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  Also by Fern Michaels

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  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2006 by MRK Productions, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-2299-7

  ISBN-10: 1-4165-2299-9

  POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Visit us on the World Wide Web:

  http://www.SimonSays.com

  I would like to dedicate this book to Claudeen,

  my Arizona soul sister,

  and to the memory of her beloved Lexi.

  Prologue

  Ten Years Earlier

  The rain that had been holding off for the graduation ceremony finally gave way to a torrential torrent, soaking the graduating class, their scrolls in hand, and their families and guests as they scrambled across the stadium field.

  Darby Lane shouted to her friend Russell Gunn. He appeared at her side as if by magic, his handsome face alight with laughter. “Is this great or what?” he shouted to be heard over the melee. They held hands like lovers as they crossed the field, taking their time since they were already soaked to the skin. Though they weren’t lovers, they had been inseparable friends since the age of three, and both of them knew the situation would never change. Their laughter rang out as they skipped and stomped in the puddles. Their classmates turned to look at them, shaking their heads in disbelief.

  When they finally reached the parking lot, the couple separated. “Meet you back at your place, Darby. An hour at the most.”

  “Okay,” Darby shouted to be heard over the pounding rain. “I’m packed and ready to go.”

  “We need to make a stop before we head for home. Don’t forget anything because we aren’t coming back here. Five years is enough! Now we get to do the real thing, mold minds so they can go out and conquer the world. God, Darby, I can’t wait to settle into a school and take on a fifth-grade class that’s all mine. I hope you get the fourth-grade class you want, too. Look at it this way, you get to prime all those great little kids, then you pass them on to me.”

  Darby laughed and crossed her fingers that it would happen just the way Russ said. She shrugged off the rain that was soaking into her graduation gown and used the hem of the gown to dry off her dark, curly hair. Russ was right, five years was long enough to spend expanding her brain base. All she wanted now was to go home to the Horseshoe and vegetate for the rest of the summer.

  As she fought her way across the parking lot, she craned her neck to wave good-bye to Tulane University. She wondered if she would return for class reunions. Probably not. She knew Russ wouldn’t return. Russ’s philosophy was do something once, move on, and don’t look back. She tended to agree with most of his philosophies.

  Darby wondered where Russ wanted to stop. Probably some watering hole to say good-bye to one of his earthy friends. She laughed. Russ was such a good friend. What would she do without him in her life?

  She hadn’t wanted to come back here for her master’s, but Russ insisted. The aunts insisted, too. She’d given in gracefully, and now she had the degree. What she would do with it was anyone’s guess. She’d put her foot down, though, when it came to the doctoral program. She’d flapped her arms, screaming, no, no, no! The aunts had looked at her in horror. Russ just stared at her. She’d won that one. The good feeling was still with her.

  The driveway leading to the small private house she’d rented for the last five years loomed ahead of her. She pulled in and cut the engine. It didn’t seem possible, but it was raining harder. She craned her neck to see if Russ’s car was in the driveway four houses down from where she lived, but she couldn’t see through the rain. Not that it mattered. If Russ said he would see her in an hour, she would see him in an hour. Punctuality was Russ’s middle name.

  Darby ran through the onslaught of rain, up a path that bloomed with bright yellow marigolds, on up the four steps to the wide veranda, then indoors, where she dripped gallons of water. She started to shed her clothes, the clinging, graduation gown, her sodden tee shirt and shoes as she made her way to the second floor where her bedroom and sitting room were located.

  Darby took a minute to notice the small living room, now bare of her treasures, things from home that made the five years bearable. Everything was packed and ready by the front door for Russ to load into her car.

  Within minutes, Darby was stripped to the skin, toweling off and pulling clean, dry clothes from one of the packed suitcases. Sandals, wrinkled khaki shorts, bright green tee, and a matching circlet to pull back her long, dark hair. The heck with makeup.

  The wet clothes and towel went into one of the lawn bags waiting to be taken to the Dumpster at the end of the street. Like she really wanted that gown or the sodden mortarboard. She was finished with Tulane. She had her diploma, which would go into a drawer someplace when she got home.

  Free! No more books! No more papers to write. No more early-morning classes. No more late nights of studying. She felt giddy at the thought.

  Darby leaned back on the worn sofa and propped her feet on the coffee table. How many nights had she and Russ sat on the floor eating pizza and studying together? More than she could count. She laced her hands behind her head and waited for her best friend in the whole world to arrive.

  A moment later all six-foot-two of him was standing in front of her. He was dressed in baggy shorts and a wrinkled dark blue shirt with an alligator on the pocket. Worn Birkenstocks covered his size-twelve feet. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, good looking. You ready?” Russ shouted—exuberantly. “We did it, Darby! Now we’re outta here. I have to stop at a lawyer’s office before we hit the road. It’s one of those mandatory things my trust fund calls for. I need to sign my will.”

  Darby’s bright green eyes widened. “You didn’t tell me you made a will!”

  “It’s not something I like to talk about. Usually people don’t do that until they’re old. What the hell, I figured I’ll do it now and forget about it. It’s not like I’m thinking about my mortality or anything.”

  Russ ran both hands through his crop of dark curls. His tone might have been light, but his eyes were dark and angry. He reached down for two of Darby’s suitcases. “By the way, you’re the executrix.”

  Darby stopped in her tracks. “No, Russ. What about your brother or your sister? No, I don’t want to be your executrix. C’mon, Russ, there must be someone else.”

  Russ turned around. “Don’t go there, Darby. I chose you. You’re the only one I trust. Don’t even think about arguing with me.”

  Darby bit down on her lip. She knew Russell, and she knew she could never wear him down or get him to change his mind. “Okay, but I don’t like it.”

  “Don’t start fretting now. I plan to live forever, so you’ll never have to worry about it. Let’s go. You leaving the plants and the small carpets?”

  “Yep, the student moving in promised to take care of the plants. She even has a dog, so the little carpets will come in handy. She�
�s moving in tonight. Does the place look clean?”

  “Just the way it was when you moved in. Did you call your aunts?”

  Darby took one last look around before she replied. “Yep. And before you can ask, Diddy is cooking. I don’t know if Dodo plans on attending or not. I think they were hissing and snarling at each other for a few weeks. They are both so damn temperamental.”

  They were outside by then, and Russ was jamming the bags and suitcases into the back of Darby’s ancient Volvo. “And they live next door to each other! I swear, I don’t know which one is nuttier. There’s something obscene about a seventy-two-year-old woman who is a black belt.” Under his breath, he mumbled, “A seventy-two-year-old woman who only weighs ninety pounds.”

  “I heard that! I heard that! You’re just ticked off that Dodo can wipe up the floor with you and never break a sweat. And Diddie is cooking your favorites, as you requested: jambalaya, shrimp fritters, and pecan pie.”

  Russ licked his lips as he slammed the trunk shut. “Stay close. The office isn’t far from here.”

  “Okay.” Darby slid behind the wheel and turned on the ignition. She eased backward and waited for Russ to get in front of her. He was right, the lawyer’s office wasn’t far at all.

  The waiting room looked like any professional’s office. A middle-aged receptionist wearing glasses sat behind a shiny, glass-topped desk. A tired-looking rubber plant with brown edges stood near a table littered with periodicals, outdated business magazines, and a tattered, torn copy ofPeople magazine on it. It was easy to see which magazine clients picked up while they waited to get billed, and fleeced. The chairs were burgundy leather and looked uncomfortable.

  Darby was about to sit down when the plump receptionist, attired in a tight navy suit, said, “Mr. Lowell will see you now. Go through the door on the left. He’s waiting for you.”

  Russ cupped Darby’s elbow in the palm of his hand as he ushered her through the door. “Time is money,” he hissed. Darby giggled.

  Harrison Lowell rose from behind his desk and extended his hand. He pumped vigorously.

  Darby stared at the lawyer. Like his office waiting room, he was classic. Gray hair at the temples, glasses, gray suit, white shirt, conservative tie. Two blank yellow pads waited for him on his desk along with a Mont Blanc pen. The moment the introductions were over, Harrison Lowell sat down and reached for Russell’s will. The paper crackled as the lawyer shook it loose. Darby’s eyes went to the video-cassette that had been attached to the will with a rubber band. It stared up at her like a square black eye. A chill ran up her spine. Why did Russ need a video?

  Darby waited while Russ read through the will. He nodded when he was finished.

  “Very good,” the lawyer said. “Now that everything is in order, my secretary and my associate will be the witnesses to Mr. Gunn’s will.” Russ signed, the secretary signed, and the associate, a bearded man with a limp who came through the second door to Lowell’s office, signed the document just as Russ let loose a huge sigh.

  Then he bent toward Darby and whispered in her ear. “You have to watch the video and read the will. That’s so the lawyer knows you will carry out my wishes. Five minutes, Darby, then we can head home.”

  “I don’t want to know what’s in your will, Russ. It’s not my business. I’ll do whatever you want where it’s concerned should you…should you die. Why do I have to look at it? I’m not family, I’m just a friend. Please, Russ.”

  “Five minutes, Darby. Then we can be out of here,” Russ persisted.

  Resigned, Darby picked up the will and video and walked toward a small room off Harrison Lowell’s office, the one through which his associate had entered. The secretary materialized and slid the video into the VCR. She left the room silently as Darby stared at Russ’s likeness. Her jaw dropped as she listened to him say that in the event of a terminal illness, no life-support measures were to be used. His voice rose several octaves as he continued. “In the event of my death my organs arenot to be taken from my body. I donot wish to be a donor. Nor do I wish to be cremated. Ashes to ashes, in a traditional burial ceremony, is what I want. I’m trusting you, Darby, to honor my last wishes. Because I trust you, I’m leaving my entire estate to you.”

  Tears puddled in Darby’s eyes when the screen went dark, and Russ’s face disappeared. She swiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. She skimmed the will, and her eyes grew wide: Russ’s beneficiary would receive 9 million dollars plus real estate valued at three times that. And Russ’s sole beneficiary was one Darby Lane. A lump settled itself in her throat. Oh, my! Okay, she could handle this. Russ wasn’t going to die. No one died at the age of twenty-five. Seventy years from now she wouldn’t have a problem with it.

  Darby’s voice was froggy-sounding when she returned to Harrison Lowell’s office. “I read the will and watched the video. I’m so grateful, Russ…I can’t…I can’t even speak. I don’t want to imagine you dying. I do have a question, though. Why don’t you want to be an organ donor?”

  “I can’t believe I’ve never told you this…but I guess dying’s not something I like to think about either,” Russ said with a crooked grin. “Remember my fraternity brother Adam Messner?”

  Darby nodded. She didn’t know Adam well, but she remembered when he’d had an accident decorating the frat house for one of their big parties and fallen off the roof. He’d spent some time in a coma, as she recalled, and Russ and his other fraternity brothers had kept a constant vigil by his side.

  “Well, what you probably don’t know is that after Adam had been in a coma for six months his parents said they were going to disconnect the life-support measures that were in place and donate his organs. I remember how Mrs. Messner cried; Adam was their only son. I begged them not to do it, but they wouldn’t listen to me. The doctors were going to disconnect at some point during the next forty-eight hours. During the nineteenth hour, Adam woke up. He’s a sportscaster in Philadelphia now.”

  Darby shook her head in wonder. “That’s amazing. His poor family, how awful they must have felt, thinking of what they’d almost done!”

  “Exactly,” Russ said, “which is why I don’t want that even to be an option for me. And now that I know you’ve seen the video, I know you’ll see to it that my wishes are followed,” Russ said as he jammed his copy of the will into his back pocket. He carried a copy of the video with him. “Let’s go home.”

  Darby’s gaze went to the video on the desk.

  “It stays with the lawyer,” Russ said. “Where’s Darby’s copy?”

  “Right here,” the secretary in the blue suit said. She handed Darby a sealed brown envelope.

  Harrison Lowell shook hands with both of them. Then he handed Darby one of his business cards. A crazy thought whipped through Darby’s mind. Seventy years from now, Harrison Lowell would probably be dead. What good would the lawyer’s business card do her then? She jammed the card into the pocket of her shorts.

  Russ tweaked her cheek, then gave her a high five. “Okay, Baton Rouge, here we come. Thanks, Darby. I owe you one for this.”

  Darby’s voice was sober and somber-sounding when she said, “No problem, Russ.” Little did she know how she would come to regret those very words.

  1

  Ten Years Later

  The houses on Thornberry Lane near the outskirts of Baton Rouge were always the main draw on the Historical Tour for tourists. No one could explain why or how a cul-de-sac with just five houses could be called a lane or why, since it was outside of the town’s historic district, it was on the tour. Some speculated it was because the Lane family owned three of the houses on Thornberry Lane. Others said it was because it was like an oasis, with each house sitting on a full acre of land with an enormous bed of flowers in the middle. Whatever it was, everyone in Baton Rouge agreed Thornberry Lane was the most beautiful sight they’d ever seen.

  Gawkers and tourists aside,Baton Rougies, as some referred to themselves, were loyal to three of the inhabitants of Tho
rnberry Lane. Not so to the inhabitants of the two houses on the end that belonged to the Gunn family. Outsiders, they said, nouveau riche, others said. The truth was that when Marcus Gunn was finally on the verge of being accepted by theRougies, thanks to the Lane sisters, he up and married his second wife, Bella. TheRougies and the Lane sisters closed ranks, and it was a greased downhill slide for Marcus Gunn and his new wife. The Junior Leaguers, along with the members of the Garden Club, Historical Society, and Rotary sniffed that Bella’s shady past—which they were convinced included an out-of-wedlock child, something no amount of digging and searching could prove—her bleached hair, her pancake makeup, her faux jewelry, not to mention herhoity-toity attitude, would be a disgrace to theRougies. And, theRougies whispered, she was twenty-five years younger than Marcus, which could mean only one thing. Bella was a gold digger and after Marcus’s money, of which there was plenty. She was no stepmother to Marcus’s three children, they said.Wicked stepmother was more like it, they hissed among themselves after they said over and over, “Those poor children; thank God for the Lane sisters and the love they showed the children.”

  The Lane sisters could attest to that fact, and they did, every chance they got. They fed and took care of the three children as much as was allowed. Bella didn’t care as long as they weren’t, as she put it, under her feet.

  The final consensus on Bella Gunn was that she was not only white trash, she was tacky as well. That particular statement probably had something to do with the fact that Bella wore a tiara to church services on Sunday morning.

  Lydia Lane, oldest of the Lane sisters, and known to friends and family as Dodo, stepped out onto her flower-bedecked veranda and stared across the wide acre of rainbow plantings and cobblestone paths that led out to the street and the main road. She cringed the way she always did when her gaze settled on the two Gunn houses situated at the ends of the horseshoe-shaped lane. They were a blight on the landscape. A deliberate blight, thanks to Bella Gunn. And there was nothing she or her sisters could do about it.