Another Man's Wife
“You probably don’t remember me. It’s been too many years. I’m—”
“I know who you are,” he broke in before she could say her name or introduce him to Brent. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m attending a wedding party.”
As he strode away from her, she could’ve sworn he muttered “Have a nice life.”
Brent was there to cradle her so she wouldn’t fall. She buried her face against his shoulder for a moment to hide her pain, then pulled away in embarrassment.
“W-would you help me to the elevator, please?”
Ruddy color had filled his cheeks. “That bastard! Who the hell does he think he is to treat you like that?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just dance me over to the entrance. Don’t say anything to Julie or the kids.”
The next few minutes were a blur as he took her all the way to the room. When he would’ve stayed to comfort her, she had to push him out the door to make him leave.
“I’m so sorry to have dragged you from dinner. Go back upstairs and enjoy the rest of the evening with your family. I’m going to take a shower and get into bed. By the time you’re all back, I’ll be fully recovered.”
“Laurel—”
“I feel like a fool and I don’t want to talk about it. You’re a good man. My sister’s the luckiest woman I know. Now go.”
“All right, but we won’t be long.”
The second he’d gone, she crept over to the bed and lay on her side.
No one had ever treated her as cruelly as Hawk had done a few minutes ago.
She felt as if he’d lifted her from the ground and thrashed her against a wall.
Hot tears gushed from her eyes. It had been months since she’d cried like this.
What did Scott or I ever do to you, Hawk?
What?
RICK WALKED into the house ahead of Nate. He flipped on the living room lights, and they stared at each other. “It’s just you and me.”
Nate tugged at his tie before he threw it and his suit jacket over the back of a chair. He missed. Everything fell in a heap on the floor. Not bothering to pick them up, he unfastened the top button of his shirt. It popped off.
Rick’s eyes followed his out-of-control movements. “Want to start by telling me what you and our father’s new bride were talking about on the dance floor? Or shall we cut to the chase? Explain why you looked so ill after you came back to the table.”
His brother deserved explanations if anyone did, but for the life of him he couldn’t find the words.
Lord. Her eyes.
Could a woman who looked that hurt be guilty of the crime he’d accused her of in his heart?
“I couldn’t eat dinner, either, but I feel like a beer,” Rick said. “Do you want one?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
While his brother went to the kitchen, Nate studied the various family pictures their mother had placed around the room. He had his favorites. Like gravity, they pulled him in for a closer look.
“Do you remember the ad on TV?” Rick handed him an ice-cold lager. “The one that said, ‘it’s eleven o’clock. Parents, do you know where your children are?’”
Nate nodded.
“It’s like the roles have been reversed. Children, it’s eleven o’clock. Do you know where your parents are?”
Their eyes met again.
“We don’t have to worry that Pam could be expecting a baby,” Nate began. “Dad chose not to sleep with her until after they’d said their marriage vows.”
Rick did a double take. “She came right out and told you that?”
“She did.” Nate chugged down half the contents of his can. “There’s more.”
In a few minutes he’d told Rick the essence of their conversation on the dance floor.
His brother let out a long whistle. “What if her family’s right?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same question.”
“A few minutes ago I was thinking there’s no more reason for us to be here. Jim hasn’t said anything, but I suspect he’d buy Dad out, given the opportunity.”
“With a good loan from the bank, he could probably do it,” Nate agreed. “The house could be rented.”
Rick sat down on the couch. “I can see we’re on the same wavelength, as usual. But after what Pam told you, maybe there’s a chance Dad doesn’t know his own mind yet….”
“That’s the kicker.” Nate had the strongest suspicion it would break Pamela’s heart. “Under the circumstances, there’s no point in both of us staying here.”
His brother’s head reared up. “I was just going to tell you the same thing! What I’ve been doing for a living is selfish and has little redeeming value. In contrast, my brother protects our country’s freedom and puts his life on the line every time he goes up in the air. Nothing’s more noble than that.”
“We need people to race cars, too. It brings in advertising, which in turn keeps the world economy going.”
“You’re so full of it, you almost convince me.” Rick heaved a sigh. “But it’s a moot point now. When I broke the racing contract with my sponsor, they made it clear I’ve burned my bridges.” He took a moment to drink some of his beer. “Let’s agree to table this discussion until next week, after they’re back from Hawaii.
“Maybe home will feel good to Dad. They might not leave for her ranch right away, if at all. He may need us yet.”
“I suppose anything’s possible.”
Rick leaned forward, hands clasped between his legs. “What else has been tearing you up for the last couple of hours?”
“It has to do with Spade.”
“I’ve lost a close buddy on the track. I don’t think it’s something you ever forget. What made tonight so difficult?”
“His wife was out on the dance floor. Correction. His merry widow.”
His brother frowned at him. “How about a translation?”
“His very pregnant widow.”
“That still doesn’t help me.”
“Not only could Spade never give Laurel a child, we were flying with the NATO forces when the conception would’ve taken place. It’s been less than seven months since the crash. I’ve got eyes in my head. She’s close to her delivery date. Plus, earlier tonight, I saw her kissing another man in the elevator.”
“Ouch.”
“I don’t give a damn about her. But what if Spade called her before his accident and found out she’d been playing around….”
Rick got to his feet. “You can’t assume she had anything to do with the reason he crashed.”
“Why can’t I?” Nate challenged.
“Because pilots like you and Spade are chosen for extraordinary qualities. You’re not as weak as the rest of us, especially when you’re at the controls. Our country’s security depends on you.”
“No pilot or racing pro is a superman, Rick. Every man has his breaking point. We all hope we’ll never have to be tested to that degree. It hurts to think Spade’s wife might’ve been the one ultimately responsible for his death. He really loved her.”
After a long silence, his brother said, “Did you talk to her?”
“It was unavoidable. She approached me.”
“And?”
“In so many words I told her to go to hell.”
Rick shot him a troubled glance. “That doesn’t sound like the brother I know.”
“I’m not the brother you knew.”
“Neither of us knows who we are right now. It’s too soon. Emotions are still too fragile.”
“Since when did you turn into the philosopher?”
“Don’t ask.”
Nate wasn’t about to. He already knew the answer. “If you want to sleep in, I’ll drive Dad and Mom to the airport.”
The second the word slipped out, they both froze.
“I made the same mistake earlier in front of Dad,” Rick confessed. “It’ll probably happen a lot until everything sinks in.”
“Let’s hope you’re wrong.”
“Whether I sleep tonight or not, I plan to go to the airport with you in the morning. Pam seems grateful for the smallest crumb.”
“So does Dad,” Nate said.
Rick’s cell phone rang, disturbing the quiet. He plucked it from the coffee table and glanced at his call display.
“Damn. It’s Natalie.”
“That doesn’t sound like the brother I know.”
Rick raised his head. Their eyes met in brotherly understanding. “Touché.”
“I’ll leave you alone. If something comes up, call me on my cell.”
“Where are you going?”
“After I change clothes, I thought I’d drive over to the ski shop and take a look around. Since Dad missed the buying trip this year, I’m curious to see how low the inventory is.”
“Hang on and I’ll join you. This call won’t take long.”
Nate grabbed his jacket and tie from the floor, then bounded up the front stairs to his old bedroom. Once he’d dressed in jeans and a well-worn sweatshirt, he made his way to the foyer.
Rick was still on the phone.
A disturbing restlessness drove Nate to the den. He turned on the light. Ever since childhood, the framed Olympic medals hanging over the mantelpiece were always the first thing that drew his gaze.
Only once had they been removed from this wall. He’d begged his parents to let him bring the medals to school for “Show and Tell.” Initially they’d refused—out of modesty, he now understood—but they’d given in when they saw how much it meant to him. His teacher and eight-year-old classmates had been duly impressed.
His mother had taken the silver for the women’s downhill. In those same Olympic games, his father had won gold in the giant slalom. That was where they’d met.
Like some of the paired ice-skaters who were husband and wife, his parents’ passion for the sport had led to the grand passion of their existence. Each other. They’d married soon after and decided to live the rest of their lives at ten thousand feet in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.
Life had been idyllic for Nate and Rick. The family that prayed together, that worked and played together, stayed together. How many times had Nate heard that maxim from the pulpit? He’d always believed it.
The trick was to find one’s soul mate first.
In just one week Nate had decided there was no such thing. Judging by Rick’s savage expression as they met in the hall, he’d reached the same conclusion.
CHAPTER THREE
LAUREL WAVED the family off. “See you at twelve.” She’d driven them over to the lift so they could ski as many runs as possible before noon. Brent wanted to get an early start back to Denver to avoid the worst of the traffic.
By tacit agreement, any reference to last night’s unfortunate incident was avoided. When the family returned to the suite from dinner, Laurel had put on fresh makeup, and she greeted them with a smile. She insisted the boys sleep in her room. Brent and Julie had no choice but to go along with her wishes.
Today was a new day, and she intended to enjoy it. First on the agenda, she’d have a leisurely breakfast in the coffee shop. Afterward she’d drive into town to do a little shopping. Maybe she’d see something cute for a baby girl in one of the stores at the Bell Tower mall.
If she was having a boy, Julie had saved enough baby and toddler clothes to fill every need. Brent had already set up their old crib in Laurel’s room. She was as prepared as she could possibly be.
She pulled into the lodge parking lot and got out of the car. During the night a storm front had moved in, bringing lower temperatures and the threat of more snow. Her breath curled in the air.
Glad of Brent’s old black-and-white parka, which covered most of her, she made her way toward the lodge, hoping no one noticed that she walked like a fat penguin these days.
A line of cars idled outside the entrance. Sunday mornings tended to be the busiest time, with the majority of guests departing. As she walked between two of the vehicles where people were loading their bags, she got the distinct impression she was being watched.
The feeling grew so strong she glanced to her right and caught a glint of blue. The wintry blue of eyes that had condemned her last night. It was Hawk at the controls of a four-wheel-drive Blazer.
There was a logo on the side. Eagles’ Nest Ski and Bike Shop, Copper Mountain. Was it a loan from a friend for the occasion?
Her timing couldn’t have been worse. He’d told her he was with a wedding party. Maybe it had been his own. If so, good luck to his little brunette bride. Any woman foolish enough to marry a man carrying around that much rage—that much cruelty—would need it.
Laurel picked up her pace and walked through the huge glass doors of the lodge. When she reached the coffee shop, it looked filled to capacity. Making a snap decision, she headed back to the suite. It would be easier to order breakfast from there, then visit the mall.
But once inside the room, she discovered she was too angry to eat, let alone shop. She removed her parka and sank down on the bed.
During the night she’d relived the hurtful experience on the dance floor over and over again. No matter how many times she’d tried to analyze it, she couldn’t understand why it had happened. There was no way to reconcile his behavior with what she knew about Hawk.
If he and Scott had suffered a falling-out, she had no idea when it would have occurred. Once her husband had been transferred from Nellis, their careers had taken them to different parts of the world, although they’d always stayed in touch.
Twice there’d been periods where they both served with NATO forces for many months at a time. The most recent had been right before Scott had returned to perform in the air show that had cost him his life. Her husband would have told her if there’d been trouble between them.
Now that she’d recovered from the initial shock of their meeting, she was more curious than devastated by his rudeness. From everything she knew about him, he’d acted out of character last night.
Scott might be gone, but for her own peace of mind she intended to solve the mystery. If some wrong had been done, if Scottie had somehow offended the man he used to idolize, Laurel wanted to know. Perhaps it was too late to make amends, but she could try.
If memory served her right, after seeing action, Hawk had been sent to Edwards Air Force base, then Holland. Duce had mentioned something about his testing jets with the Dutch Air Force. No telling if he was still stationed there.
The fact that he’d come to Colorado for a wedding meant he was only here on leave. If she didn’t act fast, she could miss him before he returned to active duty.
Grabbing the phone directory from the nightstand, she looked up the Eagles’ Nest Ski and Bike Shop. If she couldn’t obtain any information there, she’d try to locate his family.
The local operator could make a search of every Hawkins listed in Colorado, starting with this area of the state.
She picked up the phone, pressed nine for an outside line, then used her phone card to call the number she’d found. There were two rings before the message came on.
“You’ve reached Eagles’ Nest Ski and Bike Shop. We’re open Monday through Saturday, seven to seven. Sundays, seven to one. Come and check out our ski rentals for the whole family. If you wish further assistance, please stay on the line.”
Laurel waited.
“Rental shop. This is Nina.”
“Hello. Excuse me for bothering you, but I’m trying to locate someone I saw driving one of your vehicles this morning. His name is Major Nathan Hawkins.”
“You’ve reached his father’s place of business.”
“Oh, good! May I speak to his father please?”
“I’m sorry. Clint’s out of town.”
“I see. Do you know how I could reach his son?”
“He’ll probably be here on Monday. If you’d like to leave a phone number, I’ll make sure he gets it.”
It didn’t sound as if Hawk had been the bridegroom, after all. Not if he hadn’t gone away on a honeymoon.
“I’m afraid he won’t be able to contact me. At least I know where to call now. Thank you very much for your help.”
Laurel hung up before the other woman could ask for a name. If Hawk did show up and discovered that someone was looking for him, he might think it was Laurel, but he wouldn’t have proof.
She checked the telephone directory once more. Hawkins. Ah, there it was. Clint Hawkins in Copper Mountain.
Laurel wrote down the address and phone number. It was her insurance in case Hawk didn’t want to be found.
Now that she knew he wasn’t leaving Colorado for at least another day, she could relax. In a much better frame of mind, she rang for room service and stretched out on the bed to watch TV until it was time to pick up the family.
WITH SECURITY SO TIGHT at the Denver airport, there was no opportunity to do anything more than deposit the newlyweds at the curb. Nate reached over the seat to squeeze Pam’s arm and wish her a happy trip.
While Rick helped them with their bags, Nate lowered the car window to say goodbye to his father, who’d come around to the driver’s side. He’d always been a strong man. This morning his grip on Nate’s shoulder was almost bruising.
“Thank you, son. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he whispered.
“When we get back, I want to sit down with you and Rick. We’ll talk about everything.”
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
A minute later Rick climbed into the front seat. Nate took advantage of a break in the traffic and headed away from the terminal.
“I don’t think Pam said more than a dozen words on the way down from Breckenridge.”
“She did while Dad was paying the bill.”
Nate turned his head toward his brother. “Problems already?”
“I don’t know what to think. She said she’d been waiting for the right moment to explain why she was at our house the morning I surprised them. Apparently Dad had just picked her up at the Copper Mountain Inn where she’d been staying all month.
“To quote her, ‘Your father and I did a lot of soul-searching on the previous night. The love he felt for your mother poured out of him. All I could do was listen. When he asked me to come to your house for breakfast, I told him I was terrified he was going to say our engagement was a mistake.’”
Rick took a deep breath. “She told me that after they’d eaten and she was helping him with the dishes, he admitted that getting married could be a mistake. But apparently he said it might be an even bigger one if they didn’t find out what there could be between them.”
“That’s interesting,” Nate murmured, “and we know Dad’s traditional enough to insist on marriage, but we still don’t know what she’s all about.”
“Nope, and Dad isn’t the type to tell us something personal about her until he’s ready.”
Nate was about to say their father might never be ready, but his cell phone rang. Curious, he pulled it from his pocket and checked the caller ID. “It’s the ski shop.”
“Already?”
“You heard Dad earlier. We’re in charge now.” He clicked on. “This is Nate. What’s up?”
“Hi, Nate.”
“Nina?”
“I wouldn’t be bothering you if I didn’t think this might be important.”
“Go ahead.”
“A woman phoned the shop a few minutes ago looking for a Major Hawkins. She said she’d seen you driving the Blazer and wanted to talk to you, but she didn’t leave a name or number.”
Laurel Pierce had her nerve, he’d say that much.
“For security reasons I didn’t give out any phone numbers. However, I did tell her you’d probably be in the shop sometime tomorrow. In case it was someone from the military, I thought you should know.”
“Thanks, Nina. You did exactly the right thing. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He clicked off the phone, then gave his brother a speaking glance. “Spade’s wife is looking for me.”
“After the way you treated her, you’re not really surprised, are you?”
“I thought you were on my side.”
“Always.”
“She knows I know her secret. It appears the woman has no shame.”
“I agree it looks that way,” Rick murmured.
“It is that way.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. If she has the temerity to show up at the ski shop, it’ll be a wasted trip for her. I didn’t tell you I saw her this morning while you were inside getting Dad.”
“Did she try to talk to you again?”
“No, but then I didn’t encourage it.”
Rick eyed him for a moment before turning his head away.
Nate saw his brother rummage in his pocket for something.
“Here. I picked these up in the lodge.” Rick handed him a candy bar. “What do you say we go home and take a couple of runs on Eagles’ Nest for old times’ sake?”
“You’re on.” An afternoon tearing the mountain apart wasn’t like taking to the sky, but it would do. Anything to put off thinking for a little while.
Within an hour they’d returned to Copper Mountain. After they’d donned their old ski outfits and Laplander hats, they went to the laundry room off the kitchen, where their mom had made a place for the family to store their skis and poles.
Her favorite pair of G-41 Vokyls were still there, as if waiting for her to grab them for a quick run. Nate noticed his brother staring at them for a moment before he reached for his own.
One of these days they would stop reacting to reminders of her and the avalanche that had come out of nowhere to sweep her and two friends to their deaths.
A series of storms had hit in early September. Carrying their skis, the three women had hiked up in the back country to get the first fresh tracks of the year. Normally fall wasn’t avalanche season. Colorado Search and Rescue speculated that they’d dropped down from a cornice, which had started a massive slide.
It shouldn’t have happened.
Spade’s crash shouldn’t have happened, either.
Nate’s mouth thinned. He collected his skis and poles. “Ready?” he called to his brother.
“As I’ll ever be. Let’s go.”
He followed Rick through the house to the front door. A wind had come up while they were inside, and it had started to snow. They’d be lucky to get in one run before it grew into a blizzard and the lift shut down.
As he stopped to lock the front door, he heard another car pull into the driveway. He turned in time to see a figure get out of the front passenger side. A pregnant figure in black.
Nate froze in his tracks.
She hurried toward Rick who was putting his skis on the rack of their Blazer. If they exchanged any conversation, it was brief. She darted back to the waiting car before Nate could make it down the front steps of the house.
By the time he caught up with his brother, the driver had backed up and headed off.
Rick’s speculative glance swiveled to Nate. “This is for you.” He extended a white envelope. “At first she must’ve thought I was you because she said, ‘for Scott’s sake please don’t tear this up before you read it.’”
“That woman doesn’t know when to quit!”
He’d had about all he could take for one weekend. It was a little late to be using her dead husband’s name to get to Nate. Not that he could figure out why she’d even want to.
“I’ll hold on to it for now.” Rick stashed it in a pocket of his parka while Nate put his skis on the rack. “If we don’t step on it, we won’t be able to ski at all.”
“LAUREL? Are you all right?” Julie called from the back of the car where she was sitting with the boys. Both she and Brent had insisted Laurel ride in front to give her a little extra leg room.
“I’m fine now that I’ve delivered my letter. Thanks for stopping.”
She’d realized too late that she’d approached Hawk’s brother instead of him. Scott had mentioned he had a sibling. They bore a strong resemblance to each other, except that he had gray eyes and they were questioning rather than damning.
It wasn’t until she’d gotten back in the car that she saw another tall figure on the pathway, carrying a pair of skis. That was when her heart jumped.
In truth she was glad it had turned out the way it did. Most likely Hawk would have flung the letter back in her face. This way, at least, there was a chance that his brother might pass it on.
After talking to the salesperson at the ski shop earlier, Laurel knew the woman would tell Hawk about the phone call and he’d disappear in order to avoid her.