Susan Mallery - Sweet Trouble

Fifteen minutes later, Gabe had eaten a cookie and finished a small glass of milk. He’d also brought Paula up to date on their trip from Spokane and how he was going to meet his daddy soon.

“Matt hasn’t seen him yet?” Paula asked.

Jesse shook her head, then looked into the family room. “Gabe, would you like to watch TV for a little bit?”

It was a rare daytime treat. Her son jumped to his feet and followed her to the sofa. Paula found a channel for kids, then the two women retreated to the kitchen where they could keep an eye on Gabe without being overheard.

“I didn’t know,” Paula said as soon as they were seated. She leaned toward Jesse and touched her hand. “I swear, I didn’t know you were pregnant. All I knew was what your sister said.” She shifted uncomfortably. “I told Matt about that.”

“I know. It’s okay. There were complications.” Jesse hated how, after all this time, the past still had the power to hurt everyone involved.

“It was a long time ago,” Jesse told her. “Whatever you believe, you have to know I loved Matt. I would never have hurt him.”

“I do believe you,” Paula said, surprising her. “He was devastated after you left.”

“Was he?” It was nice to know he’d missed her, however briefly. “I told him I was pregnant, but he didn’t think he was the father. I told him there hadn’t been anyone else, but he didn’t believe me.”

Once again Paula looked uncomfortable. “It’s my fault. All of it. He was angry because of what I said. I’d held him too close for too long. I was one of those horrible, clinging mothers they’re always discussing on talk shows. He was angry with you, but he never forgave me. We stopped being close after you left. We’re still not close. I rarely see him.”

“I’m sorry,” Jesse said, and found she meant it. “You’re his mother. Nothing will ever change that.”

“Something he’s managed to ignore,” she said with a lightness that seemed forced. “So tell me. What have you been doing with yourself?”

“I’ve been living in Spokane. That’s where I went when I took off. At least that’s where the money ran out. I got a job in a bar. I was lucky. Bill, the guy who owns the place, took care of me. Found me a place to live, worked my schedule around Gabe.” She smiled as she thought of her boss and friend. “He’s the one who gave me the kick in the ass to come back here. Well, him and Gabe. Your grandson wants to meet his daddy. I couldn’t keep saying no.”

“Are you and Bill-” Paula’s voice trailed off.

Jesse stared at her. “Are we…” she got the question “…involved? Oh, no. We’re just friends. He says I’m too young for him.” She smiled. “He’s in his sixties, as are all his friends. They’ve been my family while I was gone. It was just so hard being away. It’s only a few hundred miles, but I felt like I was in another world. I couldn’t believe Nicole just let me go.”

Jesse held the coffee mug Paula had given her but didn’t drink. “It was always just Nicole and me. She was my bossy older sister. Claire, her twin, had gone away the year I was born, so I never knew her beyond the little Nicole told me or what I read in magazines.”

“She plays piano?”

“Yes. She’s pretty famous but I don’t really know her beyond some e-mails and letters. She’s been in touch with me over the years. She’s the one who told me about Nicole getting married and all that.” Jesse tried to keep the pain out of her voice. Despite everything that had happened between them, she loved Nicole and had hated being cut off from her. Nicole’s life had gone on, as if she, Jesse, had never been a part of things.

“How long are you back here?” Paula asked.

“I don’t know. A few weeks. I’m half owner of the Keyes Bakery, but I’m not asking Nicole for anything. I’m going to work there and give her my brownie recipe. I’ve been working on it for months. It’s finally perfect and-”

Jesse pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry. I’m going on and on about my life when what you really want to hear about is Gabe. I just haven’t had anyone to talk to in a long time.”

“Me, either,” Paula told her. “Where are you staying?”

“In a motel. I’m going to rent some place furnished in the University District. It will be cheap in the summer.”

“That will make for a lot of driving,” Paula said. “You could just stay here. With me.”

Jesse didn’t know what to say. Talk about an unexpected invitation. “Are you sure?”

“Come see the rooms, then decide.”

Stunned, Jesse followed her upstairs. Two bedrooms sat at one end of the hallway, a shared bathroom between them. Both were set up for guests, with double beds and bright colors. The rooms were lovely, well lit and clean, so different from the seedy place she would have to rent, that she felt herself getting emotional.

“Paula, this is beyond generous,” she murmured.

“They’re both yours for as long as you want,” Matt’s mother said. “I’ve missed four years of my grandson’s life because I was a scared, lonely woman terrified of losing the little she had. Well, I did lose it and I’ve been regretting that more than I can say. Stay here. Please. Let me have the chance to get to know you and Gabe. Let me make up for how horrible I was five years ago. You didn’t deserve that, Jesse. This is the least I can do.”

Actually, it was an irresistible offer, Jesse thought, looking at the rooms. One she wasn’t about to refuse.

“Thank you,” she said, feeling safe and welcome for the first time since arriving in Seattle. “You’re being more than kind. Gabe and I would love to stay.”

“Good. Why don’t you head back to your hotel and pack while I go to the grocery and stock up. Oh, you’ll have to tell me what you both like to eat. I’ve missed cooking for more than myself.”

A beautiful place to stay and someone to do the cooking? It was a little corner of heaven, Jesse thought. And Paula was the most unlikely angel.

MATT STOOD IN FRONT OF the large window as he spoke. He was still angry; he could feel the rage burning inside, although he did his best to keep his voice controlled. Not that his attorney was fooled.

“This isn’t the time to make decisions,” Heath told him. “Wait a few days, a couple of weeks. Nothing is going to change and you’ll get a chance to calm down.”

“You wouldn’t be furious in my position?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Heath sat on the edge of his desk. “I’d be beyond pissed,” the other man admitted. “Not telling you she was pregnant and then taking off is unforgivable. We can sue her for that in civil court.”

That wasn’t going to happen, Matt thought grimly. Mostly because Jesse had told him she was pregnant-he just hadn’t believed her. Or rather he hadn’t believed the baby was his, which was about the same thing.

He didn’t want to think about the past. That was a different time and he was a different man now. More controlled and capable, not someone to be led by his emotions. He’d learned a damn hard lesson and he wouldn’t make those same mistakes again. Just because he was the kid’s father didn’t change the fact that she’d slept with someone else.

“I want her destroyed,” he said quietly. “Start with a thorough investigation. I want to know everything about the past five years. Where she’s lived, what she’s been doing, who she slept with, who she talked to. Everything. She used to sleep around, so that won’t have changed. There may be other things.”

Heath nodded. “We’ll find whatever there is and use it against her.”

It wasn’t going to be enough, Matt thought. He wanted more. He wanted her broken and bleeding. He wanted her to lose everything and know that he’d taken it. He wanted revenge.

“There are a dozen ways to make her life uncomfortable,” Heath continued. “Equal say in all decisions, getting an injunction so she can’t leave Seattle. The big one is to sue for custody.”

Take the boy from her. Matt considered the possibility. How she would react. “Do it,” he said.

Heath cleared his throat. “You realize that if you win, you get the kid.”

An abstract concept, he thought. “I’ll deal with that when it happens.” If he needed help, he would hire it. Nannies and boarding schools existed for a reason.

“Do it,” he repeated. “Draw up the papers to sue for custody, but don’t serve her until I tell you. I want to see how this is going to play out.”

There were options to be explored. He was patient. He didn’t have to rush in right away. He could wait and figure out the best way to play his hand. The best way to hurt her and the best way to win.

NICOLE HELD the front door open as Claire led both her children up the front walk. She greeted four-year-old Robby and two-year-old Mirabella before turning to her sister.

“You look perfectly rested,” Nicole grumbled as they embraced.

“You were, too, before the twins were born, and you will be again in a few months.” Claire smiled. “Actually, you’re looking pretty good.”

“I got some sleep yesterday afternoon while Eric was at a play date.”

“The twins are getting into a routine?”

“Sort of.”

Nicole waited until they were in the family room. Robby and Eric raced to the toy bin in the corner and began digging through the contents. Mirabella snuggled up next to her mom on the sofa. For once the twins were awake and not crying as they surveyed the world from identical baby seats.

Nicole sat in an oversized chair that faced the sofa and watched Claire as she spoke. “Jesse’s back.”

Claire smiled serenely, something she’d always done. It still made Nicole crazy. “Is she?”

“You’re not surprised.”

“She’d mentioned she was thinking of returning to Seattle for the summer.”

Nicole stiffened. If not for the five children in the room, she would have been on her feet and swearing, which Claire knew and probably counted on.

“You’ve been in touch with her,” Nicole said, working hard to keep the accusation out of her voice. This was so like Claire. All sweet and agreeable on the outside, but doing exactly what she wanted.

Claire sighed. “She’s my sister, too. A sister I never got a chance to know. You two had the fight, not me, and when she went away, I felt like I’d lost her all over again. So yes, I’ve been in touch with her. We e-mail every month or so. I didn’t think you’d want to know about it.”

What Nicole wanted was to scream, and maybe throw something. She resented the logic of what Claire had said and that Claire had known Jesse was all right while Nicole had wondered and worried. She ignored the voice that said she could have gotten in touch with Jesse just as easily. After all, Nicole had always known where her sister was.

“So she came to see you?” Claire asked.

“Yesterday.”

“Did you meet Gabe?”

“No. She brought pictures.” Photos that Nicole had looked at last night. “He looks a lot like her ex-boyfriend.” Nicole had seen that at once. She glared at Claire. “Don’t you say it.”

“Say what?”

“That who Gabe’s father is means something.”

Claire glanced at her daughter, then lowered her voice. “She was never involved with Drew.”

“How do you know?”

“She told me.”

Jesse had tried to tell Nicole, too, only she hadn’t wanted to hear it. Or maybe she just wasn’t ready to play that old game of trying to figure out the truth.

“I’ll never be sure,” Nicole said at last.

“Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. She’s your sister. Doesn’t that mean something?”

It meant Jesse had the power to hurt her more than most people. Something she’d done time and time again.

“I believe her,” Claire said. “She’s a part of my family and I have to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“I don’t,” Nicole said flatly. “She’s had too many chances already.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“I don’t believe she’s changed. She’s going to have to prove herself to me first.”

“Is there anything she can do to convince you or are you setting her up to fail?”

Nicole considered the question, then gave an honest answer. “I don’t know.”

JESSE PULLED THE BROWNIES from the oven and stared at the pan. They looked perfect, as did the other three batches she’d already made that morning, but maybe she would try again.

“Obsess much?” she muttered to herself, knowing that she couldn’t do any more than her best. Either Nicole would admit the brownies were fabulous, or she wouldn’t and there was very little Jesse could do to change the outcome.

Being rational and calm were still attributes she was working on and this seemed like a great opportunity to practice. Wasn’t it great how life was always teaching lessons?

She set the brownies on the cooling racks, then jumped when her cell phone rang. A quick check of the display showed her a 206 area code, which meant Seattle, and a number she didn’t recognize.