by Sally Falcon
“It really won’t be that bad, Jessie. I promise.” His hand dropped to her shoulder to give a reassuring squeeze before he put the car in gear again.
A few minutes later, when the imposing gates came into view, Jessie wondered if she shouldn’t have told him to take her home. The sight of the house a few minutes later, however, changed her mind. The view of the twin Queen Anne turrets against the last remnants of the sunset took her breath away. She had had no idea this gem of a house was hidden away in the modem suburbs of Little Rock. Apparently T.L. wanted his home to be a well-kept secret. She couldn’t remember ever seeing pictures of it in any of the local or regional magazines.
“Here we are. The old homestead.” Trevor let out a deep breath as he turned off the ignition.
“It’s beautiful,” Jessie exclaimed, not waiting for him to help her out of the car. She wanted an unobstructed view of the house, momentarily forgetting her anxiety.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you about Daddy’s taste in furniture,” he murmured as he took her arm and led her up the back steps and through the heart-shaped moon gate entrance to the porch.
When they entered the house, they could hear the rumble of voices coming from the front rooms. Just as they reached the kitchen door, Arnette stepped into the hall, a tray of hors d’oeuvres in her hands. “It’s about time you got here. I’ve had to set dinner back a half hour already.” Her face broke into a smile when she saw Jessie. “Now, didn’t I tell you she was a nice girl? It’s so nice to see you again, Miss DeLord. Maybe this boy has more sense than I gave him credit for all this time.”
“Trevor, dammit. How could you?” another voice broke in from the far end of the hall while Jessie was returning Arnette’s greeting.
“How could I what?” he asked cautiously, giving Jessie a sidelong glance before he turned back to Abby Bush, who was rapidly walking toward them. “I told you that Jessie was too nice for you, didn’t I? I can’t believe that you had the nerve to ask her out after what you did at my party,” she stated with great heat before turning to Jessie. “I’m so sorry about this menace. I meant to call and warn you not to trust him in a well-lit room with an empty gun.”
“I don’t think he’s that bad.” Jessie was beginning to relax at the two women’s affectionate teasing. She thought Trevor was a little too complacent after the dual attack. “You can’t be as bad as people say you are. Can you?”
“Maybe I should have taken you back home when I had the chance,” he grumbled good-naturedly, grasping Jessie’s arm and linking it through his. “Heel, Abby. She’s safe as long as she’s under your watchful eye. Although I’m beginning to suspect a setup.”
“A setup?” Jessie asked. At the suddenly guilty look on Abby’s face, Jessie decided that she must be missing a piece of information.
“Unless I miss my guess, I think my sister and this young lady were going to try their delicate little hands at some reverse-psychology matchmatching,” he explained, a satisfied smirk on his face as Abby began to sputter in outrage. “It seems that you and I were going to be victims of a horrible plot. Only I scotched their devious plans by having the excellent taste of staking my claim first.”
Jessie looked from Abby to Trevor, trying to make sense of the exchange. Suddenly the pieces fell into place. Abby Bush’s warnings to Trevor were supposed to pique his interest in Jessie. It was too ironic for words. Abby would never know that at that point of their acquaintance Trevor scared Jessie spitless. Now, though still wary of the man, she couldn’t help joining in the fun. “Abby, you didn’t purposely introduce me to Connor MacMurray simply to make Trevor look good in comparison?”
“Oh, Lord, he’s corrupted you already,” she wailed dramatically, playing her part to the hilt, but having a tough time keeping a straight face. “No, I didn’t, but for that comment I’m glad I put you two at the kiddie table for dinner.”
“Hey, are y’all going to stand out there all night?” T.L.’s voice boomed out from a distant room. “The minister hasn’t got all night, boy. So get your sorry behind in here.”
“Just one man’s family,” Trevor murmured dryly, leading Jessie toward the front of the house. “Why did I think this was a good idea? I’m going to make Logan pay for this one. That cowardly Yankee doesn’t want a best man; he just wants reinforcements to help deal with these lunatics.”
“Trevor, are you all right? I think you’re babbling.” Jessie tried to contain her laughter, but with little success. She understood now why the man beside her didn’t hesitate to act outrageously whenever the spirit moved him. He was surrounded by people who weren’t afraid to speak their minds, no matter where they were. It was a talent he had acquired for self-defense.
He stopped just before they reached the entrance to the living room, placing his hands on her shoulders. Looking very earnest and keeping his voice low, he said, “I apologize ahead of time for anything that happens here tonight, Jessie. Things are already out of control, and we’ve only been in the house for five minutes.”
“Trevor, I’m enjoying myself,” she returned just as solemnly, touched by his obvious distress. With a daring she didn’t quite understand, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Why don’t you relax? If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was your wedding rehearsal.”
That seemed to subdue him for the next half hour as he introduced her to the members of his family and Logan Herrington’s. Abby, as Tory’s matron of honor, and her husband were the only others present who weren’t related to the bride and groom.
The rest of the evening continued with a great deal of boisterous laughter and affectionate teasing. The only ones who didn’t join in the general mayhem were Sanders and his family. Jessie almost went into a fit of giggles when she met little Basil, wishing Gina could have been with her at that moment. The poor child was the spitting image of his stodgy father. She almost hugged Trevor for coming into her life before she had selected one of her candidates and ended up with someone like Sanders.
It was soon apparent that Tory’s sense of humor was almost as bizarre as her brother’s. She also bore the brunt of most of the ribbing, especially from Trevor and Curtiss, the soft-spoken veterinarian. Logan joined in at one point, recounting how Tory had decided to teach him to be a laid-back Southerner. His aunt and uncle had been in tears from laughing over the matter, and his mother, the epitome of a Bostonian grande dame, smiled occasionally.
Jessie was almost sorry when Trevor declared that it was time to leave. They were delayed as Ty Daniel and Amanda Sue demanded that their uncle tell them one more story before he left. At six and three, the two urchins had held court at the kiddie table all through dinner, their uncle their willing slave. He gave in with very little resistance, recounting a story about a beautiful raven-haired princess who refused to be courted by her father’s jester.
Trying to look disinterested as Trevor told the tale with his dancing eyes trained directly on her, Jessie was ready to leave as soon as the children gave their uncle his good-night kisses.
The two tow-headed children also graciously included Jessie in the ceremony, much to the delight of all the adults. They had listened carefully to Trevor’s story as well.
As she settled into the passenger seat, Jessie felt her earlier nervousness beginning to return. The evening had been wonderful, a sharp contrast to spending time with her own family. Though she had a large family, they were quiet, reserved people who didn’t show their emotions readily. For a moment, she wondered what would happen if she mixed the two families together. She wasn’t quite sure.
“Are you ever going to speak to me again?” Trevor asked a few minutes later, breaking the companionable silence in the car.
“Because of your family or that absurd story you told the children?” she asked quickly, trying to read his thoughts as she gazed at his profile. A sudden thought occurred to her. “Did Tory really break your nose? I thought it must be a football injury.”
“That’s the trouble with famili
es, they don’t allow you any secrets.” His grumbling had the same mock ferociousness he had used when weaving the fairy tale for his niece and nephew.
“It certainly gave me a new perspective,” she returned quietly. He didn’t answer immediately, deliberating over her comment.
“Is that good or bad?”
She waited for a few moments, seriously considering the matter. Though she hadn’t the time to assess everything she’d heard and seen, she had learned a great deal about Trevor Planchet. “I’d say it was good.”
He didn’t answer as he turned the car into her driveway. Though he switched off the engine, he made no move to get out of the car.
Jessie wondered what was going on in his fertile brain. The one thing she knew by now was that she couldn’t anticipate what he would do next. He proved her right when he finally spoke.
“I’m not going to walk you to the door, Jessie.” He said the words very slowly and clearly, as if he were making a proclamation.
“I see.” She didn’t, but with one look at his still form beside her, she didn’t think she wanted to question his reasons. He was staring straight ahead through the windshield, his entire body poker stiff with his arms straining against the steering wheel.
“I don’t think you do.” He turned to face her, his hands still gripping the steering wheel tightly. “All I want to do right now is carry you into the house and make love to you all night long until we’re both exhausted. In my present state of mind, I don’t think we’d make it much farther than the front door.”
She didn’t know what to say. He’d taken her breath away. Tiny sparks seemed to be traveling through her bloodstream. All too clearly she could remember the morning in the camping shelter. She closed her eyes for a moment, almost considering telling him that she understood exactly what he was feeling. He didn’t give her a chance.
“The only thing that’s holding me back is the fact that I don’t think you’re ready to take that step yet,” he continued, his voice suddenly rough as he watched her expression in the dim light from the dashboard. “Tonight’s only a beginning, sweetheart. Now go inside before I forget that I have some principles.”
For a moment she hesitated, wanting to throw her arms around his neck and tell him what an incredibly considerate man he was. He had always told her he wasn’t as dangerous as she thought. Now she believed him.
“Jessie.”
At his harsh growl, she grabbed the door handle and scrambled out of the car. She ran up the walk to the front door to keep from turning around and getting back into the car. As she inserted the key into the lock, her mind told her that he was right. Unfortunately, the traitorous little voice was telling her what her body wanted. She ached to feel his arms around her again, to taste the magic of his kiss and explore all the secrets of his lean body.
Opening the door, she turned to watch Trevor’s car slowly back out of the drive. She knew she had a sleepless night ahead, even if she was spending it alone. The evening had taught her quite a few things about the complex man who had just sent her off to bed alone. Myriad questions continued to circle in her bewildered mind. Some of them now had answers, but a thousand more seemed to take their place.
One thing she knew for certain, it would take her a lifetime to understand Trevor Planchet.
“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Trevor commented as he guided Jessie between the other dancers on the special flooring of the pavilion erected on the Planchet’s lawn. “Or is my family finally getting to you? Maybe the two hundred intimate friends that Daddy invited in for drinks and a snack?”
Victoria Planchet’s wedding to Logan Herrington had become an event, in spite of the couple’s protests. The wedding had been small and elegant, performed in her father’s living room with only thirty witnesses present. The bride was lovely in a white silk suit complemented by a large white hat, and the groom had looked solemn in a pearl-gray suit as they had exchanged their vows. T.L., however, had taken it upon himself to orchestrate the reception in his own style.
Most of Little Rock’s prominent citizens were now drinking pink champagne from a fountain set up in the gazebo or dancing to the full orchestra that played beneath the canopy of the trees. The Langford-Hugheses were among the first to arrive. The bride and groom were oblivious to most of the guests, dancing together in their own world. T.L. was in his element, playing the convivial host for all he was worth.
“Your father is certainly a law unto himself,” Jessie returned quietly, unable to tell Trevor what was on her mind. She was still unsettled by the revelation she had experienced only a half hour ago. Right now she wanted to hug her new knowledge to herself.
“Yes, and I think he’s lucky that Tory can only think about Logan today. If not, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. He had her biggest competitor cater the damn thing.” Trevor chuckled as he watched his father giving the waiters instruction on exactly where to put the wedding cake. “I’m thinking about eloping myself, just to frustrate the old man. Now that I’m the only one of his children who’s single, he’ll probably want to hire Ringling Brothers to entertain at my wedding.”
Trevor’s wedding was the last thing that Jessie wanted to talk about at that particular moment. After weeks of conflicting emotions and noble statements about the ideal husband, she suddenly realized half an hour ago that she was in love with the impossible man. True to form, it had been when he’d been doing something absurd.
He’d been standing next to Logan, his demeanor quiet and seeming extremely dignified in his charcoal-gray suit. Jessie had thought he looked absolutely wonderful from her seat next to Gary Bush. Then Trevor had looked straight at her, giving her a leering wink. Her heart had stopped for a half second, and she couldn’t breathe. Instantaneously, and as unexpected as the man himself, came the realization that she loved him.
When the wedding march began a few minutes later, she wasn’t sure she could stand up. But as she rose hesitantly to her feet, the idea took hold, and she wanted to laugh out loud. It was probably inevitable from the moment she’d turned to find a half-naked six-foot rabbit standing by her side. She was the only one who didn’t suspect it would happen. Abby, Tory, and Gina had all seemed to think it was an ideal match.
What did Trevor think? she wondered as she gazed up at his smiling face. He seemed to want a relationship, but what kind? As he had said, he was the only Planchet who wasn’t married. The big question was why he wasn’t?
“Jessie, you’re not mad about last night, are you?” She looked up at him in confusion. “I told you I enjoyed being with your family, and I had a delightful evening.”
“That’s not what I was talking about,” he informed her, his expression almost as solemn as it had been during Tory’s wedding.
“Oh.” He meant when he had taken her home. The vulnerable expression in his dark eyes took her by surprise. Was he really that worried about what he’d done? Didn’t he realize that was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him? “No, of course, I’m not mad. Why would I be?”
“You could think— Never mind, let’s dance.” He slipped both arms around her waist, holding her close as he led her into a slow, dreamy rhythm.
Jessie circled her arms around his neck and nestled her head against his shoulder. She gave herself up to the movement of his lean body against hers. Would he tell her to run for the sake of her virtue again tonight? He might be that noble, she decided judiciously, but she wasn’t.
The traitorous little voice inside her was giving her all sorts of wicked suggestions, and they all included the very delectable body of Trevor Planchet. Every single suggestion seemed perfect. For once she thought she might be able to surprise him. It was time that she took some control, instead of letting Trevor direct their relationship.
With a daring she didn’t know she possessed, Jessie began to make her plans for the evening. She needed to start behaving like a mature woman who made her own decisions and guided her own destiny again.
“Trevor, wh
y haven’t you gotten married?” She timed the question exactly a mile and a half from her house, just to test the waters before she went in for the kill.
“What kind of question is that?” he demanded, taking his eyes off the road momentarily. “Is this one of those women things after attending a wedding?”
“You said something earlier about being the last one to be single in your family. Of course, you forgot about your father,” she answered in an offhand tone. For good measure, she looked idly out the window. “If you’re just counting your brothers and sister, you’re not the baby of the family or anything. At least I don’t think you are. How old are you?”
“That’s not a ladylike question,” he returned quickly, giving her another quizzical look at the non sequitur. “You’ve been in a strange mood all afternoon. Is there something wrong?”
“No, you impossible man. Now, are you going to answer my questions?” She turned, purposely hiking up her skirt as she casually curled her legs up onto the seat. Draping one arm over the back of the bench seat, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Did he notice that she’d moved closer?
“Probably the same reason you haven’t gotten married by now,” he said abruptly, overly preoccupied with steering the car down the quiet residential street.
“What reason is that?” she murmured, trailing her fingers under the collar of his pale blue shirt, then moving on to the knot of his striped tie.
“I’ve been too busy with my job and life in general.” He was stoically trying to ignore her wandering fingers, showing Jessie that she had a lot of work ahead of her. Trevor was set on being noble again tonight.
“Is that all?” As she traced the shell of his ear with her index finger, she realized that she was having fun. She could understand why Trevor and his family ignored most of their inhibitions and the usual social conventions, even if it seemed outrageous to anyone watching. It was a liberating experience. Why hadn’t she realized this before?
