The Happiest Day Read online

  “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Peter asked with deadly calm.

  Frederick looked momentarily surprised. “She told you about that, huh? Women can never keep their mouths shut.”

  Rachel gasped quietly. “Peter, I’m sorry.” She knew it was ridiculous to apologize but felt responsible for Frederick’s role in Blanche and Helen’s adulterous acts.

  Peter’s eyes didn’t leave Frederick. “Rachel, go inside.”

  “No. Only if you go in with me.”

  “Stern and I have business to take care of. Go inside.”

  “You’re going to assault me, MacGregor?” Frederick asked. “Try it and you’ll find yourself in jail tonight. How ironic would that be? Everyone’s darling prosecutor, in jail for assault of an innocent man.”

  “It would be worth it.”

  Frederick looked over his shoulder at Rachel. “You may want to tell him to control himself or I will have to make an announcement.”

  “Peter, please,” Rachel begged, fear coursing through her veins. “Please stop this. I’m O.K. Just go inside so I can be alone with Frederick.”

  “Rachel,” Peter bit out, shock and anger on his face. “What the hell is going on? You don’t want him to touch you. Not here, not like this. He was practically raping you.”

  “Listen to the girl, MacGregor. She’s telling you to leave us alone.”

  “I won’t.” Peter had a stubborn set to his jaw that Rachel recognized. He wasn’t going to back down. Her heart sank.

  Stern shrugged. “Then you can stay. Enjoy watching virgins get deflowered?”

  A growl escaped from Peter and he charged Frederick like an angry bull. The two men began pummeling each other, falling to the concrete. As much as Rachel wished that Peter could beat Frederick to death, she knew that this could only end badly. She tried to intervene, but got shoved for her attempts. She felt helpless and wasn’t sure how to stop the violence. She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified when she saw Norris step onto the terrace.

  “Stop this now!” he bellowed, causing the two men on the ground to stop and look up.

  Frederick shoved Peter off of him and pulled himself up, wiping the blood from his nose. “Thornton, you can thank your son for what is about to happen. I’m about to blow up your life. It ends tonight.”

  Norris stood quietly but Rachel could tell that his mind was moving rapidly, assessing how he could regain the upper hand. “Peter, take Rachel home. Stern and I have some negotiating to do.”

  Rachel rushed to Norris, hanging onto his arm. “Norris, let me fix this, please. He just wants me. That’s how this started tonight.” She looked over at Frederick. “I’ll leave with you right now, Frederick. Let’s go back to your home. I’ll do anything you want me to.”

  Peter stood as well and strode over to where Rachel stood. He grabbed her roughly. “Stop it! Stop this madness.” He looked at Norris furiously. “I’m getting her out of here now. I expect you to fix this mess.”

  “I will,” Norris said quietly. “Rachel, go now. Peter, throw her over your shoulder if you have to.”

  Peter complied by leading Rachel away but found that he was dragging her. She was pulling against him, trying to return to Frederick. “God damn it,” he bit out, “we are leaving. I will make a scene if I have to but I would think that you wouldn’t want to ruin Maryanne’s night.”

  “You don’t understand!” Rachel cried. “Frederick is going to ruin Norris!”

  “Norris can handle it. We’re leaving.”

  “Peter,” she cried in despair. “Peter, please…” She began shaking uncontrollably, probably the after effects of Frederick’s attempted assault and the fight between him and Peter.

  Peter’s anger melted away and he drew her into his arms. “Oh, Rae,” he muttered. “I’m sorry. It’s going to be all right, I swear.” He ran his hands up and down her bare arms, trying to comfort her. He bent his mouth to her ear and said, “Don’t fight me anymore. Let me take care of you.”

  “You don’t know what you’re doing. Everything will be ruined. Please let me go back to Frederick, Peter. Please.” She looked up at him with tears in her amber eyes. “If you ever cared about me, you’ll let me go.”

  “I do care about you and that’s why you’re coming with me. You’ll thank me someday.” He kissed her above the ear where her hair was pulled back by a lace covered headband. “Come on, Spider. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “What about Blanche?”

  “She’s fine. She’ll find her way home.”

  He didn’t take her home. Instead, he took her just a few blocks away, to his private apartment near the courthouse. Rachel was mildly surprised, but in too much shock from the evening’s events, to comment. Peter moved around the apartment, turning on low lights and opening the terrace door to let fresh air into the room.

  “Sit down,” he ordered. “I’m going to fix us a drink.”

  She held the glass of whiskey he gave her and looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “Should I even ask where you got it?”

  “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you. Just drink.” He sat down across from her and took a long swallow.

  “I didn’t even ask, are you O.K.? Did Frederick hurt you?”

  He looked at his right hand and shrugged. “My hand hurts like hell but I think I’m all right.”

  She took a tentative swallow of the clear liquid and coughed. It felt like fire going down her esophagus. “How do you drink this swill?” she asked, putting the glass down.

  “I don’t drink it for the taste, I drink it for the effect,” he answered wryly. “It’s time we talk, don’t you think?”

  “I still can’t tell you anything. I really don’t know much. I just know that Frederick knows a secret about Norris and he’s threatening to expose him.”

  “Norris didn’t tell you anything?”

  “No, he admits that there is something but I don’t know what it is.” She picked up the glass and attempted another swallow. It didn’t burn quite as badly this time. She was starting to feel warm inside and the shaking had stopped. “I am so angry at you. You didn’t have any right to send Toby away.”

  “I didn’t want you to do something you would later regret.”

  “If you hadn’t have come across Frederick and me tonight, that would have been my first time, instead of with someone that loves me.”

  “You don’t love Toby, though. It wouldn’t have meant as much as you think it would have.”

  “When did you become a relationship expert? Where’s your wife tonight?” she asked meanly, but knowing he wouldn’t take offense.

  “Probably screwing your fiancé,” he said bluntly. “I overheard her talking to one of her friends earlier today. She’s been sleeping with Stern for months.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said again. “Why do you stay married to her, Peter?”

  He stared into his glass. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “Maybe because she’s all I deserve.”

  “What a ridiculous thing to say.”

  Peter looked up at her in disbelief. “Look at what you’re marrying! Don’t you think you deserve better?”

  “I’m trying to protect our family!” she replied hotly.

  “Now, sure. But when you got engaged to him, you weren’t in love with him. You settled for the first man that paid attention to you. Jesus Christ, you’re engaged to a man old enough to be your father. How fucked up is that?”

  “About as fucked up as you being married to a woman just like your mother,” she replied calmly, saying the vulgar word for the first time in her life. She liked the way it felt rolling off of her tongue. Maybe she shouldn’t drink the whiskey, she thought belatedly.

  Peter wasn’t offended by her language. He laughed and the tension in the room dissipated. He laid his head back against the headrest of the chair. “We are two fucked up people, I guess.”

  They were both lost in their thoughts for several minut
es. Finally, Rachel said, “Unless Norris finds a way out of this mess, I’ll be Frederick’s wife in less than four months. Peter, don’t stop me from seeking a little pleasure before that happens.”

  He drained his glass before speaking. “Not Toby. He’s a boy. You can only break his heart in the end, and damn it, he’s a good stable hand. Phelps will kill me if we lose him. Besides, he’s going to be offered a job in Kentucky that he can’t refuse.” He chanced a glance at her and saw that she didn’t look angry. The look on her face told him she knew she had been beat by one more crafty than herself. “Rachel, you have to trust me when I say that I’m not going to let this wedding happen.”

  “I believe that you think that,” she said, “but you didn’t see Norris when I told him that Stern would expose him. He was scared, Peter. I’ve never seen him like that.”

  “You were not put on this earth to protect Norris.”

  “How can I deny helping him after what he’s done for me?”

  “For God’s sake, Rachel, stop putting the man on a pedestal! He did what any decent person would do in the circumstances. He took in his best friend’s children after they lost their parents. He’s no saint.”

  “I never said he was but he’s treated Laurie and me like his own. He’s given us opportunities that we never could have imagined.” She smiled, feeling her muscles growing loose as the whiskey did its work. “I got to meet you, too.”

  Peter’s face relaxed. “Oh Spider, you got me there. How can I argue with that?” He raised his glass to her. “Congratulations, my dear. You win.”

  She laughed and drained her glass. “I kind of like this.” She weaved unsteadily to the sideboard and poured herself another drink, and tossed it back in one swallow.

  “Oh Lord, I’ve created a monster.” He stood and took the glass from her and placed it on the sideboard. “It’s late. Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

  “You should just take me home.” Her head spun a bit.

  “I’ll wake you up before the sun and get you home before anyone knows you’re gone. I promise. Go rest.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll just crash on the sofa.” He pulled his white linen shirt out of his black pants. “I’m bushed.”

  “I don’t want to take your bed,” she argued. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  “Stop arguing,” he groaned, kicking off his shoes.

  Her eyes flickered over his loose clothing and sock covered feet. His hair was adorably ruffled. “You could share the bed with me,” she suggested slyly, feeling liquid courage coursing through her veins. “We could both be comfortable.”

  He stopped his disrobing and looked at her soberly, his eyes narrowed. “What are you doing, Rae?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He was silent for a long moment, staring at her as if mulling something over. Finally, he sighed, tension evident in his shoulders. “Go to bed, Rachel,” he said sternly. “I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”

  Disappointment washed over her and she crossed her arms across her midriff defiantly. “Fine. You’ll be sorry someday.”

  “More than likely,” he agreed. “But I’d rather regret saying no now than have you regret me saying yes later.”

  “I wouldn’t regret it,” she said, seeing a crack in his armor. “Peter, I’m going to sleep with someone before I marry Frederick. Why wouldn’t I want it to be someone like you, someone that I know would take care of me?”

  He ran a hand over his face in frustration. “Shit,” he breathed. “This can’t be happening. Are you really propositioning me? How drunk are you?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never been drunk.” She smiled. “I don’t think I can make it to bed on my own. Will you take me?”

  “Rae…”

  “I might trip and hurt myself.” To make her point she swayed back and forth.

  “Shit,” he said again and scooped her off of her feet. He shouldered his bedroom door open and deposited her on the middle of his bed. “Go…to…sleep,” he said between clenched teeth.

  “You know you want me,” she called after him. “Don’t you want to be my first? Don’t you want to teach me? It would always be our special secret.” When he didn’t answer, she taunted, “You’re just scared.”

  He turned back and gazed at her sitting in the middle of his bed, her honey colored hair loose, her cheeks flushed. “Petrified,” he admitted ruefully. “Get some sleep, my love.”

  She did just that, falling asleep almost immediately. She was confused and disoriented a few hours later when he woke her.

  “Come on, babe,” he said softly. “I need to get you home. The sun will be up soon.” She nodded and he helped her sit up. “I’ve got your shoes.” He knelt and placed them on her feet. “Can you walk to the car?”

  “Mm-hm.” She stood and immediately sat back down. “I’m dizzy.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let you drink the whiskey.” He helped her stand again and slipped an arm around her waist. “Come on, let’s go. The fresh air will help.”

  He was right. The early morning air hit her like a refreshing wave and she inhaled deeply. “It feels nice out here.”

  He helped her into his car and they didn’t speak a word on the thirty minute drive to the estate. The sky was still dark as if the sun was loathe to rise. It was barely five a.m. when he pulled his car up the drive.

  “Drop me at the kitchen. I don’t want to wake anyone by coming in the front.” Before she got out of the car, she looked at him, biting her lip. “Peter, I’m sorry.”

  He leaned one arm on the steering wheel and looked at her with an enigmatic gaze. “For what?”

  “For what I did back at your apartment. For what I said.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yes. I don’t know what got into me.”

  He smiled slightly. “I’d say two glasses of whiskey, in pretty quick fashion.”

  They stared at each other in silence and Rachel wondered what he was thinking. “Well, anyway, I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t embarrass you.”

  “You didn’t embarrass me.” He looked away for a moment, and then looked back to her. “You don’t have to marry Stern. No matter what, you don’t have to. Remember that. I want you to stop offering up your virginity to people…to Toby, to me…as some sort of…I don’t know, some type of reward for giving you a moment of closeness and intimacy. That gift belongs to the man that you love and the one you want to share your life with.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “Life is not that easy. It’s not that cut and dry.”

  “It can be.” He reached out and cupped her jaw in his hand, his thumb reaching up to wipe away a lone tear. “Promise me that you’ll save yourself for the right man.”

  She didn’t answer him but turned her lips into his palm and bestowed a kiss. “Thank you for taking care of me last night.” She opened the car door and started to stand. His words halted her.

  “If it means anything to you, saying no to you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

  She looked back over her shoulder and saw that he was sincere. She smiled crookedly. “Always the gentleman. I’ll talk to you later.”

  She let herself in quietly, barely hearing his car driving away. She made her way up the back staircase which opened out at the end of the hallway near her bedroom. Without bothering to take off her crumpled dress, she fell into bed and fell asleep immediately. Her sleep was restless, though, and filled with strange noises and thoughts. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep when she was shaken awake. Opening her blurry eyes, she saw Norris, looking uncharacteristically unkempt, still wearing his tux, but the tie hanging and the arms shoved up to his elbows.

  “Rachel, I need you to wake up. Please, wake up.”

  She was confused and wondered if she was still dreaming. “Norris? What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “There’s been an accident. A terrible accident.”

  “Are the boys OK? Is Laur
ie all right?” She struggled to sit up and Norris fell weakly to her bed.

  “The boys are fine. They are spending the night at Bert’s house. It’s Helen and Frederick. Rachel, they’re dead.”

  She stared at him, trying to comprehend his words. His hair was messy, looking as if he had run his hands through it over and over. His eyes were bloodshot and looked slightly tearful. She reached out and touched him, convincing herself that he was real and this was not a dream. He jerked where she touched him on his chest, then laid a hand over hers, bowing his head.

  “They’re dead. They’re really dead,” he choked out.

  “Where are they?” she whispered, fear bubbling up in her. What had happened? Was there an intruder in the house? Suddenly, she was an eight year old girl, huddled in a closet. “Are we alone?” She grasped the linen of his shirt, her eyes wide and her heart thudding.

  He felt her fear and pulled her into his arms. “We’re fine. You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you ever again. Didn’t I promise you that?”

  She nodded against his shoulder. “What happened? Why are they dead?”

  “They’re in my bedroom,” he said, not answering her question. “Come with me.”

  “I…I’m still wearing my dress,” she said, looking down at the crumpled bridesmaid dress. “Let me change.”

  She opened her wardrobe, reaching inside for a robe. She turned to ask Norris to wait in the hallway for her, but saw that he had not moved from where he sat on her bed. His head was buried in his hands. She hurriedly shed her dress and slipped the robe on over her slip, tying it securely. “All right. I’m dressed.”

  He looked up in surprise as if he had forgotten she was in the room with him. “Did I tell you how beautiful you looked last night?”

  She nodded wordlessly.

  “You never looked more like your mother than you did last night. You’re truly a woman now, even though I tend to forget sometimes.”

  “It’s all right,” she said softly, wondering where his mind was right now. Had he been telling the truth when he had said that Helen and Frederick were dead or was he just caught in some sort of sleepwalking dream? “Norris? You said you wanted me to come with you.”