you like so much.”
“Tempting, but I need to start making notes for my new book. The one on overcoming personal crisis,” she added.
“Trust me. Somebody who entertains herself picking up litter doesn’t have the foggiest idea how to overcome crisis.” He headed down the stairs. “One day you’re going to admit that life’s too messy to fit inside those tidy little Cornerstones of yours.”
“I’ve seen exactly how messy life can be.” She sounded defensive, but she couldn’t seem to help it. “I’ve also seen how applying the Cornerstones can make things better. It’s not just me, Ren. I have testimonials.” And how pathetic did that make her sound?
“I’ll bet you do. And I’m sure the Cornerstones work in a lot of situations, but they’re not going to work for everybody all the time, and I don’t think they’re working for you right now.”
“They’re not working because I’m not applying them properly.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “I also might need to add a few new steps.”
“Will you just relax?”
“Like you?”
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. At least I have a life.”
“You make awful movies where you do hateful things. You have to wear disguises to go out in public. You have no wife, no family. Is that what you call having a life?”
“Well, if you’re going to get picky about it.” He crossed the marble floor to the front door.
“You can deflect other people with wisecracks, but it doesn’t work with me.”
“That’s because you’ve forgotten how to laugh.” He twisted the knob.
“Untrue. You’re making me laugh right now.
The door swung open to reveal a strange man standing on the other side.
“You wife-stealing bastard,” the intruder growled. And then he drew back his arm and swung.
11
Isabel flew across the marble floor, but the man had only caught a shoulder, and Ren was already back on his feet, every muscle in his body focused on annihilation. She shot an incredulous look at his assailant. “Are you
Ren made a leap for him just as the words the man had spoken sank into Isabel’s brain. “Ren, stop! Don’t hit him.”
He already had the man by the throat. “Give me one good reason.”
“It’s Harry Briggs. You can’t kill him unless Tracy says so.”
His grip eased, but he didn’t let go, and fury still glimmered in his eyes. “Do you want to explain that punch before or after I take you apart?”
She had to give Briggs credit for standing his ground in the face of what could be a very painful death. “Where is she, you son of a bitch?”
“No place where you can touch her.”
“You made her miserable once. You’re not going to do it again.”
Ren quickly released his hold as Jeremy rushed in. The boy dropped the broken roof tile he’d been carrying and flung himself into his father’s arms, the sulky expression he wore most of the time vanishing.
“Jeremy.” Briggs drew him close, sinking his hands into his son’s hair and closing his eyes for a moment.
Ren rubbed his shoulder and watched.
Despite the foolhardy punch he’d thrown, Harry Briggs didn’t look too dangerous. He stood a few inches shorter than Ren, with a slim build and pleasant, regular features. As Isabel studied him, she sensed a neat freak like herself, except this one had fallen into a bad spell. His straight, conservatively cut brown hair hadn’t been near a comb recently, and he needed a shave. Behind his wire-rimmed glasses, his eyes were tired, and he’d worn his rumpled khakis and tan polo shirt a day too long. He didn’t look like a philanderer, but that wasn’t exactly something you could see on a person’s face. He also seemed to be one of the least likely men on earth to be married to a dazzler like Tracy.
As he rubbed his son’s shoulders, she noticed a serviceable watch and a plain gold wedding band. “Have you been taking care of everybody?” he asked Jeremy.
“I guess.”
“We need to talk, buddy, but I have to see your mother first.”
“She’s down at the pool with the brats.”
Harry tilted his head toward the front door. “See if I put any dings in the car while I was driving down here, will you? There were some gravel roads.”
Jeremy looked troubled. “You won’t leave or anything without me, will you?”
Once again Harry touched his son’s hair. “Don’t worry, pal. Everything’s going to be fine.”
As the boy set off, Isabel noticed that Harry hadn’t answered his question. When Jeremy was out of earshot, he turned his attention back to Ren, and all the softness he’d displayed to the boy vanished. “Where’s the pool?”
The heat of Ren’s anger seemed to have burned off, although she suspected it could reignite at any moment. “Maybe you’d better cool down first.”
“Never mind. I’ll find her myself.” Harry stalked past them.
Ren picked up the piece of broken roof tile Jeremy had dropped, stared at it for a moment, then gave a martyr’s sigh. “We can’t leave him alone with her.”
Isabel patted his arm. “Life’s never simple.”
Tracy saw Harry coming. Her heart did an instinctive skip-hop before it settled into the pit of her stomach. She’d known he’d show up sooner or later. She just hadn’t expected him to find her so quickly.
Harry somehow managed to scoop up all three. He was particular about his clothes, but not when it came to the kids, and he didn’t seem to mind getting wet. The girls lavished him with sloppy kisses. Connor knocked his glasses askew. Tracy’s heart ached as she watched him return their kisses and offer them the same single-minded attention he’d given her in the days when they’d still been in love.
Ren appeared. It didn’t hurt to look at him the way it did to look at Harry. This older Ren was tougher and smarter than the boy who’d taught her how to smoke a joint, but he was also more cynical. She couldn’t imagine how this business with Karli Swenson had affected him.
Isabel came to his side looking cool and capable in her sleeveless blouse, biscuit-colored slacks, and straw hat. Her boundless competence would have been intimidating if she weren’t so kind. The kids had adored her on sight, generally a good sign of a person’s character. Just like every other woman who stepped into Ren’s orbit, she was fascinated by him, but unlike the others, she was fighting it. Tracy gave her high marks for trying, even if she didn’t stand a chance, not when Ren’s desire was so obvious. In the end she wouldn’t be able to resist him, which was a shame, because a fling wouldn’t be enough for her. She was the kind of woman who wanted all the things Ren didn’t have to give, and he’d eat her up before she realized it. Not just in a good way either.
It was less agonizing to feel sorry for Isabel than herself, but Harry was here now, and she could only hold off her pain for so long.
She hoisted herself out of her chair, 158 pounds of beached whale. Fifteen more pounds and she’d outweigh her husband. “Girls, take Connor and go find Signora Anna. She said she was making cookies.”
The girls clung tighter to their father and glared at her resentfully. From their point of view she was the wicked witch who’d taken them away from him. A hard, tight knot stuck in her throat.
“Go on,” he said to the girls, still not looking at her. “I’ll come in and see you soon.”
They didn’t give him trouble like they gave her, and she wasn’t surprised when they took Connor and set off
