Free Righteous Lies (Book 1: Dancing Moon Ranch Series) by Patricia Watters Page B

awkward as it was with her belly between them.
    But the kiss
was short. "Sorry. That shouldn't have happened," Jack said,
releasing her. "I'll carry you back to the lodge."
    And Grace felt
like an incubator again. One that was overheating and wanting more than Jack
was willing to give. But for the life of her she still couldn't figure out why
she was drawn to a man who was determined to direct her life even if he didn't
intend to be a part of it beyond helping her raise their son. And she realized,
as Jack held her in his arms while carrying her back to the lodge, and she
cuddled close to him, that after being a widow for almost three years, she
wanted a man in her bed again. And she wanted that man to be Jack.
    ***
    On the morning that
Jack's mother was to return, Sam was supposed to pick her up at the airport so
Jack could finish some roof work on one of the outbuildings, but Susan had
another emotional outburst, so Sam stayed at their house with her, while Jack
made the airport run. Ricky was turned over to Flo to watch, but since Flo was
busy getting the bedroom suite ready for Jack's mother, Grace offered to look
after the toddler in her bedroom.
    Other than
feeling like she was pregnant with a twenty-pound child who was the size of a
large watermelon, Grace felt good. All signs of premature labor had passed, and
when Jack took her to her weekly exam the previous day, Dorrie announced that
everything was back on track. Everything with her pregnancy was on track, that
is. Her personal life was troubling, at best.
    Four days after
that short sweet kiss she couldn't set it aside. She'd done nothing to
encourage it. But all the while Jack was talking about wanting her to live in
his house she'd felt like wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. Maybe
he'd sensed it. It came to her that she wanted a certain level of intimacy with
Jack, beyond the intimacy of having him hold her hand at the hospital. She
couldn’t imagine Marc with her then. To get around the awkwardness he would
have said something silly, which would have made it more awkward. But Jack was
a serious man. For him, it was all about what was best for her and his unborn
son. Then there were those moments when he got an appealing little smile, which
made her wonder if he'd always been so serious. And sad. There was definitely a
sadness about him. Like a clown after the circus was over and there was nothing
more to laugh about. She wanted to give Jack something to laugh about but
didn't know how, because she didn't know why he was sad, and she couldn't ask.
    ...there's a lot you don't know, things that
happened...
    Ricky stirred
beside her in bed. She'd been letting him flip the pages of a picture book when
he fell asleep. "Hi, sleepyhead," she said, when he opened his big
black eyes and looked up at her. He smiled. And Grace felt her heart melt. That
same smile Jack got at odd times. "Shall we go find Mei Ling and see how
she is?" she asked.
    Ricky sat up
and rubbed his eyes. "Mei Ling have kitties?"
    "Not yet,
sweetie. But she'll be having them soon. They'll be very tiny, and we won't be
able to play with them for a little while, but they'll be fun to watch."
    Ricky put his hand
on Grace's belly. "Baby brudder here?" he asked.
    "No, baby
brother's in your mommy's tummy," Grace replied, suppressing the urge to
tell Ricky that the baby in his mother's tummy might ultimately be his cousin
instead of his brother. Susan planted the seed, and now, all Grace could think
of was adopting Marc's baby. It was possible. Susan showed every sign of
preparing to give him up at birth. And Grace was prepared to take him, although
she wasn't sure how she'd handle two newborns. She could ask her mother to come
for a couple of weeks, but she'd hear no end to what a mistake she'd made, and
now she was having the baby of a cowboy, and if she'd gone to college like
they'd wanted instead of getting pregnant by a dead man, none of this would
have happened...
    Ricky slid off
the bed