She fell asleep thinking about Jake.
Nine
Jake came through the long cave and paused at the opening to his own private paradise. He was tired, but it was a good tired. He’d pushed himself for the past week, hiking for miles, checking out new trails, sleeping out each night. When he finally stopped for the night, he was so tired that he fell into an exhausted sleep.
Somewhere along the way he’d made a certain peace with himself. He’d reminded himself that he’d gotten over the loss of his mother eventually. He still missed having her in his life, but there was no longer the gaping loss he’d felt those first years after her death.
So he knew it was just a matter of time until he got over Rebecca. He had plenty of time. He never had a reason to see her again. She had her own life, more money than she could possibly spend in three lifetimes. She would probably marry one of these days, somewhere in the future.
There. He’d said it. He would just get used to the idea that she would find her own happiness with someone else.
He started down the narrow, sloping path to the floor of the meadow. The hot Texas sun had him dripping with perspiration. Maybe he’d take a dip in the creek. There was a place just before it disappeared beneath the mountain that had been hollowed out where the water was deep enough to swim.
He took a quick glance around the meadow. Everything looked the same as it did a week ago. At least there was enough water to keep everything looking green. He would be glad to—
Jake paused, staring at the place where he swam. Someone was there, sunning on one of the rocks. He took off in a loping run. Who the hell had managed to find his valley? In all the years he’d lived there nobody had ever been there before. Nobody but—
Rebecca?
She sat up, pushing her hair away from her face before she inched down to the water. She hadn’t seen him approaching, but he was now close enough to recognize her and to see that she hadn’t bothered to wear anything for her summer dip in his creek.
He watched her slip into the water, then dive below for a few feet before reappearing at the surface. Only then did she spot him as he neared the creek.
“Jake? Goodness, I hope that’s you! You look just like an Indian dressed like that.” She swam toward him and rose out of the water to meet him for all the world as though she were fully clothed. “You’re certainly dark enough,” she added, continuing to stare at him uncertainly.
“You better damned well be glad it’s me, woman,” he growled, jerking off his moccasins by hopping on first one foot, then the other. “You seemed to have misplaced your swimsuit.”
Somewhere during his response, she let out a whoop of total and pleased recognition and launched herself at him. If he hadn’t braced himself they would have both fallen.
“Oh, I’m so glad to see you!” she said, wrapping herself around his neck. “You look gorgeous with that deep tan! Absolutely gorgeous. Have you ever thought about doing any modeling?”
He didn’t touch her. He couldn’t touch her. If he laid a finger on her, all the hard work he’d done for the past two months would be wasted. Like an alcoholic who knew better than to take one sip, he knew better than to touch her.
“What are you doing here, Rebecca?” he asked through clenched teeth, his arms at his sides.
One thing he had to say for her, she was always quick to understand a situation.
She stepped back from him, staring into his face. “I came to see you,” she replied. “I was hoping you’d be glad to see me.”
He gave a quick flick of a glance at her nude body. “Well, you’re certainly giving me ample opportunity to see as much as possible.”
Only then did she seem to become aware that she wasn’t dressed. She spun away and scooped up a large towel, quickly wrapping it around her.
“What’s wrong? Are you angry with me?”
He waded into the water without looking at her. “How did you get here?”
She stood beside the creek and watched him as he submerged himself, then came up and shook the water out of his face, skimming his hands over his hair.
“Mel drove me up to where your truck’s parked. I hiked in the rest of the way.”
“That was a stupid thing to do. You could have gotten lost so badly that nobody would have ever been able to find you.”
She sat down on the rock and watched him as he allowed the water to cool him off. “I have a good sense of direction and I had been here before, remember.”
“An obvious mistake on my part,” he muttered.
He could see the hurt in her face, and he didn’t want to cause her pain, damn it. He just wanted her to stay out of his life. Now he was going to have to start all over getting used to not hearing the sound of her voice, not smelling the scent that was distinctively hers—of flowers and sunshine and clean, healthy woman.
“I thought we were friends, Jake,” she finally said quietly. “I took some vacation time and thought it would be nice to spend it with you here in the mountains.”
“You should have checked with me first.”
“How could I? Mel and Betty said you hadn’t been down there since you first got home. I’d called them earlier. Unless you have some carrier pigeon form of communication I didn’t know how to check with you.” She looked away from him, toward the cabin. “As it turned out, you weren’t here, anyway. I got here three days ago. Since I told Mel that I’d get you to drive me back down the mountain, I didn’t have any choice but to wait until you showed up.”
He came out of the water, picked up his backpack and said, “C’mon. It’s too hot to stay out here in the sun.”
She didn’t say anything, just followed him across the meadow to the cabin. Once inside he saw that she had made herself at home. She’d baked some biscuits and there was a stack of canned goods on the counter that she must have brought with her.
“I’m sorry, Jake,” she said, standing in the doorway. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just thought—” She gave a tiny wave of her hand. “I don’t know, that we could just—”
“We could pick up where we left off, is that it? That we could just hop into the sack for old-time’s sake? Is that what you thought?”
She walked over to a knapsack he hadn’t noticed earlier and pulled out a pair of shorts and a colored T-shirt. She slipped them on beneath the towel, then used the towel to dry her hair. “Would that be so wrong?” she asked.
That’s when he knew he was lost. How could he possibly fight this woman when the mere sight of her was like water to a man lost in the desert. “Oh, ‘Becca,” was all he could force out of his throat. In two strides he was by her side, hauling her into his arms. “Oh, God, ‘Becca.”
He buried his face in her hair and clung to her, inhaling her sweetness, hating himself for being so weak, hating himself for needing her so damn much.
“‘Becca.”
It was only when she lifted her head and looked at him, then tenderly touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers, that he realized his blurred vision was because of the tears in his eyes.
She looked at him in bewilderment. “I thought you didn’t want me here,” she said slowly.
He just shook his head. He couldn’t speak. If he tried to tell her, he would break down completely.
“What’s wrong, Jake? Please tell me.”
And the words came tumbling out of him from somewhere deep within his soul. “I love you, ‘Becca. God have mercy. I love you.”
“Oh, Jake,” she whispered, her eyes filling as well, while her face glowed. “I didn’t know. You never said. Never. I’ve tried so hard not to love you—”
“Me, too,” he managed to say.
“But I can’t help it.” She buried her head in his chest.
“Me, either.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her to him, never wanting to let her go.
He lost track of time as they stood there in the middle of the cabin, clinging to each other. Her words slowly came back to him. She loved him. Reb
ecca loved him. She had come to Texas to see him, to be with him. Because she loved him.
A warmth seemed to fill his chest, as though something had suddenly begun to grow, like a bud blossoming into full flower. She was here now.
And she was his.
It was only a few steps to the bed, and neither one of them were wearing much. With a few efficient moves, even the few scraps were gone and they were loving each other, almost frantic in their need to touch, to kiss, to possess. He was buried deep inside her and she had her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him before they paused for more than a panting breath.
He looked down at her and said, “I don’t think I can go on without you in my life.”
The smile she gave him was so sweet it made his heart ache with tenderness. “You don’t have to, love. You never did.”
There were no more words. He tried to show her how he felt with every touch and every move. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him, either, and her kisses and caresses sent him over the edge. He let out a cry and surged deeply in one final thrust, clutching her in his arms.
They lay there for a long time without speaking. Jake didn’t know what to say. He was at a loss. Everything he ever thought he knew about himself had just disintegrated and drifted away.
“You have an interesting way of greeting visitors to your home, Jake. Confusing, but interesting.”
“Do you have any recommendations for improvement?”
She ran her hand along his bare flank and sighed. “Oh, I don’t think so, although there are certain elements I wouldn’t wish to see repeated with anyone but me.”
“I might point out the same thing. What if that hadn’t been me who came upon you swimming in the nude, hmm?”
“You’d already told me nobody else knew how to find the place. Although, I must admit when I first spotted you I thought Geronimo had come back to haunt his old stomping grounds!”
He ran his fingers through her damp hair. “That’s never bothered you, has it?”
“What?”
“My mixed blood.”
“Why should it? I’ve got all kinds of mixed blood in me...French, Irish, Welsh, English.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Jake, there’s no such thing as a pure blooded anything, don’t you know that? Even among native tribes, there’s intermingling of bloodlines. And what difference does it make, anyway? Each of us is the very person we’re supposed to be, a perfect blend of all our ancestors’ hopes and dreams of the future.” She stretched her arms up in the air for a moment before returning them to his back where she trailed her hands along his spine. “Why should we want to be anything other than that?”
He sighed and rolled over onto his back, holding her so that she sprawled across him. “When did you get to be so wise?”
She raised her head. “I’m not sure of the exact moment. What time is it?”
He laughed. So did she.
“So what do we do now?” he finally asked.
“Eat?” she asked hopefully.
He sat up, still holding her. “Good idea, but that wasn’t quite what I was talking about.”
She tilted her head. “You mean you want to get into some heavy discussion about the future?”
“Not particularly, but I think it’s called for, about now. Let’s face it. Our life-styles couldn’t be more different. Somehow we’re going to have to figure out a way to live together where we’ll both be content.”
“That won’t be difficult. I’ll be content wherever you are. And our son will be content wherever we are. So it’s merely a matter of your deciding what you want and where you—”
He’d stiffened at the unexpected word. “Our son?”
She slipped off his lap and gathered up her clothes, hastily pulling them on. “Mmm, yes. Well, I didn’t quite mean to spring him on you in exactly that manner—”
Jake grabbed her by the arm. “Our son?” he repeated. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re pregnant?”
“Like I said, until you establish a reliable pigeon service into the valley—”
“Damn it, ‘Becca. I’m not joking!”
She paused and looked at him calmly. “Neither am I. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. Yes, I did need a vacation, and yes, I do enjoy visiting the mountains, but I also thought you needed to know that you’re going to become a father.”
He spun away from her and strode to the front door that they’d left open. “I never gave it a thought! Not once! Well, except for a fleeting moment in the hot tub. How could I have been so stupid? So careless? So—”
“Loving?” She touched his arm softly. “I didn’t do anything, either, and I could have. To be very honest with you, I was hoping I would become pregnant. I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
He leaned against the doorframe and stared down at her. “Glad?” he repeated weakly.
“Absolutely. I can’t think of better daddy material than you, and I’m going to be a whale of a mommy.” She grinned. “Literally, in a few short months.”
“When? When is it due?”
“He. It’s a he. He’s due right after the first of the year. There’s a chance he’ll be born on the first. Wouldn’t that be something? A brand new baby for a brand new year?”
She looked so damned pleased with herself, as though she’d personally pulled off a miracle.
A miracle was right.
“I don’t know the first thing about being a father.”
“Well, you’ve done just fine so far.”
“We can’t stay here, that’s for sure. I’ll move to Seattle. I’ll—”
“Whoa, hoss. We don’t have to make all those decisions today. Food is definitely at the top of my list of priorities. Then maybe a nap. You wouldn’t believe how sleepy I get these days. My secretary knows to check on me by two each afternoon to make certain I’m awake. I tend to doze after lunch, nap after dinner, but then I perk back up and—”
“Do people know your pregnant?”
“Not yet, but it isn’t something you can hide for long.”
“Once we’re married, we’ll tell them we got married before I left. There’s no reason to have them gossiping and counting fingers.”
“I never concern myself with gossip, and there’s no reason for us to get married.”
He placed his hand over her abdomen. “Yes, there is.”
“Not unless you want to. I didn’t come here to suggest a shotgun wedding. We’ll still be parents, no matter what.”
“I don’t want to have to explain to him why we aren’t married. I love you. I want you to be my wife.”
“Funny you never mentioned it before.”
“Rebecca,” he drawled warningly.
“In fact, I remember Dad mentioning something about your setting him straight about helping to continue a dynasty.”
He looked at her, horrified. “He told you that?”
She grinned. “Yeah. He did. We both thought it was funny.”
“You weren’t hurt by it?”
“Why should I be? You didn’t know me. You weren’t interested in getting to know me and to be real honest, I was too uncomfortable around you to even consider spending any more time in your company than I absolutely had to.”
“So it was Brock’s idea?”
“No more than a passing thought, from what I could tell.”
“I still want to marry you.”
She was busy opening cans and preparing a meal. “When?” she asked without looking up.
“As soon as possible. Tomorrow. We’ll drive into El Paso. I want it done.”
“Okay. We’ll take Mel and Betty, okay?”
He set the table. “I doubt they’d go. There’s no one to watch the café.”
“Then they’ll close it.” She turned and put her arms around his waist. “I can guarantee you that given the chance to see you get married, the Abbots wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“It will all work out. I know it will.”
>
She began to laugh. “I have every confidence that it will. You, on the other hand, have all the enthusiasm of a man on the way to the dentist for a root canal.”
“That’s because I’m scared, ‘Becca. I’m way over my head. Before an hour ago I would never have imagined that I would ever get married or become a father.”
“Yes, I know, but you had no compunction about making those choices. Don’t you see, Jake? That’s what life’s all about, anyway. It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about making choices as they come up, one at a time. Then dealing with the next choice. We don’t have to make all those choices in one day. It’s enough that you’re finally back from your mountain walkabout, that I’ve been able to relay the information of your impending fatherhood, and that you’ve admitted that you love me. There’s some pretty monumental stuff going on here, you know.”
“To think I might have missed all of this,” he said, sitting down across from her and watching her avidly fill her plate. Motherhood obviously agreed with her.
He only hoped he could handle the new roles he’d committed himself to. What if he was like his father? What did he know about babies? What—
She reached over and took his hand. “You helped me when I really needed you, when nobody else could help. Now it’s my time to help you. Give me a chance, and I’ll prove to you that you’ll be able to come through all of this like the seasoned pro you are. We’ll take it one step at a time, okay?”
“As long as you’re a part of my life, I know I can handle whatever comes.”
“Count on it, love. I’ll always be there.”
Epilogue
Betty looked around the café, checking to see if any of their customers needed anything. There was a cheerful din of voices in the room now at lunchtime. Business always picked up in the summer after school was out and families were traveling on vacation.
She glanced out the window as yet another minivan pulled in and parked. She watched as a tall, broad-shouldered, long-legged man got out of the van and walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door for the woman sitting there, slipped some kind of canvas carryall around his neck, then took a sleeping infant from the woman’s arms and carefully placed the baby in the baby-toting canvas.
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