Leslie LaFoy (53 page)

“As Vanderhagen laid everything out,” he began, “my grand, charitable plan for your life fell apart right in front of my eyes and there wasn't anything I could do to save it. I stood there in his office and all I could see was the fact that I'd been wrong from the beginning. And that you'd just been handed all the money in the world and that you didn't need me for anything. And knowing that hurt like a son of a bitch. All I could think about was getting away, of hiding and licking my wounds.”

He took a deep breath and then gave her the hardest truth, saying, “And even as I tried to run, I realized that Billy had known all along what he was sending me into; that he didn't have enough kindness in him to even warn me so I'd know just what I was facing, so that I wouldn't make a complete jackass of myself. I've spent my life worshiping the ground Billy Weathers walked on, but I hated him in that moment more than I've ever hated anyone. And when you came after me, I poured all that hurt out on you. I'm sorry, Lindsay. From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry. You've never done anything to earn that kind of poison.”

“Oh, Jack,” she whispered, her heart breaking for him. She reached up and brushed her fingertips over the chiseled planes of his cheek. So many losses in his life. To have his illusions die, too … “I knew you were hurting. And I felt so awful not knowing how to ease it for you. I've never felt so lost or so alone as when you closed yourself away and wouldn't let me in. Promise me you won't ever do that to me or yourself again. Promise that you'll let me help.”

She always gave of herself. A promise to let her was such a small thing to give in return. “I promise, sweetheart. Good, bad, coherent, or completely confused—you'll get nothing but honesty from me from now on.”

“Thank you.” She smiled softly. “But I think you're being too hard on my father. He couldn't have known about the shell game, Jack. He didn't know that he was sending you into a spider's web.”

The irony of her words wasn't lost on him. Somewhere
along the way they'd each come to see her father in a different light. How Lindsay had managed to set aside a lifetime of hurt was beyond his understanding. Jack wasn't as willing to forgive. The pain was too new, too raw.

“He knew what kind of man Richard Patterson was, sweetheart. He could have guessed easy enough what was going to happen to the company once he was gone. No, Lindsay. No forgiveness. No excuses. He left you at Patterson's mercy and never looked back. He was a selfish son of a bitch.”

She shook her head and her smile was bittersweet. “You once told me he was the one who made you into the man you are. He couldn't have been all bad, Jack. I will never know a better, finer man than Jackson Stennett.”

“Billy knew me well enough to know that I'd try to make everything right before I walked away,” Jack countered, unable to set aside his anger. “He set me up to play the fool. And I did it beautifully. Right out where you could see every misstep.”

“You're no fool, Jack. And there were no missteps, no mistakes.”

Such conviction, such groundless faith. He reached up to gently trace the purpling line just under the curve of her jaw. “I wasn't right about a single thing except how the game worked,” he said softly. “And taking as long as I did to figure out that it hadn't really ended yet…” He met her gaze. “I almost got you killed. Just one heartbeat, Lindsay.” His throat swelled and tightened. “Just one heartbeat and I would have been too late.”

“But you weren't too late and that's all that matters,” she protested. “You knew I was in danger and you set aside everything else and came to me as fast as you could.” She stretched up to stand on her toes and feathered a kiss across his lips. “Thank you, Jack,” she murmured as she eased away. “Thank you for knowing. For caring. I owe you my life.”

He had no right to the gift, but his heart begged him to take it, to accept what she was willing to give and to spend the rest of his days earning the wonder if it. “I love you, Lindsay,” he said quietly, earnestly. “Heart and soul.”

The words echoed in her heart, joyously rippling through her, filling her with a kind of happiness she'd never known. She wanted to believe it was all she'd ever hoped for, needed to know with absolute certainty that she held all of Jackson's heart. “You weren't going to let yourself love again,” she said cautiously. “I distinctly remember you telling me that.”

“It's not
again
, Lindsay. I've never loved anyone the way I love you. I'll always remember Maria Arabella and I'll always regret. But life is more than looking back over your shoulder. And while you may not need me in your tomorrows, I sure do need you in mine.”

“Oh, Jack,” she whispered, her eyes misting with tears as she reached up to touch his cheek with a trembling hand. “My darling Jack.”

“I don't want to go back to Texas without you, sweetheart,” he went on, pouring his hope into every word. “I don't want to go anywhere without you. Ever. I don't have anything to offer you, Lindsay. You can buy and sell me ten times over. But if there's any way we could be together … Could you grow to love me? Could you be happy with me? I'm willing—”

Lindsay pressed her fingertips to his lips and gently silenced him. Her heart overflowing, she met his dark gaze and offered him her own truths. “I already love you, Jackson Stennett. I think I've loved you since the very first day I met you. And I
do
need you. You're my rain, Jack. If you want me to go with you to Texas, I will.”

She felt his heartbeat leap and dance, saw the light of joy spark in his eyes. And then he stiffened slightly and eased his lips away from her touch.

“I'll stay here if that's what you'd prefer. I can sell the ranch and—”

“No,” she interrupted softly. “You were right yesterday; life here is too complicated, too full of lies and ambitions and greed. You don't belong here, Jack. And neither do I. Not anymore. All I want is to love you and spend the rest of my life with you. In Texas.”

He blinked and, as though he didn't dare let himself
believe in the completeness of his good fortune, asked cautiously, “How are you going to manage your trust?”

She wanted to laugh, to assure him that nothing would keep her from his side from this moment on. But she knew Jackson, knew the way his mind worked and how he needed to make his way to conclusions one step at a time. “Jeb and I will write a lot of letters to each other.”

“What about Mrs. Theorosa's house? I thought you wanted to live there.”

“It's a house, Jack,” she said with a shrug. “I wouldn't be happy unless you were there to share it with me. Perhaps we could give it to Jeb and Lucy.”

“All right,” he agreed. He cocked a brow and she knew what he was going to ask even before he said, “What about Henry and Agatha?”

“I'm sorry,” she answered, smiling up at him, “but they can't come along. They'll have to stay here and muddle through on their own.”

“What if they make a mess of it?”

“It's not
if
, Jack. It's
when.
We both know that. But you're right; it's time they learned to stand on their own and suffer the consequences of bad decisions. Besides,” she added, twining her arms around his neck, “I've spent a lifetime trying to make them happy, and failed. I have noticed, however, that I do seem able to make you smile from time to time.”

He wrapped his arms around her and gently drew her fully against him, “That you do, sweetheart,” he whispered, smiling and brushing a kiss over her lips. “You make me a very happy man. All the time. And if I ever manage to work my way around to forgiving Billy for what he did, it'll only be because I found you in the middle of it all.”

“And I have to be grateful that he went to Texas all those years ago. If he hadn't, you would have never walked into my life and I would have never known how wonderful it is to love and be loved.”

The tension eased out of his shoulders. He gazed down at her adoringly. “I have to leave within a week. I don't have any more time than that. Will you go with me, Lindsay? As my wife?”

She answered him with a kiss and his arms tightened around her, drawing her deeper into the circle of his embrace. No words were necessary. The promise was made deep in their hearts, made part of their souls. They would love each other for all time and through all things. There would be roses in Texas. And they would thrive.