Danielle Steel - The Cottage

Coop invited her up to the house for a glass of champagne afterwards, and she came, just to say she had seen it, and was surprised by how beautiful it was, and how restrained. There was nothing showy about the house. It was all in perfect taste, with splendid antiques and exquisite fabrics. It was definitely the house of a grown-up, as she put it, when discussing it later with Jimmy. And once again, she thought Alex was out of place there. But they seemed happy together.

She was actually beginning to think that Coop was serious about Alex. He was so solicitous, so attentive, so loving. He was obviously smitten with her, but it was hard to tell with Coop how much depth there was to anything. He kept everything in his life on the surface, particularly his emotions. But she could easily see him marrying her, even if for the wrong reasons, to prove something, or worse, to slide into the Madison money. Valerie hoped, for Alex's sake, that there was more sincerity to it than that, but it was difficult to determine. In any case, Alex didn't appear to be worried about it. She was perfectly at home with him, and happy staying at The Cottage, particularly with Taryn.

“You've got adorable friends,” Valerie commented to Jimmy that night, when she visited him at the hospital. And she told him how much she liked Coop's house, and even the gatehouse. “I can see why you love it.” She did too. It had a rural quality, and one had a sense of peace there.

“Did Coop put the make on you?” he asked with interest.

“Of course not,” his mother laughed at him. “I'm about thirty years too old for him. He's smarter than that. Women my age see right through him. It would do him good actually, but I haven't got the energy for a man like Coop,” she said, smiling at Jimmy. “It's too much work to train them.” She didn't have the energy for any man, or the desire. Those days were over for her, as she always said. She was content to live on her own, and to be spending time with Jimmy. She had promised to see him through his convalescence and he was looking forward to spending time with her. He hadn't done that in years, and he enjoyed her company. Aside from mother and son, they were best friends.

“Maybe you should give Alex a run for her money,” he teased her.

“Not likely, my darling,” she laughed, “she'd win hands down, and she deserves to.” Whether or not it was good for her was another question which remained to be seen.

Chapter 21

By June, the romance between Taryn and Mark was progressing nicely. They carried on as discreetly as they could. Neither she nor Mark wanted to upset his children. But both Jessica and Jason were extremely comfortable with her. So much so that by the end of school, they didn't want to go to New York to see their mother. She had only seen them once since they'd been there. And when Janet called Mark to talk about it, she was insistent that they come East. What's more, she wanted them to stay with her until after the wedding. She was marrying Adam over the Fourth of July weekend.

“I'm not going,” Jessica told her father stubbornly when they discussed it. And Jason had said he would do whatever she did, or didn't. Jessica was still furious with her mother. “I want to stay here with you, and see my friends. And I'm not going to the wedding.”

“That's a separate issue, and we can talk about that later. Jessica, you cannot refuse to see your mother.”

“Yes, I can. She left you for that asshole.”

“That's between me and your mother, and it's none of your business,” Mark said firmly. But it was obvious to him that Janet had really burned her bridges, or damaged them badly. And Adam hadn't helped her. He had been outspoken and overbearing with the kids, and made it obvious to them that he'd been involved with their mother before she left California. If nothing else, it was stupid of them. And it had hurt Janet badly with her children. But sooner or later, Mark felt, they had to forgive her. “You still have to see her. Come on, Jess,” Mark wheedled, “she loves you.”

“I love her too,” Jessie said honestly, “but I'm mad at her.” She had just turned sixteen, and she was in deep conflict with her mother. Jason remained more of a bystander, but it was clear that he was disappointed in her. And in truth, he was happier living with his father, and so was Jessie. “And I'm not going back to school there.” He hadn't even begun to broach that, but Janet wanted them back with her as soon as possible, and in school in New York in the fall.

In the end, he had to call Janet back to discuss it with her.

“I can't sell it, Janet. I'm trying, but the kids aren't buying. They don't want to come to New York now, and they're adamant about not coming to the wed-ding.”

“They can't do that,” she said, bursting into tears as soon as she said it. “You have to make them!”

“I can't drug them and put them on a plane in body bags,” Mark said, feeling frustrated with both factions. She had made her bed, and she was having a tough time lying in it. He wasn't feeling vengeful about it, or even angry. He was happy with Taryn. “Why don't you come out here and talk to them? It might make things easier for them,” Mark suggested sensibly, but Janet didn't want to hear it.

“I don't have time. I'm too busy getting ready for the wedding.” They had rented a house in Connecticut, and were having two hundred and fifty guests at the reception over the Fourth of July weekend.

“Well, if you care, your children aren't going to be there, unless you do something to change that. I've done everything I can.”

“Force them,” she said, finally getting angry. “I'll take them to court if I have to.”

“They're old enough that the court is going to listen to them. They're fourteen and sixteen, they're not babies.”

“They're behaving like juvenile delinquents.”

“No,” he defended them quietly. “They're hurt. They think you lied to them about Adam. And you did. He made it obvious to them that you left me for him. I think his ego was talking. But they heard him loud and clear.”

“He's not used to children.” She defended him, but she knew Mark was right.

“Honesty is a major message, and usually the best one.” He had never lied to his children, and until Adam, nor had Janet. She was besotted with him. And now she did everything he wanted, including antagonize her children. “I can't help you with this, unless you do something to help too. Why don't you come out here for a weekend?”

In the end, she did. She stayed at the Bel Air for two days, and Mark convinced the kids to stay with her. Things weren't resolved at the end of it, but they had agreed to go to New York for the remainder of the month of June. She had promised not to force them to go to the wedding if they didn't want to. She was sure that once they were there, she could convince them. And Jessica had told her in no uncertain terms that they were coming back to LA to go to school. And Jason agreed with her. Janet knew that she couldn't force them to do otherwise, but she told Mark that if she agreed, they had to set up a regular visiting schedule for them to come to New York for weekends, once a month, if not more often. He agreed, and promised to try to convince the children. They thought it was a major victory that she had agreed to let them continue living with their father, and so did Mark. And they left for New York the following week, in much better spirits. They were going to be gone for four weeks, and as soon as they left, Taryn moved to the guest wing to stay with him. Things were going very smoothly. She and Jessica were nearly best friends now. Jessica felt entirely different about Taryn than she did about Adam, and so did Jason. But Taryn had been honest with them so far, and hadn't broken up their parents' marriage, which was a definite advantage.