Lake Magic (30 page)

In an instant, Jared was there, reaching out, holding on to her arm and steadying her. Under his hand, heat infused her skin.

“I like your friends,” he said as the breeze blew through his hair.

She wondered if he could feel how erratic her pulse had grown. “They liked you.”

Even in the darkness, she could see him shrug, as if he didn’t believe her words.

He let go of her arm. Instantly, she missed his touch. He reached down and picked up a rock from the beach, tossing it a couple of times in his hand before throwing it into the lake. In the still night they heard the soft kerplunk as the rock hit the water.

Jared stared out at the dark lake for several moments before shoving his fingers down into the pocket of his Levi’s and slowly turning to her. “May I ask you a question?”

“Turnabout is fair play.”

He laughed softly then looked back out across the lake, not saying anything for the longest time. “What the hell is ‘Kumbaya’?”

She started to laugh, then stopped, realizing he was serious. “You don’t know?”

He kicked at a fallen log near his boot. “No.”

Looking at him now reminded her of an earlier thought she’d had tonight. When she’d wondered at just what kind of childhood he’d had. “Weren’t you in Scouts?”

He shot her a puzzled look.

“Cub Scouts. Boy Scouts.”

He laughed, but the sound held no mirth. “No.”

What type of childhood had he had? The question kept circling back around to her. “ ‘Kumbaya’ is a folk song sung at just about every Scout campout there is. Don’t ask me why.”

He nodded, and once more she was struck with the desire to reach out and touch him. Hold him. Instead, she found herself confiding, “My nana always told me this lake was magical. That this water could heal almost anything.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Has it healed you, Jenny?”

He said her name like it was a caress. “Yes,” she answered. Then, “Almost.” She searched the shadowy planes of his face. “What about you, Jared? What do you need healed?”

“Nothing.”

“I think you’re lying.”

His dark face gave nothing away. “Believe what you want.”

“I don’t know anything about you.”

“There’s nothing worth telling.”

She knew he was wrong.

Shallow waves rolled up the beach then washed back out.

“Tell me about your childhood.”

She waited, and when the silence became too much, she said, “Please.”

“Leave it alone,” he said in a low, toneless voice.

Boldly, she placed her hand on his chest. Soft cotton covered a wall of hard muscles. “I can’t.”

He reached up, as if to pull her hand away. But, instead, his hand closed around hers. The warmth of him seeped through her shirt and onto her skin right above her heart. The weight of his hand kept hers there for several moments before he pulled hers away.

“Cody told me you haven’t seen your mother since you were eight. Is that true?”

He cursed softly. “Believe me, you don’t want to hear about my childhood.”

“Yes,” she said quietly, “I do.”

Silence stretched out between them.

“Is it true?” she asked again when he didn’t answer.

He looked at her. Even in the semidarkness, the intensity of his blue gaze shot straight through her.

“One question, remember,” she said.

“You already asked your question.”

She shook her head.

“About if I was in Scouts.”

“That didn’t count.”

He reached out and cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand. “Why not?”

The feel of his hand on her stole her breath. “One real question. Please.”

He rubbed his thumb underneath her jaw. “One real question.”

Are you going to break my heart?
But she feared she already knew the answer. “When was the last time you saw your mother?”

He let out a ragged breath and took his hand away, averting his gaze to the lake. “When I was eight.”

“But how? Why?”

He shoved his hand back into his pockets. “What do you want to hear? That one day my mother left and never came back? Threw me out like an old pair of shoes?”

“Jared . . .” She couldn’t imagine the type of childhood he was describing. “Where did you live?”

“Drop it, Jenny.”

But she couldn’t. “Where?”

He angled his head and looked at her. “Has anyone ever told you that you are stubborn?”

“I prefer tenacious.”

A reluctant grin tugged at his lips.

“Where?” she asked for the third time.

“I grew up a ward of the state.”

“What about your father?”

“What about him? Nancy never knew which one of the many guys she’d been sleeping with knocked her up.”

“What about foster homes?”

“Didn’t work.”

Even though his tone was expressionless, his words tore at her. She felt the sting of tears.
No father. No mother. No home
. No child should have to endure anything so painful. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Don’t,” he said again, his voice low and harsh.

“Don’t what?”

He tipped her chin up. Wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. “Pity me.”

She searched his dark eyes. “I’m not.” It was the truth.

“I was just thinking how amazing you are. To have endured so much and instead of letting it crush you, you excelled.”

“Jenny,” he said her name like a prayer. “What am I going to do with you?” He didn’t wait for an answer; instead, he pulled her against him and slowly lowered his mouth to her. The touch of his lips on hers stole her breath. She didn’t think; she reacted. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and sank into him. She tilted her head back and opened her mouth. He growled low in the back of his throat and deepened the kiss. Spirals of hot desire started low in her stomach and spread outward until her whole body was on fire. She stretched up on her toes to fit herself more firmly against his warm, hard body. His hands wrapped around her and lifted her tightly against him. He buried his face in the side of her neck, whispered her name over and over, before reclaiming her mouth in a kiss that seared her all the way to her soul.

In the end, it was Jared who pulled back. “Go,” he said, “before I do something we’ll both regret.”

As Jared watched Jenny run to the house, he wondered where in the hell he’d found the strength to pull away from her. Raw desire ate at his gut. She intoxicated him, filled him with a wanting that all but overpowered him. Holding her, he’d almost been able to delude himself that the type of future he used to dream about was still a possibility.

The cool night air washed over him, tried to cool his overheated body. If she only knew the truth. He hadn’t excelled; he’d fucked up. Again. It was the same thing that happened every time he let his emotions get involved.

He looked up at the inky dark sky. If he’d only stayed detached, he’d still be up there and not down on the ground kissing Jenny with a fervor he prayed would drive everyone else from her mind—would drive Steven from her mind. But how was a man supposed to stay detached when innocent people were being slaughtered? How was he supposed to buy into a set of rules that were based solely on politics rather than what was just?

He walked back to the fire, doused it. As he watched the wood hiss and steam, he lost the battle to forget about his past . . . forget about the day he lost everything.

There had been nothing unusual about that day. He’d been flying a regular mission, just about ready to head back to the carrier, when his radar had picked up something. He was on fumes, but that hadn’t stopped him from investigating further. What he found made his stomach turn. Refugees were being slaughtered by the hundreds as they fled from attack. It was an all-out massacre. Witnessing what was happening, Jared didn’t think about anything but saving innocent lives. Not his CO’s command nor the rules of engagement. He’d done what he thought was right; he provided air support until the refugees found safety. But by doing so, it had cost him his career. His life.

The front door slammed shut. He dropped his gaze from the sky and looked out across the dark yard to Jenny’s house. He would not make the same mistake again.
Stay detached
. It was the only way he knew how to survive. But as he continued to stare at her house, something told him that this time was going to be a hell of a lot tougher than anything he’d faced before.

 

 

 

 

As the following week unfolded, the weather took a turn. Heavy, dark clouds rolled in and hung low in the sky. The sun turned weak and the air cold. The rain came slowly at first, a splattering of droplets here, a heavier mist there, almost as if Mother Nature couldn’t make up her mind. Even though the calendar read June, no one was surprised by the weather. Those few bright, sun-filled days at the end of May had been an unexpected gift, something every Seattleite had known and not taken for granted. Summer clothes might have been brought out and worn, but no one had packed away their jeans and sweaters. As Jenny stared out the front window, she couldn’t help but think how the weather perfectly mirrored her mood.

She ran a finger lightly across her lips, remembering how it had felt to be held by Jared, kissed by him. Within his arms, she’d come alive. Gone were the doubts that had always plagued her before. Instead, with Jared, she’d become a woman she didn’t recognize. Someone confident, bold. Someone who knew they were exciting a man as much as he was exciting her. The evidence had been in Jared’s every fractured breath, in the way he’d said her name over and over again, like he couldn’t quite believe it was her he held in his arms, her he kissed. But then he’d ended their embrace and pushed her away.

Go, before I do something we’ll both regret
.

And she had. She’d run away, scared and burning with raw humiliation. She tried not to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped their kiss. But she knew. She would have given herself to him wholly and completely and not thought about the consequences until much, much later.

And she would have regretted it. She, better than anyone, knew there was no future with a flyboy with itchy feet. Steven had loved her wholeheartedly, and still he hadn’t been able to commit to her fully. They’d been engaged but each time Jenny had pressed for a wedding date, he’d put her off. She wasn’t about to make that same mistake. She wasn’t going to give her heart to someone who didn’t want the same thing she did. She and Jared were business partners, nothing more. The sooner she paid him off, the sooner she could get on with her life.

The front door opened, and she heard the stomping and wiping of shoes on the front mat before the heavy
clomp clomp
of footsteps came down the hallway. She tensed, fearing it was Jared, then relaxed when Zeke came into view.

Poking his head into the office, he braced one hand on the doorjamb. “We’re ready to take off.”

“Tell the Johnsons to have a good visit with their nephew. And be careful up there.”

“Aren’t I always?” The creases in his weathered face deepened into a grin. “Besides, it’s only a quick trip to the San Juans. I’ll be back ’fore ya know it.”

“Still, be safe.”

He went to push off from the doorframe, then paused, his smile going slack. “You okay?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and fought for a true smile. “Never better. Just a little tired.”

Her false bravado didn’t seem to convince him.

“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “Now scat. We don’t want to keep paying customers waiting.”

Concern still softened his eyes, but he let the subject drop. Several minutes later, she heard the seaplane start.

Alone, she let the facade fall away. She massaged her forehead and tried to stave off the feeling of doom as she stared at the calendar on her desk. She tried to ignore all the open spots in the schedule but found it impossible. True, with summer nearing, there were a few more charters on the books but not nearly enough. All week she’d worked on ideas to bring in business, to improve Blue Sky’s bottom line. She’d lost count of the number of calls she’d made . . . the number of people she’d talked to. Each business she’d reached, the conversation had ended the same way: thanks, but no thanks. No matter how hard she tried, nothing she did made a difference.

Panic unfurled. Now, she silently acknowledged, the stakes were even higher. Yes, she was still determined to prove to her family that she was capable of running a successful business, but now there was so much more at risk.