Town Social

by Simmons, Trana Mae

  Jake pulled his hands free and said, "Say that again."

  "All of it?" she asked hopefully.

  "No. Just the part about loving me."

  "I love you, Jake. With all my heart."

  He reached for her, and she joyfully lunged for him. Her foot slipped on the floorboard, and she tumbled into his arms, her impetus flinging him backward. His arms held her tightly as they crashed to the ground, his 'oomph' when she landed on his chest blending with her cry of pain as her forehead cracked against his chin.

  Cupping one hand over the pain on her forehead, she levered herself up, gazing fearfully at his face. "Jake! Are you all right?"

  "I'm just fine," he drawled. "I always fall down in the middle of the road when I'm happy."

  Laughing and abandoning her sore forehead, she laid her hand on his cheek, turning serious. "I'll do everything I can to make sure you stay happy, Jake."

  He turned his head and kissed her fingers, starting to rise. She pushed him firmly back to the ground, then shifted to straddle him. "You're not going anywhere until you ask me to marry you again."

  He stared up at her, the moonlight reflecting the laughter in his whiskey eyes and his chest rumbling between her legs. "You actually want me to ask you to marry me while I'm laying here in the dirt?" he said around a chuckle.

  "Uh huh. I feel safer down here on the ground. There's not so far to fall when you make me drunk just by looking at me."

  "Is that what happens?"

  She nodded. "And it even happens when I just think about you. The worst times, though, are when you saunter away from me, leaving me looking at those darn denims pulled tight across your backside."

  She could have sworn he blushed, but the moonlight washed the color from his face. He pulled her down to kiss her, burying his hand in her hair and claiming her for his own with a kiss that swept everything from her mind except the rightness of the moment. The rightness of the two of them together, and the future waiting for them.

  When the kiss ended, he whispered, "Marry me, Sunny. Be my wife and let me build my dreams with you. Let's build some dreams together."

  "Yes," she whispered. "I love you, Jake."

  ***

  Chapter 22

  Teddy clung to both Jake and Sunny's hands the next afternoon as the coach pulled in at the stage stop. She wore the white dress Cassie had made her, and Cassie and Charlie stood behind the three of them, adding their silent support for the coming confrontation.

  By the time Sunny and Jake had arrived at the house the previous night, Teddy had already explained to Cassie and Charlie about her mother arriving. The other couple's good wishes to the most recent newly-betrothed pair were tempered by their worry over Teddy's future. No one in the household had slept much last night except Teddy, as the adults had discussed their strategy until nearly dawn, although their discussion had been more a list of possibilities than solid plans.

  Now Sunny glanced down at Teddy's face, wishing the next few moments were behind them — then wishing they were still hours away. Teddy gave her a reassuring smile before she turned back to the stage. As the driver opened the coach door, however, her tightening hold on Sunny's hand said her brave pretense was wobbly at best.

  To Sunny's astonishment, Grace Adams' manager, Jud, stepped out of the coach, then reached up to assist the singer down. The two of them walked over to the waiting group as the coach driver shut the door and started unhitching the team. Obviously there were no other passengers, yet Sunny couldn't quite accept what she was seeing.

  "Hello, Teddy," Grace said before glancing at Sunny. "Can we go somewhere private and talk, Miss Fannin?" she asked without a trace of the southern drawl she'd had in her voice on her prior visit.

  Sunny boldly faced the singer, her eyes narrowed in determination when she grasped the fact that Grace Adams had to be the same woman as the Jocelyn Tompkins referred to in the telegram — Teddy's mother. How dare the woman come to town and spy on the situation before she made her true identity known.

  "Easy, Sunny," she heard Jake murmur behind her as he placed his hands on her waist. She had no idea how he could sense her anger without even seeing her face, although she deeply appreciated his concern. However, her ire at Grace — or Jocelyn, or whatever darn name the woman wanted to use — coupled with her protective feeling toward Teddy, overrode her appreciativeness for Jake's consideration.

  "We can go over to the house," Sunny told the singer flatly. "I assume you want to talk about Teddy?"

  "Jud's attorney, Edward Smith, sent a wire," Grace replied. Her gaze faltered, skittering over Teddy and dropping to the ground.

  Sunny nodded, then led the way across the street, keeping Teddy's hand firmly clasped in hers. No one spoke and after they entered the house, Sunny walked into the parlor. She sat on one of the side chairs, pulling Teddy onto her lap, and Jake stepped behind her. He laid his hands on her shoulders while the rest of the group found a place in the room, Cassie waving Grace and her manager to the settee while she and Charlie stood inside the door.

  Grace took a deep breath, her hands twisting in her lap as she spoke to Teddy. "First, I want to tell you that I looked for you for over three years before I finally traced your father, Teddy. I never meant to leave you behind, but when my sister and her husband came to get you the next day after I'd left, Cal, your father, had already gone. I...had to find a job, because my sister's husband was by no means well enough off to also support me, and it took me a while to save up enough to start trying to find you."

  Teddy scooted from Sunny's lap, and Sunny let her go, reaching for Jake's hands on her shoulders.

  "Why didn't you tell me who you were when you first came?" Teddy asked. "And you used a different name."

  Grace dropped her head. "I was afraid of what you would say to me when you found out who I was," she admitted. Jud took her hand, and she swallowed, facing Teddy once more. "I was using my middle name and maiden name for my stage performances, but my legal name is Jocelyn Tompkins. And I thought you would probably be better off here with Miss Fannin, instead of with the life I could offer you. I'm on the move so much, I don't even have a permanent home. Just hotel rooms."

  "But you came back," Teddy said.

  "Yes, yes, I did. I made Jud wire Denver and reschedule my performance there. You see, you were the reason I agreed to even come to Liberty Flats. I wrote you some letters over the years...."

  "We gave them to her last night," Jake said. "I found them unopened after her father died, and we've read them to her."

  "Then you know," Grace said, "that once I found you, I kept track of you, Teddy. Even though I never got an answer back to any of my letters, which I didn't really expect Cal would let you do, I kept track of you. Jud's lawyer told me I wouldn't have a chance of taking you away from Cal, because I didn't have a permanent home to give you. And singing's all I know. It's what allows me to make a living."

  "So why did you come back?" Teddy asked.

  "Because I love you," Grace said. "I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I knew I couldn't live the rest of my life without knowing what was happening in your life." She rose from the settee and knelt before Teddy. "Some day when you have a little girl of your own, maybe you'll understand. Once I actually saw you again, I knew you were better off here with Miss Fannin and that she could give you a more stable life than I could offer. But I had to come back and tell you who I was. I had to at least try to be a part of your life again. And I had to know if you hated me for leaving you, or whether you might be able to understand what happened and forgive me."

  Sunny spoke up, saying, "I'd like to know about that, too. What happened to make you leave your husband."

  "All right," Grace agreed. "But would you mind if I had a hug from Teddy first?"

  Teddy stepped forward, hugging Grace's neck, and even Sunny had to blink back tears when the singer closed her arms around the little girl and buried her face on Teddy's neck. After a long moment, Grace released Teddy and pulled a h
andkerchief from her dress sleeve. Wiping at her eyes, she rose and sat on the settee. Sunny held her breath, allowing it to escape only after Teddy turned and came back to her, and Grace met Sunny's eyes, her look filled with misery but acceptance.

  Grace told her story in concise phrases, glancing once in a while at Sunny, who soon felt her respect for the other woman increase when Grace made it clear she wasn't going to put the total blame for the failure of her marriage on her husband. She allowed Teddy to keep whatever good memories she still had of her father.

  Sunny read between the lines of the tale, realizing Grace had married to escape a life of drudgery as a barmaid for her father's tavern in St. Joseph, Missouri. But she had chosen wrongly — chosen a man who sounded exciting because he had travelled so many different places, eloping with him a few days after they met. She soon realized his wandering ways would bode ill for a secure future, but by then Teddy was on the way. When their travels took them back to St. Joseph, she told her husband the marriage was over, but he refused to face the fact.

  The shadows in Grace's eyes while she informed Teddy that she had been forced to go to her sister for help told Sunny that Grace had probably been beaten when she forced the confrontation on her husband — and maybe at other times. Perhaps fear of her husband had also kept Grace from approaching him when she had finally tracked him down. But the woman graciously glossed over Cal Tompkins' faults and cruelness in deference to whatever ideals her daughter had left about her father.

  Finally Grace fell silent, twisting her handkerchief in her hands. Then she said, "I didn't come back here to take you away from Miss Fannin, Teddy. As I said, the only life I can offer you is no life for a child, and I love you way too much to force you into that. And, to be honest, I've worked very hard for my career. If I gave it up, I'd have even less to offer you. All I want is for you to know who I am and to write to me now and then if you will."

  Sunny clenched her fists, waiting while Teddy studied the woman across the room. At last, Teddy nodded.

  "I don't wanna keep movin' 'round like I had to do with Pa," she said, and Sunny gasped with relief. "I wanna stay with Sunny and Ranger Jake. But I'll write to you, and it'll be nice gettin' letters from you."

  "I understand," Grace said. She glanced around the room. "You've got a family here, and I know you'll be happy."

  "I'll want legal custody," Sunny said firmly.

  Grace nodded. "I just want to be able to see her when I can break away from my engagements. At least a couple times a year."

  "We'll work it out," Sunny agreed. "How long are you staying this time?"

  "The stage to Denver comes back through here on Monday — the day after tomorrow," Grace said hopefully. "But Jud didn't get any rooms for us. We thought we'd check with Miss McAllister."

  "We got room out at the ranch," Charlie spoke up. "Why don't we go on out there and get you settled in."

  "And you can see my pony," Teddy said. "I gotta let him know I'm gonna ride him again, before he thinks he got the better of me."

  "I'll bring Sunny out in a little while," Jake said as the other people in the room prepared to leave.

  "All right, Ranger Jake." Teddy flung her arms around Sunny's neck and hugged her tightly, then skipped from the parlor.

  Grace hung back, turning to Sunny after the room emptied of everyone except her and Jake. "I don't think I can ever tell you how I feel. I know Teddy will be better off with you, and I want her to be happy, but it's killing me to let her go."

  "She'll be fine," Sunny promised. "And you're doing what's best for her — what she wants, too. It would be different if you weren't sure she'd have a good life with me, but you know she will. Jake and I are getting married, and Teddy will be just like our own daughter."

  "You're being very gracious about this."

  "No," Sunny denied honestly. "You're the one being gracious. You could have totally turned Teddy's life upside down, but you're putting her welfare and feelings ahead of yours. It's not your fault you and Teddy were torn apart, and you could have rightfully blamed your husband for what happened. As Teddy gets older, she'll appreciate what you're doing a lot more than she does now, and I can assure you that I'll accommodate you in our lives any way possible."

  Grace nodded and left the parlor. As soon as she was gone, Jake stepped around the chair and pulled Sunny into his arms. "Looks like we've already got us a family going. How soon do you think we could start working on a little sister or brother for Teddy?"

  "Just as soon as we can get married," Sunny said, throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh, Jake, I feel so stupid!"

  "Huh," he muttered. "If marrying me makes you feel like that, you better get used to feeling stupid. Because if you try to leave me again, I'll just chase you down one more time."

  "It's not that," she denied. When she looked into his whiskey eyes, she saw the twinkle intermingled with his concern. "You're trying to cheer me up, aren't you? I could have ruined everything by running away last night. And what sort of influence was I on Teddy? Why, she had more sense than me. She was the one who insisted that we come home."

  "Yet you're the one who made the decision to do just that." Prodding gently, Jake moved her to the settee. With a lithe movement, he slipped around her and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. "You came back — to your life here and to me."

  "I did, didn't I?" Sunny drew back and traced a finger around his lips. "We're very lucky we're not wasting a lot of years like my aunt and Charlie did."

  "Remember what Charlie said — they were young when all that happened. They've finally forgiven themselves and I think you need to do that, also. Teddy's not going to remember the mistake you almost made — she's going to remember that you chose her happiness and to be a good example to her. That you chose to bring her back here and give her a good life."

  "I hope you're right...Jake! What are you doing?"

  Jake unhooked another button on her bodice, then another one, despite her attempt to restrain his fingers. When she grabbed his hand with both of hers and froze his movements, he dropped his head and captured her lips. He kissed her gently at first, then deepened the pressure as he laid her against the settee, shifting to slide free and lie over her.

  He nudged his tongue against her lips and she welcomed it inside her mouth. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her fingers in his hair, then gasped with longing when he abandoned her mouth. An instant later she realized her bodice was completely bare when his mouth found one of her breasts.

  "Jake!" she said around another gasp. "What...?"

  He raised his head and fixed her with his whiskey gaze. "I'm making damned sure you never think of me as a friend again," he growled. "I want you to always remember that I'm a man and I want you as my woman, my wife and lover, not my friend."

  She giggled, but only for a moment. He meant what he said. The next time she lifted her sluggish gaze far enough to see his expression, she hovered only a split-second before she fell drunkenly into his eyes. But this time his arms caught her and she delighted in the sensations.

  "I love you," she murmured. "I'll love you forever."

  Suddenly she heard an ominous creak, and Jake's head flew up. He lunged to his feet, barely managing to grab her into his arms before the settee settled into a lopsided stance when one rear leg gave way. Had she still been lying there, her weight would have tumbled her and the settee backward. She giggled, hurriedly buried her face against Jake's neck to muffle her laughter, and broke into loud mirth when his chest rumbled against her breasts as he joined her.

  "I...." She gasped for control, then said, "I don't know how we're going to explain that to Aunt Cassie!"

  "We'll think of something." Folding his legs under him, he sat down on the floor and cuddled her in his lap. "There. Now where were we?"

  "I think it was your turn to say you loved me."

  He told her, and showed her how much, and by the time the shadows lengthened into darkness, she realized she had definitely under
estimated the danger of being in the darkness with Jake Cameron.

  ***

  Trana Mae Simmons Bio and Contact Info:

  Trana Mae Simmons lives in a historical town in East Texas, with her family and pets. She enjoys researching her romances as much as writing them. When not writing, she loves to travel and explore both off-the-beaten-paths and tourist sites. If ghosts happen to be roaming around where she visits, it delights her immensely. Her web site for her romance writing is http://www.tranamaesimmons.com/. Readers interested in her ghost hunting and writing can visit http://www.iseeghosts.com/.

  For an excerpt from Winter Dreams, another Berkley/Jove Homespun sweet romance, read on after the other contact information. Enjoy!

  Other Contact Info:

  Email: trana@tranamaesimmons.com

  or

  mailto:tmsimmons@iseeghosts.com

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tranam.simmons

  Twitter: @TMSimmonsauthor

  Blog: http://www.iseedeadfolks.blogspot.com/

  ***

  Winter Dreams

  Chapter 1

  Grand Marais, Minnesota

  October, 1909

  Sandy glared across the wide expanse of polished desk at Tom Goodman. The other man leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers beneath his chin. Thoughts racing like a wolf snared in a wilderness trail trap, Sandy damned Goodman for taking advantage of him when he was down on his luck.

  But Goodman didn't know how broke he was, and Sandy had enough pride left to not want his potential employer to realize he had him over a barrel. He also needed to be sure Goodman didn't probe into the reason he'd left Alaska and hightailed it to a town in Minnesota few Alaskans even knew existed. By necessity, he had made the trip in record time, even with stopping to pick up his sister, Cristy.