Husband by the Hour (8 page)

Hannah shuddered at the thought of liquor. She hadn't completely recovered from the previous night. Louise poured ice water for her and a beer for Nick. Just as Hannah wondered if everyone was going to stand there watching her and Nick eat, Louise said, "Baseball."

Travis looked at her. "What?"

"Basketball? Isn't there a sporting event on television tonight?"

Kyle grinned. "I think she's trying to tell us something." He leaned over the island and grabbed Nick's plate. "Come on. The women are throwing us out. Let's go to the den. There's a big-screen television in there. You can eat in peace."

Nick hesitated. Hannah stared at him. If he left, she would be alone. Their eyes met. She read concern and compassion in his gaze. If she didn't know better, she would swear he really cared about what happened to her. Which was a completely crazy idea. Nick only cared about himself. Right?

She thought about all he'd already done for her and it was only the first day. He was worth a whole lot more than four hundred dollars. Or three hundred and ninety, a little voice whispered in her head as she remembered the heat and pleasure of their ten-dollar kiss.

"I'll be fine," she said.

He touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. For one oddly unsettling moment, she wanted the contact to be real and not simply because he was playing a part. Then he followed the men and she was left alone with six strange women.

Her appetite deserted her and she set down her fork. Now what?

Louise took the seat next to her. The two pregnant half sisters-in-law, if that was the relationship, took the other two. The remaining three leaned against the counter.

"You look lost and confused," said one. She had long brown hair and pretty eyes. "I'll make it easy," the woman continued. "I'm
Elizabeth
. Brown hair, brown eyes. Average-looking."

The other women hooted at that remark. "Oh, sure. Average," Jill said. She was easy to remember because she looked like she was going to give birth at any moment. She shifted on the stool. "I'm Jill. Red hair, short."

"And pregnant," Hannah said.

Jill patted her tummy. "Any day now."

Hannah turned to the other pregnant woman. "Holly, right?"

"That's me.
Jordan
's my husband and this is our house." She smiled shyly. "We were just married in January."

Elizabeth
moved next to Holly and hugged her. "Newlyweds and this one already five months pregnant. Do these boys know how to get the job done, or what?"

Hannah laughed.

"I'm
Sandy
." She was about
Elizabeth
's height adage, with shoulder-length hair, freckles and huge green eyes. "I'm married to the baby. That's Kyle."

"Which leaves only me. I'm Rebecca." Rebecca was tall and slender, with thick curly hair that spilled over her shoulders nearly to her waist. Her perfect face belonged on an eighteenth-century portrait. "I'm married to Austin, who is a Haynes brother in spirit if not, in blood."

Hannah stared from one to the other. "I'm not sure I'll ever sort you all out, but I'll try."

Louise gave her a quick hug. "I'll make everyone wear name tags."

Elizabeth
stared at Hannah. "You have the Haynes features, all right."

"She's very pretty," Louise said proudly. "I knew she would be."

"I don't think I'd use the word pretty," Hannah protested.

"Oh, I would."
Sandy
grinned. "And your husband is very handsome."

"For a guy with blond hair,"
Elizabeth
teased.

"I happen to like Nick's blond hair," Hannah said.

Elizabeth
leaned close. "He's a natural blond, right?"

All the women shrieked with laughter. Hannah joined in, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. Not with the teasing. She liked these women. What made her stomach clench was the fact that everything about her was a lie. Would they be as open and friendly if they knew the truth?

She always worried about people being whom they pretended to be. Despite being married to cops, none of these women seemed to have doubts about her story or to wonder if she might not be telling the truth. They trusted her.

For a half second, she thought about coming clean. Then Louise raised her glass and said, "I'd like to propose a toast. To my beautiful daughter and her charming husband."

Hannah had no choice but to raise her glass of ice water and drink.

Louise urged her to eat, then leaned back on her stool. "I'm a very content old woman."

"You're not old,"
Elizabeth
told her. "Barely what? Forty-one?"

Louise chuckled. "You always were my favorite. No, I'm going to be forty-seven very soon. All right. I'll retract the old, but not the rest of it." Her expression turned serious. "Thank you for coming to visit me, Hannah. You've made me very happy."

When Hannah's eyes burned, she told herself it was only because she was tired. She'd barely gotten any sleep the previous night. It wasn't emotion. She didn't know this woman or these people. They certainly didn't matter to her.

Conversation flowed around her. The women had obviously spent a lot of time together. Hannah enjoyed listening to them. She would have liked to grow up in this kind of family. To be part of something.

She finished her dinner. Her stomach full, she felt the exhaustion of the day finally catch up with her. She yawned. "Oh, excuse me," she said and covered her mouth.

Louise frowned. "You made that drive all in one day. No wonder you're tired. Come on. Let's collect that husband of yours. We can visit more in the morning."

The women trooped into the den. It was nearly as spacious as the living room. The leather furniture all faced the big-screen TV on the far wall.

She and Louise led the way. As they entered the room, the men were laughing. Hannah noticed their attention was focused on Nick and not on the basketball game. What had he been telling them? After the cruise story, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Nick glanced up and saw her. "Hi, honey."

"Hi. I thought maybe it was time for us to head off to the hotel." Where she would have her own private room with a shower. Where she could finally be alone.

"Good idea."

But before Nick could stand, Travis pushed to his feet. "It's early. You can't leave so soon."

"They're tired," Louise said. "They're going to be here two weeks. We'll all have time to get to know each other."

"I agree."

Hannah thought the brother speaking was
Jordan
. As he stepped into the light, she was sure.

"But you're not going to a hotel," he said. "We have plenty of room right here."

"We have room, too," Travis said. "Right, Elizabeth?"

His wife joined in the invitation. "Yes, of course, you're welcome to stay. The guest bathroom has a wonderful claw-footed tub. It's very romantic."

Hannah fought down panic. She wasn't interested in romance. She wanted, needed, some time alone. She and Nick could not share a room. It wasn't possible.

"You're all very sweet, but we can't impose," she murmured, not daring to look at Nick. She could just imagine what he was thinking about their sharing a room.

Craig glanced at her. "You're safe from us. Jill and I live too far from here to bug you about staying. Although you'd be more than welcome."

"The hotel is—"

"Wait!"
Sandy
walked to the middle of the room. "I have the perfect solution. I understand Hannah, wanting to stay at a hotel. After all, the family is a little scary at first."

There were murmurs of agreement.

"As a compromise, I'd like to offer our gatehouse. It's currently empty and furnished." She smiled at Hannah and Nick. "It's a fully equipped one-bedroom apartment. You'd be close by and staying with family, but you'd have some privacy. You guys might have been married for five years, but you're still acting like honeymooners."

Nick moved close to Hannah and dropped a kiss on her nose. "She's right, honey. I know the thrill is still there for me."

Hannah wanted to punch him. She settled on a tight smile. "Me, too, darling."

Louise nodded. "It's really perfect.
Sandy
redid the entire apartment just a couple of months ago. You'll love it."

Hannah doubted that. "A hotel is really fine with us. We don't want to be any trouble."

Louise touched her arm. "You're not trouble. You're family. We like taking care of each other. That's the best part of being together. Now, there'll be no more talk of staying at a hotel."

Hannah looked at each of their faces. They seemed genuinely glad to meet her and Nick. They'd welcomed them with open arms, no questions asked.

"You're very gracious," Nick said. "We'd love to stay at the apartment."

It took a couple of minutes for Sandy and Kyle to round up their children. Everyone walked them to the car. Hannah and Nick were to follow the minivan to their temporary home.

Louise hugged Hannah. "Thank you for coming back to me. I know you have a lot of questions about what happened all those years ago and what's happened since. I'll tell you everything I can." She blinked, then brushed away a tear that slipped down her cheek. "I'm so happy."

Emotions tightened Hannah's throat. She managed to whisper, "Me, too," then hugged the older woman back. Louise wasn't "Mom" yet, but a connection had been established. In time, it would become stronger.

Hannah found herself passed from person to person, hugged, kissed, squeezed and generally made to feel like a favorite rag doll. Nick got some attention of his own, with a few slaps on the back from the men.

She sank into the passenger seat, then waved as Travis shut the door. For a moment, there was only silence.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Nick said and winked. "I especially like the hugging and kissing at the end."

"You would."

"And the
one-bedroom
apartment sounds really attractive."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Honey, you don't have to talk about it. After all, we're going to live in it."

Chapter 5

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^
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N
ick waited for the minivan to pull out into the street. Hannah was quiet beside him. He was still shell-shocked from all that had happened in the past couple of hours. She must feel as if she'd been swept into another dimension.

"You did well," he said.

Hannah glanced at him. Despite the dark interior of the car and the fact that he couldn't read her expression, he knew what she was thinking. Should she go with the compliment or should she berate him for presuming to pass judgment on her performance? He suspected it was a battle of principles and exhaustion. Exhaustion won.

"Thanks," she murmured. "I still can't believe it. Brothers. I have four brothers."

"Cops, too. That makes the whole thing interesting."

The minivan backed out of the driveway and headed down the road. Nick followed. It was nearly
10:00 p.m.
and the residential streets were quiet.

"
Interesting
isn't the word I'd use," she said. "Do you know what will happen if they find out the truth?"

"No."

She sighed and sagged against the seat. "Me, neither, but I'm sure it won't be good. I should have thought this through better. I should have – oh, I don't know. Something. Maybe they won't find out."

"They won't. Not until you tell them. By then, they'll adore you so much, they won't mind that you fudged on a detail or two."

"We come from very different worlds. To you this might be fudging details, but where I'm from, and I suspect where they're from, too, lying about being married is more than a detail. I should have come clean from the beginning."

He was glad she hadn't. If Hannah hadn't needed a temporary husband, she wouldn't have hired him. Instead of sharing this time with her, he would have been trapped in some casino in
Las Vegas
.

Undercover work was a hell of a lot more difficult than most people realized. Every reference, every thought about a former life had to be suppressed. He was required to live, eat and breathe the job. Nick Archer wouldn't think twice about "fudging details." He had to remember that. He had to focus on who he was supposed to be and not what he wanted to be. But for a brief moment, less than a heartbeat, he wished he could just be himself.

"It's funny how the five of you look so much alike," he said.

"I agree. Wow. I sure wasn't expecting that. It's so odd to think I have brothers. They've been walking around for all these years and I never knew. And the way we resemble one another … well, it takes some getting used to."

"Several of your nieces and nephews have the 'Haynes' look, too."