But she didn’t meet him anywhere on the road. She made sure she took the longest route possible and made many stops that she didn’t need to make, but there was no sign of the handsome almost stranger that had made love to her like no man before him ever had. So Winter went back home and continued her normal life.
Six weeks later, she got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. Nausea had never hit her like that unless she had drunk heavily. She hadn’t had a drink in weeks. As she raised her head from the toilet, she realized she had missed her period. She laughed a little as she flushed the toilet. She had wondered what it would be like to have John’s child, and now she had a sneaking suspicion she was going to find out.
Two hours later, she stood in her bathroom with a positive pregnancy test in her hand. She was not upset at the fact that she was pregnant with John’s child. She put her hand over her stomach and wondered at the life that was now growing inside of her. She just had no idea how she was going to explain to her sister and her parents that the child she was carrying was created during a one night stand with a hitchhiker. As she pondered what she would tell them, she realized that it was going to be interesting when she gave birth to list the name of the father of her child since she didn’t know John’s last name.
Her sister took the news better than Winter had thought she would. She confessed to having an incredible one night stand early in her marriage when she and Justified had been fighting. He knew about it, and had accepted it. Veronica also told Winter that she had thought about the man for years afterwards and had never known even his first name.
Her parents did not take the news well. They yelled at her for being irresponsible. They brought up the idea of adoption to avoid the embarrassment that they believed would inevitably befall her. Though all of her books had done very well lately and her last was actually close to reaching best seller status she wrote under a pen name, and she certainly didn’t believe that she was so much in the public eye that people would know about her child, let alone take the time to wonder who the father was.
Winter thought a lot about John as her pregnancy progressed. She drove a lot to random locations. She was always on the lookout for the father of her child, but she never saw him. She did most of her writing from motel rooms. She had a feeling that her parents were starting to believe that she was crazy. Veronica thought that it was very romantic and was rooting for her sister to find John again, but it didn’t happen. As the days passed, Winter wished more and more that she had thought to leave John her phone number. She held out hope that they were meant to meet again, but secretly thought she was acting like a romantic fool.
Three days after Jonnie Chance Trinity was born and given her mother’s last name, Winter made the decision to move. It wasn’t fun packing and moving with a newborn especially since she was nursing, but she found her home to have turned into a prison. She realized that she couldn’t run from her memories of John. She saw him every day when she looked at their daughter’s face. Jonnie had her father’s beautiful green eyes. But Winter felt an overwhelming feeling to start over in a new place. She and Jonnie moved to the east coast and found a nice house in a beautiful small town. The people were wonderful and no one questioned the paternity of her child, though she did find several of her fans living there.
Time went on. Winter felt herself healing from the heartache of what felt like the loss of the love of her life. Jonnie brought so much joy into her life. Watching her daughter grow was a feeling like no other. She still thought about John, but it became more distant. She held true to the belief that if they were meant to meet again, they would.
It was a Tuesday in June. Jonnie had just turned three and they were at the park down the street from their house. They had a big yard, both front and back, but Jonnie had always loved the park. Winter was sitting on the grass a few feet away from the playground where she could still keep a close eye on her daughter when she looked up and saw a man. She blinked, thinking that her mind had conjured him. It still did that sometimes. She’d think she saw John on the street or in a local store or restaurant. But until now, she had always known that it was just her heart seeing what it wanted to see.
She tilted her head, her heart starting to beat fast. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, but he was still there and he was coming her way with a slight smile on his face. The smile was questioning, but there was something else behind it. She had a feeling that it was hope and felt a smile drift to her own face.
He crossed to her. She glanced back at the playground. Jonnie was still running around with the little girl that lived down the block from them and went to the same preschool. The man looked down at her. “Winter?”
Her heart felt as if it was going to beat out of her chest. “John?”
His smile widened. “Yes. So it was meant to be.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “I guess so.”
“I assume that you live in town?”
“I do. Right down the street actually.”
“I’ve been here for almost a year now. I can’t believe we haven’t run into each other before.”
Winter started to speak, but Jonnie was suddenly headed her way and she was wailing. “Mommy I hurt my knee.”
John looked back and forth between Jonnie and Winter. Winter didn’t know what to say. Would John recognize his eyes in his daughter’s face? “Come here sweetheart. Let Mommy see your knee.”
Jonnie sat down beside her mother and put her leg on her Winter’s lap. “It hurts bad.”
“I’m sorry baby.” The knee was scraped, but it wasn’t bleeding. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Then you can go back and play for a little while longer if you’re still feeling up to it.”
Jonnie nodded, then looked up at John. “Who’s he?”
Winter cleared her throat. “This is John baby.”
Jonnie gave her father an inquiring look. “My name is Jonnie.”
John gave Winter a look that she couldn’t quite read. “That’s a very pretty name for a very pretty girl.”
“Thank you.”
Jonnie’s attention was suddenly elsewhere. Winter cleaned her knee with supplies from the first aid kit that she always carried in her purse, and then applied a bandage. “Is that better baby?”
“Yes Mommy. Thank you. I’m going back to play now.”
“You’re welcome sweetheart. I’ll be right here.”
Jonnie ran off. John dropped down into the grass next to her. “She’s beautiful. Jonnie huh?”
Winter looked him in the eye. “She was named after her father.”
John swallowed hard. “I had a feeling. It’s strange to see your eyes looking out from someone else’s face. I don’t know what to say Winter.”
Winter held back a sigh. This was not how she expected their reunion to go. She couldn’t tell by the look on his face how he felt about the fact that she had told him that he was a father. “Look John, if you’re worried about me wanting child support, the thought never crossed my mind. I’m doing very well. My books are selling better than I ever imagined possible. Every new title gets closer and closer to the best seller list.”
“Do you write under a pen name?”
“I do. What does that have to do with anything?”
“This is a small town. I can’t believe that it would be kept quiet that a famous writer lived here. I don’t understand how we haven’t run into each other. It’s crazy.”
Winter laughed. “I’m not exactly famous. I may be well known, but it’s mostly by women that devour trashy romance novels. Men don’t pay attention to that sort of thing.”
“I would have. I think about you all the time. There have been other women, but no woman could ever hold a candle to you. I love you Winter. Shit. You’re probably married.”
Winter shook her head. She couldn’t speak for a moment. Then she cleared her throat. “I haven’t been with a man since you.” She let out a shaky laugh. “I was afraid none of them would compare to you either. I love you John. Wow
, I can’t believe that I actually said the words out loud.” She laughed, and it was a little less nervous. “The heroes in my novels are all starting to sound a bit like you.”
John grinned. “Damn. I think this is the best day of my life. My business loan just came through, and then I find you and find out that I have a daughter. I think we should go buy a lottery ticket.”
Winter smiled. “What kind of business?”
“I am going to paint houses. The houses around here tend to be rather boring. A lot of people seem excited with the idea.”
“I’d love for you to do mine. It is pretty boring.”
John laughed. “I’ll make sure you’re first on my list.” He looked at Jonnie. “Um, does she know about me?”
“In a roundabout sort of way. You can’t exactly explain a one night stand to a three year old.”
“I’ll give you a lifetime if you’ll let me.”
“Be careful John, I might hold you to that.”
John winked at her. “You’d better.”
The talk between them was easy after that. They made plans for dinner. When Winter told him where they lived, John told her that he lived a few blocks away. She was beginning to believe that she hadn’t been imagining things when she’d thought she’d seen him around town.
They ate dinner together. Jonnie chattered at her father, but Winter caught her daughter giving John questioning glances all night long. She wasn’t quite sure how to tell Jonnie that John was her father. And she figured that it was something that she needed to discuss with John anyway.
They watched TV together for a while after Jonnie was tucked into bed. An embrace turned into a heated kiss, which turned into a night in Winter’s bedroom that rivaled their first night together. John was still the passionate lover that she remembered him to be. Winter found herself looking forward to many more orgasms at the hands, mouth and member of her lover.
Jonnie took the news that John was her father in stride. She was soon calling him Daddy and he had soon moved into their house. They were married three months later. Winter was pregnant six months after that. When she looked back on it, Winter still marveled over the fact that she was married to the hitchhiker she had picked up when he was standing by the side of the road in the rain with no umbrella and no coat.
Special Bonus story: In My Dreams
Misty Reigenborn
Copyright 2012
By Misty Reigenborn
Thirty three year old Karma Bell was in the grocery store when she looked up and met the eyes of a very attractive man. There was a part of her that thought he looked familiar, but she put it off thinking that he reminded her of an actor that she found attractive. She had turned to head down the frozen food aisle when a hand fell on her shoulder.
She turned and looked into a pair of very blue eyes. Familiar eyes. It was the good looking guy that she’d seen in the produce section.
She cleared her throat. “Hi.”
“Karma? Karma Patterson?”
She cleared her throat. He was starting to look more and more familiar, but she couldn’t believe that he was who she thought he was. She hadn’t seen her crush in almost seventeen years except in her dreams.
“It’s Karma Bell, but Patterson is my maiden name yes.”
“You’re married?” He looked down at her hand. She thought she caught a flash of disappointment in his eyes.
“Divorced. I kept my married name because I happened to get published when I was married and I’m known as Bell to my readers. Do I know you?”
He smiled, showing off gorgeous dimples and straight white teeth. “I’m insulted. We went to school together for how many years and you don’t remember me? Jared Morris.”
Her heart started to beat triple time. She caught the scent of his cologne. The same cologne that had always driven her crazy in high school, the same cologne that she loved to smell on any man because it reminded her of Jared.
She smiled. “Of course I remember you. You look so good.”
“Me? Look at you. I love your hair. Piercings usually aren’t my thing, but it looks good on you.” He winked at her.
She felt color rise to her cheeks and touched her nose stud. “I got it right after I turned thirty. My ex-husband claimed that I went through my mid-life crisis a bit early. So are you in town to visit someone or do you live here?”
She tried to peek at his ring finger without looking too obvious. His hand was free of a wedding ring and she wanted to sigh. She was standing face to face with the man of her dreams. He had showed up in her dreams for years, forever reminding her that she had let him leave the small town that they grew up in without telling him how she felt about him, how she had felt about him for years.
“My job brought me here. Wait, you said Karma Bell? I’m standing next to a full blown celebrity.”
She shook her head. “Hardly.”
“You’ve had how many novels on the best seller lists? No need to be modest around someone you’ve known since kindergarten.”
She laughed. “It’s only three and I hardly write great literature. I write trashy romance novels.” The blush rose to her cheeks again. “So are you just here on business or did you get transferred here?”
“I got transferred. I’ve been here about two weeks now. It is so good to see you. I can’t believe I ran into you of all people. Talk about a blast from the past.”
She smiled. “Yes. It’s been a long time.”
“Too long. Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to your shopping.” He smiled and turned to walk away.
She hid a sigh, wishing that he would have asked her out. There were times when she’d thought that her marriage had gone south because she had married the wrong man. She sometimes thought that she would never find her true love because he was the boy that she had carried a torch for since second grade.
She had taken two steps down the aisle when his voice stopped her. “Karma?”
She turned back towards him. “Yes?”
“Can I take you out to dinner? I mean, if you’re not seeing someone.”
Her heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest. She swallowed hard. “I’m not. I had a messy divorce and haven’t had the heart to see anyone since then.” She bit her lip, wondering if she’d said the wrong thing.
“I see. I was married for a while. Our divorce wasn’t messy, but our marriage was.” He chuckled. “I would love to take you out to dinner and a movie. Or maybe you could show me the sights? I have weekends off.”
“That would be great.” She smiled at him; feeling like her grin was so wide that her face was going to split. She had a feeling that she looked like an idiot.
“Great.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “Can I have your phone number?”
“Sure.” She gave him her number.
He smiled. “Great. I had a bad day at work, but you turned my day right around. I’ll call you and we can figure out when a good time to get together would be.”
“Great.”
“I’ll see you later Karma.”
“Bye Jared.”
Once he had walked away, she let her sigh out. It was a sigh of utter contentment. She had looked for Jared online at social networks, through his old friends and through his sister, but had never been able to find him. It seemed like fate that she had run into him in the grocery store, that they were now living in the same town once again.
She felt like she was walking on air as she finished her shopping. She forgot to consult her list after she ran into Jared and ended up forgetting half of what she’d meant to buy, including what she’d planned for dinner that night so she ended up ordering Chinese food. She ate it sitting on her porch swing, swinging gently, barefoot and in her pajamas, feeling like a love struck teenager.
It took her forever to fall asleep that night. When she crawled out of bed the next morning she felt like she hadn’t slept at all and the coffee she downed did nothing to take her weariness away. Her writing was terrible
and she ended up deleting all of it. She hadn’t been this distracted since she’d first found out that Miles had been cheating on her with an eighteen year old and had gotten the girl pregnant. But where that distraction was nowhere near good, the distraction of seeing Jared Morris after so long was so good it was almost too good to be true.
He called her Thursday night and they made plans to get together over the weekend. Saturday morning it took Karma forever to pick something out to wear. Finally she settled on a lightweight lavender blouse and a pair of capris that matched since the weather was supposed to be nice. She slipped her feet into her sandals and sat uncomfortably on the couch until a knock signaled his arrival several minutes later.
She opened the door and he gave her a wide smile. “You are so beautiful. You look even better than you did in high school.”
She laughed. “I was fat in high school.”
“I still thought you were beautiful.”
He offered her his hand. She took it, thinking that none of her novels had come close to what she was feeling at that moment with her fingers twined through Jared’s. They spent the day seeing the sights. It was fun. Jared was easy to talk to and she saw the sights that had become boring to her after five years through new eyes again. They had dinner together and then he drove her home.
She wanted to invite him in, but she was afraid she’d say something stupid or try to seduce him since sex had been on her mind all day. Jared had looked good in high school. He had turned into an even more handsome man-tall and lean with sandy hair and his gorgeous blue eyes. He hugged her and she had to stop herself from breathing in his scent because he smelled just the way she thought a man should smell. He pulled back and gave her a soft kiss.
“I had such a good time today Karma. I wasn’t thrilled about coming here, but now I’m glad that I did.” He smiled.
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 212
