“It must have been difficult for her when her husband was diagnosed with cancer.”
“Difficult? That’s an understatement. It’s just a terrible shame what he put her through.”
“You mean his illness?”
“Lord, no. From what Jillian told me, while she was pregnant he had an affair! Wasn’t the first, either, if you ask me. But Jillian wanted to believe it was. The poor girl was pregnant…believed in marriage…so she forgave him. She wanted two parents for her baby. I guess there was no faulting her for that, but it sounded to me like Eric wasn’t the husband and father type. She said she decided to stick with him, though, and try to trust him again. But he still took those business trips and didn’t account for his time, especially after Abby was born. Jillian was so busy taking care of a new baby and trying to keep working. She planned parties for someone else then. I think she had her blinders on.”
Stopping to take a breath, she quickly continued, “Now I didn’t see any of this firsthand, you know, because she was in D.C. But she told me about it.”
“Did they separate when Eric got sick?”
“Separate? That would have been the best thing for Jillian and Abby. But, no. She’d recommitted herself to that marriage, and she didn’t let him down when he needed her. She took care of him for five months and brought hospice aides in the last couple of weeks. I don’t know how she did it.”
An additional picture of Jillian was forming in Chase’s mind. She’d been stepped on once, and she wouldn’t be stepped on again. She’d trusted once and now what had happened to that trust? She’d been loyal and had had her life turned upside down.
“Jillian is going to come back to Florida, isn’t she?” Loretta inquired, worried. “She asked me to keep an eye on her town house.”
Instead of responding to her question, Chase said, “You’ve been a big help.”
A few moments went by and he wondered if Loretta Carmichael realized how loose her tongue had been. “She doesn’t talk about herself much.”
He wasn’t surprised. Jillian hadn’t given him much information at all. “I’m sure Jillian will keep in touch with you and let you know what’s happening.”
“I hope she does. I care about her and Abby.”
So the conversation wouldn’t be any more prolonged, Chase repeated, “Thanks again.”
After Loretta Carmichael’s quiet goodbye, he wondered if she’d tell Jillian he had called or whether she’d keep it under hat because she’d told him so much. It didn’t matter. If Jillian found out, he’d explain he was just gathering information.
And if she gathered information about him?
So be it. Then he wouldn’t have to tell her why he’d been distant from his father in his adult years…why his relationship now with his mother was still strained.
Everything would come out eventually. It always did. Secrets damaged lives. He had firsthand knowledge of that.
Chapter Five
Over the next few days, Jillian and Chase took turns sitting with Marianne at the hospital. Jillian had gathered up two of the little girl’s favorite stuffed animals and a pile of books. Every time she sat with her, she read her one and gloried in the joy lighting Marianne’s eyes when she did. Whenever she arrived in Marianne’s room, the three-year-old’s smile brightened, and she’d want Jillian to sit on the bed with her. During story time, she cuddled near Jillian’s heart.
Jillian felt closer to Marianne each moment she spent with her. Her recovery was going well, and she’d soon be home.
When Jillian was back at Willow Creek, she played with Abby, took her on walks through the vineyard with Buff, visited the horses in the barn—Eleanor’s mare Giselle, Marianne’s pony Prancer and Chase’s big brown-and-white Appaloosa Desperado—and generally learned the lay of the land. Chase was never far from her thoughts…nor was his kiss. She never should have let him kiss her because now that was between them.
Now pictures ran through her head that were even more vivid than before.
Now a look, a glance or a touch was much more potent.
On Saturday morning Jillian and Chase were going to take Abby to the doctor’s office where they would have a DNA sample collected with a buccal swab. Jillian had tried to prepare Abby for it, telling her she could take Bow-Wow with her.
Now as they came down the stairs, Abby wanted to know, “Can I take Clawa, too?”
Clara was her favorite doll and Jillian wasn’t going to deny her the needed comfort.
“Sure, you can. I’ll go along to the kitchen and start breakfast while you find her. I think she’s on the sofa in the living room. Would you like cereal or scrambled eggs?”
“Ceweal…with banana.”
“Cereal with banana it is,” Jillian assured her as Abby ran to the living room and she continued along the hall to the kitchen.
A few feet from the doorway, she heard voices and stopped. The male voice was a determined one, and Jillian didn’t recognize it.
“You should sell Willow Creek,” he said. “Your relationship with Chase is never going to be what it once was. Do you think you can really trust him to stay?”
When there was silence, Jillian knew she shouldn’t be listening. Making sure her leather soles sounded on the floor, she took a few steps forward and then went into the kitchen.
Eleanor was sitting at the table. A man, around fiveten, with black hair liberally laced with gray and a full beard, leaned against the counter, a mug of coffee in his hand. He wore a red-and-black flannel shirt and overalls.
As Jillian entered the kitchen, he looked her over, his expression curious and maybe a bit wary.
“Good morning,” she said brightly to Eleanor and the stranger.
She and Eleanor had seemed to come to a polite understanding. Eleanor had done everything she could to make Abby feel at home and for that Jillian was grateful. For herself, she wished she could break through some of Eleanor’s walls. If she could do that and understand the woman, she might understand Chase better. That was essential if he was going to spend time with Abby.
Was Chase only living at Willow Creek temporarily? Did he have plans to move on? And move on to where?
“Morning,” Eleanor said, checking out Jillian’s outfit of sweater and slacks. “You bought new clothes?”
“Yesterday afternoon while Marianne was napping I shopped a bit—sweaters, jeans and coats for Abby and me.”
Eleanor waved to the man standing at the counter. “Stan, this is Jillian Kendall. Jillian, Stan Remmington, my brother-in-law.”
Jillian crossed to the man and extended her hand. “It’s good to meet you.”
Stan shook it, nodded and pulled his hand back. “I hear you’re having DNA testing today. Then this whole mystery will be solved.”
“Maybe,” Jillian responded, still hoping beyond hope that Abby was her daughter.
“I hope it is for everyone’s sake,” Eleanor responded. Standing, she went to the cupboard and pulled a frying pan from beneath it.
But Jillian stopped her. “Abby just wants cereal this morning and that’s fine for me, too.”
“I’ll make hot chocolate to go with it. Abby likes that. Last night you said Marianne might be coming home tomorrow. I think I’ll go in to see her this afternoon.”
Jillian could easily read how much Eleanor had missed Marianne. “That’s a good idea. She’s missed you. If you want to sit with her this afternoon, I’ll go in this evening. That’s if you don’t mind putting Abby to bed.”
“I don’t mind.” Eleanor’s gaze met hers. “You’ve done a wonderful job with that little girl. She’s more stubborn than Marianne, a bit more rambunctious, jabbers more, but she listens and she has such a sweet heart. She’s taken to Buff as if he’s hers.”
As if Eleanor suddenly realized she was going on and on, she stopped. She was obviously getting attached to Abby.
“She’s always wanted a dog. I told her she could have one when she was five,” Jillian offered.
“Is that a magic age?” Stan asked with amusement. “Or are you just postponing the inevitable?”
Jillian laughed. “A little of both, I guess. I’m hoping by five she’ll be ready to learn some responsibility.”
“They’re never too young to teach them that,” Chase’s uncle agreed. “At five, Chase was dogging his dad all around the winery.”
“Did Chase spend a lot of time with his dad?” Jillian asked.
After Stan and Eleanor exchanged a look that Jillian couldn’t understand, Eleanor responded, “Chase’s dad was his idol, and for Preston, the sun rose and set on Chase.”
Jillian didn’t understand what had happened or what she’d overheard. Your relationship with Chase is never going to be what it once was. “Chase said he left when he went to college and he didn’t return except for short visits. Why was that?”
With obvious hesitation, Eleanor looked into the teacup sitting on the counter then raised her gaze to Jillian’s once more. “You’ll have to ask Chase about that.”
Jillian knew she couldn’t…not yet. She didn’t know Chase well enough to ask him to share that kind of information. Did she?
On the other hand, that kiss had broken down a lot of barriers. That kiss had brought them closer. Yet neither of them was acknowledging what had happened. That kiss had shaken her to the very fiber of her soul. But she hadn’t let Chase see how affected she’d been. She couldn’t let him think she was vulnerable to him—not if there might be a battle about the girls…not if there could be a war over who would maintain custody.
When Abby came running into the kitchen after finding her doll, Jillian lifted her into her arms and introduced her to Stan.
He just smiled and said, “We’ve met already, haven’t we, Abby?”
Abby stayed comfortably safe near Jillian’s shoulder, nodded and gave the older man a slight smile. Then she turned to her mommy, put her little hands on each side of Jillian’s face and said at warp speed, “I wanna have ceweal with bananas.”
Jillian laughed and kissed her little girl’s hand, savoring this time when she believed that Abby was still her daughter.
In a week or so, all of that could change.
Abby’s eyes grew large as Chase lifted her into a cart and pushed it through the electronically opened doors of the toy store.
“Do you really think the cart is necessary?” Jillian asked.
“She might choose a big toy.” There was amusement in his tone.
Jillian wasn’t sure what she thought about this whole idea. Abby had been frightened, of course, of a doctor taking a swab of the inside of her cheek. Chase had made her a deal. If she did what the doctor asked, they’d go to a toy store afterward and she could pick out any toy she wanted. He hadn’t asked Jillian about the idea first and that bothered her more than anything else.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as they passed through shelves of Easter wrap, plastic eggs and multicolored baskets. Easter was almost two months away.
She motioned to the toy store. “You didn’t ask me if I approved of this.”
He kept walking. “I saw her fear and wanted to sidetrack her. This was the best way to do it.”
“Do you promise Marianne toys whenever she has to do anything hard?”
“Not all the time,” he returned defensively. “I like to see her eyes light up. I want to give her anything I can.”
“If you give her your love, your time and your attention, that’s all she needs.”
Pushing the cart to a stop, he pinned Jillian with an intense look. “Sometimes it’s hard to feel as if I’m giving her enough of all of those when I have to work. Fortunately, with research, I could set my own hours, come home at lunchtime, go to the lab at night after she was in bed. But with Fran gone, I never felt as if I could give her enough time.”
Jillian knew the dilemma of trying to be two parents, and it was so obvious from Chase’s voice how much he still missed his wife. Another very good reason not to get too close to him.
As they strode up one aisle then down another, Abby talked a mile a minute, pointing to a Little Mermaid doll, a two-foot stuffed parrot and a learning toy one of the girls in her playgroup had shared with her.
“It’s a hard decision,” Chase agreed with a smile as Abby picked up the Ariel doll again.
“Don’t even think it,” Jillian warned him sternly.
He feigned innocence. “What?”
“Of buying more than one.”
“She doesn’t have many of her own things at Willow Creek.”
“No, but she can share Marianne’s toys. Anything we buy we’re just going to have to pack in our suitcase and take along or send separately.”
As soon as the words were out of Jillian’s mouth, she wished she hadn’t said them. Was that what was going to happen? Or would Abby be staying at Willow Creek?
Quickly turning away from Chase, she grabbed a zoo set from the shelf replete with animals, cages and a ringmaster. As she leaned over the cart and Abby babbled about the tiger and made its roaring sound, Chase said in a low voice, “We’re going to have to discuss what we’re going to do.”
Giving Abby the zoo set to examine more closely, Jillian tried to reply calmly. “Not until the test results come back. There’s no point in discussing anything before then.”
Maybe she was taking a Scarlett O’Hara philosophy toward all this, but that was the road she had to travel right now. Every minute she spent with Marianne was bringing her closer to the little girl. Every minute she spent with Chase brought her a lot closer to him. She couldn’t seem to keep her heart closed yet she knew the farther she opened it, the more she’d get hurt.
Abby was still trying to decide which toy she wanted when Chase’s cell phone rang. After checking the caller ID, he said, “Business. I have to take it.”
Although he stepped a few feet away, Jillian could see the expression on his face as he listened to the caller.
She also heard Chase ask, “How could they be missing? Ten cases? Stan said he sent them on Monday.” After another pause, he replied, “I’ll look into it. Those bottles can’t be replaced. That’s the last we had of that year. I’ll get back to you by the end of the day.”
Abby had set the zoo set aside and was pushing the button on a toy that lit up and played music when Chase crossed to the cart.
“Problem?” Jillian asked.
“A shipment of wine didn’t get where it was supposed to go. A restaurant in Erie has made us the house choice and they’ve been a good client for about ten years.”
“Your uncle took care of it?”
“He said he did.”
“I met him this morning.”
Chase’s brows arched. “What did you think?”
“He didn’t have a lot to say. He seemed nice. Were he and your dad close?”
“Yes, they were.”
She thought about asking Chase whether his mother was seriously thinking about selling the vineyard, but that wasn’t any of her business. His life wasn’t any of her business. At least not now…not yet.
Still, she couldn’t help but be curious. “Your uncle said he’s always helped out at the winery.”
“Yes, he has. He knows the ins and outs almost as well as I do.”
“He made it sound as if you might not stay at Willow Creek.”
“When I returned with Marianne, I didn’t know how long we’d stay.”
“Do you want to go back to D.C. and do research?”
“That’s a possibility, and I have a few others. Once Marianne is well, I’ll just see where life takes us.” Then he stopped, apparently realizing once more Abby might be his daughter, not Marianne.
Once Marianne was well, hopefully Jillian would have returned to Florida with Abby. However, she knew if Abby was Chase’s daughter, he’d lay claim to her. He’d want to spend time with her.
Florida might be too far away.
When Marianne came home from the hospital, Chase was protective of her. Jillian realiz
ed that was natural since her activities would be mildly restricted the first few weeks.
Over a week had flown by since they’d had samples taken at the family doctor’s office. But every minute that passed, it seemed Jillian was holding her breath until the DNA results came back. She spent a lot of time with Marianne and Abby but avoided Chase when she could. When she couldn’t—she tried not to react to him. She tried to back away emotionally. She tried to pretend there was no attraction, although any time they were in the same room or inadvertently touched, her physical reaction to him told her differently.
They’d fallen into the ritual of putting the girls to bed at the same time every night. Abby and Buff would climb into Marianne’s big canopy bed, then Jillian and Chase would alternate nights reading them stories.
Tonight after Jillian closed a colorful book about butterflies, Marianne asked her, “Can Abby sleep wif me?”
Jillian glanced at Chase, not knowing what he would think about the idea.
“The question is…” he asked solemnly, “…will you sleep if we let Abby stay with you?”
Marianne nodded vigorously.
“There’s plenty of room,” he said to Jillian.
The bed was queen-size and both girls could be comfortable. But Jillian was already worrying about the bonds forming between the two girls. What happened when they were separated?
Seeing her indecision, he recommended, “Let’s do it for one night.” To the girls he warned, “If I hear you two on the monitor too late, or if you don’t stay in bed, then we won’t do it again. Okay?”
After Jillian kissed both girls and pulled the covers up to their chins, she murmured, “Sleep well.” Then she gave Buff a pat on the head as he settled at the foot of the bed.
She waited for Chase in the hall a few feet from the door. “I don’t know if letting them sleep together is a good idea.”
“It’s one night, Jillian.”
“You decided again without consulting me.”
Their Child? Page 25