“Just say you love me.”
“But...”
“I know you’re scared. You thought I’d walk away, that love would walk away again, so you’re walking away first. You can count on our love, Jack.”
“Kate, when you told me to go, I thought you wanted me out of your life.” Jack’s face was a mask of pain, his voice faltered.
“You forget. I am a psychic. And I predict we’re going to have a wonderful life together. And you heard what my mother, what Juliette, said—we’re soul mates.”
****
Jack grabbed Kate and crushed her to him, devouring her lips. This was no place for seduction but he wanted to take her now, right here in the middle of town, where everyone could see. But he exercised some patience before rushing her back to the bed-and-breakfast. He was eager to get started on their life together, on the picture Kate painted in his mind.
When they were finally alone in his room, Jack felt a little like he was in a fairy tale. Kate was Beauty and he was the Beast. He was an ungainly giant, too rough for her. His crass was not nearly good enough for her class. But, somehow, they had made it to this place. Somehow, miraculously, she loved him. And, although he’d never said those words to any other woman, never thought he ever would, had never really said it yet to Kate, except under duress, he loved her back with all his heart.
In their haste to be closer, clothes were flung across the room. But when they were completely undressed, Kate looked down at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open.
“H-how exactly is this going to work?” Katherine stuttered, biting her bottom lip. “I mean you’re so…and I’m so…”
“Here,” Jack suggested, breaking out into a big grin. “Touch it. It’s not so bad. It won’t bite, but I might.”
Katherine laughed nervously.
Jack brought her hand down to feel him, to a place that was swollen to twice its normal size.
“Oh, my god,” Katherine exclaimed when she felt Jack and connected to the throbbing, pulsing sensation under her fingers. Justin Bamberger, though tall, had been slim and tidy, whereas Jack was, well, manly and messy, and all thoughts of her schoolgirl fumbling with Justin Bamberger flew out of her mind forever.
Jack kissed her softly and whispered against her ear. “Is it true what they say about sensitives?”
“I don’t know. What do they say?”
“That they’re, um, more sensitive. For example, if I were to touch you here?” His finger toyed with her nipple and he moistened it with his mouth. “Or over there?” His finger moved to her other nipple and his mouth followed. “Or down there? His finger rubbed and moistened her center and then his mouth—
Kate gasped.
“Why don’t we try a little experiment?” Jack suggested. “I think, in the end, you’ll find that there’s no problem we can’t overcome and that we fit together well.”
Jack placed the heel of his hand over Katherine’s heart and felt it quicken. She looked nervous, but she also looked distracted, and he wanted her undivided attention.
“Jack, I’m beginning to see things, to feel things. I can’t focus.”
“You’re on information overload, you’re overstimulated,” Jack whispered.
“I can’t help what my mind sees, or the signals I’m picking up.”
“Block it out. Get rid of all that outside stimuli. Let me stimulate you.” He put both hands on either side of her head and forced her to face him. “See only me.”
Katherine moaned.
“That’s my Kate. That’s my love.”
“You love me?” she whispered, looking up at him.
“How can you doubt that?”
Jack was prepared for a struggle, but the funny thing was, Kate wasn’t putting up much of a fight, not if those sighs and moans coming out of her mouth were any indication.
After they made love—stormy, magnificent, mind-bending love—they lay in bed facing each other, wrapped in each other’s arms.
Katherine turned her face up to Jack’s, her eyes searching, hopeful. “What happens now—I mean to us?”
“I’m going to stay with you as long as you need me to,” Jack assured. “And Kate, I think it’s about time you met my mother.”
Kate looked warily into Jack’s eyes. “What if she doesn’t like me?”
“I predict she’s going to love you,” Jack said, smiling and toying with the ringlets on Kate’s head.
“You predict?” Katherine asked.
“You’re not the only one with powers in this room. I have abilities you never even dreamed of,” Jack crowed.
“Oh, I’ve dreamed of them,” Katherine said, rubbing Jack’s naked shoulder. “Why don’t you show me just what I’ve been missing?”
Chapter Twenty
Atlanta, Georgia
“Beauregard, is it really you?”
“Yes, it is, Mama. It surely is.”
“Come over here and give your Mama a proper hug.”
Mrs. Hale lowered the heat on the stove and ran up to Jack, who scooped her up in his arms, like she was as light as a young girl. Which she probably was. Mary Ellen Hale looked like a munchkin compared to her strapping son. How someone as big as Jack could come from such a tiny woman was beyond belief. Kate wondered if Jack’s father had been big, too, like his son.
“It smells like a diner in here, Mama. What are you cooking?”
“I’ve been in the kitchen all day, making your favorites,” said Mrs. Hale. “Fried chicken, black-eyed peas and bacon, and for dessert, I’m even frying blueberry pies.”
“The kitchen’s a mess.”
“It’s a good thing you weren’t here three hours ago. There was flour everywhere.” Then she noticed Katherine.
“And who do we have here?” Mrs. Hale asked, looking at Katherine, who had virtually disappeared behind Jack’s bulk.
“This is my girl, Mama. This is Kate.”
Mrs. Hale embraced Katherine. “Any friend of Beauregard is a friend of mine. Where have you been hiding this girl, Beauregard?”
“I haven’t been hiding her. We’ve been out of town, in Florida.”
“Well, I don’t know what to think.”
“You’d better watch out, Mama. This girl can read minds.”
Mrs. Hale faced Katherine. “What am I thinking right now?” she challenged.
Jack answered for her. “She’s thinking you’d better hurry down to the nearest bridal shop and get a mother-of-the-groom dress.”
“Oh, my gracious. Beauregard, do you mean it? You’ve finally found the one? And you weren’t even looking. That’s usually the way it happens with true love. That’s the way it happened with your father and me.” To Katherine she said, as though in confidence, “I always told my son. I said, ‘Beauregard, when you finally fall in love, you’re going to fall hard.’ Isn’t that what I always said, son?”
“Mama, you’re babbling.”
“A mother has a right to babble when her son brings home the girl of his dreams. Isn’t it kind of sudden, though?”
“Maybe, but she just bowled me over. I knew it from the moment I saw her. There was something unusual about her.”
“He thought I was a quack,” Katherine corrected.
Jack laughed.
“Well, the Hales are all a bit crazy,” Jack’s mother said, “so you’ll fit right in.”
“And the more I was around her, the more I knew how special she was and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“Don’t lie to your mother, Beauregard,” Kate explained. “It didn’t exactly happen that way.” Since the Hales were speaking around her, she made an end run toward Jack. “Jack, is that a proposal?”
“Yes, Kate. It is. It surely is.”
Kate flew into his arms, and he scooped her up and gave her a big kiss. “Is that a yes?” Jack asked.
“It surely is, Beauregard, it surely is.”
Mrs. Hale hugged her. “Welcome to the family, Katherine.”
�
�Thank you, Mrs. Hale,” Katherine said shyly.
“Please, call me Mary Ellen.”
Katherine bit her bottom lip. “Mary Ellen.”
“This calls for a celebration,” Mrs. Hale said. “Here, Kate, try one of my fried blueberry pies.” She handed Kate a miniature pie on a napkin. Kate took a bite.
“Ummm. This is delicious.”
“They’re fantastic,” Jack agreed, wiping a powdered sugar mustache off Katherine’s upper lip before kissing her.
“Glad you like them,” said Mary Ellen. “Katherine, now that you’re going to be in the family, I’m going to give you my secret recipe.”
Katherine smiled and looked up at Jack. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what her fiancé was thinking. They’d already found their secret recipe for happiness.
Chapter Twenty-One
Katherine pushed her plate aside and sat with her head in her hands, slumped over the Hales’ cloth-covered dining room table.
“What’s wrong, Kate?” Jack asked, looking up from his plate with a concerned frown.
Pouting, she stared at his plate. “Is that your second helping of fried chicken?”
Jack grinned. “I’m a big guy, and I have big appetites. And my Mama makes the best fried chicken in the world.”
“Don’t let The Colonel hear you say that,” Katherine said.
“It’s one of our family’s secret recipes.”
“Are all the recipes in your family secret?” Kate asked, lifting her head.
Jack nodded. “Pretty much. Now what’s wrong, honey? I just proposed and you’re sulking already. Having second thoughts?”
“Of course not,” Katherine said, rubbing Jack’s arm. “It’s just that your mother is so excited about the wedding, she’s off calling half the people in Atlanta to tell them the news.”
“Anything wrong with that?” he said, with his mouth full.
Katherine chewed on her bottom lip. “I think it’s wonderful how your mother is so excited about our plans. But I’ve just lost my mother. And at a time like this, a girl needs her mother. My first instinct was to pick up my cell phone and call her...but I can’t. I guess I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”
Jack stopped, cleaned his hands on his napkin, grabbed Katherine’s hand, and wiped away her tears with the edge of his wrist. “Kate, how stupid of me. I didn’t think.”
“This is something I would have wanted to share with her.” Kate stifled a sob. She’d been so excited about Jack’s proposal, she’d wanted her mother to be the first to know, until she realized this was just the first of a long line of special occasions she wouldn’t be experiencing with her mother. She didn’t want to spoil Jack’s happiness or infect his upbeat mood. But she couldn’t pull it off, couldn’t mask her sadness.
Jack’s face was flush with regret. “I know. But my mother will be there for you. You heard what she said. You’re family now.”
Katherine shook her head. “It’s not the same.”
Jack moved his plate aside and lifted Kate onto his lap. “Sorry, baby,” he said, engulfing her in his arms.
Katherine hugged him back for dear life and let her tears spill all over his shirt. “I miss her, Jack. I miss them both so much.”
Jack squeezed her tightly. “Of course you do. But you have me now.”
“And I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Katherine said, rubbing her face against his cheek. “But you can’t fix this.”
Jack brightened. “You haven’t told Juliette. Why don’t we call her together?”
“Jack, Juliette is my birth mother. She can’t take the place of my mother. It doesn’t work like that.” Juliette was a lovely person, but she hardly knew the woman. She wanted to get to know her, but her emotions about losing her mother were still too raw to let her in completely.
“I know,” Jack sympathized, “but she would be happy for us. She would want to be included. It would mean a lot to her.”
“Maybe.” Katherine sniffled.
“You said you invited her to stay with you at your house, so let’s make it official. Let’s call her and invite her up to help out with the wedding. It would be a chance for you to get better acquainted. It would be good for both of you.”
Katherine hugged Jack. Her Beauregard was full of surprises.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Juliette sat back in a green wingback chair and surveyed the Crystals’ living room. She had been in disbelief over the house since her arrival the night before, wandering in and out of each bedroom, oohing and aahing, touching fabric on the beds, the windows, smoothing her hands over the couches and chairs.
“It’s a castle,” she announced when Katherine finished giving her the grand tour.
“Not a castle,” Katherine said. “Although the media call it The Crystal Palace. To me, it’s just home.”
“Katherine, I don’t know what to say. This house—your home—it’s everything I could have wanted for you. Knowing you had such a good life, such wonderful parents, makes me happy. If I had kept you, I could never have offered you anything like this. Horrible as your birth father was, he did the right thing by giving you up.”
Katherine rounded on Juliette. “How can you say that? He did it for all the wrong reasons. He took a child away from her mother. What kind of person gives up their child?”
Juliette looked like she’d been struck.
“I didn’t mean you,” Katherine apologized. “I know you didn’t want to give me away.”
“You were better off here. I see that now. I know I could never take your mother’s place, and I wouldn’t want to, but I’m here now and I love you, and whatever I can do to help, I’m more than willing.”
Katherine knew she’d offended Juliette, even if unintentionally. She’d have to do her best to make it up to her special guest. “I’d like you to be a part of the wedding. I don’t know where to begin.”
Juliette looked at her with loving eyes. “To tell you the truth, neither do I, but we’ll do it together. I’m just getting used to having a daughter. I hope you don’t mind if I think of you that way. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.”
Katherine smiled. “That’s a lovely thing to say. I’m glad to have you in my life.”
Juliette’s expression brightened. “Have you thought about where you might want to have the wedding? Whether it will be a large or small affair?”
“You know, if my parents were here, it would be a big society affair, the wedding of the decade. They would make a big deal, invite all their friends, but a small ceremony sort of appeals to me. And it wouldn’t be right to have a big celebration so soon after I’ve lost them. So—smallish, I think.”
“That sounds wonderful. I can handle small.”
“Jack’s mother has been fabulous. I want you to meet her. I offered to have the wedding here at the house. We have so much room. It would mean a lot to me. We could have the ceremony outdoors in the garden and then come inside for the reception.”
Juliette’s eyes teared up. “I don’t think you could have it in a more meaningful setting. The home where you grew up.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Of course, we need dresses. I know I don’t have anything fancy enough.”
“Why don’t we run over to a bridal boutique today and try on some wedding dresses and mother-of-the-bride dresses?” Katherine suggested. “I’ll call and make us an appointment.”
“Mother of the bride?” Tears glistened again in Juliette’s eyes and threatened to spill over.
“That’s what you are, Juliette.”
“Lord, you need an appointment to go shopping? This is the big city. I’m sure a store like that would be out of my price range.”
“It will be my treat,” Katherine announced. “I will take care of everything. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”
Juliette walked over to a buffet table and picked up a picture.
“Is this your mother, Jessica Crystal?” Juliette asked. “And your dad?
”
“Yes.”
“She looks like Grace Kelly. She’s very beautiful. And he is so handsome. I’ll be forever grateful that they took such good care of my baby.”
And now it was Katherine’s turn to cry. Then she dried her eyes and got up out of the chair. “Okay, enough sadness for one day. We need to get out of this house. Let’s go shopping.”
****
Juliette and Katherine entered the bridal shop on Peachtree Street.
“Is everything in Atlanta on Peachtree Street?” Juliette wondered.
“Most everything.”
“May I help you?” A stern-looking woman in a tailored dress approached them. She didn’t look like she belonged in a bridal shop. Her entire demeanor was off-putting.
“We had an appointment,” Katherine said. “Crystal?”
“Yes, Miss Crystal. We spoke on the phone. I’m Ingrid Frost. I was so sorry to hear about your mother. She was one of our best customers. It would be a privilege to help you find a wedding dress.”
“And this is Juliette.” Katherine hesitated, adding, “A close family friend.”
“I see. Now, you told me your size, and I know your mother’s taste, so I’ve started a fitting room for you. There’s one in particular—a satin gown with tulle cap sleeves and a glamorous tulle back train—that your mother would have loved. It’s dramatic and elegant, like Jessica.”
“Well, Miss…Frost, is it? My mother isn’t the one getting married. I am. I have completely different taste than my mother had. Not to mention that my mother was a size two and I’m a size eight. May I look through the shop and pick out some dresses?”
“Of course,” said Miss Frost, properly rebuked.
The wedding consultant stared at Katherine’s naked ring finger and look at her inquisitively.
Katherine followed the stare and stammered, “I, um, my fiancé, that is, we haven’t picked out the ring yet.”
“Does the girl need a ring on her finger in order to shop at your establishment?” Juliette asked, barely disguising her irritation.
“No,” Miss Frost stated flatly. “It’s just that girls are always eager to show off the size of their engagement rings. It’s a status symbol, a symbol of their husband’s success.”
Sixth Sense (A Psychic Crystal Mystery) Page 17