On the Line (32 page)

As he built toward release, their hands explored more rapidly, never settling in
one spot for long as they teased and sweetly tortured each other. His lips never
left hers, and he could feel her tiny gasps in short bursts against his cheek. When
he sensed she was getting close, he concentrated both hands on her breasts, caressing
and pinching the nipples until she came apart in his arms, her screams tickled the
back of his throat. Her walls tightened around him, and he thrust quickly so he could
join her in the completion.

She broke the kiss and slowly lowered her head to his shoulder. He kissed her forehead
as he wrapped his arms around her. Her breathing slowly returned to normal, and he
thought she’d fallen asleep when she pressed her palms to his chest and sat up.

“Promise me something,” she said somberly.

“Anything,” he answered as he reached up and placed his hand over hers.

She inhaled deeply and held his stare. “If I have a nightmare tonight, I don’t care
what I say or how angry I get, don’t leave.”

Nathan allowed his delight to show on his face. “Never again.”

“A dog, Nathan, really?” Janelle asked, laughing as she stepped off of the porch
to greet Nathan the following Wednesday. He was walking toward her, a black-and-tan
German shepherd held on a tight leash beside him. The screen door slammed behind
her, and she turned to her children and motioned for them to stop. They froze on
the top step; Zoe bounced anxiously on her toes as Janelle faced Nathan again. “Who’s
this?”

“This is McClane.” Nathan smiled broadly as he stopped in front of Janelle and leaned
closer. “Can I kiss you yet?” he whispered as he glanced at the kids.

“Not in front of the children,” she replied with a grin. “Why did you bring your
dog?”

“He was getting lonely all by himself at my house.” Nathan took Janelle’s
hand and
continued to walk toward the porch. “And I thought he might be helpful to Zach.”

“Has he ever been around children?” Janelle asked hesitantly, tugging on Nathan’s
hand as she stopped before they reached the bottom step.

He stopped and turned to face her. “He’ll be fine.”

Nathan waited for her to nod before he allowed the dog to climb the first step. “Zach,
Zoe, this is McClane. He’s two years old, and I thought you might like to meet him.”

“Mommy, can I pet him?” Zoe asked enthusiastically, her hands clenching and unclenching
by her side.

Janelle looked at Nathan, who looked almost as excited as his daughter, and gave
the go ahead. Zoe squealed when her fingers reached the dog’s fur for the first time.
Janelle climbed to the top step and rested against the column as she watched Nathan
guide Zoe on how to touch and how not to touch the dog. Zach slowly inched closer,
and eventually Nathan was teaching him as well.

Her heart swelled at the scene in front of her and she knew this was exactly what
her kids needed. Not necessarily the dog, but the experience and the guidance that
Nathan gave them. She knew, without doubt, that he would always be that teacher,
leader, and guide for them, and that he’d do it enthusiastically because he loved
them. It would never be a chore for him because he would want to help them.

He loved them. And they loved him. Her heart tripped over the realization but it
was all there in front of her. Suddenly, she could envision a life she’d only ever
dreamed about laid out in front of her. She shook her head and laughed away the ambitious
thoughts. She was getting ahead of herself.

She watched him give some final instructions to the children then stand and walk
toward her. He stopped beside her and placed his hand on the rail behind her, his
arm pressed against her back.

“What are you doing here so early?” Janelle asked as she watched Zoe rub the dog
from shoulder to the base of his tail with a grin on her face. McClane’s tail thumped
against the wooden porch boards.

“You said you had yard work, I thought I’d come and help,” he answered.

“Kelsey and I can manage it on our own. You didn’t need to do that.”
Janelle turned
so her back was pressed against the column and he was to her side. “We actually enjoy
doing yard work.”

“Jan, I’m going stir crazy, sitting at home with nothing else to do every day,” he
said and Janelle could hear the underlying plea in his voice.

She looked into his hazel eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. He had said he wanted
a normal life, and she supposed this would be normal. Richard had never been a fan
of gardening or maintenance—she’d always had to do that. She closed her eyes and
shook her head. She had to stop comparing the two of them. She’d known in high school
that Nathan and Richard were different; it wasn’t fair to Nathan for her to continue
to measure him against Richard. Even if he did come out more favorably.

“No?” Nathan asked, misunderstanding her movement.

“No,” she repeated and looked at him, “I mean, yes, you can stay and help.”

“Why did you shake your head?” Nathan frowned.

Janelle placed her palm on his cheek. “It was nothing. Just a bad habit I need to
break.”

His expression softened, but his eyes still looked a little troubled. He reached
up and took her hand, kissed her fingers, then lowered their clasped hands between
them. “What would you like me to do?”

“Not the roses,” Kelsey said as she came around the corner of the porch, dressed
in dark pants and a long-sleeved denim shirt. A red bandanna held her hair in place.
“Those are mine.” Kelsey held up a hand pruner and waved it in her gloved hand.

“They’re her pride and joy,” Janelle told Nathan as he took in her sister’s appearance
and Janelle wondered what Patrick would think if he could see her.

“Okay, works for me,” Nathan said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t know what to do with
them anyway.”

“You can mow the grass,” Kelsey said with a commanding air.

“Fine,” Nathan agreed. “Let me get McClane’s toys and food then you can lead the
way.” He released Janelle’s hand and went back to his truck. He returned a few seconds
later with a bag and handed it to Janelle.

“C’mon, let’s get this done before it gets too warm,” Kelsey said and turned. As
she walked away, Janelle noticed her slight limp and frowned.

“Has it gotten any better?” Nathan asked, and Janelle saw he was watching Kelsey,
too.

“I thought it was gone, I hadn’t noticed it much lately.” Janelle gripped his forearm.
“Keep an eye on her. Please don’t let her overdo it.”

“You got it.” Nathan gave her a large grin then followed her sister to the shed behind
the carport.

Janelle looked at the kids. “Okay, kiddos, back inside. We have some schoolwork to
do.” She hustled the kids and the dog inside and straight to the dining room, dropping
the bag at the base of the kitchen island on the way.

She’d decided it would be best for Zach if she homeschooled him for the remainder
of the school year. He’d missed so much work because of the kidnapping and his recovery
that he’d fallen behind. He only had a month and a half left anyway, and she was
sure she could get him caught up before the end of the school year.

Two hours later, Zach was sitting at the dining room table working on math worksheets,
Zoe was sitting beside him, coloring in one of her new princess coloring books, and
the dog lay on the floor behind both of their chairs. Janelle stood at the dining
room window, watching a now-shirtless Nathan edging around the rose bushes as Kelsey
waited impatiently from a safe distance. Janelle was considering the rippling muscles
in his chest as they moved the weed-eater from side to side when the front door opened.

She turned in time to see the dog approach the doorway to the kitchen and heard him
growl as the clack of heels hit the tile floor. Janelle closed her eyes and groaned
inwardly. There was only one person who would simply walk into her house without
invitation, and Janelle didn’t want to see her right now.

“McClane, no,” Janelle lightly scolded the dog as she approached him. He sat in the
doorway; his eyes remained on Mary as she moved toward them.

“Where did you get that beast?” Mary said, placing her hand to her chest as she froze.
McClane let out a low rumble. “He sounds dangerous, you should take him back.”

“He’s perfectly fine, Mother.” Janelle patted the dog on the head. “What are you
doing here?”

Mary’s jaw dropped, and she made a wide arc around Janelle and the dog to stand next
to the kitchen window that overlooked the backyard. “Why do you always take that
tone with me? Do I have to have a reason? Maybe I just want to see my grandchildren,”
Mary said. To anyone else, she would have sounded offended.

To Janelle, she sounded staged.

“Maybe,” Janelle agreed. “But we both know that’s never the case.”

Mary lifted her chin and considered her eldest child for a moment before turning.
“Did you hire a gar—” She turned and glared at Janelle. “What is
he
doing here?”

“Baking a cake,” Janelle quipped as she rolled her eyes. “What does it look like
he’s doing here?”

“You know, it is one thing for him to come to Zoe’s birthday party,” Mary said as
she folded her arms across her chest and took a few angry steps toward Janelle, her
lip curling. “After all, he is her—”

“Enough, Mother,” Janelle snapped and thumbed toward the children. Zach and Zoe were
both enraptured as they watched the adults.

“Children.” Mary sounded surprised to see them.

“Imagine that,” Janelle muttered to herself.

Mary scowled at her daughter. “Perhaps we should move this conversation elsewhere.”
Without waiting for a response, Mary stomped past Janelle and through the kitchen.

“Oh goody,” Janelle whispered to the dog who looked up at her and wagged his tail.
“Stay with the kids.” She gave his head a rub and looked at Zach. “Back to work.
I want you to have those done when I’m finished talking to Grandma.” With a deep,
quiet sigh, she followed her mother into the office. She barely had the door closed
behind her when her mother started her rant.

“I can’t believe you,” Mary started as she paced the length of the room. “It’s one
thing to have him at Zoe’s party since he is her father, but do you really need him
here now? He’s not even spending time with his child, he’s outside doing
your
yard
work.”

“Mom, he asked to do that,” Janelle said softly.

“I don’t care, Janelle, that’s not the point.” Mary stopped in the middle of the
floor and folded her arms across her chest.

“What
is
the point?” Janelle asked dryly.

“The point is, he’s outside doing things that you and your sister are completely
capable of doing yourselves. What kind of message does that send the children?” Mary
snapped.

Janelle sat on the arm of the plush, leather sofa and clasped her hands in her lap.
“I’m sure you’d like to tell me,” she said with a nod toward her mother.

Mary’s lip twitched slightly before she continued. “It shows the children that you
are moving on from their father—”

Janelle let out a snort of derision that drew an irate look from her mother.

“From their father before the proper amount of time has passed,” Mary persisted,
only slightly unfazed. “It’s only been just over a month, Janelle. You should have
more respect for the dead.”

“It’s been almost six weeks,” Janelle said then shrugged, “but who’s counting?”

Mary gasped.

“As for moving on from their father,” Janelle continued, ignoring her mother’s outrage,
“I would argue that he gave up the respect that comes with that title when he kidnapped
Zach and told the world Zoe wasn’t his.”

“And whose fault would that be?” Mary snapped. “He knew what he was dealing with,
and he did the best he could for those kids. He loved them like they were his own.”

“No, Mother, he didn’t. He practically ignored Zoe because she was a girl, and he
couldn’t look at Zach because he didn’t have the right bloodlines,” Janelle rose
and walked around her mother to the desk and propped her backside against it.

“Again, Janelle, you have no one to blame but yourself. You forced that adoption
on him,” Mary said as she turned to face her daughter. “You made him take your sister
under his roof, you pushed him into that adoption for your own selfish purposes,
and then you had the audacity to cheat. With
him
,” she spat as she motioned toward
the backyard. “Richard was one of the highest-paid men in the county, he was a good
provider for you, and you repaid him by sleeping with someone else. You should be
ashamed.”

“Are those the lies he told you?” Janelle scoffed, trying to ignore the sting of
the truth to the accusations.

“They’re not lies,” Mary nearly yelled.

From the other side of the door, McClane barked a couple of times.

“They were truths for him, Janelle,” Mary snapped. “That’s what’s important. He loved
you and you ignored everything I ever told you. You put your needs ahead of his time
and time again and you paid no attention to the damage you were doing to your marriage.
And now,” Mary flung her hands into the air with an exasperated air, “now, you don’t
even wait for him to be cold in his grave before you begin to carry on with Nathan,
unless you never really ended it and made a cuckold out of your husband under his
very nose.”