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Cinderella Story
Elizabeth August


Protecting Princess VictoriaUnder cover of darkness, Lance Grayson conducted the most crucial rescue mission of his career. And succeeded. Though dazed from her ordeal, the rightful Princess Victoria of Thortonburg was still breathtakingly beautiful…and spirited enough to question where her tall, dark savior was taking her. Alone.His safe house was humble, but would have to do. With her kidnappers still at large, it was Lance's duty to watch over Victoria Rockford…and to reveal the secret that would turn her life upside down. Not known for compassion, Lance couldn't resis comforting this woman. Yet he was honor-bound to resist making Princess Victoria his in every war…









As a devastating summer storm hits Grand Springs, Colorado, the next thirty-six hours will change the town and its residents forever….


The night the lights go out at the lodge, waitress Nina Lindstrom flees the arms of millionaire Alex Bennett after a romantic dance. But he’s determined not to lose sight of the beautiful stranger. Finding her days later, he has a business proposition for the widow and mother—a fake engagement that could provide the financial security she needs to save her son’s life.

Nina tells herself she doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Her relationship with Alex is strictly professional. But as she spends more time with her handsome rescuer, it’s harder to see him as just a business partner. In trying to save her son, she may be risking her own heart.

Book 5 of the 36 Hours series. Don’t miss Book 6: Grief unexpectedly leads to a second chance for ex-lovers Eve and Rio in Father and Child Reunion by Christine Flynn.




Cinderella Story

Elizabeth August







www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)




Contents


Chapter One (#u1d3f3c00-38e9-509c-a29a-f390ed560997)

Chapter Two (#uf2ed0741-739a-5144-807d-931cb4753b20)

Chapter Three (#uda5bcb52-6f0f-5d12-b803-b398a4250fda)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)




Prologue


Nina Lindstrom breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up the phone. Her children were safe and happily pretending they were camping out in their grandmother’s living room. When she’d learned that roads were closed, mudslides were careening down the mountain and the electricity was out all over town, due to the torrential rainstorm raging outside, they had been her number one concern. As usual, while she worked, Elizabeth, Pete and Tommy were being looked after by her mother-in-law, and Nina’s rational mind had assured her that they were being well cared for. Still, the mother in her had insisted on calling.

“I’m collecting aprons,” Susan Smith, one of the owners of the Squaw Creek Lodge, announced, entering the kitchen. She set the lantern she was carrying on the center counter and looked around at the assembled servers. Frustration showed on her face. “This evening seems to be just one disaster after another. First we lose our electricity, and now the backup generator is refusing to work. Officially, the reception is canceled. However, the food has been paid for and there’s no place to store it. The bar is closed but the Howells have already bought the champagne and there’s plenty of soft drinks. The guests have been invited to stay and help themselves to what’s available. And you’ve been invited to do the same. If you want my advice, you’ll accept. The rain is still coming down hard and the lightning is dangerous. There’s lots of it and it’s touching down. I’ve also heard that some roads are blocked by mud slides.”

“Some wedding,” one of the male waiters remarked as Nina unfastened the frilly white apron she was wearing and handed it to Susan. “First the bride bolts just before the ceremony begins, and now the electricity is gone. I’ll bet there are a few people here wishing they’d pulled the covers over their head and stayed in bed this morning.”

“Me, for one,” one of the bartenders grumbled. “I’d figured on enough tips from this crowd to pay this month’s rent.”

It did seem to be one of those days when plans went askew, Nina thought silently, leaving the kitchen. She’d been counting on the money from this moonlighting job to buy a few extras for her children. Now she’d only get pocket change for the time she’d been here setting up the buffet. She shrugged off her disappointment. Life had taught her never to count on anything happening the way she hoped it would. She was always happy when it did but had learned to roll with the punches when it didn’t. And compared to some of the punches she’d sustained, a few lost work hours were nothing.

Glancing out the large plate-glass windows, she saw a flash of lightning come straight down. A loud pop followed. The lightning had struck a tree. Susan Smith was right. For the moment, it would be safer to remain here.

Ahead of her, she heard the mingling of numerous voices. The guest list for this wedding included all of the politically and socially elite of the town. Because it was to be a very dressy affair, the female waitresses had been asked to wear basic black so that, with the ruffled white aprons provided by the lodge, they would blend into the elegant atmosphere of the occasion.

A quirky smile tilted the corner of Nina’s mouth. She was wearing her best black cocktail dress. Actually, it was her only cocktail dress. The candlelight illuminating the hall mirrored her image in the large plate-glass window. With her best dress, her one set of good jewelry consisting of a pearl necklace and pearl earrings, and her hair in a chignon on top of her head, she looked as sophisticated as any of the other guests. So why not go mingle with the blue noses? It had been a long time since she’d been to a party, and never to one as high-class as this.

Alex Bennett stood leaning against the wall in a shadowed corner of the room watching the rest of the wedding guests as they milled around serving themselves. He noticed Melissa Howell, the mother of the bride, flitting from guest to guest, and he frowned. He’d already had one encounter with the woman tonight and didn’t want another. His frown deepening, he told himself that he should be feeling more sympathetic toward the woman. Her daughter had left her in an embarrassing situation. But Melissa was a hard woman to feel sympathy for. She had an irritating way of trying to rule her children’s lives, and when things went wrong, she placed the blame on everyone but herself.

His gaze shifted to the band. They were packing up, their amps and electric instruments being of no use. Judging by their response to being invited to join the guests for food and drink, he guessed they were planning to stay the night once their equipment was safely stored.

However, in spite of the warnings about the roads, he was contemplating leaving. Weddings generally brought out, more strongly than usual, the husband-hunting instincts in women, and he was in no mood to fend off a female with a ring on her mind. But then, there hadn’t been a wedding. In place of tears, hugs, congratulations and predictions about the bride and groom’s future, gossipy conversations, held in lowered voices and speculating about why Randi Howell had fled her wedding to Hal Stuart, reached his ears.

Alex refused to speculate. Women, he mused wryly, were unpredictable creatures with hidden agendas. Trying to figure out their motives for any action was a waste of time. They could, however, turn an otherwise dull evening into something memorable, he added, noticing the slender, dark-haired female who had just entered and was making her way to the buffet table. She had a graceful walk…enticing, actually. Pretty, too, he noted as the large candelabra on the table illuminated her face. Her cheekbones were high and her features finely cut. His gaze went to her hands. No ring on her ring finger.

Thoughts of leaving faded. He followed her movements, waiting to see if an escort joined her. When she finished gathering her plateful of food and made her way, alone, to a discreet corner, his interest peaked more. Leaving his shadowy hideaway, he crossed the room, picking up two glasses of champagne on the way.

“I thought you might like a beverage,” he said as he reached her.

Nina looked up at the tall, dark-haired, imposing man who had halted in front of her. She recognized him from other parties she’d worked at. He’d even come into the diner once or twice. She didn’t know his name, but she’d heard a couple of women whispering about him once. The oil tycoon who’d built the summer place on the mountain was how they’d referred to him. They’d also mentioned that he was a bachelor who was playing very hard to catch. Strikingly handsome, he was the kind of man who could take a woman’s breath away, and a flush of pleasure that he was paying attention to her brought a tint of pink to her cheeks. “Thank you for your consideration. Now if I only had a third hand,” she replied.

“I’ll hold your glass for you while you eat.” He grinned. “It’s a good ploy, don’t you think? Unless you want to go thirsty, you have to put up with my company.”

She regarded him with dry amusement. “I doubt very much that you need any ploy. It’s my guess that very few women have told you to get lost.”

Alex didn’t deny her assessment. “I’m Alex. Alex Bennett.”

“I’m Nina.” She chose not to add her last name. She was allowing herself a momentary fantasy. No need to reveal she was not one of the guests.

“You’re here alone?” He normally made it a rule never to browse in another man’s store, but in this case he was seriously considering trying to take her away from her date if he’d been mistaken and she was here with someone.

“Yes.” She wondered how she could sound so cool and in control. Since she’d been widowed nearly three years ago, she hadn’t even dated. She thought she’d forgotten how to talk to a single man, much less how to flirt with one. Yet, she must be doing something right because Alex Bennett was still there.

“Interesting nonwedding.” Watching her take a bite of a strawberry, Alex wondered how her lips would taste.

“Very.” Think of something to say! she ordered herself, but small talk had never been her strong point. Smiling stiffly, she bit into a tiny finger sandwich.

You’re boring her, Alex chided himself. “Rather a Gothic atmosphere, don’t you think? The bride flees the wedding in the midst of a raging storm, and the mother of the groom doesn’t even show up. Now the groom appears to be missing, and we, the guests, are left to fend for ourselves by candlelight.”

“A night fraught with intrigue,” Nina quipped.

“And music,” Alex noted as the strains of a popular song filled the air. A glance over his shoulder told him that one of the guests had discovered the piano in the corner. The opportunity to test the feel of her in his arms was too strong to resist. “Would you care to dance?” Without giving her an opportunity to say no, he quickly set the glasses of champagne on a nearby table, then gently eased her plate from her hands and set it down with the glasses.

As he drew her into a loose embrace, the scent of his after-shave teased her senses, and she was acutely aware of his strength. How much she liked being in his arms shook her, and a curl of guilt wove through her. Tom Lindstrom had been her childhood sweetheart, and there had never been another man in her life other than him. It’s just a dance, she admonished herself.

Alex didn’t think any woman had ever felt so good in his arms. Nor had he ever been so sharply aware of another…her soft perfume, the cut of her jaw, the curve of her hips, the velvet look of her lips. It’s this strange night. The lightning is filling the air with electricity, causing my perceptions to be heightened, he reasoned.

Nina felt herself wanting to move closer. For the first time since Tom’s death, she found herself missing male companionship. Well, she was only human, and thirty-one was still young.

The song finished, and at the shouted request of one of the guests, the pianist began pounding out an old rock and roll tune. Still Alex held her and continued to move slowly, as if the strains of the other song still filled the air.

“I think we’re out of sync with the rest of the room,” she said, but did not fight his lead, choosing to remain in his arms and move with him.

“I prefer to think they are out of sync with us.”

His breath played on the sensitized skin of her neck, and her blood began to heat. A crack of thunder shook the building. She trembled and he drew her closer. “I’ll protect you,” he said gruffly, and marveled at just how much he wanted to do that and a whole lot more.

Her senses reeling, Nina looked up, uncertain what to say. Until now she’d been too nervous to look into his eyes. Now she realized they were green…a warm, inviting green like the woods on a summer day. Her gaze locked with his, and she felt herself being drawn into their lush depths.

“You have the most kissable-looking lips I’ve ever seen,” he said, his face moving closer to hers.

Suddenly panic flowed through her. Her resistance was dangerously too low. This was all happening much too fast! She was letting her fantasy get out of hand. In the cold light of dawn, when he discovered she was a poor widow with three children, he was bound to bolt.

“I just remembered something I have to do.” She squirmed out of his arms and rushed from the room.

Alex followed her into the hall, but in the dimly lit passages, he lost her.




Chapter One


“The end is near,” the lanky, white-haired, eighty-five-year-old man propped up by pillows in the large four-poster bed announced with conviction. “I can feel death breathing down on my neck.”

Alex studied his grandfather’s lined, weather-worn features with concern. He wasn’t accustomed to seeing William Bennett pale and weak. “You should be in a hospital.”

“I ain’t goin’ no place. When you’ve got as much money as I have, the doctors come to you.” The frown on the old man’s face deepened. “But there are things money can’t buy. I’d hoped to bounce a great-grandchild on my knee before I went to those oil fields in the sky, but that doesn’t seem likely now. However, I’d die a happy man if I knew you’d, at least, found yourself a wife. You’re thirty-seven. A man should be putting down roots at that age.”

“We Bennett men don’t have much luck at finding women whose roots take hold,” Alex reminded him.

The old man scowled. “Be that as it may. Your dad and I both tried. If we hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here today. You need an heir, boy. When I’m gone you’ll be the last of our line.”

Alex had been certain the old man was too ornery to die. At twelve, William had gone to work in the oil fields, learning the business from the bottom up. He was tough as leather and had the determination of a bull with a purpose. It had been by sheer grit, willpower and the sweat of his brow that he’d held his fledgling drilling company together until they’d hit their first oil well some sixty years ago.

The muscles in Alex’s throat constricted. William Bennett was the only real family he had. He’d raised Alex and taught him all he knew about the oil business. The day Alex turned twenty-one, William had made him a full partner. He loved the old man and hated to feel he’d let him down in any way. A small lie couldn’t hurt, he reasoned. “I have found someone.”

William Bennett’s eyes, jade green like those of his grandson, flashed with pleasure. “You have?”

“She’s got raven hair…so black it shines in candlelight. Her eyes are hazel with tiny gold flecks.” Startled, Alex realized he was describing the woman he’d encountered more than three weeks earlier at Randi Howell’s nonwedding. Grudgingly, he admitted she’d haunted his dreams that night. The next day, he’d thought he’d seen her on the street, but when he’d caught up with the woman he’d thought was her, he realized his mistake. He’d felt like an idiot. He’d made it a practice never to get too interested in any woman.

Still, after the incident on the street, he’d made an attempt to find her, but no one he asked knew a Nina who fitted her description. Then he’d had to leave Grand Springs on business and had only been back once, just long enough to attend Olivia Stuart’s funeral. He’d thought he’d put the dark-haired Nina out of his mind. Apparently, he hadn’t.

“Sounds very tempting,” William said.

“She is,” Alex admitted, recalling how much he’d wanted to taste her lips.

“I want to meet her.”

“She doesn’t live here in Denver. She lives in Grand Springs.” Even as he said this, Alex had his doubts. His inability to find anyone who knew her had caused him to come very close to concluding that she had merely been in town for the wedding…probably a school chum of the bride. The only thing keeping him from being absolutely certain of this was the nagging feeling that there had been something familiar about her. As a part-time resident of Grand Springs, he only attended a few social functions a year there. It was possible he’d seen her across a room but never spoken to her. Again her face haunted him. Had she been with someone, and that was why he hadn’t approached her one of those other times he’d seen her? It occurred to him that she might already be spoken for and had only been alone the night of the wedding because the man in her life couldn’t attend or they’d had a lover’s quarrel. An emotional attachment to another man would explain her sudden flight. This thought caused a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Grand Springs. That’s that town where your school buddy, Noah…something or other…” William said, jerking Alex’s attention back to his grandfather.

“Noah Howell,” Alex said, filling in the blank and marveling at how completely his mysterious black-haired woman could take over his mind.

“Noah Howell, the doctor. Right. That’s where you built that vacation place you run away to when you want to get off by yourself. And you donated some money to a children’s wing for their hospital there, didn’t you?”

“That’s the place.”

William nodded, satisfied he knew the locale about which they were speaking. “Have you two set a date?”

“Not yet,” Alex hedged.

“I hope you don’t plan to wait long. No sense in cooling your heels. That ain’t going to get you heirs.”

“I’m sure we’ll set the date soon.” Alex didn’t like the way this lie was escalating, but he didn’t see any way to stop it, short of disappointing the old man.

“I probably won’t live to see the wedding, anyway.” William sighed heavily and grasped Alex’s hand. “Bring her here. I want to meet her before I meet my Maker.”

Mentally Alex kicked himself. He should have known the old man would make this request. “I’m not too sure she can get away.”

“Persuade her,” William insisted. He tried to rise, then sank back. “Otherwise, I’m going to get to Grand Springs on a gurney if I have to. I want to meet my future granddaughter-in-law.”

Alex read the determination in his grandfather’s eyes. There was no stopping William Bennett once he set his mind to something. “All right, I will,” he promised.

William smiled triumphantly. “Well, get cracking,” he ordered.

* * *

As Alex drove back to Grand Springs, the scowl on his face deepened with each mile. He didn’t like lying to his grandfather. On the other hand, seeking this Nina out and enlisting her aid wasn’t a bad idea. That he could close his eyes and actually feel her in his arms made him uneasy. No other woman had ever had such a lasting effect on him. He was certain it was merely a residual effect induced by the strangeness of that night. But she had disturbed his peace of mind. However, once he found her, she would no longer be a mystery woman and he’d no longer be haunted by her.

He’d offer to pay her to play his fiancée for a couple of days. A sudden worry that she wouldn’t cooperate crossed his mind. A cynical smirk distorted his features. Any woman could be bought for the right price.

* * *

“What you did to Mr. Alex was unconscionable,” Matilda Hastings scolded. Knowing the old man was up to something, she’d remained in a far corner of the room during his grandson’s visit. William, she knew, had allowed her presence because her hovering over him had made him seem even more ill. Now, returning from seeing Alex off, she approached William Bennett’s bed. Coming to a halt beside it, the fifty-seven-year-old, short, plump woman, her auburn hair dulled by strands of gray, stood, her arms akimbo, frowning reprovingly. “I helped you raise that boy, first as his nanny and then staying on as your housekeeper. I know how much he loves and admires you. He must have made me swear a dozen times that I’d let him know if there was any change in your condition, and I’m to see that the doctor comes both morning and night to check on you. He’s heartsick thinking you’re dying.”

William shrugged. “We’re all dying from the day we’re born. It’s the cycle of nature.”

The frown on Matilda’s face darkened even more. “But you are not currently in any danger of meeting your Maker. We both know you’re going to live to be a hundred. You’re just exhausted from staying day and night at that last drill site until oil was struck.”

William drew in a robust breath and smiled broadly. “You don’t understand the invigorating smell of fresh crude.”

Matilda crinkled her nose. “You’re right, I don’t.”

“As for my grandson, it’s time he married and sired an heir or two.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that he simply hasn’t met the right woman?”

William suddenly frowned. “I’m not so sure that there is a ‘right woman’ for us Bennett men. Our luck in that area doesn’t run too good. But he needs a wife at least long enough to give him a child.” His frown turned to a speculative smile. “This should light a fire under his feet. And, if there is a female like the one he described, I’m going to enjoy meeting her.”

“Or maybe he’ll rush into something you’ll both regret,” Matilda warned. “There are mistakes and then there are mistakes. Remember the one his daddy made.”

William’s smile faded. “I hadn’t thought of that. We’ll have to keep a close eye on the boy.”

Matilda issued a loud snort. “I’d find me another job and leave you to your own devices except that you’d never find anyone else who’d put up with you. Besides, someone has to stay and look out for Mr. Alex.”

* * *

It was late into the night by the time Alex arrived at his home outside of Grand Springs. The two-story, sprawling log structure sat on a mountainside in the midst of several acres of wilderness. The back faced a vast lake. He’d had it built large enough to house guests comfortably, figuring it would be a good place to bring business associates he wanted to soften up or impress. But once it was finished, he’d kept it as a private retreat.

Glancing at the pile of newspapers Roberta Nyes, his cleaning lady, had left on the hall table, he frowned. According to the latest headline, the murderer of Olivia Stuart had not yet been found, nor did the police seem to have any definite suspects.

He recalled the funeral. Olivia had been mayor of Grand Springs. He’d met her at various fund-raisers Noah had dragged him to. After learning of all she’d done and was trying to do for the town, he’d grown to admire her. Out of respect, he’d made a special effort to attend the service. It had been a strained affair. Her daughter, Eve, and son, Hal, had delivered eulogies. As she spoke, Eve’s voice had broken and tears had trickled down her cheeks. Hal had seemed more in shock than in sorrow, but then everyone handled death in different ways. Besides, having one’s mother murdered would shake anyone up. And to have been left standing at the altar on the same night as his mother’s death had to have been a double whammy.

“Women. From the very beginning of time, they’ve been nothing but trouble,” Alex muttered. A grudging grimace played across his face. Even as he’d tried to concentrate on the funeral rites, he’d found himself surveying the assembly, looking for the dark-haired, hazel-eyed woman from the night of the storm.

His jaw firmed. It was definitely time he sought out this Nina person and got her out of his system once and for all.

* * *

Nina Lindstrom sat on the side of her son Tommy’s bed and smiled encouragingly down at his pale face. “We’re going to meet Dr. Genkins at the hospital tomorrow. He’s going to find out why you’re feeling tired and dizzy lately and make it all better.” Silently she said a prayer that this would be the case.

The towheaded, hazel-eyed six-year-old had always been an active child, constantly getting into things and squirming when made to sit too long. When he’d begun to slow down a couple of months ago, both she and her in-laws had attributed his behavior to the maturing process. But lately they’d begun to worry. When he’d started complaining about being dizzy, she’d called Dr. Genkins.

A preliminary examination had shown nothing serious, and the pediatrician had hypothesized that Tommy could be having some fluid build-up in the inner ear. He’d prescribed a mild antihistamine. But the dizzy spells had continued to grow worse. Now Tommy swayed when he walked, and she’d noticed he was dropping things more than usual. She kissed him lightly on the forehead. “Now, you go to sleep and get your rest.”

His mouth tightened and his jaw tensed. She recognized his brave face, the one he used when he was scared but didn’t want to admit it. “I’ll be with you all of the time,” she promised.

His jaw relaxed and she kissed his cheek. “Sleep tight,” she said, rising.

Moving to the second bed in the room, she looked down at the sturdy little dark-haired, blue-eyed four-year-old boy there. “You get some sleep, too, Peter.” Ruffling his hair, she kissed him good night.

“Tommy be well soon?” he asked worriedly.

“Yes, soon,” she promised. She needed to hear herself say the words to bolster her own courage. She’d heard the concern in Dr. Genkins’s voice when she’d called about Tommy’s increasing symptoms.

Leaving the boys’ room, she found her eight-year-old daughter huddled, clutching her favorite doll, in the recliner that had been Tom Lindstrom’s favorite chair. Elizabeth, blond and blue-eyed like her father, looked anxiously up at her mother. “Is Tommy going to join Daddy?”

Nina’s jaw firmed. She couldn’t bear another loss. “No,” she said with conviction. “Come on, it’s time for you to be in bed, as well.”

Elizabeth slipped out of the chair and, taking her mother’s hand, accompanied her into the second bedroom of the small two-bedroom apartment. There Nina tucked her daughter into one of the two twin beds. But she was too tense to climb into the other and go to sleep.

She went into the tiny kitchen and made herself some warm milk, then went into the living room and sank down onto the couch. It seemed like lately if anything could go wrong it had. The storm had caused extensive damage to the Grand Springs Diner where she worked as a waitress. Because of that, the diner was closed, and there was no telling when it would reopen. Or even if it would. Ma and Pa Olsen, the owners, had put the place up for sale.

In the meantime, she hadn’t been able to find a steady job. She’d been called a couple of times by the various catering services she normally moonlighted for, but those had been one-day jobs and the pay didn’t come anywhere near meeting her monthly expenses. She’d have to dip into her meager savings to pay the rent and buy food. And now there would be doctor’s bills.

Other than her children, she had no close family of her own. And she refused to ask Tom’s parents for financial help. So that they could save enough to retire without having to worry about putting food on the table, his father worked fifty-to sixty-hour weeks as a mechanic and his mother had cleaned houses until arthritis in her shoulder and hip had forced her into retirement.

Besides, Helen Lindstrom was already helping enormously by baby-sitting Nina’s children while she worked. Nina wanted to pay her but Helen refused, saying that watching her grandchildren was an act of love that helped ease the pain of having lost her son. Even more, both Helen and Ray treated Nina like a daughter and gave her emotional support for which she would be forever grateful. Nina wouldn’t ask for more from them.

“I’ll find a way to make ends meet,” she vowed.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back and, searching for a moment of peace, tried to clear her mind of all thoughts. Instead of the blank slate she sought, a man’s image appeared. In the past, the image had always been of her late husband…blond, blue-eyed Tom Lindstrom. But tonight the man who filled her mind was brown-haired and green-eyed.

Frowning, she opened her eyes. The cords in her neck had tensed and she massaged them. Ever since the night of the storm, the green-eyed man had haunted her, popping into her mind and her dreams, unexpected and uninvited.

“He and I come from two different worlds,” she grumbled at herself. If the lights hadn’t gone out and she’d waited on him as she had on other occasions, he would never have given her a second look. She would have been nothing more than the hired help, someone to ignore unless there was reason for complaint. He would have been so oblivious to her that if she’d passed him on the street the next day, he wouldn’t have recognized her. She pushed Alex Bennett from her mind, returning her attention to her real concerns.

The thought of Tommy lying pale and afraid in his bed brought her own fear back to the surface. She recognized the bud of panic. Following Tom’s death, she’d had several moments when anxieties about her ability to care for herself and her children had threatened to overwhelm her. But she’d overcome them. Her jaw tensed with resolve. She would not let fear rule her.

Tom’s death had taught her a very valuable lesson. It had taught her to rely on herself. Following her parents’ deaths, she’d turned to him for comfort and support, and he’d encased her in a protective blanket of love. Two months later, when she’d turned eighteen, she’d married him. She’d trusted him to be there always to take care of her and their offspring. Then came the day the drunk driver had forced him off the road and down a two-hundred-foot drop to his death. Suddenly, for the first time in her life, she was really on her own, and with three small children to care for. It was like learning to run before she’d even learned to stand. But she’d made it. They had a roof over their heads and food on the table.

But for how long? demanded the nagging voice of fear that would not completely disappear.

“For as long as I have the strength to work,” she replied curtly.

Abruptly she recalled Jessica Hanson predicting that things would work out well for her, and there had been gossip that the woman could see into the future. But how far? Nina wondered dryly. Since the storm, her luck seemed to be going from bad to worse and was showing no signs of changing. “People make their own luck.” She repeated aloud a phrase that had been one of her grandmother’s favorites.

She picked up the newspaper, intending to go directly to the Help Wanted section. Instead, her attention was caught by the article about the murder of Olivia Stuart. The police, it reported, still had no solid suspect. She hadn’t really known the woman, but she was aware that Mrs. Stuart had done a great deal of good for their town, and she hoped they caught the culprit soon.

Her gaze shifted to an artist’s rendering of a young girl’s face. The story accompanying it was an update regarding the abandoned baby who had been born the night of the storm. The face belonged to the mother.

“Well, at least she went to the hospital to give birth so the baby had a chance for survival,” Nina noted, her heart going out to the infant.

The story again recounted how the teenager had come into the delivery room in labor, given birth, then fled soon after. She’d given the hospital staff a false name and address, and the authorities hadn’t been able to locate her as yet. The baby, the article stated, was doing well, and the doctors didn’t expect any complications. They’d named the child Christopher.

How could someone abandon a child? she wondered. Was the mother so callous she was indifferent to her baby, or had she run away because she was terrified of the responsibility of taking care of a new life?

Nina thought of her own three children. It was her love for them and theirs for her that had kept her going during those dark months following Tom’s death. Because of them, she’d overcome her anxiety and found the strength to go on. She couldn’t imagine her life without them.

Again Tommy’s small, trusting face filled her mind and her chin trembled.

“Everything is going to be all right,” she stated firmly, and turned to the Help Wanted section.




Chapter Two


Alex entered Vanderbilt Memorial Hospital and made his way to Noah Howell’s office. He’d called to see if Noah had time for lunch, but Noah’s receptionist had informed him that his friend had a full schedule. Not being a man who liked to be put off when he had a purpose, Alex had been insistent, and she’d penciled him in for a few minutes between morning appointments. Because he knew Noah had so much on his mind following his sister’s disappearance from her wedding, Alex hadn’t mentioned Nina to him earlier. Now, with no one else acknowledging knowing her, he hoped that Noah could lead him to the woman.

“He’s expecting you,” the receptionist said, lingering annoyance at Alex’s insistence in her voice.

“Thanks.” He gave her a quick, quirky smile to say he knew he’d irritated her and was sorry.

A slight upward tilting of one corner of her mouth let him know he was forgiven.

He entered Noah’s office and eased himself into one of the leather chairs facing Noah’s desk. He wanted to inquire immediately about Nina, but instead, after waiting until his friend had finished jotting down something on a patient’s chart, he felt obligated to ask, “Have you heard anything more from Randi?”

“Only that one phone call, which didn’t really offer much.” The lines of worry on Noah’s face deepened. “A part of me wants to strangle her for not letting us know where she is. Another part just wants her back safely.”

“Maybe she’s staying away because she’s embarrassed to face her wedding guests, or maybe she’s afraid to face your mother. Melissa seemed to want that marriage pretty badly.”

“My mother can be insistent at times,” Noah conceded. “Too insistent.”

“Well at least you have Amanda to help you through this.” Alex felt a slight nudge of envy toward his friend. Immediately he dismissed it with a mental shrug. If other men wanted to risk the betrayal and hurt that could come with falling in love, then they were welcome to take the gamble. As for himself, he’d rather be safe than sorry.

Noah nodded. “I’m a lucky man in that respect.” He leveled his gaze on his friend. “My receptionist says you steamrollered your way in here. I appreciate your concern regarding Randi, but I have the feeling that my sister’s situation isn’t the real reason you’re here.”

Wondering how to broach the subject of Nina, Alex decided that bluntness was the best way. “You’re right. I’m looking for a woman.”

Amusement sparked in Noah’s eyes. “I’ve never thought of you as a man who would have trouble finding one.”

“Not just any woman. She was a guest at Randi’s wedding. She left before I could get her phone number or her last name.”

The amusement left Noah’s eyes, and he studied his friend speculatively. “If a woman has stayed on your mind this long, it must be serious. Are you considering giving up your bachelor status?”

“No. We Bennett men don’t have much luck in choosing the right woman. Like I’ve told you before, I’ve decided not to even try. When I get ready to have a family, I’ll find someone with all the right attributes…looks, brains…and cut a business deal with her to sire me a couple of heirs.”

“Not all women can be bought,” Noah cautioned.

Alex regarded him dryly. “They all have their price. Love. Money. Power. Security. It’s different for each one. But if what you’re willing to pay doesn’t meet their expectations, they’re gone, searching for greener pastures.”

“You’re a cynic.”

“I prefer to think of myself as a realist. Now, how about helping me find this woman. She’s in her late twenties or maybe early thirties, long black hair, hazel eyes, around five feet, nine inches tall, slender, pretty. Her name’s Nina.”

Noah frowned and leaned back in his chair. “And just why are you looking for this particular woman?”

Alex read the protective glint in his friend’s eyes. “You know her, don’t you?”

“I know someone who matches that description.”

“I have no intention of misusing her,” Alex assured him. “I simply want to make her a business proposition.”

“To sire you a couple of heirs?”

“No.” Alex knew the only way he was going to get Noah’s cooperation was to tell him the whole story. “My grandfather’s dying. He wants me married, so I invented a fiancée. Turns out I found myself describing this Nina. I want to hire her to pose as my fiancée to make Grandfather’s last days happy.”

Noah’s expression remained serious. “I do know of a Nina who matches that description, and she could have been at the lodge that night.”

Alex was aware of his friend’s hesitation. Normally he respected Noah’s opinion and would have asked why Noah seemed less than enthusiastic about him meeting this Nina. But like a predator on the scent of his prey, he refused to be deterred. “My grandfather is the only family I have. I’ll pay the woman well and behave like a gentleman at all times. You have my word on that. Just tell me where I can find her.”

“She’s not your usual type.”

Impatience brought Alex to his feet. “This is important.”

“You’ve always been a man of your word.” Noah hesitated for a moment longer, then said, “Her name is Nina Lindstrom. She was in the MRI waiting room a few minutes ago.”

A jolt of concern shot through Alex. “She’s having a magnetic resonance imaging? What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing that I know of. It’s her son.”

“Her son? She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.” A reason for his friend’s hesitation occurred to him. “Is there a jealous ex-husband in the shadows?”

“No. She’s widowed.”

“Thanks.” Alex was already on his way to the door.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Noah called after him.

Ignoring the doubt in his friend’s voice, Alex strode down the hall and punched the button for the elevator. Then, too impatient to wait for it, he headed for the stairs.

Emerging on the second floor, he made his way to the MRI waiting room. Through the windowed wall, he saw her. She was dressed in a faded blue cotton blouse, much-worn jeans and sneakers…all of which he guessed had come off the racks at the local discount store. Her thick black hair was pulled back and worked into a French braid that hung to the middle of her back. She wore only a hint of lipstick for makeup. The strain she was under was evident in her features. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were clasped in her lap, giving the impression she was praying.

This was not the Nina he’d expected to find, nor the place he’d expected to find her. He’d thought she was either one of the idle rich or a successful businesswoman. Clearly she was neither.

He’d pictured himself meeting her at one of the finer restaurants in town. She’d arrive wearing something chic, in red, perhaps, that showed off her figure. Her delicate features would be softly defined by just the right amount of makeup. Her thick black hair would hang loose and flowing around her shoulders. Every man’s head would turn as she crossed the room.

Instead, they were in a hospital, and she looked tired and drained. His plan to ask her to help him fool his grandfather seemed suddenly frivolous. He told himself to leave, find an actress to play the part and forget about Nina Lindstrom. But she looked so close to desperation, he couldn’t make himself walk away. He’d bullied a friend in order to find her. He should at least speak to her.

Hearing someone enter the room, Nina stiffened and prepared herself to hear the worst. Opening her eyes, she thought for a moment she was seeing things. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. She wasn’t seeing things. Alex Bennett was still standing in front of her. Today he was dressed in slacks and a pullover shirt. She guessed his Italian loafers cost more than her entire shoe wardrobe…probably more than her entire wardrobe. She also noticed that even in casual attire, he had an authoritative demeanor that left no doubt in her mind that he never allowed himself to lose command of whatever situation he found himself in.

“It appears our paths have crossed again,” he said.

“Yes.” Recovering from her initial surprise at seeing him, sympathy spread over her features. “I hope the test goes well for whomever you’re here with.”

“I’m not here with anyone.” Unwilling to admit he’d been trying to track her down, he added, “I stopped by the hospital to visit Noah Howell. He’s on staff here, and I saw you. You looked as if you could use a friend.”

Drawing a shaky breath, she glanced through the plate-glass windows in the direction of the testing rooms. “It’s my son Tommy. He’s been ill. Dr. Genkins ordered a brain scan.” The knot of fear in her stomach tightened.

Lucky kid, Alex thought. His mother honestly cared whether he lived or died. In the next instant, he was reminding himself that he’d survived just fine without a mother’s love. “Your son’s in good hands,” he said, recalling Dr. Jim Genkins from one of the charity functions organized to raise money for the hospital. He’d been impressed by the tall, slender, white-haired physician’s dedication. He’d also heard several people, including Noah, praise the man’s ability.

“I know, but that doesn’t make the waiting any easier.” He made her nervous, awakening stirrings that had been dormant since her husband’s death…stirrings she had no energy to deal with at the moment. Her gaze dropped to her hands, and she waited for him to make some final encouraging remark, then leave.

The urge to sit down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders was strong. Instead, recalling the way she’d bolted the night of the storm, Alex seated himself across from her.

Surprised that he appeared to intend to remain, she looked up to meet his gaze. “I’m sure you have more important things to do than baby-sit an anxious woman.”

Alex didn’t think he’d ever seen a pair of softer, sadder eyes. “A knight would never desert a damsel in distress. And I’ve always wanted to play the part of a knight in shining armor,” he quipped, amazed by how much he wanted to remain and offer comfort.

Nina had to admit he appeared to be a man a woman could lean on. But she wasn’t in the market for a temporary hero who, in a moment of pity, was offering aid he would shortly bore of giving and regret. “I really will be just fine,” she assured him.

He saw the proud determination in her eyes. Tough lady. Still, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. “I’ll just stick around for a while. See how the test comes out.”

“That’s really unnecessary.”

Alex knew when he was being told to get lost. He ignored the unspoken request. “I’ve got nothing pressing to do, and no one should face something like this alone.”

Nina tried to think only of Tommy. Her attempt didn’t work. She was acutely aware of Alex’s continued presence and knew that behind his polite facade he was studying her. She also knew he could tell by her clothing that she wasn’t one of the town’s aristocrats. He’s probably wondering how I ended up at a reception with the town’s elite, she concluded, her nerves growing brittle. “I didn’t crash the wedding,” she blurted. “I was supposed to wait tables, but when the lights went out we were all told the reception had been canceled but we were invited to share the food and drink. In fact, we were encouraged to stay.”

“But you didn’t stay,” he reminded her.

“I had pressing responsibilities.” Again she glanced toward the testing rooms.

Definitely the nurturing type, he mused. He’d always figured that was one of the primary qualities he’d look for if he ever changed his plans and decided to actually marry in order to produce an heir. However, at the moment, he wasn’t in the market for a wife. He was in the market for an accomplice. “What does Dr. Genkins think might be wrong with your son?”

“A brain tumor.” Every time she said those words a tremor of fear ran through her. She lowered her gaze to her hands clasped in her lap. “He’s only six. He’s too young. It’s not fair.”

The pain he heard in her voice tore at him. “He’ll be all right.” Who did he think he was, giving her that assurance? Alex chided himself. But he hadn’t been able to remain silent. The urge to soothe her had been too strong.

Her embarrassment about the wedding reception forgotten, Nina smiled gratefully. “I know you can’t know that for sure, but thanks for saying it. I needed to hear it from someone besides myself. I keep thinking that if I say it enough, it’ll prove to be true.” Unable to sit any longer, she rose and began to pace. “Of course that’s foolish. A person can’t will bad news to go away.”

“No,” he agreed, surprised by how pleased he was by her small show of gratitude. “But it can’t do any harm to hope for the best.”

Nina nodded and continued to pace. “My grandmother had a framed needlepoint on her wall. It was a proverb she’d heard or read somewhere, and it impressed her so much, she stitched it. She gave it to me when I married. It read Were it not for hope, the heart would break.” She told herself to shut up, but she’d been holding too much inside, and the strain had worn her down. Stopping in front of the plate-glass window of the room that faced the door through which they’d taken Tommy, she fought back tears of frustration and pain. “But hoping hasn’t done me much good. For two days I did nothing but pray and hope my husband would survive his injuries. But he didn’t.”

The anguish he heard in her voice made it obvious she’d loved her husband. Just another example of how painful falling in love can be, Alex mused. “I’m sorry,” he said solicitously.

Her mind returning to the days following Tom’s death, rage flared in Nina’s eyes and she swung around to face Alex. “Do you know that the drunk driver who caused the accident didn’t even get a scratch? He was tried for manslaughter and found guilty, but that was two years ago. I’ll bet he’s out on the roads again and will kill some other father or mother or child, or maybe a whole family this time.”

“Most likely,” Alex agreed.

Nina drew a terse breath. It would do no good to dwell on Tom or his killer. Right now she needed to focus her attention on Tommy. His pale, trusting face filled her mind. A tear trickled down her cheek. Nina quickly turned her back to Alex and brushed it away. She hated for anyone to see her cry, especially a stranger. Her jaw tensed with resolve. “I’ve got to believe that this time my prayers will be answered.”

Alex watched her standing rigidly. To lose both a husband and a child wasn’t fair, he thought grimly. But then, fate rarely was. That’s why he relied only on himself. Hearing a sharp intake of breath, he saw her stiffen. Looking beyond her, he saw Dr. Genkins coming out of one of the rooms and approaching.

“Tommy is still groggy from the sedation,” Dr. Genkins said, smiling encouragingly at Nina as he entered. “I told the nurse to stay with him for a few more minutes so I could speak to you alone.”

Nina had known the doctor all of her life. He’d been her pediatrician and now he was her children’s physician. Through the years, she’d learned to read him well. That he’d arranged to be at the hospital during Tommy’s examination had told her how worried he was about her son’s condition. Now, looking beyond his smile, she saw the results in his eyes. “It’s bad news.” The words came out shakily around the lump of fear in her throat.

Alex was on his feet. Nina Lindstrom had turned ashen, and he was afraid she was going to faint.

“Maybe we should sit down,” Dr. Genkins said. Although delivered in a fatherly tone, this was an order rather than a suggestion. Slipping a hand under Nina’s arm, he guided her to a nearby chair.

Alex remained in the background. Obviously the doctor had the situation under control. Nina Lindstrom’s wait was over, and he was free to go. But he didn’t like leaving her on her own, not with the news he was certain the doctor was about to deliver. Besides, he wasn’t busy. He might as well stay, he decided, and eased himself back into his chair.

“Tommy does have a tumor,” Jim Genkins told her gently.

“Is it malignant?” Just asking caused a rush of terror.

“We won’t know until the tumor is removed and the lab can examine it.” He smiled encouragingly. “But there is good news. I had Dr. Zycros, a very capable neurologist, come in and take a look at the scan with me, and both he and I believe it’s operable.”

Nina saw the slight tic in his left jaw. It was a sure sign he was holding back, not telling her everything. “You’re not being entirely honest with me. I need to know the whole truth.”

He took her hands in his. “The operation will be tricky, but Dr. Zycros feels there is no other choice.”

“None?” She looked at him pleadingly.

“The rapid increase in symptoms suggests the tumor is fast growing. It needs to be removed before it can do any damage.”

Tears of fear welled in Nina’s eyes. “Damage?”

“I know how you feel. It’s terrifying when any child is in danger, and hundreds of times more so when it’s your child. But I can assure you that I will do everything I can for Tommy.”

Nina’s throat was so constricted she could barely speak. She did manage to choke out an, “I know you’ll do your best.”

“I’m going to have my receptionist set up an appointment for you tomorrow. That will give me time to take another look at the MRI and consult with some of my colleagues. I doubt very much that their diagnosis will be any different, but I want to be certain we don’t have any alternatives.” He gave Nina’s hands a final reassuring squeeze. “Now, shall we go get Tommy?”

As he started to rise, Nina laid a hand on his arm, keeping him seated. “I don’t have much money right now. I’ve been out of work since the storm,” she said stiffly. “But I want Tommy to have the best of care. I’ll pay whatever it costs. It just may take a little time.”

Dr. Genkins patted her hand. “Don’t worry about the cost for now. We’ll work out something. You just think about your son.”

Nina nodded and forced her legs to hold her as she rose. “I want to go to him. He’s probably wondering where I am.”

“He was asking for you,” Dr. Genkins confirmed, holding the door open.

Alex watched Nina cross the hall with the doctor and enter one of the rooms. Again he told himself to leave. Again he stayed. He wasn’t certain why. Curiosity, he decided. A few minutes later Nina emerged with a young towheaded boy. Must take after his father, he thought. Grudgingly, he admitted that he wouldn’t mind having a son of his own. He just wasn’t interested in having a wife.

The boy stumbled, and Nina scooped him up in her arms. Alex frowned. She didn’t look much steadier than the child. In the next instant he was on his feet heading toward them.

“You’ve had a pretty bad shock. How about if I carry your son,” he said, starting to reach for the boy.

Nina’s hold on Tommy tightened. She knew it wasn’t rational, but as long as he was in her arms she felt as if she could keep him safe. “I can carry him.”

Alex read the fierce protectiveness on her face. “Then, I’ll walk along and open doors for you.”

By the time they reached Nina’s run-down Ford, Tommy was asleep, his head limp on her shoulder. She shifted his weight to a hip so she could hold him with one arm. Standing slightly tilted, she dug in her pocket for her keys.

Some women carry independence too far, Alex mused. Without asking, he lifted the boy into his own arms. “I’m not trying to steal him,” he assured her in hushed tones. “I just didn’t want you to drop him or pull a muscle.”

Nina drew a shaky breath and ordered herself to calm down. “Thanks.”

Tommy woke and lifted his head. Seeing Alex, fear spread over his face. “Mommy,” he called, attempting to squirm out of Alex’s grasp.

“You’re all right, son.” Alex tightened his hold on the boy to prevent him from falling.

“Just one second,” Nina said, turning the key in the lock.

Tommy looked over his shoulder. Seeing his mother, he stopped his struggle. Still, he studied Alex skeptically, as if not quite certain the man was safe to be with.

Alex had dealt with many tough, single-minded businessmen during his lifetime. He, himself, was considered one of the toughest and most single-minded, but the child’s stare had an intensity that unnerved him. “I’m Alex Bennett,” he introduced himself, feeling the need to say something.

Tommy’s eyes seemed to glaze over, and Alex realized the child had lost the fight to remain completely alert. Tommy was in a state of dazed exhaustion caused by the residual effects of fear and the drug the doctor had administered to calm him. He gave the child an encouraging smile and a wink.

Tommy continued to frown, clearly not yet convinced Alex was a friend, but having neither the strength nor the coordination to struggle.

“I’ll take my son now,” Nina said.

“I’ll set him in the car,” Alex insisted, seeing her own exhaustion etched deeply into her features.

Nina stepped aside and let him put Tommy on the seat and buckle the boy in. “Thank you again,” she said when he straightened and closed the door.

“You’re welcome.” Time to get back to his own problems, Alex told himself.

Nina noticed that his smile didn’t reach his eyes. They remained cool and distant, as if he found her an interesting specimen but wasn’t interested in getting too close. A mother with a child with a brain tumor wasn’t every man’s dream woman, she mused dryly, rounding the car and climbing in behind the wheel. And even if she’d been childless, she was certain she wouldn’t have been Alex Bennett’s choice for a companion. He traveled in a much more elite crowd.

Driving away, she glanced in her rearview mirror to see him heading back into the hospital. Again she wondered why he’d bothered to give her any of his time. “We must have been Mr. Bennett’s good deed for the day,” she said to Tommy.

When he made no response, she glanced toward him to see that he was again asleep.

Brain surgery! The thought terrified her. “We’ll get through this,” she said aloud, using the sound of her voice to give her courage.

* * *

Alex Bennett ordered himself to start thinking about finding someone else to play the part of his fiancée. Instead, Nina and Tommy Lindstrom’s faces haunted him. The mother had looked desperate. The child was clearly scared.

He had his own problems! he reminded himself. His grandfather was on the brink of death and expecting him to produce a wife-to-be.

The frown on his face deepened. Approaching the desk, he asked the nurse to page Dr. Genkins.




Chapter Three


Nina sat cross-legged on the floor of her living room. It was late afternoon. The sandwich Helen had insisted on packing for her when Nina had picked up the children was lying uneaten on a plate on the coffee table. Tommy had made a small attempt to eat his, but he’d only managed a couple of bites. Helen had been supportive, and at any other time Nina would have stayed with her during the afternoon, gaining strength from their combined hopefulness. But today she’d felt the need for some time alone with her children. She’d also sensed that Helen needed a little time on her own. Her mother-in-law had been as shaken as she had. So, leaving Helen to break the news to Ray, she’d left and come home.

Beside her, Pete was building with his Legos. Elizabeth had set out her toy tea service on the near end of the coffee table and was hostessing a tea party. She’d set places for Pete, her mother, Tommy, herself and her dolls, Sarah Jane and Mary Beth. Nina had provided juice in place of the tea, and there were homemade cookies provided by Helen Lindstrom for all.

Pete, who had already eaten his cookie, periodically stopped his building to take a bite out of Sarah Jane’s. Elizabeth, having finished hers, was nibbling on Mary Beth’s.

Tommy, still looking drained and pale from the trauma of the MRI scan, was lying on the couch watching television. He was only nibbling at his cookie, and Nina was certain his bouts of dizziness were getting worse.

A knock on the door brought a mental groan. She was not in the mood for visitors. All of her energy was being expended in not letting the children guess how terrified she was for Tommy.

A second knock brought her to her feet. Its firmness let her know that whoever was there was not going to leave.

As she headed to the door, it occurred to her that it was probably Ray and Helen coming to check on her and the children. And their company would be welcome. The children loved their grandparents, and both Helen and Ray were good at putting on cheerful faces for them in times of adversity. As for herself, having Helen and Ray here might help keep her mind from the more morbid paths it kept trying to follow.

In case she was wrong about who was on the other side, she opened the door only partially. A gasp of surprise escaped. Standing there, looking totally out of place in this low-rent district, was Alex Bennett.

“I thought I’d stop by and see how Tommy is doing,” he said, thinking she looked even more drawn and vulnerable than she had this morning. Clearly the strain of worrying about her son was wearing her down. That could be to his advantage, and hers as well.

“He’s fine. He’s watching television.” Embarrassed by how shabby she knew her apartment would appear to him, she continued to keep the door mostly closed.

It was obvious she didn’t want to invite him in, but Alex refused to be deterred from the purpose that had brought him here. “I was wondering if I could speak to you.”

Nina had to admit she was curious about why he was taking such an interest in her and her son. His manner wasn’t that of a man pursuing a woman he found attractive. He was polite but cool, almost formal. Her place, she told herself, was clean, and although the furnishings were not quality, they were functional. Still, she remained uncomfortable about inviting him in and continued to block his entrance. “What is it you want to speak to me about?”

“You mentioned to Dr. Genkins that you’d been out of work since the storm.”

Hope that he might have a job for her bloomed. “I worked at the Grand Springs Diner. It had extensive damage done to it during the storm and has been closed,” she confirmed.

Alex’s gaze narrowed in recognition. “Yes. That’s where I’ve seen you before. I knew your face was vaguely familiar.”

Mentally she patted herself on the back. She’d been right in assuming he’d never have given her a second glance if she’d simply waited on him the night of the canceled reception.

“I have a business proposition for you.” Alex glanced up and down the public hallway and frowned. “However, I prefer to keep my business private.”

Her hopes grew stronger. Maybe he needed a maid or a housekeeper. Either would suit her. Stepping aside, she allowed him to enter.

Alex passed her, then stopped short. “Are all of these children yours?”

Nina had been closing the door. Now she turned to find him surveying her brood with a stunned expression. Her shoulders stiffened defensively, and motherly pride glistened in her eyes. “Yes.”

Alex frowned at himself. “I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right. I was just surprised. I thought you only had the one child.” Try to be more diplomatic in the future, he chided himself. He wanted her cooperation. Making her angry wasn’t going to achieve that.

“You said you had a job for me?” Nina reminded him sharply. “Or has my having three children caused you to change your mind?”

For a moment he hesitated. Three children would be a shock to his grandfather. However, William had no need to know about the other two. “No. No, it hasn’t,” he replied. He looked toward the children and saw recognition in Tommy’s eyes. The other two were watching him as if fearful of trouble. Their mother’s curt manner was causing them to be apprehensive. He smiled at them encouragingly, but they continued to remain guarded. Great first impression you’ve made, he told himself dryly. Glancing back at Tommy, he saw the boy push himself further into the pillow, the anxiousness of his siblings registering on his face, as well.

“I’ve had a very long day, Mr. Bennett. If you would just tell me about the job…” Nina left off the “and leave,” but it was in her voice. She knew she should be grateful for any work, but she was tired, and his reaction to the discovery that she had three children was still grating on her nerves. His momentary hesitation hadn’t been lost on her, either.

Recalling that children were not good at keeping secrets, he asked, “Could we speak in private?” He read the refusal in her eyes. “Children sometimes repeat what they hear and this is a very personal matter. It involves my grandfather. He’s very ill, and I’ve come to ask you for a favor…a favor I’m willing to pay for.”

Nina had to admit the affection she heard in his voice when he spoke of his grandfather was genuine. That he had referred to what he’d come to ask of her as a favor intrigued her. She could think of no favor a person in her position could do for one in Alex Bennett’s position. It can’t do any harm to listen to what he has to say, she reasoned. “The kitchen is as private as you and I are going to get.” She looked to her daughter. “Elizabeth, keep an eye on your brothers.”

Elizabeth nodded.

Noticing the young girl’s shoulders straighten, and her manner become instantly adult, Alex experienced a sense of kinship. Like him, this child had been forced to grow up more quickly than others, accepting responsibilities beyond her years.

Pete was on his feet, moving toward his mother. Squatting to his level, Nina kissed him lightly on the tip of his nose. “Go back and build something really special for me. I’ll bring you another cookie.”

Remaining by his mother, the boy stared up at Alex anxiously.

“I just want to talk to your mother,” Alex assured him.

“Go on and play.” Nina turned Pete around and gave him a light nudge back toward his toys.

“Come on, Pete. I’ll help you build something,” Elizabeth coaxed, seating herself in the place her mother had previously occupied.

Pete cast a backward look at Nina.

“Run along,” she said, this time sternly.

Still looking unhappy, he obeyed.

Following Nina, Alex glanced back over his shoulder to see Elizabeth and Pete sitting on the floor together, but neither was building. Both were watching him suspiciously. Tommy was studying him, as well, the worried expression on his face causing the circles under his eyes to seem even deeper. Alex gave them an encouraging smile, but the three pairs of eyes continued to cause a prickling sensation on the back of his neck as he entered the kitchen.

Inside the small room, Nina wished she’d had an alternative. It was barely large enough for two people to move around in, and Alex Bennett seemed to dominate what space there was. “Now, what is this favor you want to hire me for?”

“I need a fiancée for a short while.”

Nina stared in disbelief. “A fiancée? Me?” Anger replaced her disbelief. “Look, Mr. Bennett, I’m having a rough time right now. I’m not interested in playing any game or being the brunt of some joke one of your high-society friends has cooked up. What is it? Some kind of scavenger hunt…find the most unsuitable match?”

The woman has fire. Alex blocked her attempt to exit. “This is not a scavenger hunt. I told you, it involves my grandfather. He’s dying. I want him to leave this world in peace, and he says the only way he can do that is to know I’ve found a wife.”

Nina continued to regard him skeptically. “Why me?” she asked again. “I’m sure you have plenty of sophisticated women friends who would gladly pose as your fiancée.”

“You come fairly close to matching the description I gave him.” Alex refused to admit he’d described her. That could give her ideas, and he wasn’t seeking to get involved with her. Admittedly, if she’d been the type to have an affair he might have considered pursuing a short liaison—he still didn’t think he’d ever seen a more kissable pair of lips. But she didn’t strike him as a woman who would be interested in casual sex. If she was, she wouldn’t have fled the night of the storm. No, Mrs. Lindstrom was more the “wedding ring first” type. “And I figured we’d both be doing each other a favor. You pretend to be my fiancée and I’ll pay for your son to have the very best medical care money can buy, plus living expenses until you find a permanent job.”

“You want me to help you fool a dying man?”

Alex scowled at the disapproval in her voice. “Better I find a fake fiancée than marry on his whim and end up with an expensive divorce and a lot of bitter feelings.”

“You have a point,” she conceded.

“I spoke to Dr. Genkins after you left. He wouldn’t discuss Tommy’s case specifically, but we talked theoretically. There’s a gifted neurosurgeon in Denver. He’s one of the best in the world.”

“Denver?” Nina paled. “I thought someone here…”

Time for the hard sell, Alex decided. “There is a surgeon here who can perform the operation, and if you don’t accept my offer, you can stay here and he’ll probably do an adequate job. But I’m sure you want the best for your son. You want him to have every chance of a full recovery. I’m offering you that opportunity.” Alex knew, even as he attempted using her son to blackmail her into agreeing to his scheme, that no matter what she said, he would pay for the boy to go to Denver. But life would be a lot easier if she would play along. Otherwise, he’d have to find someone else who matched her description.

In her mind’s eye, Nina saw her son lying on the couch. Everything had happened so fast that she hadn’t even considered how she was going to pay for his surgery. He trusted her to take care of him. Besides, what harm could playing along with Alex Bennett’s scheme cause? “All right. You’ve got yourself a fiancée.”

Triumph flowed through Alex. “Shake on it?”

As his hand closed around hers, heat traveled up Nina’s arm. It had a curiously sensual feel to it and wove through her until it reached her toes. Inside her shoes, they curled with pleasure. Immediately, Tom’s image popped into her mind and she experienced a rush of guilt.

Tom’s gone, a little voice reminded her. She recalled her ringless finger. A year ago she’d removed her wedding band because she’d decided it was time she started getting on with her life. Still, her body tensed. She wasn’t entirely ready to tie Tom’s memory up with pink ribbons and store it away. Besides, even if she was, Alex Bennett wasn’t an option. He would never consider her a real possibility for a wife, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.

Alex was a little surprised by the strength of her hand. He was used to women whose grasp was delicate, as if they were too fragile to participate in a real handshake. In the past, he’d considered that light touch seductive. Now it seemed insipid. The firm contact spread through him, reminding him of how good she’d felt in his arms. He had to fight the urge to pull her to him. Reminding himself that he’d already determined that she was the marrying kind, he released her. “I’ll go with you to see Dr. Genkins tomorrow, and we can begin making the arrangements to take Tommy to Denver.”

Nina nodded.

“We’ll need to make arrangements for your other children as well.”

“They can stay here with their grandparents.”

Alex breathed an inner sigh of relief that the problem was solved so easily. “That’s probably for the best. Three instant great-grandchildren might be a little too much for my grandfather to take at one time. In fact, it might be best if he was led to believe you only have the one child.”

Nina scowled at him. “I will not deny my children.”

“I’m not asking you to deny having them. I’m merely saying that if the subject doesn’t come up, we don’t have to bring it up.”

They were playing this charade to ease his grandfather’s mind, she reminded herself. “You have a point,” she agreed stiffly. “He could think you were taking on too much paternal responsibility.”

Alex caught the cynical edge in her voice, suggesting he wasn’t capable of carrying so great a load. He chose to ignore it. “And what will you tell your parents about us?”

“My parents are dead. It’s Tom’s parents, and I’ll tell them the truth. I don’t like the idea of lying to them. They’re good people and I trust them.”

Alex wasn’t happy about too many people knowing of his ploy, but he could tell she had her mind set on this. “What about your children? What will you tell them?”

“I’ll tell them that you’re a friend who’s going to help me see that Tommy gets well.”

“Since they’ll have no contact with my grandfather, that should work just fine. What time is our appointment with the doctor tomorrow?”

“One o’clock,” Nina replied, already feeling uneasy about the bargain she’d made.

Alex read her nervousness. “We’re both doing the right thing.”

Again she thought of Tommy. “I suppose.”

Exiting the kitchen, Alex intended to leave, call one of the available women he knew, then have a quiet dinner and an intimate evening. But as he entered the living room to find himself the focus of three worried gazes, he heard himself saying, “How about if I treat you to some pizzas and soda for dinner?”

“That really isn’t necessary,” Nina said quickly, wanting some time on her own to get used to the idea of the arrangement she’d agreed to.

Alex had noticed a gleam of excitement in the children’s eyes at the mention of pizza. Now he saw them look to their mother with a plea on their faces.

Her uneasiness about the arrangement was replaced by embarrassment. Takeout pizza and soda was a treat she couldn’t afford very often. And from her children’s reaction, she knew Alex Bennett had guessed that. Her shoulders straightened with pride.

Watching her, Alex realized that Nina Lindstrom didn’t like accepting anything she considered charity. “All of us should spend some time together,” he said before she could refuse his offer. “My grandfather will expect me to know some details about you and Tommy.” That he found himself honestly wanting to stay and spend the evening in the company of three children, rather than having a romantic tryst, surprised him. He told himself that he was doing this for William and to test his own feelings about fatherhood.

“Mom?” Elizabeth said hopefully.

He was right, Nina conceded. Besides, she was going to have to get used to having him around. “All right. Sure.”

Alex had to admit to feeling insulted by her less-than-enthusiastic acceptance of his company. Generally women enjoyed his presence. As before, he found himself thinking that when he came back to Grand Springs in search of Nina, this was not the woman he’d expected to find or anything even remotely resembling the situation he’d expected to find himself in.

Elizabeth was studying him with interest now, her mouth pursed into a thoughtful pout. “Tommy said he thinks he saw you at the hospital, but he’s not sure. He says it could have been a dream. Are you a doctor?”

“No, I’m not a doctor. But I was at the hospital.”

A haunted look came over Tommy’s features. “That machine was scary. They put me way up inside.” His voice trembled. “It was loud, too.”

He’d barely spoken since she’d brought him home. Now Nina realized he’d been so afraid, it had taken this long for him to be able to voice his trauma. “But the machine didn’t hurt you,” she said soothingly, hurrying to him and drawing him into her arms. “In fact, it helped the doctors. Now they know how to make you feel better.”

“I don’t want to do it again,” he pleaded, crying quietly into her shoulder.

Nina was tempted to lie but knew that would shake his faith in her. “I can’t promise you that.”

“If you do have to do it again, it’ll be easier the next time,” Alex said confidently. “You’ll know what to expect.”

Tommy stopped crying and lifted his head from his mother’s shoulder to look at the man. “It was really loud.”

“But the noise can’t hurt you,” Alex replied.

Tommy drew in a long breath, then asked, “Can I have pepperoni on my pizza?”

“Sure,” Alex said, startled by the child’s sudden change in subject. Then he recalled some proud parent he’d been cornered by at a party talking about how a child’s mind could jump from one thing to another. Clearly the boy had decided to forget the machine and concentrate on a more pleasant subject.

“Pete likes plain cheese,” Elizabeth spoke up.

“And what do you like?” Alex asked, looking her way.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Hamburger, I guess.”

Alex turned to Nina with a questioning look. “What about you?”

“Anything but onions and green peppers,” she replied, amazed by how calm his words had made Tommy. She was certain that if she’d said the same thing, her son would still be sobbing on her shoulder. She frowned. It had to be one of those male bonding kind of things…if a man says it, then it must be true.

“I’ll be back soon,” Alex promised, heading for the door.

Watching him stride out, Nina wondered if he was having second thoughts. That he’d chosen to go get the pizzas, instead of having them delivered, suggested he wanted to escape. Her children had behaved well. Both Elizabeth and Pete seemed to sense Tommy’s trauma acutely and were more subdued than usual. But they had stared, and a crying child usually made most men nervous. She half expected him to send the pizzas back with a messenger and a note saying some important business concern had come up. However, in the event that he did return, she needed to make the atmosphere a little more comfortable. “Mr. Bennett is a friend. He’s going to be around a lot for a while, so I don’t want you staring at him as if he has an eye in the middle of his forehead.”

“Is he a boyfriend?” Elizabeth asked.

Nina bit back an emphatic no. “He’s a friend,” she said firmly, hating to lie to the children. She doubted that she and Alex Bennett would ever be anything other than passing acquaintances. But she’d agreed to this charade for Tommy’s sake, and for him, she’d see it through. Wanting to end this discussion, she headed into the kitchen to get the plates.

Alex used his car phone to call his favorite Italian restaurant and order an assortment of pizzas. He added some ravioli and pasta to the order, as well. Seeing a bakery ahead, he stopped and bought a cake. At a quick-stop shop he purchased sodas.

He had expected to feel relieved to be out of that apartment with its bevy of children. Instead, he was anxious to return with his gathered goodies. Must be that Good Samaritan syndrome or maybe some primitive instinct that being the male, it makes me feel good to be bringing dinner home to someone, he mused sarcastically.

A little later, when Nina opened the door for him, her eyes rounded in surprise. “You got takeout from Fredrico’s?”

Her amazement pleased him. Carrying the boxes of hot food inside, he paused only long enough to put them on the table, then headed back to the door. “There’s a few more things in the car,” he said over his shoulder.

Nina began to frown as she opened the containers. He’d bought enough for days, and knowing the prices Fredrico’s charged, she guessed he’d spent nearly as much on this one meal as she budgeted for food for a month.

When he entered carrying the bakery box and a case of sodas, her pride again bubbled to the surface. She followed him into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. “We’re not a charity case,” she said in lowered tones so that her children would not hear. “You don’t have to feel you have to feed us as if we haven’t eaten in days. I have managed to keep food on the table.”

Alex scowled. “That wasn’t why I bought all of this. I thought you deserved a treat. You’ve obviously been through a rough time lately. And to be honest, I have no idea how much children eat.” He thought of the woman he’d met the night of the storm. That she had disappeared so completely bothered him. “I was hoping to make you smile. As I recall, you have a very nice smile.”

Nina drew a harsh breath. She’d overreacted. She should consider him Tommy’s guardian angel; instead, she seemed to be trying to find fault in everything he did. “I’m sorry. My pride can get a little out of hand at times.” She smiled a crooked, embarrassed smile. “Thank you. This was very kind.”

Alex glimpsed the woman from the night of the storm and smiled back, hoping to encourage her to emerge further. “You’re welcome.”

Nina’s smile stiffened. She knew now why she’d been so guarded with Alex Bennett. She was afraid of him. When he turned on his charm, he stirred emotions within her she didn’t want to feel toward him. They would only lead to trouble.

Seeing the woman from the storm disappearing again behind shuttered eyes, Alex frowned. “I get the feeling you’re fighting very hard not to like me.”

“I don’t dislike you. I just don’t see us remaining friends after this arrangement is over. You’ll go back to being a guest at parties, and I’ll go back to being one of the serving people. I figure it’s best if we both remember our places and stay in them.”

Alex had never thought of himself as a snob, and he didn’t like the picture she painted of him as one. “You’re overly class conscious.”

“I’m realistic. Just wait and see.”

What he saw was that her resolve was firm. He’d already determined that keeping a distance between them was the right thing to do, he reminded himself. “Have it your way,” he said without further argument.

“Mom, when can we eat?” Elizabeth called from the other side of the door.

“Right now,” Nina replied, exiting the kitchen. She waved the children toward the table. “You can all sit down, and Mr. Bennett can help you get what you want while I get the drinks.”

“Alex,” he corrected her. Then, in lowered tones for her ears only, he added, “My grandfather is never going to believe you’re my fiancée if you keep addressing me as Mr. Bennett.”

“Alex,” she conceded, fighting to ignore the erotic effect his warm breath on her neck was having on her senses.

Ordering himself to forget how much he’d wanted to nip her earlobe, Alex joined the children at the table. Pete was reaching for a slice of pizza, and he quickly helped the child get it onto his plate. Immediately the boy began to eat, ignoring all the others.

“My mother says you’re a friend,” Elizabeth said, regarding him speculatively as he dished her up a slice of pizza and some ravioli.

“That’s right,” he acknowledged, marveling at how much more intense a child’s gaze could be than an adult’s.

“Are you going to ask her on a date?” Elizabeth persisted.

“As a matter of fact, I consider this our first one,” he replied, wondering if the girl was going to object.

Elizabeth smiled with satisfaction. “Grandma will be happy to know Mommy is dating. Our dad’s been in heaven a long time. Pete doesn’t even remember him. He was only one. I don’t remember him real well, but Grandma says I take after him. He had blue eyes and blond hair, too.”

Alex realized she didn’t expect any response, as she abruptly stopped talking and turned her full attention to her food. Children, he mused. They simply say what’s on their minds, then move on to other topics. No small talk for them. Turning his attention to Tommy, he saw the boy sitting, his chin propped in his hands. “How about a piece of pepperoni pizza,” he offered, putting one on the boy’s plate.

Tommy forced a tired smile but continued to remain leaning into his hands. Concern for the boy flowed through Alex. “You need to eat,” he said.

“In a minute,” Tommy replied.

Nina brought in the drinks, and Alex saw the worried look on her face when she saw her eldest son staring lethargically at the food he’d been looking forward to having. “Try to eat a little,” she encouraged.

Tommy picked up the slice and began to nibble at it.

Concern for the boy foremost on his mind, Alex joined her in coaxing Tommy to eat. By the time the meal was over, he thought he’d never had so exhausting an experience.

After a couple of bites, Tommy had turned pale and looked as if he was going to be sick. Nina had carried him to the couch and laid him down. Alex’s worry that the boy was in much more immediate danger than the doctor had led them to believe increased.

Pete, clearly having inherited his mother’s bold independence, wanted to serve himself. The others had all tried to keep an eye on him, so that when he suddenly stood in his chair and made an attempt to reach something outside of his grasp, they were there to help. But none had been quick enough when he made a grab for another slice of pizza and spilled his soda.

Although Elizabeth was polite and ladylike at all times, Alex felt her watching him. He’d been sized-up by some very powerful men in his time and many a calculating female. None of those inspections unnerved him the way the little blonde’s did.

Helping Nina clear the table, he wondered how she’d had the energy to care for three children and hold down a job. It was a heavy load for such a delicate set of shoulders, he thought admiringly. He’d considered leaving soon after the meal. But the tiredness and the strain on her face brought out a protectiveness in him. He would stay awhile longer and help with the children, he decided.

Putting the leftovers in the refrigerator, Nina was sure Alex Bennett had had enough of her and her children. He’d never relaxed, but remained tensely alert in order to aid Pete, especially after the spilled soda episode. And Elizabeth hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off of the man. Knowing that a child’s nearly constant stare would make anyone uneasy, Nina had cast her daughter several reproving glances and Elizabeth had tried to behave herself. But, Nina had to admit, Alex Bennett was the kind of man any female would be drawn to study. She, herself, had found her gaze wandering to him several times, but she quickly jerked it away. Then there had been Tommy’s bout of threatened nausea.

Nina was used to active mealtimes and her children watching her, especially when they were anxious. But she was certain Alex was accustomed to a more sedate dining atmosphere with much more comfortable companions. Returning to the living room, she found him on the floor helping Pete build while Elizabeth introduced him to her dolls. She expected him to rise, make a polite excuse about business he needed to take care of and leave. Instead, he ruffled Pete’s hair playfully and added another block to the tower they were constructing.

Her jaw firmed. Even if he wasn’t tired of them, his presence was wearing her down. She needed some time alone with her children to absorb the impact of the events of the day. But politeness kept her from ordering him out. After all, he had provided dinner. She’d give him another fifteen minutes. If he wasn’t ready to leave by then, she’d politely but firmly send him packing. Seating herself in a nearby chair, she gave in to fatigue, leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

It seemed only moments had passed when a strong hand, gently shaking her shoulder, woke her.

Alex hated disturbing her sleep. She’d looked so peaceful. But he knew the children wouldn’t allow him to tuck them in, and he was ready for them to go to bed. Their company had been interesting but tiring. Both Elizabeth and Pete had vied for his attention, and he’d tried to give it equally. Tommy had continued to study him warily, and he’d sensed that all three were trying to decide if it was all right to like him. The effect put a strain on his nerves different from any he’d experienced in a long time. It was, he thought dryly, a lot like his first day in school when he wasn’t certain where he would fit in or if he would fit in at all. “Elizabeth tells me that it’s Pete’s bedtime,” he said when she opened her eyes.

Nina glanced at the clock. She’d been asleep for nearly two hours. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

She was cute when she was flustered, Alex noted. “You obviously needed the rest.”

She saw a softness in his eyes that sent a curl of warmth through her. He’s way out of your league, she chided herself, and jerked her gaze to her children. “Time for baths,” she announced, rising and picking up Pete.

For the next hour, she washed backs, read stories and tucked all three kids into bed. Returning to the living room, she found Alex reading the newspaper. “I would have thought that you’d had enough of me and my family for one day,” she said, as surprised to find him there as she was by how at home he looked in her living room.

He laid aside the paper. While she’d been away, he’d had a stern talk with himself. He couldn’t deny he was physically attracted to her, but he vowed to keep the attraction under control. Having spent the evening in her home, not only was he more certain than ever that she would want more of a commitment than he wanted to give, but he wasn’t ready to take on the role of father to three children he hadn’t even sired. Not that they weren’t nice kids, he just wasn’t in the market for a ready-made family. Ignoring the curve of her hips, he kept his mind on business. “We don’t have much time to get to know each other.”

She noted that the warmth she’d seen earlier in his eyes was gone, and his cool, calculating tone let her know there was nothing personal in his inquiry. A few second thoughts about the reality of getting physically or emotionally involved with a woman with three children have obviously dampened any ardor he was experiencing, she thought cynically. It was just as well, she added. She would never be a wealthy man’s playmate, and that was all he would ever offer her. “What do you want to know?”

“Elizabeth filled me in on her age and those of her brothers. From that I figured out you’ve been widowed approximately three years.”

“Yes,” she replied when he paused, clearly expecting a response.

“You mentioned that your parents are deceased.”

Realizing that this twenty-questions game could go on forever unless she began to elaborate, Nina said, “My father had a small one-man, one-plane charter service. When I was sixteen, he and my mother were flying to Las Vegas for a short vacation. The plane got caught in a storm and crashed. My father’s mother was widowed and lived here. I didn’t want to leave Grand Springs, so she took me in. She died five years ago. My only close living relatives are my maternal grandparents. They live in a retirement community in Florida. We write but rarely see one another. Tom was my high school sweetheart. After my parents’ deaths we became even closer. As soon as I graduated from high school, we married. He worked with his father as a mechanic at a local garage. A drunk driver caused the accident that killed him.”

Tom’s image came strongly into her mind. Too tired to keep her emotions under control, tears welled in her eyes. “I thought he’d always be here. I let myself rely on him too much.”

She’s still in love with him, Alex noted. That explained why she’d fled when he’d started to kiss her. And another very good reason not to get involved with her, he added. Only a fool would compete with a ghost. “What kind of music do you like?”

She pushed Tom from her mind and ordered herself to concentrate on the business at hand. “All kinds. Country, mostly.”

“Movies?”

“I haven’t seen any in years. I don’t know.” Her nerves wearing thin, she frowned at him. “Do you really think your grandfather is going to grill you so closely about me?”

Alex had to admit he’d only continued to question her out of curiosity. He already knew enough to satisfy his grandfather. And curiosity did kill the cat. “You’re right. I know all I need to know.”

Her tiredness suddenly lessened as she realized that it was her turn to ask questions. “What about you? I’ll need to know something.”

“My father died before I was born. My mother preferred the jet-setting life to motherhood. As soon as I was born, she left me in my grandfather’s care and took off to lead her own life. She married several times. I lost track. About five years ago she drowned in the Mediterranean. I didn’t know her. I was raised by my grandfather and Matilda Hastings. Matilda was hired as my nanny and has remained as my grandfather’s housekeeper.”

Nina found herself picturing him as a lonely child. “I’m sorry about your parents.”

Alex shrugged. “My grandfather gave me all the attention any child could want. And Matilda was as protective as a mother hen. I figure I didn’t miss much.” But even as he made this declaration, a deep-rooted anger stirred within, and he scowled. He didn’t normally allow his mother’s desertion to awaken emotion. Long ago, he’d vowed to remain as indifferent to her as she had been to him. He glanced at his watch. “I think we both need to get some rest,” he said, rising. “I’ll come by and pick you up in time for your appointment tomorrow.”

“I need to drop the children off at their grandparents’ house. I’ll meet you at the doctor’s office,” she countered, then gave him directions.

He nodded and, bidding her good night, left.

As the door closed behind him, Nina frowned thoughtfully. If Alex Bennett had been truthful, and she had no reason to doubt him, he’d been loved and well cared for. But she’d seen the flash of anger in his eyes and knew his mother’s desertion had bothered him. “At least I know one subject to avoid,” she muttered, and headed into the bathroom to take a long, hot shower.

* * *

Alex’s knuckles whitened around the receiver of the phone as he fought to keep his temper in check. Soon after arriving back at his mountain retreat, he’d called his grandfather’s house to tell Matilda to expect him, Nina and Tommy. He’d also told her about the boy’s need for surgery. He would decide after he saw what condition his grandfather was in if it was necessary to tell the old man about the seriousness of the boy’s condition. “No need in causing him any grief in his last days,” he’d said.




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