Tonight You're Mine (14 page)

“That's unfortunate but—”

“Just ignore her for a few more months, Nicole,” Nancy interrupted. “Next year she's going on a much-needed sabbatical. We're all hoping she can pull herself together and be the kind, sensible person she once was.”

“Yeah, let's hope,” Nicole said without enthusiasm. Something told her that no amount of time off would soften Avis's acrimony toward her, and after what she'd been through lately, she couldn't work up sympathy for a woman who hated the world just because her books hadn't been published. “I'm sorry, Nancy. I know you mean well, and Avis is fortunate to have you on her side, but I don't feel like discussing her this morning. If I don't hurry, I'll be late for class.”

4

“Where are you and Aunt Carmen going to eat?” Shelley asked, dragging her tote bag into Nicole's room.

“I'm not sure. I thought I'd let Carmen decide.”

“I don't see why Jill and me can't go.”

“Jill and
I
.” Nicole struggled into a new pair of jeans. “You can't go because it's a girls' night out.”

She buttoned a long-sleeved beige blouse and stepped into black leather boots.

“Jill and
I
are girls.”

“Not grown-up girls.” Nicole added large gold hoop earrings.

“Gee, Mommy, you look like a teenager!”

Nicole bent and kissed Shelley on the forehead. “You are a dear, sweet child, and no, you cannot have a raise in your allowance and you cannot go tonight.”

“Shoot,” Shelley pouted. “Well, you still look young. As young as Lisa. And lots prettier.”

Nicole stopped primping and kneeled, taking Shelley in her arms. “Shel, can't you try to like Lisa a little bit?”

“Why should I?”

“Because your daddy might marry her.”

Shelley groaned. “I can't stand it if he does.”

“Yes you can. You have to give her a chance.”

Shelley thought this over. “Okay. I'll be polite to her, but I won't promise to like her.”

“I guess that's all I can ask,” Nicole said, thinking it was probably more than
she
could manage.

Forty-five minutes later Nicole dropped Shelley and her tote bag off at the Vegas' small adobe house. Bobby met them at the door, giving Nicole as cool a greeting as Jill's was warm. He took the tote bag. “Hey, what's in here, Shelley? Concrete blocks?”

“Just necessary items,” Shelley announced in her most adult voice. Nicole knew she was attempting to act as sophisticated as she found Jill, who was two years her elder and already wore pale pink lipstick.

Raoul Vega, Bobby's father, appeared at the door wearing an old gray sweater, his thin hair bearing wet comb tracks. “Nicole!” he said joyously.

Surprised that he remembered her, Nicole smiled broadly. “Mr. Vega, how nice to see you.”

“And you, as always, are a vision. Isn't she a vision, Bobby?”

“Yeah,” Bobby replied flatly.

“I hope the girls won't be too much trouble tonight,” she said.

Raoul gave her a waggish look. “Girls? Trouble? Hah! I raised six of them.”

“Three,” Bobby corrected.

“Was it three?
Seemed
like six.” Raoul and Nicole laughed. Then, abruptly, Raoul's wrinkled face seemed to blur, the eyes to shift focus slightly. “How's that boyfriend of yours?”

“You mean my husband?”

“Did you marry him? The handsome one I made the cross for?” He clasped his hands together and looked at Bobby. “A beautiful cross set with turquoise and wings engraved on the back. Nicole said the wings were symbolic of inspiration.” He glanced back at Nicole. “Did he like the present?”

“He loved it,” Nicole said, her voice thickening as she remembered presenting Paul with the cross on his twenty-ninth birthday.

“Such a talented man,” Raoul continued. “A genius. He appreciated art.”

“Yes, well, I really have to be going.” Nicole turned quickly so they wouldn't see the tears in her eyes as she remembered Paul opening the gift. It was that night he had proposed to her.

She drove faster than usual, blasting a Heart CD and singing “Crazy on You” at the top of her voice, until the image of Paul accepting the cross and proposing began to fade. So long ago, she kept telling herself. It didn't matter anymore.

Except that it did. It always would.

“And you are a fool,” she said aloud over the music. “One minute you're in tears over an old romantic memory of him, the next you think he's stalking you for revenge. Roger would have a field day analyzing
you
.”

By the time she reached downtown San Antonio, she'd relaxed slightly. She parked in the Nation's Bank Parking Building, ignoring a momentary flash of fear as she remembered all the scary movies she'd seen where women were attacked in parking buildings. But she wasn't going to be careless. She parked on the first floor and had armed herself with Mace tucked in her blazer pocket so she could reach it easily.

Emerging from the building, she headed for the River Walk.
Paseo del Rio
, Clifton had taught her to say when she was little, the River Walk ran along the San Antonio River twenty feet below street level. The entire area was built between 1939 and 1941, preserving a horseshoe bend in the river that in the 1920's city businessmen had wanted to cover with concrete and turn into a sewer. Wiser heads prevailed, and instead it had been converted into a wonderland that wound nearly two and a half miles through the heart of downtown San Antonio and had become one of the city's main attractions.

Nicole hurried down the stone steps into what had always seemed to her a magical world. Immediately her spirits rose. How many hours had she spent here with Carmen when she was a teenager, prowling the shops, sitting in the sidewalk cafes, and meandering through art galleries? The whole area looked like a fairyland tonight with a thousand tiny lights strung through the trees, music pouring from the cafes and nightclubs, river boats ferrying people on forty-minute excursions, and dining boats serving dinner by candlelight.

I
feel
like a teenager again, Nicole thought, glad she'd dressed young. She felt a stab of guilt for her light heart so soon after her father's death. She wouldn't comfort herself by saying, “This is what he would have wanted,” or trot out the popular cliché she hated, “You have to get on with your life.” For one evening she simply wanted to shake off her shock and devastation over her father's death, her anger at Roger, and her sudden fear of Paul. Tonight she wanted to feel young and carefree.

Throngs of people passed by her as she walked to Vega's. The
CLOSED
sign was up although lights burned and she could see Carmen moving around inside. She rushed to the door and let in Nicole. “You are ten minutes late!” she scolded in her slightly husky voice.

“Sorry. Traffic was heavy.”

Carmen's dark eyes traveled over her. “I'd kill to fit into jeans like that.”

“I haven't had much appetite lately or I couldn't have done it, either.” She grinned. “I'm not even sure I'll be able to get out of them without Shelley's help. I may end up sleeping in them.”

“Well, I'm eating enough for both of us. Even Bobby is starting to complain,” Carmen said, slapping a substantial hip beneath loose brown slacks. “Too much of a good thing, he says.”

“I just saw him,” Nicole returned tartly. “It seems to me you might return the compliment.”

Carmen glanced at her almost in alarm. “I'd
never
criticize Bobby's looks. You know how sensitive he is about them.”

“No, I didn't know, but it seems to me turnabout is fair play. Why is it okay for him to comment on your weight but you can't let him know he's putting on a few pounds himself?”

“Bobby still sees himself as twenty.”

“And they say women are vain! Sometimes I think you're too nice to him, Carmen. Oh, well, I'm
starving
. Where do you want to eat?”

“How about Tequila Charlie's? I'd love one of their frozen margaritas, and I'd say at
least
one would improve your mood. First day back at school didn't go so well?”

“With the exception of a visit from Avis Simon-Smith, it went beautifully.”

“Is she that nutty woman who gives you such a hard time?”

“Yes, and she was in rare form today. They say she's going on sabbatical next year, but I bet she doesn't make it. I think she's on the verge of a breakdown.” Nicole smiled. “But don't worry. I'm neither blue nor grouchy. In fact, I'm ready for some fun.”

Carmen beamed. “Great! Just let me check to make sure the back door is locked and grab my jacket. Be back in a jiffy.”

When Carmen disappeared into the back of the store, Nicole wandered around. Display cases showed a collection of lovely silver and turquoise jewelry. She hadn't needed Raoul's reminder of that long-ago day when she'd come in and asked him to make a special piece, a silver and turquoise cross with wings engraved on the back to give it added meaning. How happy she'd been that day. She closed her eyes and moved on.

Shelves held clay pots and valuable coiled Chumash baskets carrying the Spanish royal coat of arms, as well as objects carved from obsidian, white jade, and turquoise. A few paintings hung on the walls. Beside them were woven rugs with Southwestern designs. It was all beautiful. And expensive. Vega's had always been one of the classiest stores on the River Walk. Carmen had said that Bobby would like to improve business by handling some cheaper merchandise, although both she and Bobby's father objected. Nicole, too, would hate to see the quality of Vega's inventory decline, but she also understood Bobby's money concerns.

“Just a minute,” Carmen called. “Can't find my purse, as usual.”

“I'm holding on, although my stomach is growling.”

Nicole passed around the store again. Suddenly she stopped. On the wall hung three masks—one of an eagle, one of a bear, and one of a wolf. She stepped closer to the wolf mask, although a closer look wasn't really necessary. She would have recognized it anywhere.

“Ready to go at last,” Carmen said breathlessly, emerging into the showroom. “What's wrong?”

“Those masks.”

“Aren't they beautiful? They're modeled on genuine Indian clan masks. They hung the masks outside their lodges to show which clan they belonged to, and the children of a marriage automatically became a member of the
mother
's clan, not the father's. Isn't that interesting?”

“Yes,” Nicole said distractedly. “Do you sell a lot of them?”

“Unfortunately, no. They're pretty expensive. Don't tell me—you want to buy one for your mother!”

“Just her style. Are these the only three you have?”

“I don't think so, but I'd have to check the stock. A friend of Bobby's makes them.”

“A friend of Bobby's,” Nicole said slowly. “He must sell them to Bobby for a pretty low price.”

“Cheaper than we sell them for, of course.” Carmen grinned. “Are you trying to buy at wholesale prices?”

“You know I never do that, but I'm interested in who's bought one lately. The wolf, for instance.”

Carmen frowned. “Want to tell me what this is all about?” Then her expression changed. “Your werewolf! The prowler you told me about!” She burst into laughter. “Oh, Nicole, you
can't
think someone wore one of
these
masks to scare you.”

“Why not?”

“Because of what they cost! If someone were just going to scare you, they'd buy a plastic mask, not one of these things. They cost around two hundred dollars and weigh several pounds!”

“How long have you been carrying them?”

“Only about a year. But Nicole, really—”

“I know the idea is far-fetched, but just to please me, can't you look up who's bought a wolf mask?”

Carmen shook her head. “As silly as I think this is, I'd do it to please you, but unless someone is leaving jewelry to be sized or engraved, we don't write down who buys what. After all, we don't give warranties on oil paintings or clay pots. However, if it'll make you happy, I'll ask Bobby about the masks tomorrow. He's the one who has them made. He loves them and I guarantee he'll remember how many we've sold and probably to whom.”

Nicole smiled. “Thanks, Carmen. I know I'm being silly, but the mask just looks so
similar…
”

“I understand, but I think you're letting your imagination run away with you. You've only seen this guy in the dark. You've never even gotten a good look at the mask he wears.”

Oh, yes I have, Nicole thought with assurance, unable to take her eyes off the mask she'd seen clearly through her and Shelley's bedroom windows.

1

Tequila Charlie's was crowded and they sat outside at a small table on the patio. The temperature had dropped to the mid-sixties with a soft breeze. Miniature white lights laced the oaks, crepe myrtles, cypresses, and willows lining the riverbank, reflecting over and over in the water. Nicole realized she hadn't felt so relaxed for nearly two weeks.

She and Carmen each ordered the steak and shrimp dinner and frozen margaritas. “Want chips and salsa with your drinks?” the pretty waitress asked.

“Yes, please,” Nicole said. “Otherwise I might pass out from hunger.” When the drinks came, Nicole took a deep, biting sip and licked the salt off her lips. “This is delicious.”

“And let me guess—the first you've had since you came back to San Antonio.”

“You know how Roger hates River Walk restaurants. Only Shelley can drag him down here. I understand he was delighted by his lunch at Planet Hollywood the other day.”

“He
is
crazy about Shelley.” Carmen paused, took another sip of her drink, reached for her fourth chip, then asked abruptly, “Why did he tell you he wanted to come to San Antonio?”

“He said it would be nice for Shelley to be near her maternal grandparents since she hardly knew them, but when we got here, he seemed to resent the time she spent with her grandfather. Roger also said it would be great if we both taught at the same school—so convenient because we could locate a house close to the campus and use the same car—and there were openings for each of us, which is rare.”

“Did you tell him you didn't
want
to come back here?”

“About a hundred times. But he said I should face my memories—that it would be healthy for me.”

“And you agreed?”

“About facing my memories? No. But the other stuff made sense. Besides, he wanted it so much. He was so persistent.”

Carmen smiled a little lopsidedly. “And you accuse me of trying too hard to please Bobby.”

“The pot calling the kettle black, right?”

“I guess.” Carmen took another drink of her margarita and looked at Nicole. “Liquor has probably loosened my tongue. Bobby told me to keep my mouth shut about this, but I can't any longer. Every time I'm with you, I feel guilty.”

Nicole's smile faded and her stomach tightened. “This sounds ominous. What is it?”

“Bobby knows Lisa Mervin's family.”

“They're from San Antonio?”

“Yes. Last year she went to school in Ohio because they were trying to get her away from some weird guy around here. Unfortunately, Ohio is where she met Roger. Her family got wind of the affair and demanded she come home.”

Nicole's eyes widened. “Roger was involved with Lisa last year,
too
?”

“I'm afraid so.”

“Well, that son of a—” Nicole broke off and gulped her drink. “So Roger came here because of
her
. That jerk dragged his whole family halfway across the country to follow Lisa Mervin!”

“Yes,” Carmen said meekly.

Nicole's eyes blazed. “Carmen, why on earth didn't you tell me before we made the move?”

Carmen looked affronted. “You think I wouldn't have if I'd known? The Mervins are Bobby's friends, not mine. I didn't know a thing about Lisa or an affair until this year.”

“No, of course you didn't,” Nicole said, calming down. “You would never have let Roger pull off something like that if you could have stopped it.” She tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “So what about Lisa's family? How are they handling the affair?”

“They've had so much trouble with her over the years that they've finally disowned her. She's Roger's problem now.”

“You mean he's
supporting
her?”

“Completely.”

“And I'm suddenly living on one income instead of two.”

“You mean he hasn't given you much to help with expenses?”

“A few hundred dollars.”

Carmen looked appalled. “That's
all
?”

“Yes. I intend to get all that straightened out at the divorce hearing next month.”

“But what about your father's will?”

“It was written before Roger deserted us. He left everything to Mother and a trust fund for Shelley. She gets it when she's eighteen.”

“Can't you ask your mother for a loan?”

“Sure. But there would be
so
many strings attached, Carmen. She'd want Shelley and me to move in with her and then she'd try to take over our lives. She means well, but you know how Mom is.” Nicole shuddered. “Shelley and I would be two birds in a gilded cage.”

“Can't you put your foot down with her?”

“I don't know. I might have to try. We took a loss on our house back in Ohio because the move was so sudden, and our savings, which Roger controls, were depleted.” Nicole sighed. “Carmen, how long have you known that Roger came here in pursuit of Lisa?”

“Only since Christmas, when Roger announced he was leaving you. I didn't tell you then because, as I said, I told Bobby I wouldn't I was also hoping that as soon as Roger moved out, he'd realize he made a mistake. I thought you'd be more likely to take him back if you didn't know he'd brought you all the way to Texas in pursuit of this little tramp.”

“Well…” Nicole said, flabbergasted at the massive degree of Roger's deceit, the incredible trouble and planning that must have gone into his scheme. “Well…”

“I'm sorry.” Carmen nervously pushed her shining hair behind her ears. “We were out for a night of fun and I laid this on you. Bobby always says I'm too intense.”

“Bobby is certainly good at keeping score of what he perceives to be your faults,” Nicole snapped.

“Nicole, don't take your anger at Roger out on Bobby.”

“Why not? Maybe you didn't know what was going on with the Lisa Mervin situation, but Bobby did. He doesn't like me very much, but I've known him for almost twenty years and as your husband he could have had the decency to let me know what was going on before we made a very expensive move and I was placed in this position.”.

“He just thought it wasn't his place to interfere in someone else's marriage,” Carmen said unhappily.

Nicole looked at her. She didn't believe that excuse. She'd felt Bobby's dislike for a long time, and to her his silence wasn't a matter of minding his own business, it was his way of allowing something to happen he knew would end up hurting her deeply. But Carmen believed in her husband and she looked so distressed, Nicole couldn't allow herself to vent any more of her anger. The woman worshiped Bobby, God knew why.

“Don't look so shattered, Carmen,” she said mildly. “It's not your fault. And I understand Bobby's silence on the matter.” Boy,
do
I, she thought. He probably thought the whole thing was a big joke on me. “I just don't understand why, if Roger were so in love with this woman that he intended to leave me for her, he made me come to San Antonio, too. It would have been so much easier, and cheaper, to just leave me in Ohio.”

Carmen took a deep breath. “I think it was
Shelley
he wanted here, Nicole, not you,” she said reluctantly. “He couldn't leave you and come chasing out here after Lisa because Shelley would stay with you. He couldn't stand being away from either Lisa
or
Shelley.”

Nicole tapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Of
course!
How could I have been so stupid? These days he's irresponsible when she's in his care because of his drinking, but he still wants her with him as much as possible. He's been a regular tiger about it. I wouldn't be surprised if he asks for full custody, even knowing that's impossible.”

“Nothing Roger Chandler does would surprise me. Just watch your back. I don't trust him.”

Nicole frowned. “Is there something else you're not telling me?”

“No, but I see the way he's treated you. Bobby would never do that to me.”

Carmen's face lit up when she just mentioned him, and Nicole felt a tug of sadness. She'd never known what Carmen saw in Bobby Vega, even when he was a member of The Zanti Misfits.

“You really love Bobby, don't you?”

“Oh, yes, Nicole,” Carmen said fiercely. “And I almost lost him to that damned band. God, how I hated Magaro and Zand! They were trying to take him away from me with their drugs and their groupies.” Her gaze met Nicole's. “Oh, forgive me! How could I have brought them up in front of you?”

“Why not?” Nicole asked calmly. “I hated them, too.”

“But I wanted to cheer you up tonight and instead I'm bringing up every painful thing in your life.” She looked down into her margarita. “What do you suppose is in here?”

“Sodium Pentothal,” Nicole said seriously. “I can't wait to hear what other secrets you're going to spill. I plan to steer you toward your sex life next, and I want
details
.”

Carmen covered her eyes and laughed. “Good heavens, I think I've lost my mind tonight.”

“I think you're just having a good time.” Nicole was determined not to let Carmen see that some of the things she'd said had upset her deeply. “That's what we're here for.”

The waitress stopped by and they ordered fresh drinks. “More chips, too?” the waitress asked.

Nicole looked in amazement at the empty basket, realizing she hadn't eaten one chip. “Yes, please,” she said.

“Coming right up.” The waitress smiled, assuring them that their dinners would be served soon.

“Then we'll be too drunk to care,” Carmen said. “And I'm sorry I ate all the chips.
You
were the one who was so hungry.”

“To hell with the chips. Here's something much more interesting than chips and salsa to spice up the evening while we wait for the food,” Nicole told her, leaning across the table conspiratorially. “Don't look now, but Lisa Mervin's sitting three tables over with a girl and
two
young guys.” Carmen's head snapped to the right. “I
said
don't look!” Nicole hissed.

“Oh, sorry, but she doesn't know me.”

“She knows
me
.”

“But she's not paying the slightest bit of attention to you. God, that guy she's talking to is handsome.”

Nicole turned her head casually, then her eyes widened. Miguel Perez had had his head down when she'd looked before, his hair, free of its ponytail, partially covering his face, but now she could see him clearly. He was laughing at something Lisa had said. Miguel and
Lisa
? She was flummoxed. She was also disappointed in Miguel.

“I thought he had better taste,” she muttered.

“Who?”

“Carmen,
that
is my student Miguel.”

“Oh, it
is
.” She looked at Nicole closely. “Are you interested in him?”

“Me?” Nicole was genuinely shocked. “Carmen, he's my
student
!”

“What does his being your student have to do with anything?”

“I'm not Roger,” Nicole said stiffly.

“And Miguel isn't Lisa. You're, thirty-four. He's what? Twenty-eight, twenty-nine?”

“I haven't the faintest idea.”

“Yes you do. He's not much younger than you and he's sexy as hell. He likes you, too.”

“Apparently not as much as he likes Lisa.”

Carmen grinned as the fresh drinks were delivered. “You're jealous!”

“I'm
not
! But I like Miguel—he's smart and charming and talented. You can imagine my feelings for Lisa. That's why I hate seeing him with her. He could certainly do better.” She paused, then smiled slyly. “But it would serve Roger right if Lisa dumped him for someone so young.”

Carmen and Nicole fell into a fit of giggles. “Those margaritas getting to you?” the waitress asked as she delivered their food.

“Apparently,” Nicole managed. “This looks absolutely delicious.”

“If you need anything else, let me know,” the waitress said pleasantly.

During the next fifteen minutes Nicole and Carmen enjoyed their food, discussing Shelley and Jill, Nicole recounting Avis's bizarre visit to her office this morning, which now seemed funny. Then, leaving out the strange phone call, she told her about Roger's car being damaged and his blaming her.

“You'll be so much better off without him,” Carmen said.

“Yes, but Shelley won't” Nicole's eyes grew troubled. “He's her
father
, Carmen. She's only nine and she's already aware of how silly he's acting. If he doesn't change drastically, in three or four years she's going to lose all respect for him, be humiliated by him. I want her to be proud of her father, no matter what's gone on between him and me. Instead I'm afraid she's going to see a womanizing drunk. It wouldn't matter so terribly if I could keep her away from him as much as possible, but—”

“Oh, God!” Carmen interrupted, her eyes growing huge as they looked in Lisa's direction. “I don't believe it.”

Nicole's gaze followed, and she gasped when she saw Roger stride up to the table of young people. “So
here
you are!” he blasted.

Color washed from Lisa's face. Because everyone else on the patio had fallen silent, Nicole was able to hear her thin voice. “You said you had work to do tonight, Roger.”

“And you said you were going to visit Susan so I could have some peace and quiet.”

“I am with Susan.” Lisa's voice wavered. She motioned to the other girl. “How did you know where we were?”

“Susan's roommate. You didn't say anything about going out with her and these two young studs.” He glared at the one sitting next to Susan. “And you would be?”