The Reluctant Bride (15 page)

“Open your eyes, Max,” Cory insisted.

“Max…Max…Max…” Everyone shouted his name.

“Quiet, everyone!” someone ordered.

Karinne?
To Max's amazement, everyone obeyed the command.

“Give him some air. Let him catch his breath.” Karinne's voice, sweet and low, rang with love.

“Max, listen to me. We're all here. Every one of us. Help will be here soon. The storm's over.”

He felt Karinne wrap herself more closely around him, his head tucked under her chin. Max sighed, soaking up her love. He still couldn't talk, but he was starting to feel warm again….

“You look better,” she said, smoothing his wet hair.

“I feel better.”

“Just relax for now, okay?”

Relax?
Max couldn't remember lowering his guard, ever. He hadn't allowed himself a break. He hadn't dared. His whole life he'd been the leader, and the leader never rested—until now. Karinne was taking charge, taking care of
him.
With Karinne, he could catch his breath. That was all he'd ever needed to make life perfect. A loving woman to share life's load.

He almost lost faith in that strong, kindred soul he'd recognized, but now he wondered if perhaps Karinne
had
remained true to herself, and to him.

“Can you open your eyes?” Karinne asked.

He could move mountains for this woman—with this woman—but only if she could stand on her own two feet. He opened his eyes to her face.

I thought I'd never see you again.
He took in a deep breath, but could only gasp out, “You're here….”

“Of course I'm here.” Karinne smiled, her love shining. She brought one of his hands to her lips, kissed his palm and held it against her cheek. “I told you I'd never let go of you.”

“You're just saying that…because I went missing.”

“Yes. And no.” She kissed his head and hugged him so tightly that once more he couldn't breathe. But this time, he didn't mind. He kept her face in focus as his strength returned.

Max held Karinne's hand, continued to hold it as a helicopter's rotary blades sang high above the Colorado. He sat up with her fingers in his, wishing she still wore his engagement ring, wishing things could be right between them and praying for a future with the only woman he'd ever loved as the approaching sound of rescue reverberated against the walls of the Grand Canyon.

Karinne concentrated on her driving. She was headed back to Phoenix with Margot, Jon and Max. After their rescue and helicopter flight to the top of the canyon, EMTs had checked everyone out. No one showed lasting effects of the ordeal and exposure to the cold, although Jon had a severely bruised leg and had been ordered to stay off it for a few days. Margot's submersion underwater and the near-loss of both her children had left her shaky and subdued. Max had simply been exhausted, but that was nothing rest wouldn't cure. A good night's sleep topside had done wonders.

Cory and Anita were staying at the canyon.

“I'm giving you swimming lessons as soon as I can get you to a pool,” Cory told his wife. “And you want to join me in the rafting business?”

“I never said I didn't need on-the-job training,” she replied. “I am an accountant, after all.”

“Don't ever surprise me like that again,” Cory said. “I can't take it.”

Karinne wanted to go home to Phoenix. As she explained to Margot, “You need to see Dad again, Mom. You two have a lot to talk over.” She didn't add,
And divorce papers to sign,
but that was implied.

“I'll go with you,” Max had volunteered. And he had. He sat beside her in the front seat, for once not offering to
drive. Karinne suspected the ordeal in the water had taken more out of him than he'd admitted, both physically and emotionally.

Margot and Jon dozed in the backseat, still recovering, the long drive to Phoenix giving them time to rest. Max remained awake, but quiet.

“Thanks for coming along with me,” Karinne said.

“No problem. I told you I'd see this through to the end.”

Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I don't like hearing those words from you.”

“What?”

“The end.” Karinne kept her eyes on the road. “Although I've realized that change, whether good or bad, is always stressful. But speaking of ‘the end,' I've got to end some things in
my
life, Max. The first is my job.” She could feel his gaze on her, and flicked him a quick glance before looking out through her windshield again. “I'm tired of living a nomad's life. I have no free time for anyone or anything, not myself, not you. I know it's a little late, but I'm moving up north. I want us to rediscover each other, to be together as a couple—whether we get married or not.”

“You sure you wanna give up your job?” Max asked. “You've worked hard to get where you are, Karinne.”

“I know. But…I need to. I have money set aside I've never had time to spend, nor have I had time for the people I love. That's why I cling so hard to my father. But my brief visits with him—and with you—aren't enough. And now there's Mom and Jon. I want a regular life—but most of all I want to be with you. I know you think it's probably too late, but it doesn't have to be.”

She tried to keep the pleading out of her voice, but she didn't hide the love she felt.

“I did a lot of thinking myself while I was treading
water,” Max said. “I was so worried about you…afraid I'd never see you again. I can't believe you went after the raft, Karinne. You swam in a flood, you'd never piloted a raft, yet you went, anyway. You've got courage, more courage than I realized. You're not a child waiting to grow up. I was wrong. You're a woman—a woman any man would be proud to have as his bride.”

Karinne blinked the tears from her eyes. “I don't want
any
man. I just want you.”

“We'll try again,” Max said. “But let's not make any promises. Let's see what's going to happen with Margot and Jon. It's easier to break ties with a job than it is to rock the boat with your family. Jeff isn't going to want to let you go, and I can see him using Margot's reappearance as another reason to hold on to his only daughter. That's what he does, Karinne. It's what he's done ever since Margot ran away. He'll have to deal with the pain of Margot's rejection—something you haven't done, either.”

“Just because I haven't said anything doesn't mean I don't feel it,” Karinne said, her voice hoarse with emotion. “Of course I'm angry. And sad. And confused. My own mother left me, had another child, loved him, stayed with him and only came back to me because that child's sick. What am I supposed to do, Max? Tell her I hate her as much as I love her?”

“No.” He laid his hand softly on her thigh as she drove. “Understand that she's flawed. Understand that you're on the bottom of Margot's list. Know that she looks out for her own interests first—and maybe her son's—and act accordingly.”

“And I guess that goes for my father, as well.”

“At times, yes. But don't judge them too harshly. Love them all you can. Just stand up and fight for what you want, like they do.”

“I know what I want. You,” Karinne said quietly. “But I haven't fought for you, not for a long time. Not until yesterday, when I knew I had to get the raft. I couldn't let anything happen to any of the people I care about. I especially couldn't let you down. And I won't,” she vowed. “You'll see.”

Max said nothing.

Karinne wondered if he really believed her capable of doing what she'd said. She felt certain deep down that she was but, all the same, was glad Max had come with her. The meeting between Margot and Jeff would be a war zone, and there was still the transplant issue to settle for Jon.

The Phoenix sun shone brightly as Karinne pulled off the interstate. She drove toward her apartment, everyone awake now, alert and nervous. Max and Jon were to stay at Karinne's place and have lunch, while Karinne and Margot would continue on to Jeff's house.

“I'll see you later,” Karinne said softly, kissing Max on the cheek.

Margot hugged her son, told him to behave and reentered the car with her daughter.

“Are you sure you don't want to have some lunch first?” Karinne asked as she pulled away from the curb.

Margot shook her head. “No, I'm too nervous. Does your father know we're coming?”

“I called him.”

“I hope he doesn't have the police waiting for me. Or any other nasty surprises.”

“No, Mom. It'll just be the three of us. Or just the two of you, if you'd like privacy.”

“I want you there,” Margot said. “I imagine we'll need a referee. Your father never had much patience.”

“What do you expect?” Karinne asked bluntly. “You walked out on him and me. You faked your own death. Dad
isn't going to tamely hold out an olive branch and welcome you with open arms. That would be asking too much.”

Margot said nothing during the rest of the drive. Fifteen minutes later Karinne turned into the driveway, parking behind her father's vehicle. She climbed out, gazing at the outside of her childhood home, imagining how her mother would see it. The beige of the Arizona-style stucco walls on either side of the front door. The green of a cactus garden, complete with a rusted iron wagon wheel that broke up the monotone of the beige and added color to the front yard. Various succulents, including aloe plants and agaves, grew at the foot of the walls, and a yellow mailbox added the finishing touch.

“It seems older,” Margot whispered, coming up beside her. “Yet still the same.”

Karinne didn't respond. She went up to the front door and, for once, didn't enter as she'd been doing all her life. She rang the doorbell and waited for her father to answer. Margot twisted the strap of her purse with both hands, her head bowed.

The door opened. “Hi, Dad,” Karinne said. “We're here.” The words sounded silly after all the years Margot had been missing.

Jeff stood back and motioned them in. Karinne suddenly realized how old and worn her father looked. The deep lines in his face seemed deeper as he stared at his wife.

“Aren't you going to say hello, Jeff?” Margot asked hesitantly as Jeff closed the door and gestured the two women to the couch.

“Why? You never said goodbye.”

Margot flinched at the bitterness in his voice. Karinne curled her fingers around her mother's forearm.

“Max has already filled me in on your actions,” Jeff said. “We might as well take care of business first.” He
crossed the room to his desk, removing a pen and manila envelope from a drawer. “These are the divorce papers. Under the circumstances, there's no alimony. I'm asking for a divorce on the grounds of spousal desertion. Feel free to read them over, but I want them signed before you leave this house.”

Margot's face paled, but she took her reading glasses out of her purse and then accepted the papers. After a few minutes, she said, “These seem to be in order.”

“Then sign in the appropriate places. They're all marked with Post-its.”

Margot's hand trembled just a moment, then she wrote her signature where required. She slid the papers back in the envelope and handed it to Jeff.

“Is there anything you'd like to ask me, Jeff?”

“No. Yes.” His eyes blazed. “It's bad enough that you walked out on me. Why did you walk out on our daughter?”

“I never planned to leave her behind,” Margot said. “I wanted to take her with me. I had her clothes packed, a passport, a plane ticket for her, everything.”

“What stopped you?” Jeff asked.

Margot faced her daughter. “You were at Max and Cory's house. I went to bring you home, and Max lied. Said you weren't there. I looked all over, but finally I couldn't wait any longer. So I left without you.”

“My God. You would actually have taken Karinne away from me?”

Margot lifted her chin. “Yes. I'm not proud of it, but yes. I loved her. I didn't want to leave her behind.”

“And you would've pretended…what? That my daughter was dead, too?”

Silence. Karinne might have bolted from the couch if
her legs hadn't felt like jelly. “Mom, how could you have done that to Dad? To me?”

“I loved you!”

For the first time, Karinne understood what Max meant when he said love alone wasn't enough. Actions counted, as well, and Margot's actions had destroyed a lot of her husband's and daughter's happiness. If Margot had kidnapped her, Jeff's life would've been ruined forever.

Tears filled Jeff's eyes and ran down his cheeks. He brusquely wiped them away, his fist clenched on the envelope with his divorce papers. Karinne went to him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders for reassurance.

“Can you forgive me, Jeff?” Margot asked, her own eyes wet. “After all these years?”

“I could have forgiven you for the gambling, for the money, even for staying away without a word. But abandoning our daughter, risking the house—her home—and then showing up again only because of your son? No, Margot, I won't forgive you for that. And if anything happens to Karinne, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in jail. After the divorce, I hope I never see you again. I wish you'd stayed dead, Margot. I really do.”

Margot broke down entirely. She clutched her purse and rushed to the front door, managing to gulp out, “I'll wait in the car.”

“You aren't going after her?” Jeff asked.

“You're the parent who raised me, not her.” Karinne hugged her father tightly. “Dad, I'm so sorry.”

“Thank God for Max,” Jeff whispered, his chin on her shoulder. “If Margot had taken you, if I'd lost you both, I don't know what I would have done. Gone crazy. Why didn't she tell me about the gambling?”

“I don't know, Dad.”

“I would've been angry, but the three of us could still have had a future. You would've had a mother.”

Karinne gently broke away from him and pulled the envelope out of his hand to place on the desk. All this drama couldn't be good for his heart. She sat down on the couch again and took both his hands in hers.

“I wish I could stay with you right now, but I'll come back later.”

“Stay as long as you want. Margot can sit in the damn car and wait.”

“Max and Jon are at my apartment. I thought I'd leave Margot and Jon there, and Max and I could come back here.”

Her father nodded. “He's a good man. Don't let him get away, Karinne.”

“I don't intend to. Are you going to be all right while I'm gone? Is there anyone you want me to call?”

“No, I'll be fine.”

“You sure?” Karinne suspected her father needed a few minutes alone.

“Uh-huh. Drive carefully,” he warned, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I'll pick us up some dinner. Chicken okay?”

“Fine.”

“I love you, Dad,” she said, her eyes teary again. “Later.”

Margot was still crying when Karinne got back in her car. Karinne said nothing. She checked her cell phone—no messages from Max—and started the car. She carefully looked for traffic, then pulled out into the street. Margot didn't settle down until about three miles later, when she swiped at her eyes and nose one last time, then put the tissue back inside her purse. Karinne didn't feel sympathetic. All in all, she felt her mother had gotten off rather lightly.

“So do you think your father will have me jailed for insurance fraud?” Margot asked.

“I don't think that's up to Dad. It's up to the insurance company you defrauded.”

“Maybe Jon and I should go back to Mexico. You can come with us and be tested for donor status there. Surely you can get some time off work.”

Karinne braked for a red light and faced her mother. “I'm not going to Mexico. I'm not going anywhere that takes me away from Max.”

“But if I get arrested…”

Legally, it's what you deserve,
she thought.

“And what about Jon? He needs a transplant!”

“So you've told me, Mother.”

“What happened to
Mom?
What about your brother?”

“I've agreed to be tested for donor compatibility, and I will. Here. In Phoenix.”