Surrender to Love (16 page)

Was the news implying that she was wanted for the shooting or that she was involved in the shootings? In either case, what was the difference?

Her thoughts then turned to Carson. With Julia out of the way, she had another chance to win Carson. The thought gave her hope.

Slowly, as if in a trance, Sheri moved over to the nightstand. She stared down at the phone. The phone number for the FBI resurfaced clearly in her mind. Her hands shook nervously when she picked up the receiver, but she made herself punch in the numbers.

A female’s warm and friendly voice came on the line.

“I believe I have information on the whereabouts of Dr. Julia Kelley.”

A
fter breakfast, Robin and Bobbi gained permission to play down at the park. As they talked, they made a point to refer to each other as sisters.

“Maybe we can talk them into buying us a set of bunk beds,” Bobbi said excitedly.

“I’ll have the top bunk,” Robin proclaimed.

“I want to be on top” Bobbi crossed her arms and poked out her bottom lip.

Robin dug deep into the pockets of her jeans. “Tell ya what. I’ll flip you for it.” She withdrew a shiny quarter. “Call it.” She flipped the coin high into the air.

“Heads,” Bobbi called.

Robin caught the coin and slapped it down onto the back of her left hand. “Tails.”

Bobbi kicked at the dirt, but let the matter drop. “What color do you think we should paint our room?”

Robin’s face lit with delight. “How about purple?”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Bobbi said, scrunching up her face.

“Hey, whatcha doin’?” a boy’s voice called out to them.

The girls turned to see Stanley Forrester rushing up to them.

Robin gave her “sister” a quick elbow, then winked.

“You girls going down to the park? I heard the guys were going to try to get a game of touch ball going.”

“Count us in,” Robin said, nodding.

“Uh, I don’t think we’re up to it today,” Bobbi contradicted.

Robin cast a startled look in Bobbi’s direction.

“But we would love to watch you strong boys play,” Bobbi added.

Stanley frowned. “Are you feeling all right?”

Bobbi’s smile widened. “Never better. I think it would be fun just to watch for a change.”

Robin placed a hand across Bobbi’s forehead as if checking for a fever. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

Bobbi nodded and gave Robin a hard conspiratorial look.

“Oh, yeah,” Robin suddenly agreed, catching on. “Maybe it would be fun just to watch a game for once.” She glanced back at Stanley. “We could be, uh, cheerleaders.”

“Yeah, cheerleaders. Girls like being cheerleaders.”

Stanley looked at them both as if he’d never seen either of them before. “Well, if that’s what you want to do. I guess the guys won’t mind.”

The girls simply nodded and smiled.

“Right. Then I guess I’ll see you down at the park. I still need to find two other players,” Stanley said.

“See you there,” Bobbi said.

The girls watched as he took off down the street. When he’d finally faded from view, Robin faced Bobbi with her hands cradling her hips. “You want to clue me in on what just happened?”

“What?” Bobbi played innocent.

“You think it would be fun for us to
watch?
Did you fall and bump your head?”

“At least I wasn’t the one who suggested that we actually be cheerleaders. Do you even know any cheers?”

Robin thought for a moment. “No.”

Bobbi rolled her eyes heavenward and slapped her hand against her hips. “Well, we have less than ten minutes to create some or we’re pretty much going to look stupid in front of those guys.”

“Don’t be silly. They’re going to be too busy playing to be paying any attention to what we’re doing.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Stanley would probably round up everyone he knows to see me act like an idiot.” She sighed. “Maybe I deserve it. Ever since you told me that Stanley likes me, all I’ve done is make a fool of myself, trying to act more like…well, like you.”

“Like me?” Robin stuck a finger in the center of her chest. “Why were you trying to be like me?”

Bobbi shrugged with an embarrassed air. “Because it seems to me that Stanley is always trying to hang around you—not me. So I thought if I acted more like you—”

“That’s silly.” Robin playfully slapped her on the arm. “He only plays up to me whenever you’re around. He’s trying to make you jealous. I thought that you could see straight through that.”

Bobbi blinked in surprise. The thought obviously had never occurred to her.

“Besides,” Robin added, “my mom says if someone doesn’t like you the way you are, then it’s their loss.”

A slow smile hugged Bobbi’s lips. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” She swung an arm around Robin’s shoulders as her smile grew wider. “What do you say we go join them in that ball game?”

“To play or to watch?”

“To kick some butt.”

Robin laughed. “Now, that’s the Bobbi I know and love.”

Julia’s plans of a picnic with Carson and the girls were canceled due to Carson’s needing to run to Lagrange for more auto parts, but with a promise to cash the rain check in the near future.

Meanwhile, she received an unexpected visit from Stacy, whom she hadn’t seen since her visit to the pool hall.

“House shopping?” Julia asked, startled by her new friend’s suggestion. “I can’t go house shopping.”

Stacy waved off her protest as if it were a nuisance. “Of course you can. And I’m just the real-estate agent to show you around.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Julia insisted. “I’m in no position to buy anything as extravagant as a house right now.”

Again Stacy waved her off. “Please. I know Carson isn’t charging you a dime for your car, or he’s set you on his infamous trust payments, which equates to the same thing. Besides, there’s no harm in just looking, is there?”

Before Julia could respond, Stacy went on, “Besides, if the rumors are true, it sounds like you may become a permanent resident here in our small town.”

Stacy successfully gained Julia’s full attention. “What rumors?”

“Come on. Don’t play little Miss Innocent. Everyone’s talking about how you sent Sheri Higginbotham packing with her skirt tucked between her legs. She’d all but announced to anyone who’d listen that she was going to be the next Mrs. Carson Webber—that was until you showed up.”

Julia didn’t like the fact that so much attention had been focused on her, but she continued listening.

“Frankly,” Stacy went on, “I say good riddance. Never thought that she was Carson’s type—a little too high-maintenance, if you know what I mean.”

“Amen.”

Julia jumped and was surprised to see that Lilly had entered the room.

“Don’t mind me, but I had to put my two cents in on some of that. Besides, everyone has seen with their own eyes that he’s more than a little sweet on you. Not to mention that he just adores your daughter.”

Julia had a strong urge to inform Lilly that she and Stacy were engaged in an
A
and
B
conversation and for her to kindly
C
her way out of it. But she didn’t dare risk being rude to someone who’d been so kind to her. “From what I can tell, Ms. Higginbotham is the one who has designs on Carson,” Julia tossed out at them.

Both women waved off her comment.

“Sheri needs to give up the ghost, is what she needs to do.” Lilly laughed.

Stacy held up her hand and Lilly quickly rewarded her with a high five. “So what do you say, girl?” Stacy said, returning her attention to Julia.

Julia shook her head. What her new friend was suggesting was preposterous.

“Okay.” Stacy wrapped her arm around Julia. “So you’re not in the market for a new home. So let’s just go and look. What harm can that do?”

Julia glanced back over to Lilly and knew that she should refuse again, but there was something about the twinkle in her eyes that made her reconsider.

“I guess there’s no harm in looking.”

Stacy’s face exploded into a smile. “That’s my girl. Let’s go.”

B
y the time Carson returned to Moreland, Julia had the perfect evening planned. Of course, she did have a little help from Lilly and Stacy. Not to mention, Robin also seemed more than willing to get rid of her.

She glanced at her watch. It was almost eight o’clock, and Carson should arrive at any moment. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. For some reason, she wanted everything to be perfect—no, that wasn’t quite right. She knew exactly why she wanted everything to be perfect—she’d come to care a great deal for Carson.

Her glance fell to her surroundings and she felt a flutter of anticipation. Would he be pleased? Would he laugh? Or was she being foolish?

A car’s engine drew near to the house just as a pair of headlights illuminated the room for a brief moment, then disappeared as quickly.

Julia ran a hand through her short hair, again wishing she
had at least a compact mirror to check her appearance again. Her heart accelerated and she literally felt as giddy as a schoolgirl.

She heard his footsteps on the porch, and when he knocked, she was already standing by the door. Not wanting to appear too eager, she forced herself to wait for him to knock again before answering.

But he didn’t readily knock again, and the lengthy pause proved to be agonizing. Had he walked away? Did he think he had the wrong address?

Afraid that he’d leave, Julia wrenched open the door and was surprised to see Carson’s muscular physique towering in the door frame.

The sight of him was magnificent. She’d never seen him dressed in anything other than a pair of jeans or overalls. So the breathtaking man who stood before her now with an easy smile stole everything from her—her breath, her mind, and her heart.

He held up a bottle of champagne. “I got your message,” he said with a wink.

Julia relaxed just as she always did whenever he was around. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Are you kidding? My sister practically washed and ironed my clothes. If I’d stayed any longer, she would have offered to bathe and shave me, too.”

Julia laughed.

“Oh, you find that funny?”

She shook her head. “No. She ironed my clothes as well.”

Carson’s laughter deepened, and Julia noticed that the glimmer in his eyes brightened. She marveled at the man’s transformation. Though he was always handsome, there were simply no words that could describe the man who stood before her now.

“So,” he said, leaning closer, as if he had a secret to share,
“are you going to invite me in or are you going to leave me standing out here all night?”

“Oh,” she said, embarrassed that she’d forgotten her manners. “I’m sorry. Please come in.” She stepped back and opened the door.

She heard Carson draw in a sharp breath when he saw the candlelit table directly behind her.

“Wow” was his response before he stepped across the threshold.

“Does that mean you like it?” she asked.

“Like it?” he repeated incredulously. “I love it.”

Her body warmed instantly. “I’m glad,” she said, and meant it.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He moved his left arm from around his back to reveal a bundle of daisies. “These are for you.”

“Thanks, they’re lovely,” she gushed, accepting his gift.

“You’re welcome.”

Their eyes locked, and for Julia it was if she were truly seeing Carson for the first time. Her mind ruined the moment by questioning whether she could trust what she was feeling now.

Her heart sang that she could, swearing that it would never lead her astray. Julia sobered from her intoxicating emotions. Hadn’t her heart promised that before?

“What’s wrong?” Carson’s smile dipped slightly as he looked at her.

Julia gave her troubling thoughts a firm shake and forced her old reliable plastic smile. “Nothing. I’m fine. I sure hope you’re hungry.”

Carson eyed her a moment longer before replying. “Don’t tell me that Lilly actually cooked us dinner, too.”

“Nope. I’m afraid tonight you’re going to have to suffer through my cooking.”

He lifted his brows with a mild look of astonishment. “I can tell this night is going to be loaded with surprises.”

Her smile turned genuine. “You think so?”

“A man can hope, can’t he?”

She laughed and led him to the table.

As they walked, Carson kept glancing around the house. It was empty, except for the beautifully decorative table in what should be the dining room. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

“Thanks, or should I say that you should thank your good friend Stacy. She’s bound and determined to get me to purchase this place. She even told me that the owners are willing to do a lease-to-purchase option on it.”

“I guess she would know, since the house has been in her family for generations,” Carson informed her.

Julia stopped and dropped her hands onto her hips. “What? You mean to tell me that she actually owns the home?”

Carson frowned. “She didn’t tell you?”

Julia only laughed. “No. But now that I think about it, maybe I should have been a little suspicious of her insistence.”

Carson shrugged and shook his head. “Stacy is always that way. But this is a great house. Her grandparents willed it to her in the early nineties, but she and Quincy were married and already owned a home. So this place has been empty for almost a decade.”

“Well, it’s a lovely home. I like it,” Julia announced, taking another glance at her surroundings. “It has character.”

“Does this mean that you’re considering staying in Moreland?”

Julia thought about the question, thought about her behavior since she’d seen the house, and knew that was exactly what she wanted to do. However, she chose to answer his question another way. “To be honest with you, Carson, in a strange way it almost seems as if this place has chosen me.”

She saw the small smile Carson tried to hide.

“Okay. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear, that’s how it feels.” She walked away from him and moved over to the open window. “This place is worlds away from the life I’ve known, but somehow it still feels like home—feels like I belong here.”

Carson moved to stand behind her. “Moreland is like that for many people, including me.”

Julia smiled and detected a hint of rain on the night air. She’d also caught a glimpse of her and Carson’s reflection in the window and thought that perhaps in another time or place, one could have mistaken them for a couple.

“We don’t look so bad together,” Carson commented, as if he had read her thoughts.

She moved away from the window and avoided replying to his observation. “Thanks again for the daisies. I wish I had a vase I could put them in.” She moved over to the table. “I guess we’d better start eating before our dinner gets cold.”

He laughed and drew her attention once again.

“Am I making you nervous?”

Julia forced herself to laugh, but her voice quavered and cracked. When she realized that she was making a fool of herself, she stopped and met his level gaze. “I guess I am a little nervous.”

His smile broadened as he walked slowly over to her.

She wondered idly why she’d never noticed his smooth and confident gait before. While her gaze flickered over him, she was aware that his eyes never left her face as he moved to stand in front of her.

Her head fell back as she peered up at him. Her body came alive beneath his smoldering eyes, and Julia realized that there was no other place on earth she would rather be at this moment than standing here before him.

“I like the fact that I make you nervous.” The backs of his
fingers caressed her face as he stared down at her. “Because you do the same thing to me.”

Julia heard the familiar sound of warning bells that she always heard whenever she was around Carson, and again she ignored them. “Maybe we’re making a mistake.” She gave voice to her doubts.

“Maybe. Maybe not. There’s really only one way to find out. I’m willing to take that chance.”

His statement left a question hanging in the air between them, and Julia struggled to answer it. Carson waited patiently until she did.

Her gaze fell and she took a breath to begin her confession. “I’ve made quite a lot of mistakes in my life. I don’t know if I can handle another one.”

Carson pulled her chin up with the tips of his fingers in order to force their gazes to meet again. “The last thing I want to do is force you to do something you don’t want to. Another thing I don’t want to do is cause you any unnecessary pain.”

She swallowed hard at his words and hated that she couldn’t prevent her tears from forming.

“I realize that I still don’t know your situation, and I realize that I’m not the only one who runs the high risk of having my heart broken, but I know I have to take this chance. I have to know whether we were meant to be together. I have to know whether we were meant to love each other.”

Julia remained floored by his beautiful words as she stared up at him. She contemplated how much she should divulge about herself, while inwardly she questioned the timing of the relationship and wondered if she was attracted to Carson only because she desperately wanted to lose herself in the security he offered.

But her heart told her that she was wrong about that. It also tried to convince her that she would have been attracted to him
if she’d met him on the streets of Atlanta or in the halls of a medical convention.

His magnetism was just that strong.

“Maybe the only thing I can tell you right now is that I’m willing to just take everything one day at a time.”

Carson’s smile warmed. “Actually, that is the best thing you can tell me.”

His lips descended and stopped within inches of hers.

She gazed longingly into his intense eyes, convinced that he could read the desire in hers.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment since the night I met you,” he whispered.

His confession was true for her as well, but she held back from saying as much.

Finally their lips touched in a light, feathery kiss.

A tickle of desire fluttered somewhere around her heart and deepened her longing. She’d never known a man’s lips to be so soft or their taste to be so intoxicating. She’d lost whatever resolve she had in reserve and gave in to him.

Carson withdrew from their kiss and studied her in the dim candlelight. She wanted him to get his fill of her, more so than she’d ever admit.

“I’d better take those,” she heard him say before he removed the bundle of daisies from her hands.

She pulled her heavy-lidded eyes open and flushed with embarrassment. She had completely forgotten that she still carried them.

“I’ll go lay them in the kitchen,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

Julia could only nod and watch him fade from view. Once he’d gone, she allowed herself to exhale and try to get a grip on her fledgling emotions. As she did so, she cast another futile glance at the prepared table and for the first time saw it for what it really was—a seduction.

How could she have missed it? Did she truly think that she was just arranging a simple dinner? She remembered how she had fussed over the slightest detail and how madly she had wanted to impress him, and still her true intentions had escaped her.

Now that she knew the truth, she was both horrified and eager to finish what she started. What was wrong with wanting Carson? Men didn’t get better than him, and he’d made it clear with words and actions that he wanted her as well.

So what if she’d kept her past from him? What purpose would it serve to tell him? There wasn’t anything he could do that could help her. No one could.

But try as she might, she couldn’t stifle her inner voice that wanted to confide in him. It was the same part of her that wanted to remain in Moreland, and the part that had fallen in love with Carson.

Carson laid the bundle of daisies down, then braced his large frame against the countertop. He continued to be amazed at how much power Julia wielded over him. It didn’t make sense, he knew.

No, that wasn’t true, his heart corrected him. His soul knew her. It seemed as if it had always known her—had been waiting for her.

He shook his head at the wild notion. He needed to stop being so dramatic. She was the first woman he’d been interested in since Karen’s death. Did it mean that she was
the
woman? There was only one way to find out.

He nodded, satisfied with his conclusion, and attempted once again to pull himself together. But as he prepared himself to go back into the dining room, he realized that he was still nervous—but about what?

Then the truth slowly dawned on him. He was nervous
about what tonight would lead to—about what would come with the morning sun.

For years he’d been convinced that love wouldn’t strike twice, and this was the first time that theory was being put to the test. He closed his eyes and tried to envision Karen, but couldn’t.

“Are you all right in there?” Julia called out to him.

Carson jerked his head in the direction of her voice. “Yes, yes. I’m fine.” He took another deep breath, knowing he couldn’t continue to hide any longer.

He forced one foot in front of the other and returned to the dining room.

Julia’s stunning beauty greeted him. “I was beginning to think you’d escaped through the kitchen window.” She laughed.

He playfully slapped his hand against his forehead. “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Does the thought of my cooking scare you that much?”

Carson went to the table and pulled out a chair for her. “On the contrary. I’m anxious to taste some of your culinary skills.”

Julia instantly held up her hands. “Let me warn you. I’m nowhere near the stratosphere of your mom or sister. But I can tell you that you’ll be able to get through the night without a trip to the emergency room.”

“I guess a man can’t ask for much more than that, now, can he?”

Julia laughed and removed the silver covers from over their serving trays.

Carson inhaled the food’s mouthwatering aromas. His expression took on a dreamy quality. “We’re off to a good start,” he announced.

“I sure hope you like meat loaf.”