My Child, Our Child (Silhouette Special Edition) Read online

  She decided to take advantage of the time with Hank and asked, “Do you think that old hothouse out back could be fixed up and put to use?”

  “Maybe. The last time anything was planted there was before Sam’s daddy died. He had high hopes then for blue spruce, so he started some seedlings there. In fact, he started the ones that Sam cut down to open up your road. But after he died, Sam moved everything to his place.”

  “Does the heater still work?”

  “I reckon. But it’s not much. Never was. How come you’re asking? Sam’s hothouse is big enough.”

  “I’m thinking about starting some seedlings of my own. Will you help me when you can?”

  Hank looked doubtful. “I don’t know. It seems a waste of time. Sam’s got enough seedlings. Besides, that roof is in bad shape. The heavy snows we’ve been getting this year isn’t making it any better. Sooner or later it’s liable to cave in.”

  “But it will last awhile longer, and next summer I can have a new roof built.” She reached across the table to clasp his hand. “What do you say, Hank? Will you help me? All I need is for you to tell me the quantity of seeds I need and how to care for them once they sprout.”

  With a deep frown he reminded her, “You’re going to have to care for them two years before you can put ’em in the field.”

  “I know that.”

  “Sam don’t think you’ll be here that long.”

  Her sigh was deep and exasperated. “Hank, I don’t care what Sam thinks. According to him, I should have already been gone. Now, will you help me or not?”

  With absolutely no enthusiasm he said, “All right. I’ll tell you what to order, and I’ll give you tips along. But that’s it. I work for Sam. Not you. And I don’t want to get caught in the middle if you two start feuding.”

  Jackie felt like telling him if he worked for Sam he also worked for her but knew he would never see it that way. Besides, he might get mad, and she was not about to do anything to alienate him when she had his promise to help.

  And she also needed a ride to Willa’s.

  Jackie was amazed to see where Willa lived behind her store. It was much larger than she had imagined.

  She also had it attractively decorated for the holidays. One of Sam’s nicer Frasers—or perhaps she should say one of hers and Sam’s—dominated the living area. It looked as bright and fresh as the day it had been cut, and its wonderful scent mingled with the delicious aroma of turkey roasting in the oven.

  Jackie found herself surrounded by strangers who all seemed to be relatives of Willa. And as she’d said, there were lots of children, all ages and sizes, running around playing with their new toys and making lots of noise.

  Willa had to yell above the din to introduce Jackie around.

  Jackie had never been good at remembering names and they all seemed to run together. Then Willa said “Rosemary,” and she snapped to attention.

  “Rosemary is my sister’s only daughter,” Willa said proudly, giving the tall, shapely young woman a hug, then introducing her to Jackie.

  She was anything but what Jackie had expected, which was a rugged mountain woman with strong muscles wearing a flannel shirt, jeans and brogans. There were plenty of those about, because she saw them when she came into town. They lived way up in the most remote part of the mountains and were as hearty as the meals they probably cooked three times a day.

  But the svelte woman Jackie found herself shaking hands with did not look as though she ever ate, much less cooked. She was model thin, with long brown hair framing a face that looked as though it had been crafted by a professional makeup artist. She even had a little mole next to her mouth à la Cindy Crawford. And her dress was stunning. Silk the color of holly, it was a simple design that clung to her every curve, spaghetti straps holding the bodice that was molded over perfect breasts.

  She had no mountain twang or Southern drawl when she said, “My aunt has told me so much about you, Jackie. I’m very pleased to meet you. And it was so sweet of you to donate all those trees for the poor. It made me think of Sam and the little parade he does every year.”

  She spoke his name like a caress, her bronze-shaded eyes glancing about the room as she did, obviously looking for him.

  Jackie swallowed a groan.

  Willa was right.

  Rosemary was perfect for Sam. In fact, she was perfect for any man, which prompted her to impishly ask, “Is your husband here?”

  Rosemary blinked incredibly long lashes. “No. As a matter of fact, I’m no longer married.”

  “What happened?” Jackie decided what the heck? She didn’t care if Rosemary thought she was nosy. She wanted to find out all she could about the woman who was going to snatch up Sam before she even had a chance to convince him flatlanders weren’t so bad when you got to know them.

  Rosemary swept her with a cool gaze. “He wanted to move to Charlotte when he was offered what he considered a job he couldn’t turn down. I told him I’d never leave the mountains. He left. I stayed.” She shrugged. “No problem.

  “Ah, there’s Santa Claus,” she suddenly cried, dismissing Jackie as though she’d never been there, to move to the door and greet Sam.

  “I heard about the parade,” she cooed, kissing his cheek. “You are so wonderful to do it every year, Sam.”

  She knelt to give Brian a hug, and Jackie was envious because her knees didn’t pop when they bent like hers always did. Oh, well. She probably had a personal trainer.

  She moved on into the kitchen to help get the food on the table The sooner dinner was over, the sooner she could escape, because something told her Rosemary coming on to Sam was going to be ad nauseum in the worst way.

  Sam was seated at the other end of the table, so Jackie was spared having to watch. But she did see a silly smile on his face, like he was enjoying Rosemary’s attention.

  Later, after pumpkin pie and ambrosia, Jackie found Brian by himself and gave him his gifts. At first, he did not want to open them, but after a little coaxing, he tore off the paper.

  When he saw the books, Jackie would have sworn his eyes shone, if only for a second. Then the lackluster look was back, and she wondered if he was thinking how she wouldn’t be the one to read them to him, since he had strict orders to stay away from the cabin.

  “Don’t worry,” Jackie whispered in his ear. “I’ll find a way to see you, Brian. And sooner or later, when your daddy realizes I’m not going to leave, he won’t mind.”

  But Rosemary might, she mused, because something told her once Rosemary had her acrylic nails in Sam, she would run the show.

  Brian took the books and retreated to a far corner, where he squatted on the floor and leafed through to look at the pictures.

  Jackie wished she could leave. The table had been cleared. Now it was time for everyone to catch up on news of the family during the past year. She wasn’t family and felt out of place and longed to go, but there was only one problem. It was only four o’clock and Hank had said he couldn’t get back to pick her up till after six. He and Bonnie were driving over to Boone to visit her family. So there was nothing for her to do except find somewhere to sit and wait it out.

  No one noticed when she slipped through the door into the bookstore. She found it hard to see, because the sky outside was overcast with thick, dark clouds. But she did not turn on a light, because it was so cozy to just sit down on one of the cushioned rockers near the warm woodstove and let her thoughts carry her away.

  Why, oh, why, her heart cried, had she let herself get even remotely involved with Sam Colton romantically? Far easier it would have been to despise him. But no. She had to play psychiatrist and conclude that his arrogance and irritability stemmed from what his wife had done. By so doing, she had been able to accept his faults, deal with them. And somewhere along the line, he’d come out of his shell to display that warm, wonderful side that had made her fall like a meteorite to earth. Her landing, of course, had been with about as much of a jolt, because he obviously did not
feel the same. He’d just had nothing else to do on a snowy night.

  Ah, but that was not fair, she argued with herself. It had been beautiful—all night long. Certainly not something done in a heated rush to get it over with.

  But to think anything could come of their relationship was an exercise in futility, she supposed. He would doubtless want to marry one of his own kind the next time around, someone with roots as deep as his own in his precious mountains. Rosemary fitted the bill, all right, and now Jackie found herself wishing she had stayed home, even if it meant being alone on Christmas day, rather than watch the budding romance unfold right before her eyes.

  It had grown darker. Surely it was near six o’clock. She started to get up.

  “Don’t let me run you off.”

  She stumbled, nearly fell and sank back into the rocker to grip the arms.

  “How... how long have you been here?” she managed to ask as Sam stepped from deep shadows into what light was left.

  “A few minutes. You were obviously in another world, because you didn’t notice. So I just waited to see how long before you came alive.” He walked over to sit down in the rocker next to her. “Christmas make you homesick?”

  “No. It’s good to be out of the cabin for a little while... even though I love it,” she hastened to add, not about to let him think she was unhappy.

  “I’m not talking about the cabin. I mean your family. How come you didn’t go visit some of them? I told you nothing would be going on around the farm till after the holidays.”

  “Didn’t I tell you? I don’t have any family.”

  “Nobody?”

  “Nobody,” she confirmed.

  He didn’t say anything for a few moments, then, “Well, I didn’t know you were coming today. It was a surprise seeing you, because I didn’t notice your car outside.”

  She explained about riding with Hank. “He’s supposed to pick me up at six. He should be here anytime.”

  “Don’t count on it,” he laughed. “You don’t know Bonnie when she gets around that clan of hers. They might not be back till midnight.”

  “Oh, please don’t tell me that.”

  “It’s all right. I can take you when I leave, which probably won’t be long. Hank knew I was coming, so he’ll figure you got a ride with me, anyway.”

  “Why are you leaving so early?”

  “I just feel a little out of place. I’m not one of Willa’s relatives. She treats me like I am, though, so I shouldn’t complain.”

  Jackie could not resist teasing, “But if she gets her way, you will be a relative.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “In a word—Rosemary.”

  Amused, he asked, “Is it that obvious?”

  “Well, I don’t know about other people, but Willa told me beforehand that she hoped you two got together. She’s really pretty,” Jackie added, trying to sound complimentary, approving... anything to keep her jealousy from showing.

  “You don’t know me very well yet, Jackie,” he said quietly. “If you did, you’d know she’s not my type. Too much like Donna.”

  “But Donna wasn’t from around here. Rosemary is.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about. Like Donna, Rosemary is more concerned with herself, her needs, than anyone else. I have a friend who knew her husband. He told me that’s why he left her. It’s always about her.... Just like Donna,” he added thickly, bitterly.

  Jackie resisted the impulse to sigh with relief.

  “Besides,” he continued, “I don’t need a wife. I get along just fine without one.”

  Jackie felt like remarking that Brian certainly didn’t get along fine without a mother, but decided to keep her mouth shut. Nothing she said would make any difference, anyway.

  Then, as gentle as the whispered touch of a firefly, his hand found hers in the darkness. Squeezing her fingertips, he said, “That doesn’t mean I don’t need a woman, Jackie. What we shared the other night was really special. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I’m afraid I said all the wrong things afterward.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She could barely speak as she fought to keep from trembling. The heat of his nearness was making her insides do crazy things. “It...it just happened, like you said.”

  “What I said—” he leaned closer, and instead of squeezing her fingers grasped her whole hand tightly “—came out all wrong. I was trying to tell you that I didn’t set out to make love to you, but I’m glad I did. The only thing is—I can’t offer you anything more, like marriage.”

  “Well... well ...” She was sputtering, feeling like an idiot. She swallowed hard and forced the words past her trembling lips, “I don’t expect you to. We just have to forget it and go on as we have been—as business partners and friends.”

  “I’ve got lots of women friends, Jackie, but they never make me want to do this....”

  His arms went around her, pulling her close. His kiss was long and deep, and Jackie wished it could last forever.

  He drew back ever so slightly, his lips still brushing hers as he whispered, “We’ve both had a lot of pain, Jackie, but we can give each other a lot of pleasure. Tell me to go to hell if you will, but I won’t apologize for being a man...won’t apologize for wanting a woman who makes me crazy—”

  “Yoo-hoo. Sam, are you in here?”

  They sprang apart just before Rosemary hit a switch to flood the room with light.

  She saw them and frowned. “Well, why are you two sitting here in the dark?”

  “It wasn’t dark when we sat down,” Sam said, getting to his feet. “We just got to talking business, and time slipped away.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Her brow relaxed. “Aunt Willa said you two farm together. Anyway, sorry to interrupt but it’s time for us to go.”

  Sam looked confused. “Us?”

  Jackie could only sit there, not trusting her legs to hold her up, because she was still deeply shaken from Sam’s kiss. If Rosemary hadn’t intruded, she was sure he would have said something about seeing her later. As it was, everything was in limbo with nothing resolved.

  “Yes, us, silly,” Rosemary was saying. She had slipped her arm through his. “You will be a dear and drive me home, won’t you? I rode over with Uncle Billy, but he’s had too much spiked eggnog, and he’s probably going to spend the night on Aunt Willa’s couch.”

  Jackie turned her head away so Rosemary wouldn’t see her make a face. Why couldn’t she sleep over at her aunt Willa’s, too?

  Rosemary continued, “She says she’ll take Brian home in the morning. He fell asleep and she put him in her bed, and there’s no need to wake him up and take him out in the cold.”

  Sam, ever polite and obliging, said, “Well, okay.” Then, to Jackie, “Get your coat and let’s go.”

  “Where is she going?” Rosemary coolly asked.

  “Home. Like you. I’m giving her a ride. She lives on the farm, too. She’s my neighbor.”

  Who wants to be your lover, Jackie silently, wickedly thought, starting tonight if you can get rid of the Cindy Crawford wannabe.

  Rosemary’s lip jutted out in a baby pout “Well, I hope you’re taking her home first. I made a special dessert for you, and—”

  “And I’m more stuffed than the turkey before we lit into him like a pack of vultures.” He laughed and patted his stomach. “Really, Rosemary, I can’t eat another bite.”

  Jackie sprang to her feet. She and Sam had just shared a special moment and maybe sometime soon they would share another. But for the time being, the magic had ended. “It’s okay. You two go ahead. Hank will be along sooner or later, and I can help Willa finish cleaning up.”

  She walked on out before Sam could protest, but felt his eyes on her all the while.

  Jackie couldn’t sleep.

  Tossing and turning, she would fling away the blankets only to snatch them up seconds later when she started shivering.

  She was torturing herself thinking about what might
have happened had Rosemary not ruined it all. Sam would have brought her home and been in no hurry to leave since Brian was taken care of till morning. They would have made sweet, tender love and then talked till dawn. She would have made breakfast, and they’d have talked some more, grown close and it would have been the beginning of a wonderful new relationship.

  And then what?

  She rolled over on her side.

  Was that all she wanted—a relationship based on sex? He said he couldn’t offer marriage, and she wasn’t sure how she would react if he ever did. Only time would tell, but it looked like Rosemary was going to complicate things.

  Suddenly she heard a knock on the front door and sat straight up in bed, jerking the blankets up to her chin. It was the middle of the night.

  “Jackie, it’s me—Sam.”

  She bounded out of bed, not bothering to search for her slippers. “What are you doing here at this hour?” She fumbled with the lock she’d installed and opened the door.

  A blast of frigid air blew in with him, and he quickly closed the door with his foot. “I couldn’t let the evening end like it did, Jackie. It just seems like I never get all the right words out in time.”

  She had switched on a lamp on her way across the room, and she could see the worry etched in his face. It seemed so natural to reach and soothingly trail her fingertips down his cheek.

  “Do we have to talk about it now?” she asked.

  “No,” he smiled, “we don’t.”

  There was the dimple again, and she stood on tiptoe to press her lips against it.

  In one fluid motion, he lifted her in his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

  He laid her down on the bed, then began stripping off his clothes, his eyes burning into hers.

  Then he was beside her to slowly, gently, raise her gown. His breath caught at the sight of her naked body. “You,” he whispered, “are beautiful.”