NOW AND FOREVER 3
BLIND LOVE
Jean C. Joachim
Mainstream Romance
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
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A Secret Cravings Publishing Book
Mainstream Romance
NOW AND FOREVER 3: BLIND LOVE
Copyright © 2012 Jean C. Joachim
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61885-195-6
First E-book Publication: April 2012
Cover design by Beth Walker
Edited by Ariana Gaynor
Proofread by Julie Reilly
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Secret Cravings Publishing
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
Dedication
To Larry Joachim, my husband and best friend of many years.
With many thanks for your love and support: Lisa George, Diana Finegold, Sally Gallagher, Dawne Prochilo, Kathleen Tighe Ball, Marilyn Lee, Elizabeth Smythe, the Tuesday Tales group, It's Raining Men group, my amazing editor, Ariana Gaynor and my fabulous publisher, Beth Walker.
In memory of Keith.
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Rachel Hayes' father set out to prove the existence of the Miloni temple and the Jaguar people. Tumi is a descendant of the Miloni race and is sworn to protect their secret with his life. Will he be forced to uphold his vow at the cost of his heart and Rachel's life?
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NOW AND FOREVER 3: BLIND LOVE
Jean C. Joachim
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
When half a dozen people get off the train from New York City in tiny Willow Falls, New York on a Wednesday afternoon, it’s a big crowd. The group arriving this day was an unusual collection of men and women.
Callie Caldwell, a beautiful woman with chestnut hair and big blue eyes, paced on the train platform. By her side was Jason, her energetic seven-year-old, jumping and skipping, unable to contain his excitement at meeting his only grandfather and uncle for the first time. Kitty, Jason’s younger sister, a pretty child with her father’s black hair and her mother’s soulful blue eyes, followed her big brother, imitating his every move. The train wheezed then crawled into the station.
Waiting impatiently for the father-in-law and brother-in-law she’d never met to step off the train, kept Callie in motion. With no family of her own, she hoped they’d accept her and maybe even love her.
“Do you think Peter will like teaching here?” she asked her husband.
“Like it or not, he’s here for a year. Signed a contract.”
“What about your dad?” Callie straightened the bow in Kitty’s hair.
“He might miss teaching but he’ll love the kids.”
“We’ll keep him busy.” Callie’s gaze searched the passengers as they stepped off the train. “Do you see them yet?”
“Relax, they’ll love you,” Mac whispered, bending his six foot two inch frame down to her five foot three.
She smiled at him and gripped the hands of her two children tighter. Her husband leaned over and brushed her lips with his. Then Callie spied two men separating themselves from the crowd. Mac waved then joined them. The man with stone-gray hair was tall and handsome. A drop-dead gorgeous, much younger man stood by his side.
When they turned to face Callie, she noticed they all had the same intense blue eyes. After an eight-year separation due to teaching jobs in different parts of the world, the men were not embarrassed to hug each other. When they approached, excitement propelled Jason into his grandfather’s arms.
“Grandpa, Grandpa!”
“You must be Jason,” the older man said, laughing an
d hugging his grandson while trying to keep his balance. Peter came over and extended his hand to Jason, who ignored it and threw his arms around him.
“Uncle Peter!”
Peter, blond like his late mother, laughed, his devastatingly handsome face breaking into a charming grin. The three men, all well over six feet, looked like human trees clustered around the small children and Mac’s short wife.
“You must be Callie,” Sam said, giving her a big hug, “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
“Sam,” she muttered, closing her eyes briefly while accepting his embrace. She liked him right away. Kitty, shy like her mom, hid behind Callie’s skirt, peeking out at the men.
“And you, young lady, must be Kitty,” Sam said. He crouched down to be eye-level with the pretty child.
She nodded, her face serious. Sam put out his big hand, but Kitty shrank back. Callie picked up the little girl and inched closer to Sam. When she got close enough, Kitty moved from the safety of her mother’s arms and gave Sam a quick peck on the cheek. He laughed with delight as the child hid her smiling face in Callie’s shoulder.
Peter came over, introduced himself and gave Callie a kiss on the cheek. He ran his eyes up and down her lovely face and curvy body. He raised his eyebrows and turned to Mac with a slight nod.
“How did you ever get such a beautiful woman to marry you?”
“Beats me. I ask myself every day,” Mac said, making Callie blush. He put his arm around her shoulders, picked up a big suitcase and headed toward the car.
On the drive to Peter and Sam’s rented house, Jason and Kitty could hardly sit still. Excitement bubbled up inside Callie too as the car whisked past familiar sights and she opened a place in her heart for her new family members.
Mac pulled into the driveway of the small three bedroom house he’d rented for Sam and Peter. The wood-frame building was on quiet James Street, an avenue filled with neat row houses, close together on small, well-tended properties.
The modest house was painted a warm, medium blue with white shutters and trim. Flowering shrubs softened the angles of the front windows. The lawn was tiny but perfectly mowed and the brick path was symmetrical. Flower boxes graced the upstairs windows and hedges lined the small driveway to the right.
Now on leave from Vaal University in South Africa, Peter was in Willow Falls to teach the Survey of Western Art course Marcia Wilton had taught before going on a year’s sabbatical.
Sam had retired from teaching at Vaal. He’d come to meet Mac’s new family. Callie hoped he’d stay in Willow Falls and live nearby. Since losing her parents at sixteen, Callie had attempted to build a happy family. She hoped Sam and Peter would be new additions.
While the men carted luggage into the house, Callie took a long look at Peter. He was even more breathtakingly handsome than Mac. Peter’s nose was perfect, his naturally blond hair was straight, thick and slightly long, his lips had the right shape and fullness. She smiled. Kissable but masculine. Just like Mac. His shoulders were broad, his arms muscular and his hands square with long, slender fingers. Callie preferred Mac but she was surprised by Peter’s looks. He’s thirty-four years old and never married? Surely it must be his choice.
When they walked into the house, Peter went straight to the piano in the living room.
“A Woodruff upright! Thanks, Mac.”
“It wasn’t easy to find a house with a piano. We expect music in this place.”
Peter sat right down at the piano situated against the wall by the window and did a few arpeggios to see if the old instrument was still in tune.
“How is it?” Sam asked him.
“It’ll do just fine,” Peter said.
Jason and Kitty entered the room when they heard the music. Peter began singing. Jason ran to the piano and slid onto the bench next to Peter and clapped along. Kitty, hesitated at the door, looking for her mother. Callie nodded to the shy child and the little girl slowly wandered closer to the music, stopping half-hidden behind a potted plant to listen to the song. Callie wandered in with Mac, who put his arm around her shoulders. She slipped her arm around his waist as he bent down and kissed her when no one was looking.
“I could sit here and play all day, but we better get unpacked.”
Peter got up with Jason to move the suitcases into the bedrooms, then they returned to open boxes stacked in the living room. Shy four-year-old Kitty stuck close to her mother, but she was caught flirting with Peter once or twice, which made everyone smile.
“Cradle robber!” Mac laughed at his brother.
“Now the mother…” Peter said, raising his eyebrows and looking at Callie.
Mac stopped, brows knitted, a frown on his face as he shot Peter a hostile look.
“Don’t go there. My wife is off-limits.”
“Possessive aren’t you?”
“And jealous too, and I like him that way,” Callie said, giving Mac a kiss.
“Dad and I are going to take the kids for ice cream. Do you want to come, Callie?” Mac asked, shepherding Kitty and Jason toward the door.
“I’ll stay here and help Peter get set up,” she said, opening a box.
* * * *
Mac walked around to the driver’s side of the car and patted his pockets, no keys. He remembered last seeing them on the front hall table. He tip-toed quietly into the foyer so Callie wouldn’t know he’d forgotten them. He stopped when he heard the soft purr of Peter’s voice. Mac inched his way to the arch leading to the living room and peered into the room, moving back to remain unseen.
“You’ve been married awhile, Callie. Isn’t it time you took a lover?” Peter asked, sidling up to her.
Mac held his breath but couldn’t stop watching.
“Oh, but I have a lover, Peter,” she said, holding his gaze.
Mac froze. His stomach knotted.
“You do?” The surprise caused his voice to rise an octave.
“He absolutely sizzles.” Beads of sweat formed on Mac’s forehead.
“Does Mac know?” Peter raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t think so.” She turned away from Peter and Mac could no longer see her face.
“I don’t suppose you’d tell me who it is,” he asked, leaning toward her.
Callie whirled around to face him, a broad grin on her face.
“It’s Mac. He’s hot, Peter. So hot…I couldn’t possibly, wouldn’t ever need anyone else. Your brother is an absolute pistol in the bedroom.”
Mac’s cheeks puffed up. He quietly emitted a silent sigh of relief and smiled.
Peter laughed loudly.
“You passed the Peter Caldwell Loyalty Test with flying colors.” Peter walked over to an open box needing unpacking.
“You know what I could use?” Callie put her hand on his arm.
“What?” He reached into a box then stopped.
“A brother. I don’t have one of those,” she said, blinking back tears.
Peter hugged her.
“You’ve got one now,” he whispered.
Mac slipped out the front door and returned to the car to find Jason and Kitty pelting Sam with questions.
“Grandpa, do you eat hot dogs in South Africa?” Jason asked him.
“Grampa, do you eat…ice cream?” Kitty asked, imitating her brother.
“Grandpa, do they have lakes in South Africa?”
“Grampa, look, I have a boo boo,” Kitty said, sticking her hand out.
Sam was laughing as the children fought for his attention.
“Okay, enough,” Mac said, “Five minutes of quiet time.”
The children quieted down and sat back. Sam shot his son a look of admiration.
“They listen…impressive.”
“I’m as surprised as you.”
Mac put the car in gear and backed out of the driveway.
* * * *
Rex Vesson, a burly man in a sleeveless T-shirt that showed off his muscles and tight jeans carried his small suitcase the four blocks from the train
station to a small, neat house with a well-kept yard. He was sweating from walking in the warm May sun when he finally reached his cousin Alan’s small house. He took a deep breath of the fresh country air and let it out. Relief washed over him to be out of New York City and safe in Willow Falls.
Alan answered Rex’s knock with a cool glass of iced tea.
“Hey, Alan. Long time, no see.”
“Come on in. You only have one suitcase?” Alan stepped aside.
“I…uh…left too quickly to pack much. Spur of the moment, you know? Besides, clothes and crap I can buy here, right?” He entered the house.
“Don’t lie, Rex. You’re running away.” Alan closed the door behind Rex.
“What?”
“Come on. I don’t give a damn, but at least be honest about it.” Alan shrugged.
“There were reasons why I left when I did.” Rex licked his dry lips and stared at Alan’s iced tea.
“I’ll bet. Whose wife were you screwing?”
Rex laughed.
“Nothing like that. I’ve got a new business.”
“Lucrative?” Alan raised his eyebrows.
“I do all right. I worked in security at The Hideaway. It’s a nightclub in Harlem. Pretty exclusive.”
“Exclusive and they employed you?” Alan sat on the sofa and crossed his legs.
“Very funny. Yeah, they employed me.”
“You were a bouncer?”
“Yeah, so?” Rex sank into a comfortable chair.
“Doesn’t pay much, does it?”
“It does when you watch famous people coming in there with women who aren’t their wives. It pays even more when it’s famous guys, ball players, politicians, coming in with other guys.” Rex smirked.
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