“Jake said we didn’t like each other before,” Nikki said softly. “I find that so hard to believe.”
Catherine’s hand stilled for a moment, then resumed its brisk motion. “Jake shouldn’t tell you things like that.”
“You’ve been so good to me. I don’t know what happened between us before, but I’m sorry.”
Catherine put her comb away and sat on the bed. She gave Nikki a rueful smile and squeezed her hand. “I’ve been thinking about us a lot since your accident. I’m sorry, too. There were times that I acted petty toward you, times that I interfered in your marriage when I should have kept my mouth shut. I wanted to protect Jake, but now I can see that these little battles just hurt him.”
“Why did we argue?”
Catherine sighed. “Mostly, I think we were just jealous of each other. Jake is my only child. He’s been my whole life since his father died. Even though he’s a grown man, I’ve had a hard time letting go.” She smiled and tucked a stray lock of Nikki’s hair behind her ear.
“Girlfriends came and went, but I knew from the first time Jake spoke of you that you were different. A little over a month after you met, he proposed. I admit it scared me to death. He was so crazy about you, and I was terrified that you would break his heart.”
“Did I?” Nikki asked, staring down at her hands. For the first time, she noticed that she wore no wedding band.
“Darling, I think you need to discuss that with Jake.”
“He won’t tell me anything. I can see his hurt, feel his distance, but he won’t talk about our marriage.”
“Jake needs a little time. His father was like that, when he felt threatened, he would just shut down. But I will say this, I believe the love you and Jake share is stronger than the problems you have. You’ve made it through a lot already – the two of you came from different worlds. Your marriage called for a lot of adjustments on both sides.” She winked at Nikki. “Plus, you’ve had to deal with two interfering mothers-in-law.”
“Where is my mother, Catherine? Why isn’t she here?”
Catherine smiled again. “You’re not cutting me any slack with these questions, are you? I’m not really comfortable discussing this, either, but I know Sara loves you in her own way. She’s a complex woman, very involved in her career, and I know you’ve often felt eclipsed by that. There’s been some…difficulty between the two of you since you married Jake. She was dead-set against it, and the two of you didn’t speak for nearly a year, but I believe there has been some progress made as of late.”
“Why was she against it? For the same reason you were?”
Catherine frowned. “Not exactly. Sara felt you should marry someone of your own social status. Your mother is a wealthy woman, Nikki. She expected you to marry a senator or a lawyer, not a man who owns a construction company. Sara is very ambitious and couldn’t understand why you weren’t more like her. I think she was afraid you were ruining your life.”
Nikki sat back, absorbing this new information.
“You and Jake are a lot alike – headstrong, impulsive. I think we were both afraid you were rushing into something you couldn’t handle. Sara tried to force you into leaving Jake by cutting off your inheritance. I must say, even I was impressed when you stood up to her. You told her the money didn’t matter to you. You gave up a lot of material things, just to be with Jake.”
Catherine stood and busied herself by straightening the things on Nikki’s nightstand. “There I go again. I’m afraid I’ve said too much. I really shouldn’t discuss your relationship with your mother.”
“No. I’m just glad someone’s telling me something.” Nikki pushed herself up in the bed by her elbows and smiled. “So, now maybe you can tell me why Elaine hates me?”
Catherine’s blue gaze snapped back to her. “Elaine? What did she say to you?”
“She called me a manipulative bitch and thinks I’m faking this to hold onto Jake.”
Catherine sighed. “That girl is so full of anger. Anyone who knows you should be able to see you aren’t acting. I think Elaine has always been jealous of you. There was a boy that you dated before Jake – I cannot think of his name – but she accused you of stealing him from her. Then, of course, there’s Jake. I think at one time Elaine was a little in love with him, but he treated her like a sister, even before Zeke and I married. You knew how she felt and there was a lot of bad blood between you. Another trait you and Jake share—” Catherine cast a sideways glance at Nikki. “—is jealousy. Each of you is extremely possessive of the other. You would forbid him to see her, she would retaliate by making sure she ran into him and then the battle would be on.”
“She told me not to bother trying to keep him from her.”
“Yes, I bet she did. But please, don’t let her get to you. Jake cares for Elaine. He has been friends with her and Eliot since they were children, but it is you that he loves.”
Nikki frowned as she tried to remember her conversation with Elaine. “Was the boyfriend we shared named Derek? She told me she wasn’t going to let me destroy Jake like I did Derek.”
Catherine frowned. “Yes, that was his name, but you are not responsible for what happened to that boy. Elaine had no right to say that.” She plucked at a piece of lint on the white blanket and gave Nikki a crooked smile. “If it’s any consolation, Elaine hates me, too. She blames me for her mother and father not being together, even though they were divorced for nearly a year before Zeke and I started dating. Elaine is a lonely, bitter young woman. I’ve tried to reach out to her, but she wants no part of it. Eliot and I have a warm relationship and I always hoped Elaine would come around. I don’t think it will happen, though.”
A soft knock on the door announced dinnertime and Nikki let the questions drop as Catherine arranged her tray.
“Nikki, I’m getting a little hungry myself. Do you think you’ll be okay if I run to the cafeteria? I’ll get a sandwich and bring it back with me.”
“Take your time.” Nikki poked at a square of bright, orange gelatin. “I’m fine.”
Nikki forced herself to eat, though she had no appetite. When the telephone rang, she shoved the tray aside and leaned over the rail to grab it.
“Hello?”
“Nikki?” a man’s voice asked. “Is that you?”
“Yes, may—”
“Oh, good!” he said breathlessly. “I was hoping you’d be the one to answer the phone. Are you okay?”
“I – who is this?” Something about this conversation was setting off alarm bells in her head.
“Oh, I get it. You can’t talk right now. I understand. What were you doing in his truck? Never mind. We’ll straighten everything out later. Don’t worry about Jake. I’ll take care of things, just like I promised.”
Before Nikki could say anything, the line went dead in her hand.
Chapter 4
November 4
The morning sun burned across Jake’s face. He rubbed his eyes, rolled over on his stomach and pulled the pillow over his head.
Her pillow.
He caught the faint, floral scent of Nikki’s shampoo in the crisp white pillowcase. It was the first time he’d slept in this bed in days, but somehow he needed to be close to her.
Jake glanced at his watch and groaned. He needed to get moving. Reluctantly, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and headed down the hall to the bathroom. It wasn’t until he swung open the door that he remembered the mess he hadn’t cleaned up last night.
The sound he’d mistaken for an intruder was a vase of flowers Nikki had sitting in the bathroom window. The wind from the open window had sent them crashing to the floor. Jake cleaned up the glass and the water, remembered to pick up the torn gown, then stumbled to the shower.
The cool water did little to wake him up, but he was feeling better a half a pot of coffee later – at least until Evan Stephens called.
At the sound of the man’s voice, Jake gripped the phone a little tighter. His dislike for his wealthiest cl
ient was so intense he had to struggle to keep it hidden.
“Jake, Evan Stephens here. How’s the wife?”
“She’s doing better.”
“The papers say Nikki has amnesia—”
Jake hated to hear the jerk say her name. He damn sure didn’t have any business asking about her. “What can I do for you, Mr. Stephens?” he interrupted. “Hank said the project’s coming along on schedule.”
“Yes, but I have a modification I’d like to speak to you about.”
Jake winced as he listened to Stephens. They were already pushing their luck with the weather. If they got off track now, they might not beat the first snow.
“Let me look over the plans, see if it’s possible, and Hank or I will get back to you,” Jake said when the man was finished.
“Great. And tell Nikki I hope she recovers soon.”
Jake hung up without replying and called Hank. The other man’s voice was instantly wary.
“Jake, you okay? Something else happen?”
“What – oh, no. It’s about Stephens.”
When Jake told him what Stephens wanted, Hank let loose with a string of colorful obscenities.
“Yeah, I know. I can’t stand him either, but he’s the man with the cash right now. We’ll have to figure out something.” Jake rolled his head around, making his neck pop.
“I can’t believe that guy. He showed up at the site yesterday with a girl that couldn’t have been much older than my Gracie. He was all over the poor thing. I wanted to put my fist through his face and send her home to her mama.”
“I know Hank, but we’ve already signed the contracts. Can’t back out now.”
Jake told Hank that he’d talk to Stephens, try to work out a compromise and they hung up. Evan Stephens was a pervert. When they had first signed the contract, Stephens invited Nikki and him to dinner at his house. It had taken all Jake’s restraint to keep from breaking the guy’s neck for the way he ogled Nikki, but Nikki sensed his anger and stilled him with a hand on his thigh. He could read the look in her eyes.
Don’t blow this, Jake.
He didn’t give a damn about the money, but he knew status was important to Nikki. This job could mean big opportunities for his company. Stephens had a lot of influential friends. Still, he nearly lost it again when Stephens draped his arm around Nikki’s shoulders as they went to have a drink on the patio. Sensing his anger and moving quickly, Nikki said, “Please excuse us, Mr. and Mrs. Stephens. I need to go to the ladies’ room. Follow me, Jake, so I don’t get lost in this amazing house.”
She got directions and jerked him down the hall before he had a chance to protest. She shoved him into the bathroom and shut the door behind them, then wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Please, baby, don’t let your temper ruin this for you,” Nikki begged as she pressed against him. “All he can do is look. Who cares? I belong to you. Evan Stephens can never have me.”
She took one of Jake’s hands and placed it on her breast. Instantly, a wave of desire washed away Jake’s anger. Sometimes he wondered if he’d ever felt anything, either, before she came into his life, because everything else paled against the intensity he felt at her touch.
He raked his thumb over her nipple and watched it grow taut under the thin fabric. Nikki sighed as Jake slipped his fingers inside the neckline of her red dress and tugged it down to expose her breast. Her sigh became a moan when he placed his mouth over the pink tip and teased it with his tongue. Nikki whimpered and Jake reached behind her to unzip her dress. She shrugged her arms out of the straps and let it fall to the floor.
Suddenly, her hands were everywhere, fumbling at his trousers, caressing him, tearing at his shirt. Jake stumbled to the edge of the big marble tub and pulled Nikki onto his lap. He cupped her hips in his hands, lifting her up and down, faster and faster until they shared a shattering climax. It was several minutes before they rejoined the Stephens’, and Jake supposed he had an idiotic grin on his face, but he didn’t care. He slapped Nikki on the rear before they opened the patio doors and whispered, “I’ll keep my mouth shut, but if he touches you again, I’m gonna tear his arm off and beat him to death with it.”
Jake smiled as he recalled how her eyes had sparkled that night, the secret smile that played on her red lips. Danger turned Nikki on, and she tormented him with sly caresses when no one else was watching and scandalous whispers when no one else could hear. At the dinner table, she slipped her satin panties into his hand and laughed as he shoved them in his pocket. Jake somehow made it through dinner without touching her, but he didn’t make it all the way home. Before they got to the end of Stephens’ private road, he nearly put the BMW in the ditch before he threw it in park and chased a laughing Nikki into the backseat.
But those were the good days, days before things had inexplicably gone sour. The angry words of their last conversation echoed in the house like a ghost. Jake closed his eyes and remembered what it felt like, sitting in the dark in his study with those divorce papers in his lap, waiting for her to come home.
An eternity passed before her key hit the lock. Nikki tossed a stack of mail on the coffee table and started to take off her leather jacket.
“Where have you been?” he asked, and watched her stiffen. Without turning to look at him, she slipped off her coat and hung it in the hall closet.
“With Darcy.” Her voice was tight, tense, and Jake’s anger surged again.
“Is that right?” he asked, and finally she turned to him.
She looked pale. Tired. There was such pain in her green eyes that Jake found he couldn’t meet her gaze.
“Dammit, Jake. Yes, that’s right. I was with Darcy. Do you want to call her and check?”
She reached to flip on the light and he said, “Don’t.”
Nikki gave him an exasperated look and threw up her hands. “Fine. Sit here in the dark by yourself. I’m going to bed.”
She started toward the stairs and Jake stood.
“I can’t live like this anymore.” The words, hopeless and desperate, burst from him and she froze on the bottom step. “I want a divorce.”
Even as he said the words, he wished he could take them back, especially when he saw the horror on her face. He’d wanted to break her cool composure, to hurt her as he’d been hurt, but when her tears came, there was no satisfaction for him in it.
“You don’t mean that,” she whispered. “You can’t mean that.”
Jake said nothing and she took a faltering step toward him. “Jake, you don’t understand – you don’t know—”
All the pain, all the anger he tried to hold back the past two weeks came rushing to the surface. “That’s right, Nikki!” he shouted. “I don’t understand and I don’t know…why don’t you tell me?”
“What can I say, Jake? What can I say to make it better? That I’m sorry? That I love you? I’ve tried that, but it’s not what you want to hear.”
“Dammit, Nikki, I want you to say it. Saying you’re sorry doesn’t mean anything when you won’t even tell me what you’re sorry for. Stop lying to me and just say it.”
“Alright!” she yelled. “I did it, okay? I cheated on you. I never meant for it to happen. I’m not even sure how it happened. It was a mistake—”
Furious, Jake shook his head and advanced toward her, the divorce papers wadded in his hand. “Who is he, Nikki? What’s his name? I deserve to know.”
“I can’t tell you!” she sobbed and covered her face with her hands. “You’ll kill him.”
“Then it’s over.” He thrust the papers at her.
She made no attempt to catch them, and they fell to the floor like a wounded bird.
“You take the house. You take it all. I don’t give a damn.”
“Jake—” she grabbed his arm and he jerked away from her.
“Don’t touch me!” he growled. “I loved you. I trusted you.”
He started toward the front door, then spun on his heel. He grabbed Nikki by her shoulders
and pushed her against the wall, pinning her with his body.
It was a mistake.
He knew it as soon as he stared into those green eyes, as soon as he smelled her perfume and felt the heat from her body. He watched the shallow throb of her pulse in her throat.
God, how was he going to live without her?
“Hit me, Jake.” She jutted out her chin. “Hit me. Hurt me. Just please don’t leave me. I’ll do anything to make this better.”
Jake closed his eyes as Nikki pressed her lips to the hollow of his throat, then he seized her chin in his hand.
“Tell me who he is.”
“I can’t.” Mascara streaked down her cheeks.
“Damn you.” He swung at the wall and Nikki flinched as his fist broke through the sheetrock beside her head.
“Can’t you see? I’m not protecting him. I’m protecting you. Don’t throw us away, Jake.”
“Me?” he asked incredulously. “You’re the one who threw us away. Do you think you’re the only one who had opportunities? Would you care to know how many times I’ve cheated on you?”
“No,” she whispered.
“No,” he repeated. “Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. Not once, Nikki. Not one damn time. I was a fool. I thought our vows meant something. They did to me, anyway. But not anymore.”
He released her so abruptly she almost fell.
“What does that mean?” she yelled. “Where are you going? To see Elaine?” She spat out the name and Jake clenched his fists.
Always the same old thing.
“Maybe,” he said, because he knew it would hurt her.
“Fine!” Nikki yanked off her wedding ring and hurled it at him.
Jake didn’t flinch. It bounced off his chest and skidded across the floor.
“You want a divorce, you’ve got it. But you will never love anyone like you do me, Jake Hawthorne.”
“Good!” he said, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
The phone rang, bringing him back to the present. Jake ignored it. He grabbed Nikki’s overnight bag and headed out the door. The real estate brochures still lay in the passenger seat of the BMW, and the sight of them was like a slap. Some faceless bastard had stolen everything from them because Nikki had let it happen. On the way to the hospital, Jake’s mood darkened from stormy to fighting mad.
Unforeseen Danger Page 5