Authors: Sherryl Woods
Ann was not one bit like the women he’d been attracted to in the past. A dozen roses, a bottle of expensive wine or a box of imported chocolates would be wasted on her. She had a yard filled with rose bushes, she wasn’t crazy about wine and he could just imagine what she’d have to say about the candy. He could always send her a gallon jug of apple juice or bring her a dozen oat-bran muffins, but where was the romance in that? As for taking her out to a candlelit dinner, she’d probably insist on hauling all six children along. They’d wind up taking a vote and eating pizza. It was hard to be seductive over tomato sauce. He couldn’t even impress her by taking her to the ballet or the symphony. The nearest performances were in Miami and she’d never even consider going with him and staying overnight, not after what had happened last time.
He knew, despite her denials, that she was every bit as attracted to him as he was to her. In fact, if he had to put a label on what they were both feeling, he would call it love. He was the first to admit he hadn’t had all that much experience with the emotion. On those rare occasions when he’d even allowed himself to believe in its existence, he’d imagined it to be more pleasurable than this, more carefree. Instead it seemed to be made up of giddy highs and astonishingly painful lows. And, in their case, instead of a simple, joyous union between two consenting adults, it seemed to involve a package deal that brought out protective instincts so deep he was shaken by them.
He wanted not just Ann’s happiness, but Jason’s and Tracy’s and Paul’s and David’s and Tommy’s and
Melissa’s. When any one of them hurt, he hurt. He knew Ann felt the same way…about the six children. Her devotion to them was unquestioning and freely given. He was the only person she didn’t trust enough to allow herself to love without hesitation. She was still terrified that he would walk out on them, leaving the kids shaken and her heart in tatters.
Their relationship needed time. He had to prove to her that he wasn’t going anywhere, that his wandering days were long past. The only way to do that was to stick around. Unfortunately, his role in the Marathon project was nearing completion. In another month or so he’d be able to move back to Miami and make only occasional site visits. Unless he could dream up an excuse to stay, he was out of here by early April at the latest.
He was still trying to think of a solution to his dilemma when Tracy came out of the house.
“Hank?” she called hesitantly.
“Over here.”
She walked over and settled down cross-legged on the ground beside the hammock.
“What’s up?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.
“Do you think it would be okay if I borrowed the car tomorrow night?”
“I’m not the person you should be asking.”
“I can’t ask Ann.”
“Why not? She’s always let you use her car before. Are you planning to go someplace she wouldn’t approve of?”
“Not exactly.”
“That’s not an explanation.”
“I know.”
“And you’re not going to say any more?”
He could see her shake her head. “Then I guess you’re going to have to forget about the car.”
“How about your truck? Could I use that?”
“Not without an explanation.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
Hoping she couldn’t see the grin in the nighttime shadows, he said, “Not fair, young lady.”
“But if you really trusted me, you’d take my word that this is really, really important and you wouldn’t ask any questions.”
“If you were twenty-two, I might agree, but you are barely eighteen.”
“So I can’t take the truck, either?”
Hank sat up in the hammock and turned until he could get a good look at Tracy’s face. “Why is this so important? Can’t you tell me that?”
“No. It would ruin everything.”
“Ruin what?”
She jumped to her feet. “Oh, never mind. I’ll think of something else.”
She started across the lawn, her shoulders slumped dejectedly. Hank debated for several seconds. He knew Tracy was a good driver and she was a responsible girl.
“Tracy.”
She stopped and waited.
“You can borrow the truck.”
She ran back and threw her arms around him. “Thanks, Hank. You won’t be sorry. I promise I’ll be really, really careful.”
He tilted her chin up. “You’d better be or Ann will kill both of us.”
Tracy picked the truck up at the construction site
the next afternoon at three. Hank got a ride home with his foreman a couple of hours later. As he walked into the kitchen, he took one look around and came to a speechless halt.
The table was covered with a white damask cloth. Two candles had been placed in the center, along with a huge bowl of pink roses. The scent filled the room. Two places had been set with the good china, the silver and the crystal. For once, in fact, everything matched. Jason’s iPod was sitting in its dock with the detachable speakers on either side of the table. Hank scanned the playlist and grinned. Someone had very romantic taste and he had a suspicion who it was. Tracy. She had plotted this. That’s what all the secrecy had been about. And she had borrowed the truck to take the kids away for the evening, so he and Ann could be alone.
A setup like this called for a spectacular meal. Tracy, however, was a little shaky when it came to cooking. He could hardly wait to see what she’d left in the oven. He opened the door, leaned down and peered in. Some sort of chicken dish was simmering at the low temperature. It smelled and looked superb. Startled, he stood and looked around, chuckling when he saw the empty boxes from a gourmet grocery store. In front of the microwave he found vegetables and rice, and in the refrigerator there were bowls heaped with strawberries beside a pitcher of cream. Instead of wine, there was a chilled bottle of sparkling cider. It appeared they’d thought of everything. All this effort removed any uncertainty he might have had about how the kids would feel about a closer, more permanent involvement between him and Ann.
If they’d gone to this much trouble, the least he could
do was cooperate. He took a hurried shower, found a pair of decent slacks among the jeans he’d brought with him and a pinstriped shirt. He looked at the sports jacket hanging in the closet and shrugged. What the hell! He might as well go all out. Annie had never seen him dressed in anything more formal than jeans. Not since Liz and Todd’s wedding, anyway. It hadn’t made much of an impression on her then, but maybe now it would be just the thing to throw her off balance and into his arms.
When he was ready, he went back to the kitchen, chose a classical piece from the iPod, lit the candles, dimmed the lights and poured himself a glass of cider. Then he settled back to wait. As the minutes ticked by, his nerves stretched so taut he was afraid they’d snap. It was after six when he finally heard her car pull into the driveway. Feeling like a teenager on prom night, he stood and faced the door.
Ann stepped through the door and without even looking around, flipped on the lights. Hank took one look at her expression and his spirits fell. She didn’t seem surprised. She didn’t seem pleased. She looked as though someone had dealt a blow to her midsection from which she was still reeling.
“Annie,” he said softly, taking a tentative step toward her. She looked toward him, her eyes finally focusing on his face. There was so much hurt there. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. “Annie love, what’s happened? Are you okay?”
He folded his arms around her and felt a shudder sweep through her. “Please, sweetheart, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
Her arms crept around his waist and she clung to
him, sobbing as though her heart had broken. Hank felt something tear loose inside him as he held her. “It’s okay,” he murmured, rubbing his hands up and down her back as if to ward off a chill. “Shh. It’s okay.”
“No,” she said, her voice ragged from all the tears she’d shed.
“Then tell me. Let me help.”
“It’s Melissa.”
Hank’s heart began to hammer harder. Melissa, dear God, if anything had happened to their baby, if Tracy had had an accident…
“What…” he began and realized that his own throat was so thick with emotion he could barely speak.
“They called.”
“Who called?” he demanded, his fingers digging into her arms. “Dammit, Ann, is she hurt? What?”
“They want to take her away from me.”
Chapter 14
“T
ake her away?” Hank repeated in a daze. There was a huge knot in the pit of his stomach. He kept remembering the warm, tender feelings that crept over him whenever Melissa held out her chubby little arms for a hug, whenever she stared at him with those huge, innocent blue eyes. The unexpected power of those emotions had held him captive for weeks now.
“What does that mean?” he asked, studying the agonized expression in Ann’s eyes and feeling his own chest constrict in pain. “Can they do that? Can they just come in here and take her?”
“They can do whatever they want,” Ann said wearily. “She’s a ward of the state. I’m just her foster mother.”
“But why would they take her away? Can’t they see how traumatic it would be for a three-year-old to be uprooted again? Explain it to them. You’re more than
just a foster mother. You’re a psychologist. Surely they’ll listen.”
“It’s not that simple. The mother has finally relinquished custody, which makes Melissa eligible for adoption.” Ann’s bleak, uncommonly submissive tone only heightened his dismay. Her eyes were luminous with tears. “There’s this couple, Hank. They want her.” Though she was trying to sound so brave, her voice broke, carving a jagged path through his heart. “They want to adopt my baby and the state thinks it would be best for Melissa to have two parents. How can I argue?”
Hank tried to gather his composure, when what he felt like doing was bashing his fist into a wall or better yet into the face of whatever bureaucrat was making this heartless decision. Couldn’t they see that no one would ever be a better parent to Melissa than Annie?
Right now, though, her vulnerability left him shaken. She needed him to be strong. She needed him to cling to for once. Now was no time for him to be falling apart or charging out of here and doing something rash. They needed to do some clear thinking. He didn’t know the ins and outs of state regulations, but surely there was a way to block this. Melissa was theirs. She loved them. They loved her. It was as simple—and as complex, apparently—as that.
“We’ll fight it,” he said flatly. “There must be things we can do. We’ll apply to adopt her ourselves. Sit down, I’ll make you some tea and we can talk about it.”
Obviously drained, Ann sank down in a chair, folded her arms on the table and lowered her head. His thoughts reeling, Hank put the teakettle on the stove and tried to calm down. His outrage at the injustice of this wouldn’t help now. He poured the tea finally and
put the cup in front of her. “Drink it, Annie. It’ll make you feel better.”
She lifted her head and managed a trembling grin. “Don’t tell me now you’ve finally become a convert.”
“To what?” he said, staring at her blankly as he sank down in a chair across from her.
“Tea.”
“Annie, I don’t care what you drink. Personally, I could use a stiff shot of Scotch. The point is we have to make some decisions and I gather we don’t have a lot of time.”
She shook her head wearily. “Not we, Hank. Me. I have to make the decisions. I appreciate your concern, but it’s my problem.”
His heart hammering, Hank stood so fast his chair went spinning. It crashed into the counter. “Dammit, Annie, this isn’t just some friendly concern on my part. Don’t you think this matters to me, too? That little girl is mine just as much as if I’d fathered her.” He slammed the chair back against the table and leaned down until he was mere inches from her. She swallowed convulsively as he said with slow, furious emphasis, “I have tucked her into bed. I have read her stories. I’ve bandaged her cuts and kissed away her tears. Dammit, Annie, I love her, too!” He fought to hold back tears of rage and frustration.
Looking stunned by his tirade, Ann simply stared at him. “You love her,” she whispered wonderingly, touching a finger to his cheek. Her voice shook.
He hunkered down beside her and clasped her hands. “Of course I love her. What did you think?”
“I don’t know. I guess I thought you’d just gotten used to her, to all of us.”
“Annie, I love every crazy, troublesome, charming, infuriating person in this house and that includes you,” he said fervently, cupping her chin in his hand. “If I had my way, we’d be married by tomorrow morning and we’d adopt every one of those kids and maybe even add a couple more of our own.”
“But you…you’ve always been so…” She threw up her hands. “You know, so single.”
He grinned. “So alone. That’s what I’ve been, Annie. I’ve been on my own emotionally for so many years that I didn’t know what it could be like to have other people in my life, to share good times and bad times, to have someone waiting for me at the end of the day. I was scared to death to enjoy it, because I was so afraid that by morning it could all be gone. I’ve finally accepted the fact that real love doesn’t go away. It doesn’t vanish in a puff of smoke. Sometimes you might have to work a little to hang on to it and it’s not always magic and rainbows, but it’s the best thing we’re ever likely to have going for us. The tough times make the magic even more special and the rainbows even brighter.”
Ann’s smile trembled tentatively on her lips before finally turning bright. She curved her hand over his and held it against her cheek. Tears slid down, pooling against their clasped fingers. “You can be downright eloquent when you try, Hank Riley.”
He drew her palm to his lips and kissed it. “As long as I seem to be getting through to you at last, did I mention again that I want to marry you?”
“You mentioned it, but once again you didn’t ask.”
“Then let me correct that at once. Will you marry me, Annie?” He gestured around the kitchen. “The kids
went to all this trouble to set the scene. We wouldn’t want to waste it.”
Ann’s heart began to beat so wildly she thought it would be impossible for her chest to contain it. For the first time she actually believed in Hank’s love. She’d actually seen the devastation in his eyes when she’d told him about Melissa. It had been every bit as shattering as her own. He wasn’t like the man who’d walked out of her life just because she was having a baby. Hank wasn’t afraid of problems. He wanted to face them with her. An unbelievable sense of joy and relief welled up inside her. He was offering her everything she’d ever wanted, everything she’d dreamed of and never dared to expect: love, companionship, strength and family.