Long-Lost Mom

Chapter 11

Jenna drove mindlessly up the coast, her fingers stiff on the wheel, the night air lifting her short hair away from her hot face.

Misery and despair were her only company. That, and the taste of failure.

She hit the steering wheel with her fist. Once again she had chosen to destroy her life rather than deal with it. Hindsight was twenty-twenty of course, but even she knew what she should have done. She should have announced herself as Jenna that very first day.

Stone might have been shocked.

He might have been angry.

He might have been really really glad.

He might have been any of a thousand things, only she would never know. Not now.

The highway turned narrow and curvy. To one side was a thousand-foot drop to the Pacific, which churned and pounded. The moon disappeared behind the clouds. It was a dangerous time to be driving with such reckless thoughts, especially along a stretch of highway so similar to the one where she’d had her accident. No one knew that better than she did, but at the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

She tried to remember how free and exhilarating the past ten years had been-without close friends, completely without ties.

She’d traveled, worked when she’d needed to, then took off again at will. She’d loved that free life…well, at least appreciated it.

Now she couldn’t imagine going back to it, not when her heart was firmly ensconced in San Paso Bay. But she couldn’t stay, and as misery continued to drag her into a pit of despair, she barely hung on to the next turn.

Her wheels spun far too close to the edge of the road, and she skidded a bit. Her tires screamed in protest, the sound jarring and grotesque in the night.

Shaken, Jenna pulled to the side of the road and slammed on her brakes. What was she doing?

She sat very still and listened to the night noises. The wind. The crickets. The hoot of an owl.

Normal. Everything was normal-except her life, which she’d effectively ruined for the second time.

Harsh, she knew, but true. Unfairly she’d decided that Stone couldn’t handle the truth, that she had to make him trust her. She’d been wrong-horribly irrevocably wrong. Now she had to pay the price.

Sighing, she rested her head on the steering wheel and let the tears of self-pity come.

She’d acted wrong, nothing new. But as she wept, she remembered something she’d learned about herself in those long months in the hospital.

Nothing in life was certain or permanent.

She thought of Kristen and their blooming relationship. Just a month ago Jenna never would have believed it possible. But her sister had been more than willing to meet her halfway, and Jenna knew this was due in large part to her own new ability to be honest. To admit her faults.

Why hadn’t she trusted Stone with those things, as well?

God, the look on his face as she’d left. Hollow. Bleak. Furious, yes, but hurt, too. And you could only hurt someone like that if…if that person cared. And if he cared, it couldn’t be too late. It couldn’t be over.

She’d fixed up parts of her life; she could certainly do her best to fix this, too. Couldn’t she?

Determination filled her, and rejuvenated her, as well. All she had to do-indeed all that was left to do-was be honest. She could do that.

She had nothing else to lose.

With a faint watery smile, she started her car and drove very carefully home.

Sara came home the following evening. Throwing herself into Stone’s waiting arms, she hugged him close.

He held her tight and tried to surface from a fog of swirling emotions. A fog caused by Jenna.

“They’re nice, Daddy,” Sara said of her grandparents. “Even nicer than I thought.”

Stone looked over her head to his parents, who stood on the porch staring at him with a light in their eyes he understood well. Exaltation and exhaustion, both caused by his whirlwind daughter. “I’m glad you had a good time,” he said, his voice low and husky after a long quiet day. He’d done little but kick himself for falling for Cindy-Jenna. This pit of rage and fear and pain she’d thrown him in was horrible.

“Grandpa took me fishing this morning in the creek!” Sara’s face wrinkled in disgust. “And we caught one, but its eyes and mouth were doing this-” She stopped talking as her mouth gaped open and then shut, her eyes wide with mock terror, in a perfect parody of a fish on a hook.

His parents laughed. Laughed. Something tugged at Stone, something unwelcome that felt suspiciously like acceptance, almost as if his heart had warmed toward them.

No, that couldn’t be. Jenna had just destroyed that particular organ-again. His temper surged, as it had all day long. He’d had no idea he could be so angry!

But watching Sara giggle and gush over the things she’d done with her grandparents did warm his chilled soul. There was no use denying it.

“She’s wonderful, Stone.” Lara’s smile was bittersweet. “And we’ve been such fools. I hope someday you come to believe me when I say how-”

“Don’t apologize again,” Stone ordered, perhaps too roughly. “I know how you feel.”

“Do you? I doubt it. I doubt you’ll ever understand how much I regret some of my choices, how much I have denied myself.” She lifted her chin regally, but spoke with undisguised hope. “But I won’t regret the present, Stone. Not unless you’re against this.”

Stone turned from her to Sara. “Go unpack, honey,” he told the girl.

She started to go, then stopped and faced her grandparents. “Thanks,” she said softly. “I love you.”

Then she was gone.

His mother dabbed daintily at her eyes, which Stone ignored. “What would I be against?”

“We want to see more of her.” His father spoke with a quiet determination, yet with something else, too, something Stone thought never to hear again from him-respect.

But he didn’t need it, not anymore, not from him.

“We know you’re alone. We’re hoping it’s not too late to help you with Sara.” His mother touched his arm for the first time in years, beseeching him with solemn eyes.

“What about Sara’s mother?”

“Her mother?” Lara asked, her tone casual, her eyes anything but. She dropped her arm from his. “Jenna’s been gone for years.”

“What if she’s not gone?”

“I…Oh.” Lara studied her son carefully, as if she could read his oblique thoughts. “You know where she is. You’ve been in contact.”

“Does it matter?”

His father sighed and nudged his mother, giving her a pointed look and a slight shake of his head.

Lara’s lips were pinched with strain. “I already admitted I was a fool, Stone. That includes how I treated her.”

“And she would be welcome, as welcome as Sara or me?” He had no idea why he pushed, for he couldn’t care less about Jenna.

Annoyed at lying to himself, he sighed and rubbed his temples. He cared all right; he just had no idea why he cared.

“I wish you’d tell us what’s going on,” Lara said quietly.

“I’ve been on my own for some time now,” Stone said as kindly as he was able to, while lingering fury at Jenna still raged through him. “And quite honestly much of what I’ve done is none of your business. It’s my life. And Sara’s.”

“And we haven’t earned the right to be included.”

At her anguished expression, he softened his voice, but didn’t give in. “Not about this.”

His parents’ bitter disappointment was clear.

“I understand,” Lara said, her voice a mere whisper. “Good day, son.”

They thought he was turning them away, and he wasn’t cruel enough to let them think that. “Wait.” Stone sighed when they both turned back eagerly to him. “I just meant that I’d like to let Sara call the shots for now.”

“That’s fair,” his father said quietly.

“This is all new to her and very exciting,” Stone admitted. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled at the prospect of spending more time with you, but I just wanted you to know, at this time, I’m going to leave it up to her.”

“Like I said, that’s fair.” His father grasped his mother’s hand. “Thank you, son.”

“And Jenna?” Lara asked. “What about her?”

“We’ll see,” Stone said. How could he explain what he didn’t understand himself?

Long after his parents had climbed into their car and driven away, Stone stood there, staring at his empty driveway.

He couldn’t have been more thrilled for Sara about the happy reunion, even though he himself felt reserved and not quite rid of his resentment. He wanted this enough for her that he could put aside his own hurt.

He would not deny his daughter what he’d always wanted for her. Family.

But at the moment he had a far bigger issue to face-the fact that Sara was no longer motherless.

Jenna had come back.

“He’s there, Kristen.” Jenna whirled away from her office window in a mixture of panic and hope. “Oh, God. He just opened up his shop. I think I’m going to be sick.”

Kristen laughed when Jenna pressed her hands to her stomach. “Honey, relax, or you’ll have a stroke before you even go try to talk to him.”

“That might be better. He’d have to feel sorry for me then. Maybe I can just stop breathing and he’ll have to give me mouth-to-mouth. You can’t stay mad at someone whose life you just saved, can you? I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Jenna,” Kristen murmured in sympathy, rising and taking her hand. “For Sara, remember?”

How could she forget? “Yes, for Sara.” For the beautiful, wary and wonderful child she wanted to get to know with all her heart.

But first she had to get Stone to forgive her.

“You know, there is one thing to consider here.” Kristen tucked a strand of Jenna’s hair behind her ear and smiled with love. “If he didn’t care so much, he wouldn’t have been so furious.”

“You didn’t see his face, Kris.” Jenna closed her eyes against the memory of Stone’s destroyed expression, but the image was imprinted on her brain to torture her forever.

“Well, you have to admit it had to be a shock,” Kristen said. “Finding out the woman he just fell for is really the woman he’d already fallen for ten years ago.”

“Yes.” Miserable, Jenna slipped bonelessly into a chair. “And now he hates me all over again. And I’ll never get a chance to make it up to Sara.”

“Oh, I doubt it. He may want to think he hates you, but believe me-I found this out the hard way-Stone is one of the fairest men on this planet. He’s also one of the most honest. Even he will have to face the truth-he still cares about you. Too much. Otherwise this wouldn’t have been such a bombshell.”

“Well, it certainly was that.”

“He cared for you as Jenna, and he was starting to care for you as Cindy. It was a double whammy. Can’t blame him much.”

Jenna sighed. “Are you trying to make me feel better? Because I have to tell you, it isn’t working.”

Kristen’s smile was sympathetic. “You came to me and told me the truth. Was it so awful?”

“No.” Jenna swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat. “It was wonderful. You were wonderful.”

“And so are you.” Kristen smiled gently. “Go to him, Jenna. You can do this.”

“Think so?”

“You came up with a great plan. Now toughen up and go for it.”

“Just march down there, announce I’ve found him a great clerk and start working?”

“Yup. You’ll whip his office into shape and prove you’re genuine both at the same time.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one putting your heart on the line.”

Kristen studied her for a moment, and when she spoke, the amusement in her voice had been replaced with strength and affection. “It’s about time you put your heart on the line, Jenna. Whether or not you want to admit it, you’ve played it safe most of your life, even when you were running. Face it, honey, that was the safest of all, staying away from anything and anyone who might hurt you. Or care for you,” she added softly, tugging on Jenna’s hand until she met her eyes. “And I’m proud you came back, Jenna. So very proud. I know what it cost you. But you’ve come a long way, so don’t give up until you finish everything you came here to do. You owe it to yourself and you owe it to that man and your daughter.”

“I know. You’re right.” Still, fear chased hope. “But I’m not sure he’ll see it quite that way.”

“Oh, Jenna.” Kristen hugged her. “Give yourself a break. Forgive yourself. You are worth it. And you are lovable, I promise. The trick is believing it. This won’t work between the two of you unless you do.”

When Stone opened his shop Monday morning, he rolled his eyes in disgust at the haphazard stacks of paperwork waiting to be done. At the piles of sawdust everywhere. At the work lined up on his bench, all unfinished parts for the life-size puzzles he had yet to put together. Jenna’s fault. Blaming her made him feel marginally better. It would allow him to forget his pain and work. But he’d promised the producer of the upcoming auction he would have the materials ready for donation. He never went back on a promise. Never.

Before, the simple joy of the place had given him a rush, but now all he could think was that he badly needed a clerk. And something to ease the terrible restriction in his chest, the one he was afraid would never go away.

Cindy.

Jenna.

Himself, playing the fool.

“Dammit.” Shoving away the images he didn’t want to face, he strode forward, determined to put order into his day He had an important meeting with the local school board, where he would propose several new ideas for the GATE-gifted and talented education-classes, something he’d been excited about just last week.

But he’d never felt less like working.

He was so intent on what he had ahead of him, the sound of the front door to the shop opening didn’t register. Not until-

“Hi.”

At the sound of that soft, sexy, treacherous voice, Stone tensed. He turned and saw an incredibly beautiful woman. Jenna. Soft brown hair framed her pretty face, full of angles and what he’d always thought were mysteries.

He’d been right on that account.

She wore her dark sunglasses, but when he looked at her, she seemed to draw herself up. Slowly she pulled the glasses off. Blinking rapidly, she remained tense for a few seconds, as if the light hurt her eyes. Finally she relaxed.

He wondered about that, about why the light hurt her, then silently called himself an idiot for even sparing her a second thought.

No colored contacts today Nope, just naked vulnerable blue eyes. Jenna’s eyes. And they were so difficult to face it seemed that his heart actually physically hurt.

Nervousness vibrated off her in waves, not detracting in the least from that willowy body, from the long legs that just a few days before had been wrapped around his waist while she’d writhed and sobbed in ecstasy beneath him.

He swore out loud and she jumped, which made him grimace and turn away from the troubling sight of her

“You get used to it,” she said into the silence.

“What?”

“My face. You get used to it being so different from what you expect. It just…takes a while.”

“I’m not planning on getting used to it.”

“Oh.”

More silence, and he wished she’d leave before he had to make her do so.

“I’m here to start work this morning.”

That had him whipping back to face her. “What?”

She lifted a shoulder and offered a hesitant smile, a blush staining her cheeks, as if she’d read his sensual thoughts of a moment ago. “You mentioned you needed a clerk to help out.”

“Not you.”

“I can help, Stone.” She’d been squinting a bit, but then she opened her purse and pulled out her reading glasses. Putting them on, she said, “I’m good at clerical work.”

“No.”

She bit her lip, then pushed at the glasses on her nose-a vintage Jenna move that made his gut tighten uncomfortably. “We have things to talk about.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Come on,” she chided gently. “You must have a thousand things you want to say to me.”

“Nothing you want to hear, believe me.”

“Stone…”

Annoyed, he strode over to his biggest table saw and flipped it on. The rumbling roar made it satisfyingly impossible to speak.

No way could he hear her sweet voice now.

But dammit, he could still smell her, that light scent designed to drive a man out of his mind.

It was working.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she squared her shoulders and walked calmly over to him. God. She wore a long floral-print dress with a hundred tiny buttons down the front. She looked so good it made him ache.

She reached down and flipped off the saw. “Just tell me where I can start,” she said, holding her fingers over the switch so he couldn’t turn the thing back on without touching her-something he had no intention of doing. “Then,” she continued calmly, “I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Why are you here?” he demanded in a hoarse voice he didn’t recognize. “The old Jenna would have fled long ago.”

“I’m not the old Jenna.”

No, she wasn’t, not by a long shot. This Jenna, the seemingly new and improved version, lifted her chin, willingly weathered the storm, stared down anything to… What was it she’d said?

To right her wrongs.

Well, she had many wrongs, and he was ashamed to admit he’d harbored them close to his heart as if he’d had a right to do so. Most people wouldn’t have had the nerve to face his rare but formidable temper. They would have broken down under the emotional burden of guilt she clearly carried.

He didn’t care.

“I’d rather you get out of my sight now,” he said.

“I know you would. But I’m not going.” A shoulder lifted in a careless shrug, reminding him forcefully of Sara.

Jenna’s daughter. His daughter.

And suddenly his anger was too big to be politely held back. Risking the touch, after all, he pushed her hand aside from the machine and flipped the saw back on. “Get out of the way,” he yelled, grabbing a piece of wood. He had no measurements, nothing planned out, but he didn’t care. He needed the diversion.

Stubbornly she stuck close. Over the noise, she called out, “I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”

He shoved the wood through the saw and bullheadedly kept his back to her, unable to look into her red-rimmed eyes. Obviously she’d been crying.

Crying, because of his unreasonableness.

Still, he couldn’t help himself. “If you won’t leave, then at least tell me what you want.”

“A lot of things.” She watched the wood turn to sawdust under his trained hands. Despite the noise of the machine, he heard the way her voice caught suspiciously. “Some simple things, actually.” She met his gaze. “Like… pictures. I’d love to see Sara’s photo album.”

“Humph.” Another piece of wood was demolished under his reckless hands. At this rate he should be able to destroy his entire supply within an hour.

“Why don’t you tell me why you’re really back.”

Hope flared in her expression. She must have thought his interest was a good thing. He took on an air of nonchalance he didn’t feel.

“I guess I had what you would call an epiphany,” she shouted, then nodded at the saw. “Do you think you could turn it off now? Please?”

It was ridiculous, juvenile even, to have this conversation over the roar of the saw. But he didn’t care, and he sent another perfectly good piece of wood to its death. “I’m trying to work here, Jenna.”

“Stone Cameron, you’re just being stubborn.” Eyes flashing her fury, she pushed in front of him, turning so she presented the back of that perfect body of hers to his hungry gaze. Scooting between him and the saw, she bent to reach for the switch.

Her curvaceous bottom bumped into the front of his thighs.

Instinct-and raging lust-had his hands starting to lift to grasp her hips. Abruptly he forced his hands to his sides.

With a good amount of body contact, she finally flipped off the saw, then turned and glared at him. Had she noticed his physical condition? Her cheeks were on fire, and he doubted it was all anger.

Yeah. She’d noticed.

Okay, so hell. They still shared an attraction with the force and unpredictability of an active volcano. He could deal with that, though. He wasn’t just some hormone-driven adolescent.

“Can you listen now?” she asked.

“No. I’ve got a meeting downtown.” He strode to the door, needing to get out now or lose whatever self-control he still had.

“Fine. Great,” she said to his back. He could hear the wobble in her voice and closed his ears to it because his anger was the only thing getting him through. “But I’ll be here when you get back, Stone. Sooner or later we have to talk.”

The later the better, in his opinion. Maybe later he’d be able to squelch down his need to both throttle and kiss her.

And then again, maybe later she’d have taken off again, and the whole point would be moot.

Jenna stood in there, her heart just as empty as Stone’s office. He had preferred work to facing her, a rather deflating thought.

His phone rang, startling her.

So did the message. Sara had been caught “defacing public property,” whatever that meant, and now she was sitting in the principal’s office awaiting parental guidance.

Jenna panicked.

Stone was gone, and Sara needed a parent at the school as soon as possible.

A parent.

That was her.

Panic faded to fury-at herself.

As she stood there quaking in indecision, her precious daughter, yes, daughter, dammit, was sitting in the principal’s office.

Principal Rand Ridgeway.

A man who’d once terrified Jenna, a man who’d gotten away with it then, but who wouldn’t get away with it ever again if she had anything to say about it.

Without stopping to think, she scribbled a note for Stone, then grabbed her keys and ran out the door.

Thinking of nothing but protecting Sara, she drove to the school. It wasn’t until she pulled into the parking lot and took the last available space, next to the principal-oh, God, the principal-that dread filled her.

What was she doing? No one was going to release Sara to a perfect stranger. No matter that the perfect stranger was Sara’s mother. Jenna couldn’t reveal that until she and Stone had talked this out, until they’d come up with a plan for the best way to tell Sara the truth.

If he ever agreed to tell Sara the truth at all.

No time to think about that, Jenna decided, pressing her hands to her rolling stomach. Not when there were so many other things to get sick over.

Like the fact her childhood nemesis had her daughter in his clutches.

Jenna swallowed hard and forced herself to look up at the two-story school building. Forced herself to picture poor Sara sitting in the principal’s office waiting to be rescued, and afraid he’d do to Sara what he’d done to her.

She ran all the way through the parking lot to the big double doors of the school. The warm stuffy air hit her. So did the old familiar smell of pencil shavings, copy toner and teen sweat. Jenna’s legs turned to rubber.

Horrible memories hit, for school had not been a happy place. She’d been considered a troublemaker and, as a result, had spent much time in this very front office.

The bench was still there against the wall in front of the receptionist’s desk. How many afternoons had she spent sitting on it, waiting for the principal to see her?

Waiting for him to give her that slick knowing smile as he motioned her to come into his office, where he’d then deliver blistering lectures on the evils of disappointing her hardworking mother…

Where he’d set the tone and mood for her to fear him, hate him, so that when they’d been at her own house, with her mother out, she hadn’t known how to protect herself from him.

She still didn’t, she had to admit as her hands went clammy, her pulse threadlike.

“Can I help you?”

Jenna jumped and looked at the receptionist. “I’m here to see Rand Ridgeway.”

“Certainly. Your name?”

“Jen-Cindy,” she corrected quickly, hating herself. “Cindy Beatty. I’m…a close friend of Sara Cameron’s family, and I work for Stone. He’s not available at the moment.” Dragging in a deep breath and willing herself to stop rambling, she gave a tight smile. “Can I see them now, please?”

“This way.”

Jenna knew all too well which way to go. To the corner office, with the closed shutters and thick wood paneling that prevented any sound from carrying through the walls.

A drop of sweat trickled down between her breasts. Each footstep rang hollowly, but she kept moving. I’m coming, baby, she silently vowed to Sara. I’m coming for you.

“Mr. Ridgeway?” the receptionist called out, opening his door. “A Ms. Beatty to see you.”

No, Jenna wanted to cry. I want to see Sara, not him!

But the woman had ushered her into Rand’s office, shutting the door behind her.

Jenna whirled in alarm, staring at the closed door as if it were the last nail in her coffin.

Sara, she told herself as she drew a ragged breath. Remember Sara.

Turning back to face the desk, she glanced around for her daughter, but the room was empty-except for the man who defined her nightmares sitting behind the desk.

He stood immediately and, walking around to the front of his desk, held out his hand.

Jenna stared at it in horror, realizing he expected her to take it. As nausea welled up, she was forced to listen to his slick pleased voice.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Beatty. What can I do for you?”

She was still staring at his hand, felt sickened by the way his big heavy body loomed over her.

Rand’s eyes narrowed slightly when she didn’t speak or move, but he kept his polite smile in place. His eyes roamed over her speculatively, causing her to shudder. “We’ve met before,” he said suddenly, and before she could stop herself, Jenna took a step back.

“No,” she said.

“Yes,” he insisted, closing the space between them, while that grating smile of his never dimmed. “I’ve definitely seen you before. I would never forget such a beautiful face.”

Jenna bit back hysterical laughter and held up her hand as he came closer still, a part of her locked back in time to when she’d been young, naive and helpless. “I said no.”

He tipped his head and studied her. “At a game. I remember seeing you in the stands. Do you have a child here at the school?”

How he’d love that, she thought. “Where’s Sara? Sara Cameron?”

“In her classroom. Why?”

Relief made her giddy. Sara was safe. She hadn’t spent any time alone in this hateful office. Suddenly Jenna wasn’t hot but cold, and she shivered.

“Are you okay?”

Jenna heard his voice, the words registered, but strangely enough, her vision had started to fade around the edges.

She, who’d never fainted before, felt her legs start to crumble, and her greatest nightmare came true.

Hot beefy arms reached for her, and with that jolt of harsh reality, she no longer felt as if she was going to pass out. Her ears stopped ringing. Her eyesight came back.

But none of that changed the fact that Rand Ridgeway was supporting her, leering at her, those hard knowing eyes searching her face as his big sweaty hands continued to grip her.

The office door opened, bumping into them both.

“What the hell?”

Jenna didn’t have time to react to that achingly familiar voice before she shoved at Rand with all her might.

Surprised, the big man fell back, stumbling into his desk. The momentum of the shove had Jenna falling gracelessly to the floor.

Still sitting there, she braced herself, shoved her hair out of her eyes and faced a shocked-looking receptionist and an equally startled Stone.

He turned to the receptionist with a firm nod and polite smile. “Thank you. I’ve got it from here.” And without waiting for her reply, Stone shut the door on the woman’s surprised face.

He came directly toward her, his tall rangy figure quite a sight for her overworked brain. She could do nothing but stare up at him, dazed.

His face filled her vision, his icy blue eyes hot with fear and concern and rage. He hunkered down to her level. “Are you all right?”

The roughness of his voice didn’t faze her, nor did the way his entire body tensed, braced for battle. What did were the tears she felt spring to her eyes.

He was so innately sweet, even when she’d destroyed him. It amazed her that he could put aside his fierce anger at her deception, all to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“Are you?” His voice changed, lowered, became unbearably gentle. Shifting nearer, he froze when she instinctively winced at the close proximity. Careful not to touch her, which only made her hot tears fall, he lowered his voice even more. “Did he hurt you, sweetheart?” Barely suppressed violence shimmered beneath his control.

“Of course not!” Rand exclaimed indignantly, straightening. “Don’t you have eyes in your head? She shoved me!”

In one fluid motion, Stone rose to his feet, grabbed Rand by the front of his shirt and held him against his desk. “Why were your hands on her?”

“She fainted!” But while Rand shouted this in a holier-than-thou tone, Jenna noticed he did not even attempt to protect himself from the younger, clearly stronger man. “You’re going to be very sorry, Cameron, if you don’t get your hands off me. I feel a huge lawsuit rising.”

And he meant it, Jenna realized. “Stone,” she said, rising shakily to her feet and swiping awkwardly at her tears. “I’m okay.”

Stone didn’t budge, just held Rand with ease. “I don’t know how you live with yourself, Ridgeway. Fooling the whole town, hiding how sick you are.”

“Still holding a grudge, I see,” Rand rasped out.

“Stone. Please. I’m fine.” Jenna set a hand on his back. The muscles beneath her fingers were taut, yet quivering.

“He touched you. He scared you.”

“Yes,” she said quickly. “I started to faint. It was my fault, not his this time. Please,” she added, grasping his shirt in her fist and tugging. “Please, Stone, listen to me.”

Surprisingly he did. The instant he let go of Rand, the older man scrambled behind his desk, straightening his shirt as he glared at the both of them. “Get out.”

Ignoring him, Stone looked at Jenna. “You came here for Sara.”

“Yes. She-”

“I know. I came back for something and saw the note. You dropped everything, faced what had to be your greatest nightmare and came here.” He looked confused. More hurt than angry now, thank God. “For her.”

“I had to,” she said simply.

“You had to.” Stone nodded calmly, but when he let her look into his eyes again, she saw humbling affection, relief, lingering concern-and a need that stole her breath. It was such a staggering show of emotion she could hardly speak. “Please,” she whispered. “Please, let’s get out of here.”

Stone turned to Rand. “Where’s my daughter?”

“She went back to her classroom,” Rand said with a sniff. “It was a case of mistaken identity. It wasn’t her. She’s off the hook and back to work.”

Stone sent him a smile that was only such because he showed his teeth. “See that you don’t make that mistake again.”

Then he opened the door and waited patiently for Jenna to pass through first. He was still painfully careful not to touch her, which left Jenna both grateful for the chance to compose herself and regretful for a lost opportunity.

In the parking lot Jenna climbed into her car while Stone held the door open for her.

He’d insisted on escorting her, staying until he’d satisfied himself that she was not only buckled in, but capable of driving. She’d told him three times she was just fine, but her damn voice kept shaking and her hands were icy.

She’d faced Rand Ridgeway. The thought kept dancing in her head. For her daughter, she’d faced her nightmare. It felt good.

Stone leaned on the still-open door, his body preventing her from shutting it. She wished he’d hold her, but the night before he’d made it quite obvious just what he’d thought of her.

“You can go to your meeting now,” she told him. “I’m fine.” She couldn’t face his anger at what she’d done, not now.

He hunkered down and studied her. “You’re still trembling.”

She was, had been since Rand had touched her, but she couldn’t seem to stop.

“Jenna. Let me…” He reached in, and his arms-those solid warm arms-encircled her, gently easing her against him as if he was afraid of hurting her.

Emotions raced through her, the strongest a terrible fear she was dreaming. If she woke up, he’d be gone. So would Sara.

“This is the first time in a long time that I’ve held you as Jenna.”

He didn’t sound resentful or angry, and she sighed in relief, luxuriating herself in his strength. She felt his lips slide over her forehead, into her hair, then his jaw settled on top of her head. Tucked firmly into his body, she could think of nowhere else she’d rather be, and suddenly, she was holding on for dear life as she shivered in delayed shock.

He just held tighter, holding her for long moments while she struggled for composure.

When she finally pushed back, his grip on her eased immediately, but he didn’t let her go. “I’m sorry,” she said finally.

“Don’t be.”

The words rumbled from his chest, against the ear she had pressed flat against his shirt. She became excruciatingly aware of his every breath, of his arm brushing ever so lightly against her blouse, which in turn brushed against her breasts. And at her hip, she became aware of a growing heat, a pressure that told her he was every bit as aware of her as she was of him.

“Thank you,” he said. “For rushing here for Sara.”

Where was his anger? “You don’t have to thank me for that. She’s my child too.”

“So she is.”

There was his temper. It flashed briefly in his eyes. Regarding her, he again hunkered down, but he didn’t touch her this time. “Are you really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’m stubborn, not a complete idiot. I know a good part of what you’ve been running from for so long is what he did to you. I know what you faced in there, how hard it must have been.”

“Yes.” She stared down at her hands. “I can’t believe he’s still the principal.”

“No charges were ever filed, Jenna.”

There was not an ounce of reproach in his voice, but she felt weighed down just the same. “I should have done it, I know.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she dropped her head to the steering wheel. “But no one wanted to believe me.”

A soft sound of regret escaped him, and she felt the light touch of his hand in her hair, confusing her. “You were young. And betrayed in the worst possible way. You can’t beat yourself up for how you reacted.”

She didn’t answer, and cupping the nape of her neck, he gently forced her head up. “That’s exactly what you’ve been doing for ten years, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He wouldn’t let her look away. “You’ve been running, not from me or Sara, or even the memory of your mother and Rand. You’ve been running from yourself.”

The compassion and understanding in his voice was difficult to take because she thought it might be pity. How she hated having him feeling sorry for her. “No.”

“Don’t lie. You promised you wouldn’t.”

“I…” Sighing miserably, she closed her eyes. “I’m so mixed up, Stone. I just want…”

“What?”

“I want much more than this.” She spoke so quietly that Stone had to lean closer. A strand of her hair caught in the stubble on his chin, and he nearly succumbed to a desire to rub his face in her hair. His weakness for her sent irritation swimming through him. Remember her deceit, he reminded himself.

“I want you and Sara to like me,” she admitted in that same uncertain voice.

Stone let out a stream of air, releasing his annoyance. He of all people knew she had a right to feel so uncertain, so defensive, and it went a long way toward softening him.

So did the memory of the terror on her face when he’d walked into that office and seen her in Rand’s arms. He’d completely forgotten his own pain and, instead, seen red. It hadn’t occurred to him until he’d had Rand pinned against the desk that the man couldn’t possibly have recognized her. That the pale and trembling Jenna had been reacting to her past.

Yet this new Jenna was different from the old, far more sure of herself. So why had she allowed Rand Ridgeway to get to her like this?

Did she honestly think so little of herself that she still didn’t think people would believe her? Believe in her?

Stone looked at her more closely and saw the truth in her hunched position. in the defeat in her eyes. Jenna still didn’t believe in herself. She still didn’t realize that people could care for her, love her.

On top of this, she was mortified at having to be “rescued,” so much so that she was sucking in all her emotions, desperate to hide her insecurity from him. And evidently she’d taken his thoughtful silence as a further rejection.

Why was he thinking like this? Where had his anger gone?

“I can’t stand knowing if you hate me…” She frowned. “Never mind. I’m sorry, please excuse me.” Pushing him away, she slammed her door shut and drove off.

Stone stood there in the parking lot, devastated by all he felt.

The realization of her insecurity tore at him. All she’d ever asked for was to know that he didn’t hate her.

He didn’t. In spite of everything, in spite of how he wanted to, he couldn’t.

So why hadn’t he told her? Was he that selfish? Yes. All he’d seen, all he’d felt, had centered around him. He hadn’t given her feelings a thought.

“Dammit,” he muttered. And he ran to his truck to follow her.