by Jacobs, Ann
Not that she should care about that. They didn’t have that kind of a relationship. Still, she didn’t want him to think she was a pushover for the tiny tyrant. “Gracie, I said to get over here.”
Jared laughed, but his expression didn’t convey amusement. “Want me to take her fishing?” He gestured toward the crystal-clear lake where fifteen or twenty people were busy casting their lines.
She should have thought of that. “Fishing might keep her attention for a few minutes, but I didn’t bring any fishing gear. Gracie!” she yelled. “If you don’t stay here with us, I’m gonna take you home.”
“I’ve got a pole in the trunk. I don’t know why I brought it, except that I already had it out. I got bored with the project I was trying to finish for work, and I’d just dunked a line in the stream when you called.”
Instead of coming back when Althea told her to, Gracie was heading straight for the road. Althea turned to Jared. “I’ve got to grab her before she gets herself run over. I can’t believe she’s being so obnoxious. If you’re game to stay, go ahead and bring out that fishing pole.” Leaving him standing by the table, she took off after Gracie.
Before she could grab the willful toddler, Jared caught her. He grinned, tucked the little girl neatly under his arm and strolled to Althea. If he minded Gracie’s kicking and screaming, it didn’t show. “You mustn’t run away from your aunt,” he told her when he set her down. “Stay put. I’m going to get a pole out of the car, and then we’re going to do a little fishing.”
It was a miracle. Gracie stopped yelling and tilted her head back to stare up at Jared. “Go fishin’?”
“Fishing.” Althea was fairly sure Jared would like to use Gracie as bait. She’d nearly come to contemplating murder, herself, but she was ready to try anything to calm the child down. “If you want to go fishing, you have to do exactly what Mr. Cain tells you to.”
Pole and tackle box in hand, Jared shot Gracie a stern look. “Come on, let’s see if we can catch a fish while your Aunt Althea gets the picnic basket unloaded.”
“Want her to come, too.”
“She’ll come as soon as she’s finished here.” He grabbed Gracie’s hand, giving her no choice but to scurry along beside him as he strode toward the lake’s grassy shore.
Althea tried not to feel relieved, but it didn’t work. What had happened to make her need Jared’s help to manage one small child? Was it his take-over manner or his quiet confidence that undermined her independence and made her feel she needed him?
Oh, well, Gracie would start giving Jared the devil’s own time soon enough. When she did, Althea figured she’d regain her self-confidence. She glanced toward the lake, though, and saw Gracie holding the pole while Jared knelt behind her, steadying her small hands.
She wouldn’t stare. She told herself the peace between man and toddler couldn’t last. She knew her niece. Taking a checkered tablecloth out of the picnic basket, she spread it over a wooden table underneath the shade of two big cedar trees.
She’d packed their lunches into three brown bags that she placed on the table. and tucked jars of sweet tea and milk into a small, round cooler. After setting the bags on the table and putting the cooler on one of the benches, all she had left to do was wait for them to come back from their fishing adventure.
Althea sighed, grateful for a few minutes’ peace. She picked up her needle and started to quilt a pillow top she’d made from leftover scraps of fabric from Jared’s quilt. She’d managed about five stitches when she heard Gracie yell.
Worried that her niece had fallen in the water, she sprinted toward the lake see what was wrong. Soon enough she saw Gracie jumping up and down while Jared tried to wrestle the pole out of her hand.
“Come here, Aunt Althea. We caught a fish.”
“Gracie, let me get him off the hook. He’s too little to keep.” Jared sounded calm—a lot calmer than Althea felt—but then he hadn’t had to deal with the child for an hour yet, much less several days.
“No throw him back. I want to eat him.” Gracie’s lower lip stuck out and it looked to Althea as though she was tuning up for a full-scale tantrum.
“Jared’s right, he’s too little. He’s got to go back in the lake. Maybe you can catch him again in a few years, after he’s grown some more.”
“No! Wanna eat him now.” Hands on her hips, the little girl glared up at both of them.
Jared gently placed the little fish back in the water. “Sorry, Gracie. Look at him go.”
Althea held her breath, certain Gracie would scream, but she simply stared into the water and watched the fish swim away. Apparently Jared had a knack for mesmerizing women of all ages.
“Come on up and let’s eat. The lunch is ready.”
Gracie stared at the spot in the water where the fish had darted out of sight. “Want my fish.”
Exasperated, Althea let out a sigh. They were about to be treated to another Gracie outburst and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Before the child could work up a good scream, though, Jared picked her up.
”Come on, now. I’ll bet Aunt Althea’s picnic will taste a lot better than that little fish. Let’s go see.” With that, he strode toward the picnic table.
Althea followed, amazed that Gracie hadn’t pitched another fit. Jared obviously had made a hit with her. “The bags have your names on them,” she called out when they got to the table and started to sit down.
After lunch Gracie seemed to wilt. Althea had never been so grateful for the respite as when the little girl fell asleep on a blanket underneath one of the trees.
“She’s quite a handful, isn’t she?” Jared’s grin took the bite off the rhetorical question.
That was an understatement if Althea ever heard one. “I’m sorry to have dumped her on you that way, but thanks anyhow. More than a week spent with Mary’s sister did wonders toward turning a sweet little girl into a brat.”
“I think she’s cute. And I doubt she’s any more a brat that a lot of kids.”
“So you’ve had a lot of experience with children?” She wouldn’t doubt it, considering the slick way he’d handled Gracie.
“I’ve watched lots of kids give their mothers hell in malls. That’s the extent of my knowledge about little people, but I’m guessing you must have been a lot like your niece when you were her age.”
Althea wasn’t about to dignify that observation with a reply. “You won her over, taking her fishing,” she said, changing the subject.
He shrugged. “That was blind luck. I had to do something or she was going to drive you crazy. I had no idea she’d take to fishing the way she did. If I hadn’t figured out that the games I almost brought along weren’t appropriate for a three-year-old, I wouldn’t have brought the gear and we’d have had to chase her all over the park.”
“You sound like you’ve spent a lot of time around kids.”
“Wrong. This is the first time I’ve ever been around little ones except to observe them from a safe distance.”
Returning his smile, she reached across the table and took his hand. “That’s right. You’re an only child. I may has well have been one too, since Jim was so much older.”
His expression grew warm, then hot. It kindled a flame deep inside her. “I’ve missed you these last few nights.”
His husky, deep tone reminded her of slow-flowing honey. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“How long will Gracie be staying with you?”
His eyes looked deep green today, their color reflecting the hues of the evergreens and the greenish-gold grass beneath their feet. When he looked at her, she couldn’t help remembering the delicious sensations his magic touch evoked.
“Until next Wednesday, unless I give up before then and dump Gracie back on Jim, no matter how he begs me to keep her.”
“I’d ask you both to come stay with me, but I doubt your brother would approve,” he said, squeezing her hand. “So may I come visit you?”
She squeezed
him back as she looked into his eyes. “I wish you would. We won’t have much privacy, though.”
Briefly she recalled Jim’s warning before discounting it. She’d honor his wishes and refrain from taking Gracie to Jared’s place, but she’d be damned if her brother would keep her from seeing Jared in her own home.
He leaned across the table and whispered in her ear. “I’ll let you in on a secret. It’s not just the sex I’m missing, sweetheart, and that scares me half to death.”
▪ ▪ ▪
That thought stayed with Jared. It disturbed him all afternoon at the lake and throughout the next few days when he was home, taking care of business via phone and email. Whatever it was that made him need Althea more than he needed his next meal terrified him.
It kept him here when he should have been in Atlanta, where he could have ironed out a few sticky problems a whole lot more efficiently in person than he’d been able to do long-distance.
He couldn’t recall ever having had such powerful emotions grab him and carry him away from the practical path his mind had always taken. But Althea had tied him in knots. No doubt about that.
He found himself counting the days until Wednesday, when Gracie would go back home. Not able to relax because he missed her so much, he picked up the phone and dialed Althea’s number.
“I’m bringing burgers for you and Gracie tonight. Will six o’clock be okay?”
▪ ▪ ▪
A trip to Blairsville later, Jared stood on the narrow porch at Althea’s cabin, a bag of hamburgers and fries, and a carrier full of chocolate milkshakes in hand. Waxy-leafed plants with small red flowers that almost matched the clay pots that held them reminded him of plants his mom used to grow when he was a boy.
He knocked and then admired the flowers while he waited. Briefly he considered getting some for his porch, but he discarded that idea. He wasn’t into plant genocide—and he knew damn well he’d get busy on some project, forget to water them, and let them die.
When Althea opened the door he met her gaze. Her hair was all messed up and she looked stressed out. When she smiled, it looked more than a little forced. He imagined Gracie had been putting her through her paces. “Are you okay?” he asked, concerned.
“I am now. Come on in. Jim came by fifteen minutes ago and took his little angel home. He said Mary was missing her, although I can’t imagine why. I hope you’re hungry. You can eat Gracie’s hamburger as well as your own.”
Jared stepped inside. Althea’s cabin was a riot of colors and textures. There were patchwork pillows in brilliant reds and blues, and the curtains were made out of fragile looking, yellowed lace. She’d put framed photos on almost every flat surface. Black and white prints faded to sepia tones sat side by side with brilliant color snapshots.
He noticed a studio portrait of a woman who looked a lot like Althea, a stern looking older man and a teenage boy he recognized as Jim. But it was the toddler—Althea—who caught his eye. “You and your family?”
She nodded then picked up the photo and handed it to him. “That’s what I looked like when I was Gracie’s age.”
“You look like your mother now.” Try as he might, Jared couldn’t erase the picture in his mind of Althea sitting on the porch at his place, holding a toddler in her arms. A toddler who looked a lot like him.
She took the picture and set it back on the table by the couch. “We’d better eat those burgers before they get cold. Kitchen’s this way.”
Nothing was cooking, but the room still smelled of cinnamon and spice. It reminded Jared of the peach cobbler Althea had brought for dessert, the night they’d finally made love for the first time. He sat at the small table and proceeded to take the hamburgers and fries out of their wrappings.
Copper molds hung on the walls. All sizes and shapes of pitchers sat on shelves above the counters. Jared wolfed down his food, thinking there must be a story behind each of the mementos Althea displayed so prominently. He imagined they must remind her of something or someone who had touched her life. When he pictured his own bare walls, he felt empty inside.
Althea looked exhausted. Jared got up and stood behind her chair. As he massaged her neck and shoulders, he felt her tension and hoped he could make it go away.
“That feels like heaven.” She dropped her chin to her chest and let out a sigh.
Her muscles were starting to relax under his hands. “Want me to give you the full treatment?”
“What’s that?”
“A head-to-toe massage, guaranteed to chase away your aches and pains.”
“That sounds wonderful. I was never so happy to see my brother as I was this afternoon. Don’t get me wrong, I love Gracie dearly but she’s a handful.”
Jared laughed. He’d enjoyed spending time with the little girl a lot more than he’d expected to. “If she were picture perfect, she wouldn’t be Gracie.”
Althea laid her head back against Jared’s belly. “She’s usually a lot better behaved. I imagine she’s finding it hard to accept that she has competition now for her mom and dad’s attention.”
That made sense. “I don’t guess she wants to share them any more than I want to share you.” Fortunately for them both, Jared wasn’t three years old and throwing tantrums wasn’t his style. “Come on, lie down and I’ll make you feel real good.”
Chapter Fifteen
Althea smiled. Jared was the best medicine she could think of, better even than a good night’s rest. “All right, let’s go to bed.”
When she opened the door to her bedroom, she spotted Bill’s picture. It was obvious when Jared flinched that he’d seen it, too. When she looked up at him and saw the hurt expression in his eyes, she felt terrible.
Quickly she went to the night stand beside her bed and picked up the framed photo. “I—I didn’t think. I’ll put it away.”
“It’s okay, Althea. Lie down.”
He sounded all right. Maybe she’d misread his feelings, seen something that wasn’t there. Still she didn’t want any painful memories to come between them when they made love. Ignoring his order she opened the drawer of the night stand and placed Bill’s picture on top of a stack of quilting magazines.
Then she turned and met Jared’s gaze. Fighting down the urge to keep herself modestly covered here in this familiar room, she peeled off her clothes one item at the time until she stood before him, naked. “I never think of Bill when I think about making love,” she told him.
“I know.” His expression softened and his hands went to his belt.
In slow motion, he shed his shoes and socks while she lay across her bed, her heart beating with anticipation. Finally he came down beside her, kneeling at her side. “Roll over on your stomach,” he told her.
When she did, he began gently kneading her flesh with his fingers, coaxing out the tension she realized had been building up since her confrontation last week with her brother.
She closed her eyes sand took long, cleansing breaths, letting her worries go for the time being. Jared’s hands felt delicious and she let herself concentrate on him, knowing that for now he stood between her and loneliness.
His touch tightened, becoming more like a lover’s than a healer’s. She sighed and turned so she could look at him. When she did she saw passion in his dark eyes—passion that mirrored what she felt igniting deep inside her.
He looked like a man with a purpose. A man who wanted her above all else. He looked like a man not only in lust but in love. When he watched her this way, she couldn’t suppress the unwanted emotions that bubbled to the surface of her mind. Entranced, she gave up trying to deny her feelings. She surrendered herself to his keeping and trusted he’d bring them both the release they sought.
“Jared?”
His hands went still, heating her flesh where they touched. “What, sweetheart?”
“I love the way you touch me.”
“I’m glad.” He glanced at his big, calloused hands, dark against the pale skin of her torso. His hot gaze scorched he
r as much as his touch.
Suddenly she felt shy, lying here naked and vulnerable while he still was fully clothed. “Take off your clothes.”
“Not yet.” He leaned over and nuzzled her breast, then blew gently on the nipple he’d dampened with his tongue.
“Please.”
“Patience, sweetheart. Don’t think, just feel.”
He caressed her with strong, agile fingers. She wanted to feel his touch all over. His hot, moist breath bathed her skin, made it super-sensitive to the slick abrasion of his tongue. Everywhere he touched her, he fed her a sensual banquet, even in places she’d never dreamed might have erotic promise.
His silky hair beneath her fingers, the softness of his worn jeans against her thighs, every sensation fed the deepening emotions she couldn’t tamp down. He heightened her senses, made everything around them seem more vivid. Even the muted blue-rose colors of twilight that filtered through her bedroom curtains took on new vibrance because she was sharing it with him.
Even the clean, flowery scent of the sheets took on aphrodisiac qualities when it mingled with the smells of him…and her…and their passion.
Each point of contact made her want more. She shifted and curled her body around him, needing his heat and hardness. “I want you naked,” she said when the barrier of his clothes became too much to bear.
“Be patient, I said.”
He took her higher than she’d dreamed she could go, touching her everywhere but between her legs where she ached to feel his hands and mouth. Every cell in her body screamed for satisfaction.
“Please, Jared.”
“Soon.”
She’d have torn away his clothes, touched him the way she wanted to. But he trapped her hands and locked them above her head with one of his. Despite her frantic pleas he continued his delicious torture.
