If I Only Had A...Husband (The Bridal Circle #1) Read online

  His foot struck something near the bushes along the drive and he bent down to see what it was. By the light from the porch, he pulled the old birdhouse from under the shrubs. It must have fallen from the oak tree during the storm the other night. Its roof was loose and the base was cracked.

  As he touched it, the roof came off in his hand and on the inside, on the sheltered part of the wood, he could see writing. His heart faltered. It was the poem he’d written for Penny before he’d moved away. He’d used the most romantic thing he could find—a waterproof marker that would keep the words there forever.

  He’d lied a few minutes ago to Penny. He had opened his heart to someone. And now if he didn’t get out of town soon, everyone might be reminding him of that fact.

  Carrying the birdhouse with him, he ducked into the barn and tucked it back behind some old tools on a shelf near the door. The tools looked like they had been there for centuries, and with luck, would be there another several before anyone found the birdhouse.

  Brad awoke with the birds and stared for a moment at the clock, all bleary-eyed. Damn, but he was having a hard time sleeping in Chesterton. Maybe he needed smog and traffic noises around the clock to sleep.

  He swung his feet out of bed and grabbed a pair of shorts from the chair, then slipped his feet into shoes. If Penny and Aunty Em had been considerate enough to go to bed at a decent hour last night, he wouldn’t have to be sneaking outside this morning.

  • He grabbed his cell phone, then opened the bedroom door. The house was still. Moving quietly, he went down the stairs, and through the kitchen. Einstein met him at the door with a meow that seemed to echo through the house.

  “Jeez, will you be quiet?” Brad whispered and let the cat out.

  Einstein followed Brad across the yard and into the tree lot. Far enough from the house that there was no danger of being overheard in case Penny or Aunty Em had woken up. He dialed a number, then waited as it rang and rang and rang. Finally a sleepy voice answered.

  “Hey, George,” Brad said. “Rise and shine, big guy.”

  Brad knew that it was just a little past 2:00 a.m. in California, but this was the best time for a private talk with his attorney.

  “Brad? Where the hell are you?” George Escarta asked. “In some damn zoo?”

  “I’m in the middle of a field in Indiana.”

  “Sounds like a zoo to me.”

  “Did you get the report on Alex Waterstone for me?” Brad asked.

  “Nothing there,” George said. “Hardly any assets, but measly debts, no criminal history, not even a traffic ticket.”

  “Married or divorced?”

  “Neither unless it was in a foreign country.”

  “Damn. I was hoping he’d been featured in some Worldwide News exposé or something.”

  “We can always plant something, if you’d like,” George offered. “All it takes is money and you’ve got too much of that as it is.”

  Brad was tempted, but then sighed. “No. I’ve got to play this straight. If he’s a saint, he’s a saint. I have something else for you to do.”

  “Your word is my command.”

  “I want you to drop, oh-something like five thousand dollars—to the Chesterton Wizard of Oz festival committee—”

  “I presume that’s in the continental United States?”

  “Shut up and listen,” Brad said.

  “You know it’s two in the morning out here?”

  “Yeah, and I’m sure you’re charging me time and a half for the off-hours service. Wire five thou to this festival committee. And indicate the funds are to be used for a float for the Boys and Girls Club. Anything left over is to be used by the club for general program expenses.”

  “I’ll get on it first thing. Uh, they do have banks out in the zoo, don’t they?”

  Brad closed his eyes with a sigh. “Yeah, but I bet they’re closed until next week. Well, get it in the works and it’ll be here Monday morning.”

  “You get your uncle’s stuff taken care of?”

  Brad opened his eyes and frowned at the brightening sky. “Not quite.”

  “Well, I’ve got Mainline America crying for you to fix their network—and offering enough to make your mother faint—and Technology Unlimited doubled their contract offer and added a bonus that would make my mother faint. And she’s a tougher sell than yours.”

  “Tell them I’m busy.”

  “For how long? And ISCPP wants to know if you’re coming to the conference or not. I would guess you won that award and they want you there in person.”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “You don’t know? What the hell is going on there? This is your life you’re putting on hold.”

  “I’ll get back to you,” he said and broke the connection just as Einstein rubbed himself against Brad’s legs. He bent down and picked the cat up. “You ready to go back inside, little fella?”

  “Okay, now this side.” Dorothy moved to the far wall of the living room.

  Penny limped with her end of the tape measure to the corner by the fireplace, her crutches abandoned at home. She hadn’t been on them more than five minutes this morning and she’d discovered about ten million blisters and that the muscles under her arms felt as if they were on fire. The only thing that hadn’t hurt was her supposedly injured ankle. If that wasn’t poetic justice she didn’t know what was.

  “I shouldn’t be here,” she said. “I’m not a real estate agent.”

  “Brad won’t care. And I can’t measure these rooms by myself.”

  Penny held the tape measure in place, then let go as Dorothy wrote the measurement down in her notebook. They were in Hal Corrigan’s old house, measuring and making notes for Dorothy’s real estate listing, but Penny was feeling out of sorts. She should have been working, even though it was Saturday. They still had storm damage to clean up, but it was raining again so the jobs had been rescheduled for Monday.

  When Dorothy had called and suggested they join Heather for lunch, Penny jumped at the chance. Maybe this was the way to keep Dorothy safe—stay with Dorothy, not Brad. She did feel a little funny about stopping at Brad’s uncle’s house first, though. It felt almost like prying.

  “This is such a great old place,” Dorothy observed as she walked back into the foyer. “It’s a little run-down but not bad.”

  Penny looked around. Obviously a service had been called to pack up the house after Hal’s death. The furniture had been covered and the personal items packed into boxes and labeled. Even with the disarray the place had appeal. High ceilings. Carved woodwork. Brass light fixtures.

  “Remember how we thought this was the perfect staircase,” Dorothy said, her hand on the carved oak banister as she looked up the sweeping stairs. “I think we all dreamed of coming down it in our wedding dresses and making a grand entrance.”

  Penny remembered those days of hoping and wishing so hard that her stomach hurt. Of riding her bike blocks out of her way so she could pass by the house, hoping for a glimpse of Brad and yet terrified that he might see her and somehow know the truth. She had never progressed to dreams about the staircase, though.

  “I never did,” she replied. “Didn’t seem much point since none of us lived in the house.”

  “Dreams shouldn’t be tied into reality,” Dorothy said. “That’s always been your problem, Penny. You’re too realistic.”

  The dumbest kid in class falling for the smartest one was realistic? More like proof of how dumb she really was. But she didn’t want to go there. It was time to put those thoughts aside.

  “Maybe we should buy the house and rent it out for weddings,” Penny said lightly. “The rooms upstairs could be used by the bride to get ready. The wedding could be held in the living room and the reception in the gardens outside.”

  “What fun that would be!” Dorothy agreed and stepped back from the stairs with a dreamy look in her eyes. “I bet it would get booked up in a hurry and then the house would be a happy place again.”

/>   Penny’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  Dorothy stepped back, the dreamy look gone from her face. “Me? Heavens, no. I think it’s a great idea but I couldn’t do it I’m not even going to be here.”

  “You’re not? Where are you going?”

  “Paris, remember?” She took a last look around and then headed for the front door. “Ready?”

  “Sure.” Penny waited while Dorothy locked up the front door, then they walked down the brick walkway to her car. Paris was no real threat. Dorothy had been talking about Paris for years now and the closest she’d ever gotten was using French dressing on her salad.

  “So, where are we meeting Heather?” Penny asked.

  “The Landing.”

  “Ooh, I’m leaving room for strawberry shortcake.”

  It was only a few minutes’ drive to the restaurant. Heather was waiting at a table in the porch dining room, overlooking Lake Palomara. Penny felt her heart lighten as they approached her. This was just like old times.

  “What happened to your ankle?” Heather asked as Penny sat down.

  Her good spirits dimmed just a little. “Oh, I sprained it slightly yesterday. It’s almost healed.”

  Heather frowned. “Sprains take a couple of weeks to heal up.”

  Penny just picked up the menu and began to scan the familiar items. “I don’t have a couple of weeks to spare.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have sprained it, then,” Dorothy remarked.

  Penny glanced her way. Dorothy couldn’t know it was all a fake, could she? But Dorothy was just reading her own menu, nothing but indecision on her face. Penny was just overly sensitive.

  “I’ll remember that the next time I’m thinking of spraining something,” she said lightly.

  After they placed their orders, they settled back for a cozy chat. Penny’d thought she needed to warn Dorothy not to take Brad seriously but maybe she didn’t need to. In the hour she and Dorothy had been together, Dorothy hadn’t mentioned him.

  “Is Brad still at your house?” Heather asked.

  Penny glanced Dorothy’s way but saw nothing to worry her. “For a few more days. He seems anxious to go. Guess he’s got a life elsewhere.” Still no real reaction.

  “I would hope so,” Heather said. “It would be pretty sad if he didn’t.”

  Penny took a quick peek at Dorothy as she went on. “He might even have a true love waiting for him.”

  Dorothy wrinkled her nose. “I doubt that.” She leaned forward with a smug kind of smile. “I think that he really cared about somebody back here when we were growing up and still might.”

  Penny felt her stomach clutch. “Heavens, we all had crushes back then but we’ve outgrown them.”

  “Have we?” Dorothy asked with that same little smile. “I know I have, but I’m not so sure about some others.”

  Penny was torn between worry and relief. Dorothy wasn’t pining for Brad. That was good news. But that Brad might still be pining for Dorothy wasn’t. Would Dorothy be able to remain unaffected by his attention? Penny thought of his gentle smile, his fiery touch, the way he was there to lean on. How could Dorothy not fall in love with him? How could any woman resist?

  “Ladies, hello.”

  Penny looked up to find Toto at their table. “Hi,” she said quickly, mixing her greeting in with the others. “Want to join us?”

  He shook his head and turned to Dorothy. “Just saw your car in the lot and thought I’d stop in and say hi.”

  Penny bit at her lip to keep from smiling. Finally, he was going to pursue Dorothy. Dorothy, however, showed no emotion.

  “Hi, Toto,” was all she said. “How are you?”

  He let his gaze take in them all. “You ladies going to the concert in the park tonight? It’s supposed to stop raining by then.”

  “Not me,” Heather replied. “The bugs will be terrible.”

  “I might,” Penny said. “Gran was talking about wanting to go. What about you, Dorothy?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I got some new tapes in the mail today and I was planning to listen to them.”

  “Oh, come on,” Penny coaxed. “You can listen to tapes any day. This will be fun.” She turned to Toto. “Can you get there early and save us a spot?”

  “I’ll be glad to,” he said, his eyes going back to Dorothy. “Should I save one for you, too?”

  Penny held her breath. It seemed as if Dorothy hesitated forever.

  “Sure, why not?” she finally agreed. “If the bugs are really bad, I can always leave early.”

  Hardly an enthusiastic reply, but Toto didn’t look upset. “See you tonight, then,” he said before taking off.

  Their lunches arrived, giving Penny the chance to think undisturbed for a few minutes. It shouldn’t be too hard to maneuver to give Dorothy and Toto some time alone. Of course if Brad was around, she’d have to work at keeping him occupied.

  The main thing was to let Dorothy and Toto have time to discover their love. So she would make sure Brad was kept busy, even if she had to lock her lips to his.

  She smiled down at her chicken salad. That might just be a perfect idea.

  “More wine?” Junior whined in answer and Toto frowned at his dog, who was lying on the blanket with him and Dorothy. “No, not you. I was talking to Dorothy.”

  But Dorothy shook her head. “Gracious, no. I’m not done with what you poured for me already.” She looked around with an audible sigh. “I wonder where Penny and Brad are.”

  Was it Penny she was looking for or Brad? Toto didn’t dare look at her, but put the wine bottle back in the basket of food he’d brought, securely closing both against Junior. Maybe it had been a mistake to suggest this evening at the park, but he’d gotten a book from the library about women and it had said women liked concerts. It didn’t cover what to do when the woman kept looking for some other guy, though.

  He looked up at the sound of Dorothy smacking a mosquito that had landed on her arm. Junior dove for the wine that had splashed out of her glass and onto her leg.

  “Junior,” he snapped and the dog pulled back with a pout. No, this definitely wasn’t turning out as the book had predicted.

  “I’ve got some bug spray in my car.” Toto got to his feet. “I’ll go get it.”

  “Would you? What a sweetie you are.” But her voice was distracted and her eyes were back to searching the crowd.

  Toto just trudged around the groups spread out on blankets on the grass and in lawn chairs waiting for the concert to start. If he thought for a minute that Dorothy really considered him a sweetie, he’d be in heaven, but he knew better. Dorothy barely even saw him anymore.

  “Hey, Toto!” a friend from the police force called.

  “Hey,” he called back and waved.

  “Junior here?” someone else called. “Maybe we’d better lock up the beer.”

  Toto just smiled and waved and kept on walking to the car. He had lots of friends, there was no doubt about that, but he spent most of his evenings feeling lonely.

  Still, he was not going to stand in the way of Dorothy’s dreams. If moving to Paris was going to make her happy, then he’d drive her to airport.

  He stopped walking suddenly. And what if marrying Brad Corrigan was going to make her happy?

  He forced himself to start walking again, though it felt like a death march. Nothing had changed. Right was right. And if marrying Brad Corrigan would make Dorothy happy, then Toto would give her away at the altar.

  Toto reached his car on that grim note and opened the trunk to get the insect repellant from a bag in the back. The sound of laughter made him turn. There in the corner of the parking lot, walking from her parked truck, were Penny and Brad. And Penny was draped all over Brad as if she couldn’t walk on her own.

  Toto just watched for a long long moment, then closed his trunk quietly. Thank goodness he’d found out how things really stood.

  Brad was about as trustworthy as Junior with an open can of beer. He’d make
a play for whatever woman was handy, never mind who might get hurt.

  Toto took a deep breath. He would talk to Penny and warn her, but his real concern was for Dorothy. Poor innocent naive Dorothy who wouldn’t have an idea how to handle such a snake. He was going to have to protect her.

  Chapter Seven

  “Are you sure you can walk all right on this grass?” Brad asked. “I don’t want you twisting your ankle again.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Penny held his arm tightly as they walked between the people milling about in Centennial Park. Well, Brad walked, she limped. But the last thing she needed was for Brad to decide to carry her. Throwing herself at him was one thing, having him sweep her off her feet was another. She was going to stay in control.

  “You probably shouldn’t have given up your crutches so soon,” he advised.

  “I’m fine, really,” she replied a bit sharply. “Though another remark like that and I’ll wish I had them to hit you with.”

  “Guess you must be feeling better,” he said. “You would never have given up a weapon unless you felt strong enough to take me on without one.”

  Jeez, she had to watch her tongue. No more smart-aleck remarks. She leaned in a little closer and gave him a seductive smile. “Maybe I’m not in the mood for weapons tonight.”

  His dark eyes got a bit darker and he looked a little...odd. She wasn’t sure if he was uncomfortable or puzzled or what. Damn. She wished she could read him better. It was probably surprise, that was all. She hadn’t been falling all over him for the past few days so it was going, to take him a little time to get used to the idea.

  “Is that Dorothy up ahead?” he asked.

  Penny looked up and saw her friend waving from under the trees ahead. She waved back, taking a deep breath. This evening could be tricky, depending on Dorothy’s reaction. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get upset.

  “She looks like she’s by herself,” Brad observed. “I thought you said Toto was going to be here.”

  Oh, no, if Dorothy was alone, Brad would pay attention to both of them. How would she ever keep him distracted then?