Arianna put a hand to her mouth, tears filling her eyes. “Oh, Jack.” She glanced over at him and then back at Sammy. “Oh, sweetheart, come here. Is that okay?” she added, looking at Jack.
Jack nodded because he couldn’t speak through the lump in his throat.
She held out her arms.
“Aunt Ah-ah!” Sammy toddled toward her.
She clasped Sammy in her arms.
Jack watched the two of them and wondered how he hadn’t noticed that the glints in Sammy’s hair were the same color as those in Arianna’s. Even more, how could he have missed the loving, completely maternal way she held him?
He was in danger of breaking down and sobbing, especially as the significance of Sammy’s speech dawned on him. If he could say two words, he could learn many more. If he could speak, he could communicate.
And he’d communicated out of caring for Arianna. Which was contrary to all the stereotypes about autism. Sammy had feelings, deep and loyal.
Arianna was unlocking them.
She’d unlocked Jack’s heart, as well. He’d doubted his ability to have a relationship, doubted that anyone would care for him. But in word and action, Arianna had shown that she cared. For Sammy, yes, of course.
But she seemed to care for him, too, and he almost couldn’t breathe with the joy of it.
Almost couldn’t believe it, either. Maybe the texts and the babysitter list and the casserole were all for Sammy, all so that she could see her son. Maybe she cared nothing for Jack; maybe he was a means to an end.
Sammy struggled free of her arms and she let him go, making sure he was steady on his feet before releasing him. He toddled straight to Jack and made the sign for “father.”
“Da!” he said. “Da!”
Jack did break down then. He scooped Sammy into his arms and buried his face in his son’s sweaty hair and let himself cry a little.
All the emotions and hugging were too much for Sammy, of course. He wriggled free and crawled to his bear and flung himself down on it, rubbing the backs of his hands over his eyes.
Jack got control of himself and then passed the tissue box over to Arianna, and a few minutes later they put Sammy to bed.
“Thank you so much for letting me see him,” Arianna said as they came back downstairs. “I know it’s hard for you and I won’t abuse the privilege.”
Jack waited until she was down the steps and standing beside him. He smiled at her. “You can see him whenever you want.”
Her eyes lit up. “Thank you!”
She was so beautiful.
They stood looking at each other, beaming, really, until a cloud flickered across Arianna’s eyes. She shook her head a little and turned away. “Thank you again, Jack. I guess I should go.”
“Arianna.”
She paused in the act of picking up her purse.
“Do you want to go?”
“No.” Her head was bowed. She didn’t look at him.
“Why not?” Maybe it was cruel of him, but he wasn’t content with guessing about her feelings. He knew his own—he’d realized them for sure when he’d seen her holding Sammy—but hers were still a mystery.
She drew in a breath, put down her purse and turned to face him, meeting his eyes. “I miss what we had, Jack, or what we were starting to have. Independent of Sammy.”
Her warm words seemed to permeate his very core. She missed him.
“I’ve missed you, too,” he admitted.
She reached out and put her arms around him in a hug that felt like nourishment after starvation. Neither of them let go for a long time.
Finally, he broke their embrace, took a step back and put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry I’ve been so harsh and judgmental. I guess...I guess I was hurt, but that’s no excuse.”
She shook her head rapidly and reached out to put a finger on his lips. “There’s no need to apologize. What you did was nothing compared to what I did, and I’ll never stop being sorry for it.”
“Ah.” He cupped her face in his hands. “No, Arianna. Don’t let guilt get in the way of something beautiful.”
“What’s that?” She was staring at him, eyes glittering with unshed tears.
“These feelings between us. I love you, Arianna,” he said.
She bit her lip, a tear spilling out.
He wiped it away with his thumb. “I think it started when you came in here with that crazy sunflower picture.” He nodded toward it, now proudly displayed over the couch that it most definitely didn’t match.
She laughed a little. “Even though I made a mess of your house?”
“You brought in color and warmth and life. For both of us. I...” He drew in a breath, trying to phrase it right. “You’ve been helping both me and Sammy to heal, and I love you for it. And I love you for your creativity and your energy and your sense of fun. The way you care about other people and know just what to do to help them. The way you’ve helped your aunt and uncle clean up their house, and the way you’ve been training that puppy to be careful around Sammy.”
A dimple quirked in her cheek, and she pulled away, her cheeks going pink. “You noticed.”
“I think I notice everything about you,” he admitted. “But I still wonder...how do you feel about me, Arianna? Can we...pursue this?”
She looked up at him through her lashes and brushed a stray curl back from her face. “I think...I love you, too.”
“You think so?”
She nodded, smiling.
Jack’s heart pounded like the hooves of a racehorse. He reached for her.
She held up a hand. “Wait,” she said seriously. “There’s something I want you to know.”
He took her hand and tugged her to sit beside him on the couch, right underneath the sunflower painting. “You can tell me anything.”
“I won’t keep anything from you ever again.” She clutched his hand tighter and looked into his eyes. “That’s why... I know how it looks, the fact that I got pregnant out of wedlock. But that was a mistake I won’t make again. I intend to wait for when, or if, I get married.”
He looked at her, and love for the strong woman she was, for her values and her goodness, her ability to make a new start, seemed to fill his heart. “If I have anything to do with it,” he said, his voice catching, “you won’t be waiting long at all.”
Epilogue
Eighteen months later
Balloons were flying at the entrance to the newly renovated Redemption Ranch lodge as Arianna, Jack and Sammy walked into the warm, welcoming great room. Arianna looked over at Sammy, worried he wouldn’t like the colorful change to a familiar environment. And indeed, he studied the balloons impassively for a moment.
“Balloons, Sammy. How do you like the balloons?”
He studied them for a moment longer. “’Loons,” he said and nodded once. The shadow of a smile crossed his three-year-old face. “Like ’loons.”
She swept him up in a hug. “Good words!”
“You little pistol.” Jack tickled Sammy’s chin, making him giggle. “You knew you’d get a hug from Mommy for that.”
Arianna still got a warm, happy feeling when she heard her husband refer to her as Sammy’s mommy, because there was no ambivalence or discomfort in his tone. With God’s help, they’d worked through it and it wasn’t a barrier to their happy marriage. Their very happy marriage. She leaned into him, and he put an arm around her.
All their friends were here: Gabe and Daniela with their baby, named Tommy for one of Gabe’s fallen comrades, and Lily and Carson and the twins, Sunny and Skye, who had been so wonderful helping Arianna and Jack manage the hard time they’d gone through.
Finn and Kayla were here with Leo, now a big third grader. And of course, Penny, Long John and his wife, and Willie. And Branson Howe, the banker, which was a little bit surprising.
After everyone had eaten a kid-friendly meal of pizza and pasta, and the kids were playing with Sammy’s toys—he had plenty, and no problem at all sharing his wealth—Penny gestured to bring the adults together. “I love you guys so much,” she said. “And I want you to be the first to know that, thanks to our donors, including many of you, we’re burning up the mortgage to Redemption Ranch, because it’s all paid off.”
The door opened, and everyone turned as Nathan came rushing in. “Sorry to be late,” he said. “I didn’t... Well, I appreciate the invitation.” His eyes scanned the children, and his small smile told Arianna he’d found Sammy at the center of the kids.
“We’re glad you came, too,” Penny said to Nathan, “because your donation is the one that put us over the top in paying off the ranch.”
Arianna lifted an eyebrow and looked over at Jack. His eyes had narrowed a little, and he looked surprised and interested, but not angry.
He was the best husband in the world.
“As long as we’re making announcements,” Willie said, “Penny and I have one, too.”
Arianna sucked in a breath and looked at Penny.
She was smiling at Willie with eyes full of love.
Willie cleared his throat. “She and I, well, we’re going to get married.”
There was general cheering and hugging, and Arianna’s heart was full. So much to celebrate, and these people were all so dear to her. She and Jack and Sammy were richly blessed.
* * *
Jack walked Branson Howe to the door. “You okay, man?” he asked.
“Yeah. I wish them well.” He took one more glance back at the room, where people were toasting Penny and Willie, and shook his head. “Next time, if there is one, I’ll try harder.”
“There will be,” Jack said. Sometime in the past year, he’d become an optimist about the future.
Jack looked across the room to where Nathan knelt in front of Sammy. They were both engrossed with a complicated and undoubtedly very expensive truck that Nathan had brought for Sammy’s birthday.
They didn’t look much alike, but the intensity they shared, their complete focus on what was in front of them rather than the din of the party around them, identified them, at least to Jack, as father and son.
It’s good for Sammy.
Of course, Sammy was too young to understand about biological parents. They had started telling him a simplified version of his adoption story, but for now, he didn’t have much interest.
As Jack watched, Arianna turned from refilling drinks and walked over toward Nathan and Sammy. She squatted down to admire the truck with them.
Emotion flashed through Jack, jealousy and longing, but it was clean now. He wasn’t ashamed of how he felt, and that helped him be in control of it. He drew in a couple of deep, calming breaths and walked over to the trio.
“Daddy!” Sammy held up his arms, and Jack reached down to pick him up, his heart swelling with love. Nathan stood then, too. He met Jack’s eyes and gave a little nod, and Jack understood.
It was a thank-you. Nathan was grateful to be involved in Sammy’s life. And Jack knew that as time went on, that involvement might become greater. Nathan might be a huge resource to Sammy, and that would be a good thing. Jack felt big enough to let it happen now.
“Bus! Bus!” Sammy struggled to get down as Buster, now a full-grown retriever mix, let out one deep bark. Sammy wrapped his arms around the dog’s neck for a none-too-gentle hug, which Buster endured patiently. Then the two of them headed off toward the other children.
Arianna slid an arm around Jack, and when he looked down at her, her eyes were warm with love. He tugged her closer, putting an arm around her slender waist and letting her his fingers stretch to touch her slightly convex abdomen. “You’re sure we can’t tell everyone tonight? Today?”
“It’s only four months. I still feel like it’s too early.” She smiled at him and relented. “Pretty soon, I’ll let you shout it from the rooftops.”
And that, he reflected as gratitude flooded his heart, he would certainly do.
* * *
Don’t miss these other books in
Lee Tobin McClain’s
Redemption Ranch miniseries:
The Soldier’s Redemption
The Twins’ Family Christmas
Available now from Love Inspired!
Find more great reads at
www.LoveInspired.com
Keep reading for an excerpt from Rocky Mountain Memories by Lois Richer.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003
Dear Reader,
This third book in the Redemption Ranch series is special to me, because it’s about how we can be free to be our perfectly imperfect selves. Arianna feels shame about mistakes she made in the past; that sense of inadequacy, plus a promise she made to her sister, pushes her to keep a secret that should never have been. As for Jack, he believes he’s too staid and dull for a colorful, flamboyant woman like Arianna. The reality is that both of them are just as God made them to be, their mistakes can be forgiven...and they’re perfect for one another. How wonderful!
The cream-colored puppy, Buster, who shows up on Arianna’s doorstep has a real-life model: my own golden doodle, Nash. If you enjoyed Buster, visit @nash_the_goldendoodle’s Instagram account to keep up with a lot of dog shenanigans.
Thank you for reading, and may God’s blessings follow you wherever you go.
Lee
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.
Enjoy six new stories from Love Inspired every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Join Harlequin My Rewards and reward the book lover in you!
Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever and whenever you shop.
Turn your points into FREE BOOKS of your choice
OR
EXCLUSIVE GIFTS from your favorite authors or series.
Click here to join for FREE
Or visit us online to register at
www.HarlequinMyRewards.com
Harlequin My Rewards is a free program (no fees) without any commitments or obligations.
Rocky Mountain Memories
by Lois Richer
Chapter One
He would have recognized her anywhere.
Oblivious to the May long weekend crowds thronging the Canadian airport in Edmonton, Jake Elliot strode directly toward Gemma Andrews, her gorgeous, waist-length tumble of auburn hair drawing him like a homing beacon.
“Hello, Gem,” he said when he reached her. “Welcome home.”
Her forest green eyes widened as she surveyed him, studying him as though he was a complete stranger.
“Uh, thank you.” The lack of energy in her response bothered Jake.
“Are you all right?” He glanced at the strip of gauze covering her left temple. “Your head...?”
“Wh-who are you?” The pure panic in her words floored Jake.
“Excuse me.” Only then did Jake notice Gemma’s companion. “I’m Celia Shane from the Canadian embassy in Lima. You are?”
Unease skittered across his nerves. An embassy official had escorted Gem? Because she couldn’t manage the trip on her own or...?
“Jake Elliot. I’m here to
take Gemma home.”
“I was told someone, um, older would meet us.” Celia’s phone pinged. She checked it and returned a text. “Apparently there’s been a change. May I see some credentials?”
Jake fumbled for his wallet to show her his driver’s license.
“Thanks. Hello, Jake.” Celia’s calm demeanor offered some serenity to Jake’s whirling thoughts and apparently to Gemma, too, because her scared look eased. “Now, let me explain. As we notified the family, Gemma was at Machu Picchu with a tour group when the earthquake occurred. Subsequent to that notification, we learned she’d been struck by tumbling rocks, had fallen and, as a result of that, she’s lost her memory. Because her head injury was minor and she’s otherwise in good health, the hospital released her. They feel she’ll recover best at home. Besides, they need the beds.”
“Lost her memory?” Jake was stuck on that.
“Temporarily.” Celia smiled. “Her doctors are convinced her memory will return in time.”
“Will she—?”
“You two do know I’m standing here, right?” Gemma interrupted indignantly. “I can speak for myself.”
Ah, that was more like the feisty woman Jake had known.
“Sorry, Gemma.” Celia smiled at her. “Hazard of the job. I tend to take over.”
“I am fine.” Gemma’s eyes met Jake’s with the same directness she’d always employed. “I have a cut on my forehead and my brain is a little dinged up, but as Celia said, supposedly things will return to normal soon. In the meantime, I’m sorry but I don’t know you.”
“Sure you do. I’m Jake, your foster aunts’ handyman.” To his dismay, even that brought no flicker of recognition to her lovely green eyes.
“My foster aunts?” She studied him curiously. “Not my parents or my family?”
“They are your family, Gem.” He hesitated, but maybe more information would reassure her. “Some years ago Tillie and Margaret Spenser brought you and three other foster girls to their home, The Haven, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.”
The Nanny's Secret Baby--A Fresh-Start Family Romance Page 18
