He took her grandmother’s broken clock off the mantel and sat down to check it over, needing to keep his mind busy.
But just as he’d set the clock on the coffee table, lights shined through the front windows.
He jumped up and went to look past the gauzy white curtains. There it was again – that silver Porsche, coming up the lighted driveway. Stewart, coming back for more. Pushing his luck.
Sam didn’t hesitate, instantly mad as hell, and turned locks on the front door to head out and confront this guy. He slapped at a long row of switches by the door and lights came on all around him, and on the porch. Truths needed to be understood. Truths Brandon Stewart needed to accept one way or another. Jenna was off-limits. Off this guy’s agenda.
Sam crossed the porch but before he’d even made it to the bottom of the steps, Stewart put his car in gear and hit the gas, rubber smoking on the pavement. Sam stood and watched the Porsche fly down the drive.
“
Yeah, you better run,” he whispered to the taillights. He waited until he was sure the guy was gone before heading back inside. He shut and locked the door and was about to turn the lights off when he saw Jenna standing up on the landing under a chandelier, hugging a pillow, still fully dressed.
“
That was him?”
“
Don’t worry,” he told her. “He’s gone.”
She stared down at him for a moment. Long enough he wondered if she was offering an invitation, or planned to come down to see him.
He took a step forward and she immediately took a step backward. She tossed the pillow down to him. “There’s a quilt in the hope chest in the den.” She turned as if to leave, then turned back. “I’m glad you were here,” she said. “Thanks.”
And then she jogged back up the stairs.
She turned off the lights from upstairs, leaving him standing in a dark foyer, holding only a pillow.
He turned toward the lights of the living room and sat down again. He would never forget the summer she’d returned from college looking like a model straight from a fashion magazine. Testosterone had buzzed through the town with talk of her fine development that summer, and Sam had been no exception.
Jenna probably didn’t remember the incident, but there had been a reason he’d sought her out at the Fourth of July dance.
An incident that had set him in motion - had set him off on a quest. He’d been hanging around outside Sparky’s Drive-in with his buddies one night when she’d come walking out with friends. All talk had stopped as they’d watched the girls walk across the parking lot. But he’d only seen Jenna. At first, he hadn’t found her more interesting that her curvaceous parts, until she’d turned and met his gaze.
Something had happened in that moment, something unusual, and powerful enough to make him take a personal interest in her. An interest personal enough to make him burn with fury when his friends let their conversation of her turn raunchy.
He’d turned and popped his buddy, Tony, right in the nose for no other reason than a bizarre sense of possession over a girl he’d never actually met.
He’d paid for his temporary insanity. He’d lost a good friend that night. But he still didn’t regret it.
And once he thought about it, he realized that ridiculous incident at the drive-in had been the last time he’d stood up for her.
But he was standing up for her now. Wasn’t he? Or was he doing what he’d done before? Setting her up for pain and disappointment?
He looked at the clock but didn’t feel like messing with it now. He was tired. And he wanted to turn out the lights, close his eyes and let himself relive the kiss he’d shared with the woman so close upstairs. God, she was hot when she let herself go. He could still feel her soft body in his arms.
His mind drifted back to the night on the pond three years ago. The night they’d finally given in to temptation and let nature take over. That night had been pure insanity. He was surprised they hadn’t set the raft on fire. Maybe they had. He remembered falling in the water afterward. That had been the best night of his life, splashing around with Jenna.
She’d been so fun and full of life back then, so full of light and energy, like a drug he’d become addicted to. He ached to see that Jenna Morgan again. And after the hot kiss they’d just shared he found himself filled with a renewed hope he would find that spirited Jenna again, one day.
***
Brandon Stewart parked in front of his condo and got out of the car, stumbling as he forgot about the curb. He’d messed up, drunk too much, and lost out on an opportunity to gloat tonight. He certainly hadn’t expected Jenna to call in reinforcements. What had she done? Hired a freaking bodyguard? He knew she didn’t have any family left to protect her.
It didn’t matter. Tomorrow, he’d have his revenge.
He’d had no trouble convincing his father over dinner. Since the divorce, all he had to do was threaten to go to his stepmother and his father would cave. The same worked in reverse, but this time he needed something only his father could provide.
Tomorrow, he’d show Jenna what real money and influence was all about. Tomorrow, he’d make her suffer.
***
Jenna had to drag herself out of bed the next morning. She’d stayed up till the wee hours of the morning staring at the old photograph of Sam and remembering every nuance of his kiss in the foyer. Trying to decide what he’d meant by it. Hoping, and trying not to hope, that it had meant something wonderful. Something that wouldn’t eventually hurt her. She’d finally fallen asleep hugging a pillow, giving in to the temptation to dream of a future with him.
And once she’d finally fallen asleep, she’d slept like the dead. The night had passed in a flash. She stumbled across the room, ran into the door when she forgot it was locked, and finally managed to get across the hall to see if Ethan was awake yet. She found his bed empty. Normally, she wouldn’t be alarmed. He sometimes got up early and went downstairs to play or Brianna sometimes took him down and fed him. But after Brandon Stewart’s recent harassment, she began an immediate search.
Brianna was still in bed, sound asleep on her stomach. Jenna went in to shake her sister awake. “Hey,” she said, “it’s time to get up. Have you seen the baby this morning?”
Bri lifted her head and squinted. “What? No.”
Jenna’s worry increased dramatically. She knew her son. He’d be in the kitchen, the den, or his playroom in the solarium. She rushed down the back stairs to the kitchen. She stopped and held her pounding head for a moment when she saw Ethan at the table eating dry cereal from a bowl and banana pieces from a plate.
Then she noticed Sam. She’d half expected him to leave sometime during the night and her heartbeat thudded in her chest at the sight of him. Then she quickly covered her mouth to stifle a harsh gasp. Her grandmother’s precious mantel clock was scattered in pieces across a towel on the table.
“
Hey,” Sam said, holding up a tool and a piece of gold metal, “don’t panic. I know what I’m doing.”
She stepped closer and tried to hide her concern. He came from a family of clockmakers. Surely, he’d been trained. “What’s wrong with it?”
He took a moment to let his gaze travel her body. She hadn’t thought to put on a robe and only wore a long white t-shirt. She crossed her arms, not sure exactly what he could see.
“
Careful of that,” he said, moving a bowl with some kind of liquid in it. She’d nearly tipped the bowl when she’d bumped into the table staring at him. “Ultrasonic cleaning solution. I don’t think it’s been cleaned since it was built probably a century ago. A clock like this should be cleaned every three or four years. Plus, I don’t know who’s been fiddling with it, but we’ve got some pieces in the wrong places here. Did someone take it apart and try to put it back together?”
Her mind was muddy and she tried to remember – tried to ignore the flexing muscles in Sam’s hand as he worked. “I don’t know. Can you fix it?”
He flashed a confident, almost mischievous grin. “It’ll sing when I’m done. Literally.” He picked up a small bird she’d never seen before. “It comes out of a door at the top and chirps. It’ll also chime when I’m finished.”
“
Oh. It’s a cuckoo clock?” She’d had no idea.
She noticed a large wooden case and various tools set out on the towel along with the clock pieces. “Where did the tools come from? The garage?”
He frowned at her as if she’d said something funny. “These are special instruments passed down through generations of my family. Mom wants me to fix one of her clocks so I brought them with me. They were still in my truck.”
“
Well, I really appreciate it.” She went to give her son a kiss on the head and noticed he smelled fresh and wore a different shirt than the one he’d worn to bed. “Did you change his diaper?”
Sam chuckled. “He asked me to. He found me sleeping on the couch and told me to get up.
Told
me, get that?” Sam smiled proudly. “He knows what he wants. He picked out that shirt and told me exactly what he wanted for breakfast, too.”
Wow
. “Well, thank you for watching him.” He’d even made coffee. She went to get some, taking her travel mug out of the cabinet. Once she’d had a fortifying sip, she went to the fridge to get milk for Ethan’s cereal.
“
I tried that,” Sam said. “But he didn’t want milk.”
“
Nanners and zeros,” Ethan sang, kicking his chair. “
Nannerrrrs and zeeeeeros
.”
Sam laughed. “He means I gave him Cheerios and part of a banana.”
“
I know what he means,” she said, a little testy from lack of sleep, and went ahead and poured Ethan some milk into his sippy cup. “But, thank you for feeding him. And watching him. And, everything. Did you get some breakfast? Help yourself to whatever you want.”
He sent her a slight smile. He was so beautiful, even first thing in the morning. He hadn’t shaved yet and the dark shading made him even more handsome. “I ate the other half of Ethan’s banana,” he said. “Want some cereal?”
She looked at the clock over the sink, a working clock, and realized she was running late. She must have hit the snooze button a couple of times before finally hearing the alarm. She didn’t even have time for a shower. “Oh! No time. I overslept.”
She almost headed back upstairs then stopped, wondering if she could trust Sam with Ethan while she dressed.
He seemed to be watching her as she moved about. “We’re cool,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
He’d done fine so far, so she decided to stop worrying. “Thanks.”
Ethan was a slow eater, since he liked to sing through his meals. He’d probably still be sitting there by the time she returned.
Brianna came stomping down the stairs, her hair a mess, her short robe hanging open.
“
I’ll keep him today if you want,” Sam said. “I’ll take him around and show him off.”
Jenna thought about that for only a second. Sam lugging Ethan all over town to meet his wild and rowdy relatives? His friends, who might be anybody? “No, you don’t have a car seat. Bri will be here.”
She pointed back up the stairs. “We have to hurry. We overslept.”
Brianna looked at the clock in pieces on the table, then the clock on the wall. “Oh!” She turned herself around. “But you have to give me back the phone since I’ll have the baby.”
“
Fine. Just hurry.”
Sam glanced at her and she saw the look in his eyes, the hurt feelings written all over his face, but what could she do? She was letting him stay in the house and spend time with his son. She didn’t have time to work out any other problems.
Sam was still at the table working on the clock when she rushed back down, dressed and ready to go. She gave Ethan, who was still eating, a kiss on the head. She’d been thinking as she’d dressed.
“
You can spend all the time you want with him, here,” she told Sam. “But he can’t go anywhere without a car seat.”
“
Okay,” he said without looking up.
Brianna came running down fully dressed now and her hair brushed. She grabbed the keys by the garage door. “C’mon.”
“
Forgetting something?” Jenna said, about to lift Ethan from his chair. He wasn’t fully dressed but he wouldn’t be getting out of the car.
“
Sam’s here,” Bri said. “I’ll just drop you off and come right back.”
She lifted Ethan, anyway. She wasn’t really concerned Sam would run off with Ethan anymore, but she also doubted he knew much about children. She didn’t have time to sort out the details.
“
That was mean,” Bri said as she climbed behind the wheel and Jenna strapped Ethan into his car seat.
She rushed around and got in the passenger seat. “What was? Let’s go. I’m late.” And she’d left her coffee behind.
“
Sam.”
Jenna pulled down the visor for the mirror, to finish putting on her makeup. “We’re all adjusting. Don’t badger me this morning.”