Lisa Kleypas - Smooth Talking Stranger

It was a piece of paper you could build a life on.

At first my mother had been incredulous that I had managed to catch a Travis, and she had tried to descend like a plague of Egypt in hopes of profiting from my new connections. But Jack handled her adroitly, using a mixture of intimidation and charm to keep her in line. I didn't see or hear from her often, and when she did get in touch, she was oddly subdued and respectful.

"I wonder what's going on with her," I told Jack in bemusement. "She hasn't said anything about my weight or my hairstyle, and I haven't had to listen to any gross stories about her sex life or grooming habits."

"I promised her a new car if she managed not to piss you off for six months," he said. "I told her if I ever saw you frowning or unhappy after you got off the phone with her, the deal was off."

"Jack Travis!" I was amused and indignant. "Are you going to start buying her big-ticket items every six months as a reward for impersonating a decent human being?"

"I doubt she'll last that long," he said.

As for Jack's side of the family, I found them colorful, affectionate, argumentative, fascinating. They were a real family, and they made a place for me, and I loved them for it. I quickly grew fond of Churchill, who was a kind and generous soul despite the fact that he didn't suffer fools gladly. We debated various subjects and annoyed each other with dueling political e-mails, and we made each other laugh, and he insisted that I sit right next to him at family dinners.

After two weeks at Garner Hospital, Joe came home to recuperate at the mansion in River Oaks, which delighted Churchill nearly as much as it aggravated his son.

Joe said he wanted privacy. He didn't like it that when anyone came to see him, they visited with his dad first. But Churchill, who hardly minded having so many attractive young women come to the house, retorted that if Joe didn't like it, he'd better get well faster. As a result Joe was a model patient, determined to recover his health as soon as possible and get away from his interfering parent.

I married Jack two months after he proposed, which shocked all of my friends and most of his, who had come to think of him as a perennial bachelor. I'd heard some speculation that his near-death experience had helped him to readjust his priorities. "My priorities were fine," Jack told everyone innocently. "It was Ella's that needed straightening out."

The night before the wedding, my sister Tara came to the dinner for out-of-town guests. She was beautifully dressed in a pink suit, her hair upswept, diamond studs sparkling at her ears. And she was unescorted. I wanted to ask her how she was, if she was being treated well, if she was happy in her arrangement with Noah. But all thoughts of Tara 's relationship with Noah Cardiff disappeared as soon as I realized she had brought Luke.

He was a gorgeous blue-eyed cherub who reached and grabbed for things, grinned, and drooled, and looked too adorable for words. I held out my arms eagerly, and Tara handed him to me. The cuddly weight of Luke on my chest, the scent and warmth of him, the round, searching eyes that tried to take everything in, all of it reminded me that I would never be quite whole without him.

During the two months we had been apart, I had tried to console myself with the thought that in time the pain of Luke's absence would fade, that I would forget and move on. But as I snuggled him close and smoothed his soft black hair, and he smiled as if he remembered me, I knew nothing had changed. Love didn't move on.

I held Luke in my lap all during the formal dinner, once getting up to walk around with him, another time taking him upstairs to change his diaper, despite my sister's protest that she could do it. "Let me," I told her, laughing as Luke grasped the strand of pearls I was wearing and attempted to cram some of them into his mouth. "I don't mind at all, and I want to spend every possible second with him."

"Be careful," Tara warned, giving me the diaper bag. "He rolls over now. He'll roll right off the bed."

"Do you?" I asked Luke, enchanted. "Can you roll? You'll have to do it so I can see, sweet baby."

He gurgled in agreement, gnawing on the pearls.

When Luke was freshly diapered, I took him toward the stairs, heading back down to dinner. I paused as I saw Jack and Tara ascending to the top of the flight, both of them absorbed in conversation. Jack glanced at me and smiled faintly, but his eyes were alert, and intent, and it seemed there was something he wanted to tell me. And Tara looked guarded.

What in the world could they have been talking about?

"Hey," I said, forcing a smile. "Were you afraid I'd lost my touch?"

"Not at all," Jack replied easily. "You've changed enough diapers, I didn't think you'd forget so soon." He came to me and brushed a warm kiss on my cheek. "Darlin', why don't you let me take Luke for a few minutes? He and I got some catching up to do."

I was reluctant to let the baby go. "Maybe a little later?"

Jack looked directly into my eyes, his face right above mine. "Talk to your sister," he murmured. "And tell her yes."

"Tell her yes about what?"

But he didn't answer. He pried the baby away from me, laid him against his shoulder, and patted his diapered bottom. Luke conformed to him bonelessly, content in Jack's secure grip.

"This won't take long," Tara told me, looking uncertain and almost bashful. "At least, I don't think it will. Is there somewhere quiet we can talk? "

I led her to a little upstairs sitting area, and we settled into soft leather-upholstered chairs. "Is it about Mom?" I asked in concern.

"Lord, no." Tara raised her eyes heavenward. "Mom's fine. She doesn't know about me and Noah, of course. All she knows is that I've got a rich boyfriend. She's telling everyone that I'm secretly dating one of the Astros."

"How are things with Noah?" I hesitated, uncertain if I should use his name.

"Wonderful," she said without hesitation. "I've never been so happy. He's real good to me, Ella."

"I'm glad."

"I have a house," Tara continued, "and jewelry, and a car… and he loves me, he says it all the time. I hope he can keep his promises to me… I believe he wants to. But even if he can't, this has been the best time of my life. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's just… I've been thinking about things lately…"

"You're going to leave him?" I asked hopefully.

A wry smile curved her lacquered lips. "No, Ella. I'm going to be spending more time with him. He's started traveling a lot… he'll be going across the country to present programs in big stadiums, and he'll also be touring in Canada and England. His wife is staying here with the kids. I'll be going as part of his entourage. And I'll be with him every night."

I was speechless for a moment. "You want to do that?"

Tara nodded. "I'd like to see some of the world, learn new things. I never had the chance to do anything like this before. And I want to be with Noah and help him any way I can."

" Tara, do you really think-"

"I'm not asking for permission," she said. "And I don't want your opinion, Ella. I'm making my own decisions, and I have the right to do that. After growing up with Mom, you know how important it is to get to decide things for yourself."

That quieted me as nothing else could have. Yes, it was her right to make her own decisions, even her own mistakes. "Are you telling me goodbye?" I asked huskily.

She smiled and shook her head. "Not yet. It'll take a few months to arrange. The reason I'm telling you now is…" Her smile faded. "God. It's not easy to say what I really feel, instead of what I think I should feel. But the truth is, I've been taking care of Luke, spending a lot of time with him, and it's still like it was in the beginning. He doesn't feel like mine. He never will. I don't want children, Ella. I don't want to be a mother… I don't want to relive our childhood."