Dancer in the Shadows (7 page)

Mrs. Rogers took in Valerie's pale, strained face as the couple entered the apartment. "He's asleep." She smiled warmly, picking up the rolls of fluffy yellow yarn and her silver crochet hook. "I'll be saying good night." She let herself out quietly.

"Would you like some coffee?" Valerie asked tautly.

"No. Just sit down and listen like a good little girl."

She perched on the edge of the chair farthest away from Sean. The corners of his mouth quirked in amusement as he saw her reluctance to be near him. Sean sat on the couch, his hands clasped loosely between his legs.

"I might as well just come to the point," he said crisply. "What you did—not telling me about Michael—is inexcusable. I won't tell you my exact feelings about it because I don't like to use that kind of language to a woman. But you're going to make up for it—in spades."

"Make up?" Her voice was faint.

"I want my son." His announcement sent icy flashes through her body. "But as I know you'd try to fight me every step of the way, you'll have to come, too." Sean's dark gaze settled on her shocked features. "I have a house outside of town, and there's plenty of room there for him to run around and play and do whatever else little boys do."

"And if I don't consent to your so-called idea?"

Sean's eyes traveled around the small living room, noting the slightly shabby furniture. Valerie clenched her hands under his appraisal. It was obvious from the well-tailored clothes and gold watch he wore that he had few monetary problems.

"If not, then I'll take you to court to get custody of him," he stated coldly.

"He's just a little boy, not an inanimate object. He has feelings, too. I can't just let him go with you. He doesn't know who you are!"

"That's your fault, not mine!" he informed her tersely. "That's why you have to come along, too."

"I have a job!" she protested. "Besides, you don't want me. You only want Michael." Her words ended in a faint whisper that held a touch of wistfulness. Valerie kept her eyes on her clenched hands to avoid seeing the cold truth visible on Sean's face. "It wouldn't work out," she said flatly.

"Then what about a compromise?" he suggested. "A six-month trial. After that, if you want your divorce you can have it, and you'll be well provided for. But I want custody of Michael. Or you can stay with Michael and play the role of a well-adjusted wife without any complaints."

"To protect you from adoring females with big ideas?" Her mouth twisted bitterly.

"Val, I'll have Michael one way or the other." His eyes narrowed to slits. "So what is your answer?"

"I-I'll have to think it over." She stumbled over her words as she rubbed her forehead agitatedly.

"You think it over. You just do that." Sean rose to his feet with the lithe grace of a jungle cat. "And by next weekend be prepared to move into my house." He walked toward the door.

His highhanded tactics made Valerie bristle with anger. Her head rose to face the man she now considered her enemy. Her green eyes narrowed to emerald slits as she also rose to her feet and walked toward the door.

"Tell me, Sean—" her tone was sarcastic—"do you still wear your wedding band so that your girlfriends can't get serious? It must be a wonderful form of protection. You know what I mean—'I'm sorry darling, but I have a wife already.'" She kept on ignoring the danger signs emanating from his rigid body.

"Of course, you didn't let yours stop Saunders from climbing into your bed," he sneered.

Unthinking, Valerie's hand shot out, slapping Sean across the face. For an electric moment she stared horrified at the red marks her fingers had left against the tanned skin of his cheek. With a harsh exclamation he roughly pulled her against him, his lips savagely bruising her soft mouth.

"No!" she gasped as his surging mouth punished hers.

"This is exactly what you deserve," he muttered against her mouth, his hot breath fanning her flushed face.

The punishing kiss brought back memories of the incident at the dance, and Valerie began to panic. She frantically struggled in his iron embrace, feeling waves of fear course through her body. She wanted to cry out in protest against his punishment. Sean took his time, ruthlessly plundering her mouth, robbing the sweetness within. Her tears flowed freely when he finally lifted his head and released her.

"I'll be here a week from tomorrow at ten. I suggest you and Michael be ready." A thread of steel was evident in his voice. "Otherwise, be prepared to face the consequences."

"Oh, yes, I know your method of punishment only too well," she whispered, not seeing a strange look pass over his face as he began to stretch out his hand, which

he hastily drew back, as if regretting his impulsive action.

"None of your disappearing tricks, either," he added as he opened the door. "I'm becoming well versed in your little tactics."

After Sean left, Valerie childishly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She walked into Michael's bedroom as he sat up in bed, rubbing sleepy eyes with his fists.

She sat on the edge of the bed, facing him. "Michael, Sean has a very large house near here and would like us to live there with him. Would you like that?"

"Why?" He posed to his favorite question.

"B-because he's your father, Michael." She cursed herself for telling it so bluntly. "He wants us all to be together."

The small boy appeared to study his mother's tense features. "Can I take my bear with me?" He referred to his favorite toy.

"Of course you can." Valerie laughed, hugging him before she tucked him in and went thoughtfully into her own room.

Sometime later, still awake, her mind drifted, remembering the intense virile man she had tried, in her own naive way, to know. Painfully, she wondered how much Sean remembered of that last night they were together. She shivered, remembering the savage passion he had displayed toward her as he cruelly used her to prove his dominance. Young and inexperienced, Valerie had not known that it had been injured male pride and alcohol that had turned him into a vengeful animal. Fearing his anger, she had fled. His manner through most of tonight and at the dance showed her he hadn't changed. Yet, sometimes tonight, he had seemed different. Even though she had panicked under his punishing kiss, tiny flames of desire had begun to burn. Moaning softly, she wrapped her arms around her body, soon falling into a deep sleep and not even waking up when Shelly came in much later.

The next morning, Valerie was awakened by a soft and furry object tickling her nose. Opening her sleep-filled eyes, she gazed into two green ones filled with laughter.

"Shelly said I shouldn't talk too loud or I'd wake you up," Michael whispered. "So I let my bear wake you up, instead. She didn't say he couldn't."

Chapter Four

Valerie laughed, kissing him soundly on the cheek. "And thank you for such a lovely way to wake up." She playfully rubbed her nose against his.

"Hey, buster, your breakfast is on the table." Shelly stood in the doorway. "You wait too long and it will get cold." She raised her eyebrows questioningly toward Valerie. "Michael said his father was here last night."

She nodded her head yes.

"What happened?" Shelly asked.

"I'll tell you when my 'hears all, tells all' goes out to play." Valerie got out of bed, pulling on her cotton robe. "He has a habit of repeating all the wrong things."

Shelly chuckled. "Take your time getting dressed. I'll make sure that he gets at least half of the food in his stomach and not on the floor."

As she had done many times before, Valerie silently thanked her stars for a friend like Shelly. She had taken Val in without questions and helped her throughout the hard times when she was trying to find a job and someone to take care of Michael. Mrs. Rogers had taken care of Michael since he was three months old and treated him as if he were one of her own grandchildren.

After hurriedly showering, Val brushed her hair and dressed in shabby jeans and an old cotton sleeveless shirt. Devoid of makeup, she resembled a teenager more than a mother of a young child.

After Michael finished his breakfast and left, ostensibly to put his toys away, Shelly turned to Valerie. "Well, what did Sean want?" she asked bluntly.

Valerie told her of the events of the previous night, leaving out only the absence of love in the reconciliation. Her pride refused to let anyone know that if Sean could have it any other way he would take only Michael and have nothing to do with her.

"You don't look very happy about it." Shelly eyed her sharply.

"It's been a long time." She shrugged her shoulders, attempting to act indifferent. "I'm just not sure of my feelings, that's all."

Shelly shook her head in disbelief as she poured herself more coffee. "It sounds as if the two of you have decided to battle over Michael," she said perceptively. "And for his sake, I hope that's not what it is."

"You'll be getting married next year. Besides, Michael would be better off with a yard to play in," Valerie muttered. "And Sean seems to have the money to afford one."

"There's an item in the paper today about a new engineering firm owned by Sean Hunter and another man, Dave Eastman." Shelly tapped the newspaper with her finger. "You might be interested in reading it." She rose from the table and headed for the kitchen, carrying her dirty dishes.

Valerie watched her leave the room before furtively glancing at the article. Her face burning, she read about the new firm and its two owners. She concentrated on the paragraph about Sean Hunter, who would be living with his wife and son on the outskirts of town. "Mrs. Hunter and their son have been residing in Phoenix for the past few years."

How dare he! She clenched her teeth, angrily crumpling the paper in her hand and pushing it to the floor.

The fighting glow was still in Valerie's eyes later that day when she left with Michael to walk to a nearby park. Michael was content playing on the slides and climbing bars while Valerie lounged on the grass nearby with a paperback book, idly sipping a can of Coke. She smiled, watching her son climb on the monkey bars. Convinced that all was well, she turned to her book. Engrossed in the story, it took some time for Valerie to realize that the high-pitched squeals coming from the other side of the playground were Michael's. Taking her sunglasses from the top of her head and slipping them on her nose to shield her eyes from the bright afternoon sun, she looked over toward him. Her green eyes widened in surprise to see him happily throwing a ball to a casually dressed Sean, who carefully threw it back to him. The small boy looked toward her, waved, and ran over.

"My dad's here, Mom!" he shouted excitedly, braking to an abrupt stop in front of her.

"Yes, darling, I see," Valerie said tensely, looking up at the tall figure walking slowly behind Michael. "Don't tell me you just happened to be in the neighborhood."

"No. I went by your apartment and Shelly said you were here," he replied, sitting down on the grass next to her.

"I'm gonna get a drink of water." Michael ran toward a nearby drinking fountain.

"I never saw so much energy in a kid." Sean laughed softly, lying back and propping himself on his elbows. "Does he ever stop?"

"Only to eat and sleep." She began to relax at his impersonal comments. "And even then not for long."

Reaching near her thigh, he picked up her can of Coke, brushing the denim material of her jeans with his fingertips. He felt her flinch from his light touch. Under her angry glare, he lazily drank from the can where her lips had been only a few moments before, and the casual gesture seemed as intense as an intimate caress to Valerie's raw nerves. Sean wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, keeping his gold-flecked eyes on Valerie's averted face.

"Right now you look more like his older sister than his mother," he said softly. "I guess you were a child bride, at that. I wonder if you knew what you were getting into then."

Valerie's hand lifted and her green eyes blazed with anger. Noting her intentions, Sean's hand gripped hers painfully. "You're out of your league, angel." His voice flowed over her like rough velvet. "Just be the amiable wife you're supposed to be. And that includes staying out of Craig Saunders' arms."

Valerie opened her mouth, intending to tell him she had no desire to be with Craig, or, as a matter of fact, with him, but snapped it shut, deciding she'd only lose by it. Sean noticed the argumentative expression flash across her face and smiled. Sitting up, he leaned over and, with one finger, turned her chin toward him. Her eyes were the color of dark emeralds, a sure sign of her anger.

"People will think we're arguing if you keep on looking at me that way," he told her lightly.

"Let me go, Sean," she said tensely.

He released her face and resumed his lazy position. "You're free."

"No, I mean let me go. You don't want me anymore, so why should we pretend to reconcile?" she asked as the knots tightened in her stomach. "It's not to your advantage."

Sean's features turned to stone. "The reason is over there on the slide," he replied icily, gesturing toward Michael. "I want to get to know the son you selfishly chose not to tell me about. I suggest you put a smile on that sulky face because he's coming this way." He picked up the romance she was reading, leafing idly through it. "It seems you believe the world is a fairy tale and you're just waiting for your handsome prince. Grow up, Val, or your son will first."

"I hate you for this." Her low voice wavered.

"Then we're even, my love." The cold expression he presented to her warmed as Sean looked up at his son. "Hey, pal, slow down; you have the rest of the afternoon ahead of you."

"No, he has to take a nap soon. " Valerie jumped unsteadily to her feet.

"Maybe he'd rather go for some ice cream first?" Sean suggested, which brought a squeal from an excited Michael.

Valerie hesitated, wanting to stay as far away as possible from Sean.

"You can leave your car here and we can all go in mine," he told her, his tone politely mocking. "And if you're afraid, you can sit in the back seat."