She came slowly down the hallway, still dressed in the same jeans and cotton shirt she’d had on earlier. Her appearance—the weight loss, the haunted expression, the dark shadows under her eyes—was a grim reminder of all that she’d gone through.
“I’m ready.” Her gaze darted about the room as if she was afraid the intruder still lurked behind the furniture.
“Let’s go then.” Outside, he waited for her to lock the front door, then he took her elbow and guided her down the porch steps. They crossed the yard to his car, and Jared helped her inside.
As he moved around to the driver’s side, his gaze scanned the darkness. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone, other than the deputy, watched them from the shadows. The idea that Tess could be the target of a twisted mind, someone demented enough to have kidnapped her daughter and then returned time and again to torment her scared Jared half to death. What if the police couldn’t protect her? Would she let him take over? Would she let him do whatever was necessary to insure her safety?
Not if she was anything like the Tess he used to know. That Tess would have fought him tooth and nail. The suggestion that she couldn’t take care of herself would have been galling to her.
But she’d asked for his help tonight. She’d told him she didn’t want to be alone. Jared didn’t want to read too much into her actions, but he couldn’t help wondering if she was finally coming around to trusting him in a way she’d never been able to before.
He climbed inside the car, started the engine, then backed out of the driveway. He drove slowly, heading for the main highway as Tess sat on the edge of her seat, her eyes peeled on the sliding scenery. The moon was up, but the woods along the road blotted much of the light. It would be next to impossible to see anything in those trees, but Jared kept driving. They didn’t talk. Tess barely moved. After a while, he realized she’d done this before, probably every single night since Emily had gone missing, and it tore at his heart to think of her out here alone, searching for her daughter.
You don’t have to be alone, he wanted to tell her, but who was he to make that promise? She’d left him once. She’d made her feelings clear back then. And Jared had accepted her decision. In time, he’d gotten over the hurt and bitterness, and he’d made a life for himself in New Orleans. A good life. He’d followed the blueprint that had been mapped out for him since birth, and he’d been ruthless in his pursuits. He’d set out to make a name for himself in the company, and he had, no matter who he’d had to use in the process. He’d told himself he would no longer live in the past, and he hadn’t, no matter what his resolve had cost him. But most of all, he’d given himself permission to embrace his own ambition, to enjoy the fruits of his labor, to be unashamed of who he was and where he’d come from. In looking back, he’d come to realize that his name was a barrier that Tess, not he, had put between them.
Her pride had been formidable back then, and he suspected her resentment had run a lot deeper than either of them ever thought. That was why she’d constantly challenged him.
So why was he here with her now?
The answer was devastatingly simple. Because in a lot of ways, the last six years had been the loneliest of his life. And because Tess needed him. Maybe she’d always needed him, she’d just been too stubborn to admit it.
He glanced at her now, so quiet and so sad, and he knew that in spite of all that lay between them, he would do anything to take away her pain, to give her back the spark that had made her at once infuriating and irresistible. He could give her anything that money could buy, but he couldn’t give her a miracle. He couldn’t give her back her daughter.
And the thought of that left him feeling helpless and angry.
THEY DROVE FOR HOURS. Along the highway. Down country roads. Around the lake. Just after midnight, Jared crossed over the bridge on Lake Shore Drive, and they found themselves in Mount Ida, a depressed neighborhood on the south side of town. Even here, where danger lurked around almost every corner, Jared drove aimlessly, turning onto side streets at random. They weren’t going to find anything. He knew that. It had been nearly three weeks since Emily disappeared. She could be anywhere, out of the country even, but still he drove on.
As for Tess, he doubted she had any illusions about their search, either. But if he took her home, she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She would sit in her house alone, consumed with images of her daughter, playing that terrible game of what-if. If he could make even a few hours easier for her, then so be it.
The night was warm and muggy, and Jared had been driving with the air conditioner on. When he saw Tess shiver, he turned it off and rolled down his window. They were in downtown Eden now, and as they moved along the narrow streets, he was struck by the mood of the town. It was late. Even under normal circumstances the streets would be quiet, all the children long since home and in bed. But tonight there was a deserted feel to the place, an almost surreal air that hung over the storefronts and restaurants and even the churches.
Emily was everywhere. Her picture stared at them from store windows and from light poles, and messages spelled out on business signs proclaimed a town’s unified agony: We love you, Emily.
And still Tess said nothing. She watched the darkness with a quiet alertness that was heartbreaking.
“Tess?”
She jumped slightly as if she’d forgotten he was in the car with her. When she turned to face him, he said softly, “Shall I keep driving?”
She nodded and turned back to the window.
He let another few seconds go by, and then, still softly, “Tell me about Emily.”
He wasn’t sure how she would react to his request, but to his surprise, she gave him a tentative smile. “She’s one of the special ones. I know every parent thinks that, but with Emily—” She broke off, leaning back against the seat, staring out the windshield. “It’s hard to explain, but you’d know what I mean if you met her. She has this quality about her. It’s like she has a light shining on her wherever she goes. She makes you feel humble.”
Jared nodded, his throat suddenly tight. When he stopped at a streetlight, Emily’s image stared down at him from a light pole. “She’s a beautiful child, Tess.”
Her eyes glistened in the light from the dash. “You used the present tense.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“So many people talk about her in the past tense. She was a beautiful child. She had this quality about her. I can’t tell you how much that hurts. But…you didn’t.” Her gaze on him intensified. “You believe she’s still alive, too, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I do.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. She reached over and covered his hand with hers. He lifted his hand from the steering wheel, and their fingers automatically curled together. Jared felt something stir inside him at the contact, a flicker of warmth that took hold and began to spread.
Their grasp tightened and before he had time to wonder how she might react, he drew their linked hands to his lips. She stiffened slightly as his mouth grazed across her knuckles, but she didn’t pull her hand away. Her gaze on him was wide and shimmering, and Jared knew at that moment that he had been kidding himself all these years. He hadn’t gotten over Tess Granger. She was still in his blood, and he wondered, with an almost fatalistic yearning, if she always would be.
“Tell me about your life,” he said in a low, urgent voice. “The last six years. Tell me about the man you married.”
She looked at once startled and wary, and she turned quickly back to the window. “Why would you want to know about Alan?”
“Because I have to know.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Just talk to me, Tess. About anything. Tell me how you met him.”
She shrugged almost imperceptibly. “I moved to Memphis when I left here. He lived in the apartment next to mine.”
“Was it love at first sight?” When she didn’t answer, Jared said almost angrily, “I guess it had to be. Otherwise, you wouldn’t hav
e been so quick to marry him. Unless, of course, you were pregnant.”
TESS’S HAND FLEW to her heart as she whirled to face him. She could feel the color drain from her face. “Pregnant? Why would you think that?”
“It happens,” he said with a shrug, but his gaze on her narrowed. “Two people meet, they get involved. Things get out of hand. They get careless.”
“You and I were never careless,” she said quickly.
This time it was he who looked startled. “I’m not talking about us. I’m talking about you and…” He trailed off, as if unable to bring himself to say her husband’s name. “So is that it? Is that why you married him so quickly? You were pregnant with Emily?”
Oh, God, Tess thought. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God! A part of her had always worried this time would come, but not now. She wasn’t ready for it. She didn’t know if she had the strength to make Jared understand, to make him believe that if Emily was found, her life could still be in danger from someone in his own family. That in finding out Emily was his daughter, Tess’s secret would have to become his. It was a lot to ask of anyone. She clasped her hands in her lap and turned back to the window. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“No, I know you don’t. You’ve made it abundantly clear that you don’t want to talk about the past. Period. And you know what? I’ve been asking myself why. What are you hiding, Tess? What are you so afraid of?”
“Nothing!” She put trembling fingertips to her lips, trying to quell her terror. “I just don’t see why it matters anymore. Can’t you let it go?”
“No,” he said grimly, “I can’t. I have a right to know why you left town that summer.”
“For God’s sake, you know why!” she cried angrily.
“Which brings us back to that fateful night. Why, Tess? Why did you do it? Why did you steal my mother’s bracelet?”
“I didn’t!” she blurted, then almost immediately, she realized her mistake. Her breath left her as their gazes locked in the darkness, and she saw confusion flicker in his eyes. Then anger.
Very deliberately, he pulled to the side of the road and parked the car. The night was silent, except for the ticking of the car engine, the faint hum of an air conditioner somewhere nearby. And the beat of Tess’s heart in her ears. The sound was almost deafening.
Jared shifted in his seat to face her. “What did you mean, you didn’t steal the bracelet?” When she didn’t turn, he took her arms and swung her around. “Answer me, damn it!”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said with a desperate edge to her voice.
“Like hell it doesn’t.” His grasp on her arm tightened, and she winced. His grip loosened immediately, but he didn’t release her. “Tell me once and for all. Did you steal my mother’s bracelet that night?”
She closed her eyes. “No.”
“Then for God’s sake, why did you let me think that you had?”
She stared up into his dark eyes, resisting the urge to lift her hand, to caress his cheek, to pull his mouth down to hers and make the horror of the last three weeks go away. But it wouldn’t go away. Nothing would take away the nightmares until Emily came back home. And if she told Jared the truth, there could be more nightmares.
“Why, Tess?” He gave her arm a little shake.
She drew a trembling breath. “Because it was the only way. You wouldn’t have let me go.”
“Let you go?” He stared at her incredulously. “You couldn’t have just told me the simple truth? That you didn’t love me anymore?”
“I couldn’t have told you that and made you believe it,” she said quietly.
His gaze on her deepened. “Why not?”
She did touch him then, briefly, one fingertip whispering across his lips. “Don’t make me say it.”
His eyes closed briefly at her touch, but then he seemed to harden his resolve. He stared down at her angrily. “Say what? That you still loved me when you left? Did you?”
“Yes.”
He slumped back, letting his head fall against the seat. “Then why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you trust me?”
“I was scared. I didn’t want to go to prison. Your father made me a deal and I took it.”
“What did he say to you?” Jared said harshly. “What could he possibly have said to make you confess to a crime you didn’t commit?”
“He…said that he knew the two of us had been seeing each other, and he didn’t approve. He said you had an important future ahead of you, and I would just hold you back. And he was right, Jared. We were never meant to be together. You know that.”
He turned his head on the seat, staring at her in the darkness. “You kept saying that until you made yourself believe it,” he said bitterly.
“Maybe. But there was a lot of truth in his words. Look at all you’ve accomplished. Look at what you’ve become. At the age of thirty, you’re president of the Spencer Hotels Corporation. It’s what you always wanted. Do you honestly believe it would have happened if you’d married me?”
“We’ll never know, will we?”
“I didn’t want you to have to choose,” she said softly.
He gave her a hard glance. “No,” he said. “That’s not true. You didn’t trust me to make the right choice. Isn’t that the real reason you left?”
“That was part of it,” she admitted. “But can you honestly say you would have given it all up for me if it had come down to a choice?”
“In a heartbeat.” His gaze met hers in the darkened car, and Tess felt a shiver go through her at his look, at his words. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she didn’t dare.
He stared out the windshield, his features rigidly set. “My father was always the great manipulator. He always did whatever it took to get what he wanted. He encouraged the competition between Royce and me so that we’d become the kind of men he wanted. He put impossible expectations on us so that we would work even harder for his approval. I went along with it all because I thought it was what I was supposed to do. I made the highest grades, joined the right clubs, did everything the good son was supposed to do, and now I’m sitting here wondering why. What the point of it all was.”
“Jared—”
He turned to face her. “I let you go that night. I knew you weren’t capable of stealing that bracelet. I knew something was wrong, but I let you go because—”
“I gave you no choice.”
“No,” he said. “Because in some ways it was easier to let you go. You wanted our relationship on your terms, Tess. You wanted me to disavow everything I’d been raised to believe in, to want. You were constantly challenging me, doubting me. You never trusted me. You never trusted in us. You were never an easy woman to love, but getting over you was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”
She wiped a tear from her eyes with her fingertip. “But you did get over me. And all this happened in the past. None of it matters anymore.”
“It matters to me.” His gaze on her hardened again. “There’s still the matter of the bracelet. If you didn’t steal it, who did? Who were you protecting that night?”
His accusation shocked her. “What?”
“My father made you a deal. If you left town, stopped seeing me, he’d drop the charges. But if you were innocent, why were you so frightened? It wasn’t like you to give up without a fight. Why were you so anxious to accept his terms? You must have been protecting someone, and the only one I can think of who had access to the house—”
Tess gasped in outrage. “If you think my mother capable of such a crime, then you’re wrong! Dead wrong! She’s the most honest, decent woman I’ve ever known.”
“Then who?”
When Tess didn’t answer, he said roughly, “You may as well tell me, because I’ll find out the truth. One way or another.”
She whirled in her seat, putting her hands on his arms. “Why can’t you just leave it alone?”
“Because I can’t.”
“Please, Jared,” she said desperately. “If
you start asking questions about that night—”
“What?” He put his hands on her arms, too, and they stared at each for a long, tense moment. “You’re trembling.” She tried to shrink away from him, but he wouldn’t let her. “Why are you still so afraid?”
His face was close to hers, so close she could see the spark of anger in his eyes, the stubborn line of his jaw and chin, the rigid curve of his mouth. But she could see beyond the grim set of his features, could remember in shocking detail the desire that had once emanated from those same eyes. The way that same mouth had once felt against hers. The way he’d held her…the things he’d whispered to her in the dead of night, in the heat of passion.
And then suddenly, something changed. The anger seemed to drain out of him, and another emotion flickered in his eyes, one that Tess couldn’t quite define. Not passion. Not love. But a divination. A sudden knowing that seemed to astound him.
His gaze on her sharpened. “Tell me,” he demanded.
“I’ve told you everything I can. Please don’t ask me any more questions.” Tess opened the door and stumbled outside, suddenly unable to breathe.
He knows, she thought desperately. He knows about Emily.
She looked up, and it almost seemed an omen to her that they were parked in front of Fairhaven Academy. The place where Emily had disappeared. Without knowing why, Tess started walking toward the playground. Behind her, she heard Jared get out of the car. He caught up with her and took her arm.
“You can’t run away from me this time, Tess. It’s not going to be that easy.”
You think it was easy six years ago? she wanted to lash out at him, but the resistance had all drained out of her. She couldn’t fight him any longer. She didn’t have the strength.
Tears streaming down her face, she tried to turn away from him, but he held her still, thumbing away the wetness on her face with a touch so gentle Tess felt everything inside her go still.
The Tempted Page 13
