Danielle Steel - Rogue

“He's a busy guy,” Charles said, sounding disapproving. He was always uncomfortable when she mentioned Blake.

“The kids will adjust. They always do.”

“I'm not so sure Daphne is going to adjust to me.” He was still worried about that, and he wasn't used to the hellish fury of teenage girls. Maxine was much less impressed.

“She'll be fine. She just needs some time.”

They sat and talked by the fire for a long time, and the scene outside was one of sheer beauty. They stood on the porch, looking out at the fresh snow spread out all around them. It was magical, as Charles put his arms around her and kissed her. And just as he did, her cell phone went off. It was Sam, calling to kiss her goodnight. She gave him a kiss, said goodbye, and then turned to Charles again, and she could see he was unnerved.

“They seem to find you, even here,” he commented drily. “Don't you ever get time off?”

“I don't want to,” she said softly. “They're my kids. They're all I've got. They're my life.” It was precisely what he was afraid of, and why they frightened him so much. He couldn't imagine detaching them from her.

“You need more in your life than just them,” he said softly. He sounded like he was volunteering for the job, and she was touched. He kissed her again, and this time no one called, no one disturbed them. She followed him back inside, and they took turns in the bathroom getting ready for bed. It was faintly embarrassing and kind of funny, and Maxine giggled as she got into bed. She was wearing a long cashmere nightgown with a matching robe over it, and socks. It was hardly romantic, but she couldn't imagine wearing anything else. He was wearing clean striped pajamas, and she felt like her parents as they lay in his double bed side by side.

“This feels a little weird,” she admitted in a whisper, and then he kissed her, and it didn't feel strange anymore. His hands slipped under her nightgown, and little by little they took their clothes off under the covers and tossed them to the floor.

It had been so long since she had slept with anyone that she had been afraid it would be scary and awkward, and instead he was a gentle, considerate lover, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. They held each other tight afterward, and he told her how beautiful she was and said that he loved her, and she was shocked to hear the words. She wondered if he felt obliged to say them to her because they had made love. He said he had been falling in love with her since they met. And she told him as gently as she could that she needed more time before knowing that. There was so much she liked about him, and so much that she hoped to feel as she grew to know him better. She felt safe with him, which was important to her. She trusted him, and as they whispered in the dark, he made love to her again. And afterward, happy, comfortable, sated, and totally at peace, she fell asleep in his arms.

The next morning Maxine and Charles bundled up and went for a long walk in the snow. He made breakfast for her, pancakes and Vermont maple syrup, with crisp strips of bacon. She looked at him tenderly, and he kissed her across the table. This was what he had been dreaming of since they met. Time like this was hard to come by in her life. Her children had already called her twice before breakfast. Daphne had declared full-scale war on her father's new love. And as he listened to Maxine's side of the conversation, Charles frowned. And she was shocked by what he said when she hung up.

“I know this may sound crazy to you, Maxine, but don't you think they're too old to be at home?”

“You were thinking maybe they should join the marines, or apply early to college?” After all, Jack and Daphne were only twelve and thirteen.

“I was in boarding school when I was their age. It was the best experience I ever had. I loved it, and it prepared me for life.” Just hearing him say it, Maxine was horrified.

“Never,” she said firmly. “I would never do that to my kids. They've already lost Blake, more or less. I'm not going to abandon them too. And why? So I can have a better social life? Who cares about that? These are the years when kids need their parents, need to learn their values, bounce problems off them, and learn how to deal with issues like sex and drugs. I don't want some boarding-school teacher teaching my kids about those things. I want them to learn that from me.” She was shocked.

“But what about you? Are you willing to defer having a life until they leave for college? That's what it means if you have them around all the time.”

“This is what I signed on for when I had them,” she said gently. “That's what parents are for. I see the results in my office every day when parents aren't there for their kids. Even if they are, things can go wrong. If you check out, and dump them in boarding school at these ages, I think you're asking for trouble.”

“I turned out okay,” he said defensively.

“Yes, but you opted not to have kids,” she said bluntly. “That says something too. Maybe you missed something in your childhood after all. Look at the British, they send their children away at six or eight, and some of them are screwed up because of it and talk about it later as adults. You can't send a child away at that age, and not have it take a toll. People have trouble attaching after that. And I wouldn't trust teenage kids away at school. I want to be around to see what they're up to, and to share my values with them.”

“It sounds like a huge sacrifice to me,” he said sternly.

“Not at all,” she said, wondering if she really knew him. There was definitely a piece missing in Charles, when it came to kids, and she thought it was too bad. Maybe it was the piece that made her hesitate about him even now. She wanted to love him, but she needed to know that he could love her kids too, and surely not by lobbying to send them away to boarding school. The very thought of it made her shudder. He could see that, and immediately backed off. He didn't want to upset her, although he thought it would have been a great idea, if she were willing. She wasn't. That was clear.

They went skiing that afternoon in Sugarbush, and it was easy and fun skiing with him. She had never been as proficient as Blake, but she was a good skier, and she and Charles were at the same level and enjoyed the same runs. They were both relaxed and happy afterward, and she had put aside their little disagreement that morning about boarding school. He was entitled to his own point of view, as long as he didn't force the issue with her. She didn't hear from her children that night, and Charles was relieved. It was nice spending uninterrupted time with her. He took her out to dinner, and when they got back, he made love to her in front of the fire. She was amazed at how comfortable and at ease she was with him. It was as though they had been sleeping together forever, and that night they curled up in his bed. It was snowing outside, and Maxine felt as though time had stopped, and they were alone together in a magical world.

In Blake's house in Aspen, things were less peaceful than they were in Vermont. The stereo was blasting, Jack and Sam were playing Nintendo games, friends dropped by, and Daphne was determined to make Arabella's life as miserable as she could. She made rude, cutting comments, and snide remarks about the outfits Arabella wore. And whenever Arabella cooked, Daphne refused to eat. She asked her if she'd been checked for AIDS since she got her tattoos. Arabella had no idea how to deal with her, but she told Blake she was determined to hang in. He insisted they were good kids.

He wanted it to work with his kids. Daphne was doing everything possible to see that it wouldn't. And she was trying to rile the boys up against Arabella, but so far it hadn't worked. They thought she was okay, although her tattoos and her hair were a little weird.

Jack paid virtually no attention to Arabella, and Sam was polite. Sam had inquired about the bindi, and his father had told him that Arabella had worn them since she lived in India, and he thought it looked really pretty. Sam conceded that he did too. Daphne shrugged and told Arabella that they had seen so many women come and go in their father's life that they just couldn't be bothered anymore to get to know them. She assured Arabella he'd get rid of her within the next few weeks. It was the only comment she made that actually got under Arabella's skin, and Blake found her in their bathroom in tears.

“Sweetheart… baby… Bella darling… what's the matter?” She was crying as though her heart would break, and the one thing he couldn't stand was crying women, particularly those that he loved. “What happened?” Arabella wanted to tell him that his bitch of a daughter had happened, but she restrained herself, out of love for him. She was genuinely in love with him, and he was crazy about her too.

Arabella finally repeated the comment Daphne had made that had reduced her to tears. “It just scared me, and all of a sudden I was wondering if you really were going to dump me when we get back to

London.” She looked at Blake with huge eyes and started crying again, as he put his arms around her.

“No one is dumping anyone here,” Blake reassured her. “I'm nuts about you. I'm not going anywhere, and if I have anything to say about it, neither are you. For a long, long time. I hate to say it, but my daughter is jealous of you.” He talked to Daphne about it later that afternoon, and asked why she was being so mean to Arabella. It really wasn't fair, and she had never done that to any of his girlfriends before.

“What's it about, Daff? I've had lots of women around, and let's be honest, some of them were just plain stupid.” Daphne laughed at his honesty. There had been some really dim-witted ones, beautiful but dumb, and Daphne had never gone after them, or even made fun of them.