That Carrington Magic

chapter 14



Horrified that Toby had taken Grant’s Cupid heirloom and put it afloat in the toy boat, Jami dashed after him. If the tiny boat capsized, the gold brooch could be lost forever in Frost Lake! Determination accompanied by adrenalin surged through her—she would rescue Cupid and right her son’s wrong.

Two tiny white butterflies dipped and flitted out of the way as Jami reached the lake just behind Toby. At the edge of the water, tears rolling down his freckled face, Toby confessed that he’d taken the Cupid out of Grant’s drawer to use as a captain for his boat.

“I’m sorry,” Toby sniffed, swiping his face on his arm. “I know I shouldn’t take things without asking, but I needed a captain!”

“Where’s your boat?” Jami asked, her stomach plummeting as she scanned the lake, not seeing the handcrafted toy vessel anywhere on the water.

“This way.” Toby took off running along the edge of the shallows down the shore toward the deep sapphire swirling water.

“That’s the off-limits area Grant warned us about,” Jami gasped, frightened that her son had been so close to danger. Ten minutes of a child’s disappearance could mark the difference between life and death, so she felt very blessed that her son was now in her sight, healthy and whole. She offered a silent prayer of thanks for Toby’s safety.

The shoreline grew rough; trees and bushes replaced the sandy beach, with rocks and boulders marring the waterline. Jami stumbled after Toby, grabbing him as he slowed to point at the toy boat that bobbed on the blue lake waters.

“There, Mom. See it?”

“Yes, honey.” Spotting the white hanky sail on the tiny pine boat, she hugged Toby close. “You stay here while I go after it. I can’t watch you and your boat at the same time. Okay?”

“It’s my fault. I want to help get Grant’s little man back.”

Jami pressed a kiss on the child’s hot, damp forehead. “You’re my little man, my only little man. If you want me to get your boat, I can’t be worrying about you getting too deep in the water. Stay here.”

“But, Mom...” Toby protested, his brown eyes pleading.

“No buts.” Jami gazed down at him, making her voice stern and not allowing her apprehension to bleed through. “Stay. That’s an order.”

“Okay,” he reluctantly agreed, rubbing away tears with his fists. “Please try to save the captain, and I promise I’ll be really good.”

Caught in the current, the tiny craft bobbed bravely, spinning this way and that way toward the swirling current, floating farther away from Jami and closer to the sapphire whirlpool. Determined to rectify her son’s mistake and retrieve Grant’s heirloom, Jami didn’t bother to take off her already wet sneakers as she splashed through the shallows.

As soon as the water was deep enough, she glided out, swimming toward the whirling sapphire depths. At first the lake current resisted, buoying and teasing her strokes, but as she neared the boat, she felt the frightening tug of the spinning waters. Shutting out the threat of peril, she focused on the toy’s location each time she took a breath. Thankfully, the boat had not capsized.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Toby wading into the shallows. Her movement was momentarily arrested with one arm churning air, the other dipping into water. Should she turn around? Would Toby go too deep?

Just as she began to twirl around and swim back to keep her son out of trouble, Grant crashed out of the woods. Relief flooded Jami, along with a fresh surge of resolve. Grant would keep Toby safe. She had to recover the charm.

“Toby!” Grant called, bursting out of the woods onto the lakeshore.

“Grant?” Toby hollered back.

“What are you doing?” Grant asked in exasperation as he found the six-year-old splashing through the shallows. “Everyone’s searching for you.”

“We gotta get my boat.” The child kept plowing through the water, the lake now up to the pockets of his sodden jeans.

“Get back here.”

“I can’t.” Toby marched deeper, not turning back to Grant.

Grant swore, wading into the water to make his way toward the stubborn child. Toby slipped and came up sputtering. “I’m stuck! Help!” The child went down again.

Heart in his throat, Grant sloshed through the water to grab Toby, who had tangled with driftwood and started to sink. The boy came up choking, water streaming off of the youngster’s head and shoulders.

“Can you breathe? Are you hurt?” He boosted the child up into his arms, water squirting between them.

“I’m okay.” Toby shook his head, his small arms and legs clinging to Grant. “That water tastes yucky.”

“You are okay,” Grant said with a relieved chuckle. “I’m planting you back onshore, and you’d better stay put, slugger.”

“But I have to help Mom save my boat.”

“She’s here?” Grant plopped Toby onto dry ground. “Where?”

“There.” The boy pointed toward the churning, swirling dark blue region of Frost Lake.

Grant’s lungs squeezed shut, his chest and heart aching as he caught sight of Jami’s copper hair. A mermaid in blue jeans, she undulated dolphin-style through the lake water chasing the tiny boat.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Grant called Jami’s name, to no avail. She kept swimming toward danger, gaining on the damn boat. He turned to Toby. “Don’t you dare put one foot back in this water, partner. Not for any reason. I’m going after your mother.”

“Yes, sir!” Toby replied, plopping down to sit in the dirt and pull off his wet socks and sneakers. “I’m sorry about your teeny gold man.”

“What?”

“I used it for my captain because it fit just right.”

“We’ll talk about Cupid later,” Grant snapped, as Jami disappeared underwater for a heart-stopping moment. “Right now your mother is my priority.”

“I didn’t mean to be bad.” Toby’s freckled face scrunched. His eyes sparkled with unshed tears, and he bit his trembling lower lip.

“Just stay put,” Grant cautioned too harshly, caught in his own concern for Jami’s safety.

“I promise.”

With that, Grant launched into the lake. A vigorous swimmer, he swiftly cut through the water, his mind, muscle, and heart consumed with one objective—Jami.

Jami swam through the fishy lake, her kick awkward, thanks to her sneaker-clad feet. Her total attention focused, she watched the toy boat rock and tilt drunkenly upon the waves, sunshine reflecting off the golden Cupid cradled inside. Thank heavens, the family heirloom was still afloat and nearly within reach. Jami moved deeper into the dark swirling waters, but the closer she got to the boat, the faster it drifted away. The tiny craft raced forward, suddenly drawn into a mad spin. Cupid still held fast as the miniature craft fought to remain upright.

Entering the whirlpool, Jami felt the current tearing at her, dragging her body with unseen power. She battled the underwater forces, drawing on strength, faith, and pure stubbornness. Her muscles screamed in protest, her lungs burned as water swamped over her, breaking her breathing pattern.

Battered by the swirling waters, Jami lost sight of the boat. When her face again broke surface and she gasped for air, she felt the wooden craft just beyond her fingertips. She grasped at it, but merely captured a handful of water. The boat spurted away and she pursued it, mindless of her own personal danger.

Nature cruelly reminded her. The dizzying undercurrent sucked her down, again and again, not allowing her to breathe. Jami knew she was a strong swimmer, yet the lake now encompassed her with so much power she could not break free.

A tiny dark object drifted down through the water in front of her. Cupid! Toby’s boat must have capsized and the brooch fallen overboard. She had to save the golden charm!

Limbs heavy, her lungs feeling as though they would burst, Jami concentrated on her mission. But she needed air. The lake spun and swirled around her, her thoughts fuzzing, whirling with the water.

She must reach the surface. She must have oxygen! Jami kicked harder, fighting upward, her every move warring with the monstrous water. Her tortured mind and body screamed her need for air. Lights seem to burst inside her head as pressure built with excruciating intensity. She must breathe. Or explode.

Suddenly Grant appeared, lifting her, freeing her, holding her.

“Grant!” His name escaped as a hoarse gasp on her lips. Jami clung to him, his warm hard body, a solid sanctuary as he towed her out of the swirling whirlpool into the calm lake water beyond. Overcome by joy, Jami momentarily forgot her anger toward Grant and the hurt he had caused her. She needed him and he was there, strong and caring, tender, and so potently male.

Within seconds, it seemed to Jami, they reached the shallows where she stumbled ashore, leaning on Grant for support.

He roughly spun her to face him, his midnight gaze raking over her. “You crazy fool,” he finally growled. “You could have drowned.”

“I had to save your grandmother’s Cupid pin,” Jami choked, even amid the crisis, drinking in his handsome features as she clung unsteadily to him.

“No family heirloom is worth your life,” Grant groaned, pulling her into his sodden embrace. Against her ear, he murmured, “Stubborn redhead, how could you expect to rescue one tiny piece of jewelry caught in whirlpool turbulence powerful enough to spawn lake monster legends?”

“I don’t believe in monsters.” Laughing and choking, Jami held up her hand to show him the charm. “I saved Cupid!”

Grant stared down at Jami, her beautiful hair corkscrewed into wet dark copper curls framing her face as she gazed at him with those exotic eyes. “You’re amazing.”

“Yes, aren’t I?” Jami impishly grinned up at him, the golden Cupid dancing from her fingertips as she dangled the brooch.

“I’ve never known such a wonderful, maddening, remarkable woman. Or such a crazy one,” he replied, feeling her soft breasts pressed against his chest, their hearts thundering in unison. “You’re a woman in a million.”

She was merely one woman out of many, his words reminded her as fury and hurt renewed to strike her like a tidal wave. “Maybe you haven’t known the right woman,” Jami answered frostily, her body tensing as she pushed away.

Grant released Jami, startled by her icy response. What had he said?

“And I’m not crazy. My son took Cupid, and it was my responsibility to return the jewelry safely.” Ice dripped from every word and Grant felt Jami distance herself, though they still stood within arms reach.

“Mom, you did it!” Toby cried, running and splashing barefooted through the shallow water to fling himself at his mother, encircling Jami’s waist to squeeze her tight. “You’re the best.”

Grant watched mother and son, buffeted by a myriad of emotion as he stepped away from the touching reunion. He’d never been so terrified in his life as when he saw Jami caught in that whirlpool current. She nearly died! Damn, he loved the woman!

Without hesitation, he had risked his life to save her. And he would do it again. A mental movie of the horror when he’d thought he would lose her replayed through his mind, chilling his heart and soul. Though she now stood safe, Grant had the overwhelming feeling he’d still lost her.

Witnessing the unshakable bond between Jami and Toby, Grant felt empty inside. He wished he could be included in their circle of love. With aching heart, he wished they were his family—his wife and his son. Nearly losing them had made that painfully clear.

He wrung out the tail of his soggy shirt and sloshed ashore. Alone. Grant Carrington’s glorious bachelor existence didn’t feel so glorious anymore.

It felt damn lonely.

“Hey, Grant!” Toby called.

He whipped around to face the boy. “What, Toby?”

The child scampered from his mother to Grant, thrusting something into Grant’s palm. “Here’s your bow-and-arrow guy back. Mom says to wash him with rubbing alcohol, and he’ll be all clean and shiny again. I’m sorry I took him.”

“I am, too.” Grant’s fingers slid over Cupid’s surface, the smooth curves and sharp edges. This was only a piece of jewelry. It possessed no magical powers. It was no love charm to cast spells or reunite Grant with the woman of his dreams. No matter how he’d come to wish otherwise, Cupid could not make Jami love him.

But at least she was alive. Fist closing over Cupid, Grant stared down at Toby. “You were wrong to take something without permission, and I want you to promise not to do it again.”

“Okay.” Bare feet planted slightly apart, the child nodded and gulped as he gazed up at Grant.

Jami was limping slightly as she moved past them. Grant reached out to her, but she knocked his hand away and kept walking.

“Did I apologize enough?” Toby asked, bouncing on his heels as if he also couldn’t wait to get away from him.

“Do you realize,” Grant continued, “your mischief almost cost your mother her life?”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Maybe sorry isn’t enough,” Grant replied, thinking of what could have happened to Jami.

Toby’s bottom lip trembled, his eyes filled with hurt, and exhaustion welled into tears. “You hate me, don’t you?”

Stunned into silence, Grant watched as the sobbing boy ran into the woods and disappeared from sight. Grant considered slamming his fist into the nearest tree. He hadn’t meant to take his anger out on the child.

“What happened?” Jami demanded, halting at the waterline. Her body taut as a rattler ready to strike, she stared at Grant through wounded, accusing eyes.

“Toby thinks I hate him,” Grant answered incredulously. How had he made such a mess of his relationship with Jami and her son?

“I don’t see him. Where did he go?” she demanded, looking behind Grant to search for her son.

“Toby ran into the woods.” He internally groaned as she gasped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so hard on him.”

“He’s my son. It’s my place to discipline him, not yours.” Jami started for the woods, but he grabbed her wrist.

“He’s just letting off steam.”

She jerked free. “We have to go after Toby. If my son gets lost, it’s your fault!”

Grant recoiled from the bitter hurt in Jami’s face and the pain her words stabbed into his heart. “He only has a minute head start, he can’t get lost.”

“Oh, sure. He’s not yours. I need to find my son, and you’re costing me time.”

“You don’t have to handle everything by yourself, Red.”

“I do.” She stared hard at Grant, her defiance vibrating the air between them.

“No, you don’t. I’m going to help you. Come on, let’s go.”

He grasped her hand tight, allowing no room for argument, then, jogging, led Jami into the woods after her son. Calling Toby’s name, they tracked into the woods. Grant suspected the boy was in earshot, but refusing to answer. “I think he’s hiding from us.”

“Hiding from you. Just leave.” Jami jerked her hand from his and stomped through the brush ahead. “I’ll find my son myself.”

“Why do you always act so damned independent? We all need to turn to someone at times. Why not turn to me?”

“Like you’d be there.”

“I’d try.”

“I doubt it.”

Jaw hardening, Grant swallowed a lump of frustration. After another twenty minutes of searching, he halted to grab Jami by the damp waistband of her jeans. “We’re turning back.”

“You turn back. I’ll find Toby.” She reached behind her to brush at Grant’s hand as if it were an annoying gnat.

He let go and blew out a frustrated breath. “A bare-footed six-year-old, unfamiliar with these woods, couldn’t have gotten farther. We’ve missed him, so we need to backtrack.”

Lifting her chin, Jami spun away from him, calling for Toby. She plowed ahead, shoulders slumped and hair every which way, but not limping as much as before.

“Stop.” Grant closed the distance between them in quick, determined strides and snagged her arm. “No deeper into the woods. We’ve passed Toby and have to turn back. Trust me.”

“Trust you?” Jami challenged, spinning to face him. “Why should I? You didn’t trust me to discipline my own child. You had to interfere, and now he’s lost.” Her voice broke on the last word.

“I wasn’t usurping your parental authority,” Grant replied, turning Jami around to guide her back toward the lake. “I was purely reacting to the crisis.”

Lips compressed and amber eyes sparkling with unshed tears, Jami mutely stared back at him.

A whimpering sob shattered the silence.

“Toby!” Jami whispered, whirling toward the sound like radar.

“There!” Grant hurdled over a boulder to land by a bush-encircled patch of tall mountain grass. “Sound asleep,” he added in wonder as he knelt beside the boy curled upon the wild grass.

Toby shifted and whimpered again. “Poor kid’s crying in his sleep.”

“My baby,” Jami cried softly, bending to stroke Toby’s flushed cheek.

“He must’ve been hiding from us and fell asleep,” Grant said, stilling her hand with his own. “Don’t wake him. I’ll carry Toby back.”

“I can carry my own son.” Jami’s chin jutted high.

“Get real, Red.”

“I could if I had to.”

“Well, you don’t. Stop trying to be superwoman.”

“Keep your voice down, or you’ll wake Toby.” Jami bit her lip as if still unconvinced. She stroked the hair off her son’s forehead, appearing fragile herself as she tenderly examined the pads of his bare feet. “I want to hold him.”

“No. I’ll take him. Toby’s too big for you to lug through the woods and back to the lodge.” Grant shot her a frown. “You know that.”

“Okay,” she grudgingly agreed. “But be careful.”

“Of course.” Scooping Toby into his arms, Grant cradled the boy against his chest, then stood. “You go ahead to retrieve his shoes and socks and tell the others we found him safe.”

Jami opened her mouth as if to argue, but turned and dashed down the trail.

“I’ll be just behind you.”

Dirt and tear-tracks streaked the child’s face and left-over sobs rattled his warm little body as Grant held the boy close.

Led by Jami, Grant hurried through the lodge and entered the suite, then crossed through to the inner bedroom and deposited the boy onto the bed.

“Jami, we have to talk,” Grant said softly as he turned away from the sleeping child, who sighed and snuggled into the bed.

“No we don’t,” Jami retorted. “Ever!” Shaken by what could have happened to her child, she blamed Grant, and the air between them remained as frigid as the Rockies in January.

“I don’t understand what’s happened between us.” Grant raked a hand through his damp hair, new lines carved into his handsome face. “Please explain what’s upset you.”

“My little boy ran away,” Jami raged, smothering the sob in her voice. “And you wonder why I’m upset!”

“Toby’s fine, but you could have drowned,” Grant argued. “It was hell seeing you get caught in that whirlpool.”

“Like you’d even miss me.” Jami turned her back on Grant and dropped to the bed where she began removing Toby’s wet clothes with a gentle touch to keep from waking her son.

“Not miss you?” Grant groaned. “Are you crazy?”

“Why don’t you get out of my room? Go find someone else to torment.”

“You’re the one tormenting me,” he growled, moving with panther swiftness to reach her side, sweeping her up into his arms. “You kiss me, then turn into an ice princess. I don’t understand you, Jami Rhodes.”

Her breath caught as he lowered his head.

His warm, masterful mouth possessed hers in a kiss that melted Jami’s insides. All thoughts vanished as she reveled in the feel of Grant’s velvety tongue slide against hers.

Toby let out a soft cry, bringing her to her senses. She planted her hands against Grant’s chest and pushed. “Let me go.”

He stiffened. “Why not?” Grant’s harsh voice raked up Jami’s spine as he released her. “You were never mine to hold, were you?”

He stalked out of the bedroom, snapping the door shut behind him.

Jami flung Toby’s soaked shirt at the door as it closed. The material hit the wood, then plopped to the floor with a splat.

“Mom?” Toby sat up in his underwear, jarred out of playing possum. “Why are you throwing my clothes at Grant?”

“You are awake.” Jami blinked down at her son, embarrassed he’d witnessed her tantrum. Not knowing how to answer his question, she took refuge in her role as mother. “You need to get cleaned up. I don’t want you to catch cold.”

“Did you catch a cold swimming in the lake when you went after my boat? Is that why your nose is red and you’re crying?” Toby asked, concern in his big brown eyes as he studied his mother in a manner too mature for his six years.

“It’s possible,” she fudged, turning from him to get a tissue from a box on the dresser.

“You need to clean up first, Mom.” Toby studied her with a critical eye. “I can wait a while.”

“Maybe I will,” Jami agreed, the fight draining out of her.

“Grant was mad at me ‘cause he likes you,” Toby stated, wrapping his arms around his bare knees. “He was afraid you’d drown, wasn’t he?”

“Well, I didn’t.” Jami gazed at her son, suddenly wondering if he saw the situation more clearly than she could. “I’m fine, you’re fine, and Grant’s Cupid charm is fine.”

“He loves you, Mom. I can tell.”

“You’re a child. You don’t understand such things,” Jami replied, shocked at his statement.

“If you marry Grant, will he be my daddy?” Toby asked, his round freckled face hopeful.

“Grant doesn’t want to marry me.” Jami paced around the room, her wet sneakers squishing into the carpet. She ached everywhere. Her arms were scratched and bleeding, just like her heart.

“Why not? Doesn’t he want to be my daddy?” Toby asked, his eyes wide as he followed his mother’s progress back and forth across the bedroom.

“It’s not you, sweetheart, it’s me Grant doesn’t want.” Jami pivoted around, catching a glimpse of herself in the dresser mirror. Her hair plastered down in soggy curls, her wet shirt and jeans clung to her body, and her smeared mascara rimmed her eyes in clown black. She looked awful. And she felt worse.

Jami tried to hide her tears from her son, then noticed him squeeze his eyes shut to sniff back a sob of his own. “If I’d been good, you wouldn’t be fighting with Grant.” A tremor in his voice, Toby added, “And you wouldn’t be so sad.”

“It’s not your fault, tiger.” Jami hated to see the answering hurt in his eyes.

“You were happy when we all played in the lake.” Toby blinked up at his mother. “I was happy, too. I like it when you, me, and Grant are together.”

“Some things aren’t meant to be,” Jami said, heading into the bathroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Hi, Grant.”

Grant glanced up at Toby standing in the bedroom doorway. “Feeling better?”

The boy nodded. “I’m a Zonar soldier, and it’s my job to fix things.”

“What are you fixing?” Grant asked, wiping the excess rubbing alcohol off Cupid and replacing the brooch in the drawer as the boy bounced into the room.

“Just things. My mom’s in the tub,” Toby announced, halting a few feet away from Grant and watching him closely.

“So she doesn’t know you’re in here?”

“Nope. She’d probably get grumpy.”

“Then maybe you’d better go,” Grant replied, wondering why Jami’s opinion wounded him so much.

“We need to have a guy-to-guy talk.” Toby held his ground, fists clenched at his sides as he stared up at Grant.

“What about?” Grant asked, intrigued.

“I want you to marry my mom.”

“You what?” Grant shook his head to clear it. He must be hearing things. Maybe his ears were still clogged with water.

“Sierra told my mom that you were Mr. Right and that Mr. Right would make her happy. Mom’s real sad, right now. I want her to be happy.”

“Your mom doesn’t want to marry me,” Grant said, pain stabbing his heart the way Cupid tended to stab his palm.

“Mom says you don’t want to marry her.” The boy shot a knowing glance up at the man. “Is it because of me? Because I’m so naughty?”

“No way, Toby. We’re partners, right?” Grant patted Toby’s head. “I can’t marry your mom, because she doesn’t want to marry me.”

“Maybe you and Mom could have another dress-up dinner together? I think she liked that,” Toby offered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and teetering toe to heel and heel to toe in his sneakers.

“She won’t have dinner with me. She’ll hardly speak to me.”

Toby walked over to pat Grant on the forearm. “Don’t worry. I’ll come up with a plan. In Zonar Galaxy we always come up with a plan.”

“Thanks, partner,” Grant replied, touched by the child. “I thought you didn’t want your mom to get married again.”

“A guy can change his mind, can’t he?” Toby asked sheepishly, flashing that lopsided grin at Grant. “Even a guy like me.”

“A smart guy like you,” Grant corrected, kneeling to give Toby a bear hug.

“Toby!” Jami called from the inner bathroom. “Will you hand me my lotion? It’s on the dresser.”

“Oh, oh!” Toby’s brown eyes grew to saucers. “I better go, or we’ll both be in trouble.”

“Yes, sir.” Grant chuckled and saluted Toby, who snapped his heels together and saluted Grant back, before dashing into the bedroom and pulling the door shut.

Grant was nowhere in sight when Jami and Toby went downstairs to supper, nor was he at the dining room table with the other lodge guests. Jami told herself that she was glad as she and Toby took seats across from Dottie, Doris, and the professor.

“Glad you found your son,” Professor Tolaski stated as he lightly buttered and peppered his steaming white and yellow corn-on-the-cob.

“Me, too,” Jami replied, piercing the crust of her wonderful smelling turkey potpie as peas, carrots, and gravy burst through the pastry, wishing she had the appetite to do justice to the dish. “I appreciate everyone’s help in the search.”

“I wasn’t lost,” Toby objected, slathering butter on his own corn. “I knew where I was all the time.”

“We didn’t,” Dottie said, a schoolteacher scold marring her usually cheerful expression. “You had your mother terrified, young man.”

“Grant was very worried as well.” Doris wagged her finger at the child. “You turned this lodge upside-down.”

“Does that mean I’ve got to apologize to everybody again?” Toby asked, reluctance apparent in both his face and voice.

“Yes.” Despite her own pain, Jami smiled affectionately at her little boy, noting that he already had butter and corn smeared ear to ear. “You’re getting pretty good at apologies.”

“I guess so.” He glanced around the table, his brown eyes wide. “I’m sorry everybody. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”

“Apology accepted, Toby,” Professor Tolaski said with a smile, corn kernels caught in his beard as he peered over his thick glasses.

“Next time tell someone where you’re going,” Dottie admonished, using her fork to mash her potpie into unidentifiable mush.

“You’d be welcome to accompany my sister and me on a nature hike, Toby,” Doris offered kindly. “Then you won’t get bored or into more trouble.”

“Thanks,” Toby said, taking a swig of his milk. As he replaced his glass, Jami noticed a white milk moustache above his lip.

“After supper, we’re going to look for the emerald cuckoo we spotted earlier in the woods.” Doris smiled, creasing the dimple lines in her plump face. “Would you care to join us?”

“Emerald cuckoo?” the professor boomed. “That’s an African bird! You certainly didn’t see one here in the Rockies!”

“We did.” Dottie pressed her lips together as she exchanged a glance with her sister. “It was green with a yellow belly and definitely a cuckoo.”

“Maybe the emerald cuckoo flies a migration path through here that you’re not aware of, Professor,” Doris suggested, obviously not about to change their story.

Shoving his eyeglasses higher upon the bridge of his nose, Professor Tolaski scowled from one sister to the other. “Not on this continent.”

“Green with a yellow tummy?” Toby mused, stuffing a chunk of turkey into his mouth. “I saw a bird like that today.”

Professor Tolaski harrumphed and shook his head. His brow furrowed in disgust as he scoffed, “Not an emerald cuckoo.”

“Toby, can you show us where you saw it?” Dottie eagerly asked.

“Can I, Mom?” The child turned to his mother. “Please?”

“Well...” Jami glanced from her son to the retired schoolteacher sisters.

“We know it’s late, but we’ll have him back by dark,” Doris assured Jami.

“Mom?” Toby coaxed, his face alight with excitement. “I’ll be so good. I really, really will.”

“Okay,” Jami slowly agreed. She hated to let her child out of her sight after losing him twice in one day, but they’d be checking out tomorrow. This was an opportunity Toby wouldn’t get again. “I’ll be upstairs packing.”

“Packing?” Dottie repeated, sounding alarmed. “Are you leaving us?”

“Toby and I head home in the morning,” Jami answered with artificial cheerfulness and a strained smile.

“What about Grant?” Professor Tolaski asked, crumbs from the potpie crust drifting from his beard as he talked.

“Ask Grant.” Jami concentrated on finishing her dinner, though everything tasted like sawdust. Pretending she didn’t care about Grant Carrington proved difficult. Their vacation was ending. Their relationship already had ended—so much for CupidKey finding her perfect match. Jami tightened her resolve as she pushed away from the table. Mr. Right had turned out to be Mr. Wrong.

Having escaped the scrutiny of her dinner companions, Jami was upstairs in the bedroom packing their bags when she heard a commotion in the hallway. She ran through the suite and threw open the door as Toby’s footsteps thundered toward her.

He came racing down the corridor, hollering, “Mom! Mom!”

A door across the hall whipped open, and Raven McGuire stepped out. “What’s wrong? A fire? What?”

Raven wore a towel to cover the neck of a silver cocktail dress, her black hair stood out in ratted clumps, and her face was devoid of make-up. Her lips were nearly as pale as her alabaster skin, making her blood-red nails the only color she wore.

“A witch!” Toby cried, screeching to a halt in front of the young widow. “I knew you were a witch.” Acting frightened as a kitten being chased by a werewolf, the child backed away, then scooted toward Jami. “See her eyes, Mom. She is a witch!”

“Oh, drat,” Raven gasped, one hand flying to her hair, the other to her eyes. “My contacts! Where’s the other lens?”

“I’m sorry.” Jami gasped, unable to ignore Raven’s one startling violet eye and the other natural gray eye.

“Is there a fire or something?” Raven snapped, stepping back through her own doorway.

“Is there?” Jami shot a questioning glance at Toby, while dragging her frozen son into the suite.

“Nope.” He stared, hypnotized by the widow’s Halloween appearance.

“You rotten monster,” Raven huffed, slamming her door.

The moment Raven’s door closed, Toby whirled around to face Jami. “Mom, you’ve got to help Grant! A bear attacked him. A big bear! Come quick!” Toby broke into a run, heading back down the corridor.

“Where?” Jami called as she wasted no time catching up to her son. “When? Is Grant hurt?”

Toby slowed slightly, panting. “Grant’s at the place where he made my boat. He was making another one when a grizzly attacked him. Hurry!”

“You call for help and get the others,” Jami instructed her son, delaying to take hold of Toby’s shoulders. “I’ll find Grant on my own.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Get help.”

Jami dashed downstairs and through the lodge, wishing she’d thought to ask Toby more questions. Was the bear still attacking Grant? How badly was he wounded? And where were Dottie and Doris?

Outside, the world appeared serene and peaceful, warring with the panic driving Jami. Slanting sunshine and lengthening evening shadows sculpted the mountainside, majestic blue spruce and lodgepole pines towered over breeze-ruffled aspens and scrub oaks. Wallflowers and pine scented the crisp thin air as a chorus of crickets and songbirds mocked the threat of danger.

Filled with urgency, Jami hit the trail in a run, pausing only long enough to snag a heavy branch from the ground and grab two rocks. Maybe not the best weapons against an angry bear, but something.

Racing to Grant’s rescue, Jami realized how deeply it shook her that he was in danger. Her heart had told her to trust him, but she’d been too stubborn. Didn’t she owe Grant the chance to prove that he wasn’t the womanizer she believed? He had to be safe! She loved the man. She couldn’t lose him.

Silently praying for his protection, Jami admitted to herself that Grant was the only man for her. She couldn’t envision a future without him. And she would not hesitate to face a crazed grizzly to save him.

She stumbled over a brittle root, snapping it in half. Noise. Jami remembered that wild animals were often frightened off by loud noises. If that bear was still around, it would hear some screaming, she guaranteed it.

As Jami approached the lake, she saw Grant sitting on a boulder with his back to her and his head in his hands. He was alive! Her heart burst into song and she nearly did, too. But what if he was still under attack and not moving on purpose? Jami’s gaze darted back and forth, fear bubbling through her.

Where was that bear?

Jami charged down the trail, brandishing her stick and whooping bloody murder so loud it hurt her own ears.

A knife and wood chunk plopped onto the ground as Grant leapt off the boulder, spinning around to face Jami. “Whoa, Red!” His arm whipped upward to ward off a blow. “Don’t hit me!”

Skidding to a stop, Jami’s mouth dropped open. She gradually absorbed his words and lowered the branch. “You don’t have a scratch on you.”

“Not yet.” He eyed her stick, his glance slipping to the rocks clutched in her other hand. “What did I do to tick you off so badly?”

Jami felt a blush fire her cheeks. Was this another Toby scam? “Where’s the bear?” she asked, suspecting the answer.

“What bear?”

“Toby said a grizzly attacked you and that you were hurt,” Jami stammered, feeling foolish. As if a bear would dare attack Grant Carrington.

“You were coming to my rescue?” Grant asked, wonder in his midnight blue eyes as he gazed at her. “You’d brave an attack from a wild animal to save me?”

They stood mutely staring at each other, Jami unable to deny the love and concern blazing in Grant’s face. He held open his arms. She ran to him and he caught her in his embrace, swinging her like a rag doll locked against his heart.

“You do care,” Grant whispered into her hair, sending a thrill through her entire body. “Oh, Red, you’re the only woman for me.”

“I am?” Jami echoed, her heart recognizing his sincerity.

A plastic arrow zinged above their heads.

Toby! Jami swung around. Where was that stinker?

“Is this your doing, slugger?” Grant asked in a mock-stern tone.

She squinted and located her son at the bend of the trail, holding his bow. He stood between Dottie and Doris.

“Yes, sir,” Toby replied, snapping a salute.

“Good job,” Doris chirped, patting Toby’s head. “You’re a regular Cupid, young man.”

Dottie winked down at Toby. The three of them wore silly grins as they watched Grant laugh and retrieve the toy arrow.

“Just like when we met,” Grant chuckled, tossing the arrow back to Toby.

“Not quite,” Jami corrected, pulling Grant’s head down for a sizzling kiss as the trio of conspirators disappeared into the woods.

Grant hugged Jami so close she could hear the laughter rumble in his chest and the steady beating of his heart. “Your son is proving to be almost as amazing as his beautiful mother. Toby told me you loved me, but I didn’t believe the rascal.”

“Toby planned this?” Jami stared up at Grant, her head in a wild spin.

“Apparently.” Grant traced Jami’s lips with the pad of his thumb, sending a flurry of sparks to mark the path. “And he told me that you want to marry me.”

“Toby did?” Jami squeaked, a shiver running up her spine as Grant’s hands now stroked her throat and back.

“Was he wrong?” Grant demanded, his gaze locked with hers.

“I claim the Fifth.” Jami pressed her lips together, striving to regain some dignity. Grant’s fingers danced along her jaw line to circle the sensitized area around her ear.

“Trail rule number six—always tell the truth.” Grant’s voice dropped to rough velvet as he pulled her tighter against him until she could feel his rising desire. “Jami Rhodes, do you love me?”

“Do you love me?” she shot back.

“I’m crazy about you,” Grant replied, nibbling at her ear lobe, until Jami felt quite crazed herself. “I adore you. I crave you.” He skimmed his hot lips over hers. “Yes, dammit, I love you!”

“You do?” Jami asked, stunned. “But what about all the other women?”

“From the moment your son struck me with a toy arrow, and I looked up to see that copper-haired angel mom of his, there’s been no other woman.” Grant smiled his heart-stopping smile and gazed lovingly into her face. “You’re the only woman for me, Red.”

“What about the woman you left at the altar?” Jami wanted to believe him, but suspicions haunted her. Jami searched his gaze, a tight knot forming in the pit of her stomach. “I overheard your phone call.”

“What?” Grant rubbed his chin, before light suddenly dawned in his eyes. “My mother! That was my mother asking if we had set a wedding date.”

“We?” Jami asked, her voice a croak. “Like in you and me?”

“That’s the we all right.” He laughed, then cradled her close. “Ouch!” Suddenly he let go of her and reached into his pocket. “What the...? How did Cupid get here?”

Jami watched Grant pull his grandmother’s gold brooch out of his jeans pocket. He reared his head back and started to laugh so hard that she found herself laughing with him. All the tension and worry drained out of her as her giggles merged with his deep chuckles until tears rolled down her cheeks and she hiccupped.

“Cupid’s magic,” Grant finally gasped, still holding the brooch. “Cupid made you love me.”

“You made me love you,” Jami huskily corrected, sliding a hand behind Grant’s head to lower his face to hers. Somehow their antagonism had changed to concern, their attraction to love. Deep within her heart, she accepted that he loved her and offered her the chance to prove she was truly the only woman for him.

“We can’t live without each other,” Grant murmured against her lips.

“We might not be able to live with each other, either,” Jami replied, savoring his warm minty breath and his spicy male scent as their mouths hovered inches apart.

“I’m willing to try if you are.”

“Is that a proposal?”

“With Cupid as my witness, Red.” Grant abruptly released her and dropped to the ground on his knees, clasping her hands in his.

“Ouch!” She pulled her left hand back. “Cupid stabbed me.”

“That mischievous devil has a lot in common with Toby.” Grant jammed the brooch back into his pocket and took Jami’s hands again, this time placing a tender kiss upon her knuckles. “Jami Rhodes, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Jami whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks again, this time from the joy bursting inside her. Grant Carrington was Mr. Right!

Grant reverently drew Jami into his arms. The woman of his dreams had agreed to marry him! He’d never felt such happiness. With Jami cradled against his heart, he felt complete; the missing part of his life no longer haunting him, the loneliness vanished. Jami wanted to be his wife, and her precocious son wanted him for a daddy. Brushing away suspicious moisture in his own eyes, Grant held Jami close, giving thanks he now had the family he realized he’d always wanted.

Through his pocket, Grant felt a tiny stab and grinned. Cupid had scored another successful love match—this time with a little help from Toby the Terror.