Hideaway (22 page)

“Do you speak Spanish, too?”

He nodded. “Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian…”

“What’s left?” she interrupted, laughing.

“I haven’t mastered Japanese or any of the Chinese dialects.”

“Where did you learn all of these languages?”

“I learned Spanish at home from my mother. The others I learned while traveling.”

Parris shifted delicate arching brows. “Your mother is Cuban?”

He nodded again. “My mother was Cuban, and my father’s African-American.”

“Was?”

“She died last year.”

Parris thought of how much she missed her own mother. “I’m sorry, Joshua.”

His jaw tightened as he lowered his head and stared at the salad in front of him. There were many more questions she wanted to ask, but didn’t when he deliberately put up a wall to shut her out.

Parris unlocked the door and turned off the sophisticated electronic security system. Joshua preceded her into the entry and dimmed the lights after she reactivated the system.

She stared up at his shadowed features. “Martin will be home tomorrow. Will you stay over this weekend?”

He took her elbow and led her into the living room. “No. I’m scheduled to fly down to Jamaica. Sable hasn’t been feeling well and I think I’d better look in on her.”

She had almost forgotten Joshua was involved with Sable. “Give her my love and best wishes.”

Joshua smiled down at her. “I will. Good night, Parris.” He turned and walked in the direction of his bedroom in the guest wing.

Parris made it to her own bedroom, humming to herself as she slipped out of her skirt and shoes. A smile curved her mouth when she thought about Martin coming home. He would pick up Regina and the three of them would be together as a family in their new home, and for the first time since returning to Florida she would feel like a wife and mother.

P
ulling her T-shirt over her head and slipping out of her underwear, Parris walked into the adjoining room and turned on the water in the shower stall in the raspberry and powder blue bathroom. She rinsed her hair and body, then adjusted the water temperature and let lukewarm water sluice down her body as she closed her eyes in total relaxation.

Why couldn’t Martin understand that Parris wanted simplicity. She didn’t need fancy cars, expensive jewelry, a mansion behind high gates or outrageously priced clothes.

Stepping out of the shower stall, she patted her hair and skin lightly with a towel and reached for a robe from a brass hook on the wall. As she belted the satiny midnight blue garment, she saw something move.

Watching the shadow near a potted palm near the door, Parris moved closer, hoping to see what was causing the rustling noise at the base of the large straw planter. It became a game of hide and seek as she crept silently toward the plant, hoping not to disturb what was seeking refuge there. She thought of the possibilities: lizard, frog, cricket or maybe even a field mouse. Whatever it was, she thought, she would allow it to escape unharmed.

Parris gasped loudly, unable to control the rush of fright paralyzing her body. The flickering tongue emerged, followed by
the spade-shaped head. The diamond markings in black, brown and white clearly distinguished the
thing
as a rattlesnake.

Her mind froze as well as her body when the angry sound of the reptile’s rattle signalled its means of escape was threatened.

Moisture soaked her body, and Parris could smell the raw, acrid scent of fear rising from her pores. Although she saw only the head of the snake above the planter, she could visualize its thick coiled body with the upright tail writhing with its length of vibrating rattles.

It became a matter of who could move faster—she or the snake. The rattler was positioned between her and the door. If she called out for Joshua, would he be able to hear her at the other end of the house? If the snake bit her, would she die instantly or would it be a slow painful death? Would she ever see Regina or Martin again?

Closing her eyes, Parris prayed silently. She was helpless. Her voice was frozen in her throat and she couldn’t move. The muscles in her legs were beginning to cramp and twitch from her rigid position. Fear compounded fear, and she began to hum to herself. She hummed the tune over and over, not recognizing it as a lullaby she used to sing to Regina when she was a baby. She had no recollection of how long she repeated the verse. Each time she started over she realized she was still alive. The humming stopped and her eyes flew open as she registered the heat of a body.

“Don’t move, baby. No matter what I do—don’t move,” came a soft warning.

Parris wanted to turn around to see Martin; to make certain it was him and not her imagination. She managed to quell her curiosity and obeyed his softly spoken command.

She saw the shadow of another body on her right. She stared straight ahead, her gaze widening when the snake uncoiled itself, slithering along the base of the wall.

An explosion erupted in her head. There was another explosion before she disobeyed Martin and sank against his body.

Martin caught Parris before she slid to the floor, carrying her limp body out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed, watching the fluttering pulse in her throat.
Her breathing was shallow although her face was flush with unnaturally high color.

He gathered her to his chest, rocking her back and forth. He decided to return home a day early, surprising Parris, but after entering the bedroom he heard Parris humming and the the angry, disturbed rattle of the snake coming from the bathroom.

He’d raced to the other end of the house to get Joshua. He shocked Joshua when he told him that there was a rattlesnake in the house. Joshua was two steps behind him as he quickly retrieved a handgun. It had taken less than sixty seconds for Martin to return to Parris before the reptile was sighted and killed.

Joshua emerged from the bathroom, an automatic cradled in his left hand. His expression was that of horror and disbelief.

“How is she?”

Martin pressed his lips to Parris’s forehead and closed his eyes. “She’ll be all right. I’m going to stay with her for a while.” Joshua nodded and walked out of the bedroom.

“Martin?” Her voice was low and weak.

“It’s all right baby. It’s gone.”

Parris struggled to sit up. “Where is it?”

“It’s dead.”

Her heart slowed to a normal rate and her head fell limply to the pillows cradling her back. “How did it get into the house?”

“It must have wandered in. You rest here while Joshua and I get rid of it.”

Parris closed her eyes, smiling. “Martin?”

His gaze swept over her delicate face, then down to the silky robe covering her slender body. “Yes.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he confessed, his voice thick and unsteady. He did not want to think of what would’ve happened if he hadn’t come home when he did. He didn’t know what he would do if he ever lost Parris.

Martin rested his elbows on his knees, shaking his head. He and Joshua had disposed of the venomous reptile. “I keep telling
myself that it wandered into the house, but a nagging voice in the back of my head says differently.”

A frown furrowed Joshua’s forehead. “I don’t believe it wandered in either. I think it was deliberately dumped here.”

“What do you think?” Martin questioned.

The light from a lamp slanted over Joshua’s near-white hair, creating harsh shadows on the planes of his lean face. “I think someone wants your wife out of the way.”

Martin straightened, his eyes boring into Joshua’s. “Why?” The single word sounded like the crack of a rifle.

“I don’t know why. But things are just not adding up. The police claim they arrested the Palm Beach Sniper.”

“They did,” Martin argued.

“They arrested someone who used a different weapon than the one who shot at Parris. The man the police charged as the sniper was picked up with a rifle that was loaded with thirty-threes. The round I picked up off the floor of Parris’s car was from a forty-four.”

“There’s been no more sniping since that guy was arrested,” Martin countered, not wanting to believe that someone wanted to kill Parris.

Suddenly he felt tired, old. The pressure of the last month had taken its toll—on his mind and his body. And he wasn’t ready to face the possible danger lurking in the shadows.

“Parris asked me to protect her the day we were married. The only person I could think of who she’d want me to protect her from is Owen Lawson.”

“Her ex-husband.”

Martin nodded. “He’d tried to kill her.”

“Tell me about it,” Joshua ordered. He sounded like an interrogator. Martin did, leaving nothing out. He digested this new information, his face a mask of stone. “I want you to stay away from Lawson,” he warned Martin. “If he’s behind this, I don’t want you involved.”

“The son of a bitch is trying to kill my wife, and you don’t want
me
involved.” Martin sprang to his feet. “Forget it!”

“You don’t know for certain if he’s trying to kill her now. And
don’t you forget you want to be governor. Murderers usually don’t run for public office,” Joshua reminded him. “You’ve been lucky, Martin. Howard hasn’t begun to attack you personally. There’s only been the rumors that you were seeing Parris while she was still married to Lawson. Both you and Parris will have to develop thick hides when Regina’s illegitimacy becomes front page news.”

“That’s common knowledge. I haven’t tried to hide the fact that Regina was born out of wedlock.”

“You can’t hide it. And Howard knows that. He’s just waiting for an opening where everyone in the state will also know it. But nowadays it’s accepted a lot more readily than it was years ago.”

“It can’t hurt me,” Martin replied. His voice was filled with confidence.

“But becoming embroiled in a confrontation with your wife’s ex-husband can. No one, not even Lawson, suspects you were responsible for attacking him, and that’s how it will remain. You’ve asked me to protect Parris and I will.”

Martin slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks. Parris’s words came rushing back.
Would you believe me if I said I was afraid to remain in Florida. Promise me you’ll protect me
. She was crying out to him and he’d ignored her plea.

Joshua stood up. “I’ll stay with Parris until you pick up Regina tomorrow. Good night, Martin.” He walked out of the room, leaving Martin staring at the chair he had vacated.

Martin clenched and unclenched his teeth, his jaw throbbing, while he paced the floor. Never had he felt so helpless. He didn’t want to believe that Parris was in any danger. Ten years and nothing had changed. When would it ever end?

Parris dropped a light kiss on Joshua’s smooth cheek after giving Martin a lingering kiss on his smiling mouth. She took the chair facing the glass wall where she viewed the pool, deck, beach and the ocean. The rising sun did not brighten the sun porch until mid-day, making for the perfect spot to greet the morning.

“Good morning, Mommy.” Regina skipped into the room,
already dressed for swimming. Parris held out her arms, and Regina climbed onto her lap. “Will you go swimming with me?”

Parris smoothed back raven-black hair from Regina’s cheek. Closing her eyes, she pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “Sure, angel.” Regina did not know how close she had come to losing her mother. Opening her eyes, she smiled at Martin. Silently, she thanked him. He nodded, acknowledging her unspoken gratitude.

Joshua placed his napkin on the table. “I’d better be on my way if I’m going to make my flight.”

“When are you coming back, Uncle Josh?”

Joshua rose to his feet, smiling down at Regina’s upturned face. “For you, Monday.”

Regina scrambled from her mother’s lap. “I’ll walk you to your car, Uncle Josh.”

Parris waited for Joshua to leave, then directed all of her attention to Martin. He’d lost weight yet he had become more attractive than she had ever known him to be. His gray-streaked black hair was longer, brushing his shirt collar and his moustache was fuller, obscuring his upper lip. The band of paleness on his left wrist where he usually wore his watch, intensified the richness of his dark skin. He exuded an aura of power and sexual masculinity that made her unable to control her heart, mind or body. His physical presence was overwhelming.

“I noticed the schedule you put up on the board in the kitchen, Martin.” She glanced away from his smiling face, watching a gull glide with the wind currents before swooping down to skim the water in search of food. “Why have you changed your itinerary?”

“If you think I’m going to leave you for three weeks you’re insane, darling. There’ll be enough activity between Fort Lauderdale and Miami to keep the momentum going until you’re ready to rejoin the campaign.”

Parris shrieked in delight, rushing from her chair and throwing her arms around his neck. He pulled her down to his lap. “Thank you, Martin.” She kissed him soundly on the mouth.

His hand curved around the back of her head. Slowly, deliberately, he tasted her mouth. “You’re welcome.”

Parris inhaled the cologne on his smooth cheek. “I thought I’d lost you. When I saw that snake all I thought about…”

“Don’t,” Martin whispered, interrupting her. “It’s gone.”

Pulling back, Parris stared at the new lines around his eyes. Campaigning was taking its toll. There was no trace of boyishness left in Martin Diaz Cole; hardness, determination and something else she couldn’t identify was evident by the steely look in his eyes. Her finger traced the curve of an eyebrow, the length of his nose and his lower lip.

His arms tightened on her body, and they held each other until Regina returned, breaking the spell where they had offered the healing they both sought.

Parris lay on a lounge chair, in the shade of several palm trees, watching Martin as he pretended to race Regina across the pool. Regina swam half the length of the pool before tiring. She squealed as he filled his mouth with water and sprayed her face.

They had spent the day swimming, picking up shells and finding a sand dollar along the beach. Martin barbecued franks, hamburgers and spareribs after they decided to picnic outdoors.

“No more, Daddy,” Regina screamed. “Mommy, make him stop!”

“Stop, Martin.” Parris was too full and too relaxed to sound effective.

Martin settled Regina on his shoulders and waded across the width of the pool. “Stop, Martin,” he mimicked, hoisting Regina out of the pool. “Everyone out of the water, cupcake, or you’re going to turn into a raisin.”

Regina climbed out of the pool, racing toward the house, Martin staring at her tall thin body.

He made his way over to Parris, sitting down on a matching chair. “She’s growing up so quickly it’s frightening. Every time I see her she’s changed.”

Parris shifted, noting Martin’s tortured expression. “Children
don’t wait, Martin. We can’t tell them to put their lives on hold while we make our plans. They go on with growing up, and when we turn around they’re gone.”

He lay down, peering through the fronds of the overhead trees. “I’ll have her for such a short time. In eight years she’ll be eighteen, and by then I won’t the only man in her life. Then it’ll be a boyfriend, fiancé, college or whatever else a young woman is usually involved with. The years I’ve missed I’ll never be able to recapture.”

“You can’t recapture the past,” Parris countered.

He sat up, staring at her. “Who do I blame? Myself?”

Parris shook her head. “I accept the blame. All of it. I left you, not the other way around.”

“Why?”

She swallowed painfully. She had to choose her words carefully. Sitting up, Parris swung her legs over the chair. “I was a coward,” she admitted. “I wasn’t brave or mature enough to stay and fight for you. It should not have mattered that your family didn’t approve of me or that I wasn’t married to you when I discovered myself pregnant. And because I was a coward, I ran and hid. I’d be hiding now if you hadn’t come for me.”