Authors: Judy Christenberry

Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #Historical, #Nonfiction, #Series

A Ring for Cinderella (3 page)

BOOK: A Ring for Cinderella

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Zach bounded up from the couch and met the doctor before he’d made much progress into the room. Susan couldn’t hear their conversation, but she watched them all the same.

Finally the doctor left the room.

“I’m going to say good-night to Gramp. I’ll be back in a minute,” Zach murmured.

“Then we’ll go home?” Paul asked, yawning. “I’m sleepy.”

“Then we’ll go home, sweetie,” Susan responded as Zach left the room. “Thanks for being so good.”

“It’s okay. I’m going to pretend Gramp is my grandfather. Is that okay, Susan? I won’t tell him, but since I don’t have a grandfather, I’ll just pretend.”

Susan gave her brother a hug. “As long as you don’t say anything to Zach or his grandfather, then that’s okay.”

Zach returned. “Ready to go?”

Susan studied his grim face as she helped Paul off the sofa. Something was wrong. She feared the doctor’s news hadn’t been good. “Do you want us to take a taxi home, so you can stay here?”

“No. They have my number and will call if there’s any change.” His words were abrupt, clipped, as if he were out of patience.

She made no more suggestions.

Once they were in the car, heading back to her apartment, she asked, “Are you going back to the ranch tonight?”

“No, I’m staying in town.”

He didn’t volunteer where, and she didn’t ask. If she’d had more room, she would’ve offered to let him stay with them, but somehow she couldn’t see Zach Lowery stretched out on their lumpy couch.

There were several men hanging around outside the
apartment building when they pulled up, and Zach scowled in their direction. “This isn’t a safe neighborhood.”

Susan, recognizing Manuel’s father, smiled and waved before turning to Zach. “We’re perfectly safe. Those are some of our neighbors.”

Opening the car door, she slipped out of the car and reached for Paul’s door. Before she could get the boy out, Zach was at her side.

“I’ll walk you upstairs.”

“Really, that’s not necessary.” She started to thank him for a lovely evening until she realized she’d been working, not socializing.

“Yes, it is. I need to pay you.”

He sounded angry. Fine, she didn’t have to take the rest of the money. The first check would help her out of some financial difficulty. She opened her mouth to tell him, but he grabbed Paul’s hand and her arm and started them toward the stairs at a fast clip.

“You’re going too fast,” Paul protested.

Without a word, Zach swung the boy up into his arms, then reattached himself to Susan’s arm.

“Wow, you’re strong,” Paul said in awe.

For the first time since Zach Lowery had come into her life, he smiled, and Susan realized handsome didn’t begin to describe him.

“You weigh a lot less than a bale of hay, Paul,” he said to her brother. “You need to eat more.”

“Susan says I eat lots and lots,” the boy said with a giggle.

“Why do you call her Susan?” Zach asked, frowning.

“’Cause that’s her name,” Paul said simply.

Susan could’ve explained then that Paul was her brother, not her son, but the stairway didn’t seem like a good place for such a private conversation. And she needed to keep her distance from such a handsome man—not get closer.

She got out her keys to open the door, relieved when Zach let go of her arm. His touch had bothered her. As the door swung open, she turned. “Thank you for seeing us to our door. I hope your grandfather’s condition improves.”

She pulled Paul in front of her and turned to go in, but she discovered Zach wasn’t ready to leave. He followed her in.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Payment, for one thing. Aren’t you interested in the rest of your money?” He gave her a sardonic stare.

Her cheeks flushed as she ducked her head. “I think your first check was sufficient. I didn’t do that much tonight..”

“You more than fulfilled your end of the bargain. Put the boy to bed. Then we’ll talk.”

She didn’t like him giving orders. But he was right. It was past Paul’s bedtime, and the boy’s eyelids were drooping. “Come on, Paul, let’s get you tucked in. And you can read for a little while.”

He was about to protest until she’d tacked on the
reward of reading. Paul loved books. “Can I read all of
Peter Pan?”

That was his longest book and would prolong going to sleep for almost an hour. With a tender smile, she agreed. “Okay, but don’t blame me if you don’t want to get up in the morning.”

“Do you have any
Hank, the Cow Dog
books?” Zach suddenly asked.

Paul halted on his way out of the room, a frown on his face. “No. Who’s that?”

“I’ll send you a couple. They’re stories about a cow dog named Hank who takes care of a ranch.”

“Wow!” Paul exclaimed, using his favorite word. “That’d be neat. When will you—”

“Paul,” Susan intervened. “Say thank you.”

“Thank you,” he repeated, and flew across the room to hug Zach around the waist. “I can’t wait.”

Zach rubbed the boy’s head. “I’ll see that you get them right away.”

With a bright smile on his face, Paul ran out of the room. Susan, after sending Zach an apologetic smile, followed him. Zach didn’t realize what a treat new books were to Paul

But she did. Gratitude filled her as she followed her brother.

What an appealing kid. He’d call a bookstore in the morning and have them send over whatever “Hank” books they had on hand.

As memory of what had occurred this evening came back, Zach began to pace the small room. What
happened next depended a lot on Susan. And it could be costly to him. But he’d already invested ten thousand dollars in his grandfather’s happiness. And it had paid off.

When he’d left tonight, Gramp was more relaxed than he’d been in quite a while. And he’d had a smile on his face.

Susan came back into the room.

“Is Paul in bed?”

“Yes. Thank you for offering to send him a book. He loves them.”

“No problem.”

There was an awkward moment as Zach tried to think of how to approach the difficult subject.

“Well,” Susan said, a false brightness in her voice, “I won’t keep you. I’m sure it’s been a long day.”

“Yes, it has, but we still have to talk.” He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out his checkbook. Whether she agreed to his plan or not, she had earned the rest of her money for tonight.

“Oh, no! No more is necessary. I mean, the first check was very generous. And I didn’t do much.”

He stared at her, speculation in his eyes. In his experience, women didn’t usually turn down money, whether they’d earned it or not. She must have some scheme already worked out in her head.

“You earned it.”

“No, really. Your grandfather is a very nice man. I enjoyed meeting him.”

“You brought him a lot of happiness.” He wrote out the check and ripped it out. “Here.”

“Zach, really, I don’t feel right about taking the check.”

“You’ll change your mind when you hear what I’m going to ask you to do next.”

Chapter Three

S
usan stared at him, confused. “You mean you want me to visit your grandfather again?”

“Well, that’s part of it,” he said, not quite meeting her gaze.

“I’ll be glad to visit him, but—”

“We have to get married.”

He said those words calmly, in a normal tone of voice, as if what he said made sense.

She stared at him. “What did you say?”

“I said we have to get married.”

She sank down onto the lumpy sofa, not sure her legs would hold her any longer. “That’s—that’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah.”

That was all, just that one laconic word, as if his bizarre statement didn’t need any more comment. Slowly, she extended her hand, the one that held the
check. “I think you’d better take this and go, Mr. Lowery.”

“And break an old man’s heart?” he asked softly, staring at her.

She immediately pictured Pete Lowery in his hospital bed, a sweet smile on his wrinkled face. “No! No, I don’t want to...your grandfather...what are you talking about?”

“Gramp wants us to get married in his hospital room so he can be present. He said it’s the only thing he’ll ever ask of me. He begged me.”

She didn’t need to see the anguish in his eyes. It was in his voice. And she could feel it in her heart. “Oh, Zach, I’m sorry. That’s terrible.”

He crossed the room to sit down beside her. “I knew you’d understand. You were terrific tonight. You’ll handle it well.”

Suddenly things had gotten very personal. Exactly what she hadn’t intended. “No! I mean, I didn’t say I’d do it. You can’t—It would be wrong to marry. No, I can’t do it!” Just the thought of marrying Zach Lowery put her in a tizzy.

“How much?”

His cynical question, accompanied by a look that only underlined his opinion, brought sanity to Susan. “I don’t want your money. And I don’t want to lie to Mr. Lowery anymore. Go find someone else to play games with you.”

He stood and paced across the room. “Good negotiating tactics, Susan. Refuse to do the job when you know you’re the only one who can. He’s already
met you, believes you’re my fiancée. I’m supposed to appear with another woman and convince him I’ve found a new fiancée in less than twenty-four hours?”

She bowed her head. trying to think through the situation she’d gotten herself into. “Okay. I realize you can’t get anyone else. Can you talk your grandfather out of the marriage? Maybe we can—”

Anger filled his voice. “Sure I could. I’ll just go tell him to forget it. I don’t care if he dies happy. That’ll do the trick.”

She squared her jaw. He didn’t have to be so...so difficult. “All right. Can we hire an actor to play the minister? Fake the marriage?”

“Gramp wants our minister from home to perform the ceremony.”

“And you’re willing to go ahead with this?”

“I have no choice. So, we’re back to that question I asked earlier. How much? Because I can assure you, you won’t be getting half my net worth, or my ranch from this...marriage. I’ll be generous, but not that generous. Then when...when the pretense isn’t necessary any longer, we’ll part company.”

Susan closed her eyes. The man was serious. “Did the doctor say how long?” She felt like a monster, asking that question, but she had to know.

“No,” he responded, his voice a growl. “He said he couldn’t make any predictions.”

“So we get married, but nothing changes, right? It’s a marriage in name only?”

He stepped closer. “It’ll be whatever kind of marriage you want, honey. I wouldn’t turn down a little...
sharing, but whatever kind of marriage it is, it ends when Gramp—when it’s not necessary anymore.”

She felt her cheeks flame as she considered his sardonic words. “Sharing” with this man would be devastating, or it would be when it ended. Somehow she knew that, probably because she shivered every time he touched her.

“No ‘sharing.’ We’ll do what it takes for your grandfather to believe we’re happily married, but that’s all.” She lifted her chin and stared him in the eyes. She wanted no misunderstandings.

“You still haven’t answered my question. How much?”

She held up the check she still had in her hands. “This will do.”

“Come on, honey,” he said, but his tone of voice didn’t match the sweetness of his words, “you could get enough to move out of this dump.”

“Please don’t refer to my home in such a derogatory manner,” she protested stiffly, straightening her spine.

He stared at her, disbelief in his eyes, but she didn’t care. She refused to say anything else.

“Okay, fine,” he snapped. “Tomorrow night. Gramp has the connections to speed things up. I’ll pick you up at six-thirty again. Wear something bridal.” Then he stomped out of her apartment, slamming the door behind him.

The next day, Susan stared at herself in the mirror. Something bridal. She only hoped the dress she’d
chosen was what Zach Lowery had had in mind.

At first, she’d tried to find something in her limited wardrobe that she could wear. The closest she came was a blue wool suit. But since it was late August, she didn’t think that would do.

Finally, she’d taken her lunch hour today and found an ivory dress, roaring twenties style, that Megan could use for parties at college. They were about the same size.

She’d added a wisp of a veil anchored to an ivory rose and ivory silk shoes.

And, most important of all, she’d kept quiet about her impending nuptials. She knew if she told Kate and Maggie, they’d insist she take their money, instead of earning it from Zach. And making his grandfather happy.

A rap on the door had her knees shaking. She drew a deep breath and, after checking the peephole, opened the door for Zach Lowery in a tux.

She didn’t know how much more she could take.

He looked her up and down and smiled. “Nice.”

“Thanks.” She picked up her ivory bag and moved past him, waiting for him to move so she could lock the door.

“Where’s Paul?”

“He’s with a sitter.”

“Gramp will expect him with us.”

She’d thought about what she should do, but she felt it would be difficult for Paul to understand about the fake marriage. “I don’t want to upset him.”

“I don’t, either. Either one of them. But Paul has to come. Gramp not only wouldn’t understand why he wasn’t there, but he also wants him there. He likes him.”

“And Paul likes him. But how are you going to explain this situation to an eight-year-old?”

“We’ll tell him the truth. We’re getting married for a little while. For Gramp’s sake.” He stood there stern and unyielding, waiting for her to give in.

And she did. The situation was so bizarre, she couldn’t decide what was right or wrong. With a sigh, she crossed the landing and knocked on Rosa’s door.

When her friend answered, she told her Paul was going with her, instead of staying with them.

“Paul!” Rosa called over her shoulder. Then she turned back to Susan. “You look like a bride. Is there something you haven’t told me?”

Susan barely smiled. “I’ll have to explain later,” she said as her brother appeared. “Paul, there’s been a change in plans. You’re coming with Zach and me. I need you to hurry up and change.”

“Wow! You look neat, Susan,” her brother said, staring at her.

“Thanks, sweetie. Go put on the slacks and shirt you wore last night. I hung them in your closet.”

“But Manuel and me was gonna watch the baseball game,” he said, frowning.

“Now, Paul,” she said quietly but sternly.

His shoulders slumping, he crossed the hallway to their apartment,

“Huay, please,” she called after him. She said
good-night to Rosa and headed back to her own apartment in case Paul needed her.

Zach caught her arm as she moved past him. “Thank you for giving in on this. I want things to be perfect for Gramp.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I need you to sign this, too,” he said, reaching inside his tux jacket as he followed her inside.

She frowned as he extended a paper to her. Taking it, she unfolded it and skimmed the contents. “I said you didn’t have to pay me any more money!” The paper was an agreement stating that she would marry him for an additional ten thousand dollars. When the marriage ended, she would not be eligible for any more compensation.

“That’s your only complaint?” he asked, one eyebrow rising.

“Why would I complain? I agreed to these terms last night without the extra money.” And she found his assumption that she would want more insulting.

“Okay. Here’s a pen.”

She snatched it from his hand. Fine. She’d sign his silly agreement. And if he really did pay her an additional ten thousand dollars, she’d be able to pay Megan’s room and board the second semester, too.

She handed him the signed paper with no comment, and they stood in silence until Paul reappeared.

“You forgot to change your shoes, buddy,” Zach said as the little boy finished buttoning up his shirt.

Paul looked at Susan, a puzzled look on his face.

“Those are the only shoes Paul has,” she said softly.

Her cheeks flushed as he stared her up and down, no doubt assessing the cost of her attire. She didn’t try to explain that she’d used part of his money to look nice for the occasion.

“Sorry, Paul, you look fine. Ready to go? By the way, I’ve got those books I promised you in the car.”

The boy’s face lit up. “Wow! Really?”

“Really,” Zach said with a smile.

He might be a jerk with her, but he was kind to Paul. Susan swallowed her anger.

“Why do I have to go?” Paul asked. “Susan said tonight was only for adults.”

“Well, Susan was wrong. It’s for adults and one special little boy. I’ll explain all about it in the car.”

Zach was making plans to take Paul on a shopping trip before he walked out of his life again. The woman beside him, looking pure and innocent in her bridal attire, probably would spend all the money he’d paid her on herself.

“When are you going to explain?” Paul asked, drawing his attention.

“Sorry, Paul, I forgot. My grandfather really wants me to get married. But I don’t have time to find a real bride, so Susan is going to pretend to be my wife. To make Gramp happy. Can you keep our secret?”

“Sure. But why do I have to be there?”

“Well, if it were your mom’s
real
wedding, you’d
be there, wouldn’t you?” He smiled in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah, I guess, if she was alive,” Paul said with a sigh. “All my family is dead ’cept Susan and Megan.”

Zach almost lost control of the steering wheel in his shock. Then he turned to stare at Susan. “You’re not his mother?”

“No, I’m his sister and legal guardian.” She never even looked at him.

“Why didn’t you say that last night?” It galled him that she’d kept the truth from him.

“You didn’t ask, and I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Who is Megan?” he snapped, too irritated to respond to her remark.

“She’s our sister,” Paul said from the back seat. “She’s gone away to school.”

“School?” Zach asked softly, looking at Susan.

“She’s a freshman at the University of Nebraska.”

“Damn it! We’re being married tonight. Don’t you think you could’ve told me these things earlier?” He felt like he’d been blindsided.

This time she looked at him. Then she coolly asked, “What difference does it make?”

Her question stumped him. She was right. Her family information would have no affect on him. This marriage wasn’t real. So why did it bother him?

“Gramp thinks Paul is your son.”

“He is,” Susan said, with a smile over her shoulder directed toward her little brother. “I helped take care
of him since his birth, and four years ago, I became his mother.”

He tightened his grip on the wheel. Somehow those words didn’t fit into the picture he had created of Susan. Beautiful, self-centered, greedy. She was too beautiful for her own good. But he could resist surface beauty. What was he going to do if he found out she was beautiful inside, too?

Susan held on to Paul’s hand as they approached the hospital room. In the car, when Zach had been questioning her, she’d been calm. But now that the moment for their bizarre plan had arrived, she was shaking inside.

“You’re squeezing my hand,” Paul complained, tugging.

“Sorry, sweetie. Be sure and don’t tell anyone our secret, okay?”

“I won’t. Will Zach be my daddy?”

BOOK: A Ring for Cinderella

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