22

“Mom, I’d like you to meet Marilyn Bannister. Marilyn, this is my mother Felicia Laverne Madaris.”

Jonathan had deliberately not called until a few hours ago, to let his mother know he was bringing a houseguest with him this weekend. That was so she wouldn’t have time to come up with any difficult questions for him. It was already an unusual situation--he’d never invited a woman home before. So his mother didn’t have to be told that Marilyn was special.

Felicia turned her full attention on Marilyn, a huge smile touching her lips. “Marilyn, welcome to Whispering Pines,” she said, offering Marilyn her hand.

“Thank you for having me,” Marilyn said, taking it. “Your ranch is beautiful, Mrs. Madaris.”

“Thanks.” Then she turned to Jonathan. “I believe your brothers want to see you. They told me to tell them as soon as you arrived.”

“Okay, I’ll drive over to Milt’s place.”

“Please leave Marilyn with me while you’re gone. Diana arrived with Robert a little over an hour ago and we were in the parlor having a cup of tea.” She turned to Marilyn. “I would love for you to join us.”

“Thanks. That sounds nice.”

Jonathan nodded. He had no qualms about leaving Marilyn with his mother. He knew she was curious about Marilyn. And since he intended to marry Marilyn one day, it would be good if his mother got to know her. She was the one for him. He knew it and had the feeling his mother knew it as well.

“I’ll be back in time for dinner, Marilyn,” Jonathan said, before leaning down and placing a kiss on her cheek. Then he turned back to his mother. “Take good care of her until I get back.”

Felicia Laverne chuckled. “Trust me, I will.”

The older woman then hooked her arm through Marilyn’s. “Come on, dear, please join us for tea.” And then she led Marilyn away.

Marilyn was tempted to glance over her shoulder and watch Jonathan leave but decided against it. Instead, she allowed herself to be led toward a small parlor where another young woman, who appeared to be one or two years older than she, was sitting.

“Marilyn, I’d like you to meet Diana Austin. Diana, this is Marilyn Bannister. She’s a guest of Jonathan’s this weekend. And Marilyn, Diana is a guest of my son Robert.”

Marilyn shook Diana’s hand, and smiled. “Hello, Diana.”

“Hello, Marilyn. You have such beautiful gray eyes.”

“Thank you.”

Mrs. Madaris offered her a chair, and then sat down herself. “Marilyn, I understand you teach.”

Yes, ma’am. I am a math coach at Cullers.”

“Helen Chapman is still the principal there, right?”

“Yes, ma’am, she is.”

Mrs. Madaris smiled as she poured a cup of tea for Marilyn. “Helen is a wonderful person who I consider a good friend. We met her first year out of college when she became my oldest son Milton’s teacher. She taught my next three sons as well, and she was Robert’s and Jonathan’s principal when they graduated from high school. ”

“I can’t wait until I finish college,” Diana said, after taking a sip of her tea.

“Where do you go?” Marilyn asked her. She already liked the younger woman. And she, too, had beautiful eyes.

“I attend Prairie View A&M University. Right now, I’m working on a graduate degree in business.”

“How exciting.”

One conversation led to another and before long, Marilyn felt comfortable around the two women. It was obvious they had a history, but not once did they make her feel left out of the conversation. A short while later, she discovered that Diana’s grandmother had been an old friend of Mrs. Madaris. So Diana had known the Madaris family all her life.

Marilyn heard male voices and when she glanced up, she saw Jonathan and two people she guessed to be his brothers enter. Jonathan had told her that his oldest brother was almost fifteen years older than him, and that his youngest brother was nearly eighteen years younger. She was sure the lad walking in with him was his youngest brother, Jake. The other man didn’t look to be any more than three to four years older than Jonathan, so that would likely make him Robert.

Introductions were made all around, and Marilyn found out that she’d guessed right about the two brothers’ identities. She found it fascinating that Jake was younger than some of his older brothers’ children, which meant Mrs. Madaris had definitely extended her childbearing years.

Everyone joked that Jake’s birth had been a surprise and that he’d taken their father’s death the hardest. The two had been extremely close. She could also tell that as the youngest, Jake had a very close relationship to Robert and Jonathan as well. Especially Jonathan. You couldn’t help but see the adoration in the young boy’s eyes whenever he was around his older brother.

Before dinner, Jonathan walked her to her room. She loved the layout of the Madaris house on Whispering Pines. He told her his father had built it with his own hands, according to his mother’s specifications. Then Jonathan invited her to go riding with him tomorrow to see more of the ranch.

The house was so impressive. She and Diana had separate bedrooms that were connected by a bathroom, definitely a cool concept in her book. And she didn’t mind sharing with Diana. In fact, the more she got to know her, the more she liked her. Diana had reassured her that she’d like the other brothers and their wives, as well. They were all supposed to come to dinner tonight to celebrate Robert’s birthday.

Marilyn was starting to understand Jonathan well enough to know something was going on, but she didn’t know what. He and Robert were certainly being secretive about something. She had changed clothes for dinner and gone downstairs when the other brothers and their families arrived.

There was Milton and his wife Dora; Lee and his wife Pearl; Nolan and his wife Bessie and finally, Lucas and his wife Carrie. She also got to meet Jonathan’s four teen-age nephews. It was obvious the Madaris family was a male dominated one.

She also saw how close all the Madaris wives were. She discovered the women often did things together and had formed a strong bond over the years. She also heard stories about the wild oats the older Madaris men had sown before marriage. All four had been college educated, something their parents had insisted on. And all four had become educators after college, before returning to ranching.

Milton, who had a knack for building things, was responsible for the construction of most of the buildings on Whispering Pines. Besides ranching, he’d started his own little construction company. Marilyn liked Milton and laughed with everyone else as they teased him about taking his role as the oldest living Madaris male too seriously.

Dinner had been a wonderful experience. Each of the wives had brought a covered dish and though the dining room had been filled to capacity, the atmosphere had been comfortable, cozy even. Once the table had been cleared, it became clear that Marilyn’s suspicions had been correct--something was going on. Before Diana could get up from the table, Robert got down on one knee in front of everyone and asked her to marry him.

You could tell from the look on everyone’s face that they were surprised. At least, all but those of Jonathan and Mrs. Madaris. It was obvious they had known what Robert was planning.

Robert, who was home on an extended leave from the military, would be returning to active duty after the holidays. He and Diana would have a long engagement to give her time to finish college. Then they would marry and she would become a military wife. Marilyn could feel Diana’s happiness and was thrilled for her. She could tell that the couple loved each other deeply.

The Madarises were a close-knit group. Marilyn thought Diana was blessed that she’d one day be a part of this amazing family.

* * * *

Jonathan couldn’t sleep. And on those nights when sleep would elude him at Whispering Pines, he would go outside on the porch and sit in what had been his father’s favorite rocking chair. That’s where his mother found him.

“You couldn’t sleep either, Jonathan?”

He glanced up when his mother slid into the rocking chair next to his. “No. Too much excitement, I guess.”

Felicia Laverne Madaris chuckled. “Things went off just like I figured. I did good again, don’t you think?”

Jonathan didn’t say anything. He knew his mother could claim credit for choosing each of her married sons’ wives. She would even claim credit for what had gone down tonight between Robert and Diana, since she had been deliberate in her matchmaking attempts. However, he knew Robert would have asked Diana to marry him, regardless. Robert had had a thing for Diana for years. Since he was seven years older, he’d just been biding his time and waiting for her to grow up. But Jonathan would never tell his mother that.

“I like Marilyn, Jonathan. She’s a beautiful girl.”

He smiled. “I think so.”

“I didn’t pick her out, but if I had chosen a girl for you, she would be it.”

He glanced over at his mother. Coming from her that said a lot. “Thanks, I have every intention of marrying her one day.”

“I’m not surprised. I watched you at dinner. You could barely keep your eyes off her.”

Jonathan could believe that. “I love her, Mom. I believe I fell in love with her the moment I first saw her, when she walked into my office.”

“That’s right. She worked for you at Parkwood for a while, didn’t she?”

Jonathan fought hard not to squirm in his chair. “Yes, but only for two months. Then she transferred to Cullers.”

“Why? Whose idea was it for her to go there?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute and then admitted, “Mine. Marilyn is a math whiz and she was needed at Cullers. Mrs. Chapman’s math scores were down and I came up with a plan to help her get them back up.”

“Umm, now wasn’t that real convenient for you?”

Jonathan decided not to say anything. Instead he decided to quickly change the subject. “Feels like we might have an early winter.”

Felicia Laverne chuckled. “Yes, it does, doesn’t it?” And then she proceeded to tell him how things were going with her charity work and her plans to do a couple of missionary trips abroad with her church next year. His mother stayed active and he liked that.

“Well, I’m returning to bed now. Are you going to take Marilyn riding tomorrow?”

“Yes, I thought we’d go after breakfast.”

“And I hope she came prepared to attend church on Sunday before you take her back to Houston.”

“We’ll be there.”

“Good.” She stood. “Goodnight, Jonathan. I like Marilyn and I have a feeling that one day, the two of you will give me beautiful grandchildren.”

Jonathan chuckled. “That’s my deepest desire. But first, I have to win her heart.”

“You will. I watched the two of you at dinner. You were made for each other.”

Jonathan couldn’t help but smile after his mother left. She had given him her blessing, and he couldn’t help but be happy about that. He had found the perfect woman, even without his mother’s help.

* * * *

“Oh, Jonathan, Whispering Pines is simply beautiful.” Marilyn had heard how much land the Madaris family had, but seeing was believing. She and Jonathan had been riding for more than an hour already. He’d told her that it would take much more than one day to cover all the property encompassing Whispering Pines on horseback.

It was the first week in December and the air was cool but riding seemed to warm her up. Jonathan had been surprised at how well she could ride. She admitted that she had an uncle who owned a small farm in Waco. He’d taught her to ride when she was a teenager.

“Thanks. I can’t argue. I think Whispering Pines is one of the most beautiful places on earth.”

“And your mother runs all this by herself?”

“With my brothers’ help. We also have a number of ranch hands. Before Dad died, he ran it with us. We all had responsibilities and worked together to get things done. When my older brothers left for college, it put a lot of responsibility on me and Robert to get the chores done. That’s when Dad hired more men to help out around the ranch. Although we loved Whispering Pines, Robert and I knew ranching wasn’t in our blood. Robert always wanted to join the armed forces, and unlike my older brothers, I actually wanted to use my degree in education.”

He paused a minute, then said, “One thing about my father...he never forced Whispering Pines on any of us. He knew what Robert and I wanted to do with our lives and he gave us his blessing.”

“What about Jake?”

Jonathan chuckled as he brought the horses to a stop beneath a shaded tree. “Jake loves Whispering Pines, but I don’t think it’s in his blood either, although he claims that it is. Jake’s good with numbers. I mean, really good. Mom depends on him to do the books.”

“She does? But he’s only a kid.”

“But Jake has a genius IQ. He can balance the books in a day, where it might take someone else a week or two. I can see him growing up and going off to one of those Ivy League colleges and getting a degree in finance, then going to work at some well-known bank or financial institution on Wall Street. There is no doubt in my mind once Jake leaves here and gets a taste of life beyond Whispering Pines, he won’t be back.”

She nodded. “So what will happen to Whispering Pines, if no one decides to take on the responsibility later on?”

Jonathan looked over at her. “There will always be a Whispering Pines. It’s part of our legacy. If I have to, I’ll return to run things, but I’m hoping that will be years down the road. And only if there is a need. By then, I’d be ready to retire from education. My mother has four teenage grandsons, Milton III., Nolan Jr., Lee Jr. and Lucas Jr. They all work the ranch now when they aren’t in school. I could see one of them returning one day after college and taking over.”

“You think your brothers will let them?”

Jonathan grinned. “I think by then, my four older brothers will be ready to hand off the ranch to anyone in the family who they believe will be capable of keeping it successful.”

Marilyn glanced around and noticed they had stopped near a lake. “It’s beautiful here, Jonathan.”

“Yeah, it is. This is my favorite spot on the land. The next time I bring you here, we’ll have a picnic.”

“The next time? Does that mean I’ll be invited me back?”

He smiled. “Oh yeah, you will definitely be invited back.”

He dismounted and tied his horse to a tree. Jonathan had told her the animal’s name was Lark, and that Lark was his personal horse. Marilyn had to admit, Jonathan looked like a cowboy today. If she didn’t know what he did for a living, she would think that this was who he was—a rancher.

She watched as he came around to help her off her horse, a gorgeous white mare named Snowfire.

Jonathan reached up for her and she leaned down, placing her hands on his shoulders. The moment they touched, sharp sparks of desire filled every part of her. He went still and so did she. She knew from the heated look in his eyes that the full sexual awareness she’d felt upon touching him, had hit him too. Before Jonathan, she’d never dreamed so much wanting, such intense need, could exist. Each and every time they kissed, she felt things she’d never felt before and wanted things she’d never had. But only from him.

Drawing in a deep breath, he lifted her off her horse. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she released the breath she’d been holding. At that moment, she knew that what she felt for Jonathan was true love. She believed that when a woman truly loved a man, she wanted to become a part of him. But the woman had to be certain the man deserved her. That he was worthy.

She knew that Jonathan was.

She had come close to inviting him to spend the night when he’d picked her up from San Antonio on Sunday night. But it had been late by the time they had arrived in Houston. He had helped her bring her luggage inside, but because they both had school the next day, he had turned down her offer for tea. But when she’d walked him to the door, he had kissed her goodnight, and it had gone beyond anything they had yet shared. When he had opened the door to leave, she had been tempted to quickly shut it and ask him to make love to her. But she hadn’t. It was something she’d never done before and she had to make sure it was the right move for her, had to make sure she was ready.

“Marilyn…”

He whispered her name and the deep, husky sound sent shivers through her body, all the way to the core. He was still holding her around the waist and with very little effort, he nudged her closer. She lifted her mouth as he lowered his head.

* * * *

Jonathan knew that when a man loved a woman, desire was something that came with the program. But did it have to be so gut-wrenchingly deep? The kind that could slice through the center of your very being, make every muscle in your body ache, and cause every inch of you to throb?

Intense heat was flaring up and he felt it all the way to his groin. He wanted this woman. He needed this woman. He loved this woman. And one day, he intended to marry her. She was perfect and they would have beautiful children. She would be his mate in all things. His mind had already accepted those things and he was determined that she accepted them as well.

For now, however, he would concentrate on this--the delectable taste of her that was filling his senses to full awareness and making him moan deep in his throat. She felt right in his arms, as if she belonged there. Kissing her always made him want more. Need more. He was trying his best to be patient. He didn’t want to rush her, but it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge, lying her down in that luscious green grass beside the lake and making love to her. Claiming her as his own. Not just for today, but for always.

He finally broke off the kiss. The need to breathe overruled everything else at that moment. However, the taste of her lingered and he knew if he didn’t get control of his libido soon, they’d both be in serious trouble.

He took a step back. “You do things to me, Marilyn.”

He watched as she pulled in deep, slow breaths through her lungs. “You do those same things to me, Jonathan.”

“It’s hard to stop kissing you.”

“I don’t want you to stop.”

That wasn’t what a man who wanted a woman as much as he wanted her needed to hear. He reached out his hand to her. “Come on, let’s take a walk to cool off.”

He heard her soft chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“Not sure walking is going to help, Jonathan.”

He didn’t think so either. But until she was ready to take things to the next level, there was nothing else to do.