Chapter 6
?^?
It was hard for Katherine to determine when she first began to lose her initial wariness of Jason Manning. For the first few days after their bizarre marriage ceremony, she was constantly on guard, weighing each word and rehearsing each gesture.
Jace didn't countenance her nervousness. He was scrupulously considerate, courteous, and helpful. He allowed her times to be alone, intuitively guessing correctly that she valued privacy.
Allison was a strong common bond between them. Watching Jace in the process of developing a relationship with his niece was delightful, and Katherine was relieved to know that his being a good parent would- n't be a source of concern. Indeed, Allison sometimes preferred his company over hers.
"I think we'd better get dressed and go to church this morning," he said from behind the Sunday newspaper the morning after their marriage. He had come to the breakfast table painfully stretching the muscles that were cramped from sleeping on the sofa. Katherine laughed when she saw his grimace and heard his bones popping and cracking. For her display of levity, she received a quelling look.
"Church?" His suggestion surprised her.
"Yes. Happy's out in her backyard and has been for the past twenty minutes or so. She's done just about every odd job one can do in a backyard. She's glaring up at us in righteous indignation and censure. No doubt she's noted that my jeep was parked here overnight and probably thinks we're engaging in something illicit."
"Oh, I'd forgotten about that," Katherine anguished.
"We'll go down and make our announcement to her as soon as you're ready."
"Do you really want to go to church?"
"Yes. Unless we find our beliefs incompatible. I'm a Christian, a Protestant. Any problems there?"
"No, no, it's just that—"
"Katherine, have you thought about there being some gossip over the young Widow Adams suddenly marrying her long-lost brother-in-law? And the young Widow Adams having a baby only a few months old? If the Mannings are going to live in Van Buren, I want it known right away that they are moral pillars of the community. I'll protect you any way I can from erroneous or slanderous speculation. We have absolutely no- thing to hide except Allison's true parentage, and as soon as we can legally adopt her, that will no longer be an issue. And the best defense is a good offense." He looked at her from behind the newspaper and smiled. "Okay?"
"Thank you," she murmured. Tears were prickling her eyelids as she rushed out of the kitchen to take a bottle of milk to a demanding Allison. She didn't want to be obligated to him, but he made it necessary for her to be grateful. Didn't he ever overlook anything? Forget something?
Jace was happy to learn that some businesses were going to be open on Labor Day to take advantage of holiday shoppers. He bought a bed at one of the larger department stores and made arrangements for it to be delivered the following day.
"But, Jace, a king-size bed won't fit in that small room!" Katherine protested when she saw his choice.
"I'll make it fit to the exclusion of all other furniture. Any other size doesn't accommodate me." He laughed and squeezed her arm. "I promise not to mess up your decorating scheme too much."
He bought a new station wagon, and, much to Katherine's dismay, paid cash for it. Coming from a home where ev- ery penny had been stretched to its limit and budgeting was a way of life, Katherine couldn't conceive of someone having that much cash at one time.
The thought plagued her. She hadn't been cured of her aversion to the Mannings even though she was now married to one and bore that name herself. The thought that she was living on their money was repugnant. She broached the subject as they drove home from their shopping expedition.
"Jace—" she said timidly.
"Hmm?" He was snacking on a Hershey bar. She'd learned over the past few days that he had a constant craving for chocolate. Why didn't he get fat?
"You paid for Ronald Welsh's hospital bill, didn't you?"
He stopped his munching and glanced at her as he stopped the new car at a traffic light. "Yes," he said.
"And you sent some money to his wife?"
He answered with a nod.
She pleated the skirt of her sundress between her fingers as she continued hesitantly. "You have a lot of money. I mean, buying the car with cash and all. Is ... your salary? I mean—"
"You're asking if the money is mine or my parents'." It wasn't a question. He had pulled the car to a stop in Happy's driveway and turned to look at her.
"The money is mine, Katherine." He showed a hint of a smile. "And I came by it honestly by working my buns off. When I left Africa, I was due a large bonus. Willoughby Newton, the owner of Sunglow, is very fair. I have a share in every well I bring in. Since I left for college, I've not taken a penny from my parents."
"I didn't mean to pry into your private affairs. I just didn't—"
"You didn't want to live on any money from Eleanor and Peter Manning, Sr., because you have a lot of pride." His voice lowered in volume and pitch as he said, "I have a lot of pride in you." He edged across the seat toward her and tilted her chin up with his finger, forcing her to look at him. "And my private affairs are your affairs now. You're my wife, remem- ber?"
His lips caressed hers softly and gently. It was a brief kiss, passionless, but Katherine could feel the constrained desire behind it. Her heart thumped wildly when he pulled back and looked at her with his fathomless blue eyes. She was drowning in them before he moved away and got out of the car.
Happy took the news of their marriage with immediate joyful acceptance. If she speculated on a former relationship or the brevity of their courtship, she kept her conjectures to herself. For that Katherine was grateful.
Happy offered to watch Allison for the rest of the afternoon while they painted a wall in Jace's bedroom. Katherine insisted that they do it before the bed was delivered the next day.
"With the two of us painting, it won't take long, I promise," she said when her suggestion was met with grumbles.
"Who ever heard of laboring on Labor Day?" Jace asked, but approached the project enthusiastically when Katherine changed into the painting costume she had been wearing the first time he saw her.
"You look great in that get-up, you know," Jace said as they took a break from their efforts. She was sitting Indian fashion on the floor, sipping a soft drink. "Just don't ever let me catch you answering the door in it again," he threatened with a growl.
He stared at her through slitted lids and said softly, "The first time I saw your legs, it took all of my self-control not to accost you right then."
"What?" She was startled by this revelation. "When?"
"Uhh, let's see." He closed one black-fringed eye in concentration. "I think it was the second day after I got to town. I went to the campus and stalked the halls of your office building. I was curious and wanted to catch a glimpse of the elusive Miss Katherine Adams who so daringly took a premature newborn out of the hospital and drove across the country with her."
He sipped the soft drink and leaned back against the wall. "You came out of your office and walked to the water fountain. I think you took a couple of aspirin. Anyway, when you leaned over to get a drink, I had a very advantageous view of your legs ... and other things." His eyes were twinkling with devilry.
Embarrassment closed Katherine's throat for a few moments before she said tartly, "But that couldn't be true! I'd have seen you in the hall. I'm sure I would have noticed you."
He raised an eyebrow, as his interest was piqued. His voice was low when he said, "Oh, yeah?" He scooted across the floor on his bottom, propelling himself with strong arms. "Does that mean, Mrs. Manning, that you find your husband to be somewhat attractive?"
"It ... I mean ... you—"
"Yes?" he asked softly as his hands settled on her shoulders. Gently, but firmly, he lowered her to the floor. "What were you about to say?" His face was less than an inch from hers. He stretched out full length beside her, and she felt the weight of his body pressing close.
"I was about to say—"
"It can wait," he barely managed to whisper before his mouth descended on hers.
Katherine eagerly welcomed his kiss. She knew what a delicious, tingling warmth it could spread through her body. She opened her mouth under the unhurried, seeking lips. Shyly she touched the tip of her tongue to his. A low groan issued from deep in his throat as his mouth became more urgent. His hand stroked the bare skin of her midriff.
He placed one knee on the inside of her thighs and applied sweet, but earnest, pressure. He, too, was wearing shorts, and the touch of his skin on hers was an electrifying sensation. Tantalizingly, he rubbed his leg along hers. The hairs on his long thigh prickled her smooth skin. How different were the smell and feel and texture of his body in contrast to hers. The differences ignited her with a longing to know them better.
He buried his face in her neck, murmuring unintelligible words, planting ardent kisses on her warm flesh as he groped for the buttons of her shirt. "Katherine, Katherine, I want—"
"Hey, you two, I made some sandwiches for you. You must be getting hungry. Come open the door. My hands are full." Happy's voice came to them from the front door.
"I can't believe it!" Jace smacked his forehead with his palm as he stood and stalked into the living room to let the overzealous landlady in.
* * *
"That's the second time Happy has interrupted an intimate moment. Am I going to have to tie a necktie on the doorknob like Ryan O'Neal did in Love Story each time he had Ali McGraw in his room?"
"Jace, please!" Katherine acted indignant, but she giggled.
Happy had come and gone quickly. She wouldn't leave Allison unattended for more than a minute. Katherine and Jace ate the sandwiches and returned to their work. The painting was finished and now they were clearing away the mess.
"I like the room this way," Jace commented. "I thought the brown wall would make it too dark."
"Not with all the windows on the south side." Katherine had given the room's decor careful consideration. She hadn't thought that it would ever be occupied by a man and had immediately made some adjustments in her original plans.
The bed would go against the toast brown wall. Today on their shopping spree she purchased linens with a shell motif in browns and beiges. The only feminine touch she allowed was accents in a soft apricot.
"Eventually, I'd like to get a brass headboard. I think it would look super against that dark wall. Then I'll use brass for decorating too. Lamps, things like that." She was envisioning her finished project even as she mused aloud. "Of course, it might get crowded in here. I'll have to see how much floor space that bed is going to take up."
"I hope it'll get even more crowded in here – soon." Jace's tone of voice catapulted her out of her musings and she looked at him suspiciously. He stared at her from under hooded eyes, but the light radiating from them made his implication clear.
She was flustered, but refused to show it and tossed her head indifferently. He saw through her ruse and grinned broadly. "I'll run down and get Allison. I think the paint fumes have cleared out enough."
He went toward the door, but turned back to her. "Katherine."
"Hmm?"
"I really was in your office building one day, and I did see you walking down the hall." He winked. "I only fantasized the rest."
She blushed to the roots of her hair. But he didn't see it. He was already gone.