Tonight and Forever

by Brenda Jackson

  She shuddered with shame each time she thought of how naive she’d been. Would Justin understand anyone being that stupid and gullible? His marriage had been perfect, free of blemishes. Would he comprehend the nature of a troubled marriage?

  Because of her uncertainties, she couldn’t bring herself to talk about Scott to him. At least not yet.

  She raised her head to look up at him and decided to talk about something else that had been on her mind. “I’m a little nervous about meeting your family.”

  He grinned down at her. “Don’t be. They’ll love you.”

  Lorren smiled. “You think so?”

  “Baby, I know so. Trust me.”

  Justin pulled his Corvette to a stop in front of the spacious, two-story house. Coming around to the passenger side of the car, he opened the door for Lorren, linking his arms through hers. “We’ll get the bags later.” He bent down, brushing his lips to hers. “Still a little nervous?”

  She grinned. “Should I be?”

  “It depends on how brave you are. There’re fourteen of us, counting spouses and nephews. We can be a pretty rowdy bunch when we all get together. You’ve already met Clayton, and he’s the worst one of all.”

  Lorren laughed. “I found your brother to be very charming.”

  Justin chuckled. “Don’t let the charming act fool you, honey. Clayton is a smooth operator,” he said, ringing the doorbell.

  The front door opened and a pretty teenage girl with dark eyes, toasted almond skin, and vibrant reddish brown hair stood in its frame.

  “Justin!” she squealed, throwing her arms around him.

  Justin returned the hug. “This is the birthday girl,” he said to Lorren, drawing her inside the house. “Lorren, I’d like you to meet my baby sister, Christina Marie Madaris, but we call her Christy.”

  “Hi,” the girl smiled, offering Lorren her hand in a friendly handshake.

  Lorren returned the smile. “Hi, and happy birthday.”

  “Thanks.” Christy then turned to Justin. “Where’s my birthday present?”

  “The girl has no tact.”

  Lorren’s head whipped around at the deep masculine voice. Leaning against a wall was a tall handsome man with charcoal gray eyes, dark wavy hair, and nut-brown skin. His sculptured mouth curved into a smile as he straightened his stance and came toward them.

  “Blame it on Clayton,” Justin jokingly replied, giving the man a hearty bear hug. “Christy convinced Mom and Dad to let her go live with Clayton a few weeks last summer while the folks were vacationing in Florida. Would you believe I haven’t been able to de-Claytonize her since?”

  Justin turned to Lorren. “My brother Dex.” To Dex he said, “I’d like you to meet Lorren Jacobs.”

  Lorren found her hand resting in the man’s firm grip. His eyes bored into hers assessingly. “You wouldn’t happen to have any sisters, would you?”

  Lorren laughed. “No. I was an only child.”

  Dex chuckled. “Too bad.”

  “But she has a close friend who most assuredly has got it goin’ on,” a third masculine voice intruded. Lorren turned and gave Clayton Madaris a smile as he entered the foyer to join them. Like the other two Madaris men, he was devastatingly handsome. He had dark hair, soft sable skin, and brown eyes the exact color of Justin’s.

  “I’m disappointed you didn’t bring Syneda with you,” Clayton said.

  Justin lifted eyes heavenward. “I’m sure you’ll get over it. Where there’s a woman concerned, you usually do.”

  Clayton chuckled. “I don’t know about that, bro. It’s not too often I meet a gorgeous woman who enjoys discussing Roe versus Wade as much as I do.”

  Justin grinned. “It sounded as though the two of you were debating the case more than discussing it.”

  Clayton smiled, shaking hands with his brother. “We did seem to have a little difference of opinion.” His smile widened as he turned to the woman at his brother’s side.

  “Lorren, it’s good to see you again. I’m glad you could make it. You’ll bring beauty and warmth to our dreary family gathering as we come together to celebrate the birthday of the milkman’s kid.”

  Justin and Dex laughed at his statement. “I think you’ve lost me,” Lorren replied, smiling. She gazed from one brother to another, totally confused.

  “Don’t mind them, Lorren,” Christy said, coming to her aid. “My brothers have this thing about me being the milkman’s kid since I have reddish hair. The truth of the matter is our paternal great-grand-mother also had natural reddish brown hair, so I inherited my hair coloring from her.”

  Clayton laughed throatily. “Christy’s been telling people that story for years. I know for a fact our great-grandmother’s hair was just as black as mine.”

  “Cut it out, Clayton,” Dex admonished playfully. “We don’t want to upset the birthday girl too much. Did anyone tell big brother that little sister is going out on her first date tonight?”

  Before Justin could open his mouth Christy rushed in. “The rest of the family is waiting for us in the den. They can’t wait to meet you, Lorren.”

  Justin put his arm around Lorren’s shoulders as they began to walk down the hall. “What do you think so far?”

  Lorren laughed. “Like you said earlier, you’re a rowdy group, but so far I feel right at home.”

  Moments later Lorren felt even more at home. She was overwhelmed by the friendliness of Justin’s family. His father, a larger model of Justin, gave her a hug as if she wasn’t a stranger but a family member. His mother, an elegant-looking, petite woman, with dark hair and charcoal gray eyes, smiled with genuine delight at meeting her. Now Lorren knew where Dex had inherited his eye color.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Marilyn Madaris said. Her warm smile and welcoming gaze put Lorren completely at ease. “I’m glad Justin brought you home with him.”

  “Thanks for having me,” Lorren replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. And you have such a lovely home.”

  Justin’s other two sisters, Kattie and Traci, were very attractive and friendly. They pulled her from their big brother’s side the minute they were all introduced. Their handsome husbands gave her smiles and warm hellos.

  Lorren was even more surprised to learn she had a fan club of two with Justin’s older nephews, both seven, who told her they’d read all her Kente Kids books and asked for her autograph. The little boys said they couldn’t wait to go back to school and tell everyone that Lorren Jacobs, the writer and creator of the Kente Kids, was their Uncle Justin’s girlfriend.

  Lorren smiled, knowing this was the beginning of a glorious weekend.

  The three Madaris brothers sat around the table playing cards. Their parents and Lorren had retired hours ago.

  “Lorren’s a nice girl, Justin.”

  Justin smiled, pulling another card off the deck. “Thanks, Dex. I have to agree with you.”

  “Is there something we should know, Big Brother?” Dex asked, as a smile touched his lips. “If my memory serves me correctly, you’ve never brought a lady friend home for us to meet since Denise died. Although I’ve been in Australia for two years, I’m sure I would have heard about it through the family grapevine if you had. Is there some meaning in this?”

  Justin met his brother’s gaze. “She’s special.”

  “We guessed that much, Justin. How about telling us something we don’t know,” Clayton said, throwing a card out.

  Justin shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. She’s just special.”

  A huge grin covered Clayton’s face. “Special as in marriage?”

  Justin gave him a hard glare. “Special as in special, Clayton. Don’t read more into it than that. Lorren’s been married before, and the experience wasn’t good. She’s been left with a deep scar.”

  “I know exactly how that can be,” Dex said drily.

  Justin looked long and steady at his brother, who sat studying his hand. “Dex, have you tried contacting Caitlin since you’v
e been back in the States?”

  Dex’s head snapped up sharply. His eyes locked with his older brother’s. They stared at each other for a tense moment. Complete understanding flowed between the three men at the table. They were not only linked together by blood, but also by deep concern and love for each other.

  “No, I haven’t, and I don’t intend to either. Caitlin made it very clear that our marriage was over. I’ve accepted that.”

  Justin nodded. “All right,” he replied, not missing the anguish he heard in his brother’s words. Then a smile touched his lips. “Since we’ve discussed my love life and yours, I guess it’s time to discuss Clayton’s. Has anyone told you about the woman he was dating last winter?”

  Dex shook his head. “No. What about her?”

  “Don’t you dare remind me about that woman, Justin,” Clayton bellowed.

  Justin laughed. “I thought she was rather a nice girl. I especially thought she had a nice set of teeth.”

  Dex raised a brow. “Then what was the problem?”

  Clayton answered, smiling. “Her nice set of teeth was the problem. She got turned on from biting her dates. She was a regular Miss Vampire. At first her bites seemed harmless enough, a little nibble here and a little nibble there. Then suddenly her nibbles became full-fledged bites. I had the good fortune of having her teeth print on my rear end for at least a month. Talk about a very sore behind.”

  Roaring laughter engulfed the table, and the card game was momentarily forgotten.

  Dex shook his head. “It seems, kid brother, you still have a penchant for the unusual.”

  That night Lorren had trouble sleeping. She and Justin had been given separate rooms, which made her acutely aware of how long it had been since she’d slept alone. They had been sharing a bed continuously since the night of the storm over a month ago.

  The evening had been full of fun and excitement. Justin had been right. He had a warm, loving family who did get a little rambunctious at times. A smile quirked her lips as she remembered the hard time the three brothers had given Christy’s date, Michael. One would have thought the Madaris brothers worked for the FBI with the interrogation they’d put him through.

  Once Michael had been introduced to everyone, the three brothers had huddled him off in a corner. Lorren only hoped Christy had warned Michael beforehand what to expect from her brothers. She hadn’t seemed the least annoyed or upset with their behavior. Evidently she was used to their high degree of overprotectiveness.

  Michael, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck when the brothers all but read him his rights, with Clayton using legal jargon, Justin using medical terms, and Dex using no terms at all but giving the young man bold eye contact.

  The Madaris clan had dined at a restaurant where a section had been reserved just for them. After dinner the family surprised Christy when the owner of the establishment, along with a few of the waiters, had sung happy birthday to her and brought out a lovely cake adorned with sixteen candles. After cake and ice cream had been served and adequately eaten by all, Christy and Michael stood to leave. They’d made plans earlier to join friends for a movie.

  “Don’t forget our discussion, Michael,” Clayton said easily, not bothering to lower his voice. “Remember what I told you about justifiable homicides.”

  “And don’t forget what I told you about how many bones there are in the human body, and how painful it feels if any of them are broken,” Justin added pointedly.

  Lorren looked at Dex to see what friendly reminder he would offer Michael. Evidently the other family members had the same inclination, for all eyes turned to him. He gave them a lazy smile, then said to Michael in a voice that was deep and deadly, “One wrong move, kid, and I’ll personally boil you in oil.”

  After dinner the rest of them had returned to the Madarises’ home. The men played a friendly game of cards, the kids retired to the family room to watch a Disney movie, and the women sat around discussing changing trends in fashion, movies, and assorted other topics of feminine interest.

  Lorren had thoroughly enjoyed their company. More than once she’d looked up to find Justin’s eyes on her.

  The house was quiet. Justin’s sisters and their families had left for their own homes, and she and Justin’s parents had gone to bed shortly thereafter, leaving Justin, Dex, and Clayton up playing cards as they waited for Christy’s return from her date.

  Tomorrow would be another day full of activities. Justin’s sisters and his mother had invited her to go shopping with them. Afterward, she and Justin would leave to return to Ennis.

  She took a deep breath. Why had Justin brought her here? She had turned that question over in her mind since he’d issued the invitation. One of his sisters had mentioned that Justin had not brought a woman home for them to meet since his wife’s death. Lorren could only hope he was considering a meaningful, long-term, committed relationship with her. She didn’t know how much longer she could deal with not knowing how long their relationship would last.

  She couldn’t help wondering when Ms. Fate arrived, where that would leave her.

  Why did he bring Lorren here?

  The question plagued Justin. His mind replayed all the scenes that had taken place since he and Lorren had arrived. Just as he knew they would be, his family was completely taken with her. And every chance they got, they made sure he knew it.

  And he wasn’t sure just how he felt about that.

  He was beginning to get annoyed with his family’s hints that “It’s about time” and “She’s the girl.” They couldn’t seem to understand that his life wasn’t being governed by the ticking of some internal biological clock. He still wanted the usual things in life. He wanted to remarry, have a bunch of kids, and watch them grow while living on the ranch he’d bought.

  Years ago he’d chosen to leave his future to fate. And although he enjoyed his relationship with Lorren, he had no reason to believe she was the woman he’d been waiting for.

  For starters, she didn’t believe in love and marriage. She’d said so the night they met. And although he knew she’d been spending a lot of time with Vincent ever since the camping trip, he didn’t really know how she felt about having kids of her own someday.

  Besides those things, she hadn’t given him any reason to believe she would put down her roots in Ennis permanently. For all he knew, she’d only moved back to lick her wounds.

  Then there was the main reason that stood out. She was totally different from Denise in a number of ways, especially one in particular. Denise had always been soft and gentle, and he’d always treated her that way, even while they made love.

  Lorren, on the other hand, wouldn’t accept gentleness. She could fuel a want and need in him until he took her with a force that stunned him. Even now, he had to grind his teeth to hold back a deep, rough groan threatening to escape him just from thinking about her.

  “Couldn’t you sleep?”

  Justin turned from staring out the kitchen window. His mother’s question had invaded his thoughts. “I should be asking you the same thing.”

  Marilyn Madaris smiled. “I wish I could go to sleep, but your father’s snoring tonight is worse than ever. It must be from the excitement of having all of his children home,” she said, unhooking two coffee cups from the cup rack and filling them with the coffee Justin had made. She handed him a cup.

  “Oh, by the way, Justin. I think Lorren’s a lovely girl.”

  He took a sip of coffee. “So what else is new?”

  Marilyn Madaris stared at him. “Why are you getting upset? Don’t you think she’s a lovely girl?”

  “Of course I do. I just don’t want the family reading more into my relationship with Lorren than what’s really there.”

  “Then you tell us, Justin. How should we read this? She’s the first woman you’ve brought home since Denise died.”

  “But that doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll be the last. That’s all I’m saying, Mom. I like Lorren. I like her a lot. We enjoy ea
ch other’s company but…”

  Marilyn Madaris raised a brow. “But what?”

  “Nothing.” He set his cup of coffee on the counter. “Good night, Mom.”

  Marilyn Madaris watched her oldest son walk out of the kitchen. It was her guess that his “song singing days” were coming to an end. She couldn’t help but wonder how he would handle it when that fact hit him?

  Justin slid into bed after doing one hundred push-ups and just as many jumping jacks. He really hadn’t expected to get much sleep, especially since he wasn’t sharing a bed with the one person he wanted to sleep with.

  His mother had put Lorren down the hall in one of his sister’s old rooms, and the thought that she was so close yet so far irritated him. He tossed and turned most of the night.

  He arose at the crack of dawn and went downstairs for coffee and was surprised to find Clayton and Dex already up, drinking coffee and eating toast. Clayton was the first to speak.

  “What in the world was happening in your room last night, Justin?”

  Confused, Justin raised a brow as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Nothing that I know of.”

  Clayton grinned. “Then that explains why you were making all that racket working off your frustrations. Leave it to dear old Mom to put Lorren in the bedroom next to theirs, out of your reach.”

  Clayton plopped the last piece of toast in his mouth and washed it down with coffee before adding, “Whatever it is you’re afflicted with, you got it bad, Big Brother. And I hope it’s not contagious.”

  Justin shot Clayton a dark look. He refused to ask him what he meant by that comment. He then threw a thunderous gaze in Dex’s direction.

  “Don’t look at me, Justin,” Dex said, grinning. “I haven’t said a word.”

  “Good. And see that you don’t.”

  Justin was still in a testy mood when the rest of the family came down for breakfast a little while later. He found himself staring at Lorren as she made her way around the kitchen, helping his mother prepare breakfast. The sight of her dressed in something simple, like a denim wrap skirt and peasant blouse, made his entire body ache. His hands felt damp and a film of perspiration began forming on his upper lip.