A Hawk's Way Christmas

by Joan Johnston

  * * *

  The moment Rolleen was gone from the room, Gavin had taken one look at her family’s faces and known he was in trouble. “Rolleen’s pregnant,” he announced baldly. “She’s still having a little morning sickness.” He settled back onto the couch, crossed his ankle over his knee and pretended to be comfortable while he waited for the inquisition to begin.

  “Why aren’t you married?” Zach asked.

  Gavin wasn’t fooled by the calm voice. Zach’s body was one giant knot of tension, and a muscle jerked in his cheek where he had his teeth clenched. His eyes bored into Gavin’s, demanding an answer…the right answer.

  Gavin and Rolleen had discussed in some depth exactly what to say to relieve her parents’ concern. He gave the prepared response. “Rolleen decided she’d like a little more time to make sure we’re right for each other before we marry.”

  “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” Zach said in a hard voice. “With a baby on the way?”

  Gavin’s foot came down, and he sat forward, his arms braced on his knees, his body taut in a visceral response to the threat Zach posed. “I wouldn’t force any woman into a marriage she didn’t want.”

  “You should have thought of that before—”

  Rebecca put a hand on Zach’s arm to cut him off. “We can see you love her,” she said.

  Gavin opened his mouth to confirm it and couldn’t get the words out. He hated lying to these people. He looked around and saw frowns and confusion where a few moments before there had been smiles and realized that the lies were a temporary, necessary solution to a very difficult situation. “I assure you—all of you—that I have every intention of making sure Rolleen’s taken care of in the future.”

  That was no lie. He liked Rolleen well enough to keep an eye out for her when this was all over. There were a few advantages to being filthy rich. He’d make certain Rolleen had whatever she needed to keep her and the baby comfortable until she was earning enough designing fashions to manage on her own.

  Gavin heard an audible sigh of relief in the room, and the expressions of concern eased into curiosity.

  “What about medical school?” Colt asked. “Is Rolleen going to be able to finish?”

  “You’ll have to ask Rolleen about that,” Gavin hedged.

  “I’m planning to quit,” Rolleen announced as she stepped from the hall into the living room. “So I’ll have more time for the baby.”

  Gavin rose and reached out a hand to Rolleen, who took it and let him reseat her on the couch beside him. He put a protective arm around her shoulder, knowing what was probably coming. This was the point at which Rolleen expected the most resistance from her parents.

  He had argued she ought to tell them the truth—that she planned to replace medical school with designing fashions. She had pointed out that her parents would be more suspicious of her starting a brand-new career with a brand-new baby, than with the notion of her quitting medical school and being supported by her husband.

  From the corner of his eye Gavin saw she was right. The look her parents exchanged was pure anxiety.

  “If it’s a matter of money—” Zach began.

  “It isn’t,” Rolleen interrupted. “It’s a choice I’ve made freely.”

  Gavin watched Zach’s lips flatten, saw Rebecca’s mouth purse. He could see what they were thinking. How freely could the decision be made when Rolleen so obviously hadn’t planned to become pregnant? Which made him the villain. The accusation Why weren’t you more careful? was plain on her father’s face. And her mother’s eyes clearly revealed her regret that things hadn’t turned out more perfectly for her daughter.

  Rolleen miscalculated, Gavin thought. It wasn’t enough to have the father of her child on hand. Her parents weren’t going to be happy until the two of them were tied up good and proper. Gavin shoved a restless hand through his hair. He’d gone as far as he was willing. Her family would have to make the best of the situation, and if it spoiled Christmas for them…

  He felt Rolleen’s hand on his thigh and looked at her in surprise at the intimate touch. Her gaze was focused on her father as she said in a quiet, intense voice, “I love him, Daddy.” She turned to her mother and said, “Please, Mom, I love him.”

  Gavin turned to see whether her declaration had made a difference, and realized he had underestimated Rolleen’s understanding of her parents. He watched the tension ease out of her father’s shoulders and saw the loving smile appear on her mother’s face. Those few words had turned the tide.

  “Welcome to the family, Gavin,” Zach said.

  Gavin was amazed and relieved at how quickly their charade had been accepted.

  “Now, Rolleen,” Jewel said, “tell us when and how you fell in love with Gavin.”

  Gavin couldn’t believe how personal the question was, or that Jewel expected Rolleen to relate something so private in front of her entire family. But they all waited with bated breath, their bodies angled forward expectantly, their eyes focused on Rolleen.

  He felt Rolleen’s hand caress his thigh and realized his body was reacting involuntarily to her touch. He flushed and grabbed her hand, holding it in his. She looked up at him, then smiled mischievously when she realized the problem.

  “Why don’t you tell them when you first fell in love with me, Gavin?” she teased.

  Gavin was flustered. He knew the story on the beach belonged to her. That was the moment she had fallen in love with him. But they’d never come up with a moment when he’d first known he was in love with her. Gavin felt the tension mount as her family waited for him to speak.

  When did I fall in love with her? When did I know she was someone special? When could I have given her my heart?

  He looked into Rolleen’s soft gray eyes and feelings he had kept hidden deep inside came pouring out. “From the first moment I laid eyes on Rolleen—late one night at the hospital—I wanted to hold her in my arms. And when we kissed for the first time, I knew my life would never be the same.” Saying the words, Gavin felt drawn to Rolleen, connected to her, and he obeyed the urge to lean down and touch her lips with his.

  He had forgotten entirely about her family, about where they were, about pretense. His mouth molded itself to hers, and he tasted her sweetness, her gentleness.

  “Hey, you two. Break it up!” Jewel said with a laugh. “I want to hear how Rolleen fell in love with you!”

  Gavin looked up to find Rolleen’s family smiling—grinning was more like it—at the two of them. Well, he’d done his part. They were convinced the romance was real. He leaned back on the couch, keeping Rolleen close with his arm around her shoulder and said, “Your turn, sweetheart.”

  He saw the panicked look in her eyes and whispered to her, “You can do it. I’m here if you need me.”

  “No secrets!” Rabbit said. “We want to hear everything!”

  “I was just advising your sister to edit the story for innocent ears,” Gavin said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Rabbit said, blushing to the roots of his hair.

  “Tell us everything!” Frannie urged.

  “The truth is, I fell in love with Gavin at the beach,” Rolleen began.

  Gavin listened to her story with as much rapt attention as her family. For the first time, he was hearing what she’d been feeling that night, or rather, the story she’d made up about what she’d been feeling that night.

  She turned and looked deep into his eyes. “It’s hard to describe the mood I was in exactly.” She broke away and said, “But imagine the moon and a million stars overhead—one star a little brighter than all the others—and the smell of the sea and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and…” She focused her gaze on him again. “And a pair of beautiful, dark brown eyes staring down at me with such love… How could I not love him back?”

  “What happened then?” Frannie asked.

  Jake elbowed her and said, “Can’t you guess?”

  “Did he kiss you?” Frannie guessed.

&n
bsp; Rolleen turned to them, smiled and said, “Yes. And then—”

  “Rolleen—” her mother warned.

  “A crab bit Gavin’s toe!”

  The whole family broke into raucous laughter. Gavin pulled Rolleen close and gave her a quick kiss on the nose to reward her for getting through the story and ending it on just the right note. At that moment she yawned hugely and they both said “The baby!” and everyone laughed again.

  “You need your rest,” her mother said, coming forward to grab Rolleen’s hand and pull her onto her feet. “Let’s get you settled. We can all talk more in the morning.”

  While Gavin watched, Rolleen left the room with her mother, followed by Jewel and Frannie close on their heels.

  Mac stretched and said, “Guess I’ll be heading over to the counselor’s cottage. I expect Jewel will be here a while yet. Tell her I’ll wait up for her, will you, Zach?”

  “Sure,” Zach said. “Now, Gavin, where shall we put you?”

  “I’d be glad to stay in the counselor’s cottage where I spent the summer,” Gavin said.

  Zach shook his head. “We’re remodeling, so the heat’s off. I wouldn’t feel comfortable having Rolleen stay out there.”

  Gavin worked hard not keep his mouth from gaping. Zach planned for him and Rolleen to spend the night together? When they weren’t married? Rolleen had assured him her parents would separate them. He couldn’t very well ask to be put in a different room from “the woman he loved” without arousing suspicion. But this was going to cause some problems he and Rolleen hadn’t discussed.

  Rebecca reappeared in the living room with Frannie and Jewel and said, “Jewel’s volunteered to let Frannie stay in the second bedroom at the cottage, so Gavin and Rolleen can share Rolleen’s old bedroom.”

  “Good. That’s settled,” Zach said. “We’d all better hit the sack. We have a lot of things planned for tomorrow.”

  Zach slapped Gavin on the back as he passed by, and Avery, Jake, Rabbit and Colt each said good night and headed down the two halls to their rooms. Jewel gave Gavin a quick hug before she ushered Frannie toward the kitchen door.

  “Rolleen’s room is on the back side of the square,” Rebecca said. “Go down the hall, make a right hand turn, then make another right hand turn.”

  “I’ll come by later and make sure you have everything you need and say good night to Rolleen,” Zach said.

  “Fine,” Gavin said. But he avoided looking into Zach’s eyes as he headed for Rolleen’s bedroom.

  CHAPTER 5

  Rolleen’s first inkling that her parents planned to put Gavin in her bedroom occurred when Colt knocked at her door and set Gavin’s suitcase next to hers.

  “Mom said I should bring this in here.”

  “What?”

  Colt hesitated. “Would you rather Gavin stayed somewhere else? I can tell Mom—”

  “No,” she interrupted, recovering her composure. “Of course I want him to stay with me,” she fibbed. “I just never expected Mom and Dad—”

  “To put you two in the same room when you aren’t married yet,” Colt finished for her.

  She nodded.

  “They already went through this once with Jewel and Mac,” Colt explained, setting down the suitcase. “Dad told me the important thing was they loved each other, and they were committed to each other. I guess he figures that’s true of you and Gavin, too. Especially with a baby on the way.”

  “Of course,” Rolleen whispered, because that was all the sound she could get past the knot of guilt in her throat. “Thanks, Colt. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Colt looked like he wanted to say more, but Rolleen already had her hand on the door to close it behind him. She hurried to get her clothes changed before Gavin showed up. She had taken her dress off but hadn’t yet found her pajamas in her suitcase when she heard a soft knock at the door.

  “It’s me,” Gavin said. “Let me in.”

  “Just a minute.” She threw things out of her suitcase, hunting desperately for the black silk Chinese pajama set she had brought.

  “I’m coming in, Rolleen. Otherwise somebody’s going to catch me lurking in the hall and start asking questions.”

  “Gavin, don’t—” She found the pajamas at the same instant she heard him open and shut the door. She whirled to face him in her plain white underwear and bra, holding the wadded up silk pajamas in front of her. “I’m sorry about this,” she said. “I had no idea they’d put us together.”

  She felt flustered standing before Gavin in the bedroom she’d shared with Jewel growing up. Especially with him staring at her as though he’d never seen a half-dressed woman. “Would you mind turning around so I can finish getting changed?”

  He cleared his throat, said “Sure” and turned his back. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” he volunteered.

  “There’s plenty of room for both of us on the bed.”

  She watched him turn to eye the brass-railed double bed over his shoulder and realized he’d also caught a glimpse of her bra coming off.

  He quickly turned away, cleared his throat again and said, “I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to sleep in the same bed.”

  “We’re both grown-ups,” Rolleen said, feeling more comfortable in the concealing black silk pajamas, which covered her from throat to ankle. She stuffed her bra and panties into her suitcase and slid it to the floor. “You can turn around now.”

  He turned slowly, his eyes lowered.

  Rolleen had never felt more like a grown-up than she did as Gavin’s gaze moved from her bare toes up her legs to her silk pajama shirt, which was slit up the front so that flesh showed at her midriff. She felt her nipples peak even before his gaze got to her breasts and quickly crossed her arms to hide her unexpected—and unwanted—reaction. His gaze caught at the Chinese-style frog closure at her throat, and she was breathing like she’d done a hundred sit-ups by the time his eyes finally met hers.

  “That’s some outfit,” he said. “Did you design it?”

  She nodded jerkily.

  He took a step toward her, and she resisted the impulse to retreat.

  He paused and said, “I just want to feel the material, if that’s all right.”

  “Oh. Go ahead.”

  He took two more steps and reached out to caress the soft fabric at her waist. “I’d like to be these pajamas right now,” he murmured.

  Rolleen was entranced by the ardent look in his eyes, by the raspy sound of his voice. He began gathering the silk fabric in his hand, exposing more of her midriff and at the same time pulling her closer, erasing the distance between them. “Gavin…”

  She could have stopped him at any time. He hadn’t laid a hand on her—only the silk. She let him draw her near enough that she could see he had ridiculously long eyelashes for a man, close enough that his intent, dark brown eyes made her think of hot, melted chocolate. “Gavin, we shouldn’t—”

  His lips touched hers, and she felt her knees buckle. She made a helpless sound in her throat and felt his arm slide around her waist to pull her tight against him and hold her upright. He explored her lips with his, tasting, touching, testing.

  Soft. So very soft. And gentle. And teasing, she thought.

  He made her want. He made her yearn. He made her regret.

  Rolleen turned her face away and pressed her cheek hard against Gavin’s chest, hoping he wouldn’t notice how much she was trembling. “There’s no one here to see us now,” she reminded him.

  “Your father said he’d be by to say good night,” he said in a husky voice. “I thought you ought to look kissed.”

  “Oh.”

  She instinctively jerked her head away when the knock came on the door, but Gavin’s hand around her waist kept her close to him.

  “Come in,” he said.

  Rolleen expected to feel embarrassed when her father found her in Gavin’s arms. But the look of relief on her father’s face when he realized Gavin was making love to her made her grateful to him
for being so perceptive. “Did you want something, Daddy?” she asked.

  “Only to make sure you both have everything you need.”

  She felt Gavin’s eyes on her and his grating reply, “I’ve got everything I could ever want or need right here in my arms.”

  Her father looked pleased, and she was sorry this was only an act. She made herself smile and say, “Good night, Daddy.”

  “Good night, honey. See you both at breakfast,” he said as he pulled the door closed behind him.

  Rolleen hid her face against Gavin’s chest, feeling the awful weight of her deception.

  “I know that was tough,” he said. “But think of the alternative.”

  “Thank you, Gavin,” she said, enjoying the way his hand smoothed over her hair.

  “For what?”

  “For doing this for me. For pretending—”

  He kissed her again, cutting her off. The kiss didn’t feel like pretend. It felt unbearably, unbelievably, oh, so achingly real.

  He released her abruptly and took a step back. “Get in bed,” he said.

  She tried a step backward but grabbed at his arms and gave a shaky laugh. “My knees are so rubbery I can’t walk.”

  He swept her up into his arms, took the couple of steps to the bed and dropped her the last foot onto it. The bed bounced, making the springs squeak.

  “Shh! Colt and Jake are on the other side of that wall!”

  Gavin sat on the edge of the bed and bounced up and down.

  “Don’t do that!” she whispered. “My brothers will hear and think we’re…we’re…”

  “Doing it?” he whispered back with a teasing grin.

  “Yes!” she hissed, mortified.

  He stopped but the grin remained in place. Until his eyes slid down her body to where her rounded stomach was so obviously apparent beneath the clinging silk.

  Rolleen watched the grin fade. Watched Gavin rise and take a step or two back from her.

  “I’ll change when the light’s off,” he said, “and sleep on the floor.”