Marriage by Mistake

hell getting back to the physical demands of her profession. At least the thermometer hadn't hit one hundred today. Amazing for July. Kelly went straight from her front door to the bathroom and turned on the water full hot. The apartment's air-conditioning was actually working today and she needed a good soak.
    She'd stripped and was just stepping into the tub when the doorbell rang.
    Kelly closed her eyes. She'd ignore it. Probably just a salesman. But when the doorbell rang again, Kelly sighed, took her toe out of the deliciously hot water, and reached for her robe. If she wanted to be able to relax in the tub, she was going to have to answer the door to get rid of the guy.
    Opening the front door with a pleasant rejection on her lips, Kelly stopped dead. On her doorstep stood Kirk, with a sulky-looking Robby lounging beside him.
    Kirk was smiling double-time. "Kelly, my dear, you are indeed a sight for sore eyes."
    Kelly shut her eyes. But when she opened them again the pair was still there. Kirk still wore his wide smile but Kelly thought the charm was getting a little ragged around the edges. Robby regarded her suspiciously. Kelly could only stand there, her heart beating way too fast, and wonder what was going on.
    "May we come in?" Kirk asked.
    Kelly's heart was still racing madly but her brain did kick in. This had nothing to do with Dean. He would never have asked his father to do anything, much less to come to see Kelly, his not-yet-ex-wife. Whatever this was, it was unrelated to her marriage.
    She took in a breath and stepped back from the door. "Come on in."
    Kirk exhibited a moment of bald relief and waltzed through. Robby gave Kelly a narrow-eyed look and followed after.
    "So." Kelly closed the door and turned. "To what do I owe the honor?"
    Kirk lost no time in making himself comfortable on Kelly's floral sofa. Her question, however, seemed to leave him nonplussed. "Mmm. Robby?" he offered.
    But Robby only hunched his shoulders and stalked to the corner, where he began to stare at a print of some wild ponies.
    Kirk turned back to Kelly. He appeared to consider his answer. "Well," he finally said, "we called the estate, quite discreetly you understand, looking for you. We heard you were here, having left Dean—don't blame you a bit, my dear—and, hmm... Well we thought you wouldn't mind taking care of Robby for a while." Kirk held up a hand and spoke quickly. "I'm not dumping him, all right? He wanted to come here."
    In his corner, Robby snorted.
    Kelly crossed her arms over her chest. She was beginning to get the picture. Kirk was here to get rid of Robby, and he thought she was a soft touch. One side of her mouth lifted. "Bit off more than you could chew, eh?"
    Kirk's gaze averted. "He drove off Marisa and even the boat captain. What was I supposed to do?"
    Kelly bit the inside of her cheek. She could easily see Robby doing that, especially if Kirk had been neglecting him. Oh, she was going to get mad if Kirk had been too awful.
    Stop , sang a voice in her head. This isn't your problem ! But Kelly was excruciatingly aware of Robby tensed in the corner. She was his friend, if nothing more. She had promised him that much. "I would love for Robby to stay here," she said, perfectly sincere. "I've been missing him, but why don't you take him home to Dean?"
    Kirk looked amazed. "And admit I couldn't handle it?"
    Kelly raised her brows.
    "All right." Kirk winced. "I'm a coward but you said you'd take him, so I'll just—" He stood up.
    "Oh, no you don't." Kelly stopped Kirk with an upraised hand. "You aren't going anywhere without checking if this is all right with Dean."
    Kirk blinked in alarm. "Dean? What does he have to do with it?"
    "You know darn well what he has to do with it. And I'm not taking Robby unless Dean knows about it, and approves."
    "Oh, all right." Kirk sighed, disgruntled. "You can call him."
    "Me?" Kelly's eyes widened. "Oh, no."
    Kirk went puppyish. "But you could—"
    "No."
    In his corner, Robby snorted again.
    Kelly turned to look at him. "What?"
    Robby hunched his shoulders higher and stared with more intensity at the wild ponies. "You can't even talk to him."
    Kelly's nostrils flared. "And why should I talk to him? You were the one who kept bugging me, kept telling me he ought to say he loved me. Well, he didn't. He didn't!"
    Robby turned to point at her. " You didn't wait the whole two months!"
    "One week more? It wouldn't have made any difference—"
    "Oh, yeah? Well—"
    The