Laura Jo Phillips (61 page)

She still tried not to visit the babies at the same time as they did, as it only made things harder.  She still sensed them when they were near, could feel their emotions, as well as her own desires for them.  Desires that reminded her too much of the time she had spent with the Bearens.  Desires that she could not control, and which proved to be the most difficult temptation of all.   

On second thought, perhaps having dinner with them was not such a good idea.  She turned around and looked through the window again, startled to see Jackson staring back at her, an expression on his face that she couldn’t quite decipher, but which made her heart hurt in her chest.  She forced herself to smile, then turned back to her paints. 

She would not break the date, she decided.  They probably wanted to discuss the babies with her, or perhaps something else equally important.  It would be selfish and irresponsible of her to refuse.  Especially after already saying yes. 

Those were the excuses she gave herself, but the truth was, she couldn’t bear the look on Jackson’s face. 

***

“You’re going out with the Bearens tonight?” Karma asked with what appeared to be mild curiosity.  However, living with Karma for the past couple of weeks had taught Hope a lot about the woman.  She was intelligent, wistful, loyal and a die-hard romantic.  She was also a woman with a lot of secrets, but that was her business.

“Yes, Jackson asked me to dinner,” Hope replied.  “They probably want to discuss the boys.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” Karma replied wryly.  “What are you going to wear?”

“I don’t know, does it matter?” Hope asked with a shrug. 

“Yes, I think it does,” Karma replied. 

“I’m not looking to impress anyone,” Hope said.  “I’ll wear jeans and a sweater, how’s that?”

Karma shook her head.  “That’s fine.  Unless you want to feel good about yourself.”

“I don’t understand,” she said.  “What do clothes have to do with anything?”

“You are going to dinner with three men,” Karma said.  “Never mind how you feel about them, or how they feel about you.  Forget all of that for the moment.”

“Gladly,” Hope said under her breath.  Karma arched a brow, but let it pass.

“When a woman goes out with a man, or three men, she has to feel her best.  And in order to feel your best, you have to look your best.  A little confidence in your appearance goes a long way toward helping you to feel more confidence in other areas.”

Hope considered that for a few moments.  Maybe there was something to what Karma was saying. 

“Okay, what do you suggest?”

“A shopping trip,” Karma replied at once.  “I’ve seen your closet.”

“All right, I’m willing to see what you have in mind,” she said.  “I make no promises though.  Do you think Berta will mind staying here with Aisling?”

“No, Berta won’t mind a bit,” Berta said as she shuffled into the living room.  “In fact, Berta would love to see you go out and do something fun for a change.”

Hope rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help smiling.  She was going to miss these women when they left.

***

Jackson, Clark and Rob wore their Jasan Military Full Dress uniforms, the gold braid, patches, medals, and the jewels in the hilts of their ceremonial swords, sparkling brightly even in the dim lights of the elevator.  They each had three silver stars on their epaulettes, a burgundy sash heavy with combat and service decorations, and immaculate white gloves.

This was the first time they had entered Hope’s building since their return to Virginia, even though they kept a close watch on it whenever Hope was at home.  They kept their distance so that she wouldn’t feel them because they didn’t want to upset her.  At the same time, they could not let her go unguarded, no matter how angry she was with them.  She had been kidnapped twice, and they were determined that it would not happen again.  It helped that the Director had assigned a team of his people to keep a close eye on her, but it didn’t prevent them from keeping their own watch.

They stepped out of the elevator and took a moment to inspect each other’s appearance.  When they were satisfied that they looked as neat and ordered as possible, they walked down the hall to Hope’s apartment.  Karma answered Jackson’s knock with a grin. 

“Hi guys,” she said brightly.  Jackson frowned.  They had only met Karma on two occasions, when she had accompanied Hope to the hospital, but it seemed to him her greeting and tone were both very much out of character.

“Just come in,” she said, rolling her eyes at Jackson’s frown.  “Hope will be with you in a minute or two.”

They entered the apartment and stood just inside the living room, politely refusing Karma’s invitation to be seated.  When Karma left them alone, Jackson reached out with his senses, confirming that Hope was there.  She seemed nervous, but otherwise fine.

He relaxed his shoulders and waited.

When Hope finally stepped out of the hall and into the living room, Jackson’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of her.  He had thought her beautiful from the first moment he had laid eyes on her, but somehow, she had exceeded mere beauty. 

She was wearing a soft brown dress that hugged her curves and bared her arms and throat.  The trim around the neckline and hems was a shade of turquoise that exactly matched her eyes.  Her hair was braided far more loosely than usual, and pulled forward over her shoulder.  The braid was decorated here and there with turquoise beads, and she wore more turquoise in her ears and around her neck.  A light touch of makeup helped to frame and intensify her eyes so that they all but glowed.  She was, quite simply, the most exquisite woman any of them had ever seen.

“You are most stunning,” Jackson said, his voice hoarse with sincerity.  “I am afraid we cannot do you justice.”

Hope was mortified to feel her face heat.  She had no idea how long it had been since she’d blushed.  Or even if she ever had.  For a long moment she just stood there, uncertain what to say.  Suddenly, a memory of Aunt Olivia telling her, when she was just a little girl, to always accept a compliment with grace, popped into her mind.

“Thank you,” Hope said.  “That’s very kind of you.”  She took a moment to study their uniforms, impressed with all of the glittering medals and badges.  “You guys look very nice as well.  Your uniforms are beautiful.”

Jackson, Clark and Rob all smiled and bowed, pleased with her reaction.

Jackson stepped forward and offered her his arm, which she accepted, silently thanking Aunt Olivia for all of the little lessons over the years.  She had never thought she would use them, but now she understood how important they were.

Jackson guided her to the door, which Clark opened for them. 

Hope had the strongest feeling that they all wanted to kiss her, but they held back, revealing nothing of their feelings in their demeanor, which she was happy about.  She wasn’t sure of herself at the moment.  She wanted to relax and enjoy herself, and not worry about expectations.

“Where are we going?” she asked as Jackson guided her into the elevator. 

“The Director recommended a restaurant called the
Golden Swan
.  We went earlier today to check it and found it to be acceptable.”

Hope was surprised.  The
Golden Swan
was the most elite restaurant in the D.C. area.  She was touched that they had actually gone to the restaurant themselves to check it out.

“Did you get a reservation for tonight so quickly?” she asked.

“Actually, we got a private room, if that is acceptable with you,” Jackson replied as they left the building.  “If you object, we also reserved a table in the main room of the restaurant as well.”

Hope wasn’t sure how the heck they had managed that, but she decided it didn’t matter.  Karma had been right about the new dress, so she was going to take her advice about relaxing and enjoying the evening as well. 

When they got out of the car at the restaurant, Jackson offered her his arm again.  She took it, remembering the times that she had seen Harlan do this for girls when he dated.  For the first time, the memory of her cousin did not make her feel sad. 

She sensed Clark and Rob just behind them as they walked toward the restaurant, and there was something about it that felt right to her.  For a moment, she wondered if it was all right to feel that way.  She smiled inwardly.  Since when did she become so self-analytical? 
Sheesh
, she thought. 
This is getting ridiculous.  Just relax and enjoy yourself, Hope
.

“Have you decided whether or not the private room is acceptable to you?” Jackson asked. 

Hope smiled, a bright, wide smile that took Jackson’s breath away.  He wasn’t sure why he was receiving such a gift, but he was happy for it.

“The private room is fine,” Hope replied. 

“Excellent,” Jackson replied.

Rob moved ahead to open the door for them, and Clark approached the
maître d'
.  Hope looked around, enjoying the opportunity to see the inside of the exclusive
Golden Swan
.  She knew it wasn’t likely she’d ever get the chance again.

The decor had a distinctive vintage feel with deep, burgundy velvets, glossy woods, rich leather, flocked wallpaper, and glittering crystal chandeliers unlike anything she had ever seen in her life.  As the
maître d'
led them through the candlelit restaurant, s
he was glad that Jackson was guiding her steps because she was too caught up in her surroundings to pay much attention to where she was going. 

By the time they were all seated at a table in a small, private room, Hope was touched that the guys had thought to bring her to such an extraordinary place.  She wasn’t sure why they had brought her here, but she was happy that they had.  They had given her a memory that she would cherish long after they returned to Jasan.

“Thank you so much for bringing me here,” she said after they had ordered their dinner and wine.  “It’s a beautiful place.”

“We are pleased that you like it, Hope,” Jackson said with a smile.  “This is the most special place we could find in the city, and for you, we had to have the best.”

Hope deliberately arched a brow at him.  “Okay, what are you guys up to?”

Jackson shrugged one shoulder, his expression the picture of innocence.  “What makes you think we are up to anything?” he asked.

Hope glanced at Clark, then Rob, then back to Jackson, still smiling, but clearly not buying it.

“All right, you are correct, I confess,” Jackson said.  “We did bring you here for a reason.  We wanted to be sure to get on your good side before we did this.”

“Did what?” Hope asked.

“We have a little confession to make,” Jackson said, his smile fading.

“What kind of confession?” Hope asked, suddenly feeling tense.  Rob reached over and patted her arm gently. 

“Don’t worry,
aspara
,” he said.  “There is nothing for you to be worried about.  We did not do anything dreadful.”

Hope smiled her thanks for the reassurance, but she was still tense.

“When we were in your apartment with Ellicia, helping her to search for something that she could use to find you, we came across a book in your office.  A book of images.”

Hope relaxed a little.  “The Wedding Book,” she said.

“Yes,” Clark replied.  “I am the culprit who found it.  I saw the spine of it between the desk and the vid terminal, and hoped it might be something that Ellicia could use.” 

 “Would you mind telling us a little about it?” Jackson asked.

“Not at all.  For some reason, there are very few males in my family.  Harlan was the first boy born to us in several generations.  Even among the females, there have never been a lot of us.  Usually only one or two at a time.  I am actually the last of my family, now that Harlan is gone.”

Hope paused for a moment and took a sip of wine as she struggled against an upwelling of sadness. 

“On Earth, when a woman marries a man, she usually takes his name,” she said when she had composed herself.

“Yes, that is the custom on Jasan as well,” Jackson said.

“Because of that, the women in my family never have the same name from one generation to the next, and since there are so few males to carry a name on, it becomes nearly impossible to trace our ancestors.  In my family, we use the Wedding Book to remind us of our ancestors.  Each bride puts one image of herself on her wedding day into the book, along with the date and her name.  Since there have always been so few of us, it has never been a problem to keep the book in the family, and the tradition alive.”

“How far back do the images go?” Rob asked curiously.  “I noticed that the earlier images appeared to have been painted, or drawn by hand.”

“Yes, from before the time of imaging.  Unfortunately, many of those were also before the time of date keeping as we now know it.  At a guess, we think some of the images go back as much as two to three thousand years.  Of course, the book is not that old.  The images have been removed from older books and placed in new ones as they wear out.  Some of the earlier images have been restored, or are images taken of the original art.”