Lorraine Heath
Page 29
Reaching down into the second basket, a smile spreading across his features, he picked up his three-month-old son, brown eyes delving into brown. How any woman could be so thrilled to see a child coming into the world looking like Jake, Jake could not fathom, but Rebecca had. And the first time the boy had smiled, Rebecca’s heart had swelled to overflowing with joy as only one side of his tiny mouth tilted up. Shaking his head in wonder even now with the realization that his wife truly loved him, he nestled his son into the crook of his arm.
“Come on, Zach. As hard-hearted as your mother sounds, I imagine you’re going to be meeting your grandpa before this day is over.”
Squinting against the sun, Rebecca stepped out onto the porch, her fists clenched as tightly as her heart. She looked towards the man, whose blue eyes sought hers. “He looks so old,” she whispered as she ran off the porch, straight into his arms.
“I’m sorry, girl,” John said through a thick voice. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s all right, Daddy,” Rebecca whispered hoarsely, the tears washing down her cheeks.
“I’ve missed you, girl. Lord, how I’ve missed you.” John leaned back, taking a swipe at his eyes. “Got some dust in my eyes when I was riding,” he said. “I brought a present for the child. This tiny horse over here. He won’t get any bigger.”
“And which child is this horse for?” Rebecca asked.
“Hell, girl. Are you trying to be difficult? It’s for the boy you had.”
“Which one?” she asked.
“Which one? Hell, the one hunkered down over there.” John turned and pointed his finger towards the porch. His eyes widened at the sight of Jake holding a child in one arm, his other arm holding Jacob close against his side.
“You got two?”
“We have two.”
“Both boys?”
“Both boys.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” He studied his daughter. “You’re happy, aren’t you, girl?”
“I’m very happy,” she said. “We were just getting ready to go on a picnic. Will you join us? It would give you an opportunity to get to know your grandsons.”
“Grandsons,” he whispered. “I’ll be damned. Hell, yes, I want to join you.” And then he winked at her and a smile she hadn’t seen since that fateful night crept over his face. “How else can I teach them what they need to know about ranching?”
Coating the small hill in blue, the bluebonnets had burst forth in abundance despite the winter snowstorm and the absence of water the year before. John led the small pony around the tiny pond while Jacob held on tightly to the pommel the way his father had shown him. Zach lay comfortably in the crook of the old man’s shoulder, listening to his grandfather’s resonant voice as he recounted a tale about his daughter’s first experience with a horse. John glanced over his shoulder wondering where his daughter and her husband had disappeared to, and then chuckling to himself, he turned his attention back to his grandsons.
Nestled among the bluebonnets, Rebecca sighed as Jake’s lips left hers to follow a familiar trail along her throat. A cool breeze wafted across the land stirring to life all that surrounded them. She opened her eyes to watch billowing white clouds glide across the blue sky. Her father’s appearance had forced her to think about things she had repressed for so long, so many things she had often wondered but not dared to ask.
“Do you ever wish, Jake, that you had been the only one?”
Slowly, Jake lifted his head to gaze down on her.
“I mean … do you ever wish there had been no man before you?” She watched the emotions light across his features, almost as though they played tag with one another.
“No,” he replied in all honesty: He removed from her face the stray strands of hair that the gently blowing wind had toyed with. “I could never have given us Jacob. And as odd as it seems, Jacob gave me you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as the truth of his words touched her heart.
“I love you,” she whispered just before his mouth returned to reclaim hers.
She knew they would return to this hillside at another time when her father’s voice wasn’t being carried on the wind and her sons’ laughter wasn’t filling the air. Zach had been conceived here among the bluebonnets on a warm spring day, and in the years to come, other children would follow. But for now, Rebecca was content to lie in Jake’s tender embrace until it was time to return home.
A Bittersweet Decision
Without thinking, Jake reached out, his knuckle catching the solitary tear as it began to trail down her cheek. “I swear if you married me, I’d do everything I could to make sure you never regretted it.”
“And what about you? What if you regret it?”
He gave her a small smile, shaking his head. “I won’t regret it.”
Rebecca studied the rugged contours of Jake’s face limned by the light of a full moon. A lifetime. A lifetime with this man. To accept now that Brett wasn’t coming back or that if he did, it would be too late. She swallowed her uncertainty, giving him a smile in its place.
“I’d be honored to become your wife and go with you to Texas.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure,” she said without hesitation.
Watching her stroll towards the house, Jake felt as though his heart would break out of his chest. That beautiful woman was going to be his wife.
Copyright
This book is a Diamond original edition, and has never been previously published.
SWEET LULLABY
A Diamond Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
Diamond edition / March 1994
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EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-04658-1
Copyright © 1994 by Jan Nowasky. Cover appliqué illustration by Kathy Lengyel. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission. For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016.
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