Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [53]
Paige wasn't sure if she should tell Nan about the possibility that there might be two dragons. It was only a theory, and not much of one at that.
"I'm a little afraid it might be Mary behind this break-in," Nan said, surprising her with the comment.
"Who is Mary?" Paige asked.
Nan looked a little guilty at the question, as if she wished she hadn't brought it up. "She's my daughter, Riley's mother."
"Why would your daughter break into your house?"
"Well, she wouldn't." Nan shook her head. "I'm sure none of this has anything to do with her. She left Riley with us a long time ago, when he was a teenager. Even before that she was barely around. She wasn't much of a mother to him, that's for sure."
"That's too bad. Riley said something about hang-up calls?" she queried.
"Sometimes I think Mary is calling me and hanging up because she just doesn't have the nerve to speak." She sent Paige a thoughtful look. "I'm surprised Riley mentioned his mother to you. He must like you."
"Barely mentioned, and he doesn't like me at all. He thinks my family is trying to cheat you."
Nan brushed that away with a wave of her hand. "Riley always believes people are out to con him. He doesn't trust anyone. That's the legacy my daughter left him with, I'm afraid. I wish I could have stepped in sooner to take care of Riley, but she took him away from us early on, and there were years when we didn't know where they were."
Paige saw regret and sadness in Nan's eyes. It must hurt her deeply to speak ill of her daughter. Nan seemed like such a nice lady. Paige couldn't help wondering how her daughter had turned out so badly.
"She got involved with drugs at a young age," Nan said, answering Paige's unspoken question. "Barely fourteen when she started. Mary had the kind of personality that needed a lot of attention. She was never happy with what she had. I thought it was teenage years," Nan said reflectively. "I blame myself for not seeing that she needed real help. I did so many things wrong."
This time Paige reached across the table and covered Nan's hand with her own. "Sometimes people are just born with a personality that takes them into trouble."
Nan smiled. "You're a sweet girl, and very kind not to blame me. Riley doesn't blame me, either, and he should. He's the one who had to pay."
"Riley seems to have turned out okay."
"I know it looks that way, but I still worry about him. Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing asking him to come home and run his grandfather's business."
"The security business belonged to your husband?"
"Yes, but when Ned started getting sick about four years ago, I asked Riley if he could come back and help us out. He was debating whether or not to re-up with the Marine Corps at the time. He was doing so well in the service. He was always cagey about what he was doing or where he was going though. I knew it was dangerous, and he was probably being reckless, because Riley has always believed he has nothing to lose." She shook her head, with regret in her eyes. "At any rate, he came home to help out and has been here ever since. Now he runs the business better than my husband did, and he's settling down, a little bit, anyway. I wouldn't mind seeing a woman in his life," she added hopefully. "He is a good man. A little pushy sometimes."
"That's an understatement," Paige said with a wry smile. "How on earth did he ever learn to take orders?"
"It took awhile. But the marines straightened him out. He got into some trouble when he was young. Ned, that's my husband, thought the service would put Riley on the right track, and he was right. Riley is very smart, caring, and he's loyal to a fault. A woman could do worse."
Paige smiled. "Well, that may be true, but just so you know -- I have a boyfriend." It felt strange to call Martin her boyfriend, but she needed something to dampen Nan's growing enthusiasm for a possibility that would never happen. As soon as they found Nan's dragon, Riley would be out of her life, and she would be out of his.
"Of course