by Ann Jacobs
“My daughter said they would be. She’s going to use her husband’s four-wheel-drive truck.”
Keith didn’t own a four-wheeler, but he figured he could probably make a half-mile round trip to the nearest drugstore in his Lexus or the new Escalade SUV. “I’m going out for a little while, so you won’t have to clean around me.”
“It’s not a problem.” The woman pursed her lips as though looking at him turned her stomach. “Don’t forget, Mr. and Mrs. Bern will be here tomorrow to see the baby.”
God, Keith hoped not. Surely they wouldn’t be coming if the Memphis airport was shut down, and he imagined it was. He had no desire to listen to his in-laws cry about Jackie and coddle his son. “I won’t forget. They may be snowbound, though.”
After all, Jack was only a year old. He wouldn’t know whether or not his grandparents came to see him on his birthday. Keith tied his sweatpants, grabbed the hoodie off the floor and pulled it over his head before escaping the room. He tried not to let the prospect of that birthday visit get him down as he showered, dressed and sought out Tina and Jack in the nursery.
* * * * *
“Morning, guys.” He couldn’t help seeing Tina differently. The grown-up tomboy seemed to have disappeared, replaced by a woman he was suddenly finding incredibly sexy even while she was wearing shapeless sweats and feeding Jack his breakfast. “That stuff taste good?”
“Da-da-da.” The baby held out hands smeared with the peaches and cereal Tina was trying to get down his throat.
“Eat your food, Bruiser, don’t wear it. If you don’t you’ll never grow up big and strong.” Keith spared a look for Tina, who looked at him, questions clearly in her eyes. “You look like you’ve got this little piggy under control. I’m going to the drugstore.” He paused, his cock already hardening as those doubts in her eyes were swallowed by desire before she ducked her head, busying herself with Jack’s bib. “Do you need anything? Juice, formula, more of this stuff for Jack to smear all over everything?”
“We’re fine. You be careful. It’s awfully icy out there for you to be going out.”
Keith met her gaze, warmed by the emotion he saw there. “There’s one thing I don’t plan on waiting to get. I’ll take it easy and be back before you know I’m gone.”
* * * * *
Had he meant that million-dollar smile for Jack or her, or maybe for both of them? Tina tried to concentrate on cleaning up after the baby’s breakfast but her mind kept going back, not to the nightmare that had brought Keith charging into her room last night but to what had happened later. Her confession, him showing her he didn’t find her tarnished from what that bastard had done to her, all resonated in her head. But not as much as the memory of how generously he’d held her through the storm outside as well as the one that had raged in her mind.
She didn’t expect forever or even long-term. Keith was her employer. He was also one of the best-known and best-loved athletes in the country. Not only had his late wife been a gorgeous socialite, but he had women accosting him on the street and constantly trying to bribe their way past the gates to this luxurious community—not to mention the groupies who lined up outside the stadium after every game, hoping to get a piece of him.
Tina sighed as she wiped the last of the peaches off Jack’s chin and picked him up. “You’ve got a wonderful daddy, do you know that?”
“Da-da-da.” That was Jack’s favorite word, his only word so far, except that Tina thought she’d heard him try to say her name the other day. Wishful thinking, she told herself.
She set him on the floor and watched him take three or four halting steps before toppling onto his diapered bottom.
“Tina?”
She looked up to see Mrs. Gardner standing in the doorway. “Good morning.” It was unusual for the housekeeper to seek her out. As a matter of fact the woman normally seemed determined to avoid unnecessary contact with her or Jack.
“I’ll be leaving now. I thought I should remind you the baby’s grandparents will be arriving tomorrow for his birthday. I may not be able to get back before they get here, what with the weather.”
“All right. Keith mentioned the other day that they were coming. Is there anything in particular I should do?” The woman usually didn’t want any interference in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the house, for that matter.
“No. I’ve already made a birthday cake. Food’s ready for lunch and dinner for the next two days. All you’ll need to do is heat it. Mrs. Jackie’s parents don’t usually stay more than a few hours at a time, now that she’s gone.”
Jack’s maternal grandparents hadn’t visited Jack at all since Tina came to stay, but she’d definitely caught undercurrents that there was some sort of rift there. Since their daughter had died giving birth, she wondered if that was it, but she found it hard to believe they wouldn’t want to spend time with the baby their daughter had been willing to give her life to have. It wasn’t her business, of course. Nothing had changed in the last day to make it so, and she’d do well to keep that in mind. “I’ll make sure Jack is spit-shined for Grandma and Grandpa,” she said, trying to coax a smile from Mrs. Gardner.
She sniffed. “You might want to make sure his father is, as well. And that he doesn’t have another one of his floozies messing up the game room again before they arrive.”
Tina turned away. No need for Mrs. Gardner to see her cheeks that she was sure were turning beet-red. “Have a nice visit with your daughter.”
“I will. Thank you.” With that she turned and walked away. “There she is now. I hear her truck outside.”
When Tina picked Jack up and took him downstairs to play, the phone rang. It was Jack’s grandmother, who sounded irritated that Keith wasn’t home but even more put out because the housekeeper had left. “We won’t be flying down tomorrow because of the weather. I’m hoping Keith will postpone the baby’s birthday celebration until the weekend. Surely the storm will have passed by then.”
Tina didn’t want to commit him or hand over his cell phone number in case Mrs. Bern didn’t already have it. “I’ll have Keith call you when he gets home. He shouldn’t be gone long.”
Unlike Keith’s own mother, who called often and wanted to “talk” with baby Jack, Mrs. Bern didn’t express much interest in her grandchild. She sounded annoyed about them having to delay their visit to celebrate his birthday. When the woman hung up, Tina sighed. Jackie’s parents must have been what her mom used to call “occasion people” who set great store by milestones but not a lot by the actual people involved.
She couldn’t help stopping in the foyer, looking at the portrait above the living room mantel. “That’s your mommy, Jack. She’d be so proud of you.”
“Yeah, she would.” Keith came through the front door, bringing some swirling snow along with him. “Did Mrs. Gardner already leave?”
“Yes. About ten minutes ago. Right after she left, Jack’s grandmother called. They won’t be coming until the weekend because of the weather. I told her you’d call her back.”
“Thanks, I will. I wouldn’t have put it past them to have found some way to get here in spite of the weather. What say we all go in the kitchen and see what we can find to eat? One thing I can say for Mrs. Gardner, she’s a damn good cook.”
* * * * *
“Mrs. Gardner mentioned you had some woman in the house last night,” Keith’s former mother-in-law said without so much as greeting him when he called during Jack’s afternoon nap. “I hope you’re not exposing Jackie’s little boy to your debauchery.”
Keith clenched his fists, wondered how much severance pay would be in order because the housekeeper was history, no matter if she made the best beef stew he’d ever eaten. “Jack is just fine,” he said tightly. “I called to tell you this weekend’s not good for you to visit.”
“Why not? I’m sure the airport will be open by then.”
“I have other plans.” Keith didn’t know yet what those plans might be, but he had no intention of entertaining
Georgia and Tim, not until he got his temper under control. “I’m sure that if you check later with Mrs. Gardner, she’ll tell you what they are.”
The conversation went from bad to worse, quickly. Georgia wasn’t used to being questioned, especially from Keith. She tolerated him only because her daughter had wanted him, much like she’d taken in Jackie’s chocolate lab after her death because Jackie had loved him. Keith had loved Rufus, too, not that Georgia had cared when she’d commandeered the big dog and dragged him back to Chicago.
After he hung up, Keith felt another albatross sliding off his shoulders. He’d had it. Jackie’s parents didn’t like him, and they’d regrettably never shown much interest in Jack except as the line to keep giving him shit about Jackie’s death. Well, Jack didn’t need that, and neither did he. They could never visit again and that would be fucking A-okay.
It was past time for him to look at everything clearly.
For a long time after getting off the phone, he sat in his room thinking about what he needed besides to ease the desire that had come to life last night. He wanted Tina, needed her. Jack needed her, too. Keith told himself he should go slowly, let the relationship they began last night grow and develop at its own pace.
But Keith didn’t do slow. Although he’d made a mistake, thinking Jackie would always go along with what he wanted, he hadn’t been too discontent with the decision to marry her—a decision he’d made practically the moment he first laid eyes on her. After all, they’d stayed together twelve years. They probably would have been together now if she hadn’t died.
But Jackie was gone. Thinking back, he recalled as many good memories as bad ones. In many ways they’d hidden their deepest desires and aspirations from each other. Still, the bloom of first love, the star quarterback and the most beautiful debutante on campus, had stuck around in spite of them having harbored entirely different pictures of the life they’d share. Even near the end, Jackie had still wanted to show off her jock to her snooty friends—and he’d held on to a certain amount of pride that he’d corralled a beauty who knew exactly how to run his charity, how to help him mingle as easily with the team owner as with his teammates.
In time he figured the good memories would stick around while most of the bad ones would fade. He’d hold onto them, pass them along to Jack when he got older.
He wanted Tina now, not only as a bed partner but as the woman who’d hopefully share the rest of his life. Although they both had roots in the same small west Texas town, they hadn’t really shared a past as neighbors might be expected to have done. Not that they were strangers. Far from it. In just a few months they’d become good friends, spending time together with Jack while trying to ignore the inexorable pull toward intimacy by skirting the difficult stuff, avoiding topics either of them might have found painful. Last night Tina had opened up to him. But in many ways, he was still a stranger to her.
Keith wanted to correct that. He wanted to dig deeper, learn all about Tina’s hopes and dreams so he could make them come true. And he needed for her to really get to know him—not just the football star who had lost his wife, not as Jack’s dad, but the man inside, complete with a lot of faults he tried to hide from most of the world.
He went downstairs, started a fire in the fireplace and nuked a pot of Mrs. Gardner’s homemade cocoa, thinking as he tasted the incredibly smooth stuff that he’d miss it when she was gone. The woman was a damn good cook.
He took the pot to the game room and set it on the table. Then he went looking for Tina.
* * * * *
He found her in the nursery, her feet tucked underneath her on a platform rocker as she stared out at a sheet of ice that had formed along the outer edges of the lake.
For a minute he stood in the doorway, just looking at her, imagining things he might do to her. Like picking her up and hauling her across the hall to the bedroom where he’d slept since Jackie’s death. He’d strip her slowly, touch every inch of the body that suddenly seemed sexier than any other woman’s, even the buxom groupies who kept stepping into his path at every turn.
No, he wanted to watch her in here, hold her. Warmed by the picture she made here in the nursery, he stepped inside, scooped her up then sat in the chair with her on his lap. This felt good, holding her while they both watched Jack sleep. “How long will he sleep?” he asked, amazed at the total look of relaxation on his son’s baby face.
“A couple of hours. Maybe more. He played pretty hard this morning.”
Keith recalled the playing, Jack’s delight at walking around downstairs, one plump hand clutching his leg while Tina held the other one. The kid had his old man’s strength, for sure. And he was stubborn. Every time he toppled over he pulled himself back up, laughing as though he’d intended to lose it in the first place. “Pretty soon he’s gonna get to be a handful.” The little bruiser’s gonna need us both to keep him out of trouble.
“You’re right there. But he’s a happy little guy. Who could fail to love him?” Tina turned, nuzzled his scratchy cheek. “Except for his blond curls, he looks just like you.”
Keith turned, tasted Tina’s tempting lips. “Good for him. His mom was beautiful all right, but I don’t know if those delicate features of hers would look too good on a boy.”
He liked the way Tina laughed, a soft, tinkling sound that tickled the spot on his neck where she’d buried her face. He hugged her, thinking he’d like staying here forever, enjoying the sense of them being a family—him, her and the baby.
But they needed to talk. Somewhere he wasn’t bombarded by the emotions he needed to explain. Abruptly he stood, setting Tina on her feet and striding across the room.
She looked confused when he picked up the baby monitor and put it in his pocket. “Let’s go down to the game room. I started a fire and nuked us a pot of hot cocoa.”
“Is this about last night?” she asked as they went downstairs. “If it is, you don’t need to worry. What happened, happened. There’s no need for us to talk about it.”
“Yes, there is. Unless you’d like to pretend last night never happened.” He took a seat at the game table and motioned for her to join him. “I hope you don’t feel that way.”
“No. Of course I don’t.” When she looked across the table at him, he thought he saw love in her eyes. Hoped he wasn’t seeing emotion that wasn’t there.
“Then I think you need to know a bit more about what you’ll be getting yourself into with me.” He motioned toward the insulated pot in the middle of the table. “Would you mind pouring us some cocoa? It makes me cold, just looking at the weather outside.” He figured his extreme reaction toward the unusual winter chill was a holdover from having been practically frozen during that playoff game a few weeks earlier. “I don’t think my body’s gotten completely thawed out since Pittsburgh. You and Jack were lucky, all cozied up in that heated suite.”
She smiled. “That was nice of you, making sure we stayed warm.”
Keith noticed her hand was steady when she handed him his cocoa. He was glad. He never wanted her to be nervous around him. When she poured a mug for herself and took a tentative sip, her expression was blissful. “I wish I knew how Mrs. Gardner makes this. It’s delicious, and just right for such a gloomy day.” As though she didn’t know exactly what to say, she licked her lips and looked over at him, her expression expectant as though waiting for him to respond.
“I’ll ask her before I send her on her way.” At Tina’s odd look, Keith explained that the housekeeper’s days were numbered and why. “I think it’s reasonable for me to expect that she not be a pipeline to my former in-laws about everything that goes on in this house.”
“Oh. I’m not surprised, but still I’m sorry you’re going to have to let her go. She shouldn’t have been gossiping, and she certainly ought not to have spied on you.” Tina paused then continued. “But maybe she felt justified. Your wife was the one who hired her. She probably feels a sense of loyalty to her, even though she’s not here anymore.”
<
br /> Tina was too kind, although Keith found he loved her for it. “It doesn’t matter. I value my privacy. Our privacy.” What he wanted was to pull Tina onto his lap, warm her with his own body heat. But they needed to talk first. He needed to tell her where he was coming from, make sure she saw the pitfalls as well as the potential benefits of being Mrs. Keith Connors.
He took her hand, massaged her palm with his thumb. “I grew up in Hedgecock like you did, but I left fourteen years ago. Since then I’ve lived a lot differently from the way I was brought up. The only tie I have to Hedgecock now is the invitation I got from Bobby’s mom to come back this spring for a reunion.” He paused, considering how much Tina might have wanted to escape from her own painful memories there. “And my sister Diane. She still lives there, and I’ve been trying lately to rebuild some kind of relationship. Her son will be starting high school next fall. I’m not proud of myself, but I pretty much turned my back on my roots when I went to college and got married my sophomore year.
“You see, my mom remarried right after I finished high school and moved to Denver. She likes it there and has never wanted to go back to a town where she was never happy.” If Tina never wanted to go back there after what her stepfather had done, he’d understand, and he could rebuild his burned bridges with Diane and his nephew Dylan via long-distance.
Tina cocked her head, studying him with those beautiful blue eyes. “I wondered. It was like you were there and then you were gone. Everybody in town talked after Diane’s husband left her, about whether or when she’d pick up and go stay with you or your mom, but it never happened.”
The local folks had probably thought he was a class A jerk when he never came to Diane’s rescue after she finally came to her senses and threw her husband out. Come to think of it, Keith had spent a good many hours thinking that about himself, but he hadn’t wanted to ruffle Jackie’s feathers when the blow-up had happened so soon after they found out she had a bad heart. “Diane always loved that rickety old ranch where we grew up. She and Mom never got along—she was Dad’s girl. She was never close with me, either. I guess the age difference was too much for us to have been pals. Besides, I took a real dislike to Frank Granger after they got married and he moved in. But I was wrong. I should have kept up with her and her son. Dylan’s going to be in ninth grade next year.”