by Susan Crosby
His tone was level, his face expressionless, and yet somehow she knew it hurt him that she couldn’t remember much. She didn’t want to hurt him. He’d been so good to her since he’d come home, only to find what awaited him. “No, I’m fine with being a McCoy,” she said, reaching a hand to him. She already loved his whole family.
And despite the thoughts that had run through her head the night before about it being impossible to love someone that fast, she was pretty sure she did love him. She was just afraid to, wasn’t ready to accept or give in to it. She had a feeling she needed to fight it. Unrequited love was too hard.
He sat on the bed and squeezed her hand. “I was proud of you.”
Her throat burned. “Thank you. Thank you for being with me all the way. And thank you for my beautiful daughter.”
“Our beautiful daughter,” he said, running a hand down Isabella’s back, his hand almost bigger than the bundle she made.
“I never even asked if you like kids.”
“Of course I like kids,” he said.
The door opened and Aggie stuck her head in. “The natives are getting restless.”
“No more than three at a time, Mom,” Jake said, standing. “And just for a minute each.”
Aggie saluted. “I’ll be sure to time them.” She grinned and was gone.
“Isabella is very lucky to have Aggie as a grandma. She sure won’t see much of her other grandparents, which is really sad to me.” Keri wondered what Jake would think of her parents. They were definitely one of a kind.
Joe and Donovan came through the door, Nana Mae between them. And so Isabella met her great-grandmother, her uncles and aunts and good friends Dixie and Laura. She would have a big, loving family, just like Keri had always dreamed of for herself.
She watched Jake hug each person, saw the lifelong connection between them, the comfort of knowing someone all his life, and Keri knew, without a doubt, that she would never leave Chance City.
She’d found home—and it was in a place her brand-new husband didn’t call home, even though he’d been born and raised there.
All she needed to do now was find a way to make him feel this was home, too. Because if he couldn’t, they didn’t stand a chance of their impetuous marriage surviving.
Chapter Ten
Their first argument came on Isabella’s one-week birthday.
“You’re tired,” Jake said as he set a turkey sandwich and glass of milk on a table next to Keri’s rocking chair. “You shouldn’t be making big decisions yet.”
Keri looked up from watching her daughter nurse. He was right about being tired—Isabella demanded to eat every two hours—but it didn’t mean Keri wasn’t clear minded. “I’ve been thinking about this for months, Jake. I test drove ten different cars. Now I’m ready to buy.”
“I have a car. A solid SUV with a great safety record. Four-wheel drive, should that ever be necessary. A built-in DVD player for when she gets old enough to be entertained. GPS. What more do you want?”
“My own car.”
“It doesn’t make sense to have two vehicles. When I’m here, I’ll drive you. Or you can take the car,” he added quickly as she started to protest. “And when I’m gone? Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? And at some point, you and Isabella will come on trips with me. We’ll expose her to the world. It’s perfect. You’re used to traveling.”
“Which is exactly my point. I’ve been a nomad. I don’t want that anymore. I don’t want that for my daughter.” Keri was trying to stay calm so that Isabella wasn’t affected by the increasing stress while she nursed.
“Our daughter. And I have a say in this, too.” He sat across from her on the sofa, leaning forward intently, his arms on his thighs. “This will always be home base, anyway.”
“Are you that anxious to get back to work?”
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “I’ve spent years building my reputation. To take too much time off would give others a chance to take away business, not just now but in the future. I can’t afford that. Which has nothing to do with you getting a car. We don’t need two cars.”
“You haven’t healed enough to go back to work, Jake.”
“I think I’m the best judge of that.”
Isabella had fallen asleep. Keri started to lift her to her shoulder to burp her when Jake took over.
“Eat your lunch,” he said, transferring the baby from Keri’s arms to his. “Then sleep.”
“Stop ordering me. I know what I need to do. In fact, why don’t you go do something? You’ve got cabin fever.” Dixie had said she might drop by sometime, too, so maybe the women would be able to talk in private. Jake was always around.
Which usually was a good thing, Keri reminded herself.
“I think I’ll do that.” His mouth was compressed. “But we’re not done with this conversation.”
So. He was anxious to get out, too. “We are, as far as I’m concerned. And if you won’t drive me to the dealership, I’ll get someone else to.” She heard her own voice rise, ready to do verbal battle with him.
He frowned and walked away. She heard him murmur to Isabella as he laid her in the bassinette in the bedroom, the baby monitor picking up his soothing tone. He’d taken to fatherhood as if he’d had years of experience.
“Last I heard,” he said, returning, “marriage involves compromise.”
“You telling me what I can and cannot do does not constitute compromise.” She took the last bite of her sandwich, as if the discussion weren’t bothering her one bit, when, in fact, she hated it. Hated that they were having an argument in the first place, but also that he talked about going back to work, far, far away most of the time.
The car had become a symbol of their separate lives.
“I don’t want to fight about this,” he said.
“Neither do I. But this much I know, Jake. You’re not healed enough to be out on the road again. You still have nightmares.” He’d gone back to sleeping on the sofa, but with the baby monitor near him. Whenever Isabella fussed, he was up and in the bedroom, changing her diaper, handing her to Keri, then staying, stretched out on the bed, while she nursed. Keri cherished these moments, learning more about him every day, coming to understand his need for excitement and even danger from the stories he recited about his past.
“I’m better every day,” he said, then headed for the front door. “I’m going to track down Joe or Donovan. I’ll let you know where I am.”
“I have your cell number. Just have fun. Relax. Although you do realize you’re leaving me stuck without transportation again?”
He gave her a long, bland look and then left the house.
Keri moved to the sofa and stretched out. She’d no more than closed her eyes when she heard a car coming just after Jake’s had left.
She sat up, ran her hands across her face and fluffed her hair. She got to the front door as Dixie came up the stairs, Laura Bannister beside her.
Keri almost groaned. She was comfortable with Dixie, and didn’t mind Dixie seeing her exhausted, with a belly like Jell-O and breasts like melons. But Laura was different, an ex-beauty queen turned lawyer who always had her act together. Keri hadn’t gotten to know her well, even though Laura had witnessed her fainting at the Lode that first day Keri came to town. Laura had also arranged for the judge to perform the wedding, but other than that, Keri had seen her only a couple of times, and usually at big gatherings.
Not to mention that Dixie and Laura were like the odd couple. So why were they together?
“Jake asked us to keep our visit short because you need to sleep,” Dixie said. “We’ll only stay a few minutes.”
“Asked or told?”
Dixie smiled at Laura. Together they said, “Told.”
Keri invited them in. Dixie’s stride made her springy, golden-blond curls bounce. Laura glided, her own more ash-blond hair upswept and neat. Perfect. Keri missed her old body and was impatient to have it back.
“Stay as long as you can
. I’m fine. Isabella just went down, but she rarely sleeps more than an hour at a time.”
“But if you need sleep, we—”
“Please,” Keri begged, dragging out the word dramatically. “I need girlfriend time desperately. Help yourself to food. There’s iced tea and juice. A whole tray of cookies and brownies are on the counter. Please help me eat them. Jake’s not a big sweet eater, and I have no resistance.”
Once they were all settled with food and drink, Laura opened a shopping bag she’d brought and pulled out a large, beautifully wrapped package.
“Oh, isn’t this pretty! I don’t want to open it.” Keri peeled the tape carefully, wanting to save the paper to put in Isabella’s scrapbook. The box lid sported the name of one of the fanciest shops in Sacramento, the nearest big city, which was where Laura worked in her family-law practice some days and in Chance City the others.
The package held two of the most beautiful baby dresses Keri had ever seen, along with matching shoes, socks and bows. She felt especially bad now that she hadn’t taken the time to get to know Laura, who always seemed alone, even in a big crowd.
Isabella started to fuss. Dixie popped up. “I’ll get her, if that’s okay.”
“Sure. She may need a diaper change, but she can’t possibly be hungry yet.”
Dixie hurried into the bedroom, leaving Keri alone with Laura.
“Thank you for the beautiful clothes. I can’t wait to put them on her. They’ll make gorgeous first-photo outfits.”
“You’re welcome.” She was wearing a blue business suit, the skirt just above her knees, and sat with her legs neatly crossed as she sipped iced tea, her very high heels absolutely still.
“Thank you, too, for arranging for Judge Patrick to come to the hospital. We were lucky he was available on such short notice.”
“I had fun doing it. And being at your wedding. It’s the most spur-of-the-moment ceremony I’ve attended. You looked beautiful.”
Which was such a lie, Keri thought but didn’t say out loud. She’d looked like a small whale in a white gown, with deer-in-the-headlights eyes. There wasn’t one photo that anyone took—and there were many who’d had digital cameras in hand—that she wanted to frame. “Thank you. The pace was a little…staggering.” She listened to Dixie coo at the baby, which made Keri smile. “I’m sorry, Laura. I don’t know much about you, except the Chamber of Commerce profile. Do you like splitting your job in two cities?”
“The Sacramento work helps support what I do in Chance City. There’s not enough business here to keep me employed full-time.”
“You’re not married? Have a significant other?”
“I’m not marriage material.”
Dixie returned with a fussing Isabella. Jake had discovered that she didn’t really like being bundled up tight, as most babies tended to respond to, and because she wasn’t wrapped up, she wriggled a lot more, flailing her arms a lot.
Keri saw something in Laura’s eyes, a yearning. “Would you like to hold her?” Keri asked.
Laura flattened her hands against her thighs. “Yes, I would.”
Dixie transferred her, and Isabella quieted instantly. Keri knew she couldn’t see faces clearly yet, but she seemed to look straight into Laura’s eyes.
“Oh!” Laura’s smile grew broader when Isabella wrapped her hand around Laura’s finger. “She’s absolutely gorgeous.”
Dixie raised her brows at Keri as Laura bent down and kissed Isabella’s downy head, her hair pale and surprisingly thick.
“Can I hire you?” Keri asked. “You obviously have the touch.”
“She’s the first baby I’ve ever held. That’s weird, isn’t it? I never babysat as a teenager. Just never felt an affinity for kids, like some people do. I never know what to say to them.” She caught Keri’s gaze. “Please tell Jake he needs to update his will, and you should, too. Or do a trust. Soon, okay? Now that you’ve got this precious bundle, you need to make sure she’s taken care of.”
“I’ll tell him. We’ll make appointments.”
“Very soon,” she repeated firmly. “Especially if he’s going to continue doing what he was doing.”
The thought hadn’t even entered Keri’s mind. It should have, given that he could’ve easily been killed at any point in the past five months, even by the people he was supposedly working with.
“Laura, you’re scaring her,” Dixie said.
“I’m being practical.” She passed Isabella to Keri, staring directly into Keri’s eyes the whole time, as if she needed to say something but couldn’t because of Dixie being there. Or maybe some attorney/client privilege thing that she couldn’t say to Keri directly but was willing her to see it for herself. “And with the magazine article having hit the stands today, you know?”
“What magazine article?” Dixie asked.
“The one that Donovan wrote for NewsView. The one about the kidnapping.”
“What kidnapping?” Dixie asked.
Magazine article? Keri had no idea. How could Laura know something like that when Keri didn’t?
Laura crossed the room and picked up the big shopping bag. She pulled out a copy of NewsView and passed it to Keri. Jake’s photo didn’t grace the cover, only a teaser line about a living hell. “Page thirty-five,” Laura said. “You aren’t mentioned by name.”
“You?” Dixie repeated. “Jake did something worthy of Donovan writing about? And you’re involved?”
Keri couldn’t hold the baby comfortably and open the magazine at the same time while standing. He hadn’t told her. Something this important, and he hadn’t told her. Had he meant to keep her in the dark? Hoped no one would see it and pass the article on to her? It hadn’t taken a day, and she already had it in her hands. He should know that about his town.
“I don’t like it when men try to protect me, as if I’m incompetent,” Laura said lightly.
Keri nodded agreement, although it wasn’t completely the truth. It depended on the situation. She had very much appreciated it when Jake had protected her from the kidnappers.
But this was different.
They all sat. Keri read the article, then Dixie. “What you went through,” Dixie said. “I mean, you are the anonymous nurse being referred to, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t know the story was going public?”
Keri shook her head. Then it occurred to her…“What if Jake doesn’t know? What if Donovan did it on his own?”
Laura laid a hand on her arm. “No way. They’re brothers. Wouldn’t happen.”
A car came down the gravel driveway, a black SUV. Jake was home.
“I think that’s our cue,” Dixie said, standing. “Call me if you need to talk.”
“I will.” She focused on Laura. “Thank you.”
She nodded, ran her hand over Isabella’s head once more and then walked out the door just as Jake reached the top of the porch stairs. He carried a rolled-up magazine in his hand and batted it against his thigh now and then.
Keri couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say about it.
Chapter Eleven
Jake was bewildered by the cold-shoulder treatment he got from Laura and Dixie, especially Dixie. Neither of them responded to his greeting. He watched them get into Laura’s red Miata and drive off before he went inside the cabin, wondering what he would find. The women had stayed a couple of hours. If nothing else, Keri would be exhausted. Probably not the best time to show her the magazine.
But as he entered the house, he spotted a copy of it on the coffee table.
He set his keys on a table near the front door. “Where’s Isabella?”
“I just fed her, and Laura put her to sleep.”
“Laura?” The same Laura who had no interest in marriage or children?
“Dix and I are calling her the baby whisperer.”
Jake smiled, but he was waiting for the bomb to drop.
“When were you going to tell me about Donovan’s article?” Her voice was
as cold and controlled as her expression.
“Sometime this week. It wasn’t supposed to be published until next week’s issue.” He sat on the sofa, across from her. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you first. It must have been a shock.”
“You’re sorry you didn’t get to—” She closed her eyes and gripped the rocking chair arms. “How long have you known about it?”
“About ten days.”
“And in all that time, you found no right moment to tell me that my life was about to be turned upside down?”
“In what way? I was named, but you weren’t.” He wasn’t going to be made to feel guilty. He’d protected her as much as he could. So had Donovan. “And a whole lot has happened in the past week, Keri. I wanted to give you time to catch your breath.”
Hurt radiated from her. “Every person in this town will know the anonymous nurse was me, Jake. Everyone will know I held back the truth.”
“Everyone also loves you.”
“Based on a lie.” She shoved herself up and paced, gesturing. “Now they’ll know we didn’t meet and fall in love, that it’s all a story. That they were being kind to me under false circumstances.”
“I guarantee you, my family won’t turn away from you because of this.”
“Maybe not. But the relationships will change, become more tentative. Remember when you said you wouldn’t trust me to be telling the truth now because I didn’t tell you about not driving Nana Mae’s car for the past month? Your family and friends will feel the same way about me. I had five months to tell them the truth. I didn’t.”
He stood, too, and went up to her, cupping her arms with his hands. She tried to pull away, but he needed her to stay there, to listen to him, to believe what he said. “I’ll set them straight. I promise.”
Frustration emanated from her. “I don’t want to set them straight about some things. I’m embarrassed about getting pregnant from a one-night stand. That should’ve been private and personal.”
“You can hardly call it a one-night stand, Keri. There were extenuating circumstances.”
“No matter how you clean it up, it was a one-night stand.”