Harlequin Superromance November 2013 - Bundle 1 of 2

by Mary Brady

  Lyddie’s stomach threatened to jump into her throat. “I don’t understand.”

  Nadine sighed. “Sweetie, people will cut you a lot of slack because of Glenn and just because they like you. But J.T.—he’s dividing the place.”

  “It sounds like Jillian is the one pushing people into different camps.”

  “Say what you will about Her Worship, but I have to give her this. She really believes it’s the right move. That’s not going to win her any popularity contests. Like I said, people think a lot of you.”

  “Really? Even if they think I’m sleeping with the enemy? Because if they’re busy telling you lies about him, they obviously want those stories to come back to me, and the only reason they would want me to hear it would be to make me end it with him.”

  “Because if you end it with him, there’s no chance of him, say, falling for you and deciding to stay here, no matter what anyone says about him.”

  “And who on earth would be so caught up in the past that they—oh.” The answer was so obvious that she couldn’t stay seated. She jumped from her chair and started shoving mugs into the dishwasher.

  “It’s the other people who were there, isn’t it? The ones who were at the fire. They’re afraid J.T. will rat them out if he stays.”

  “Who says there was anyone else there that night?”

  “Nadine. Do you honestly believe he was there all by himself?”

  Nadine shook her head, arms crossed. “No. Never did think that.”

  “Then why—”

  “No one talked. No one even gave up a hint, and, Lyddie, if you had been here when it happened, you would know why. It was... Well, I’m not proud of how a lot of folks acted in those days. I sure as hell can’t blame those kids for letting J.T. take the heat, either. Not when he was up and gone and they were still here, listening to all that anger and hurt.”

  “I don’t blame them, either. Not for what they did then. But now? Why should they get off scot-free while he has to walk around with it all on him? Is that right?”

  “No, but it’s the way it is.”

  “And that’s why you won’t tell me who he hung out with in school, isn’t it?”

  Instead of answering the question, Nadine took a mug from her fingers, set it on the rack and curled her hand around Lyddie’s. “Be careful, honey.”

  “Be careful? Damn it, Nadine. All I wanted was to feel alive again. Remind myself that there’s more to me than what other people think. Have some fun.”

  A ghost of Nadine’s usual smile twisted her lips. “From the way you turned red when I asked if he was as good as he looked, I’d say you have the fun part covered.”

  Lyddie squeezed Nadine’s hand before turning back to the dishwasher. “You’re really not going to tell me who he hung out with in school, are you?”

  “No.”

  “And it’s for my own good.”

  “That’s about it.”

  Okay. Fine. She could respect that.

  But if Nadine thought that silence would make Lyddie drop this, then Nadine was sadly mistaken.

  * * *

  J.T. KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP with Lyddie the moment she walked into the cottage that night. It was pretty obvious. If he hadn’t guessed there was a problem from the tension in her shoulders or the lack of laughter in her greeting, he would have known from the way she launched herself at him, barely giving him a moment to catch his breath before she had him on his back straddling him and kissing him with a desperation he’d never felt from her before.

  Not that he was complaining, especially since he was still trying to shake off the memory of walking into the hardware store to find Jillian and Steve deep in a conversation that ended with them springing apart when they noticed him. Their guilty expressions had haunted him through the rest of the day. So he was more than ready to oblige Lyddie. There was a new urgency, a hunger that made him think her need for him was becoming as strong as his for her.

  But she had to need him for more than release. If he had any chance of ever getting her out of Comeback Cove, he had to make her see that there was more between them than great sex.

  So he let her ride out her demons. He held her while she clutched at him, filled her and loved her and let her use him to block out the world for a few moments. But when she was done, when she picked herself up from where she’d collapsed on his chest and slithered down to the bed beside him, he pulled her close and pushed the hair back from her face and said, “So not that I’m complaining, but what was that all about?”

  “You don’t believe I just thought about you all day and couldn’t wait another minute?”

  “Nice try. Makes me feel good.” He tweaked her nose. “But I think there was more than that.”

  She sighed. “You know me too well.”

  God, how he hoped to make that true. “Come on. Out with it. Did Sara’s teacher call?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Ben? He’s having a problem with camp?”

  “No, I talked to him today and he’s in geek heaven. And it’s not Tish, and not even Ruth, though she still hasn’t forgiven me. But that might be because Tish made her go on the Small World ride six times in a row.”

  “So if it isn’t any of them...”

  She nuzzled his chest, sending hope flaring within him. “It’s you.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  She ran a finger lightly down his chest. “Someone told me today that people are spreading rumors about you. Did you know you’ve been doing every tourist in town?”

  Ah, hell. “I take it you know better than to believe that.”

  “Good Lord, of course. You’re an amazing man, J.T., but even you need time to recover.”

  “Glad to hear you have faith in me.”

  “Don’t ever doubt that.”

  He squeezed her shoulders, pulled the blanket a little higher. “On the other hand, if worrying about rumors is going to get me that kind of reaction, I might start a few of my own.”

  She laughed, but he heard the worry beneath it.

  “I think some people are worried you might decide to stick around.”

  Ah, crap. He wasn’t sure there was enough blood in his brain yet to navigate this minefield.

  “That’s really nothing new.”

  “It’s so...so ridiculous. I know I complain about folks here, but really, most of them are totally kind and caring and way too reasonable for this nonsense.”

  “Fear will make people do crazy things.”

  “Really? I was pretty damned scared when I heard that little nugget today, but I didn’t run around spreading lies or trying to interfere in other people’s lives.”

  “I think we can both agree that you handled your emotions in a far better way.”

  She giggled before burying her face in his chest.

  “I can’t help it. I don’t want bad things to happen to people I...people I care about.”

  She had to feel the way everything in him tensed in preparation of jumping for joy, but he was willing to risk it. “You care what happens to me, Lyddie love?”

  The endearment just slipped out, but he was running out of time. He had to start taking chances.

  “Of course I care,” she said softly. “I know we said no strings, but that doesn’t mean no emotions whatsoever.”

  “Me, too. You’re pretty special.”

  “And you,” she said with a soft kiss to his neck, “are the best chance I ever took.”

  Was it time for him to take an equally big gamble? Should he lay everything out—tell her he loved her, tell her he was considering moving close by so he could have more time with her?

  No. Not yet. There was still one step he had to take. He had to get her out of Comeback Cove, with him. Had to make her see how it would feel
to be a real couple, out in public, with no need for secrecy.

  “You ready to take another chance?”

  “Maybe.” She rose up on one elbow, gave him a smile that sent him stirring.

  “Wanna go away for a night together?”

  “I thought we spent the last two weeks doing that.”

  “I mean away away. Somewhere else.”

  Curiosity chased resistance across her face. “I don’t know... When could we do it? Ruth and Tish come home the night after tomorrow.”

  At least it wasn’t an outright refusal.

  “Here’s what I’m thinking. Don’t you have to go to Toronto Saturday to get Ben? That’s a four-hour drive each way, and you’ve had a hell of a week. You should probably drive part of the way the night before. Like, to Brockville.”

  “Okay.” Her words came slowly, as if she were thinking aloud. “That would make sense. Especially if, you know, I want to do some shopping or something before his closing ceremonies.”

  Yes!

  “We would have to take separate cars, though, unless you want to get a bus back Saturday morning.”

  He tried to hide the twinge of hurt. “Sure. I guess it might freak people to see us driving off into the sunset together.”

  “It’s not that, though Ruth... Well, I don’t want to hurt her. But Ben was pretty suspicious anyway, and if we both came to get him, he might...well, he might start thinking things. Get his hopes up.”

  Ben wasn’t the only one. But she was right. J.T. could handle risking his own heart. He wouldn’t do that to a kid.

  “So you think it would work?”

  She leaned over and brushed her lips lightly over his. “I think it’s an excellent idea. Especially if it means extra time with you.”

  He rolled her over and kissed her slowly, praying that this would do the trick—that this one extra night with Lyddie would be the next step to a lifetime.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  LYDDIE HAD PREPARED HERSELF to feel sadness on their last night at the cottage, had expected to feel unhappy when it came time to walk away that last morning. Even so, she hadn’t been ready for the fist to the gut that hit her when the time came.

  She wasn’t the only one. As she stood on the porch, fighting back tears she told herself she wouldn’t shed, J.T. stepped behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her tight to his chest. She sagged against him. His touch proved to be the key that unlocked her resolve.

  “I promised myself I wouldn’t do this.” She brushed at the tears, forced the words out past the damned lump in her throat. “I said I would go with a smile. But it’s not that easy.”

  Movement against her neck told her he was nodding. She had a feeling that words were playing hide-and-seek with him, too.

  She clutched his hands, rubbing the rough skin. “I’m so glad you suggested Friday night.”

  “Me, too, babe.”

  She sniffed and tried to laugh. “Nadine’s going to have a field day wondering why I’m showing up with red eyes this morning.”

  “I think she’ll figure it out. Especially when I park myself outside the door and howl like a sick dog.”

  At that she laughed for real, though it ended on a hitch that bore a very strong resemblance to a sob. “J.T.?”

  “Mmm?”

  “Thank you.”

  “God, Lyd. Do you have any idea how much I should be the one thanking you?”

  “Well, I’m glad I made it worth your while. But still, I...”

  This wasn’t right. She needed to face him. She turned in his arms and buried her head in his chest. “If you only knew what you’ve done for me....”

  His hand cupped her head, wove through her hair, pressed her closer. “Same here, babe. If you only knew.”

  * * *

  IF YOU ONLY KNEW...

  The words followed her through the day. At least she had the joy of Tish’s homecoming to help her through the first night alone. He didn’t even have that. Alone in her bed that night, staring at the ceiling by the glow of the Sleeping Beauty nightlight Tish had insisted on giving her, she let the tears come. She missed him. She missed curling against him. She missed waking up and rubbing her foot against his leg to reassure herself that he was there. She missed giggling in his arms, laughing so hard that if they had been standing, she would have fallen to the floor.

  If it was this bad after this preliminary farewell, how was she going to get through the real thing?

  Maybe she shouldn’t go away with him. Maybe she should end it now, clean and easy. What good would be served by another night, another goodbye?

  But she had promised him she would go. He’d asked so little of her in their time together. Surely she could do this for him, give him this one last night.

  But no more. They would go to Brockville, they would have a final memory and that would be the end of it. Finished. She’d done what she set out to do. The rest of the world might still look at her and see the brave little widow, but she knew who she was. She was a woman who could still take a chance, feel, astound herself. She was still alive.

  Ironic, then, that the next night, she found herself quaking in her boots as she told Ruth she’d be leaving Friday night to get Ben instead of Saturday morning, and that she wouldn’t be taking Tish along.

  “She’d be so bored. After all the driving she did from Florida, I can’t ask her to do that again.”

  Ruth pulled her old blue cardigan tighter, her mouth set in a thin, disapproving line. “Really, now.”

  “Really.” Lyddie dug her thumb into a pea pod she was shelling and split it down the middle. “I know I made it there and back in one day when I took him, but it really wore me out. I think this will be far more sensible.”

  “Sensible. That’s an interesting way to put it.”

  Oh, damn.

  “Tell me, Lydia. Are you at least going to take separate cars, or is the whole town going to see you heading out with him?”

  She could do this. She had propositioned J.T., lanced her own finger, walked into that cabin despite the fact that she hadn’t been that nervous since her first time in labor. She had done all that. She could sure as hell face down Ruth.

  “I’ll be leaving around five Friday night, Ruth. In my own car. I will pick up my son the next day, all by myself, and I will be back home with him that night. Anything else that happens or doesn’t happen is really only important to me.”

  “Lydia Brewster, I have to hold my head up in this town. Do you have any idea how I felt today when I walked into the post office and everyone stopped talking?”

  Lyddie ran her finger down the row of plump peas, popping them free one by one, sending them into the big yellow crockery bowl. “Well, now you know what Iris Delaney has been living all these years.”

  Ruth’s red cheeks were a clear indicator of anger, but thankfully she kept her voice low as she pushed the bowl to Lyddie.

  “And you think it’s just a coincidence that the same man is at the root of both of our heartaches?”

  “Good Lord, Ruth, you make it sound like he violated me against my will.”

  “You might think you made your own choices, Lydia, but you didn’t. Not really. That J.T., he can talk anyone into anything and make them think it was their own idea all along. He’s nothing but bad news and this town can’t be rid of him fast enough.”

  So many thoughts pushed at Lyddie’s brain, so many words hovered on her tongue. Maybe she should say them. Maybe she should spell it all out for Ruth.

  Or maybe she should try to dam the river single-handedly.

  “You’re wrong, Ruth. About a whole lot of things. But you know what? I don’t care. I know the truth, and that’s what matters.” She plucked another pod from the basket and stabbed her thumb into it. “
Meanwhile, you are Tish’s grandmother and you love her and she loves you. Are you able to look after her while I’m gone, or shall I ask if she can have a sleepover at Millie’s?”

  “You would leave her with someone else?”

  “I don’t want to. I would much rather she stay here, in her own bed, with you. But if you are planning to spend the entire time I’m gone sighing about what a horrible person I’ve become, just because I want to move on with my life, well, I can’t see how that would be a good thing for my daughter to be hearing nonstop. You know?”

  The redness in Ruth’s cheeks faded to a dull burgundy. “Is that how it’s going to be, Lydia? You threatening to keep me from my own grandchildren, all because of that man?”

  “No, Ruth. I’m just spelling out the consequences so we both know exactly where we stand.” She rose from the table before she said anything worse. “And for the record, I’m not doing any of this for J.T. I’m doing it for me.”

  * * *

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Lyddie gave Steve McCoy his order, walked into the kitchen and waited. It didn’t take long.

  “Lyddie?” Nadine was about five seconds slower than Lyddie would have expected, but then, she’d been in the middle of drawing a coffee when Lyddie had done her disappearing act.

  “Lyddie, are my ears playing tricks on me, or did Steve ask you to go sailing with him on Sunday?”

  “He did.”

  “Holy doodle. You think life can’t get any more interesting, then bam. Here comes the blindsider.”

  “Tell me about it.” Lyddie peeled off her apron and tossed it in the corner. “So, you would know better than I do. Has someone been spiking the water or something around here? Because I’ve known Steve since before Glenn and I got married, and he never... I mean, he was wonderful to me after Glenn died, and he’s a great guy, but I... He... For heaven’s sake, Nadine, he hasn’t looked at anyone since his divorce was final. At least none that I know of.”

  “Nobody. You can trust me on that one.”

  “So why me, of all people?”