“When did you join the army?”
“Right after high school. I needed direction, purpose. I figured at least I would have a place to sleep and three solid meals a day.”
“Not the first soldier to enlist for those reasons.”
“I also knew not every soldier was like my father. Most are good women and men wanting to serve their country. It turned out to be a good decision. I became a driver and loved it. I learned how to drive anything and everything, made it through two tours overseas and discovered important life lessons about myself and the world. That should be on a recruiting poster, right?”
He smiled, enchanted by this woman who could still crack jokes after sharing such a heartbreaking story about her past.
“How amazing that you came through it as strong and loving as you are. Both of you did. Rachel is terrific. I never would have guessed she had been through so much.”
“She is pretty amazing.” Jess was quiet. “I want her to have the perfect life she deserves. She’s struggling right now but I wish she could see that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a good mom who loves her kids. She would never in a million years think about abandoning them without a word.”
She was talking about her mother, he realized. Somehow he knew that abandonment, her mother’s decision first not to protect them then to leave her daughters to fend for themselves, hurt worse than all the years of emotional abuse handed down by her father.
Nate didn’t take the chance to tell his own mother how much he loved her often enough. He vowed right then he would do it every day until she died.
“So now you know the whole sordid story.”
“Thank you for telling me. Probably not the way you wanted to spend your thirtieth birthday, rehashing such tragic history.”
“I don’t like thinking about it, much less talking about it. But my fight with Rachel tonight kind of opened the door to all those memories. You were unfortunate enough to be here when I walked through.”
“Not unfortunate,” he said gruffly. “I’m honored you felt you could trust me enough to tell me.”
She sent him a sidelong look. “I’m still not completely sure why I did.”
He smiled. “My charming personality and overall good-guy demeanor.”
She gave a short laugh. “Yes. That must have been it. Also, I happen to adore your mother. She has become one of my favorite people. You might be benefitting—or suffering, depending on how you look at things—by association.”
“I’ll take it. And she adores you right back. So does Sophie.”
He had a hard time remembering his suspicions of Jess Clayton when she’d first come to Whitaker House. How had she become so entwined in all of their lives?
He was well on his way to falling in love with her.
The thought should have terrified him. He wasn’t interested in love again. Not now, anyway, when he was struggling to navigate through Sophie’s teenage years.
He hadn’t been looking for it but how could he help falling for Jess? She was everything he admired in a person. Tough and kind at the same time, with a deep core of sweetness he didn’t think she even recognized in herself.
Wasn’t it just his luck, to fall in love for the first time since Michelle with a woman who would be leaving in a matter of days?
He didn’t want to say goodbye.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I feel better after telling you.”
“I’m glad.”
She continued to pet the dog. “It just occurred to me that Rachel might not appreciate that you know,” she said after a few minutes. “She seems to have put everything about our past and our parents behind her here in Cape Sanctuary. I’m not sure who knows and who doesn’t.”
“I won’t say anything,” he promised.
“Thank you.”
They sat together for several more moments while that owl hooted again above the murmur of the sea. Clouds were gathering. He could see them beginning to build and the air had a wet, expectant feel to it that told him rain would be coming soon.
She finally shifted to face him. “Do you know what I really wanted for my thirtieth birthday?”
“Let me guess. A bigger Airstream?”
She smiled. “Vera is perfect as she is.”
Clouds drifted past the moon, lighting up the scene a little more and making her eyes sparkle as she studied him “No,” she whispered. “I wanted to kiss you again.”
Her words instantly stirred up all those feelings he had been trying to tamp down, the wild hunger growling to life again.
“Jess.”
He didn’t know what he intended to say but she shook her head slightly. “I know we shouldn’t. One more kiss won’t hurt, will it?”
Something told him it would. He would hate seeing her walk away in a few days.
How could any sane man resist such a soft entreaty?
He eased his mouth to hers and she seemed to sigh a welcome that shivered down his spine.
Her mouth tasted like raspberries and vanilla from her cake. Rich, luscious, addictive. He wasn’t sure exactly how but he miraculously managed to shove down the urge to kiss her fiercely, hungrily, with all the wild desire surging through him.
Instead, he instinctively knew this night, this kiss, required gentleness. He kissed her slowly, softly, exploring each delicious inch of her mouth.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing against him, and he wanted this kiss to last forever.
Tenderness for her, this brave, tough, wounded woman, curled through him.
He wanted to make love to her. To lay her down onto the sand and spend the night trying to ease her pain however he could.
He couldn’t do that, as tempting as he found the idea. For one thing, he would be an ass to take advantage of her in such a vulnerable, exposed moment. She had confided in him, something he knew she likely didn’t do often. That she had trusted him with this difficult part of her past humbled and amazed him.
How could he turn around and betray that trust by pushing her to do things she already had made it clear she didn’t want?
For another thing, it was starting to rain. He could feel small, misty drops on his head, trickling down his neck.
Ending the kiss was the last thing he wanted to do but concern for her well-being beat out his profound desire to stay exactly where they were.
He suspected the sky would unleash a downpour on them in another few minutes.
Calling on all his self-control, he lifted his head. She blinked, skin immediately dewy with rain.