The Nephew's Wife Read online

  It was wrong to love him, Ellen told herself. She’d just end up with a broken heart. Rand wasn’t looking for a wife. He was perfectly happy being single. That’s what he let everyone believe. Ellen wondered.

  This morning when she’d straightened his tie, he seemed pleased by the attention. Then he’d touched her face in a tender way. A bazillion sparks had burst from her heart. There was definitely an attraction, but what kind and on what level? Ellen rested her elbow on the arm of the sofa and absently traced over the pattern in the sofa’s fabric with her index finger.

  Over the last few days, she’d realized how much she cared for Rand, but what was the point. The sin and deception in her life trumped her feelings for him. Even if she was free to pursue him, she didn’t know how. Paul was her only experience with men, and it wasn’t a very good one. She’d failed miserably. Sometimes, Paul had made her feel as if she didn’t make him happy. Paul had wanted her to be more flashy and outgoing. She’d tried, but not to his satisfaction. Flashy wasn’t her style.

  She had wanted Paul to be more spiritual. He did agree to attend church with her, but that was the extent of it. Paul was a social creature and an opportunist. He saw church as another means to climb the ladder. Whenever Ellen tried to pin him down about his faith, he’d accuse her of being a fanatic.

  At the care center, Ellen prayed out loud over Paul every day, hoping he could hear her and accept Jesus as his Savior. She had wanted him to know the love of Jesus before he passed away. There was no way for her to know whether or not Paul had heard anything. He couldn’t communicate. Ellen continuously prayed for God to move in Paul. Faith told her He did. She never questioned God’s ability to do things man couldn’t see.

  Ellen finished her coffee and bagel then said her morning prayers while the sun rose. Rand was first in her prayers that morning. At the end was her meeting with the stranger that evening. She asked God to replace her fear with faith. By the time sunlight had warmed the room, it was time for Dolly’s breakfast. Ellen whispered an Amen and started her work day.

  As she went through the motions, she felt some peace about the meeting she faced. God was preparing her for battle. His ultimate answer to her prayer was an obvious one. Be honest. Face the problem head on with the truth. He would take care of the rest.

  Chapter 9

  “Rand?” A familiar female voice yanked Rand from his dreams of Ellen. Glancing up from his first-class window seat, Rand watched his ex-fiancée, Lana, settling in the empty seat next to him.

  “W—what are you doing?” He scowled at her.

  “The flight attendant said it was okay to switch to this seat as soon as the no-seat-belt sign came on.” Lana tossed back her long, blond hair with an irritating whoosh. “I figured you didn’t want to fly all the way to Paris alone.”

  “You figured wrong.”

  Lana batted her lashes at him. “I know we’ve had a tumultuous past, Rand, but when I saw you, I knew this was no coincidence. I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately.”

  “What do you want, Lana?” Rand clenched his jaw. “I have important work to do.” Rand moved as close to the window as possible. Lana’s expensive perfume made him nauseous. He’d much rather smell Ellen’s lighter, more natural fragrance.

  “I’m glad you asked, Rand. It’s just like you to get right to the point. What I want is very simple. I want us to be together again.” She crossed her artificially tanned legs in a way to get his attention. It was a futile move. Rand wasn’t interested.

  “You’re married!” He snapped in as low a voice as he could manage.

  Lana flashed her ring finger up and smiled, boastfully. “Not anymore! I’m single again! My divorce became final last week. I’m off to Paris to celebrate with friends.”

  “Congratulations,” Rand said, sarcastically. “I’m not interested in getting back together.” He pulled his computer case onto his lap and opened it. Once his laptop was fired up, he brought up documents to peruse.

  Lana leaned in close. Rand could smell the layered products on her face and in her hair. It sickened him. He inched further away. He’d be out the window before reaching Paris if Lana remained next to him.

  “I don’t mean right away, Rand.” Lana snickered as she checked her red, polished nails. “I want to enjoy the single life again for at least a little while. My marriage was a disaster from the beginning. I intend to pamper myself for a while.”

  Rand rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested in you anymore, Lana.”

  “That’s not what I heard from the grapevine,” Lana replied in a flirtatious voice. “I’ve heard you’ve been so heart sick over our break up you won’t get involved with anyone else. You’ve stayed single all this time.”

  “Break up!” Rand spurted in a loud whisper. “There was no break up, Lana. You dumped me!” He turned from her. “It’s a nonissue now. I don’t have any feelings for you anymore, and I certainly don’t want to get back together with you. I don’t care what the grapevine says.” He turned away, disgusted. “This conversation is ridiculous. We’re not school children. Please go back to your seat.”

  “You loved me once, Rand,” Lana cooed in his ear. “Remember how you promised to love me forever. You were going to give me a wonderful life. You can’t tell me you’ve forgotten all that in five years.”

  “You forgot all of it as soon as you heard I had cancer,” Rand reminded her as impatience and annoyance threatened to undo him.

  Lana pouted. “Don’t bring up that time, Rand. I was young and scared. I admit I was wrong to treat you that way, but I couldn’t handle your illness. I was afraid I’d have to watch you die then go through a heartbreaking ordeal. I just couldn’t do that.”

  Rand glanced around to make sure no one was listening. Most passengers wore headphones or were sleeping.

  “I don’t want to talk about this, Lana.” He hissed low and turned to his laptop.

  “I think we should.” Lana reached over and slammed the lid of his computer. “This is important to me. Don’t you think it’s strange that we ran into each other right after I’ve become single again? It’s like fate or something.”

  “I don’t believe in fate,” he spat.

  Lana rolled her heavily made up eyes. “God’s will then!” She clutched Rand’s arm with her red glossy nails. “You told me once it was God’s will that we marry. Did God’s will change just because I had a bad day?”

  Rand was flabbergasted by Lana’s sheer audacity and insensitivity.

  “You call what you did to me having a bad day?” Rand kept his voice down, but he was on fire with rage. He jerked his arm free then glanced around again. No one seemed interested in their spat. Everything was business as usual.

  “I don’t understand you, Rand. You’re way too uptight. You need to loosen up and enjoy life. If I don’t mean anything to you, then why have you hidden behind your work all these years? Why didn’t you move on?”

  Rand ignored her. His faith was being tested. Lana had one thing right. Their meeting didn’t just happen. They crossed paths for a reason, but Rand wasn’t worried. He was stronger now. His heart was in a good place. A year ago, he would have fallen into Lana’s trap and groveled at her feet. He sneaked a sideways glance at her. Lana was a beautiful woman. When they were younger, Rand had been charmed off his feet by her vivaciousness, abundant self-confidence, and ambition. Together they were going to have the good life. Lana was an asset in his business. She was a people person and loved entertaining.

  They’d planned to travel around the world, have parties, build a big house, and eventually have children. Rand never questioned Lana’s faith in the Lord. She’d been brought up in the church, had Christian parents, and attended services with him. Only one thing had bothered him. She wasn’t close to his aunt. They had stayed out of each other’s ways. His aunt, bless her heart, had accepted Lana because he’d begged her to.

  “Lana will come around, Aunt Dolly,” he’d told her, but she never did.

&nbs
p; Rand reopened his laptop and concentrated on a sales report.

  “How long are you going to be in Paris?” Lana scooted closer to Rand.

  “That’s none of your business, Lana,” Rand growled.

  “Oh, stop being so sore,” she said, flippantly. “If you didn’t still have feelings for me then why isn’t there someone else? Umm, why didn’t you ever marry?”

  Ellen floated across Rand’s mind like a dream. His cheeks warmed with thoughts of her, and a tender smile curled the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, everything became clear to him. There is someone else. He just couldn’t do anything about Ellen till she finished grieving.

  “You’re gushing and blushing,” Lana swooned. “That means something, Rand.”

  “It has nothing to do with you, Lana.”

  Lana gave him a seductive glance. “Okay, so you want to be chased. That just makes it more fun.”

  “I’m not interested in you,” Rand said, flatly. Thoughts of Ellen made him warm all over. A tingling sensation shimmied from his eyes all the way to his toes.

  “Your eyes say you are,” Lana insisted. “They started sparkling the instant I said you still had feelings for me. Eyes don’t lie, Rand. Everything we had will come back to you over a romantic, candlelight dinner in Paris. Let’s make a date.”

  “No!” Rand blurted. His resolve had returned full force. He plucked a set of headphones out of a compartment in his computer case and put them on. A few clicks of his mouse later, he was listening to his favorite Christian CD, drowning Lana out.

  Lana got the message. She lifted a fashion magazine out of her purse and stuck her nose in it, but the spark in her eye told Rand she wasn’t giving up that easily.

  Ellen drove to the library under dark clouds that promised a late winter’s storm. A cold front was moving into the area over night. Tomorrow, the air would be clear and dry, but much colder. Ellen’s hopes of beating the rain home tonight seemed unlikely.

  Her nerves were knotted despite constant prayer. She didn’t doubt her faith. Anxiety was a natural reaction when facing problems head on. She wouldn’t let it get the best of her, though. En route, she listened to uplifting Christian music on the car’s CD player. It reminded her over and over that God was with her, and where God is, there is no fear.

  “Faith conquers fear,” she repeated to herself in a singsong way. As she pulled into the west side of the parking lot, Ellen went over her plan. Stay calm, listen carefully, don’t get angry, and don’t make any rash decisions.

  Ellen shuffled her thoughts to Rand and his phone call before she had left the house. He’d made it safely to Paris, thank the Lord, but he sounded preoccupied and in a hurry to get off the phone. Ellen chalked his impatience to a bad flight followed by the critical meeting he was on his way to. When she’d asked about the flight, he’d shrugged her off with a bland, “it was fine.”

  After their lengthy goodbye that morning, Ellen had expected Rand to be more talkative, maybe even say how he missed her. When he didn’t, she didn’t either even though she missed him a lot.

  Ellen shoved aside her bleak thoughts of Rand as she pulled into the designated area of the library. She had to focus. Driving up and down the aisles, she searched for someone who appeared to be waiting. It was exactly 6 PM. At the end of the last aisle, Ellen saw a woman leaned against an old sports car. When she got close, Ellen’s heart sank into her stomach. It was the mysterious woman from the mall.

  One last prayer for strength, courage, and clarity flew from Ellen’s pounding heart to God’s loving ears as she parked Rand’s sporty SUV and got out.

  The woman sneered as she strutted toward Ellen. “Looks like you’re living the good life. I see you’ve glammed up since Paul’s death. Sick of playing the role of the suffering fiancée?

  “Who are you, and what do you want?” Ellen squared her shoulders and pinned her gaze on the woman.

  “Don’t get huffy with me, lady. I can bring you down like this.” She snapped her fingers.

  Ellen didn’t flinch. God was with her. Whatever this woman thought she had on her was nothing compared to what God already knew.

  “I’m listening.” Ellen crossed her arms over her mid-section, taking a defiant stance.

  Lightning flashed in the distance and thunder rock and rolled behind it, but the woman didn’t flinch.

  “You’ve been flaunting yourself all over the world as this heartbroken, suffering fiancée, but I know the truth. You broke up with Paul the night before you’re wedding.”

  “You told me that in the letter.”

  “I didn’t tell you everything. Paul called me as soon as he left you. He was very, very upset, crying his heart out. He told me he wanted to kill himself. I tried to talk him out of it.” She paused as her bottom lip trembled. “I heard the crash right after that.”

  Ellen slowly unfolded her arms and dropped them to her sides. She trembled. Lightning lit up the sky again. It was closer. The wind picked up, whipping Ellen’s clothes and hair. Ellen narrowed her eyes at the woman. She’d seen her somewhere before the mall.

  “I know you.” Ellen’s memory stirred. “You’re Whitney Fowler. You were a client at the law firm. Paul was your divorce lawyer.”

  “Paul and I became good friends after that,” Whitney declared in a snooty way.

  “Really?” Suspicion dotted Ellen’s tone. “I don’t remember you ever visiting him during the nine years he was at the care center.”

  Whitney stiffened. “I moved from the area right after the accident. I just returned a month ago, but I kept up with your story. Believe me, I was appalled by it.”

  “Why didn’t you come forward before?”

  Whitney pushed a lock of hair from her face and sneered. “I was waiting for the right time, when I could get something out of it.”

  “Why now?”

  “You have something I want.”

  Ellen shrugged, baffled. “What are you talking about? I don’t have any money.”

  “Ha! I don’t want your money! I want Randolph Powers, your boss.”

  “What?” Ellen gasped. Threads of lightning screeched across the sky. Thunder boomed loudly and shook the ground under them.

  “The other day at the mall, I knew you could tell I was spying, but I had to make sure it was you. I went back to the dress shop where I first saw you. I know the sales girl and I asked a few questions. She told me you were Dolly Powers’ new companion. I knew the woman you were with had to be someone important and rich from the way she was talking. My friend told me Rand Powers’ aunt is bent on finding her nephew a wife.”

  “So!” Tension gripped the back of Ellen’s neck.

  Whitney gave her a smug look. “So, you’re going to introduce me to your boss or I’m going to tell the world you killed Paul Kendall. Can you imagine the fallout over that bit of news? You’ll be despised instead of admired. You’ll be scum. I’m guessing no one knows your secret, but I figured it out. You didn’t stay with Paul out of love. You stayed with him out of guilt, or to shut him up if he ever became able to tell what you’d done.”

  “This is blackmail!” Ellen fumed.

  “I’ve heard Rand is out of the country this week. That means you have this week to work out a plan for me to meet him or I’ll go to Robin Davenport with my side of the story.”

  “What kind of plan?”

  “Don’t ask stupid questions, Ellen!” Whitney flared. “I want you to fix me up with Rand Powers, you nitwit. You’re going to get me into that house, and you’re going to make sure he falls in love with me.”

  “I can’t make anyone fall in love with you!”

  Whitney got in Ellen’s face. “Well, you better think of something unless you want the world to know you’re nothing but a deceiving fraud who drove a man to suicide.” She cocked her head to one side, sarcastically. “Of course, that could make a good story for the world press, too. Only you wouldn’t be portrayed as some sweet, little heroine, nursing a broken heart. You’d be a wick
ed, calculating villain. The Powers would probably kick you out, and you wouldn’t be able to find a job anywhere else on the planet. Do you want that?”

  Fat rain drops plopped out of the dark sky. One smacked Ellen on the top of the head, spooking her. She twitched.

  Whitney jabbed a finger in the air. “You have one week, Ellen. We’ll meet right here, same day, same time a week from now. And you better have something for me. I’ll give you till six-fifteen then I’ll call Robin.” She slid in her car and drove away, glaring at Ellen.

  Ellen watched Whitney speed through the half-empty parking lot to catch the green light at the exit. Her whole body shook with anger and fear. None of this would be happening if she had set Robin straight at the beginning. Nothing good ever comes from covering up the truth, Ellen thought. A life lesson she’d not repeat.

  The funny thing was, she hadn’t even been thinking of herself when she had held back the truth. She had wanted to protect the sanctity of the relationship between herself and Paul. That’s why she had never clarified Robin’s exaggeration of their engagement. Sure, if she had told the truth, everyone would have known she hadn’t loved Paul, but that’s not the reason she had kept quiet. It was as simple as not wanting everyone to know her personal business. At the time, it seemed innocent. Ellen had no idea the story would go global and transform her into some kind of celebrity. Before she could set things straight, the story had sprouted several legs and had taken off with a mind of its own. Ellen was beginning to feel more victimized by it than at fault. But the world wouldn’t see it that way.

  A nasty storm swirled overhead. Ellen got back inside the car and dropped her head on the steering wheel. The driving rain and gusty wind rocked the car. Lightning flicked close by. Ellen felt its powerful heat surge the air. She needed to get to a safer place. The library was her only choice. She moved the SUV to a parking space closer to the building then took a chance between lightning strikes to bolt for the library.

  Inside, she hurried to the restroom to dry herself with paper towels. Her cell rang. She looked at the number and trembled.