Black Rose

paced away, stood with her back to him. He knew her well enough to be sure she was battling back a spew of temper. They both had a dangerous one, and were both very careful with it. “When’s the last time I quizzed you about who you see socially, or who you’re intimate with?”
    “When’s the last time I married a fortune hunter?”
    She whirled back, and the temper was so close to the surface now, he saw it burning out of her eyes. “Don’t you throw that in my face. I don’t like it.”
    “I don’t like doing it. I don’t care how mad you get, nobody’s going to hurt you like that again while I’m around. Just how much do we know about him? From where I’m standing he’s already crossing a line hitting on someone he’s working for.”
    “You’re so damn proper about the oddest things. How did I ever manage that?” She let out a long breath. “Let me ask you this. Have you ever known me to make the same mistake twice?”
    “Not so far.”
    “Your confidence in me is overwhelming.” She took off one of the gloves she wore, slapped it against her thigh. “I’ll tell you this. He’s an interesting and attractive man who I’ve enjoyed seeing a couple of times on a social level. He has a strong and loving relationship with his son, and since I pride myself on the same, that goes a long way with me. He’s divorced, and maintains a cordial relationship with the mother of his son and her second husband. This is not always an easy feat. He’s done nothing improper, even by your lofty standards.”
    “They’re lofty when it comes to you.”
    “Oh, Harper. I’m not a paragon.”
    “Who wants you to be? What I want you to be is safe and happy.”
    “Honey.” She stepped to him then, laid her hands on his cheeks, shook his head gently from side-to-side. “That’s supposed to be my line to you. If I promise you, take a solemn oath, that I learned my lesson with Bryce, will you relax?”
    “Only if you promise to tell me if he pushes where you don’t want to be pushed.”
    “Listen to you. All right, then, I’ll promise. Come on, let’s take a look at the rest of this before we go in.”
    IT CERTAINLY GAVE Roz a lot to think about. How could she know her firstborn so well, yet have been completely surprised by the altercation that afternoon?
    Then again, did any mother ever consider her children would worry about her? There just wasn’t enough room in the brain or heart for that possibility, when they were both so full of worry and concern for the child.
    Added to that, it had come home fully, for the first time, just how much she’d let him down with Bryce. She’d hurt Harper as much, and maybe more, than she herself had been hurt.
    Was that something you could make up to those you loved, or was it something that just had to heal over, like a wound?
    Because she wanted quiet, she went into her room from the outside entrance, peeled off her outer gear.
    She wandered into her sitting room, intending to put on music and spend some time sketching just to wind down from the day. But she saw the neat piles of mail on her desk. David, as was his habit, had separated the personal correspondence—not much these days as she and most everyone she knew had slid into e-mail posts—business, and bills.
    Because she believed in handling the bad news first, she sat and began to open the bills. The utilities on the house made her wince a bit, but that was the price to be paid for having so much space, and so many people using it.
    She got out her checkbook, promising herself that soon—before next month—she would master the bill-paying business on-line. Of course, she promised the same every month. But this time she meant it. She’d have Stella show her the ropes, first chance.
    She paid the electric, the gas, the phone, a credit card bill. Then frowned at another envelope from another credit card company. She nearly tossed it, assuming it was a solicitation, then opened it, just to check.
    Her eyes widened as she looked at the charges, the total. Over eight thousand dollars. Eight thousand ? It was ridiculous, absurd.
    She didn’t have a card with this company, and certainly hadn’t charged eight thousand dollars. Restaurants, electronics, the men’s department at Dillard’s.
    Baffled, she picked up the phone to report the mistake, then spent the next half hour winding her way through tangled and sticky red tape.
    The next call she made was to her lawyer.
    Once the wheels were set in