Switched, Bothered and Bewildered (30 page)

"I'm going to call my old foreman and have him round up the guys that have been working here. They'll start cleanup, take what's in the garage and put it in locked storage so we won't have to worry about anything else while we're gone," Dean said.

"You are a very resourceful man." Jillian smiled a crooked smile at him. "I'm afraid this is all going to hit me later. I'm so worried about my sister and niece that this is actually at the bottom of the list."

"Let's go look for the insurance policy and I'll make some calls. I resurrected my cell phone just for you," he said as he held it up.

"Wow, caveman joins the twenty-first century."

"It was a symbol of my old life. I know this sounds odd, but I enjoyed myself fixing your sister's house up. I wouldn't mind rebuilding it. I've changed. I think I can handle doing small projects without becoming a neurotic control freak."

Jillian couldn't sort anything out right now. She

had to take small steps, like Dean said. She headed for the garage, and Dean helped her find the metal box her sister had covered in flowered contact paper.

"At least we could find it easier," she laughed. The paper they needed was there, and they returned to the firemen to talk about logistics.

She had nothing but shorts and T-shirts, one set on, one set in the overnight duffle she'd taken up to Dean's. But clothes were hardly important now. Monty was going to have to do some kennel time, and he was mighty upset about it. He leaned on her as if he knew.

In hours they were at the airport, with the horrible mess of Jana Lee's house in the hands of Dean's crew. Oliver had given them an extra reservation number over the phone. The flight was only half full, and the stewardess, seeing the shape that Jillian was in, let them sit together.

Jillian ordered a double bourbon on the airplane and closed her eyes against thoughts and images of her sister in the hospital and the smoking pile of rubble they'd left behind.

"It's not your fault," Dean said, watching over her.

"Intellectually, I know that I didn't make an earthquake hit San Francisco, but I'm not so sure about the house. Maybe God was getting me back. I feel responsible for the entire mess." She raised

her hand slightly to catch herself from bursting into tears, because if she started crying, she'd never stop.

Dean pulled her close. "God did not send lightning down to hit the house. He sent you to me."

²⁰

Romancing the Twins

Jackson figured as long as there wasn't an actual husband waiting in the wings, he'd seen it all at this point. The Tompkins family, up front and real. For one thing, he was now doing his best to keep an eye on a very emotional fifteen-year-old girl who, Oliver said, was Jana Lee's daughter. He could sure see the family resemblance. She'd spent the entire evening with her mother till they'd made her leave and Oliver had taken her home to his place.

Jillian Tompkins had come in the middle of the night in a pair of white shorts and a Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt. Her hair was crazy and she smelled funny, like smoke. She'd only nodded a hello, as if ignoring him would hide the fact that she'd played hooky from her job for two and a half

weeks—including the week she'd legitimately taken off as sick leave.

But it hadn't seemed to matter to him when he'd watched her rush to her sister's side, and seeing the two of them crying their eyes out had been pretty touching. Jana Lee wasn't sleeping much anyway. They'd been checking her constantly, and every time he'd jerked awake she'd been staring at him, wide-eyed.

He'd spent the entire night sleeping in a chair next to her bed, despite the medical staff's trying to remove him. He could be a real hard-ass when he needed to be. And he needed to be with her no matter what. He needed to tell her he loved her and hear her whisper to him that she loved him too.

Now it was morning, and the place was getting very busy. As the light cracked through the blinds, he straightened himself up and looked around. What had roused him this time was the sound of Jillian Tompkins and Carly Stivers coming in the room. Carly greeted him warmly and thanked him for staying with her mom through the night.

Jillian had a tall, muscular guy in tow, who shook Jackson's hand and said he was Dean Wakefield.

Jackson recognized Jillian very clearly as herself, dressed in her own chic black clothes, and much cleaner than before. The three of them, the daughter and two sisters, started talking, and the tears were flowing, mostly out of Jillian.

Once he saw her in the light of day, he truly could not believe he'd fallen for their trick. They were completely different people. Jillian was pretty, but it was Jana Lee's spark and creativity and heart that had made him notice the existence of a Ms. Tompkins at all. He wondered how he'd
ever
missed the fact that Jana Lee wasn't Jillian.

Of course he'd had limited exposure to Jillian— just one mistletoe moment and a few end-of-the-table meetings. He'd avoided her at best, ignored her at most, and just hadn't taken her fully in. It made him think hard about the packages people come in and how their hearts are so individual. The soul, the spirit of Jana Lee was so much more attractive to him.

Wow, he was very, very tired and getting way too philosophical. He stepped into the hall just to give them some privacy and clear his head.

Jana Lee. It sounded like a country singer. He laughed. Him and Jana Lee. And a daughter makes three. He ran his hand over his hair and stared at the beige hallway walls. He'd always planned on having children, but he'd sort of missed the boat.

He leaned against the wall outside the door. No matter what other surprises came up, he knew he wanted to give Jana Lee a great big chunk of his attention. He wanted to see where it would all go. He couldn't lose her now. The image of Jana Lee

lying on the floor of that office with debris all over her had kept playing in his head all night. He rubbed his forehead.

"Rough night, son?" The voice of his father was so close that it startled him. His eyes flew open. He could hardly believe it. His father, his mother, his brother Marcus and his wife Nan were all coming down the hall.

For the first time in over twenty years he did the oddest thing. He threw his arms around his father and held him close for a moment. The odder thing was, his dad was right there with him. He felt his strong hands pat him on the back. Then he let go, and each member of his family crowded in for a really surreal moment of group hugs. Jackson was practically overcome. His brother slugged his arm after he hugged him and said, "Hey, man," in that brother way, which helped make him laugh a little.

"How did you know?"

"A section of Pitman Toys caves in and I hear. I'm sorry I didn't come last night, but it was very late and the nurses said she was sleeping when I called. They said we'd be limited to visiting hours. I'm a little confused about some of the details, but the fact that a friend of yours was hurt matters a great deal to your mother and me.

"Jackson, I'm so proud of you for looking after Miss Tompkins like this," his mother said. She held his arm and put her cheek on his shoulder.

"It's not exactly Miss Tompkins, it's her sister. She was visiting. We're doing a new toy line based on their old characters, if you read my reports, Dad. So don't be too surprised, her sister Jillian is in there, and they are identical, except for the broken arm and bruises. I'll fill you in later."

Jackson left out some details, but who cared about all that now? These crazy women were too hard to explain anyway.

"Besides, Mom, Jackson is sweet on her," Marcus blurted out.

"Nice one, Marcus." Nan rolled her eyes.

Dean stepped out of the room just in time to hear that.

"Hi, I'm Dean Wakefield." He extended his hand to Jackson with a smile. "I came in with Jillian."

"I'm Jackson Hawks. This is my family—my father, mother, brother Marcus, and his wife, Nan."

Dean shook hands all around. He certainly was a personable fellow, and he had a strong handshake. "Jackson, I think you and I have a few things to talk about. I'll be in the coffee shop for an hour or so. I haven't eaten breakfast, and Jillian refuses all offers of food. Join me when you get a chance. No hurry." Dean delivered his speech, gave Jackson a nod, then departed down the hallway.

Jackson figured Dean Wakefield knew the entire score and could probably enlighten him further. He smiled at his family and took his father in to see Jana Lee. One at a time, the nurses kept

yammering. But this hospital room was a hotbed of happenings.

All Jana Lee could think about was what would have happened to her daughter if she'd actually been killed in that collapse. This, along with her sister's return, had made her an emotional mess, although the amazing sight of Jackson by her bedside all night long had given her a whole lot of hope.

She was determined to be strong and get out of here fast. She pulled herself up, and Carly propped pillows behind her.

She also had the distinct feeling that her sister had something to tell her but didn't want to worry her.

"Is the dog okay?" she asked.

"Sure, sure, we put him in a private doggy kennel that treats them like movie stars. He wasn't too happy at first, but he'll be rolling in dog biscuits before you know it," Jillian answered, but she kind of glanced away, and she and Carly exchanged a few interesting looks.

"Look, sister, I might have a busted arm and a bump on the head, but I'm not stupid. Whatever it is, just spill it. And as you know, they're letting me out of here in an hour anyway. They've had twelve hours of my time and my head is fine, so no more lounging around. You know I'll find out anyway." She had a hell of a headache, but she was itching

to take charge and put some order back in her crazy life.

"Mom, don't worry, we'll be fine." Carly patted her hand.

"Fine from
what?"
Her voice hit a high note. Jana Lee stared at the two of them.

"I sort of burned your house down," Jillian said. She then proceeded to throw her face into the blankets at the end of the bed and weep.

Jana Lee thought she might throw up. She thought of her family pictures and Carly's baby things—treasures she'd probably lost forever. Funny enough, she didn't care about the house that much. She clutched her daughter's arm. Thank God Carly hadn't been there.

"Mom, Mom, all our stuff was packed up in the garage and that didn't get touched. Lucky, huh? And no one was hurt. Monty was with Aunt Jillian at the time."

"Lucky?"
Jana Lee stammered. "Well, I guess that was lucky, in some respects." Maybe it was because so much had happened, maybe it was because Jackson Hawks was in love with her—for some reason, now that she knew nothing truly horrid had happened, she found it rather funny. Jillian had really screwed up big this time. Jana Lee laughed and kicked at Jillian's head with her foot. "Buck up, sister, tell me what happened. Did you try and cook?"

Jillian sat up, looking rather shocked, and Carly

handed her a pile of tissues. Jillian blew her nose. "The fire department said it was lightning."

"Lightning? I get hit by an earthquake, and you get hit by lightning? I'd say Mother Nature must be pissed at us!"

There was a second of silence, followed by laughter.

Jana Lee could only laugh a little because it made her head hurt. She leaned back against her pillows. "Wow, Jillian, the old place is gone."

"You had good insurance, though. Dean read through your policy and said the rebuild would be covered nicely. Did I tell you Dean used to be a big housing contractor?"

"Good insurance. Well, hell, that's good." Jana Lee reached for her daughter's hand and pressed it to her cheek. "The most important thing is that we're all alive and well and safe. We'll figure the rest out later."

"You're coming to my place. I called Oliver, and he's bringing the limo over." Jillian sniffed again and wiped off her face. "I'm so sorry, Jana," she choked as she started crying again.

"Okay, we've shed enough tears for today. Help me out of this bed. I feel a giant draft in the behind region." Jana Lee threw off her covers and took Carly's arm.

"You go, Mom!" Carly said. Jana Lee felt a twinge at having taken so long to understand how much her daughter wanted her to come alive and

take charge. She'd been so dormant for the past two years.

She got her balance and went to get dressed. She knew from having a baby that if you acted ready to go, they usually put the big stamp of release on your chart and booted you out the door. Heck, these days they threw you out before the ink was dry on the forms.

Jillian had been smart enough to bring Jana Lee some casual clothes—sweats and a tank top she could squeeze over the purple cast they'd set her arm with. As Jillian helped Jana Lee get into her clothes, she thought about the house. Oddly enough, she wasn't as upset as she should be. "By the way, Jillian, your office is a disaster, and I've pissed off Jackson Hawks so badly you might actually lose your job, so I guess both of us are in the same boat."

Her sister gently maneuvered the tank top over her cast.