Her Perfect Match (6 page)

“I have to go. I don’t want to hold Meg up. Maybe I’ll see you at Laurel Glen. Thanks for the new cup of tea.” She turned and fled the room.

J
ackson watched in frustration as Elizabeth fled his presence for the second time in two days. What was it with her, he wondered as he sank to a nearby bench. Or was it him?

He honestly didn’t know.

The only thing he did know was that he was more confused than ever. Simple logic said Elizabeth wouldn’t have bothered to lie in the first place unless he’d made her angry or hurt her. The thought that he had hurt her made him feel pretty lousy, but at least his opinion of her mattered. And she wouldn’t have bothered to admit the lie unless she wanted to set the record straight, adding to his conviction that she was as interested in him as he was in her.

But then why had she frozen when he’d kissed and held her?

Could she be attracted to him but feel he was beneath her? It wouldn’t be the first time. Was she fight
ing her feelings because she saw him as little more than a glorified farmhand? She had once reminded him that Cole was part of Laurel Glen and Jackson was there because he was being paid for his time.

But if she thought he wasn’t good enough for her, why clear up the misunderstanding about Cole and her at all?

“Now there is the face of one confused young man,” his mother said.

Jackson looked up, wondering for a split second when he’d begun to automatically think of her as his mother. Then he looked into her blue eyes—that familiar blue—and saw amusement and caring.

“Just a guess, but most of the time that sort of look goes hand and hand with
holding
hands. With a woman. Am I right?”

Jackson nodded. “Elizabeth. But I’d heard she and Cole were deeply involved.”

She waved a careless hand. “Patently untrue. All of it gossip. I’ve heard the men say things. I’ve seen the elbowing and proclaiming of Cole as the luckiest man in Chester County.”

“She said as much today, but yesterday…yesterday I assumed she was and—”

“Ah, dear boy. It is foolish beyond imagining to ever assume anything where women are concerned. You aren’t capable of thinking like a woman. It’s the testosterone. It poisons your minds before you’re born so none of you are capable of thinking like us.”

Jackson couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “I’d wondered. Thanks for sharing that.”

“There are a few other things I think we need to share. Mind if I sit?”

Jackson jumped to his feet. He wanted to sink through the floor. He couldn’t believe he’d sat there like a lump. His grandmother would have handed him his head if she’d seen him act in such an unmannerly fashion. He raked his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. Please. Sit. I’d love any advice you can give me. I’m…confused.”

“I could see that from across the room and I can’t resist trying to help. I tried. Really, I did, but my selfcontrol isn’t what it once was. Let’s start with Elizabeth then move on to other things.”

He frowned. “Other things?”

“I’ll get to that soon enough. First Elizabeth. I don’t imagine you’re aware that when she drove off yesterday she was in tears. Over an hour later, in fact, when I called to invite her here today, I could tell she was still crying.”

Jackson’s heart fell. “I didn’t mean—No, that isn’t it. I didn’t think anything would reduce Elizabeth Boyer to tears.”

“Exactly. You didn’t think. You assumed. A lot of us have. And we’ve all been wrong. I began to get to know Elizabeth about a year ago. I’ve found that beneath a…a facade, if you will, she is not only a sensitive young woman but I fear she is rather emotionally fragile. I haven’t found out why, exactly, but I think Cole knows. He is as protective of her as he was of Hope, and maybe even a little more so. I know
he had words with you yesterday after Elizabeth tore down the drive.”

Jackson thought about that encounter once again and was more sure than ever that Cole had been playing a big-brother role. “He warned me not to hurt her. Not to stay away. Just that he wouldn’t stand by and see her hurt or upset. I didn’t intend to hurt her. Cole doesn’t trust me, though, so I’m not sure he believed me.”

Meg crossed her arms and fixed him with a steely blue stare. “Now why do you suppose he would feel that way?”

He was tempted to shrug, but it felt too much like lying. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to admit who he was or why he was at Laurel Glen, especially in such a public place. “I imagine the way I look.” He hedged.

“Ah, yes. Your looks.” Her lips formed a wistful little smile. “And your voice, by the way.” Her voice broke, and she cleared her throat before continuing. “But you couldn’t know about that. So tell me, Jack, why have you come to Laurel Glen? Did you come looking for answers, or revenge, or do you want me to believe that it was pure coincidence?”

Jackson could feel his pulse begin to pound. Why had he thought she wouldn’t put two and two together? “No, it’s not an accident. I came looking for answers, not to cause you any problems. And I wanted to meet my mother. My family.”

Meg arched one eyebrow. “I thought I’d given you both. A good Christian family. And a mother.”

“You did. But the whole package only lasted four years. Mama died of cancer a year after giving birth to my sister, Crystal.” The old anger with his father built but he fought it down not wanting to upset Meg. “My father couldn’t—can’t—get past his grief. In a lot of ways, it’s been like he opted out on most of life except making a success of the Circle A. I guess because it was her family’s ranch. Her mother still lived there when Mama died. She raised us. She was a feisty old gal. Half Native American, of the Cheyenne tribe. She married Mama’s father when intermarriage was a lot more taboo than it is today, but I never saw her accept less than equal treatment.”

“Have you always known about your adoption?”

Jackson shook his head, remembering and relating that life-altering afternoon in the studio. “I never questioned the way I look. I suppose I should have. I didn’t resemble anyone in the family, but Dad does have blue eyes. Being adopted never occurred to me. I guess because Crystal looks so much like Grandmother and Mama.”

“They were supposed to name you Wade Jackson after your father.”

“They did, mostly. My full name is Jackson Wade Alton. College friends shortened it to Jack. So that’s what I gave Ross as my name. I wasn’t trying to be dishonest. I didn’t know how much your family knew and I didn’t want to cause you any embarrassment.”

“I understand and I thank you.” She looked around. They were still very much alone in the back
corner of the hall. “I suppose here’s as good a place as any. You said you have questions.”

Jackson nodded. “One of the things I found that afternoon was the ring. I suspect it was your engagement ring. I managed to answer some of my questions about you and Wade Jackson, my father, on my own. I know he died in the Vietnam War and that he was a pilot. I assume you loved him very much. What I don’t understand is why you gave me up and why you left your ring with me.”

He saw a great deal of pain flash into Meg’s expression and then it was in her voice. “Oh, I loved him. He was the embodiment of the word
hero.
And I gave you up for the same reason. I met him in New York when I was barely eighteen. I’d gotten lucky with a break as part of the cast of
Hello, Dolly!
Wade was essentially alone in the world, having lost both his parents a few years earlier. He was between tours of duty. I was also alone. I’d burned my bridges with my father over the career I chose.

“I found out I was pregnant after he’d left for Saigon. My letter didn’t reach him before he was shot down. I had only a distant cousin to turn to. I went to her when I lost my spot because I couldn’t dance anymore. It was in Colorado that I found the Lord. I loved you already for being part of Wade and our love. It was a different world then, Jackson. I loved you too much to raise you with a stigma of illegitimacy and without a real family. It hurts more than I can say that you didn’t have that.”

“No. No, don’t feel that way. I did have a good
life. Dad was the best father he could be. It’s funny, but leaving the Circle A and coming to Laurel Glen gave me a lot of perspective. Yes, emotionally he’s been absent. But he was always there—a male presence in my life. Most important, though, he gave me the Lord. I only had Mama for four years but I remember her. Her smile. The way she smelled and the sound of her singing and her laughter. And I had Grandmother.”

He smiled, knowing the smile was tinged with sadness. “It wasn’t perfect but then life rarely is. Look at Ross and Cole, for instance. They fight like cats and dogs most of the time. Yet who could want a better father than Ross?” He shrugged. “Apparently Cole, and I’m sure he has his reasons. Just like I’m sure Ross has his for jumping down Cole’s throat practically every time Cole opens his mouth.”

“Thank you,” Meg said, blinking back tears. “You’ll never know what a double loss it was for me when my father died not two years after I gave you up. To know all these years that Ross would have welcomed me back and I could have had you in my life.”

She shook her head. “But I don’t know how we would have survived for even that short amount of time. I’ve told myself thousands of times you were better off with the life I thought I gave you.”

“You did give it to me.”

Her expressive brows drew together. “Then why did you come looking for me?”

“Because I needed to know you. I’d had Mama.
I’d had Grandmother. But there’s an empty place in my heart for a mom,” he replied, and shot her a nervous grin. He felt as if he was proposing. In a way, he guessed he was. He was after all asking someone to take a permanent place in his life. “Interested in applying for the job?”

She sniffled, and tears filled her eyes, but the smile on her face spoke of nothing but joy. “Oh, yes.” Her voice trembled just a little. “Nothing would make me happier. I’ve dreamed of this day for thirty-two years.”

Jackson realized he was seeing her through a sheen of his own tears and quickly scrubbed them away with the heel of his hand. “Great. That means a lot. If you want to keep this just between us, I’ll understand. I don’t want to hurt your reputation or standing in the community or with your family.”

Meg squeezed his hand. “Thank you for worrying about me. I don’t think that will happen, but I’d like a little time to decide how to tell everyone.”

“Then this is our secret until you say otherwise.”

She inclined her head and studied him for a long moment. “Would you mind a little more motherly advice about Elizabeth?”

He grinned. This really was great! “Shoot,” he told her.

“Okay then. I think you need to know that Elizabeth hasn’t had a storybook life, either. She was something of an ugly duckling born to a couple of spoiled swans. She was largely ignored by her mother until she suddenly blossomed at thirteen or fourteen
and Louise took her on like a project. Her mother was nothing more than a sporadic etiquette, elocution and grooming teacher over the years and, from what I understand, Reginald only noticed her as a young child when he thought he could shape her into an Olympic-caliber event rider. She had the poor taste to develop back problems that made his dream an impossibility. Perhaps you should keep that in mind when dealing with her. Sometimes I’m not sure what Elizabeth sees when she looks in a mirror, but I don’t think it’s the beautiful young woman she is.”

Elizabeth stared into mirror over her dressing table. If she didn’t get some sleep soon, there would be no way she could appear in public. The dark circles under her eyes defied cover-up. She looked like she’d gone ten rounds in a boxing ring—and lost.

Night after night she lay in bed replaying Jack’s kiss and those few seconds of joy before the panic took over. She rethought and revamped each moment she’d spent with him, wishing she could go back and relive them all—change them all. Wishing she could go back even further and laugh off the taunts of cruel classmates, be suspicious of Jason Lexington, go to biology lab rather than be flattered by his attention.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth picked up the concealing stick, knowing Cole was on his way. He’d sounded upset, and there was no way she could turn him away. But she also knew him. If he noticed anything wrong, his concerns would take a back seat to hers.

Her last conversation with him had been yesterday afternoon, and encouraging. She’d called to see if he’d asked CJ Larson out on a date, but casually so as not to get her hopes up.

“I did it,” he’d said.

Elizabeth had laughed at how nervous he sounded. Who would believe ladies’ man Cole Taggert was anxious over an upcoming date? “I take it I’m no longer your safety net,” she said.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I don’t want her to get hurt if it turns out that I don’t feel all for her that I should. I thought I’d just sort of avoid the subject of you until I was more sure of where I’m headed.”

She hated to increase those nerves of his but she would have felt worse had she not told him what she was thinking. “I just thought I should warn you. I’ve sort of been rethinking our conversation. I’m not sure someone like CJ can spend time with a man she’s attracted to and not at least hope they have future. Go slow. You know?”

“I’m not about to rush her into bed,” he snapped. “I’m not that out of touch with who she is.”

“A kiss for someone like CJ could be as intimate as a whole lot more for the rest of us.” Elizabeth heard the sadness in her voice.

“Since when do we put you in a category different from the one Hope and CJ belong in? Just because you have an unearned reputation doesn’t make it a real one.”

It was an old debate, and they’d never agree. It wasn’t about what anyone said or thought, it was
about what she felt. “We aren’t talking about me. We’re trying to safeguard CJ’s heart until you’re able to risk your own. So have a good time. Have lots of laughs. Just don’t get too serious too fast.”

Elizabeth finished with her makeup brush and huffed out a deep breath. What had gone wrong on his simple dinner date?

Fifteen minutes later Cole sat glowering at her. “Okay, let me get this straight,” he said. “You want me to ask CJ to attend the charity dance the night before the Graystone Cross-country.” He shook his head. “Elizabeth, I just got through telling you I’ve decided not to pursue CJ further till I’m more sure of me.”