Hearts On Fire by Penny Childs Page A

all the time.”
         Arlene scowled,
remembering a daughter who wanted nothing to do with being a lady. She’d wanted
to be one of the boys. It had taken an iron will to break her of that. But
break her she had. “Be that as it may, I don’t want what has happened splashed
all over the morning news. A scandal is the last thing this family needs.” She
looked pointedly to JD.
         A scandal is what
you’re going to get before this is over, JD thought. “I think you’re
getting ahead of yourself, mother. Julie’s health and welfare come first. We’ll
worry about publicity later.”
         Her scowl deepened as she
turned on her oldest son. “I suppose you blame this on me.”
         Her accusation was out of
the blue but it didn’t surprise him. Of course she would try to make this about
herself. “I don’t blame anyone. My only concern is Julie.”
         “I agree,” Matt told
them. “Something must have happened to drive her to try and kill herself.”
         JD’s jaw tightened.
         “We thank you for your
concern, Matthew, but we’d like to handle this ourselves for the time being.”
         Arlene was dismissing
him. Matt was used to it. He’d grown up as JD’s best friend but Arlene had
always treated him as an outsider. With a tip of his hat he gave her a smile
before turning his attention to JD. “You call me if you think of anything. Or
if you need anything.”
         Watching Matt walk away,
JD took in a long, deep breath, trying to calm his frayed nerves. “He’s only
trying to help, mother. Along with doing the job he was elected to do.”
         “He’s trying to pry into
our business,” she countered firmly. “Which you must agree with to some level,
since you didn’t tell him the entire truth. You didn’t tell him about your
sister’s reaction to the news story.”
         He needed to come clean
with her on that score. “We need to talk about that.” He looked up and down the
hall. They were alone.
         An elegant, plucked brow
rose.
         “Julie confided something
to me this morning. You’re not going to like it.”
         “I didn’t think I would.
Go on. Out with it. What has she done? Please just don’t tell me she was
involved in some sort of scheme with that Waring woman. I don’t think my heart
could take it.”
         “In a manner of speaking
you could say she was. Katy was blackmailing her.”
         “Blackmailing her?”
Arlene’s eyes narrowed. “How on earth could that woman be blackmailing Julie?”
         Again he looked around
before saying, “Julie was having an affair, mother.”
         “An affair,” she
whispered tapping a manicured fingernail to her upper lip.
         “You don’t look too
surprised by the news.”
         “I’m not. I’m just
surprised she wasn’t more discrete. With whom was she having this affair?”
         “That much I don’t know.
She wouldn’t tell me. She wants to protect him.”
         “ Protect him ,”
Arlene spat.
         “She claims to love him.”
         “I’m sure she does. Her
marriage to Kenneth was what she had to do, not what she wanted to do. The girl
has always let her heart have its way.” Reaching out, she touched his cheek.
“JD, please, tell me you’ll look into this mess before confiding in Matthew. If,
and only if, it looks like you need to tell him, then do so.”
         “Mother, we should
probably tell him now. I just didn’t want to drop that bomb on you until we were
in private.”
         “JD. Jameson .
Please, hold onto this information just a little bit longer. Just until your
sister is stronger. Until we can prepare her for what will come.”
         He didn’t like it. But he
understood it just the same.
         “We must protect Julie. We
must think of her first. Everyone will know. They will judge her. Shame her. It
might break her the rest of the way, son.”
         She was