Words of Seduction (13 page)

Pleased with the party’s success, Suzanne disappeared into the house and went upstairs to check on Luke. She knew the party atmosphere would be too much for him, so she’d instructed his new nanny to watch after him in his room. When she peeked in, he looked happy playing with his amphibian friend Harmon, then Suzanne went to her bedroom to touch up her makeup. She was applying her lipstick when a figure came up behind her and placed a kiss on the back of her neck.

“Hmm, that’s nice,” she said.

He kissed lower.

“That’s nice, too.”

“Can I keep going?” Rick said in a velvet smooth voice.

“There are guests downstairs.”

“Then try to be quiet.”

Suzanne turned to him. “I’m always quiet.”

He lifted a brow.

Her cheeks grew warm. “Most times.”

He reached for her. “Then make sure this is one of those times.”

She nudged him and stood. “We have guests who want to see us.”

“You mean me,” he grumbled. “I feel like I’m on display.”

“Well, you’re passing with flying colors.”

Rick stood and took her hand. “Only because you’re making me look good. You’ve done an amazing job with this party.”

“You deserve it.”

He kissed her, but before he could deepen the kiss Suzanne pulled away. “Someone could come in and find us.”

He drew her close again and whispered against her lips. “No one would dare come upstairs.”

“We shouldn’t be doing this now. We have an obligation to our guests.”

He removed one strap of her dress. “I’m feeling vulnerable right now. I need you to build up my morale.”

“Your morale appears intact to me,” Suzanne said, feeling the evidence of his desire.

He removed her other strap then unzipped the back of her dress. “I’d hate to see it falter.”

She folded her arms to keep her dress up. “I’ve never done something like this.”

He coaxed her to unfold one arm. “Yes, you have.”

“Not with guests downstairs and eating outside on our lawn.”

“That’s okay.” He unfolded her other arm and watched the dress fall. “Let’s start a new Gordon tradition.”

Twenty minutes later Suzanne and Rick returned to the party. Nobody asked about their disappearance, although some probably hazarded a guess as to where they were and what they had been doing. Suzanne’s face was flushed and Rick no longer had on his tie or belt. However, the party continued late into the evening without incident and Suzanne silently congratulated herself until she saw Rick talking to Wallace. They seemed to be talking in low voices. She marched over to them.

“Wallace, what are you doing here? You weren’t invited.”

He looked as handsome and devious as ever, dressed all in black. “I just figured you had overlooked sending my invitation. I forgive you.”

“If you’re here to cause trouble—”

He rested a hand on his chest as though she’d wounded him. “Now why would I do that? I just wanted to wish you both happiness.”

“Next time just send a postcard.” Suzanne grabbed Rick’s arm. “Come, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Don’t forget what I said, Gordon,” Wallace called after them.

Once they were a good distance away, Suzanne asked, “What did he say?”

“A lot of things. Don’t worry about it.”

“Did he say something about me? What did he want?”

Rick cupped her face. “I don’t want you to worry about it.” He kissed her forehead. “Now we can’t ignore our guests for a second time.” He winked then walked away.

But Suzanne could not focus on her guests or the party.
She continued watching Wallace and Rick until she spotted Frieda dropping her cigarette ashes behind a bush.

“Well done,” a female voice said behind her.

Suzanne spun around and saw Jean, who looked a lot less formidable than she had in the courthouse. “I’m trying.”

“You succeeded. This is a fabulous party. Rick won’t have as much trouble in town as he has had in the past. I’ve already heard two people say they want to do business with him and I encouraged them.”

Suzanne knew the impact of the judge’s endorsement. In the past no one from the upper echelon would do business with a Gordon, but that had changed. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Rick did it himself. He’s worked himself up the hard way. That’s something to be admired.”

“I know.”

“And your book isn’t so bad, either.”

“I thought you said—”

Jean shrugged. “It improved on a second reading. So when’s the next one coming out?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully next year.”

She patted Suzanne on the back. “I look forward to reading it.” Jean looked up at the house, glanced at Rick, and sighed. “I guess you knew what you were doing after all. Your father would still turn over in his grave, but you’ve gotten all that you wanted.” She grabbed a drink from a passing waiter and walked off. Suzanne watched her leave wondering if that was true.

Suzanne questioned herself even more as summer turned into fall. Luke enrolled in school and although
Rick tried to be attentive she knew there was something else on his mind. He left home early and came back late. When she caught him talking in low tones on his cell phone one afternoon she knew she could no longer take his secrecy. Her first marriage had been filled with secrets. With people who called then hung up, the scent of perfume on Wallace’s jackets that wasn’t hers. There had been late nights, which couldn’t be accounted for. Rick had promised he’d never cheat on her, but now she wasn’t so sure, and she needed to find out the truth.

One cool autumn afternoon she told Mandy to briefly watch Luke because it was Mrs. Perigene’s day off and she took him to play outside while Suzanne waited for Rick to come home. When he did she met him at the front door and said, “Who is she?”

He briefly kissed her on the cheek and walked past. “Who is who?”

The touch of his lips was warm and sweet and he looked exhausted, but Suzanne was determined to uncover the truth. “Are you seeing someone?”

“Am I supposed to be seeing someone?”

“Rick, I’m asking you a serious question. Is there another woman?”

He ran a tired hand down his face. “Why would I have another woman when I have you?”

“That hasn’t stopped men before.”

He rested his hands on her shoulders. “Suzanne, I told you I wouldn’t cheat on you.” He lowered his voice. “There is no other woman in my life except you. Please believe me.”

Suzanne bit her lip, unsure.

“Please,” he repeated with a note of sadness.

“Okay, but I know you’re hiding something from me.”

“It’s for your own good.” He pressed his fingers against her lips to keep her from talking. “I want you to promise me something.”

“What?”

“Promise me that no matter what happens between us you won’t take it out on Luke.”

Suzanne stepped back and stared at him confusion. “What could happen?”

“Just promise me.”

“Not until you tell me what is bothering you. Is it your mother?”

He frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“At the party you two were very tense around each other and you don’t visit her as you used to. I don’t want to pry, but it’s like she has a strange hold on you.”

He walked into the living room. “She’s a damn noose around my neck and determined to remind me of my past. Every time I look at her I feel poor all over again.” He leaned against the mantel. “I’m trying to move forward, but she won’t. No matter how hard I try. Even after her ministroke that left her right hand a little weak, she didn’t change.”

“Maybe she’s afraid of the future. But that’s her problem not yours, the past is gone.”

“No, unfortunately, the past still haunts me.” Rick took her hand and led her to the couch. He sat down and sighed. “I’m not a good man. I’m what they’ve always said—a rotten no-good Gordon and I’ve done some bad things.”

“So there is another woman.”

“Suzanne,” he said, exasperated, “there’s no other woman.”

“Then it can’t be that bad,” she said with relief. “You’ve stayed out of prison,” she teased.

He didn’t smile.

“Rick, I wouldn’t have married you if I thought you were bad.”

“You married me because you had no choice. You needed the money.”

“No, that’s not—”

A scream stopped her words. Mandy burst into the room with a lifeless Luke in her arms. “I found him in the pond.”

Suzanne jumped to her feet, fear gripping her heart. “You were supposed to watch him.”

“I
was
watching him,” she cried. “I turned my back for one second.”

“A second is enough.” She grabbed Luke and rested him on the floor, ready to perform CPR. “Call 911,” she ordered as she checked his vitals. Suzanne and Rick started the breaths and chest compressions and continued until the EMTs arrived and whisked Luke away in the ambulance. Suzanne and Rick drove close behind.

R
ick sat in the waiting room, staring at the stark walls, not seeing anything. Was this his punishment? If he lost Luke he’d lose the one thing that was truly his. His entire life had been filled with hand-me-downs—from his clothes to his reputation. But Luke had been new and pure and was a part of him. What would his life be like without him? His marriage was already a sham. He feared that Suzanne would have no reason to stay now. He wondered what would hold them together when she found out the truth. How would he convince her to stay?

“Rick?”

He turned and saw Suzanne, who’d disappeared into the restroom after they’d taken Luke into the emergency room. He rushed over to her and held her. “They
got a pulse started. But they’re not sure how he will do because they don’t know how long he was in the water.”

“I’m sure he’ll be okay. He has to be.”

“Yes,” he said, desperate to believe her. He glanced up at the ceiling, then looked away and closed his eyes instead. There were no prayers he could offer. He’d gotten back at Rand for the years he’d treated his family like trash. He’d destroyed him and gotten his revenge, but in the end Rand had won. Cosmic justice had the last laugh. He opened his eyes when he heard hurried footsteps; soon his mother appeared in the doorway.

“How is he?” she asked in an anxious voice.

“It’s touch and go.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means they’re not sure of anything.”

Her voice trembled. “You mean he could die?”

“Yes,” he snapped. “I’m surprised you care.”

Suzanne stared at him, appalled. “Rick, that’s not fair.”

“Fair?” His voice cracked. “She never accepted Luke as her grandson. Now she doesn’t have to.” He turned and walked over to a window.

Suzanne turned to Frieda. “He’s just upset. We all are, but I know that everything is going to be all right.”

Frieda stared at Rick’s back then Suzanne. “Spoken like a true Rand, as though you’ve got God on speed dial,” she said bitterly. “I need a smoke.” She left.

Suzanne stood, wondering who to comfort first. She looked at Rick but remembered the shimmer of tears in his mother’s eyes and decided to follow her outside. She found Frieda huddled under a streetlight, the autumn wind blowing her thin coat.

Frieda turned when she heard Suzanne’s footsteps.
“You have to get yourself nearly killed to find a decent place to smoke.”

Suzanne took off her coat and put it on the older woman’s shoulders.

“You don’t need to be nice to me,” she grumbled, pulling the coat tight about her.

“We’re family.”

“A costly booby prize,” she scoffed.

“I don’t think so. Mothers are important. Especially those who love their children and I know you love Rick.”

“He blames me for his father, but I couldn’t leave him.” She sent Suzanne a sharp look. “And not every woman could do what Melba did. No matter how much they may want to.”

“He knows that.”

“I did my best.”

“Yes, so did my mother before she died. I miss her.”

Frieda inhaled then released. “She was a smart, classy woman, very different from me.”

“No. She was also afraid of her husband, even though she loved him. I won’t judge her and I won’t judge you, if you won’t do the same.”

Frieda stared at her for a long moment, her gaze filling with new respect. “I’ve read your book back to front more than ten times. Rick once asked me why and I couldn’t tell him, but I’m going to tell you.” She took another drag of her cigarette, her hand slightly trembling. “It was like you took Melba’s story and made it mine. So many times I thought about doing what she did or leaving him. The experts always tell you to do that, but I couldn’t. I guess I couldn’t believe
I’d made such a big mistake.” Frieda studied her cigarette. “He wasn’t always like that. In the beginning he wasn’t so bad.” A brief smile touched her mouth. “He could be charming and funny. It was the drinking that changed that and the bills and the layoffs. His drinking got real bad when Rick was born.” She absently raised the cigarette to her lips. “I kept trying to remember him as he was.” She sent Suzanne a curious glance and when the younger woman didn’t say anything she felt free to reveal more. “Your book was filled with heartbreak and pain and love.” She glanced up at the sky and blinked back tears. “Oh, the way Donna loved Roland always got to me.” She looked at Suzanne. “I was jealous of you. Yes, jealous. See, Rick was all I had to cling to at the time. In my house I didn’t have a lot of things, but Rick was mine. Then you came along and I was afraid I was going to lose him. His other flings never bothered me because those women came and went, but you were different. You should have seen him when he used to come home after seeing you. He couldn’t stop smiling and nothing his father said or did bothered him. It was as though he used you as some sort of shield against the rottenness of our lives.

“I envied how happy you made him and I didn’t want to be alone, so I had to keep you away. I’m not proud of that, but I did it and I kept him close by letting him share in my misery by feeding him my hatred.” She dragged on her cigarette then exhaled. “I’m a bitter, ugly, old woman and I don’t deserve your kindness.” She started to remove the coat, but Suzanne stopped her.

“I forgive you. Let’s forget about the past.”

Frieda looked at her with amazement. “You understand me. I didn’t think you would.”

“I understand a lot of things.”

“I can see that now. I didn’t before. I guess I’ve been so busy thinking people were looking down on me, I didn’t realize I was doing the same. Rick was right about you. You’re good for him.”

“Not without Luke. I can’t have children and Rick only married me to take care of his son. Without Luke our marriage is nothing.”

“But you told me that Luke’s going to be okay and if you want me to believe it, you have to believe it, too.” Frieda dropped her cigarette on the floor then crushed it under her shoe. “Let’s go wait inside.”

When the two women returned to the waiting room they saw that Rick hadn’t moved from his spot. Suzanne told Frieda that she was going to get something to drink then left. Frieda looked at her son with a mixture of love and regret then walked over to him. “I was wrong about everything. I’m sorry. She’s a good woman, even if she is a Rand, and I’m glad you’re with her.”

Rick folded his arms.

“And Luke means everything to me. I’m going to change my ways. I won’t say anything bad about him again. I promise. It’s just that this world isn’t kind to the weak and—”

“You want him to be strong,” Rick finished. “I know.”

“I’ve just been so used to hatred and bitterness and cruel words that I didn’t know how to be different. But I want things to be different from now on. Do you think we can start over?”

Rick was silent a moment and then held out his arm. She went to him and he held her close.

“Don’t ever tell her the truth,” Frieda said in a hurried whisper. “You need her.
We
need her.”

“It’s too late and you know that.”

She gripped the front of his shirt. “It’s not too late. Luke will pull through and you can leave this town and be far away from anyone who could find out.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to take care of Wallace.” He stared down at his mother. “But you should have told me about him first. I hate surprises.”

“I thought he’d prove useful at the time. I was wrong and I admit it. You just have to keep him away from Suzanne.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m—”

“Would you two like something to drink?” Suzanne said behind them.

Rick and his mother shared a look, and Rick took the cool drink from her. A half hour later they learned that Luke would fully recover. He spent the night in the hospital and was sent home the next day. Traumatized by the incident, Mandy returned to her family, and Frieda took over the role of caring for him on Mrs. Perigene’s days off, and having nothing else to do she would also help Neena with household duties.

Early one morning, after Luke had gone off to school, Suzanne called Frieda into the kitchen.

“I hope your schedule is free for the next several hours.”

“How come?” Frieda asked curiously.

“Because we’re going to have a girls’ day out,” she announced.

Frieda made a face. “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be good
at that. I’m not much into that modern ‘woman bonding’ stuff.”

“Female bonding,” Suzanne corrected. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“What do you mean then?”

“Well, I’ve decided you need a makeover.”

“Why?” Frieda said, insulted, touching her wig. “What’s wrong with the way I look?”

“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with you, it’s just that I think it’s time you treated yourself. You don’t need to worry, you won’t come back looking like someone else. I just thought a day at the spa for a full-body massage and having your hair styled at the salon would be nice to do.”

“But, I don’t have much hair to style,” Frieda admitted. “I’m not sure that—”

Suzanne took her hand, sensing the older woman’s anxiety. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

To Frieda’s surprise, Suzanne had conspired with Della and made arrangements with Della’s hairstylist, Robin, to fit Frieda with a more attractive wig, and to give her natural hair a needed haircut, so that she wouldn’t have to wear a wig all the time. After the spa, where they had been treated to a stone massage, Suzanne and Frieda sat in The Modern Woman’s Hair Salon.

Frieda was given the royal treatment and after going through a wide selection of wigs of different lengths and colors, Robin decided on a medium-length, dark brown wig, with red highlights. At first Frieda felt naked without her long hair, but once she saw the finished product she could hardly believe her eyes. Robin was
an expert stylist and had shaped and cut the wig to frame Frieda’s face. Both the color and shape highlighted her features and made her look ten years younger.

Next Suzanne took Frieda to a boutique she used to frequent and helped her select a new miniwardrobe. That afternoon Frieda decided to pick Luke up from school wearing a lovely, straight, knee-length green skirt and blue blouse instead of the jeans and T-shirt she frequented. Luke told her she looked pretty and when Rick saw his mother he laughed.

“I see that Suzanne got ahold of you,” he said.

Frieda proudly turned around in a circle, so he could see the entire makeover. “Do you like it?”

“You look as beautiful as a queen.”

Suzanne snapped her fingers as an idea struck her. “Wait a second,” she said and dashed upstairs. Minutes later she came down with a crown and placed it on Frieda’s head. “Now it’s perfect.”

Frieda touched the crown in awe. “Is this your Miss Anadale crown?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t wear this.”

“Of course you can, Momma,” Rick said. “You always wanted to.”

“This is the happiest day of my life,” she said, her voice trembling.

Rick took out his cell phone to take a picture. “Smile for me,” he said. Then he snapped the picture of Luke and Suzanne smiling with Frieda wiping away tears of joy.

Everything seemed to settle back to normal until a
week later when Rick forgot his cell phone. Suzanne was working in the kitchen when she heard it ring. She was about to ignore it but decided to check out who was calling. When she saw the name she froze. Wallace Lyon. Why was Wallace calling Rick? She remembered the look Wallace had given Rick at the courthouse and the same sly expression had crossed his face at the party. What was he up to? She had a sinking feeling she knew.

Suzanne sent him a text message from Rick to meet at their house at seven. When he immediately replied, she smiled.