"He says he's going to marry her." Gertrude Pierce shook her head as she basted the turkey; Barbara took the pan from her and returned it to the oven. "When did he tell you this?"
"Yesterday. His heart is set on it, I can tell."
"Mother, she seems really nice. What I've seen of her. I thought meeting Diane would throw her, but she didn't even blink. Diane was the one who blinked," she added, drawing a smile from her sister-in-law.
Gertrude shot them a look. "I was hoping yesterday Diane could get a chance to talk to Aaron, but she could tell he wasn't interested. She wants to stay out of the way."
"Good." Barbara moved over to the stove to check the potatoes.
"I know your opinion of her, but I'll never forget how good she was to me after your father died." Gertrude sighed. "If Aaron hadn't gone off to Washington—" she left the sentence unfinished, cleaning the counters energetically.
Ann and Barbara traded looks, knowing what was coming. "Do you want me to talk to Martha?" Barbara offered, trying to send the conversation in a different direction. She wasn't in the mood to listen to her mother's annual rehash of the breakup of Aaron's marriage, and she found Gertrude's habit of making oblique hints rather than asking direct questions irritating.
Gertrude took the bait. "I'd like to know if she's serious. I don't want Aaron to get hurt again."
"I don't somehow think that's going to happen," Ann offered gently. "If she were the least bit phony, Jennifer would've seen right through her."
"Jennifer doesn't like Diane. She might be a little—biased—in favor of anyone Aaron was dating."
Barbara doubted this but was wise enough to keep her thoughts to herself. "I'll be glad to talk to Martha, Mother. Nathan should get a chance to talk to her, too."
"Nathan needs to go see Diane," her mother muttered.
"He will. He's got a car, he can go over there and drop off his luggage after dinner," Barbara answered hastily.
Gertrude gave her a somewhat guilty look. "She may be coming over here. I asked her to stop by for coffee and dessert."
"Who?" Bill had stepped into the kitchen, drawn by the savory smells. He found a spoon and stole a bite of stuffing, dodging a slap from Ann.
"Diane. Mother wants her to come over after dinner," Barbara answered glumly.
Bill grimaced. "Oh, Mother, no. That isn't fair to Martha, let alone Aaron. He's been dying to see Nate, and after everything that's happened to him this year, can't you just leave him be? Besides, Martha's got to meet Nate. It's difficult enough for her here without throwing Diane into the mix."
"I invited her before I knew Aaron was going to bring Martha. I admit it's difficult, but what should I do?"
"Tell her not to come," Bill answered through a mouthful of potato. "Are we gonna eat soon? I'm starved."
"Out," Ann ordered, laughing. "Wait, Bill. You spent some time with Aaron and Martha yesterday. What do you think?"
"I think she knows a lot about horses," Bill replied with a grin. "All right, I know what you're asking." He paused. "I like her, and I can see why Aaron likes her. She's crazy about him. Not that she was hanging all over him, but all you have to do is look at the two of them together to see it. I always had the feeling that Diane took Aaron more or less for granted, even when they were getting along… Martha doesn't. She thinks he's really something special." He looked at his mother. "I think he's found the right person, if that's what you want to know."
Gertrude smiled faintly. "If that's true, then I really am happy for him." She looked enquiringly at her daughter; Barbara nodded in answer. "I'll talk to her after dinner," she repeated.
"Nathan, will you help me tune my guitar? It always sounds better when you do it." Desperate for a few minutes with her favorite cousin, Jennifer had absented herself from the preparations for Christmas dinner, promising to help clean up after the meal instead.
"Sure, Jen," Nathan answered, taking the instrument from her. He worked on the strings for a minute or two, then softly played a few chords. "Jen," he said, keeping his head bent over the guitar.
"Uh huh?" Jennifer sat on the stairs next to him.
"You've met Dad's new girlfriend. What do you think of her?"
"She's really nice, Nathan. I like her. She listens to people—you know?" Seeing him nod, she continued: "She's not like I thought she'd be. Everything they said about her in the news, I don't think that's true. Or if it was, then she's changed. I think Uncle Aaron really likes her, and I think she really likes him. And she didn't mind doing boring stuff yesterday like fixing chili and delivering meals with Grandma and me. And she didn't freak out about meeting your mom."
Nathan raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "She sounds good. Dad hasn't dated anybody that I know of since he got divorced. He introduced me to her, but I haven't really had a chance to talk to her yet." He strummed the guitar thoughtfully.
"I'll go get her," Jennifer offered hastily; she slipped away and returned a minute later with Martha in tow. "Aunt Martha, Nathan's great with guitars. He got me this one three years ago for Christmas."
Obediently, Martha sat on the stairs to admire it. After a quick assessment, she thought Nathan was about eight years older than Jennifer. Although he had his father's red hair, he had none of Aaron's stoicism; his expressive features looked more like Diane's. He greeted her with a knowing grin that made it clear that Jennifer's "Aunt Martha" moniker had not escaped him. "My cousin's been singing your praises nonstop. It's great to meet you, Mrs.—Logan?"
"Powell," Martha corrected him, smiling. "I'm so glad you were able to get home for Christmas, Nathan. Your dad's told me a lot about you, and I know he's thrilled that you're here."
"Believe me, I'm thrilled to be here. My captain knew about Dad getting shot in Moscow and gave me priority for leave, but I still didn't think I'd make it till the very last minute. Then I was too busy trying to catch a flight to El Paso to call anybody." Nathan shook his head. "I landed at the crack of dawn, rented a car and got here around six-thirty. I thought Jennifer was going to have a heart attack when she answered the door." He grinned affectionately at his cousin. "No presents for you this year, Jen. I didn't have time to get anything. Sorry."
Jennifer gave him a quick hug. "You think I care about that? I'm just glad you got here." In Nathan's presence she was much happier and more relaxed than she had appeared the day before, Martha noted. "How long can you stay? Do you know?" she added eagerly.
"About four days. I'll get to Mom's after dinner, drop my stuff there." Nathan's smile vanished. "I know she's going to get on my case about reenlisting. That's the only thing I'm not looking forward to about this visit."
Jennifer groaned.
"Jen, not you too. I'll get enough of that from Mom." He looked at her appealingly; responding with a grumpy "Oh, all right," she got off the stairs and slouched over to her father, who was talking to Aaron and emptying a bowl of peanuts simultaneously.
"Does your mother know you're here?" Martha asked him.
"I called her after I got here." Nathan hesitated for a moment. "She was talking about coming over after dinner, I guess Grandma invited her." He shot a quick look at Martha, obviously unsure what her response would be.
Why on earth did Gertrude do that? Martha wondered. She answered as casually as she could: "I met her yesterday when I helped your Aunt Barbara with the meal delivery program. Somebody called in sick, so I went along to the community center to help out. Your mom was the only other person there. That's pretty admirable, the day before Christmas."
Nathan nodded. "Mom's reliable that way. She always shows up when she's supposed to. Grandma came to depend on her a lot. She didn't want to move in with Uncle Bill and his family, didn't want to be a burden, but she finally realized she couldn't live by herself anymore. It would have happened a lot sooner if it hadn't been for Mom." He glanced across the room at his father; satisfied that Aaron wasn't paying attention to them, he leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Is it true that you saved Dad's life?"
"Yes. It's also true that he saved mine." Martha paused and looked at Nathan, wondering how to explain to him how she'd become involved with his father. "Something happened to us that day. We became a team, is the best way I can put it. We didn't fall in love instantly, but after what we went through he wasn't just another Secret Service agent to me any more. We looked out for each other, we helped each other get through the time after the attacks." She sighed, remembering. "It was really bad for your father, and I thought I was going to completely lose it. My marriage was coming to an end, I had to leave the White House on short notice… David Palmer was a dear friend to both of us, and my husband, the man your father was supposed to protect, not only ordered David's murder; he tried to have your father killed as well when he figured out what had really happened. Aaron seriously considered leaving the Service at first. I told him I thought it would be a mistake if he did, that he still had a lot to offer and that the next administration would really need him." She smiled. "He wasn't in charge of my detail any more, and pretty soon we started dating. It didn't take very long for us to fall in love." She stared into the distance for a moment, lost in thought, then collected herself and turned to meet Nathan's gaze. He was smiling.
"I know Dad's been unhappy for a long time," he finally said quietly. "He doesn't look unhappy any more. I think we have you to thank for that."
"Dinner!" Bill announced from across the room, looking relieved. "Everybody into the dining room!" He included Martha and Nathan in a sweeping gesture. "Come on, Nate, let's eat. You can play for us after dinner."
The dinner was reliably delicious, and Martha wound up eating more than she had planned. Oh well, it's Christmas, she thought, and distracted herself from further worrying about calories by mentally calculating the number of platefuls that Bill had eaten. Aaron caught her looking at Bill's empty plate and whispered, "He's always been able to eat whatever he wants, and he works all day on the ranch. He must burn a couple thousand calories a day."
After the meal was over Aaron assisted Martha in clearing the table, but Ann shooed him out of the kitchen when he offered to help with cleanup. "Go talk to Nathan," she suggested instead. "It's your big chance before Diane gets here."
"Diane?" Aaron frowned. "Why is she coming here? I thought Nathan was going to drive over to her place after dinner."
"Mother invited her a while ago, before we knew you and Martha were coming." Barbara shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry, Aaron, but they are friends and she has been a big help with Mom. I couldn't say anything."
Aaron gave a short nod. "Got it." He left the kitchen, saying nothing more.
"It wouldn't be Christmas without some family angst," Martha quipped, hoping to lighten the tension.
"Nice of you to take it that way." Barbara began washing the glassware. "Diane does have her good points, you know. She's one of those very efficient people. She can be annoying, but she's a big asset to the community here. She does a lot of volunteer work in her spare time and she really loves this town."
"I know someone like that. She's the First Lady now. Beth Gardner." Martha gave a short laugh as the other two women's eyes widened in shock. "I'm not very fond of her personally, but she's made a better job of running the White House than I ever did." She paused. "She really enjoys what she does, and I always hated it."
"Really?" Ann stared at her, clearly fascinated. "I always thought it would be so great to get to travel and do fun stuff and be in the papers."
"You'd think so. But it's really stressful. It's nonstop, you never get a chance to relax, and it's all about image. If they'd let me be myself and talk about the things I wanted to talk about, cut back my schedule a bit… but everything's planned out for you, every single day. And Charles was changing. Looking back it seems so clear that something was wrong, but at the time I couldn't understand. All I knew was we weren't working together any more the way we used to." Martha sighed. "Basically, he bought into the image of being President and he dumped me along with everything else he used to believe in." She stared into the sink for a moment and then picked up a dishtowel and began drying the glasses stacked in the dish rack. "I'm not being much help here, am I."
"You've been a lot of help," Ann said reassuringly. "It was good of you to come and put yourself through all this. I know it meant a lot to Aaron, and it means a lot to us." She hesitated. "He looks happy, you know. Really happy."
"He is," Barbara chimed in. "He's a tough read, but if you know him you can tell."
"I hope so." Martha found tears coming to her eyes. "He's been wonderful to me. I can't imagine being without him." Trying to conceal her emotion, she turned to the cabinet and started stacking plates. Ann and Barbara looked quickly at each other, wondering what to say, but a moment later Barbara glanced out the kitchen window. "Oh boy," she muttered, "here she comes."
"Merry Christmas, Diane." Ann opened the back door. "Nice to see you."
"Thanks, Ann." Diane stepped into the kitchen, giving its occupants a quick nod. "Nathan's here?"
"He is. He looks great," Barbara answered, smiling.
"Good, good." Diane was pacing the kitchen tensely. "And Aaron?"
"He's in there with the boys," Ann answered.
Diane sighed. "I need to talk to him. About Nathan."
Barbara looked exasperated. "Does it have to be now, Diane?"
"I don't know if I'll get another chance. It's important, or I wouldn't be bothering you." Diane paused. "I'm not here to cause trouble, I just… really need to talk to him." She gave them a pleading look; her usual self-assured aura had vanished.
"I'll go get him," Martha offered, leaving the kitchen. Drawn by the sound of guitar music, she headed for the living room where Nate was playing to an appreciative audience. She tapped Aaron lightly on the shoulder and gestured for him to leave the room: "I'm sorry, Aaron, but Diane is here and she says she needs to talk to you."
"To me?"
"I think I know what it's about. Nathan told me he was going to reenlist…"
Aaron nodded. "I know, he told me too."
"Well, I don't think Diane wants him to."
"Nate's old enough to make his own decisions. It's not for either one of us to tell him what to do," Aaron answered, frowning.
"I know, Aaron, but if you listen to her maybe you can calm her down. She looks really upset."
"She never wanted him to join up in the first place. One of our last fights was about whether to try to stop him or not." Aaron shook his head. "All right, where is she?"
Martha pointed him to the kitchen. "Do you want me…"
"Better not." He touched her shoulder. "I'll be back in a minute. Go sit with Nathan."
Martha lingered in the dining room for a moment, wondering whether to stay; a few moments later, Ann and Barbara joined her there. Ann was clearly trying to pretend that nothing was wrong, whereas Barbara looked as though she were dying to eavesdrop. Martha decided to relieve her of the temptation. "Ann, can I talk to you for a minute? Barbara, maybe you too?" She gestured down the hall away from the kitchen.
Ann looked confused. "Of course, Martha. What is it?"
"It's about Jennifer. She showed me her project yesterday, her design portfolio. It's really good. She seems to have a real eye for fashion."
"I can't understand why she got the grade she did." Ann shook her head. "Her teacher wasn't impressed."
"Her teacher is an idiot," Martha answered bluntly. "I didn't tell Jennifer that, but she is." Barbara flashed her a grin, encouraging her to continue. "I'm going to be in Dallas on a speaking tour in about six weeks. What I wanted to ask is if you and Bill could make arrangements to have Jennifer meet me there. I know some people at Neiman Marcus who might be willing to give her some career advice." She saw Ann's face cloud over and continued quickly. "I haven't told Jennifer about this, I didn't want to promise anything, but I can tell this is something she really enjoys. Even if she doesn't go into design, I think it would be a great experience for her."
Barbara spoke first. "Martha, that's fantastic. Do you think you could do it?"
"I can try. I think they'll listen to me; I used to spend a lot of money there," Martha answered dryly.
"I'll have to see what Bill thinks." Ann looked thoughtful. "It's wonderful of you to offer this, Martha. I always hoped Jennifer would stay to help us run the ranch, but you're right, I don't think that's what she really wants to do. I'll talk to him and let you know what he says tomorrow."
Before Martha could answer the sound of a door slamming startled them, and a moment later Aaron stalked past them down the hall. "Diane's outside waiting for Nathan. I'm going to go get him," he said grimly, and continued into the living room.
"Great. I knew she was going to ruin it," snapped Barbara, ignoring Ann's hushing gesture. "And Nathan hasn't even had dessert yet."
"Well, I'll cut them some pie. They can take it back to her house." Even Ann, normally so calm, looked slightly ruffled. "I'll need some foil."
"I'll get it. I left my bracelet next to the sink and I need to get it anyway." Martha hurried into the kitchen, only to stop short at the sight of Diane drying her eyes on a dishtowel. "Ann's cutting some pie for you and Nathan," she offered lamely; "I'm here to get the foil." She glanced quickly around the kitchen, trying to figure out where it was likely to be kept.
"It's in the drawer next to the stove." Diane pointed. Turning her back, she folded her arms and stared out the window. As Martha picked up the bracelet lying next to the sink, she spun around again. "Is that yours?" she inquired sharply.
Martha was tempted to answer "No, I stole it from Gertrude," but restrained herself. "Aaron gave it to me for Christmas," she replied instead. "These earrings go with it."
Diane looked slightly ashamed. "Nice choice." Making an obvious effort, she continued: "Gertrude says you'll be here another couple of days, is that right?"
"Yes, it's a short trip. We both have to get back to Washington."
"So he's still with the Service after everything you people did to him? I guess he'll never learn." Diane shook her head impatiently.
"He got promoted to an administrative position. They think a lot of him in the Service. I know my ex-husband turned out to be a traitor, but that doesn't mean everybody in the government is." Martha hesitated and then decided to go for broke. "I told Aaron not to quit. I know he thought about it at first, but it would have been the wrong decision. I think now he's glad he stayed."
"Hm." Diane eyed her. "I never wanted Aaron to go into the Service in the first place. There were other things he could have done. And then Nathan, all of his friends in Washington had parents who were in the military…" she let the sentence trail off. "I know that's where he got the idea to join the Navy. After September eleventh it was all he talked about. You probably think I'm selfish, wanting to stop him, but I worry about him every day."
"Of course you do. So does Aaron. So does everybody else who has a kid in active service. But it's Nathan's call."
"All I wanted was for everything to stay the same. A nice quiet life here, where we both know people." Diane flung the dishtowel down on the counter, exasperated. "I don't think that was asking too much. Gertrude wanted him to stay too," she added, as though to clinch her argument.
"People don't always do what we want them to do, or what we expect."
"I guess not." Diane shook her head. "You probably think I treated him badly, but I really did try. After a while I just couldn't do it anymore." She bit her lip. "Maybe you've got more patience than I do. Take it from me, you're going to need it. One of these days Aaron's going to make a decision that you don't agree with, and you're just going to have to live with it. Or you're going to have to leave like I did." She turned away. "I'll wait outside for Nathan. Tell Gertrude I couldn't stay."
Hours later, Aaron collapsed into bed next to Martha with a sigh of relief. "Are you tired?" she asked, putting her arms around him.
"Mm-hmm. It was a good day, but I'm glad it's over."
"It was a very good day." They lay in silence for a few minutes, punctuated by the faraway whistle of a train. "I've heard that every night for the last three nights," Martha commented idly.
"They have schedules. I remember growing up I could figure out what time it was at night by listening for the trains – the two a.m. and the four a.m." Aaron smiled sleepily. "When I hear the trains, I always know I'm home."
"Do you miss it here?"
"When I'm here I remember the good times and I wonder why I ever left." Aaron sighed. "Then I get back to Washington and get caught up in work, and I forget again." He glanced at Martha: "I always thought I'd come back some day. There's no reason for me to stay in Washington after I retire, really."
"No reason for me to stay, either. The work I do I can do from anywhere." Martha thought for a moment. "I had planned to go back to California when things settled down, but now that's obviously not going to happen."
"If you wanted horses you could have them here," Aaron ventured. "Bill knows all the property in this area, he could advise us on where to buy. I don't know that we could afford land in California."
Visualizing Gertrude and Diane's constant presence in her future, Martha winced in the darkness. The irony of Aaron persuading her to move from Washington back to Texas did not escape her, but then she remembered Diane's words and resigned herself to the inevitable. "Having horses would be wonderful, Aaron. We'd have to start saving. When do you think it would be, five years? Ten?"
"Closer to five than ten, I hope. Let's say seven."
"Okay, seven." Martha leaned against him, giddy with the realization that they'd just been planning for the long term. A tiny voice in the back of her mind warned her to make the most of the next seven years, but she pushed it out of her consciousness for the moment.
Aaron was smiling at her. "Do you want to shake on it?" he offered jokingly.
"I've got a better idea." Martha started unbuttoning his pajama jacket.
