Randall Wedding (8 page)

There were several questions and Isabella answered them as honestly as she could, until Janie asked a more difficult question.

“But how do you feel about Russ?”

Isabella had been open, and now they all watched as that openness disappeared. Cautiously, she said, “I think Russ and I will be good friends. He’s a…a good person, and he’ll be a great father for Angel.”

“Nicely said,” B.J. replied. “Are you still mourning Angel’s father?”

“No! Not at all. I’m ashamed to say it, but I married him to spite my father. I thought he would stand up to my father. Instead, after about six months, he sold out for a sports car that killed him. I was four months pregnant at the time.”

The women all looked at each other and nodded. Then Janie said, “Welcome to the family.”

“You don’t mind? I mean, I promise to try to make Russ happy.”

“Good. Wear your hair loose at the wedding. He’s right. It’s gorgeous. It’s like the baby’s except much longer,” Janie said to the others. “It will be spectacular.”

“But I don’t have anything to wear. There’s a yellow dress, but it’s for summer.”

“How about my wedding gown?” Elizabeth asked. “We’re about the same height. Mildred does wonderful tailoring.”

Before Isabella knew what was happening, she found herself up the stairs, trying on a beautiful white gown. Janie got on the phone and ordered a tux for both her sons, since she figured Rich would be Russ’s best man.

B.J., Megan and Anna began planning the meal they would serve to the neighborhood. Suggestions flew fast and furious.

“But…I mean, there’s snow everywhere. Where can we have that many people for dinner?” Isabella asked.

“In the arena. You’ll see. It’s where Toby and Elizabeth got married,” B.J. explained.

Isabella nodded, but she had no idea where or, just what the “arena” was. Yet she was glad she’d turned her life over to these women. They were wonderful.

Then Angel, in the carrier on the bed in the room Isabella had been given, announced her feeding
time. Everyone flew to the carrier, and Isabella got to show off her pride and joy. They all thought Angel was beautiful. Just another reason to realize how fortunate she was.

Russ flipped on the kitchen light as he entered his apartment. Tonight was different.

Angel and Isabella weren’t here.

It was really Angel he missed, of course, but he couldn’t have Angel without Isabella. That was why he’d included Isabella in that thought. He should be glad she wasn’t here. He’d get to sleep in his own bed tonight.

He should change the sheets, but he was tired. He’d had a long day. Somehow, jumping back into the family activities had taken a lot out of him. But he couldn’t leave Isabella on her own. So he’d stayed all afternoon, visiting with Red. Then he’d stayed for dinner, sitting beside Isabella at the family table, interacting with everyone.

He even stayed for Angel’s ten-o’clock feeding. Isabella had let him feed her, but she’d sat beside him, her scent encircling him and the baby.

Angel had been particularly sweet. After she’d finished her bottle, Isabella and he had talked to her.
The baby had listened intently, her gaze moving from one to the other. Izzy had burped her. Then she’d placed Angel in a baby bed and Russ had spread a blanket over her.

He’d bent over and kissed the baby good-night. Then he’d turned to Isabella. It had seemed natural to place a kiss on her cheek, too. Her skin was almost as soft as the baby’s, but the temptation to kiss Isabella’s lips had surprised him. He’d beat a fast retreat.

Russ checked the thermometer. The place seemed cold. No wonder. It was close to zero outside. He stepped into the kitchen and put on some water to boil. A cup of instant decaf would help settle him down.

He couldn’t have gotten so used to Isabella and her baby in the few days they’d stayed with him. And Saturday night, they’d be back together again. Forever.

He made his cup of coffee and headed for his bedroom. Isabella had been very neat. There was almost no trace of her. He sat on the edge of his bed and took a sip of coffee. Then he realized what he was smelling. Isabella had left her scent in his room. It made it impossible to forget her warmth, to forget her. If he stayed in there he feared she’d invade his dreams and he’d lose all control of his feelings.

Suddenly he stood and returned to the living room. Turning on the television, he settled on the
couch. He was more comfortable there than in his bedroom.

When he awoke the next morning, he was still on the sofa with the television playing.

He went down to the office after he’d showered, shaved and changed. He found Bill Wilson already there. “Bill! I didn’t expect you this early.”

“It’s not like I had to crawl through the snow, Russ.”

Russ laughed. Bill, Jon’s father, rented the apartment next to his and worked at the accounting firm with Tori and Russ. “I guess I don’t have that excuse, either. Did your wife try to make it out to Gabe’s ranch?” Bill’s wife worked during the day as Gabe and his wife Jennifer’s housekeeper.

“She talked about it, but Gabe told her not to try. He was staying in with his wife and babies today. So I told her to make us a good lunch.”

“Does that ‘us’ include me?”

“It does.”

“Good. Uh, by the way, Bill, I should tell you I’m getting married this Saturday.” He watched as Bill stared at him in surprise.

“Who are you marrying?”

“You don’t know her. I found her and her baby in the blizzard and rescued them. Her baby is six weeks old and called Angel. Isabella was sick and I took care of Angel and fell in love with her.”

“Good for you, Russ.” Bill shook his head. “We’ve all been worried about you, but we
couldn’t figure out what to do. God worked it out by Himself.”

“Yeah, I guess He did.”

The front door opened and Tori hurried in. “Hi. Brisk this morning, isn’t it?”

Both men greeted her. But her return greeting was a surprise. She put her arms around Russ’s neck and hugged him. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Ah. The family gossips have been busy,” Russ said with a wry grin.

“Your mother is up on the roof shouting hooray.” Tori proceeded past him to her office. “I’ve got a lot to get done today.”

“Uh, I have to talk to you about something.” Russ moved to the door of her office. “Mind if I come in?”

She waved him in. He spoke to Bill, then entered Tori’s office and closed the door. “It turns out that Isabella inherited majority stock holdings in the family company. She wants to leave it all to Angel, of course, with me as guardian. She was going to leave money to pay me for my work, and I protested. Nick suggested she put you in charge of the trust fund and you would be paid for your efforts. That okay with you?”

Tori blinked several times. “Well, I guess so. What’s the name of the company?”

“Paloni Industries. I don’t know anything about it.”

“I’ve seen the name, but I never connected it to Maria Paloni. She had me make some investments
for her, so I knew she wasn’t hurting, but…” While she talked, she was punching buttons on her computer. Then she whistled under her breath. “How much did she own?”

“I don’t know exactly. More than fifty percent.”

“That’s a big conglomerate. It’s publicly held, but most of the stock is held by the founding family. We’re talking millions of dollars.”

“I gathered.”

“Well, you’re going to be the richest man in Rawhide.”

“Not me. My wife.”

“Same thing. Is she going to sell?”

“I don’t think so. She thinks her father will do anything to gain control. And it seems she doesn’t want to do him any favors.”

“This sounds serious. Does she think he’ll threaten her?”

“She thinks he’ll kill her.”

Tori gasped. Then she firmed her lips. “She needs to sell the stock. The sooner the better.”

“I don’t think she will. It’s a family company.”

“Suddenly I’m not so thrilled about your marriage.”

“It won’t affect me.” Russ smiled. “I’m involved to keep Angel safe.”

“Yeah, right! You’re telling me if a man comes after Isabella, you’re not going to protect her?”

Russ paced the short distance across the office. Then he shrugged. “I probably will. But Angel’s going to stay in the family. She won’t be going
back to her grandfather. So it won’t matter in the long run.”

“It matters to us if something happens to you!” Tori snapped.

“I don’t think it will come to that. I think Isabella’s father threatens a lot and has never had to prove he means it.”

“I’ll take care of the trust, but watch your back.”

This time Russ hugged Tori. “Don’t worry. If I get lost I can count on you and Jon coming to find me, can’t I?”

“Probably, unless I’m pregnant again.”

“Pregnant? Do you think you are?”

“Not yet, but Jonny is eight months old. Within the next year we’ll probably have another baby.”

“Then I’ll have to take care of myself. I’m not risking a niece or nephew’s life,” he assured her with a grin.

“Don’t take this too lightly, Russ,” Tori warned.

“No, I won’t. I’m going to get to work. Nick will contact you about the trust.”

He slipped out of his cousin’s office and into his. Bill was working at his desk and didn’t even look up. Once he was behind his desk, Russ called Nick.

“Tori okayed the trust idea,” he said at once.

“Good. I had a call from Mr. Paloni this morning.”

“What did he say?”

“I had my secretary give him a message that I would be out of the office until Monday due to a family wedding.”

“Clever. You think that will hold him?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure he thinks I don’t have any idea what he’s up to. Once he discovers I’ve taken precautions against him accomplishing his goal, all bets are off.”

“Nick, do you really believe he’ll harm Isabella?”

“I hope not, but you never can tell. By the way, we got a call this morning inviting us to the wedding. Sarah was pleased.”

“I’m glad.” Russ grimaced. “I’ve got to call Isabella and see if they’ve driven her crazy yet, taking over her life.”

“Okay, I’ll get with Tori, and we’ll see you Saturday.”

Russ hung up. He didn’t dial the ranch right away. He was thinking about what Tori had said. He didn’t believe money was worth anyone’s death. Especially not Isabella’s.

He drew a deep breath. Then he reached for the phone again.

Red answered and assured him Isabella was there at the breakfast table. When he heard her soft voice, he relaxed. “How’s it going, Izzy?”

“Fine. Your family is wonderful.”

“Told you you were getting a good bargain.”

“Yes. Are you okay? Did you enjoy getting back in your bed last night?”

“Sure,” he lied. “How’s Angel? On schedule?”

“Actually the mothers thought I should increase her milk another two ounces. Janie called Jon at
home and he agreed it wouldn’t hurt. I did and she’s sleeping six hours now. That means I’ll only have to get up once a night.”

“Okay. And you don’t resent my mother taking over your life?”

Isabella laughed, a sound Russ enjoyed. “Your mother, and all the mothers, are so kind. They try very hard not to interfere, but then they can’t help themselves. I love it. My mother died when I was very young. I missed so much. I’m so grateful to you, Russ. Please don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind.”

“No! Of course not. I was afraid you might’ve changed yours.”

“No, never.”

“Listen, Isabella, I’m worried about your father. I think you should just give the stock to him and put him out of your life. Money isn’t worth your life.”

“I probably exaggerated the danger, Russ. My father and I don’t have a good relationship.”

“I figured that out.”

She gave an edgy laugh. “I need some time to think things through, Russ. We’ll work it out.”

“Okay. Say, do you know how to ride?”

“That was a quick change of subject. No, I can’t ride.”

“I want to teach you. What size jeans do you wear?”

“That’s a very personal question,” she said.

“Honey, marriage is even more personal.”

There was a long silence and Russ remembered that their marriage was going to be different. He was about ready to tell her to forget it when she said abruptly, “I wear a size ten.”

“Boot size?”

“I guess a size seven. That’s my shoe size.”

“Okay. Tell Red I’ll be eating with everyone tonight. And I’ll be out there around four. Okay?”

“I don’t think we eat that early.”

“I’m coming early to spent time with my new family.”

“Oh.”

T
ORI WENT HOME
at two, something she’d begun when she returned to work after Jonny’s birth. If she had to stay longer, she’d brought her baby in after lunch and put him to bed in her office.

When she’d gone, Russ told Bill he was going to the general store across the street. “When I get back, I’ll probably go out to the ranch. If you want to quit early, feel free. You shouldn’t have to be the only one working.”

Bill shook his head. “I want to get finished with this part of the books on the café. Then I’ll call it quits.”

When Russ entered the store, he asked the female clerk to help him find jeans and boots for Isabella. First they looked at boots. Russ chose some black leather boots with a simple design on the upper part of them. She recommended he buy a half-size larger
because of the instep. Then they added out some jeans.

“Does she need anything else? Gloves, a jacket?”

“Damn, I almost forgot. Yeah, she’ll need a ski jacket. Something in blue.” He wanted it to match her eyes. “And maybe a hat, too, and gloves.”

A half hour later, his arms full of packages, he walked to his truck. He put all the packages on the passenger side. Then he circled the truck and slid behind the wheel.

He hoped the jeans fit. He’d pictured Isabella in the new additions to her wardrobe. He couldn’t wait to see her wearing her cowboy hat. Of course, he’d bought all that so Izzy would get acclimated to horseback riding. Then, when Angel got a little older and he wanted to teach her how to ride, Izzy wouldn’t protest.

When he reached the house, he found everyone working on some project for the wedding. “I thought you would keep it simple since there’s not much time,” he protested.

“Nonsense. We want your wedding to be as nice as…” Janie stopped and started again. “We want it as nice as any of the Randall weddings. Besides, most of the weddings have happened in a hurry.”

Russ and Abby had planned their wedding for almost a year. Then Rich and Samantha had joined them at the last minute. He just shook his head. “Where is Isabella? With Angel?”

“No, but before you find her, I want to talk to you.”

“What about?”

“Inviting her family to the wedding.”

“Absolutely not!” Russ said adamantly.

“But, son, isn’t there anyone in her family that’s nice?”

“I think Angel’s pretty agreeable. We could invite her.”

“Well, of course, she’ll be there,” Janie exclaimed. “But I feel badly Isabella has no one else.”

“She’s got us, Mom, and we’re more than enough for anyone.” He changed the subject. “Now, where’s Isabella?”

“Isabella went to her great-aunt Maria’s house with Megan and Mildred and Angel is asleep in Isabella’s room.”

“What? But I told her I’d be here at four.”

Janie raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean she’s supposed to be here waiting for you?”

“Well, yes.”

“It’s not four yet. She still has twenty minutes before she’s late. And sometimes things happen.”

Russ felt betrayed by his future wife. She should’ve been there. He was anxious to see her—to assure himself everything was okay. Of course it wasn’t that he missed her. Or longed to see her for herself. He just wanted everything to flow smoothly. He knew he was lying to himself, but he
didn’t want to admit his weakness for Isabella. That would make him too vulnerable.

Red, who’d been working at the sink on something, poured a couple of cups of coffee and brought one to Russ. “Here, boy. Sit down and talk to me. I need a little masculine companionship. These women are running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

“Thanks, Red.” Russ took the coffee and sat. Then he said, “I could run over to her aunt’s house and see what’s holding them up.”

“You’d probably pass them on the way. Is the snow melting any? It’d be nice if it went away before Saturday. In fact, we should walk down to the arena to see if you approve of what they’ve done down there,” Red suggested.