“She’s in town visiting one of her friends…the granddaughter of Ashley’s receptionist. We thought it would make this transition a little easier if Heather could be entertained somewhere for a few hours each day. Luckily, she loved the idea.”
“Did you ever agree on a name for your son?” Jude asked at the same time the bedroom door opened and Ashley stepped into the hallway. She had on a cotton house-coat and looked pretty good, considering what she’d gone through recently.
“Jude!” she exclaimed, hugging him around the waist. “It’s so good to see you. And yes, our son has a name.”
“Which is?”
She leaned back slightly and met his gaze. “Joseph Kenneth Crenshaw. He’s named after both his grandfathers.”
“Okay, the hug’s gone on long enough,” Jake growled impatiently. “It’s time to introduce you to Joey.”
Ashley stepped away from Jude and smiled sweetly at her husband. “If you wake him up, you get to put him back to sleep.”
“Or…maybe we’ll wait for him to wake up on his own. If last night was any indication that won’t be too long,” Jake replied, rolling his eyes.
Jude draped his arm around Ashley’s shoulder and the three of them went downstairs. He could almost hear Jake grinding his teeth as he followed behind them. Jude grinned. Jake was as possessive as ever of Ashley, which was why he enjoyed tweaking him about it.
When they sat at the table Jake made sure he was the one next to Ashley. Jude winked at her and she laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Jake asked her.
“Oh, you know Jude. He’s making funny faces at me again.”
“Why is it the two of you make me feel so old?”
Ashley rested her head on his shoulder. “Believe me, you aren’t close to being old.”
“Are the folks in town?” Jude asked quickly, unwilling to listen if Ashley decided to go into detail.
“They came back early. Got here a couple of days before Joey was born. I think Ashley decided to wait for them to get here before she gave birth.”
She gave him an incredulous stare before looking at Jude. “Oh, sure, that’s what I did, all right. Being the size of a horse, waddling everywhere—not to mention what an active baby can do to a bladder—was way too much fun to give up too soon.”
“Ah,” Jude replied. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Jake grinned, no doubt at his obvious discomfort. “Just wait until you’re married, old son, and you’ll have the opportunity to learn firsthand what she’s talking about.”
“I think I’ll pass,” Jude replied quickly, annoyed that thoughts of Carina popped into his head. “I’m going to let you and Jared fulfill any family obligations we have to the next generation. Speaking of Jared, how are they doing?”
“They’re looking for a house to buy somewhere near Houston,” Ashley replied. “Lindsey wants a large place with lots of lawn area for the children she wants to have. She doesn’t want to raise an only child, having been one herself.”
The three of them visited another hour before Joey let his presence be known. Jude was amused at the immediate response to his cry. He trailed Jake and Ashley into their bedroom and walked over to a baby bed set in an alcove of the room. Ashley picked up the crying infant and snuggled him into the curve of her shoulder and neck.
“Wow. He’s really small,” Jude finally said. “I’ve seen newborn puppies bigger than that.”
Ashley nodded and spoke softly, so she wouldn’t startle Joey. “So have I, for that matter. But he’s plenty big enough and he’s healthy.”
Jake absently placed his hand on Joey’s back, his fingers resting against the baby’s neck, his palm cupping his bottom. The look Jake and Ashley shared was so intimate that Jude felt they were no longer aware he was there.
He realized with something of a shock that he envied them.
While Joey ate, Jake called their mom and dad and told them that Jude was visiting. They arrived in fifteen minutes. His mom clung to him for a moment and said, “I’ve missed hearing from you. And seeing you.”
“I’m here now, Mom,” he said, and draped an arm around her, shaking his dad’s hand with the other.
“How long can you stay?” Joe asked.
“I figure I’ll head back this afternoon. But that still gives us most of the day to visit.”
And visit they did. He heard all about their latest trip—where they’d gone, who they’d met and what they’d seen. Gail and Ashley prepared lunch and Joey joined them for another brief visit after lunch before Ashley took him upstairs to sleep.
Jude visited with Joe and Jake and continued to relax as the day passed. When he reluctantly took his leave, he promised them that he’d be back before much longer and would be able to stay a week or so.
He was in a much better mood when he reached the San Antonio city limits than he had been when he’d left. He looked at the time. It was early, around seven. He decided to drop by Carina’s, casual-like, and get the lay of the land there. She might close the door in his face, for all he knew, but he wanted to see her again.
Just to say hi.
He knocked on her door a couple of times before he had to face the fact that she wasn’t at home. He turned and surveyed the parking lot, but didn’t see her car. Not that it made a difference. She could be on a date, for all he knew.
Which irritated him. He’d spent Sunday night with her and by Wednesday she was out with someone else? He reminded himself that nothing she did was any of his business.
Maybe she was visiting her parents. That was probably it. He’d give her a call the next day and see if she’d like to get out for a few hours.
They were friends, after all. Friends could spend an hour or two together without a problem.
Nine
Carina practiced the piano a minimum of four hours a day and had done so for many years. Since the weekend she had spent most of her time working on her music. She found that the concentration needed helped keep the pain of Jude’s defection away.
When the phone interrupted her, Carina looked at the clock. She’d been playing for almost three hours.
This time she knew it wasn’t going to be Jude. She tried to convince herself that she no longer cared.
“Hello?”
“Hi.”
The sound of his voice destroyed all coherent thought. Had his voice always sounded to deep? She put her hand over her chest in hopes of calming her racing pulse.
Finally, she said, “Hello, Jude,” and sank onto the sofa.
“I—uh—I thought I’d see how you’re doing.”
“Quite well, thank you.”
“Good.” Pause. “That’s good.” Longer pause. “I went to visit my family this week. Got back yesterday evening.”
So he’d been out of town. That still didn’t excuse his rudeness. “I’m sure they were pleased to see you. You saw the baby?”
“Yes. Yes, I did. He, uh, he looks like a, uh, baby. They say he’s healthy, which is good.”
“Why are you calling?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “I guess I left a little abruptly Monday morning.”
“You guess, but you’re not sure.”
“The truth is…the real truth is that— Aw, hell. Forget it. Sorry I disturbed you.”
“Jude! Wait.”
“What?”
“Would it help if we saw each other and talked out what happened?”
“It happened. There’s nothing to talk about, except that I want to make love to you so badly I ache all the time. I’ve been in this condition since I left you. I’m not blaming you. It’s just that—” A long pause. “I know we didn’t intend for our relationship to become this involved. As a matter of fact, it looks like I’ll be leaving San Antonio before much longer.”
Carina felt a pain in her chest and forced herself to breathe. She’d known all along that nothing could come of their dating other than enjoying his company while she could. So why did the n
ews that he was leaving hurt so?
“Oh?” she said after a lengthy pause. “Where will you go?”
No answer.
“Jude?”
“I, um, I’m not sure just yet. I’ll be spending time with my family and then I’m thinking about going east and looking up an old army buddy I haven’t seen in a long while.”
“I see.”
“I know you’re going to New York soon.”
“That’s right.”
“The thing is, I really want to see you again. There’s no hidden agenda. I enjoy spending time with you. I mean, we’ll both head east in a few weeks, anyway. Do you have a problem continuing to see me until then?”
“I wasn’t the one who left Monday morning.”
“Right. Guess I was a coward for not telling you goodbye.”
“I’m not certain of the etiquette in that kind of situation, but it seems that would be the polite thing to do.”
“I’m sorry.”
She smiled. “Apology accepted.”
“Great. Thanks. Would you like to do something today? Maybe have lunch or something?”
“I keep wondering what the ‘or something’ is.”
He laughed. “I’m trying to be polite here.”
“Jude. Come over and we’ll decide on the something we’d like to do today.”
“’Bye.”
Carina couldn’t believe he’d practically hung up on her and she chuckled.
Okay. So she was an idiot. She had no business seeing him again and she knew it. She was too vulnerable where Jude was concerned. Their night together taught her so much about herself and her perspective and just how wrong she’d been about sex.
She realized that she knew next to nothing about making love or how to please a man. She and Danny had been friends, first and foremost. They were comfortable with each other but there had never been the sexual spark between them that had occurred the first time she met Jude.
For the first time she could better understand what Danny must have known about their relationship. It explained why he’d been seeing someone else. If he’d only been honest with her. But back then she wouldn’t have understood.
Now she did. And she forgave him.
What she felt when she was with Jude was so much more. She was aware of him constantly; everything he did, every move he made. She knew his voice and his laugh and the way he whispered endearments when he made love to her.
Of course he didn’t say that he loved her. She would never want him to lie to her. He’d been honest and up-front about who he was from the very beginning, which is why she’d learned to trust him. She knew that Jude would never intentionally hurt her. She found the thought comforting.
She discovered that she wanted to continue to see him while they were in San Antonio. She wanted to gather memories of him. No one could hurt those memories and she would look back on this time in her life with joy. She would move on and meet someone else and be happy, but she knew that she would never, not ever, forget Jude Crenshaw.
When Jude knocked on the door, she opened it and smiled at him. “Come on in.”
He placed his hand against the doorjamb and leaned on it. “I’d rather not. Let’s get something to eat. There’s this great little place on the River Walk that I like. Then this afternoon I thought we might go over to Fiesta Texas and see what that’s all about. This evening we can go to Crazy Eights if you’re up for it.”
“Wow. That’s quite an itinerary. All public places. How interesting.”
He grinned. “I’m hoping I can keep my hands off you.”
She laughed. “That will be tough if we’re going to be dancing the night away.”
“You know what I mean. Are you up for it?”
She looked down at her slacks and sleeveless blouse. “I’m not certain this is appropriate to wear.”
“It’s perfect.” He looked up and down the hallway before he looked back at her, almost bashfully. “So would you like to go have lunch?”
“I’d like that. I’ll get my purse. If you don’t want to come in—”
“I never said that! It’s just that my willpower is a little shaky at the moment.”
“You know, that’s the best compliment anyone has ever paid me. You make me feel absolutely irresistible.”
He waited a moment and then asked, “So where were you last night?”
She had walked over to pick up her purse on the kitchen bar. Now, she spun around and looked at him in surprise. Without saying anything, Carina moved toward him, pausing to make certain the door locked behind her, and then looked at him.
“I, uh, came by when I got back into town and you weren’t here.” He walked beside her with his hands in his pockets.
“Is that right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then I was obviously out.”
“I know that.”
“And you think my whereabouts is any of your business because—?”
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I really missed you and…I hope you had a good time.”
“Oh, I did.”
“Mmm.”
She laughed. “Jude, for someone who insists that there are no strings attached in this relationship, you’re sounding a tad jealous.”
“I know. I’m confused as hell about how I’m feeling, myself. I have no doubt that you’ll put me in my proper place whenever I step over the line.”
They reached the car and he opened the door for her.
When he got in and started the car, she said, “What kind of restaurant do you have in mind?”
“It’s called Boudro’s and they serve some of the best Cajun food you can find outside of Louisiana. Of course, if that’s too spicy for you, they have other things on the menu, as well.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before he added, “And they make terrific margaritas, if you’re so inclined.”
She laughed. “It’s a little early for that, but your choice sounds fine.”
They followed Jude’s agenda for the day. After lunch they drove to Fiesta Texas and wandered around looking at all the rides, trying a couple and in general enjoying the festive mood there.
They left in the late afternoon. As she leaned back in the passenger seat of Jude’s car, Carina said, “Ah, this air-conditioning feels great. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I sat down.” She looked over at him. “Could we go to Crazy Eights another night?”
“Of course.”
“I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun acting like a kid, riding the rides, trying for prizes. But my training wheels are dragging. Why don’t we go back to my place and I’ll make something light for supper. Maybe omelets, if you like them.”
“I’m so glad you’re ready to call it a day,” Jude said, grinning. “I’m ready to take it easy for the rest of the evening. You know,” he said earnestly, “a shower would help to cool us off once we get to your place.”
“That’s true.”
“So I was thinking. We could conserve water and shower together, maybe?”
She exploded into laughter at his obvious suggestion that they get naked together. She saw absolutely nothing wrong with the idea. When she finally ran down, she smiled at him and said, “You know, Jude, I had no idea you were so ecology-minded.”
Jude left Carina’s apartment a little after midnight. This time he roused her enough to let her know he was leaving. The memory of her sleepy murmur and kiss kept him smiling to himself all the way to his house.
When Jude got home, he looked for John but the agent wasn’t downstairs, so he went upstairs, went to bed and, for the first time since the weekend, slept deeply.
The phone woke him up at six the next morning.
“Crenshaw.”
“We’re at the airport. Can you pick us up?” Hal asked.
“I’m on my way.”
Jude backed out of the garage five minutes later. Traffic was light at that time of the morning. Since the airport was on the north side of the city, he made go
od time heading south into town. Hal and Ruth were waiting near the curb when he pulled up in front of the international terminal. Jude helped them stow their luggage. “You should have called me earlier and I would have been here when you landed.”
“There wasn’t time. When we realized the brothers were flying back last night we caught the last available flight before morning,” Ruth said, settling into the back seat.
“Was the trip worthwhile?” Jude asked, pulling away from the curb.
Hal answered, “If you mean, do we know when the stuff is coming in, then the trip was definitely worthwhile. The truck left some time yesterday evening. They expect it to arrive late tomorrow night.”
“Did you find out how they transport it to get past the border?”
“They’re shipping what looks like solid wood furniture, supposedly valuable antiques from Portugal. I managed to get a peek so that I’d recognize which furniture to zero in on.”
“Then we’ve got them.”
Jude waited until after lunch to call Carina. When she answered, he asked, “How did you sleep last night?”
She chuckled. “Funny thing. I managed to get much more sleep once you left.”
“Not surprising. I have a tendency to pull covers.”
“Or toss them. How are you?”
“Great.” He was, too. Adrenaline was already pumping through his system. “Are you up for spending the evening practicing dance steps?”
“I’d love to.”
“I’ve got errands to run and things to do until about eight this evening. The band doesn’t start playing until nine. I’ll pick you up a little after eight, if that’s okay.”
“See you then.”
Carina hung up with a pleased smile on her face. She was going to enjoy each moment she spent with him without looking ahead to the future.
A little later the phone rang again and she thought it might be Jude. Instead, Marisa called.
“How are you?” she asked Marisa.
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