’m the very last person you want in your life, now or at any other time. I get that. I just want to give you a chance to look over your options.”

She sighed. “They’re extremely limited.”

“Not necessarily.” He paused, cleared his throat and finally continued. “Please hear me out before you say anything. Okay?”

She just looked at him.

“I spoke to Joan a couple of days ago about your situation. We agreed that you can’t stay at the apartment. With no elevator you would be trapped up there. It isn’t safe and it could be quite dangerous.”

She lowered her head, not wanting to look at him. “Then why didn’t Joan tell me herself? I’ve talked to her every day.”

“I asked her to let me talk to you about everything.”

“You mean there’s more?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound as though she were on the edge of hysteria.

“Yeah. There is. Joan will be leaving in a few weeks—”

“I know that! She’s been planning this trip for two years!”

“Yes, well, then you probably don’t want her to cancel the trip,” he replied smoothly.

“Of course I don’t. I don’t need her to look after me.”

“That isn’t the point. Without your paying half the bills on the apartment, she’ll need the money she set aside for her holiday to pay all of them.”

Sherri slumped in her seat and closed her eyes.

“My suggestion was that she get another roommate, which she has done.”

Her eyes flew open. “You did what? Are you out of your mind? I no longer have a job. I no longer have a car. And, thanks to you, I don’t even have a place to live? Gee, thanks, Greg. You’ve certainly made my day. Maybe you’d better drop me off at the Salvation Army. I understand they look after the homeless with no jobs.”

She hadn’t realized how loud she’d gotten until she stopped. Her voice still rang around them. She took several deep breaths. I can get through this. Somehow, some way, I can do this. I’ve got friends. I’ve got…what, exactly? A broken arm and leg and I’m presently recovering from surgery. Oh, yeah. I’m in really great shape.

After a silence that stretched between them for several minutes, he asked, “Are you through?”

Oh, how she’d love to brain him over the head with her cast. With her luck, she’d probably break her arm again.

“Yes,” she muttered, looking out the side window so he wouldn’t see the tears that filled her eyes.

“What I think would work out best for you is to stay with me until, quite literally, you get back on your feet.”

She whipped her head around to stare at him so fast she’d probably added whiplash to her other injuries.

Horrified by the suggestion, she could only stare at him. So many thoughts raced through her mind that her head was spinning. The whole world had gone mad. Or at least her tiny part of it. Didn’t he know it would be impossible for her to live with him again? Was he so insensitive to her feelings that he didn’t understand how painful being around him would be for her?

She settled on one major objection that she’d already heard him explain about her apartment. “You live in a second-story apartment, too.”

“I’ve moved.”

“When? Yesterday?”

She saw his lips twitch. She was glad somebody was enjoying this nightmare.

“About three months ago.”

“Good for you.” She gazed out over the park. She could hear splashing from a nearby pool and saw people sitting in the shade. What she wanted to do was to get out of the car and walk away. And she couldn’t.

She was well and truly trapped by her own circumstances.

“Not really.”

“The move didn’t work out the way you hoped?”

“My great-grandmother died a few months ago and left me her home.”

“Oh, no! Millie’s dead?”

“Well, she was in her nineties, after all. She didn’t suffer. She just didn’t wake up one morning.”

“Oh, Greg. I am so sorry. You were so close to her.”

“Yeah, I know.” He waited a couple of beats and said, “Here’s what I would like to do, if you’ll allow it. As you know, there’s plenty of room for you and me to stay in the same house and never see each other. Once your casts are gone you can get back some of your muscle strength using the pool.

“Your doctor said that it would be a while before you’d be able to get along on your own. It makes more sense for you to stay at my place until you’re mobile. You’ll be comfortable there and I’ll be available if you need help.”

She knew she would need help. She still had trouble dressing, and getting a shower would be a major ordeal. But there was no way she would accept that kind of help from Greg.

Sherri shook her head. “It’s kind of you to offer, Greg, and quite generous considering the history between us. Sharing a place, no matter the size, would be tantamount to living together again and I can’t do that.” She looked away and repeated softly, “I really can’t do that.”

“Then where do you want me to take you?”

She rubbed her forehead where her headache had intensified. “I don’t have any idea, but I need to lie down somewhere. I can stay at your place until I figure out what I’m going to do, I suppose.” She’d be living a nightmare until she was able to find a place to rent. She had enough savings to pay for all the deposits and the first and last month’s rent if she was very careful. After that, she’d be without resources.

“Of course,” he said, pulling out of the parking space. “I know you’ve been through a terrible ordeal and this is far from being a perfect option, but it was the only one I could come up with for now.”

“Having you come back into my life when I’m in this condition hasn’t helped, believe me,” she said, rubbing her forehead.

She saw his jaw clench, but she was too exhausted to care if she’d been too blunt. Her emotions had been all over the place since she had seen him standing beside his car today and had discovered that he wasn’t going to be out of her life. At the time, she’d thought she could hold out another few hours. Not days or possibly weeks.

“Nice wheels. Did they come with the house?”

“The house came with a tidy sum from a trust fund.”

“It must be nice having money,” she muttered bitterly.

“Not necessarily,” he said in response.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. She recognized the neighborhood and thought about the times they’d visited Millie when they were married. She’d thought Millie was the only family Greg had. In fact, he’d told her Millie was his only family and she had been able to relate to being raised without parents.

Once Sherri had left Greg, she’d missed seeing the elderly lady. It would be strange to be in her house when she wasn’t there.

“Is Lorraine still there?”

“No. After Millie died, she said she wanted to retire. She’d looked after Millie for many years and Millie left her enough to live on in comfort.”

They pulled into a long driveway that ended at a three-car garage behind the large home.

Greg walked around and opened her door. She hadn’t thought about how she would get into the house because, frankly, too many other things were going on in her head.

He reached inside the car and effortlessly picked her up. There was nothing for her to do except put her arms around his neck. She was at the end of her stamina. All she could do was lie against his chest and close her eyes.

Millie’s place was so beautiful with its colorful flower beds and shrubs. Once inside the gate between the high privacy hedges, the view opened up to reveal a pristine lawn spotted with large trees and an Olympic-size pool.

“Millie always enjoyed her pool,” she murmured to herself. She closed her eyes again.

“She kept herself in great shape. Probably why she lived as long as she did.”

A wide expanse of floor-length windows and French doors looked out over the vista. As Greg stepped up onto the redbrick terrace, a woman opened one of the doors.

“Ah, Hannah,” Greg said, smiling. “Thank you for opening the door.” He looked at Sherri. “This is Sherri. Sherri, Hannah.”

So he was married. He could have mentioned that when she was going on and on about their living together. He must have found her quite amusing.

He could have told her at some point. It made no difference to their relationship, or rather lack of relationship. Sherri was glad to know that he’d found someone else. She didn’t know why she was so surprised. He was handsome, well-educated and now could give any woman whatever she wanted.

Being this close to him was so disturbing. He wore the same aftershave, the one that had haunted her for months after she’d left.

Greg carried her through the wide hallway toward the front of the house. A wide, curving staircase went up to the second floor. Before they reached the stairs, Greg stopped in front of a closed door.

He gathered her closer, if possible, and opened the door. This had been Millie’s room. She remembered it well. Millie’s light perfume still lingered. A motorized wheelchair was near the bed. She wondered if Millie had needed it during her last few months. If so, Sherri knew Millie would have hated to be confined to a chair.

He carefully placed her on the bed and stepped back. “I’ll be right back.”

She closed her eyes and was drifting in a sea of pain when she felt something move on the bed. Her eyes popped open and she gasped. Two cats had jumped on the bed and were daintily stepping up to her.

“Where did you two come from?” she asked them in astonishment.

Greg said from the doorway, “When Joan mentioned that you had planned to take care of both cats while she was gone, I volunteered to keep them here, since she didn’t want to split them up.”

He handed her a glass of water and two capsules. She recognized the pain meds from the hospital.

“How did you know I was taking these?”

He shrugged. “I got a list of your medications from the doctor.”

Sherri swallowed the capsules, chased them with the water and lay down again. She was grateful that these were fast acting.

After a moment of silence, Greg said, “I forgot to ask Joan their names.”

“This is Lucifer,” she replied. Lucifer reached her side and butted his head against her hand, purring all the while.

“So is this one Satan?” he asked with a teasing glint in his eye, a look she’d always loved.

“No. Angel.” She glanced at Angel. He had lifted his back leg and was now engrossed in cleaning himself.

She scratched Lucifer’s ears and under his chin until he settled in next to her, his front legs across her chest. Sherri looked up at Greg. “You hate cats.”

He stood watching her from the foot of the four-poster bed, his hands in his back pockets. “Yep.” He smiled. “Looks like he’s missed you.”

“Why would you accept the care and feeding of animals you don’t like?”

He stood there and looked at her, as though he could see her soul and understood all her emotions. Which was impossible.

“Good question,” he finally replied thoughtfully. “So far, I haven’t found a sensible answer.” He turned away and headed for the door. “Get some rest,” he said over his shoulder, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

When Sherri opened her eyes sometime later the room was in deep shadow. She noticed that the sun was beyond the treetops. She must have slept all day. She looked around her and saw the two cats still on the bed and sound asleep.

Lucifer enjoyed stretching out on his back as far as his long legs would go. Angel preferred sleeping in a ball. One was on either side of her.

A small lamp came on near the door and Sherri saw Hannah standing in the doorway.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but you didn’t eat anything at lunch and Greg said you need to eat something. May I help you into the chair?”

Sherri pushed herself up on her elbows. Hannah looked Swedish, with beautiful skin and flaxen hair. She was tall, almost as tall as Greg. They made a nice-looking couple.

“Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”

After they maneuvered her into the chair, Sherri pushed a button and it moved silently across the room. Hannah opened a door. “This is your bathroom. Will you need help?”

Not in this lifetime.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

She managed to get inside and closed the door. The room was about the size of her bedroom in the apartment. There was a free-standing shower and a large tub with jets. A long counter and mirror stretched across the width of the room.

Sherri had never been inside this particular bathroom. She found a washcloth and filled the sink with water. She bathed herself as well as she could. Somehow she would have to learn to help herself into the shower once her dressing came off. When the nurse changed it that morning, she had used a smaller dressing, saying that the incision looked healthy and was healing. There was a built-in seat inside the shower, plus shampoos, conditioners and creams. The place could have been a five-star hotel.

After struggling to get her clothes off, she wet a washcloth and washed herself with soapy water.

Sherri was drying off when she heard a tap on the door.

“Yes?”

Hannah said, “I’ve laid out your clothes for you. Greg will check in on you in about forty-five minutes.”

Sherri finished drying herself and opened the door. She looked at the clothes laid out for her. They were new. She moved to the closet and opened the door. The walk-in closet had all of her clothes and several new things that still had tags on them.

She spun her chair around and crossed the room to the dresser. When she opened the drawers, she discovered all of her things were here…plus several new items.

He’d certainly been confident that she would fall in with his plans. Why not? He’d made certain that she had no place to go except here. She hated to admit that he’d been right about everything. She really couldn’t have taken care of herself. What she had trouble understanding was why he’d do this for her. He’d put himself out to see that she had everything she needed, including Lucifer. Which was another thing. He’d once mentioned that he was allergic to cats. She’d been disappointed because she’d always loved them and once she settled into her apartment she had found the kittens. Thank goodness Joan had wanted one, too.

Now here they were, content to be nearby. It was difficult to be upset with him; he’d done so much for her at a time when she’d desperately needed help.

She took underwear out of the drawer and with a great deal of effort managed to get the pants over her cast. She was already exhausted. Hannah had laid out a simple pullover dress that was new. Sherri slipped it over her head. She pulled the sling over her shoulder and slipped her arm into it.

She was as ready as she would ever be. She saw no reason to wait for Greg. With new determination to be nicer to him, Sherri left the room.

Five

Out in the hallway, Sherri went back the way she and Greg had come into the house. She stopped at the French doors and admired the view. Greg had been given a truly wonderful gift. She knew he must miss Millie very much. Sherri wished she’d stayed in touch with her. As the minutes passed, she began to relax. It was difficult to believe that such a pastoral place existed only a few miles from downtown.

She was startled when Greg spoke behind her.

“Ah, there you are. Enjoying the view, I see.”

She turned and faced him. “Thank you for all that you’ve done, Greg. I’m sorry that I’ve been so rude to you. It’s just that—” She couldn’t find the words to continue.

“I know. You’d made a clean break, and I was the last person you wanted in your life.”

She nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

“Understood,” he replied tersely. “I know how difficult all of this is for you. I just want you to know that you have a place to stay here for as long as you want it.”

She gave a quick shake of her head. “Don’t you think having me here is unfair to Hannah?”

He looked puzzled. “Why should it be? One more person in the house isn’t going to make much difference to her.”

She almost rolled her eyes at his obtuseness. “In my opinion, having your wife looking after your ex-wife is asking a lot of her.”

He made no effort to hide his amusement. “It certainly would be…if she were my wife. But then, she’d be a bigamist and I might have to arrest her.” He turned her chair and they went to a small dining area not far from the kitchen. It was a cozy area with a bay window that brought the beauty of the lawn into the home.

“Hannah is happily married to Sven and I’m happy to have both of them living here. Actually, they live in the garage apartment, but that’s close enough.” He looked past her, flashing his heart-stopping smile. “Looks delicious, Hannah, as usual.”

Sherri glanced around and saw the tray Hannah carried. Behind her, a large blond man carried two wineglasses and a bottle of wine.

“Sven,” Greg said, “this is Sherri. She’ll be staying here until she literally gets back on her feet. Sherri…Sven.”

Sven’s smile dazzled her with its brilliance. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to be immune to all men but Greg.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Sven is one of the best landscapers in the area. He has a thriving business, including a nursery not far from here. He takes care of this place, but refuses to take money for it.” Greg smiled at Sven. “Not a good way to run a business, you know.”

Sven shrugged. “It’s only fair. You don’t accept our rent payments.”

“I definitely get the best of that deal.”

While the two men talked, Hannah quickly placed the food on the table, lit the candles and refilled the water glasses.

Sherri looked at her food and sighed.

“Something wrong?”

“I see that I’m on a soft-food diet. I suppose this is better than clear liquids.”

“The doctor said to keep you on a soft diet for another week. If you have no problems, you could have normal meals again. Believe me, once you taste Hannah’s cooking you’ll know it was worth waiting for.”

She looked at his plate. Mmm. Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and what appeared to be fresh green beans. She almost whimpered with longing. Oh well. She picked up her soup spoon and began to eat. Actually, the food was delicious, much better than the hospital’s food.

The room was so quiet she could hear the soft tick of a clock somewhere in the house. She needed to get away from Greg for her own emotional preservation. Right now, though, she intended to enjoy her meal and being in Millie’s home once again.

Once she finished her meal, she said, “This was so good. My compliments to the chef.”

Greg grinned. “My secret weapon to coax you into continuing to stay here.”

She looked at him and he met her gaze. “I don’t understand any of this, Greg. Yes, we used to be married. It didn’t work. We’ve both moved on. Why in the world would you decide to take over my life like this?”

“Is that what it looks like to you?”

“That’s what it is. I’m pretty much confined to this chair until my bones heal.” She paused and said, “Did this chair belong to Millie?”

Greg nodded. “She fell last year and broke her hip.”

“I can see her now, zipping around the place. She was really something.”

“Yes, she was. I miss her a great deal.”

“So, why am I here?” She came back to her question. “And don’t answer a question with a question, okay?”

“I was hoping that we could use this time together as a chance to deal with some of the issues that caused the divorce.”

She frowned. “You’re looking for closure.”

He nodded slowly. “Something like that. You moved out without any warning. You gave me no chance to deal with whatever was bothering you.”