And where was she? He studied the boisterous children, but knew his daughter wasn’t among them. He’d been told Charleen had been traumatized by the accident that had killed her mother and stepfather. She wouldn’t be playing in the mud.
So where was she?
The babysitter was now crawling around on her hands and knees, pretending to be a mud monster and chasing the smallest children. One of the other kids jumped on her back, yelling “Giddy-up!” She bucked him off and pawed the air. Another kid jumped on to try his luck, but he met with the same result.
She trotted away from the children, over to a girl Jason hadn’t noticed before. She was small, perhaps only four years old, and her arms wrapped around the neck of the biggest Great Dane he had ever seen. Dressed in jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers, she was the only clean child there. Could this be . . . ?
The babysitter spoke to the girl and held out her arms. The girl shook her head and tightened her grip on the dog, then gazed across the backyard at Jason.
Lightning shot through him when he saw her eyes. His eyes. She had his silver eyes. Oh, God, this was his daughter. Charleen. Impulsively, he started forward.
Riki McCormick noticed Charlie staring at something, then caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A man was walking toward her, around the corner of the back porch. Oh, no, she thought. It couldn’t be. She shaded her eyes to get a better look and frowned. It would be him. With all the rotten luck, why now? She glanced down at the mud caked on her body. Her band of Munchkins looked just as bad. There was nowhere to hide. There wasn’t a rock big enough for her to crawl under, let alone with six children. Chin up, old girl, she told herself. What was the worst he could do? Take Charlie, and he was going to do that anyway.
There was no mistake, she thought. That had to be Jason Nesbit, Charlie’s father. The resemblance was astonishing. He had stopped walking when he saw her watching him, and she took a moment to study him. She judged him to be about six feet tall. He was wearing black trousers and a white short-sleeved shirt. In the shade of the porch his hair looked black, and it was a bit longer than a typical businessman’s. She wasn’t positive, but she’d bet he had the same silver eyes as his daughter. The major difference between the two was Jason Nesbit had a smile playing across his face and Charlie never smiled. With a glance at the girl, Riki gave a loud, high-pitched whistle that quieted everyone immediately. All seven children faced her and waited.
“Kids, I believe we have company. Up to the porch, everybody. Travis, please help Jake.” Riki reached down for Billy-Jo’s hand and they slowly made their way to the back porch.
Jason was amazed. He hadn’t seen obedience like that since his days in the Marines. She was some babysitter.
The young woman stopped in front of him. “Hello, you must be Jason Nesbit.” She stuck her hand out for a shake, glanced at it, and withdrew it. “Sorry about that. I’ll wait until I’ve washed up a bit.”
“Yes, I’m Jason,” he said, “but you and the gang have me at a disadvantage.”
“I talked to you on the phone several times. I’m Erika McCormick, Riki to my friends.”
“You’re Mrs. McCormick?” Jason tried, but he couldn’t hide the surprise. At her stiffening, he quickly added, “I mean, you look so . . . uh, young.” He accompanied this statement with his most winning smile.
Riki’s heart stopped. Her stomach dropped to her knees, flipped over three times, and died. Her mouth went totally dry, and she slowly ran her tongue over her lips. She couldn’t help noticing that Jason Nesbit was following every movement. She also couldn’t help noticing the fire burning in his eyes, and said the first thing that came into her mind. “You’re early.”
As Jason stared at her small pink tongue, his mind turned over a dozen different possible uses for it. When it slipped back in between her soft lips, his gaze traveled downward, past a long neck that was streaked with dirt to a mud-soaked T-shirt clinging to a pair of tantalizing breasts. As a streak of desire shot across his abdomen he silently cursed his overactive hormones. For cripesake, he was here to meet his daughter. He was still amazed that he had been a father for the past six years and never knew it.
He pulled his thoughts back to the conversation. “Sorry about being early. I took an earlier flight than planned and there wasn’t any time to notify you.”
Riki felt a tug on her hand. She looked down at Billy-Jo as if she couldn’t for the life of her figure out how she got there. “Oh, I’m sorry, honey. It wasn’t nice of Mommy not to introduce you.” She turned back to Jason with a smile and a small shrug, as if to say “here goes.”
“Kids, I want you all to meet Mr. Jason Nesbit. He is going to become a very close friend of the family. Mr. Nesbit will be spending a lot of time with us for the next couple of weeks. I want you all to behave and treat him like family.” Her glance pinned her oldest sons, identical twins, and they flushed a bright red. “Right, boys?”
There was a chorus of “Yes, Mom.” She nodded and glanced at Jason. “Don’t be embarrassed if you forget a name or two. It’s a lot to handle all at once. The twins are Travis and Trevor. It’s quite impossible to tell them apart at times. They are six going on eighteen, and they have been known to strike terror into the hearts of the good citizens of Mountain View. Don’t let the angelic looks fool you for a minute, or you’re a goner.”
She rested her hand on the head of a boy with blonde hair. “This is Jake. As you probably haven’t noticed, Jake is blind. Most people don’t notice it at first. He’s been blind since birth. Please don’t feel sorry for him. Believe me, he makes it up in other areas. He can hear a whisper a mile away. Right, son?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The smile on Jake’s face showed how proud he was of that.
“Nice meeting you, Jake,” Jason said.
“Pete over there is the oldest of the tribe. As you can see, he wears a hearing aid. Lord, Pete, I hope you didn’t get any mud in it this time.”
“No, ma’am, it’s just fine. Nice meeting you, Mr. Nesbit.”
“My pleasure, Pete. You were pretty fast trying to catch those chickens.”
Pete’s face turned pink from the compliment as he smiled.
Riki glanced at the next in line, shook her head, and flashed a look skyward as if asking for help. “This is Andrew. He just turned four and has more curiosity in his little finger than every soul in the town of Mountain View put together. If you are ever alone with him, please beware. He will ask you anything at anytime. Believe me, it is usually at the worst possible time too.”
“Hello, Andrew. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Are you going to be my daddy?”
Riki choked and went white. She didn’t have the guts to look at Jason, so she stared daggers at Andrew.
After recovering from his shock, Jason chuckled. “I don’t think so. Andrew. I don’t think Mrs. McCormick’s husband would approve.” There, that ought to satisfy him, he thought smugly.
“Mom doesn’t have a husband,” Andrew said. “Just us kids.”
Riki thought she might kill him. She was just deciding which method. Boiling oil, swords at dawn? No, she’d run him over with his Tonka truck, a simple accident. She’d collect the insurance money and go to Tahiti.
“No husband?” Jason asked, staring at her. No husband and all these kids?
“I’m a widow.” He didn’t comment, and she added, “I warned you about Andrew. You’re on your own now.
“This little darlin’ is Billy-Jo, my youngest. She’s two and is just learning to go potty, so be prepared to clap a lot. She insists everyone must clap. Right, darlin’?”
Jason bent to Billy-Jo’s level and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Billy-Jo. You’re as pretty as your mother.” He ruffled her mud-caked hair as he straightened.
Riki looked behind her at the lone figure and the dog. Swallowing hard, she said, “Charlie, please come here for a minute.”
Jason’s heart stopped as the little girl tightened her hold on t
he dog, but hesitantly stepped forward. She halted a few feet away from him, and he squatted down to get a better look at her.
If his ex-wife, Cynthia, hadn’t been killed in the auto accident over six months ago, he’d be tempted to wring her neck. On the other hand, if she and her current husband hadn’t died, he would never have known about his daughter. His first reaction upon receiving the summons from the Child Welfare Department a week ago had been arrogance, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. When the social worker told him about Charleen, he’d expressed his doubts about the parentage, despite his name being on her birth certificate. After he’d seen her picture, all doubts were erased. She was the spitting image of him, except with longer hair and frightened eyes.
While he had sat there staring at her picture, the social worker had explained Charleen’s problem. Since she had learned of her mother’s and, as far as she knew, her father’s deaths, she hadn’t spoken one word.
Immediately after the accident, Charleen had been placed in a foster home in Richmond, Virginia. She had become more withdrawn, though, and had then been sent to a Mrs. Erika McCormick in Mountain View, Virginia.
The social worker assured Jason that Mrs. McCormick was well qualified in rearing foster children with special problems, and had already achieved some positive results with Charleen. After several conversations with the Child Welfare Department and Mrs. McCormick, Jason had agreed to go to Mountain View and get to know his daughter before attempting to take her back to Texas with him.
After a hectic week of tying up loose ends and turning his construction business over to his brother-in-law, Sam, Jason had hopped the first available plane to Virginia.
“Jason,” Riki said, “I would like you to meet Charleen. She turned six in March. She doesn’t talk much right now, but one day she will.”
Riki’s voice cracked. She couldn’t help it. Jason’s expression was one of hope and eager anticipation, but he couldn’t express what he was feeling. It might set Charlie back. All the past few months’ progress would be for nothing.
Jason’s arms ached from not moving. All he wanted was to hold his daughter. The fear was back in her eyes --his eyes-- and he had put it there. He knew he had to go slowly, but it hurt. God, did it hurt. He turned to Riki for help.
She read the appeal in his eyes. “Charlie, why don’t you show Mr. Nesbit Tiny?”
Charlie glanced from Riki to Jason, then pushed the Great Dane forward.
“Mr. Nesbit,” Riki said, “meet Tiny. Tiny follows Charlie everywhere. They have become quite inseparable these last few months. Tiny even sleeps at the foot of Charlie’s bed. Right, Charlie?”
Charlie scratched behind the dog’s ear, looked once more at Jason, and shyly slid to the back of the pack.
“Okay,” Riki said, trying to make light of the emotional moment, “now that you have met the whole bunch, do you want to run?”
“Who, me?” Jason asked innocently.
“If you had any sense you would.”
“Doesn’t say much for you.”
“Who, me?” At his raised eyebrows, she gasped and stared at him in mock horror. “Oh my lord, you’ll guess my mission on this planet if I’m not careful.”
“What’s your mission?” he whispered, after glancing around to make sure he wasn’t overheard.
“They sent me down here to figure out why earthlings have children when they’re aggravating, overbearing, and demanding.” She wiggled her eyebrows like Groucho Marx.
He couldn’t help but go along with the joke. “Did you figure it out yet?”
“Of course. Don’t I look like a higher form of intelligent life?” She stared down her nose at him, never giving it a thought that she was covered in mud from head to toe.
He grinned, wishing he could get a good look at her. The only thing he knew for sure was her eyes were emerald green. “What’s the secret?”
“The sex is great.” After delivering that bomb, she said, “Fall in troops. Baths for everyone, except Charlie. Charlie, would you mind keeping Mr. Nesbit company in the front parlor while the rest of us get cleaned up?”
Jason was stunned. He would never have expected a reply like that. He was still staring after her and the kids when he noticed Charlie and Tiny waiting patiently for him. He gave himself a shake, smiled at Charlie, and followed her inside.
The inside of the house was gorgeous, belying the fact that the outside was falling down. He guessed the interior was being restored to its original state. Not all the work was done, and he guessed that could take years. The house was clean though cluttered, with toys and books lying around. There wasn’t any dirt, but you could tell children lived and played there.
Jason followed Charlie and Tiny into the front parlor. Most of the room was done, except the fireplace. He sat on the Victorian love seat. Charlie, after dusting off the seat of her pants, sat in a wing chair with Tiny curled up at her feet. Jason glanced at the dog and wondered about the relationship. Would he have to take the dog back to Texas too? It looked that way. He guessed it was Riki’s dog, and hoped she would sell it. But was it safe for Charlie to cling to the Great Dane? It had to outweigh her by ninety pounds at least. Who had named it Tiny, for cripesake?
Riki probably. He never liked girls being called by a boy’s name. It always seemed masculine. Now he had a daughter going by the name of Charlie, being raised by a woman named Riki. Yet there was no way that Riki was masculine. He’d had a very good look at her derriere as she marched the troops in. No, she certainly wasn’t masculine.
Once more, Jason had to drag his wandering thoughts away from Riki. He glanced at Charlie and started to get nervous. He didn’t know where to begin with his own daughter. He read her T-shirt and asked, “I see you’re the bat boy. Do you like it?”
Charlie simply stared at him, and he decided there was something weird about having your own eyes gaze at you. He took a deep breath. “Does Tiny always follow you around?” He caught the faintest glimmer of laughter in her eyes before she looked down at Tiny. When she returned her gaze to his, the emotion was gone. Her eyes were empty as before. Jason was trying to figure out why she was covering up her emotions when the noise of children banging down the stairs caught his attention.
One of the twins came running into the room at full speed with the other right on his heels, screaming, “Give me back my shirt.”
“It’s mine, you nerd.”
“Is not.”
“Is too.”
Jason wondered if he should intervene before they came to blows. He didn’t notice Pete and Jake enter the room.
“Dammit,” Pete said, “are you guys shouting or is this thing on the blink again?” He tapped his right ear.
“They are shouting, as usual,” Jake said. “You better not let Mom hear you cuss like that. You remember what happened the last time.” He chuckled.
“Mom, Mom, Pete’s cussing again.” Andrew, who had slipped into the room unnoticed, started clapping his hands, a gleeful expression on his face.
“Give me my shirt.”
“It isn’t yours.”
“Is too.”
“Damn, stop shouting.”
“Mom, Mom, Pete cussed again.”
“Shut up, Andrew.”
Jason stared at the boys, wondering what he should do in this madhouse. He glanced at Charlie to see her reaction. He wasn’t totally positive, but he believed a smile was beginning to form at the corners of her mouth. He was still looking at her when a naked body flew by.
“Billy-Jo,” Riki called from upstairs, “get back here. You are going to catch pneumonia.”
“Potty, potty,” Billy-Jo said, beaming.
“Does that mean she has to go?” Jason asked. He knew absolutely nothing about potty training.
“Naw,” Travis or Trevor said. “It means we all have to clap.”
Everyone except Charlie began clapping. Billy-Jo walked over to Charlie, stuck a thumb in her mouth, and waited. After a moment, Charlie patted
her on top of her head and clapped.
It was the first time Jason had seen her show any emotion, and his heart seemed to clench. How long would it take her to show some emotion toward him?
Riki entered the room carrying clothes. “Billy-Jo, you are going to have to curb this desire to walk around the house naked within the next couple of years.”
She proceeded to dress Billy-Jo, and Jason couldn’t help staring at her. This was the mud ball from the back porch? If it weren’t for her voice and the emerald eyes, he wouldn’t believe it. She was the most adorable package of womanhood he had ever seen squeezed into jeans and a polo shirt. She wasn’t a classic beauty. She wasn’t tall and skinny. She was perfect. If she was five four she was lucky, and she wasn’t the least bit plump. She was a woman, soft and cuddly, her curves just where they should be, especially her derriere. Jason had always had a soft spot for that part of a woman’s anatomy. And if he kept watching, it wouldn’t be soft for long.
He shifted his gaze to safer territory. Her auburn hair tumbled below her shoulders, and the sun pouring in the window highlighted the red. She had a healthy complexion, the kind that said she spent a lot of time outdoors. His glance slid to her mouth-- perfect, sensual, exciting, kissable.
Riki glanced up and smiled. Jason felt his heart skip two beats, then it started in on double time.
“Mom,” Andrew said, “Pete was saying curses again.”
“Andrew, what have I told you about tattling?” Riki frowned at her son, then glanced at Pete. “Do you want to be punished again?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then you better not let me hear that kind of language again.” She stood up. “Okay, gang. I want all the dirty clothes out by the washer. You can go out to play, but this time keep out of the mud. Andrew, you stay in the yard. Billy-Jo, you can help Mommy with dinner. Mr. Nesbit, would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?”
Midnight Kiss Page 15