by Helen Brooks
‘Secondly, and maybe thirdly and fourthly, I want to do this—and this.’ He slid his hands down her spine, then up to her breasts, cupping them as he bent his head to take a nipple into his mouth, his fingers teasing its twin. She made a sound he stifled with a kiss, and then moved his lips over her face as his hands continued such subtle torment she felt she’d die if he didn’t take her soon and, just as she was about to pummel him in desperate demand, he sheathed himself inside her to the hilt and she gave a moan of passionate relief.
‘I love you so much, Katie,’ he said, his voice gruff with the raw need he was fighting to keep in check.
‘I love you, too,’ she said breathlessly, the last word swallowed in a gasp as he began to move and her body responded ardently as he thrust harder and deeper. Her hips rose to meet him, flesh meeting flesh as the relentless rhythm accelerated to a wild crescendo that sent her gasping into orbit seconds before his own release engulfed him and she held his face to her breasts in fierce possession as his body poured its tribute into hers before collapsing on top of her, taking away what little breath she had left.
When he found the will to move, Jack turned over on his back, rolling her with him and Kate drew in a deep, reviving breath as she settled in the crook of his arm.
‘This is how it should have been all along,’ he said, a lazy note of contentment in his voice.
‘If we had been together all along—fourteen years to be precise—we would be an old married couple, and “this” as you put it, would surely be less frenetic by now,’ Kate pointed out.
‘I meant just being here together, in bed in each other’s arms instead of all the nights we spent alone. At least I did,’ he added, and put her away a fraction to look into her eyes. ‘You shared a bed with this banker of yours.’
‘You make that sound like a rude word,’ she protested. ‘His name was David, and I was engaged to him. Of course we shared a bed. But he had a television in the bedroom so I often fell asleep while he was watching England play cricket on the other side of the world, or whatever.’
‘No wonder you packed him in.’ He pulled her closer, his cheek against hers. ‘When you come to live at Mill House you sleep—or not sleep—with me. No television in my bedroom.’
‘I noticed,’ she said absently, and pulled back a little, frowning. ‘Jack, if we manage to sort things out with Joanna, and we do move in with you at Mill House one day, what will I do with this one? I hate the thought of selling it.’
‘Make it over to Joanna,’ he said promptly. ‘It can be leased out until she’s old enough to decide what happens to it.’
Kate sighed. ‘It sounds so easy when you talk about it like that, Jack, but first we’ve got to get over this great big hurdle of telling her she’s ours.’
‘At least you said “ours” not “mine”,’ he said, kissing her.
Kate kissed him back, then turned to look at her alarm clock. ‘It’s after midnight,’ she said with regret. ‘Time you were going, Jack.’
He pulled her close again. ‘Why?’
‘You work long hours and need your sleep. Besides,’ she added, batting her eyelashes at him, ‘I’m not sure I want that Jensen of yours parked outside my house all night.’
‘I came in the Jeep.’ Jack smiled triumphantly. ‘And I left it near the park gates, well away from your smart front door.’
‘Did you now!’ Kate’s eyes narrowed speculatively. ‘And you left Bran with your father.’
‘I certainly did.’
‘So you intended to stay from the start.’
‘While I was driving from London I decided to come here after seeing Dad and tell you I was ready to do any damn thing you wanted as long as we were part of each other’s lives again. I left Bran with him so I could spend time persuading you after Jo was in bed.’ He smiled crookedly. ‘I thought she was much younger than she actually is, Kate. When Dad mentioned the photographs the truth hit me in the face.’
Kate looked at him in entreaty. ‘Were you angry with me, Jack?’
‘I was euphoric!’ He pulled her close, his cheek against hers. ‘I’m still trying to come to terms with the miraculous fact that we’ve got a daughter. All I have to do now is persuade you to let her know she’s got a real live father—and a mother I want to marry as soon as I can get the ring on her finger.’
Kate stirred next morning, afraid she was dreaming again when she felt the touch of coaxing lips and hands. But she opened her eyes to find Jack was there in the flesh, real and warm and already aroused as he caressed her awake. He kissed her in tender possession as he slid slowly home inside her, waking all her senses one by one, the subtle seduction so perfect she never wanted it to end and held him close to experience every last nuance of pleasure as the throbbing died away.
‘Good morning,’ he said against her mouth.
‘It certainly is,’ she agreed breathlessly and winced as she looked at the clock. ‘A very early good morning, Jack!’
‘Some people go out to work,’ he told her and slid from the bed to pull on his clothes. ‘And, much as I’d like to stay all day with you in that bed, I must dash home to shower and dress. I’ll scribble a note to Molly to leave us something for dinner, and pick you up tonight about seven. Unless,’ he added, looking down at her, ‘you have something better to do?’
‘I haven’t got my diary with me, but offhand I can’t think of anything,’ she said flippantly, then smiled at him. ‘What could possibly be better?’
‘Exactly. What are you going to do after I’ve gone?’
‘My usual shift at the computer.’ She looked at him questioningly. ‘I thought I’d ask your father round to lunch later and tell him my story. Or would you rather do that yourself?’
Jack leaned over to kiss her. ‘No, my darling. You tell him—it’s your story.
‘It’s yours too!’
‘But you’re the heroine; I’m just the villain of the piece.’
She shook her head. ‘Not to me, Jack.’
He pulled her up into his arms. ‘Then from now on I’ll do my damnedest to be the hero.’ He kissed her again and, with a deep sigh of regret, let her go. ‘I’ll see you later.’
Kate forged through her morning’s work, then rang the Suttons in Worcester to talk to Joanna and, once assured that her child was well and happy, Kate rang Tom Logan and suggested he come round for a sandwich lunch.
When he arrived, looking rested and with his colour back, she threw her arms round him in relief. ‘Thank goodness, you look yourself again! You had me really worried yesterday.’
‘No wonder. When I saw Joanna I swear my heart stopped for a moment. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She was my Margaret to the life!’ Tom kissed her cheek. ‘Jack rang earlier to check on me. He sounded happy, Kate.’
She smiled radiantly, then bit her lip. ‘I’m happy too, except for one thing. I have to tell Joanna the truth, and I’m such a coward about it, Tom.’ Kate led him into the kitchen and took the cover from a platter of chicken sandwiches. ‘Help yourself; I’ll eat and talk at the same time.’
She told her story again briefly and succinctly, editing out the parts that would cause him unnecessary pain.
‘My dear girl,’ he said, shaken. ‘To think you’ve had to keep this to yourself all these years.’ He reached across the table to take her hand. ‘But now, my love, you’ve got to bite the bullet and tell Joanna.’
Kate nodded reluctantly. ‘But not until after the party. I want her to enjoy that before I hit her with the truth.’
Tom Logan’s grasp tightened. ‘In my opinion you and Jack should tell her together.’
‘She needn’t hear about Dawn and the baby. I’ll tell her I broke up with Jack—which is true—and he married someone else on the rebound before I knew I was expecting his child.’
Tom shook his head. ‘Even at first glance Joanna strikes me as mature for her age. I think she deserves the truth, warts and all. I’ll make that clear to Jack when he comes to collect the dog.
’
‘I can’t say I agree with Dad,’ said Jack later, as Kate received a warm welcome from Bran in the Jeep.‘ I haven’t even met her yet, but I don’t relish telling my daughter I was such a foo lover Dawn.’
‘Then don’t,’ said Kate firmly. ‘We’ll play it my way, and give Jo the abridged version.’
‘Thank you, darling. I’ve never thought of myself as a coward until now. But then,’ he added, ‘I didn’t know I was a father until now, either.’
When they got to Mill House they went for a walk in the gardens with the dog before dinner, arms around each other like teenagers as they circled the millpond. Afterwards Jack went up for a shower while Kate sat in front of the fire in the living room with Bran to wait for him, her eyes thoughtful as she gazed into the flames.
‘What at you thinking about?’ asked Jack, as he joined her.
‘Would you mind if we told Joanna our story here?’ Kate curled up against him. ‘No matter how she takes it, she still has to live with me afterwards, so I’d rather we didn’t have the showdown in Park Crescent.’
‘You’d rather my house was ruined for her than yours,’ said Jack ruefully.
She nodded. ‘I tend to think in worst scenario terms.’
‘In which you’ve had some experience,’ he said grimly.
‘So have you. But let’s not spoil our evening by worrying about it. What did Molly leave us for dinner?’
By mutual consent there was no more talk of the coming confession. Instead Kate told Jack everything she could about his daughter as they enjoyed fillet of lamb cooked with garlic, thyme and cannelloni beans. They spent an hour in front of the fire afterwards and then took Bran out for a walk, but when they’d settled him down for the night Jack took Kate’s hand and led her straight upstairs.
‘I’ve got some lonely nights in front of me, so let’s go to bed,’ he said firmly, and she rubbed her face against his sleeve.
‘Yes, please!’
Jack drove Kate home early the following morning and kissed her goodbye with tension she felt as keenly as he did.
‘I’ll leave you in peace with Joanna tonight,’ he said, holding her tightly.
‘Come to supper tomorrow, then,’ said Kate.
‘I’ve got a board meeting that day,’ he said wryly. ‘It’s going to be hard to keep my mind on the job, when all I can think of is meeting my daughter for the first time.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘ITWAS lovely to see Grandma and Grandpa,’ said Joanna, on the journey from Worcester, ‘but I’m glad to be going home. I missed you, Kate.’
‘I missed you, too.’
‘What did you do while I was away?’
‘I worked, as usual, and I had dinner with Jack Logan—’
‘The old friend with the great dog,’ said Jo promptly, and slanted a cheeky grin at her. ‘Did you have a nice time?’
‘Very nice, thank you,’ said Kate primly. ‘I thought you might like to meet him too, so I asked him to supper tomorrow. We’ll stop in town on the way home and buy some food.’
‘Is he bringing Bran with him?’
‘No. But if you play your cards right Jack might ask you round to his place to play with Bran in the garden there. It’s huge, with a millpond.’
‘Is he rich then?’
‘He’s well off, certainly, but only because he’s worked very hard to achieve it.’
‘Will I like him?’
‘I don’t know. I hope so, Jo, because I like him a lot.’
‘Then I expect I will, too.’
‘I’m glad we’ve got a guest for supper,’ said Jo the next day, as she took a tray of cupcakes out of the oven. ‘It takes my mind off the party.’ She smiled sheepishly. ‘I keep thinking about it all the time.’
Praying that the party would live up to her expectations, Kate handed her the icing sugar. ‘How are you going to decorate the cakes?’
Jo eyed them with satisfaction. ‘I thought white icing with a chocolate mini Easter egg to finish them off. They came out well, didn’t they? I hope Mr Logan likes cake.’
‘He’ll love those,’ said Kate with absolute certainty. ‘But I think you’d better call him Jack, to avoid confusion with his father.’
As seven-thirty approached Kate wondered if Jack was in an equal state of tension. To avoid formality they were eating in the kitchen and the dress code was jeans and sweaters. Blissfully unaware of the emotion almost choking Kate, Jo laid the small kitchen table with a checked cloth, put red candles on white saucers, and then went into the sitting room to set out nuts and savoury biscuits. Kate did some deep breathing exercises, checked on her tomato sauce, fiddled with her hair, put some lipstick on, then tensed at the sound of a car and went into the hall.
‘That sounds like Jack’s beloved Jensen,’ she said, amazed that her voice sounded so normal.
‘Shall I go?’ asked Jo when the bell rang, and Kate nodded, rigid with stage fright as she watched Jo open the door to her tall father, who stood equally still as he set eyes on his daughter for the first time.
‘Hello,’ he said at last, and smiled down into the dark eyes surveying him with frank interest. ‘I’m Jack Logan.’
‘Hi, I’m Joanna.’ She smiled warmly. ‘You look like your father—I met him on Sunday with your gorgeous dog.’
‘Thank you, I’ll take that as a big compliment. I hope you like these.’ Jack handed her a brightly wrapped package, then held out an armful of pink and white lilies to Kate and kissed her very deliberately on the mouth. ‘You look very beautiful tonight.’
‘Thank you, these are lovely,’ Kate said breathlessly, her colour high. ‘Go into the sitting room with Jo while I put these in water. What did you get, love?’
‘Chocolates!’ said Jo with relish and turned to Jack. ‘Thank you—’ She hesitated. ‘Kate said I should call you Jack. Is that OK?’
‘Absolutely,’ he assured her and exchanged a look with Kate that spoke volumes.
‘How about a beer?’ she said huskily. ‘Back in a moment.’
Kate put the lilies into a jug of water, poured beer into a glass and went back to the sitting room, relaxing slightly when she found Jo curled up in a chair, chatting easily with Jack about her stay with her grandparents.
‘I forgot to tell you, Kate,’ she said. ‘When I had tea in a café in Worcester with Grandma I saw Leah Brace from school. She was with her father. He sent you his regards.’
‘How nice of him.’ Kate avoided Jack’s eyes as she handed him his beer. ‘Let’s sit down. Supper’s not quite ready yet.’
He took the foot of the chaise, smiling at Jo. ‘Kate tells me you’re going to a party on Saturday.’
She nodded, eyes sparkling. ‘The Carey twins invited me. Do you know them?’
‘I know their father.’ He smiled wryly. ‘I didn’t realise Jim’s twins were old enough for disco parties.’
‘It’s their fourteenth birthday,’ Jo informed him. ‘The party sounds like fun, it’s in a barn.’
Kate sat with them for a while, content to sit in silence while the two people she loved best in the world got to know each other, but after a while she excused herself to see to the meal.
‘Shall I help?’ said Jo, jumping up.
‘Stay and entertain our guest,’ said Kate. ‘Just kitchen supper tonight, Jack,’ she told him. ‘I shan’t be long.’
He smiled at her then turned to his daughter as he accepted the nuts she offered him. ‘Tell me about school, Joanna. What subjects do you like best?’
Finding it hard to tear herself away, Kate went back to the kitchen to grill bacon to crispness while water heated for the pasta. She put bowls in the oven to warm, set out dishes of grated cheese on the table, filled wineglasses and cut thick slices from a loaf of Italian bread, checked on her sauce, plunged the pasta into the pot and went to fetch the others.
Joanna talked with complete ease as she helped serve the meal, laughing when Jack told her that the last time he’d had supper w
ith Kate she hadn’t honoured him with her culinary skill.
‘We sent out for Chinese,’ he said, grinning at Kate. ‘But this is much better. Great sauce.’
‘We had great roast chicken on Sunday too, with herb stuffing and bread sauce,’ Jo informed him. ‘Kate’s a good cook. But I expect you know that,’ she added, twirling pasta round her fork.
‘We hadn’t seen each other for years until recently,’ Jack said regretfully, ‘so I’m not as familiar with her cooking skills as you, Jo. But I hope to be in future,’ he added, his eyes spearing Kate’s.
Jack insisted on helping to clear the table after the first course, which resulted in much bumping into each other as the three of them got in each other’s way in the small kitchen.
‘For heaven’s sake, sit down, Jack,’ laughed Kate at last. ‘Leave the rest to us.’ She shot him a meaningful glance as Jo put her cupcakes on the table.
‘Those look good,’ he said promptly. ‘Did you make them yourself, Kate?’
She shook her head. ‘Jo’s work, not mine.’
‘I won’t mind if you don’t like cake,’ Jo assured him shyly. ‘Kate’s got some cheese.’
Jack took a cake, pronouncing it so delicious he asked for another. ‘Best I’ve tasted in a long time,’ he told her, and Joanna flushed with pleasure as she ate hers.
‘Thank you. I like baking.’
‘Just as well,’ said Kate dryly. ‘My culinary skills don’t extend that far.’
They stayed at the table to drink coffee, Jo completely at ease with her new acquaintance as she asked questions about Bran.
‘Come round to my house at the weekend to see him,’ said Jack casually. ‘I’ll get Molly to organise a special Easter Sunday lunch.’
‘Who’s Molly?’
‘She’s the good fairy who cleans my house and leaves me delicious meals.’
‘She’s very young to be such a fabulous cook,’ said Kate. ‘I’ve sampled some of her food, Jo. It’s delicious.’
‘No more delicious than the meal I had tonight,’ said Jack emphatically. ‘So is that a date, Jo? Or will you be too tired after your party?’