A Prince for Jenny (16 page)

Daniel's hands tightened on the chair arms.

"I had to release you, Jenny, not because I don't love you, but because I love you too much."

"You still love me, Daniel?" Keeping her distance, she faced him.

"I never stopped loving you. But you've been hurt because of me. You've been insulted and ridiculed. I couldn't let that happen to you anymore."

"You didn't stop wanting me, Daniel?"

"Is that what you thought? That I didn't want you anymore?"

With her hands clasped tightly in front of her, she nodded.

Daniel's control broke. He bolted from his chair and folded Jenny in his arms.

"I'll never stop wanting you, Jenny. Never." They held on to each other, swaying. "This afternoon when I discovered you'd overheard the conversation in my office, I thought I might never see you again."

"I meant to leave Florence."

"What stopped you?"

"The thought of you and the children. I couldn't leave you, Daniel."

He'd been a fool to let her go.

"Don't ever leave me again, Jenny."

His lips descended on hers, and he kissed with the intensity of a soldier returning from war. He couldn't get enough of her. If he lived to be a hundred, he would never get enough of Jenny.

When they drew apart for breath, he led her to the wing chair, then took her hand and knelt at her feet.

"Jenny, the last time around I didn't propose to you properly. I'm on my knees begging your forgiveness for being a blind fool." He kissed her hand. "Will you marry me, Jenny?"

"I will, Daniel."

"Will you wear my ring and never take it off?"

"I'll be proud to wear your ring."

He slipped it on her finger, then lifted her into his arms and sat back in the chair with her cuddled against his chest.

Jenny was back where she belonged, but she'd learned a very hard lesson. She was no longer in the protected environment created by Jake Townsend; she was in the real world, a world that dished out equal portions of bad and good, a world that could be as thoughtless and cruel as it could be beautiful and kind. Holding on to her dream was not going to be easy.

"I'm afraid, Daniel. Not for myself but for the children."

"Don't be afraid, Jenny. We're together now. No matter what happens, we'll find a way to make everything work." He pressed his cheek against her soft hair. "I promise you."

He carried her upstairs to his room and laid her on his bed. With her bright hair spread over the pillow, she looked like a fallen flower. He undressed her slowly, stripping away the clothes that were too big and unveiling the perfection that was Jenny.

There was no need for words between them. She lifted her arms and he wrapped himself in her sweet embrace. Beneath his hard body she felt fragile, but he knew better. There was strength and power and fire in Jenny. And he wanted to claim it all.

She cupped her hands under her breasts and offered them up to him. His mouth closed over her rosy nipple, and she sighed.

Daniel was home where he belonged.

 o0o

Claire had waited all summer to have her day in court. The hearing was finally set for September 15. She'd chosen her clothes carefully, and she knew she looked good—demure, understated, sincere. Her suit was wool crepe, navy blue with an innocent white blouse. She looked as sincere as sin.

Daniel was sitting across from her, handsomer than she remembered. If he'd been half as interested in her as she'd been in him, she'd never have left him. His fiancée was with him. Claire wondered what he saw in her. She was the quiet, mousy type. Beautiful, she'd grant that. Daniel always could pick a pretty woman. But why in the name of heaven would he want a retarded woman?

Not that Claire was complaining. It made her job easier. No judge in the country was going to let him keep custody of the children and put them in the hands of a woman who probably couldn't spell her own name.

Claire's name was being called. She took the stand. Her lawyer was good. They went over everything they'd rehearsed. Claire even cried on cue.

Her conscience didn't hurt her the least bit. She did want her children back. She'd missed them.

Daniel's lawyer wasn't so easy on her.

"Did you leave your children three years ago?"

"It wasn't like that. Daniel was never home and I—"

"Answer the question. Yes or no. Did you leave your children?"

"Yes."

"Where did you go?"

"In town. Atlanta."

"Specifically."

"To a motel."

"And was someone else there to meet you?"

"Well, Daniel was never there ..."

"I don't want to know about Daniel. We know who he was with: the children. What I want to know is who you were with."

"Jimmy Gratz."

"Jimmy Gratz. You left your husband and your children to be with Jimmy Gratz."

"You make it sound like something awful. It wasn't... it was ..." Claire covered her hands and burst into tears. Real ones this time. She dug around in her purse, pulled out a tissue, and wiped her eyes. It came back black. Her mascara was running, but she didn't care. She was going to lose her children for good.

"I'm not a bad mother; I just made a mistake. I love my children. I love them!"

Claire's performance moved Jenny to tears, but Daniel remained unconvinced. Why now? After three years of silence, why did she suddenly proclaim to love the children?

 o0o

Jenny's name was being called. He squeezed her hand.

"Don't worry, Jenny. You'll do great."

"I'm not worried."

Jenny took the stand. The fate of his children rested with her.

Daniel's lawyer, Lawrence Blakestone, had said he would ask her only one question. Jenny knew what it was going to be, but she wasn't certain what she would say. She'd practiced with Gwendolyn over and over, but nothing had come out right. She'd ended up sounding like a simpleton and making herself nervous.

"Claire's lawyer will try to discredit you, Jenny," Mr. Blakestone had said. "Forgive me for being blunt, but he'll try to make you look as if you don't have enough sense to take care of two children. He'll even try to prove that you're a danger to them. But remember this, Jenny. The burden of proof is on them. You are not presumed to be unfit merely because you were born special. Your response to my question should dispel any doubts the judge might have."

Jenny folded her hands in her lap and forced herself to remain calm as she waited for Mr. Blakestone's question.

"Jenny, I want you to tell the court in your own words what kind of mother you will be to Daniel's two children."

Jake and Sarah slipped quietly into the back of the courtroom, and suddenly Jenny knew what she would say.

"When I was four years old, I didn't have a father, because mine ran away. But a wonderful man named Jake came into my mother's life and changed all that. He was there to pick me up when I fell down and to hug me when I cried. He sat by my bed all night when I had chicken pox and sang silly songs so I would forget about itching. He taught me to ride a tricycle and tried to teach me to play ball. I was too slow and too clumsy, but Jake loved me anyhow.

"He couldn't give me his bloodlines, but he gave me his heart.

"I will be the kind of parent to Megan and Patrick that Daddy has been to me. I will give them my heart."

Daniel could have shouted for joy. Jenny was magnificent. Nothing Claire's lawyer could say would counteract her eloquent pledge of love.

 o0o

Daniel and Jenny stood in a cluster with Jake and Sarah outside the courtroom.

"You're wonderful, Jenny," Daniel said. "Simply wonderful"

"That's my girl," Jake said, smiling and hugging Jenny.

Jenny's mother beamed, adding her praise.

Sitting on a cold marble bench on the opposite side of the hallway, Claire couldn't help but feel envy. Once, Daniel had looked at her in the way he now gazed at Jenny. Once, she'd deserved those looks.

Sighing, she reached into her purse for a cigarette. Jenny wasn't half bad. As a matter of fact, Claire felt a grudging admiration for her. If she lost, at least she'd have the satisfaction of knowing that her children were with a mother who loved them.

A flurry of activity at the north end of the courthouse caught her attention. The children's guardian ad litem was taking them to the judge's chambers. The matter could not be resolved in their best interests until Megan and Patrick were heard.

The cigarette dangled from Claire's hand as she strained her eyes for a glimpse of her children. As if invisible strings were pulling her, Megan turned. She lagged behind Margaret Case and stared openmouthed at Claire.

Claire half rose from her seat.

"Come along, Megan," Margaret Case said.

Megan stood on one foot and rubbed the back of her left toe against her right leg. Then she lifted a small hand and waved.

Her hands shaking, Claire sank back onto the bench.

Daniel hadn't missed a single moment of the exchange between his ex-wife and his daughter. He thought of the years of bitterness and estrangement with his own father; he thought of all the years and all the hurt.

Was he right to try to keep Claire away from the children?

Claire looked up and caught him staring.

"I really do love them, Daniel," she said quietly.

He almost believed her. The cavernous hall echoed with silence.

"Why don't I get coffee for everybody while we wait?" he said.

For the first time since the hearing, Claire smiled at him.

 o0o

Over the years, Judge Grace Norman had grown accustomed to these hearings, but she didn't like them. There was nothing to like about presiding over the division of a family in a court of law.

She smiled warmly at the two children sitting on the couch in her chambers. Patrick smiled back, but Megan gave her a look that said "I'm reserving judgment."

"Well, now ... Would you like something to drink?"

"We're not thirsty." Megan spoke for both of them. She caught her brother's hand and gave Grace a proud, defiant look. Only the most discerning eye could see the slight tremble in her bottom lip.

Wishing for the wisdom of Solomon but settling for the wisdom of experience, Judge Grace Norman began task of determining the future of three adults and two children.

 o0o

Later the judge looked at the solemn faces of the adults whose future rested with her.

"It is the opinion of this court that the children's best interests will not be served by removing them from the custody of their father."

Daniel Sullivan was not the emotional type. She'd known there would be no outbursts from him. But the look of joy on his face as he embraced his fiancée was one the judge would not soon forget.

"However, it is my belief that the natural mother is sufficiently penitent of her earlier actions and shows sufficient love for her children so that their interests will be served by allowing her generous visitation rights."

Claire Montague Sullivan's mascara was streaked to her chin, and she hadn't even bothered to wipe it away. Judge Norman thought that was a good sign.

"In the matter of Jenny Love-Townsend, I have this to say. If every child could have a mother like her, the world would be a better place.”

Chapter Fourteen

The west wing of the Sullivan mansion was awash with silk petticoats and satin dresses, and in the bedlam, Gwendolyn reigned supreme.

She ushered Sarah to a chair and ordered her to stay there.

"I feel so foolish," Sarah said. "My own daughter's wedding, and I can't find my right hand with my left."

"I never saw a mother of the bride yet who wasn't a basket case." She gave Victoria the eye. "And that goes for sisters too."

"Who, me?" Victoria had her bridesmaid veil on backward.

"Yes, you." Gwendolyn sucked in her stomach and looked into the mirror.

"Lord, I look like a bale of cotton."

"Nonsense," Sarah said. "You're statuesque, Gwendolyn, and with that hat you look like royalty."

"Daniel gave it to me." She arranged the frivolous concoction of tulle and lace on her curls. She'd let them go gray for the wedding. "He said he was scared I'd wear my cowboy hat if he didn't get me a new one."

"I dreamed of many things for Jenny, but I never thought I'd see this day."

"That's because you couldn't know there was a Daniel Sullivan in the world. He's a very special man." Gwendolyn readjusted her hat. "And if anybody here says different, I'm going to black their eyes."

"What do you suppose is keeping Jenny?"

"Sit still, Sarah. I'll go see."

Jenny was sitting in a child's chair with Megan and Patrick on either side. On the small table in front of them was a sketch pad.

"Is that me?" Patrick asked, giggling.

"Yes," Jenny said. "That's you and this one is Megan."

"And you and Daddy," Megan said, pointing to two other figures.

"That's right. And after today we're going to be a real family."

"I'll put the names." Feeling important because she was the oldest and could spell, Megan printed all their names underneath. When she'd finished, she puckered her brow. "What about mother?"

Jenny quickly sketched Claire. "She's part of the family too."

"She says you're nice," Patrick said.

"I think she's nice too. It's good to have two mothers who love you."

"And a brand-new grandpa and grandma and aunts and uncles." Megan beamed. "Put in Grandpa Jake, Jenny, and Grandma Sarah and Aunt Victoria and Uncle Josh and Uncle William."

Jenny added her parents and brothers and sister. The family was complete now—except for one. She walked to the window and searched the crowd for one face.

It was not there.

Megan tugged on her hand. "Jenny, tell us again how it's going to be."

"Yeah. Tell us." Patrick grabbed her other hand.

Jenny knew it was time to get dressed for her wedding, but she knew that children were more important than schedules. Daniel would wait.

She hugged them both. "You'll have two Christmases and two Easters and two vacations— one with your mother and one with us."