Last First Kiss (24 page)

Her gaze moved from his shoulders to the angular profile of his face. She had to admit, he was nice to look at, especially when he wasn’t aware that she was watching. Even if he turned around to face her, her dark sunglasses wouldn’t reveal exactly where she was looking.

Mac and Lexie’s heads nodded, struggling to stay awake through the sound of water being dispersed by the paddles.

Giselle gazed at the tranquil beauty of the pond and the array of colors it reflected from its surroundings. “It’s beautiful here,” she murmured, then turned back towards Jackson.

He nodded, staring out at the sunset. “It’s the best time of the day to be out here.”

She spoke quietly, afraid to disturb the solitude of the moment, but for some reason, longing to hear the sound of his voice. “Did you grow up on this ranch?”

He shook his head slowly. “Naw, Bill didn’t buy this place until after Chloe and I were married. He said he wanted to be ready when we had kids.” He snorted, “You can see how well that turned out.”

“
Best laid plans and all that,” she commented.

“
That’s right.” He sighed deeply, then looked over to the right of him and smiled. “This one’s out like a light.”

Giselle looked to her left and saw that Mackenzie had also fallen asleep. “This one is, too.” She gazed out at the blazing sunset reflecting off the water. “Are you angry with me, Jackson?”

He stared straight ahead and waited, as though he were considering how to answer. “Not so much angry, as disappointed in you, I guess. I thought we were friends then you distanced yourself.”

“
I told you why...”

“
I know why you did it, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less, especially when you change the rules to suit you.”

She turned to face him. “What do you mean by that?”

He shrugged. “First you totally ignore me, then you’re friendly, then you ignore me again. It’s hurtful and confusing...and frankly, I’m fed up with your attitude.”

“
What attitude?” she asked, raising her voice more than she intended.

He turned to face her. “If you’re friends with someone, you’re always friends, not just when it suits you.”

“
I don’t want people talking about me, and insinuating that I didn’t love my husband enough,” she insisted.

“
Give me a break, Giselle. Anyone who knows you also knows how much you loved Toby. I can’t believe you’d shut me out just to satisfy a couple of sluts, one of which wanted to get her hands on your husband.”

“
Now she wants to get her hands on you,” she mumbled.

“
What was that?”

“
Nothing.”

“
What’d you say?” he demanded.

She turned to him, irritated that he wouldn’t let it go. “I
said
Izzy wants to get her hands on
you
.”

He froze, bringing the boat to a quiet halt on the far edge of the pond. “Did this Izzy person tell you that?”

“
That’s what she said that night. She said she didn’t know who you were, but she was damned sure going to find out,” Giselle admitted.

“
Did she really?”

She saw the hint of that devilishly handsome grin, and suddenly wanted nothing better than to slap it off. “Yes, do you want an introduction next time you’re in town?” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“
It depends. What’s she like?”

“
What you’re really asking is what does she
look
like, right?” She snorted in disgust as Jackson shrugged and took his sunglasses off to give them a leisurely cleaning.

“
I guess she’s pretty enough, if you like that type. She has big boobs, thanks to one sugar daddy or another, and lots of curves in all the right places. Let me think, I didn’t actually see her that night, but the last time I did, she was blonde...that varies. She wears lots of eye makeup...that
never
varies, and always,
always
has on lots of jewelry. She’s in her early to mid thirties I believe. It’s kind of hard to tell, because she has that classic, slutty rode-hard-and-put-up-wet look about her, you know?”

Jackson nodded and gave a grunt of understanding.

“
Izzy’s responsible for several separations and divorces in Kenton...Her and those weak-willed husbands that couldn’t keep it in their pants,” she added bitterly.

He slid his sunglasses back on. “She sounds interesting.” Her eyes narrowed to angry slits. “Did you say you were interested?”

“
I said she sounds interesting, but I guess I’m not quite weak-willed enough. That’s not what I’d look for.”

“
What type
are
you looking for?”

“
I’m not looking at all, actually.”

“
Does that mean you don’t want another woman right now, or that you’ve already found one?”

“
Is this really any of your business?” he snapped.

“
It is if you’re going to be bringing her around my girls.” He swung his head around, ripping off his sunglasses so fast they flew to the bottom of the boat. “What the
hell
gives you the right to insult me like that? Have I
ever
acted in
any
way that would make you think I’m irresponsible enough to bring some tramp around these girls?”

Their gazes clashed, one full of intense anger, the other full of self-righteous indignation...until she saw the hurt hiding behind his anger.

“
Answer me, dammit!” he said, loud enough to make Lexie jerk in her sleep and Giselle jump slightly.

She tore her eyes away from his handsome, but furious face and looked out toward the sunset. “No, you haven’t. I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have said that.”

“
You’re damn right you shouldn’t have.”

“
Look, I said I was sorry,” she said, her tone revealing her irritability.

He began to pedal but veered the boat toward the bank.

She noticed him cutting the ride short, but didn’t comment about it. “Bill and Gwen seem like a good match, don’t they?” she asked. “Maybe she’s got a friend for you and ya’ll could double date,” she said quietly.

“
I’m not Uncle Bill,” he growled. “I don’t need help finding a woman.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I meant I don’t need to be ‘set up’. Someone invited Gwen here for him. Was it you?”

She cocked her head in concentration, trying to remember. “I wrote invitations for twelve of Mackenzie’s classmates, but I don’t remember writing one for Alyssa. I’ve never even heard Mac talk about an Alyssa. I wonder who invited her.”

“
Probably Carrie...she’s just enough of a busybody to do it,” he mumbled.

She smiled as she pictured Bill and Gwen together. “Well, they seem perfect for each other. I don’t know her, but Carrie and Sam both like her. Maybe this will be good for Bill...for all of them.”

“
I hope so.” He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Bill was married a long time ago, you know. They were both very young and his wife died in childbirth, or miscarried, or something. I think it nearly killed him.”

“
He doesn’t think you know about that,” she said quietly.

“
I never told him I knew. I didn’t see any point in it. I always figured if he never talked about it, he must have had his reasons. When did he tell you?”

Giselle stared at the back of his neck, where his sweat dampened hair met smooth, tanned skin. She swallowed and forced herself to speak. “He told me about it that Sunday morning before Sam and Carrie’s barbeque.” She told him how his mother’s actions had saved Bill from dying of grief over losing his wife and child. “You know, Jackson, your mother’s words and actions, thirty-six years ago, helped me to understand what I’d been putting my own children through. In a way, she helped me to snap out of it enough to take care of Mac and Lexie. Bill must have had a great deal of respect for your mother.”

She paused, and closed her eyes, letting the peacefulness of the summer afternoon envelop her. The boat drifted, aided only by a subtle breeze.

“
Do you remember much about your parents, Jackson?” She opened her eyes again and waited for his answer. His gaze fixed on the sunset as crickets chirped from the banks of the lake. She heard the call of a mockingbird in the distance, then the gentle whinny of a horse in the pasture. She had nearly given up on a response from him when he finally spoke.

“
I remember a few things, like how my mom tucked me into bed at night and taught me my prayers. When my dad carried me on his shoulders, I used to think I could touch the sky. I remember how he clowned around with Uncle Bill, and I remember how I used to watch my mom and dad dance in the kitchen to the radio...”

Giselle watched Jackson’s face as he let memories from his past wash over him. She could see the need in him to have that kind of connection again. She concentrated so hard on his face that she jumped slightly when he began to speak again.

“
Just before my folks died, I overheard my mom telling Uncle Bill that he needed to find another wife. He said he’d lost a wife and child on the same day and couldn’t even think of replacing her. Just after that, my parents put me to bed and kissed me goodnight. Uncle Bill stayed home with me so they could go dancing for New Year’s Eve. They hardly ever went out and mom was so excited...she looked so pretty.”

Jackson laughed quietly. “The last thing my dad told me was ‘See you next year, my boy’. I remember getting a sick feeling in my stomach because that sounded like a long time to me. My face must have shown it, because dad laughed and said they would see me the next morning.” Jackson took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I never saw them again...not alive, anyway.”

“
Oh, Jackson...,” she whispered.

“
That’s why that conversation my mom had with Bill stayed so clear in my head all these years...It was almost the last words I ever heard her speak. I was two months shy of my fifth birthday.”

“
Do you miss them?”

He nodded. “Every day...Bill was good to me, and I love him, but I still remember what it was like to have all of them—my mom, my dad,
and
my Uncle Bill. We were a family. I want that...to be part of a family again...kids arguing, babies crying, chaotic holidays...I
want
a houseful of kids, and one day grandkids.”

“
You could still have that...you could meet someone.”

“
I’m thirty-six years old, Giselle. I need somebody soon who’ll be willing to help me have all that. I’m tired of waiting for it, and I’m frustrated as hell,” he said with a deep sigh. He began pedaling again and neither of them said another word. When they got to the bank of the pond, he helped her get the two sleeping girls to her truck and safely buckled into their seatbelts. Once she was settled in, he bent low to look in at her through her window. He placed his hand over the one she had resting on the opening. “Take care, Giselle,” he said, then turned and walked away from her.

<><><>

Jackson walked into the stables and looked at Bill. “Well, you had yourself a good day, didn’t you?”

“
Yep...a very productive day.”

“
Are you going to see Gwen again?”

Bill grinned. “As soon as I can...as often as I can.”

“
Do you really think you should be moving that quickly?”

“
Son, it’s like I told her, I’m too old to be playing games. That’s just a waste of time and it’s too precious to me now. Besides, she feels the same way.”

“
Okay,” Jackson said as he slapped his uncle on the back. “I hope everything works out for you.”

“
Me too, but I need to bother you for some advice, son.”

Jackson grinned. “Like how to date in the new millennium?”

Bill chuckled. “What the hell would
you
know about it? You haven’t been on a date since the early nineties. Don’t worry about me, I can still teach you some things about women.”

“
Then why haven’t you dated recently?”

“
Who says I haven’t dated?”

“
I haven’t met any of them.”

Bill turned toward his nephew. “Why should
you
meet them?”

“
It seems like you’d want to introduce them to your family,” Jackson mumbled.