She put her much smaller hand in his. His palm was callused; she loved his hand. “Annalee,” she said. “Annalee Riordan.” Too bad the guy was just a poor country bartender. He was hot. She loved a big, rugged man. But she had to think about the future and she wasn’t about to hook up with some low-income country boy. Well, she thought, smiling. Maybe for an afternoon or something. But she had bigger fish to fry. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Can I get you something?” he asked. “Late breakfast? Early lunch? Cold drink?”

“Well, let’s see.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve been driving since about five this morning. Do you think it’s too early for a bloody Mary?”

“Coming up,” he said, turning away from her to fix her drink. When he put it back in front of her, he said, “Where’d you come from?”

“I just drove from San Francisco today,” she said. “I was there on business and since I was on the right side of the country and most of the family seemed to be here, I thought I’d take a little extra time to visit. I actually live in New York.” She slid her hand into the thin clutch and pulled out a fancy business card, sliding it across the bar to him. “There’s a designer in San Francisco I wanted to visit, look at some of his new designs. I have some very important clients in New York who will probably be interested.”

He looked at the card. “Aren’t there a lot of fashion consultants in New York?”

“Exactly,” she said, grinning widely. “That’s just it—everyone in New York sees all the same things. They count on me to bring something new to the party on a regular basis.”

He slipped the card into his pocket. “I guess it’s pretty obvious—I wouldn’t know the first thing about fashion. My wife used to have a lot of fun with it, before she settled here with me. I guess when she lived in L.A., she spent all her money on designer this, designer that.”

“Woman after my own heart.” She took a sip of her drink. “So…who’s Aiden seeing? There wasn’t much time to catch up. Like I said, the second I got there, everyone piled into cars and headed for the hospital.”

“That would be Erin,” Jack said. “Erin Foley. Nice woman. Up here for the summer.”

“In town here?” she asked, sipping slowly.

“Nah. She’s got a cabin about ten or fifteen miles out of town—out on the ridge. A view that would just knock you dead it’s so beautiful.”

“All the views around here are beautiful,” she said. “I can’t believe I’ve never seen this part of the country before. It’s awesome. Just fantastic.”

Jack lowered his chin and looked up at her from under hooded brows. “I hope you brought along some more practical clothes if you want to see more of it. I don’t think you’re going to enjoy yourself much, traipsing around the redwoods and rivers in your church clothes.”

She straightened and a delighted look crossed her face. “Church clothes? I love it! You’re absolutely right—I’m dressed for a business meeting, but I did throw some jeans in my suitcase. I just wanted, you know, to make a good impression on the family.”

“You look kinda young to be such a high muckety-muck businesswoman,” he said.

“I am, as a matter of fact. Twenty-five. But I graduated college at twenty—I was early getting out of high school. I studied and drew and designed every spare second and didn’t really take time for my family. I haven’t seen any of them since…I don’t know when.” She laughed lightly. “And as it turned out, I didn’t see much of them today, either.”

“I’m sure they’ll all be around tomorrow. Or at least the next day,” he said.

“So—tell me about this town. Tell me how you ended up being a bartender here,” she said, leaning an elbow on the bar. “Been here all your life?”

Annalee knew how to get a man talking. She had perfected the smile and exactly the right technique of asking a guy questions about himself. Jack was a former military man who came to Virgin River for all the outdoor pastimes it offered; he was a fisherman, hunter, hiker, camper. He built the bar so he’d have something to do to pass the time when he wasn’t enjoying nature. Then the midwife came to town and he married for the first time at forty, had a couple of kids.

She got a sense from him that he’d be really good in the sack and that he’d go a long way to protecting the woman of his current interest. It was somewhat tempting, now that she knew he was the owner of the bar, not some small-time barkeep. But it could screw up the rest of their plans, hers and Mujo’s, so she acted as sweet and virginal as she could.

She had a little lunch, pushed the bloody Mary away after drinking only a third and left.

She drove to Garberville where she and Mujo had rooms. He was lying back on his bed, watching the news. “Well?” he said without looking at her.

“It isn’t just Aiden visiting his brother. It’s every goddamn Riordan you ever saw.”

“Great,” he grumbled.

“No, it is great,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “He was really angry to see me, but his mother was shocked at the way he treated me. He’s going to have a time trying to keep me away from his family. And his woman.”

Mujo sat up. “Woman?”

Annalee smiled. “I get the sense my husband is going to really need a divorce. Right away. And gee, I specialize is greasing wheels like that. I know exactly how to be very cooperative.”

But clearly, Mujo wasn’t pleased. He frowned. “We don’t usually mix it up with a lot of people. Gets too complicated. It’s a lot safer when you just go one-on-one. Like we planned.”

“Trust me,” she said.

He softly touched her hand, lacing his fingers in hers. Then he bent back her pinkie until she yelped. “Do not f**k this up. We’re running low on money.”

“Stop!” she said with a cry, pulling her hand away. “Relax. Be nice.”

She used her disposable cell phone to get a number for Erin Foley and called. Her phone came across a caller ID as unknown—if they even had such a thing back here in the sticks. In a very professional, businesslike voice, she said, “This is the postal service. We have a package to deliver to Erin Foley. The address is smeared on the packing slip. Can you give me the address and some directions, please?”

And Erin said, “Sure.”

“This is every man’s nightmare,” Aiden said to his mother as they drove to the hospital. “That his most embarrassing, shameful moments will have to be described to his mother. Is this what happens when you die and go to hell?”

“You’d better help me understand, because right now I can’t help but think some darling young woman who was your wife is desperate and needs someone to lean on.”

“Mother, she’s acting exactly the way she did when I met her. Here’s the stuff I’d rather you not know, so brace yourself. After med school, after my tour aboard ship, I was pulling GMO duty at the hospital until my residency started. I met her. She was the woman you met today—sweet, very young, beautiful. A walking dream. I’m not sure I actually fell in love with her, but that was tough to call. Except what I didn’t know—she was enlisted while I was not only commissioned, I was in a position of authority. My boss found out—very interesting that he found out, since I’d been seeing her less than a week. She swore she never leaked it and I certainly didn’t. To avoid coming up against charges of fraternization and possibly losing my residency bid, he suggested I marry her and that she accept a discharge, not honorable, not dishonorable. So that’s what we did.”

“Oh, Aiden, you must have been very involved with her,” Maureen said.

He didn’t blush; he was too angry to blush. “Very,” he said. “We weren’t married a week before it got strange. She had violent mood swings, and the sweet little girl would become a lunatic who screamed and threw things.” He gave a hollow laugh. “I tried to get her help. I wanted her evaluated, but she wouldn’t go along with that. She’s not mentally ill, Mother—she knows exactly what she’s doing. I can’t prove it, but I’m convinced she saw me coming—young doctor, just off a boat and without female companionship for a long, long time…”

“But there are lots of women in the navy,” Maureen naively pointed out.

“Mom, I couldn’t date women who served on the ship—we were working together.”

“Of course,” she said quietly.

“Annalee, she told the most outrageous stories—she was everything from a spy for the resistance in Bosnia to a homeless teenager in L.A. She even once said she had cancer! I still don’t know the truth about her. She wouldn’t be around here unless she was after something. I need to get her out of our lives.”

“But, Aiden, how can you be so sure?”

“Ask Luke,” he said. “I called him, described how crazy my life had gotten and he came out right away. I met him at the airport and brought him back to my apartment. Annalee wasn’t home when we got there, so I shoved him in the second bedroom and told him to stay put and listen when she walked in the door. I confronted her about a huge credit-card bill and she started screaming and throwing things. He witnessed it. He understands what I’m talking about. He drove her to a hotel, gave her some money to hold her off and called Sean.” He stole a glance at Maureen as he drove. “Luke and Sean got me through the worst of it. Mom, she wouldn’t sign the divorce papers without a lot more money. I gave her ten thousand dollars to go away.”

Maureen groaned. To her, ten thousand dollars was a fortune. And to Maureen, who couldn’t lie if her life depended on it, this story must seem bit otherworldly.

“Now she tells me we’re not divorced. Well, if that’s true I’ll get it taken care of right away. But here’s the thing—don’t listen to her, don’t get sucked into her stories, her manipulation. I don’t know what she’s after, but five gets you ten it’s got commas and decimal points. Money, Mother. Really, I don’t know how far she’ll go. She’s a user and a liar.”

Maureen was quiet for a moment. “I never knew all this. And you boys—you used to joke about your crazy wife. You laughed about it.”

“After it seemed pretty apparent she was long gone, we laughed. What are you gonna do? I was an idiot—I fell right into it. But damn, I thought I was done paying for that lapse in judgment…”

“Aiden…” she said. “If you’re really not divorced, what can you do?”

“Get a really good lawyer,” he said.

When Aiden and Maureen got to the hospital, Mel was already there. Shelby was doing great but was only at four centimeters. It would likely be at least a few hours before it got interesting. Aiden visited her briefly, then begged off to run a couple of errands.

He returned the tux, then he called Erin. “Well, our evening is probably off. I got back to Luke’s to find Shelby in labor. I just returned the tux and am on my way back to Valley Hospital to wait with my mother. I’m sorry.”

“Good for her, too bad for us,” she said.

“Yeah…”

“Are you all right?”

“Fine. I just hate missing the night with you. But Luke wants me to be at the hospital. He’s been nervous about this.”

“But everything is all right?”

“It’s all good. She’s going to have a nice delivery…”

“Aiden? What do I hear in your voice?”

He was going to tell her, but not now, not like this. “Disappointment, probably.”

“Well, be tough. And no matter what time it is, please call me and tell me when the baby arrives. All right?”

“I will,” he promised. “Erin…?”

“Hmm?”

“Erin, I—Listen, thank you for last night. It was really…special…”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. “It was. It’s always special with you. But something’s—”

“I should probably get back, see how the mom and dad are doing. I’ll give you a call when something happens. How’s that?”

“Please,” she said. “And whatever’s bothering you? Try to let it go, will you? You’re the one who takes everything in stride. I’m the one who stews.”

He laughed slightly. “Let’s not stew. I probably won’t talk to you till morning. First babies tend to take their time.”

“I just hope she goes real easy. Give her my best.”

Twelve

Brett Lucas was born at three in the morning, seven pounds even. When he was placed on Shelby’s chest, her arms went instantly around him, though he was covered with muck and blood, and she kissed his head over and over. Luke kissed them both while the pediatric nurse tried to dry the baby.

Luke was vaguely aware of his mother nearby, the clicking of pictures Aiden took, of Mel talking about the cord, the placenta, the need for a couple of stitches, but it all seemed to be happening far outside this little sphere he shared with his wife and son. He slipped a big arm under her shoulders to hold her closer and whispered, “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known and I don’t know why you love me this much.”

“I remember when I didn’t think you’d ever come around,” she said tiredly. “I knew you were perfect for me,” she whispered back. “From the first day I saw you I knew…”