by Jade Taylor
“Somebody has to look after the sugar beets, Joey. But Grandpa Will and I have already decided to come out and visit you soon.”
Startled, Cat looked at the older couple. Bertie stood just behind Will, with one hand on his shoulder. Her question must have been evident on her face, for Will nodded.
“Oh, boy!” Joey threw her arms around Will Gray and hugged him tightly.
Will’s arms enfolded his granddaughter. Moisture blurred Cat’s vision. She swiped at her eyes. “I wish I didn’t have to break this up, but Joey and I have to go.”
Before Will could answer, the doorbell rang again.
“Now who could that be? If we don’t leave in the next few minutes, Joey, we’re going to miss our plane.”
Joey turned loose from her newfound grandpa. “Tell them, Mommy. Just tell them they have to go away.”
Cat turned, her voice very firm. “I certainly will, darling.”
She opened the door.
Jackson stood on the porch. Through the lattice, the morning sun cast diamond-patterned shapes of broken light and shadow on his hair. Wearing a chocolate sport coat, with matching tie and a cream-colored shirt, he looked as pale and hopeful as Joey had when she’d pleaded to go after him.
Behind her, Cat heard Will’s muttered aside to Bertie. “That was a good idea of yours to come over and make sure they didn’t leave before Jackson got here.”
And Bertie’s quiet answer. “Wherever she went, he would have followed.”
Later, Cat thought, she’d have to think about that snippet of conversation and figure out what it meant. Right now, she was way too busy. Her heart soared to the skies. A tremulous smile came unbidden. “Jackson?”
He nodded. “Yes. It’s me.”
At any other time, Cat would have thought their exchange of the obvious nonsensical. “You came back?”
“I owe Bertie for the idea, because I was too upset to think of anything I could do to make you believe I really wanted to stay. She said she’d made the wrong decision, years ago, when her boyfriend wanted her to go away with him and she’d regretted it all her life. She always wished she’d had a second chance to give the right answer. She told me to wait two weeks, so you’d know your own heart, but I couldn’t stand it another day. I hope this is long enough, because there’s no way I could stand another minute without you. Is Bertie right?”
“She’s right, but none of that matters now. We’re going to Seattle with you.”
Over her shoulder, he saw the suitcases, his father and Bertie. Cat knew the instant he realized the house had an abandoned air that gave those suitcases an unmistakable meaning. He shook his head in negation. “I had to come back. We’re all staying in Engerville. Unpack your bags, Cat. Joey will always have a home here. Please say you’ll let me stay and help make this home for her.”
Suddenly, a small ball of fury pushed between the two adults. “No!” Joey screamed. “We’re going to Seattle to be with you! Mommy says you won’t be happy here and I want you to be happy!”
Jackson wrapped his daughter in his arms. His lips brushed her hair as he said, “Oh, sweetheart, I want you to have a good steady home, the way your mom wants.”
Cat interrupted, the words bursting joyously from her. “Jackson, our home with you will be steady! Nothing could be more stable than the place we have in your heart. I know that now. I should have known it from the beginning, but I needed my daughter to point out the obvious for me.”
Jackson stood, though his hand remained on Joey, holding her close. He reached out and pulled Cat to him. “Are you sure, Wild Cat? Are you really sure?”
Cat leaned back so she could see his face. His eyes were diamond-bright with tears. Or were those her own tears? “I’m sure, Jackson. We can both have our dream. This place has been empty without you. It’s not been a home at all. Home is where you are. I know that now.”
Jackson reached down and lifted Joey up to rest against his shoulder. “Dreams are important, but I would have given up mine for you and Joey and been delighted to do it. Believe me, Cat, because it’s important. I want both of you so badly nothing else counts. Nothing! I’ll stay here if you want me to, or we’ll go to Seattle. The place doesn’t matter. You do. And Joey does.”
Cat brushed his cheek with her left hand and traced his lips with the other. Her smile felt as if it spanned her entire face. She nodded, unable to speak.
“I’ll see that both of you have your dreams. I promise. I’ll make you a home so rock solid it will last a lifetime, sweetheart. And Joey,” he kissed his daughter’s cheek, “if your mom really means it when she says she wants to go to Seattle, I’ll find a place where you can keep Moonshot. We’re not leaving that pretty little filly behind.”
Joey’s eyes lit up with disbelieving delight. “Honest? Mommy said the horses couldn’t come with us.”
Jackson grinned. “Not all of them, honey, but Moonshot is special. We’ll find a home for her, too.” He leaned toward Cat as if pulled by a magnet and brushed her lips tenderly. “We started out wrong, Cat, but I’ll make it up to both of you.”
Cat whispered her reply. “We started out right, Jackson. We got lost along the way, but we’ll keep that beginning for the rest of our lives.”
He hugged her so tightly she couldn’t breathe, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but Jackson Gray and the daughter who clung happily to both of them.
Behind them, Will Gray swallowed hard. He reached out to Bertie and pulled her into his arms. “There’s an awful lot of hugging going on here. I better make sure you get your share.”
Her sweet voice replied softly. “I knew you’d get around to me, if I waited.”
ISBN: 978 1 472 02655 2
WILD CAT AND THE MARINE
© 2003 by Jade Taylor
First Published in Great Britain in 2003
Harlequin (UK) Limited
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