Come Home To Love (Harlequin Signature Select)

by Joan Hohl

  the office for one week to allow the leg to heal, but the amount of work he accomplished astounded Katherine.

  Katherine woke that first morning to find him beside her in the huge bed. He was sitting up, back braced against the headboard, long legs stretched out comfortably, his briefcase alongside. When she stirred his eyes lifted from the sheaf of papers in his hand. "Morning, I didn't wake you, did I?" At the brief shake of her head he explained, "I intend spending most of this week right here. If you have no objections?" He had arched his brows quizzically as he'd finished and smiling with the thought that it probably wouldn't matter in the least if she did, she again shook her head.

  "Good. I'll still sleep in the other room, but I want to work in here by the phone. I'll also be able to keep an eye on you."

  This time it was Katherine's eyebrows that arched in indignation. He laughed softly, murmured, "I'm unimpressed," and turned to answer the phone on its first ring.

  That set precedent for the days that followed. He was there when she woke in the morning and when she fell asleep at night, no matter how late that might be. But she knew he did leave when he finally had to give in to sleep for she woke once during the night and he was gone.

  There was very little conversation between them, as he worked incessantly, and yet she was content. She read some of the time or made believe she did as she studied him covertly and contemplated her newly discovered love for him. She slept and ate, quite sure she could feel herself gaining weight.

  Watching him through narrowed lids she'd asked herself how it had happened. Why had it happened? Except for the brief touching of lips on their wedding

  day he had never kissed her. In fact he'd made no advances at all, if one discounted the infrequent use he made of her body. Katherine did discount it. So then when had it happened and what was the cause?

  She couldn't quite pinpoint the exact cause, knowing only it was all part and parcel of the enormous respect she had felt growing inside her. It seemed that whatever task or problem this man turned his mind to was dealt with with deceptive effortlessness.

  As to when it had happened, she thought it must have began growing during those weeks they had worked together in the apartment. True they had exchanged few words on those evenings and yet she had felt a closeness of sorts with him.

  On the evening before Matt went back to the office he issued another order. "You are not to go into the office any longer. The drive back and forth would be too tiring. If you feel you must continue to work you will do it at home."

  She didn't argue for the simple reason she had already reached the same decision. She didn't particularly like the idea that he'd made it an order instead of a request but that she let slide by her. The last few weeks she'd been to the office she had become increasingly aware of the sly looks cast in the direction of her growing body. Although her co-workers had refrained from comment, she now felt reluctance at the thought of facing those looks again.

  She settled into the routine of the house. Beth left her no illusions as to who was and intended to remain mistress of the manse, so to speak. She drifted through the days eagerly awaiting the evenings, for Matt continued to bring work home from the office and, on the first eve-

  ning, invited her to join him in his study if she had work of her own to do. She made sure she did.

  The evenings together came to an abrupt end the week before Christmas for Katherine fell again. She had gone into town with Matt on Monday intending to spend the week at the apartment, finish her Christmas shopping and return to the house with him on Friday. She had luck with her shopping, finding what she wanted without effort, and by Thursday had only two items left on her list.

  Jack drove her to a small specialty shop on Thursday morning where she was sure she'd find what she wanted. As she browsed around the shop she'd been unaware of the fine rain that had begun falling, freezing as soon as it touched the sidewalk. She made her purchases and as she left the store noticed that Jack was waiting for her, double parked. She started across the pavement at a brisk pace, her feet went out from under her and she went down with a jarring thud. With a loud exclamation Jack was out of the car and kneeling beside her in seconds. Hot with embarrassment she insisted he help her up and into the car at once, ignoring his protests that she wait a few minutes before trying to move.

  Inside the car she rested her head against the seat, eyes closed, one thought uppermost in her mind. Matt would be furious. He was, at least that was how he seemed to her, for he was tight-lipped and strangely silent throughout the following few hours. She was again thoroughly examined by Mark who repeated his words of little more than a month previously, with one difference. She was to rest for at least two weeks and call him immediately if any abnormality developed. After they were back at the house, and she was back in her bed,

  Matt finally broke his odd silence saying tersely, "I want you to stay at the house until the child is born. And I'm not listening to any arguments on the subject."

  Katherine had bristled at his words but his tone had held a warning. Never before had he used that tone with her and she thought it wiser not to challenge him.

  Christmas was a depressing time for her. Tom came to the house on his school holidays but, even though he dashed in and out of her room half a dozen times a day, it was not the same as before. For the first time in years she did not get to visit her parents over the holidays and they did not come to her as Dave and Dan and their families were with them. Katherine missed the fun and laughter that had always filled her parents' home when they had all gathered over Christmas. She even missed her brothers' teasing.

  The one thing she hadn't minded missing was Beth's New Year's Eve bash. She had been dreading it for weeks as she had not met any of the invited guests and didn't look forward to the curious glances, and possible remarks, concerning her pregnancy. And Katherine found it impossible to keep from comparing this New Year's Eve in Matt's house with the previous one in Richard and Anne's. Matt ran a bad second. She had not been lonely as Matt and James paid her periodic visits at different intervals, both bearing glasses of champagne.

  Confined to the house, the weeks seemed to drag by after the holidays and Katherine was at her wit's end trying to keep occupied. Matt was away four days in January, his parting words to her being, "be careful." She wondered vaguely how she could possibly be anything else and missed him terribly even though she saw little of him even when he was home. He had not

  touched her, or in fact had not slept in the same bed with her, since her fall and she was unbelievably lonely.

  Toward the end of February he told her he'd have to be away again for a few days. The morning after he left she woke with a mild cramp that quickly passed. She thought little of it until she had another some thirty-five minutes later. By lunch time the cramps were a little more severe and only twenty minutes apart. Still unconcerned, convinced she was having false labor pains, she thought it best to call Mark. Mark agreed that it probably was false labor, as it was still some five or six weeks until her due date, but he thought it best to have her in the hospital where he could keep his eye on her. Her protests got her nowhere and with a sigh she finally agreed thinking at least it would get her out of the house for a while.

  Beth had gone out for lunch so without saying a word to anyone, Katherine rang the garage, asked Jack to bring the car around and left the house.

  "Feel the need of some air, Mrs. M.?" Jack grinned as he helped her into the car, the grin quickly vanishing when she asked him to drive her to the hospital. On reaching the hospital she stared at him blankly when he asked, "Is Dad meeting Matt's plane?"

  "I suppose so," she answered in confusion. "Doesn't he always?"

  "Well sure, normally!" Jack answered concernedly. "But didn't the boss say definitely when you called him?"

  "Called him?" Katherine repeated. Then she laughed in understanding. "I didn't call Matt, Jack, as I understand this is a very important conference Matt's attending and as I'm perfectly s
ure this is a false alarm, I didn't want to alarm him unnecessarily."

  Jack stared at her in disbelief but before he could voice a protest she said softly, "Don't worry, Jack. There's no need for you to go along in as I'm sure Dr. Hunter is waiting for me. Stay close to the phone as I'll probably be calling you to take me home again in a few hours."

  She had been right on one count, Mark had been waiting for her. No sooner had she been settled comfortably in bed than her contractions became harder, the intervals closer. By late afternoon she was in hard labor and she was scared. For all of Mark's earlier assurances of "Not to worry, everything's fine" two thoughts kept her mind frozen with fear; it's too soon, something must be wrong and I'm going to lose Matt's baby.

  The nurse was blotting her forehead after a particularly severe contraction when, on a sigh of part relief part fear, she heard Matt's voice outside her room. He was speaking to Mark and they talked for some minutes before they both entered the room. She had only time to notice the cold, brittle look in Matt's eyes, the tight, angry lines of his face, before she was again gripped by a contraction, this one more severe than the last. She clamped her teeth together hearing the moan, that she refused to allow to become an outcry, escape her throat.

  "They're very close now, Doctor," the nurse said softly. Then Mark was beside the bed, the fingers of one hand on her wrist, the other hand spread flat against her hard, distorted abdomen.

  "Get out of here, Matt," Mark said easily. "Go pace up and down or something. You're going to be a father before too long."

  "Mark?" That surely couldn't be uncertainty in Matt's voice? The pain was easing and blinking her eyes against tears of concentration, she looked at him.

  Through the blur his face appeared pale and as he turned to leave on Mark's firm, "Everything will be all right, Matt. Now go," she could see a nerve dance along his hard, clenched jaw.

  Within thirty minutes she had been delivered of their son and within minutes after she had been moved to a private room in the maternity ward he came striding into her room accompanied by Mark.

  His words stunned her, left her speechless, so softly, gently spoken.

  "Thank you, Katherine, he is beautiful."

  She stared at him, blinking at the hot stinging at her eyes, then finally she managed a soft, hoarse, "Yes, he is."

  His long fingers touched her hand lightly, then were quickly lifted as he rasped, "You're tired, I'll leave now. Get some rest, you've earned it."

  He was gone and she no longer fought the tears but let them run down her cheeks unchecked. What had she expected? To have him put his arms around her and hold her close as he whispered "Thank you"? No, she hadn't expected that. But, damn it, that was what she'd wanted.

  How often had she thanked whatever angel it was that sent Mary to her? At least a thousand times for without Mary she would have taken Jon and bolted a dozen times during the following months. Having Tom at the house with her during the summer hadn't helped much as it was at this time he and Matt were circling each other warily, each taking the other's measure. When it finally came, near the end of summer, Tom's complete capitulation was almost anticlimactic.

  Katherine lost weight slowly, but steadily, her nerves becoming more tautly drawn. Matt treated her with polite

  consideration, as befitted the mother of his child, she mused irritably. Jon was twelve weeks old before he again claimed his connubial rights. He had not come near her, in that way, since her fall in November and if it had been humiliating before, now it was worse, much worse.

  She had not been able to control the shudder that had shaken her body and he had moved away from her in disgust. She had lain awake the rest of that night, her face wet with tears as she cried silently. She had been able to tolerable his cold, mechanical possession before admitting to herself that she loved him, but now, it was unendurable.

  The summer wore on and Katherine built a wall of cool composure around herself. Only when alone with Tom and Mary did she relax her guard. Although Beth seemed genuinely fond of Jon, without words, she had made it clear her fondness did not extend to his mother. And James' subtly changing attitude toward her was beginning to concern Katherine. And just the thought of Matt frightened her. For some reason she could not even begin to understand her love for him had deepened, grown almost to the point of adoration.

  She had gazed at his look-alike son with tears of gratitude in her eyes. Unable to reveal her love for the father, she felt doubly thankful for the son. And reveal her love she would not. Matt had told her bluntly, at the outset, that he had no time to indulge that particular emotion and she knew she could not face his mocking derision should he find out how she felt.

  So as the summer wore on so did she, growing thinner, more withdrawn, her one consolation in Matt's obvious reluctance to be alone with her. For she felt sure that had he come to her once more with his dehuman-

  izing, unemotional physical demands she would start screaming and never stop.

  By the time summer was over she was fighting one consuming urge: to run for her life. She felt she could not stay with him while at the same time acknowledging that life without him would be torture. Nerves frayed, her emotions in upheaval, she vacillated between staying and going. In mid-September circumstances forced a decision. And that was to go.

  "But visiting hours don't begin until one o'clock. How—?"

  Her voice trailed away as his smile became a grin. She should know better, she chided herself. Would she never learn? This man went just about where he pleased, when he pleased.

  "Did you see Janice?" she asked, trying to ignore the gently mocking gleam in his eyes.

  "Yes, of course I saw her." His tone edged with impatience, he added, "Do you think I'd go there and not see her? She is fine, all dewy-eyed with motherhood. Come to think of it, Carlos looked a little dewy-eyed himself."

  "You've seen Carlos too?" she asked, then decided she really wasn't too bright this morning as the edge sharpened his tone. "Yes, Carlos too. Also Jon and Mary. Perhaps you weren't fully awake when I told you it was past noon. Carlos told me he'd left orders not to disturb you as you waited with him at the hospital until very late last night."

  Katherine bit her lip at the sound of exasperation in his voice. When she didn't speak for a few seconds he sighed and, lifting his head, began to move away from her. Impulsively she put her hand on his shoulder halting his movement and pleaded softly. "Don't be angry with me, Matt, please."

  "I'm not angry, Katherine." His eyes had flicked strangely when she'd placed her hand on his shoulder and now they stared into hers intensely as he added hoarsely, "A little disappointed maybe, but not angry."

  Bracing his weight on his right arm, his left hand covered hers a moment then slid down the length of her arm as he slowly lowered his head. His lips a whisper from hers, he groaned, "Katherine," then his mouth crushed hers fiercely, driving all thoughts from her mind.

  She stayed with Janice and Carlos two weeks, fully enjoying her new role of grandmother. To her surprise, Matt stayed with her, telling her he had business to look to in Washington. The two weeks passed much too quickly in the love that seemed to surround everyone in her daughter's home. She noted, with satisfaction, the way Janice was maturing, becoming a lovely young woman, and knew it was Carlos' gentle but firm guidance that had brought about this bloom.

  Matt played to perfection his role of husband and father. There were many guests and well-wishers paying calls and Katherine felt sure that, to the last man and woman, they would have stared in disbelief if someone would have suddenly appeared and informed them of the true situation between Matt and herself.

  She went back to the house reluctantly, allowing Matt to think she hated leaving her daughter and granddaughter. She did, of course, but even more so, she hated going back to that house. As if on cue Matt switched roles, exchanging the ones of contented husband for the more natural one of over-busy industrialist.

  Except for their bitter argument resulting from the
purchase of Tom's car, the six weeks she'd been away from the house had done wonders for Katherine. She felt good and looked it. But, as always before, the spontaneity and warmth seemed to drain out of her during the drive from the road to the house. Tension once more tightening her nerves, the wall of the withdrawn composure was erected.

  From the beginning Beth had treated Katherine with civil politeness, and DeDe had assumed the same attitude. Matt seemed not to notice. In fact, he seemed not to notice anything but DeDe.

  A mask of cool unconcern hiding her feelings, Kath-erine, in seething fury, watched as Matt lavished attention on her. He was charming and urbane, teasing her cruelly about her ex-lovers one minute, granting her every whim the next. DeDe lapped it up like a starving cat, purring all the while.

  Consumed with jealousy, hating herself for it, she was lost to the realization that the type of attention Matt gave to DeDe was exactly like he gave to Beth. The ability to make a comparison in behavior was beyond Katherine at this point. She saw a strikingly beautiful woman flirting with an excitingly attractive man She was sure she saw response in kind from that man. The fact that that man was Matt made her blind to objective observation.

  With her almost audible sigh of relief, Matt left to attend a business conference in mid-November and Katherine stayed out of Beth's and DeDe's way as much as possible.

  As if the six weeks away had not occurred, Katherine found herself pacing her room at night asking the same questions. Frustrated by her feeling of uselessness and her ambiguous position in the house she grew more and more restless.