Part 11 (1/2)
”You can't just drop me off like this,” Summer protested. ”Does your mother or your sister even know we're married?”
”I called my mother on my cell phone while I was waiting for you to pack and told her I'd be bringing you home.”
”What did she say to that?”
Billy's lips thinned.
”What did she say, Billy?” Summer demanded.
”She isn't any more happy about our marriage than your parents,” Billy admitted. ”But she'll get used to it.”
”Please come in with me, Billy.”
”You're not afraid of my mother, are you?” he teased.
”Terrified,” she said.
Billy laughed. It was plain he thought she was joking. ”You're not afraid of anything, Summer.”
”We should greet your mother together for the first time as husband and wife,” she said. ”It's the courteous thing to do.”
”It might be,” Billy conceded. ”But I've got an appointment with the TSCRA that may mean the difference between me being employed in a job with a future or doing menial labor from now on. I've got to go. Do you need me to get your bags out of the truck?” he said.
Summer shook her head in disbelief. Well, the honeymoon was certainly over. ”I can get them.” She stepped out of the truck and reached into the bed of the truck to retrieve her bags, hefting them over the side with some difficulty. She backed away and stood watching as Billy waved at her and spun his wheels backing up, raising a tail of dust that nearly choked her.
When the dust had settled, she gripped her bags more tightly, then turned and headed for the door. She was going to make Billy proud of her. She was going to make friends with his mother and his sister and love his son more than any mother ever could.
She stood at the screen door and leaned forward in an attempt to see inside. Like Dorothy, she'd been picked up by a tornado and whirled around and set down in a strange and terrifying land. She had a tremendous urge to tap her heels together and chant, ”There's no place like home.”
Although, in this case, that wouldn't really help. For the next two years, this ramshackle ranch house was her home.
”Who's there?” a voice inside demanded.
”It's Summer Blackthorne. I mean, it's Summer-” She stopped, fl.u.s.tered because her last name was no longer Blackthorne, but Coburn didn't feel right, either.
”Well, girl,” the unfriendly voice said. ”Come on in.”
Chapter 7.
SUMMER SHOVED OPEN THE SCREEN DOOR WITH her hip, stepped inside, and set down her bags. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the gloom after the glare of the afternoon sun. The kitchen was stifling, and Summer remembered that Billy's home didn't have air-conditioning. She felt hot and sticky and realized the only cure was a cool shower, which she wasn't likely to get anytime soon.
When she could see clearly, she greeted the woman who sat at the kitchen table. ”h.e.l.lo, Mrs. Coburn. Billy said he told you we'd gotten-”
”I heard,” Dora interrupted.
Summer hadn't seen Dora Coburn for two years. She wouldn't have recognized her if she hadn't known who she was. Billy's mother must have lost thirty or forty pounds. With the loss of flesh, her face had wrinkled in on itself. Her brown hair had turned completely white and she wore it in an untidy bun at her nape, while her dark eyes looked sunken behind black plastic frames. k.n.o.bby elbows protruded from the short sleeves of a faded rose-colored chenille robe that had not only seen better days, but better years.
Summer stood waiting to be invited to sit, or to make herself at home, or to be sent packing. When Dora said nothing, she picked up her bags and said, ”I'll put these in Billy's room.”
”Don't go in there right now. The baby's napping.”
”Oh.” Summer waited for further instructions. When they didn't come, she set her bags down again. She decided to take the bull by the horns and said, ”I suppose that gives us a chance to talk.”
Dora Coburn frowned. ”Why did you do it?”
Summer was caught off guard by the blunt question. ”For Billy's sake,” she replied.
Dora shook her head. ”Billy doesn't need a wife. He's doing fine without one.”
Summer realized Billy must not have told his mother about the custody suit, and if he hadn't, then she certainly couldn't. ”I married Billy because he asked.”
Dora snorted. ”As I recall, you were set to marry some other fellow in two weeks. What happened to him?”
”I didn't-We didn't-I changed my mind,” she said.
”And b.u.t.ted into Billy's life like a she-goat in heat,” Dora said, her eyes narrowing. ”You've wanted my son ever since you laid eyes on him, and the minute he came back you latched onto him.”
”It's not like that,” Summer protested. ”Billy and I...” They'd been friends, just friends, for so many years. And they still were friends, with one little difference. They were also husband and wife. So what if she was physically attracted to Billy Coburn? That wasn't why she'd married him, no matter what Dora thought. It wasn't even going to be a real marriage, although Summer had no intention of telling Dora that.
”Billy doesn't need the likes of you in his life,” Dora said. ”Rich, self-centered, selfish, inconsiderate-”
”That's enough,” Summer said. She tried not to let the words hurt her. ”I would never do anything-”
”Because of you, Billy left home and hasn't been back these two years,” Dora said bitterly.
”How can you blame me-”
”If you hadn't come sniffing around Billy, Blackjack never would've sicced his hired dogs on my son. I never would've told Blackjack the truth, and he never would've told Billy. Now you're back to cause more trouble.”
”I'm not-”
”You're a pampered brat looking for fun and games. Well, Billy isn't some fancy pair of boots you can wear once and toss away. Best for all concerned if you pick up those bags and leave now, before you hurt my son again.”
Summer stood her ground against Dora's verbal a.s.sault, but she was reeling. She'd known Dora wasn't going to welcome her. But she hadn't expected this vicious attack.
She took a deep breath and said, ”I'm not leaving, Mrs. Coburn.”
”You won't like it here,” Dora promised. ”There'll be no one to cater to your whims, no one to come at your beck and call.”
”I never expected there would be.”
”If I were healthy-” Dora cut herself off and grabbed at her chest.
”Are you all right?” Summer said, crossing toward her.
”Stay away from me,” Dora bit out.