Homeward Bound (27 page)

"No. The car is too big."

They stepped out onto the porch. The yellow TAXI light on top of the car flickered twice and burned out. Typical for life in Tannersville. The car stopped and the door flew open wide. As Kate stepped out, Jake found himself unable to move. She wasn't due back yet. What had happened? A slight push from his daughter reminded him that he should go to his wife.

Kate threw her arms around his neck and planted a warm, wet kiss on his mouth, without a thought for the gawking taxi driver. Jake reached in his pocket and handed some bills to the man and waved him away.

"What are you doing home?" he asked when he finally came up for air.

"I couldn't live without you for another day."

Her declaration touched him, but he knew there was something more. "Thank you, but why else are you here?"

"Can we discuss it later? I'm really tired, with the time difference and all. The plane arrived late and I left right from the studio, so I didn't get any rest in the past day."

"Sure." He carried her bags inside and left them in the foyer. Chloe had already cornered Kate's attention when he joined them in the living room. Kate looked more tired than usual. Especially since she had been in a studio rather than onstage the past two weeks.

"Did you finish early?" Chloe asked.

"No." Kate massaged her temples and leaned against Jake as he sat next to her. "We stopped and rescheduled the recording session for a couple of months from now."

"Why?" Jake asked.

"I haven't been feeling too good."

He put his hand to her forehead. "Have you seen a doctor?"

"Yes, Daddy," she joked. "Nikki took me to her doctor, and he suggested that I take it easy for the next couple of months, then I can go back into the studio."

"It's nothing serious?" Jake pushed.

She smiled up at him. "No. But I've decided not to follow up the release of the album with a tour this time. My agent didn't like it, but she understood when I explained my reasons."

"Oh, gee. That is too bad." Jake tried for sympathy, but he didn't quite pull it off. He never interfered in her career, except for his insistence that she find a new agent, which she gladly did. If she never went on the road again, he wouldn't shed a tear.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Tomorrow, Jake. It involves the two of us, and we really need to discuss it. I just need some sleep. I always seem to need sleep these days."

"All right." He pulled her to her feet and walked her to the bedroom. "Just tell me why you changed your plans, and I won't say another word until tomorrow."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Kate glanced over his shoulder and winked at Chloe, then turned back to him. "They don't make leather miniskirts in maternity sizes."

"Oh," he said, and left her at the door. She sat on the edge of the bed and counted to three. "Oh, Kate. Wait a second."

"You promised."

Jake pushed her down on the bed and stretched out next to her. He ran his hand along her stomach and bent down to kiss the area where his baby had begun to grow. "It's tomorrow somewhere in the world."

"You've got a point there." She cupped his face in her hands. "Are you sure you want to start this all over again? Chloe is almost seventeen."

"I know what I'm getting into. What about you?"

"I know that you might be eating a lot of chocolate cake for the next six months. Anything else I need to know, I figure you'll teach me. You did so well with Chloe."

"And your career?"

She snuggled closer. "A deal is a deal. I said I would stop the traveling when I got pregnant."

"I won't hold you to it. After all, it's my fault."

"I seem to remember being there, too."

“I know, but--“
 
He never wanted Kate to feel trapped on the farm.

 
She took his hand and laid it against her stomach again. "The music critics might argue that I do my best work alone on a stage, but I've decided I prefer the results when working with a collaborator."

About the Author

Like most authors, I didn't start out as a writer, but rather as a reader. My passion for romance novels began in my late teens and left me with an itch to discover the world.

After living in places as culturally diverse as Athens, Greece and Cairo, Egypt (where I met and married my own romantic hero), we returned to the States.

From a very young age, I showed an aptitude for telling stories. Of course my mother called me a pathological liar, but I prefer to think back on those days as an apprenticeship for my future craft.

Also published by Books We Love

Murphy’s Law

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