The Candidate's Wife (5 page)

Adam relaxed visibly, but he studied her with narrowed eyes, apparently not amused by her little joke. "I see I've got a treat in store," he said dryly.

Julia glanced out the car's tinted window. Behind her rose the tall office buildings at the center of the city. Ahead she saw green, wooded hills and the highway that would take her to Cypress Point, and Danny. The mere thought of her son made her arms ache with emptiness. "I've got something to look forward to as well," she said.

Adam seemed to read her mind. "Tell me about Danny."

"Oh, he's -- he's -- " A lump grew in her throat, and words failed her. How could she sum him up in a few words? Besides, she could never picture him at one particular age; when she thought of Danny, she saw a chubby infant, a demanding toddler, and a clingy preschooler alongside the bright, well-adjusted fifth grader. "Well, I think you'll like him."

Adam chuckled. "Yes, but will he like me?"

"Eventually, yes. Today, I couldn't say. This whole -- arrangement -- is new for all of us. Danny will need some time to get used to it." She gave Adam a nervous smile. "It'll help if you're into video games, or a science buff. What do you know about space travel?"

Adam raised one eyebrow. "I know a little about which senators vote yes on appropriation bills for NASA. Other than that, not much."

"Better do some reading." Julia laughed. "Unless he's moved on already. Last year it was dinosaurs."

"Really." Adam chuckled, too. Julia couldn't help noticing the pleasant way his eyes crinkled, and the straight white teeth he revealed when he smiled, not to mention that sexy dimple. He hadn't smiled much in the time she had known him. "Maybe I'll study up," Adam said, "but first I think I should take a look at the new speech I'm making tonight." He pulled his laptop from its case, settled it on his knees, and powered up.

"Can I do anything to help?" Julia asked, on impulse.

He shrugged, clearly surprised by her offer. His eyes caught hers and held them. "You can listen while I practice, and make suggestions."

Julia flushed and glanced away. "I'd love to," she said softly.

Julia spent the next three hours helping Adam fine-tune his speech and perfect his delivery. She discovered that he had a near-photographic memory, as well as a tendency to improvise when hit by a new idea. Julia knew Adam's habit of taking off on a tangent drove his staff crazy, but she found it fascinating to watch as his voice grew huskier and his eyes shone with a hot, fervent light when he spoke to an imagined audience.

As she watched him practice, Julia realized that Adam's hardened, cynical attitude concealed a real love for politics. Every heartfelt word of his speech spoke of concern for the welfare of his constituents. She found herself barely breathing as she listened. As his ideas came fast and furious, his passion swept her up and carried her along like a rain-swollen river.

Adam concluded his speech. He frowned, stared at the screen, and tapped the keys to make several small changes. Finally, he glanced up and gave Julia his full attention. "So, what did you think?" he asked, in a voice that revealed both boyish pride and endearing vulnerability.

"It's wonderful. It really is."

Adam shrugged. "Well, I had Phil's help, and yours."

"But the ideas are all yours."

He smiled, obviously touched by her enthusiasm. "Thank you, Julia." He peered out the window. "Is this Cypress Point?"

Julia had been so absorbed by Adam's speech, and his presence next to her, that she hadn't noticed their arrival. She followed his gaze. "Oh! I can't believe we're here already. There's the grocery store, and my old high school. I love the way you can see the ocean from just about any point along the main street. Have you been here before?"

"No, never. I've visited just about every town in the state at one time or another, but I guess I missed this one." He grimaced as he took in the quiet, tree-lined streets and modest homes. "It's not very big, is it?"

Julia smiled. She had never minded the fact that her hometown boasted few big-city advantages. "Fewer than a thousand voters, but still a good place to grow up," she said.

Her heart beat faster as the driver turned a corner and she saw the tiny house, white stucco with green trim, an actual white picket fence, and a lawn bordered by her mother's carefully tended rose bushes. And, sitting on the front steps. . . .

Julia opened her door and scrambled out of the car. Her son -- blue eyed, freckled, gangly, his front teeth slightly crooked as he flashed her a joyful grin -- dashed across the lawn and threw himself into her arms. "Mom! You're home!"

For a long, precious moment, Julia held him close. She savored the warmth of his cheek against her neck and the apple scent of the children's shampoo she still bought him, despite his protest that it was "for babies". Fondly, she ran her fingers through his fine, dark hair, so much like her own. Her son. Her baby. Laughter bubbled from her throat. God, how she'd missed him! The moment wouldn't last, but she relished it while she could.

Sure enough, after about ten seconds, Danny wriggled away. Julia gave him one last squeeze and he let out a squawk of disapproval. "Mom! Quit it!"

"How're you doing, buddy?"

"Okay. Hey, Mom, I saw you on TV last night. They showed you leaving your office."

"Yeah, I know. Neat, huh?" Julia turned to see Adam waiting behind her. "Danny, I want you to meet Adam Carmichael."

Adam advanced across the lawn. He looked very tall and solemn in his dark suit, with his blond hair slicked back. He held out his hand. Reluctantly, Danny shook it. "Hi, there, Danny," Adam said. "How do you feel about coming to live in the city with me and your mom?"

Danny scowled and narrowed his eyes Julia sensed trouble brewing. She should have asked Adam to let her talk to Danny privately first. Danny's lips began to tremble, and color rose in his cheeks. "How come we can't stay here with Gran?" he demanded of Julia.

She sighed. "We'll talk about it later, Danny. Let's go inside now."

Red splotches stood out on his cheeks. His mouth screwed up into a pout. "But, Mom, I don't want --"

She cut him off firmly. "Not now, Danny. We'll discuss it later, I said."

"It's not fair. It's not fair, Mom!" He glared at Adam. "I hate you! You've ruined everything!"

"Danny, stop it," Julia said, in her no-nonsense voice.

"I hate you, too!" Danny cried, then turned and raced off around the corner of the house.

Adam threw Julia a helpless look. "Did I say the wrong thing?"

Julia shrugged. "He needs a little time. This is all pretty sudden, and we've lived in this house since Danny was born. My mother told him about the move last night, but I wanted to have a private talk with him to explain things. I should have warned you."

Adam spread his hands before him. For a tall, powerfully built man, he looked amazingly puzzled and helpless in the face of a 10-year-old's fury. "I'm sorry. I don't know the first thing about kids," he admitted.

"Don't worry about it. I'll let Danny cool off first, then straighten things out." Julia wondered again whether she had made a mistake by marrying Adam. She'd wanted to keep Danny with her, but at what price? Her son wouldn't understand the deal she'd made, or the fact that Adam's affections weren't part of the bargain.

Julia had no time to brood, however. Her mother chose that moment to appear at the door. She gathered Julia into her plump arms and kissed her on both cheeks. "Honey, congratulations. The boys are on their way." She pulled back and searched Julia's face, then turned to Adam. Clearly ill at ease in his presence, she spoke with stiff formality. "Senator Carmichael, welcome. This is a real honor for us. Please come in."

As she followed Adam into the hallway, Julia saw her longtime home with new eyes. When had it grown so cramped and shabby? Her mother kept the house spotless, but in places the wallpaper peeled away in strips, and the hallway felt narrow and dark. Adam, however, didn't seem to notice Julia's embarrassment. He let Julia's mother lead him into the living room, where he settled down on the lumpy couch.

Julia sat next to Adam. He seemed perfectly at home despite the scuffed carpet and the coffee table with the scratched glass. At least the house smelled good. The fresh-baked scent of Maureen Moore's famous caramel brownies wafted in from the kitchen, making Julia's mouth water.

Miss Meow, the family's obese calico cat, jumped up and tried to settle on Adam's lap. Julia frowned and tried to shoo the cat away, but Adam laughed and scratched her behind the ears. "Let her stay," he said.

"But she'll get hair all over your suit."

"It'll come off." Adam reached over and took Julia's hand, a gesture that seemed to come naturally to him but surprised Julia so much that she nearly pulled away. He turned to her mother. "I'm glad to have the chance to meet you before the wedding, Mrs. Moore. It was all very sudden, I know."

He smiled, and Julia watched her mother melt a little. Julia knew the feeling; she couldn't seem to resist Adam's charms, either. "Can I get you something, Senator?" Julia's mother asked. "Something to drink, maybe?"

"Call me Adam, please." He smiled again, and Julia could have sworn she saw her mother blush and bat her lashes. "Some ice water, and some of whatever you've got cooking in there?"

"Of course, Sen -- Adam. Julia," her mother added, rather pointedly, "why don't you help me in the kitchen?"

Julia jumped up, but not so quickly that she missed Adam's warning look. She lifted her chin, threw back her shoulders, and pretended to ignore him. His lack of trust felt like a knife in her heart. Every time he doubted her loyalty, it was another twist of the knife. What would she have to do to prove herself? Nothing, she decided. She had kept her half of the bargain. Adam's suspicious nature was his own problem, and she would let him deal with it on his own.

In the kitchen, she watched her mother slice into the cooling pan of caramel brownies. "What can I do to help?" Julia asked.

"Get a big plate down for me -- the blue one your Aunt Shannon gave us for Christmas." Julia fetched the plate from the cupboard. "Thank you, dear. Now why don't you tell me the truth about you and Adam?"

Julia averted her eyes. "There's not much to tell. We're married. I know it was quick, but -- "

Her mother raised her eyebrows, the spatula suspended halfway between the brownie pan and the blue plate. "Julia, you can't fool me. When you sat next to that man, I saw at least two feet of empty space between you. You winced when he took your hand. Now, there's something not right about all this."

Julia sighed. "You see everything, Mom. As always. But I can't talk about it. I'm doing what I think best -- for me, for Danny, and for Adam, too. Can we leave it at that? Please?"

Slowly, her mother nodded. "Will you explain it to me one of these days?"

"As soon as I can. I promise."

Her mother set down the spatula and gave Julia a quick hug. "All right, honey. But please remember that you can always come back home if you need to."

Warmed by her mother's words, Julia picked up the plate of brownies and returned to the living room. She set the brownies on the coffee table. "While you get acquainted with my mother, Adam, I'm going to see what I can do about my son's attitude."

"I'll see if I can charm Maureen into telling me some embarrassing stories about your childhood." Adam winked at her. "Danny's upstairs now, I think. I heard him slip in the back door a few minutes ago."

Julia climbed the stairs to Danny's room and knocked lightly on the door. When she entered, she saw he had already packed two suitcases in preparation for the move. The space shuttle models he'd built with such care still sat on his dresser, though, and his favorite quilt remained on the bed. Danny sat on top of the quilt, his narrow shoulders hunched and his lower lip thrust out. Julia ran her fingertips over the spines of the titles in his bookcase. "Danny, don't you want to take your books?"

He shook his head, his small, sharp features distorted by a mask of utter misery. Julia sighed. When Danny laughed, Julia saw a mirror image of her father in his younger days. When rage or grief clouded his blue eyes, she saw Frank. She frowned and sank down on the bed next to her son. She preferred to imagine that Danny was her child, and hers alone, but she couldn't always keep up the charade. Still, Danny didn't remember Frank, and showed little curiosity about his father. Julia was grateful for that fact.

"Hey, buddy," she said softly. "I know you don't like the idea of leaving Gran, or your friends, but at least we'll get to be together." She slipped her arm around his shoulders. "All these years I've promised that, haven't I? All the years I had to go away part of the week, and drive all the way to my classes at the university, didn't you say you couldn't wait until I graduated? And the past few weeks have been the hardest ever."

She pulled Danny's body closer to hers, and was grateful to feel him slump against her. Maybe, now, she could start to make up for all the difficult years. "Adam's got a great big apartment in the city, Danny, and he's promised me I can be there when you get home from school in the afternoons. It might be hard for the next month, because of the election, but after that we'll be together all the time. How does that sound?" She glanced over and caught a hint of a smile trembling on his lips. "We'll visit Gran as much as we can, buddy. I promise. Plus, you're going to have your picture in the paper."