The Heart (36 page)

“I hope so,” he said, looking at the stack of boxes. “I thought it a little premature to fully pack for Dallas without talking to you first. I was coming to you after the wedding. If it wasn’t for that, I'd have already been there.”

“Dallas?”

“Yes, I got on with your brother temporarily until I was sure you wanted me there.”

My heart leaped in my throat as he put his arms around me. “I can love you anywhere, too.”

I nodded as happy tears streamed from my eyes. “I don’t expect you to give up your life here. I know how much you love it.”

“I love being with you more. I’ll always call this home. I’ll always keep my place here, but I want to be with you, Rose, whatever it takes.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” I asked, frustrated.

“Because I wanted to tell you in person,” he said as he cradled my head. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. And I wanted to ask you if you could make room for me.”

“I told you I would,” I said as relief swept over me. “I want you with me.”

“And I want to be there, but are you sure you can handle it?”

Guilt surfaced as I looked at him with certainty. “You don’t have to worry about that, Jack, ever. Something happened to me yesterday. I can’t really explain it, but I’ve never been more sure of anything. If neither of us had lost, we wouldn’t have found each other. I can embrace that now. I’m so thankful.”

He nodded as if he understood and pulled me tightly to him. “I don’t work the same without you now, and I don’t want to try. No amount of foolish pride could’ve kept me away. I hope you believe that.”

“I do,” I said as he rubbed a gentle hand down my back and I gripped him closer. “I’m sorry about the way I’ve been acting. I don’t pretend my behavior hasn’t been borderline insane. I was terrified I’d scared you away.”

“I just came to get my second wind,” he said as he grinned down at me. “Nothing you could say or do can keep me away now.”

“That’s good to hear because I have to tell you something.”

He looked down at me with furrowed brows, and I lifted my hand to erase them.

“I’m going to have your baby.”

The smile I loved so much slowly spread over his face as he looked down at me with a mix of shock and pride.

“I confirmed it this morning. I’m due in June.”

Jack leaned in and whispered, “You’ve just made my life.”

He scooped me into his arms and walked me back down the hall to his bedroom where he undressed me slowly and covered every inch of bare flesh he revealed. “I’m going to make love to you until the sun comes up.”

“Jack,” I gasped as he trailed his soft mouth all over my body, landing a wet, tongue-filled kiss between my legs. When he’d tasted me to the point of no return, he stood to undress. His eyes roamed my body and remained on my stomach. Fully revealed, I basked in his gaze.

“Tell me again,” he said as he trailed kisses from my foot to my thigh and then brushed his mouth over my abdomen.

“I’m going to have your baby,” I said as he looked up at me with reverence and a fresh tear fell silently down his cheek.

“There’s nothing you could ever do from this moment on to make me love you more. I’m full.”

“Well, you had a small hand in it,” I said as I plucked at his wayward hair.

“A baby,” he whispered.

“A baby that fought and won through layers and years of birth control,” I said with wide eyes. “You’re a potent man, Jack Sawyer.”

He moved to hover above me as his lips brushed mine in temptation. “And I’m just about to drive that point home, beb.”

“Jack... your parents!” I whisper scolded. “No way. No way,” I said just as music started to blare from the adjoining room. It was rap.

“Rory?” I smiled as I looked up to Jack.

“Rory,” he parroted back with conviction as he fisted my hair in his hand and captured my mouth.

“RORY!” I heard as I sat up in bed in alarm, Jack’s sheet clutched to me. Jack sighed underneath his pillow as an argument began just outside our door, or at least it sounded that way.

“You’re damned near fifty-three years old! You can’t walk around this house in a thong!”

“I’ll have you know in some countries—” she started back defensively as other doors throughout the house started to open.

“What the hell is going on? It’s 6 A.M., damn it!” I couldn’t tell if that was Spencer or Jack Sr.

“Our nudist has decided to parade around in her underwear.”

“Can you guys keep it down? Don’t forget we have a guest here and she can hear you. You’re probably freaking her out.” I recognized that voice. It belonged to Jack’s mother, Amy.

“Look, freak show, can you just keep your damned clothes on for the weekend?” That was definitely Jack Sr.

“Who wants coffee?”

I pulled the pillow behind me to my face as I howled into it with laughter and Jack remained where he was as another long sigh passed his lips. He smiled at me, and I sighed with relief upon seeing it. It was a smile that told me everything would be all right, that I wasn’t alone in love.

It was a smile that held my future.

“Welcome, beb.”

Hours later, after we’d witnessed one of the most romantic candlelit weddings imaginable, my dance partner and I swayed to Van Morrison’s “Someone Like You” under the stars with the rest of the wedding guests. Jack held me closely, a new kind of protectiveness in his posture as his eyes wondered over me in love.

“Mind if I cut in,” his Uncle Spencer said as Jack stilled us. He gave his uncle a solid smile as he handed me over with a kiss and a whisper that he would have the last one. I took his uncle’s hand, slightly shy in my execution.

“No need to be shy. Didn’t your man tell you
I
am an
excellent
dancer.” He chuckled as he twirled me underneath his arm and back again, and I damn near congratulated myself for pulling it off.

“Spencer tells me you’re a judge,” I said in an attempt to make small talk.

“Nah, you aren’t getting off that easy,” he said with a wink. “I just came to thank you for bringing our boy back. He’s spent so much damned time away, I wasn’t sure if he’d ever have a home.”

“I can’t take credit. He decided that on his own,” I said as he moved me around the floor set up underneath a long, sloping oak covered in Spanish moss and twinkling lights.

“Oh, I believe you had a large part in it,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“And now I feel guilty because he’s practically moving to Texas.”

“Trust me, it’s much better than getting a damned new picture from Iceland.”

“True,” I said with a nod.

The song ended and Ziggy Marley’s version of “Drive” replaced it as my eyes widened. “I love this song,” I said as Spencer kept our feet moving.

“Me too. I have a good feeling about you,” he said with a wink as Jack approached to steal me away.

“Thank you for the dance,” I said with a smile.

“No, thank you, Rose,” he replied as he gripped his wife’s hand as she approached. “Come on, baby, let’s go give darkman some chores,” he whispered to her as they drifted out of sight.

“Who is darkman?” I asked as I looked up at Jack, a sigh on my lips as he gave me a slow smile.

“For me, a bedtime ritual, for them, something else,” he said as he looked in the way they left. Crisp air surrounded us as fall made its presence known. “I’ll tell our little man or woman all about him.”

“Sounds scary.”

“Anything but,” he said as he looked down at me with soft eyes. “It’s a wish for a long future.”

After a brief grilling about what his uncle had asked, Jack swayed with me to the song we’d first danced to in my parent’s living room.

My eyes on Jack’s, I listened to the words as they asked the questions, and I danced with the answers.

Seven and A Half Months Later

I was stuck in a brightly lit room full of clocks that endlessly ticked. It was hell on earth. One by one, the alarms began to sound as I raced through the room to reset them. When I’d finally silenced them all, I felt a peace take over me and sat back against the whitewashed wall in relief. It was short lived as another clock began to buzz repeatedly. Irritated and hungry for just one more minute of peace, I searched through the piles of clocks one by one and began smashing them with my fist to get the buzzing to stop.

“Jack?”

My eyes opened as I looked up to see Dallas peer down at me with concern. “You okay?”

I came to quickly, wiped the sleep from my face, and sat up in the bed. A bed I’d sought at the center what seemed like only minutes before to get some much-needed sleep.

“She’s keeping you up again?”

Brushing off the last of my mid-day coma, I looked to Dallas with a plea. “She isn’t getting any sleep, either. She spends the whole night tossing and turning. I’m fine.”

“Jack, we really don’t bullshit each other in this family,” Dallas said in warning.

I bit my cheek and exhaled. “I’m exhausted, and I don’t know how to help her.”

“Only two more days and they will induce. Hang in there,” she said as she left me to the single room and began to close the door behind her.

“Dallas?” I asked, still somewhere between delirious and guilty.

“Yeah, Jack?” she said as she looked on at me before a chuckle fell from her lips. “It’s going to be fine.”

“I was less afraid of a half-ton hungry lion in Africa,” I said as I let out a harsh breath.

“She’s been less than graceful with this pregnancy, I admit. But, Jack, you’ve been amazing. I promise you, she’s just exhausted. She’s almost two weeks overdue.”

“I’m not complaining, I swear. I just want to help her.”

“The only thing that is going to help her is getting your son out.”

I looked down at my rattling phone with a sigh.

Rose: Babe, will you grab some cream cheese, salami, pickles, and horseradish?

Rose: Some tortillas and white fish.

Rose: Snickers ice cream bars. No fish.

“Grocery list?” she said with a chuckle.

“Yep,” I said as I gathered my strength and gave her a weak smile. “Or a recipe for Voodoo.”

“It’s worth it,” she said with encouragement.

“I know,” I said as I grinned down at Annabelle, who gave me a shy smile from behind her mother’s legs. I stared down at the little beauty until I saw her father grab her with a “There you are.” Dean peeked over at me with a mile-wide grin and came to the conclusion his wife just had.

“It’ll be over soon, man,” he said as he kissed his wife’s cheek and took off down the hall with his daughter in tow.

“Well,” I said, gathering my wallet and keys off the table next to the bed. “Guess I better get to it.”

“Jack?” Dallas said as she stood in the doorway and briefly pressed her lips together to suppress another laugh.

“Yeah?” I said, feeling slightly rejuvenated and ready to take on the night ahead.

“You might want to put your shoes on.”