Part 19 (1/2)

”I hate that this is happening to her, and I'm certainly not thrilled to discover-especially this way-that she's back with him. But I can deal with it. I can deal with anything as long as I don't have to be around him and as long as I have you.”

”You've got me, love. For better or worse, I'm all yours.”

”It's been a lot more better than worse.” They had recently celebrated ten years of a marriage that had brought them unparalleled joy.

”A lot more.” She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him. ”And this too shall pa.s.s. I promise.”

Jack held on tight to her and took her words to heart. Since his gorgeous wife was always right, he'd have faith she was right about this, too.

”But I'm not going there for Christmas.”

Laughing, she gave him one last squeeze before she stood and held out her hand to him. ”Let's go to bed.”

Across town, Clare O'Malley paced from one end of the circular bedroom she shared with her husband Aidan to the other as she waited for her daughter Kate to answer the phone. When she once again reached Kate's voice mail, she had to fight the urge to throw the very expensive phone against the wall.

”Why does she do this? Every time something goes wrong, she goes deep undercover and doesn't answer the phone, even when her mother is calling.”

”Think about it from her point of view,” Aidan said, always the voice of reason, which at times like this was rather aggravating. ”She's got to be mortified. You're probably the last person she wants to talk to.”

”I'm not going to judge her. That's not why I'm calling. I want to know if she's all right.”

Aidan stood and came over to stop her from pacing by putting his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. His green eyes were filled with love and compa.s.sion. ”She's not all right, and there's nothing more you can do tonight to help her. You've left her messages. You've told her you love her and you're thinking of her. When she's ready, she'll call you.”

”I hate that she won't talk to me.”

”She's probably not talking to anyone.”

”I bet she's talking to Jill. I should call her.”

Aidan gently eased the phone from her hand and placed it on the bedside table. ”Jill is probably in full-on crisis mode, putting out fires all over the place. Come to bed.”

”There's no way I can sleep knowing they're going through this.”

”Try.”

As much as Clare hated to be managed, she allowed him to help her into bed and curled into his embrace the way she did every night.

”I know this is very upsetting, but there's nothing you can do. She knows you love her no matter what.” As he spoke, he ran his hand over her back soothingly.

Clare tried to relax even as her mind raced. ”I can't believe this is happening. She never even told me she was going to St. Kitts or that she wanted to see him again.”

”I know you'd like to think they tell you everything, but there're some things one doesn't tell one's mother.”

”My girls aren't like that. We talk about things like this.”

”What if she'd gone to see him and he hadn't been happy to see her? What if they attempted a reconciliation that didn't work out? She was probably waiting to talk to you until after she saw him and had something to tell you.”

Clare hated to admit that he might have a good point. ”Maybe.” She took comfort from the familiar woodsy scent of sawdust that clung to her carpenter husband. ”Why him of all people?”

”Who knows? But there must be something still there if she went to see him after all this time.”

”He's so much older than her.”

”You're so much older than me,” he said, catching her fist before she could slug him.

He was about to turn fifty, but the stinker didn't look a day over forty, whereas she felt older and more decrepit by the day, despite what he said about her when he wasn't being a smart-a.s.s. The seven years between them had never been an issue, but there was a big difference between seven years and twenty-eight years.

”That's not funny,” she muttered.

”Yes, it is.”

Clare couldn't contain the smile he brought to her face just by being himself. He always knew what to say to her, how to comfort her and how to make her laugh, even when it seemed that nothing was funny. ”Thanks,” she said.

”What for?”

”Making me laugh when I don't want to. Being here to talk me off the ledge.”

”Where else would I be? You're my girl, and Kate's my girl, and if you're hurting or she's hurting, so am I. I hate that this is happening to her. I hate that she took this huge chance on going there to see a man she was in love with a long time ago and this happened to her. I hate that she's trapped by her celebrity and can't live her life in peace the way normal people do.”

Clare listened, amazed by the pa.s.sion behind his words. How had she ever gotten so lucky to be loved by such a man?

”But I also know all this c.r.a.p is part of the life she signed on for when she left home and went to Nashville, looking to make it big. While the c.r.a.p isn't fun, a lot of what she gets to do is fun, and she loves it.”

”Yes, she does. You're right about that. I just hate that I can't wave my magic mommy wand and make this go away for her.”

”And I hate that I can't wave my stepfather wand and make it go away.”

”I love you for wanting to.”

”I love you, too.” He kissed her softly and sweetly, and as she always did, Clare melted into him.

”Don't try to distract me.”

”Why not? It's working.” With his hand buried in hair that required chemical a.s.sistance to remain blonde these days, he tipped his head and kissed her again, more intently this time.

”Aidan,” she whispered against his lips.

”Hmm?”

”I'm not done ranting.”

”Yes, you are.”

His hand slipped under her T-s.h.i.+rt, and when he cupped her breast, she decided the ranting could wait. She had something better to do. Her husband was an endlessly creative lover, and tonight was no exception. He took his time driving her to distraction, which she suspected was his goal, before he finally slid into her, making her come the second he was fully seated within her.