Deep in the Heart (15 page)

“
Keith!”

“
What…? Huh…?” He barely got stopped, and even when he did, he was still swaying.

“
It’s me. Maggie.” She took one look at him and knew it was bad. He was wasted, but more than that, his eyes were stained with tears and falling closed with each word he managed to slur out.

“
Maggie? What’re you doing out here?”

“
Well, I would ask you the same question except I think I know. You need help getting home?”

He laughed. “Oh, you know me. I don’t have a home. I’m just traveling through.”

“
Through, huh? Well, you want some company while you travel?”

He looked at her with sad, sullen eyes. “Why’re you being nice to me? You should be back in there with the rest of them.”

“
We’re friends. Remember?” She wished with everything in her that she knew Ike’s number. He would know what to do. He would know how to get Keith somewhere safe. But she didn’t know Ike’s number, so she said a prayer that her best would be good enough. “So which way is your place?”

“
That way.” He pointed an unsteady finger down the trail. “The guesthouse. Isn’t that what they call it? Yeah, the guesthouse.” He laughed. “Funny, how long have I been a guest here? You’d think they’d have started calling it Keith’s place by now. But then that would mean they wanted me to stay, which of course they don’t.”

Maggie sucked in a long breath. So he wasn’t doing work at the guesthouse that first day. Well, that was about par for how smart she had been about everything else. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

It had been the longest walk of her life. All the way Keith kept asking why she was being so nice and telling her how he didn’t have a home and how he should’ve known his father would yell. He was one of the most pathetic individuals she’d ever seen, and the others in the running, she really didn’t want to think about. The only good thing was he’d actually managed to stay on his feet the whole way, which was a blessing considering she couldn’t have dragged him two inches if she had to.

At the guesthouse he reached under the front flowerpot and produced the key. By now her body temperature had dropped to below freezing, and she stood on his front porch hopping from foot to foot to stay warm. The door finally gave, and mercifully he stepped in. She followed him right to the living room where he fell onto the couch, landing with one leg still trailing behind him.

He was home. He was safe. This was none of her business. She tried to tell herself just to leave. She had done more than she should have. Still, if she just left, tomorrow could ruin his life for good. Not that he didn’t deserve it after this little stunt, but still, she didn’t want to see his life ruined as hers had been by a night out partying. That was too much responsibility to put on any night.

She went into the kitchen, found the phone and the little list of numbers taped to the cabinet. There was only one she recognized. It took a long breath to get herself calm enough to dial the number, and it took another one not to hang up. Finally, thankfully, someone picked up.

“
Hello?” He was asleep, and Maggie’s courage nearly failed her again.

“
Ike?”

“
Yeah?”

“
This is Maggie. Listen, Keith’s in trouble.”

“
Okay, that’s it, Keith. Get up. You had your fun. It’s time to get going.” Ike didn’t sound happy. In fact, Ike didn’t sound like Ike, he sounded more like Keith’s father than he ever had.

“
Wha…?” With a yank Ike spun him off the couch, and Keith landed on the floor with a gut-wrenching thump. “Ohhh.” Pain punctuated by nausea swirled around his head. “What happened?”

“
You had a fight with a bottle, and by the looks of it, the bottle won. Now you’ve got two hours to get yourself together enough to look presentable, and by the looks of things that ain’t gonna be easy to pull off. You want eggs or just coffee?”

Keith was struggling to piece the night together. He leaned his head forward and scratched the side of it. “How’d I get home?”

“
Well, apparently after an unscheduled stop at the mansion, your little friend stupidly brought you here. If it’d have been me, I’d have left your butt wherever you fell.”

“
The mansion?” He searched his memory, but it wasn’t there. Then his mind stumbled on the next part of the story. “Maggie?”

“
Yes, Maggie. She’s way too nice for her own good. Let’s just hope it wasn’t for nothing, and she still has a job this morning.” Ike came out of the kitchen. “Now, are you just going to sit there, or am I gonna have to get out my hot shot?”

Activity. It was the only accurate word to describe the chaos Maggie woke up to the next morning. Two trucks of flowers had pulled up just as she was coming down the stairs with the kids. Four workers and their supervisor descended on the place, Patty Ann directing them all. “That goes out back. That one stays here on this table.”

“
Patty Ann, what time is the caterer supposed to be here?” Vivian called from the top step.

“
One, Ma’am.”

“
And what time are the Hendersons scheduled?”

“
6:15, Ma’am.” Patty Ann didn’t even have to glance at the checklist to answer the questions, even as she pointed out where each arrangement went. “Outside. Ms. Montgomery, may I have a word?”

Great. This couldn’t be good. “Sure, what’s up?”

“
This probably goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway in case you are not attuned to such matters. These two are not to be in the yard today for any reason. We have a lot of very important preparations for tonight’s party, and the last thing we need is two little sets of paw prints on everything. And that goes double for tonight. They are to come, be present for the first hour and pictures, and then I want them inside, out of sight, and definitely out of Mrs. Ayer’s hair. Any slip…”

Maggie didn’t like the reference or the tone, but she was already living dangerously on the edge, so she simply smiled. “Don’t worry, Patty Ann. They shall be seen at the appropriate times but never a peep shall they utter—just like children should be.”

It was clear Patty Ann surmised she was being made fun of; however, it wasn’t clear enough that she could protest. “Good. Remember that. Your job’s riding on it.”

The water from the shower felt good. If Keith could stay here forever, he would. With a sigh, he let his thoughts drift through the coming day. In two short hours Dallas would be here, and as Ike was wont to yell at him, he’d better be cleaned and pressed when she stepped off that plane. Worse, it would only be a couple more hours before her parents would be here.

Keith leaned his head as far back as it would go under the torrent of water at that thought. The one and only reason Lowell Henderson had consented to this marriage was because there was a large bank account backing it. Big donors had a way of holding sway over candidates’ decisions, and Keith’s father was a big donor.

“
Keith!” Ike called from the other side of the door, banging it in case Keith hadn’t heard the summons.

“
What?” It was more of an angry scream than a question.

“
We got ten minutes to be gone if we’re going to get your truck. Get a move on.”

Nothing in Keith liked this new side of Ike. Nothing.

As soon as breakfast was over, Maggie and the kids disappeared up to the playroom. All lessons for the day had been unceremoniously cancelled. That was okay. At least she didn’t have to worry about a minute-by-minute schedule. Instead, she went into Peter’s closet and laid out one of the new outfits that had shown up when she mentioned to Patty Ann he was growing out of his former wardrobe.

Wednesday they had gone down to violin lessons, and when they returned, there was a whole new wardrobe as if the other had never existed. Maggie hadn’t meant a complete overhaul. One or two new items would’ve been enough. However, that wasn’t how the mansion ran. It was a way of living she was slowly learning she would never understand.

When she’d assembled Peter’s attire for the evening, she went into Isabella’s room and searched through the mountains of pink ruffles. It seemed they were on every piece of clothing the child had. Appropriate outfit in hand, Maggie walked to the window to lay it out on the dressing table. However, her gaze betrayed her, and she looked down into the hubbub below. In a few hours the party would be going. In a few hours there would be guests galore. She wondered as she put her head on the window if the guest of honor would in fact show up.

She’d left just after Ike got there the night before, and she hadn’t heard a single thing from that side of the estate all morning. Although she wasn’t sure how, she knew last night did not happen because of fun. He was too downtrodden when she’d caught up with him. She wondered what had made him sad enough to go jumping off the deep end like that. She also wondered who was with him and why on earth they had left him off at the mansion. What friend dropped someone off into that no-win trap?

Below the trees, she could make out the people working. Each preparation made was one less thing between her and tonight. If she could’ve gotten out of it, she would have. But short of quitting, there didn’t seem a good way to do that. No. She would be there, with a smile on her face—for him and for her job, and which was the bigger motivation, she wasn’t sure.

His head still hurt, and it probably wasn’t going to quit any time soon. Four Advil and enough coffee to drown a horse hadn’t really helped except to convince Ike that he was serious about the repentance. With everything he had, Keith wanted to jump off the planet for this one day. Be somebody else. Take a train ride to nowhere. Hijack the Space Shuttle and fly it to Mars. Nonetheless, here he was standing, solid and smiling, as Dallas walked off the plane. In one second she was walking toward him, in the next, she was in his arms.

“
Oh, baby! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Dallas said, throwing her arms around his neck. The impact nearly sent him tumbling backward, but he caught himself at the last possible second.

“
Hey, babe. It’s great to see you too.” When he pulled back, she smiled for a half-second, closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. It had been so long since he’d kissed her, Keith was taken off-guard as much by the suddenness as by the ardor. It seemed not to matter to her at all that they were in public with half a thousand people milling about around them. For the first instant he stiffened and then rational kicked in, and he pulled her into his arms. The kiss was passionate as so many of their kisses had been. Truth was, Dallas had never lacked in that area.

When the kiss broke, her gaze found his. “Man, it’s good to be home.”

In her white silk shirt with the black stripe hugging her chest, Dallas resembled every other co-ed home for the early April break. Her white-blond hair was swept back, and only a few bangs were released to slide down across her forehead. Creamy-white skin, perfect complexion, crystal-clear blue eyes—she was picture perfect from head to toe. Even her jeans were graciously ripped in all the right places. “So, are you happy to see me?”

“
Of course. How was the trip?” He took her hand in his between them, but she hung onto his arm as well.

“
Oh, horrific as usual. Bad food. Long lines. Smelly seats. I’m just glad to be down on the ground, with you.” She tightened her grip on him which would’ve been more of a hug except they were walking side-by-side through the airport. No matter, she laid her head on his shoulder. “I am so excited about tonight. I can’t stand it.”

Keith said nothing, knowing it wasn’t necessary.

“
We’re supposed to drop Mom and Dad off at the Crowne Plaza on the way in. They decided to get the limo to take them to the mansion.”

“
Oh. Okay.” He was walking, talking as if his head and heart weren’t killing him.

“
Dad said they may even stay for brunch tomorrow if your mom and dad can swing it. In the city of course. Dad has to get back to Washington early tomorrow. They’re voting on the Taylor-Radkin bill Monday. He can’t miss that.”

“
No. Of course not.” Keith fought to find something else to talk about. Something normal people would talk about. “I guess you checked your stuff?”

“
Yeah. If you’re going to check one thing, you might as well check them all these days. It’s such a hassle. Just getting through security is like… ugh.”

His smile was almost real. “Well, you’re here. That’s all that matters.”

She pulled him to her again and kissed him sideways. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

Something resembling happiness drifted over him. “I don’t think so. Why don’t you remind me?”

On the down escalator, she stood one step above him. Gently she ran her hand under his chin, tilting it up so she could bring her lips to his. When the kiss broke, she smiled at him devilishly. “Mmmm. It’s too bad we have to get Mom and Dad. I’d love to go back to your place and get re-acquainted.”

Keith nearly tripped getting off the escalator. She certainly didn’t waste any time. He scratched the back of his neck as he caught the knowing smile of the woman descending behind them. “Well, that’s going to have to wait. We have a party to host tonight if you didn’t remember.”

“
I remember just fine.” She held out her hand that sported the iridescent rock Keith had given her on the all-night private cruise they had taken when he’d popped the question. The cruise was a little over-the-top for Keith, but his dad had said with a proposal like that, she couldn’t say no. And as always, his dad was right.