A Mother's Love (21 page)

“She will. She's perfect. Her gait is so smooth. You should see her!”

He made a noncommittal sound, knowing he never would. He wasn't coming back. He was going to sell the Silver Spur and stay far away from Sage Flats. The alternative was just too painful.

“I have to sit down,” Hope said suddenly, and he saw the signs of fatigue in her eyes.

“Are you all right?” Christa asked, stepping forward.

“Just tired.”

“You shouldn't wear yourself out just for me,” Jace said. “Come on, let's get you inside.”

He scooped her up and carried her into his house, setting her on one of the couches adjacent to the big river-rock fireplace that dominated the room.

“Could I have a glass of water?” Hope asked.

“Of course! I'll get you one.”

Before he could head to the kitchen, Christa spoke up, addressing him for the first time since he'd ridden up to them. “I'll help you.”

He shot her a look of surprise. Yeah, he'd led a pretty worthless life the last two years, but he figured he was probably capable of grabbing a glass of water on his own. Still, he said nothing as she followed him into the empty kitchen, where he found a glass in the cupboard and turned on the filtered-water tap at the sink.

The glass was almost full before she finally spoke. “Jace, I…I don't know what to say to you. You gave her a horse!”

He hadn't expected seeing her again to hurt so much, this steady ache in his chest he could barely breathe around.

“You don't have to say anything. I don't want your gratitude.”

She fell silent. “What do you want?” she finally asked.

Your love. Your arms around me. To kiss you again before I die right here in my kitchen for wanting you.

He couldn't say any of those things. Just thinking the words made his throat close up. But something of his feelings must have been reflected in his expression. She stared at him for a long moment, then she gave him a radiant smile.

“Jace,” she whispered. Just his name. That was it. Then, before he could respond, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Then, to his shock, she was kissing him with fierce tenderness.

He stood like an idiot for about half a second, then he grabbed her and returned the kiss. Sunshine seemed to pour into the kitchen, bright, vivid light that soaked through him, pushing out all the darkness.

This was what he'd been looking for all these years. This moment, this feeling.

This woman.

“Wow,” he managed when he could breathe again. “Want another horse? I've got a dozen out there. Take your pick. Hell, if you kiss me like that again, you can take the whole herd.”

She laughed, but her smile slid away quickly. “Don't go, Jace.”

Her voice was so low he could barely make out the words and he thought for sure he had misheard. “Sorry—what?”

“Stay. Hope needs you.”

She paused, then she shivered a little and met his gaze. The vulnerable expression in them ripped him open like the business end of an angry bull.

“And so do I.”

He froze as joy burst through him, wild and radiant.

“Well? Aren't you going to say anything?”

He didn't trust himself to speak, so he pulled her into his arms again as all the disjointed pieces of his life seemed to suddenly fit snugly into place. She settled there with a contented sigh, her mouth softly eager beneath his.

“I love you, Christa,” he murmured, brushing the corner of that delectable mouth. “You walked into Hank's therapy arena and you brought the spring sunshine inside with you, and I think I knew in that instant my life would never be the same.”

He loved her. She closed her eyes as the sheer wonder of it seeped through her, cleansing and sweet.

“I had a crush on you before I even met you,” she answered, “when Hope and I used to watch you on the rodeo circuit. But that was just a two-dimensional image on the TV screen. Then you came into our lives and I fell in love with more than just the image. I fell in love with you. How could I not fall hard for the man who taught my daughter how to dance again?”

His kiss stole her breath but replaced it with more of that sheer, bubbling happiness.

She touched his cheeks, savoring the rasp of his afternoon stubble and the heat of his skin. Her fingers tingled to explore every glorious inch of him, but she couldn't forget her daughter was in the other room.

There would be time. She suddenly knew it with sweet certainty. He might have to go on this business trip, but she knew he'd come back, to Sage Flats and to her.

“Mom? Jace? It's just a lousy drink of water. What's taking so long?”

Christa stiffened as Hope's voice called from the other
room, growing louder as she approached. She would have pulled away from him, but Jace's arms tightened around her.

“She's going to know sooner or later,” he murmured in her ear. “I'm not letting you go now. Either of you.”

Christa turned in his arms to find Hope standing in the doorway, her eyes wide.

“Whoa,” she said. Just that.

“I'm crazy about your mother and she feels the same way,” Jace said. “You okay with that?”

Hope studied them for a moment, then a sudden, crafty light entered her expression. She looked so much like a typical teenager trying to figure all the angles for her own self-interest that Christa had to fight a smile.

“Does that mean I get to keep the horse?”

Jace laughed, a rich, full sound that seemed to fill the kitchen.

“That's up to your mother.”

“I suppose,” Christa answered. “I guess a girl can never have too many miracles.”