“Excuse me?”
“My daughter has made it very clear she wants a child and not a husband. Ask anyone who knows her.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She loves children, but she doesn’t trust men. I blame her father.”
No kidding. As if the senator would ever see that her own behavior had made Jane as suspicious of love and commitment as any betrayal by a father she could barely remember. But he had a feeling telling Raeanne that would be like banging his head against cement.
Been there, done that, with a little help from his brothers; he didn’t want to do it again.
“Don’t be surprised if she’s pregnant when you find her.”
“She’s on the pill.”
“Except for when you were on the run through the jungle and left them behind. She had me refill her prescription when she got to D.C.”
Now Bobby was the one who cursed.
“I didn’t understand why she was so interested in you. Then it hit me.”
“Why don’t you hit me with it?”
“You’re big and strong, nice-looking, and from what I’ve been able to gather, pretty damn smart for a farm boy. Excellent gene pool. With the added plus that you’re out of the country most of the time, and there’s a very good chance that one day you won’t return.”
Bobby frowned. He couldn’t see Jane being so cold-blooded. Although she had lied to him about the birth control.
If she loved him, would she have taken off without a goodbye? He wasn’t sure.
Bobby hung up on the senator, then wandered back into the kitchen with everyone else.
“What did she say?” Kim asked.
He told them.
“Bullshit,” Kim said.
“Bullshit!” Zsa-Zsa shouted, suddenly wide awake.
“Great,” Brian murmured, and took the little girl outside.
“You believe her?” Kim asked.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Because?”
He met his sister’s eyes. “I love her, anyway.”
Kim grinned. “I knew she was the one the minute I saw her.”
“Could have informed me.”
“That would only have made you mad. You thought you were in love with Marlie.”
“Who?”
Colin stepped forward. “You want me to take you to the airport?”
“Yeah.”
“We okay?”
“Were we not okay?”
Colin tested his teeth. “You punched me in the mouth just for fun?”
“I always do.”
BOBBY HAD A HELLUVA time finding her.
He called the Doctors of Mercy, but, according to them, Jane was on a leave of absence. No matter what he said, they wouldn’t give him any more information than that. So he made use of his training and started the hunt.
Jane hadn’t taken public transportation. Bobby figured she must have conned someone with a private plane into flying her back to Mexico.
Lucky for him, he discovered Escobar had met his demise in the form of a coup by one of his minions. Bobby was able to return to Mexico without worrying the man was still after him.
He returned to the village where he’d found Jane, but she was gone. No one knew where. Or at least they said they didn’t. He didn’t have enough Spanish in his repertoire to threaten them adequately, even if he’d had the heart for it.
Every time he was ready to give up, he remembered her face, her laughter, her strength. Bobby believed Jane loved him, and he wasn’t going to let that disappear into the jungle forever—especially if she was carrying their child.
Of course she’d never said she loved him, but if she didn’t, then why was she so mad? Or at least that’s what Kim told him every time he called her in despair.
“Nothing worth having is easy,” she said, and Bobby knew she was right.
The colonel contacted him regularly, trying to get Bobby to save the world again. But without Jane to come home to, the world could rot. He needed her.
Eventually word trickled through the jungle of a very ugly, hugely pregnant one-eyed dog and her spotted cohort. Bobby followed the trail to another village and another hut.
He arrived in the dead of night. The place was silent, still. Which hut was hers?
He crept into town, determined to search every dwelling until he found her, but he didn’t have to. A familiar grumbling sounded an instant before something furry erupted from the shadows.
Lucky pressed against his leg. Bull leaped in three-foot-high leaps.
“At least someone loves me,” Bobby whispered, and gave them both a pat.
Lucky was no longer bone thin or mangy. Her coat glowed with health, and her belly swayed nearly to the ground.
“You look like you’re about to pop,” he said.
She tossed her head, then waddled over and collapsed in front of the third hut on his left. Bull joined her, curling around Lucky’s back and tucking his snout beneath her ear. They both ignored Bobby as he stepped inside the hut.
His gaze went to the bed. The lump beneath the blanket was suspiciously round and his heart lurched. Was Jane as pregnant as Lucky?
Bobby hurried across the dirt floor and flipped back the cover to reveal—
Pillows.
“How did you find me?”
Her voice came out of the night. Bobby turned and caught the glitter of her eyes from a corner of the room. At least this time she didn’t have a knife—or at least he hoped she didn’t.
“Finding is what I do.”
“Since when?”
“Since you left.”
She moved forward, into the moonlight that shone through the hole in the hut that served as a window. He couldn’t help it, his gaze went to her stomach, and his breath rushed out in a relieved sigh.
She wasn’t pregnant—at least not yet. Not that he didn’t want her to be someday. But their child should be created purposefully, not by accident. Although, according to her mother, it wouldn’t have been an accident.
She noticed his glance and his reaction. “You spoke to Raeanne, obviously.”
“Of course. She was worried.”
“I knew my big mouth would come back to haunt me. You can rest easy, Luchetti. There won’t be any little Luchettis running around the jungle.”
Did he detect sadness in her voice? Maybe she loved him, after all.
“Your mother was just trying to make me quit searching for you, but she doesn’t know me very well.”
“She was telling the truth.”
“She said you wanted a baby without the husband.”
“I did. I mean, I do.”
“You lied to me?”
“Yes. No. Hell.”
He stifled a smile as she repeated the words he always used when confused. “Which is it?”
“I was on the pill—until you dragged me into the jungle and I left them behind.”
“But—”
“But I got some new ones, toot sweet, and you’re safe, Bobby. You don’t have to worry about me. So go back to saving the world. I don’t need you.”
He winced. She didn’t need him, but he definitely needed her.
“You should have told me,” he said.
“Why, when there was a very slim chance I’d wind up pregnant?”
“A slim chance is usually all it takes.”
“Not this time.”
“I hurt you,” he said. “I didn’t meant to.”
“I know.”
Silence descended. They stared at each other. He wasn’t sure what to say, how to begin.
“What do you want?” she whispered.
“You.”
“You had me, Bobby. Several times. Go back to the woman you love.”
“I did.”
She flinched, and he realized she thought he’d gone to Marlie.
“You’re here,” he blurted. “I mean she’s you. Damn. I’m no good at this.”
“At what?”
“
I love you.”
She shook her head. “You’re off the hook, Luchetti. No baby. From what I hear, my mother’s so busy trying to save her own neck, she isn’t going to have time to screw up your life just for kicks. And if the colonel is giving you trouble, send him to me. I’ll make sure everything’s okay.”
“The only way everything’s going to be okay is if you marry me.”
“I heard you and Colin. You love his wife.”
“I did. Or I thought I did. Until I met you.”
“Spare me. I don’t need a man who can’t make up his mind. I’ve had one of those. His name was Dad.”
“I didn’t even know Marlie,” he said. “I wanted someone. Needed something.”
“You were lonely. Probably horny. So was I. But you don’t love me.”
“Quit telling me what I feel.”
Desperate, furious, a little bit scared—what would he do if she never believed him?—Bobby yanked Jane into his arms and kissed her.
At first she stood stiff and unresponsive. Her lips were warm, yet she tasted so cold. Her eyes wide open, she was creeping him out. She pushed at his chest; he refused to let her go.
Instead, he thought of their first kiss and of every kiss since. There had been so few. He wanted to spend a lifetime in her arms, showing her exactly how he felt without words.
He remembered her flavor in the darkness, how she smelled in the light. He heard the sounds of her laughter, her anger, her fear. Though her body was soft, her will was strong. She was everything he’d ever searched for, and he was never going to let her go.
Bobby poured everything he felt into the embrace. If she wouldn’t believe what he said, maybe she’d believe what he did.
She stopped struggling, started melting. Her arms crept around his neck, her lips opened, and his cell phone rang.
Gasping, she tore away from him. Her fingers went to her mouth, her eyes were glittery with tears. He cursed, yanked the phone off his belt and glanced at the display. This was why he hated cell phones.
He was tempted to ignore the call, but he refrained. The colonel would only keep calling until he answered. Best get it over with.
“Sir?” he said.
“I need you in Uzbekistan immediately. Huge trouble.”
“There always is. Get someone else.”
“I want you.”
“I’m not leaving Mexico until Jane marries me.”
Silence met his statement. “I’ve about had enough, Luchetti. Choose. Her or your job.”
“I choose her, sir.”
He ended the call, turned off the cell phone, though he doubted the colonel would be calling him back, then glanced at Jane, who was staring at him with an odd expression.
“What?” he asked.
“You really do love me.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“Talk is cheap. You gave up Delta for me.”
He had. He hadn’t even thought about the consequences; all he’d thought about was her.
Jane hurried across the hut, and Bobby opened his arms. But instead of kissing him, she grabbed his cell phone and punched the on button.
“Call him back.”
“Huh?”
“Tell him you were confused. Bad connection. Brain fart. Whatever. You aren’t going to stop being soldier boy for me.”
He stared into her eyes and he knew the truth. “You really do love me, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Jane said. “I do.”
EPILOGUE
JANE SAT ON THE BEACH and watched the day begin. By tonight she would be Mrs. Robert Luchetti—or was that Mrs. Captain Dr. Luchetti?—she couldn’t decide.
A yip from the surf drew her attention. There were mutations all over the place. Lucky had given birth to five puppies. Long legs, big heads, at least they all had eyes—some were spotted, some were gray, some curly-haired and some straight. Each and every one was so ugly they were cute.
“You ready?”
She turned to find Bobby’s dad standing behind her. She hadn’t had much chance to talk to John. Guess now was going to be the time.
He sat next to her in the sand. “I got up with the cows for so many years, can’t seem to break that habit.”
“I like the dawn,” she said.
“Me, too.”
They sat in silence, watching the puppies chase the waves.
“You gonna keep ’em all?” he asked.
“Yes.”
In Mexico, owning seven dogs was not an oddity.
John was working his way up to something, but Jane wasn’t sure what. She let him get there on his own.
“I appreciate your attitude about Bobby’s job.”
“Attitude?”
“I know his mom wanted you to keep him in Mexico, or preferably in a glass box in Illinois.”
“She wasn’t serious.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Jane smiled. “She’s his mom.”
“Yeah. But he belongs on the job. He’s good at it. We need him there.”
“True. Just like they need me here.”
John put his hand over hers. “You’re perfect together.”
She turned and met his eyes. “Thanks.”
She and Bobby had decided she’d stay in Mexico for now, and he’d keep doing what he did best. Though they’d be separated a lot, it was better than not being together at all.
“One more thing—”
Jane tilted her head.
“Knock-knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Dad.”
“Dad who?”
“Dad fuel to the fire.”
He was waiting for her to laugh, but she had to admit, “I don’t get it.”
His shoulders slumped. “You’re one of theirs.”
“Mine,” Bobby said, his shadow falling over her feet. “She’s mine.”
Jane glanced up and braced for the punch in the gut she felt every time she looked into his blue eyes. She wasn’t disappointed.
“You wanna call me Dad—” John stood “—that would be great.”
She smiled as he returned to the hotel built high on the bluff. “Your father’s a nice man.”
“The nicest.” Bobby dropped down in the sand.
“When he says I can call him Dad, does that mean ‘welcome to the family’?”
“No. When he tells you a knock-knock joke, then you’re in.” Bobby linked his fingers with hers.
“But I didn’t get it. I didn’t laugh.”
“Neither do I.”
Bobby watched the dogs frolic in the surf. “Sorry about your mom.”
Raeanne had opted out of flying to Mexico for the wedding. She had her hands full saving her career.
“I’m not,” Jane said. “The only person I need at my wedding is you.”
“Sorry about my family then.”
The Luchettis had come en masse. The small resort Jane had rented on the Pacific coast was full of them.
The only family members missing were Aaron, Nicole and their daughters. They’d been unable to leave a halfway house full of runaways behind.
Evan and his wife, Jilly, had arrived and announced that they were expecting, too. Luchettis were busting out all over the place.
Kim had agreed to be Jane’s matron of honor. The two of them had become great friends, and now they’d be sisters, which was almost as great a gift as Bobby himself.
Colin was going to be Bobby’s best man, which was as it should be. The brothers seemed to have gotten over their discomfort with each other and returned to the close relationship they’d always shared.
“I like your family,” Jane said.
“Even Marlie?”
Jane thought back to her meeting with Colin’s wife at the airport. Awkward at first, everything had smoothed out when Tim asked, “Dad says you guys are gonna mud wrestle for Uncle Bobby. So where’s the mud?”
Jane and Marlie had started to laugh as Colin and Bobby chased Dea
n out of the airport and into the Mexican sun.
“Especially Marlie,” Jane said.
What was there to be jealous about when they’d each gotten the man they were meant to have?
“I love you,” Bobby said.
“Right back atcha.”
They were married on the beach as the sun went down, with all of the Luchettis surrounding them. As the minister pronounced them husband and wife, everyone clapped.
And Bobby’s cell phone began to ring.
“Tomorrow,” he said into the receiver. “The world will have to wait until tomorrow.”
Bobby tossed the cell phone to Dean, swept Jane into his arms and headed up the bluff, as the world waited and his family cheered.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-2456-8
A SOLDIER’S QUEST
Copyright © 2005 by Lori Handeland.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com
* The Luchetti Brothers
A Soldier's Quest Page 21
