“What?” Jeannie scoffed. “Why?”
“Because it’s the least I can do.”
“Why do you feel so beholden to him?” Jeannie turned toward Izzy, vying for her attention. “Are you that smitten?”
Izzy couldn’t afford to be one hundred percent honest with Jeannie, not knowing her true motives. Hesitation washed over her as she dug deep for an adequate answer. Finally she came up with a passable response. “Because he was there for me when no one else was.” That much was true, from her first memories and right up until last night.
“Well, I think it’s a mistake.”
“Mistake or not...I really don’t care.” Izzy held firm with a stern voice. “I’m going.”
“Well—” Jeannie stood as the bus approached, “ —Nobody’s ever accused you of thinking logically.”
Izzy refused to dignify her jab with a response. She couldn’t vouch for the old Izzy—the one before Jack—but this one—the one since Jack—was not the reprobate her sister claimed.
They climbed aboard the bus and spoke very little during the short ride to Marshall Field’s. When the bus rolled to a stop in front of the department store, Izzy chuckled softly and followed her sister off the vehicle. Wait until Jeannie figured out she was shopping for a birthday present.
Heat from the mid-morning sun blazed against her face, an effect of the desert terrain, she supposed. She was thankful for the wisp of cool air breezing past as they entered the store.
They strolled through the various departments and Izzy browsed nonchalantly, a dress or two catching her eye. She thought about buying a new one for the party, but Jack liked her red polka-dotted outfit so much that it seemed a shame not to wear it for his birthday.
What was she going to buy him anyway? Clothing wasn’t her idea of an idyllic birthday gift, but what else was there?
As if by magic, Izzy happened into the sporting goods section. Anticipation swept through her and escaped in her sigh.
God, look at all this guy stuff.
She wandered to the counter without much notice from Jeannie, who’d disappeared amidst the women’s clothing.
Izzy’s attention drew straight to the case in front of her, displaying LL Bean Hunting Knives. Images flashed through her mind of the ill-fated flyer who’d claimed to have been killed when his plane accidentally crashed. Hadn’t he said something about an LL Bean? If he’d just had one, things could’ve turned out differently.
A conquering urge overpowered Izzy. She had to buy Jack an LL Bean. Nothing else would do. “Can I see one of those hunting knives?” she asked the clerk, feeling like she was in a trance-like state.
She pretended interest as he placed a couple of knives on the counter and commenced his sales pitch. “This is your average hunting knife. It serves its purpose and comes with LL Bean’s money back guarantee,” he stated proudly, but his demeanor took on a newfound hope as he directed her to the other knife. “This is Bean’s newest model. Its intricate design and detail make it an excellent selection for those who only want the best.”
“A knife?” Jeannie scoffed, slipping in beside Izzy. “What on earth are you going to do with a knife?”
“I’m thinking of getting Jack one for his birthday.” Izzy stiffened, feeling invaded upon. She hadn’t asked for Jeannie’s two-cents and didn’t appreciate the intrusion.
A look of disgust colored Jeannie’s face as she blinked her eyes shut momentarily. “You’re kidding, right?” She moved painfully slow and turned to Izzy.
“No.” Izzy remained firm.
“I can’t believe this. Have you learned nothing?” Jeannie asked, under her breath.
Izzy hands went to her hips and she blew exasperation out in a huff. “There’s nothing wrong with giving a birthday present to an acquaintance.”
“It is wrong and you can’t do it,” Jeannie said through gritted teeth.
Izzy’s head snapped back to the clerk. “I’ll take that one.” She pointed, without hesitation, to the more expensive knife.
Jeannie’s face paled and she swooned. “Nice try,” Izzy said, thinking she was trying to pull a fast one, and kept her focus on the clerk. “Can I get it gift wrapped?”
“I’m not feeling well,” Jeannie said, her voice trembling.
“Go home. Take a nap.” Izzy gave her little thought as she thumbed through the money inside her purse, counting out enough to pay for the knife.
“Izzy, I’m serious...you have to help me.” Jeannie grabbed at the counter with one hand and the other flew to her forehead like a magnet to steel.
“Just one sec, dear.” Izzy latched onto Jeannie’s arm without looking at her. “Here, sit down until I’m done.” She dismissed Jeannie, pushing her to the floor.
“Is she okay?” the clerk asked. “Should I get help?” The look on his face suggested he was starting to get a little worried.
“She’ll be fine.” Izzy’s headshake was minimal, but it was enough to ease the clerk’s tension. He began to smile and she continued her mantra. “She just hasn’t had any breakfast. It’s that low sugar level thing. I’ll take her to get something to eat after we’re done here.” She issued a promise, urging the clerk and he continued the sale’s process.
Izzy took her time finalizing the purchase. After obtaining directions to the store’s gift wrapping department, she glanced down at Jeannie.
“Why? Why’d you do it to me?” Jeannie whimpered.
Izzy studied Jeannie, feeling no empathy for her, still believing this was some kind of ploy. “Good Lord, Jeannie... quit being such a baby. There’s nothing wrong with you that a little food won’t cure.”
Truth be told, Izzy was enjoying turning the tables on her sister. So many times in the last few weeks, Jeannie had been an absolute bitch, taking cheap shots at Izzy every chance she got. Now, finally, Izzy was feeling some vindication. God, it felt good.
After lunch at Marshall Field’s trendy restaurant, Jeannie still looked peaked. “Are you coming down with something?” Izzy asked her, and turned immediately toward the passing waitress. “Oh, Miss, could I get a slice of apple pie a la mode?”
The waitress stopped abruptly and looked at Izzy with the most confused expression she’d ever seen. “A la what?”
“With ice cream,” Izzy explained politely.
The waitress’s eyes lit with recognition. “Vanilla?”
“Please.” Izzy clasped her hands together on the table and glimpsed at Jeannie. “You want some pie and ice cream?” she asked, dismissing the prospect of Jeannie being ill.
“I’m really not feeling well, Izzy.” Jeannie’s weakened voice struggled to speak the words.
Probably a buildup from all that meanness.
“Okay, okay.” Izzy groaned. “Just let me finish my pie, okay? Then I’ll take you home...I promise.”
The bright lights on the Cool Cat’s stage glared in Izzy’s face, as they always did during her shows. She’d grown accustomed to focusing her eyes so she could study the crowd while she performed. Seeing Jack come in as she neared the end of the song sent her pulse racing and her hopes and expectations soaring.
He settled into his usual spot at the bar and watched her the way he used to, with adoring eyes. His attention drew her in and she couldn’t help herself. When she was done, she left the stage and went straight to his side.
“Hello, Jack.” She propped her hands on her hips. “What’s brings you here?”
Jack stroked his fingers over his stubbled chin and surveyed her with an affectionate gaze. “You and I need to talk. When are you done here?”
She examined him with curious hesitancy as the urge to move closer escalated. The fear of ruining his career crept into her thoughts.
“It’s important, Isabelle,” he said, as if he knew the thoughts running through her mind.
A flood of uncertainty shooed her hope away, but she still saw the sincerity and desperation in his eyes. Something important was on his mind. Somehow, she knew she needed to
listen.
“I can tell Carl I’ve got to go check on Jeannie. She was really sick today.”
“She okay?”
“Yeah, she’s just got a bug or something.” A trivial shrug overshadowed Izzy’s words. “Or all that meanness is catching up with her.”
“Why don’t you tell him you need to go check on her, see.” Jack paused to gulp his beer.
Moments later, Izzy and Jack left the Cool Cat together. He slid his hands inside his pockets, and she fought the urge to wrap her arm around his. She didn’t know what the sudden urgency was all about but she had to be patient, she couldn’t lose her cool now. Patience.
They approached his car, and for the first time Izzy waited for him to open her door without thinking about it. She could tell by Jack’s grin that he was pleased.
As he dropped the top on the car, she noted his unusually happy attitude. He sprinted around to the driver’s side and hopped in, rested his arm on the back of the seat and turned to her, grinning.
She stared at him, curious. “Did I miss something?”
“We both did.”
Izzy glanced over her shoulder. It wasn’t unusual for Carl to pop outside, and she didn’t want to be sitting in the parking lot when and if he did. “Look, whatever it is that you’re so mysteriously trying to tell me...can we do it somewhere else? I’m supposed to be checking on Jeannie. I’d hate to get caught goofing off out here with you.”
“Fair enough.” Jack started the engine and shifted the car into gear. He flipped the lights on and eased the car out of the parking space.
“Are we going to my house?”
He shook his head. “We need to talk before we run into your sister.”
Things were getting stranger by the minute. That worried Izzy.
They traveled in silence to a deserted cliff overlooking the ocean. Izzy fought with herself. She wanted to turn and face him, find out what all the mystery was about, but an element of panic—fear of the unknown—spooked her. She swallowed hard, gulping that fear back down inside her gut.
“Okay, Jack.” She cast her gaze back out over the ocean. It was calmer than the last time they visited. Still, she wouldn’t mind wading along the water’s edge, hand-in-hand with Jack.
Focus. She pushed the rambling thoughts out of her head. “The suspense is driving me nuts, Jack. What is it?”
He killed the engine and hesitated. When he finally turned toward her, she understood why. The worried look on his face bothered Izzy. Her curiosity wanted him to tell her what had gotten him so excited, but the tiniest part of her still worried about the unknown.
“You’re scaring me, Jack.” She let the fear trickle into her voice.
“That’s not my intention.” He draped his arm along the back of the seat. The muscles tightened around his jaw. He had something to say but now it seemed he was having second thoughts. “I could hardly wait to tell you the news. I’ve been anxious about it all evening, see. But now that the time has come, I’m beginning to wonder if maybe I’m just looking out for my own selfishness.”
“Would you quit with the riddles?” Izzy groaned. Why didn’t he just say it? Why the mystery? “Whatever you have to say...just do it.”
“Corporal Thompson came to see me today.”
The name sounded familiar. She checked her memory, seeking more information but couldn’t come up with anything solid.
“The clerk at the Army’s Personnel Office,” he said, and waited for her to make the association.
She perked up, making the connection. “How did you know about that?” she asked, allowing her reservations to pique.
“Because I went to see him first.”
“Huh?” Izzy paused, trying to figure out what that meant.
“I didn’t have anything but a name, see. We both were beginning to think it was my lack of information that was responsible for his inability to find anything.”
“You were looking for Harry, too?” The question overpowered her and poured out in her softened voice. “But why?”
“In some weird way, I guess I thought I was helping. But I doubt we were looking for the same reasons.” He stuck his arm outside the window and draped it along the outside of the car. Guilt washed over his face. Izzy surmised that he was probably hoping to find a marriage that had gone wrong.
“You’d be surprised.” Izzy knew better, but she just couldn’t help herself. “I just wanted to find him so I can divorce him.”
Thoughts of release, relief and rapture raced through Jack’s mind. The notion that Isabelle might not like the news he had to tell her hadn’t crossed his mind, until he’d walked into the Cool Cat.
He turned to her, moved his hand from the back of the seat and tangled it in her hair. “You can’t divorce Harry.”
“I can get a divorce if I want,” she said in a defiant tone that sounded like it had come straight out of high school.
“No...” His voice filled with uneasiness, a quality brought on by nerves. “You can’t divorce someone you were never married to, see.”
Confusion shaded Izzy’s cheeks with uncertainty. “But I have a marriage license.”
“And where’d you get that from?” Ah, now we’re down to it. The true culprit was about to be revealed, yet the motive remained a mystery.
“Maybe you’d just better quit beating around the bush and spell it out for me.”
With no easy way to put it, he urged himself. Just say it. “He doesn’t exist.”
Izzy looked like she wanted to say something. Her mouth moved, fidgeting, but her voice failed her. Maybe the reality of what those three words actually meant had inundated her ability to think.
She remained silent for too long, and that bothered Jack. He laced his fingers through the side of her hair. “Are you okay?”
“Are you telling me that I don’t have a husband out there somewhere?”
“That’s right.”
She threw her arms around him. He relished in her open declaration. She recoiled and stared at Jack with questioning eyes. “Why would she do that?”
“I wish I knew.” But he didn’t. He’d tried to figure it out but he couldn’t come up with any logical explanations. “You’re not going back to that house alone, see. Whatever she’s up to might show its ugly head when she realizes that you know about Harry.”
“Hey, if I can take George, I’m sure I can handle Jeannie.”
“I’d feel better if you’d just give me this one,” he coaxed her.
“Are you absolutely certain about Harry?” she asked, straddling his lap. He nodded. “Good, that saves me the hassle of getting a divorce,” she said, settling in.
“So that really is why you were looking for him?” Jack didn’t try to hide his relief.
She nodded. He ran his hands up the length of her arms. She trembled under his touch. “I could never live with another man when my heart is with you.” She giggled as he pulled her to him. His lips played over the soft skin of her neck. She shivered. “Does this mean it’s not too late for us?” she asked in a teasing voice that sent him over the edge.
“No, it’s definitely not too late, see.” He knew it in his heart, head, and now his loins. His desire roused awake, bulging against his Levi’s. He raked her against him, feeding the fire.
There was no longer any danger of breaking Isabelle’s heart or ruining her reputation if they were together. He wanted her and he needed her, and saw no reason why he shouldn’t take her right here, right now, officially claiming her as his own.
Jack raised her up from his lap. She slid out of her jacket while he unfastened his belt and unzipped his trousers. He gazed as the mounds of her breasts outlined beneath the delicate fabric of her sheer blouse.
He shimmied his pants down to his knees. She discarded her own clothing and tossed it aside. He pulled her to him as she reached around to unfasten her brassiere. The garment popped loose and Jack removed it with slow, enticing movements.
Skillfully, Jack laid a trail o
f kisses along her neck and down toward her breasts. Isabelle arched her back, letting out a wanton chuckle. She wrapped her arms around his neck and teased him mercilessly.
Jack perched her above him and slid her warmth down over him. He controlled her movements with rhythmic direction and enjoyed her gratifying massaging as she tightened around him. When her juices drained down over him he couldn’t contain himself any longer and poured his own satisfaction into her.
“It’s been too long, Jack,” she said, snuggling into the crook of his neck.
“Too long,” he agreed, settling her against him. “You do realize...it’s just going to be you and me from here on out, see.”
“Oh, shit.” Izzy belted off Jack’s lap and laid herself out before him, making no attempt to cover her naked body.
“What is it?” he asked, reaching for her and drinking in the sight of her at the same time.
Madame Petulengro’s proclamation bombarded Izzy’s thoughts. A child before the end of the year. They were already well into February. Jack’s child. Izzy was going to have Jack’s baby? What if she’d already gotten pregnant, when they first met?
She sat up and leaned in toward him. “What if it’s not just you and me?”
“I’m not quite following you, Isabelle.” Worry furrowed his brow and his questioning eyes searched her face for answers.
Izzy sank back against the car door. “We’ve been having a lot of unprotected sex.” She paused, feeling like woman who was on the verge of indirectly trapping a man.
Jack reached out and cupped her face in his hand, brushing his thumb against her cheek. “Isabelle, I’m well aware of the consequences that my actions could bring,” he said with a wink and a salacious smile. “And yes, I do want you to be the mother of my children...whether the first one comes to us by this Christmas or the next, makes no difference to me.”
It took Izzy about two seconds to fly back into his arms. “So what are you saying?” She took great pleasure in teasing him. “If you knock me up, you’re going to make an honest woman out of me?”
Jack laughed, the kind of carefree laugh that sets a person at ease the moment they hear it. He reached for her, wrapping his hand around her wrist. She let him tug her back to his lap again.
Incredible Dreams Page 21
