Suddenly One Summer

by Barbara Freethy

  “I can’t resist.” He leaned over and stole a kiss. Her mouth was soft, her breath warm. He wanted more.

  She put a hand against his chest, but she didn’t push him away. Instead her fingers curled in the material of his shirt. “Someone will see.”

  “No one is looking at us.”

  “Lexie—”

  “Is fine,” he said, lowering his head again. “Relax. Live for the moment. It’s allowed.”

  “Maybe one moment,” she murmured. “But that’s all.”

  EIGHTEEN

  Jenna went back for a lot more than one kiss before she finally pushed Reid away. Her pulse was pounding, her lips tingling, and her body was more than ready to take things a lot further. Judging by the look in Reid’s eyes, he was, too.

  “Jenna…” he began.

  “Don’t say anything,” she whispered as the fireworks exploded in a climactic frenzy. The crowd cheered as the last colors rained out of the sky. She got to her feet, drawing in several deep breaths of air as she did so. Her eyes sought out Lexie, who was with the Coopers, thank goodness.

  Reid moved in behind her, his breath warm on her neck. It wouldn’t take much for her to lean back against his chest, for him to slide his hands around her waist, for her to turn her head ever so slightly…

  “Kissing me isn’t a crime,” Reid said.

  “This isn’t me. I’m breaking all the rules.”

  “What rules?”

  “No public displays of emotion or affection. No scandals. No wrong notes. No bad hair days. No breakdowns. No forgetting what I’m supposed to do, who I’m supposed to be.”

  “Those sound like your father’s rules. You can choose your own, Jenna.” Reid put his hand on her waist. “Stop worrying so much,” he whispered by her ear. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  She put her hand over his, and the warmth of his fingers seeped into her soul. Why this man? Why now, when she had so many other things to deal with?

  As usual, the universe wasn’t including her in its plans. She was just going along for a very wild ride.

  As the fireworks ended, the crowd began to break up. Jenna stepped away from Reid as Kara and Colin walked over to them. She was grateful for their interruption.

  Kara’s face was glowing, and Colin had his arm around his wife as if he never intended to let her go. If the word happiness had a picture next to it in the dictionary, it would be an image of Kara and Colin.

  “Hey there, Jenna,” Kara said with a smile. “Weren’t the fireworks spectacular?”

  “They were amazing,” Jenna replied.

  “Spectacular,” Reid agreed.

  Jenna heard the smile in his voice and knew he wasn’t thinking about the fireworks. She felt a blush warm her cheeks and hoped no one noticed.

  “I don’t think we’ve met.” Kara gave Reid a curious look. “I’m Kara Lynch, and this is my husband, Colin.”

  “Reid Tanner.” He stepped forward to shake Kara’s hand. Reid offered his hand to Colin next, but Colin simply scowled at him.

  Kara glanced up at her husband. “What’s wrong with you? You’re being rude.”

  “We’ve already met,” Colin told his wife. “He was one of the men in the bar fight last night.”

  “I thought one of the Harlan brothers punched you.” Kara frowned at Reid. “You’re not the one who put that bruise on my husband’s face, are you?”

  “No,” Reid replied. “I am sorry about the fight. The Harlan brothers misunderstood my desire to get across the room as being impolite. They assumed that I had shoved one of them, which wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, when someone takes a swing at me, I swing back.”

  Colin’s scowl lifted as he gave a nod. “Roger and Bill have hot tempers; always have. I got into my share of misunderstandings with them when we were kids. I’d suggest you steer clear of them when they’re drinking. Otherwise, they’re not bad guys.” He stuck out his hand. “I guess I should officially welcome you to Angel’s Bay. What’s your business here? Or are you just vacationing?”

  “I’m covering the angels for a magazine.”

  Colin tipped his head in acknowledgment. “I’m a big fan of our local legends, but I wouldn’t mind if the angels disappeared for a while. We’ve had more vandalism this weekend than we’ve had in a long time. A few break-ins, too. So make sure you lock your doors at night. We’re stepping up patrols, but there are a lot of strangers in town and I’ll be happy when they go home. Speaking of which…” Colin glanced down at his wife. “We should go. The baby needs to sleep.”

  “Does that mean we’ll be going right to sleep?” Kara asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

  “We’ll have to see how tired you are,” Colin said with a laugh, as he brushed a strand of hair from her face in a tender gesture.

  “Bye, Jenna,” Kara said as her husband led her away.

  “They’re a nice couple,” Jenna commented. “Very much in love.”

  Reid didn’t answer. He seemed lost in thought.

  “Reid?” she prodded. “What are you thinking?”

  “I was just considering what Colin said about vandalism. It makes me wonder if there’s a link between the break-ins, the video, the angel fanatics, and the symbols on the cliff. I don’t know how anyone could get to that cliff face now; there are too many eyes on it. But even though the angels haven’t appeared in at least a week, no one seems to be going home.”

  “I guess faith doesn’t have a time limit. And here I thought I was your favorite story,” she added lightly.

  He smiled at her. “I can multitask.” His expression grew serious. “About your story, Jenna. What about confiding in Colin?”

  “Absolutely not. He might be a good guy, but he’s also a cop. It’s too big a risk.”

  “One you may have to take.”

  He might be right, but she wasn’t ready to make that decision. “I’ll think about it. Right now, I need to get Lexie home.” She picked up the blanket and shook out the sand.

  “I’ll walk back with you,” Reid said as volunteers began breaking down the tables next to the bonfire.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll say good night at the door.”

  She didn’t believe him for a second. “You are too good at talking me into things I don’t want to do.”

  He grinned. “Oh, I think you want to do them; you just need a little encouragement.”

  “You’re very cocky, did you know that?”

  “I’ve been told,” he said.

  Jenna sighed. Reid was pretty irresistible. The more she knew about him, the better she liked him, cockiness and all.

  A moment later Lexie came running over, talking a mile a minute about the fireworks show. When she finally slowed down to take a breath, Jenna said, “I’m glad you had fun, but it’s way past your bedtime. We need to go home.”

  “Kimmy said I could come over to her house tomorrow if I want,” Lexie volunteered. “She has swings in her backyard. I really like to swing.”

  Jenna blew out a breath. There seemed to be no end to the many things Lexie wanted to do that would take her away from Jenna’s protective care, which was normal, and somehow she’d have to find a way to deal. “Let’s talk about that in the morning.”

  As they headed up the stairs from the beach, Jenna saw Lexie grab Reid’s hand as she talked about her favorite fireworks. Reid was good with Lexie. He talked to her, not down to her, and Lexie blossomed under his smile. She probably missed the presence of a father figure in her life, but it worried Jenna that Lexie might get attached to Reid. He was only temporary; she’d have to make sure that Lexie understood that.

  About two blocks from the beach, Lexie’s energy gave out. She stopped walking abruptly and raised her arms in the air.

  “I’m tired. Could you give me a piggyback ride?” Lexie asked Reid.

  “Sure.” Reid squatted down. “Climb on, kid.”

  Lexie threw her arms around Rei
d’s neck and wrapped her legs around his waist as he stood up. She let out a squeal as Reid took off on a jog.

  Jenna smiled to herself. The man was showing off—no doubt about it. She just hoped he knew there was a hill coming.

  Annie stared at the phone in the Adamses’ study for a long moment. It was almost ten o’clock at night, and she thought both Charlotte and her mother had gone to bed. They were in their bedrooms, and she hadn’t heard any sounds in a long time. Mrs. Adams had had two lady visitors for most of the night, and they’d spent the evening in the kitchen. Charlotte had been in her room, talking on the phone to her sister, Doreen, for at least a half hour, and it was clear they were arguing about something.

  Charlotte didn’t seem to get along very well with either her mother or her sister, but Annie couldn’t figure out why. Charlotte was the nicest person she’d ever met. Mrs. Adams was nice, too. She was strict, though. Mrs. Adams liked things a certain way, and Annie hoped she wouldn’t screw up. She really didn’t know where else she could go. Maybe she could help cheer Mrs. Adams up, and then she’d be allowed to stay.

  Annie understood sadness. She’d felt it throughout most of her life, but she’d especially grieved for her mother. She hadn’t just lost a parent; she’d lost her best friend. She couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life without her mom. She couldn’t imagine giving birth to her own child without her mother being there to help her. But she was gone. And that was that.

  Her gaze moved from the phone and swept the rest of the room. This was the room that Reverend Adams had used as his office. There was a family photo on the desk right next to a Bible. She wondered if Charlotte’s father had made her memorize the Bible, the way her father had done.

  Seeing the Bible reminded her of the shame she’d brought to her father. He hated her now. She was dead to him. She shouldn’t care. He hadn’t loved her in a long time. In truth, he might never have loved her—or at least not since she was a small child and the war changed him.

  She didn’t miss living in the latest shack he called home. She didn’t miss worrying that he’d accidentally shoot her if she got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. She didn’t miss the harsh slap of his hand upon her face or hearing him call her a whore. But…

  She missed having a home, a family. She put a hand to her stomach. There was a baby growing inside. The thought terrified her, yet she felt secretly happy that she’d finally have someone to love, someone who would love her back. But the baby wasn’t just hers. Maybe…

  Maybe she should just call.

  She picked up the phone and punched in the number before she could change her mind.

  It rang three times and then his voice came over the line. Her heart melted at the strong masculine tone. She remembered how it had felt to hear her name on his lips as he’d made love to her. He’d told her she was beautiful, and she’d believed him. A tear slid down her cheek.

  “Hello,” he said impatiently. “Who is this?”

  She heard another voice in the background and knew what she had to do. She hung up the phone. She and the baby were on their own. She had to accept that.

  It was nice not to come home alone, Jenna thought as they approached her house. She didn’t like the nights, the dark silence, the tall shadows from the trees surrounding her property. But while she was grateful for Reid’s presence, she’d need to send him home before she did something stupid—like kiss him again. She liked him a little too much.

  Most of the men she’d dated had come from her world; they’d been smooth, sophisticated, polished, educated in culture, the arts, music. They had season tickets to the opera and to the ballet. Reid had lots of rough edges. He obviously knew how to fight. He was blunt, honest, and she doubted he was ever politically correct. But he was also intelligent, charming, sexy, and he seemed to understand her almost better than she understood herself. He’d been kind to her, offering his shoulder to cry on, and listening to all of her concerns and insecurities. She wasn’t too naïve to see that there was something in it for a him, a potential story to break, but she knew it wasn’t all about that. He had a good heart. He cared even when he didn’t want to.

  “I’m coming inside,” Reid said as they stepped onto the porch.

  She unlocked the door, not bothering to argue. She always dreaded the first few moments when they entered the dark, empty house. She began turning on lights and moving through the rooms. Lexie ran down the hall to her bedroom to get into her pajamas. Jenna quickly checked the rest of the house, acutely aware that Reid was watching her every moment.

  “Everything okay?” He followed her into the kitchen, tipping his head toward the basement door. “Where does that go?”

  “The basement,” she said. “There’s no access to it from outside the house.”

  “Why don’t we check it anyway?”

  “All right.” She opened the door and flipped the light at the top of the stairs.

  Reid went down first. “What is this stuff?” he asked, looking around.

  “It belongs to the woman who owned this house before she died. And you’re not going to believe this, but she seems to have a tie to my family.”

  An immediate gleam of curiosity flashed in his eyes. “Don’t stop there.”

  “In that trunk, I found some old clothes and a journal. It seems that Rose Littleton, the woman who lived here for most of her life, gave up a baby when she was very young. That baby had a birth-mark on her heel in the shape of an angel’s wing, much like the angel’s wing featured on the centerpiece square of the Angel’s Bay quilt. I don’t know if you’ve heard any of the history of the town, but the baby was washed ashore without its parents and the town took care of her, named her Gabriella. According to the journal I found, every first daughter descended from Gabriella carries the birthmark.”

  “I heard something about the baby,” Reid said, as he glanced around the basement. “How does it connect to you? I thought you came here by chance, that the underground network placed you here.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. Until I read the journal. It seems that Rose gave up a baby for adoption, a baby who bore a birthmark in the shape of an angel’s wing. My mother and Rose’s baby had the same birthdate.”

  “And your mother was adopted?”

  “I didn’t know that she was. No one ever said, but since she died I’ve had no contact with her family. They lived in another state, and my father didn’t encourage any kind of relationship.”

  “So all you have is a common birthdate?”

  “No. Kelly had the same birthmark on her heel, and so does Lexie. I’m not sure about my mother, but I think there’s a good chance she had it, too. I believe Kelly figured out the connection to Rose, and that’s why she came here. That’s why we’re renting this house—the house of the person who was probably our biological grandmother.” She could see by the doubt in Reid’s expression that he wasn’t buying it. “You don’t believe me.”

  “What about you? Do you have a birthmark?”

  “I’m not the firstborn daughter, and according to Rose’s journal, the mark only goes to the first daughter. You want proof? I’ll show you.”

  She led Reid out of the basement and down the hall to Lexie’s room. Lexie had changed into her pajamas and was sitting in the middle of her bed, with a hairbrush in her hand. She was trying to get the tangles out of her hair to no avail.

  Jenna took the brush out of Lexie’s hand and sat down behind her on the bed. “I’ll do that, honey. Why don’t you show Mr. Tanner the angel’s kiss on your foot? He wants to see it.”

  Lexie immediately stuck out her foot. Reid sat down on the bed and examined her foot.

  “That’s cool,” he said, tracing the lines with his finger.

  “Only very special people have one. It’s the kiss of an angel,” Lexie said. “My mommy had one. I mean…” She licked her lips and gave Jenna a quick look.

  “It’s okay, honey. Mr. Tanner knows that I’m your aunt. But he’s
the only one, so we have to keep it that way. You understand, right?”

  Lexie nodded solemnly and then turned back to Reid. “My name used to be Caroline, but I like Lexie better. Mommy told me that I could pick any name I wanted. We used to read a story about a girl named Lexie, and she had a lot of fun. She climbed trees, and surfed in the ocean, and looked for buried treasure. I’m going to learn to surf when I’m older.”

  Reid smiled. “I always wanted to surf, too.”

  “Maybe we can do it together.”

  “Maybe,” Reid said lightly, but Jenna could see that he was uncomfortable.

  “I like the name Lexie,” Reid continued. “I always wanted to change my name.”

  “To what?” Lexie asked.

  “Dragon,” Reid said very seriously.

  Lexie laughed. “No one is called Dragon. That’s silly.”

  “I didn’t think so. If someone told me something I didn’t want to hear, or forced me to do something I didn’t want to do, I’d breathe fire and scare them away. I thought it was the perfect name.”

  Reid’s childhood must have been rough, Jenna thought. He’d mentioned growing up in foster care, and she felt a rush of emotion for his loss. No wonder he kept himself closed off. He’d already suffered through a great deal of pain. Perhaps it was his past that made him connect with Lexie. He knew what it was like to lose parents.

  “Will you read me a story, Mr. Tanner?” Lexie asked. “I don’t have any about dragons, but I do have one about mermaids.”

  “Uh, I think Jenna wants me to leave,” Reid said.

  “You have time for a story, if you want,” Jenna replied with a smile.

  Lexie handed Reid the book she’d borrowed from the library. It was about mermaids living in an enchanted sea until the pirates came along to steal their gold. Jenna brushed Lexie’s hair while Reid read the story. She was impressed with the way he got into it, changing his voice for the different characters. Reid was certainly not a man to do anything halfway.

  After she finished brushing out the tangles, Lexie slid down on the bed, her eyes drifting closed as Reid read the climactic scene where the mermaids outwit the pirates and retrieve their gold. Jenna liked the story because the mermaids saved themselves, not a hero in sight, which was unusual for a fairy tale.