Amazing Gracie Read online

  Abby hesitated. “What if Daddy gets back and I’m not here? He’ll worry.”

  Kevin doubted that, but he wasn’t about to say it. “We’ll leave him a note.”

  “Okay,” she said eagerly. “I’ll get my schoolbooks. They’re in the kitchen.” She regarded him slyly. “Can we put the top down on your car?”

  “You bet.”

  “All right! And turn the radio on real loud?”

  “Is there any other way?”

  Suddenly Abby threw her arms around his waist and buried her face against his chest. “You’re the best, Uncle Kevin,” she said, her voice muffled.

  “No, you are,” he retorted, lifting her into the air as he had from the time she was a baby. And why that damn fool of a cousin of his couldn’t see what a treasure the child was, was beyond him. He put her back on her feet. “Now, scoot, and get your things.”

  Aunt Delia welcomed Abby with delight, even as she shot a questioning look at Kevin. He touched a finger to his lips and mouthed, “Later.”

  For a brief instant, her eyes glittered dangerously as she added up two and two and came to the obvious conclusion that once again Bobby Ray had let his little girl down. But the smile she managed for Abby was warm, and she led her off to the kitchen, already whispering conspiratorially to her. Kevin watched them go and sighed. He figured Molly would spoil both their dinners with sugar cookies, but Abby needed attention more than she needed a balanced diet at the moment.

  Satisfied that his niece was in the best possible hands, he went into his office and called Bobby Ray’s ex-wife. “Hey, Marianne, it’s Kevin.”

  “Uh-oh, what’s Bobby Ray done now?”

  Her response was automatic, based on too many years of experience with her ex-husband’s behavior. “You tell me,” Kevin suggested.

  “The list goes on and on,” she said with an air of resignation. “That’s nothing new.”

  “I hear he’s behind with child support again.”

  “How’d you hear that? Not from Bobby Ray, I’ll bet.”

  “No, I ran into Abby earlier. She was out at Bobby Ray’s all by herself.”

  “By herself?” she said, clearly horrified. “Dammit, he knows her school schedule. Where was he?”

  “No idea, but I brought her on home with me,” he told her. “That’s why I called, to let you know I’ll bring her on home after dinner if that’s okay with you. I’ll bring the back support payments, too.”

  “You’ve already given that money to Bobby Ray,” she protested.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get it back from him,” he said grimly. “I’m not letting him off the hook.”

  “We’re getting along okay without it.”

  “Okay isn’t good enough. He owes you, Marianne. He owes both of you. Put it into Abby’s college fund, if you don’t need it now. Something tells me she’s going to want to go to Harvard or someplace else that’ll cost an arm and a leg to get into.”

  “She’ll probably end up at UVA, like her uncle Kevin. She worships you, you know.”

  “It works both ways.”

  “Thanks, Kevin.”

  “No problem. I’ll have her home right after supper.”

  “I wish…”

  “Never mind. I know.”

  “You don’t know. I still can’t figure out how two people could share so much family history and turn out so differently. He wasn’t always like this. Sometimes I wonder if it’s not my fault.”

  “How the hell could you think a thing like that?”

  “You know, because of us.”

  “You chose Bobby Ray, Marianne. He should have started counting his lucky stars that day and never stopped.” He hesitated, not sure how much his opinion was worth. Finally he asked, “Word of advice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Don’t let your bitterness over Bobby Ray ruin you for other men.”

  “I’m not. I just wish they’d clone a few more of you.”

  “I’m no prize, either,” he told her. “See you soon.”

  He heard her sigh as he hung up. It was true, there had been a time when he and Marianne might have had a shot at something, but that was long ago. She’d chosen his flashier cousin, fallen head over heels for him, in fact. They’d been divorced within a year, just weeks after Abby’s birth.

  If it had been left up to Bobby Ray, he and Abby probably would have had no relationship at all, but Marianne and Kevin had seen to it that they did. There were actually rare occasions when Bobby Ray showed a spark of interest in parenting his precocious daughter. Today hadn’t been one of those days.

  Kevin went in search of his aunt and Abby. Not that finding them was difficult. They were giggling like a couple of schoolgirls, which only one of them was. He found them glued to the TV and another one of those preposterous talk shows. He stole the remote right out from under his aunt’s hand and flipped off the set.

  “Aunt Delia, you should be ashamed of yourself. That’s nothing Abby ought to be watching.”

  “She picked it,” his aunt grumbled.

  “I doubt that.”

  “I did,” Abby insisted. “It pays to be informed.”

  To Kevin’s deep regret, she sounded exactly like Aunt Delia. “You don’t need to be informed about things like that for a very long time,” he insisted.

  “Sure I do. That way I can stay out of trouble.”

  “Just listen to your mom and your uncle Kevin. We’ll keep you out of trouble.”

  Abby shook her head. “I don’t know about you, Uncle Kevin, but I don’t think Mom knows about stuff like this.”

  “One of her highest recommendations, as far as I’m concerned,” Kevin declared. “Why don’t we play Old Maid or something?”

  “Old Maid?” Abby hooted. “That’s a kid’s game.”

  “You are a kid.”

  “I’m not a baby.”

  He grinned at her insulted air. “What would you like to play, then?”

  “Poker,” she said at once.

  “Wonderful,” Aunt Delia chimed in, always ready to do a little betting, no matter the stakes. “I’ll get the chips. A penny apiece.”

  “Why not just use pennies?” Kevin asked. “Afraid we’ll get raided and you’ll be hauled away for contributing to the delinquency of a minor?”

  “Just get the cards,” his aunt ordered. “Unless you’re too chicken to play with us.”

  He scowled at the pair of them, but he retrieved the cards, then pulled a chair up to the card table and sat. “I’ll play,” he said grimly. “Just to be sure you don’t steal the child’s lunch money.”

  As it turned out, the two females took every bit of change he had in his pockets along with another five dollars. If Bobby Ray ever discovered Abby’s skill, he’d probably have her on the next flight to Vegas.

  “Enough,” he declared finally. “Molly probably has dinner ready by now.”

  “You wish,” Abby taunted. “One more hand, winner take all.”

  “You have a smart mouth, young lady,” he retorted. “And I’m not throwing one more penny into the pot.”

  She grinned unrepentantly. “I thought you wanted me to grow up smart.”

  “Brain smart, not sassy.”

  “Leave the child alone,” Aunt Delia told him. “She won that money fair and square.”

  “Maybe she did,” he conceded, gathering up the cards and feigning a count. “You, I’m not so sure about. Maybe I ought to check to see how many cards you’ve got tucked up those sleeves of yours.”

  “That’s a fine way to talk to your elders,” Aunt Delia chided. “Abby, pay no attention to your uncle. He’s setting a very bad example.”

  Abby giggled. “You two are so funny. I wish I could come here all the time.”

  “You can come here anytime you want to, darling child,” Aunt Delia declared, hugging her. “You just call and Kevin will come for you. Isn’t that right, Kevin?”

  “Anytime,” he agreed.

  An hour and a half later,
after a dinner of Abby’s favorite chicken and dumplings, he dropped her off at home, declining Marianne’s invitation to come in for coffee.

  “I’ve still got a couple of places to stop tonight,” he told her, avoiding any specific mention of Bobby Ray.

  “I really appreciate you rescuing Abby this afternoon.”

  “Not a problem. If it happens again, she knows she’s to call me. She’s probably safe enough at Bobby Ray’s by herself, but I don’t like it.”

  “He called here a little while ago to apologize for forgetting.”

  “Too little, too late,” Kevin declared, then dropped a kiss on Marianne’s forehead. “You’re doing a great job with her. She’s a terrific kid.”

  Marianne smiled. “Yeah, she is, isn’t she? I wish her dad could see it. I wish…”

  She shook her head. “Never mind what I wish,” she said.

  She turned away, but not before Kevin detected the sheen of tears in her eyes. He regarded her worriedly. “You don’t still have a thing for him, do you, Marianne?”

  “Of course not,” she said with an obviously forced smile. “What kind of fool do you take me for?”

  “Never a fool, sweetheart. But sometimes Cupid takes lousy aim.”

  She didn’t have a snappy comeback for that, so Kevin decided to leave well enough alone. He waved and took off once more for Bobby Ray’s.

  Again, though, his cousin wasn’t home. He’d probably guessed that Kevin would be gunning for him and decided to lay low until his cousin’s temper cooled. He couldn’t stay out of sight that long, Kevin thought grimly.

  An image of Bobby Ray hitting on Gracie to make a deal behind his back fueled his black mood. He debated paying a visit to Gracie, but concluded she didn’t deserve to have to put up with his lousy company. Besides, she might actually cheer him up and then Bobby Ray wouldn’t get the full effect of his anger. Nope, better to let it simmer overnight and take his cousin on first thing in the morning, when he was still mad enough to strangle Bobby Ray with is bare hands.

  “Max, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not coming back,” Gracie declared wearily. It was just past dawn in France and nearly midnight in Virginia. Not that she’d been asleep when he called. She was once again in the middle of a kitchen that looked like a war zone. “Fill my job. Eliminate it. Do whatever you want with it.”

  “You are needed here.”

  “There are other hotel executives who would kill to work for Worldwide and the legendary Max Devereaux.”

  “I need you,” he repeated emphatically. “I am at a loss without you.”

  “Only because you have no idea how to deal with the tradesmen in town or the staff. I’m sorry that the asparagus farmer refuses to deliver any longer, but there’s not a thing I can do about it from here.”

  “Actually, there is one thing,” he suggested meekly. “You could call him.”

  The meek tone was a nice touch, but she wasn’t moved. “Pierre refuses to install a phone. He uses the public one at the end of his lane when he needs to make a call.”

  “What if there were an emergency?” Max demanded, clearly bewildered.

  “I’m sure he’s taken that possibility into account. I never questioned him about it. He’s a very private man. You would know that, if you’d ever bothered to get to know him.”

  “That’s true. I confess it. We made the perfect team, you and I. You know exactly how to handle everyone to keep the hotel running smoothly. I know how to keep it operating in the black. Things are falling apart without you here.”

  There was a distinct note of panic in his voice that she’d never heard before. “Are you groveling, Max?”

  The question silenced him for a full minute, before he sighed heavily. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

  “Good,” she said happily. “It suits you.”

  “Gracie, if begging will get you back here, I’ll beg.”

  “It won’t, but thanks for trying.”

  “Why not? What are you doing in Virginia that is so all-fired important?”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try me.”

  “Okay. For once in my life, I’m doing exactly what I want to do.”

  “What the devil does that mean?”

  “I told you you wouldn’t understand. Bye, Max. Good luck with Pierre.”

  He was still blustering—begging, she thought cheerfully—when she hung up. It made the fact that she had just ruined her fourth straight souffle almost bearable.

  9

  “Well, well, well, look what the wind blew in,” Jessie said as she was pouring Gracie a second cup of coffee at breakfast the next morning.

  Gracie glanced up from her plate just in time to see Kevin coming through the door, the scowl on his face changing to a brilliant smile at Jessie’s greeting.

  “Hey, doll, how’re you doing?” he asked, planting an enthusiastic kiss on her cheek. He ignored Gracie. “Any sign of Bobby Ray in here this morning?”

  “Not today,” Jessie said. “Are you staying? Shall I bring you a cup of coffee? Maybe some scrambled eggs and grits?”

  “Coffee sounds good, but I’ve already had breakfast.” He glanced at Gracie for the first time. “I’ll just slide in here and torment Ms. MacDougal for a while.”

  “Thanks so much,” Gracie said when the waitress had gone. “Am I supposed to be honored that you’ve taken notice of little old me?”

  He grinned. “Uh-oh, what has your drawers in a knot this morning, darlin’? You jealous because I kissed Jessie?”

  “Don’t be absurd.”

  “I could rectify the situation,” he offered, beckoning to her. “Lean across the table and meet me halfway. I’ve got plenty left over for you, if you’re interested.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said, ignoring the little flare of excitement his taunt aroused. One of these days the flirting was going to end and he was going to follow through. She prayed she had the kind of resistance it would take to keep from falling for him.

  “What brings you in here at this hour anyway?” she asked in an attempt to get the conversation onto safer turf. “Shouldn’t you be crawling into your hammock about now?”

  “Not quite yet. I have a little business to take care of, as soon as I catch up with Bobby Ray. I thought he might be in here again.”

  “Sneaking around behind your back, trying to finalize that deal with me?” she guessed.

  “Exactly.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that. I told you I had no intention of dealing with him.”

  “And I know you meant it. I just want to be absolutely sure he got the message. I also have another message to deliver to him regarding his daughter.”

  His expression was so fierce that Gracie was intrigued. “His daughter? What do you have to do with his relationship with his child?”

  He gave her a terse and appalling summary of his cousin’s neglect. “He doesn’t figure he has to answer to Marianne or to Abby. I want to make sure he knows he has to answer to me,” he concluded.

  “Won’t a confrontation with you in a public place just make things worse?” Gracie asked. “Apparently he already thinks you humiliate him every chance you get.”

  “Don’t worry, darlin’. I have no intention of making a scene in here. I’ll drag him outside before I beat him to a pulp.”

  “That’ll be helpful,” she said dryly. “Maybe if you just tried to look at things from his perspective once in a while, you could get through to him.”

  He stared at her, his expression incredulous. “You’re taking his side?”

  “I’m not taking anybody’s side, especially that of a man who virtually abandoned his daughter,” she said. “But you’re not going to solve anything your way. You’ll just make matters worse.” She shrugged. “Of course, it’s none of my business.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  They sat glaring at each other for a full minute before Kevin sighed. “Okay, let’s hear it. How would you handl
e this?”

  Gracie realized belatedly that she’d stumbled into a quagmire. The bad blood between these two men obviously went back a long way. Who was she to think she could waltz in and offer an easy solution? Obviously Max’s high praise for her tact and diplomacy the night before had gone to her head.

  “Maybe I should stay out of this,” she said.

  “Oh, no, darlin’. Don’t go all shy on me now. You have something to say, say it.”

  “Okay, here goes.” She leaned forward and gave him a penetrating look. “Have you ever really sat down with him and listened to what he’s feeling? It sounds as if his father put you both in an untenable position. It doesn’t help that you throw that in his face every chance you get. How many times have you quoted the terms of that blasted will to him?”

  Kevin squirmed, looking vaguely uncomfortable. It was answer enough.

  “Too many, right?”

  “I suppose,” he muttered.

  “Maybe you should try sympathizing with his position once in a while. Try to figure out a way to make it work so that he has a little more control of his own destiny. Surely there are ways to bend the rules.”

  “There are, and I’ve been tempted to bend them a few times, but each time he manages to prove once again why his daddy wanted the will drawn up that way. If Bobby Ray knew how to exercise any control over his own destiny, he wouldn’t be married to a woman who was cheating on him before the ink was dry on the wedding license.”

  “Could be that love blinded him to her faults,” she suggested. “Have you ever been so crazy in love that you wouldn’t listen to anything anybody said?”

  “No,” Kevin conceded, then regarded her intently. “Have you?”

  “Well, no, but that’s beside the point. We’re not talking about me.”

  “Let’s change the subject and talk about you,” he challenged. “You’ve mentioned this Max guy a couple of times. Tell me about him.”

  “He was my boss. End of story.”

  “And that’s all?”

  “Absolutely.”