Debbie Macomber - Heart of Texas Volume 2 - Caroline's Child

“Right.” When he opened his door, the light blinded Caroline and she was grateful when he immediately closed it, making the least noise possible.

Coming around to her side, he opened the door, helped her out and then reached for Maggie, carrying her toward the house. Caroline had expected to carry Maggie herself. She’d always done so; she was accustomed to it. Grady’s action brought to life a complexity of feelings—gratitude, relief, even a slight sense of loss.

“You get the door,” Grady said.

Caroline unlocked the door. With only a night-light to guide them, she led him to Maggie’s bedroom at the rear of the house. She folded back the covers on the bed and Grady carefully set the little girl down. Caroline removed her daughter’s shoes and put them aside.

Grady smoothed the hair from Maggie’s brow, touched his fingertips to his lips and pressed his hand to the little girl’s brow. The gesture was so loving, so fatherly, that Caroline had to turn away.

Grady followed her into the darkened hallway. She continued to the front door. She didn’t want him to leave but dared not ask him to stay.

“Thank you again,” she whispered. “For everything.” The front door remained open and light spilled in from the porch.

Grady didn’t move.

Slowly she raised her eyes to his. The invitation was there, and it was simply beyond her to refuse him. He held his arms open. Less than four steps separated them, but she literally ran into his embrace. He caught her about the waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed again with an urgency that left her weak, an urgency that drained her of all thoughts save one—the unexpected wonder and joy she’d discovered in his arms.

Until that night, Caroline hadn’t realized how lonely she’d been, how long the nights could be. In Grady’s arms she felt whole and needed and beautiful.

When the kiss ended, she buried her face in his neck.

“I could hold you forever,” he whispered.

“I could let you.” She felt his smile.

“Don’t tempt me more than I already am,” he warned.

It was heaven knowing he found her attractive. He held her close while she struggled to regain her composure. Caroline was grateful for those few quiet moments before he slowly released her.

He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders. “I want to see you again.”

“Yes.” It didn’t matter when or where.

“Soon.”

She was almost giddy with the wonder of what was happening. “Please.”

He smiled and, as though he couldn’t help himself, he kissed her again.

Their kissing only seemed to get better and better. “Why did it take you so long?” she asked when she’d recovered enough to speak.

“Because I’m a pigheaded fool.”

“I am, too.” No need denying it. She was as much at fault as Grady.

“No more.”

“No more,” she echoed.

“Tomorrow,” he suggested. “I can’t wait any longer than that to see you again.”

“Okay. When? Where?”

“Can you come out to the ranch?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll come after church.”

“Wonderful,” he whispered and kissed the tip of her nose. “Perfect.”

She slipped her arms around his middle. “Oh, Grady, is this really happening or am I dreaming?”

“Nothing gets more real than the way you make me feel.”

She smiled. Never would she have believed that Grady Weston was a romantic.

“About Maggie…”

He stiffened, and she stopped him by pressing her index finger against his lips. “Don’t worry about her. Everything will work out.”

“I don’t mean to frighten her.”

“I know.”

“Did she like the flowers?”

Caroline kissed the underside of his jaw. “Very much.”

“Did you?”

“More than I can say.” She trailed kisses toward his ear and reveled in the way his body shuddered against hers when she tugged on his earlobe with her teeth.

“Caroline,” he breathed. “You’re making this impossible.”

“Do I really tempt you?”

“Yes.” His voice was low but harsh. “You don’t have a clue.”

Actually she did. “Kiss me one more time and then you can leave.”

He hesitated, then gently captured her face between his hands and angled his mouth toward hers. The kiss, while one of need, was also one of elation, of shared joy. All this time they’d wasted, all the time they’d let pride and fear and doubt stand between them.

Caroline needed him and he needed her. Savannah, a woman with real insight into people, had tried to tell her that. And Caroline knew she’d tried to convince Grady, too. She was aware of Savannah’s matchmaking efforts because her friend had told her; she was also aware that Savannah had been frustrated by one setback after another.

Caroline supposed she was as responsible for those setbacks as Grady. She’d always been attracted to him, but felt confused, unprepared. She’d been hurt terribly once and with that pain had come fear. For years she’d been afraid to love again. To trust again.

Deep within her, she recognized that Grady would never abandon her. Not Grady. He was as solid as a rock.

His final kiss was deep and long.

It took a moment for Maggie’s voice to break through the fog of her desire.

“Mommy! Mommy!”

Grady groaned and reluctantly let Caroline go.

She turned to find Maggie standing in the dim light, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What is it, sweetheart?”

Maggie ignored the question and, instead, glared at Grady. “What are you doing to my mommy?” she demanded.

4

SUNDAY MORNING WAS THE ONE DAY OF THE week Jane Dickinson—Dr. Jane Dickinson, she reminded herself—could sleep in. Yet it was barely six and she was wide awake. Tossing aside the sheet, she threw on her robe and wandered barefoot into the kitchen.

“Texas,” she muttered. Who would’ve believed when she signed up for this that she’d end up in the great state of Texas? The hill country was about as far as anyone could get from the bustling activity of Los Angeles.

Jane had tried to make a go of life in small-town America, but she was completely and utterly miserable. In three months she hadn’t managed to make a single friend. Sure, there were lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Never in her life had she missed her friends and family more, and all because of money. She’d entered into this agreement with the federal government in order to reduce her debts—three years in Promise, Texas, and her medical-school loans would be paid off.

Maybe she should just admit she’d made a mistake, pack her bags and hightail it out of this godforsaken town. But even as the thought entered her mind, Jane realized that wasn’t what she wanted. What she wanted was to find some way to connect with these people, to become part of this tight-knit community.

The residents of Promise seemed willing enough to acknowledge that she was a competent physician specializing in family practice. But they came to see her only when they absolutely had to—for prescription renewals, a bad cough or sprain that couldn’t be treated at home. Jane’s one major fault was that she wasn’t Dr. Cummings. The man had retired in his seventies after serving the community for nearly fifty years. The people of Promise knew and trusted him. She, on the other hand, was considered an outsider and, worse, some kind of Valley Girl or frivolous surfer type.

Despite her up-to-the-moment expertise, she had yet to gain the community’s confidence. Everything she’d done to prove herself to the people of Promise had been a miserable failure.

Rejection wasn’t something Jane was accustomed to dealing with. It left her feeling frustrated and helpless. In medical school, whenever she felt overwhelmed and emotionally confused, she’d gone jogging. It had always helped clear her thoughts, helped her gain perspective. But she hadn’t hit the streets even once since she’d come here. With a new sense of resolve, she began to search for her running shoes, reminding herself that she was the one who’d agreed to work in a small community. She was determined to stick it out, even if it killed her.