Pregnant In Prosperino

by Carla Cassidy

  “I’d better get moving,” Maya said with a glance at her watch. “I’ve got several more errands to run before this kid is ready for lunch.”

  “You sure you can’t stay any longer?” Lana asked, reluctant to relinquish the baby girl in her arms. There was nothing quite as wonderful as holding a baby.

  “Not today. But now that you’re an old married lady like me, we’ll have to get together for lunch, exchange recipes and gossip,” Maya said.

  Lana nodded and gave Marissa one last kiss. “Goodbye, sweet baby,” she said softly. She looked up to see Chance staring at her, an odd expression on his face.

  “You don’t have to walk me out.” Maya took Marissa from Lana’s lap. “See you two later.” She gave a cheery wave, then walked out of the kitchen. A moment later the sound of the front door opening and closing indicated she was gone.

  “You ready for some lunch?” Lana asked, fidgeting nervously beneath Chance’s steady gaze.

  “No thanks,” he said.

  “You aren’t hungry?”

  “Actually, I am hungry…but I’m not hungry for lunch.”

  It was a good thing Lana was sitting, for had she not been, her knees would have surely weakened by the sudden realization of what he was talking about.

  Green flames lit his eyes, and even though she had never seen a man look at her in that way, there was a primal part of her that recognized it and responded.

  “Then what are you hungry for?” she asked, her voice half-breathless with anticipation and nerves. Her mouth was unbelievably dry.

  He leaned forward and wrapped a strand of her hair slowly around his hand, pulling her forward with a gentle pressure. “I’m hungry for the taste of your mouth, for the feel of your skin against mine.”

  His words evoked a heat inside her, and his eyes were like the sea, so green, so compelling. She wanted to fall into them, fall into him.

  “Are you feeling better today?” he asked, his lips mere inches from hers.

  “I’m feeling fine,” she whispered, then blushed. “But, Chance…it’s the middle of the day.”

  “We’ll pull the drapes.” He gave her no opportunity to protest, but instead stood and pulled her up and into his arms.

  His mouth took possession of hers, his tongue seeking entry as his hands pressed her intimately against him. The sweet rush of wild sensations that had claimed her on the first night he’d kissed her returned, sending her senses reeling.

  When he finally removed his mouth from hers, she was utterly breathless. He held out his hand to her and she took it, allowing him to lead her down the hallway and into their bedroom.

  Once there, she stood and watched, her heart thudding in anticipation as he drew the heavy draperies across the windows, throwing the room into semidarkness. He reached into the nightstand drawer and removed a package of matches, then lit the candle she had sitting on the top of the nightstand.

  When he looked at her once again, his eyes reflected the glow of the candle. Lana’s mouth grew dry once again and every nerve ending in her body felt as if it were on fire.

  His gaze still locked with hers, he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it from his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor just behind him. The candlelight loved his chest, turning the springy hair into sparkles and sharply defining the muscles and planes.

  He remained standing, watching her expectantly, and Lana suddenly realized what he wanted. Her fingers trembled as she raised her hands to the top button of her blouse. Never before had she felt the kind of raw, sexual want that she did at the moment. It was both exhilarating and more than a little bit frightening.

  With the unclasping of each button, she was more exposed, but it was the flames in his eyes that urged her onward, until all the buttons were unfastened and she slid the blouse off her shoulders as he had done with his shirt.

  His eyes flared as his gaze traveled across her lace-clad breasts. In three strides he had her once again in his arms, his mouth covering hers in a demanding kiss. At the same time his hands tangled in her hair.

  When his lips finally left hers, he tugged gently on her hair and her head fell backward, giving his lips a trail to blaze down the length of her throat.

  Conscious thought was impossible as his hands moved from the tangle of her hair to cover her breasts. Her nipples hardened, as if seeking the heat his hands offered.

  “You are so beautiful,” he murmured against her neck.

  She wanted to tell him that he was beautiful, that she’d never seen a man quite so beautiful, but speaking was just as impossible as rational thought. She could only feel…feel Chance’s body against hers, feel marvelous sensations and a depth of emotion.

  Her breath caught in her throat as his hands left her breasts and instead touched the fastening of her jeans. With a simple flick of his fingers, the jeans were unfastened and his fingers moved the zipper down.

  He stepped back from her only long enough for her to kick the jeans off altogether, then she reached for his waistband. As she undid his jeans, she could feel his desire pressing hard against her hand and her heart accelerated its pace.

  He tore off his jeans and briefs, and at the same time Lana took off her bra and panties, wanting, needing to be naked with him, to feel his body against hers.

  They fell to the bed, mouths locked and hands clutching, caressing, stroking the flames of desire higher and higher. She cried out as Chance explored one of her breasts with his mouth and swirled his tongue lightly across the peak.

  She tangled her fingers in his hair as pressure built within her, a pressure she’d never felt before. She could feel it taking over her body, a need so incredible, a want so exquisite.

  As his hands moved down the length of her, touching her with more intimacy than she’d ever allowed, the pressure intensified. She felt as if she were going to explode. She needed…needed something, but she wasn’t sure what.

  “Chance, I need you.” Was that her voice, so breathless, so utterly wanton?

  “Not yet, sweetheart,” he whispered against her mouth as his fingers continued to dance at the core of her, building the tension until she thought she might explode.

  Just when she thought she might scream, a wave of sensation swept through her, carrying her over a cliff and sending tiny shudders of bliss through her.

  She clung to him, crying his name over and over again as the maelstrom of pleasure washed over her. Before she had time to recover, he moved between her thighs and entered her.

  She tensed, expecting pain. But there was no pain, only a rebirth of a storm building within her. He took her slowly, riding the waves of desire with her.

  Her hips moved of their own accord, arching up to meet his thrusts at the same time his mouth claimed hers in fiery want.

  When he ended the kiss, his gaze bore into hers. Green seas, hypnotic and beautiful, beckoned her to fall in and drown. She cried out once again as the waves overtook her, pulling her under in a vortex of pleasure. At the same time she felt him stiffen against her, her name a hoarse cry on his lips.

  For a long moment they remained entwined, their heartbeats slowing to a more normal pace, their bodies cooling without the heat of passion to warm them.

  Now Lana understood what lovemaking was supposed to be. She’d never dreamed it would be so wonderful, so exciting, so…beautiful. Her body still tingled with the residual warmth of what they’d shared, and for just a moment, as their gazes had locked like their bodies were locked, she’d felt their connection had been more than physical.

  He looked at her now, the flames gone from his eyes, but still a tenderness remaining. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so.” She laughed suddenly. “My goodness, Chance, I never dreamed it would be so…so good.”

  He grinned, an open, wonderful grin that reminded her of the Chance of her childhood. “You mean even when you were young and thought you were madly in love with me, your fantasies didn’t overrate me as a lover?”

  “My fantasies were
so innocent, I never got further than a kiss.” She smiled teasingly. “But you kissed very well in those flights of fancy.”

  “Naturally,” he replied, looking devilishly handsome and boyish with his hair all tousled. “And what about in reality?”

  “Let’s just say my fantasies didn’t begin to live up to the reality.”

  He touched the tip of her nose with an index finger. “You were always a sweet kid and you’ve grown into a sweet woman.” He rolled away from her and onto his back and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. “That year I spent at the Coltons’ place was the best year of my life.”

  Lana raised up on one elbow, loving the sight of him with the candle glow painting his body. She would be perfectly satisfied to lie here and look at him for hours. “It’s been a long time since you’ve seen Meredith and Joe, hasn’t it?”

  He nodded. “Years. Whenever I came back here, I only stayed until I couldn’t stand being around my dad any longer.” He frowned. “Usually by the end of the first day, I was ready to hightail it out of here. There never seemed to be enough time to visit with anyone else.”

  “Why don’t you go over there and see them now?”

  His frown deepened. “After listening to you and Maya talking about Meredith, I don’t want to see her. I’d rather remember them like they were.”

  A bitter laugh escaped him and he sat up. “Hearing the way Meredith and Joe have fallen apart merely proves what I’ve always believed.”

  “And what’s that?” she asked softly.

  His eyes glittered with a harsh light. “That there is no such thing as lasting love, and anyone who believes otherwise is just a fool.”

  “Surely you don’t really believe that,” she protested softly. “What about my parents? They are as in love with each other today as the day they married years ago.”

  “They are the exception, not the rule. And even if I did believe in love and marriage, I know it isn’t for me.” He rolled off the bed and grabbed his jeans and quickly pulled them on. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

  Lana sat up and grabbed the blanket around her, suddenly feeling cold and naked. “What about lunch?”

  “I’m not hungry.” He picked up his shirt and headed out the door.

  She pulled the blanket more firmly around her. How quickly he transformed from passionate and tender to hurting and defensive. His actions and words served to remind her that she couldn’t fall into any fantasy where he was concerned.

  It would be easy, with the flush of their lovemaking still on her skin, with the residual heat of his touch still coursing through her, to believe that they might have a future together. It would be so easy to lose herself in the softness she’d seen momentarily in his eyes, and to believe that he might fall in love with her.

  But to do so would be utter foolishness. She absolutely, positively could not allow herself to forget for one minute that this marriage was nothing more than a temporary arrangement.

  Jackson, Mississippi. Meredith Colton stared out the window onto the city where she had been living, as if by looking at the scenery she could somehow reclaim the memory of all the events that had brought her here years before.

  Some of her memories were still obscured by the darkness of amnesia, others had become crystal-clear, leaving her in a sort of shadowy transitional place between living her own life and somebody else’s.

  She stepped away from the window and instead walked over to the desk. She picked up the nameplate that read Dr. Martha Wilkes, and ran her fingers lightly over the etched golden letters.

  Had it not been for Dr. Wilkes, Meredith still might be living her life believing she was her twin sister, Patsy Portman. Now she knew the truth, that ten years ago her sister had run her car off the road and in the aftermath of that accident Patsy had stolen Meredith’s life, leaving Meredith to ten years of amnesia, nightmares and unanswered questions about herself.

  “I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” Dr. Wilkes swept into the room, an apologetic smile on her beautiful ebony face.

  “I didn’t mind waiting.” Meredith set the nameplate back on the desk, then took a seat on the settee that faced the desk.

  Dr. Wilkes joined her there rather than taking a seat behind her desk. “How are you feeling?” Her dark eyes radiated not only curiosity but also an empathy that Meredith found comforting.

  She frowned. “Excited…afraid…confused. Memories are coming faster and faster now, but there are still so many holes.”

  Dr. Wilkes nodded. “You’ve learned a lot about yourself in the last couple of weeks. The surprise visit from Rand and Emily opened up the floodgates of your memory.”

  Meredith smiled at thoughts of her oldest son and her sweet, adopted daughter Emily. At first, Meredith hadn’t recognized either of them, but as they talked to her, told her what they’d managed to piece together about the day of the car accident and the intervening years with Patsy acting as Meredith, Meredith’s memories had begun to emerge from the dark place where they had been hiding.

  Her first, strong memory had grown out of the nightmare she’d suffered for the past ten years. It was the nightmare of a little red-haired girl crying out to her. “Mommy, where are you? Help me. Please, help me,” the child in her dreams had cried.

  Meredith would awaken crying because she knew the child needed her, but she couldn’t remember who the child was. A grief almost too intense to bear would ache in her heart for days after one of those nightmares.

  Now the little girl had a name and the memories to go with the name. Sweet Emily. Meredith’s adopted daughter.

  “I’m sad, too,” Meredith said, although sad was too weak a word to describe what was in her heart. “My little sparrow Emily isn’t little anymore.”

  Instead of the little red-haired girl of her nightmares, Emily was now twenty years old with a mane of chestnut-red hair that framed her beautiful face. “I’ve missed so much—ten years…a decade…a lifetime. And what I keep wondering is what has Patsy managed to destroy in those years.”

  “You’re talking about your relationship with Joe,” Dr. Wilkes said.

  Meredith nodded. Joe Colton. Her husband. Memories of him were still fuzzy. Until Rand and Emily’s visit to her, she hadn’t even known his name.

  What had survived through the amnesia was the memory of strong arms holding her, of a special man who had been her other half, her soul mate. He’d had no name, no face, but she’d had the memory of their love in her heart.

  Dr. Wilkes leaned forward and took Meredith’s hand in hers. “I can’t allay that fear for you, Meredith. When you decide that it’s time to go home and reclaim your life from your sister, you know there will be a period of adjustment for you and your family. There will be a lot of pieces to pick up.” She released Meredith’s hand.

  Meredith only hoped the pieces of her life and her family could be picked up. “There’s one other thing,” Meredith said as she nervously twisted her hands together in her lap.

  “And what’s that?”

  “I have a terrible sense of impending doom, of imminent danger. It’s a feeling I’ve only had once before in my life.”

  “When was the last time you felt this way?” Dr. Wilkes asked, leaning forward.

  Meredith drew a shaky breath. “The day I got in the car with Emily, the day we had our accident. I felt this way the morning of the day that my twin sister stole my identity and completely destroyed my life.”

  Five

  Chance stood by the corral, watching as a load of lumber was dumped nearby. He waved to the driver who created a cloud of dust as he drove away.

  “Guess that means it’s time to get back to work,” Kirk Brighton said, rising from the bale of hay where he’d been sitting. The other three men Chance had hired the week before also got up from their various positions of rest.

  They’d spent the last week cleaning out the barn, repairing any woodwork that needed repairing, then putting on a new coat of paint. Despite the pleasant September air,
the work had been hot and dirty.

  That morning they had torn down the corral in anticipation of putting up a new one. Although there was no longer any livestock on the Reilly ranch, Chance knew whoever bought the place would need adequate corrals and fencing for horses or cows.

  Much to his surprise, Chance had enjoyed the physical labor the last week had brought. Working as a traveling salesman, the most physical thing he’d accomplished was an occasional swim in a motel pool or a quick workout in a gym facility.

  For Chance, the most satisfying time of the day was those minutes after the men knocked off for the day and before Chance went inside for dinner. He’d walk in the waning sunlight, muscles burning with the sting of overuse, as he looked at the work they’d accomplished that day.

  He frowned as he recognized this wasn’t exactly true. That moment in the fade of day wasn’t the most satisfying. It was in the deep velvet black of night when he reached for Lana and she came willingly into his arms that Chance felt something he’d never felt before—a surge of excitement so intense it threatened to consume him, followed by a sense of fulfillment that absolutely terrified him.

  They came together each night with a fierce intensity that was in direct opposition to the careful distance they kept between them during the day.

  “Hey, Chance.”

  Chance shoved away thoughts of Lana and focused his attention on Charlie Trainor, the eldest of the four men he’d hired. “Yeah, Charlie?”

  “When you get ready to buy a herd of cattle, I’ve got just the man for you to talk to,” he said.

  Chance didn’t want to tell anyone that he had no intentions of settling on the place, that he intended to sell it as soon as it was in good order. He didn’t want to have to handle the kinds of questions people would ask if they knew he wasn’t staying.

  Everyone would want to know where he and Lana were moving to and he didn’t want to have to explain that he and Lana were going nowhere together. He would go back to his wandering lifestyle, and she would return to her apartment and have a baby to raise.