That McCloud Woman (6 page)

Mandy
leaned over and gave Alayna's knee a comforting pat. "You'll be
ready." She smiled at the doubt she saw in Alayna's eyes. "Have I
told you that I'm proud of you?"

Alayna
blushed, uncomfortable with the praise. "About a thousand times."

Mandy
settled back in her chair. "Well, I can't say it enough. Few women would
consider doing what you are doing, and fewer still would be able to do it
well."

Alayna
scooted to the edge of her chair, reaching out to clasp her cousin's hand in
hers. "Oh, Mandy," she said her voice filled with doubt. "I want
to do this well, I really do, but I'm frightened. Billy and Molly seem to be
doing well enough, but what if I somehow fail these children and do them more
harm than good?"

Mandy
set aside her tea glass and leaned forward, taking both of Alayna's hands in
hers and squeezing. "You won't let them down. You have years of experience
dealing with troubled children, and the sincere desire to help them. That's all
that's truly required. That and a whole lot of love, which you seem to have in
abundance."

With
emotion clogging her throat, Alayna gave Mandy's hands a grateful squeeze.
"Thanks, cuz. After the run-in I had with the bus driver and my inability
to persuade him or the district's transportation department to rescind his
decision, I needed to hear that."

"Don't
worry about that old cranky bus driver. Jaime doesn't mind driving the kids to
school." Impulsively Mandy leaned and pecked a kiss on Alayna's cheek,
then pressed a fingertip to the spot as she leaned back to meet her cousin's
gaze. "We're glad you're here," she said softly. "All of us. And
we're glad that you've decided to make the Pond House and the Double-Cross
Heart Ranch your home."

Alayna
looked around, her fingers still clasped tightly around Mandy's. "It feels
like home," she said, and at that moment realized the truth in the
statement. She cut her gaze back to Mandy's and grinned. "Do you remember
when we were younger, and Daddy would bring us here for visits in the summer,
and we'd have those wonderful sleepovers, with all the cousins camped out in
one room?"

Mandy
sighed wistfully, releasing Alayna's hand to settle back in her chair.
"Oh, we had some good times, didn't we? Sam was always thinking up
daredevil things for us to do. Remember the time we put baby oil and flour in
Merideth's hair while she was sleeping?"

Alayna
laughed, the sound rich and full in the quiet afternoon. "Do I ever!
Merideth was furious. She always hated getting her hair or her clothes messed
up."

Mandy
chuckled. "And she hasn't changed a bit. She's still as persnickety as
ever about her appearance. Just the other day—"

"Excuse
me."

Alayna
and Mandy both jumped at the unexpected intrusion.

Alayna's
breath came out in a rush when she saw Jack standing at the edge of the patio.
"Oh, my stars, Jack," she cried, laughing weakly. "You nearly
scared the life out of me."

Jack
cut a glance from Alayna to the woman sitting beside her, then back.
"Sorry. I brought the paint samples to show you, but they can wait."
He turned to go, but Alayna called out to him, stopping him.

"Jack!
Wait!" When he turned, she rose, and Mandy stood as well. Wrapping an arm
at her cousin's waist, Alayna drew Mandy with her as she crossed to him.
"I want you to meet my cousin, Mandy McCloud Barrister. Mandy, this is
Jack Cordell."

Mandy
extended her hand in greeting, a smile much like Alayna's warming her eyes as
she peered up at him. "Hi, Jack. I've heard a lot about you." She
gave Alayna an arched look, one that Jack didn't understand, then returned her
gaze to his, adding, "And I have to say that you are
all
Maudie described and more."

Remembering
the sharp-tongued waitress from the
café
and her comments
about his predecessor Frank, Jack frowned, not at all sure what the woman might
have said about him. "Pleased to meet you," he mumbled uneasily.

Mandy's
smile widened as if at some private joke. "The pleasure is all mine, I
assure you." She withdrew her hand and turned to Alayna. "Well, I
guess I better get back to the house. Jesse and Jaime will be coming home soon
and wanting their dinner." Her eyes brightened. "Why don't y'all have
dinner with us? We'd love to have you." She looked at Jack, including him
in the invitation. "I know that my husband and son will want to meet you
and welcome you to the Double-Cross. How about it?"

Alayna
saw the look of alarm slowly spreading across Jack's face, the way his fingers
convulsed on the paint samples he still held. But to her way of thinking an
evening in the company of a happily married couple might be just what Jack
needed, since his own experience in matrimony seemed to have left nothing but
negative memories. "Thanks, Mandy," she replied before Jack could
respond, "we'd love to."

Jack
whipped his head around to frown at her. "You and the kids can go. I'm not
much on socializing." He gave his head a quick bob in Mandy's direction.
"If you'll excuse me, I've got work to do."

Alayna's
heart sank as she watched him stalk away.

"Was
it something I said?" Mandy asked uncertainly.

Alayna
forced a smile and slung an arm around her cousin's shoulder as she walked with
her to her truck. "No. It's Jack. He is—well, I don't know what he is
exactly. Sad. Bitter." She stopped at the side of her cousin's truck and
gave Mandy a squeeze before withdrawing her arm. "But mainly just
stubborn."

"Is
he dangerous?"

Alayna
started to laugh, but quickly swallowed it when she saw the seriousness in
Mandy's expression. "No," she said, shaking her head, instinctively
knowing somehow that her claim was true. "He's not dangerous." She
glanced toward the barn and watched as Jack heaved a stack of two-by-fours over
the side of his truck. The muscles in his arms bulged with the effort.
"Angry," she said, recognizing the signs, but unsure of their source.
"Mad at the world," she added, noting his dark expression. She looked
back at Mandy and smiled reassuringly. "But not dangerous."

"You'll
still bring the kids over for dinner, won't you?"

"Of
course I will," Alayna assured her. "What time do you want us?"

Jack
grabbed another stack of two-by-fours, muscles straining, and tossed them over
the side of his truck. Bracing his hands at his hips, he hauled in a deep
breath, then slowly blew it out. He glanced toward the drive in time to see
Mandy leave.

A
son, she'd said. She'd wanted him to have dinner with her husband and her son.
Bringing a shaky hand to his forehead, he swiped at the sweat that had popped
out on his forehead. Sharing meals with Alayna and her brood of kids was
unnerving enough, but the thought of sharing a dinner with a family was worse.

In
fact, it sounded a whole lot like hell to Jack.

Dusk
had settled over the countryside by the time Alayna returned home from her
cousin's and tucked the children into bed for the night. After picking up their
clothes from the bathroom floor where they'd left them, she slipped into
Molly's room, deciding to check on her little charges one more time before
heading downstairs for the night.

She
smiled down at the sleeping Molly, then drew the sheet a little closer to the
child's chin. Molly sighed in her sleep and hugged the ragged teddy bear she
slept with closer to her chest. The teddy bear was all that Molly had arrived
with when she'd been delivered to Alayna. That and the clothes on her back.

Molly's
story was a sad, if familiar one. Her mother, a drug addict, left her alone for
days at a time, with no food, no one to look after her, while she chased the
next fix, or the man who could buy it for her. Repeated complaints from
neighbors in the apartment complex where Molly and her mother had lived had
resulted in the child being taken away from her mother.

And
now she was in Alayna's care.

Though
physically the child didn't appear to have suffered from her mother's neglect,
the emotional scars were there. The child never smiled, rarely spoke and she
never let the ragged teddy bear out of her sight or reach.

Smiling
wistfully, Alayna smoothed the child's hair from her forehead and placed a
light kiss there. Two weeks. Two weeks she'd had Molly with her, and she had
already fallen hopelessly in love. She drew a fingertip lightly down the length
of the child's freckled nose, wondering why God would see fit to bless Molly's
mother with a child, a woman who obviously didn't want the burden, and not
herself, who would gladly sacrifice anything for the opportunity to give birth
to a baby.

She
straightened, shoving the bitter thought aside. She had children, she reminded
herself. Two already, and the promise of more to come.

With
that positive thought, she crossed the hall to Billy's room.

As
usual, she found him sprawled on his stomach and the bed covers tangled at the
foot of the bed. An action figure lay beneath his lax fingers. Billy never just
went to bed and to sleep, as other children did. He fought sleep as if it were
an enemy that would capture him and never let him go. Though Alayna insisted on
a strict bedtime schedule, Billy always took a toy to bed with him, a
compromise they'd arrived at together. He'd play with the toy until he
collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

Alayna
knew less about Billy's history than she did about Molly's, and she wondered
what events in his life caused him to fear sleep so much. He avoided any
questions she asked, and was a master at changing the subject to a less
invasive one. She knew that he'd been in another foster home before being
assigned to her, but all she'd been told was that the prior situation simply
hadn't worked out.

With
a regretful shake of her head, she withdrew the toy from beneath his small
hand, placed it on the shelf Jack had built on the wall beside the bed, then
pulled the sheet up and over him, tucking it around his slender shoulders. In
time, she told herself, she'd discover his secrets, what nightmares had shaped
his life, and she would help him deal with them.

She
leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead, just as she had to Molly's,
knowing full well he'd never accept the affectionate display if awake. She
tiptoed from his room, relieved to know that her little charges were settled
peacefully for the night.

That
just left Jack to deal with.

Pensively
she started down the stairs. Although she'd enjoyed having dinner with Mandy's
family, and watching Molly and Billy interact in a family setting, she hadn't
been able to keep thoughts of Jack far from her mind. In her estimation, the
look of alarm that had come into his eyes when Mandy had offered the dinner
invitation signaled more than just an antisocial behavior. A whole lot more.
And she was determined to find out what spawned the reaction.

At
the kitchen door, she glanced in the direction of the cabin, intending to seek
him out, but found the cabin dark. Certain that he wouldn't have gone to bed so
early, she glanced toward the pond. In the gathering dusk, she saw him sitting
on the edge of the weathered pier that jutted out over the water's mirrorlike
surface. She stepped out onto the patio, closing the door softly behind her,
then stopped and drew in a deep, shuddering breath, her gaze still fixed on his
shadowed form.

He
looked so lonely sitting there, staring out at the horizon … yet so
unbelievably sexy. A dangerous combination to her way of thinking. He sat with
one leg raised, an elbow hooked over his knee. His position placed a strain on
the back of his black T-shirt, pulling the knit fabric taut across his back.
Broad shoulders. Firm pads of muscle. She sighed as she traced the long, bumpy
path of his spine with her gaze until it disappeared beneath the waist of his
jeans.
Maudie was right,
she reflected lustfully.
He
is
a good-looking hunk.

And
she had about as much business thinking lusty thoughts as she did—well, she
didn't have any business thinking such thoughts about Jack Cordell, or any man,
for that matter. As a woman, she had nothing to offer Jack. But as a
psychologist, she reminded herself, she could possibly help him exorcize the
demons that had robbed him of his smile, and left him so bitter and withdrawn.

Knowing
full well he probably wouldn't welcome the company, she headed for the pier.

"You
missed a good dinner."

His
shoulders tensed at the sound of her voice, but he didn't turn around. Nor did
he respond. She frowned at his back, but refused to let his indifference warn
her off. She started down the planked pier, feeling its slight roll beneath her
feet. "I think you would've enjoyed meeting Mandy's husband, Jesse, and
their son, Jaime."

He
squinted his eyes, staring hard at the sliver of red sun that seemed to have
snagged on the peak of the highest hill. "I'm not much on
socializing."

She
dropped down beside him, drawing up her legs and tucking the long hem of her
dress behind them. "So you've said." She angled her head to peer at
him. "Still, I think you'd enjoy meeting Jesse and Jaime. Molly and Billy
really like them, and they don't accept people easily." When he offered nothing
in return, she stifled a sigh of frustration and turned her gaze on the sunset,
too.