Baby, Oh Baby! (29 page)

Annie looked up, startled. Surely he didn't mean...

Jake cleared his throat. "I, uh, sleep in a guest room these days. So you can have this room, if you want."

He couldn't bear to sleep alone in the bed he used to share with Rachel. A huge lump formed in Annie's throat. "No, thanks. I'd rather sleep in the guest room, too."

Jake's eyebrows arched upward.

Annie's cheeks grew hot. "I mean, the other guest room."

"Oh. Okay. Sure. Wherever you'd be most comfortable." Jake's Adam's apple moved as he swallowed. "I'll, um, go get your bag from the car."

He turned and strode from the room, leaving Annie to stare at the large iron bed—the bed where Jake had made love to Rachel, where they'd tried to make a baby, where Jake no longer slept now that Rachel was gone.

The bed looked empty, but it was crowded with memories, and there was no room in it for her. A quiver of pain shot through Annie's chest.

It was just like Jake's heart.

Chapter Fifteen

"Married? Are you out of your mind?" Tom loomed over Jake's desk the following Monday, his hands planted firmly on the desktop.

Jake leaned back in his swivel chair. He'd known his father-in-law would be upset about his marriage, but he hadn't expected Tom to come completely unhinged. The man had stormed into his office like a S.W.A.T. team trooper two minutes after Jake had settled behind his desk.

"When Susanna told me what you'd done, I couldn't believe my ears. I couldn't believe you'd do such an idiotic thing, and I especially couldn't believe you'd do it behind my back."

Jake deliberately kept his voice calm and controlled. "I didn't do anything behind your back. You would have been invited to the wedding, but you were out of the country”

"You did this because you were angry at me for hiring that detective!"

Jake turned a pen in his fingers as he looked up at Tom. "I am still angry about that. You had no right to interfere. But that had nothing to do with my decision to marry Annie. I married her because it's the best thing for our child."

"How do you figure that? You can't, love this woman."

"I love my child."

"You didn't marry the child, for Christ's sake!"

"That's right. I married her mother, and now Madeline has a family." Jake deliberately used the low, even, voice of reason he used in court to make an opposing counsel's argument sound histrionic.

That seemed to inflame Tom further. "Oh, and I sup- pose you spent the last three nights with that woman- first at your house, then out at her so-called ranch—just cementing your family ties?"

Jake felt a muscle tick in his jaw. He had no intention of telling Tom that he and Annie had slept in separate bedrooms. He fixed the man with a stony gaze. "That's right."

Tom's face was already red with rage. It darkened to a mottled purple. "It doesn't bother you one bit that you're making a mockery of your marriage to Rachel?"

"This has nothing to do with her."

"Bringing in another woman to take her place has nothing to do with her?"

"That's not what this is about."

"It most certainly is. You're being disloyal to Rachel's memory."

Jake rose from his chair, his temper blazing to life. "You're a fine one to talk."

Tom's scowl deepened. "What the hell is that "supposed to mean?"

"I'm referring to Kelly."

"Kelly?" Tom straightened, his expression wary. "What does she have to do with this?"

"She disqualifies you from talking about loyalty." Tom's eyes widened, then narrowed. He took a step

back. "Nothing's going on between Kelly and me." "No?"

"Well, the way you two are carrying on, it's just a matter of time." Jake glared at the older man. "Don't you dare come in here and lecture me about loyalty. Now, if you don't mind, I've got work to do."

Jake abruptly sat down and swiveled his chair toward the computer on his credenza, turning his back on the whole situation.

Silently fuming, Tom strode down the hall to his own office, where he slammed the door and loosened his tie. Damn it! He didn't understand how Jake could go off and marry that woman. What was he thinking? He stalked to his window and stared out, unbuttoning the top of his shirt. And what about Susanna? He sure as hell didn't understand how she could have aided and abetted Jake with this cockamamy scheme.

He'd arrived home last night, exhausted and jet lagged, only to have Susanna cheerily tell him that during his absence, Jake had remarried. Just as shocking had been the fact that Susanna had been a party to it.

Tom's blood boiled at the thought. What the hell had his wife been thinking? She'd not only attended the wedding, but she'd hosted a wedding dinner and kept the child overnight so Jake could spend the night alone with that woman. And Jake had evidently taken her directly to Rachel's house.

To Rachel's bed.

Tom slammed his fist on his desk at the thought. Damn it! Susanna was so besotted with the idea, the thought of playing grandma, that she'd lost all her common sense. She'd even gone and gussied up a guest bed-: room with all kinds of baby paraphenalia. And then she'd had the temerity to suggest that the child might be good for their own marriage.

"She's such an adorable child," Susanna had said. "I can't wait for you to see her. She's just what this family needs."

"What this family needs is for you and Jake to get your heads examined," Tom had curtly responded.

What the hell was wrong with the two of them? Was he the only one who hadn't forgotten about his daughter?

The intercom buzzed. He jabbed a finger at it. "Yes?"

"Kelly Banyon on line three."

Great. Just what he needed—especially after Jake's remark. Tom expelled a harsh sigh. He'd decided while he was in Geneva to quit toying around with Kelly. He was old enough to know that if one played with fire long enough, one was likely to get burned. The mature thing to do was to focus his attention on sorting out the situation with his wife.

But, hell—that promised to be painful, and Kelly offered a respite from pain. When he was with her, he felt vibrant and desirable and sexy. Powerful, even—not like a limp-willied Viagra candidate. When he was with Kelly, he didn't feel impotent against life.

With a sigh, Tom lowered himself into the chair and punched the telephone button. "Hi, Kelly."

"Hi." Her voice was a low, sultry purr. "How was your trip?"

"All right."

"You don't sound like everything's all right."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

"The trip was fine. Everything here seems to have gone

to hell in a handbasket while I was gone, though." "Sounds like you need some cheering up. Why don't

you meet me for a game of racquetball this evening?" "I don't think that's wise, Kelly."

"Oh, come on. Physical exercise will do you good. It'll clear your head and help you unwind."

Tom hesitated. Like any good attorney, Kelly pressed her advantage. "It's just what you need. Meet me at the club at six."

It sure sounded a lot more appealing than going home

and arguing with Susanna about Jake and the baby. "It's just a game of racquetball," Kelly cajoled. "Are you sure that's all we're playing?"

Kelly laughed, her voice deep and throaty. "That ball, counselor, is entirely in your court."

Tom smiled. Damn, but he liked the way Kelly made him feel. Powerful, manly, sharp, in control.

He was strong enough to Control this situation. What the hell could a game of racquetball hurt?

"Okay," he relented. "See you at six."

The summer had gained momentum as June stretched into July, the days growing hotter with each passing day. As Jake walked toward Annie's barn four weeks later, his shirt clung damply to his back, even though it Was early evening and the sun hung low in the sky.

He topped the hill to see Annie, her back toward him, brushing out the gray alpaca inside the corral. The animal stood perfectly still, as if it were enjoying her ministrations. Hell, Jake thought with an absurd burst of envy, why wouldn't the beast? Annie's hands were playing over its body, her voice murmuring softly in its ear.

She was wearing a brief pair of khaki shorts and a blue tank top, and her copper hair glistened in the waning sunlight. A burst of attraction shot through Jake. Ever since that kiss on the balcony the night of their wedding, Jake found it impossible to look at Annie without a.surge of desire.

He walked closer, watching her stroke the animal's neck, then pause to clean out the brush and stuff the fur into a burlap sack. "Thanks a lot, Smoky Joe," he heard her murmur. "That was a lovely bit of wool you donated today."

Jake smiled at the polite way she talked to the animal. He'd learned that Annie's infatuation with alpacas had a practical side: their fleece was extremely valuable. She had discovered a niche market of specialty stores that catered to weaving and knitting enthusiasts, and she sold the harvested fleece directly to them. There was a lot more to Annie than he had initially assumed. She was eccentric—there was no doubt about it—but she also had a very good head on her shoulders.

The alpaca pulled back his velvety lips and showed his teeth before he ambled a few feet away.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think that creature was smiling at you," Jake called.

Annie whipped around, the curry brush in her hand. Her face lit with a smile that made his heart pound a herky-jerky beat. "Jake! I didn't expect you this evening."

He hadn't.really expected to be there, either. The arrangement they'd agreed upon was that he'd visit on the weekends and stay in Tulsa during the week. Since this was Wednesday, he wasn't due for another two nights.

In the four weeks that they'd been married he'd found himself coming up with more and more excuses to spend more and more time at Lucky.

He told himself it was because of the tension between Tom and him at work. A distinct frostiness now characterized their relationship, and Jake avoided spending any more time around the man than necessary. He'd consequently quit working late hours at the office, but that left him with nothing to do with his evenings. He hated going home to rattle around that big empty house by himself.

He much preferred being here on the ranch. He loved being with Madeline, making her laugh, watching her learn new skills, hearing her add new words to her rapidly expanding vocabulary. He loved being outdoors, too. He'd forgotten how good it felt to feel wind on his face and the sun on his back. He'd even started playing around out in the barn with some of the woodworking equipment that had belonged to Annie's grandfather. There was something satisfying about turning a block of wood into an object he'd pictured in his mind. He loved the sawing and sanding and polishing, loved the solid feel of wood in his hands. He'd found a stash of high quality oak, and he'd begun making a rocking horse for Madeline.

But there was another reason he liked being here at the ranch, a reason he was uncomfortable admitting, even to himself. He liked being around Annie. He liked it a lot.

Her grin widened. "What brings you all the way out here in the middle of the week?"

Stooping down, Jake climbed through the rails of the fence and strolled toward her. "I had a meeting in Broken Arrow. Since I was on the far side of Tulsa anyway, I figured I might as well drive on over."

Annie nodded. She was always gracious enough to pretend his lame excuses were perfectly logical. "Madeline will be glad to see you."

What about you? Jake rubbed his jaw, wishing he could rub away the inappropriate question, rub away the attraction that burned behind it. He didn't want to be attracted to Annie. It complicated everything. Try as he might, though, he couldn't erase the memory of how sweet her body had felt, or how eagerly her lips had clung to his.

"Where is the little squirt?"

"Looking at a baby calf in the back field with Ben.Here they come now."

Jake looked where Annie pointed and saw the large man top a grassy hill in the distance, Madeline perched on his overalled shoulders. Jake lifted his arm and waved. The baby grinned widely and began bouncing on Ben's shoulders. "Ink! Ink! Ink!"

Jake's smile felt like it began in a warm spot of his chest and expanded outward.

"I told you she'd be glad to see you," Annie said. "She probably thinks I brought her another toy. I'm afraid I'm empty-handed today."

"You don't have to bring a toy every time you come. You underestimate your appeal."

"With Madeline, or with you?" The remark was out before he considered the wisdom of making it. Annie did that to him—made him toss out remarks without weighing his words. It was a dangerous trait, considering how physically attracted he was to her. When he was with her, he found himself talking more freely than he had with anyone since Rachel. The thought made him frown.

Annie grinned at him. "Don't look so worried. You have immense appeal to the world at large."

"Ha! I doubt that Tom would agree with that." He unlatched the corral gate and held it open for Annie.

She stepped through it. Together, they started walking toward Ben and Madeline, who were still a good distance away. "Things are still strained between you and he?"

"To put it mildly."

"Susanna was afraid that was the case."

Jake's eyebrows rose as he looked at her. "You've talked to Susanna?"

Annie nodded. We talk regularly. In fact, she's coming out to see Madeline in a week or two."

A stab of guilt shot through Jake. He hadn't talked to Susanna since the wedding. He made a mental note to call and invite her to lunch later in the week. Just because Tom was behaving like a jerk was no reason to let his relationship with her suffer. "How's she doing?"

"She's staying busy—seeing old friends and heading up two new charity events. She's even joined a tennis team." Annie hesitated. "I get the. impression you're not the only one having trouble with Tom, though. It sounds like things are pretty strained between the two of them as well."

Ben and Madeline. were drawing near. The older man set Madeline on the ground, and . the toddler scampered toward them, the cat face on her red playsuit bobbing as she ran. "Ink! Ink!"