by Lori Foster
“I’ll pay you back. How much was it?”
Her polite query set his teeth on edge. “I don’t want your money, Georgia.”
To his surprise, she came to her feet, making him quickly stand so he wouldn’t be stampeded. “It’s not your job to take care of my children.”
Jordan crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her, studying her set expression. “I don’t mind helping out.”
Her soft lips flattened into a hard line. The way she squeezed Honey’s clothes, they’d be all wrinkled by the time she got them on. Not that he was in any hurry for her to change now that they were virtually alone. The kids were asleep, Casey and Morgan had left, the hospital was quiet.
She looked incredible, sexy and tousled and earthy. His breath came a little faster. “You’re going to need more help, you know.”
She rounded on him, nearly dropping the clothes. Her eyes, circled with smeared mascara and exhaustion, turned stormy gray. She kept her voice low, but it sounded like a growl. “We’ll manage just fine.”
“Georgia…”
Her chin lifted. “You can leave now. I’m sorry I kept you so long. I lost track of the time, but now that I know my mother will be all right, I can—”
Very gently, he interrupted her. “You know I’m not going to leave.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s…” She looked around for a clock.
“It’s very late.” Jordan kept his tone soft and easy, soothing her. He had no idea why she’d suddenly turned defensive, except that she probably hadn’t eaten for a while, her mother was sick, and she’d nearly been arrested.
And he couldn’t stop thinking about getting her naked and under him. Or over him. Or…
He felt like a complete bastard. “Listen to me, Georgia.” He waited until her gaze lifted to his. “I’m going to drive you home after everything is taken care of here.”
“Why?” She stared at him, her face flushed. “You don’t even know me. And what you do know about me, you disapprove of. You certainly don’t owe me anything.”
“Georgia.” He said her name like a caress. He didn’t mean to, but he did. “No man would leave you here alone like this.”
She laughed at that, a mean, bitter laugh. “You are so wrong.”
It took a lot of effort not to get riled, not to react to his sudden suspicions. But she was too upset right now, too overwhelmed, for him to start interrogating her. There’d be plenty of time for him to learn more about her past later. He’d see to that. “How else would you get home?”
“We can take a cab.” She drew a shuddering breath. “Since I got my money from Bill, I can easily afford—”
Jordan took her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, leaning down so that he could whisper. The very last thing he wanted to do was wake the children.
Her eyelashes fluttered at his nearness, but she didn’t look into his eyes. She stared at his mouth instead.
“I’m taking you home, Georgia. Accept it. We’ll get your car tomorrow and then you can check on your mother and, after all that, we’ll talk about the cookout my family has planned.”
She covered her ears with her hands and pulled away. “I have to change now. Will you…” She made a disgusted sound. “Will you stay here with Lisa and Adam?”
“Of course.” Why was she covering her ears? It wasn’t like he’d been being abusive. He’d offered her help. He’d been gentle, calm. He hadn’t told her that he wanted her, that just touching her damn shoulders and bringing her close had nearly driven him to his knees and made him semierect.
He watched her walk away, and decided that he would tell her. Tonight.
He wasn’t at all sure he could last another day this way.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE CAR RIDE home was mostly silent. There wasn’t a single other vehicle on the road, the kids were sound asleep and the clouds had finally cleared enough to let the moonlight dance over the wet streets. Overall, it was a sleepy, relaxing, lulling ride.
But she was far from relaxed. “Jordan…I’m sorry I lost my temper with you.”
Jordan glanced at her as if surprised that she’d spoken. Aside from getting her arrested, he’d been wonderful, and she’d been a raving bitch. All because he scared her.
And when she was around him, she scared herself. The man didn’t need to say anything important, not even anything seductive, and she wanted him. An intolerable situation, and she was far too tired to deal with it.
She could hear the smile in his mellow, mesmeric voice when he spoke. “No problem. You’ve had a rough day.”
Georgia made a sound of agreement, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, if she didn’t see his wide, hard shoulders, the thickness of his muscled forearms, the way his light brown hair caught the moonlight and how deep, how seductive his green eyes were when he turned them toward her—well, maybe it would help. But she doubted it. He was a sinfully gorgeous male, tall and strong and hard, but she’d seen strong attractive men before, dealt with them every night at the bar. No, it was much more than Jordan’s looks, much more than his physical attributes.
All the man had to do was mutter two syllables and she wanted to melt. Something about his voice affected her deep down inside, stripping away her defenses. It made her imagine awful, wonderful things.
She shook her head, more at herself than anything he did or said. “I appreciate the ride home. And how you carried the kids out. I could have managed, but—”
“But you’ve had enough to deal with.” He reached across the seat and his large hand squeezed her shoulder. Even through the borrowed T-shirt, his touch was electric. She caught her breath, not wanting him to know how he affected her, how amazingly turned on she was even at this moment.
She’d had very little sleep over the past two days. She’d worked a double shift and dealt with the threat of being arrested, then the gut-wrenching fear over her mother’s health. She had no idea how she was going to manage to work and take care of her mother at the hospital, with no baby-sitter. Things looked very grim.
But still she wanted him when she never wanted any guy. She’d long since considered herself immune to the normal urges most women felt. So what if Jordan was an uncommonly patient and wonderful man? She shouldn’t care that he was gorgeous and as finely built as a Greek statue, or that he had a voice warm enough to melt butter.
She knew he disapproved of her, and that should have taken care of the rest. But somehow, maybe because her children seemed so taken by him, his disapproval didn’t matter.
“You deserve to take a break, Georgia. And I like your kids. Adam reminds me a little of Casey when he was that age. Constant motion right up until he runs out of steam.”
A distracting topic if ever there was one. She gladly accepted it. “Your nephew certainly took me by surprise.”
Jordan’s smile was gentle and filled with pride. “He’s an amazing kid. Only eighteen, but I swear he has more common sense, more backbone and maturity than a lot of men twice his age. We pretty much raised him ourselves, you know.”
She didn’t know. Since she’d moved to Buckhorn, she’d kept to herself except for her work. And she certainly hadn’t tried to form any friendships at the bar. She didn’t have time to gossip with neighbors, or go out of her way to get to know anyone. “We, meaning you and your brothers?”
“That’s right. Casey’s mother couldn’t deal with a newborn infant, and she took off. Sawyer, my oldest brother, the one who’s a doctor? He was still in medical school when Case was born, but he brought him home from the hospital and that was that. I was…let’s see, fifteen at the time. And I remember being absolutely fascinated. I looked up to Sawyer and Morgan a lot, and I’d always seen them in a one dimensional way, you know?”
“Yes.” She saw most men in a one dimensional way—selfish. Her father, her ex, her boss, the men who threw money at her while she was on stage…. She squeezed her eyes shut at that thought, praying that no
ne of the men were spending grocery or bill money. Some of them, she was sure, couldn’t afford what they tossed at her while downing drink after drink, night after night. And if she thought about that too much, she felt miserably guilty.
But the brothers, even the nephew, had thrown her for a loop. They were unlike any men she’d ever known. Their very posture spoke of confidence and honor and respectability. She found herself intrigued.
Because she knew it had been true for her father, and true for her ex, she asked, “Things changed a lot with a baby in the picture?”
She waited for Jordan’s complaints on the hardships of keeping up with an infant. Once again, he took her by surprise.
“I wouldn’t say they changed, just adjusted a bit. In a good way. Sawyer was always so straight-faced, so serious. And then there he was, cuddling this little squirt and grinning all the time and looking so happy to change a diaper or give a bath.”
Georgia stared at him. When she’d had Lisa, she’d always felt the same way. Everything her baby did she’d thought was magical and amazing. But she’d never considered that a man might have that outlook. “You’re serious?”
Nodding, Jordan said, “I used to think nothing could pull Sawyer from his books, not even a beautiful woman. But if Casey made a noise, he was there, checking on him, smiling at him.”
Jordan grinned with the memories, then shook his head. “Morgan was always the rowdiest. He fought for the fun of fighting. Everyone still jokes about him bordering on the side of savage.”
“I can see that.”
Jordan glanced at her quickly before returning his attention to the road. “He makes a hell of an impression, doesn’t he? He’s kept our town peaceful, usually with little more than a look. But whenever he touched Casey, he was so gentle. It boggled my mind. Now, with his own daughter, Amber, who’s heading on two, he’s the same. I swear he could wrestle buffalo with one arm and hold her close with the other, making sure not a one of her little curls got ruffled. He makes a hell of a sheriff, and an even better dad.”
“You have an impressive family.” Beyond impressive really. Having only met Jordan and Morgan, she should have been prepared for Casey. How could he have been anything less than spectacular, surrounded by such incredible uncles?
Jordan gave one nod. “Yeah, I think they’re pretty great. Gabe, the youngest, started his own business not too long ago and already he’s got more work than he can handle. He can build or repair anything, and after his marriage he decided he needed to get things a little more on track.”
“On track how?”
“Before he met Elizabeth, he just worked when the mood struck him—or if someone needed something. He was always willing to help out. But Gabe preferred to spend his time in other pursuits. I doubt there was ever a day when he was without female company. Women flocked to him. It was almost uncanny. From the time he learned the difference between males and females, every girl in the area was after him, and he took advantage of it. They spoiled him rotten.”
Jordan said that with a fond smile, making Georgia shake her head.
“The worse his reputation got, the more they seemed to come after him. It used to drive my mother nuts until she and Brett retired to Florida.”
His poor wife, Georgia thought. A man like that never settled down, never really gave up his old ways….
Jordan touched her cheek. “Why are you frowning?”
She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized she frowned. “No reason.”
“Come on, Georgia.” He turned down the old road leading to her house. It was bumpy and filled with muddy puddles thanks to the rain. “I could almost see the evil thoughts going through your brain.”
“Not evil. Just…realistic.”
“Like?”
She didn’t appreciate being pushed. She didn’t appreciate having him affect her this way, either. Perhaps it would be best to tell him up front exactly how she felt so he’d leave tonight and not come back. That would be the most intelligent course to take.
So then why did the possibility make her feel so desperate?
Georgia cleared her throat, peeked at her kids to make certain they were still sleeping soundly. “Very well. If you’re sure you want to hear this?”
“I do.”
“I imagine,” she said slowly, measuring her words, “that any man who’s used to running from one woman to the next, to indulging every sexual whim, is not likely to settle down with only one woman, just because he says a few vows. If it’s in his nature to be a…sexual hedonist—”
Jordan laughed. “Gabe is that.”
“—then he’ll always be a hedonist.”
“True. I won’t argue with you there. All of my brothers are very sexual.” He glanced at her and shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with that, by the way.”
Georgia didn’t bother to argue with him on it. She did, however, wonder if he included himself in the “very sexual” category.
No! She did not wonder. She didn’t care. Refusing to look at him, she stared out her door window and watched the passing shrubbery on the side of the road. Even in the darkness, everything looked wilted by the rain.
Without her encouragement, Jordan continued. “Gabe is still a man, still very interested in sex, and I can’t see that ever changing. But now he does all his overindulging with his wife.”
Lord, how had she gotten onto this subject? She felt so hot, her window was beginning to steam. “If you say so,” she mumbled, hoping he’d let it go.
But of course he didn’t.
“You don’t believe me?” When she didn’t answer, he whistled. “Must have been a hell of a marriage you had.”
Georgia denied that with a shake of her head. “The marriage was fine. It was the end of the marriage that was hell.”
So softly she could barely hear him, Jordan asked, “Because you still loved him?”
“No.” By the time the divorce was finalized, she knew she’d been living a fairy tale, created and maintained all in the fancy of her mind. She’d seen what she’d wanted to see, not what had really been there. “No, I didn’t still love him. And it didn’t matter that he had never really loved me. But he never loved his kids, either. And that I can’t understand.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?” His voice had that low, hypnotic sound to it again, making her insides tingle, making her breasts feel too full. It pulled at her until she wanted to lean toward him, wanted to press her face into his throat and breathe in his scent, feel the warmth of his hard body. “What difference does it make to you?”
Jordan turned into her driveway and cut the engine. “Maybe I can explain it once we get inside.” His gaze, glittering bright, held her. “Go unlock your front door and I’ll carry the kids in.”
She quickly shook her head, dispelling the trance he’d put her in with that melodic voice. “No. Thank you. You’ve done enough and I insist on repaying you for your—”
“I’m walking you in, Georgia.” His tone was now firm and commanding. His large hand cupped her cheek, tipping up her chin. “We have a few things to say to each other.”
“We have nothing to discuss!”
“Mommy?” Lisa sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking around in confusion.
With one last glare at Jordan—where she couldn’t help but notice that he appeared understanding and sympathetic still—Georgia got out of the front seat, then opened her daughter’s car door. “Sweetheart, we’re home.” She unfastened Lisa’s seat belt and smoothed her tangled bangs out of her face. “Wait right here while I go unlock the door, then I’ll get Adam and we’ll all go in, okay?”
She’d forgotten to turn on a porch light before they left, and the path to the front door, broken and overgrown with weeds, would have been impossible if Jordan hadn’t flipped the headlights back on. Her hand shook as she struggled to get the key into the lock and open the front door. But when she turned around, she almost fell over her daughter.
&nb
sp; Jordan stood there, Adam snuggled blissfully unaware in his arms while Lisa held on to one of his belt loops. He gave her a gentle smile and said, “Move.”
Like a zombie, Georgia stepped out of the way. What choice did she have? None. As a matter of fact, Jordan, with his quiet, calm ways, had been taking away her choices from the moment she first saw him.
She closed the door and started after him, hearing Lisa direct him to Adam’s room at the top of the stairs. Lisa followed him, then veered off to her own bedroom. Georgia went to her first, helping her to get her nightgown on and tucking her into bed.
“I didn’t brush my teeth.”
Georgia smiled and pressed a kiss to Lisa’s forehead. “You’ll brush them twice tomorrow morning, okay?”
“Okay. I love you, Mommy.”
Tears blurred her eyes for a moment. She was just so tired. And she had so very much to be thankful for. “Oh baby, I love you, too.” She scooped her daughter up for a giant bear hug. “So, so much.”
“Will you tell Jordan g’night for me?”
“Of course I—”
“I’m right here.” Jordan stepped out of the shadows and sat on the edge of Lisa’s bed, practically forcing Georgia to scamper out of his way. He was an enormously large man and took up entirely too much space. “Thanks for helping me out so much today, Lisa. I appreciate it.”
Her teeth flashed in a quick smile. “It was fun. Except for grandma gettin’ sick.”
Jordan stroked her hair. “You were asleep, but your mother assures me that your grandma will be fine. The doctors are going to take very good care of her, and before long, she’ll be back home.”
Lisa nodded, then looked back at her mother. “Who’s going to baby-sit us when you go to work?”
Georgia had been standing there in something of a stupor, amazed and a little appalled at how at ease Jordan seemed to be with her daughter, and how at ease her daughter was with him. There hadn’t been many men in their lives, certainly not one who would smooth a blanket and stroke back a wayward curl.
Her father had never been close to her, much less his grandchildren. He’d died without ever knowing how truly wonderful Lisa and Adam were. Her ex-husband had walked away from them without a backward glance. But Jordan Sommerville had not only cared for them, he’d done so willingly, and even claimed to have enjoyed himself.