Jumping in Puddles

by Barbara Elsborg

  “I thought it was love at first sight, and it wasn’t for you,” she said quietly. “We both have to fall in love at the same time. That’s the rule.”

  The pain in Jago’s heart paralyzed him for a moment. “Ellie, we are meant to be together. I couldn’t see more than your nose when you knocked on the door of Sharwood. I hardly gave you a chance to speak, but when you pulled down your hood under Henry’s porch, I thought…I’d been hit by lightning. My knees trembled, and I couldn’t breathe. You had the sweetest face I’d ever seen. Those dimples…” He lifted his hand and let it drop before he touched her. “Your huge bright eyes and that cute nose. Your hair was wet, and little tendrils had stuck to your cheeks. They curled over your face and forehead like some ancient writing. My cock knew even if the rest of me was a bit slow. I had an erection before I reached the Land Rover.”

  She stared at him without blinking, but her lip twitched, and Jago exhaled.

  “I’d spent so long fucking everything up, and even as I drove off that night, I knew I’d fucked up again and should have stayed and eaten with you and Henry. But I needed to get away from Sharwood. I’d just scared myself stupid nearly falling off the roof putting slates back in place. I was sick to the back teeth of the endless work, and I felt sorry for myself. I don’t let it happen very often, but that night I wanted…someone to hold me, a woman to lose myself in. I didn’t see I’d already met her, and I’m sorry.”

  He took a deep breath. “Don’t let her lies spoil everything.”

  “I’m sorry too. We’ve both made mistakes.”

  “I love you so much,” he whispered. “When you look at me, there’s this warm tingle that runs down my spine and makes me weak at the knees. You make my heart leap with your smile. You make me feel strong. I don’t want to live without you by my side. I don’t want to die without you by my side.” He paused. “Do you still love me?”

  “Yes, I still love you.”

  A weight lifted from his heart.

  “But if you ever look at another woman and get an erection, I’ll be forced to…take drastic measures.”

  He bit back his smile. “Could you get rid of that spider tattoo on my butt?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Ellie pushed herself to a sitting position and wiped her cheeks with her palms. “Does Henry have any tissues?”

  Jago looked around and pulled open the top drawer on the bedside cabinet. No tissues but a framed photograph of his mother and a smiling Henry, who looked to be in his early twenties. He had an arm draped over his mother’s shoulder while her hand was spread over Henry’s heart. On her third finger was the rose-gold ring. What the hell?

  “What’s wrong?” Ellie leaned over to look in the drawer. “Oh.”

  “She’s wearing the ring.” Jago stood up clutching the picture. “He lied to me.”

  Ellie caught his arm as he made for the door. “Wait. Don’t make a scene before you know all the facts, especially in front of Diane.”

  “He gave my mother the ring? How did he get it back? What is…this between them? The way they’re looking at each other.” Jago slumped back on the bed. “They loved each other. Oh Christ.”

  She wrapped her fingers around his where he clutched the picture.

  Their heads jerked up when there was a knock at the door. Henry peered into the room, took in what Jago held, and scowled. “It was in the drawer for a reason.”

  “To hide it from Diane or me?”

  “He was looking for tissues,” Ellie said.

  Henry came in and closed the door.

  “Whose ring?” Jago snapped.

  “My ring. I gave it to Rebecca, and she gave it straight back to me, said she couldn’t keep it. But she wore it when we were together. I always felt it was hers, that I was…looking after it for her until she could take it forever.” He leaned back against the door.

  “You had an affair with my mother.” Jago could hardly get the words out he was so shocked.

  “I wanted her to leave him, and she wouldn’t. She loved you boys too much for that. She said he’d take everything from you if he knew. I waited and waited. I loved her more than life itself, and when he…crashed his car and killed himself and your mother, I wanted to kill him all over again. He killed the man he was going to sell Sharwood too as well. She’d told me once the house was sold, we could be together. The money I gave you for the inheritance tax, that was our money to begin again.”

  Jago stood, and the picture fell to the bed.

  Henry took a shuddering breath. “She was the light of my life.”

  “Are…are you my father?” Jago whispered.

  Henry closed his eyes. “I hoped you’d never ask me that. And I longed for you to ask me that.” He opened his eyes and stared straight at him. “Yes.”

  Jago’s world cracked apart. “Then…this isn’t mine. Sharwood. It’s Denzel’s.”

  “Denzel’s mine too. Your father—”

  “Don’t tell me.” Jago swallowed hard, but the lump remained in his throat.

  “Sharwood was left to you. It’s not my name on your birth certificate. I was as much a father as I could be. I wanted to be more, but I took what I could get.” He glanced at Ellie. “Ellie guessed. Only here five minutes, and she knew.” He released a choked laugh. “I’m assuming from your surprise she said nothing.”

  “It wasn’t my place to say,” Ellie said. “You look the same. You brush your hands through your hair in exactly the same way. Your smile…”

  “I couldn’t tell you, even after they’d died,” Henry said. “I felt as if it would have been betraying your mother, but I promised myself, if you asked, I’d speak the truth.” He reached behind him for the door handle. “Well, you know now. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone. Don’t suppose you want to. I didn’t think I could ever find another woman to love after…but Diane’s chipping her way into my heart. Once everything’s sorted with the garden, I’ll leave and—”

  Three steps, and Jago pulled Henry into his arms. “Don’t leave me.”

  He could feel Henry’s tears on his neck as they clutched each other.

  “Oh God,” Jago muttered. “All this time.”

  Henry grasped Jago’s shoulders and looked him in the face. “I went through all my family paperwork. My grandmother had an interest in genealogy. There’s a missing child. A boy. Silas. The son of the estate manager when your ancestor, Rupert, was master here. Silas attended lessons with Rupert’s two children. There’s a doodle in a very old school book. Three names intertwined, Silas, Drake, and Cicely. I wonder what happened to them.”

  “I don’t think we have any way of knowing.” Jago shot Ellie a glance over Henry’s shoulder.

  “Henry,” Diane called. “I need to go to the supermarket. You want to invite Jago and Ellie for dinner?”

  “That would be lovely,” Ellie said. “Thank you.”

  Henry sighed. “I think she knew we needed to talk.”

  Jago caught Ellie’s little smile.

  The three of them went back into the kitchen. He and Henry slumped at the table, and Ellie made coffee. When she put Henry’s mug in front of him, she placed the ring there too.

  “It’s yours, Henry. The rest has gone, but the ring is yours.”

  “Gone where?”

  “To the people it rightfully belongs to,” Ellie said. “It was traded without their knowledge.”

  “For three children.”

  She nodded.

  Henry looked from one face to another. “Faeries? Really? You, Ellie?”

  Jago gripped Henry’s wrist. “She can’t answer that. You mustn’t ask.”

  Henry let out a long sigh and then smiled at Ellie. “I can’t ask anything? Maybe I can say something. This house… I don’t think either you or your father ever stood a chance here. When your father finally was on the point of selling, he died. When you talked about selling, things seemed to get worse, more leaks, more problems, and you lost—yes, well, you know
who you lost, but I’m not sorry about that. Ellie is perfect for you. But this bloody house. I don’t think it would let you walk away. It wanted you here, maybe wanted to punish your family.”

  Jago sagged. “You’re right. I don’t think I’d quite put everything together, but maybe my father had. Maybe that’s why he stayed here and was miserable.”

  “The house will be fine now the Kewen has gone,” Ellie said. “It’s going to be a happy place.”

  Henry let out a strangled laugh. “If I believe all that, then why shouldn’t I believe in faeries?” He pushed the ring back toward her. “You bought it. It’s yours. Knowing what it was traded for, I don’t want it. It can have a new history with you.”

  Ellie looked up at Jago. “We could sell it again?”

  Jago wrapped his fingers around it. “No. I have a better use for it.” He put the ring in his pocket and tugged Ellie to her feet. “We have a turret room to finish renovating.” He faced Henry. “Ellie’s moving in. Her brother has given us a long-term loan of his car, and I’m going to call the hospital and see if they still want me.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Henry choked out.

  As Henry stood, Jago grabbed his hand. “You were always more of a father to me than he was,” he said quietly. “We’ll find the right moment to tell Denzel.”

  It started to rain again more heavily as Jago and Ellie walked hand in hand up the drive.

  “God, there’s so much to do,” he mumbled, looking at the potholes ahead. “Look out for that puddle.”

  Instead of walking around it, Ellie jumped into it and splashed them both with muddy water.

  “Hey!” Jago protested.

  “Too old to walk through a puddle?” Ellie let go of him and jumped in another one with both feet. “Come on. All the way back. I can swim now. No need to worry anymore.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  Ellie laughed and leaped into a deep hole, spraying water everywhere, then jumped into a smaller one before she turned to look at him. “Jump.”

  She carried on up the drive, launching herself from one puddle to another.

  “You’ll be soaked,” he called.

  “Some people dance in the rain. Others get wet,” she yelled back.

  Jago understood what she was showing him. He’d become so preoccupied with Sharwood and what he needed to achieve that he’d lost sight of the chance to have fun on the way. Instead of dwelling on life’s problems, he needed to be open to everything, even if he wanted to avoid it.

  “Jump,” Ellie shouted.

  And he did.

  Epilogue

  Ellie stood at the end of the baron’s hall and looked around the room. A few hours ago before the locusts had descended, the room looked magnificent, the tables laid with brilliant white cloths, and the family silver that Jago and Henry had spent hours polishing, tiny fake diamonds sprinkled around each place setting. Ellie had placed vases of red roses all the way down the tables, interspersed with buckets of herbs. Lights twinkled everywhere, bought, begged, and borrowed from every source. Glittering branches hung from the walls and potted plants had been carried in from outside and draped with more lights, turning the room into a magical forest.

  Of course, it was now a devastated magical forest because the guests had eaten and drunk their fill and currently gathered outside watching Liz throw her bouquet. Hopefully, the llama would be nowhere near. He’d already eaten Liz’s mother’s hat. An action caught by the film crew. Ellie grinned.

  She pinched a flake of chocolate from the remains of the wedding cake made by Diane and Liz, layers of chocolate, lemon, and carrot that Ellie had transformed into an Andes scene complete with llamas made from marzipan and coconut. Liz had cried when she’d seen it. Ellie had a moment’s panic until she realized they were tears of joy.

  “I wondered where you’d got to.” Jago came up behind her, slid his arms around her waist, and pressed his mouth against her neck. “Come and watch thousands of pounds go up in smoke.”

  Jago took her hand and pulled her through the door to the garden that they’d spent hours reinstating. Liz’s father turned out to be a fireworks importer, and he’d insisted on contributing toward the wedding. He’d also offered to pay for the beds and said the cost wasn’t much more than putting the family up in a hotel. The wedding had cost less than they’d thought.

  Ellie leaned back against Jago as they looked up at the exploding rockets, starbursts of bright colors shooting in every direction before they exploded again into shimmering flower heads that blossomed bigger than the moon.

  “I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Love you more.”

  “No, you don’t.” Jago kissed her cheek and hugged her tighter. He slid his hands over her belly and nipped her ear. “Look at Henry and Diane.”

  Ellie turned her head and smiled. The couple stood several yards away in exactly the same pose as them. Denzel had been unsurprised to hear Henry was his father. He said he was thrilled but agreed with Jago it was best kept quiet.

  Music replaced the bangs of the fireworks, and guests began to dance on the terrace.

  “May I have the honor?” Jago asked.

  “You know I’m useless,” she grumbled.

  Jago swept her into his arms, and they stared into each other’s eyes. Ellie wanted to bury her face in his neck and breathe him in. He looked impossibly handsome.

  “Not sure I’m ever going to let you take off that tux,” she said.

  “Talking of taking things off—when are you going to remove my tattoo?”

  “I like it. It’s cute, and I’m the only one who gets to see it.”

  Actually, she’d turned it into a dolphin. He hadn’t noticed yet.

  “Just so long as you aren’t having problems taking it off.”

  She let him maneuver her around the other couples, most of whom danced in place. Jago was executing a perfect waltz, and Ellie kept stepping on his toes. She was definitely not as light as a faerie.

  “I’ve something I need—”

  “I’ve something I want—”

  They both spoke at the same time. Jago waltzed her down the steps and out into the Italian garden.

  “You first,” he said.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  He fell and took Ellie out with him, twisting at the last minute so she landed on him rather than the other way round.

  “But—”

  “I know. I was wrong.”

  “After today, I was going to say no more weddings, but I think we need to have one more.”

  Ellie scrambled to her feet. “Yep, I think Henry’s going to ask Diane pretty soon.”

  Jago pushed up to stand at her side.

  “Don’t,” Ellie said and put a finger on his lips. “Not now. You have to find the perfect time.”

  Jago sighed. “This is the seventh time you’ve stopped me asking. All of them were perfect. Under the moon. Lying in the sun. When we were covered in paint. When we were…making love. Over champagne with the picnic, even though you nearly swallowed the ring. By the sea. Under fireworks. Not because of the baby—oh God. A baby? Is that what you said?”

  She laughed.

  “A baby, Ellie? Our baby?” He let out a muffled sob. “Oh damn. I really want to ask you now if—”

  “No. Wait for the perfect time.”

  He hugged her and waltzed her down the gravel paths, into the herb garden, around the orchard, and the first drops of rain began to fall. Jago didn’t falter; he kept dancing, kept smiling. By the time they reached the wilderness garden, the rain was hosing down, and he was still smiling.

  When he dropped to his knees in a puddle of muddy water, this time Ellie didn’t stop him. He placed a hand on her stomach and sighed.

  “Ellie Norwood, light of my life, there is no perfect time, because every moment I spend with you is perfect. Please marry me?”

  She pulled him to his feet and wiped the rain off his face.

  “Yes,” she said and
kissed him.

  Loose Id Titles by Barbara Elsborg

  Jumping in Puddles

  Rocked

  * * * *

  The TRUEBLOOD Series

  The Consolation Prize

  Falling for You

  Lightning in a Bottle

  The Misfits

  Fight to Remember

  Barbara Elsborg

  Barbara Elsborg lives in West Yorkshire in the north of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed that to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide.

  After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop.

  Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, and she hopes they are much fun to read as they were to write.

  See what’s new with Barbara at http://www.barbaraelsborg.com.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Loose Id Titles by Barbara Elsborg

  Barbara Elsborg