Summer Rose (21 page)

“What?”

Now it was she who was withdrawing, afraid to admit what she feared most. But if she and Hunter were ever to have a relationship of any kind, they had to stop keeping things from each other. They had to learn to share their burdens, material and emotional. She’d been as guilty of not doing that as he had, and it was time it stopped.

“I’ve always been afraid that because my mother walked out on me, I wouldn’t be a good mom. I remember watching Pansy with her kittens and seeing how instinctively she responded to them.” She squeezed his fingers. “I’m scared, Hunter. What if I’m not like Pansy? What if I can’t do this?”

He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Remember what I told you when you held that baby lion that first day?”

She shook her head. With the taste of his kiss fresh on her lips, she was having difficulty even thinking, much less remembering anything.

He gently brushed the hair from her cheek. “I said you’re a natural, Rose Hamilton. You’re a natural with the animals and with Davy, and I have every confidence you’ll be a natural with our daughters.”

“
Our
daughters?” Fearing she’d heard him wrong, she endeavored to keep the shock and happiness from her voice and failed.

“Yes, our daughters.” He kissed her again, this time longer and harder. “I should have said this long ago, but as Granny Jo would say, better late than never. I love you, and I want to marry you and take care of you and those sweet little girls.”

Happiness flooded through her like a winter thaw. She could hardly believe her ears. He loved her. He wanted to be a family. She cupped his face in her palms. “I love you, too. All I’ve ever wanted was for us to be a family.”

They kissed again and this time, it sealed a promise and a life together.

Rose pulled away. “Hunter, I lied.”

“You what?”

“I lied. I have seen the babies or at least one of them. She was having an intense conversation with you. I didn’t want to interrupt. What were you saying to her?”

He laughed and carefully, so as not to hurt her, gathered her in his arms. “I was just telling her what a good dad I’ll be, and that I’m gonna love and take care of them and their mom forever.”

“Forever?” She gazed up at him and even before he spoke, she saw the promise of his love reflected in his eyes.

Hunter kissed her. “Forever.”

Summer

Hello, y’all!

So nice to see you back in Carson again. I hope you enjoyed your stay.

Well, summer’s almost over, and the slight nip in the air, the coloring of the leaves on the big maple out front and the arthritis pain in my knees tells me fall is surely on the way. Now that Nick and Becky’s wedding is over, it appears as though things have calmed down in Carson for a time, not that it’ll stay that way for long. Never does.

Elections are coming up in a few months, and I have a feeling that George Collins will be retiring as mayor of Carson. What he tried to do to Doc Mackenzie by closing the wildlife refuge didn’t win him any votes with the fine people of this community. Added to that mistake is the pain he caused his son Davy by taking away his wolf friend, as a result, he retired from the school board. You should have seen George’s face when he saw that the wolf had come back. I swear that animal has more sense than he does.

But that’s not all going on hereabouts.

My Becky and Nick are back from their honeymoon in the Caribbean and settled in in his cabin up on the ridge as man and wife, and I couldn’t be happier. I can go to my Maker knowing my Becky will be well loved and taken care of and is as happy as a pig in a mud puddle, and it doesn’t get much happier than that.

Doc and Rose Mackenzie are living in the old Lawrence place with those beautiful new babies they brought home a while ago. He sure did a fine job fixing that old house up. I get such joy from seeing that man around those babies. He’s finding that being a father comes with some pretty special rewards. It’s rare that we see him around town without those sweet little girls in tow, and even though Rose doubted her abilities to be a good mama to those babies, they couldn’t ask for better. She’s a natural at it. But I knew she would be. She’s got too much love to give not to be.

Doc’s brother Ken seems to be hanging around town a bit longer than he’d planned. I expect that’s due to Lydia Collins. The man is in love, though I’m sure he either doesn’t know it yet or isn’t willing to admit it. It just makes me shake my head in wonder that these young people don’t recognize love until it comes up and bites them in the . . . Well, you know. I knew the minute I laid eyes on my Earl that I was in love. Oh well, I guess time will tell. Not sure how Lydia feels. Who can blame her for taking it slow after her bad marriage to George?

The big house south of town that Jonathan Prince is building is coming along nicely. Should be finished in a few months. Just in time for Christmas.

Becky says Mandy, the new girl working for her at the Health and Human Services office in town, is creating quite a stir at the high school. Something about wanting to start a family management class for our teenagers. Somebody needs to. There’s far too many of them having to get married because they’re in the family way. Word is that Asa Watkins, the superintendent of schools, isn’t happy about taking money from the athletic fund to pay for Mandy’s idea. The principle, Lucas Michaels, doesn’t know which way to turn. Should be some fireworks at the next school board meeting. I told ya that things don’t stay quiet around here for long.

Well, I best be getting along. I have to take a couple of quilts over to Rose for those sweet baby girls of theirs.

Come visit us again. Like I always say . . . There’s no shortage of excitement around these parts.

Love,

Granny Jo

(Continue reading for an excerpt of
Forever Fall
and for more information about the author)

FOREVER FALL

Excerpt

Chapter 1

“It’s simple, Luc, if this woman gets her way, I’ll see to it that your contract as principle of Carson High School isn’t renewed.” Asa Watkins, the Superintendent of Carson High School’s Board of Education, folded his hands over his thickening middle, crossed his legs and assumed a self-satisfied demeanor.

For Lucas Michaels, the high school principle, the posh offices of Carson Savings and Loan seemed suddenly stifling. He adjusted his position in the cushy, leather chair. Until this moment, Asa had toyed with Luc, hinting at the consequences of not supporting him in his bid to stop the introduction of baby simulators into the school’s family planning classes. Now, the gloves were off, and there was no mistaking the superintendent’s intent.

“And exactly how do you plan on doing that? I believe it takes the vote of the entire Board to dismiss my contract renewal.”

Asa smiled, his expression reminding Luc of a cat that had just finished a big bowl of rich cream. “I’m not without influence on the Board. I hold a number of the mortgages in this town.” The smile faded into an expression of self-assured arrogance.

It sickened Luc that Asa had no qualms about using his financial hold on the other Board members to achieve his goal.

Asa waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal. “They’re all lemmings. They follow the leader where ever he chooses to lead them.” The look of arrogance intensified. “In this instance, I am the leader, and I do not intend to take them in a direction that will drain funds from the athletic department’s budget.”

“If your influence is all that great, why not just cut to the chase and talk them out of supporting it?” Luc struggled to keep his absolute distaste for this arrogant, pompous jerk under wraps and not bound across the desk to pop him in the mouth.

Asa’s dark brows arched. His beady, gray-eyed gaze bore into Luc. “I don’t have to tell you that the people of Carson put great stock in our outstanding record of obtaining athletic scholarships. Why, half of them wouldn’t be able to send their kids to college at all without them.” His expression grew hard. He leaned forward and glared at Luc over his pristine oak desk. “I intend to run for mayor in the upcoming election, and I don’t want my record blackened by wasting money on something as asinine as buying dolls for teenagers to play house with. That said, neither do I want to go down in Carson’s history as the man who condoned teenage pregnancy.”

Luc flashed him a sardonic grin. “You’d rather it be me who holds that distinction.”

In every situation, his military father had told Luc, there is always someone who is expendable. It seemed Luc had been assigned that role. Still, the bad taste that had flooded his mouth about the same time he’d received Asa’s summons returned and intensified.

“If I agree to do this . . .” In an effort to keep his true feelings hidden, Luc casually brushed a piece of lint off the cuff of his navy suit jacket. “Exactly how would you suggest I go about it?”

Asa’s smile held an almost fiendish satisfaction. “I’m sure that between now and the Board meeting next week, you’ll come up with some solid arguments against Ms. James’ harebrained notion of spending bundles of money on her robot dolls.”

It would seem that if Luc wanted to keep his job, he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Though he hated himself and Asa Watkins for the position in which he found himself, Luc had to consider the consequences of not complying with Asa’s demands.

Luc treasured the life he’d made for himself in Carson: the first stable home he’d ever known, good friends, a job he loved. Could he give all that up for the sake of a woman who wanted to introduce some dolls into the curriculum? After all, there were already effective forms of birth control and family planning taught in the school. It wasn’t as if he’d be leaving the kids with nothing. Still, he hated buckling in to Asa. However, left with little choice . . .

Luc forced a smile. “I’ll do my best.”

Asa’s hard expression melted into a satisfied grin. “I knew I could count on you, my boy.”

Of course you did, you arrogant jerk. You backed me into a corner and left me no escape route.

Asa stood, signifying an end to their meeting. He extended his hand. Luc stuck his in his pocket. Asa let his hand drop back to his side. “In three weeks, it will be my distinct pleasure to recommend to the Board that they renew your contract, pending the outcome of the Board meeting, of course.”

Luc should have been relieved, but he wasn’t. He left the bank and headed for his car. His stride alone told anyone passing him that he was not happy. When people began to give him a wide berth, he decided that, for the most part, his expression must have verified his state of mind. He hated being backed into a corner. It reminded him all too vividly of the times his by-the-book Army general father had done just that to him. Luc had wanted to lash out at Asa and tell him he could put the principle job where the sun didn’t shine, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d buckled under.

Why?

Instantly, a vision of his house, his friends and his adopted hometown came into his head. Even though he’d only been here for three years, he loved Carson and the people who lived there. Having led a nomadic life as a child, when Luc moved to Carson, for the first time in his life, he felt settled and had made friends he wouldn’t have to leave behind in a few months. He’d held on to these things with a greed only a man who had grown up following his military father and socialite mother from Army base to Army base, leaving friends behind and acclimating to new schools could. Giving up his position as principle would mean moving to a new community and starting all over again. He couldn’t do that for anyone. He could not give up the only real home he’d ever known. Then again, as his father had been fond of saying every time that young Luc had bristled about moving to a new location . . .
nothing is forever
.

If this old maid social worker had been doing her research, she would know that Carson already taught abstinence in the family planning classes and, at great expense, had installed condom vending machines in all the bathrooms. How could she expect them to spend yet more money on these
robo
babies of hers?

By the time Luc reached his car, he wasn’t any happier with Asa nor with the task he’d given him, but he had made a modicum of peace with his own conscience about what he had to do.

I’m dead meat!

Amantha James forced herself not to squirm in the hard, straight-back, oak chair. She raised her gaze to survey the cause of her unrest. Like five hungry vultures sitting on a fence, the Carson School Board studied her from behind the long library table. All but one, the only woman on the board, looked as if they’d already made up their minds, and their decision didn’t look promising for her.

Keep your cool. Don’t start jumping to conclusions. You haven’t even presented your case yet. Besides, this isn’t the first time you’ve come up against a wall of opposition, nor will it be the last.

Easier said than done, however, considering that, with every loud tick of the school clock behind her, their concentrated gazes shot tiny arrows of doubt into her confidence, deflating it at an alarming rate.

She gathered her courage around her and sat a little taller. She’d be darned if she was going to let five people, who would obviously rather be somewhere else, deter her. Very few causes in her life had carried the importance of this one, and she would see it through to the end. All she had to do was hold on a little while longer.

“So, Bill, I didn’t see you in the stands at the game Saturday. Last game of the season. Too bad you missed it.” Asa Watkins, president of the Carson Savings and Loan and Superintendent of Schools, addressed the man Mandy had already identified as Bill Keeler, owner of the local supermarket.

From the tone of his voice, Mandy decided that Asa’s statement held more of a reprimand than a casual interest in the other man’s weekend activities.

Bill shook his head and studied his hands. “Mildred and the girls wanted me to take them to the mall down in Prescott.”

Asa raised a brow. “Mildred drives, doesn’t she? Why couldn’t she go herself?”

The man still kept his face averted from his questioner. “She doesn’t take to driving in heavy traffic. Always has me go along to take the wheel.”

“Well,” Asa said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his hands over his ample middle, “you missed a great game. That Jeb Tanner’s some ballplayer.”

The man to Asa’s other side, the youngest member of the board, leaned into the conversation. Becky Hart, Mandy’s superior at the social services office, had told her the young one would be Charles Henderson, the board’s accountant.

“His dad told me that he’s about certain Jeb will get the athletic scholarship to UCLA.” Henderson smiled. “Boy’s got some throwing arm on him.”

All three men laughed. The skinny man not quite as exuberantly as the rest, almost as if it was expected of him.

Mandy sighed to herself. Becky had been right. This town had
sports
tattooed on their brain cells, and Asa Watkins ruled this group with an iron fist. She was going to have to talk herself blue to get past using money from their over-endowed athletic department to fund her project.

“Jeb’s an ace quarterback, no doubt about that and a sure thing for a football scholarship from one of the big schools. I told his father last spring that Jeb’s lateral pass would be the key.” Asa smiled at his companions, his chest expanding to indicate his part in this potential victory. “When that UCLA scout came to the first game, I just knew from the look on the guy’s face that Jeb will have it in the bag. Before the scout left, he indicated he’d be back at the end of the year.”

“How many scholarships does that make now?” The speaker this time was a man with a clerical collar and a ruddy face, Reverend Thomas, the minister of the local church.

Asa closed his eyes in thought. When they popped open, he grinned like a cat with a fat mouse in his sights. “Five in all. With Jeb’s scholarship added to the total, it’ll make it six. I may have to get a bigger trophy case for my office.” He laughed, and then transferred his attention to Mandy. His speaking gaze sent a silent message.
Don’t mess with me, lady.

Mandy met it head on with her own silent challenge.
You don’t scare me.

She looked away. Glancing around the old schoolhouse’s library, she wondered when the one absent member of their solemn gathering, the school’s principal, would show up. She glanced to the open window which admitted a late fall breeze perfumed with the sweet odor of burning leaves, and overriding that unique smell of chalk, paper, books and rubber-soled sneakers that hovered in the air in every school. Forcing calm to her jangled nerves, she inhaled deeply and peered at her watch. Eight-thirty. Half an hour late. How much longer would he make them wait?

Appearing composed and confident got harder with each passing moment. Her back hurt from sitting so straight, the hard chair seat had stolen the feeling from her backside almost twenty minutes ago, and her good mood, along with her patience, was dwindling rapidly. Her stomach rumbled in protest of the supper she’d missed to get here on time. She tugged the sleeve of her red plaid suit jacket over the watch face and tried not to show her agitation.

“Mr. Michaels will be here shortly, Ms. James. You must understand that this meeting made it necessary for him to rearrange his evening to accommodate us.” The explanation came from Asa Watkins.

Watkins, a single, forty-ish man, who had been keeping a close eye on the height of Mandy’s skirt hem, had caught her agitated movements. As unobtrusively as possible, she pulled her skirt lower over her knees and smiled.

“I understand.” What she wanted to say and didn’t dare was that, having known about the meeting for weeks, she found the principal’s tardiness rude and inconsiderate. But why shoot herself in the foot before she’d had the opportunity to present her case?

To keep her mind off her growing irritation with the absent Lucas Michaels, she scanned the five people at the long library table. She tried to guess their voting preference, but a cool, feminine voice interrupted her before she could start.

“While we wait, why don’t you fill us in on your proposal, my dear?” Catherine Daniels, the only female member and the town matriarch, drew Mandy’s attention. The older woman smiled graciously from beneath a navy, feather-encrusted hat, no doubt custom-designed for her in some exclusive New York City milliners.

She returned Catherine’s smile. “If it’s all right with the Board, I’d rather wait until Mr. Michaels is here, so I don’t have to cover everything again?”

Just then the door at the rear of the school’s small library opened on squeaky hinges. She turned to see a very tall man in a gray business suit, white shirt and a conservative, burgundy tie enter the room, briefcase in hand, his forehead creased in a frown. As he walked slowly to the front of the room, his spit-polished wing-tips clicked rhythmically across the oiled hardwood floor.

Mandy’s breath left her lungs in a painful
whoosh
. Oddly enough, she seemed unable to replenish it. For the first time that night, gratitude for the hard, uncomfortable chair seeped into her. Without it, she wasn’t at all sure her legs would have held her body weight.

With his dark, good looks, the principal of Carson High School could have just stepped off the cover of
Hunk of the Month.
Mandy had seen him around town and had to admit that, like most of the single women and the high school girls, Lucas Michaels demanded closer female scrutiny. And if she wanted to be totally honest, she’d taken her share of glances at the handsome principal and maybe even fantasized about him a bit. However, she had no plans to become another notch on his bedpost or, for that matter, any other man’s.