A Sinclair Homecoming (The Sinclairs of Alaska) (24 page)

Harry chuckled, then sobered. “Enough dillydallying around the subject, missy. I want to know what Jenny Martin wants from her life.”

What did she want?

With her thirtieth birthday approaching, she’d been asking herself the same question. She’d been surprised to realize that over the past year she’d slept with very few men; none in the past nine months. The players coming into the league seemed too young and she couldn’t drum up any interest for those already in the show.

The lack of sex didn’t bother her; she’d never been that excited by it. Being a puck bunny had given her a sense of power and control—in a safe environment, among a fraternity she’d trusted—at a time when she’d had none. She didn’t need that anymore. Perhaps it was time to pass her figurative crown to someone younger.

But what would she do instead? There would be a void in her life, especially now Lizzie had pretty much left home. Then there was the tick of her biological clock.

She wasn’t going there. “I don’t know what I want.”

“Come on. There must be something.”

She should be annoyed by his persistence, forcing her to say aloud what she secretly nurtured in her heart, but she knew it was because he cared.

“Sure, I want love and a family. But marriage isn’t in the cards for me, so there’s no point thinking about it.”

“Why not?” He blew a raspberry at Jenny’s arched eyebrow. “The right guy won’t give a damn about your past.”

Harry had never judged her for being a puck bunny. Everyone had to take their own path, he’d said. As long as she wasn’t hurting anyone, especially herself, it was up to her what she did.

Not everyone had the same attitude. Naturally, with that thought, a certain green-eyed Ice Cat skated into her mind. Tru certainly wasn’t the right guy.

“Wherever this man is, I haven’t found him,” Jenny said lightly.

“So have the family without the man. You don’t need a husband to make a baby. Heck, you don’t even need a boyfriend. Just a sperm donor.”

She started as Harry zeroed in on the thoughts she’d dared to have herself. His words triggered the yearning she’d been trying to ignore.

A baby. Her baby. Someone who’d love her unconditionally.

“But the damage Douglas caused...” She paused as fury blazed in Harry’s pale blue eyes. “I was told the chances of me getting pregnant without intervention are nearly zero.”

“Then have IVF.”

She laughed. Harry had never met a problem he couldn’t solve. “I can’t afford it. Even with the generous salary you pay me, I need every penny to fund Lizzie.”

“What if I gave you the money?”

“You’ve already done too much. I can’t take anything more from you.”

He shrugged. “It’s money that won’t go to my kids. You’re welcome to it.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I couldn’t.”

“All right. How about a loan?”

She began to waver. “But I couldn’t begin to repay you until after Lizzie graduated.”

“I don’t need you to pay me back.” He held up his hands. “I know you’ll insist on it, but I don’t care as long as you take the money.”

Though Jenny wanted to grab the offer—realizing it was an opportunity that might never come again—she was wary of leaping into anything rashly. “I’ll think about it.”

He leaned forward, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You’ve spent half your life looking after your sister. She’s happy, healthy, confident and doing what she wants. Now it’s your turn. You deserve a chance at your own dream coming true.”

Jenny swallowed the lump in her throat. “Thank you.”

Long after Harry had left, she sat in her rocking chair, mulling over what he’d said. Perhaps Harry was right. Perhaps this was her time. The mantle of fear that had weighed heavily on her shoulders for so long had finally lifted. Maybe it was a sign she should start a new phase of her life. One that was about what she wanted.

A baby.

Tentatively at first, then with growing enthusiasm, she thought about becoming a single parent. Then she grabbed her iPad and began to do some research. The more she read, the more the idea seemed possible.

It was past midnight before she put her pen down. It could work.

She sat back in the chair, rocking silently. Nestled alongside the happiness in her heart was a new emotion. One she hadn’t felt in far too long. Hope.

Copyright © 2014 by Anahita Sugden

ISBN-13: 9781460335314

A SINCLAIR HOMECOMING

Copyright © 2014 by Kimberly Sheetz

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical,
now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

www.Harlequin.com