The Way Home (31 page)

So Ty paid out the first month’s rent and the woman who managed the bungalow court promised to give the place a good cleaning that afternoon so that the newlyweds could move in the following day. Which was another thing that kept Meg from protesting too much about the rent. She knew Ty had to be as anxious to move out of the hotel as she was. After all, the floor couldn’t possibly make the most comfortable of beds.

But worse than the discomfort of their sleeping arrangements was the fact that the suite that had seemed so spacious when she’d first seen it was starting to take on all the aspects of a jail cell. After that first breakfast, they’d taken all their meals elsewhere. And they’d spent most of their days looking at places to rent. But there still seemed to be far too much time spent in the hotel room with nothing to do but read or sit and look at each other. The ability to hold a conversation seemed to have evaporated with the stroke of the pen that had made them husband and wife.

Which was why they both were relieved when Jack’s arrival in Los Angeles ended their enforced companionship. A week of honeymoon that wasn’t really a honeymoon was more than enough for them.

“Jack!” Ty couldn’t have sounded more pleased to see him if Jack had just returned from the dead. He thrust out his hand, taking Jack’s and pumping it as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. “You made good time. Great to see you. Come in.” Since Ty was already pulling him inside and closing the door, the invitation was a formality.

“Look, Meg. Jack’s here.” Ty made the announcement as if she might have forgotten who Jack was in the week since he’d witnessed their wedding.

“Hello, Jack.” She rose from the sofa, setting aside the magazine she’d been reading. “It’s good to see you.”

“Hello, Meg. It’s good to see you, too. California living up to its advertising?”

“Yes. It’s very nice.” It was the right answer, but there was no real enthusiasm in her voice and the smile she gave him seemed strained. Jack’s eyebrows climbed a notch. Obviously all was not as it should be.

“I’ve got your things with me. Patsy packed everything up.”

“Was there … any trouble?” A worried frown pleated her forehead and the fingers she’d linked in front of her were suddenly tense.

“No trouble,” he assured her. “Your mother was there and she helped Patsy get everything together.” Considering the stiff anger in Patsy’s face when she’d exited the house, Jack suspected that was stretching the truth more than a bit, but Meg didn’t have to know that.

“I’m glad.”

“Did you show the license to Ben Marlon?” Ty asked.

“Sure did. He didn’t say a word about the date being off by a day or two. Asked me to wish the two of you luck.”

“Good.” There was a moment’s silence and then Ty rubbed his hands together. “We should have a drink to celebrate,” he announced in a cheerful tone that rang false to Jack’s ears. “What’ll you have?”

“I didn’t plan on staying,” Jack said. “I just dropped in to let you know I was here and that I had Meg’s stuff. Three’s a crowd and all that.”

“No!” He had the feeling that Ty just restrained himself from grabbing his coat sleeve in case he tried to make a break for the door. “We can’t let you go without a drink, can we, Meg?”

“Of course not.” Something in Meg’s tone said that she was no more anxious to be alone with Ty than he apparently was to be alone with her. Curious, Jack allowed himself to be persuaded to sit on the sofa, a glass of Scotch in his hand.

It seemed as if they were both anxious to hear every word Ben Marlon had said. Then there were the details of his drive across the country in Ty’s car. Where he’d stopped, what he’d eaten, practically every mile seemed to enthrall them. By the time he’d recounted all the minutia of the journey, Jack was tom between amusement and concern.

What on earth had happened? Neither Ty nor Meg looked at the other if they could avoid it. Though Meg’s bruises had faded and the color had come back into her cheeks, there was a subtle air of sadness about her, something haunting in her eyes even when she smiled. And he’d known Ty too long and too well not to see the signs of strain in his face.

“I stopped by the airfield this afternoon, asked if anyone had seen you,” he said to Ty once the subject of his trip had been exhausted. “Joe said you hadn’t been around.”

“We’ve been pretty busy looking for a place to live,” Ty said.

“Any luck?”

“We paid the first month’s rent on a place this afternoon. We’re moving in tomorrow.”

They talked a little while longer before Jack left. Ty gave him the address of the bungalow and Jack promised to meet them there the next afternoon, bringing Ty’s car and Meg’s clothes. As he was leaving, he had the feeling that, if it hadn’t been for the lateness of the hour, Ty would have urged him to stay longer.

Jack’s expression was thoughtful as he stepped into the elevator. He stared at the ornate grillwork on the door and wondered just what was going on in his friend’s brand-new marriage.

Not that it was any of his business, he reminded himself the elevator stopped and the operator opened the doors. He was oblivious to the graceful palms and the plush banquettes discreetly placed among them as he strode across the pink marble floor. Whatever the problem was, he was in no position to give advice to Ty or anyone else, he thought bleakly. Not when it came to marriage — or love, either. He’d never experienced the former and he’d done a miserable job of hanging on to the latter.

Pushing the memories aside, Jack stepped out into the warm night air and turned right to reach the lot where he’d left the Chrysler. Funny, he’d thought the past well and truly behind him until he saw Patsy again. Which just went to show that he could lie to himself as well as anyone.

CHAPTER 14

Meg saw the familiar lines of the roadster as soon as the cab pulled up in front of the bungalow court. Jack was leaning against it, his lean frame completely relaxed. When he saw them, he dropped his cigarette and ground it beneath his shoe as he walked toward them.

Meg was glad to see him, not just because she liked him, which she did, but because when he was around, the silence between her and Ty was not quite so noticeable. Other than a few simple courtesies, they’d barely spoken all morning. It was hard to remember how easy conversation had been during the summer. And the silences had been just as easy.

“Great view,” Jack said by way of greeting as he opened the cab door for her.

“Yes. And it’s just as nice from inside.” Meg turned to look down the twisty road the cab had labored up, admiring the city spread out beneath them. “It must be very pretty at night, with all the lights,” she said.

“Yep.” Jack turned from the view to look down at her. “How do you like California so far?” he asked. “Not much like Iowa, is it?”

“Not much,” she agreed, laughing a little. “I haven’t seen much of it yet but I like it, so far.”

“If offers a few advantages over Iowa,” Jack said. “Not many beaches in Iowa.”

“I haven’t been to the beach yet.”

“You’ve been here a week and haven’t seen the Pacific?” Jack couldn’t have sounded more shocked if she’d just confessed to having kidnapped the Lindbergh baby. “You haven’t taken her to see the beach?” he asked, his eyes going over her head to Ty.

“We wanted to find a place to live first,” Ty said. He set down the suitcases he’d unloaded from the cab while they were talking.

“You couldn’t take time out to go twenty miles to see the largest body of water on the planet?”

“We were busy,” Ty said, flushing a little beneath Jack’s look.

“I really wanted to get settled,” Meg said quickly. She didn’t want Jack to think that it was Ty’s fault they hadn’t done any sight-seeing.

“The Pacific’s been there a long time, Jack,” Ty said dryly. “It’s not going to disappear in the next couple of days.”

“I guess not.” But Jack’s expression said that wasn’t reason enough to postpone seeing it.

“Hello.” The word was dragged out into three syllables and came from the doorway of the nearest bungalow. All three turned to watch Millie Marquez slink across the grass toward them. The slink would have been effective if she’d been tall and thin and mysterious looking. Since she was short and plump and had the open face of a child, the effect was lost on her audience.

“I wondered when you two would be arriving,” she said, stopping on the walk in front of them. “I was hoping it would be soon because I have an audition in an hour. It’s for a new movie with Clark Gable. They’re looking for someone to play a femme fatale. What do you think? Do I look the part?” She struck a pose, throwing back her head and giving them what Meg assumed was a sultry look from under her lashes.

In the brief silence that followed, Meg stole a glance at Jack’s face, biting her lip to hold back a smile when she saw him staring, openly fascinated, at Millie’s hair, which was dyed a particularly virulent shade of red. This was Meg’s second encounter with their new landlady, and the impact of that hair wasn’t lessened by familiarity.

“I don’t see how they can resist hiring you,” Meg said, when both Ty and Jack appeared to be at a loss for words.

“Gee, thanks.” Millie dropped the vampish pose and gave Meg a wide smile, revealing the gap between her two front teeth. “Let’s get you two settled in. I just know you’re going to love living here. We’re just like one big happy family.” She turned and bustled up the walkway. Jack and Ty picked up the suitcases and followed along behind Meg. Millie was still talking, her voice floating back to them.

“When Larry and I were divorced — that was my husband, you know — I said, Larry, I don’t care what you do with the cute little yacht or the cottage on Long Island — which wasn’t really a cottage at all, you know, he just called it that. All I want, I said, is that cute little bungalow court — and a reasonable alimony, of course. Because even though I’m an actress, I’m not stupid, you know, and a girl’s gotta have something to fall back on. So I’ve got a place to live and I can rent out the rest of these cute little places and have enough to live on. Only I don’t really need to live on it because Larry’s real good about keeping up with the alimony. He’s a real sweet guy and we’d probably still be married if it hadn’t been for his mother thinking an actress in the family might dilute some of that blue blood of theirs. If I’d wanted to be really nasty about it, I’d have kept my married name as a stage name, which would have given the old biddy a heart attack. But Millie Smith just wouldn’t look so great on a marquee, you know. I think Millie Marquez has a much better ring to it.”

She’d reached the tiny porch of their new home and turned to look at her three companions, oblivious to their lack of response and the slightly glazed look in their eyes. “I really loved Larry, you know, but I couldn’t give up my career. After all, like my friend Betty Rickenbacher — no relation to Eddie, you know — once said, Talent comes with a responsibility, and I wouldn’t be living up to my responsibility if I was to hide my light under a bushel, even if it did mean giving up the man I love. You know?”

There was a moment’s silence while her small audience sorted through possible responses to this sea of revelations. It was Meg who came up with the safest reply.

“I know,” she said, putting enough feeling into it to satisfy Millie.

“Yeah. Life’s a tragedy sometimes.” Millie sighed and looked as pensive as her round cherub’s face would allow. “But I shouldn’t be going on about my problems,” she said, brightening. “What with the two of you moving into your first home. It’s a swell place.” She unlocked the door and then handed the key to Meg with the air of one proffering the keys to the city.

“Thank you.” Meg started to walk through the door but Millie’s shriek of dismay froze her in place.

“He’s got to carry you inside,” Millie said, in answer to the startled looks she received. “It’s bad luck otherwise. Larry didn’t carry me into our first home together, what with him having a bad back and all, and look what happened to us.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Meg started to say, thinking that the last thing Ty would want was to carry her over the threshold as if they were real newlyweds.

“Can’t have you thinking there’s anything wrong with my back,” Ty said lightly as he set the suitcase down. Meg caught her breath as he caught her beneath shoulders and knees and swept her off her feet. Her arms came up to circle his neck.

His arms felt strong and hard around her. Meg could feel the steady beat of his heart, the warm pressure of solid muscles against the softness of her breast. A tiny shiver of awareness slid along her spine, and she suddenly remembered how it had felt when he held her in his arms and kissed her. That seemed so long ago, as if in another lifetime, but it had been less than two weeks. Two weeks ago she’d thought she was saying good-bye to him forever. Now they were married and he was lost to her in a way she’d never imagined.

As Ty stepped through the door and into their new home,

Meg lifted her eyes to his face. Their eyes met and, for a moment, she thought she read the same awareness, the same memories. Ty’s arms tightened around her, his head lowered, and she caught her breath, thinking he was going to kiss her.

“Isn’t that romantic?” Millie’s voice preceded her as she entered the small living room just a step behind them.