did the others.
Edward had told him the tragedy of losing their mother had touched Marah more than the other girls. John could understand what she had gone through, remembering his own devastation when learning that both his parents were gone. Edward feared that Marah’s obsession with the ranch was more about her being afraid to let go and move on with her life than anything else. He was concerned because he himself was ready to think about moving on.
John had watched as Edward and Juanita had grown closer over the last few months. They had slowly moved past the bounds of friendship toward something more and John, for one, was happy for them. He couldn’t help but notice, however, that his Aunt Juanita’s presence had been a source of consternation for Marah. It probably hadn’t helped that her father hadn’t shared the news of the woman in his life with his youngest child. John had admonished him for that while Edward had tried to make John understand why the news was not going to sit well with his daughters and how Marah would be the child least accepting of his choices. They had politely agreed to disagree.
He took a moment to reflect back on his conversations with the woman while she’d been in his family home. At one point he’d been able to pull her aside, to apologize for the experience in the elevator. Marah had shrugged it off. He wasn’t quite so eager to do the same.
After changing out of his tuxedo, he moved from his bedroom into his studio. John settled himself in front of an easel and began to paint. He was ready to lose himself in something that didn’t have to do with business—or that woman. Because that woman was beginning to crawl knee-deep beneath his skin and John wasn’t quite sure he liked how that felt at all.
As she’d been doing every evening before retiring for the night, Juanita Hilton dialed the private number she’d been dialing for months. As it rang, she couldn’t help but think back on everything that had happened over the course of the evening. When Edward answered his line she was anything but happy with him.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Edward.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“I told you that you need to tell the girls about us. Poor Marah. That child looked like she was ready to cry.” She paused as the man drew a deep sigh on the other end. “What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know, Juanita. When John extended the invitation I just thought it would be as good a time as any for Marah to see us together.”
“This was not the proper way for you to introduce me to your child.”
“You’re right. I should have warned her first.”
“Yes, you should have.”
“Do you still love me?” Edward asked, his voice dropping low on the other end of the telephone.
Juanita giggled, the length of her gray hair waving from side to side. “Don’t be silly, Edward Briscoe. Of course I still love you.”
The man smiled through the receiver, the brilliance of it seeming to flow over the line. “Good, because I love you, too.”
“Do you have any plans for dinner on Thursday?” he asked, shifting his body against the pile of pillows atop his bed.
“I would love to have dinner with you,” Juanita responded. “Are you asking me?”
“I am. In fact, I would be honored if you would come have dinner here at the house with me and my family. I would like to introduce you to my children.”
“Are you sure about that, Edward?”
The man nodded as though she could see him. “It’s past time, Juanita. I’ve asked you to be my wife. I don’t want to keep our relationship a secret any longer.”
The woman nodded slowly. “I would love to meet your children, Edward.”
“Thursday, then.”
“Thursday it is. Sweet dreams, Edward.”
Chapter 6
“Seventy-five percent of all new businesses fail in the first five years,” Eden Briscoe was saying just as the telephone began to ring.
Marah rolled her light eyes toward the ceiling as she reached for the telephone receiver. “And where did you get those statistics?” she asked as the phone rang for the second time, vibrating against the palm of her hand.
Eden pointed to one of the many business start-up books lying atop the new oak desk. Before she could say anything else, Marah picked up the call.
“Thank you for calling The Post Club!” she chimed sweetly, her professional tone just shy of seductive. “This is Marah.”
“Hello, this is Marah. This is your big sister!” The voice on the other end laughed warmly. “I was just calling to check up on you. Wanted to make sure you’re not storming any business meetings this morning.”
“You’re so funny, Marla. What did you really call for?”
“I just wanted to make sure you and Eden remember that we’re all having dinner at the house with daddy this week. I think something’s up. He’s reminded me three times this morning and he said a friend of his will be joining us.”
“It’s probably that Juanita woman. Did you know about her?”
Marla went quiet on the other end.
Marah’s expression was incredulous. “You knew and didn’t tell us?” she exclaimed loudly, catching Eden’s eye.
“Well, I wasn’t sure, but I know the two of them have been spending a lot of time talking back and forth on the telephone. I just thought maybe it might have been about the ranch,” Marla said.
Marah shook her head. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it, Marah. You can be so dramatic sometimes.”
Marah bristled. “Here,” she said, tossing the phone to Eden. “Talk to your sister. I’m not speaking to her anymore.”
Eden pulled the receiver to her ear and said hello. The duo chatted briefly as Marah pretended to pout from her desk on the other side of the room. Eden laughed, her gaze skating from Marah down to her desk and back again. When all was said and done, she nodded as if Marla could see her through the telephone. She then heaved a deep sigh. “All right. Well, I’ll see what I can do with her before then.”
“It’s always a pleasure, big sister. Tell my twin I said behave and we will see you two soon,” Marla concluded before disconnecting the line.
Eden dropped the receiver back onto the hook.
“What was that all about?” Marah asked, leaning forward in her seat.
Eden shook her head. “Nothing yet. Your sister was just trying to help, is all.”
Marah nodded and laughed. “She’s your sister, too.”
“That has yet to be proven.”
“Where does that leave me then?”
Eden shrugged. “In the same boat with your look-alike.”
Marah shook her head as Eden changed the subject.
“Marla’s concerned about how you’re going to act when we meet Daddy’s friend.”
“Did you know about that woman, too?”
“Marla told me that he was becoming friendly with someone. I didn’t know anything else.”
“And neither one of you told me?”
“Marah, you always blow things out of proportion. We didn’t know if anything was happening between them or not and we were waiting for Daddy to say something. Now that he is, we should all support him.”
“I’m not supporting