CHAPTER 9
On Saturday afternoon they all went to Jarod’s game; it was an all-star game, with the income from ticket sales going to a local charity.
Jarod, Kelly noted, shone. He outdid even himself that day. He couldn’t miss. If he passed, the ball was caught. If he ran, he gained yard after yard.
Sitting in the stands, watching her son, Kelly felt set apart, alone despite the roar of the crowd. She felt as if she had managed to escape from her body, from her self, and stare down at Jarod, the past, the present—and the future.
Don’t take it too much to heart, she warned him silently. Don’t fall in love with the adulation of the crowd.
She knew how the afternoon would go, and she was a little worried. When the game was over, every girl from ten counties was going to cast herself at that perfect blond giant. And Jarod was only human, and capable of being a hell of a flirt.
Kelly came out of her reverie when she heard someone shout, “Kill ’em, McGraw! Kill ‘em out there!”
Nice sentiment for teenagers, she decided wryly, but, hey, she thought sarcastically, why not get them set for real life?
They managed to fall in love in the midst of all this, Kelly reminded herself. Jarod and Sandy had fallen in love despite everything going on around them. Sandy was probably the most beautiful girl in the class—or in ten counties. They would be okay. Jarod and Sandy. They’d chosen each other, and no matter what, they would stay in love. It was foolish to worry.
“He’s great. He’s not just good, he really has the seeds of greatness,” Dan said softly, next to her.
He sounded surprised. Kelly thought she probably should have resented that, but she shrugged, thinking that it was too beautiful a day for her to resent anything. She said only, “He plans to play through college.”
“He could probably go pro,” Dan said.
I don’t want him to go pro, Kelly thought, but she didn’t say it out loud. She’d never even said it out loud to Jarod; it wasn’t her decision.
He wanted to go into law and politics. Jarod could get as excited about an intriguing court case as he could a football, and Kelly personally thought that a life spent in the pursuit of learning had to be better than a life spent having one’s knees put back together.
She shrugged. “He knows his capabilities and his options. He’ll have to decide when the time is right.”
Dan laughed softly, catching her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “So if luck goes your way, he won’t play pro ball, huh?”
“Dan, that’s not—”
His laughter, warm and husky, caught her up, and she glanced quickly into his eyes to discover that he wasn’t taunting her—he simply understood. Understood that she would never want to sway Jarod—and also that she did hope he wouldn’t go pro.
“Oh, go buy some peanuts, will you!” she snapped.
“Peanuts aren’t going to solve our problems, Kelly.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“I—”
“Tonight, Kelly.”
“Dan—”
“I’m not going to sneak into your room in the middle of the night. You’ll be back home, and I’ll be damned if this is going to go on any longer. Tonight we’ll go out—”
“Dan, I can’t talk about this in the middle of the game!”
“You have to talk about it in the middle of the game. Because later the kids will be back, and I know you—you won’t want to talk in front of them.”
“Dan!”
She swung around to face him. Her eyes were so crystalline and beautiful that he thought he would go insane. He could just see the headlines: Scholar Attacks Mother of All-Star Hero in Stands—Plot Thickens: Scholar’s Daughter Pregnant by Hero!
“Dan!” she whispered suddenly, vehemently. “You know I want to be with you!”
“You will be.” He paused and looked at her intently.
“Kelly, we’re the adults! If they don’t like something, that’s their problem.”
“Dan, please, go buy some more peanuts.”
“Okay, but we’ll still have to settle this later.”
He left her in the stands and went to buy a sack of the hot roasted nuts. Kelly smiled, watching him. She had noticed that a lot of the fans in the stands were also watching him. She didn’t mind. It was actually rather nice. He seemed to draw everyone’s eyes—but he was hers.
Pride, Kelly, she warned herself, goeth before a fall.
Someone hailed him when he started back up the stadium steps. It was Sandy, Kelly saw. She was sitting with a group of her girlfriends about ten tiers below them.
Dan saw his daughter and waved, and Kelly noticed that all the girls were giggling and blushing, looking up at him from under their lashes. Little twits! Kelly thought. But then she leaned back, grinning. Sandy was tangling a dark lock of hair around her finger as she spoke to her father, and she looked proud. Wonderfully proud. All your friends think your father is a doll, and that’s great, Sandy! Kelly thought. More power to you.
The girl might need that today. She looked a little tense. She was smiling, but she was tense.
Because a lot of girls were watching Jarod, too, watching him like tigresses on the hunt.
He won’t hurt you, Sandy! Kelly wanted to promise her. He’ll smile, because he’s Jarod. He’ll be flattered, and he’ll be polite. But he really loves you, and he would never hurt you. I hope you know that!
“Peanuts?”
“What?” She started. Dan was back, peanuts in hand.
She dug into the bag for one, and popped it into her mouth. She turned curiously, aware that Dan was watching her.
“Umm,” he said.
“Umm?”
“I just love the way you did that.” He gripped her hand and kissed her fingertips. “Salt. Umm.”
His eyes, his touch…arousal soared through her. She snatched her hand back, certain that she was as crimson as a freshly boiled lobster, and that anyone who glanced her way would know exactly what she was thinking.
“Would you stop that!”
“Stop what?”
“Dan Marquette…”
“Shh! Watch your son. This is it! Thirteen seconds remaining, eleven, ten—”
The clock ticked down, and the game was over. The rest of the players on the winning team plucked Jarod up off the ground and lifted him up like a god, while the crowd screamed and people began to rise from the stands.
Kelly stood hastily, feeling uneasy, although she wasn’t sure why. Then she saw Sandy’s face, just for a minute, and it was sad. Pathetic, really. She looked so strained and worried and unhappy….
If only I could reach her! Kelly thought trying without thinking to move forward. But there was a giant surge going on. The only thing that kept her from falling was the fact that Dan slipped his arms around her waist and held her close to his chest while the wave of people rushed past.
“Hey!” he warned her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What? Oh!” He grabbed her hand and started to lead her downward. “Dan, I was going to try and see Sandy.”
He paused, arching one brow. “Not your son? Hey, you’re the mom of the hour, Mrs. McGraw. Don’t you want to go revel for a minute in maternal pride?”
He was teasing her—nicely.
She shook her head.
“Oh, I see,” he said, making it obvious that he didn’t see at all. “You’re not proud of your son?”
“Of course I am!” Kelly protested. “It’s just that he certainly doesn’t need me right now. I’d rather see Sandy for a minute.
Dan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he stood still, forcing her to face and do the same. She tossed her hair back and planted her hands on her hips, but she didn’t speak.
“You’re worried about Sandy?”
She didn’t know if it was a question or an accusation.
“No, I’m not worried about Sandy.”
“Yes, you are. Why?”
“I’m not! I wanted to see her, that’s all!”
A short, fat, balding man in a hurry suddenly slammed against Kelly, and she stumbled against Dan. He stopped scowling long enough to catch her and hold her while the bald man apologized.
And while he was still holding her, June chose to come by. Tall, slinky, sexy—interested—June. “Hi, you two! Don’t you look cozy?” She smiled secretively as she met Kelly’s eyes.
Kelly felt embarrassed and looked away, yet when Dan released her, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to be released.
“Hello, June, how are you?” he asked.
“Fine, fine. Oh, Kelly! Aren’t you proud of that son you’ve got? He’s just fabulous!” June winked at Dan. “That pretty little girl of yours is going to have to watch out, isn’t she?”
“Sandy?” Dan smiled. “Sandy will be fine; she can take care of herself.”
“Well, I was just so surprised,” June said, looking curiously at Kelly. “I ran into Ted Pinder—he’s my nephew,” she explained quickly for Dan’s benefit. “And he’s in Jarod’s class at school. Those kids haven’t told anyone about their wedding! They haven’t whispered a word of it to a single soul.”
Kelly glanced quickly, uncomfortably, at Dan, but he was looking pleasantly at June.
He shrugged. “Well, a wedding is a big thing in life, June. Maybe, at the moment, they like keeping it as their secret. You know how kids are.”
“And how love is,” Kelly added sweetly, careful not to look at Dan. “It’s so special sometimes that you don’t even want to tell the one you’re in love with!”
June chuckled softly. And then someone plowed into Kelly again, sending her flying against Dan once more. This time it was Sandy who had bumped into her. Sandy, smiling away with a fresh young beauty to rival the sun, apologizing and asking if she and Jarod could do something that night, all in one breath.
“Hold it! Hold it!” Dan commanded, and he forced her to calm down long enough for a quick introduction to June.
Sandy replied courteously, then started pleading once again. “Everyone is going, Dad! I mean everyone—”
“Jarod isn’t,” Kelly interrupted dryly. “Because he hasn’t said a word to me yet.”
“Oh!” Sandy spun around. “Oh, Kelly, he will! He’s just having a hard time getting away from the other kids.” She paused. Her words had held a touch of bitterness. Then her enthusiasm for her current project washed away the ill feelings. “Dad, Kelly, really, it’s totally innocent, and it sounds wonderful!”
“Totally innocent?” Laughing, Dan looked at Kelly. She lowered her lashes, trying to indicate June’s presence.
“Totally innocent,” he repeated, grinning down at his beautiful daughter. “What are you talking about, Sandra?”
“Oh! The coach—” She swung around again to face Kelly earnestly. “Coach Harrison. Jarod says you’ve known him for years and years, and that you respect him and trust him and think that he’s wonderful—”
“Wonderful?” Dan interrupted, looking at Kelly.
“He was my swimming coach when I was in high school.”
“He’s at least sixty, if he’s a day,” June volunteered with a chuckle, smiling at Dan.
“Go on, Sandy,” Kelly urged.
“Well, Coach Harrison said he wants to take the team up to Skyline Drive for the night. There’s a special nature hike first thing in the morning. Coach said that he’d take the first string and—”
“Since when are you first string?” Dan demanded.
Sandy stopped blushing. “Da-aad!” she wailed. “It’s not just Coach Harrison going! It’s his wife, and two other teachers and their wives, and six other girls. Honest, Dad. Separate cabins—and Mrs. Harrison will be in with us.”
Dan glanced over at Kelly. She smiled, knowing that he was trusting her greater knowledge of the situation. Whatever you decide, he was telling her, and she was glad of his trust.
Dan lowered his eyes quickly. Kelly! Let them go! He pleaded silently, hoping she would read his thoughts. Please, decide to let them go. We’d finally have a chance!
But he couldn’t say it. He had to let her decide. He couldn’t, as a responsible parent, make that kind of a decision just because he was so frustrated that he might self-destruct in a matter of minutes. Nor, if the decision were made the way he hoped, did he want to be the one to make the first move. He had to be sure that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
“I think it’ll be okay,” Kelly said slowly. She was barely able to finish speaking before Sandy threw her arms around her and nearly suffocated her with gratitude. “Oh, Kelly! Thank you, thank you! I’ll go tell Jarod. Oh, thank you! Thank you!”
She went rushing away. Kelly and Dan stared at each other, laughed, then shrugged.
“Well, how nice for both of you!” June exclaimed.
“Pardon?” Kelly asked.
“Well, you’ve just sent the kids off until tomorrow.” June’s voice lowered insinuatingly. “You’ve got the entire night to yourselves.”
For a moment Kelly wanted to smack the other woman, but then she noted the amusement with which Dan was watching her, and she burst out laughing.
“Oh, June! You’re right!” Try to get me in trouble, will you? she thought silently. She decided to play up to June’s expectations.
“Dan, what should we do?” she asked sweetly.
This time he slipped his arms around her just for the pure enjoyment of it, drawing her back against his chest and resting his chin thoughtfully on top of her head. Steady! he warned himself. Steady…
He answered her thoughtfully.
“Hmm. I say dinner on the highway. That new place that just opened. I hear it’s wonderfully romantic. Italian food, great wine, and a strolling violin player. Then we can catch the last ghost tour, and then…” He winked at June and lowered his lips to Kelly’s ear and whispered “What am I supposed to do here? Should I say that I’ll get you chastely home by eleven? Or should I let her tell the town that a deliciously illicit affair is going on?”
Kelly lowered her head quickly to keep from laughing. “Oh, Dan!” she exclaimed. “Oh, Dan…”
“Whoa,” June muttered, gazing at them both. “I guess I’ll step out of this one. It’s getting uncomfortably hot for a girl without a date for this evening. Excuse me, and do have fun! After all, that’s what you’re planning to do, isn’t it?”
Kelly twisted around to stare up at Dan mischievously. Neither of them even noticed when June smiled, waved and left them.
“That was really good, Kelly,” Dan said in aw. “That friend of yours will have our names bandied all over town, you know. You’ve already taken a nose dive from propriety, Mrs. McGraw.”
“Have I?” Kelly demanded innocently.
“Yes,” he told her somberly. “But then, since you have…well, we can’t let you have this horrible reputation—not unless you’ve really earned it.”
“I’m just dying to earn it!” Kelly retorted. She moved closer to him in her excitement, taking both his hands, holding them between hers.
“Dan, I own a cabin up in the mountains. It’s the most beautiful place in the world. There’s a stream and a fireplace, and deer that eat right out of your hand. You’ve never seen anyplace so peaceful. The tour ends at ten—”
“Who needs the tour?” Dan choked out.
“You do!” Kelly laughed. “Honest, it’s great. I can’t believe you’ve missed it this far. But after—”
“You’ve got a date, Mrs. McGraw. Shall we collect our offspring and hurry them on their way?”
“Sounds good to me!”
* * *
Kelly was grateful that Jarod was still so keyed up from his game—and so grateful to have been given permission to take off overnight—that he didn’t spend much time harassing her.
He spent the drive home chatting away in amazement. He hadn’t been that hot, he assured her, it was just that the other team’s defense was clumsy. “It all just went my way, Mom. Like those guys had butter fingers.”
When they reached the driveway she smoothed over the first touch of trouble easily. Jarod, frowning as he reached into the trunk to bring out his gear, stopped cold to look at Kelly.
“Mom, they haven’t caught this Peeper guy, have they?”
“Not that I know of.”
His shoulders seemed to sag, as if the weight of the world had settled over them. “I can’t—I mean, this overnight thing, it isn’t that big a deal.”
Kelly inhaled sharply. “What are you talking about?”
“You! Oh, Mom! I can’t leave you here! Not when the guy might have been staring right at you.”
“There’s a brand-new security system in this house!”
“But you would be alone! You shouldn’t be alone. I don’t care how good that security system is.”
“Really, Jarod, it isn’t necessary for you—”
“Mother,” Jarod replied primly, “you must know that for a parent you are…very nice-looking.” He grinned a little crookedly. “I’ve actually gotten into a few fights ’cause of you, you know. That sickie would think he’d died and gone to heaven if he found you alone.”
Kelly listened to his words in amazement, blinked, and nodded slowly. “Thank you for the compliment—I think. But Jarod, I won’t stay here. I’m going to the new Italian restaurant with Dan and—”
“Oh! You can go back over there for tonight! And I won’t have to worry, because Reeves will be there!”
“I could, uh, stay with Dan, yes.”
He smiled, relieved. He actually patted her on the back, then started for the house.
Kelly waited behind him guiltily for a moment. He was whistling, by then. She shrugged and followed him. She hadn’t lied to him; he had simply made some assumptions. He was anxious to see things his way because he wanted to go on his little trip; why should she correct him?
By the time she reached the front door, he was upstairs in the shower. By the time she had her sneakers untied, he was out, clad in his briefs, drying his hair briskly with a towel.
“Can I take the car?
Kelly lifted her shoulders and frowned curiously. “Doesn’t Sandy have her own car? A nice one.”
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s nice. I just like…” He hesitated. “I just like to drive my own car now and then. Well, your car.” He cast her a pleading look. “I really need a car, Mom. One of my own.”
“You’re going to need lots of things,” Kelly said softly.
He winced, and she was suddenly sorry. Today had been such a high for him; he deserved to spend the rest of it being young. Young and totally carefree.
But it’s true! she thought. They’re rich, and we’re not. I can’t just run out and buy you a sports car, Jarod. I’m worried about helping you to simply survive. If your wife-to-be has a car, you’re going to have to swallow your pride and learn to love it!
“You’re welcome to the car,” she said lightly, tossing her sneakers into her closet. “It even has a full tank of gas.”
He nodded, and thanked her for the keys she handed him. “I’m going to get dressed. When is Dan supposed to be here?” he asked.
“Soon, I guess.”
“I’ll stay until he gets here.”
“You don’t have—”
“I do. Go on, take your shower. I’ll be downstairs. And if you see anything, scream your head off. I may not be old, but I promise, I’m tough.”
Kelly laughed, brushing his cheek with her knuckles. “I know you’re tough, hotshot. And, hey, I was proud of you today,” she added softly.
He grinned. “I know, Mom. Thanks.” He gave her a quick hug, then turned back to his own room.
A little nervously, Kelly threw off her dirty clothes and stepped beneath the shower. She was glad that Jarod had decided to wait with her. She didn’t touch the curtain; she couldn’t even bring herself to glance at the window.
Maybe it had just been a raccoon, she said, trying to reassure herself. But she knew that it would be a long, long time before she would ever feel comfortable in this shower again.
Alone.
With that thought she started smiling, because she had been just fine when Dan had been in there with her.
And they would have all night tonight. All night. Up at the cabin. Her cabin…
She paused, remembering Jarod’s admission that they had used her cabin when Sandy had gotten pregnant. And, of course, Jarod had come into existence in that cabin.
But it still meant everything good to her. Everything good in the world. Stillness, peace, beauty. The sound of the creek, the magic of the sky, the fearless ease of the deer and squirrels. The cabin had been David’s, and it represented everything good about David, too.
“I loved you,” she whispered aloud. “I really loved you, David McGraw.”
But he was gone, and he’d been gone a long time. They had lived together long enough to know that love wasn’t just a fantasy, that it was real. Could be real again.
And then she realized that she was standing in the shower, not moving. She turned off the faucet and gave her head a little shake. Strangely, everything felt very good. David wouldn’t begrudge any of them the cabin. He would secretly have laughed if he’d known about Jarod and Sandy….
Just as he had always smiled when the cabin and Jarod’s name had been mentioned together.
He would smile now. He could be jealous, he could be possessive—he could be a lot like his son. But he would like Dan Marquette. Kelly felt it with certainty, and that made her feel very, very good about herself. And about the evening ahead.
* * *
Jarod let Dan in when he came to the front door. They talked about the game for a moment, and Jarod asked Dan if he wanted anything to drink, and Dan said no.
Then, to Dan’s surprise—he’d been as careful as possible about the things he had said—Jarod let out a great sigh of relief. “I’m so glad my mother is spending the night with you!”
“Ah—what?” Dan asked, sure that he must have heard wrong.
“With this Peeper guy running around.”
“Oh, yes.”
Jarod grinned. “Old Reeves can hear a pin drop, you know. I leaned over to give Sandy a kiss on the cheek when we were watching TV, and the next thing I knew, he was standing between us.”
Dan looked over at Jarod and nodded. He was grateful when Jarod kept talking.
“Thanks for letting us go on this trip. It’s going to be great. We’re going to have a wonderful time. Apart—I mean. That is, we’ll be together, but—”
Dan swallowed and waved a hand nonchalantly. “I know what you’re saying, Jarod.”
“Yeah. Well, if you’re here, I’m going to go, then. Is Sandy ready?”
“I’m sure she is. Reeves was packing for her.”
“Wish I had Reeves,” Jarod murmured, then looked at Dan guiltily. “I didn’t mean that she was spoiled, or anything.”
“She probably is—in some ways,” Dan said.
Jarod nodded. “Okay. I’m going. Have a good time. Well, don’t have too good a time.”
“Goodbye, Jarod. And be careful.”
“We will be.”
Jarod waved to Dan. Dan heard him run up the stairs to say goodbye to his mother, then rush back down and out the front door.
Kelly came downstairs a few minutes later. Dan could just see her through the doorway, and he stood, a bit awed despite the fact that he felt he was getting to know her pretty well.
She looked…beautiful. She was wearing an emerald-green knit dress with a mandarin collar and long sleeves, and the hemline fell well below her knees. Despite that, it was one of the most sensual garments he’d ever seen. It fell over her breasts like a whisper, swirled around her hips, and made her waist something that he’d die to touch, to slip his hands around….
He didn’t realize that the was staring until she smiled a bit nervously and hurried to him, clasping his arms and rising on tiptoe to kiss him, then twirling around in front of him and glancing back at him anxiously.
“Well?”
He laughed ruefully. “Lust is roaring through me,” he told her honestly. More than lust, Kelly, he added silently. Much, much more!
She turned pink and smiled, and his body caught on fire. So much of what he saw consisted of lies, games, pretenses—but not Kelly. She was so honest. Honest about wanting him, honest about hesitating. So willing to give, but just a little shy about giving.
He laughed again, reached for her hand, pulled her back to him and kissed her. She smelled like heaven. He didn’t know if it was a scented soap or an exotic and subtle perfume, but it was a temptation he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist. Drawing a ragged breath, he set his hands on her shoulders and smiled ruefully.
“We’d better get going. I made reservations.”
She nodded, then said, “Oh! Wait!”
He frowned and waited in the hallway while she raced back up the stairs, and when she came back down toting a massive suitcase he stared at her, puzzled.
“For one night?”
“Ah, but you don’t know what’s in it.”
“A hot tub?”
“Ha ha.”
He took the suitcase from her and marveled at its weight. She was small, but strong and tough. “Hot bricks?” he asked.
“Never you mind, Mr. Marquette.”
He took her keys and locked the door as they left the house, telling her about Jarod’s comments while they walked to his car.
Kelly shrugged, unhappy, but philosophical. “They’d just never understand the difference,” she murmured.
“Is there really such a difference?” Dan asked her ruefully, once they were in the car and out on the road. “Kelly, think about it. They’re expecting a baby, and we all know how Sandy got that way! In another few months they’ll be married, living together. And we’re behaving as if they shouldn’t kiss!”
Kelly looked down at her hands. “Dan, we can’t condone anything else!”
“I know.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes. He glanced her way several times and saw that she was still watching her hands, so he kept his silence.
When they reached the restaurant he ordered champagne, and when he made a toast, it was to her dazzling, open, honest, beautiful blue eyes. She laughed, but then he made another toast, very seriously, to another kind of beauty.
He took her hand across the table. “Kelly, thank you. Thank you very much…for tonight. For inviting me someplace that is really special to you.”
She moved her fingers idly over his hand, tracing the pattern of the veins. She looked back up at him at last, and he knew that he was staring at her intently, too intently. But he loved her so much that he wanted to learn everything there was to know about her, yet at the same time he knew that the search might take him a lifetime.
“Hey!” she protested. “People are looking at us.” She smiled playfully trying to break the mood. “I think it’s because I’m so short and you’re so tall.”
“I think it’s because you’re beautiful.”
She grinned again, still playing wistfully with his hand. “I think it’s because we’re beautiful—together. Dan, thank you. I feel beautiful with you. Young and beautiful.”
He sipped his champagne, leaning back to study her with wry amusement. “You are young.”
“Not that young. Just short.”
“You’re not that short. Five-three is respectable.”
“Wonderful. I’m only five-two. Against six-four.”
He shrugged. “Six-three. See?”
She nodded sagely. “I’m still short.”
“Young and beautiful. Come on, Kelly, tell me. Just how young?”
“Well, I’m not underage.”
“Thirty-four to thirty-six?”
She twirled her champagne glass, watching the liquid and not him. “Thirty-six in October.”
He whistled softly. “Aha!”
“Aha, what?” She stared at him, then flushed. “Well, it was never any massive secret. I made it through my senior year on a real wing and a prayer.” She took a deep breath. “David and I were married in June, and Jarod was born in August.” She stared at him suddenly, defiantly. “Just like Sandy. Sandy and Jarod. And that’s why I know how hard it’s going to be for the two of them.”
Dan leaned toward her. He took her champagne glass and set it down, then took both her hands in his. “Kelly, you stayed married, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“Kelly, people should never get married because of a child. There are options. More today than you had. If Sandy had become pregnant by the man in the moon and wanted to keep the baby, I would have stood beside her all the way, whether the boy did or not. But Jarod loves her. I believe that completely. And she loves him. They may be young, and hell, yes, it’s going to be tough. But love will keep them together. Your life might have been hard, but, Kelly, you two beat the odds. Hell, I had everything in my corner—and we didn’t make it. You did. I think that Sandy and Jarod will make it, too.”
She smiled wistfully at him. “Think so?”
He brought her hands to his lips and kissed both palms. “I know so. And guess what?”
“What?”
“I think their parents are going to make it, too.”