Just One Kiss (12 page)

Mr. Johnson leaned back and closed his eyes. “Much better.” He opened his eyes and offered her a shy smile.

“I'm going home now, Mr. Johnson, but Polly Manson will be on duty and she's an absolutely wonderful pillow plumper.”

He nodded. “Have a good night.” He frowned again. “Wish I were going home.”

She laughed. “You'll be home before you know it.” With a goodbye, Marissa left the room and headed for the nurses' station, where she retrieved her purse and signed out.

Already she dreaded the night to come. Nathaniel had been unusually fussy since they'd come back from their trip. If she didn't know better, she'd think he missed Jack as much as she did.

“Marissa Criswell to the ER waiting area
stat.
”

Marissa froze. For a moment, the male voice booming over the hospital's intercom system had sounded remarkably like Jack's. But that was impossible. Jack was in Florida. Jack had sent her and her love away from him.

She hurried to the elevator that would take her downstairs to the ER, wondering if she was going to be asked to pull a double shift. Although she usually tried to accommodate when the hospital was
short staffed, there was no way she intended to work another shift tonight.

Since coming back from Florida, she'd been uncharacteristically tired and she knew deep inside her heart that it was a weariness born of depression. She missed Jack.

Time, she reminded herself. Only time would heal the heart he'd broken.

She heard the sound of raised voices before she entered the waiting-room area.

“Sir, you cannot use the intercom system for your own personal purposes.” Marissa recognized the voice of Nancy Noland, one of the ER nurses.

“This is a matter of life and death. Stop being so stingy and let me use that microphone again.”

Marissa froze just outside the door that would lead her into the waiting area. Jack. Nobody else had that deep tone of exasperation. Nobody else sounded quite so cranky.

What was he doing here? Why had he come? She refused to second-guess him—he was too perverse for that.

She drew a deep, trembling breath, then pushed open the door, and there he stood at the nurses' station. Jack. His leg was still in a cast, his fingers still wrapped and he wore a mutinous expression of determination.

“Look, just let me call her one more time,” he said.

A red stain of frustration colored Nancy's face
and she shook her head. “Why don't you just take a seat and relax.”

“I can't relax,” Jack growled.

“Jack?” Marissa said softly, and she wasn't sure who was happier to see her, Jack or Nancy.

“Marissa, thank God.” He advanced toward her, and Marissa was vaguely aware of the two of them garnering the interest of the others in the waiting room.

“Wha-what are you doing here?” she asked, the very sight of him ripping a new hole in her heart.

Jack scowled at the people around him, then looked back at Marissa. “Do you have any idea how many hospitals there are in Kansas City?” he asked.

“Not off the top of my head,” she replied, still reeling with the shock of finding him here.

“There's a bunch, and I spent all day yesterday and most of today trying to find the one where you work.”

“How did you get here?”

“I got Maria to take me to the airport, caught a flight, and since arriving here in Kansas City I've aggravated a dozen taxi drivers trying to find you.”

“But why?” Marissa wasn't about to hope. She wasn't about to try to anticipate the reason for Jack's presence. Maybe he was here on a case and just wanted to stop by and say hello.

He glared at the people who all appeared quite interested in their conversation. Grabbing Marissa's arm, he pulled her out the door and into the late-
afternoon sunshine. He eyed her for a long moment before he finally spoke. “When you left, you took something from me.”

She stared at him in disbelief. Did he think she'd stolen something from him? Outrage swept through her. And he was just stubborn enough to hunt her down like a criminal. “And what exactly do you think I took? A suitcase full of fast-food wrappers?” she snapped.

His dark eyebrows rose in surprise and he laughed. His laughter wrapped around Marissa. He swept a hand through his hair, leaving it in charming disarray. “I'm bungling this badly.” He took her hand in his, all laughter gone from his beautiful blue eyes. “Marissa, I wanted you to be a ship in the night, passing through my life without rippling the waters.”

“I know.” His hand around Marissa's sent warmth shooting up her arm.

He released her hand and once again raked it through his hair. “You rippled the waters. God, but you did ripple my life. And when you left, you took my disbelief, my cynicism, my very heart with you.”

For the first time since seeing him, Marissa allowed a tiny touch of hope to fill her.

He moved restlessly, as if unable to stand still. “Victim or survivor? That's what you asked me the last night we were together. I've been a victim for the last five years. I'm not anymore. Somehow I've
become a survivor who has lived through hell and come out on the other side believing that happiness is possible, love is possible…we are possible.” He had to yell the last words in order to be heard above the ambulance that had pulled in next to where they stood.

“We?” she echoed faintly. Had she heard him correctly? She stared at him as he continued to speak, but whatever he was saying was lost beneath the blare of the siren.

He stopped talking and the ambulance parked and the siren went silent. Together Marissa and Jack watched as the two EMTs pulled out a stretcher bearing a frail, gray-haired woman.

“I told him it was just gas pains, not my heart, but he didn't listen to me,” she said as they unloaded her. “He never listens to me.”

Jack turned back to Marissa. “Marry me.”

She stared at him in astonishment. “Pardon me?” She wondered if the noise of the siren had damaged her ears. She could have sworn he'd just asked her to marry him.

The old woman on the stretcher looked from Jack to Marissa. “If you love him, honey, better say yes fast. Life is short and before you know it you're at the hospital all because you ate a burrito with chili.” Before she could say anything more, the EMTs wheeled her through the doors and into the emergency room.

Marissa turned to look at Jack once again, her
head reeling. He didn't give her a chance to speak a word. Rather, he gathered her in his arms and she could feel the beat of his heart against her own.

“I knew you were trouble the moment I saw you standing over me,” he said, his voice husky. “Those blond curls of yours were gleaming in the sunshine, and seeing you in that blue bikini made me momentarily forget my pain. I love you, Marissa. I want you…need you in my life. Marry me. For God's sake, will you please marry me?” He was naked before her, vulnerability in the depths of his beautiful eyes.

The hope she had desperately tried to tamp down, afraid that it might be false, now blossomed inside her. He'd said he loved her. The words sang through her veins, rang in her heart. But still, she hesitated.

With enormous reluctance, she stepped out of his embrace. “Before I answer your question, I need to know something, Jack.” Her insides trembled with the importance of her question. As much as she loved Jack, she would sacrifice that love if his answer wasn't right.

The sunshine that had seemed so warm only moments before now seemed cooler as she faced him. “I have to know that you have the ability to love Nathaniel, that your love will be for him as the little boy he is, and not as a replacement for Bobby.” Tears blurred her eyes. “He can't be the child you lost, Jack. It would be too big a burden for him.”

Jack smiled, a tender smile that shot a welcoming
warmth through her. He reached out and stroked her cheek with a finger.

“I have to be honest with you, Marissa. There will always be a space in my heart that belongs to Bobby. But I have a huge heart, and there's room enough for one special little terminator who literally and figuratively knocked me off my feet. I love Nate and I love you.”

For a moment Marissa couldn't reply. Tears of joy seeped from her eyes and filled her throat. She laughed and threw herself into his arms.

“Hey,” the little gray-haired woman who had come in on the ambulance called out when the ER doors opened. “I've got to know. Are you going to marry him?”

Jack's arms tightened around Marissa, as if he were afraid of what she might say. She looked into his eyes…the eyes of the man she loved, the beautiful eyes of the man who was every fantasy she'd ever entertained. “Yes,” she replied. “Yes, I'm going to marry him.”

Before she could say another word, his lips crashed down to hers.

The kiss was filled with intense passion, with enduring love and all its endless possibilities and dreams. The kiss wrapped warmth not only around her, but inside her, filling her up as if she'd swallowed the sun. And she knew the rightness of this moment, and this man, and her future.

By the time they broke the kiss, the old lady had
disappeared back behind the doors. Marissa reached up and placed a palm against his cheek. “I still can't believe how the man I believed was Mr. Wrong became Mr. Right.”

Again he smiled, his eyes lit with love. “It doesn't matter, does it? The important thing is that I'm your Mr. Right, and you're my Mrs. Right and we're going to spend the rest of our lives living happily ever after.”

Again their lips met in a kiss. “Speaking of the terminator,” Jack said when the kiss ended. “Where is he?”

“At the day care center.” Marissa looked at her watch. “I need to pick him up.”

“Then let's go,” Jack replied. They walked to Marissa's car and got in. “I know you probably think I'm crazy, but I still think that first morning on the beach, I didn't just trip over Nate. I think he tripped me on purpose.”

Marissa smiled. “If that's really true, then maybe we should thank him. If he hadn't tripped you up, you would have just been a jogger running by me on the beach.”

Jack leaned over and kissed her on the neck. “Yeah, remind me to buy Nate a fantastic birthday present.”

Shivers of pleasure swept through Marissa. “I think the best present you're giving him is yourself.”

He sat back and looked at her, obviously touched
by her words. “I love you,” he said, then grinned. “And you were worth a broken leg. Now, let's go get our son.”

Marissa pulled away from the hospital, pointed in the direction of her happily-ever-after.

 

Nathaniel was depressed. He'd been depressed since they had left Florida, but today was the worst day of all because he'd had to face obnoxious Claire and Julie at the Hickory Dickory Day Care.

All day they'd been teasing him because he'd come home as fatherless as when he'd left. He'd spent most of the day in a corner, quietly playing by himself and ignoring the two tormentors.

He didn't understand it. He'd done everything possible to make Jack his dad. He knew his mom had liked Jack, and he'd thought Jack liked his mom. He didn't understand how grown-ups could mess things up so badly.

Tonight his mommy would be as sad as he was. She tried to hide it, but he knew she was sad. She missed Daddy Jack, and so did he.

He put a blue block on top of a red one and wondered if he'd have time to build something before his mommy came to pick him up.

“Hey, Nate.”

The voice was deep, familiar. Nathaniel looked up and saw Daddy Jack and his mother standing with Miss Samantha at the door to the day care.

Nathaniel struggled to his feet, happiness soaring
through him…happiness better than a red lollipop, better than a new truck with shiny wheels.

“Daddy?” He took a step toward Jack, saw the smile on his mommy's face and knew his dream was coming true. Jack opened his arms and Nathaniel raced toward him.

Suddenly he was in big strong arms that lifted him up high. “Daddy!” Nathaniel squealed in delight.

“That's right, kiddo. I'm gonna be your daddy for ever and always,” Jack said.

Nathaniel threw his arms around his daddy's neck, his mind whirling with all the wonderful things they would share. Daddy threw an arm around Mommy's shoulders. “Come on, let's go plan our future.”

As his daddy carried him toward the door, Nathaniel gazed over his shoulder at Julie and Claire, who watched in astonishment.

He grinned, then waved happily as his daddy carried him out of the day care.

“A
re you sure I look okay?” Jack asked Marissa.

“Honey, for the third time, you look wonderful.” She smiled at him and patted the chair next to her. “Come and sit down and try to relax. Mrs. Klein said it would be a few minutes.”

Jack eased into the chair next to her, trying to still the frantic beat of his heart. They were in a conference room in Miami, where in mere minutes Jack would see his son, Bobby, for the first time in years.

It had taken three months of dealing with red tape, sloughing through bureaucratic nonsense and filling out form after form, but finally the day Jack had never thought would happen was happening.

“What if he doesn't like me?” Jack asked softly, and turned to look at Marissa.

She smiled and took his hand in hers. “He's going to love you, just like I do. Just like Nathaniel does.”

Jack squeezed her hand and closed his eyes, for a moment overcome with emotion too great to handle.

He and Marissa had married a month before and settled into life together in Mason Bridge. She had gotten a job in Edmund Hall's doctor office and Jack had gone back to the police force. Every day for Jack was like a gift as he discovered the depth of his love for his wife, and the amazing fact that she loved him back.

He looked over to Nate, who had found the toy box at the end of the room and was busily digging through the contents. Nate was a bonus gift that fate had given to him, and the bond between the little boy and Jack had become something shining and strong.

He stood, too nervous to remain seated, and began to pace the area in front of the chairs. What if Sherry, before her death, had told Bobby he was a bad man? What if Bobby wanted nothing to do with him?

All Jack wanted was an opportunity to love his son, an opportunity to be a good father to him. He hoped…he prayed that they hadn't come this far only to be disappointed.

The door opened and Barbara Klein entered. Following just behind her was a dark-haired, brown-
eyed boy. Jack's heart seemed to pause in its beating as he laid eyes on his son.

“Bobby, this is the man I was telling you about,” Barbara Klein said. “This is Jack Coffey.”

“Hi.” Bobby offered Jack a shy smile and Jack fought the impulse to scoop up the boy and squeeze him in his arms, to hold him so tightly nothing and nobody would ever part them again.

“Hi,” Jack replied, fighting an emotion so intense it threatened to swallow him up. Hungrily, he gazed at Bobby, memorizing each and every feature.

“I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee,” Barbara said.

“Would you mind if Nathaniel and I join you?” Marissa asked, and stood. Jack looked at her in panic. She smiled. “You need some time alone with your son,” she said softly.

In her words he recognized the truth and he loved her all the more for knowing what he needed and allowing him some time alone with the child he had lost…and now found.

A moment later Marissa, Barbara and Nate were gone, leaving Jack alone with Bobby. “You want to sit?” he asked, and gestured to the chairs.

Bobby shrugged. “Okay.” He sat in one of the chairs and Jack sat next to him.

“Did Mrs. Klein tell you who I am?” Jack asked.

Bobby nodded. “She said you're my biological dad.”

Biological dad. That sounded so cold, so imper
sonal. “Yeah, I'm your biological dad and I've been looking for you, praying to find you, for the last five years.”

“You have?” Bobby's brown eyes met his, and in his son's eyes he saw suspicion and confused uncertainty.

“Indeed I have.” Jack placed an arm around the back of Bobby's chair, careful not to touch him, but leaning closer so he could smell the little-boy scent of him, so achingly familiar. “There's been a room for you at my house for all these years. Every year on your birthday I'd buy you a present, and at Christmastime I'd buy you what I thought you might want if you were with me.”

“You did?” The suspicion was still in his eyes. “Where do you live?”

“In a little town about five hours from here called Mason Bridge. My house is right on the beach and when you were little, I'd sit on my deck and rock you, and the sound of the waves would put you to sleep.”

Bobby frowned thoughtfully. “I think I remember that.”

Jack wanted desperately to wrap his arms around his son, feel his warmth. But he also knew gaining Bobby's trust would take time, and that he'd have to earn Bobby's love.

“That woman who was in here with you. Is she your wife?”

“Yes, and she has a son named Nate. He's two years old.”

Bobby thought for a moment. “And we're all going to live in the same house?”

“That's right,” Jack said. “Bobby, I know this is all pretty overwhelming at the moment. But I'll tell you this. I love you. I've loved you every day of your life. And if you'll give us a chance, I think we'll be all right together. Will you give us a chance?”

He held his breath, afraid of the days, weeks, years lost. Was it too late? He knew that to a child, a day could feel like a lifetime. Had too many lifetimes gone by for Bobby?

Bobby looked at him, and beneath the doubts, beyond the self-protection, Jack saw a glimmer of need, and in that need Jack saw hope. Time and love—Jack knew those were the ingredients that would take away the suspicions, the defensive shell Bobby had grown for protection. Time and love, and Jack had plenty of both.

“What do you say? You'll give us a chance?” Jack held out his hand.

Bobby sat stone still for a long moment, then he slid his hand into Jack's for a firm handshake. “Okay.”

Jack felt as if the world had momentarily stopped whirling, and had only restarted the moment Bobby spoke his assent.

A minute later he and Bobby left the conference
room and saw Marissa and Nate sitting in the waiting room. Marissa stood, a worried frown creasing her forehead, and Jack had never loved her more than he did at this moment.

She was the keeper of his dreams, his heart, his soul, and he smiled at her and saw her frown fall away.

“Bobby is ready for all of us to go home now,” Jack said.

Marissa's eyes clouded with tears of joy. “That's wonderful.”

At that moment Nate walked over to Bobby and threw his arms around him. “Bubbie,” Nate exclaimed, and grinned at Marissa and Jack.

“I think that means Nathaniel is going to like having you for a brother,” Marissa said.

Nate laughed and clapped his hands, pleased that his mother had understood. A big brother! It was the most awesome thing that had ever happened to him, other than getting Daddy Jack to be his daddy.

As the four of them walked toward the car, Nate grabbed hold of Bobby's hand and offered him his most charming smile. He could tell Bobby was a little bit nervous and he wished he could tell him that everything was going to be just fine. But Nate didn't have the grown-up words that he needed yet. So he did the next best thing—he offered Bobby his biggest grin.

Bobby smiled, just a little one, but it was enough. Nate knew it wouldn't take long and Bobby would
find out that Daddy Jack was the very best daddy in the world, and Mommy was the very best mommy in the world. And Nate intended to be the most awesome little brother Bobby could ever wish for.

He laughed out loud. Oh, yes, life was good. He'd not only got the daddy he'd always wanted, but he'd got something even better. A family.