Bernie threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and jumped into her car, and by the time she reached her mother’s house, the firefighters had extinguished the blaze, but smoke was still pouring out through the open front door and a few broken windows. A fire truck, an ambulance, and several police cars were parked in front of the house, along with a couple of vans from local news stations, and Bernie had to leave her car down the street and walk the rest of the way. As she made her way along the sidewalk toward her mother’s house, the acrid smell of smoke filled her lungs.
She worried when she didn’t see her mother right away. Then she spotted her in the next yard over, huddled with three of her neighbors. Her mother saw her coming and walked over to meet her, tears streaming down her face.
Bernie hugged her. “Mom! Are you okay?”
“Oh, Bernadette. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!”
Bernie held her by the shoulders. “Sorry? Why are you sorry?”
“It was my fault,” she said. “The fire was my fault!”
“What do you mean?”
“I put something on the stove, but then I guess I forgot about it,” she said, her words tumbling over each other. “Then I smelled smoke. I came back into the kitchen and it was on fire. I didn’t know how to put it out, so I just grabbed my purse and ran outside.”
“You did the right thing. The most important thing is that you got out without getting hurt.”
“But what am I going to do now? My house! What am I going to do?”
“Calm down, Mom. That’s what insurance is for. Everything can be repaired.”
“Our family photo albums were on the bookshelf in the living room. What if they burned up in the fire?”
“We won’t know what was damaged for a day or two. Then we’ll deal with it, okay?”
“I have no place to live,” Eleanor said.
“You’ll stay with me. Just until we can get the damage repaired.”
But even as she was reassuring her mother, Bernie felt the most horrible sense of foreboding. She’d thought her mother would surely be safe in her own home for a while longer, but if she couldn’t even turn on the stove without causing a fire, how could she ever live alone again? And if she couldn’t live alone, what the hell was Bernie supposed to do?
Damn it! It wasn’t supposed to happen this soon!
The crushing responsibility she felt overwhelmed her. If she had to work, she was going to have to find somebody to care for her mother during the day. How was she ever going to pay for that?
Okay. The insurance money would fix the house. And if she sold it, she’d have that equity. But with the cost of a marginally decent facility or even home health care, that money would be gone in no time.
One of the firefighters approached them, sweat pouring down his temples. Bernie asked him about the damage.
“It really isn’t that bad,” the firefighter said. “We got here quickly, and it was pretty much contained to the front of the house. Most of the damage is from smoke and water.” He turned to Eleanor. “You’re sure not going to want to stay there, though. Do you have a place you can go tonight?”
“Yes. This is my daughter. I can stay with her.”
“There’s nothing you can do here tonight,” he told her. “Feel free to go to your daughter’s house and get some sleep.”
As the firefighter walked away, Eleanor turned to Bernie. “Bernadette? Where is Jeremy?”
Just hearing his name made Bernie feel sick inside. She’d had a terrible feeling her mother was going to ask that question, and she didn’t have a good answer. But just as she started to make something up, her mother glanced off into the distance, a look of relief passing over her face.
“Oh, thank God,” Eleanor said. “There he is!”
Bernie whipped around, shocked to see Jeremy striding across the lawn toward them. He still wore his tuxedo pants and shirt, and even at this distance, he looked so handsome her breath caught in her throat. She put her hand against her chest to try to calm her heart, which was suddenly beating like mad.
“I need to talk to him,” Bernie said to her mother. “Can you stay here with your neighbors for just a moment?”
Eleanor nodded, and Bernie turned toward Jeremy. She didn’t know why he was here. How he knew to come. What he would say when she talked to him. She walked hesitantly toward him at first, in contrast to his strong, purposeful strides, and the closer she came to him, the more her chest tightened. His face was in shadow, and it wasn’t until she drew closer still that she saw it clearly. Gone was the cynical expression that had been on his face when she’d walked out his door, and in its place was a look of overwhelming concern that went straight to her heart.
The swirling soot and ash seemed to drive away the memory of the hurtful words they’d spoken to each other, and when they were still several strides away from each other, he held out his arms. She didn’t walk the rest of the way.
She ran.
When she finally fell against him, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, and all she could think was, He’s here. He’s here. Thank God.
“I saw it on the news,” Jeremy said. “I came as soon as I could. Is your mother all right?”
“She’s a little shaken up, but she’s fine.”
“What happened?”
“God, Jeremy… it’s awful…”
He eased her away and held her by the shoulders. “Tell me.”
Bernie felt as if she were sinking in quicksand, and every word she spoke about it only weighed her down more. “She was the one who started the fire.”
“What?”
“She left something on the stove and forgot about it. When she came back into the kitchen, it was on fire. She forgot. She forgot about what was on the stove. She could have been killed. If she’d gone to sleep before she saw it, then—”
Bernie’s voice suddenly choked up, and she put her hand against her mouth, squeezing her eyes closed and gritting her teeth against the tears she felt building behind her eyes.
“Take it easy, sweetheart. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not! It’s my fault! I should have known she was getting too forgetful. But with everything going on, I just wasn’t paying close enough attention. I can’t stay with her because I have to work, but I can’t afford to pay somebody else to stay with her. At least, not for long. And then the babies are coming, and—”
“Bernie. Listen to me. I’m going to take care of everything, okay? Everything. I’m going to make sure you never have to worry about anything again as long as you live. Do you understand?”
“You’re all I need right now,” she said. “Just you.”
He pulled her into his arms again, surrounding her with the kind of warmth and security she needed above all else. “I’m here for you, sweetheart,” he whispered against her cheek. “I’ll always be here for you.”
Jeremy insisted on taking Bernie and her mother back to his house for the night, which he said would be more comfortable for both of them. Bernie didn’t argue. His house had come to mean comfort and relaxation and contentment to her, and that was exactly what she needed tonight. Mrs. Spencer met them at the door and told them she had the guest suite ready with fresh linens, cups of tea, and nightclothes for Bernie and Eleanor. Bernie sent her mother upstairs with Mrs. Spencer and told her she’d follow in a moment.
As the ladies disappeared up the stairs, Jeremy took Bernie by the hand and led her into the den, where he sat down on the sofa and pulled her into his arms. She lay her head against his chest, soothed by the rhythmic beating of his heart.
“How are the kids?” he asked, putting his hand against her belly. “As tired as you are?”
“They’re pretty quiet. I think they’re sleeping.”
A long silence stretched between them.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “So sorry.”
“I know.”
“No. I need to say it. You were right about everything. I’ve been chasing things that were never going to make me happy. But not anymore. I’ve found out what really makes me happy, and it’s not making the next buck.” He paused, his voice rough with emotion. “It’s you, Bernie.”
Bernie felt a shiver of awareness when he said those words, astonished that after everything that had happened, she was with him now and he was telling her that. She turned slowly and sat up, wanting to see his eyes, needing to see if they echoed the sincerity of his words.
They were glistening with tears.
“I’m so sorry about tonight,” he went on. “The things I said to you. You have so much going for you. You don’t know it, but you do. I was just so afraid of losing you that I did something stupid and drove you away. That’s never going to happen again. Do you believe me?”
The earnest tone of his voice sent shivers between her shoulder. “Yes.”
“You told me you were looking for a man who was good and kind and dependable who would love you forever. I want to be that man.” He took her face in his hands, strumming his thumbs along her cheeks, looking at her as if she were the most precious thing on earth. “I love you, Bernie. Do you love me?”
The answer seemed so clear that she was surprised he even had to ask. Yes, she loved him. Not because of his looks, even though she practically fainted every time she set eyes on him. Not because of his intelligence. The world was full of intelligent men who didn’t make her heart go crazy every time she heard their voices. And certainly not because of his money, because he could be dead, flat broke, and she would still love him.
It was so much more than those things.
It was his rescuing her mother that night at the grocery store. Straightening out her cousin Billy for the first time in his adult life so she could quit worrying about him. Researching sex positions on the Internet so he could please her when he made love to her.
It was his showing up tonight and telling her he’d be there forever.
“Yes,” she said. “God, yes, I love you.”
“I want you to marry me.”
She sat up straight with surprise. He wanted to marry her?
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s nothing like earlier. I’m talking about the real thing.”
She was so stunned she couldn’t speak.
“Love, honor, cherish, till death do us part. All of it.”
And still she stared at him.
“And no prenup. Prenups are for people who plan on getting a divorce. I have so much, Bernie. But I’ve never had anyone to share it with. From now on, what’s mine is yours.”
Bernie swallowed hard, trying to say something, but her voice had deserted her completely.
“Miss Hogan?”
Bernie looked over to see Mrs. Spencer at the doorway.
“Your mother is asking for you,” she said.
“I’ll be there in a moment.”
“I know it’s a lot to think about, so don’t say a word now,” Jeremy said. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Come on. I’ll walk you upstairs.”
He helped her off the sofa and guided her up the stairs. When they reached the door of the guest suite, he slid his hand beneath her hair at the back of her neck, leaned in, and kissed her softly on the forehead. She closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of his lips and the gentle strength of his hand against her neck.
“Good night,” he whispered.
As Jeremy disappeared down the hall, Bernie closed her eyes and put her fingertips to her forehead where he’d kissed her, so in love with him she thought she’d faint with the feeling. Then she lowered her fingertips and touched them to her own lips.
He’s even more than what you thought he was. So much more.
When her heart rate finally returned to normal, she opened the door and went into the living room of the guest suite, then into the bedroom, where she found her mother lying in bed in her pajamas, sipping tea.
“Mrs. Spencer is a lovely woman, isn’t she?” Eleanor said.
Bernie smiled. “Yes, she is.”
“She has four grandchildren, you know.”
“Yes. I know.”
“She’s very excited about the twins. She says Jeremy is, too.”
“Yeah. He is.”
“You look so tired, dear. You need some sleep.”
“I know. I’m going to change clothes.”
Bernie went into the closet and grabbed one of the emerald-green gowns. She went into the bathroom, got undressed, and put it on. When she came back to the bedroom, her mother placed her palm against her chest and sighed with delight.
“Oh, Bernadette! That gown is just beautiful on you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed wearing them. That you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t be pretty, now does it?”
Bernie couldn’t help smiling at that. She walked over and sat down on the bed beside her mother. “It’s been kind of a rough night, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. But Jeremy has been just wonderful. He loves you very much, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, Mom. He does.” She paused. “He even wants to marry me.”
Eleanor’s mouth dropped open. “Marry you?”
“Yeah. He asked me tonight. What do you think? Should I say yes?”
Bernie could almost see her mother quivering with restraint. “Well, I don’t know. You’ve always had your own mind, Bernadette. I wouldn’t presume to get in the middle of such a big decision.”
“Okay.”
“But maybe you should ask yourself a few questions,” she added quickly.
“Like what?”
“Well, do you love him, too?”
Bernie smiled softly. “Yes. I do.”
“Do you believe he’ll make a good husband?”
“The best.”
“A good father?”
“Absolutely.”
“Well. Those are all very good things, aren’t they? Things I’m sure you’ll want to take into account when you—”
“I’m going to marry him, Mom.”
In that moment, Eleanor’s restraint went right out the window. She threw her arms around Bernie and hugged her, rocking back and forth, joy and excitement pouring out of her like sunshine.
“I knew it would happen,” Eleanor said. “I knew it! I knew eventually you’d all become a family.”
Bernie couldn’t say she’d been equally sure about that, but she was thrilled it was happening just the same.
“Will you live here?” Eleanor asked.
“Yeah. Probably.”
“Oh, my,” Eleanor said on a breath of delight. “It’s like a fairy tale, isn’t it?”
It was. Bernie would have sworn she didn’t believe in those, but she’d had to change more than a few of her paradigms in the past couple of months. And every change had been for the better.
Her mother chattered for the next few minutes about dresses and flowers and music and all those other things that made a wedding a wedding. Bernie listened dutifully, only to let a yawn slip past her lips.
“Oh, my,” Eleanor said. “Here I am talking when you should be sleeping. You look so tired. Come to bed.” She smoothed her hand over the soft linens. “Heaven knows this one is big enough for a family of four.”
“I’m going to stay with Jeremy tonight.”
Her mother froze for a moment, the slightest bit of concern crossing her face. Then she lifted her shoulder in a tiny shrug. “Well, considering the circumstances, I suppose it would be silly to wait to share a bed until after the wedding, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it would.”
“And don’t worry about me, Bernadette. I have no intention of going downstairs to do any cooking anytime soon.”
“I don’t want you to worry about what happened tonight, Mom. Jeremy’s going to take care of everything.”
Her mother nodded. “I know.”
Bernie couldn’t have imagined how wonderful it would feel to say those words, and to know that the man behind them would do anything to love and protect them.
“You go on now,” Eleanor said, with a flick of her fingers. “I need to have a word with God.” She paused. “Actually, two words.”
“And what might those be?”
Eleanor’s eyes shone with tears. “Thank you.”
Bernie smiled. “Good night, Mom.”
“Good night, Bernadette.”
Bernie left the guest suite and made the long walk to Jeremy’s room. When she reached the door, she took a deep breath and knocked.
After a moment, Jeremy opened it. He still had his tux pants on, but he’d taken off his shirt. He looked so sexy it was all she could do not to leap right into the room and rip the rest of his clothes off. He looked her up and down, a sly smile playing across his lips.
“I was right,” he said. “That gown is just your color.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“My proposal,” he said. “Can I take this as a yes?”
“Yes,” she said. “You can take this as a yes.”
He took her by the wrist, pulled her into his room, and shut the door behind them. Before the night was over, with his whispered words, his gentle hands, and his adoring eyes, he told her he loved her a hundred times more. And when she woke the next morning, cradled in his arms, she knew she was home to stay.