A Marriage Made in Texas (The Brothers Kincaid) (13 page)

She smiled. “Is that a hint?”

Jay rolled across the sand until he was next to her, then kissed her. “How did you guess?”

“You mean, you being so subtle and all?” she asked with a gurgle of laughter.

He kissed her again, and before long they went back to the room and made love.

For dinner that night they went to an off-the-beaten-track dive, one rumored to have the best seafood in the area. The place—called Piggy’s, of all things—was dark, noisy and oddly enough, intimate. They chose a table in a corner at the back. Most of the action took place up front, near the pool tables. Their waitress, once she brought their food and drinks, mostly ignored them.

Gail took a bite of melt-in-your-mouth flounder and
sighed. “Will you think I’m terrible if I ask you why you and Carla broke up?”

“No.” He took a bite of his own flounder and cocked his head. “But if I have to talk about Carla, then you have to tell me about the slime bastard.”

“You’ve been talking to Gabe,” she said, recognizing her brother’s name for Barry.

“A little.” Jay picked up a French fry, browned to perfection. “Neither of your brothers are too fond of your ex-husband.”

“No, they’re not.” She chose to tell him about the beginning of the marriage, bad as it had been, rather than the humiliating end of it. “I told you Barry made a pass at Cat two weeks after we were married.”

Jay nodded. “Knowing Cat, I’m surprised she let him live.”

Gail laughed. “Gabe walked in, just as Cat slapped him. If Cat hadn’t stopped him, I think Gabe would have killed Barry. As it was, Barry had a broken nose and a very clear hand print on his cheek.”

Jay reached for her hand, gave it a light squeeze. “How did he explain that to you?”

“He said he’d given Cat a friendly hug and both she and Gabe overreacted.”

“Did you buy it?”

She sighed, shrugged. “I tried to. It’s amazing what you can convince yourself of when you’re young, naive and in love. Besides, I was pregnant, married and I didn’t know how else to handle it. And I really was amazingly naive. I wouldn’t tell them, but some of that was because of Cam and Gabe.”

“What do you mean?” He let go of her hand and picked up his water.

Gail pushed her food around the plate and tried to organize her thoughts. “I went through high school with two older brothers who threatened to kill any guy who made a wrong move toward me. Then, I went to a small college in Corpus Christi, and every time I brought a guy around home, Gabe and Cam put the fear of God in him. I’d just finished college when I met Barry. I didn’t let him near my family for a long time. Didn’t want to scare him away.”

Jay grinned. “Yeah, your brothers can be pretty intimidating.”

A sudden hideous thought struck her. “Tell me they didn’t harass you.” She grasped Jay’s hand. “I swore I’d kill them if they did.”

His lips quirked. “They didn’t harass me. Cam talked to me, the day of the wedding.” He held up a hand when Gail began to sputter. “They love you and are concerned about you. I don’t have a problem with it, and neither should you.”

She relaxed a little. Besides, there was nothing she could do about it now. “I take it you passed.”

Jay’s mouth curved upward. He took another bite of fish. “Well, he didn’t slug me.”

They both laughed. “I’m glad.” She patted his cheek. “It would be a shame to mess up such a pretty face.”

Jay flashed her a grin. “Men aren’t pretty.”

She leaned over and kissed him. “You are. And you’re a man.”

He looked embarrassed, she thought, finding it endearing.

“I’m not sure how to answer that. Are you trying to distract me?”

“Probably.” She smiled. “I bet you’re wondering why I ever fell in love with Barry.”

“He must have had something good in him, or you wouldn’t have.”

Gail shook her head. “No, but I thought he did. Barry was very charming. I thought he loved me. He put up a good front. I didn’t figure out it was all a fake until after Mel was born.” Unwilling to talk about how she’d felt when faced with proof of Barry’s infidelity, she changed the subject.

“So.” Gail laid her fork down and laced her hands together beneath her chin. “Tell me why you fell in love with Carla. And why you broke up.”

Jay used his napkin, then pushed his plate away. “I didn’t fall in love with her. Which, come to think of it, is pretty much why we broke up.”

“You lived with her for two years. I just assumed you were in love with her.”

“I thought I was. At first. She’s beautiful, smart. Ambitious. Successful.”

Gail’s stomach sank as he talked. Carla, who was everything Gail wasn’t, hadn’t been able to hold him. How did she expect to keep his interest?

“I wanted to love her, but I just didn’t. Eventually, she became unhappy with the way things were going. She gave me an ultimatum.” He looked at Gail and
those warm green eyes had gone cold. “I don’t respond well to ultimatums.”

“What did she say?”

“Marry me or move out.” He shrugged. “I moved out.”

Wonderful. He’d broken up with Carla over the issue of marriage, and here Gail was, married to him because of a child neither one of them had planned on. “Obviously, she regretted her ultimatum.”

“I didn’t. I felt like I’d been let out of prison.” He was silent a moment, his finger circling the rim of his water glass. “You know the first time you and I had dinner at your house, when you made macaroni and cheese?”

Gail nodded, wondering what was going on in his head.

“We talked to the kids, and everyone told something about their day?”

A little embarrassed, Gail blushed. “It’s a way to get the kids talking. To find out what’s going on with them.”

“Don’t apologize. It was great. And you asked me about my day, and the three of you were really interested. You listened, and asked more questions. You cared how my day had been.” He took Gail’s hand and held it. “Mark used to do that. Not exactly, but he’d get us to talking about the day, if something bad or good happened.”

“I guess a lot of people do something like that.”

“Not Carla.” He shook his head decisively. “We never had a conversation that didn’t revolve around
her. Her career, her caseload, her problems, whatever. If we did talk about my career, it was only because it affected her. And the pitiful thing is, I never realized it until that night in your kitchen.”

“Maybe you realized it on a subconscious level. You did leave her.”

“Maybe.” He brought Gail’s hand to his lips and kissed her wrist. “But I’m glad I did. Because if I hadn’t moved out, I’d never have come to Texas. And then I wouldn’t have gotten together with you.”

“You wouldn’t be married with a baby on the way, either.” It hurt, when she thought of it, to know he’d married her because of duty. Obligation.

“I don’t regret any of it. Do you?”

How could she, with him looking at her so openly? So sweetly. Even lovingly. But he didn’t love her, she thought, any more than he’d loved Carla. “No, I don’t regret it. But I wish I didn’t feel as if I’d given you the same ultimatum Carla did.”

“As I recall, I’m the one who talked you into marriage. I was hardly coerced.” He tugged her forward until his lips met hers. Then he drew back, and his eyes were troubled. “But maybe you feel coerced.”

“Not by you.” Perhaps by circumstances, but never by him. She laid her palm against his cheek. “You make me happy.”

He smiled, kissed her again. “You make me happy, too. So why don’t we go back, and make each other even happier?”

She let him kiss her, take her home, make love to her. And her doubts slid away with each stroke of his hand, each lingering caress, each tempting kiss.

“O
KAY
,
THE CAR’S LOADED
,”
Jay said late Monday afternoon. “Are you ready to hit the road?”

Gail sighed and glanced longingly toward the bedroom. “Do you think if we hurried we could have one more bath in the Jacuzzi?”

He smiled, wishing they could. The whirlpool tub was big enough for both of them, and they had put it to good use, on several occasions. Jay came up behind Gail, put his arms around her and kissed her neck. “No. Because if we get in that tub I won’t be able to resist making love to you and then we won’t get home until very, very late. But I’m game if you are.”

“Sex fiend,” she accused.

“Hey, it’s our honeymoon. I’m allowed to be a sex fiend.”

“It was nice, wasn’t it?” she asked, snuggling back against him. “I had a wonderful time.”

“Yeah, me too.” He kissed her again. “I hate to say it, but we’d better get going.”

She sighed and followed him out.

“I’ve been meaning to bring something up,” Gail said, once they were on their way. “I promised Mel
something I realize now I should have discussed with you first.”

Curious about her apprehensive tone, Jay glanced at her, then back to the road. “What’s that?”

“I said we could paint her room first thing.”

“Is that all?” he asked, relieved to find it was something so simple. “Of course you can have her room painted, and Roxy’s too, if she wants. She can paint it purple if that’s all it takes to make her happy.”

Gail didn’t say anything. He glanced over to see her biting her lip, struggling not to smile.

His stomach sank. “Mel wants a purple room?”

Fighting laughter, Gail nodded. “I know it’s sort of strange, but her room at home is purple and pink and she wants the same thing. I can’t help it, I promised her she could have whatever colors she wanted, and she didn’t have to change it until she grew tired of it. Do you mind terribly?”

Not as long as his bedroom didn’t have to be purple. “No. Could be worse,” Jay said philosophically. “What color does Roxy want?”

“I don’t know. She won’t discuss it.”

He was silent a moment. “Until the wedding I didn’t realize quite how strong her feelings were. The fact that she hates my guts, I mean.” He could still hear her saying, “Mommy doesn’t want to marry you.”

“Jay, she doesn’t hate you. But she isn’t used to sharing me. It’s just going to take her a while to be
come accustomed to it. But she will, I promise you, she will.”

“I hope you’re right.” Because if she didn’t get used to him, they were facing major problems. Problems he didn’t know how to solve.

Gail continued, “I guess I’ll paint her room blue, like it is now.”

Jay drove onto the ferry and put the car in park. “Do you know a painter?”

She glanced at him, obviously surprised. “Why would I need a painter? I can do it this week. After we move in.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Of course I can.”

He shot her an irritated glance. “You’re pregnant, remember? You don’t have any business climbing around on ladders, painting walls.”

Her eyebrows drew together and she frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Right now you’re perfectly fine. But what if you have one of those dizzy spells while you’re up on a ladder?” Which, he thought, clinched his argument.

She waved his concerns aside. “I’ll be careful. I won’t do it unless I’m sure I feel all right. Besides, I can’t afford a painter.”

“I can.”

“I’m not going to ask you to pay for a painter to paint my daughters’ rooms.”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering.”

“Absolutely not. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Why not?” he asked, but he suspected he knew her reasoning. And he didn’t like it a damn bit.

Gail didn’t answer, remaining silent for a moment as the ferry docked. “I guess we should have talked about finances before we got married,” she said after a moment.

“Looks like.” Still irritated, and growing more so by the minute, he drove off the ramp.

Gail folded her hands together in her lap. “Well, it’s not too late. I think we should figure out our estimated common expenses, and then we can split them up. You know, mortgage payments, groceries, that sort of thing.”

He shot her an incredulous glance. “You do, do you? Well, think again.”

“What do you mean? It’s the only fair thing to do. My daughters shouldn’t be a drain on you financially.”

“And what about you, Gail? Are you not going to be a drain on me either?”

“Why should I be?” she fired back. “I have a perfectly good job, Jay. There’s no reason for you to pay for my expenses.”

“Is that so?” he said pleasantly. “I happen to have a perfectly good job, too, and I can damn well support my own damn family.”

“But the girls—”

He interrupted, more hurt than angry, but he led with the anger. “Your daughters aren’t my family. Thanks, you’ve made that clear.”

“Jay, that isn’t what I meant. But I don’t think you should have to pay for Mel and Roxy. They’re my responsibility. And Barry’s.”

And none of his. He heard the words, even though she hadn’t said them. He didn’t speak. Didn’t trust himself not to say something he’d regret.

They rode the rest of the way with a strained silence between them, reaching her ex-husband’s house a short time later. Again, he didn’t speak, but put the car in park and waited for her to go get the girls.

Tentatively, Gail touched his arm. “Jay, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Forget it. You’d better go get your daughters.”

He waited, and brooded. How was he supposed to bond with Roxy when Roxy’s own mother—his wife—didn’t think of the four of them as a family?

G
AIL DIDN’T HAVE A CHANCE
to talk to Jay again until late that night. He’d gone to his house to tend to the puppies while she put the girls to bed. She knew he’d been angry, and hurt, but she had no idea how to fix it. Especially when he’d been wrong.

She decided the open approach would be best. “Are you still mad at me?” she asked him when he came in.

He sat on the bed to pull off his shoes and socks, before angling his head to look at her. “I wasn’t mad at you. Exactly.”

“Could have fooled me.”

He shrugged. “You were right. We should have talked about finances before.”

“So you agree we should split our expenses?”

He pulled his shirt off over his head, then tossed it on a chair. All that lovely golden skin distracted her, but she tried to focus on the discussion.

“No,” he said, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and tossing it on the dresser. “I still think it’s a dumb idea, but if that’s the way you want it, that’s the way we’ll do it.”

Incensed, she glared at him. “It’s not dumb, it’s practical.”

“Practical, huh?” He stroked a hand over his chin and looked at her. “We’re going to have two mortgages to pay until you can sell your house. Don’t you figure you’ll be strapped enough making the payments on your house, not to mention what you spend on the girls, without additional expenses?”

Damn it, he was right. She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers on her arm. “I’ll figure something out. Maybe you can cover these expenses, until the house sells, and then I’ll pay you back.”

He tilted his head, considering her. A slow smile curved his mouth. “You don’t know me very well, do you? Do you really think I’d take money from my own wife? That I’d allow
my wife
to pay me back?”

Barry would have, she thought. But Jay wasn’t Barry, thank God. She huffed out a breath. “No. Damn it.”

He grinned, dimples flirting, then reached for her. “Come here.”

She allowed him to tug her down next to him on the bed. “Jay, we haven’t solved anything.”

“Yes, we have. Or we will. Let me take care of our living expenses here. It’s important to me, Gail. Will you let me do that?”

His green eyes were fringed with surprisingly dark lashes. Beautiful eyes, especially when he looked at her so intensely. She wondered if he knew how distracting he could be, and suspected he did. “You make it sound as if I’m doing you a favor.”

“You would be. Because then we could stop talking about finances.” His hands slid slowly up her arms and drew her nearer. “And do something more interesting.” His lips cruised her jawline. “Much more interesting.”

“What about—” She paused, struggling to think clearly, but he made it impossible with that talented mouth driving her wild with slow, heated kisses sprinkled over her skin. “My house. The girls.”

“You pay for your house. Until it sells.” His mouth was busy on her neck, at her fluttering pulse.

Now those clever hands were cupping her breasts, at the same time his mouth savored her as if she were a fine wine. “And when it does?” Unable to stop herself, she gave a small moan and raised her hands to his chest.

He drew back and smiled at her, his eyes heavy-lidded with desire. “We’ll renegotiate.”

His mouth covered hers and his tongue slipped inside, sipping, savoring. Seducing. She couldn’t think when her skin was on fire and her mind grew numb with pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lay back on the bed, pulling him with her. “Make love to me,” she whispered.

“I will. I am,” he said, and kissed her again.

“D
O ME A FAVOR
,” Jay said the next morning as he got ready for work.

“Anything,” she said. “Since you’re taking the girls to school and I get to be wonderfully lazy and lie in bed.” Of course, she’d have to get up and make sure the girls had everything, but the point was, she could go back to bed. Even better, she’d only had one small bout of morning sickness this morning.

He sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at her, flicking a finger beneath her chin. “I had no idea you were so easily bribed.”

“Depends on the bribe, and the briber.”

He ran a hand over her hair. “Don’t paint the girls’ rooms today. I swear I’ve been having nightmares thinking about you getting dizzy on the ladder and crashing.”

“Oh, Jay. I promised Mel. And I don’t feel right letting you pay—”

He interrupted. “Mark’s going to help me do it after work. It’ll take a couple of nights, but we should be finished before you move everything in. Can you get the paint today?”

“Yes, but you don’t have to do this, Jay. It’s sweet, and I appreciate it, but I never intended you to go to so much trouble.”

“It’s a done deal. Mark’s coming over right after work. I need to get going,” he said, and kissed her.

“How did you get Mark to agree?” she asked him as he started out the door.

“Bribed him.” The grin flashed. “Said we’d baby
sit once we get settled. Poor guy’s so desperate to get Cat alone, he’d have re-roofed the house if I’d asked.”

“Mommy,” Roxy said, nearly running into Jay in the doorway. He stepped aside to let her in and she swept past without looking at him. “I can’t find my hair clip. I can’t go to school without my clip.”

“Can I help you find it?” Jay asked.

Roxy shook her head. “I want Mommy to. How come you’re not dressed?” she asked Gail. “Don’t we have to leave for school?”

“Jay’s going to take you two today. Is Mel ready?”

Her lip thrust out in a mutinous pout. “Don’t want to go with him.”

“I thought you liked my car, Roxy?”

She hunched a shoulder. Gail wanted to shake her, but reminded herself that her daughter was making a huge adjustment. Roxy needed understanding, even if it killed her mother, Gail thought grimly. And hurt Jay, she realized, glancing at him. He had a sort of wistful look in his eyes.

“I’ll help you look for it, honey.” She got out of bed and went to her closet. “Let me get my robe.”

“Roxy,” Mel called from the other room. “I found your silly old clip. It was in the bathroom, just like I told you.”

Roxy ran out. Gail tugged her robe around her and went to Jay, laying a hand on his arm. “Don’t let it bother you. She just needs time.”

The wistful look cleared. “Yeah, I know. Come to
the kitchen with me and tell me what you’re going to do today.”

She followed him out. “I haven’t forgotten about the puppies. I’ll check on them throughout the day. Then I’m going to try to decide what furniture goes and what stays. We still need to talk about a few things. And I’m going to pack. And last,” she said, shuddering, “I’m going to go through the girls’ rooms and throw out every broken toy they have. Not to mention, going through my stuff and getting rid of all the junk I’ve accumulated that I don’t want to move.”

“Sounds exciting. Do something else for me today.”

“What’s that?”

He cupped her cheek and smiled at her. “Miss me.”

Her heart fluttered. When he said things like that she didn’t feel as if he’d only married her for the baby’s sake. “I can manage that. Will you miss me?”

“Definitely.” He kissed her just as the girls ran in.

“Yuck,” Roxy said.

Mel giggled. “Mommy’s kissing Jay.”

Gail held out her hand. “That’s what people do when they’re married. I need kisses from my girls, too. Come give me a kiss and then go get in the car. You’re all going to be late if you don’t hurry.”

After she saw them off she thought about going back to bed, but with a mountain of work staring her in the face, she knew she shouldn’t. Thankfully, her boss had given her the whole week off, but if she didn’t get organized, moving day would be a disaster. She pulled out several sturdy black trash sacks and
took them with her to the girls’ rooms. Might as well start with the worst job first, and get it out of the way.

Besides, if she made a lot of progress, she could justify a nap later.

Late that morning, when she thought she’d go crazy if she had to fill any more trash sacks, she went to Jay’s to check on Fudge and Fluffy. They were ecstatically happy to see her, as if they hadn’t seen a human in weeks, not hours. They jumped, slobbered, quivered with excitement. Luckily, they’d only managed to dig up one new flowerbed since Gail and Jay’s return. It’s a good thing they’re so cute, she thought, remembering how pretty the back yard had been before puppies. Now it looked more like the site of a train wreck.