Summer shrugged. “I didn’t have much choice.”
It was a hell of a position he’d put her in, Jack knew. One many women would have freaked over. He cleared his throat. “I guess it’s a good thing you turned Danny into Danielle with the ruffles.”
She tilted her head to one side, then acknowledged his comment with a nod. “So where are we headed?”
“To a club I worked in right after I joined the program.”
“Doing what?”
“Bartender.”
“From architect to bartender... Wasn’t that a stretch?”
He thought back over the unbelievable events of the past year. “It was just one of a string of jobs I took while we kept moving. We’ve changed locations at least half a dozen times in the past year.”
“Is that normal?”
Jack’s gaze remained on the road, but his hands tightened on the wheel. “Depends. I’m no expert. They don’t have a witness support group, so I’ve never compared notes. I suppose some people stay in one place, but I never really felt safe.”
“Did you suspect Wilcox and Fisher then?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. I didn’t know they were out of prison until they came after me. It was just a feeling I had... that something might happen, that we weren’t really protected. Maybe it was a premonition. I stashed a hoard of cash, bought the boat and kept it stocked, thinking we might need it. I figured it was easier to disappear on the water. I didn’t realize I needed to be a more seasoned boater. A few weekends didn’t make me a sailor. I wanted to be ready, just in case.”
“Turns out you were right. But why didn’t you just get on a plane and fly to D.C. when you stumbled across Fisher and Wilcox? It would have been faster.”
“That’s the loudest, clearest signal you can send,” Jack explained, remembering the terror he’d felt for Danny when he realized his protection had been compromised. “Taking a plane leaves a paper trail with huge banners and signs saying Here We Are. And what if I couldn’t find Tom Matthews when I got there? I’d have just delivered myself into their hands.”
“Oh,” she replied quietly. “Couldn’t you contact relatives or friends to find a safe place?”
“When you enter the program, you have to leave those people behind. Contacting them would put them in equal danger.”
“You don’t mean leave them behind forever?”
Jack nodded, remembering the difficulty of those goodbyes. His parents, Linda’s parents, his brothers. Still hurting from Linda’s death, it had been doubly wrenching for him to say those final farewells.
“But surely there’s some way....”
His lips thinned. “Afraid not. There’s a slow, complicated mail drop, but no phone calls...and certainly no visits.”
“You can’t ever see your family?” Summer asked in a stricken voice.
“Danny’s my family,” Jack replied tightly, remembering the tears in his mother’s eyes when he had seen her for the last time. “And I’ll do whatever I have to in order to protect him.”
Summer’s glance automatically shifted backward. “So he’ll never know his grandparents?”
Jack’s jaw clenched momentarily. “No.”
“I don’t know how you can do it,” Summer wondered aloud. “I could never leave my mother, knowing it was for the last time. She’s getting older, her health isn’t perfect and I can’t stand the thought of her being alone with no one to count on. That’s why I still live on Edisto.”
Jack strove to keep his tone even. “Which is admirable.”
“I didn’t mean to pour salt on the wound,” she apologized instantly. “I was just thinking how difficult that must have been for you. How difficult it still must be.”
“It’s not the life I’d have chosen. But since it chose me, I deal with it.”
“I don’t think I could be that strong,” she admitted.
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve hardly been a shrinking violet the last twenty-four hours.”
“I’ve never considered myself a member of the flower family.” Summer smiled unexpectedly, and he noticed the way it changed her face. An unconsciously flirty tug of her lips drew attention to clear, lissome features and tawnygreen eyes. Again he wondered why she had downplayed her femininity. It was almost as though she’d run away from being a woman. “And certainly not a violet,” she continued. “Shrinking or otherwise.”
“Or an orchid?” Jack asked unexpectedly, surprising himself as much as Summer. But he loved the way a sudden touch of pink crept beneath her golden tan.
She made a deliberate show of staring out the window. “So, we’re headed to a nightclub?”
“Hardly.”
Summer turned her head a fraction. “I thought you just said—”
“A neighborhood watering hole. Clean, but it hardly lives up to the description of nightclub. A bartender and one waitress—nothing fancy.”
“I wasn’t expecting the Tropicana,” she muttered.
“The Tropicana,” Jack repeated, running the name over in his memory. “Isn’t that the club where Ricky worked on I Love Lucy?”
She sniffed. “Your point?”
Remarkably he found himself smiling. “It won’t resemble the Tropicana. And I can assure you we won’t be running into Ethel or Fred, either.”
Jack was right, Summer concluded a little while later. The bar in Damson he took her to m no way resembled the fictional club where Ricky and Lucy had danced and laughed. The Rusty Anchor catered to the working man...and occasional woman. From the way the patrons eyed her, she guessed very occasional.
Bart, the owner, greeted Jack in a friendly fashion. “Sure, I can use you. Been tending bar myself the last few weeks. Can’t get dependable help anymore. And Rita can watch the kid for you like she did before.” His glance shifted to Summer, his gaze roving over her with a little too much interest. “If you’re still needing a baby-sitter.”
“Bart, this is my wife. We’re taking sort of a honeymoon trip.”
Summer’s gaze jerked around enough to meet his. A hijacked wife was more accurate.
Jack’s eyes met hers, sending a signal.
But she didn’t read the warning.
His lips covered hers, a warm, powerful invasion that she couldn’t battle. But it would have been a weak fight. Bart, the dusky club and the danger they were fleeing paled next to the sensations. Ones that rippled from the heat they shared, the heat he ignited.
She was close enough to trace the crinkles near his eyes that suggested he’d laughed often...once. Close enough to see the taut lines of his tanned skin, to memorize the agateblue of his overpowering eyes.
When Jack pulled away enough that they finally parted, Summer wanted to whimper in protest. Instead she stared soberly at him as Bart chuckled.
“You sure you have time to tend bar?” Bart asked in an exaggerated voice. “While you’re honeymooning?”
“I’ve got time,” Jack replied evenly.
“Whatever you say.” Bart turned to Summer. “You done any serving, honey?”
Summer stared at the man, instinctively disliking him. “Excuse me?”
“I can use a waitress a few nights a week, too.”
“We’ll see,” Jack replied for her. “The rooms in the back still available?”
“Room,” Bart corrected. “Rita turned the rest of it into a studio—whatever the hell that is.” He shook his head. “Never did understand that woman.”
Jack exchanged a glance with Summer that told her he didn’t wonder why. Still, he didn’t share that opinion with Bart. “One room will be fine.” He shifted Danny and hooked a casual arm around Summer’s waist. “Better than fine.”
Bart snickered. He led them into the room, which, while small, was neat and clean.
Summer’s gaze zeroed in on the solitary bed.
“Thanks, Bart. It looks great. I can see Rita’s touch,” Jack commented.
“Yeah,” Bart agreed. “All she does is paint and clea
n.” He shook his head in bafflement, obviously not understanding his wife. “I’ll leave you alone.”
“I can tend bar after I bring our things in,” Jack offered.
“You want Rita to watch the kid?” Bart asked.
“No!” Summer exclaimed, then calmed her voice. “I’ll take care of him.”
Bart shrugged. “Whatever, but once Rita sees him, she’ll be wanting to watch him, you wait and see.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, Summer turned on Jack. “How could you consider letting people like that take care of Danny?”
Jack looked slightly taken aback at her ferocity, but arecovered quickly. “Rita’s light-years away from Bart. I never quite understood how the two of them got together. She’s gentle, kind and loves art almost as much as she does children.”
“Are their children more like Rita or Bart?”
“They never had any children, which makes it even more of a mystery why they stay together. But one thing’s for sure, she’s great with kids.”
“I can’t understand how you could have worked for someone like Bart.”
Jack’s expression tightened. “Being in the program doesn’t give you a lot of choices. And there’s a big advantage to working for Bart. He pays in cash and keeps a low profile himself. I’ve wondered why—I know it’s something in his past, but then I didn’t want anyone questioning me either, so it worked out well.”
Summer cataloged this information. “I’d still feel better taking care of Danny myself.”
“You might not feel that way for long.”
Summer set her lips. “Why don’t you let me worry about that?”
“I feel bad enough about dragging you into this. I don’t intend to turn you into a built-in baby-sitter.”
Summer swung back her considerable length of hair, jutting her chin into a posture that for those who knew her, signaled her stubbornness. She held out her hands for the baby. “Why don’t you go get Danny’s playpen? We’ll need it to use for his bed.”
“Sure, but—”
She waved him away. “We’ll be fine. Just bring in the gear, okay?”
With a shake of his head and an inaudible mutter, Jack retreated.
“So, little man, these are our digs.” Danny chortled while she looked around the tiny room, her gaze settling on the bed. With each glance, it seemed narrower, more intimate. She jiggled the baby on her hip as they took the minitour. “I don’t suppose you’d like to share your playpen tonight.”
“Here’s the first load,” Jack announced from behind her.
Whirling around, she hoped he hadn’t heard her words. But he was busy with Danny’s paraphernalia.
“It’s amazing how much stuff such a little person requires,” Summer said nervously, knowing how lame the comment was. But she couldn’t stop her chatter.
However, Jack didn’t seem to notice anything peculiar. “Yeah. I’ll go get the rest.”
When he was gone, she paced the compact room. “Okay, Danny, we can do this, right?”
The baby blinked, then reached out to tug at her hair, smiling when he had a fistful.
“We have to find you better toys,” she chided gently. “That, or I shouldn’t have let you discover my hair.”
“I’m glad you did,” Jack commented quietly, surprising her again.
Self-consciously she disengaged small, eager hands, then shook back her hair. “It’s no big deal. I imagine all babies like discovering things.”
Jack’s eyes darkened. “Or maybe it’s a male trait.”
Summer tightened her grip on Danny, needing a firm attachment to something solid. “Maybe.”
“Hey! Jack!” Bart’s voice echoed down the hall. “You about ready to tend bar?”
Jack glanced at his watch. “Looks like my shift’s starting early.” He raised his voice. “Sure, Bart. Be right there.” He turned back to Summer. “You sure about—?”
“Enough! We’ll have a great time, huh, Danny?”
The baby blinked in agreement as he grabbed for Summer’s hair.
“If you change your mind, come get me,” Jack insisted. “Bart says Rita should be home anytime now.”
“Just go,” Summer chided. “I’ll know where to find you if either of us goes bonkers.”
With one last look, Jack reluctantly left.
Summer deposited Danny in his playpen, then shed her sandals, trading her dress for a T-shirt and shorts. “Dresses are okay,” she informed the baby. “But between you and me, this is lots better.”
Danny waved a stuffed bear in her direction and looked at her in appeal.
Laughing, she stooped to lift him from the playpen. “You didn’t think I was going to leave you in there, did you? We’ve got lots to do.”
After several games of peekaboo, patty-cake and this-little-piggy, Summer sat back on her heels. “Well, you’ve had your dinner, so I’m guessing we should give you a bath before you’re too tired.”
Danny didn’t protest, content with the neon-green plastic toy frog she handed him as she unpacked his gear and readied his bath.
And, she discovered, Danny loved a bath. Although Summer didn’t know much about babies, she guessed that bathtub safety was a big concern. So she cautiously put him in a shallow amount of water, half-expecting him to holler. Instead he laughed, clapping his hands into the water, splashing her in the process.
Joining his laughter, Summer glanced at her drenched clothing. “So much for this shirt, huh?”
Danny answered with another splash, amusing himself with a new spray of water.
Summer let him play until the water cooled, then lifted him out of the tub. “Okay, let’s find some jammies.”
She put a towel around him, much as she’d seen Jack do, using the top of it as a hood. He peeked at her from beneath the towel, his big blue eyes watching every move.
“With those eyes, you’re going to grow into a ladykiller, just like Daddy, aren’t you?”
“Da-da?” he questioned.
“Not yet, sweetie.” Involuntarily her gaze skipped toward the bed again. “But soon enough.”
Summer discovered it was great fun to powder and dress the toddler. “Who’d have thought it?” she asked him, remembering how she’d once shuddered when her friends had begun having babies. From afar, it had seemed like such drudgery. But with Danny’s sweet-smelling body nestled close in her arms, she realized how wrong she’d been.
“No wonder people go baby crazy,” she told him. “Are all babies as great as you? Or are you just extraspecial?”
He kicked pajama-clad feet.
Summer retrieved the bottle she’d taken out of the cooler earlier. “You about ready for a nightcap?”
His little hands reached up to grip the bottle. Latching on to the nipple, he sucked contentedly, his huge eyes watching her.
“You’ve got that in common with your dad, you know. All that watching. But I don’t mind when you do it.” She walked with him toward the window, registering that darkness was recapturing the sky. Stars popped out with astonishing brilliance.
Once again, she wished for a rocker, but this little room didn’t even have a chair. Balefully she glared at the bed, then sighed. “Looks like that’s the only place in the room to sit down. Shall we pretend it’s an oversize maple rocker with a thick cushion? One that’s mellow, creaks from age and rocks just so?”
Danny continued sucking his bottle as she settled on the bed. For a moment, she wondered how it would feel if the charade they were playing were real. If she had a beautiful child like this...
If she were married to Jack...
A warmth settled somewhere inside, tugging at her. From the moment Jack had introduced her as his wife, she’d wondered how it would feel and her imagination was only growing.
Summer felt a tug on her sleeve as Danny reached toward her. Did she imagine the connection she felt with him, too? When she stared at his chubby face, all she saw was sweetness and trust. How could that be anything but re
al? He kicked his feet for attention, and she smiled.
“I’d tell you a story, but I have the feeling your life’s been more interesting than any story I could tell you.”
Danny didn’t blink, as though waiting expectantly.
“Okay. But just one.”
Yawning hugely, Danny snuggled closer. Trustingly he drooped his head against her chest as she weaved a tale, the bottle almost forgotten. Summer felt an unexpected hitch in her heart. Throat tight, she sat still for a moment, overcome by the feeling, realizing instantly why Jack was so fiercely protective of his son.
Summer traced her fingers over the soft cheeks, the downy hair, and reveled in the wonder. Was this what her mother had meant? Had cautioned her not to miss?
Seeing Danny’s lips slacken, Summer gently removed the bottle, then stretched out her own legs. She battled a yawn, thinking it had been a long day for them all. Her lids drifted downward, but she struggled against sleep. Perhaps... for just a few minutes... But she’d be awake and off the bed long before Jack returned.
A solitary lamp, turned on low, burned in the corner when Jack returned to the room. Summer was angled across the bed, curled around Danny, her arm anchored over him so that he couldn’t roll off the side. Both were soundly asleep.
It was well past one in the morning, and Jack was equally tired, but his expression softened as he watched the unlikely duo. Somehow his mechanic had turned into a woman and in the process had grown rather protective of his child.
Amazing what could transpire in such a short span of time. If he’d have had to bet on Summer, he would have lost his shirt. Based on how she had acted initially, he’d have sworn she would have bailed at the first possible moment.
Blond hair trailing over her shoulders, she was remarkably appealing. His gaze drifted downward. He sucked in his breath at the full effect of her long shapely legs. Lord, she’d hidden quite a bit of punch beneath those overalls.
Right now, that punch was like a fist to his solar plexus.
Deciding that it wasn’t wise to continue gaping at her, Jack walked quietly over to the bed. He hated to disturb them, but he didn’t want to take a chance with Danny rolling off the bed. Carefully, so as not to wake Summer, Jack lifted her arm from over Danny. Instinctively she rolled to the other side, tucking her knees upward.
The Hijacked Wife Page 6
