A Perfect Trade (Harlequin Superromance) (10 page)

She didn’t have the energy to fight. She’d learned from Harry how to pick her battles with a stubborn man. This was another time when it was better to take the path of least resistance. “All right. Thank you.”

The whole morning had been surreal. She and Tru had barely shared a civilized word in over a decade, yet here he was trying to help her. She shouldn’t have been surprised.

Tru had become the family fixer when his father left. Of the four brothers, Tru had seemed to take the departure hardest. He’d been determined to make up for his father’s absence. Perhaps it had something to do with being the second son. Ike, the eldest, was the sensible one. Kenny, brother number three, never took anything but hockey seriously, while the baby—if you could call a six-foot-three, 210-pound man a baby—Linc, sailed through life, happy-go-lucky, expecting everything to fall into his lap.

Whatever the reason, Tru’s need to fix things had extended to his friends, his teammates and once, long ago, Jenny.

“Here you go.” Tru parked outside Jenny’s house.

He’d opened her door before she’d finished unbuckling her seat belt. Then he walked her to the front door.

“Thanks again.” Jenny inserted her key into the lock. “For everything.”

“No problem. I’ll let you know when I’ve set up those interviews.”

She wanted him to repeat his assurance that he wouldn’t pressure anyone to give her a job, but didn’t want to upset their fragile truce. She opened the door and turned back to him. “In the meantime, I’ll try to make my résumé halfway decent.”

“You’ll be fine. Take care of yourself.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek, before sauntering back to his car.

Jenny was still reeling from his searing touch as he drove away. Her fingertips touched the tingling spot on her skin as her pulse skipped erratically.

After all this time, Tru managed to elicit more reaction than any other man ever had. Her heart thumped heavily at the thought and the memory that followed.

A crisp, clear night. So cold, their breath misted in front of their faces. A bench in the park, near the ice rink where they’d just finished practice. The gentle, almost tentative meeting of lips. The flash of heat exploding within her. The yearning for more.

Her first kiss.

So special. So intimate.

The honking of a car horn jolted her back to the present. Cheeks flushed, Jenny went inside.

She got no farther than the living room and sank onto the couch. Now that the memories she’d tried so hard to shut away had been released, it was hard to stop them filling her mind.

Despite her uncle’s foul actions, her teenage self had naively held out hope for love in her life. She’d tried not to associate the horrible things she’d been forced to do to Douglas with the kissing and cuddling she’d enjoyed so much with Tru. Still, as passion had flared with Tru, she’d found it difficult to go to the next stage. Every time his hands had wandered below her waist, she’d tensed and pulled away shaking.

Naturally, he’d been upset. She’d tried to explain that the problem was with her and had nothing to do with her feelings for him. That she wasn’t ready to go further. Though he’d said he understood, she knew her behavior had hurt him. In the end, more scared of losing him than of her own shame and her uncle’s threats, she’d told Tru the truth.

After Tru’s betrayal, it had been as if a switch had flipped inside. She’d given up on love. Physically she’d gone numb. Over the years, she’d accepted that her response to men, to sex, had been muted permanently.

Yet, with one brief kiss, Tru had flipped the switch back on. He’d reawakened her senses. The yearning she’d thought had disappeared for good blossomed again. Damn it. She had enough to worry about. Tru was an emotional complication she really didn’t need right now.

Jenny closed her eyes and leaned back against the cushions. Weariness washed over her in waves, swiftly followed by grief. Mourning for the childhood she’d never finished, the love she’d had snatched away and the chance to be a mother that she’d lost.

She’d been strong for so long, yet right now, she felt weak and lost. Jenny knew she should get up and get active. Pull herself together and force the miserable thoughts away with physical labor. She could clean the bathrooms or even iron. Tears pressed against her eyelids.

No. She couldn’t. She’d be strong again. She had to be. But, right now, she just couldn’t.

Wrapping herself in her parents’ wedding-ring quilt, Jenny curled into a ball and gave in to the tears.

* * *

“A
GRANDBABY
.”

Tru exchanged knowing glances with his brothers at his mom’s dramatic sigh. The celebration for Jake and Maggie’s news was giving Karina Jelinek the perfect opportunity to pour on the emotional blackmail.

“You’re a lucky woman, Tina,” she continued, her tone sorrowful. “Jake is a good son. He marries and gives you a grandbaby. My boys...not a serious girlfriend between them.”

“But, Ma.” Tru’s youngest brother, Linc, slung an arm across her shoulders. “It’s hard to find a woman as wonderful as you.”

Their mother smiled indulgently. “It’s true. Good women don’t grow on bushes.”

“Trees, Ma,” Ike corrected gently. “They don’t grow on trees.”

“Trees, bushes. It’s the same, no?” Karina shrugged.

Everyone laughed, then Uncle Gio proposed a toast to the forthcoming baby.

Tru hung back as the others made their way to the heavily laden dining table. What would it be like to be in Jake’s position—married to the woman he loved and announcing a new child? Even as envy tugged at his heart, he pulled himself up short.

He was crazy to think there’d be anything like that in his future. Yet he couldn’t shift his brain away from the idea. The image of Jenny talking earlier about her dreams of motherhood skated into his head like a cruel joke. For a long time, he’d held out hope they’d somehow find a way back to each other. Finally, he’d had to accept it would never happen. No matter how much he might have wished it, they weren’t meant to be together.

Ensuring she had another chance to achieve her dream was the best he could do. Not happily-ever-after, but better than the tense, bitter relationship they’d had.

Linc’s laugh broke into Tru’s thoughts. “I’m off to summer skills camp in the morning, so I’ll leave the job of providing Mom with grandkids to you older guys.”

“Not me.” Kenny looked horrified. “I’m way too young to settle down. Maybe once I’ve made it to The Show.” He nudged Ike. “You’re the oldest. Do your duty, man.”

Ike’s eyes flicked across the room to where Maggie’s sister, Tracy, was laughing with the two moms. Tru wondered when his older brother was going to give in to his attraction and do something about catching Tracy.

Ike jabbed at his potato salad. “When I hang up my skates, I’ll think about marriage and babies. Until then, my focus is on getting the Cats into the play-offs next season. So back off.”

Both Kenny and Linc knew better than to argue with their older brother.

“What about you, Tru? Will you sacrifice your freedom to save your brothers from eternal nagging?” Kenny asked. “With Bad Boy off the market, you have your pick of the babes. There must be one who’d be the perfect Mrs. Tru Jelinek.”

Tru’s mind flipped back to Jenny, even though he knew there was only one way a marriage between them would go—divorce.

“Does your silence mean you have a new girlfriend, Tru?” Linc teased, his green eyes bright with laughter.

“You can tell us.” Kenny leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Do we know her?”

“There isn’t anyone.”

From their expressions, neither Kenny nor Linc believed his sharp denial.

He forced a smile. “Why settle for one flavor of ice cream when there are so many to choose from?”

“We have ice cream.” His mom shooed them toward the dining table. “And special for my Lincoln, who is leaving tomorrow—homemade baklava.”

Linc whooped. “You’re the best, Ma.”

“You skate well, make us proud. And you call your mama often, yes?”

“For sure.” His baby brother planted a smacker on their mom’s cheek, before grabbing the largest slice of baklava.

There was a wistful look in his mother’s eyes as she watched Kenny and Linc fill their bowls with dessert.

“What are you thinking about, Ma?” Tru asked.

“Your papa.”

His stomach tightened. She rarely mentioned his dad. Did she miss him?

“What about him?” He kept his voice neutral, even as guilt filled him.

“Radek made a big mistake leaving. He missed seeing his sons grow into fine young men. I know he’d be proud of you all.”

“If he’d cared, he wouldn’t have left.” The bitterness slipped out before he could stop it.

“He didn’t leave because of you boys.” His mother’s worried gaze met his. “He wanted a different woman, not different children.”

“He wanted a different life, Ma.”

“Your papa’s not a bad man. He was spoiled,” she admitted, sighing. “After his father died so young, his mama gave him whatever he wanted. Radek never understood why he should have to work hard for anything.”

His mom had never criticized his dad, nor had she defended his actions. Tru couldn’t tell from her voice whether there was any residual emotion for her ex-husband. “Why didn’t you ever remarry, Ma?”

She laughed. “Who wants a woman with four sons?”

“But we’re grown up now.”

“Now I’m an old woman.” She patted her ample hips. “Men my age see women as housekeepers. For the other thing...” Her cheeks turned pink. “They want a young woman.”

He really,
really
did not want to think about his mother having sex. “Those men are crazy. You’re too good for all of them.”

“It’s no problem. I’m happy without a husband.”

“What about your new beau, Karina?” Jake’s mom grinned as she joined the conversation.

Tru was surprised to hear his mom was dating. Why hadn’t she mentioned him before?

“Rory Fitzpatrick isn’t my beau.” His mom’s blush deepened. “He’s a friend.”

“He’s a smooth-tongued Irish devil,” Aunt Tina confided, a twinkle in her eyes. “And he worships the ground your mom walks on.”

Karina Jelinek giggled like a schoolgirl.

Tru’s heart lifted. She deserved to be happy. Maybe she was over Radek Jelinek, after all. Still, his father’s return might rake over coals better left cold.

“Fitzpatrick had better be good to you, Ma, or he’ll answer to me,” he said with a growl, making both moms laugh delightedly.

“Don’t worry. When you’re not around, he’ll answer to me,” Jake’s dad declared. “I’ve looked after your mama for too many years to let some Irishman use his blarney on her.”

If Jake’s parents were happy about his mom’s boyfriend, the guy must be okay.

Then Uncle Gio’s words struck him. “Why wouldn’t I be around?”

“When you’re traded.” Jake’s dad shrugged.

Tru didn’t need another reminder of how uncertain his future was. Friends, teammates and journalists had been texting him all day, wanting to know if he’d heard anything about Max’s replacement. His agent, meanwhile, had been silent.

“My boy won’t be going anywhere.” His mom patted him on the cheek. “The Ice Cats will re-sign you fast.”

“Thanks, Ma. From your lips to the general manager’s ears.”

Uncle Gio nodded. “If anyone can convince them to give you a new contract, your mom can. Look what she did with the church and the town council.”

Aunt Tina beamed. “Karina cut through all the political baloney and got them to agree to creating a joint committee to build a memorial park for Pastor Boult.”

“Why?” Tru’s stomach rolled. He couldn’t believe a memorial was even being considered, let alone that his mother was leading the charge.

“He was our pastor for nearly thirty years.” Karina Jelinek frowned. “He did so much good for our community. Remember the fund-raising drives to get hockey equipment and his campaign to keep the local ice rink open?”

Unable to trust himself to speak without blurting out the truth, Tru nodded. Even though he longed to set the record straight, he wouldn’t break his promise to Jenny a second time.

Jake’s mom added, “Pastor Boult’s commitment to building and maintaining the youth center helped keep our neighborhood clean and made sure the gangs didn’t get a foothold.”

“Don’t forget he took care of his sister’s children after she died.” His mom sighed. “If not for him, those girls would have ended up in foster care, then who knows what would have happened to them.”

Nothing worse than what Jenny had been through at that bastard’s hands.

What would news of this memorial do to Jenny? As if she hadn’t suffered enough. Maybe his mom’s plans wouldn’t even come off.

His mother’s next words stamped on that hope. “I want the plans approved, funds raised and work started before the end of the year.”

“Your mama’s got appointments with all the major businesses in town,” Aunt Tina said proudly. “Even with the new general manager of the Ice Cats.”

His mom nodded. “I want one of his players on the committee. Wouldn’t it be nice if he got you involved, Truman?”

Tru felt sick. He needed an excuse. Might as well use those damn rumors. “Mr. Hardshaw won’t want that, Ma, in case the contract negotiations don’t work out. Besides, I have enough work with the charitable foundation Ike, Jake and I set up.”

“That’s a shame.” The disappointment on his mom’s face stung. But there was no way he would join the committee, not even to make her happy.

Thankfully, the conversation was interrupted when Linc began fighting with Kenny over the last piece of baklava. By the time his mom sorted them out, Pastor Boult’s memorial had been forgotten.

If only Tru could forget so easily. The knowledge weighed heavily as he drove home after the party. He had to stop the project, but didn’t know how. Not without revealing the truth.

On the other hand, if he did nothing, it would hurt Jenny more. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He should warn Jenny, but things between them were so delicate right now. The last thing he wanted was to upset the balance or place another burden on Jenny’s shoulders right now.