Fortune Found (10 page)

“What career would you have chosen if you'd gone to college?”

“I've wondered that same thing. Psychology, I think.”

Something about that made him smile. “Not art?

Really? When you're so good?”

“You're stuck on that, aren't you? But, no. I told you, art has always been just for fun.”

“So psychology, then—which I guess makes sense
because you're already doing armchair therapy at your worktable in the studio. But why psychology?”

He seemed to genuinely want to know. To know just about her and the person she was. It had been so long since anyone had seen her as anything but a wife, a widow, a mom that it was strange. Nice. But strange.

“I guess I like to know what makes people tick,” she said. “I'm always trying to understand the motivation behind what people do, the way they are.”

“Have you ever thought about going back to college now?'

Jessie's laugh at that sounded almost tipsy because she was so tired. “There's no way.”

“Why not? It isn't too late. People go back to school at all ages.”

“But I have four kids. It would take too much away from them for me to go off in a new direction, to need to concentrate on something else, and I wouldn't do that.”

“So it's back to the family thing. You really are into that.”

“I really am,” she said firmly. “What about you?” she asked then. “What was the younger version of Flint like? What did you want to be? Or do you have exactly the life you wanted, the life you thought you'd have?”

He smiled at her. “I didn't put any planning into anything but getting out of the chaos that was growing up with Cindy Fortune. I didn't think about a career either. I just thought about a job, what I could do that would make some money so I could be out on my own—which I was the day after I graduated high school. And since then, when it comes to life, to occupations, I've just gone where the wind blew me, tried to learn from things along
the way, adjust so I don't make the same mistakes in life twice.”

Somehow Jessie didn't think he was only talking about jobs when he said that, but she was too exhausted to delve into anything overly serious at that moment. She was just enjoying the evening air. And Flint.

The porch light was off to not attract bugs; there was only a dim light over the kitchen sink that cast a slight glow through the window. But the moonlight, like the night before, illuminated Flint's achingly masculine features and made her heart beat quicken just from looking at him.

She sat up straight, with her back against the opposite post, resisting the thoughts that came with that faster pulse and brought her once again to the kiss that had ended their evening the previous night.

Flint was still watching her, and in the midst of it a small smile spread across that face that Jessie just couldn't take her eyes off.

“What?” she asked about the cause of that smile.

“I was just thinking that you'd be good as a psychologist because you're easy to talk to, to confide in. I'd tell you my troubles…”

“Do you have troubles?” she asked.

“I do. Just lately,” he said in a way that let her know he wasn't being serious—or was he? “There's this person, who shall remain nameless, who's really distracting me. I'm having problems thinking about anything else. I even dreamed about her last night.”

“Ah, dreams can be very revealing,” Jessie said like a carnival fortune-teller.

Flint grinned. “Well, this one was a doozy but it didn't reveal nearly enough.”

“In what way?” Jessie asked, intrigued even though she knew they were just playing.

Flint pointed his chin in the direction of Kelsey's house next door. “The room I'm staying in has a window that faces the bedroom window of this Person-Who-Shall-Remain-Nameless. In the dream I was standing there, it was late at night, quiet…” His voice went quiet, too. “The only light on anywhere was in that other bedroom across the way. And behind the closed curtains I could just make out her silhouette.”

“That didn't actually happen, did it?” Jessie asked, a little alarmed to think that maybe he'd been watching her from his window, that he
had
seen her silhouetted against the curtains.

Her concern made him grin. “No, it didn't actually happen. But could it?” he requested incorrigibly.

“No, it could not!” Jessie reprimanded with a laugh. Then she said, “And I'm ready to give you my expert psychological evaluation—you're a sick, sick man,” she joked.

“I can't help myself,” he confessed. “There's just something about this person that's gotten into my system.”

He came away from the post to lean more toward her, reaching for her hands with both of his, staring down at them while he said, “I just really, really…
like
you.”

That made her smile—and feel a whole lot of things that were dangerous for her to be feeling.

Then he glanced up from his study of their intertwined hands and gazed into her eyes for a moment before he leaned just an inch or two closer, clearly aiming to kiss her.

But instead he paused, waiting, as if this time he
wouldn't do it unless she met him halfway, unless she let him know that it was something she wanted him to do.

She wished she didn't. But wishing didn't make it so. She wanted for him to kiss her so badly that she couldn't keep from drifting an inch or two forward herself, raising her chin almost imperceptibly but enough to give permission.

Permission he didn't hesitate to accept—kissing her once more with his lips parted from the start, and heat waiting just below the surface, as if he'd been thinking about this as much as she had.

One of his hands released one of hers to rise up into her hair, to cup the back of her head as he opened his mouth a bit wider and let that kiss deepen.

Jessie recalled too vividly what it had been like to feel his chest through his shirt the previous night and she yearned to feel it again. So that was where her free hand went—to a hard wall of pectoral.

He placed her other hand there, too, before he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her nearer still.

Mouths were somehow open much wider by then and that was when Flint's tongue flicked hers, bold and brazen and titillating at once.

It sent more than a little shockwave through her, though, exciting her even as she felt a tiny spark of guilt to be indulging in such a moment of familiarity with someone other than Pete.

But somehow that tiny spark of guilt burned out a split second later, overtaken by a kiss that was growing hotter and hotter by the minute.

Tongues toyed and teased and tantalized, and even more sensations awakened in her as she let one hand
course upward into Flint's hair, as she learned the nuances of his kiss and tried a few tricks of her own that only added to the heat that was building between them.

That heat was building in her, too, making her suddenly much, much too aware of the feel of her nipples hardened against the cups of her bra. That made her imagine Flint's hands there, imagine them cupping her breasts, massaging, caressing them instead of the back of her head, her shoulders…

Maybe exhaustion had lowered their inhibitions, Jessie thought, recalling the way Flint had unconsciously run his hand down her back earlier. Maybe it had reduced them to baser instincts.

And if she let it continue, she was afraid of where it might go from there. Where it might end.

But, oh, that kiss!

She didn't want to put a stop to it. She wanted to go on kissing him, to feel the touch of his hand on her bare skin.

But she wanted it all so much that she knew she was fast losing control. That whether it was fatigue or not, her defenses were down, and she just couldn't keep at this and not have it go further than it already had.

So reluctantly she drew her hand from the side of his neck, bringing it down to his chest again, where she gave the slightest push as she forced her tongue to shy away from his just slightly. Just enough to send a message.

A message that seemed to be received, pondered, then answered with one more bold thrust of his tongue to let her know he wasn't any more eager than she was to stop before he honored those silent clues and brought that kiss to a slow conclusion.

Jessie opened her eyes to find his still closed even as he helped her sit up again. His eyebrows arched before he finally opened his eyes as if from a dream like the one he'd teased her with earlier, making him look very much like he needed to regain his bearings, his senses.

Then, in a deep, raspy voice that had a hint of humor to it, he repeated, “I just really, really like you,” as if a reason for that kiss had been called for.

“Maybe you should stop it,” Jessie managed to joke amidst the struggle to calm all that he'd stirred in her.

“Easier said than done,” he whispered.

Then he slipped both his hands into her hair on either side of her head and held her to another kiss. And while his tongue stayed contained, it was still a long, lingering, cherishing kind of kiss that threatened to put them right back where they'd been a moment before.

But this time Flint didn't let that happen, stopping to kiss her once more, then again, then again, until he seemed to be spent and let go of her.

That was when he got to his feet and moved into the backyard, out of arm's reach.

“Good night, Jess,” he said as if there was nothing else to say.

“Good night, Flint,” Jessie whispered in return.

She watched him walk with a sexy swagger across the grass to the fence, her gaze riding every rise and fall of his denim-clad derriere.

She watched him go through the gate, go up to Kelsey's house and in the back door, tonight not casting her one final glance or wave.

That was when Jessie took a long, deep breath and
forced herself to her feet, too, going inside herself and up to her room.

The room that faced the room Flint was in next door.

And if some secret part of her was tempted to stand in front of her curtained window to undress?

That
particular bit of wickedness she
did
resist.

But Jessie the woman—not the mom, not the widow—couldn't keep from taking the idea of it to bed with her.

Along with the lingering effects of a kiss that had reminded her once again just how alive that woman in her was.

And could be again…

G
uests began arriving at Kelsey and Coop's at four o'clock Sunday afternoon. The party itself was held in the backyard, where Jeannie and Jack Hunt were stationed with the kids. Kelsey and Coop were greeting people at the front door, then taking turns showing them around the house itself before depositing them in the kitchen where Jessie and Flint were to offer drinks before steering them to the yard.

It occurred to Jessie that what had begun as a pain in the neck—her sister manipulating things so that Jessie and Flint spent time alone together—was now something that she appreciated. Something she was glad their fake date hadn't done much to diminish. Because now that she secretly wanted to spend time alone with Flint, it didn't look at all odd when she got to because it was what her sister had assigned her to do.

And no amount of telling herself she should be avoiding it actually caused her to put up enough of a fight with Kelsey to accomplish that.

“What are you plans for tonight, when this party is over?” Flint asked her as they filled the ice bucket, made punch, opened wine and made sure there was beer and plenty of soda and iced tea in the refrigerator.

“Uh…my plans for tonight?” she repeated. “They're big ones— I'll help clean up from the party and/or put four kids to bed.”

“After that. I was thinking that tonight might be a good time for me to take pictures of your sculptures. My website should be up and running this week and if I can get the photographs to my webmaster he can put them on the site so they'll be there for the launch. If you think you can manage it after you're finished being Super Mom…”

“And before I collapse,” she said, still trying to rein in her happiness at the prospect of having time alone with him at the end of the evening.

“And before you collapse. Or you can collapse on the couch in your studio and just watch while I take the pictures.”

Just watching Flint was never something she could deny herself and today, when he was dressed in a pair of gray slacks that just hinted at his well-shaped derriere and thick thighs, when he had on a crisp white shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders, any chance she had to watch him was not an offer she could even begin to make herself refuse. Plus she had the excuse of taking the first step in possibly being able to sell her sculptures to make money for the kids' college education.

“What do you say?” he asked when she had apparently been lost too long in those thoughts of tonight.

“If the party doesn't go too late,” she agreed provisionally.

The doorbell rang just then, bringing their attention back to arriving guests.

Because the housewarming party included such a large contingent of the Fortune family and their close friends the Mendozas—who were also relatives by marriage in several instances—having Flint by her side provided Jessie with an opportunity to be reminded who everyone was.

“I think I met most of your family at the last party—”

“The one where you met me,” Flint said with joking innuendo.

She rolled her eyes. “The one that welcomed Anthony into the family. But I met so many people then that there's no way I can remember who's who. Of course I know William and Lily, and Ross and Frannie and their families. But it would help if you could jog my memory about everyone else,” she told Flint as they took their position at Kelsey's kitchen table, which gave them a clear view of the front door.

“There are a lot of us,” Flint commiserated.

“And a lot of things that have gone on since William and Lily's wedding didn't happen in January. I know bits and pieces of it, but could you give me the gist of things so I don't make any insensitive faux pas?”

“Are you just looking for a way to get the scoop on the family soap operas?” he teased.

“No, really,” Jessie insisted, meaning it. “Wasn't there
some kind of rift between your Uncle William and one of his sons—”

“Drew.”

“I'd hate to say something that would make anyone uncomfortable. And if there's anything else…”

Flint just grinned at her, knowing she wasn't fishing for gossip. Then he nodded in the direction of the front door. “My cousins are all coming in now,” he informed her. “Those are William's kids—Drew, JR, Nicholas, Darr and Jeremy—”

“I know Jeremy—he's one of the doctors at the clinic. I saw him when I took Adam to the doctor a few weeks ago for an ear infection. I also know that he used to live in California, but he stayed in Red Rock when your Uncle William went missing to try to help find him.”

“Yep. And while he was here, he met Kirsten—that's her beside him—and now they're engaged.”

“That I knew, too. And I know JR—he's the rancher. Kelsey helps with his horses, that's how she and Coop met. And JR is married to Isabella Mendoza.”

“Right. Moving on—that's my cousin Darr. He's a local firefighter, and that's his wife, Bethany, and her baby daughter, Randi. Then there's Nicholas—he's our financial analyst. He moved to Red Rock in February. That's his wife, Charlene, holding baby Matthew.”

“Okay,” Jessie said, trying to apply all the names and details to memory once and for all. “But don't forget to tell me about the problem between your uncle and Drew,” Jessie prompted.

“Drew is the vice president of Fortune Fore casting—”

“Which forecasts what?”

“They predict marketplace trends,” Flint said. “But
Uncle William is the CEO. Everyone—including and especially Drew—was sure that when Uncle William was ready to retire, he would hand the reins of the business over to Drew, and that that would happen when Uncle William and Lily got married. But just before that, Uncle William dropped a bombshell on Drew—William decided that Drew's life was out of whack, that he was too much of a workaholic and neglected his personal life, that if he was left to his own devices, Drew would end up alone.”

“And your uncle didn't want that for his son.”

Flint pointed a long index finger at her to let her know she was right on the money. “So Uncle William said that until Drew found someone, got married and started to have a life outside of work, William wasn't budging from the CEO seat, which caused a lot of tension between them.”

Jessie nodded in the direction of the group of people talking in the entryway. “Drew seems to be with someone,” she observed.

“Deanna. His wife.”

“His wife?”

Flint's expression showed his amusement. “It seems that my illustrious cousin hatched a plan of his own— Deanna was his marketing assistant and he tried to convince her to marry him just for show. But Uncle William's disappearance put that on hold and in the meantime, Drew discovered that Deanna was the real deal after all. They eloped to Las Vegas at the end of January.”

“But your uncle was still missing then and since they've found him he hasn't remembered much of anything, so where has that left Drew?”

“Still vice president. Even though Uncle William isn't really in any shape to be the acting CEO, getting his mind back on track is the priority now. That's why Drew and Deanna are in from San Diego—they come in every chance they get to visit William.”

“So the rift is just sort of in the shadows—William doesn't even remember it.”

“But Drew is still sitting second chair when he thought he'd be in the first by now.”

“So I won't make small talk with Drew by asking about his work—it's bound to be a sore subject.”

“Probably for the best.”

The front door opened yet again for another couple to join the party. “That's Wendy—”

“She's so young,” Jessie said.

“She's from the Atlanta branch of the Fortunes. They sent her here hoping she might get her head together, find some direction.”

“And did she?”

“She started out working for the Fortune Foundation, which you probably know does the funding and the fund-raising for the clinic where Jeremy practices and a slew of other charities and good-deed organizations. But Wendy was…let's say, not suited to the office work. She's bubbly and full of energy and she just didn't fit into the environment at the Foundation. The family thought she might be happier in a more social atmosphere and asked the Mendozas to hire her at Red—that's where she met Marcos Mendoza, in February, and now they're engaged, too.”

The first contingent of Fortune and Mendoza guests moved into the kitchen. Flint greeted them all warmly,
and Jessie thought that the new connection he felt to them was clear. He also reacquainted family and family friends with Jessie, reminding them she was Kelsey's sister.

When small talk had been exchanged and everyone but Jessie and Flint moved on to the backyard, Jessie nodded in the direction of the front door once more. “I know that's Rafe Mendoza. He's the lawyer who helped with the legal stuff that went along with Coop finding Anthony…”

“And that's his wife, Melina. They were high school sweethearts who lost touch and rediscovered each other. I believe that happened about March. I know they were married recently in a small family ceremony.”

“How nice that they found each other again,” Jessie commented, thinking of her own high school relationship with Pete and how glad she was that they hadn't had any lost years.

And out of nowhere she suddenly had such a strong sense of her late husband that she couldn't help feeling that he was there with her, in spirit if not in body. It was somehow comforting and difficult at once, making her miss him, wish that he
was
there in body, and at the same time, feeling guilty again for being beside Flint—for being so glad to be there.

But the feelings were chased away when the former-high-school-sweethearts-turned-newlyweds joined Jessie and Flint in the kitchen then, just as friends of Kelsey, and friends of the Hunt family began arriving.

Then, as Rafe and Melina went outside and Kelsey took that group on the house tour, William and Lily arrived.

“Look at that,” Jessie said when she and Flint were alone again. “Your uncle and Lily are just beaming.”

Flint returned from a trip to the freezer to refill the ice bucket, setting it down before he glanced into the other room.

He chuckled slightly when he did. “You're right. I wonder what's up with them.”

Coop was obviously aware that something was going on with the older couple, too, because Jessie saw his perplexed smile as she caught just enough of what he was saying in the distance to know he was questioning them about their joyful moods.

His answer was more laughter and the exchange of gleeful looks between Lily and William without getting an explanation. Instead, after William said something Jessie couldn't hear at all, she saw Coop apparently concede with a shrug before he said, “Sure, I'll take care of that. You're the last arrivals, so let me show you around first and then—”

“We can't wait!” Lily responded excitedly. “Show us the house later.”

“Okay,” Coop agreed.

When Kelsey brought their other guests from upstairs, there were too many voices for Jessie and Flint to be able to decipher what Coop told Jessie's sister. But after that everyone, including Cooper and Kelsey, came into the kitchen.

Coop and Kelsey pitched in to fill drink orders and then ushered everyone out to the backyard, telling Flint and Jessie as they did, “Uncle William needs a family audience. I don't know what's going on, but I promised that I'd get everyone's attention.”

“He probably just wants to give a toast or something,” Kelsey suggested.

But Kelsey hadn't been in the entryway to witness what Coop had, what Flint and Jessie had seen from the kitchen.

“Maybe,” Coop allowed without conviction, “but let's go. I said I'd do it right away. You and Jessie, too, Flint,” Coop added.

The backyard was brimming with guests and the children of guests to join Braden, Bethany, Adam and Ella. Once Coop, Kelsey, Jessie, Flint, William and Lily were outside on the deck, Cooper tapped a spoon on the side of a glass to call attention to the gathering.

He thanked everyone for coming, gave a general introduction of his uncle to those of Kelsey's friends who might not know him, and said that William had asked to say a few words. Then Coop picked Anthony up from the infant swing to hold on his hip as Coop, Kelsey, Flint and Jessie stepped off the deck and gathered in their own small semicircle on the grass below to face William Fortune.

Jessie hadn't met the older man before he'd been located in Haggerty and brought home to Red Rock. Since then he'd been in a daze, uncertain of himself, of everything and everyone around him. But the man who stood at the edge of the deck, facing the large crowd, was a much more commanding presence. He stood tall and straight, sure of himself.

“For those of you who may not know,” he began, “our family has had some difficult months that began on New Year's Day when I was scheduled to be married to this wonderful woman—”

William held out his hand for Lily to take and brought her to stand beside him.

“Until just a few days ago, I couldn't explain what had happened to me or what had led up to it. Ultimately we all learned that I was in a car accident that left me not even knowing who I was. It took months for my family to locate me, to bring me home, and still when I looked into my Lily's face, when I looked at my own children, my own nieces, nephews, my own family and friends, they were all strangers to me. Some of the mystery has been uncovered in small pieces along the way—like who Anthony's mother was, that Coop is his father, that his mother was lost in a car accident of her own…” William paused as if out of respect for Anthony's late mother. “And then, on Tuesday when Lily and I were here, when I looked in on Anthony—”

William cast a fond glance at the baby.

“—the curtain that was hiding my memories began to lift. And since then it's been as if little by little, that curtain kept on rising until I finally recalled everything,” he finished victoriously.