This Love Will Go On (9 page)

“You might ask how your son is,” he said through gritted teeth.

Over the top of the cup her eyes flashed.  “What difference would my asking make?”

“To him, none.” He shrugged, his shoulders moving under the heavy jacket

“I can't be hypocritical, Jade.”

He stared at her. She had her own peculiar brand of honesty which was as much a part .of her as her creamy skin and her graceful way of moving.  But it was an honesty that didn't appeal to him.  She was a stranger, a beautiful stranger, with nothing to offer a man but the beauty of her body.

“Don't you think it's hypocritical to be married to one man and living with another?”

Her eyes flew to his and in a fleeting instant, he saw the quick, feline assessment of his mood.  When he leaned back against the bench lazily, she laughed, a release of tension.  “So you know.” 

“What do you take me for, an idiot?  I’ve known you were sleeping with him since the night you walked into the Outrigger.” 

Her eyes flickered over him.  “What are you going to do about it?”

His tone was dry.  “I thought I’d do the decent thing and divorce you.”

She laughed again.  “Be my guest.  I want to be free of you just as much as you want to be free of me.”

“You agree?”

She leaned back, more at ease than she’d been a moment ago.  “Of course.  As long as you grant me visiting rights.”

A muscle in his jaw moved.  “What kind of visiting rights?”

“Two months in the summer.  That’s a slow time in the theater.  I could take Tate around and show him things he’d never see in South Dakota, museums, art, and of course theater productions.”

The thought of Tate in the city with Michele curdled Jade’s blood.  “No.”

“Those are my terms.”  She shrugged.  “If you're not willing to meet them…”

“Who's backing your play?”

He watched while she toyed with her spoon.  “What do you know about backers?”

“In case you've forgotten, I’m a cattleman and one of the biggest gamblers around.  I know about having to borrow upfront capital to realize money on a long shot.”

Dark eyes looked up at him from long lashes.  “Are you saying you'd be willing to invest money in the play?”

He watched her sultry eyes rove over him.  Once that blatant invitation had fired his blood. Now he felt nothing but distaste.  “How does fifteen thousand dollars sound?”

“In return for relinquishing my visiting rights? Not enough.”

He gritted his teeth.  They were bargaining over his son and his feeling of revulsion grew.  “Twenty thousand?”

“Make it twenty-five,” she said smoothly, “and you've got yourself a deal.”

He didn't flicker an eyelash.  “I want a signed statement from you before I hand over the money.”

“You'll have it. Tony has a friend who's a lawyer.”  She stood up.

It was then he began to wonder if this had all been carefully orchestrated.  He followed, angling his body out of the booth with a lithe easiness that concealed his tension.  “I'll be faxing it to Walter Jensen so he can look it over as well,” he warned her.

“You won't have to,” she said sweetly.  “I wouldn’t want visiting rights if you handed them to me on a platter, Jade.  Do you think I want a son tagging after me who’d betray exactly how old I am?  No way.  I knew you'd come across if I held out long enough.”

His eyes burned over her.  He was furious, not because she'd tricked him, but because she cared so little for their son.  For a long moment, he gazed at her, his eyes traveling over her petite body.  How could he have been so blind?  Of course.  She was an actress.  Her love for him had been an act.  “What makes you think I won’t rescind our 'agreement' now that I know the truth?”

“You won't,” she said airily.  “You wouldn’t take the slightest chance of losing your son to me.  Because that’s what might happen if I expose him to the culture of the city.  He might decide South Dakota is the back of the beyond, like I did.  Besides, you're a man of your word, Jade, one of the few left around. Maybe that's why I married you. After my parents died, I didn't have much stability in my life.”  She slanted an eyebrow.  “I thought it was what I wanted.  And you were an incredible lover, I have to give you that.  But after Tate was born, I kept seeing myself as your baby machine, turning out little Kincaids year after year to add to the family dynasty.  That wasn’t the future I’d envisioned for myself.  I’m not like Raine, all sweet and domestic and ready to do whatever it takes to be your wife.  You haven’t…bedded her, have you?  No, of course not.  You would do the honorable thing and wait until you were free.  Is that what this precipitous visit is all about?  Freeing yourself for Raine?”

“You don’t know a damn thing about Raine…or me, either.”  He threw a bill on the table and turned away, more than a little disturbed at her perspicacity. 

At the bottom of the four steps that led out to the street, she caught his arm. “So now that you have what you want and I have what I want…” her fingers tightened on him, “we’re friends again, aren’t we?  I hate to see you spend the night in New York alone. Why don't I…” she framed the words carefully, watching him, “go back to your hotel with you?”  She smiled. “Just for old time's sake?  I could show you some new things I’ve learned from Tony.”

He steeled himself to keep from showing the revulsion he felt.  He wondered just how far she would go to prove she was a better woman than Raine.  For that was what it was, it had to be.  “What would Tony darling say to your…renewing your acquaintance with me?”

“He’s an understanding man.  Seeing you again makes me remember what a wonderful lover you are, how good you are in bed.  I…want you, Jade.”

“And that’s supposed to make me fall into your arms?”

She looked at him, her eyes pleading.  “If you were anything but a rancher…”  She linked her arm in his, just as she had Costelino’s a moment ago.  “I’d never have let you go, darling.”

His stomach squeezed in revolt.  “Go back to Costelino, Michele.  He’s your best bet now.  And you have all my money to enjoy with him.”

She pulled away and stared at him, her eyes blazing.  “You’re glad to be rid of me, aren’t you?”

“Frankly, yes.”

“You can’t wait to go home and console yourself with my little sister.”

He shook off her hand, the tautness of his arm telling her she had hit exactly on target.  “For the last time, leave her out of this.”

“But she’s very much in it, isn’t she?” Michele shot back.

Deliberately, Jade turned his back on her and walked into the wintery night, thinking that anything Michele said or did no longer mattered to him.  If he’d been thinking clearly, he would have known better.

The next morning, in Tony Costelino’s apartment, the tiny alarm next to the bed went off.  Irritable and not remembering, Michele mumbled a succinct word and reached for the clock.  Why the hell had she set it so early?  She came awake suddenly, remembering.  She reached for the phone, moving carefully so she wouldn’t disturb Tony.

The phone seemed to ring for an interminable time.  But she let the rings go on, knowing that Raine would have to get out of bed and walk down the stairs.  Julia had never installed an upstairs telephone even though Michele had begged for one.

At last, the ringing stopped.  “Hello?”

Raine sounded sleepy and vaguely muddled.  Of course.  It was two hours earlier there.  Perfect.  “Hello, Raine.  I just wanted to call and tell you the good news.  You’ve won, sister mine.  Jade is free.  He’s all yours.  But if you think you’ll get him to say those three magic words to you, you’re wrong.  He never, in all the time I was with him, told me he loved me.”  She laughed huskily.  “If you think you’ll break through that barrier of male pride when I couldn’t, you’ll be sadly disappointed.”  Michele yawned noisily into the phone.  “I wish you the joy of him.”  Well, have a good day, Raine.  Look for me in
People
magazine.  We just did an article and some photos to publicize our play.”  Another long silence.  “Is anything wrong?”

“No.  Was that all you wanted?  My feet are getting cold.”

“That was all I wanted, to tell you Jade is a free man…for all the good it will do you.”

Michele hung up the phone and rolled over.  She ran an experimental fingernail down Tony’s spine.  He wasn’t sleeping, she knew that.  Costelino rolled over and grasped her by the nape of her neck, slipping a hand between her head and the pillow.  “What the hell have you been up to so early in the morning, you little cat?  It can’t be good.”

“Just giving my little sister a nice dose of insecurity.  That’s my specialty.”

“You little bitch,” he said, with a mild, mocking affection.  “You’re almost too much for any man to handle.”

“Care to try?” she said softly.

“I’ll do more than try,” he growled and pulled her over on top of him.

“Yes, you will.  Umm, I love the way you wake up, all ready for action.”

“Then let me show you some,” he said, and gave her earlobe a nice little bite.

Raine watched as Tate got ready to return home.  He stuffed his things in his suitcase, his teddy bear he said he didn’t really need but had brought along because he didn’t want Teddy to be lonesome, the red pajamas with the rubber feet worn thin, and two sets of tee shirts and jeans.  His mouth held in serious concentration, Tate worked at folding his shirts. His pale gold hair shone in the light as he bent over the bed. His features, still round with baby softness, had the symmetry that would make him a handsome man one day. A man who looked like Jade. He would resemble his father and have the added attraction of those midnight-blue, searching eyes that her sister had bequeathed him.

Dully, she felt the stab of pain. She had been in a curious limbo all day, not thinking, not feeling. She knew when the hurt wore off, the residual pain would linger like a bad taste in her mouth. What had she expected? Not that, surely.
He’ll never tell you he loves you. 
Yet…when he took her in his arms, it felt so right, so good.  Memories arose of that summer night in the arbor…and that time in the print shop when she’d nearly succumbed. She shut them away, knowing they would bring nothing but pain.

“I’m done, Aunt Raine.” Tate looked at her with little boy satisfaction.

Raine forced her mouth to smile.  “Want me to help you close the case?”

“Yes, please.”  Even after only eight months of Michele's absence, his constant exposure to Jade had made him gravely serious, far too polite for a boy of five. Raine snapped the suitcase closed and knew that no matter what happened, she wasn't going to lose contact with Tate.

The waiting seemed endless.  Tate ran to the door a dozen times, looking for Jade.  Raine tried to interest him in the television program Julia was watching, but he wouldn't sit still long enough to get interested in the show.  She was almost ready to go into the kitchen and pop some popcorn just to give Tate something else to think about, when she heard the car pull up. Tate heard it too, and bounded to the door. Raine remained where she was, standing in the arched doorway that led to the kitchen.

Seeing him, tall, infinitely male, his amber gold hair dusted with snowflakes, beaming down at Tate and then swinging the boy up into his arms was like looking into a store window at a gleaming gem she wanted but could never have.

“Did Aunt Raine take good care of you, son?”

Tate nodded.  “We went to see Tom Cannon's puppies. Can I have a puppy, Dad?”

Jade shot an amused, mocking glance at Raine.  "I have the feeling I'm being set up,” he said softly, smiling.

She couldn't answer his smile.  “Maybe you are. Tate could use a diversion right now.”

“He isn't the only one,” he said softly, smiling, thinking she would understand.

To his utter amazement, she went pale and her body stiffened.  He was ready to make her his diversion, an affair without love.

“Jade.”  Julia came out of the living room, smiling.  “I didn't know you were here. Did you have a nice trip?  You must be exhausted.  I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

Grappling with seeing Raine's reaction to him, and mystified about the reason for her animosity, he forced himself to appear natural and friendly in front of Julia. “No, thanks, Julia, not this time. I'd better get Tiger here home to bed.  Tomorrow's a school day.”  His eyes flickered over Raine and the anguish he saw in hers alarmed him.  Now, just as he was on the verge of clearing the tangled mess of his life, she stood looking at him with this expression on her face that was not the pleasant smile he’d hoped for on his homecoming. He had to be careful not to say the wrong thing, but it was hard to think when his head ached with travel fatigue. His best defense was retreat.  “Thank you for taking such good care of Tate,” he said wearily. 

“He was no trouble.”  Raine’s cool tone told him nothing.  “Any time you want to go…away, I'll be glad to keep him for you.”

He met her eyes, his own guarded. “I don't think I'll be going anywhere again soon.” And with that, he turned and left, knowing he would have to wait to talk to her until he could catch her alone.

It was two o'clock the next afternoon, just after Julia had gone home, when the bell on the door of the print shop began its familiar jangle. Had she been unconsciously waiting to hear that sound all day?  She must have.  She forced her eyes up from the press.  It was Jade, wearing his heavy sheepskin jacket and jeans and a dark green sweater that matched his eyes. His cheeks were red with cold but his eyes glowed with determination.  Knowing he wouldn't be put off, she shut down the press and self-consciously wiped her inky hands on a rag she kept near the press for that purpose.