The Best Bride. Susan Mallery

to get a little heavy when they age.”

      Elizabeth hoped Louise was only kidding about making a cake for her dog, but she wasn’t completely sure and she didn’t want to ask.

      Louise stirred in the other ingredients, then started pouring the batter into the cupcake pan. “So, I heard you and Travis fighting. You want to talk about it?”

      “You aren’t one to beat around the bush, are you?”

      Louise shrugged. “I’m pretty straightforward,” she admitted. “It would probably be easier if I’d just learn to keep my mouth shut. Maybe I’ll get it eventually. But you seem like a real nice lady. Mandy is the sweetest little girl and I’ve found you can usually judge a mother by her children. Travis Haynes is one of my favorite people on earth. Why, if I was five or six years younger, I might just risk my heart on him.” She paused, then shook her head. “On second thought, I’ll leave the Haynes boys to the rest of you. I’ve already had my heart broken once by that family.”

      It was too much information to absorb, Elizabeth thought, not knowing whether to laugh, cry, be insulted or flattered.

      “He’s a good man,” Louise said, carrying the full cupcake pans over to the oven and sliding them inside.

      “Who?”

      “Travis.”

      “I know that.”

      “He was just doing his job, asking all those questions, I mean.” Louise poured herself a cup of coffee. When she held up the pot, Elizabeth shook her head. “Of course any woman would know you’re that girl’s mother through and through. She’s got your smile. Her daddy must be some kind of looker.”

      “He is,” Elizabeth said. Sam certainly was good-looking. Not nearly as handsome as Travis, but attractive enough to make any woman look twice. She’d been so caught up by his face and body, the charm and easy smile, she’d never thought to question anything except her good fortune. Imagine little Elizabeth Abbott catching someone like Sam. Only, she hadn’t exactly caught him.

      “So, you still mad at Travis?”

      “No. I understand that he had questions.” But she wasn’t willing to give him all his answers. Still she couldn’t blame him for asking. She’d expected him to wonder what her story was, but she hadn’t expected him to come up with kidnapping!

      “I’m glad.” Louise sipped her coffee, then glanced at the clock over the stove. “Looks like it’s time for me to leave. Travis and Mandy should be back in an hour or so. You’re not going to get out of control and start vacuuming, are you?”

      “I promise I’ll behave.”

      Louise set down her cup. She picked up her purse from the counter, then crossed to the table, bent over and gave Elizabeth a hug. “I’m here if you want to talk,” she said. “I might not have any answers, but I’m a great listener.”

      Elizabeth hugged her back. The other woman’s perfume was a clingy Oriental scent that somehow suited her perfectly. Louise stepped back and waved, then left the kitchen. The back door banged shut behind her and the kitchen was silent.

      Elizabeth stared around the empty room, wishing the digital clock would tick so there would be some sound. She was completely and totally alone. She wasn’t afraid to be on her own. It was the questions that came to her, making her wonder if she’d made the right decisions for herself, and more importantly, for Mandy. Had she had other options and not realized it? Would she ever know how many clues she’d missed? She’d been worse than a fool.

      The timer on the oven clicked down another minute. She thought about Louise who had offered to be a friend. Elizabeth knew that she needed to make some friends. She desperately needed someone to talk to and have fun with. Louise was a little offbeat, but that didn’t matter. The reason Elizabeth couldn’t reach out to her was because of herself, not because of the other woman. She couldn’t dare be friends with anyone. She would always have to hold some part of herself back, be it from Louise or Travis.

      Thank God he hadn’t guessed the truth. She leaned back in the chair and sighed. Every time she thought she’d put it all behind her, something happened to remind her again.

      She tried to think about nothing more complicated than whether or not she had the strength to frost the cupcakes. In the end, she decided she didn’t and pulled the muffin pans from the oven and left them to cool. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, but she couldn’t escape her past even there. So she tried thinking about other things. About the kiss.

      Her eyes flew open. Not that. But now that she’d remembered it, she found it hard to forget the soft brush of his lips on hers yesterday. Today, when he’d sat next to her on the sofa and they’d shaken hands, for a moment she’d thought he might kiss her. Softly, tenderly, holding her close in those strong arms.

      He carried her so easily, but that was an impersonal gesture made to aid an invalid. She wanted to be held close by a man who needed to hold a woman. She wanted to know if Travis could make her feel safe and secure in his embrace, if he could loan her a little of his strength and confidence. Foolish dreams. She hadn’t answered all his questions. They both knew that. He might believe that she hadn’t broken any laws, but she’d seen the look in his eyes. He was reserving judgment on her until he knew the truth. Imagine what he would think of her then.

      The back door opened and she heard Mandy’s laughter as she came into the kitchen.

      “Mommy, Mommy, where are you?”

      “In here,” she called, sitting up slowly and leaning against the headboard.

      Mandy flew into the room. She had several papers in one hand and her bear in the other.

      “How was your first day of school?” Elizabeth asked, holding out her arms.

      Her daughter scrambled onto the bed and threw herself into her embrace. Elizabeth held her close. Even the pain in her side didn’t matter, she thought, as she stroked her daughter’s hair.

      Mandy leaned back and knelt on the bed. “I had fun.”

      “Did you?”

      Mandy nodded. “Miss Brickman says we’re going to learn to read.”

      Elizabeth touched Mandy’s paint-smudged cheek. Her dress was wrinkled, her ribbons loose and coming undone, but there was a bright glow of happiness in her child’s eyes that made her heart lighten. Maybe she had made the right decision after all.

      “You already know how to read.”

      “I know.” Mandy grinned. “She said she’d help me learn better. And we’re going to do counting, too. Here.” She thrust out her papers. “I did these.”

      Elizabeth looked at the drawing of what she was pretty sure was supposed to be this large house, a sheet with Mandy’s name painstakingly spelled out in a childish scrawl, and a note from Miss Brickman outlining the homework schedule for the first half of the year.

      “You’re supposed to sign this one,” Mandy said, pointing at the note from the teacher. “We’re going to have homework, just like the big kids.” She sounded delighted. Elizabeth wondered how long that would last.

      “Someone’s been busy.”

      She looked up and saw Travis standing in the doorway. He held a tray containing a plate with several chocolate cupcakes and two glasses of milk.

      Mandy’s blue eyes got big. “Mommy, you made cupcakes for me.”

      “I thought you weren’t supposed to get out of bed,” Travis said.

      “Louise did all the work.”

      “Why don’t I believe that?”

      “Don’t ask me, because she did.”

      “Sure.” He put the tray down on her nightstand, then pulled Mandy off the bed. “Maybe you should change into play