His Child
Page 20
And since the bedroom was nearby, that’s where he went. A few minutes later, he sat on the edge of the bed and held her tightly to him.
“Douglas was the one behind the plot,” she finally said.
Jake kissed her to stop her from giving him the details. He couldn’t handle those yet. Not when he’d come so close to losing her.
“I don’t care if you’re a cop,” he whispered. “And I don’t care who or what you were investigating. All that matters is you’re safe and right here where you belong.”
“You mean that?” She looked up, measuring him. “I’m in love with you. I don’t how it happened.”
She made it sound like a miracle. Maybe that’s exactly what it was. “I love you, too.”
Jessie sucked in her breath. And blinked. “God, I’m probably going to cry again.” There was no probably to it. Her eyes watered and a tear spilled down her cheek. “You really mean you love me? You’re not just saying that because we almost got killed?”
“I mean it,” Jake assured her. “I love you.”
Jessie studied him a moment longer, and when she was apparently satisfied he’d told her the truth, she placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “Then, everything will be all right.”
Yes, it would be.
Chapter Nineteen
It was a dream that woke Jessie. Not the nightmare she’d expected to have about Douglas. There wasn’t even a hint of the chaos that had gone on the day before at the hotel. No sound of gunshots. No dead body. No questions by the police. The dream was a happy one. In it Jake had made love to her. Much as he’d done when he’d finally taken her to bed at the ranch.
Jessie rolled over expecting to snuggle closer to him. He wasn’t there. She was alone in the bed and the balcony doors were open.
Frowning, she threw back the covers and got up. She slipped on a robe, just in case Willa was out there with him.
Jake was there, all right. Alone. Wearing only his boxer shorts and a thin smile. It had rained sometime during the night; the balcony was wet beneath her feet. The air was fresh. Clean.
She walked to him, noticing the worry lines on his forehead. Those lines troubled her. Jake had probably spent hours beating himself up because he hadn’t recognized Douglas’s plot sooner. She knew that because she’d done pretty much the same thing.
Jake raked his thumb over the sash on her robe. “Why’d you put this on?” There was a suggestion in his tone—he would have preferred her to wear only skimpy underwear. Or nothing.
“I thought Willa might be with you.”
He shook his head. “I had her take the sedative Dr. Lisette prescribed. She should be asleep.”
“The next few months will be hard on her.” It was an understatement. Jessie had seen Willa when she’d been told about her husband and Markham’s murder. The woman was devastated. And with reason. Douglas would stand trial for murder and possibly would be given a death sentence. Still, Willa had Jake, and he would no doubt help her get through this.
“So what are you doing out here?” she asked.
He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. “Trying to think about how I should ask you to marry me.”
She flexed her eyebrows. “Does that mean you want to marry me?”
“That seems the right thing to do. After all, you’re carrying my baby. And there’s the part about me loving you. Seems as if marriage is the next logical step.”
Jessie pretended to give that some thought. Actually, there was nothing to think about. This was exactly what she wanted. “Why don’t you just come out and ask me, then?”
He kissed her first. It was long, hard. And, she hoped, just a prelude to things to come. “All right, Jessie. Will you marry to me?”
“Yes, under one condition.”
Those worry lines returned. “I’ve already said I don’t mind you being a cop.”
“I know. I remember.” Jessie was thankful she had a job to return to. Lieutenant Davidson hadn’t approved of her methods, but he had been pleased to have Christy’s killer behind bars. The lieutenant had decided to give Byron and Jessie only a reprimand, instead of dismissing them.
“Austin’s not that far from here,” she continued. “And I shouldn’t have any problem living at the ranch. Besides, you’ll be in Austin a lot yourself after the election.”
“Then, what’s the condition to you marrying me?”
She took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to step in front of any more gunmen for me.”
He smiled. “I thought that turned you on.”
“No, it scares the devil out of me. I just want something normal for a change. You know, to be in love. Married. Have this baby. Raise it. Maybe have another one in a couple of years.”
“You forgot the happily-ever-after part.”
“No, I didn’t. I want that, too.” She buried her face against his neck. The smell of the rain was on him. And something else that she easily recognized. Jake. Just Jake. It was his own unique scent that went straight through her like warm whiskey. “Oh yes, and I want lots and lots of sex.”
“Then, we want the same things. Forever. Sex. And all that other stuff, too.”
The breeze stirred around them. Jessie stayed quiet, just enjoying the moment.
“Dr. Lisette told me about the baby,” Jake whispered.
That brought her head whipping up. “You mean about the DNA test?”
“I’m the father, but I already knew that before he said anything.”
He’d dismissed that so easily and had even added a nonchalant shrug. Jake had known. She didn’t think it would do any good to ask him how he’d come to that conclusion. Besides, it didn’t matter. Not now.
“But Dr. Lisette told me some other things this afternoon when he was here,” Jake added.
Slightly alarmed, Jessie pulled back so she could look at him. “What things?”
“Things like the baby is healthy. And he also told me what the baby was.”
“You mean, he knows whether it’s a boy or a girl?”
Jake nodded. “So do I. Do you want me to tell you?”
It sounded like too big a decision to make at the moment. Her head was still swimming with everything that had happened. “Maybe you’d better save that until I’ve given it some thought.”
“All right. Just let me know if and when you’re ready.” He kissed her again. Touched her. And slid his hand between them to cup her breast. “By the way, did I mention that I’m in love with you?”
“Several times. I wouldn’t mind hearing it again.”
“I’m in love with you, Jessie. It’s the kind of love that can withstand anything. Now give it right back to me.”
She gladly did. It was something she would never tire of saying to him. “I’m in love with you, too, Jake.”
Jessie let him lead her in the direction of their bedroom, but just before they reached the door, she stopped the kiss and looked up at him. Jake knew if they were having a boy or a girl. He actually knew. Did that soft smile on his face mean he was pleased with the news? Or like her, was he just pleased in general about them and the baby?
Suddenly that information seemed like a huge wrapped present that she’d waited all her life to open. And Jessie couldn’t wait any longer.
“Okay. Spill it, McClendon. What are we having?”
He didn’t answer right away. Jake only smiled in that too leisurely way of his. “I was thinking about the name Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth.” The words formed a smile on her mouth. “A daughter.”
They were going to have a daughter.
“Good.” That was all Jessie could manage. It was hard to speak around the lump in her throat.
“You’re right. It’s very good.”
Yes, it was.
Now it was up to them to make it better.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8683-6
HIS CHILD
Copyright © 2002 by Delores Fossen
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