"Wh-when?"
She looked up at the doctor. "Did you hear that?"
The doctor nodded. The expression in her eyes was unmistakable. "Say something more to him."
"Jenny thinks you're a hero, Jake. When I tell her you're her father, she'll--"
"When we t-tell her...."
Her breath caught as his eyelids twitched then slowly opened. "Oh, God, Jake! You heard me!""
"M-more than that...you said s-something else...."
She couldn't help it. She threw back her head and she started to laugh. "I love you, Jake Lockwood! I love you, I love you, I love you!"
He motioned for her to move closer, then closer still. "I love you, Meggie...."
She'd heard the words before but somehow they had never sounded as sweet as they did at that moment.
"Shh," she said, kissing him on the mouth. "You don't have to say it. You showed me." Many men talked of love but few understood its deepest meaning. Jake had put his own life on the line so that she and Jenny could live. If there was a better way to say "I love you," she couldn't imagine what it was.
"Jenny...is she--"
"She's fine," Megan managed through her tears as the attendants came to take him to x-ray. "Thanks to you."
"T-tell her," he said, his eyes closing. "Tell her...."
"We'll tell her together," Megan said as the attendants wheeled him from the room.
The two of them.
The way it should be.
#
The MRI showed nothing beyond the broken ribs and fractured leg.
"He's a fortunate man," the doctor told Megan the next afternoon. "Must've been born under a lucky star."
Jenny tugged at Megan's hand. "Does that mean Jake was born outside?"
Megan and the doctor laughed.
"No, honey," said Megan. "That means God was watching over him." She turned to the doctor. "It's okay if we go in to see him now?"
"Absolutely. He's not terribly happy with his leg in traction. He could use some company."
"Jake's my friend," said Jenny, clutching a bouquet of flowers in one hand and her stuffed kangaroo in the other. "He said he wants me to visit him."
"I'm sure he does," said the doctor, patting Jenny on the head. "You can go in whenever you like."
Now that the moment was finally here, Megan's hands began to tremble. There was no telling how Jenny would react when they broke the news to her. Children never quite behaved the way you thought they should--or even in the way you expected.
She bent down to fix the collar of Jenny's splashy yellow dress. "Remember what I told you about broken legs?"
Jenny nodded solemnly. "Jake's leg is in a swing and I can't play with it."
"That's right." She touched her daughter's cheek. "All of those contraptions might look a little scary, Jenny, but it's all part of what will make Jake get well faster."
"Can we go see him now?"
Megan swallowed hard. "Yes," she said, squaring her shoulders. "I guess this is as good a time as any."
"Jake!" Jenny exploded into the room like a cannonball.
Megan's heart turned over inside her chest. Jake looked like a misplaced grizzly bear. There was something about the sight of a big, exceptionally masculine man in a hospital bed that brought out all of her tender feelings. His hair was tousled. His face was beard-stubbled. His bare chest was wrapped in white bandages to bind his ribs. His leg was suspended from a contraption straight out of her nightmares.
He'd never looked more wonderful.
"Wow!" Jenny stared up at the shiny gear suspended from the ceiling. "Does it hurt?"
Jake winked at Megan. "Only when I laugh."
"Is that a joke?"
"You're a smart little sheila, I'll give you that."
"Sheila?" Jenny's brows drew together in a frown. "I know a girl named Sheila."
Megan put her arm around Jenny's shoulders. "Sometimes they call girls sheilas in Australia."
"Oh," said Jenny. "That's silly."
Megan bent down and whispered in her daughter's ear. "Don't you have something for Jake?"
Jenny nodded. "We brought you flowers," she said, handing them to Jake. "I picked them myself."
Jake grinned. "From Ingrid's backyard?"
Megan shot him a look. "From our own backyard. It's not as impressive as Ingrid's but our flowers are pretty terrific."
He took the bouquet and laid it on the bed next to him. "This is great, Jen. Maybe your mom will put them in water for me."
"Don't get used to this, Lockwood," she muttered as she searched the closet for a vase. "Once that leg is mended...."
His laughter warmed her in a way not even the Florida sun could match.
"That's a great kangaroo," Jake said, gesturing toward the stuffed toy in Jenny's arms. "Is that the one you told me about?"
Jenny nodded. "Her name is Sidney." She pushed it toward Jake. "She can be your friend in the hospital."
"You'd let me keep your favorite toy?"
Her expression was solemn. "You'd have to be real careful."
"I would be."
She pointed toward the kangaroo's mid-section. "There's something in her pouch."
Megan watched as he fished around in the felt-lined pouch then withdrew her four-leaf clover pendant. He looked up at Megan.
"You were wearing this on the ship."
"Jenny gave it to me for good luck. We both want you to hang onto it until you're on your feet again."
He started to say something but his voice caught and he coughed to cover up. Strong, independent Jake Lockwood brought to his knees by the power of love.
"Is he crying, mommy?" Jenny asked. "Do you think his leg hurts?"
Megan was finding it hard to speak herself. "Come here, honey." She sat on the chair next to Jake's bed. "Sit on my lap, okay?"
"I'm not a baby," Jenny said.
"Just this once?" Megan asked. "For me?"
With a terribly grown-up sigh, Jenny gave in and sat on Megan's lap.
Jake was inspecting the kangaroo with great deliberation. "Sidney's pretty cute," he said to Jenny.
"I know. Kangaroos are cool."
"Real kangaroos are even better."
"I never saw a real kangaroo."
He glanced over at Megan. "Never?"
Megan shook her head. Her heart was pounding so loudly she could barely hear a word they were saying.
He looked back at Jenny. "How would you like to see a real kangaroo?"
"Where?" asked Jenny. "At the zoo?"
"Not the zoo," he said. "In Australia."
Jenny leaned closer to Megan. "My mommy won't let me go far away without her."
Megan whispered a silent prayer. "What if I came along with you, honey?"
Jenny's eyes widened. "You and me and Jake?"
"Your mom and I are going to get married," Jake said, "as soon as my leg is mended and then we're going to take you with us to Australia on our honeymoon."
"Does that sound like fun to you?" Megan asked.
The little girl nodded. "Could Stace come, too?"
Megan smiled. "I think Stace should stay with her family, don't you?"
Jenny thought about that for a moment. "I guess." She looked at Jake then at Megan. "Would we be a family if we went to Australia?"
Jake chuckled but Megan could see he was still as apprehensive as she was. "It takes a little more than going to Australia to make a family. We need a wedding first."
Megan reached for Jake's hand. "Remember how I told you that your daddy and I got divorced before you were born?"
"When I was still in your tummy."
"That's right. Honey, Jake is your daddy."
The child looked at Jake with eyes filled with wonder. "Really?"
He nodded. "Really."
"Where have you been?"
"Everywhere and nowhere," said Jake, meeting Megan's eyes. "Believe me, if I'd known you were here, Jenny, there's nothing that could have kept me away."
&
nbsp; Megan didn't even try to stem the flow of tears. "We were lost for a long time, honey, but now that we've found each other nothing will keep us apart. When we get married this time, it will be forever and ever."
Jenny looked at her father. "Are you Jake or are you daddy?"
"Daddy," he said. "Definitely daddy."
Jenny's smile could have lit up the city. "When we go to Austria can I have a kangaroo?"
Jake started to laugh. "We'll have to ask the kangaroos what they think about that, Jen."
"Kangaroos can't talk," said Jenny, easing onto the bed next to her father. "Mrs. Daniels at school says...."
It was a simple enough scene. A father and his daughter sitting together, talking about kangaroos and koala bears and kindergarten teachers.
To Megan it was the most beautiful sight on earth. The little girl she loved more than life itself and the man she'd loved and almost lost.
He was the hero of her deepest dreams, the lover of her wildest fantasies, the father of her child and before too long he'd be her husband.
And this time it would be forever.
Epilogue
Two months later
Jake met her eyes in the mirror. "What do you think?"
"Not that one," she said. "The other one."
He held the tie up to his collar. "Are you sure?"
She nodded vigorously. "That's the one."
He'd never been very good at tying bow ties but this time he got it right on the first shot.
"Does your leg still hurt?"
"I don't think I'll notice it today." He turned around to face her. "So how do I look?"
She made a show of looking him over. "Just right."
He held out his hand. "Time to hit the road."
"Okay, Daddy." She put her hand in his and his heart nearly burst from his chest. He doubted he'd ever get used to the wonder of it all. She looked so grown up in her fancy dress and earrings. Only six years old yet he could see her mother's grace in every gesture she made.
The transition from stranger to father had been so easy that sometimes he wondered how it was he'd been born beneath such a lucky star.
Jenny tugged at his hand. "Come on, Daddy! Mommy's waiting for us in the living room."
"Just a minute, Jen." He bent down and enveloped her in his arms.
Even now, two months later he couldn't quite believe it. This beautiful and independent little girl loved him. She was still a handful, too smart and too precocious for her own good, but the love was there and the trust and he knew that with those two items on his side, everything would be all right.
"It took you long enough." Megan was waiting near the window. She looked like an angel in her ivory dress and upswept hair. "I was beginning to wonder if you two developed cold feet."
Jenny giggled. "It's hot today, Mommy! How can you get cold feet?"
Megan's eyes met his from across the road. He swore he could see the ties that bound them together shimmering in the morning sunlight.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. A simple question but the most important one he'd asked in his life.
"Positively wonderful," she said, her face aglow with happiness.
He felt a crazy smile tugging at his mouth. "Positive?"
She nodded. "Positive. Think that fancy sailboat of yours can handle all of us?"
He swept her into his arms and started for the door to their daughter's delight. "We'll buy a bigger sailboat."
"Daddy, you're supposed to carry Mommy in not out!"
"Rules are made to be broken, Jenny. Especially on your wedding day!"
He thought of the years without Megan, without Jenny, then tried to imagine a future without them at the center of it all. He couldn't. They filled his life the same way they filled his heart and he knew that the best years of his life were yet to be.
"Poor Jake." Megan nuzzled against the side of his neck. "Your life will never be the same."
"I know," he said, as they stepped out into the sunshine. "Remind me to thank you tonight."
Life was good.
And Jake Lockwood was a happy man.
~~The End~~
More books by Barbara Bretton that you'll love
Bundle of Joy
One man
One woman
One night
One very big surprise
Everyone in town knew Caroline and Charlie just weren't meant for each other. Like oil and water or chalk and cheese, the ex-Navy cook and the beautiful shop owner were a bad match, and although the small New Jersey town was filled with inveterate matchmakers, even the most determined of the lot had to admit this was one match that would never happen.
But nobody had figured on Caroline and Charlie getting locked in a storage vault with an automatic timer set for the next morning . . .
And Caroline and Charlie definitely hadn't figured on the little surprise they got a few months later when they discovered there was a baby on the way!
Caroline is sure she can handle everything alone but Charlie has other ideas: a modern marriage of convenience!
At first there isn't anything convenient about living with the all-male Charlie Donohue but before long Caroline's defenses are down and her husband-in-name-only is sharing her bed.
Is there even the slightest chance this marriage of inconvenience could turn into the real thing?
#
Second Harmony
The storm brought them together but will love tear them apart?
He was the bad boy with the raging heart
She was the good girl with the big dreams
Now he is a master stonecutter with a broken marriage and a son he would move heaven and earth to keep safe from harm, while she is a success at everything she touches . . . everything except love
And then, seven years after they said goodbye forever, fate finally found a way to bring them back together and give them one last chance to get it right.
#
The Edge of Forever
OPPOSITES ATTRACT . . .
But can a night of passion turn into a love that lasts forever?
Meg Lindstrom is a struggling photographer who drives a limo to make ends meet. Joe Alessio is a best-selling author of fiery historical romances who hasn’t written a word in months. They don't have a thing in common until Meg falls at his feet one sunny October afternoon and Joe realizes he’s finally met the woman of his dreams.
But first Joe will have to convince Meg that her dreams really can come true . . .
About the Author
Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 50 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries and she has received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist.
Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette,,among others, and has been interviewed by Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg Show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.
Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; a RITA nomination from RWA, Gold and Silver certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms. Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.
Barbara cooks, knits, and writes in New Jersey.
How to contact Barbara:
Barbarabretton.com - Website
BarbaraBretton - Facebook -Twitter
AuthorBarbaraBretton - Facebook
Wickedsplitty - Ravelry
Barbarabretton AT gmail DOT com E-mail
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Her Bad Boy Billionaire Lover (Billionaire Lovers) Page 16