Wife in Disguise

manageable for her than one large one. She’d already carried the first one up the stairs and would tackle the rest over the course of the evening. The remaining three were positioned neatly by the foot of the stairs.

Using her cane to assist her movements, she walked into the parlor that she was going to make into a living room and library. The chair rail had been removed from the two walls that would support the built-in bookshelves. White patches to repair cracks and nail holes contrasted with the light-green paint favored by the previous owner. Notations on the wall showed where the frame for the shelves would go. Del had explained they were being custom built at the company’s main workshop and would be installed in pieces. Her kitchen cabinets would come in the same way.

From the foyer Josie made her way into the main family room. Several battered floor lamps stood around the perimeter of the room, each plugged into a socket. Del had volunteered their services after noticing she really didn’t have any furniture of her own save the newly delivered and set-up bedroom set. He’d been worried as he left and had voiced his concern about her being here all by herself.

Josie sank onto the sheet-covered sofa. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his concern. While she appreciated the attention, she’d always been completely self-sufficient. That had been one of the problems in their marriage. He’d wanted her to need him, and she hadn’t wanted to need anyone.

The last year had taught her differently. She’d been forced to depend on everyone from medical personnel to her family, just to survive. There had been weeks when she hadn’t been able to do a single thing for herself except breathe. In some ways the experience had broken her spirit, but in others it had made her stronger. Either way, she’d changed. She wasn’t the woman Del had known three years ago. She didn’t look the same, move the same or think the same.

Sometimes Josie felt as if she’d completely lost herself. At other times she knew she’d been given a precious gift.

As she looked around the bare room, the phone on the floor by the sofa caught her attention. She glanced at her watch, then picked up the instrument and set it on her lap.

Close to six on a Friday night. Most people would have already left for home. Most, but not all. She dialed a familiar number. The phone on the other end rang only once before being answered by a strong, no-nonsense voice.

“Fitzgerald.”

“Hi, A.J., it’s your better half.”

There was a moment of silence followed by a chuckle. “Josie, I keep telling you. I’m the better half. You’re the tagalong.”

She smiled as she leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes. Just hearing her twin brother’s voice was enough to make her feel safe. The familiar teasing made her miss him.

“It’s Friday night,” she said. “Why aren’t you out on the town with a bimbo on each arm?”

“Because I don’t date bimbos.”

“You don’t date at all. You’re worse than me. At least I used to be married, which is more than you can say. Tell me you’re seeing someone.”

“I have a beautiful, brown-eyed blonde in my life,” he said easily.

“A.J., your dog doesn’t count.”

“She’ll be crushed to know her aunt Josie is dismissing her so cruelly. But enough about me. What’s going on in your life?”

“I’m not ready to change the subject.” She opened her eyes and stared at the empty fireplace in front of her. “I’m serious, A.J. You work too hard, you don’t have a social life. When do you take time for yourself?”

There was a moment of silence. Josie could picture her twin leaning back in his big leather chair and turning until he could see out across downtown Seattle. A.J. was a successful financial planner who handled sums of money she couldn’t even imagine. He’d risen quickly through the ranks of his company and now had a corner office and a client list that would make any competitor drool. With the tall, blond Fitzgerald good looks and an intelligent, gentlemanly manner, he was pestered by women on a regular basis. But he rarely accepted their invitations.

“I’m in my career mode,” A.J. said calmly. “When I’m where I want to be, I’ll worry about a personal life.”

“All the good ones will be taken.”

“That’s a possibility I’ll deal with at the time. Now tell me about you. Dallas said you’d left L.A. Where are you?”

She hesitated before answering. He wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “Beachside Bay.”

There was a long pause from his end of the phone. “Digging up ghosts?”

“Something like that. I’m dealing with my past. It wasn’t as behind me as I’d thought.”

“Are you taking care of yourself physically? Your last surgery wasn’t all that long ago.”

“Tell me about it.” Josie rubbed her left thigh. The ache there was her constant companion. “I’m doing okay.”

“What does ‘okay’ mean? Are you doing your exercises and getting to physical therapy? Are you getting plenty of rest?”

“I’ve been…adjusting. Right now I need to heal my spirit before I worry about my body.”

“That sounds like a line if you ask me,” he grumbled. “What do you think Katie would have to say about it?”

Katie, their oldest sister, was a physical therapist. She would have plenty to say, none of it nice. She would order Josie back into physical therapy and probably threaten to fly out and take care of it herself.

“Katie’s busy with our new niece. Serena is only eight weeks old.”

“I suspect she’d make time for you, kid.”

“I know, but it’s not necessary.”

She clutched the phone tightly and felt his worry, even from nearly a thousand miles away. Knowing that he cared made her feel warm inside. From the moment he’d found out about her accident, A.J. had been at her side. He’d stayed with her through the first few surgeries, then had visited her regularly over the past year. All her siblings had. Even David, who had a sick wife and four daughters.

“You have to take care of yourself, Josie,” A.J. said gruffly.

“I know. And I am. I’ll get back on track with the physical therapy. I promise.”

“Good. I talked to Mom. She says everything is fine in Lone Star Canyon. They’re expecting a good year on the ranch.”

Josie pressed her lips together in annoyance. “I’m glad to hear it.”

A.J. continued talking about the goings on at the Fitzgerald ranch, but she wasn’t listening. She was caught up in the fact that he called their stepmother “Mom.”

Josie sighed. Her father had married Suzanne seventeen years ago, and while the other children had accepted her easily, she and Josie had never gotten along. Josie wasn’t sure why. Maybe because she’d never forgiven Suzanne for being alive when her real mother had died so unexpectedly.

“Did she say anything about Dad?” she asked.

“Just that he was healthy and as stubborn as ever.” A.J. gave a short laugh. “You’re not expecting to hear that he’s changed are you?”

“No. Of course not.”

But Josie was lying. She did want to hear that Aaron was different than he had been. That passing time had mellowed him into a gentler version of his very tough self. She dreamed about it because, of all the Fitzgerald children, she was the most like him. Watching his stubbornness, his unyielding determination, his willingness to alienate everyone he loved just to be right had always made her uncomfortable. Mostly because she had some of those same qualities in herself and she was desperately trying to change.

But as much as she might dislike parts of herself, she knew she owed her very survival to the stubbornness inherited from her father. When she’d first been injured and the doctors had outlined her long, seemingly impossible road to recovery, she’d felt defeated before she’d even begun. Aaron had been the one to stand by her bed and remind her that she was a Fitzgerald and Fitzgeralds never quit. Not for a moment, no matter how long it took or how much it hurt.

“Are you all right in Beachside Bay by yourself?” A.J. asked.

She recognized the unspoken part of the question. Are you all right being around Del?

“It’s weird,” she admitted. “But in a good way. I want to get some things straight in my mind. Once that’s done