by J. D. Robb
At that moment, Mark stepped into the room. His eyes narrowed on the couple as Christina abruptly stepped away.
“Mark. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Obviously.” He forced a thin smile to his lips and made an attempt at a lame joke. “If that’s how you thank all your workmen, where do I sign up?”
Jake walked to the doorway. “If you don’t need me for anything else, I’ll be upstairs taking some measurements.”
When he was gone, Mark turned to her with a puzzled frown. “Upstairs?”
“I’ve decided to have some work done in my sitting room.”
Mark surprised her with a wide smile. “I guess that means that the carpenter’s going to be hanging around for a while.” Ignoring Tyler, he put a hand to her elbow. “I asked Mrs. Mellon to bring our lunch to the library.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “With all the people underfoot, it’s the only place I can have some private time with my fiancée.”
“You know I like to have lunch with Tyler.”
“Yeah.” His smile faded. “I’d think you could miss just one afternoon in order to spend it with me.” When they reached the library, he led her inside and closed the door.
While she walked to the window, he crossed the room and opened a chilled bottle of champagne, filling two glasses.
When he handed her one, she merely stared at him. “Are we celebrating something?”
“I hope so. I spoke with an old friend of mine, Judge Mc-Clelland, and he’s agreed to clear his calendar to witness our marriage tomorrow afternoon.”
“Tomorrow.” Her hand shook, causing some of the liquid to spill over the rim of the glass.
“This isn’t the reaction I was hoping for. I thought you’d be thrilled. I expected to hear you say, ‘Oh, Mark, darling, what a happy surprise.’ ”
“It’s certainly a surprise. But I’m not ready, Mark.”
“You were ready a month ago.”
“That was before . . . ”
“Chris, you know this is what your parents would have wanted. You and Tyler need me. I need the two of you. Let’s help each other. Let me into your life.”
Spilling more champagne, she set the glass aside to mop at the front of her dress with a handkerchief.
Just as Mrs. Mellon knocked and entered, Christina gave a firm shake of her head. “I’m sorry, Mark. I know you mean well. But I’m not ready to marry you tomorrow. Or the day after. Right now I can’t say when, or even if I ever will be.”
Before he could say a word, she bolted from the room, leaving Mark and Mrs. Mellon to stare after her wearing matching looks of astonishment.
Mark was in a black rage as he drove back to the city. He’d come here determined to persuade Christina to go with him to city hall tomorrow and exchange vows. He’d even primed their friends to be ready for a post-wedding party at the club.
She hadn’t just put him off, she’d indicated that she might never be ready to tie the knot.
By the time he reached his office, he was struggling to put aside a feeling of panic. He needed an infusion of cash soon, or his troubles would become public knowledge. If that happened, all his carefully laid plans would unravel.
He needed Christina’s money, and he needed it now. There had to be a way to force her hand.
In his fury, he focused on the kid. Tyler was the key. That sick, needy little brat was the reason she’d moved back home. The reason why she insisted on being there day and night, playing the role of little mother, curtailing her social life. Eating dinner in the kitchen with the help. Laughing with that low-life carpenter. Hugging him.
In his office Mark began to pace. As he paced, a plan began to take shape.
He was in such a dark mood, he was muttering aloud under his breath. “Maybe the carpenter is a blessing in disguise. If the kid were to disappear, the authorities would need to focus on someone suspicious. Who better than an itinerant laborer? And with the kid missing, Christina would have no one to turn to except me. While she quietly falls apart, I’ll be more than happy to take charge. Of everything.”
He gave a chilling laugh while he dug through his wallet, located a slip of paper, and dialed a number.
At the sound of a slurred, sleepy voice he said, “I told you I might have need of your services again. I’ll be calling you in a couple of days to come pick up a . . . package and dispose of it where it can’t be traced. Think you can handle it?” He listened, before saying, “Good. Wait for my call.”
He was smiling as he leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “Now it’s only a matter of days.”
Hovering beside Mark’s desk, Vanessa looked at Ted. “Oh, darling. We have to find a way to stop this monster before he can carry out his hideous plan.”
Ted’s hands were curled into fists at his sides. It was obvious that he wanted, more than anything, to give Mark Deering the thrashing of his life. But when he tried to pummel him, his hands passed directly through Mark’s flesh.
Frustrated, Ted caught Vanessa’s hand, and together they flew through the walls of Mark’s office. “Come on, babe. Time’s wasting. We need to step up our effort to get Christina and Jake Ridgeway together.”
“What if we can’t?”
“We have no choice left. There’s no time to develop a plan B.”
Seven
Ted and Vanessa floated between Christina, working alone in her new office, and Jake, taking measurements upstairs.
“Oh, Ted, what have we done?” Vanessa watched as Jake made notations on a sheet of paper. “They’re never going to get together at this rate. And Christina and Tyler are in grave danger. I can’t bear this feeling of helplessness.”
While they watched, Jake set aside his measuring tape and descended the stairs.
Ted and Vanessa exchanged hopeful glances.
As Jake started past Christina’s office, he paused. Seeing her on the phone, he motioned that he wanted to talk to her before continuing out the door and to the driveway, where his truck was parked.
Christina replaced the receiver and hurried out of her office to follow Jake. “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Just to give you some drawings to look over before I leave.”
Hovering beside them, Vanessa sighed. “They’re wasting time. I don’t care about the sitting room shelves. They need to connect, Ted. But how?”
“Look, babe, they’re both dealing with guilt. She’s still engaged to Mark and, knowing our daughter, is too honorable to cheat on him. Jake is still grieving the loss of a wife and unborn baby, and probably suffering the same guilt for having feelings for another woman. But they’re human. They’re alive. They’ve got so much love to give. Now we just need to point them in the right direction.”
“What will it take?”
“Some kind of spark. It’s a guy and girl thing. We connected, didn’t we?”
“Did we ever.” She sighed. “Do you remember that long walk in the rain?”
He grinned. “How could I forget it?” He snapped his fingers. “That’s it.”
“What?”
“A walk in the rain. Maybe that will get their juices flowing.”
Vanessa scanned the sky. “There’s not a cloud in sight.”
He scowled, then brightened. “I’ll call on Gram. Maybe she has some pull upstairs.”
In a shimmer of light the old woman appeared beside them. “I heard what you said. Are you certain you want rain, Teddy?”
“Gram.” Ted hugged his grandmother just as a fierce black cloud gathered overhead. He looked up. “Are you some kind of genius?”
“Like you, I’m just an incurable romantic.”
Without warning, the cloud opened up, and a drenching rain began to fall.
“Oh.” Because the open garage was closer than the front door, Christina raced through the rain to the garage, with Jake running along behind her.
The two were laughing as they shook rain from their hair. Jake’s plaid shirt was plast
ered to his chest. Christina’s silk dress clung to every line and curve of her body.
Embarrassed to be caught staring, each turned away.
Seeing it, Ted shouted, “We need more, Gram.”
Just then there was a tremendous burst of thunder that shook the very foundation of the garage.
With a cry, Christina flung herself against Jake.
His arms encircled her, and he drew her close. With his mouth to her ear he whispered, “Wow. That was quite a boomer. But it’s okay. We’re safe in here.”
Despite the delicious shivers that raced down her spine at his whispered words, she did feel safe. Safe in the circle of his arms. It wasn’t just his deep voice, calmly reassuring her. Or his strong arms, offering her shelter. It was this man. This quiet, competent man who stirred her in a way that no other man ever had.
She lifted her face. “I’m not usually afraid of storms. Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He stared down into her eyes. “It gave me an excuse to hold you.” His arms tightened. “And I’ve been wanting to hold you for a very long time.”
Her pulse started racing like an out-of-control train. “You have?”
He nodded. “Yeah. And not just hold you.”
She saw his gaze lower to her mouth and could feel the heat of his kiss even before his lips brushed hers. “I’ve been wanting to do this for such a long time.”
Her heart seemed to stop as his mouth moved over hers, tasting, touching, until she could feel her toes curling. In fact, she could feel him in every part of her body. A body that was now tingling with awareness.
There was such hunger in his kiss.
She answered with a hunger of her own, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself so close to him she could feel the wild pounding of his heartbeat inside her own chest. The barely contained passion in him fueled her own, causing her to sigh and give herself up completely to the pleasure.
He changed the angle and took the kiss deeper, while his strong, clever hands moved along her spine, igniting a fire that raged like an inferno through her veins. When his fingers moved upward to encounter the swell of her breasts, his thumbs teased and stroked until she was straining against him.
“Jake.” The word came out in a rush of heat.
He framed her face with his big hands and stared with naked hunger into her eyes. “Say that again.”
“What?”
“My name.”
She sighed. “Jake. Jake.”
Inflamed, his fingers tangled in her hair, and he drove her back against the wall, all the while kissing her until they were both breathless.
Outside, thunder roared and lightning streaked across the sky, while wind and rain battered the roof. The two people inside the garage were too lost in the excitement of their newly discovered passion to take any notice of the storm.
Jake lifted his head and filled his starving lungs with air. “Do you know how much I love hearing you say my name?” He lowered his face and pressed small butterfly kisses on the side of her mouth, her cheek, the tip of her nose. “Or how long I’ve wanted to say yours? Not Miss Crenshaw, but Christina. Beautiful, perfect Christina.”
The way he spoke her name, almost like a prayer, made her feel like weeping.
“While I was working in your office, I used to close my eyes and listen to the sound of your voice while you talked with clients.”
She glanced at him shyly. “And I used to walk over and pretend to look at the cabinets just so I could look at you.”
They stared at each other in awe, like two people who had just discovered a rare and wonderful treasure.
It was Christina who pulled away first. Taking a step back, she moistened her lips with her tongue, avoiding Jake’s eyes. “I have no right to have these . . . feelings for you. I’m engaged.”
“Do you love him?”
She stared at the floor. “I thought I did. But lately . . . ” She looked up. Met his direct gaze. “I guess I’ve known for some time that it’s over. I just didn’t want to probe my feelings too deeply. But honestly, Jake, I never expected to feel like this about you. About anyone. I’ve never felt this way before.”
He closed his eyes a moment, letting her words wash over him, savoring the knowledge, before dragging her close. Against her temple he whispered, “Before we take this to the next level, I need to tell you about myself. I . . . was married. My wife and unborn baby . . . ”
Vanessa caught her husband’s hand. “This has become much more intimate that I’d expected. I think Christina and Jake deserve some privacy, Ted darling.”
“Right.” He drew her close and brushed a kiss over her mouth. “They’re on the right track now. I have no doubt they’ll connect in every way, thanks to Gram’s absolutely brilliant thunderstorm. It worked so much better than a walk in the rain.”
He and Vanessa looked around, but all they could see of his beloved grandmother was a haze of light lifting into the sky.
They hurried away, leaving Jake and their daughter to their much-deserved privacy.
It was more than an hour before Jake and Christina emerged from the garage, having shared their life stories before giving in to the passion that had caught them both by surprise. By the time they walked back to Jake’s truck, they were holding hands and staring at one another as only intimate lovers can.
The sudden storm had fled as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the gardens awash in glistening sunlight.
Christina felt the softest of touches against her cheek, like the press of her mother’s fingertips. She glanced around. Instead of the expected breeze, the leaves on the trees were completely still.
She stopped in her tracks as she caught a whiff of her mother’s favorite perfume.
“What is it, Christina?”
At the sound of her name on Jake’s lips, she smiled. “Nothing, I guess. Just a memory.”
“A happy one, from the look in your eyes.”
“It is. It always will be. A sweet, beautiful memory.”
Beside her, Vanessa and Ted wiped tears from their eyes.
Though Jake was reluctant to leave, he opened the truck door. Before he could slip into the driver’s seat, Christina drew his head down for a slow, lingering kiss.
Against his mouth she whispered, “I intend to call Mark as soon as I go inside. He deserves to know the truth.”
“I hope you won’t have regrets.”
“I won’t, Jake. I feel at peace with my decision. I feel . . . suddenly free.”
“And I feel more alive than I ever believed possible.” He settled himself behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition. “I’ll call you later tonight.”
“You’d better.” She blew him a kiss through the open window. “Better yet, why don’t you come back and have dinner with us? Tyler will be as happy to see you as I will.”
“I’d like that.” He smiled. “I’ll see you around six.”
As he drove away, Christina turned toward the front door.
There was a spring to her step that hadn’t been there in such a long time. And her heart was so light, she wondered that she didn’t simply float through the air.
“Oh, Miss Christina.” Mrs. Mellon’s face bore a pinched, agitated look. “I’ve been searching all over for you.”
“What’s wrong?” Chris wondered how anyone could be worried on such an amazing day.
“It’s Tyler. Bonnie is upstairs right now, going room by room. So far, we haven’t found him.”
“Can’t find him?” Christina struggled to digest the news. “How long since you last saw him?”
“I’m not sure. Bonnie and I were with him at lunchtime. Then she read to him before his nap. That would have been around two o’clock. She retired to her own room, and when she came back around three thirty, his bed was empty. Even his blanket is missing.”
“Have you phoned the police?”
“I was waiting until I found you, hoping the lad was with you.”
With a fee
ling of absolute panic, Christina dialed nine-one-one.
After speaking privately with each of the three women who lived in the house and interviewing neighbors who might have spotted any strangers in the area, a police detective asked for the names of anyone who had been a frequent visitor to the Crenshaw residence.
Mrs. Mellon gave him the names and addresses of both Mark and Jake, while Christina and Bonnie continued searching every inch of the house and grounds.
Mrs. Mellon, trailed by a police officer, found Christina sitting on a garden bench, sobbing.
Taking her by the hand, the housekeeper gently led her toward the house. “Come inside, Miss Christina.”
“I can’t bear to go in there, knowing Tyler isn’t with me.”
“The police will find him. You must hold on to that thought. This kind officer has come to ask you a few more questions.”
Once inside, Christina sat quietly in a chair in the kitchen, sipping a cup of strong tea, while a police detective sat across the table from her.
“You are engaged to a Mr. Mark Deering?”
Chris nodded wearily.
“We went first to his home. He was extremely friendly and helpful, and very concerned about the missing boy, saying he was like his very own little brother. He invited us in and suggested that we might want to check out a carpenter who has been working here.”
“Jake Ridgeway.”
The detective read from his notes. “That’s right. Mr. Deering said he’d seen the carpenter palming some of the silver and crystal that you have lying about on some of the tabletops. We’re wondering if he might have thought the boy would be worth a ransom.”
“Jake?” Christina struggled to focus. She blinked. “Jake Ridgeway is a good and decent man. He would never do such a thing.”
“How long have you known this carpenter, Miss Crenshaw?”
“A few weeks. But I . . . ”
“And what do you know about him?”
“He’s been despondent over the loss of his wife and unborn child. In fact, he has started a foundation to search for a cure for the rare illness that caused their deaths.”