Special Delivery (Mountain Meadow Homecoming 1) (14 page)

“He would make remarks, even when we were out with friends. And he started putting pressure on me again, but Jake,” she added, “I didn’t want to do it with him. I was scared.”

He waited. Another thing she liked. He didn’t mouth some platitude. “Then I found out I was pregnant. When I told him, he was furious. He broke it off with me, accused me, said I was just trying to trap him into marriage for his money. I was wearing his ring.” Her chin wobbled, but she pressed her lips together for a minute so she could regain control. “He had already asked me to marry him, so how could I be trapping him?”

Jake leaned toward her this time and stroked the hair off her face. It would be so easy to lean into that touch, but she didn’t yet have the nerve. “Shhh. It’s okay. Here, let me take Noelle and put her down, she’s drifted off.” He reached over to lift her from Holly’s arms, then put the drowsy baby to his bare shoulder and burped and rocked her to sleep again. He laid her in her crib as if he’d been handling babies his entire life. Holly closed her gown and her robe.

“I thought you would be awkward with her,” she observed, “but you’re not.”

Jake chuckled. “It’s a fluke. It’s just because it’s her, I guess. I helped her be born, so it just seems natural to handle her. She’s out like a light. I could use some hot chocolate. What about you?”

They worked together in the kitchen, then carried their steaming mugs into the den. Jake sat on the couch and patted the spot next to him. “Sit next to me and keep me warm. I think we still have some talking to do, don’t you?”

Holly nodded, warmed by more than just the cocoa. “Yeah.”

Jake rested his arm along the back of the couch. It felt like a silent offer for her to get closer, so Holly took advantage of it, curling against his side. “You told me at the hospital that Spence threatened you. Did you involve the police?”

Holly leaned forward and set her mug down. “I did. I got a restraining order after Spence stopped by a couple times drunk.”

Jake’s arm moved from the couch to her shoulders and he squeezed with his hand. “Did he hurt you or Tyler?” he growled.

She hesitated. “He backed off for a little while when I got the restraining order.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “So he did hurt you.”

Holly swallowed. “The Dilby name can make a lot of people look the other way. I couldn’t risk my baby or Tyler, so I packed our stuff and we left.”

“So why did you stop here? Mountain Meadow’s not a final destination for most folks.”

“I was almost out of money. I had to pick a place. We were parked along the parkway near a mileage sign and…I just picked. I knew I had to save what was left to pay for some place for us to live, and Mountain Meadow sounded so peaceful. You know?”

Jake chuckled. “It drew me.”

“From the military?”

His jaw tensed. “I left the army two years before I returned to the States, so I was ex-military. I did special jobs for money. Some of them involved getting people in and out of places. Sometimes I worked for the government, sometimes not.”

“A mercenary?”

Jake snorted. “I guess you could call it that.”

“What happened?”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I had to pull what was left of one of my best friends from the wreckage of a blown-up Humvee. The next morning I realized I was losing touch with me. No amount of money was worth that. I came back to figure out what I wanted out of life.”

“Did you?” Holly held her breath for his answer.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “Just recently. You’ll be safe here, Holly.” Jake set their mugs aside, then tilted her chin up. “I want to kiss you.”

She wanted it, too, so much it made her breathless. As his face moved closer to her, Holly trembled. Spence had been rough. Subconsciously she braced for that, so when Jake’s touch asked rather than took, she relaxed. He nibbled at her lower lip, so gently it was like the brush of a butterfly. Heat filled her to overflowing. Hands she’d rested against his chest, almost in a position to push him away, instead inched around his strong neck and into his silky hair. His kiss was like nothing she had ever known.

“Holly.” His voice was a whisper, a benediction. He rested his chin against her forehead, tucking her against his chest. His heart beat as fast as hers. “This is the wrong time for this. I’m aroused as hell, and you’ve just given birth. And what are we supposed to do about that?”

Holly stared at him, uncertain how to take his humor. Spence would have been infuriated, but not this man. She stroked his beard-roughened cheek.

He chuckled. “I’ll take a cold shower. Our time will come, but I think we both have to admit there’s a lot more than friendship happening here.”

Holly closed her eyes. There was. So much more.

* * * *

Jenny woke at four to check on Evan. He slept with one arm behind his head and the other dropped off the couch. He snored lightly, his lips parted and his wide mouth looking softer and more vulnerable. The cover had slipped onto the floor. Jenny picked it up and recovered him. The throw was too short to cover his long, narrow feet, so she grabbed a second throw. He was watching her.

“Don’t stop,” he drawled. “I was just enjoying this picture of domestic bliss.”

Jenny tossed the blanket over him and straightened, her hands fisted on her narrow hips. “I came to see if you were alert. Well you are. So see you.”

“Not going to soothe my fevered brow? Charm me with your bedside manner? Kiss me and make it better?” he taunted. Once she might have. Now it just made her sad. “You’ve become a frozen caricature of a woman. You stand there in front of me with your fists clenched at your sides and look at me like I hurt you? If I took you right now, would you even react like a normal woman? Moan with pleasure like you did after our senior prom?”

“Go to hell, Evan.” Jenny stormed out of the room, his cynical laughter following her. She ran back to her room, shut the door, and leaned back against it, her breath coming out in harsh, silent sobs. How could he despoil what they’d had?

How could she get through the rest of this ordeal with him here? How could she check on Holly with him right next door? What had she been thinking to get Holly to move in with Jake…Evan’s very best friend?

* * * *

When she woke him again at six, she had showered and changed. “Get up, Evan,” she ordered. “There’s coffee and toast in the kitchen if you’re hungry. I’m leaving in fifteen minutes.”

“Not a morning person, Jenny?” he sniped, wanting to strike back at her, needing to see the dislike in her face. Needing to see anything but that pale, wounded look of last night or the way her golden eyes dulled, like someone snapped off the light inside. “I guess that’s just one more reason why we would never have worked out.”

She stopped in the doorway and looked at him as if he had just crawled out from under a rock. “I’ll take you to the hospital. Dr. Razawi will handle any follow up. I’ve already e-mailed him the details of your case, so he’ll be aware of what happened when you see him.”

She left the room before he could say anything else. Evan smacked the arm of the couch with his forearm and fist. Fifteen minutes later, he folded himself into the little BMW she drove. She had already warmed the car, and his seat had a heater under the leather covering to make it comfortable.

“Big house, nice car,” he observed. “Not strapped by school loans? Your daddy’s moonshine business must have been even better than everyone knew.”

“Oh, he didn’t…” Jenny halted, not finishing whatever she’d been about to utter. She tucked her hair behind her ear and put the car in gear. She had always fidgeted with her hair when she was nervous—or hiding something. Her daddy didn’t what? Evan wondered. He didn’t pay for her schooling? Then who had? She’d gotten her undergraduate degree from Carolina and gone on to Wake Forest’s medical school. Not a cheap education.

The prosecutor in him was like a terrier with a bone, and he wanted to keep tearing at it. But for once in his life, Evan stopped himself. There was something vulnerable in the twist to her mouth and the shadows under her golden eyes. What had put those shadows there?

As if she couldn’t stand the silence, she glanced at him. “What? No snotty comeback?”

She slowed the car as they rounded the curve. Over the embankment, the tail end of his Nissan was just visible. Her breath caught, and he glanced her way. If possible, her face had gone even paler.

“Just think, Jenny,” he needled her, unable to stop this time, “you nearly had your wish. I did almost go to hell.”

She cringed at his tone. “Don’t,” she choked. “Don’t, Evan.” She didn’t say another word as she sped to the hospital. She halted in front of the emergency entrance. To Evan’s mortification, an orderly came out with a wheelchair. Evan glared at Jenny.

“Very funny. I will not get in that.”

“Suit yourself. They’re expecting you. I’ve done my job. You’re here. Good-bye, Evan. Get out of my car.”

Once he was standing on the curb, she slid behind the wheel and drove around to the physicians’ parking lot without looking back.

* * * *

Holly curled against Jake, her cheek resting on his furry chest, his arm snuggled around her. He was the one who heard Noelle’s cries first. He tried to shift from underneath her, no doubt thinking she was asleep, but she stirred.

“What time is it?” she murmured, a little groggy.

“Five-thirty.” As she started to move, he pressed her back. “Stay there. I’ll change her and bring her to you, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you okay or do you need to…?” He gestured toward her chest.

“No. I’m fine. A little full, but I think it’ll be okay.”

He nodded and sprinted up the stairs. Holly stared after him just a bit befuddled. He’d kissed her several times. He hadn’t scared her, but his searching mouth had left her aching and wanting in a way she’d never experienced with Spence. Holly leaned back into the corner of the couch, turning her cheek against the back of it. It still retained Jake’s warmth and the tangy smell of the soap he used. She smiled as she inhaled.

Holly had stepped into the fantasy she’d spun so many months ago, but instead of Spence Dilby, Jake Allred was the handsome prince. She heard his step on the stairs. Jake had thrown on sweats and sneakers and had Noelle tucked in the crook of his arm. He bent and laid the baby in her arms before he kissed Holly on the mouth. The heat, even from his light brush of lips, was almost more than she could handle.

“Good morning,” he murmured.

She blinked at him. She had spent her first night with Jake. “Where are you going?”

His mouth quirked. “Morning run. I’ll be back by the time you finish nursing. Then I’ll take Noelle while you get Tyler going. The bus stops out front at seven-thirty.”

Holly laughed as she offered breakfast to the already rooting infant. “You sound like you’ve been doing this forever.”

He grinned. “It’s kind of nice.”

With a wave he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him. Holly stared at the heavy oak panel. Jake was right. They were so far beyond mere friendship. Sharing Noelle’s birth had made their relationship more intimate than it probably should be. They didn’t really know each other that well. It scared her, but also made her want to grab hold with both hands. She wanted security for Tyler and the baby, but she didn’t want to use Jake to attain it.

After Spence, Holly wasn’t sure she could put her complete trust in another man again. She wanted to stand on her own.

“Good morning, Ernie!” Jake grinned at his boss as he entered the cramped police station and nodded to the other two men already there.

The patrol officer on duty overnight nursed a cup of coffee while he debriefed the officer just coming on. Two other officers rounded out their numbers. Everyone pitched in, and if something big happened they couldn’t handle, there was always help from either Sam Barnes and his guys, or they could go to the state. With the proximity of the parkway, even the rangers provided assistance when needed.

“Reports are on your desk, Jake,” Ernie called over his shoulder as he stirred a healthy dollop of sugar into his coffee cup. He followed Jake into his office and shut the door. “Got a minute?”

Jake sat on the corner of his desk. “Sure, Ernie. What’s doin’?”

The older man scratched his head. “You’re mighty cheerful this morning. Don’t you have a newborn sharing your house right now?”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “She’s beautiful.”

“Mother or baby?”

Surprise rolled through Jake. He laughed as he said, “Both, I guess. Yeah, both.”

Ernie smiled. “Great, Jake. Listen, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for a while now, and I can’t put if off any longer. I’m retiring at the end of the year.”

Jake blinked and dropped into the wooden chair behind his desk. “I guess I knew it was coming, Ernie, but not this soon. That’s just three weeks. You don’t give a guy much warning.”

“I’ve been puttin’ more and more of the workload off on you, and you’re handlin’ it just fine. I’ve recommended you for the job, by the way. It should be yours for the taking if you just give the town council the word.”

Jake smiled, touched by the praise. “Thanks. I appreciate that. I’ve only been here a year. You sure about this?”

“I can’t think of a better man for the job. Hey, speaking of good men, have you seen the
Messenger
? The story of you deliverin’ the baby is right on the front page, big color picture and everything.”

Ernie opened the door and yelled down the hall. “Hey, Brandt! Bring me the
Messenger
sitting on my desk.” A couple of seconds later a beefy hand appeared through the door waving the paper. Ernie grabbed it and handed it to Jake.

When he unfolded the paper to look at the story, his smile faded. Holly and Noelle stared back at him.

“Shit.” Jake swore. “
Shit.
”

Ernie frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Jake tossed the paper on the desk. “Holly ran away from an ex-fiancé who was stalking her and harassing her to give him her child. She has a PO in place. I tried to talk Amanda out of running the story, or at least to hold off on the picture of Holly and the baby. Amanda seems to think it’ll just run here, but you know how it is this time of year. Everyone’s looking for those peace-on-earth-goodwill-toward-men stories. I’m afraid some news service will pick it up.”