His Child by Delores Fossen

Author:Delores Fossen [Fossen, Delores]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2002-12-22T23:00:00+00:00

JESSIE THOUGHT she would get a moment to herself, but when Jake opened the door to leave, Willa was standing there, both hands filled with huge shopping bags.

“Jake said you needed clothes,” Willa said none too enthusiastically. She turned her equally unenthusiastic gaze to her brother. “Douglas is downstairs. He says it’s important that he speak to you in private. I warn you, though, he’s in a snit about something.”

Great. Jessie knew what that meant. She’d get left alone with Willa, a woman who obviously detested her.

“You’ll be okay, Jessie?” Jake asked.

She wanted to say no, but she couldn’t keep tearing him away from his business and the campaign. Jessie nodded finally, and Willa gave him a gentle nudge into the hallway. Within seconds of his departure, she deposited the bags on the bed and shut the door.

The woman put her hands on her slender hips and matched Jessie’s frown. “Okay, let me save us some time and just ask this outright. Did Douglas come on to you?”

Of all the things Jessie had imagined she might say, that wasn’t one of them. “No.”

Willa leaned closer and gave her a considering look. After a moment, she simply nodded. “He said he didn’t, but he’s lied through his teeth before. I just wanted to make sure.”

Jessie just stared at her. Willa had no icy facade today and her laser-blue eyes were rimmed red as if she’d spent hours crying. Apparently crying over some advances she thought Douglas had made. There’d been no advances. Far from it. He’d threatened Jessie.

“Good grief.” Willa covered her face with her hands. “Maybe Douglas is right. Maybe I am losing my mind.”

Jessie wasn’t about to agree with her. Besides, maybe Willa had good reason to suspect her husband of fooling around.

Willa eased her hands back down. “All right, I’ve already made a complete fool of myself, so I might as well go for broke. What kind of spell did you put on my brother?”

“Wonderful,” Jessie mumbled under her breath. Part two of the conversation she didn’t want to have. “Look, let me save you some trouble. I’m not in the same league as the McClendons or Anne, and I know that doesn’t please you. But I’ll be out of Jake’s life soon.” Jessie started toward the door, but Willa stepped in front of her.

“You’ll break his heart,” Willa insisted. “That’s what I’m trying to stop. I don’t want to see Jake get hurt.”

Jessie almost laughed at the notion of breaking Jake’s heart. He’d have to care about her for that to happen, and he didn’t. Well, he didn’t care beyond trying to get to the bottom of how her predicament might affect him. Heck, he’d even called those kisses in the closet a lapse in judgment. Hardly the words of a man on the verge of a broken heart.

“Anne’s death nearly destroyed him,” Willa added, obviously not ready to let the subject drop. “She died in childbirth. Did you know that?”

Jessie felt her composure slip a considerable notch.

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