A Wife for One Year

“I think I’m going to soak in that enormous tub for a while before I crawl into bed,” she said.

He definitely didn’t want to think about her in the tub—or be anywhere in the vicinity while she was. “In that case, I think I’ll wander back down to the casino and see if I can lose some money at the blackjack tables.”

“It’s almost midnight,” she pointed out.

“It’s not even midnight and it’s Vegas,” he countered.

She shrugged. “Just as long as you don’t lose my hundred grand.”

“I won’t lose your hundred grand,” he promised.

But as he walked away, it occurred to him that they’d already thrown the dice and risked something much more valuable than money—the status quo.

* * *

Kenna was rummaging through her overnight bag for her pj’s when her cell phone chimed to indicate a text message. A quick glance at the screen revealed a brief note from Becca.

Can u take me to library 2morrow?

She could have texted back, but she decided to call her sister instead. She wanted to hear her voice, to remind herself of the primary reason that she’d become Mrs. Daniel Garrett.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries that warned Kenna her sister wasn’t in a pleasant mood, Becca repeated her request.

“So can you take me tomorrow or not?” the teen demanded.

“Why do you need to go to the library?” Kenna asked.

“Research for a history paper.”

“Don’t you do your research on the internet?”

“Miss Roberts wants us to cite at least three hard-copy sources.”

“What’s your topic?”

“Revolution and Nationalism.”

“That’s a pretty broad subject.”

“I’m supposed to pick one specific country as my focus,” Becca admitted. “But I want to see how much material is available before I decide.”

“When’s the paper due?”

“Wednesday.”

Kenna didn’t even bother to sigh.

There was nothing she could say that she hadn’t already said numerous times before, to no avail. Her sister was a smart kid who got decent grades without even trying, which frustrated Kenna because she had no doubt that Becca would be a straight-A student if she applied herself. Of course, every time she tried to talk to her about college, her sister brushed her off with a dismissive, “I’m not thinking about college yet.”

Kenna knew that if she didn’t start thinking about it, and seriously, it wouldn’t ever happen. But that was a topic—and a battle—for another day. All she said now was, “You might want to ask Mom to take you to the library in the morning so that you can get started on the paper, because I won’t be back until later in the afternoon.”

“Where are you?”

“Out of town.”

“That’s an uncharacteristically vague answer,” Becca noted.

“I’ll fill you in on the details later.” When she’d figured out how—and how much—to tell her sister.

“Oh.” Her sister sounded intrigued. “Did you run away for the weekend to have wild monkey sex with a stranger?”

She decided that outrageous question didn’t even warrant a response. “Can you ask Mom to take you to the library?” she prompted instead.

“Not likely.”

“Why not?”

“Sue Ellen’s got a new boyfriend,” Becca told her. “She hasn’t been home in three days.”

Kenna forced herself to blow out a deep, calming breath. “And you’re only telling me this now?”

“It’s no big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” she insisted. “You’re only fourteen—”

“Almost fifteen,” her sister interjected.

Which was still too young to be on her own for three days. And three nights.

“You know you can always come and live with me.” She made the offer automatically, as she’d done several times before. Only when the words were out of her mouth did she realize that living with her now meant living with her and Daniel—and his condo didn’t have enough bedrooms to make that work.

“I don’t need a babysitter—just a ride to the library.”

The dismissive response both relieved and frustrated Kenna. “I’ll let you know when I’m on my way, but it probably won’t be until about three o’clock.”

“That’s fine.”

“You could get started on your internet research before then,” she suggested.

“Sure,” Becca agreed, without much enthusiasm.

Kenna said goodbye to her sister and disconnected the call.

She hadn’t asked about the origin of Becca’s bad mood. That the teen had asked her sister instead of her boyfriend for a ride to the library was enough of an indication that the on-again, off-again relationship with Todd Denney was currently off. And Kenna wasn’t disappointed about that at all.

As she filled the oversize tub with bubbles, she acknowledged that she was hardly in a position to pass judgment on her sister’s relationship. When she was Becca’s age, she’d been completely and exclusively focused on her studies. That’s not to say she never felt stirrings of attraction, but whenever she did, she forced herself to ignore them. She was terrified that if she gave in to those feelings she’d end up like her mother and her older sister, both of whom had got pregnant before they’d graduated high school.

Sure she’d harbored the occasional crush—even, briefly, on the man who was now her husband—but she’d never experienced the extreme highs and lows of teenage love and had no idea how to relate to her sister’s angst. But not understanding didn’t stop her from worrying. Todd was older and more experienced, and Becca was so infatuated that Kenna worried her sister would do anything to hold on to him.