Texas Sunrise (32 page)

I will not let her ruin my day. I simply will not, Maggie told herself. “I assume the bitch in question is Valentine Mitchell,” Maggie said quietly.

“Of course. Who else do we know who does the things she does? She's always been jealous of us. Though we were good enough to pay her hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.”

“Maybe you should stop and think about what you just said, Susan. A few months ago you showed up on my doorstep with . . . what was it you said? Eighty dollars in your checking account? That's bread-line, pauper level. You're sitting on a velvet cushion now, thanks to Val. Give credit where credit is due. And don't forget that she was the one who bailed you out the first time around, when your first husband did the same thing to you your second husband did. Maybe you should take a long, hard look at yourself, Susan. You know, I called you to see how you were. We're sisters, and I care about you, but you are so bitter, Susan, so angry at everyone and at the world. You should be thrilled and delighted that Cary can do things for himself, that he isn't so traumatized that he sits and sucks his thumb. Instead, you're angry. Mentally, Cary is in a healthier place than you are right now. You think about
that
for a while, and if you want to call me back later with a smile in your voice,
maybe
I'll talk to you. Good-bye, Suse,” Maggie said, slamming the phone down.

“That
was a mistake,” Maggie muttered as she filled the Mr. Coffee.

“Froot Loops,” a tiny voice by her knees said. Maggie whirled about.

“Shoclit bears,” a second tiny voice said.

“No. Scrambled eggs. Toast. Juice.”

The tots shook their heads wildly.

“Oh, yes,” Maggie said. “Sit!”

“No,” the girls chorused in unison.

“Aha, well, then I'll eat by myself. You go pick some flowers for your mother.” The twins watched, uncertain at the sternness in her voice. They continued to watch, thumbs in their mouths, as Maggie set one place at the table. “This is my plate,” she said. “Shooo, go get the flowers. Pretty ones.”

“Froot Loops,” Katy said.

“Shoclit bears,” Josie said.

“Eggs,” Maggie said.

They cried, at the same time, both their lower lips trembling.

Maggie scooped some of the scrambled eggs onto her plate and sat down. She started to eat. The twins sobbed. Maggie ignored them. “Want some?”

“Popsicle,” Josie said.

“Cookie,” Katy wailed.

“Eggs,” Maggie said.

“Sugar bread,” Josie, the ringleader, pleaded.

“Gummi Bears,” Katy hiccuped.

“Eggs,” Maggie said.

The twins looked at one another. They stopped crying at the same moment their thumbs came out of their mouths. As one they scrambled onto their respective chairs. They wiggled until they were on their knees. “Eggs,” they said.

“I thought you'd see it my way.” Maggie smiled. The girls wolfed down their eggs and toast and finished their milk.

“Cookies?”

“Apples,” Maggie said, wiping their faces with a wet paper towel. “Let's pick some flowers and make a lei for your mommy. That's a necklace of flowers. We'll have to work quickly before Mommy wakes up.”

Darning needle and nylon thread in hand, Maggie led the twins out to the garden at the side of the house. “You pick them and I'll string them.”

Chubby fingers piled the fragile blossoms at Maggie's feet. She worked quickly, stringing the sweet-smelling flowers on the thread. “For mommy.”

“Daddy,” they chorused.

“Okay, Daddy too.” Maggie's needle worked furiously. “How about one for Josie and Katy?” Maggie kissed each of the girls as she placed the small leis around their necks. “Now take these to Mommy and Daddy and tell them to get up. Hurry.” She smiled.

“Prize.”

“When you get back I'll show you the surprise.” She watched as they scampered off. What had she gotten herself into? Who cared? She was going to love every minute of it, if she survived.

“They smell wonderful,” Sawyer said happily. “What a wonderful way to wake up. The girls said you made eggs for us. I'm starved.”

“No. I made eggs for the twins. How do you like yours?”

“Over easy.
They ate them?”
Maggie pointed to the plates on the table. “Look, Adam, they ate eggs.”

“I'm no authority on children, but did you two ever stop to think about how much sugar those children eat? That's probably one of the reasons they're so wired-up all the time.”

“Pepsi,” Josie said.

“Pepsi,” Katy echoed.

“Juice,” Maggie said.

Sawyer watched, her eyes round, as the girls drank their juice without a fuss.

“Prize?”

“Just as soon as I make breakfast for Mommy and Daddy. Pick some more flowers for me.” Sawyer watched her children as they trotted off to do her mother's bidding without a fuss.

“Here you go,” Maggie said, sliding the eggs onto Sawyer's plate. “I have to go now. Adam, you can push your own toast down, can't you?”

“Yeah, sure. What's your hurry?”

“I stayed up all night and built a sand castle for the girls. That's the
prize.
There's a lot of traffic Monday mornings, for some reason,” she called over her shoulder. “Maybe you better leave fifteen minutes earlier.”

“And you were worried?” Adam scoffed, dipping his toast into his wife's egg yolk. “When we come back for the terrors, they probably won't want to go with us. In which case we could board them out here and visit on holidays.”

Sawyer threw her napkin at him.

“This is probably the best thing we could have done for your mother. Let's take a shower together,” he said, leering at her, “wearing our leis.”

“My dear, that is the best offer I've had since . . . God, since when?” Sawyer said, dashing off to the bedroom, her husband right behind.

 

The moment Sawyer and Adam drove off, Maggie took the girls by the hand and led them around the side of the house and down to the beach. Josie, the more verbal of the twins, had laid claim to the sand castle. Now it was time to build one for Katy.

It was almost noon when Maggie called a halt to the building. She had heard her name being called from the garage area. She never had visitors, and Addie was off today. She felt a flurry of panic and didn't know why. It was probably the meter reader. She called out, “I'm down here.”

He's huge, Maggie thought. He was six-two, at least, with a crown of thick dark hair mixed with silvery strands at the temples. He was dressed in creased navy chinos, with a crisp white shirt open at the throat and sleeves rolled to the middle of his arms. His tan, if it was a tan, was a glorious bronze color. Dock-Siders adorned his feet, along with white tennis socks. Obviously, Maggie thought, whoever he was, he wasn't trying to make a fashion statement. He looked comfortable in his clothes and with himself. From where she was standing, she thought him ugly, but as he approached with a smile on his face, she revised her opinion. She looked into warm, dark eyes the color of melted chocolate chips.

Maggie brushed the sand off her hands, her eyes wary.

“Mrs. Nelson?”

“Yes.”

“I'm Henry Tanaka. Your stepdaughter's attorneys approached me in regard to selling her ten percent interest in the sugar refinery. I was wondering if you had any intention of selling your interest as well. I spoke personally to Mr. Assante yesterday, and he suggested I come up here to talk to you. He told me about his condition and expressed an interest in selling out, either to you or to me. I understand you'll want to verify all of this, but I would like to make an offer.”

“I hadn't thought about it, Mr. Tanaka. As you can see, I more or less have my hands full right now. When would you want my answer?”

“I'm not in a hurry, but your stepdaughter seems to be. Take as long as you like. I haven't built one of those in years,” he said, pointing to the sand castle. “My wife and I used to build them all the time for our grandchild. Then my son decided he wanted to work on the mainland and they moved. My wife died two years ago. For a while we would build them ourselves . . . .”

How sad he looks, Maggie thought. “We could use some help, if you have nothing to do. You see, I stayed up all night to build one, and I forgot how proprietary twins are, so we now have to build another. By the way, this is Josie and this is Katy. I'm baby-sitting. For a couple of weeks. I think.”

“I'd like that. Would you mind if I change? I keep a swimsuit in the trunk of my car.”

“Not at all. The bathroom is off the kitchen. You're sure you're an expert at this?” She twinkled.

“The best. We could have a contest. You take one of the girls to help you, and I'll take the other one.”

“Before or after lunch?”

“If that's an offer, I accept. I'll just be a minute.” He beamed.

The moment Henry Tanaka was out of her sight, Maggie started to worry. God, what if he was some kind of pervert? An ax murderer?

“Hims nice,” Josie said.

“Yeah, hims nice,” Katy agreed.

“I think you're right,” Maggie said, “but I'm still going to call Cary.”

“He's got a good reputation,” Cary said. “Rich as sin, I hear. He more or less implied he'd pay cash if we want to sell. It's your call, Maggie. I won't be able to do much overseeing in my condition. Rand was the one who knew the refinery, not me. I'll go along with whatever you decide. Are you out on the lanai? A sandcastle building contest, huh?” he said wistfully. “Do you still have all those beautiful purple and pink flowers?”

Maggie looked around.

“Yeah. I'll call you back and let you know who wins, okay?”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Checking up on me?” Henry asked.

“Yes. Cary said you are who you say you are. He left the decision up to me. Grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch,” Maggie said, leading the way into the kitchen. “The bathroom is off the kitchen.”

“Popcorn,” Josie said.

“Jelly bread,” Katy said.

“Grilled cheese and soup,” Maggie said. She could hear Tanaka laughing in the bathroom.

“Hims nice,” Josie said.

“Hims nice.” Katy grinned.

“Let's wash up first,” Maggie said. “While I fix lunch, you can pick some flowers for Mr. Tanaka. Maybe he'll help you.”

Lord, he's big, Maggie marveled. She wondered if he was Hawaiian. She asked.

“My mother was a
hale,
so was my grandfather. It explains my height. I've lived here all my life. About two miles up the road. We've been neighbors for a long time. I knew your husband. Not well, of course. I'm sorry about his passing.”

“Thank you.”

“You must be very lonely here. I know I am. When my wife died, I went around the world. I thought I would never come back, but I did. Now I'll never leave. As a matter of fact, I couldn't wait to get back. One has to learn how to deal with memories. It isn't easy.”

Josie tugged at his hand. “Flowers.” Katy tugged at his other hand.

“They said, and this is a direct quote from both of them, ‘Hims nice.' ”

“I'm impressed.”

“And well you should be.” Maggie laughed.

The moment they were out of sight, Maggie ran to the bathroom to run a brush through her hair. She couldn't put on makeup now; it would be too obvious. She couldn't splash on perfume either. Thank God the playsuit was attractive. When she walked back to the kitchen she felt giddy. Hmmmmn. But her good mood soured almost immediately. Henry Tanaka wanted to buy the refinery, so naturally he would be nice and ingratiate himself with her. So what? she said to herself. For now, it's pleasant, and he's someone to talk to. She flipped the sandwiches onto a plate. She cut them up in little squares for the twins and poured their soup into small cups with thick handles.

“I think,” Henry said thirty minutes later, “your charges are falling asleep in their soup.”

He sounded so disappointed, Maggie said, “Let's carry them out to the lanai, and you and I can get a start on the castles. When they wake up, we'll finish them. Are you sure you can spare the time?”

“That's about all I have these days. Time.”

“But you said you want to buy the refinery. Don't you work?”
That's about as blunt as you can get, Maggie.

“I don't work. My daughter-in-law uses that term all the time. I acquire things.”

“I see,” Maggie said.

Tanaka laughed. “My wife used to say that all the time. Usually it meant she didn't fully approve. Ooops, I think we better get these youngsters to someplace soft before they fall off their chairs.”

“I don't understand. Sawyer said they never take naps. She said they don't sleep through the night and they don't eat anything,” Maggie dithered. “God, you don't think there was anything wrong with the food, do you?”

“I think they're just tired. The sun and sand will do that to you. They do jabber a lot. You should have heard them when we were picking the flowers. This one,” he said, indicating Josie, “is solid as a rock.”

“So is this one.” Maggie laughed. “Do you think I should cover them?”

“It's eighty degrees. Is this your first time with the girls?”

“I guess it shows, huh? I'm enjoying it, though. I promised I would teach them to swim. Now I don't think it's such a good idea. Josie is afraid of the waves.”