Paradise for a Sinner (13 page)

By his grin and his greeting, he had sinning more on his mind than punishment. “Hey, lovely lady, help me to finish here, then we can go over to my cabin and complete what we started last night.”

“Why am I the only one deeply concerned about this?”

Adam heaved his big shoulders. “Strict upbringing, overdeveloped conscience? They were worried about Teddy. He’s fine. Kids get curious about sex. No big deal.”

“Egged on by Stacy, he spied on us doing something we shouldn’t when he needed my attention.”

“In Samoa we have lots of children running around the village and not so much privacy. So they learn by hiding in the bushes and watching. Normal curiosity, that’s all. They just better not get caught. That’s how I learned. I mean they weren’t going to teach me in Sunday school, though come to think of it, the first woman who took me to her bed did teach catechism at the church.”

Shocked, Winnie squeezed an abandoned cup of beer too hard before dumping the contents on the ground. Watery amber liquid oozed through her fingers. “How old were you?”

“Fourteen, closer to fifteen, but big for my age. Miss Lola was a widow who enjoyed turning boys into men. Kept us from getting the village girls pregnant.”

“That’s child abuse!”

“The guys she took in didn’t think so. I mean she wasn’t one of those sad, sicko forty-year-old teachers who want to marry a teenage boy and have his babies. When she finished with us, we got a pat on the behind and her blessing. She moved on to someone else.”

“No one stopped her?”

“When a place has little privacy, people pretend not to see and hear. Works for everyone. Speaking of privacy, my cottage door locks.”

“We should finish here first.” Winnie looked around desperately for more garbage to collect.

“We’re pretty much done. The guests were a tidy bunch and used the trash barrels.”

“As they should.”

The family van came down the lane bearing the household maids. Brinsley met them at the kitchen door. “Dulcita to the theater to sweep up the popcorn and mop. Isabella, vacuum and wax in the den. The dining room also needs attention.” They went to work promptly without stopping in the kitchen for coffee and a chat, as had been their habit.

Knox Polk parked the van and sauntered over to the couple. “Good work. Help me get a burn pile together, Adam, then you two have the rest of the day off.”

Adam lugged trash bags four at a time to an open area bald of grass and dry leaves. Winnie watched as Knox set the pile afire. “Are you sure we can’t help with anything else?” she asked.

“Definitely. Got it all under control.” Knox gave them a half-smile, his equivalent of an ear-to-ear grin in anyone else. “The rental folks will be here soon to take down the bouncer and the rock wall. We about got it licked. You two go on and enjoy the beach. No security cameras installed out there yet.”

“Cameras?” Winnie’s eyes widened.

“Sure, all over the place to protect the kids. But, we haven’t gotten around to wiring the beach yet.” Knox prodded the fire with a poker to encourage the flames.

“Not in the daylight!” Winnie whispered to Adam.

“My place,” he answered, hardly lowering his voice. He took her hand and pulled her along. Behind them, Winnie swore Knox chuckled—or maybe the noise was merely the dry crackling of the flames.

At the cottage, Adam locked the door and drew the blinds. He took Winnie into his arms beside his unmade bed and ran his hands soothingly up and down her ribs. His lips nuzzled the corner of her neck beneath the soft curl of her hair. He paused when she failed to respond.

“Beautiful Winnie, are you always so tense with your lovers? I thought we passed this point the other night on our beach.”

She stiffened like the rib of a palm leaf beneath his hands. “Other lovers? I’ve only been with you and my ex-husband. He did say I’m a lot of work in bed.”

“Not work, pleasure. Sorry.
Palagi
women have a reputation for being loose like in the movies. That does not apply to you, I know.”

“
Palagi?
”

“Not from the islands, a foreigner.”

“We aren’t on the island now, so you are the foreigner.”

“Please, lovely Winnie. Let’s not argue. Lie down, and we will—”

“I can’t. Not when last night is still on my mind.”

“Wait! Will you come with me to Samoa when all this is sorted out?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

She turned the lock and retreated to her own room in the big house far from the allure of Adam and the chattering of the maids downstairs.

****

Corazon called Winnie for lunch. “Barbecued pork sandwiches and white or baked beans to go with them.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be right down.” She’d washed her hair, painted her nails with clear polish, and started reading the Harry Potter books, all to pass the time when she truly yearned to return to Adam’s cottage. Nell would probably label it self-inflicted punishment.

Everyone sat around the table doctoring their sandwiches in any way they chose with a choice of sauces,
Joe Dean’s Hot and Spicy
or
Connor’s Mild and Sweet,
the
products that supported Camp Love Letter, and toppings ranging from sliced onions and green peppers to leftover coleslaw.

Corazon passed the bean pots. “So much
puerco
to use up. Tonight we have shredded pork enchiladas with rice and tropical fruit salad.”

“Sounds good to me.” Joe, not a picky eater, added a few extra drops of hot sauce to his sandwich since his
Joe Dean’s Hot and Spicy Barbecue Sauce
had been toned down for the commercial market.

“One pig would have been enough. I guess I was showing off.” Adam slapped together two sandwiches and piled beans onto his plate. “On the other hand, you can never have too much pork.”

“You paid for them. We’ll freeze a bunch of it. Now, about last night, Adam says the two of you went to the palm grove for a little together time and Stacy and Teddy spied on you.”

Winnie’s face heated, and not only from choosing Joe’s special sauce. “I let my own desires get in the way of my duty. I should not have allowed Stacy to take Teddy into the house, which she lied about. Nothing would have happened if I’d stayed with the boy as I am paid to do. If you feel you need to fire me, I understand.”

“I keep telling her it was no big deal. Kids get curious. Teddy is fine being alone sometimes. He even said he didn’t want a babysitter. Sorry I flashed Stacy, but she sort of had it coming. I thought we only had boys in those bushes.” Adam bit into his overstuffed bun and bits of pork dropped back onto his plate.

Nell set down a much smaller version of his sandwich topped with coleslaw. “I never intended that you spend every second with Teddy when other adults are around to watch him. Heaven knows his mother left him alone with that boyfriend of hers, no prize, that one. I should be learning about his care, and I’ve put it off. I didn’t want to get too attached if Maydell came back to claim him.”

“You are being far too understanding. I failed you because I wanted to be with Adam.”

“Hell, Nell and me used to sneak off all kinds of places. Once we did it in the cab of my daddy’s cane tractor during the lunch break.” Joe got an elbow in the ribs from his wife.

“Before we had children,” Nell corrected. “Winnie, you came to help us at a moment’s notice. I hope you will stay on another week. Nurse Wickersham called me at the clinic today and said her patient passed away during the Super Bowl. Too much excitement for him. She wants to stay with the family until the funeral but can be here by the weekend. Does that work for you?”

“Yes, I’d be happy to stay, and I promise I won’t neglect Teddy again. He is a dear child.”

“Hardly neglect. We have bigger issues such as lying, spying, and leaving Teddy to take the rap. I thought Stacy showed some adjustment when she shared Titi and befriended Teddy. Much to her disgust, Xochi tells me all the boys at the day school are in love with the girl just because of her blue eyes and blonde hair. Her teachers say she is very bright, yet still we have this situation. Joe, we need to make both children feel more a part of the family, especially since we got the DNA results back this morning. Teddy is not Joe’s son, but we knew that all along, didn’t we?”

“
C’est vrai!
It pays to keep your DNA on file. The tests get done faster. But, you’re letting your sister’s spawn off the hook?” Joe shook his head vigorously.

“No, we will administer the usual punishment to Stacy and think of something Teddy can do to make amends. Adam, can you help Joe move a heavy box from storage after lunch?”

“Sure. Pass the beans, please.”

“Team meeting after school?” Joe asked his wife.

“You betcha. Winnie, any idea what is next for you? We wish you only the best.”

“I believe I’m going to Samoa. I need to get away for a while.” If Nell told Mintay what happened and her sister squealed to the Rev, she truly wanted to be on the other side of the world by the time he knew the story of the interlude in the palm grove.

“Our kids driving you to a foreign country?” Nell asked.

“There are just so many of them. You never know when one will interrupt—something.”

“Gotta be fast,” Joe said.

Adam’s hand covered hers. “Good, we go to Samoa. Eat. My mother will say I don’t feed you after I just roasted two pigs.”

****

“Finish your snacks. Your papi says team meeting today as soon as you are done,” Corazon announced.

Dean groaned. “What now? Last time we got these two.” He pointed a cheese-stuffed celery stick at Teddy and Stacy seated at the far end of the table. “Tom, you think Mom is having more babies?” His eyes flicked toward the triplets.

Trinity answered. “Nope, she’s all out of the people eggs Aunt Emily gave her.”

“That’s why the three of us, Jude and Emily are half-related to Stacy. We are all from Aunt Emily’s eggs,” Lorena schooled Dean.

“Don’t you think I know that? This family is so embarrassing.”

Tommy thumped his oldest brother on the back. “And complicated, very complicated.”

“Finish, I tell you.” Corazon removed the fruit and vegetable plate in case any of them thought to delay by having seconds. “Teddy, you don’t eat nothing?”

The boy shifted in his chair. “No, ma’am. I’m feeling kinda sick.”

Stacy, eyes down, continued to nibble on an apple wedge as the rest of the Billodeaux children began to file from the kitchen to the den where their parents waited. Teddy sighed deeply and moved his wheelchair away from the table.

“Come on, Stace. You have nothing to worry about. You’re half-related.” Still, she let him go first as if his chair were an armored vehicle she could hide behind in case of emergency.

Adam, Winnie, and Nell already occupied the sofa. The triplets, free of any guilt, snuggled in alongside them. Xochi and the twins claimed the loveseat while the oldest boys folded their gangling legs and sank to places on the floor. That left Stacy and Teddy exposed in the center of the room. Before they could move, Joe placed his hands on their shoulders.

“Don’t go anywhere. We understand the two of you violated the privacy of Winnie and Adam last night. Team, what is our rule about that?”

Xochi helpfully repeated, “No interruptions unless there is blood or fire.”

“Right! And no spying, which is worse. Maybe you two didn’t know these rules because you are new here. Now you do. This won’t happen again. Apologize to Adam and Winnie.”

Beneath Joe’s hand, Teddy began to tremble, but Stacy offered a rather defiant reply. “Okay, I’m sorry—but I only wanted to know what Dean knows.”

“Then, you come to me,” Nell said sternly.

“Yes, go to the expert at explaining these kinds of things, not me. You also went off without telling anyone where you were going,” Joe continued enumerating their transgressions.

“Well, if we did that you would have stopped us,” Stacy replied with irrefutable logic.

“Tommy, tell Stacy what happened the time you went off on your own,” Joe demanded of his second son.

Turning a shade only a redhead could produce, Tommy answered, “I got kidnapped and taken to Mexico. I had to be rescued and put a lot of people in danger.”

“So, we don’t do that ever,” Joe continued. “One more problem—the one that galls me the most. Stacy, you deserted your teammate when he needed you. You ran away, and let him take the hit for both of you. For all this, you will muck out the stalls every day on your own for a month.”

“Shit patrol!” Dean said with glee.

Nell leaned forward and popped him lightly on the head. “What did you say, son?”

“I meant manure duty. It’s your favorite punishment. I knew it was coming.”

“Dirty work for dirty deeds. I’ve always found it appropriate.” Nell sat back again.

“
Merde
,” said Stacy, but her elders let it pass.

“Teddy, you will help Corazon in the kitchen. You are perfectly capable of taking out the trash, cleaning and setting the table, and whatever else she wants you to do. We haven’t heard your apology yet,” Joe prompted.

“I’m really, really, really sorry, Miss Winnie and Mr. Adam. I swear I didn’t peek.”

“Apology accepted,” Winnie said with her face as agonized as his.

The twins started to rise from the loveseat, but Joe waved them back. “We have another matter to discuss. The DNA test results came back. Teddy is not my biological son.”

Dean let out a breath like he’d been holding it since Teddy arrived, but the boy in the wheelchair went into a panic. “Please, please don’t put me out. My mama might have lied, but she told me I needed to go to a safe place. Newt said I was too much trouble to take care of and if she didn’t get shut of me, he’d chop off my head and leave my body in the road like that other man who had a handicapped child.”

Winnie rushed to his side and took his wrist. “Listen to me, Teddy. Don’t let your blood pressure shoot up. You are safe here.”

Dean’s pre-adolescent shell cracked open and exposed the nice boy inside. “Who would say that to a little kid? Don’t you worry, Tommy and me will be around to protect you.”

“We have locks and alarms and cameras and Mr. Polk to protect us from bad men,” Xochi, who still suffered from occasional nightmares about her parents’ deaths, offered.