KYNDAL’S ANSWERING MACHINE picked up for the third time in three hours. Jaci looked at her watch. Ten twenty-eight and still no Kyndal. “Should I be worried?”
“If I say no, will it make any difference?” Bart adjusted the pillows behind him and laid the book he’d been reading to the side.
“But she’s still not home.” She placed her cell phone into the cradle to charge. “And she needs to get a job that will let her afford a cell phone.”
“You’re not her mother, Eight Ball.”
His use of her old nickname lightened the mood, making her smile as she turned back to him. “Somebody’s gotta be.” She threw the covers back and climbed on top, straddling her husband. “You think she’s spending the night with him, don’t you?”
Bart nodded. “Yep.”
“That’s not good.”
His lips twitched, and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh, I dunno about that. Things used to be pretty hot between them.”
“You know what I mean.” The past two days had been so frustrating, worrying about her best friend, which was nothing new. She pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. “Kyn’s finally put him behind her, and she and Rick finally have a date. Sleeping with Chance will mess everything up.” She locked her arms across her chest with a huff.
Bart pried her arms loose and interlocked his fingers with hers. “What happened to that everything-happens-for-a-reason philosophy you always pull on me?”
“I just can’t stand the thought of him hurting her again.”
“And you think that will happen if they do the nasty?” he growled, and proceeded to nibble on her knuckles.
The sensuous sound and actions made her lose her concentration for a moment. She poked his chest, causing him to groan in mock pain. “It won’t be the nasty for Kyndal. This is Chance, remember? For her it’ll be making love. You yourself told me he had political aspirations. They’re on opposite sides of the political fence.”
“True, but—and I say this with all the love and burning desire I feel for you—you need to back off and let Kyndal make her own decisions and quit feeling responsible for her. She’s a grown woman. She’ll figure it all out, and she’ll call you when she’s ready to talk.”
He tossed her off of him onto her back and stifled her response with a kiss. As soon as his lips left hers, he continued. “And, while we’re on the subject, I know you care about Julia, but you need to take care of the business, and let Stuart take care of his wife.”
She shuddered. “Stuart makes me uncomfortable.”
“All the more reason you need to stay out of their private affairs.” Bart kissed her and brushed the hair back from her face, the earnest look in his eyes melting her heart. “You try to mother everybody. Maybe it’s time we tried again.”
A lingering pain stabbed at her heart, the miscarriage five months ago still too fresh. “I’m not ready yet…” Her throat convulsed. “I may not ever be ready.”
She saw the disappointment in his eyes, but he covered it almost as quickly as it appeared. “Why, babe? Talk to me.”
It wasn’t just the pain of the loss that had been troubling her lately. “I’m afraid.”
Bart’s slightly crooked mouth tightened in concern, and blurred in her vision. “Of what? You’re okay, aren’t you?”
The panic in his voice spurred her. “I’m fine physically.” He brushed a tear from the corner of her eye, making her voice catch. “But if everything really happens for a reason, maybe the miscarriage happened—” her control broke, and she began to sob “—because I’m not meant to be a mom.”
Bart gathered her against his chest, letting her cry it out while he rubbed her back, waiting for the quiet after the storm. When her tears started to subside, he said gently, “If that’s true, babe, then it won’t happen, and if it happens, it was meant to be, right?”
“But what if it never happens, or what if I’m never ready? I know how much you want kids.”
“I want you, Jaci.” He kissed her forehead…her eyes…the tip of her nose. “I’ll take whatever life gives me as long as I have you.” He kissed her mouth softly.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in the feel of his lips. God, she loved this man. If only Kyndal, and Julia, and every other woman on earth could find this kind of love.
“You’re okay if it doesn’t happen?” she whispered because his kisses were making her breathless.