From Roses To Thorns - Sequel To "From Nanny To Wife" (5 page)

"Zoe is fine." Hope gritted her teeth. "Don't you have better things to do than harass people?"

"I don't see this as harassing," Laura said. "Just a friendly chat. Are you and Ryan doing well?"

"We're fine," Hope snapped. "Not that it is any of your business."

"Why must you always be so hostile?" Laura asked.

"Why must you always stick your nose into other people's personal lives?" Hope shot back. "Is your life so dull that you have to get your entertainment from other people?"

At that moment Ryan reappeared. "Get away from her," he growled at Laura.

Laura took a step back. "Calm down, Ryan. I was just having a friendly conversation with your precious wife. There is no need to lose your temper."

Ryan glared at her. "I want you to leave Hope alone. If you don't I will have a restraining order placed against you."

Laura smiled coldly. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Ryan snarled.

Laura looked into Ryan's eyes. "It's going to be soon." Her head held high she walked away.

"I'm fine, love," Hope said to Ryan.

He touched Hope's cheek with the back of his hand. "I was on my way to the restroom when I ran into Laura's husband. I didn't see her with him. I had a funny feeling I would find her here with you."

"Nothing happened. She was just being nosy, asking me how Zoe was doing and if you and I are well." Hope frowned. "What do you think she meant when she said it's going to be soon?"

Ryan scratched his jaw. "I don't know."

Hope gave his arm a pat. "Forget about it. Let's not let her ruin our evening. Go use the restroom. They're gone now. I'm perfectly safe."

Chapter 6

It was a quarter after seven on a Thursday evening, three days later. Hope had just put Zoe to bed and was on her way downstairs to the family room when she heard the doorbell. Wondering whom it was and what he or she wanted, she hurried down the stairs and reached the large foyer at the same time as William. She told him that she would answer the door.

"Then I will go back to my chess game," William said.

"Who's winning?" Hope inquired.

"Gordon."

"Sorry about that." Hope unlocked the door and opened it. Pam stood there with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"He lied to me," Pam croaked. "That son of a bitch lied to me."

Hope reached for Pam's arm. "Come inside and talk to me."

"You think you know a person and then something happens and you realize you didn't know them at all." Pam dug a tissue out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes.

Hope closed the door. "Let's go sit down." She led the way to the family room where they sat on the couch. "Now tell me what happened."

Pam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I was picking up a few things from the grocery store when I bumped into Harvey's sister. We started chatting and she told me she was surprised when she learned I married Harvey. I asked her why she was surprised. She told me that given the number of times he had been married she didn't think any woman would want him. I told her being married twice wasn't such a bad thing. She said Harvey has five ex-wives, not two. He lied to me. How could he do that to me?"

Wishing Harvey was in the room so she could punch him; Hope took Pam's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Did you confront him about it?"

"Yes," Pam muttered. "I demanded to know why he lied. He said if he had told me the truth he knew I wouldn't have married him."

"Would you have married him?" Hope asked.

"I don't know." Pam rubbed her forehead. "I love him, but it takes more than love to make a marriage work. How can I stay with him when I can't trust him?" She rose from the couch. "Maybe I deserve this. I rushed into this marriage with my eyes closed and my heart on my sleeve."

"No one deserves to be lied to," Hope said.

"I remember telling you when you got involved with Ryan to be careful and not get hurt. I should've taken my own advice."

Hope glanced up at her friend. "It's not too late to have the marriage annulled. There are no children, nothing to keep you tied to Harvey."

"I want-" Pam broke off as her cell phone started ringing. She grabbed her purse off the couch, took out her phone, and looked at the small screen. "It's Harvey."

"Are you going to answer it?" Hope asked.

"No," Pam said, dropping the ringing phone back into her purse. "I'm going to let him suffer for awhile."

Hope got to her feet. "You're welcome to stay the night."

Pam embraced Hope. "I can't stay. I want to, but I can't. I have to go home soon and face Harvey."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

"You helped me more than you know." Pam released her. "I needed someone to listen to me. Thank you."

"I'm always here if you need me," Hope told her.

Pam smiled weakly. "I know."

Not long after Pam left, Hope headed upstairs to take a long bath. After gathering up her nightclothes, she moved into the bathroom and turned the water on in the tub. She added a capful of rose scented bubble bath, shed her clothes, secured her hair on top of her head with a clip and stepped into the tub. Lying back, she closed her eyes and willed the tension to leave her body.

Hope's thoughts turned toward Pam and Harvey. She tried to think about something else and found she could not. "Damn it," she mumbled.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Hope peered up at Ryan and noticed he looked tired. "Nothing, love," she said not wanting to burden him with other people's problems.

Ryan perched on the side of the tub. "Tell me what's on your mind."

"All right." Hope cleared her throat. "Pam came to see me a little while ago."

"I thought I heard the doorbell." Ryan shut the water off. "What did she have to say?"

"Harvey lied to her about how many times he has been married. He told her it was only twice. She learned the truth from his sister."

Ryan grimaced. "Is she all right?"

"No." Hope licked her dry lips. "She's angry and hurt."

"I wish I could say I'm shocked by what you just told me, but I'm not," Ryan said. "Harvey's always had a difficult time with telling the truth. Is Pam going to stay with him?"

"She doesn't know what she wants," Hope answered.

Ryan massaged the back of his neck. "You and I both know it was only a matter of time until something happened between those two. They rushed into marriage too quickly."

Hope arched a brow. "Honey, we rushed into marriage."

"You can't compare us to Harvey and Pam," Ryan said. "We had to get married in a hurry. It was our only chance of keeping Laura from gaining custody of Zoe."

Hope brought her hand out of the water and touched Ryan's hand. "Did you love me when we got married?"

"I did." Ryan lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her wet skin. "I was in denial at the time. It wasn't until later that I stopped lying to myself and faced the truth."

"Do you think Harvey and Pam will stay together?"

"No." Ryan stood. "What about you? Do you think they will?"

"No," Hope confessed. "I will pray for them though."

"You do that," Ryan said. "I'm going to go check the alarm and make sure the doors are locked. I won't be long."

Hope was sitting up in bed, twenty minutes later, waiting on Ryan who was taking a shower. While she waited, she flipped through the channels trying to find something to occupy her time. She came across an old movie that looked interesting and set the remote control on the nightstand. Lying back against the padded headboard, she adjusted the covers around her. Just then, the phone rang. She leaned toward the phone and snatched up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Are you enjoying your evening?" a male voice asked.

"Who am I speaking to?" Hope asked not recognizing the voice.

The man chuckled softly. "No questions please. Save them for when we're alone."

Hope frowned. "You have the wrong number, sir."

"No, I don't, Hope," he said. "I have the right number. Has anyone ever told you that you have a beautiful voice? I wonder what it will sound like when you're begging me not to hurt you, not to torture you."

The hair on the back of Hope's neck stood up on end. Goosebumps erupted on her skin and she shivered. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"I said no questions," he growled. "Now don't bother trying to find out who I am. I'm using a disposable cell phone. When I hang up it will be thrown in the garbage. I can't take any chances, you see. I have plans for us and nothing is going to stop me from carrying out my plans. I won't be calling anymore. The next time you hear my voice it will be in person." The phone went dead.

"Who called?" Ryan queried, emerging from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

The receiver slipped from Hope's numb hand and hit the nightstand with a loud thud. "Ryan," was all she could get past her tight throat.

Ryan quickly crossed the bedroom and sank down onto the bed. "What is it? What happened?"

Hope swallowed hard. "I…I…oh, God…" She threw her arms around Ryan and held on tight, her body trembling.

"Hope," Ryan said. "Sweetheart, talk to me. Who was that on the phone?"

"I d-don't k-know."

"What did they say?" Ryan swept his hand up and down her back in a soothing caress. "You can tell me."

Her heart beating wildly, Hope repeated what the man had said to her. "Oh, Ryan. His voice gave me the creeps and what he said to me-" She took a shaky breath.

Ryan drew back and tenderly cupped her face with his hands. "You're safe, sweetheart. No one is going to hurt you."

"He sounded so sure of himself," Hope whispered.

"Tomorrow I will make some calls," Ryan said. "I will do all I can to find out who called you."

Hope shook her head. "He said it was a disposable phone. There's no way to trace the call." She sighed heavily. "I know you're trying to help, love, but there's nothing you can do."

Ryan kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't say that. Let me put some clothes on and then I will come to bed."

Hope turned off the TV and lay down. She gazed up at the ceiling, the man's sinister words echoing in her head.
Has anyone ever told you that you have a beautiful voice? I wonder what it will sound like when you're begging me not to hurt you, not to torture you.
She squeezed her eyes closed as a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. The covers moved and Ryan slid in beside her. Cold to the bone she rolled toward his warmth and curled against him. His strong arms encircled her and he brushed his lips across her temple.

"I love you," Hope breathed.

"I love you, too."

Chapter 7

Ryan slammed the receiver in the cradle, swearing under his breath. He had just spoken to a woman from the phone company, who had informed him that there was no way she could trace a call coming from a disposable cell phone. The stranger that called Hope last night knew what he was doing. Seething, he pounded his fist on the desktop. Coffee sloshed over the rim of the cup and onto the document in front of him. He grabbed several tissues from the box and dabbed at the piece of paper. If the sick bastard wanted to play games, Ryan could play them too. His mind began to formulate a plan, one that would ensure Hope's safety.

"Mr. Kendall," Pam said, entering the office.

Irritated at being interrupted, Ryan said shortly, "What?"

"I need to talk with you."

Ryan tossed the tissues in the trash bin. "Every time you say you need to talk with me it's because you want something. What is it?"

"I n-need-" Pam broke off.

Ryan heard her sniff and quickly glanced up. A tear escaped one red-rimmed eye and ran down her pale cheek. The sight of that one drop made him angrier. "Get a hold of yourself woman. I don't have the time or the patience for your pity party."

"I'm s-s-sorry," Pam stuttered her shoulders shaking. A sob broke free and she clapped her hand over her mouth.

Ryan's anger disappeared as swiftly as it had appeared. He rose from his chair and moved around the desk. Taking Pam by the arms, he sat her down and handed her a tissue. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm in a foul mood this morning. I shouldn't be taking it out on you. I'm sorry. What do you need to talk to me about?"

Pam gave a shuddery sigh. "Tomorrow I'm going to need to leave an hour early. Harvey and I have an appointment with a marriage counselor. We talked last night and decided to stay together and try to make our marriage work."