Jack and Summer glanced at each other ironically as their hands were bound behind their backs with brightly colored scarves.
He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Fisher and Wilcox catch up to us now and we’re done for.”
Seeing that he wasn’t particularly worried, Summer relaxed a fraction and whispered back. “All trussed up like the sacrificial turkey at Thanksgiving.”
Jack winced. “Somehow I have the feeling I won’t ever be able to look at Thanksgiving dinner in quite the same way again.”
“Looks like we’re ready to begin,” the pastor announced. “The team to pass the apple down the line first wins.”
It wasn’t easy to hang on to a slick-skinned apple with just your chin, Summer soon discovered. As their teammates cheered them on, she and Jack had to practically meld their bodies together in order to fit their chins into apple-passing position.
His hard chest jutted out, accepting her softer form. It was a supposedly innocent intimacy, which made it seem that much more titillating.
The apple bobbled, nearly slipping as they pushed their cheeks together. Since everyone else had contorted into equally ridiculous positions, Summer and Jack didn’t hesitate to push even closer together.
Faces pressed cheek to cheek, she felt the strength in his close-shaved jaw. Despite their awkward posture. Summer began to smile as she pictured Jack with that jaw set, firmed to take on the world.
“What could you possibly be smiling about?” he managed to ask with a grunt as he tried to balance the apple.
Summer’s grin widened. “Don’t tell me we’ve discovered something that’s beyond the scope of your expertise.”
“Funny,” Jack muttered, straining to hang on to the slippery apple.
Feeling an imp egging her on, Summer reached toward him and gently nipped the soft underside of his jaw.
Eyes widening, he allowed the apple to fall unchecked to the floor. But he didn’t grunt in exasperation as she expected. His gaze never veered toward the forgotten fruit. Instead it centered on her lips.
Warmth sent new signals. And she wasn’t having any difficulty reading them. But nothing in her consciousness activated to heed the warning.
His lips were warm, strong and overwhelming. But she welcomed each feeling. The room and everyone in it paled next to the sensations. But that didn’t surprise her. Each time she was this close to him, common sense disappeared as something else took its place. Something that bordered on desire. And it wasn’t a feeling she wanted to examine.
When he finally pulled back enough that they parted, she was breathless. But the passion had to be postponed, she realized when she heard the people around them chuckling at their display.
“This must be your honeymoon,” Frances teased with a huge wink and hearty laugh.
Summer collected herself with an effort. “Not exactly.”
Frances waved a plump hand negligently. “I vaguely remember being young and in love. Enjoy, my dears.” With that, she scooted away, leaving a trail of overpowering perfume in her wake.
“And to think I told the pastor the parlor games weren’t such a great idea,” Jack told her.
Summer cleared her throat, still feeling the imprint of his lips on hers. “You’ve changed your mind?”
Jack’s gaze caught and held hers. “What do you think?”
Uncertainly Summer paused. She wanted to believe that Jack had felt the same measure of giddy attraction that she had. More, she wanted to admit her feelings, hoping he would reciprocate. But, afraid to take the plunge, instead she tiptoed into the water, testing Jack’s reaction. “We made a convincing couple.”
Jack’s expression stilled for a moment at her cautious reply, before his smile flashed. “That we did. You’re quite a player, Summer. If someone didn’t know the difference, they’d believe we really were a couple.”
She’d believed...but clearly he hadn’t. Firming her chin, Summer tilted it upward. “Then I guess we did a good job.”
“So we did, Summer. And we fooled just about everybody.”
Summer tried to straighten the quilt over the grass, but it was rapidly becoming apparent that it was a futile gesture. No sooner did she straighten it than Danny would crawl forward, trying to escape. And recapturing him crumpled the quilt each time.
“You might as well give up,” Jack advised lazily from his supine position. A hat perched over most of his face, he seemed far too content to lie in the shade. Of course he had good reason to be resting. The boiler in the recreation hall had burst the previous evening soon after the dance had ended, causing him to work all night.
After their kiss, Summer had wondered if they might have a different conclusion to the evening, but Jack hadn’t arrived back at the cottage until the early-morning hours. And by then, Danny was wide-awake and ready for breakfast.
“You’re going to become bug bait if you don’t move,” Summer teased, knowing he was genuinely tired.
“Is it my watch?” Jack questioned, referring to Danny.
“Not especially. You simply look too comfortable.”
He grunted and rolled on one side. “Okay, I moved.”
Summer spotted Danny revving up for another escape effort. “Oh, no, you don’t.” Scooping him up, she put his wriggling body on her lap. “What do you see over there that’s so intriguing?” She glanced across the yard. “Oh, some kids. Punkin, I’m afraid they’re a little too big for you to play with. They’re playing dodgeball and they’d probably get you mixed up with the ball.”
Jack chuckled. “Now, that’s quite a picture.”
Summer ignored him, turning to the baby instead. “Why don’t we see what Daddy has that we could pilfer?”
“Daddy doesn’t have anything worth jail time,” he warned her.
“I don’t know. How about that hat? I bet Danny would love to wear that.”
“That’s a 49ers hat from the Super Bowl,” Jack protested. “Genuine article.”
“Danny won’t mind that it’s old and a little worn,” she replied sweetly. “Would you, punkin?”
“You’re all heart.” Yet he placed the hat backward on Danny’s head when Summer plunked the baby down next to him. “You realize that will keep him entertained all of about thirty seconds.”
“Probably,” she agreed. “I thought we’d walk over to the pond and look at the ducks. They’re bound to be good for at least ten minutes of entertainment.”
Jack groaned. “Danny, my boy, how ’bout a nap instead of some ugly ducklings?”
In response, Danny tried to crawl off the blanket again.
“It’s Sunday afternoon, Danny, have a heart,” Jack tried again.
Danny crawled even faster, laughing when Summer scooped him up and tickled him.
“I thought an old-fashioned box supper meant R&R,” Jack groaned.
“As in racing and running after Danny? Then you’re right.”
“I don’t think I’m getting a lot of sympathy,” Jack responded, propping himself up on one elbow.
“Right again.” Glancing across the lawn, Summer spotted Danny crawling at top speed. Instantly she jumped up and headed after him.
Jack watched them and saw that she had the situation under control. But then he hadn’t had to worry about Danny with Summer around. She had already sprouted that extra set of maternal eyes in the back of her head.
Summer captured Danny before the baby reached the older kids. “Okay, you, why don’t we go find something safe for you to play?” Making him giggle by blowing kisses on his tummy, Summer took him over to the swing set designed for toddlers.
Jack sat up slowly, watching them together. It amazed him that even in the face of danger, Summer could make the baby laugh. It occurred to him suddenly that Danny had been happier since Summer had joined them. Although the baby was too young to understand either the situation or the dynamics, clearly he liked Summer. And Jack had always thought babies and animals possessed a keen intuitive sense about people.
/> She pushed the swing as Danny chortled with glee. After several minutes, Summer allowed the swing to slow down, finally plucking Danny from the seat and walking back to Jack. He enjoyed the view coming and going, even the view as she put Danny in his stroller.
“Okay, folks,” the pastor announced from the top of the steps. “Time to bid for box lunches. You men better bid high if you want to share lunch with the lady of your choice.”
Jack watched the good-natured auction with amusement until Summer’s box supper came up for bid. Not expecting competition, he watched with lazy interest. But when two or three bids surfaced, Jack straightened up and searched the crowd for the men who had made them. He guessed the men didn’t know Summer was with him. Most of the time since they’d arrived at the church, he had been occupied with repairing one thing or another.
Standing up, Jack made his considerable height evident The last offer for Summer’s lunch had been ten dollars. He decided it was time for a preemptive bid. “Twenty-five dollars.”
The pastor’s gavel banged down immediately. “Sounds like that man’s either hungry or wants to make sure no one else eats lunch with his wife!”
Amused laughter broke out, and the other bidders smiled good-naturedly and retreated from the bidding.
“I didn’t realize you were that hungry,” Summer told him as she approached, her lips curved in a knowing grin as she put Danny in his portable playpen.
Jack started to joke, but the lighthearted emotion failed him. “More than you’ll know.”
Her grin faded. Suddenly Summer knew the hunger he spoke of. Her own pangs were laid bare as their gazes locked.
Without comment, Jack pulled her close, his lips saying the words that remained unspoken. It was a fierce possession, a promise that demanded...then delivered.
The picnic, the parishioners, the world, in fact—all were forgotten as thwarted longing demanded satisfaction.
Summer felt the bunching of his muscles as her arms snaked over his shoulders. The strength and power excited her, lured her, compelled her to wish for an end to this frustration.
“Hey, you two!” Mary Steiger called out as she approached. “Three, I mean!”
Jack and Summer reluctantly parted.
Mary reached for Danny. “How ’bout coming with me so your parents can eat lunch?”
The toddler settled for a moment in her arms, then wriggled fretfully to get away.
“Looks like he wants Mama,” Mary said regretfully.
“Mama,” Danny repeated, holding his arms out to Summer.
Jack stared at Summer, but for an entirely different reason this time. Could the child be bonding with Summer so completely?
A staggering set of complications struck him—ones he wasn’t yet ready to examine.
He felt a spurt of unfamiliar guilt. What would Linda think of her son calling another woman mama? And what would his late wife think of his increasing feelings for that same woman?
Overly full lips twitched nervously, since the man knew the questions to come. He wasn’t disappointed.
A hand slammed viciously against the metal desk. “You said the profiler would find them!”
The graying man swallowed. “Radison is the best, but Anderson’s not following his normal course of action.”
“The best should have anticipated that,” the pale-eyed man replied in a quiet voice that was more terrifying than if he had thundered the words.
“Radison is trying another tack. He’ll look outside the scope. My guess is Anderson anticipated what we’d do and countermoved.”
“Brilliant deduction.” The man moved to the window, presenting his back. “You’ve just used up another one of your chances.”
Sweat broke out beneath graying hair. “I’m doing my best.”
“You’d better hope not. I wouldn’t waste any more of your chances.” Pale eyes skewered the other man to the wall as he turned around. “Remember, the kind and the cruel kill in equal quantities.”
He ran his tongue over fleshy lips. “And which are we?”
The nearly maniacal laugh shot terror through his heart. “If you don’t know, your chances just ran out.”
Chapter 14
How could one day take so long to pass? Summer wondered as she watched the church choir assemble. It seemed that aeons rather than hours had passed since that moment with Jack on the lawn. Her lips still tingled with his imprint. Without volition, her fingers strayed to trace their outline, remembering the feel of his kiss. Just a kiss, she reminded herself. But that was scant comfort when her body burned with a fire that refused to be quenched.
Singing, Summer told herself. She could lose herself in the singing. Determinedly she joined the other choir members. It was an extra practice since the group was scheduled to perform at an all-city concert the following week.
At first Summer had feared the exposure. But she’d learned they would dress in matching choir robes, providing some anonymity, and making the excursion relatively safe.
Though she had been certain the rehearsal would distract her building tension, one hour and four songs later, she was only more anxious.
Resolution. That was what was needed, she decided, striking off her first solution. She and Jack couldn’t go on as they had.
When the rehearsal ended, Summer looked for Jack, but discovered that he was working on the ancient boiler again. Stymied, she sought to ease her restlessness.
She played with Danny until the exhausted child fell asleep on her lap. Guiltily Summer realized she had delayed his nap time so that she could play with him, rather than face her own thoughts.
Reluctantly she returned him to the crib in the Steigers’ nursery. Unable to push the whirling thoughts from her head, she volunteered to clean up the church lawn. Although most of the church members had conscientiously cleaned up their picnic things, there was still some litter—an errant cup, paper plates and napkins.
People lingered to catch up on news and to simply pass the time, but Summer didn’t let them deter her. She cleaned around the people, causing more than one quizzical stare. Unfazed, she ignored both the adults deep in conversation and their children, who used the gathering as an excuse to run and holler. She inspected every foot of the lawn, but that chore didn’t take nearly long enough and still the time dragged.
Deciding there was a strong possibility that she might go crazy, Summer cleaned the tiny guest cottage with a vengeance at odds with the pleasant surroundings. When she was finished, the soft glow of the well-polished furniture competed with the fresh aroma of lemon wax.
Impulsively she clipped some roses, hydrangeas and peonies, knowing that Mary Steiger encouraged the practice. Once arranged, they became a soft focal point. Following the same impulse that led her to cut the flowers, she tossed some petals on the bed. If Jack asked her about them, Summer decided she would tell him that it was an act of whimsy.
“Whimsy,” she said aloud. The innocent petals on the bedspread seemed to mock her. “It’s one way to put it,” she muttered in quiet defense.
Since the cottage was so clean it practically squeaked, Summer reluctantly put away her cleaning materials. After ten minutes with a magazine, she found herself tossing it down to pace the small confines of the room.
“Enough!” she told the cottage as she left. Patience had never been her strong point. Her mother had always said that when the good Lord was handing out patience, Summer had been too impatient to wait in line. Stomping across the lawn, Summer decided that her mother just might have been right.
Jack searched through the toolbox as he looked in disgust at the old boiler.
“Damn thing should have been put out to pasture a hundred years ago,” he muttered. Uncharacteristically he punctuated the words with a well-aimed kick at the solid base of the boiler.
When the clang subsided, Jack sighed. Then he ran an apologetic hand over the surface. “We’ll get you through this crisis, too.”
Jack knew the source of his frustration
and although the old boiler could try his patience, it wasn’t the cause. He knew exactly why he was frustrated.
And her name was Summer.
Summer of the contradictions, mesmerizing eyes and huge heart. And partner to a sexual tension that heated the air, stunned the senses and nearly made him forget the past.
But could he forget that past?
The picture of his late wife was something he carried in his heart, but it had faded a bit of late. How could that be? Had he sacrificed Linda only to forget her?
Unexpectedly he remembered Summer’s fervent defense. She didn’t believe he was responsible for Linda’s death. Summer had pointed the finger at Fisher and Wilcox. Could she be right?
He had never intended to become involved with anyone again. But he had never expected to let anyone intrude on his emotions, either. How had Summer managed that? And what in the world was he going to do about it?
The interminably long day had been filled with noise and people. By comparison, the night was starkly quiet But nothing about the verdant green of the canopied trees or the rich swath of velvet sky was stark. Summer dawdled as she crossed the lawn toward the cottage.
Her earlier impatience hadn’t disappeared, but now resembled a fire that had burned down to softly glowing embers. While they no longer danced in crazy abandon, the sparks were still alive, simply waiting to be flamed back to life. But Summer had accepted that she had to wait until Jack was free to think about extinguishing that fire.
And Summer also knew she had to decide whether she was willing to take that step, knowing that Jack had pledged his love to someone she couldn’t compete with. Summer wondered if she dared allow herself to become any more deeply involved with him, knowing they had no future together. Would crossing this last barrier wound her heart for all time?
It was a lazy, late-summer night. Crickets chirped while the perfume of trailing honeysuckle scented the air. The Steigers’ perfectly groomed rose garden with its freshly turned, loamy soil and the huge magnolia tree added their own rich aromas.
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