His-And-Hers Twins (19 page)

 

“Y
OU'RE WHAT
?” Zeke sat his water glass down with a thunk, appalled by his ex's latest news. The waiter instantly rushed over and swiped up the mess, then refilled it. Zeke's stromboli sat untouched, his appetite gone.

“I'm moving to Europe permanently.” Renee calmly sipped her wine. “If I want to make it in the modeling
profession, I have to be there. This magazine shoot is just the beginning.”

A sour taste filled Zeke's mouth. “Have you told the girls yet?”

Renee shook her head, her long blond hair swaying across her bare shoulders. “I thought I'd let you tell them, Zeke.” She fluttered her overly made-up eyelashes. “After all, you're so good with them. So domestic.”

Bile rose in his throat and he swallowed in a concentrated effort to control his temper. He didn't want to create a scene and people were already staring at his voluptuous ex-wife.

Renee grinned and pushed away her small salad, as if the mere idea of food would destroy her perfect figure.

His gaze fastened on her outfit and his stomach churned. The blouse, if you could actually call the skimpy piece of silk a blouse, looked sinful, revealing the mounds of her artificial bosoms for anyone and everyone to see. And soon, she would be baring them for the entire world, that is, if her dreams of posing for full-cover nude shots panned out.

The idea made him sick. As did his ex.

And he would have to break the news to the twins. They would think he'd let them down.

 

O
NCE
S
UMMER AND
August arrived, Paige realized they obviously knew something important was brewing between their parents. They vacillated between chattering one minute and lapsing into long, silences that tore at Paige's heartstrings. She'd brought out blueberries and ingredients for homemade blueberry muffins. They danced around the kitchen to the Dixie Chicks while the muffins baked. Henrietta lay on the floor, wolfing down a muffin of her own.

August and Summer were filling their stomachs with their third round of batter when Paige heard a loud commotion in the backyard. It sounded like metal garbage cans rattling. She eased the back door open and scanned both her yard and Zeke's. The noise once again pierced the quiet. Then Henrietta howled, a gut-wrenching long yelp that made Paige's heart skip a beat. The girls barely noticed as another song rocked the room. “Girls, stay here and watch Henrietta. I'll be right back.”

The girls grinned, dipping their fingers into the batter and picking at the berries. Paige grabbed the cell phone and the broom from the back stoop and slowly inched toward the backyard. Her yard was empty, but the sounds grew louder, as if they were coming from Zeke's. Maybe a stray cat?

She walked slowly, planning to simply peek over the fence. If she saw something suspicious, she'd run home and dial 911. The girls were her first priority.

But as she reached for the gate, it suddenly creaked forward. Paige paused, clenching the bat at her side as she saw Zeke's back door standing open. Voices drifted over the row of bushes flanking the line between their property. Boys' voices. Shouting.

Someone was in Zeke's house.

She clutched the phone and pivoted to head back home when suddenly August and Summer raced up, then flew past her, chasing Henrietta. Henrietta darted toward Zeke's back door, Paige's wooden cooking spoon wedged in her mouth.

“Henrietta, stop!” the girls yelled. “Come back here!”

“No, Summer, August, don't go in there!” Paige took off running after them.

But August ignored her and ran for the house. She
barreled over a ball in the yard, then tripped and fell into the doorway. Summer tagged behind her sister so closely she tumbled over August and sprawled on top of her. To Paige's horror, she saw a teenage boy wearing scruffy jeans and a long, black jacket step into the doorway from the kitchen. He grabbed August by the shirt and clutched Summer's arm.

Paige froze, her heart thumping wildly at the frightened look in the girls' eyes. The teenage boy didn't look much better. His face seemed abnormally pale in contrast to his spiked black hair and the black eyes that radiated anger. And fear. He was also about six feet tall and way stronger in physique than she or the girls.

She had to calm him. To do something so he wouldn't panic and hurt the girls.

“Get out of here!” the young boy yelled to Paige.

“Let us go!” Summer and August both squirmed and wiggled, kicking at him, but the boy jerked them both in front of him and shook them.

“Shut up, you little brats.”

“Wait, don't panic.” Paige forced a calm to her voice. “Look, I'm not going to hurt you, just let the girls go and you can get out of here. No questions asked.”

A second boy appeared behind him, a pip-squeak of a kid with baggy jeans, pimples and an earring in his left ear. Then Paige heard the sound of a car and realized Zeke and Renee were home. The engine died and the boy's eyes grew even wider. If only she could warn them.

“Daddy!” the girls screamed. “Help!”

“Shut up!” The boy shook them harder, sending both girls into tears.

The second boy jerked at his friend's arm. “Come on, man, let's get out of here!”

“Go on,” Paige coaxed. “Let the girls go and leave. You can escape before they come in.”

But the boy wasn't fast enough. The door swung open and Zeke walked in, pausing in the kitchen when he noticed the intruders. He moved up behind the boys, a fraction to the right so Paige caught his shocked look when he realized the bully had hold of his daughters. Then he saw her on the other side in the doorway and his jaw clenched, a dozen emotions riding across his features. Renee rushed in, momentarily oblivious to the situation. Zeke held out his arm to warn her to stop but she saw the boys and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

The boys jumped, both stricken. The big one released Summer and August and ran toward Paige, almost tripping over the girls in his haste. He shoved Paige aside, knocking her down as he pushed past her to escape out the back door. His buddy darted after him, but Zeke quickly nabbed him by the back of his shirt. With Zeke's strength and size advantage, he dangled the smaller boy like a sack of potatoes.

“I'm not running, don't hurt me,” the boy squeaked.

“Then you'd better cooperate,” Zeke barked.

“Girls!” Renee screamed. “Oh, my God, are you all right?”

The girls ran into their mother's arms, then burst into tears. Renee began to sob and the three of them huddled together on the floor, almost hysterical. Paige picked herself up and tried to catch her breath.

“I'll call 911.” She punched in the number, her stomach plummeting at the dark look Zeke shot her. As if by rote, she gave the operator the information, her hands trembling when she saw Zeke glance worriedly at the girls, then back at her. As if to blame her.

He was right. She'd been responsible for the girls.
She'd let them place themselves in danger. Oh, God, it was happening again.

She felt the trembling start deep within her stomach and rise to her throat. Her skin felt clammy, nausea rose to her throat, hysteria slithered through her and rose to the brink. What if that boy had hurt Summer and August? She swayed, staggered against the wall and caught herself.

She absolutely could not fall apart with the twins and Renee all sobbing hysterically.

Zeke shoved the boy into one of the kitchen chairs. “You, buddy, are going to tell me who the hell your friend is.”

The boy visibly quaked in his clothes and nodded. “Don't hurt me, I'll tell you everything.”

Zeke folded his arms across his broad chest and glared at the kid. “You'll tell it to the cops, just as soon as they get here. Now don't move.”

The boy nodded shakily and Zeke knelt to pat the girls. She saw him keeping an eye on the boy as he put his arms around the twins and hugged them. “Shh, girls, calm down now. Everything's all right.”

“We was scared,” Summer sobbed.

“We're glad you got here,” August said.

Zeke helped Renee to stand and move into a chair, handing her a stack of napkins to wipe her face. “Try to calm down now, okay? We're all right. It's over.”

“Yes, thank goodness we came in. Thank goodness you were here, Zeke.” Renee squeezed his hand and Zeke returned the gesture. Paige swayed again, déjà vu once again striking her.

Within minutes, the police arrived, the boy spilled his guts and a search warrant was issued for the second boy. A few minutes later, the police informed Zeke they would
contact the minors' parents to meet them at the police station. The boy had confessed that he and his friend were members of a club; the various members were responsible for all the vandalism. While the police questioned the boy, Zeke paced back and forth between Renee and the girls and the interrogation. Not once had he spoken to Paige.

Paige went over and poured water for the twins and offered Renee a glass, then knelt and consoled both girls.

“You're okay, girls?” she asked Summer, then August.

“Yeah, but we was scared,” Summer admitted.

“I was gonna punch his lights out,” August said.

Renee frowned up at her. “How could you let this happen? You were supposed to be watching them.”

Paige felt as if she'd been hit herself. She opened her mouth to explain, but realized she couldn't. Renee was right to blame her.

“It wasn't Paige's fault,” August argued.

“Yeah, we was chasing Henrietta,” Summer said.

“She had Paige's spoon.”

“We was making muffins. And Paige told us to watch Henrietta.”

“That damn dog,” Renee muttered.

Summer and August traded horrified looks. “Mommy, Don't get mad at Henrietta. She liked Paige's muffins.”

“Shh, it's okay now.” Paige patted them both. When she glanced up, Zeke had left the officer and was standing beside her, watching the scene intently. Summer and August both bolted in to his arms and he hugged them fiercely.

“You scared the daylights out of me, girls,” he muttered, his voice rough with unshed tears.

Paige's throat closed as Renee stood and encircled the
three of them as if they were all a family. Once again déjà vu struck her. The episode with Joey had brought Eric and his wife back together, made them realize how petty they'd been during their separation. How they needed one more time to try and be a family. Would this scary incident do the same thing for Zeke and his ex-wife?

Finally Zeke turned to Paige. Emotions, dark and troubled, swirled in the depths of his eyes, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth to keep herself from crying out. He hated her; he had to. She'd put his kids in danger. “Are you all right?”

Paige wrapped her arms around herself and nodded, surprised at the question. “I'm fine.”

“What happened?”

Paige swallowed, aware her voice was shaky when she finally spoke. But she told him about hearing the noise and coming over to check on his house.

“My God, Paige, what were you thinking? You were going to protect yourself with a broom?” Anger radiated through his voice and Paige clenched her hands into fists at her side. She started to defend herself, but knew she couldn't. Because he was right.

She'd been stupid to leave the girls. Because of her, they might have been hurt. She'd been telling him she wasn't mother material. And now, she'd proven it.

 

Z
EKE GROWLED
, tugged on his shoes and glanced at the clock. Dammit, it was midnight and he still hadn't had time to talk to Paige. She'd disappeared as soon as the police had finished questioning her. Between Renee's hysteria and his daughter's fears, he'd had his hands full for the last two hours calming them all. Finally, after he'd promised Henrietta wouldn't be punished, the girls had
drifted to sleep. He'd fixed Renee a good stiff whiskey and ordered her to lie down in the guest room. For someone who'd told him she was moving thousands of miles away from her daughters, she certainly had acted hysterical. Of course, Renee always basked in the limelight. He hadn't missed the way she'd blamed Paige for the incident when he knew Paige would do anything within her power to protect his daughters.

But what about Paige? Was she all right?

She'd seemed calm and cool, had looked as if she had the situation with the young boys halfway under control when Renee had screamed and scared the boys into a panic. He'd been torn between chasing down the kid who'd put his filthy paws on his innocent little girls, making sure Paige was all right after the jerk had pushed her down and comforting his girls when the situation had finally ended. But Paige had been strong.

He'd had to go to Summer and August. Then Renee had made things all the more complicated by being her overdramatic self. But all the while, he'd ached to hold Paige and make sure she hadn't been harmed. He'd admired her composure, the way she'd taken charge and consoled the girls, even his hysterical ex-wife.

He splashed cold water on his face in the bathroom, buttoned his oxford shirt as he strode toward the door, then headed toward Paige's, hoping she was still up. He wanted to hold her for a few minutes, hear her voice, kiss her good-night, then he might be able to fall asleep himself.

He slipped out the back door as quietly as possible, hurried across their backyards and paused at her back door, surprised when he saw her kitchen lights still on. The door was cracked so the evening breeze fluttered through the back door, but the screen was locked. He
heard her soft lilty voice on the phone. She was talking in a hushed voice, fumbling with the phone cord. He heard her say Derrick's name. Hell.

“Yes, Derrick. I decided to take the internship in Paris.”

He froze, his heart pounding. What?

“The wedding dress is almost ready, and beautiful if I do say so myself. Lots of ivory lace and pearl buttons.”