Jared reached up to a cabinet to his left and pulled down three plates. “George says I shouldn’t. He says it won’t gain anything and will only upset her.”
Bram cast a curious look at his younger brother. “George? What does Granddad know about any of this?”
Jared snorted. “Are you kidding? That old man knows everything.” He glanced at Bram. “Did you tell him about the fire—that someone tried to fry me and Kerry?”
“Lord, no! I haven’t even spoken to him in several days. When did you?”
Jared pulled out a drawer of silverware and picked out three of everything. “Last night at the feed store. He says a crazy coyote is stalking the Colton family. And that we all need to watch out for his tracks.”
Bram chuckled. “Jared, the man is ninety-seven years old. He believes he’s some damn Comanche medicine man or prophet, or something.”
“Try chief,” Jared said dryly.
“Well, whatever, he couldn’t have known about you and Kerry. The only people who know you were in the building are the firefighters and the fire inspector.”
Maybe Bram didn’t believe in George’s spouts of wisdom, but Jared wasn’t about to dismiss their great-grandfather’s words. Especially after George’s uncanny perception about him and Kerry.
Carrying the plates and silverware to the table, he began to place the settings on three placemats. “Did you have any trouble convincing the fire inspector that Kerry and I were innocent victims?”
“No. You were there legally. You had my permission. It would have been idiotic for you two to set a fire, then call the fire department and remain there to try to put it out. Besides, the inspector knows I’d tell him the truth. Even if it meant incriminating my own brother.”
“Thanks,” Jared said with a wry chuckle as he headed back to the cookstove and the sizzling skillet of steak. “I always knew if I got in a pinch you’d step up to bat for me.”
“You’re not in a pinch, so you’d better thank God, and me, for that,” he told him, then glanced pointedly at the table set for three. “Are you having guests for supper, or did you put out two extra plates for me?” Bram asked.
Jared chuckled again. “Not hardly. Kerry and her daughter are coming out tonight.” With a broad grin, he glanced at his wristwatch. “In fact, they’ll be here in just a few minutes.”
Folding his arms across his chest, Bram leaned against the cabinet counter as he studied his brother. “Hmm. Cooking supper for a woman. And her child. This is a new one for you.”
“Get used to it, Bram. I’m going to make Kerry my wife.”
Totally stunned, Bram stared at him. “I knew you were attracted to the woman, but marriage—hell, I never thought I’d see this day. You a husband!”
Jared grimaced. “What do you mean by that? You’re older than me and you still haven’t hitched yourself up with a woman.”
Ignoring the personal jab, Bram said, “If you ask me, this is all rather sudden. What does Kerry think about this? Has she agreed to marry you?”
Jared opened the oven door and tested the baking potatoes for doneness. “No. But she will.”
“What’s the matter?” Bram asked wryly. “Losing your touch?”
Jared shut the oven door, then raised up to glare at his brother. “The woman has been hurt. She’s a little leery.”
“Of you? Or marriage in general?”
Jared sighed. “Both, I expect. She thinks I’ll drag her and Peggy from state to state and she doesn’t want that. She wants a permanent home.”
“Most women want to stay put, Jared. Surely you can understand that.”
Jared nodded glumly. “Yeah, I can understand it. But what am I supposed to do? I can’t just toss my job away and settle for a menial job that would do well to cover the monthly cost of living, much less savings or luxuries. I don’t want that kind of life for Kerry and Peggy. I want to be able to give them everything they want and deserve.”
Bram studied him for long moments. “I may be crazy, but I actually believe you’re in love.”
A wide, charmed smile spread over Jared’s face. “Bram, I never thought I’d ever meet a woman like Kerry. I wasn’t even hunting one like her, because I didn’t think they existed. But everything about her is wonderful. Her smile, her walk and talk and the way her little hand hangs on to mine like I’m some brave Comanche warrior that will always keep her safe.” He stopped and shook his head in amazement. “Do you know she wouldn’t leave me alone that night in the burning room? The ceiling could have fallen at any moment, but she was more concerned about my safety. And I don’t have to tell you what a dedicated mother she is to Peggy.”
Bram grinned. “Yeah. And I can also see that you’re pretty hooked on the woman.” His expression sobered. “So you need to make this work, Jared. No matter what you have to do.”
Jared closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s what worries me, Bram. I don’t know what to do. And it scares me to death to think I might lose Kerry.”
Bram patted his brother’s shoulder. “You’ll know the right thing to do when the time comes. And who knows,” he added with a teasing grin, “maybe Granddad can give you some of his sage wisdom.”
Jared dropped his hand and shot him an annoyed look. “Don’t make fun of George. I’m telling you, Bram, he knows things. He may sound kooky at times, but he sees this stuff before it happens. It wouldn’t hurt any of us to listen more closely to what he has to say.”
Bram started to laugh, but the serious look on Jared’s face stopped him. “Jared, what’s happened to you? You were always the first one to poke fun at Granddad’s visions and predictions.”
Jared let out a long breath. “I don’t know, Bram. I guess love changes a man. It opens his eyes. Or at least, it has mine. Everything seems different to me now. I never knew the sky was so blue or the grass so green. Maybe you ought to try it.”
The suggestion was enough to get Bram headed toward the door. “I’m a happy man just like I am. So I’m gonna get out of here before your little honey arrives.”
“Hey Bram,” Jared called to him as he stepped out the door. “Let me know if you get any leads on the arsonist. I’d like to see him behind bars.”
“You and me both, brother.” He lifted his hand in farewell and shut the door behind him.
Jared turned back to finishing the last of the meal and while he worked, his mind kept turning over the news Bram had given him. Someone had blatantly set fire to the courthouse. Not only that, he’d set it in the very room next to where he and Kerry had been working. Why hadn’t they heard him moving about? he wondered. And how had the person gotten in without being noticed? He hoped to heck Bram could figure it out. The idea that someone was out for him or anyone that he loved chilled him.
Ten minutes later, he was taking a loaf of buttered Italian bread out of the oven, when he heard Kerry’s knock on the front door.
He hurried out to greet her and was totally bowled over the moment he opened the door and spotted her on the threshold. She was wearing a filmy dress printed in small pink and burgundy flowers. The neck was scooped low and the bodice clung to her body, outlining the pert curves of her breasts. Her hair was pulled back on the sides and fastened with silver barrettes. The extra touch of makeup on her eyes and lips gave her an exotic, tempting look and the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss the cherry color from her mouth hit him like a hammer. But with little Peggy standing at her side, he had to control himself.
“Hello,” he greeted her, while pushing open the door to allow them entry. “You’re right on time. I just took the bread out of the oven.”
As they stepped past him, he leaned forward and planted a swift kiss on Kerry’s cheek. Color immediately bloomed in her face and she cast him a shy smile.
“I’m glad we haven’t kept you waiting,” she murmured.
“It was worth it,” he said softly as his eyes devoured the sight of her. “You look gorgeous tonight.”
“
Thank you.”
His gaze lingered on her lips for one last moment, then he turned his attention to Peggy. The little girl was dressed in a blue short set and her wavy black hair was pulled into a bouncy ponytail atop her head.
As Jared squatted on his heels, and drew the child into the circle of his arm, emotions swelled in his chest. He’d never thought much about being a father or how it might feel to have a child of his own, but Peggy had changed all that.
“How’s my best girl? Have you missed me?” he asked.
She nodded fiercely. “I’ve been telling Mama to call you, ’cause I wanted to see you. But she says you have lots of things to do and that we can’t be bothering you.”
He shot a frown up at Kerry, then turned an apologetic smile on Peggy. “I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to see you in a few days, Chenoa. But I haven’t forgotten you. Next to your mother, you’re my very best girl.”
A wide grin spread across her pretty little face and she curled her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
Above her head, Jared glanced at Kerry, who was smiling indulgently at the two of them. “Think I’m forgiven?” he asked Kerry.
She laughed softly. “I think she’d forgive you anything.”
Chuckling, Jared rose to his feet with Peggy perched carefully on his arm. “Come on, little dove,” he said, “let’s eat and then we’ll go outside and I’ll push you in the swing.”
In the kitchen, the table was already laid out with tossed salad, baked potatoes, steak and hot bread. Jared found a big cooking pot and turned it upside down in a chair for Peggy to use as a booster seat. After he carefully seated her and then Kerry, he went to the cabinet and poured iced tea for the adults and a glass of milk for Peggy.
“If you cooked this yourself, I’m very impressed,” Kerry told him when he’d taken his own seat at the end of the table. “Are you sure Willow didn’t do this?”
He laughed at her suggestion. “Willow’s a tomboy, always has been. I can cook anything she can. Besides, there’s nothing to it. Anybody can throw a piece of meat in a skillet.”
“It takes a little more work than that to make all this,” she said gesturing toward the food on the table.
“Mama makes spaghetti,” Peggy spoke up, “and it’s good. She knows how to cook everything.”
Jared’s brows lifted suggestively as he looked at Kerry. “Sounds like I’m in for all kinds of treats.”
His double-edged remark had her clearing her throat. “I’m not so sure about that,” she murmured, amazed at how easily he could turn her cheeks beet red.
“Well,” he said to Peggy, “I doubt this food is as good as your mama’s, but maybe you’ll like it.”
He passed a bowl to Kerry who immediately began to fill Peggy’s plate.
“Fred likes spaghetti, but Claws don’t like it too much,” Peggy continued. “He likes tuna.”
“I’ll bet he likes tuna,” Jared said with a chuckle, then asked the child, “You haven’t been following Fred out of the yard anymore have you?”
Peggy shook her head back and forth. “Uh-uh. I don’t want to get lost again. And Claws is too little to go out of the yard. He might get hurt. So I stay there with him.”
Jared reached over and patted her cheek. “That’s my good girl.”
For the next half hour the three of them enjoyed the meal while Peggy took charge of the conversation. Jared had to admit he was entranced with the child. He’d not known someone so young could be so bright and talkative. And as he watched her animated expressions it was so easy to imagine her growing into a beautiful young woman. His daughter. He wanted to give her the best of everything. He wanted her to have every chance to follow her dreams, to become a doctor, lawyer, or whatever her heart desired. And most of all he wanted to be there to love her, guide her and hold her hand in case she stumbled.
Once they left the table and started outside to the backyard, Peggy ran on ahead to the swing dangling from the huge sycamore.
Kerry strolled alongside Jared, who had looped his arm through hers.
“You’re probably regretting that you invited Peggy tonight,” Kerry commented. “She chattered the whole meal.”
“I love Peggy. I never get tired of hearing her talk. She’s such an intelligent little thing. I really think she ought to go into law. She already has a command of her words.”
Kerry looked at him with surprise. “You say that like you mean it.”
He glanced down at her. “I do mean it. Peggy is going to be my daughter. She’s going to have my name. Legally. And I want her to have the best education. The best of everything. Just like I want it for you.”
She swallowed as a ball of emotions thickened her throat. “Jared, you’re going so fast.”
“I’m not a guy to sit back on my heels, Kerry. Once I make up my mind I like to go full steam ahead.”
“But marriage is serious. And I’d wager a month ago the idea of becoming a husband and father never entered your mind.”
He grinned at her. “Of course it didn’t,” he admitted. “But that was before I saw you.”
She groaned. “Oh Jared, I don’t know what to think about you.”
“All you need to think about is how much you love me.”
That wouldn’t be hard to do, Kerry thought. Jared was on her mind from morning until night. When she wasn’t with him, she felt lost. All she could do was count off the hours until she had the chance to be with him again. She never dreamed she’d allow another man to get this deep a hold on her again. But Jared had a grip on her heart and she didn’t see any way of breaking it.
“Jared, come push me, please,” Peggy called out.
“I’m coming, honey.”
At the swing, Jared gave Peggy several pushes until she was flying high in the air.
“More,” she called when he quit.
“No. You don’t need to go any higher. You might fall out. Your mother and I are going to sit down on that bench over there and watch you. So you can show us how you can swing yourself. Okay?”
“Okay. And you’d better watch, ’cause I might go really high.”
“I’ll be keeping my eye on you,” he promised, then whispered next to Kerry’s ear as the two of them headed toward the park bench positioned near the trunk of the tree. “I think you raised a little daredevil in the disguise of an angel.”
Kerry laughed softly. “You don’t know the half of it. Before she got lost in the pipe she was into everything. You couldn’t turn your back on her for five minutes. But, as bad as it was, the trauma of not being able to get out of that hole taught her a lesson. She understands that things can hurt her.”
The two of them sank onto the bench and Jared quickly slid his arm around Kerry’s shoulders and drew her close to his side.
“You look too beautiful tonight, Kerry. Are you trying to torment me?”
Her heart thudded with pleasure as her eyes lifted to his. “I wanted to look nice for you.”
“You do, honey. Way too nice. Especially when I can’t make love to you.”
“Jared,” she scolded softly.
He bent his head toward hers. “You know you want to make love to me, too,” he murmured.
She breathed deeply as hot memories of their lovemaking flashed through her mind. “Yes.”
“Oh Kerry, we’ve got to get married. Soon. Next week.”
Her eyes flew wide. “Jared, I can’t marry you now. Like this. We don’t have anything settled!”
“What do we need to settle? We love each other. Isn’t that all that matters?”
Perhaps it should be, Kerry thought. If she was brave enough maybe she could simply tell him yes. She would marry him in a minute, tomorrow, whenever he wanted. But she wasn’t brave. She’d loved and trusted once before and had her world crumble right before her eyes. She’d watched her mother live the bigger part of her married life alone and miserable while her husband hopped from town to town doing odd jobs.
“Of course it m
atters. I wouldn’t marry any man unless I loved him. But I want security, Jared. I want a settled home life.”
“And I’ll give you that, honey. It just might not be here in Black Arrow,” he said.
Sighing, she turned her eyes on Peggy, who was doing her best to pump the swing higher. For the past four years she’d worked hard to make a home for her daughter, to sink roots and keep their lives on a steady course. It terrified her to think of ripping all of that up for the unknown.
“Jared, you don’t know where you’ll be going or when.”
“No. But what does that hurt?”
She looked at him in disbelief. “In other words when your job calls, you expect me to pack up and leave my job and everything behind to go with you.”
He frowned. “You make it sound like I’m selfish and uncaring.”
She slipped her hands around his and squeezed his fingers. “No. I don’t think you’re selfish. I just don’t think you’re ready to be a husband.”
Anger spurted through him and he turned his head away from her and drew in a deep breath. “I’m beginning to think you don’t want to be a wife. To me or anyone.” He looked at her, his blue eyes filled with pain and frustration. “I think if everything was perfect—if my job, my home would always keep us here—you’d still be afraid to commit to me. You’ve got it in your head that I’m still a playboy. That in the end, I’ll let you down like Damon and your father.”
She swallowed as tears burned her throat. “I can’t argue with you, Jared. I am afraid. I’m sorry, but I am. Please try to understand.”
He heaved out a heavy breath. “And what am I supposed to do while I’m trying to understand? I love you, Kerry. I want you. Can’t you understand that?”
She nodded glumly. “Yes. I do. And I— Oh, I think the best thing for me and Peggy to do right now is go home.”
He tightened his hold on her hands. “I don’t want you to leave. Running away isn’t going to fix anything.”
“Staying doesn’t seem to be fixing anything either,” she pointed out miserably. “And I don’t want us to argue and spoil the rest of our evening.”
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