GINA WILKINS - The Soldier's Legacy

“I wanted to thank you again for your hospitality,” she said quietly. “I have a feeling your mother pressured you into this, but it was still very kind of you. And I want to assure you that I was as surprised by the offer as you probably were. It never would have occurred to me to ask you to open your home to us this way.”

He started to speak, and she sensed he was going to respond with the practiced, professional-host courtesy he’d displayed before. But then he dropped the act, giving her a glimpse of the man behind the admittedly attractive polish. “Knowing my mother, I have no doubt whose idea this was. And, yeah, Mom did let me know after she’d set it up that you and your family would be staying with me for a couple of weeks. But don’t take that to mean I regret having you here. I’d have made the same offer had I heard about your situation on my own. If the resort weren’t full to capacity this week, I’d have arranged a suite for you there to give the kids more options for entertainment.”

“More options?” Jade glanced toward the rec room where her children were happily entertained at that moment. “I think they have more than enough here to occupy them, thank you.”

“My mom told me you’re moving to Shorty’s Landing to start a new job,” Trevor said.

She nodded. “I’ll be working for my cousin. She’s opening a family practice clinic with a partner, and I’ll be her nurse. The clinic opens a week from Monday.”

Obviously, none of this was news to Trevor, who’d probably heard all the details from his mother. “I look forward to meeting your cousin, Dr....?”

“Amy Ford. You might have met her at my dad’s funeral last year. She’s an excellent doctor. Very compassionate and thorough. Dr. Lincoln Brindle is her partner, and he’s wonderful, too.”

“I’m sure they’ll be an asset to the community,” Trevor said, slipping smoothly back into his rather formal manner.

“They will be.”

He would know all about being a community asset, of course. Even as a newcomer to the town where Trevor had made his home for the past eight or nine years, Jade had already heard his praises from the few locals she’d encountered. He was considered one of the most prestigious community leaders. The daughter of a successful attorney and a human resources manager, Jade came from a comfortable background, herself, but the Farrells were wealthy. Very wealthy. And everyone in their hometown—nearly everyone in this state, for that matter—knew that Trevor had done quite well for himself with the rapidly expanding Wind Shadow Resort chain he’d started a few years earlier.

“Anyway, thank you again for your generosity. We’ll try not to be any trouble for you while we’re here.”

“And again, it’s no trouble. You saw how happy Mary Pat is to have you and the kids here. She’s going to have so much fun with them.”

Jade didn’t know what else to say. She nodded and forced a smile. “I’ll let you get ready for your evening now. Enjoy your dinner.”

“I have a feeling Mary Pat will enjoy hers more,” he said with a flash of those pearly whites. “Good night, Jade.”

“Good night, Trevor.”

Seeing the slight limp when he put his weight on his right leg as he descended the stairs, she recalled that he’d been in a serious motorcycle accident just over a year ago. Her mother had called to tell her about it the night it happened, when Trevor’s family had worried he might not even survive his injuries. She’d been told he’d undergone at least two surgeries since to repair injuries to that leg.

She shuddered at the thought. Motorcycles terrified her. Her late husband had loved them, and had barely escaped serious injury more than once with his escapades on them. She hated to think there would come a day when her son would express interest in one of the machines.

She only hoped Trevor had gotten rid of his, if it was still drivable, for his own mother’s sake. Had this particular daredevil learned caution from his misadventure—or was he still hooked on defying danger? None of her business, of course, but she knew his parents hoped for the former.

* * *

TREVOR WAS ACCUSTOMED to returning to a dark, quiet house at the end of a long workday, usually well after his housekeeper had retired to her cottage for the evening. Sometimes he slept in the small suite connected to his office at the resort, but most nights he came home so he’d at least feel like he’d left work for a few hours, even though he often spent a couple hours more catching up on paperwork in his home office.

It wasn’t as if he had to rush home, he replied whenever he was chided for his long workdays. Mary Pat liked to watch TV in her cottage in the evenings, and he didn’t even have a pet waiting for him. So who really cared whether he came home at seven or midnight?

Tonight four extra people were staying in his house, not that he expected to see any of them at this hour. It was after ten. He’d noted when he’d turned into the driveway that the upstairs lights were out. The kids were probably asleep, and Jade was likely tired after a busy day of getting settled in.

Jade. He pictured his houseguest as he walked up the stairs from the lower-level garage into the kitchen and hung his keys on a hook. Blond hair, amber eyes, high cheekbones and a stubborn chin. He knew Jade was only thirty-two—young to have a twelve-year-old son, even younger to be widowed for five years. But then, he’d been widowed for almost ten years, himself. He’d been just twenty-eight when Lindsey was killed in a car accident.

As hard as the loss had been for him, he couldn’t even imagine how difficult it must have been for a mother of three young children.

Her kids were cute. He liked children—from a safe distance. His Wind Shadow Resort here in South Carolina was a family-friendly destination with mini golf, arcades, a water park and a kids’ day program, and he always interacted well with the younger guests. He expected to get along just fine with Jade’s trio, though he probably wouldn’t see much of them during the next two weeks.

Despite his mother’s frequent and unsubtle hints, he wasn’t in any hurry for his own offspring. They required entirely too much emotional investment. Too much time, too much energy, too much anxiety—particularly for someone who’d already experienced loss and didn’t want to live in constant worry about other vulnerable innocents. Did that make him a coward? Okay, maybe. But a contented one, nonetheless, he assured himself.

He was walking through the den toward his suite when a movement outside the big glass sliders caught his attention. Only the minimum of security lights were turned on, rather than the full range of lighting available for nighttime entertaining. With a frown, he stepped closer to make sure no one was out there in the gloom who shouldn’t be.

Seeing a dark form seated near the edge of the pool, he reached quickly for the slider handle. Had one of the kids sneaked out this late? He didn’t even want to think about a child falling into his pool in the middle of the night. The pool was fenced off from outsiders but accessible from the patio, a situation he hadn’t needed to reconsider until tonight.

That was exactly the kind of dread he’d just told himself he didn’t want in his life.

He was relieved when he walked down the steps from the deck and saw Jade seated cross-legged on the tile. She’d turned her head when he opened the door. He felt all his senses leap to attention in response to the impact of her dark eyes and soft mouth glistening in the low light. He pushed those responses down, reminding himself that she was a guest in his home.

He motioned toward the glittering pool. “Thinking about taking a dip?”