“Congratulations,” Adam said softly. “You’re in love.”
“Damn it.” Jackson looked at his brother. “I didn’t plan on loving her, you know.”
“Hell, none of us plans it,” Adam said, giving him an understanding smile. “But you should know…she didn’t leave just because of you.”
“What else happened?” Jackson took a breath and held it. What else could possibly have gone wrong in a few short days?
“The day after you took the flight to Paris, Marian went to see her at your place.”
“Ah, God. What did she do? What did she say?” Jackson jumped to his feet.
“I got all of this from Gina,” Adam said on a sigh. “And let me warn you, none of the King women are big fans of yours right now.”
“Great.”
“Seems Marian tried to buy Casey off. Apparently she offered her a nice little nest egg if she’d leave and agree not to marry you.”
“I should have been there. Shouldn’t have left. I wanted her to think. To miss me. Backfired big time. I’m the one who missed her.” Jackson let out a sigh. “I already know she wouldn’t take the money.”
Adam scowled at him. “Damn right. According to Gina, Casey told Marian what she could do with her money, said that you and Marian deserved each other and that she wouldn’t be a problem anymore.”
“We deserve each other? What the hell…why would she—how could—” Jackson had never been more furious. Or more frustrated. Things were happening. Beyond his control. Beyond his ability to fix them. Arrange them into the right kind of order. What the hell was going on with his world?
“You should have called me.”
“Casey didn’t want us to.”
“You’remy brother.”
“And I have to live withmy wife, who’s completely on Casey’s side in all this, so no thanks.”
Jackson though, hardly heard his older brother. His mind was too busy, racing down several different paths, trying to find the one that would lead him to Casey. Trying to figure out how he could dig himself out of the mess he was now in. She’d taken off, but where would she go? She said she loved the beach, right? So he’d start there. A lot of beach in this country though. This could take awhile.
“I’ve got to find her. Explain. Talk to her. Maybe the airport in Sacramento. She probably wouldn’t want to stay around here and her old house is gone. She’s not with Dani, so she’s probably headed off somewhere new. Somewhere she thinks I won’t be able to find her. Somewhere on the beach.”
“That narrows it down.”
“Gotta start somewhere.”
“Not going to be easy.”
Jackson looked at his older brother and smiled grimly.
“Nothing about Casey is easy. And you know what? Easy’s overrated. I’ll find her. You can count on it. And when I do, I’m dragging her back home with me. Where she belongs.”
He was halfway across the foyer when Adam’s voice stopped him. “Jackson.”
“I’ll call you from the road, Adam. I’m wasting time here.”
“Jackson, stop.”
He did. And when he looked over his shoulder at his brother, Jackson felt the first faint fluttering of hope inside. “You know where she is.”
Adam sighed. “If you screw this up, Gina’s gonna kill me for telling you.”
“I’llkill you if you don’t.”
“I guess we men have got to stick together sometimes,” Adam said with a half smile. Then he jerked his thumb at the stairs. “Gina gave Casey your old room on the second floor.”
Jackson didn’t even pause long enough to thank him. He hit the stairs at a dead run, moving through the darkness on memory alone. He’d grown up in this ranch house. He could find his way blindfolded. And now, knowing that Casey was waiting for him, he knew that nothing could have kept him away.
Outside his old room, he paused, taking a ragged breath and letting it slide from his lungs in an effort to calm himself. But he was as calm as he was going to get, so he turned the knob and slowly opened the door.
Moonlight shone through the windows in slants of silvery light that illuminated the woman asleep on the bed. Her short, blond hair was tousled, the deep red duvet was pushed down to her waist and he smiled when he noticed she was wearing one of his T-shirts to sleep in.
Maybe there was still hope. Maybe she still loved him. Maybe he could bring himself back from the edge he’d blindly walked out on.
Crossing the room with quiet steps, he listened to the sound of her breathing and felt his own smooth out and begin to move in time with hers. She was here. She was safe. And he was in love for the first and last time in his life.
Casey dreamed of him and in that dream, she caught his scent and inhaled deeply. When he called her name, she turned toward him, even in sleep, reaching for him.
Then he kissed her and the dream was so real, she tasted him, savoring the feel of his lips on hers. So warm, so soft, so…Her eyes flew open and she gasped. “Jackson? How did you—”
He was sitting on the edge of the bed and when he grabbed her before she could scoot back and away, he pulled her across his lap and wrapped both arms around her. She knew she shouldn’t lean into him, but she’d missed him so much, pined for him so deeply that the feel of his heartbeat racing in time with her own was too much to resist.
“You scared about ten years off my life tonight,” he whispered. “When I got home and you weren’t there…”
“I had to leave,” she said and remembering why gave her the strength to push out of his arms and scramble back onto the bed. She folded her arms over her chest and held on tight. Just looking at him melted everything inside her. Her heart ached for him. And a voice in her mind whispered, reminding her to be strong. To not settle for less than love.
“I know.” Jackson reached out, smoothed her hair, then let his fingertips trail down the side of her face with a touch so light she might have still been dreaming.
He took a breath, looked around the room and asked, “Where’s Mia?”
“Sleeping in Emma’s room.”
“Good,” he said. “Good.”
“Jackson—”
“No, let me talk first, okay?” He shifted on the bed, getting comfortable, but he didn’t reach for her again and Casey wasn’t sure what to think about that. “I thought when I left,” he said softly, “that you’d miss me so much you’d cave in and marry me. I figured I’d teach you a lesson.” He laughed a little, but there was no warmth in the sound. “Turns out, I’m the one who had to learn.”