Joker's Wild (18 page)

“So you’re Lillian? Are all of you so different?”

“Yep, when Pop dealt this hand, he really scrambled the cards. King is the damn-the-torpedoes, full-speed-ahead type. Jack’s the silent, still-waters-run-deep kind. And Joker’s the wild card.”

“And you’re like Jamie. I think I would have known you were Jamie’s sister even if you hadn’t told me.”

“Jamie?” The dark-haired woman gave a warm laugh and clapped her hands in delight. “I can see how you did it. He didn’t have a chance.”

“Oh, but he did. He could have let me fall into the moat with the crocodiles.”

“Oh, my. I’m sorry I stayed out of this. It must have been great fun. You made him fall out of a tree and hit his head?” Diamond doubled up in a fresh attack of laughter.

Allison was sitting in the kitchen at the breakfast table with Diamond Vandergriff, the sophisticated beauty who was Joker’s sister. Diamond had rung
her doorbell only moments after Joker had left to check on his landscaping job at the new office complex. Any worries Allison might have had over being friends with her future sister-in-law vanished the moment Diamond slipped off her high-heeled shoes and padded in her stocking feet into the kitchen, sniffing the tantalizing aroma of the peach pie that Minnie had brought by earlier.

Now, two cups of coffee and a wedge of pie later, Diamond was asking questions that Allison might have felt were too personal to answer coming from anyone else.

“And you didn’t know that Joker was really James Daniel Vandergriff?”

“No, I thought he was a yard man my grandmother took in, a gardener who gambled on the side.”

“So,” Diamond prodded, “you two fell in love. You’ve regained the use of your knee, and Joker’s going back to work. So, when’s the wedding?”

“That’s the problem. Joker thinks that what I feel for him is only gratitude, and because we’re …” Allison let her voice trail off. She couldn’t tell Joker’s sister that her brother thought she was grateful to him because their lovemaking was so wonderful. But that was one of the things he believed. He was right. Making love with Joker was wonderful, but what she felt for him was much more.

They both loved Elysium. They both loved her grandmother, and they’d both managed to hide their vulnerability. She’d put all her energy into creating a fantasy on ice, and Joker had lived in a world he’d created for himself.

“We haven’t talked about marriage. I can’t seem to make the big lug understand that I love him.”

“Knowing Joker, I can buy that. He’s got some crazy idea that love equals loss. So if he doesn’t love you back, he won’t lose you. He’d rather think that you’re suffering from a case of gratitude. What excuse does he give you?”

“He thinks he’s giving me my independence. The real truth is that he needs me to need him. And he thinks I won’t, after I’m well. I don’t think he’s ever loved a woman before, though.” Allison dropped her head shyly as she spoke. “I know he is very experienced.”

“So, he thinks that you’re in love with him because you’re grateful, and you think that he’s in love with you because of some need to be needed. Balderdash!”

“What?” Allison watched Diamond come to her feet and pace back and forth, rubbing her forefinger against her chin in thought as she paced.

“It seems to me, my future sister-in-law, that what we have here is two people full of guilt. They’ve got a good thing, and they can’t enjoy it for feeling guilty over getting the most out of the relationship.”

“You may be right,” Allison admitted. “I’m certainly no stranger to guilt. Everything has always come to me. This house, Gran, skating, the gold medal. And now Joker. Maybe I don’t deserve it.”

“Crimeny! We have two guilty bleeding hearts here. Joker’s gone through life making everything easy for everybody else—his landlady, his teachers, the rest of his family—he’s always been the caretaker. He’s still giving—giving you a way out. Noble jackass.”

“Now wait a minute. Granted, he may be too giving, but there isn’t a more wonderful, caring, exciting man in the world. He’s taught me about love. He just won’t let me love him back.”

“And that, Allison Josey, is the heart of the problem. He’s taught you how to give. Now, you’re going to have to teach him how to take. He’s never learned that. If I were you,” Diamond said shaking her head in mock despair, “I’d fill up that moat, starve out the crocs, and let up the drawbridge until you figure out a way to convince Joker that you don’t want to go back to your skating career. Otherwise, I think he’ll probably rent a rink for you to start practicing on.”

Allison walked Diamond to the door. “Thank you, Lillie,” Allison said, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Maybe I’ve been going about this all wrong. I think maybe I’ll have to work out a new routine.”

“As in skating?”

“Sure, a new move, new costume, change my style. Yep, there’s more than one way to take the prize.”

Diamond gave Allison an encouraging hug. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I don’t think so, unless you know where I can buy some live chickens.”

“Chickens? Don’t try and explain. This is going to be a marriage made in heaven,” Diamond said with a smile.

After her future sister-in-law left, Allison giggled out loud as she planned how she’d prove herself to her reluctant fiancé. Finding the chickens was first on her list. The second thing she would do was learn how to cook. She hadn’t been so excited since she’d tried out for the Olympic team.

Joker’s singing voice didn’t actually scare buzzards as he’d told Allison, but he did startle a fellow motorist or two on the way home with his mournful rendition
of a country music song bemoaning the loss of his one true love. He’d done it. Weeks ago he’d invited Darron Vardin, the director of Allison’s ice show, to the reception that King and Diamond were planning to kick off the publicity for the Sports Medicine Rehabilitation Center. Allison was almost ready to go back to work, he’d assured Darron, and she was being courted by the competition. Darron had agreed to come. He’d done it, he’d healed Allison’s knee and given her back her career.

And he’d never been so miserable in his life.

When Joker reached the estate, he found a shiny new sign at the entranceway proclaiming this property as a part of the sovereign territory of Texas. Mulling over the significance of the psychedelic work of art, he rounded the curve in the driveway and was forced to come to a screeching halt in the midst of a flock of assorted chickens and roosters, who’d taken up residence in the courtyard.

Something very strange was going on.

Inside the house there was something even stranger happening. Great clouds of smoke were billowing from the kitchen. The house was on fire. Joker’s breathing stopped as he charged into the smokefilled room.

“Beauty! Where are you, Allison?”

“Oh, Joker, it’s terrible!”

Allison, face smeared with soot, rushed into his arms and began to cry. “I’ve ruined it, totally and completely burned it to a crisp.”

“Beauty, darling, what’s burned to a crisp?” Joker lifted Allison into his arms and dashed out through the sun room to the garden.

“The roast. The lovely roast I was cooking for
dinner. Even the little paper hats I put on the ribs caught on fire and burned up.” She hiccupped helplessly.

“You mean all that smoke is coming from a burned roast?”

“No, it’s coming from the water I poured on the roast to put out the fire. Just look at me. After all my plans to surprise you, I’m a complete flop.”

By this time Joker was looking. Allison’s costume was as startling as the scene he’d been greeted with. She was wearing high-heeled satin shoes and white lacy stockings that attached to a garter belt beneath a soft pink see-through negligee. Over her calendar-art seduction costume, she’d tied the pink gingham apron he’d worn the first night she’d been at home.

“Failure? Lawdy, Miss Claudie, if I’m going to be welcomed by this every night, who wants success?”

Two chickens suddenly squawked wildly and began a mad dash through the garden.

“Beauty, I love holding you like this, but I have to know. What in hell are you doing?”

“Oh, Jamie, I wanted to show you that being married to me would be exciting. Gran is going to teach me to cook. And I thought if you stopped seeing me as a skater and started seeing me as a real woman, you’d want to marry me.”

“And that’s why you’re turning this place into a chicken coop?”

“Well, in the movie they called it a chicken ranch. I just wanted to … seduce you. Will you teach me to do the Texas two-step, Jamie?”

He looked down at her soot-smeared face and laughed out loud. “All this is to make me want to marry you? Oh, Beauty, there hasn’t been one minute
since I first saw your picture hanging on that study wall that I haven’t wanted you.”

“But that was Allison the skater. This is Allison the woman. What about it, big boy, wanna make this the first day of the rest of our lives?” She lowered one eyelash and gave an exaggerated wink as she ran her fingertips around his neck and pulled his head down to meet her kiss.

“Day, hell,” Joker finally managed to growl. “I’d rather start with the night.”

He turned and started up the steps to the carriage house. “Are you sure the fire is out back there?”

“I’m sure, you big lug. The only fire you have to put out is the one right here.”

And he did, magnificently and efficiently, carefully attending to any hot spots that flared up in the night.

The next few days were the most wonderful time of Allison’s life. She and Joker made glorious love in the springs, in the bedroom, and once in the gazebo. One night Joker produced a pair of big thick white athletic socks and some old rock and roll records. They had their own version of a sock hop, which soon disintegrated into an entirely new concept of where the sock should be placed.

As she fell deeper and deeper in love, there were times when Allison was sure that Joker trusted the love she’d pledged to him. Then she’d see him gaze off into the distance as a pained look flashed in his eyes. She knew he’d always played the clown to cover the hurt he’d felt at the loss of his parents and the hard life he and his siblings had had to lead to exist without them. He still didn’t trust in their love.

One night they joined King and Kaylyn and Diamond at the Waterhole. But it was King who gave the final stamp of approval, when he saw Allison and Joker together.

“You’re damned lucky, brother. A man doesn’t often find such a woman.”

“I hope that you’re going to make an honest woman out of her, James Daniel,” Diamond teased.

“I think I’m going to have to talk with Chief Newton personally,” Allison quipped. “Do you know if he has a shotgun?”

“Poor Allison,” Kaylyn said sadly, “she’s being taken advantage of by a rogue.”

“Why poor Allison?” Joker interjected. “Take pity on poor Joker. His home has been turned into a chicken ranch.”

The light banter went on all evening. But nobody was more aware than Allison, that Joker never gave a real answer to their teasing questions.

They were in the big bedroom, lights on, clothes falling like moon shadows on the carpet. Joker took her in his arms and made sweet, poignant love to her, bringing them to new heights of desire.

“You have a lot of friends, don’t you, Jamie? Have you ever met anybody you didn’t like?” She was lying in Joker’s arms, at peace with the world.

“Not lately. The world seems to have greatly improved since I met you, Allison.”

“It isn’t the world, Jamie Daniel, it’s you and those enchanted eyes you view the world with. You’ve made me see through them too.”

“Well, you’d better close your enchanted eyes,” Joker
said, kissing each one with loving care. “It’s very late. Tomorrow I think I’ll give you a little vacation. I have some family business I have to take care of.”

“Good, I’ll take another cooking lesson.”

“Just as long as you don’t have any more of those little paper hats.”

“Ah, shucks, I thought I might visit the local gourmet store and do a little personal shopping. If I’m going to cook, I need a professional chef’s apron and cap, don’t you think?”

“Maybe you’d like me to take your measurements. Now that sounds like my kind of kitchen duty.”

He was right, and she liked it very much.

Allison headed off Sandi Arnold when she came the next morning for a therapy session.

“Sandi, would you have time to take me down to the Sports Medicine Center this morning? I’d like to talk to the doctor. There is a medical director on the staff, isn’t there?”

“Sure. That’ll be great. I’ve been trying to get you down to see him for weeks. Let me give him a call and tell him we’re on our way. Isn’t Joker coming too?”

“No. He has work to do today. So I’m going to surprise him and get an official medical evaluation.”

In less than half an hour Allison had changed her clothes, and they were on their way. She tried to pretend that she wasn’t nervous, but she hadn’t been so anxious since she’d made the first trip to the nursing home to see Gran. She knew her knee was vastly improved, but she couldn’t be certain how much was real and how much was Joker’s magic.

“What made you change your mind?” Sandi asked as she turned into the parking area.

“Let’s just say that I’ve got a yen to go shopping.”

“Well, the last time I looked there weren’t any shops in the center.”

“Nope, but there’s a doctor who ought to be able to tell me for sure how soon I’ll be able to walk down the aisle.”

“Well, pardon me. But I’d say that you’re capable of that now. What me to come in with you?”

“Nope, I’ll manage. I’m an independent lady, or haven’t you noticed?”

Allison gave Sandi a bright smile and slid out of the car. They agreed that Sandi would be back in an hour to pick her up and drive her back to the estate.

Inside, Allison was shown into the office of the doctor who’d been supervising her program all along. He agreed that her knee had responded beyond their wildest expectations, that her body had returned to normal, and that there was no physical reason that she shouldn’t conceive a child if that was what she wanted.

Allison didn’t feel the floor beneath her feet as she floated down the hall into the lobby. She heard the tinkling melody of the springs and felt her spirits soar. Through the glass doors she saw the lizard beaming in the sunlight. He was smiling. She was smiling. The handsome, sandy-haired man with the serious expression who was coming through the door caught sight of her and began to smile as well.