A tiny wail squeezed through her throat. What was she supposed to do?
Leo was a successful man, a hard man. Surely, he wasn't capable of being hurt. Surely she couldn't hurt him.
Inhaling deeply, she couldn't tear her thoughts away from him. She felt a connection to him that went deeper than the volatile lovemaking they'd shared. A part of her hated that she'd destroyed the possibility of sharing a future with him. She'd never intended that, she reminded herself. Never.
She closed her eyes again and mentally rocked herself to sleep.
The next morning, Calista picked Pooh up from the veterinary hospital. The dog was groggy, but wagged his tail in welcome. Despite her distraction with Leo, Calista's heart lifted.
"Hello, you naughty, sweetie pie. You scared the daylights out of me. You better not do it again," she scolded the dog.
Pooh just gave a doggy smile and licked her. Calista presented her card for the bill, but the receptionist told her it had already been paid. Leo, she realized. She still didn't understand why he hadn't just thrown her out. After all, he had all the cards since she'd told him the real reason she'd married him.
Her stomach twisted with a strange combination of guilt and loss as she drove to Leo's country home. She spent the day administering medication and TLC to Pooh and wondering what Leo would decide about their marriage. By nightfall, she felt more alone than ever. She took solace in Pooh's presence then went to bed for another mostly sleepless night.
With no word from Leo, she was stuck in limbo. Did he want to end their marriage? She couldn't imagine him wanting to stay with her. In that case, she needed to start searching the job market. Late the following afternoon, Calista's cell phone rang. The caller ID indicated it was her cousin. "Hi Sharon."
"Calista, I have bad news."
"What is it?" Calista asked, turning away from her laptop.
"Tami's been in an accident," she said, her voice quivering.
"Oh, no," Calista said, her heart jumping into her throat. "Is she okay? Is she in the hospital?"
"We're at the hospital right now. She has a few scrapes and bruises." Sharon paused and lowered her voice. "She was driving drunk."
Calista closed her eyes and shook her head. Guilt rushed through her. Sharon had warned her that Tami had been having trouble, but Calista had buried her head in the sand, hoping that her sister had made a turnaround. "Oh my God."
"I thought she was doing better, but I was obviously wrong. If we could only get her away from that crowd she's been hanging around. And I hate to bring this up, but the ticket and visit to the hospital aren't going to be free."
"No. Of course not. I'll come right away."
"Call me when you get close," Sharon said.
"Will do," she said and turned off her laptop. She grabbed a change of clothes and was torn about telling Leo. Would he even care?
She didn't have time to agonize over it. She typed a text message that would go directly to his BlackBerry then headed downstairs to seek out Meg. "I've had a family emergency, so I need to leave. I'll probably be gone overnight."
Meg's forehead wrinkled in concern. "I'm so sorry."
"Thank you. Could you please watch Pooh while I'm gone?"
"Of course," she said. "I like having the little troublemaker around."
Calista got into her car and pulled out of the driveway. Two minutes later, her phone rang. She picked up. "Hello?"
"It's Leo," he said.
Her heart hammered in her chest at the sound of his voice. "Hi," she said.
"I got your message. What happened? Is Tami hurt?"
A knot formed in her throat. "Not very much physically hurt, but she's done some damage. She was driving my cousin's car and ran into a traffic sign. Unfortunately she was also drunk."
Leo swore.
"Yes," she said in agreement. "Sharon had said she was hanging around a bad crowd, and she'd thought the problem was solved by giving Tami an earlier curfew. I guess now we know that didn't work." She squeezed the steering wheel. "I'm worried about her."
Silence followed. "Maybe you should bring her to the house," he said.
Surprised, Calista blinked. "Uh," she said and cleared her throat. "I wasn't sure I should expect to stay at your house."
"I never told you to leave," he said.
"No, but you left," she said. "And I can't blame you after I told you-"
"We'll talk about that later. For now, you need to concentrate on Tami. If you bring her here to stay for a while, she'll have a chance to leave her mistakes in the past and refocus."
"Why would you offer your house to my sister?"
"There may have been a time when I shirked responsibility, but not now," he said in a rock-hard tone.
"You're sure?" she asked, fighting a combination of shock and relief.
"I wouldn't have said it if I weren't. Keep me updated," he said.
"Okay," she said. "Leo, thank-"
"Don't," he cut in. "Drive safely."
The following evening after Calista helped Tami get settled into a bedroom, Leo sipped a glass of whiskey in his suite as he waited for her. His pride had been stung when he'd learned she'd tricked him for money. After he'd taken time to cool down, however, he could only blame Calista so much. So far, she'd been reluctant to spend a dime of his money. He'd noticed she still paid her own bills from her own checking account. Another woman would have gone hog wild, buying everything in sight.He also felt somewhat responsible for Calista and her sisters' predicament. He felt more than a twinge of guilt despite the fact that Calista's father had been weak. Like many fools, he'd believed what he wanted to believe. A man like that, with a devoted wife and children, didn't understand what he had.
The bedroom door opened and Calista appeared. She met his gaze solemnly. "Hi."
"Hi,' he said and waved to the chair beside him. "Have a seat."
She walked to the chair and sank into it. A glass of white wine sat on the table waiting for her. She took a sip then set it down. She looked tired, he noted.
"How is Tami?" he asked.
"She's trying to be tough, but she took a stuffed animal to bed with her," she said.
His lips twitched in humor. "Has she said anything?"
"Not much, and that's unusual. She did say she was sorry," she said.
"That's a good start. Realizing you did something wrong is the beginning of being different," he said and took another sip of whiskey. "I should know."
She met his gaze again. "Is that how it happened for you?"
"My so-called adoptive father beat me. He also threatened to beat my adoptive mother. He was manipulative. He trained me to lie, play games and exploit."
She bit her lip. "But you're not like that anymore, are you?"
He shrugged. "Everyone can be manipulative," he said and shot her a pointed look.
She glanced downward. "I can't say I'm innocent in that regard."
"You had good reasons," he said. "I accept that. In a way, I did, too. I was trying to survive. I don't like to be lied to."
"Most of us don't," she said, looking up at him. "Why haven't you kicked me out?"
"Aside from the fact that I still want you," he said and damned if he totally understood why. "It's the right thing to do. Even though my father set up the scheme to trick your father, I benefited from it. You suffered. Your father believed what he wanted to believe instead of the truth."
"He was a good man," she said.
"He may have been a good man, but he was flawed."
"That's a cruel thing to say," she said, her voice choking up.
"It's true."
She glanced away and a faint smile lifted her lips. "He knew how to make us laugh."
"Keep that memory," he told her, wishing he had some of the same kinds of memories.
"What do we do now?" she asked.
"What do you want to do?" he countered.
She fiddled with the stem of her wineglass. "I thought for sure you'd hate me once I told you I married you to get support for my sisters."
"Do you really think I'm surprised that a woman would marry me for my money?" he asked.
"It's not totally like that," she said, shooting him a look of chagrin.
"Then explain to me how it is," he said, leaning back in his chair.
"I was only going to marry you for six months," she said.
"Ah," he said. "That clause in the prenup."
"Yes, I know it's shameful, but I didn't know how else to provide for Tami and Tina."