Eternity (Montgomery/Taggert 17)

Josh tightened his grip on her arm. “I do wish you would give me a little more credit and your brother less. I can handle this.”

“By fishing for the papers down Nora’s pond?” Carrie said nastily.

“One does what one must,” Josh said, then had to hold Carrie to him. “Good morning, brother,” Josh called to ’Ring, who was kneeling to speak to the children.

“I have three little boys of my own,” ’Ring was saying to Tem as he rubbed Choo-choo’s ears. “You’ll have to come and visit them and sail on a boat.”

“And I’ll teach them to ride a horse,” Tem said, but since all three of his new cousins by marriage were younger than he was, he didn’t think much of them.

Standing, ’Ring handed Carrie a large box that she knew contained her mother’s wedding dress.

In the next moment, Nora came out of the house, her big blond Eric following behind her like Choo-choo followed Carrie.

“Oh, no,” Josh said, hurrying forward, but Carrie pulled him back.

“If you think that my brother is stupid enough to fall for something like that painted, fat, overblown—” She broke off because ’Ring was kissing Nora’s bejeweled hand and looking at her as though she were the most delicious thing he’d ever seen.

“You were saying…” Josh said.

Her nose in the air, Carrie swept past him, and when she reached her brother, she put herself between him and Nora. “How kind of you to stop by, Mrs.—” She broke off, not knowing what to call the hideous woman.

“West,” Nora said, looking over Carrie’s head to ’Ring. “Nora West is my professional name.”

“I saw you as Juliet,” ’Ring said. “You were divine.”

“Must have had a mule skinner to play Romeo,” Carrie muttered before looking up at her brother and batting her eyelashes. “You must have been a child to have seen her when she was young enough to play Juliet.”

Grabbing Carrie’s arm, Josh pulled her toward the house. “Food,” he said. “Carrie has to make lunch for everyone.”

r /> Once Josh and Carrie were inside, he turned on her. “Can’t you contain yourself for even a few hours? At least until I get the paper from her?”

“You expect me to be nice to the woman who is married to my husband?”

“Just for a few hours.”

Carrie gave a nasty little laugh. “Maybe you are a professional liar, but I’m not.”

Josh rubbed his eyes in exasperation then laughed. “I cannot believe my own vanity in thinking that my being a renowned actor would change your feelings for me. Alas, the Great Templeton has been reduced to ‘a professional liar.’ ” He drew her into his arms. “Do you think I’ll ever be able to impress you? After my sentence is up and I go back on stage, are you going to come to see me? Will you swoon over my performances?”

She closed her eyes in ecstasy as he kissed her neck. “I think I might like for you to quote some of ’Ring’s poetry just to me.”

He touched her cheek. “ ‘See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!’ ”

She smiled at him. “I’m not sure I’ll like hearing you say such things to other women, even women as old and as fat as she is.”

“It won’t be real, Carrie,” he said softly. “I am a liar with them, but I won’t be a liar with you.”

She smiled at him and he kissed her.

“What a cozy little scene,” Nora said from the doorway. “Of course, Joshua, darling, it’s not as though I haven’t seen you kiss hundreds of other women, both on stage and off.”

Josh released Carrie. “I want the paper, Nora, and I want it now.”

“I’ve told you where it is,” she purred at him.

Josh kept his eyes off Nora’s magnificent bosom, for he knew that Carrie was watching him. “What do you want?”

“Why, I want you, of course. I’ve missed you.”