CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Two days later the bank was still a madhouse, the cafeteria buzzing with gossip. Kimberly answered most questions put to her in a very matter-of-fact and straightforward manner. And she tried to ignore the speculative glances cast her way by interested bank employees.
“You were right about Robert,” Marcie said, dropping a stack of mail onto the corner of Kimberly’s desk. “Heather said he was moving money out of the bank so fast she could barely keep up.”
“I thought so,” Kimberly replied, managing a wan smile though she found the entire subject depressing.
“And Bill! Can you believe he was involved?” Marcie threw her hands into the air and shook her head. “I thought he was a real nose-to-the-grindstone type.”
“I guess we all make judgment errors,” she said, thinking of Jake as she had for the past four hours. Why couldn’t she stop dwelling on him? It was barely eleven, and she couldn’t wait to make tracks home. She’d already been grilled by Eric Compton and Aaron Thornburn, who in turn had been interrogated by the police, FBI, and an auditor from the FDIC, who’d called for a special audit of the bank’s books to check for money laundering and all sorts of other crimes involving one of the bank’s wealthiest customers.
“Henry Juniper’s coming in today,” Marcie said.
“Wonderful,” Kimberly muttered cynically. The day was getting better and better.
“Oh, and Mrs. Pendergraft called to thank you for the flowers the bank sent her a few weeks ago. She said they were ‘gorgeous.’”
The first good news of the day. “Anything else?”
Marcie nodded. “Jake McGowan called again.”
“I don’t want to talk to him.”
“I know. But I thought I should tell you.”
Jake. Why couldn’t he just take “no” for an answer?
Two hours later Henry Juniper was seated on the other side of her desk, worrying the brim of his hat in his hands, blowing off steam and, in general, not listening to any kind of reason.
Marcie buzzed in. “Ms. Juniper is here,” she called.
Henry’s face went white. “Carole’s here?”
“I asked her to stop by.”
“With that snake of an attorney of hers—that Kesler fellow?” Henry demanded, his voice rising an octave.
“I don’t think so.” The paper had reported that Ben was having a few problems of his own—all because of his association with Robert Fisher.
Marcie led Carole into the room, and the middle-aged woman took the only available chair next to her brother. They glanced at each other once, then stared stonily ahead at Kimberly.
“I’m glad you’re here, Carole,” Kimberly said, picking up the document file on the Juniper estate. “I wanted to go over the terms of your father’s will again, so that each of you see exactly what is in the estate and what share you are entitled to.”
Henry’s head was bobbing up and down.
Carole’s lips pursed.
Kimberly started reading and silently hoped she could find a way to settle the mess between brother and sister without the problem of a lawsuit.
By the time she finished reading, Henry and Carole were exchanging glances. A few minutes later they argued a few points, but eventually agreed to let the bank handle all the bills of the estate, including reasonable bills presented by Carole for her father’s care during his convalescence.
“I guess she’s entitled to something for all her time,” Henry grumbled, stuffing a hat on his head and saying, “I’ll see you after the New Year.”
“Thanks, Kim,” Carole said, “and Merry Christmas.”
“Same to you,” Kimberly replied. She glanced at the calendar and felt a pang of regret. Soon it would be Christmas Day. And she and Lindsay would spend it alone.
* * *
She didn’t see Jake again until Christmas Eve. She and Lindsay were drinking hot chocolate, eating popcorn and listening to Christmas carols while the guinea pig exercised on his wheel, the metal cage clicking in time to the song.
“Can’t we open just one present now?” Lindsay begged, her gaze on the little tree.
“Santa doesn’t come until later.”
“I know, but there’s some presents under the tree already.”
That there were. Half a dozen brightly wrapped packages skirted the Douglas fir.
“Besides,” Lindsay prodded, climbing into Kimberly’s lap, “I want you to open my package.”
“And I want to wait until tomorrow morning.”
“Please . . .”
“Okay,” Kimberly replied, not having the heart to disappoint her.
Lindsay retrieved the huge package, and Kimberly pulled off the paper. Inside was a large birdhouse made from scraps of lumber nailed together. The house could hold six nests. “Lyle and I made it,” Lindsay said proudly.
“And it’s beautiful,” Kimberly whispered, admiring it. “You’re quite a carpenter.”
“I know,” Lindsay replied solemnly.
“Thank you very much.” She kissed Lindsay’s crown.
“Now, can I open one?”
Kimberly sighed. “Just one.”
Lindsay hurled herself back under the tree, found a package and tore open a holiday puzzle. “I like it! I do! I do!” She beamed at her mother. “Now, your turn again.”
“Oh, no.”
“Just one more.”
“I can’t. Really.”
Lindsay nodded. “Open Jake’s!”
“Jake’s?” Kimberly’s insides turned cold. “There isn’t a present from Jake.”
“Oh, yes, there is!” Lindsay said, scrambling off Kimberly’s lap and reaching into the thick branches of the Christmas tree. She hunted a while and withdrew a small box wrapped in silver foil.
“When did this get here?”
Lindsay shrugged. “A long time ago.”
“How long?”
“When we heard the singers in the park,” Lindsay said, forcing it into her hands.
Kimberly’s chest constricted. She didn’t want to think about Jake—nor about his present. “I don’t think I should open it.”
“It’s okay. He told me that it had to be a secret until Christmas Eve. And that’s now!”
“So it is,” Kimberly said, fingering the card while her heart pounded. She opened the envelope, and her throat constricted with tears. “To Kimberly, a woman who has brought happiness and light to my life. I’ll love you forever. This was my mother’s. No one has ever worn it since she gave it to me.”
“Oh, no,” she whispered, remembering all the ugly words she’d said. Taking in a deep breath, she untied the small red ribbon and split open the foil. The shiny paper gave way to a tiny jewelry box, and as Kimberly lifted the lid, she felt tears building behind her eyes. There, on a faded cushion of red velvet, was an antique ring. A diamond sparkled brightly in the box.
“Oooh!” Lindsay cried. “It’s beautiful.”
“That it is,” Kimberly admitted, feeling awful. Had she judged Jake too harshly? If he’d left the ring before the ordeal with Robert, didn’t that mean that he loved her? She had to find out. Stuffing the ring and box in her pocket, she jumped to her feet.
“Come on, Lindsay, we’ve got work to do.”
“But I want to open a present—”
“When we get home.” Kimberly found her daughter’s coat, boots, mittens and hat. Then, retrieving her coat, she herded Lindsay out the door.
“Where’re we going?” Lindsay asked.
“You’ll see.” Kimberly strapped Lindsay into her car seat, then slid behind the wheel. Tonight, she decided, she’d have it out with Jake. Once and for all. She’d crawl back on her hands and knees to find out if he’d really meant it when he’d said that he loved her. If so, she’d be the happiest woman on the earth. If not . . . She shuddered.
She wheeled into the parking lot of her favorite mall and smiled when she saw that the store was still open. “Come on, Lindsay. You’re going to enjoy this. I guarantee it.”
* * *
Jake whirled his drink, glanced in the mirror and growled, “Merry Christmas,” at his reflection. He’d spent the better part of the week trying to forget it was Christmas, that he’d hoped to marry Kimberly Bennett and that his life was empty. He’d failed on every count. Losing Lupus had hurt horribly; losing Kimberly had been a deathblow.
He threw the remains of his drink in the fire, snagged his leather jacket off the back of his couch and started for the door. He was going to have it out with her once and for all. And this time, dammit, he’d force her to believe just how much he loved her.
The doorbell chimed, and he swore. He wasn’t in the mood for carolers, shining faces or Christmas cheer. Scowling, he yanked open the door and there, standing in the middle of the porch, was Lindsay, her blue eyes shining, her hair in two lopsided pigtails. She was carrying a box that was nearly as big as she was.
“Merry Christmas!” she sang out.
Jake’s heart lurched almost painfully. “Hi!” he said, filled with wonder that this little girl could burrow so deep in his soul.
“Hi.”
“Come in, come in.” He stood outside of the door, letting her pass. “Your mom with you?”
“Mm-hmm.” She set the box on the floor in front of the fire, and Jake was sure it moved, but his attention was diverted when Kimberly, dressed in her familiar black coat, swept into the room.
“Merry Christmas,” she said breezily, her eyes deep with mischief, her mahogany-colored hair swirling behind her in a tangled red-brown cloud.
“Well, I guess we saved you a trip.” She swung her coat off, and Lindsay giggled, not for a minute leaving the huge box.
To his surprise Kimberly sauntered up, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him long and hard.
Jake couldn’t help but respond. He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’d like to ask you what’s going on, but I’m afraid to disturb the fantasy.”
Winking broadly, she plucked a sprig of mistletoe from her pocket. “This guy I know convinced me that mistletoe didn’t need to be hung.”
“A wise man,” Jake drawled.
“And I wanted to thank you for my Christmas present.”
He grinned, then glanced over to Lindsay. “I thought I said Christmas morning.”
“I couldn’t wait,” Lindsay said.
“And neither could I.” Kimberly slid out of his arms and tugged on his hand. “Lindsay and I went shopping tonight . . . for you. And we hope you like what we got. We had trouble deciding on the color.”
Jake eyed the box suspiciously. “You want me to open it now?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should wait ’til morning.”
Kimberly laughed merrily. “Oh, I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”
“All right,” he agreed, untying the big green bow and lifting the lid. As he did, an excited yip escaped, and a bright-eyed black puppy leaped up and washed his face with its long pink tongue.
“Hey, slow down,” Jake cried, but the pup, a lab-shepherd mix, Jake guessed, jumped on him ecstatically.
Lindsay clapped in joy. “He’s perfect, isn’t he?”
“Perfect,” Jake agreed, smiling as the puppy made three mad dashes around the room and finally landed on Lindsay’s belly. The little girl screamed and laughed, her giggles rising to the ceiling. “In fact I think we’ll name him that.”
“What—Perfect?” Kimberly asked.
Lindsay shook her head. “I like Snowball better.”
“But he’s black,” Kimberly said, laughing.
“Doesn’t matter,” Lindsay argued.
Jake grinned, staring at Kimberly. Her blue-green eyes were bright, and as she stood near the fireplace, she seemed to fill his house with a warmth and happiness that had been missing for a long, long time. God, how he loved her. It was frightening, yet caused his spirits to soar.
Winking seductively at him, she cocked her head toward the backyard and turned to her daughter. “Come on, Lindsay, let’s see if Perfect or Snowball or Perfect Snowball needs to go outside.” She helped her daughter back into her coat, mittens and boots.
Jake opened the back door, and the puppy shot through, straining against the leash and pulling Lindsay outside. Jake and Kimberly followed.
The night was quiet. The ghost of a moon dusted the snow-covered ground with the pale light, and beyond the yard the dark waters of the lake lapped quietly. Kimberly took hold of his hand. “I guess I owe you an apology,” she said, taking in a deep breath. “I said awful things to you.”
“You were upset.”
“And I was wrong.” Tilting her chin up, she stared at him with wide eyes. “I love you, Jake. I have for a long time. I came here because I want to marry you.”
Jake felt the corners of his lips twist. His heart thudded, and love surged through his veins. “Is this a proposal?”
“Oh, yes,” she said, her breath misting in the cold winter air. She took his face between her mittened hands and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
Jake’s lips twisted cynically. “You know, I think maybe I should be asking.”
“So, ask already,” she teased.
“Will you marry me?”
“Only if we can have a Christmas wedding.”
“But that’s—”
“Tomorrow.”
“You think you can find a preacher on such short notice?”
Kimberly giggled. “It just so happens that Arlene has connections with a little church. The preacher is a personal friend of hers. I bet I could get her to twist his arm. The only problem will be Diane. She’ll kill us both if we get married while she’s not around.”
“I guess that’s just a chance we’ll have to take,” Jake said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her long and hard.
Lindsay and the puppy dashed by, powdery snow flying, giggles and sharp barking filling the clear night air.
“I love you,” Jake whispered against her hair, “and if you think I’m waiting until tomorrow to start the honeymoon, guess again.”
Kimberly tossed back her hair. Her expression turned impish as she reached into her pocket. “No reason to wait,” she said, holding up the sprig of mistletoe. “As far as I’m concerned, tonight is the first night of our life together.”
“Then let’s make it count.”
“I’m all yours, counselor.”
“And I’m yours. Forever.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be long enough,” she teased, and was rewarded with a kiss that promised her a lifetime of love. In the distance, from across the lake, she heard the sound of Christmas bells ringing, sending clear notes into the wintry air as Jake lifted her off her feet and carried her back inside their home.