And, he had been reunited with a woman he had loved for so long that he could not remember when he did not love her. She had married another man, yet she had not forgotten him. She loved him when he had done nothing to deserve her love. He had run away and deserted her when she needed him.
Anchoring a finger under her chin, he raised her face. The soft glow from the lamp on a side table highlighted a pair of large dark eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty.
“Marry me, Tricia.”
She blinked once. “Is this what you want to do?”
Jeremy nodded. “Yes. It is something we should’ve done ten years ago.”
Leaning forward, she rested her forehead against his shoulder and inhaled the lingering scent of his cologne. Jeremy had asked her to marry him, yet there was no mention of the word love in his proposal.
She closed her eyes and prayed silently, prayed she would make the right decision. “What is there about me that makes men propose marriage when I’m most vulnerable?”
Jeremy felt her uneasiness. What Tricia did not know was he also was vulnerable, vulnerable to her rejection, vulnerable to the emotional pain only she could inflict.
“Let me take care of you, baby. I promise to protect you from all that is seen and unseen, while providing you with financial security. Gus is the only family you have, but when you marry me, Sheldon will become your father, Ryan your brother, Kelly your sister and Vivienne and Sean your nephew and niece.”
Tricia did not want to think of the time when she would lose her last surviving relative. “Can we do this, Jeremy?”
“Yes, we can.”
Easing back, she stared up at him. The tenderness shimmering in his smoky-gray gaze took her breath away. A sensual smile softened her mouth. “Okay, Jeremy. Let’s do it.”
Jeremy angled his head and brushed his mouth over her parted lips. “Thank you, baby, for giving us a second chance. Let’s go upstairs. I have to give you something.”
Tricia sat on the bed in the master bedroom, holding her breath as Jeremy slipped a ring with a flawless, square-cut emerald set in a band of pavé diamonds on her finger.
“My father gave this ring to my mother as a gift after Blackstone Farms’ first Kentucky Derby winner. Boo-Yaw wasn’t favored to come in among the three favored, but he fooled everyone when he won by a nose.” Boo-Yaw went on to win many more races for Blackstone Farms, and after he no longer raced competitively, he went on to sire several more champions.
Jeremy had given Tricia a small box filled with priceless heirloom pieces that had once belonged to his mother and grandmother. There was an estate diamond ring that would have made a perfect engagement ring, but she had decided on the emerald because it was her birthstone.
Jeremy kissed her cheek. “It’s a perfect fit.”
She extended her hand. “It’s beautiful.”
He nuzzled her ear. “Not as beautiful as you are.”
Not only did she feel beautiful, but she also felt complete for the first time in many, many years. She and Jeremy had so much to make up for. Once he had proposed marriage she thought about what she would have to give up and the answer was: not much. She owned property she could sell and now had a profession she could make the most of at Blackstone Farms Day School. She planned to apply for the position of school nurse. She did not have a boyfriend, lover or close girlfriends in Baltimore, and that meant her departure would be accomplished without a lot of fanfare.
Glancing up, she met Jeremy’s tender gaze. “We’re going to have to select a wedding date.”
He rapped his knuckles on the cast. “I’d like to wait until this is off. Repeating my wedding vows leaning on a pair of crutches doesn’t quite cut it.”
“Then we’ll wait,” Tricia said softly.
Jeremy lay on his back, his gaze fusing with hers. “How about the Labor Day weekend?”
She gave him a sensual smile. “That will give me enough time to plan something that won’t be too elaborate.”
“We can marry here on the farm, especially since that’s a holiday when everyone gets together.” His gaze softened. “There are so many things I want to do with you, but I can’t right now.”
She crawled over his body, laughing softly. “I promise not to take advantage of you.”
He curved his arms around her waist; her breasts spilled over the lacy bodice of her nightgown. “I won’t say a word if you decide to use or abuse me as long as it feels good,” he said teasingly. A swollen silence ensued before Jeremy said, “I’ve decided to leave the DEA.”
Raising her head, Tricia stared down at him. “Are you certain that is what you want to do?”
Jeremy nodded. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. I know if I stay in I’d probably be assigned to a desk position, and that would turn me into a certifiable basket case. My first session with the psychiatrist was a complete disaster. He wanted me to talk about what happened to me and the other members of my team before we were rescued and I refused.”
“What are you going to do?”
A slow smile spread over his face. “Are you concerned that I won’t be able to support you?”
Tricia felt her face burn in embarrassment. “Of course not. It’s…” His fingers stopped her protest.
“I’m going to assume the responsibility of running the farm,” he said in a quiet tone. “Pop has been talking about retiring, and Ryan has been on my case for years about taking my rightful place at Blackstone Farms.” His expression softened. “If I hadn’t broken my ankle none of this would’ve become a reality. I would not have come back to stay more than two or three days, and I probably would not have reconnected with you.”
Tricia lay motionless and registered the steady pumping of her fiancé’s heart under her breasts. His heartbeat was strong while her grandfather’s was weak. “Hold me, Jeremy.”
“I am,” he said against her ear. Tightening his hold on her body, Jeremy knew this coming together was not about sex. It was about easing Tricia’s apprehension about her grandfather’s and their future. It was about offering his love and his protection. The fingertips of his right hand made tiny circles along her spine. “I’ll always be here for you, darling.”
She nodded and placed light kisses along the column of his strong neck, forehead, eyelids, nose, cheekbones, chin and mouth. She paused to remove his clothes, then her rapacious mouth charted a path from his throat to his belly and lower. And she broke her promise not to take advantage of Jeremy as she wrung a passion from him that left him gasping for his next labored breath.
Jeremy threw a muscled arm over his face and groaned in erotic pleasure that was akin to pain. “Please, please, please,” he whispered over and over until it became a litany.
Tricia ignored his pleas and loved him for all of the years they’d been apart, and when he finally released his boiling passion she could not disguise her body’s reaction as she moved up his chest and gloried in his hardness pulsing against her thighs.
They lay, their arms entwined and waited for the heat to fade. Tricia lay down beside Jeremy and within minutes she had fallen asleep. But sleep was not as kind to Jeremy, although he was filled with an amazing sense of completeness.
It would take time for him to believe that everything he had ever wanted for himself was about to be manifested: the girl he had spent years protecting, the young woman with whom he had fallen in love would become his wife in another month.
Tricia sat beside Jeremy on a glider on Sheldon’s porch, her right hand cradled in his larger left one. They had decided to inform Sheldon of their upcoming nuptials before going to the hospital to visit Gus.
Sheldon’s sharp gaze lingered on the emerald and diamond ring on her left hand. A wry smile touched his mouth. “I know Julia would have been pleased to know you are wearing her ring. It was her favorite.”
Tricia stared at her outstretched fingers. “I’m honored to be able to wear it.”
Sheldon appeared lost in thought as he recalled the exa
ct moment he had given Julia the ring. “When’s the big day?”
Tricia stared at Jeremy’s distinctive profile. “We’ve decided on the Labor Day weekend,” he said in a deep, quiet tone.
Sheldon smiled. “Excellent choice.” Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day were Blackstone Farms get-togethers.
“Let me know what you want to serve and I’ll have Cook put together a menu for you,” Sheldon continued.
Tricia nodded, smiling. “I’m going to ask Kelly to help me with the planning.”
Sheldon rose to his feet, leaned over and kissed Tricia’s cheek. “Congratulations and welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, Sheldon.”
He wagged a finger at her. “Now that you’re going to become my daughter, I want you to call me Pop.”
Her smile was dazzling. “Okay. Thank you, Pop.”
Reaching for his crutches, Jeremy pushed to his feet. “We’re going to see Gus and give him the good news.”
“Tell Gus I’ll see him later,” Sheldon said as he watched Tricia curve an arm around Jeremy’s waist as they left the porch and made their way to Tricia’s car.
A rare smile crinkled his eyes as he watched the young couple drive away. He wasn’t certain whether it was Gus’s manipulation or that Jeremy and Tricia had come to their senses and realized they belonged together, but he was ecstatic about their decision.
His smile widened. Jeremy and Tricia weren’t the only ones planning their future. At the end of the year he would officially retire from the day-to-day operation of Blackstone Farms and do a few things he’d put off doing for years.
Tricia found her grandfather in the solarium watching an all-news cable television station. He spied her and Jeremy as soon as they walked in the sun-filled room.
“Hi, Grandpa.”
Gus glared at Tricia and Jeremy. “You got something to tell me?”
Jeremy hobbled over to Gus and sat beside him. “I’ve plenty to tell you, Gus. Tricia and I plan to marry during the Labor Day weekend.” He ignored the older man’s gasp of surprise. “And I’d be honored if you would give me your granddaughter’s hand in marriage.”
Gus’s hand shook noticeably as he reached out and touched Jeremy’s broad one. “Nothing would make me happier.”
Tricia sat on her grandfather’s left and showed him the ring on her finger. Her eyes welled with tears when Gus covered her hand with his, gently squeezing her fingers. Resting her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes.
“Hurry up and get well, Grandpa.”
“I will, grandbaby girl. Nothing, and I do mean nothing will stop me from attending your wedding.”
Tricia and Jeremy sat with Gus until a technician came to take him back to his room for an EKG. They left the hospital, and instead of returning to the farm, Tricia headed toward Richmond. She needed to shop for a wedding dress.
Ten
Tricia walked into the expanded schoolhouse with Kelly Blackstone, awed by the spaciousness of the newly constructed classrooms. She followed her soon-to-be sister-in-law down a highly waxed hallway to the office she would occupy once the school year began.
Four-week-old Vivienne lay quietly in the carrier held in Kelly’s firm grip. The baby seemed fascinated by her toes until she fell asleep during the short drive from her parents’ house to the schoolhouse.
The original building, constructed for preschool children, was connected to three one-story buildings that were set up for grades one to three and four to six, and the fourth would house the principal and nurse’s office, gymnasium, auditorium, library and cafeteria. The schoolhouse also boasted a square with an interior courtyard playground.
Kelly stopped in front of a door bearing a brass nameplate that read: Mrs. Tricia Blackstone, Nurse. Tricia blushed at her own excitement. It would be another two days before she would marry Jeremy and become Mrs. Blackstone, but seeing it on the door made what was to come more of a reality.
She smiled at Kelly. “It looks very nice.”
Kelly returned her smile. “I told the contractor I wanted your door with your nameplate up first.” The doors to all the classrooms and offices lay on dollies in the hallways.
Tricia gave Kelly a quick hug. “Thank you.”
Ryan’s wife had become the sister Tricia never had. Soon after she and Jeremy officially announced their engagement Kelly had thrown all of her energies into helping Tricia with her wedding plans.
Tricia liked Kelly and thought her the perfect partner for Ryan. She was kind, friendly, unpretentious and the complete opposite of the first woman he’d married. Tall and slender with a fashionably cut hair-style, Kelly had an overabundance of energy she had channeled to become a successful wife, mother and educator.
The two women walked in and out of spaces that were to become classrooms and a science lab. “Will everything be finished before the beginning of classes?” Tricia asked.
Kelly led the way back to the parking lot where she’d parked her SUV. Vans and pickup trucks belonging to the workmen filled up many of the spaces. “The contractor reassures Sheldon that his men will be finished a week before the start of classes. All of the furniture has been sitting in a warehouse in Richmond awaiting word when it should be delivered.”
“Have you hired everyone?” Tricia asked after Kelly secured Vivienne in a car seat and sat behind the wheel.
“I still need a librarian.” Her gold-brown gaze met Tricia’s dark one. “Do you know someone who would be interested in the position?”
“I had a friend when I lived in New York who was studying to become a librarian. I’ll have to look through some of my old telephone books to see if I can find her number.”
Kelly turned the key in the ignition. “I’ve placed several ads in some newspapers and contacted placement offices at several colleges.”
“You still have time before the school year begins, so maybe you’ll get someone.”
“I like your optimism, Tricia.” She shifted into reverse and backed out of the lot. “I don’t know about you, but right about now I’d like some ice cream from Shorty’s Diner.”
Tricia glanced at her watch. It was after four. “You want to eat ice cream now?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We don’t have to go into town to eat at Shorty’s. Cook always has ice cream at the dining hall.”
Kelly sucked her teeth. “Cook buys store-bought ice cream. I want homemade.”
It was Tricia’s turn to suck her teeth. “I’ve been counting every calorie and gram that has gone into my mouth so that I won’t look like a stuffed sausage in my wedding dress, and you want me to eat ice cream.” She’d dropped a dress size, going from an eighteen to a sixteen.
Kelly gave her a sidelong glance. “You don’t have to eat it. You can hold Vivienne and watch me instead.” Crossing her arms under her breasts, Tricia mumbled angrily under her breath about skinny women.
“I don’t know whether you’re aware of it or not,” Kelly continued, deliberately ignoring Tricia’s reference to skinny women, “but whenever you walk into a room every man has the potential for whiplash. You are the most beautifully proportioned full-figured woman I’ve ever seen.
“And don’t forget you caused quite a stir last Saturday when you went swimming wearing that red one-piece number. The only guys who didn’t hear it from their wives or significant others were the ones who were wearing sunglasses. One of the grooms was staring so hard I’m certain he popped a few blood vessels.”
Tricia’s dark eyes sparkled as she smiled. “You’re good for a girl’s ego, Kelly.”
“I only speak the truth, girlfriend.”
The swimsuit was the most modest one she owned yet Jeremy had asked whether she really intended to wear it. Her answer had been the affirmative, which left him in a funk for days. His bad mood ended once the cast was removed from his left leg.
A smug smile touched Tricia’s mouth as she thought about Jeremy and her grandfather. Gus’s attitude toward Jeremy s
oftened once he moved into his house. He insisted the younger man call him Grandpa instead of his given name, taught him how to bluff at poker and more about horses than Jeremy had learned in the first eighteen years he’d lived on the horse farm.
Kelly drove to Staunton and parked alongside a restaurant that resembled a 1950s jukebox. Tricia nursed a club soda and watched Kelly eat a vanilla sundae topped with nuts, whipped cream and fresh berries. It was close to six o’clock when they finally got into the sport utility vehicle to return to Blackstone Farms. They were further delayed because Kelly had gone into the restaurant’s bathroom to breastfeed Vivienne once the baby woke up crying to be fed.
Kelly maneuvered into a parking space at the dining hall and turned off the engine, while Tricia got out and gathered Vivienne from her safety seat. She was now able to hold the infant without losing her composure. Vivienne looked as much like her mother as Juliet had Jeremy.
“She probably needs to be changed, and I don’t have any more diapers with me,” Kelly said, as Vivienne woke up fretfully. Tricia handed Kelly her daughter, who returned the baby to the safety seat. “I’m going back to the house. Go on in. I won’t be long.”
Tricia waited for Kelly to drive away before she made her way to the entrance of the dining hall. She opened the door and went completely still as a roar of “Surprise!” greeted her.
Her shocked gaze lingered on Jeremy leaning on a cane, grinning from ear to ear. A large, printed banner reading Congratulations to Tricia and Jeremy! hung from a wall under which a long table overflowed with gaily wrapped gifts. Covering her face with her hands, she squeezed back tears. Now she knew why Kelly delayed coming back to the farm.
Leaning heavily on his cane, Jeremy limped over to Tricia, curved an arm around her waist, lowered his head and covered her mouth with his. Her arms circled his neck and she kissed him back.
Very Private Duty Page 10
