“Sit down, sit down,” her father-in-law murmured, guiding Summer inside and into a chair. She felt she was about to collapse and must have looked it, too.
“Now what the hell is this all about?” James said roughly.
“You can’t talk to her like that,” Walter chastised. “Can’t you see the poor girl’s had the worst day of her life?” He turned to Summer, smiling gently. “Now what the hell is this all about?”
Summer looked from one man to the other. “Would it be all right if I spoke to James alone?” she asked her father-in-law. She couldn’t deal with both of them at the same time.
It looked for a moment as if Walter wasn’t going to leave. “I suppose,” he agreed with reluctance. “I’ll be in the other room.”
“Walter,” Summer said, stopping him on his way out the door. “I take it the two teddy bears are your doing.”
He nodded sheepishly. “The car’s loaded with goodies. I’m afraid I got a little carried away.”
“These babies are going to love their grandpa.”
Walter grinned, then walked out, closing the door.
James stood by the fireplace, his back to her. Summer suspected he was preparing a list of questions. She wasn’t even sure she had all the answers; she wasn’t sure she wanted him to ask them. She decided to preempt his interrogation.
“I...I went to see Ralph Southworth,” she said in a quavering voice.
James whirled around. “You did what?”
“I...I overheard you and your father talking not long ago and I learned that Southworth resigned as your campaign manager.”
“So he’s what this is all about,” James said thoughtfully. His eyes hardened. “What happened between the two of us had nothing to do with you.”
“James, please, I know otherwise. I...I knew from the start that Ralph disapproved of me. I’m not sure why, but it doesn’t matter.”
“No, it doesn’t. Because Southworth doesn’t matter.”
Summer didn’t believe that. “Afterward, it seemed like you’d given up on the election. In the last two weeks you haven’t made a single public appearance. When I ask, you don’t want to talk about it and—”
“There are things you don’t know.”
“Things you wouldn’t tell me.”
James sat across from her and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He didn’t say anything for several minutes.
“What was I supposed to think?” she cried when he didn’t explain. “Being a judge is the most important thing in the world to you. You were born for this.... I couldn’t take it away from you. Don’t you understand?”
“You’re wrong about something. Being a superior court judge means nothing if you’re not with me. I guarantee you, my career’s not worth losing my wife and family over.”
“I was going to come back,” she whispered, her eyes lowered. “After the election...”
“Do you mean to say you were going to deliver our babies on your own? Do you honestly think I wouldn’t have turned this city upside down looking for you?”
“I...didn’t know what to think. Ralph said—”
“Don’t even tell me.” A muscle leapt in his jaw. “I can well imagine what he said. The man’s a world-class idiot. He saw you as a liability when you’re my greatest asset.”
“If you truly believe that, then why did you throw in the towel?”
“I haven’t,” he told her. “I took a few days to think about it and decide who I’ll ask to manage the rest of my campaign. It seems there are several people who want the job.”
“But Southworth said he could sway the election for you.... He claims to have political clout.”
“He seems to think he does,” James said tightly.
“We made a deal,” she whispered, lowering her gaze.
“What kind of deal?”
“Southworth agreed to manage your campaign if I left Seattle until after the election.”
James snickered. “It’s unfortunate you didn’t check with me first.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want Southworth anywhere near my campaign.”
Summer bristled. “You might’ve said that earlier.”
“True,” James admitted slowly. “But I wanted everything squared away before I announced that I’d changed campaign managers.”
“So, who did you choose? Who’s your new manager?”
“Eric Manning. He’s not only an old friend, he was a successful businessman and he’s very well connected.” He shook his head. “I should’ve asked him in the first place.”
“James, that’s wonderful! I like him so much better than Ralph.”
James reached for her hands and held them in his own. “What you don’t understand is that I wouldn’t have taken Southworth back under any circumstances. First of all, I won’t allow any man to talk about my wife the way he did. It’s true I made some mistakes when we first got married. I blame myself for not publishing our wedding announcement immediately. Frankly, I didn’t think of it.”
“I didn’t, either. And remember, we were talking about an April ceremony back then.” Summer wasn’t willing to have him accept all the blame.
“You’re my wife, and I couldn’t be prouder that someone as beautiful and talented as you would choose to marry me. Ralph made it sound as if we should keep you under wraps until after the election, which is utterly ridiculous. I’m angry with myself for not taking a stand sooner.”
“What about the election?” She didn’t care to hear any more about Southworth.
“I’ll get to that in a minute. When Southworth said he questioned my judgment, I realized what a fool I’d been to listen to the man for even a minute.”
“But—”
“Let me finish, sweetheart. The best thing I ever did in my life was marry you.”
“It was impulsive and—”
“Smart,” he said, cutting her off. “I don’t need Southworth to win this campaign for me. He had me convinced I did, but I know otherwise now.”
“What about his political friends?”
“That’s a laugh. A man as narrow-minded and self-righteous as Ralph Southworth can’t afford the luxury of friends. He has none, but he doesn’t seem to know it. If he hadn’t decided to leave my campaign, I would’ve asked him to resign.”