Married Or Not?: Married or Not? / Ian's Ultimate Gamble

“This is Lucifer,” she replied. Lucifer reached her side and butted his head against her hand, purring all the while.

“So is this one Satan?” he asked with a teasing glint in his eye, a look she’d always loved.

“No. Angel.” She glanced at Angel. He had lifted his back leg and was now engrossed in cleaning himself.

She scratched Lucifer’s ears and under his chin until he settled in next to her, his front legs across her chest. Sherri looked up at Greg. “You hate cats.”

He stood watching her from the foot of the four-poster bed, his hands in his back pockets. “Yep.” He smiled. “Looks like he’s missed you.”

“Why would you accept the care and feeding of animals you don’t like?”

He stood there and looked at her, as though he could see her soul and understood all her emotions. Which was impossible.

“Good question,” he finally replied thoughtfully. “So far, I haven’t found a sensible answer.” He turned away and headed for the door. “Get some rest,” he said over his shoulder, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

When Sherri opened her eyes sometime later the room was in deep shadow. She noticed that the sun was beyond the treetops. She must have slept all day. She looked around her and saw the two cats still on the bed and sound asleep.

Lucifer enjoyed stretching out on his back as far as his long legs would go. Angel preferred sleeping in a ball. One was on either side of her.

A small lamp came on near the door and Sherri saw Hannah standing in the doorway.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but you didn’t eat anything at lunch and Greg said you need to eat something. May I help you into the chair?”

Sherri pushed herself up on her elbows. Hannah looked Swedish, with beautiful skin and flaxen hair. She was tall, almost as tall as Greg. They made a nice-looking couple.

“Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”

After they maneuvered her into the chair, Sherri pushed a button and it moved silently across the room. Hannah opened a door. “This is your bathroom. Will you need help?”

Not in this lifetime.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

She managed to get inside and closed the door. The room was about the size of her bedroom in the apartment. There was a free-standing shower and a large tub with jets. A long counter and mirror stretched across the width of the room.

Sherri had never been inside this particular bathroom. She found a washcloth and filled the sink with water. She bathed herself as well as she could. Somehow she would have to learn to help herself into the shower once her dressing came off. When the nurse changed it that morning, she had used a smaller dressing, saying that the incision looked healthy and was healing. There was a built-in seat inside the shower, plus shampoos, conditioners and creams. The place could have been a five-star hotel.

After struggling to get her clothes off, she wet a washcloth and washed herself with soapy water.

Sherri was drying off when she heard a tap on the door.

“Yes?”

Hannah said, “I’ve laid out your clothes for you. Greg will check in on you in about forty-five minutes.”

Sherri finished drying herself and opened the door. She looked at the clothes laid out for her. They were new. She moved to the closet and opened the door. The walk-in closet had all of her clothes and several new things that still had tags on them.

She spun her chair around and crossed the room to the dresser. When she opened the drawers, she discovered all of her things were here…plus several new items.

He’d certainly been confident that she would fall in with his plans. Why not? He’d made certain that she had no place to go except here. She hated to admit that he’d been right about everything. She really couldn’t have taken care of herself. What she had trouble understanding was why he’d do this for her. He’d put himself out to see that she had everything she needed, including Lucifer. Which was another thing. He’d once mentioned that he was allergic to cats. She’d been disappointed because she’d always loved them and once she settled into her apartment she had found the kittens. Thank goodness Joan had wanted one, too.

Now here they were, content to be nearby. It was difficult to be upset with him; he’d done so much for her at a time when she’d desperately needed help.

She took underwear out of the drawer and with a great deal of effort managed to get the pants over her cast. She was already exhausted. Hannah had laid out a simple pullover dress that was new. Sherri slipped it over her head. She pulled the sling over her shoulder and slipped her arm into it.

She was as ready as she would ever be. She saw no reason to wait for Greg. With new determination to be nicer to him, Sherri left the room.

Five

Out in the hallway, Sherri went back the way she and Greg had come into the house. She stopped at the French doors and admired the view. Greg had been given a truly wonderful gift. She knew he must miss Millie very much. Sherri wished she’d stayed in touch with her. As the minutes passed, she began to relax. It was difficult to believe that such a pastoral place existed only a few miles from downtown.

She was startled when Greg spoke behind her.

“Ah, there you are. Enjoying the view, I see.”

She turned and faced him. “Thank you for all that you’ve done, Greg. I’m sorry that I’ve been so rude to you. It’s just that—” She couldn’t find the words to continue.

“I know. You’d made a clean break, and I was the last person you wanted in your life.”

She nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

“Understood,” he replied tersely. “I know how difficult all of this is for you. I just want you to know that you have a place to stay here for as long as you want it.”

She gave a quick shake of her head. “Don’t you think having me here is unfair to Hannah?”

He looked puzzled. “Why should it be? One more person in the house isn’t going to make much difference to her.”

She almost rolled her eyes at his obtuseness. “In my opinion, having your wife looking after your ex-wife is asking a lot of her.”

He made no effort to hide his amusement. “It certainly would be…if she were my wife. But then, she’d be a bigamist and I might have to arrest her.” He turned her chair and they went to a small dining area not far from the kitchen. It was a cozy area with a bay window that brought the beauty of the lawn into the home.

“Hannah is happily married to Sven and I’m happy to have both of them living here. Actually, they live in the garage apartment, but that’s close enough.” He looked past her, flashing his heart-stopping smile. “Looks delicious, Hannah, as usual.”

Sherri glanced around and saw the tray Hannah carried. Behind her, a large blond man carried two wineglasses and a bottle of wine.

“Sven,” Greg said, “this is Sherri. She’ll be staying here until she literally gets back on her feet. Sherri…Sven.”

Sven’s smile dazzled her with its brilliance. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to be immune to all men but Greg.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Sven is one of the best landscapers in the area. He has a thriving business, including a nursery not far from here. He takes care of this place, but refuses to take money for it.” Greg smiled at Sven. “Not a good way to run a business, you know.”

Sven shrugged. “It’s only fair. You don’t accept our rent payments.”

“I definitely get the best of that deal.”

While the two men talked, Hannah quickly placed the food on the table, lit the candles and refilled the water glasses.