Moonlight in the Morning

by Jude Deveraux

  “I couldn’t wear this,” Jecca said. “It’s too valuable. It’s too . . . too beautiful.”

  “Nonsense!” Mrs. Wingate said. “It’s been in this old cabinet for so many years it’s a wonder the moths haven’t eaten it. You must wear it to Reede’s party. When Tristan hears what he missed . . . Well, maybe it will keep him home.”

  Jecca smoothed her hands over the dress. She never wanted to take it off.

  “Of course we’ll have to do something with your hair,” Mrs. Wingate said.

  “And you must wear hose,” Lucy said. “This dress doesn’t allow bare legs.”

  “Not panty hose,” Jecca said. “Those things went out with go-go boots.”

  “Of course not full-length hosiery,” Mrs. Wingate said. “That’s a dreadful idea. You will wear a French garter belt and silk stockings that reach to mid-thigh.”

  Lucy and Jecca were looking at her with open mouths.

  “Don’t just stand there!” Mrs. Wingate said. “We have work to do. Lucy, look in that case and I think you’ll find shoes that are appropriate to the dress.”

  Lucy gave a couple of blinks, then obeyed.

  Jecca left the house feeling great. Mrs. Wingate and Lucy had spent hours with her. They’d used a curling iron on her hair, and Mrs. Wingate had expertly applied makeup. Once Jecca was finished—“Our masterpiece,” Lucy said—they’d lavished praise on her. She felt like a high school girl going to her first prom. She thanked both women, hugged them, and kissed their cheeks. “I never had a mother,” she said, “but you two . . .”

  “Go on,” Mrs. Wingate said. “You already have Lucy crying and I’ll be next.”

  Smiling, Jecca left. But as soon as she arrived at Kim’s parents’ house, her euphoria vanished and she wanted to leave. She felt overdressed and out of place. People smiled at her but they—wearing jeans and shirts—didn’t make any moves to introduce themselves. She wished Tristan had returned from Miami. It would have been nice to have an escort, someone to introduce her to people.

  Jecca was halfway to the door to leave when Kim caught her.

  “You look fabulous!” Kim said as she took a firm hold on Jecca’s arm. “Sorry I didn’t see you come in and I didn’t get to call you, but Mom has me swamped with work.”

  “How did you do in Texas?”

  “Mom has threatened me with no business talk tonight,” Kim said but then whispered, “Great! I think I’m going to get a contract.” Her voice returned to normal. “I want you to see Reede. He asked about you.”

  “Kim, I—” Jecca felt it was only fair to again tell of her connection to Tristan, about their many calls, even their flirtations, but Kim wasn’t listening. She was pushing her way through the three-person-deep crowd around her brother.

  Jecca could feel herself getting nervous. When she was nineteen she’d had such a huge crush on Reede that she’d thought it was True Love. Over the years she’d often made Reede her “happy place.” When she broke up with her last boyfriend she’d spent hours on the phone with Kim, and she’d calmed Jecca down by telling of her brother’s latest trip into some jungle to save people.

  Now Jecca was wondering what she was going to feel when she saw him again. Would her history with him eclipse her last few days with Tristan?

  “Excuse me!” Kim said loudly for what had to be the eighth time. She practically elbowed a pretty girl who was standing her ground, which was smack in front of Reede, no more than two feet from him. When the young woman looked like she was ready to fight rather than step aside, Kim said, “I’m his sister!”

  Kim moved into place and pulled Jecca up beside her. “Here she is!” Kim said as she propelled Jecca forward.

  “Wow!” Reede said, looking Jecca up and down. “You grew up.”

  She saw that Reede looked older than his years, but his sun-browned skin set well on him. His eyes had the look of someone who’d seen things in the world that no one should have to see. It went through her mind that if she hadn’t met Tristan since she’d been in town, she would probably have made a serious effort to get to know Reede better.

  “And you’re wearing clothes,” she said.

  “I do sometimes.” He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. Mrs. Wingate had lent Jecca pearls, real ones, and they emphasized the classic lines of the dress. “Did you wear that for me?”

  The nervousness Jecca had been feeling left her. While Reede was a very sexy man, that old feeling of lust she’d once felt for him was no longer there. When she’d been in New York and thought about seeing him again, she’d assumed it would be like rekindling a long-lost love. She’d expected the years to fall away as though they didn’t exist. But the truth was that Reede was a stranger. Even more important, that tingly feeling she used to have whenever he was near was gone.

  While she and Reede were looking at each other, his father pushed his way through the people. “Reede,” he said, “I have someone I want you to meet.” He saw where his son’s eyes were looking and turned. “My goodness, Jecca, but you look lovely! It’s so nice to see a woman in something besides blue jeans. I’ll bring Reede right back to you. Promise.”

  Kim seemed to expect Jecca to stand there and wait for Reede to return, but she didn’t want to do that. Jecca had found out what she wanted to know. There would never be anything serious between her and Reede.

  When Mrs. Aldredge asked for Kim’s help, Jecca was glad. There was a person she was very interested in seeing: the woman Tristan said he’d almost fallen in love with. Since he’d told her that, Jecca had wondered what he&derere was a#8217;d meant. Had he fallen for her, but when she chose another man, did Tris force himself to fall out of love with her? Or had it been her doing? Had there been some unpleasant scene where he offered and she refused?

  Most of all, Jecca wanted to know what kind of woman had been able to nearly capture Tristan’s heart.

  Kim was busy helping her mother put food out, but Jecca asked her to point out a woman named Gemma.

  “There,” Kim said. “See the big guy? That’s Colin Frazier, our sheriff, and Gemma’s his wife. She usually doesn’t get too far from him. Why do you want to know?”

  Jecca was saved from answering by someone asking where the club soda was. She slipped away to join the group that surrounded the large man. She stood across from him and tried to not be too obvious as she stared. He was a very large man, tall, big-boned, and heavily muscled. While it was true that he was handsome, that was secondary to the size of him.

  When he noticed Jecca looking at him, he nodded to her over the top of his beer, and it looked like he was on the verge of introducing himself. Jecca was about to turn away when she saw a woman standing to his side. She was pretty, but in an ordinary way, certainly not the type of face that inspired jealousy in anyone. Even though she was pregnant, Jecca could see that the woman worked out. Her arms, which were exposed by her sleeveless dress, were beautifully shaped by muscle.

  As though Gemma knew she was being watched, she turned and looked at Jecca. Her eyes glowed with intelligence, as though she were interested in everything about Jecca, from who she was to where her dress came from.

  Jecca had wanted to dislike the woman, wanted to be able to wonder what Tristan had ever seen in her. Instead, she had an urge to get her into a quiet corner and talk to her about the designs for the playhouse. Jecca couldn’t help thinking that she and the woman could be friends.

  Gemma seemed to feel the same way, and she took a step toward Jecca. But Jecca turned away. She was afraid that if they met she would blurt out questions about Tristan.

  Jecca quickly moved back into the crowd and started toward the far door. She’d seen what she wanted to, so there was no reason for her to stay. But just as she got near the door, the crowd parted enough that she saw a little girl, about eight, sitting in a big chair. She was an extraordinarily pretty child, angelic-looking really, and her arm was tucked around a teddy bear. She had on a yellow-and-green-striped sundress with a little green
jacket, an outfit that was almost as grown-up as what Jecca had on. And her eyelashes were like feathers. Jecca knew without a doubt that this was Nell, the girl she’d talked to several times on the phone. And if Nell was there, that meant Tristan was too.

  Suddenly, Jecca began to hear quiet. That was an odd thing to think, but it was the only way to describe it. Nell was looking toward the front door, away from Jecca, and people there had stopped talking. They were looking at something—or someone.

  By some inner sense, Jecca knew it was Tristan. It looked like he had returned a day early and now he was coming for her. She was no longer going to be in a roomful of strangers. The tingly sensation she’d once felt for Reede came back to her. Since she’d returned to Edilean, Tristan had overtaken her every thought. Her life had become intertwined wiint quicklyth his.

  With her breath held and her heart pounding in her throat, Jecca stood where she was, at the end of the long room, and waited.

  People stopped talking, and the silence spread; it was coming closer to her. The women in the kitchen came out to see why everyone was growing quiet.

  From across the crowd, Jecca could see the top of Tristan’s head, so she knew when he halted. He was directly in front of her, but a lot of people were blocking her view of him. She could see that he was waiting for them to step back. The crowd of people began to slowly step aside. The ones closest to her looked at Jecca, then moved back toward the sides of the room. Only Nell stayed where she was in the big chair. She turned to look at Jecca and smiled, then she too looked back at her uncle.

  When the last person had moved away, Jecca finally saw Tristan. If she didn’t know him as a person, she was sure she would have been staggered by the sheer beauty of him. He was wearing his tuxedo, his arm no longer in a cast, and he was as handsome as any man she’d ever seen. Whether it was on a screen, in a photo, or in person, no man she’d ever seen was better looking than he was. His black hair, his blue eyes, his broad shoulders, all of it was perfection.

  But what Jecca actually saw was more than his physical beauty. She saw the man inside. Their meetings in the moonless night, their touches, their laughter, all came to mind. Their involvement in each other’s lives was between them. His niece, her father, his cousins, her friends, all of it was there.

  Dr. Tristan Aldredge was indeed a beautiful package, but what meant more to her was the man he was. She admired the man who leaned out of a helicopter to catch a child on a rope. She’d come to care about the man who gave his time to help people in need, loved his family, and watched movies with two single ladies.

  And too, the fact that he’d returned a day early pleased her greatly. That he’d shown up wearing a tuxedo to this informal event was like proclaiming that he and Jecca were a couple. No more secretiveness. No more meeting only in the dark.

  Jecca couldn’t help thinking that with their similarity in dress, Tristan was telling everyone that he and Jecca belonged together. She knew it was a primitive emotion, but to go from feeling like an outsider to belonging was exhilarating.

  The room full of people was silent as Tristan walked toward Jecca. When he got to her, he didn’t say a word, just put out his hand and she took it. How familiar it felt!

  Someone put on music, a slow waltz, and Tristan pulled Jecca into his arms. Since she’d snuggled with him on a rainy night and as they sat beside a lake under a starry sky, she knew she’d fit against him perfectly, easily, fluidly. When he moved with her in a slow dance, she went with him.

  All of it was like a dream. His arms around her, the ease of his movements, the way his eyes never left hers, was like something she’d made up. She followed him easily, moving about the cleared floor space to the music. The people around them blurred. She saw only Tristan, heard only the music, felt only his body.

  They danced as though they’d been doing it all their lives. Maybe it was because she’d come to trust him, but she relaxed totally and let him lead. When he stepped away, but still held her hand, she knewhanth their s she was to turn and come back to him. It was as though their minds as well as their bodies were working together.

  At one point Tristan put his arm out and Jecca leaned against him. He stepped back, still holding her, and she let herself fall backward, trusting him to support her waist. Vaguely, she was aware of the gasp of the people around them. It must have looked as though she was going to fall, but she knew Tristan would hold her.

  When the music drew to a close, he pulled her to him, chest against chest, one arm behind her back.

  For a moment their eyes held. The intensity of the deep blue of his eyes, his gaze that was a fathomless pool of desire, made her body seem to catch fire.

  He gave her a small smile of understanding, and Jecca smiled back. What they were feeling was mutual.

  With his hand on hers, he spun her out, then pulled her back. And when she reached his arms, he caught her in a dip so low her hair nearly touched the floor.

  In the next moment the music stopped, and he lifted her to stand beside him, his arm firmly around her waist.

  Jecca’s heart was pounding, partly from the dance, but mostly from the desire she’d felt coming from him. No man had ever before looked at her like that, as though she were what he wanted most in the world, what he needed, what only she could give him.

  She didn’t dare look at him for fear she’d start tearing off his clothes.

  As they stood there, side by side, for a moment the people around them didn’t move. They just stared, as if they didn’t believe what they’d just seen.

  Finally, there was a collective sigh of female voices in the room.

  “Why can’t you dance with me like that?” a woman said to her husband and broke the silence. People started laughing and talking, with everyone gathering around Tristan and Jecca. They would have been pulled apart except that he kept his arm so firmly around her waist that he wouldn’t let anyone separate them.

  Reede made his way through the crowd. “You stole my spotlight,” he said to Tris. “And my girl.”

  Tris pulled Jecca even closer. “You never had a chance.”

  Reede looked at Jecca. “Tell him that isn’t so. You and I go back a long way. With our history, we—”

  He broke off because Nell had put herself between Reede and Tristan.

  “Who are you?” Nell asked.

  Reede smiled fondly at the pretty child. “You don’t remember me, but I’m another one of your cousins.” He reached out as though he meant to ruffle her hair.

  Nell Sandlin was not the type of child who allowed a stranger to ruffle her hair. She gave Reede a very adult look that told him to back off, then she turned and slipped her hand into Jecca’s.

  Jecca held on tightly to Nell’s hand, Tristan’s arm firmly around her waist, and the three of them looked at the people around them. When the questions started, it was a bombardment. Where had they met? How long aet?="0em" wigo? How serious were they?

  Tris gave a tug on Jecca that seemed to say “Let’s go.” In turn, Jecca squeezed on Nell’s hand, and a second later the three of them began making their way through the crowd to the front door. Several people tried to stop them, but they never let go of one another.

  Once they were outside, Tris said, “To the car!” They broke apart and started running.

  Since Jecca didn’t know where he’d parked, she followed Nell and Tris as best she could. “Hey! I’m in heels,” she called when they got ahead of her.

  Tris ran back, grabbed her hand, and kept running. Nell was at his BMW and had the front passenger door open. He helped Jecca inside, Nell closed the door, then she climbed into the back to sit among a menagerie of stuffed animals and some truly beautiful dolls.

  As Tristan slipped into the driver’s seat, Jecca looked back at Nell, and they grinned at each other. They had escaped! Tris, so beautiful in his tuxedo, started the engine.

  Jecca was almost afraid to look at him for fear she’d throw herself on him. It was as though her body was vibrating.
Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. If Nell weren’t with them, she was sure she’d be dragging him into the backseat.

  “Anybody hungry?” he asked, and she marveled at how cool his tone was.

  “I want to go to Al’s for milk shakes,” Nell said.

  Tris looked at Jecca and any doubts of what he was feeling left her. His eyes showed her the white-hot passion that was running through him. She knew that their time together was coming, but for now . . . well, this was foreplay.

  Smiling at her understanding, he glanced at Nell, then said, “How does a 1950s diner sound? The hamburgers are smothered in greasy onions and the pickles are spicy.”

  “I think we’re dressed perfectly for it,” Jecca said, looking at her couture dress, his tux, and Nell’s pretty sundress. She was smiling, remembering the dance and thinking of what was to come.

  “Then Al’s it is.” He put his hand on the gearshift, but removed it. “Nell, close your eyes.”

  “Oh yuck! Not kissing!”

  “Yes, kissing,” Tristan said as he looked at Jecca.

  It wasn’t going to be easy to subdue the desire she was feeling, but she so very much wanted to kiss him. She leaned toward him and her lips met his easily. It was a kiss of pure happiness, glad to be together, to at last see each other, to have told the world they were together. But more importantly, it was a kiss of promise of what was to come.

  But in spite of her good intentions, the kiss deepened. Jecca’s hands tightened on the back of Tristan’s head, and his arms began to enclose her more fully. He was the one who had the presence of mind to pull away.

  “Yeah,” he said as he put his hand back on the shift lever. “Later.”

  “Can I open my eyes now?” Nell asked.

  " wanc“As if you weren’t peeking,” Tris said, and Nell giggled.

  It took Jecca a moment to still her heart. “Your arm?” she asked as he pulled onto the road.