Nine Months Part 3 (36 Hours) Read online

  “You’re going to fly Daddy to Denver?”

  “I’ll fly the whole family,” he told her. “My jet is at the Summers family’s disposal.”

  Reaching across the table, she covered his hand with hers. “Do you have any idea how wonderful you are?”

  A slight flush stained Jared’s tan cheeks. Good God! He hadn’t blushed since he’d been a kid. Paige Summers, redheaded witch that she was, affected him in some of the oddest ways. His mouth curved into a lopsided grin.

  “Who, me?” he asked sheepishly.

  She squeezed his hand. “Yes, you.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “You’re generous and kind and caring… and…and I love you, Jared Montgomery.”

  Her declaration of love shouldn’t have taken him by surprise, but it did. He felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. He didn’t love her, couldn’t love her, despite how much she’d come to mean to him. But damn his selfish black heart if he wasn’t glad that she loved him.

  He no longer had any doubts as to the sincerity of her love. The only doubt that remained in his mind was whether or not he could persuade her to marry him.

  “Paige…honey…I—I—”

  “It’s all right, Jared,” she said. “I don’t expect you to confess your undying love for me. It’s just that I’ve been falling more and more in love with you these past few weeks, and somehow today seemed the right time to tell you.”

  “If you love me, then why won’t you—” He had promised that he wouldn’t ask her again. Besides, he already knew the answer to his question. Paige wouldn’t marry a man who didn’t love her, and as long as he was incapable of saying and meaning those three little words, she would never be his wife.

  “I can’t marry you, Jared, and you know why.” She stroked her thumb across his knuckles. “But I will move in here with you…until…until after Angela is born.” She loved him. She wanted to be with him. And she had less than four months to accomplish her goal—teach Jared to love her.

  In his haste to get up, he almost knocked over his carved-back oak chair. Grabbing it by the seat, he righted it quickly. “Ah, honey, that’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.” Lifting his cane from where he’d hooked the handle on the table’s edge, he approached her and held out his hand. “I promise you that you won’t be sorry you’ve given me the opportunity to really take care of you and Angela.”

  And Jared, my dearest Jared, you won’t be sorry that you’ve given me the opportunity to continue your lessons in love.

  Rising from her chair, she placed her hand in his and happily allowed him to draw her into his embrace. She laid her head on his chest and listened to the slow, steady beat of his heart while he caressed her tenderly.

  He might not call what he felt for her love, but she suspected that it was the closest thing to love he’d ever known.

  * * *

  Paige’s father was transferred to St. Joseph Hospital in Denver later that day, after Dr. Howell informed the family that he’d made arrangements with the head of cardiology to perform Walt’s angioplasty. Paige suspected that Jared’s influence had gained her father the attention of such a highly renowned physician.

  “The angioplasty is a fairly routine procedure,” Dr. Howell had told them. “Afterward, with a change of diet, more exercise and mild medication, Walt will probably feel better than he has in years.”

  Jared flew the family to Denver on his private jet and stayed at Paige’s side every moment. He accompanied her when she went in to see her father.

  “I’m counting on you to take care of my girl,” Walt said. “She’s a bit stubborn, like me. But she’s worth her weight in gold, just like her mother. You’ll know how I feel once that little granddaughter of mine is born and she wraps herself around your heart.”

  “I promise I’ll take care of Paige,” Jared assured her father. “And our baby.”

  A few minutes later in the waiting area, Paige introduced Jared to Bryant and wasn’t surprised when her twenty-year-old brother bristled and refused to shake hands. In their recent phone conversations, Paige had tried to convince Bryant that Jared wasn’t an evil, older-man seducer of young virgins. But she’d been unable to change her loving, protective brother’s opinion that L. J. Montgomery was a playboy millionaire who had taken advantage of his sister.

  But sometime between that first introduction and the family’s return flight to Grand Springs the next day, Bryant’s hostility changed, if not to friendliness, at least to cordiality.

  “I guess he’s not as bad as I thought,” Bryant admitted. “He seems to genuinely care about you.”

  “He does care,” Paige said. “He cares a great deal about me and our baby.”

  “Then why won’t you marry him? It’s plain to see that you’re in love with him.”

  “But he isn’t in love with me.”

  “If he isn’t, then he sure as hell is giving a great imitation of a man in love.” Bryant hugged Paige to his side. “He’s possessive, protective, and he looks at you like you’re the only woman on earth.”

  Paige held Bryant’s words in her heart, praying that he was right. But if Jared did love her, could he accept her as she was? Or would he, as Kevin had done, try to re-create her, try to mold her into his idea of the perfect wife?

  * * *

  Once they had Walt Summers settled in at home and he was taking an afternoon nap, Dora shooed her brood out of the house.

  “Your father needs his rest,” she said. “And that means peace and quiet. We don’t need you boys roughhousing around here all afternoon. Go somewhere and find something to do.” Dora turned to Paige. “And you, young lady, go home. If your father wakes and finds you hovering over him, he’ll be upset. His major concern is for you and the baby.”

  Jared suggested a late lunch at Randolphs, but Paige craved a hamburger and fries. Although she usually chose the healthiest foods possible, today she yearned for something greasy and fattening. Jared indulged her appetite by ordering exactly what she wanted, plus a chocolate milkshake.

  Paige swallowed the last french fry, then slurped down the remainder of her shake. Chuckling, Jared picked up a napkin, reached across the booth and wiped the chocolate stain from the side of her mouth.

  “I ate like a pig, didn’t I?” Paige patted her tummy. “But I think Angela enjoyed our sinful meal as much as I did.”

  “I’m sure she did.” Jared gathered up the leftover debris from their lunch, stacked all of it on a tray and deposited it in the garbage on their way out of the fast-food restaurant. He’d finally gotten the hang of walking with a cane but was glad he wouldn’t need it much longer.

  Within minutes of their entering the highway, Paige realized Jared wasn’t headed toward the Wellman Building, but in the opposite direction, blocks from the office.

  “Where are we going?” she asked. “I thought we were going in to the office for a few hours.”

  “Greg and Kay can hold down the fort for another day.” Stopping the Jeep at a red light, Jared glanced over at Paige. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “What sort of surprise?”

  “A big surprise.”

  She couldn’t imagine what big surprise he had in store for her. How much more could he give her? She had enough maternity clothes for two women and enough baby clothes and paraphernalia for three infants.

  Jared turned off Main Street onto a side avenue, where a variety of specialty shops occupied a row of newly renovated buildings.

  “Where are we going?” Paige looked from side to side, searching for some clue to their destination.

  “Just wait and see.” Flipping on the blinker, he turned the Jeep into a small parking lot, adjacent to an empty building. “We’re almost there.”

  “Almost where?”

  He pulled the Jeep to a stop, then opened the driver’s side door. “Wait right there, honey.”

  What was going on? she wondered. What was Jared up to now? Uncertainty and anticipation tingled simultaneously inside her,
creating giggles in her throat. When Jared opened the passenger door and helped her out, she grinned at him. He had a look on his face like that of a little boy on Christmas morning.

  “Close your eyes,” he told her as he took her by the hand.

  “You’ve got to be kidding.” The giggles she’d been holding in check suddenly erupted.

  “Humor me, Paige. Close your eyes.”

  “Oh, all right.”

  Closing her eyes, she allowed him to lead her around the Jeep, out of the parking lot and down the sidewalk. He stopped abruptly, released her hand and moved around behind her. Draping his cane across his wrist, he grasped her shoulders, then turned her to face the empty building. He knew this was going to be a surprise, he just hoped it was a surprise that made Paige happy.

  He’d never worried much about making someone else happy, but lately, doing things that pleased Paige, things that made her smile, had become very important to him. If owning a doll shop meant so much to her, he would willingly indulge her need for a hobby.

  “All right, honey, you can look now.”

  Paige opened her eyes. “Oh, my goodness!”

  The outer brick walls of the old two-story building had been painted a light gray, and all the accents, including the shutters, were a muted Colonial blue. Empty display windows flanked each side of the solid-glass front door. A large ornate sign, lettered in a matching blue, hung over the entrance. On the left side of the words reading The Dollhouse was a painting of a Victorian dollhouse, and on the right side was a painting of an antique doll.

  “Do you like it?” Jared asked anxiously. “Anything you want changed, just tell me and I’ll have it fixed by tomorrow.”

  “Is this…is this mine?” What had he done? Paige shook her head in disbelief.

  “The place is all yours. I bought the building for you early this week.” He stuck his hand into his pants pocket, brought out a doll-shaped key ring and handed it to her. “They redid the outside when the whole street was renovated, and I’ve had the inside gutted, so you can start fresh and do whatever you want with the place.”

  The key chain rattled in Paige’s quivering hand. “You don’t mean that you’re giving me this building?”

  Jared laughed, then took the keys out of her hand and unlocked the front door. “Of course I am.”

  “But, Jared, I can’t—”

  “Come on inside.” Leaning on his cane, he led her into the vast downstairs area that had been stripped bare to the outer brick walls. “I know it doesn’t look like much right now, but once you decide exactly what you want done with the place, I’ll get carpenters and plumbers and electricians in here to—”

  “Jared, I can’t accept this building as a gift.”

  Swirling around, gripping the key chain in his hand, he stared at her. “Of course you can. This is your dream, isn’t it? What you’ve always wanted. Your own doll shop.”

  “But I can’t let you buy it for me.”

  As he continued staring at her, his forehead wrinkled and his eyes narrowed. “Why the hell not? I’ve got so much money I couldn’t spend it all in ten lifetimes. Why can’t I buy the mother of my child something that she’s always wanted?”

  “Oh, Jared, what am I going to do with you?” She realized that he honestly didn’t understand, that to him this building was a little gift to make her happy and nothing more.

  “If you don’t like it, then I’ll find you another place,” he said.

  “I love it,” she admitted. “This building is so big. I can do so much with it. And it’s in a fabulous part of town.” How could she accept his generous gift and still maintain her pride and independence? “I’ll pay you for the building.”

  “You’ll what?”

  “I have nearly eight thousand dollars saved that I can give you in one lump sum, and then when The Dollhouse starts showing a profit, I can make monthly payments to you.”

  Jared rubbed his chin and grunted. He didn’t understand Paige Summers. Other women had taken his gifts without hesitation and held out their hands for more. But not this woman. Not this proud, stubborn woman with her middle-class morals.

  “Don’t be silly, honey.” He laid the key chain in the palm of her hand and folded her fingers over it. “Keep the eight thousand and put it toward renovating the interior of this place.”

  “Jared, I can’t accept this kind of gift from you. Please, try to understand.”

  He realized that was just the problem. He didn’t understand. Not really. But he didn’t want to argue the point with her. Not now. There would be time enough for that later. He was sure he could bring her around to his way of thinking. After all, when she became his wife, she would have to adjust to a whole new way of life.

  “We’ll work out all the details to your satisfaction later,” he said.

  Paige sighed with relief, then threw her arms around Jared’s neck and hugged him enthusiastically. “Thank you.”

  Releasing her fierce hold around his neck, she grabbed his hand and urged him to follow her farther into the downstairs interior. “If I start work as soon as possible, I might get everything in shape before the baby’s born,” she said. “Then I could have a spring grand opening. Maybe late April or early May.”

  “Honey, I can get workers in here and whip this place into shape in no time flat.”

  “No, Jared.” She drew his hand to her face, rubbed her cheek against it, then kissed his wrist. “I want to do the rest. Hire workers. Make the decisions. Even put the finishing touches on everything myself.”

  “All right. Whatever you want.” He was willing to pacify her—up to a point. If taking charge of the project, even doing some of the hands-on work herself, made her happy, he would gladly let her have her way. “Will you let me help you put the finishing touches on everything?”

  She squeezed his hand. “Did I hear you correctly? Is L. J. Montgomery actually offering to do manual labor?”

  Jared grinned. “For you, honey, I’d do just about anything.” He intended to keep her happy, to give her whatever she wanted, so that she would give him what he wanted most. For her to marry him.

  “I will pay you back. Once The Dollhouse starts making a profit.”

  He chuckled. “Honey, if you were my wife, there would be no need for you to pay me back, would there? And no need to worry about making a profit. A lot of my associates’ wives have hobbies. Some even run little businesses like this that make excellent tax write-offs.”

  At first, she couldn’t believe that she’d heard him correctly, then she tried to convince herself that he hadn’t meant what he’d said. But he had meant it. Jared had given her this building as a toy, a little hobby that would keep her entertained while he took care of his business—important business.

  She hadn’t even agreed to marry him, and already he was casting her in the mold of other millionaire businessmen’s wives.

  * * *

  On the ride home, Paige decided that she would accept Jared’s generous gift, regardless of his motives for buying the building for her. She’d show him that The Dollhouse would be more than a hobby for her and a tax write-off for him. She’d make a success of the business, no matter what she had to do.

  If there was any hope for Jared and her to have a future together as husband and wife, he would have to not only love her, but love her enough to allow her to be herself. And that meant she would make her own decisions.

  Was she wishing for the impossible? Could she really expect Jared to alter his way of life to accommodate her, when she had no intention of changing herself to suit him?

  “You’re awfully quiet over there,” Jared said as they drove up the mountain. “What are you thinking about?”

  “I’m thinking about how I want to organize the space at The Dollhouse,” she said. “I want one room upstairs just for American-made dolls. Everything from the ones produced in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, like Joel Ellis dolls, all the way up to today’s Barbie dolls.”

&nb
sp; “From what I’ve seen of your doll collection at your parents’ home, I’d say you have enough stock to open a business tomorrow.”

  “Well, I might put some of my personal collection on display and even sell a few, but I plan to keep most of them to pass along to Angela one day.”

  “What if my daughter doesn’t like dolls?” Jared asked jokingly.

  “Not a chance!” Paige playfully socked Jared’s arm.

  He listened to her plans until he parked the Jeep in the circular gravel drive at the cabin.

  “I hope I can find enough musical dolls and automata to create a separate section for them.” Paige made no protest when Jared opened the door, removed her seat belt and buttoned her coat. “All I have in my collection are a few medium-priced ‘pull toys’ and a couple of marottes.”

  Jared helped her out of the Jeep. “What the hell is a marotte?” Taking her arm, he hurried her up the stairs and onto the deck as fast as his limping gait allowed.

  “A marotte is a stick doll, usually with a bisque head,” she told him as he unlocked the front door and quickly ushered her inside and out of the cold night air. “A marotte has a head and a plump upper body, but it’s not a whole doll.”

  When they removed their coats, Jared hung them in the closet. “Go warm yourself by the fire and I’ll fix you some hot tea and me some coffee,” he told her.

  “All right. Thanks.” She walked into the living room while he headed toward the kitchen. “I think I’ll phone the folks and check on Daddy,” she called out to Jared.

  He knew she couldn’t wait to tell her parents about The Dollhouse, so he took his time preparing their drinks. When he returned to the living room, he found her still on the phone with her mother.

  “I love you, too, Mama,” Paige said, then hung up the telephone and turned to Jared, her mouth curving into a warm, welcoming smile.

  How easy it was for Paige and her mother to openly express their emotions, to say “I love you” at the end of their conversation. Jared couldn’t imagine telling Joyce Montgomery that he loved her. She was his mother, but there were times when he wasn’t even sure he liked her. What would it have been like, he wondered, to have grown up as a part of the Summers family?