Bride For Sale Read online

  ***

  "Damn," Jared muttered as the needle slipped for the tenth time and jammed into his thumb again. He was beginning to feel like a pincushion. Specks of red decorated the costume he was trying to sew for his daughter for Halloween. Though Alexandra claimed nine was too old to go out for Trick or Treat, he'd seen how many times she watched Sleeping Beauty and had come up with the idea of making her the costume.

  Buying a costume would have been easier, but he remembered fondly the ones his mother had made for him and his siblings. He wanted those same memories for his daughter, even if it cost him all his fingers.

  He hoped once she had the costume he could convince her to wear it. What had he been thinking?

  "You owe the jar a quarter," Alexandra told him.

  He put down the ruined, filmy white material, dug a quarter out of his pocket. It dropped with a noisy clink into the quart jar kept on the kitchen counter. "There, little Miss Language Police, are you satisfied? At this rate we'll be at Disney World next week."

  A rare giggle echoed through the house and the sharp pricks of pain in his fingers faded away. It was good to hear her laugh. He smiled back and her laugh faded. With a frown she stalked upstairs to her room. His heart sank. Would she ever be the cheerful child she should be?

  Outside early October sunshine warmed crisp air scented with the faint odor of burning leaves. Children yelled, as they raked then jumped in colorful leaf piles. Jared stood in the doorway to Alexandra's room and watched as she meticulously arranged her dolls and stuffed animals for yet another tea party. Alone again. "Get your coat. Time to rake."

  "Do I have to? Leaves are dirty and smelly. Raking is boy stuff." The polite, sullen child was back.

  "Yes, you have to. And raking is no more boy stuff than cooking, dishes or – sewing is girl stuff. Now get a move on, sunshine is wasting."

  She groaned but slid off her bed. He watched as she placed each of her dolls back in their proper position on the shelves until her room was spotless. His heart ached. At nine years old she was the spitting image of Brittany, her fragile, beautiful, compulsive mother.

  After six months a laugh and a groan were slow progress in bringing Alexandra out of the shell she'd wrapped around herself since Brittany's death. But she was a far cry from the pale, waif-like girl who'd clung to Brittany's mother when he'd reached for her at the funeral. He should have expected it, but it still hurt.

  After his and Brittany's divorce when Alexandra was a baby, Jared had done his best to retain a major role in her life, but between Brittany and her parents they'd managed to thwart almost every effort until Alexandra became little more than a stranger to him. They'd wrapped her in a cotton wool of protection until her natural childish exuberance was all but extinguished. Unwinding the bindings was slow going.

  Then poor, unhappy Brittany had died in a horrible car crash while globetrotting with her latest boy toy. Jared didn't like to think about the battle he'd had with his in-laws when he'd come to take Alexandra home with him. They'd used every weapon in their expensive arsenal to keep her, to mold her into a carbon copy of the daughter they'd lost. In the end he'd won custody, but the mud they'd dug up and flung at him left him feeling soiled.

  "I'm not going to rake that big yard all by myself." Alexandra's complaint roused him from less than pleasant memories. Hands propped on her still boyish hips, a sour grimace on her face, she stood by the door.

  "I'm sewing your costume all by myself," he countered.

  "I didn't ask you to sew that dumb old costume. Besides, that's different."

  "How?"

  He relished the mindless adult/child bantering as they headed outside. It reminded him of his happy years growing up in this house with his parents and siblings. He wanted to give Alexandra those same memories, but she fought him at every turn.

  Dozens of trees filled the acre property the rambling old house sat on. Every breeze sent down a colorful shower, re-covering the ground they'd just revealed. Alexandra raked methodically. Warmed by the sun and exertion Jared shed his jacket and sweatshirt, leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans.

  Just as he was about to call a break a car whipped into his drive.

  "Wow!" Alexandra dropped her rake and sprinted over to the car.

  But it wasn't the cherry red convertible, so like what Brittany had driven, that drew his eye. Caught up in a high ponytail, the driver's honey blonde hair waved in the wind, a proud banner. For a moment his vision retreated into the past to when he'd met Brittany.

  Young and carefree they'd met at college and despite parental objections married in their senior year. The marriage lasted less than a year. Brittany had never enjoyed being a teacher's wife, as short a time as that was, and when his teaching career crashed down around him, she didn't have the strength or the trust in him to stick around.

  Alexandra approached the car. The driver turned to greet her and the image of Brittany shattered. Though both were blonde and petite, the likeness ended there. Ms. McCade had a healthy, wholesomeness about her. She was a sturdy sunflower to Brittany's delicate, hothouse orchid.

  Jared groaned. He'd forgotten he'd promised to find time to tutor the McCade girl. Girl? He watched the woman; dressed in skintight jeans, and a crimson, sleeveless shell, with a denim jacket slung over one shoulder, exit her car and saunter toward him. Alexandra danced alongside, talking a mile a minute and exhibiting more animation than he'd ever seen. Did Alexandra see something of her mother in this woman?

  It seemed Ms. McCade had grown impatient with his procrastination.

  "Hi, Mr. Blake. Are you busy? Any chance you can help me with my lessons today?" Her blue-green eyes sparkled with mischief as she let her gaze travel down his t-shirt covered chest and rested briefly below his waist before snapping back to meet his eyes.

  He fought back the heat her interested gaze generated. "Ms. McCade."

  "Call me Maggie."

  Most of the teachers at the small Council Falls high school called their students by their first names, but painful experience made him maintain an aloof, formal attitude with all his students. If it weren't for Alexandra he would never get within range of a female under the age of thirty again.

  So why did this one girl's blatant flirtation cause unwanted heat to surge through him? Irritated, he snatched up his sweatshirt and pulled it on. "Ms. McCade, I don't tutor out of my home. See me before or after school on Monday."

  She paused, rested a hand on her outthrust hip and regarded him with a thoughtful look.

  "Hi, my name's Alexandra, what's yours?" Alexandra piped in, seeming unaware of the growing tension between what she considered two adults.

  Ms. McCade turned her speculative gaze to Alexandra and smiled. "Pleased to meet you Alexandra. Want me to give you a hand?" She nodded at the leaves that a playful wind was doing its best to re-spread over the yard.

  "I don't think…" Jared started to protest.

  "That's great!

  Mouth open he watched as Alexandra shoved a rake at Miss McCade and grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the yard.

  "I love raking leaves. Don't you, Ms. McCade?" Alexandra babbled.

  "Don't know. Never done it before. Call me Maggie." She dropped her jacket on the steps and took the rake. The motion stretched her top across her breasts. Cool air teased her nipples into sharp points. His mouth went dry.

  "I hadn't either, 'cause I lived in the city be-before here."

  Alexandra's pause made him hold his breath waiting for McCade's answer. Don't crush her, he prayed.

  "Me, too," Ms. McCade said.

  "It's fun and it isn't hard. I'll show you. If you want."

  "I'd love to, if it's okay with your dad." She turned guileless eyes to him.

  Though the thought of Maggie McCade interacting with Alexandra didn't thrill him, he didn't want to see his daughter's first sign of enthusiasm quelled. "I don't know. I'm sure Ms. McCade has other things to do today."

  "Nope. Other than my Algebra homework I'm
yours for the day." She grinned up at him.

  Her oh so innocent offer kindled unwelcome sparks inside him. Then memories of another not so innocent offer and what happened afterwards doused the fire.

  "Fine. I'll be inside when you're ready." Maybe if he gave her what she wanted she'd go away.

  "But I thought you'd help, too."

  Alexandra's disappointed words followed him as he turned and fled into the house.

  Maggie hid her satisfied grin as Jared retreated into the house. You can run but you can't hide. She listened as Alexandra chattered on. Maggie didn't have much experience with kids, but this one seemed okay. What an adult vocabulary the little girl had.

  Raking leaves was fun, even if it did raise blisters on her hands. She and Alexandra talked while they raked tons of crunchy, bright colored leaves into a huge pile.

  Then following the example of what the other kids on the block were doing Maggie jumped into the pile. At first Alexandra seemed upset that her neat pile was again scattered across the broad yard. But when two kids from three doors down joined Maggie, Alexandra unbent enough to jump into the fray. Their shouts and laughter made the re-raking well worth the blisters.

  Fun though it was, she never lost sight of her goal. He stood in the window of the house watching them. The look on his face as he followed his daughter's movement around the yard tugged at Maggie's heart. Pride. Longing. Pain. His dossier contained all the facts about his divorce and his ex-wife's death, but seeing it in the flesh made it real.

  She squashed her sympathy for Jared Blake's trouble with his daughter. They weren't her concern. Everyone had a history. Compared to her childhood Alexander's problems were nothing. At least she had a father who cared about her.

  She'd better get busy and earn the money Reed Software was paying her and the others to be here.

  Daniel figured the hacker was one of the students, but Jared was her pick. Before he'd come back to teaching last spring, he'd been a senior programmer making top dollar for a rival company. His file didn't show anything, but there had to be a reason for him to give up a lucrative career in Chicago to go to work for peanuts as a teacher in Nowheresville, Illinois.

  She was eager to get back to L.A. This small town life was, well, not boring, but uncomfortable. She preferred the anonymity of being one of many. Here everyone seemed to know everyone else and their business.

  If, no when she pulled this job off, she could write her own ticket in the computer security world and get back to her real life. If she failed, she'd be stuck working for Daddy Daniel for a long time to come.

  An hour later she grimaced in pain as she washed up in the Blake's tiny downstairs bathroom. She peeked out. The sound of Alexandra's voice drifted down the hall from the kitchen. She couldn't make out the words, but Jared answered in low tones. Bless the little minx for inviting her to lunch. Though reluctant, Jared had agreed.

  While the two of them were busy in the kitchen was a perfect opportunity for her to do some snooping. Who knew when she'd get another chance?

  Old and rambling, the Victorian house seemed over large for just two people, but she knew the quaint residence had been in the Blake family for generations. Though after the senior Blakes retired to Florida it had been closed, when Jared got custody of his daughter he'd moved back into town and opened it up. There were signs of on going renovation both inside and out – ladders, paint, and tools lay scattered about. Maggie couldn't find fault with the design or décor.

  The glow of computer monitor lured her down the hall toward what looked like a den or office. It wouldn't hurt to poke around in it.

  THE BABY RACE - EXCERPT

  Race Reed doesn’t want a wife, but to save his ranch he needs a baby. To gain custody of her stepsister, Claire Jensen needs a husband, but she wants love. Wants and needs are bound to clash when they run The Baby Race.

  "I can't marry a stranger." Claire shifted restlessly on the stiff brocade sofa then shook her head at the gray-haired, steely-eyed woman sitting across from her in the formal parlor of the Reed mansion. Race Reed, the name sounded like a 60's cartoon character.

  "Nonsense." Mrs. Reed gave an aristocratic sniff. "Race isn't a stranger. He's my grandson." She eyed Claire critically. "Though you're far from his social equal, you're young, healthy and presentable. Race needs a woman who values home and family. The two of you shall deal quite nicely together."

  In spite of her nervousness, the woman's autocratic tone amused Claire. In the small town of Council Falls, Illinois the Reeds were the local reigning family and Amelia Louise Reed took her position as matriarch to the clan quite seriously. There wasn't much in town she didn't know about or have her hand in. Home and family were important to Claire. Fortunately, though the Reeds were active in all the social and charitable activities in town, the rest of the family were more egalitarian.

  "Why haven't I ever met this grandson?"

  Mrs. Reed's gaze slid away, but her tone when she spoke was firm. "Jackson," she referred to her oldest son, "was married briefly to another woman, a Native American, before he wed Cynthia. The marriage was a mistake from the beginning. The woman was completely inappropriate. She left him within weeks. She died when Race was sixteen. He then came to live with Jackson.

  "Race and I do not see eye-to-eye on his responsibilities to the family, therefore he doesn't attend many family functions."

  Claire had heard rumors of the Reed black sheep and his wandering ways, but with the death of her parents on their latest hunt for treasure, she'd been too busy to pay attention. "Another rolling stone is just what I don't need or want in my life. Thanks, but I'll find another way to keep Bobbie Sue."

  "Race is no longer a rolling stone. He's made a place for himself here. Now he needs someone like you to…" Amelia broke off what she was about to say and leaned forward. "How? You are a 22-year-old unmarried woman. Your part time job at Max's Cafe can't possibly pay enough to support you and a child. In addition, Roberta Suzanne is not related to you by blood. Without a steady job or stable home it's doubtful you'll be allowed to adopt her."

  A familiar sense of despair broke over Claire. She couldn't lose her six-year-old stepsister. Life would never be the same. Bobbie Sue was Claire's only family.

  "I only have another year before I receive my degree in food management, then I'll be able to secure a better position or even start my own catering business."

  Amelia sniffed. "The Department of Children and Family Services won't wait while you get your life in order. With your father and stepmother dead, custody of the child will be given to her birth father."

  Claire's blood chilled at the underlying threat in Amelia Reed's voice. The woman had close contacts with all the social agencies in town. She and her late husband had practically founded the town and funded most of the town's businesses. Everyone in town knew the power she wielded. When summoned to the Reed mansion Claire hadn't had the nerve to object. To see her black sheep grandson married, would Amelia Redd really go so far as to sabotage Claire's chances of adopting Bobbie Sue?

  "Bobbie Sue's father hasn't expressed much interest in her in the last six years, why would he want her now?"

  "Then she'll be placed in foster care." Amelia Reed waved her hand in dismissal. "You need a husband and a home. Race needs a wife. He's the answer to your prayers."

  "Why does he need a wife and why can't he find one on his own?" Just what was the Reed matriarch planning?

  Amelia's trademark blue Reed eyes turned crafty. "Quite honestly the man is too particular when it comes to women. All my grandsons are."

  Claire noted the hint of pride in the older woman's tone.

  "But they're getting older. It's time they settled down. Just meet him. What do you have to lose?"

  "Only my self-respect," Claire muttered.

  "What?"

  "Nothing." Fear lent force to Claire's next words. "Set it up."

  With everything else she'd lost, she wouldn't lose Bobbie Sue.