The Unsung Hero (22 page)

"Jason." She frowned a little as her eyes
searched his. "Are you really thinking of writing a thriller?"

"What!" Jason cocked a jaunty eyebrow.
"Don't tell me you think I should stick with romance!"

"I can think of a few advantages," she
admitted with a grin. "I wouldn't have to buy your books anymore."
Her eyes gleamed as she ran her fingers tauntingly over the wiry
curls covering his bare chest, pleased at the golden flame in his
eyes, which flared brighter at the first faint brush of her
fingers. "And it would be a shame to waste such talent. You really
should do what you do best."

His eyes were alight with laughter as he
looked at her. "Aren't you the woman who was my staunchest critic
only a few weeks ago?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "It's a
woman's prerogative to change her mind. Although there is one
drawback." Her eyes shone with love and laughter. "You'll be
forever doomed to play the role of the unsung hero!"

Jason's eyes wandered tenderly over her
glowing face. "Oh, I think I'll learn to cope," he murmured warmly,
"somehow." He bent his head to take her lips in a fiery kiss that
spoke of the promise of the future ... the promise of forever.

Like this book? Read on for an excerpt from
the e-book re-release of
A Family Affair.

CHAPTER ONE

The stillness of the
night
was broken only by the quiet murmur
of the sea. Gently undulating waves lapped the Gulf Coast
shoreline. Soft as a sigh, a salt-tanged breeze wrapped its way
around the solitary figure roaming the sandy stretch of
beach.

There was a sensual fullness to the tall and
graceful form, from the curve of rounded breasts beneath the pale
blue cotton top, to the coltish legs clad in dark blue slacks. The
woman ceased her restless prowling and slowly closed her eyes,
lifting her face to the sable canopy that stretched endlessly
above. Hundreds of diamond-bright stars wove a meandering pathway
through the night-dark sky. The moonlight shone down on her
profile, etching in silver the small straight nose, the full mobile
mouth, the wavy hair that flowed like silk halfway down the proud
lines of her back.

To a casual observer, she might have appeared
much like the serene moonlit Texas night of which she was so much a
part. But only the moon, the stars and the sky were there to bear
witness to the turmoil in her mind—and her heart.

No, there was little comfort to be found in
the solitude of the night for Jenna Bradford. And for the third
night in a row, she was very much afraid she would find sleep just
as elusive.

A sudden burst of wind sent her long black
hair whipping around her face. Eyes that were normally a vivid
shade of green turned dark with uncertainty as she opened them and
lifted a slender hand to brush the wayward strands from her face.
Wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the sudden chill, she
retraced her steps with a long-legged stride that soon carried her
to the rear of a long string of apartment buildings dotting the
shoreline. Once on the flagstoned terrace, however, she made no
move to enter her home. Instead she settled herself on a lounge
chair and gazed out at the glasslike surface of the Gulf.

Jenna smiled a little ruefully as she pulled
a blanket over her shoulders. Neil would have a fit if he could
see her now. Her late-night excursions would have to stop once they
were married; he would never stand for it. Perhaps Neil was a bit
overprotective, but he had compensating qualities, she hastened to
remind herself. He was concise and articulate, not only in his
manner of speaking but in his way of thinking, as well. She
suspected this stemmed from his years in law school. With his
oftentimes serious, intent look, she occasionally teased him that
he reminded her of a wise old bird. A pair of owlish glasses was
all that was needed to complete the picture. Yet, even though she
admired his sound reasoning and judicious nature, she was beginning
to wonder if he wasn't rather... ambitious.

And somehow, Jenna wasn't quite sure how she
felt about that.

But now was a time for joy, a time to love
and be loved, a time every little girl dreams of. She should have
been deliriously happy, she told herself for what seemed the
thousandth time that day. Well, perhaps not deliriously so, since
that wasn't her style. But certainly she had every reason to be
thankful.

Again her eyes grew troubled as she gazed at
the luminescent moon riding high in the sky. Thankful. It was,
perhaps, an odd word to describe a woman who was to be married to a
successful Houston attorney in six weeks' time.

Pre-wedding jitters. Could that possibly be
what this vague uneasiness about her future husband could be? She
breathed an uneasy sigh. She wasn't sure, and a twinge of guilt
shot through her. Neil, her wedding, her future with him, should
have filled her thoughts to the exclusion of all else. Instead the
past few days had found her looking over her shoulder, unable to
escape the specter of the past.

No, it wasn't Neil who
dwelled in her thoughts so much as... Robbie.
Robbie
. Again she felt that elusive
tug on her heart, like a fish caught on a hook and struggling to be
free.

It was hard to believe the evening three days
prior had started so innocently. Jenna shook her head. Her
feelings, capped tightly in storage for nearly four years, had
suddenly escaped, like a burst of steam from a kettle, and now she
was being forced to deal with them. The only problem was how. Her
heart gave her only one choice, but her mind urged caution. Three
days of searching and she still wasn't sure. But was her choice the
right one? For her? For him? For all concerned?

Her doubts had started Monday night, just a
few days after she'd stopped working. It had been ages since she'd
taken a vacation, and with so many details to be taken care of
before the wedding, she had decided to take a short leave of
absence from her nursing job in the Galveston Hospital Emergency
Room. She and her mother had spent the day in Houston shopping for
a wedding gown, and when her mother had headed home late in the
afternoon, Jenna had met Neil for an early dinner. Later, when the
nose of his car pointed toward Galveston, she glanced over in
surprise as he exited the highway for a suburb twenty-five miles
from the city. He drove straight to the heart of a residential
district, finally pulling over to the curb on a wide, tree-lined
street.

"Well, what do you think?" With the
characteristic energy that was almost his trademark, Neil was at
the car door and opening it for her before she had a chance to turn
in her seat.

Out on the sidewalk, Jenna could only stare
at the large Cape Cod-style house in front of her. Dense foliage
edged the house before giving way to a velvety green lawn that
stretched to the curb. Tendrils of ivy hugged the base of the huge
oak tree in the middle of the front yard, lending a homey ambience
that she found immensely appealing.

"Why are we stopping here, Neil?" she asked
curiously as he pulled her toward the house. "I thought you were
taking me home."

A slight breeze ruffled his thick brown hair,
and he grinned openly at her. "How would you feel about calling
this place home?" Pulling her toward the front door, he laced his
fingers through hers.

Stunned, Jenna turned slightly to stare over
his shoulder. Her gaze encompassed the house and surrounding
expanse of lawn before she turned her tentative look on him.

"Well, don't you have anything to say?"

A niggling feeling of suspicion traced its
way up her spine. "Neil," she began, "are you trying to tell
me—

"I bought this place?" he finished for her,
smiling. "Not exactly, but I think we should think seriously about
it. Even the location is perfect—halfway between Houston and
Galveston. It's no more than a thirty-minute drive to work for
either of us." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him.
"Come on, I'll give you the grand tour."

Jenna was speechless as he produced a key and
led her through the house, exclaiming delightedly over the
extensive use of wood and brick throughout, the polished oak
parquet floors, the crisp starched curtains hanging at the windows.
When they were standing in what Neil informed her was the master
bedroom, he wrapped an arm around her and tipped her face up to
his. "Tell me the truth now. Do you like it?"

"I—I love it," she told him breathlessly.
"But I had no idea—"

"I know." His mouth curved in a
self-satisfied smile. "I wanted to surprise you. You don't mind, do
you?"

"Mind! How could I mind living in this lovely
home?" Her fingers traced his cleanly shaven jaw. "You're a
treasure, Neil. You know that, don't you?"

He laughed and pressed a kiss in the palm of
her hand before his eyes roamed around the room. "You're the one
who's a treasure. I wish I'd found you years ago. Long before I
ever met Anna." He shook his head. "Marrying her was the worst
mistake of my life. Thank God the marriage lasted only two
years."

Jenna smiled. "Marrying her was probably the
only mistake you've ever made in your life," she teased gently.
"And you did find the perfect woman eventually."

"A woman after my own heart," he said,
looking down at her. "Just as dependable, efficient, stable and
practical—"

"As you are," Jenna finished, laughing. "I've
never been much of a believer in the theory that opposites
attract."

Neil drew her body firmly against his. "We
are a lot alike, you know. Anna used to prattle on incessantly. I
think your reserve was one of the first things that attracted me to
you."

"I didn't think you even noticed," she
recalled dryly. "The night we met you were too busy talking about
the job offers you'd had and which one you were going to
accept."

His smile was a little sheepish. "What can I
say? I was fresh out of law school and I guess it went to my
head."

On reflection, she could see why. Neil had
worked hard for his law degree. His parents had farmed a small
piece of land in west Texas that had seen drought after drought for
many a year, and his childhood hadn't been the easiest. After a
stint in the military, Neil had been nearly twenty-six before he'd
been able to scrape up enough money even to begin college. But
despite juggling his classes with a full-time job, he had graduated
from law school with honors. As a result, he'd had offers from
several prestigious law firms. He had finally accepted a position
as legal counsel for Citizens for Texas, a watchdog land
conservation group that had become a force to be reckoned with
during the past two years.

"You told me once you thought I was rather
standoffish," she remembered suddenly.

"You do come across that way at times," he
said, raising an eyebrow. "You're not shy, just rather
conservative. Not that there's anything wrong with that." A rare
twinkle appeared in his eyes. "But I certainly never thought I'd
have an Amazon in my bed."

She smiled in spite of herself. "You may
never have one in your bed if you keep this up," she warned him
with mock severity. Neil was usually so serious and businesslike;
she enjoyed the few times he teased her. But the fact that she
didn't wear her heart on her sleeve was no indication that her
feelings weren't as strong as the next person's. And as for her
height, she was tall for a woman—five-nine in her bare feet.
Secretly she was glad she didn't have the large bone-structure that
sometimes went hand in hand with such height in a woman. As a
child, she'd hated towering over her schoolmates, boys and girls
alike. It wasn't until Jenna was thirteen, when her mother finally
convinced her to throw back her shoulders and make the most of her
slender gracefulness, that she'd gotten over her
self-consciousness. And, she had to admit, it was certainly no
liability for a nurse to have a strong back.

She lifted her hands to Neil's shoulders and
glanced up at him. "When Mother and I were shopping today, I found
the most fantastic wedding dress at Neiman-Marcus." Touching her
lips gently to his, she smiled up at him. "You should see it,
Neil—yards and yards of ivory satin and lace, a high Victorian
neckline..."

A half smile tipped his lips. "Are you trying
to tell me I'm marrying an old-fashioned girl?"

"I thought I was marrying an old-fashioned
guy," she retorted pertly.

"You are." Gently he untangled her arms from
around his neck. "Come on, I'll show you the rest."

There were four bedrooms upstairs, a
country-sized kitchen, very spacious living room and a small den
downstairs. Though the house was old, it had obviously received a
great deal of tender loving care.

"Has it been on the market long?" she asked
as they stepped into the dining room. Her voice bounced off the
walls of the empty room.

Neil shook his head. "The owner was
transferred out of state. I don't think it will take long to sell
once it goes into multiple listing. Mark Henderson tipped me off
about it."

"Mark?" She glanced over in surprise. A big,
sandy-haired man with a booming voice, he was an acquaintance of
Neil's. "I thought he was an insurance salesman."

Neil nodded. "He's taken up real estate on
the side." Blue eyes alight, he clasped both her hands in his.
"Well, what do you think? Should we buy it?"

Jenna frowned. "What about the price?" she
asked cautiously. "You're not a struggling young attorney anymore,
but can we afford it?"

A faint line appeared between his eyebrows.
"You said it yourself, Jenna. I'm not a struggling young attorney.
Do you think I'd even consider it if I thought it was beyond our
reach?"