“Don’t be!” she said with a soft laugh. “This was absolutely perfect. Especially the part where the crab bit your toe.”
“What?”
“Don’t you see? It’s so real. Who could make up a story like that?”
Gavin chuckled. “I see what you mean.”
Rolleen leaned over and opened the picnic basket. “What have you got in here that I could nibble on? I’m starving!”
Gavin gave her a fried chicken leg and helped himself to a couple of deviled eggs, while they stood in the center of the blanket watching for crabs. When they’d demolished the contents of the picnic basket, Gavin put his Docksiders back on and started putting things away. “I think we’d better get started back.”
Rolleen yawned as she tied her tennis shoe. “I’m afraid I won’t be much company during the ride back. I’m pretty worn out.”
“The baby,” they said together. They shared a look that made Gavin feel they had shared a whole lot more. He forced his gaze away and said, “We’d better get going.”
“Thank you, Gavin,” she said. “I had a lovely time.”
“No thanks necessary,” he replied.
Five minutes after they were on the road in his Jeep, she was sound asleep, her head nestled against his shoulder, her hand resting on his thigh. Gavin felt protective and possessive—both appropriate emotions for a prospective groom. Which he was…and he wasn’t.
There had been other enjoyable evenings together in the last few days of their “courtship”—studying together in the library, playing billiards in a yuppie game room, doing laundry, going through each other’s medicine cabinets and kitchens, sitting down with Rolleen’s photo albums and discussing all the intimate details of each other’s friends and family.
Except for Beth. Somehow the subject of Beth just never came up.
Gavin had let himself fall in love with Rolleen. He figured it was silly to fight his feelings for her, at least until the game was played out with her family and with his. Until then, the more in love with her he could pretend to be, the better. But it was beginning to feel more real…and less pretend.
“Gavin? Are you all right?”
Gavin realized he must have been daydreaming for quite some time. “I’m fine, Rolleen. Are you all packed?”
She set down a small suitcase next to the shopping bags full of gifts she was taking home. “I think I have everything.” She rubbed her hands together nervously as she looked around her living room.
He caught her hands between his and said, “Don’t worry so much, sweetheart. Everything will be fine.”
She tried for a smile but couldn’t quite make it. “I’m not even used to having you call me sweetheart.”
Gavin put his arms around her and rocked her back and forth in a comforting hug. He kissed her forehead and her cheeks and her nose and finally planted a quick kiss on her mouth. “Just don’t forget I love you.”
She looked up into his eyes and said, “And I love you.”
Gavin caught his breath as she rose on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the mouth. She teased his lips until he opened for her and her tongue slid into his mouth, giving him a brief taste of her, before she ended the kiss.
“Breathe,” she whispered, the familiar mischievous smile on her face.
Gavin gasped a breath of air, tucked her head under his chin and held her tight against his thudding heart.
Don’t forget she’s playing a role.
“One more thing before we go,” he said, pushing her away. He reached into the sport coat he was wearing with a button-down shirt and jeans and retrieved a small black box. He opened it and held it out to her. “This is for you.”
She gasped and her eyes went wide as she retrieved the one-carat marquise diamond engagement ring from its velvet bed. “It’s exquisite,” she said as she slipped it on.
“I hope it fits all right.”
“It’s perfect. In every way.” She met his gaze and said, “Thank you, Gavin. Are you sure you’ll be able to return it later?”
“It belonged to my mother,” he said.
“Oh.”
She started to pull it off, but he stopped her. “I’d like you to wear it. Susan didn’t— Susan never— It hasn’t been worn since my mother died.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she put her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “It’s beautiful, Gavin,” she said, her voice ragged. “Thank you.”
Gavin pulled her arms away, cleared his throat and said, “We’d better get moving. We don’t want to keep your family waiting.”
CHAPTER 4
“It’s good to be home,” Rolleen said as Gavin drove their rental car under a black wrought-iron archway that spelled out HAWK’S PRIDE.
Hawk’s Pride had originally been a part of her grandfather’s ranch, Hawk’s Way, which had been settled by Whitelaws more than a century before. The grassy plains stretched for miles, and the steep canyon walls were etched with primitive drawings left by those who had roamed the land before the white man had come to settle it. The several-thousand-acre parcel her father owned had been given to him on his twenty-first birthday to do with as he liked.
Zach Whitelaw had built a whitewashed, Spanish-style adobe ranch house in a square around an enormous, moss-laden live oak, creating a lovely central courtyard where Rolleen had spent hours in her youth dreaming up exotic fashions. She loved her home every bit as much for its rich heritage as she did for its majestic beauty.
“The house is lit up like a Christmas tree,” Gavin said. “I guess they waited up for us.”
“I told you they would.” Although Rolleen almost wished they hadn’t. She and Gavin had made the trip to northwest Texas in his private plane, so there hadn’t been any flight connections to tire her out, but worry about what her family would say when they saw Gavin and found out she was pregnant had taken its toll.
She directed Gavin around to the kitchen door, since only strangers used the front entrance. When she and Gavin stepped inside, Rolleen found her family gathered around the central island in the kitchen drinking egg nog and eating Christmas ribbon cookies.
“Rolleen!” sixteen-year-old Frannie shrieked. “You’re home!”
“Welcome home, honey,” her mother said with a smile and a hug.
“Rolleen’s home!” her brother Jake announced to anyone who was listening.
The cacophony of greetings was deafening, and Rolleen did her part to make a joyful noise. Still bundled up against the cold, her nose a frozen berry, she was hugged and kissed and kissed and hugged as she was passed from one family member to another.
“You remember Gavin,” she said to her mother and father, staying close to Gavin with an effort as their coats and scarves were taken away by Avery and Jake and the shopping bags full of gifts were taken to be put under the tree by Colt and her sister Jewel’s fianc;aae, Mac Macready.
Rolleen waited for someone to notice her bulging stomach beneath her waistless dark green velveteen dress, but they were all distracted by Gavin’s presence. “I invited Gavin to spend Christmas with us.” She held out her hand, displaying the ring, and said, “We’re engaged.”
“Wow!” Frannie said, grabbing her hand. “Look at the size of that diamond!”
“You’re drooling, Frannie,” her twenty-year-old brother Avery said, using a forefinger to tip her gaping mouth closed. “Welcome to the family,” he added, shaking Gavin’s hand.
“You play football?” nineteen-year-old Jake asked as he shook Gavin’s hand, a football curved under his opposite arm.
“A little,” Gavin said, surprising Rolleen, who had never thought to ask.
Jewel gave Gavin a hug and said, “What a marvelous surprise! I’m so glad for you both.”
Mac buffeted Gavin on the shoulder, smiled shrewdly and said, “Congratulations.”
“Hi there, Gavin. Nice to see you again,” Colt said, gripping Gavin’s hand and pumping it up and down. “I can hardly believe you’re going to be my
brother-in-law after all,” he said with a wink.
Gavin laughed, squeezed Rolleen’s waist and said, “I just had to find the right Whitelaw woman.”
“What’s that mean?” Frannie asked.
Colt proceeded to tell the whole family his version of one of the many stories Gavin had told Rolleen. How Gavin had been attracted to Jewel when he first met her at the beginning of his summer at Camp LittleHawk and how Mac Macready, who’d been at Hawk’s Pride recovering from a pro football injury, had quickly staked his claim on Jewel, cutting him out.
“Mac just flat outmaneuvered you,” Colt said with a laugh.
Rolleen shot a worried glance at Gavin, who seemed to be taking her family’s jests with good humor. She had never considered how overwhelming a Whitelaw welcome might seem to him, compared with his smaller family gatherings. Her eyes never left his face as her family escorted them like a circus parade from the kitchen to the living room.
“It’s good to see you again, Gavin,” her father said as soon as Rolleen and Gavin were seated side by side on the worn saddle-brown leather couch. “I have to admit I’m curious, though. How did you and Rolleen meet?”
Rolleen exchanged an amused look with Gavin. He checked his watch, reached for his wallet and handed her a five-dollar bill.
“What was that all about?” her mother asked.
“I made a bet with Gavin that Daddy would start asking questions within sixty seconds after he sat down,” Rolleen replied with a grin.
“So how long have you two known each other?” her mother asked.
Rolleen looked at her watch, held out her hand again and Gavin put another five dollars in it.
Her mother laughed. “Anyone else you’d like to have ask a question?” she asked Rolleen.
“Nope. I only bet on sure things.” She wasn’t willing to hazard a guess at what might transpire over the course of the next few days. She had her fingers crossed for luck, because she was going to need it.
Her entire family—except Cherry and her husband Billy, who were at the Stonecreek Ranch putting their three children to bed—arranged themselves around her and Gavin in the living room. Her mother had settled in the pine rocker by the warmth of the crackling fire in the stone fireplace. Her father stood right behind her mother, his hands resting on her shoulders.
Mac Macready sat in a brass-studded, wine-colored leather chair, with Jewel angled crosswise on his lap. Her brothers and sisters had found comfortable spots on the Navajo rug, leaning against each other and the furniture. Despite the fact there was room, no one joined them on the couch.
Someone was crooning, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” on the CD-player, and the house smelled of the pine boughs decorating the mantel. Rolleen took a deep breath and let it out. She was home.
Her gaze lingered on the ten-foot-tall spruce hung with all the homemade Santas and reindeer and angels that all of them had created in six years of elementary school. Festive colored lights winked from behind store-bought ornaments that had been selected, one by each child in the family, every Christmas since Jewel had been adopted seventeen years ago. Rolleen located the glittery star, lace angel and graceful, feathery swan that were among her favorites.
“To answer your question, Mr. and Mrs. Whitelaw—” Gavin began.
“You called me Zach last summer,” her father reminded him.
Gavin cleared his throat. “I wasn’t sure whether…I mean—”
“You’re Rolleen’s fianc;aae and our guest,” her mother said with a welcoming smile. “Make yourself at home. And don’t you dare call me Mrs. Whitelaw.”
Gavin laughed, and Rolleen felt her heart swell with emotion. He was so good to be helping her this way. And she could have kissed her parents for making him so welcome.
“To answer your question,” Gavin said to her father, “Rolleen and I have known each other since August, when I followed up on Jewel’s suggestion that I call and introduce myself to her when I returned to Houston.” Gavin gave Rolleen a look that made her toes curl and added, “It was the most important call I’ve ever made.”
Rolleen heard the silence after Gavin’s pronouncement and felt the blood creeping up her throat. Gavin didn’t have to lay it on quite so thick, did he? She glanced up at him and completely lost her train of thought. He was looking at her like a man besotted, like he wanted to hold her forever, like he loved her with all his heart. When Zach cleared his throat, it broke the spell and Rolleen turned to her father, aware of the twin spots of heat on her cheeks that declared her guilty conscience…and her involuntary physical response to Gavin’s intense, loving gaze.
“We…uh…we kind of hit it off,” she said lamely.
“I guess so!” Avery said with a snicker.
“Avery,” her mother reproved.
“When are you two getting married?” Frannie asked.
“He just got here, Frannie,” Rabbit said, nudging her in the ribs. “Give him a chance to breathe.”
Frannie glared at Rabbit, then turned to Rolleen and said, “Well, when?”
Rolleen watched in awe—along with her family—as Gavin lifted her palm to his lips and kissed it.
“We haven’t set a date yet,” he said, smiling into Rolleen’s eyes.
Rolleen dared a glance around the room and saw that as far as her family was concerned, the deed was as good as done. She wondered if Gavin knew what he’d let himself in for. Now that he was nearly one of the family, he could expect to be treated like one of the family, which meant no question was too personal, no inquiry off-limits.
Without warning, Rolleen’s stomach churned, and she tasted acid at the back of her throat. Oh, no. She couldn’t be sick now! Morning sickness was supposed to come in the morning. She wanted time to let her parents see her and Gavin together before they discovered she was pregnant. She wanted time— But there wasn’t time.
Rolleen shot a desperate look at Gavin, who had been through enough moments like this over the past ten days to recognize the problem. She needed a bathroom in a hurry. But how could they manage it and still keep her secret?
To her surprise, Gavin didn’t even try. He rose, bringing Rolleen to her feet at the same time, and said, “You’ll have to excuse Rolleen. She needs a bathroom. Now.”
Her family stared at her bemused for perhaps two seconds before Jewel grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the bathroom down the hall. Rolleen stared helplessly over her shoulder at Gavin, who was left standing in the middle of her gape-mouthed family.
Rolleen didn’t have much time to worry about Gavin’s upcoming interrogation before she was leaning over the toilet bowl with Jewel’s gentle hand on her shoulder. Jewel handed her a damp cloth to wipe her mouth, flushed and put the seat down so Rolleen could sit on it.
Jewel settled on the edge of the tub, her knee nearly touching Rolleen’s, and said, “When’s the baby due?”
“You haven’t even asked if I’m pregnant!” Rolleen said.
“Is it food poisoning? Stomach flu? Indigestion?” Jewel shot back.
“No.”
“When?” Jewel repeated.
“The end of May.”
Jewel’s lips curled in amusement. “It must have been love at first sight. You just met Gavin in August.”
“We…we…”
“I can see he loves you,” Jewel said. “Do you love him?”
“I…uh…”
Jewel put a hand on Rolleen’s knee. “You do love him, don’t you?”
Rolleen looked into Jewel’s ordinary brown eyes and saw a wealth of compassion and caring. Tears sprang to Rolleen’s eyes, and she tried to blink them away.
“Oh, Rolleen,” Jewel said, going to her knees on the bath mat and taking Rolleen’s hands in her own. “I feel like this is all my fault, since I was the one—”
“I do love him,” Rolleen sobbed. “He’s the most wonderful man in the world!”
“Then what’s wrong?” Jewel asked, perplexed.
“I… He… We…”
Rolleen was on the verge of blurting the truth, when she caught herself. Their charade had a purpose, which was preserving Christmas for her family. If she told Jewel the truth, she knew that before the holiday was over she’d end up telling everyone. As bad as lying made her feel, she was certain telling the truth would be infinitely worse.
What had made her cry was the realization that she was beginning to have dangerously loverlike feelings for Gavin Talbot. He was a wonderful man, and he’d played the role of doting husband-to-be to perfection. What frightened her was the strength of her feelings for him on such short acquaintance. She refused to become a victim of the same sort of infatuation she’d had for her professor. She was desperately fighting the feelings she had for Gavin that felt like love and miserable because of it.
She swallowed back the acid in her throat and said, “Gavin wanted to marry me right away, but I thought it would be better to wait and make sure we’re right for each other first. I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do.”
“You always did think too much,” Jewel chided. “What about the baby?” she asked. “Is Gavin happy about the baby?”
Rolleen realized she and Gavin had never discussed the baby. She’d avoided the subject, knowing it wasn’t going to be Gavin’s concern. But she needed an answer for her sister. “Gavin seems fascinated by the whole process,” she extemporized, remembering how he had marveled at the firm roundness of her body where the baby was growing inside her.
“That’s a good sign,” Jewel said. “So tell me. When did you know you were in love?”
Rolleen smiled, relieved that she had a story to tell that would ring true. “We were at the beach,” she began, “having a picnic.”
“How romantic! I don’t think I should be the only one to hear this,” Jewel said. “Otherwise, you’re just going to have to tell it again for everybody else. Do you feel well enough to rejoin the family?”
Rolleen nodded, and the two of them left the bathroom. Even from down the hall, she could hear Gavin discussing her pregnancy. She hurried toward the living room, wondering what he’d been asked and what, exactly, he’d told her family.
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