by Sandra Field
Daniel’s eyes flew to his mother. “What’s he doing here?”
To Jake’s enormous gratification, she said calmly, “I invited him for supper. It’ll be twenty minutes, you’ve got time to shower.”
“He’s my father!”
“Yes, he is.” Her heart racing against her ribs, she said, “I know this is difficult, Daniel. For both of us. But Jake’s here and he wants to get to know you.”
His feet planted on the worn linoleum, Daniel said, “I’ll eat upstairs. I’ve got homework.”
“Your uncles are coming and we’re all eating in the dining room. Go have a shower.”
Daniel was the exact same height as his mother; but it was his eyes that fell. He slouched out of the room and Jake heard him banging his way up the stairs. He said flatly, “It was more than generous of you to hide the fact that I invited myself for supper.”
“I’m trying to do what’s best for him. Not for you,” she snapped. “What with him sassing me and you kissing me, it’ll be a wonder if I ever get supper on the table.”
Angry, yielding, passionate and stubborn…how could he not be drawn to her like the river to the sea? Not that this was the time or the place to pursue that particular thought. “What can I do to help?”
“Set six places at the dining room table and put the roses on the cabinet.”
Jake did as he was told, and was mashing potatoes when Shaine’s three brothers came in procession through the back door: Devlin, who had carrot-orange hair; Padric with his chestnut curls; and Connor, whose straight auburn hair was tied back with a piece of lobster twine. Not one of them looked the least bit welcoming. They looked, Jake thought, as though they would take considerable pleasure in tearing him limb from limb.
Let ’em try.
He greeted each of them in turn as casually as if he’d never moved away. Devlin plunked a jar of pickles on the table, Padric a six-pack of beer, and Connor, empty-handed, kissed his sister on the cheek. “Daniel back?” he asked, slanting a glance at Jake.
“He’s showering,” Shaine said.
“What does he think about all this?”
“He’s not wild about it.”
“That makes four of us,” Padric drawled, bouncing gently on the balls of his feet as he uncapped a beer with his fingers.
“Don’t stir up more trouble than we’ve got,” Shaine ordered. “There’s wine in the fridge, Connor. Pour me a glass, will you?”
Connor reached into the refrigerator and pulled out one of the bottles. He gave an exaggerated whistle. “High-class stuff. Guess who brought this.”
Jake said softly, “The four of us can go out in the field after dinner and punch each other out if that’s what you want. But for now let’s try and behave like civilized human beings. For Daniel’s sake, if for no other reason.”
“He’s right,” Devlin said in his gravelly bass voice. “Settle down, you two.”
Jake would never forget that interminable dinner. Daniel said nothing unless directly addressed, and then answered only in monosyllables. Shaine alternated between a tight-lipped silence and outbursts of babbling that were totally unlike her. The three brothers, by an unspoken pact, were crushingly polite. As for Jake, he heard himself being the suave city slicker, and couldn’t seem to stop. He was the one who’d instigated this, he thought. He must have been clean crazy.
“Great fish,” he said, trying to end a silence broken only by Shaine clearing away the plates. “Better than anything you can get in New York.”
“Took you long enough to come back for it,” Connor said with deceptive mildness.
Jake looked from one to the other of the brothers. “I know it did. But I’m back now. And I won’t pull a disappearing stunt again, I swear.”
“As if we care,” Daniel muttered.
“That’s enough,” Shaine said.
“Can it, buddy,” Devlin added for good measure.
Daniel pushed back his chair. “I don’t want any pie. I’m going to do my homework and go to Art’s place. I told him I’d help him with his algebra.”
As her son’s footsteps stomped up the stairs, Shaine’s shoulders sagged. “Let him go, Devlin. What’s the use of pretending this is a normal family dinner? It isn’t.”
“I shouldn’t have come,” Jake said; he couldn’t stand seeing her so careworn. So unhappy.
“Maybe not. But you’re here now and we’re all having pie,” she said. “Connor, would you make the tea? Padric, the pie’s in the oven. Devlin, those were great pickles.”
“The boy’ll get used to the idea that he’s got a father,” Devlin said. “But it’ll take a while.”
Encouraged by what sounded like support, Jake said as honestly as he knew how, “I’ve got the rest of my life. I’m in this for the duration, no matter what it takes.”
Devlin made a noncommittal sound. Shaine began serving the pie, while Connor poured tea black as pitch. The pie was excellent. Although he was almost sure bakeapple pie wasn’t available anywhere in Manhattan, Jake made no further remarks about New York.
Just as he drained his mug, which had contained enough caffeine to keep him awake for a week, the telephone rang. It was attached to the wall in the kitchen, and as Shaine picked it up, every word was audible. “Cameron,” she said with evident pleasure. “How are you?”
Who the hell was Cameron? Jake wondered, his hackles bristling. And what had the man done to deserve that note of intimacy in Shaine’s voice?
It had never occurred to Jake to ask her if she was involved with anyone. How was that for stupidity? Or was it just plain egotism?
“You’re where?” she continued. “Toronto—why?…They what? You really mean it?… In a few days? Oh, Cameron, that’s incredible, thanks so much for submitting it… You’ll phone as soon as you hear? And how’s your mother?… That’s good, say hello to her for me. Okay, I’ll talk to you soon. ’Bye.”
She put down the receiver and swung to face the four men at the table; her smile was radiant. “That was Cameron,” she said unnecessarily. “He submitted one of my panels to a jury in Toronto for a nationwide competition. They’re going to let him know next week if I’m accepted for the competition. Right across Canada! Then the winning entry goes to the States.”
In the spate of congratulations, Jake sat still. Cameron, he’d gathered, was acting as Shaine’s agent. So how did she know Cameron’s mother? As Shaine ran upstairs to tell Daniel her news, Jake gathered up the dishes and put them in the sink. He was going to find out, he thought grimly. It was past time he got a few answers. Filling the sink with hot sudsy water, he began washing the glasses.
And there was something in his stance that announced he was planning to outstay the three brothers, no matter how late they hung around.
CHAPTER SIX
WHEN Shaine came back downstairs, her son was trailing behind her. “I’ll give you a drive to Art’s, Daniel,” Devlin said, then asked his brothers, “You guys want a drive, too? See you, Jake.”
Within moments Jake and Shaine had the kitchen to themselves. “The fish was superb and I’ve been to funerals that were more fun than that dinner,” Jake said, swishing soap from a dinner plate.
“At least it didn’t turn into an all-out brawl.”
“It might have if Devlin hadn’t been here. He’s the one with common sense.”
She picked up a plate and began drying it. “He’s the eldest. So he’s the one who missed Mum and Da the most.”
Jake rested a soapy hand on her wrist. “It must have been a terrible time for all of you, Shaine.”
“It was.” She muttered, polishing the plate until it shone. “Da had driven all the way from Corner Brook and they were within sight of home…it was such a stupid accident.”
“You weren’t home when it happened.”
“I was still at university. Mum and Da insisted I stay there after Daniel was born. Mum was looking after him. But I’d told them the day before on the phone that I couldn’t do that anymore�
�I couldn’t bear to be so far away from my son—so I was going to quit my courses and come back to the cove.” She stared down at the plate and said in a muffled voice, “I’ve sometimes wondered if they were worrying about me, so maybe Da’s attention wasn’t on the road…”
Compassion twisting his gut, Jake took her in his arms, the plate digging into his ribs. “Black ice can fool the best of drivers,” he said forcefully. “You mustn’t blame yourself.”
“I—I’ve never told anyone that,” she said shakily, realizing in a wave of emotion how safe she felt in his arms; and how comforting it was to share a burden she’d carried alone for so long. “I always could tell you stuff, Jake. For years you were my best friend.”
Guilt added itself to compassion. “I keep saying I’m sorry I didn’t get in touch. But what does I’m sorry mean? Easy words to say, and no way to mend the damage.”
“I’m worried about Daniel.”
“Let’s hope Devlin’s right, and in time he’ll accept the idea of having a real father on the scene.” Very gently Jake stroked her cheek, his fingers feeling rough and clumsy.
She shifted in his arms, no longer feeling so safe. “We’d better finish the dishes.”
But Jake tightened his hold, dropping his cheek onto her hair. “You feel so good,” he said softly. “So right.”
She pushed the plate hard against him. “You mustn’t do this to me,” she said wildly. “You tear me apart! I can’t go to bed with you. I’ve got a family and gossipy neighbors and this is my home. It’s okay for you, you can just leave whenever it suits you. But I can’t.”
He tilted her chin so her eyes met his; her lashes were spiky with unshed tears. “Don’t cry,” he said hoarsely. “The first time I saw you, you were crying. It does me in every time.”
She jerked free. “I’m not crying on purpose! I can’t stand weepy females.”
He took one corner of the dish towel and dabbed her eyes. “There,” he said with a crooked grin, “that’s better.”
As though she couldn’t help herself, Shaine reached up and traced the faint lines at the corners of his eyes. “You said I’d changed. You have, too. I know you’ve got a lot of money now and you’re a successful man. But I don’t think it’s always been easy.”
Feeling as if something that had frozen hard all those years ago was starting to melt, Jake rasped, “Why did you tell me you didn’t love me enough to go away with me? Was it really true, Shaine?”
She stilled in his embrace. Of all the questions he could have asked, it was the one she least wanted to answer. “It was a long time ago—why drag it up now?”
“Because it’s important.”
“To you, maybe.”
“No maybe about it.”
“I’m not digging up the past when the present’s more than I can deal with. Daniel’s what’s important here. Not your feelings or mine.”
“How can we separate our feelings from him? We’re his parents, Shaine. You and I.”
“You have yet to prove to me that you’ll be a real father.”
“I’ve told you I’ll hang in!”
“Words are cheap.”
She looked as if she could explode like a firecracker. “Heaven help me,” Jake said, “I love watching you lose your cool. You do it so well. Flash, flare and sparkle—a class act.”
She made a rude noise. “Years of practice with lots of men to practice on. You. Three brothers. A son.”
“And who else?” Jake said, his mouth dry. “What about Cameron?”
“Cameron’d be terribly upset if I ever lost my cool with him. Anyway, he’s such a nice man I never need to.”
“Nice,” Jake repeated. “So he’s out of the running.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’d never settle with someone nice. You’d be bored out of your skull before the honeymoon was over.”
“For someone who vanished for thirteen years, you seem to know a lot about me.”
“I’m your most appreciative audience,” he said, tweaking her hair. “On the rare occasions when I’ve lost my cool with a woman—rare because I didn’t let any of them close enough—she’d run for shelter. But not you. You come out with both fists flying.”
“You don’t scare me, Jake Reilly.”
“Oh, Shaine,” he said softly, “you shouldn’t say something like that to me.”
He took the plate from her, put it on the counter and settled his arms comfortably around her waist. Then he bent his head and pressed his mouth to hers. With exquisite control he moved against her, flicking her lips with his tongue, taking their softness between his teeth and nibbling; and felt her resistance crumble. With all the passion he’d come to expect from her, she looped her hands around his nape, pulled his head down and kissed him back.
He was falling, drowning, sinking into her beauty, her fire, the taut bones and gorgeous curves of her body. Overcome by a desperate hunger, an ache that could be assuaged by only one outcome, Jake dragged his mouth free. Dazzled by the green depths of her irises, the voluptuous red of her mouth, he realized she was trembling all over; the floor seemed to shift under his feet. “Daniel could walk in the door at any time,” he muttered. “I can’t keep my hands off you.”
“You know what?” she said blankly. “I’d forgotten about him. What kind of mother does that make me?”
“How about a woman with needs of her own?”
“I can’t afford those needs,” she cried. “Jake, go home. Back to your motel. Back to New York or Singapore or wherever it is you hang out.”
“I’m in no state to walk out the door.”
She flushed scarlet, turned to the sink and plunged her hands in. “My life was nicely in order until you turned up. The shop’s doing well, I love working with glass, Daniel was happy. But now I don’t even know which way’s up.”
Entranced, Jake said, “Is that what you want on your tombstone? I had an orderly life?” As she thunked a couple of plates into the rack, he added, “Fantasizing about breaking those over my head?”
“It’s the other fantasies I can’t deal with.”
He came up behind her, clasped her by the hips and moved against her as suggestively as he knew how. “Stop!” she gasped. “Or I swear I’ll dunk you under the cold tap.”
Jake, once again, was in no shape to walk out the door. As for Shaine, she was scouring another plate with vicious energy. Leaving her to it, he wandered into the dining room. He’d already figured out from the layout of the house where Shaine’s studio must be located; he wanted to see it. He opened the door that led to a new extension on the house, flicking on the light.
Once again he was face-to-face with her ardent commitment to color. All along one wall hung what he would have called Shaine’s bread and butter: the herring gulls, lighthouses, whales and pitcher plants that the tourists would buy by the dozen. But it was the panels placed by the windows that drew him. Whether they were geometric, abstract or realistic, none was without the surprise of genuine originality.
Shaine said irritably, “Who gave you permission to look in here?”
He said with real admiration, “These panels—they’re great. You’ve accomplished an enormous amount, Shaine. Three fine brothers, a loving son, your shop and this. You must’ve driven yourself as hard as I have.”
“Didn’t we become friends because we were alike?”
“Alike, and different from all the rest.”
Gazing at an oval sunrise, in which sky and water ached with color, he realized how at every turn he was being drawn deeper and deeper into her life. Into the woman she’d become, against the most difficult of odds. He’d had it easy in comparison, Jake thought humbly, because he’d been unencumbered. Free to do what he wanted, when and where and however he wanted to.
What if Daniel never accepted him? Shaine would have no choice but to side with her son.
Everything was moving too fast; he needed breathing space. “I was looking at Daniel’s hockey schedule on the
refrigerator,” he said. “I’ll drive into Corner Brook tomorrow and watch his game after school—maybe that’ll give him the message that I’m around but I’m not planning on taking over his life. I can stay just over a week—then I’ve got meetings in New York and Hong Kong. We’ll see how it’s going by the time I leave.”
Shaine asked the crucial question. “What if he’s as angry with you then as he is now? Will you come back, Jake?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah…I’ve got a lot of time to make up for. And now I’m going to get out of here. I’ll drop by tomorrow and no, I’m not going to kiss you good night because we both know where that’ll lead.”
She felt suddenly exhausted, and frighteningly vulnerable. Her voice a thin thread, she said, “We should never have made love on the island—what were we thinking of?”
Shaine the fighter challenged him; but Shaine unhappy and discouraged touched Jake in ways he wasn’t ready for. “We were young. Thinking wasn’t top of the list. And no matter the consequences, I can’t bring myself to regret it.” Not giving her any quarter, he added, “You wouldn’t wish Daniel out of existence, would you?”
Shocked, she said, “No!”
“Well, then. See you sometime tomorrow.”
He let himself out into the cool mist. The foghorn on the island wailed through the darkness, hauntingly lonely. A warning, thought Jake. Beware.
At the hockey game in Corner Brook, Jake made himself as unobtrusive as possible; yet, as though he were a magnet, Daniel’s eyes flew over the bleachers and picked him out almost instantly. The boy made no gesture of recognition; but he played with a reckless disregard for sense and safety that had Jake’s heart in his mouth. He also played brilliantly, and largely due to his efforts his team won by a good margin.
After a tasteless meal at a fast-food outlet, Jake did a little shopping, then drove back to the cove. He’d told Shaine he’d drop in; and knew he’d been delaying doing so all day. He’d even gone to see Maggie and Marty after lunch, spending the better part of an hour dodging Maggie’s intrusive questions.
