by Susan Crosby
She found Jake and Isabella on the porch. Keri loved to listen to him talk to their daughter, who now seemed enraptured by his voice as he discussed how the seasons would change the scenery, and how he liked spring the best, and that she shouldn’t be afraid of the wild animals that passed through, but she shouldn’t try to touch them.
Keri pushed open the screen door and joined them.
“Here’s Mommy. Doesn’t she look pretty?” Jake said, his gaze all encompassing.
Isabella shifted her eyes toward Keri. She tickled Isabella under her chin, a spot that always made her laugh.
“When will she need to eat again?” Jake asked.
“Anytime now. Although I’m not sure what to do, given the tummy problem this morning.” She put her hand on Isabella’s forehead, then slid it down the side of her face. “She’s not feverish. Maybe I should call Aggie and ask what she thinks.”
“While you’re at it, would you ask if she’ll take Isabella for a while? There’s someplace I’d like to take you.”
Keri locked gazes with him. “I’m not going to be tempted into having sex with you, Jake. We have a lot to settle.”
“Tempted? Now there’s a word.”
She would’ve thought he was feeling smug except that his nerves were much more in evidence, in the way his jaw tightened and how he held his body. “How long is ‘a while’?” she asked.
“A few hours.”
“More than a while. So, Aggie knows you’re home?”
It said a lot about his state of mind that he hadn’t factored that in. “No. I didn’t want her—or anyone other than Joe and Donny—to know we weren’t together. I guess you can drop me off somewhere, take Isabella to her, then come back and get me.”
“Subterfuge,” Keri said, surprised, but also in the mood for some intrigue. She went inside and called Aggie, who said yes, nurse the baby, and yes, do bring her over.
Jake made himself scarce while Keri nursed, defusing a potentially tense situation. She appreciated his sensitivity and hated that their relationship had come to this. The strain wore her down.
If they didn’t work things out, her next step would be to decide to stop loving him—if she could believe Nana Mae’s theory, anyway. And Donovan’s. Keri wasn’t convinced yet that it was possible to make that kind of decision.
Half an hour later they were on the road. They barely spoke after she asked where they were going, and he said, “You’ll see.”
“You’ll see” became the Sacramento car dealership for the kind of vehicle she’d decided to buy, one of their biggest disagreements.
“What does this mean?” She barely managed to get the words past the hope that swelled in her throat.
He turned off the engine, rested his hands on the steering wheel and looked at her. “It means I’m going to be home a lot more, although gone some, too. You’ll need a car of your own.”
“Where are you going?”
“Not far, but overnight sometimes.”
Keri put a hand to her lips. “You took the job Gideon offered.”
“Sort of. How much do you know about his business?”
Her pulse pounded in her ears. “Hardly anything.”
“He built an adventure business, guiding mostly executive-type men into the wilderness to fish or hunt, or take a hike that would challenge them. He flies helicopters into pristine ski areas. It’s quite lucrative because he targeted a certain market who could afford the cost and craved the challenge.”
“It sounds risky.”
“There are certain elements of risk, I won’t lie to you, but not the criminal kind. These risks are known and prepared for. When Gideon offered the job, that’s all he offered, which is why I turned it down. Well, that, and I wasn’t ready to give up my own business that I’d worked so hard for. Then I called Gid this morning, and he’s turning it over to me completely. I won’t report to anyone, although I’ll use his new resort office as a home base. We’ll work out a deal for that.”
“So you’ll be home a lot.”
“And gone, too, as I said. I’ll keep a financial stake in the other business I’ve built, too, and take a stateside job now and then to keep my hand in it. But with my language skills, I figure I can entice foreigners here for adventure. That’s something that will set me apart from others running the same kind of business.”
Keri’s eyes and throat burned. She was beyond thrilled about his decision, but there was more she needed to hear. She waited for the right words, her hands clenched, her heart filled with expectation.
“My nightmares had stopped,” he said. “You know that. You were responsible for it—your optimism, having you to hold during the night. I hadn’t had a nightmare in weeks. But last night I did, and it was completely different from the others. Last night it was about you and Isabella, that I couldn’t find you, couldn’t take care of you. Joe woke me up from it. I was sweating and shaking. And I knew, then. I knew everything.”
He opened the glove compartment and took out a small box. “I love you, Keri. I love your spirit and your bravery and your honesty. I love that you stood your ground with me. And I love how you make me feel, in and out of bed. I love that you made me a father when I had no idea I wanted to be one.” He opened the box. Inside was a gold band intricately carved with something that looked at first glance like vines. On closer look, they were ropes.
“You’re my lifeline,” he said, fingering the pattern, then pulling it out of the velvet slot. “I got tired of waiting for you to choose a ring, so I had this made in Costa Rica. If you don’t like it—”
“I love it. I love you.” She stuck out her hand, let him slide it on, ran her fingers through his hair when he bent to kiss her ring finger. “I love you so much. I’ve waited so long to tell you that.”
He kissed her, a hard press of lips, his emotions laid bare for her, then he buried his face in her shoulder and squeezed her for a long, long time.
When he leaned back, he framed her face with his hands. “Joe told me I needed to court you, that you’d been denied a courtship. I know that’s true, and I plan to make up for it, I promise, but not apart from you. The truth was right there in front of me, Keri. All I had to do was acknowledge it, and then I figured I’d have to convince you.”
“I’m convinced.” She smiled and leaned to kiss him. “But there’s one thing.”
Worry settled in his eyes. She set her hands on his chest, felt the strength there, the steady heartbeat, and knew she and her children would be safe and well loved forever.
“Do you feel like you’re the one doing all the giving?” she asked. “Making all the compromises? I don’t want you to resent me or regret what you’re giving up.”
“You did enough giving for both of us. It’s my turn. And I don’t have regrets, remember? I also think we should buy a house in town so you’ll be closer to everyone while I’m gone, if that’s what you’d like.”
Gratitude raced through her. How could so many good things happen at the same time? She overflowed with happiness. “Yes, I would like that very much. There’s a house on Poplar I’ve had my eye on….”
“I’ve seen it. We’ll check it out later today.” He angled back and dug into his pocket. “One more thing.” He held up a chain in the air, her medallion dangling from it, and told her how he’d found it and had it repaired, all the while intending to give it back. “Then I couldn’t. It was a piece of you I kept with me all the time. When I rubbed it, it calmed me or helped me focus to make a decision. But I know you’ve been missing it.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all if you kept it.” She liked knowing she would go with him everywhere he went. To her it was a graduation gift from her parents. To him, it held an even more emotional meaning. “I never thought I would ever say this, mi novio, my sweetheart. I’m so glad I was kidnapped.”
He laughed, the sound joyous. “Let’s go buy you a car. I have a sudden need to take you home. I didn’t think I could go home again, but now it’s where I
most want to be. Home heals. I didn’t understand that before.”
And then he kissed her, tenderly, peacefully. For life.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3917-7
THE PREGNANT BRIDE WORE WHITE
Copyright © 2009 by Susan Bova Crosby
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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