The Lady Who Drew Me In by Thomasine Rappold

Author:Thomasine Rappold [Rappold, Thomasine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Over the next week, Daisy noticed an obvious change in Jackson’s mood. Despite the sunny weather, today’s breakfast on the bluestone patio was a dismal affair. The furrow of his brow deepened by the moment, and any attempt at conversation was locked tightly behind his nonexistent smile.

A pang of guilt ached through her, and she couldn’t help feeling sorry for his sullen transformation. His carefree days as a city bachelor appeared miles behind him. Now he trudged between Misty Lake and Troy, lugging the burden that had landed so heavily on his slumping shoulders. Responsibility. And more of it than he’d likely ever carried before. He stared out at the lake, his long legs stretched from where he sat at the wrought iron table, looking lost in thought and so displaced.

Sunlight reflected off the water, forcing glimmers of light into his forlorn eyes. Like a waning candle, the flame inside him was dimming, suffocating in his current circumstances and the doldrums of his surroundings. She missed his easy smile, his light-hearted humor.

To pile on the agony, he’d been shown up in public by Curtis and practically chased down the mountain by an irate mob. Daisy admired Jackson’s diplomacy in handling the ugly confrontation, but men were men, and their egos were more fragile than eggs.

Daisy felt melancholy too. Although Jackson and she were in agreement that Curtis would keep Andy safe, she couldn’t shake her disappointment at losing the chance to care for the boy. For a moment, in the sheer bliss of her excitement about taking Andy home, she’d felt a sense of completion, a hope fulfilled by the promise of a child beneath her roof. Someone to love. Someone to love her in return.

She had until the end of the summer to do what she could to secure that hope. If Jackson lasted the summer in Misty Lake. At this moment she wasn’t so sure he’d last another hour. But tonight… At night he came back to life.

While they made love, nothing else seemed to matter. In the haven of their bed, they followed their bodies into the pleasure, far away from the ills of the world. They were using each other, plain and simple. But she cared for him too. Very much.

Since living under one roof, she’d come to enjoy the little things about him, the way his hair looked in the morning, all wild and mussed. The way he walked across a room with those purposeful strides, so full of confidence. But most of all, she enjoyed the way he listened when she spoke. The interest he took in what she had to say was more alluring than his sapphire eyes.

These endearing feelings were acceptable, she supposed. They were husband and wife, and whether in name only or not, married couples should, at the very least, like each other. Since she planned on becoming the mother of Jackson’s child, this reasoning seemed especially just. A civil union would ensure a civil separation, which would be for the best.

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