CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ryan~
As he had expected, Charles had left an increasingly frantic series of voicemails for him. Charles did not text. Ryan called Cougar One from the SUV.
“Well,” Grandfather barked. “How’d she take it?”
Ryan snorted. “About like you’d expect, sir. She was shocked. Horrified. But I stayed for dinner and got to read a bedtime story to the cub.”
“Huh. And then she kicked you out?”
“As soon as I get off the phone, I’m heading to the cottage for a clean shirt and my shaving kit.”
“Already? Remember, a lion lives under the lioness’ paw.” Grandfather quoted the traditional proverb that guided cougar mateships.
Ryan drew a deep breath. “This is your last bulletin about the state of my marriage, sir. I get the couch. I’m going to suggest to Claudia that we ‘renew’ our vows in front of our families. Can you be here next weekend?”
“Hell, yeah. Going to have a bash at the inn?” Charles asked slyly.
“Bride’s choice. Queen’s rules. You’ll tell Mom and Dad?”
“Might be better coming from you. Seeing as we’re keeping the truth a secret.”
“Right. That’ll be a fun phone call. Not. But I’ll call them tonight. Goodnight, Grandfather.”
What with stopping to shower and change his bandage, as well as call his mom and brother, it was closer to two hours than thirty minutes when he knocked on Claudia’s front door. He would need a key, but right now she needed to feel safe. Not that this cottage was any kind of fortress.
The thick slabs of oak that made up the door and the old-fashioned iron bolts that supplemented the lock were secure enough. But the French door and the windows at the back would yield to a rock or crowbar. Tonight, however, was not the time for a lecture on home security.
Besides, even in his present enfeebled condition, he could deal with any intruder who threatened his family. More to the point, this was West Haven, not some crime-infested urban slum.
His mate looked frazzled when she opened the door. Her face was drawn, and a tiny frown disturbed her forehead.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
“You took a long time.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I had to call my parents and tell them the good news.”
“What good news?” Claudia locked the door and threw both bolts.
“That I am a married man with a child.”
“Oh. Did they think that was good news?” she asked anxiously.
He set down his duffel and eased into the armchair. His leg was aching. “Good and bad,” he admitted.
“Bad because I’m a sorceress?”
“Bad because I’m the son of a tomcat who knocked up a nice girl from West Haven and walked out on his marriage. Good because I’m married to a nice girl from West Haven and have a kid.”
“You didn’t tell them the truth?”
He looked at her until he had her full attention. “No one, I repeat, no one is to know. Robin knows the truth about this marriage, and so do Sully and my grandfather. And us. That’s it. No one else. Otherwise it’s not a secret. So, yeah, I had to let my mom think I’m a low-down dirty polecat.”
“Oh.”
“What about your folks?” he asked
“I usually speak to my mother in the mornings. But she and Dad went to see my sister and her family in Seattle. They won’t be back until Sunday afternoon.” She sighed and plopped down on the shabby couch. “They’re going to think it’s weird when I’ve told them and told them that there was no possibility of marriage to Jimmy’s father.”
Figured. He thought. “We’ll have to stage a big reconciliation that will convince anyone who is interested.”
“This is one small island, Ryan. Everyone will be interested.”
He didn’t like the despair in her voice. Or the fatigue. “Do you usually work after Jimmy is in bed?”
She nodded. “It’s the best time – the only time really.”
“You think about quitting your day job,” he said. “I’ll be setting up a trust fund for you and Jimmy that will be more than enough for you to live on while you establish your business.”
“A trust fund?”
“Giving a grown woman an allowance is so nineteenth century. I want you to be comfortable and independent.”
“I just need child support,” she insisted.
“You’ll get that too. With all my worldly goods I thee endow.”
“But we’re not really married,” she whispered, scrubbing her hands down her jeans.
Did she know how sexy that gesture was? Probably not. He sniffed surreptitiously. She was worried, not aroused. “Sure we are,” he said patiently. “That certificate is perfectly real and perfectly legal. But I take your point. I bet you had some idea of being courted and having engagement parties and showers followed by a walk down the aisle in a fancy gown?”
“Not in years.”
His heart cramped at her sorrowful tone. Not that a big wedding ought to be the ultimate dream for any woman, but because he could tell that abandoning that particular fantasy symbolized all the restrictions that had come with being a single mother. He could ease that burden, even if he could not give her back the carefree years she had lost.
“We need a plan,” he told her, “To convince people that you have taken me back.”
“What sort of a plan?”
“Presumably, if I had abandoned you, you would need to be reassured that I wasn’t going to leave you high and dry a second time. So lots of nice dinner dates, and lots of family outings, some new jewelry to go with those rings, and a ceremony to renew our vows. Think that would persuade your parents?”
“Dates?”
“You know, dinner and walks on the beach – well, maybe not at this time of the year. But I’ll think of something suitably romantic. I told my grandfather we would arrange our vow renewal for next weekend.”
“Without consulting me?” Her voice was an outraged squeak.