One Night With You (18 page)

“Claudine Rutherford. She's half an inch shorter than I, two years younger and we resemble each other.”

“Just in case, I'll wait for her at four o'clock with her name printed on a piece of paper. Not to worry.”

“Thank you. I hope I'm not inconveniencing you.”

“It gives me pleasure to do things for you. Kiss me?”

She made the sound of a kiss. “I won't be home until five or a little later.”

“If I don't see your car in front of your house, I'll show her the town. Okay?”

She went back to court, ended the recess and the prosecutor continued her cross-examination of a man charged with child neglect and abuse, a man who, Kendra was reasonably certain, was being unfairly accused. The prosecutor rested her case early, so Kendra was able to adjourn and be home just before five o'clock.

When she opened the door to her sister and Reid, his move caught her off guard. He stood by while she greeted her sister, then closed the door, pulled her into his arms and, with his tongue dancing in her mouth, drugged her until she collapsed against him.

“I like your sister,” he said.

“Right now I don't care whether you like her or not. Why did you do that?”

“So it won't be necessary for you to fudge the truth. You're my girl, and your sister should know that.” He turned to Claudine. “I'm happy to have met you, Claudine, and I expect I'll be seeing more of you. Good night.” He walked over to Kendra and kissed the side of her mouth. “I'll call you later.”

Claudine's eyes seemed permanently arched. “Well, how do you like that?” she said.

At the supermarket that Saturday morning with Kendra, Claudine felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Reba, one of her sister's neighbors. “You must be Judge Kendra's sister, 'cause you look just like her. I'm Reba. How long you staying?”

“At least until midweek, I'm not sure. How are you, Reba?”

“Me? I'm fine, thank the good Lord.” She looked at Kendra. “Maybe I'll drop by and bring Claudine some of my pecan Noels I made yesterday. She'll love 'em. See you later.”

“I thought you said people here give you a cold shoulder,” Claudine said to Kendra.

“That was before I moved out of Albemarle Gates. Now I'm practically a hero. They think I moved because of that controversy, but I moved because the house was shoddily built and the company that built it was too vulnerable to put up a fight.

“I'm also in the local theater, and that doesn't hurt my popularity. You haven't told me what you think of Reid,” Kendra said later as she drove them home.

Claudine let out a long breath. “He's a hideous-looking man, a runt of minimum intelligence and totally lacking in charm and personality.” Kendra nearly slammed on the brakes. “If he was mine, I wouldn't let him out of my sight,” Claudine continued.

Kendra had forgotten about her sister's oddball sense of humor. “I'm glad you like him,” Kendra said dryly.

She had just finished putting away her groceries when the telephone rang. “Hi, sweetheart. I just spoke with Philip, and he wants us to come down there Friday. The whole place is in bloom, and this time we won't have to work. His cruiser's ready to sail—plums, blueberries and apricots are getting ripe.” He paused. “Please?”

“Just a minute.” She asked Claudine if she'd like to go.

“Any decent-looking men down there?”

“He's as good-looking as they come, well-educated and independent.”

“Does he have all of his teeth?”

Kendra couldn't help laughing. “Absolutely, and they glisten. You may not think he's eligible, though.”

“Why? Does he have one leg? So what? They still make crutches.”

“Nothing so simple. He's a green-eyed blond.”

“How tall is he?”

“I'd guess about six-four.”

Claudine slid off the kitchen counter. “The man's six feet four inches tall and you're telling me some garbage about the color of his eyes? Girl, I haven't had on a pair of three-inch heels in years. Tell Reid we can leave tomorrow.”

“We can't, because I have to work Monday, and so does Reid. Claudine is anxious to go,” Kendra told Reid.

“Yeah. I heard most of that conversation. Your sister has a wicked sense of humor. I detected that when I was bringing her here. We'll have a good time down there.”

Reid rang the bell at the wrought-iron gate leading to Dickerson Estates at precisely five minutes after seven that Friday evening, and gave thanks that he had not been given a ticket for speeding.

“This is Reid with two stunning females,” he said to Philip, who answered his ring. The gate swung open and in the still-bright summer evening, they drove up the sleepy land to the white Georgian mansion.

“This place is breathtaking,” Claudine said of the long lane that wound between moss-filled willow trees, crepe myrtles and fields of colorful flowers. “Who owns it?”

“Blond and green-eyed Philip,” Reid said with a laugh, “and trust me, he's got both legs.”

“If you tell him I said that, I'll…I'll poison my sister against you,” Claudine said to Reid. He parked, and Philip ran down the steps to greet them.

“How's it going, brother? Hello, Kendra. Welcome back. This must be…” He stopped as if shocked. “Hello,” he said, and Reid took Kendra's arm and went to the back of his car to get their bags. “Come on, baby. Let them deal with it.” He removed their bags and closed the trunk of the car. “I'll put these in the foyer. Philip will tell me where we're sleeping.”

“But Reid,” Kendra said, seemingly distressed, “shouldn't you introduce Philip to Claudine? It's improper to bring a guest to his house and not—”

He couldn't believe she'd said that. “You couldn't be serious, sweetheart. Their hormones have given them all the introduction they need. Can't you see that? What they need from us is privacy.”

“But they…” She looked up and saw that, with his arm around Claudine's shoulder, Philip guided her toward the side of the house where he'd installed the swimming pool, barbecue pit and basketball court. “Oh! Good Lord! He's a fast mover.”

“That's just it,” Reid said. “He is not a player. He isn't even a ladies' man. Philip is a loner, and apart from the people who live on the estate, he stays to himself. Doris said he was once engaged, but he wasn't rich enough in those days, and his fiancée dropped him for a rich man who she later sued for neglect and wife abuse. Philip's richer now than that guy ever was. Talk about justice!”

He rang the bell, and Max opened the door. “Come on in. Glad to see you again, Kendra. Philip tells me you're flying, Reid. You can't know how happy I am to hear it. Doris barbecued a young pig, Reid, because she knows how you love her barbecue, and we're eating out by the pool tonight. Where's Philip?”

“I was wondering the same thing. He disappeared with my sister,” Kendra said.

Max's eyebrows shot up. “Yeah? Well, she couldn't be in better hands.” He looked at Kendra. “Maybe you want to freshen up before dinner? I'll take you up to your room now. If Philip's got your sister occupied, I sure hope it means something. Reid, nobody sleeps in your room except you.” Max put the bags belonging to Kendra and Claudine in their rooms and went back downstairs.

“He just met her,” Kendra said to Reid. “What's with him?”

“She poleaxed him. That's what's with him. And if you'd been looking, you'd have seen that he did the same to her. Your fast-talking sister couldn't open her mouth.”

“I must be losing it. That ran right past me. I hope you're right, and I hope he realizes that Claudine runs her mouth because she's self-conscious.”

“Self-conscious or not, she's obviously Philip Dickerson's type. Meet you down at the bottom of the stairs in fifteen minutes.”

The first time he'd looked at Kendra, he'd thought something exploded inside him, shaking him so that he wanted both to run away from her and never to leave her. He unpacked, washed his hands, scrubbed his fingernails, brushed his teeth and changed into a yellow, collared T-shirt and a pair of white pants. When she drifted down the stairs, he laughed aloud, for she wore a yellow, collared T-shirt, white slacks and white sneakers.

“This is proof positive,” he said, swinging her into his arms, “that we're soul mates.”

“They'll think we planned this. Don't tell them it was accidental,” she whispered, “because they won't believe us anyway.”

“I don't give two hoots what they think. Next time, let's plan it. I want everybody to know I'm your guy and you're my woman.”

She raised an eyebrow, and he wondered at that. Staring down at her with his feelings bare, he said, “I
am
your man, am I not?”

“If you asking me whether you have privileges that no other man has, the answer is yes.”

Whether to gain strength from a coming blow, he couldn't say, but he widened his stance and looked her in the eye. “That's not the answer to my question, Kendra. Am I your man?”

Her countenance darkened, and he thought she appeared sad. “I'm old-fashioned, Reid. You're as important to me as the air I breathe, and no one, not even Claudine, who is my only living relative can boast that. To say that—”

He grabbed her shoulders. “If you had my ring on your finger, would you object to my saying that I'm your man?”

She sucked in her breath and something in the vicinity of her feet engaged her attention. “I guess not, but fiancé would be more appropriate.”

“Ah, sweetheart!” He pulled her into his arms, and she snuggled against him, holding him tight. How had he ever lived without her? He took her hand and headed for the recreation area.

“I wondered if you two had decided to fill up on love,” Max said.

Kendra greeted Doris with a hug. “That comment seemed out of character for Max. Was he telling me something?”

Doris's smile showed her pride in her husband. “He sure was. Max is so fond of Reid, and he won't be satisfied till he sees a minister pronounce the two of you man and wife. Girl, my husband is so romantic.” She patted the back of her hair, which looked as if she'd just left the hairdresser, and looked toward the ceiling. “After twenty-four years, he's still the best, most eager lover a woman could want.”

“That's because you probably look and behave exactly as you did twenty-four years ago, a perfect size ten with everything where it should be. How do you do that and eat this great food you cook?”

“I don't overeat, and I swim every day in the year.” She took a deep breath. “Philip is really taken with Claudine. I never saw the like of it, and that sort of thing always happens to both people. I tell you, this is something! Take this cornbread out to the table, will you? Wait a minute? You think Claudine would agree to live here? We're so isolated. Lord, I hope she's flexible.”

“Doris, they haven't known each other an hour.”

“I know, but, honey, I've known Philip since he was seven, and what he's going through right now isn't going to leave him during this lifetime.”

Kendra didn't know what to make of Doris's words, but she had a hunch that the woman knew whereof she spoke. She hastened outside to observe for herself the interplay between Philip and her sister.

“Excuse us for a couple of minutes,” Philip said to the group. “Claudine wants to change before dinner, and if we don't hurry we'll be on Doris's black list.” He extended his hand and Claudine took it, rose from her chair with the grace of Aphrodite rising from the Aegean Sea, and didn't even glance at her sister as she left the group, holding Philip Dickerson's hand.

“Well, if that doesn't beat all,” Kendra said to herself. To Max, she said, “Something's happening here. Does this place have magic? Reid certainly cast a spell over me when I was here before. What is it about the place?”

“No magic here,” Max said, and stretched out his legs and fastened his gaze on his wife, who sat across the room from him. “The people here care about each other, down to the last man. No one here has anything to fear. We treat each other with respect and care for each other when there's a need. Nothing here to get stressed out about.”

When Philip and Claudine returned a few minutes later, Claudine wore white pants and a pink T-shirt, and Kendra thought that Philip's color had heightened considerably. Doris said grace, and the three couples, along with Arnold, Philip's father, who joined them for the meal, enjoyed barbecued fresh pork, stuffed baked onions, stewed collards and baked spicy cornbread and lemon tarts for dessert.

Reid leaned back in his chair and said for all to hear, “Kendra, baby, you're going to have to learn how to do this barbecue. I've tried to make it at least half a dozen times and screwed it up on every occasion.”

“Just let me know when you're coming, and I'll show you,” Doris said, “but you have to promise not to give away my recipe.”