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Books by Jacqueline Diamond
Chapter One When she got to the clinic, he might be waiting. Or on his way, driving from his ranch in the pickup truck. Gina Kennedy’s step quickened as she hurried down Mayfair Avenue in the early morning quiet. Her shift in the intermediate-care nursery didn’t start for half an hour. What was her hurry? His dark eyes would warm when he came in. The other nurses would sneak glances at him, but his smile would be for Gina alone. On a humid July day like this, Austin, Texas, felt more like the Old South than the Wild West. Gina could feel her hair wilting, even though the full heat wouldn’t hit for hours yet. She glanced at her reflection in a shop window. The straight, light-blond hair that brushed the tops of her shoulders was a bit damp, but holding its own thanks to a heavy dose of mousse. Critically, she examined the way the nurse’s uniform clung to her figure. Gina knew that some of her friends envied her narrow waistline and well-proportioned bust, but she’d always wished she wer
Chapter One
Chapter Two Across one of the plank-style tables at Lone Star’s, a steak house down the street from Maitland Maternity, Gina studied Mason. She hadn’t been able to finish her barbecued chicken, although it was excellent. The huge portions, however, didn’t prevent him from making short work of a platter of steak and fries, along with a salad. He ate exactly the way she’d imagined he would. He also managed to tell her quite a bit about himself, and especially his relationship with his sister. Until now, Gina had known Mason primarily as Lily and Daisy’s uncle. It was intriguing to glimpse the larger scope of his life and his family. Margaret, he’d explained, was eight years older than him and had already married and left the Blackstone Bar ranch when their mother died. Mason, who’d been twelve at the time, had helped raise Rance, five years his junior, and had assisted their father on the ranch. In Dallas, Marge kept a busy schedule. She headed several social committees and ran a charity
Chapter Two
Chapter Three Was he being selfish? Mason had never asked himself that question before. He asked it a lot that night at the ranch, and the next morning on the two-hour drive to Austin. All his life, until now, the future and his place in it had spread before him as neatly as the procession of the seasons. He and Rance would grow up to take over the ranch. They would run it together, expand their operations and leave a rich heritage for the next generation. For years, they’d kept on course. After their father’s death, when Mason was twenty-three and Rance eighteen, the younger brother had taken over the horse-training operation while the elder focused on cattle and oil. Although both preferred working with animals, their finances depended on the pumps that worked with steady efficiency around the range. Mason didn’t have to question why he did what he did. It was simply there, a force of nature. He was a rancher, he was his father’s son and he was Rance’s brother. Two months ago, when h
Chapter Three
Chapter Four She hadn’t meant to say that. Until a minute ago, Gina had had every intention of declining his offer. However, as Katie had pointed out yesterday, she couldn’t help flying to the defense of people she cared about. And after hearing for herself how ruthless Mason’s sister was, Gina had made the only move that could preserve his right to the girls. On Mason’s face she saw relief. If only he would put his arms around her and tell her that he cared about her, she would feel so much better. However, she reminded herself, he had proposed a practical arrangement, and she’d just agreed to it for practical reasons. Her statement rang in her ears, through the buzz of congratulations from Katie and Abby and Megan Maitland. It took a moment to realize that Chelsea Markum was asking another question. “When did this come about?” the reporter said. “Very recently. We weren’t going to announce it quite yet.” Gina wasn’t exactly lying. “Mason and I got to know each other over the past two
Chapter Four
Chapter Five The four-story white house on Maitland Avenue had served generations of Maitlands, long before the former Megan Kelly married into the family. From the time Gina and her family moved to Austin when she was thirteen, she’d viewed the house more as a movie set than as a real home where real people lived. She’d heard the romantic stories about how Megan’s father had been a groundskeeper on the estate. Megan herself had worked there as a maid until she fell in love and married her employer, William Maitland. That had been nearly forty years ago. To Gina, it was the stuff of Cinderella legends. As she gazed over the grounds from the third-floor bedroom provided for her bridal transformation, she couldn’t believe that she was going to be married here. Below, staff members swarmed about the gazebo and lawn, setting up chairs and floral displays. Beyond, near the tennis courts, a long table was being hastily covered with a cloth and set with serving dishes for the buffet supper. E
Chapter Five
Chapter Six Although he’d spent the past two months at Maitland Maternity, Mason had never realized how many people worked there. Dozens of people filed through the receiving line, offering congratulations, while their names sifted into and out of his brain without leaving a trace. Give him a herd of spring-born calves any day. He could easily recollect which one had had difficulty being born, which one possessed a mean temper and which one tended to stray. Then there were his own relatives. Margaret and Stuart wore sour expressions, as if they’d sucked lemons during the ceremony. “Quite some wedding,” Margaret said. It was difficult to tell whether she meant the remark as a compliment. “Beautiful house and grounds,” added her husband, more diplomatically. “It was gracious of Megan Maitland to offer her hospitality.” “She values Gina’s work,” Mason explained. “And, of course, everybody at the clinic is very fond of her, as you can see.” He slipped an arm around his wife’s waist. At lea
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven If he had stayed one moment longer, Mason knew, they wouldn’t have left that room for hours. Maybe not until tomorrow morning. He’d never seen Gina look so sensual. How could a woman convey earthly passion and angelic innocence at the same time? She’d aroused him almost past bearing. Her hair had been spun silk in his hands. His mind had traced the natural progression from a kiss on the lips, down her bare throat to the point where the flesh began to swell into alluring mounds. How easy it would be to lower those straps and bare her breasts. His tongue flicked over his lips as he imagined the taste of them, the shape, the texture. Her moans would be soft and ladylike at first, but then… Damn, he was making himself hard. How was a fellow supposed to get into a small elevator with a large suitcase and an even larger—well, appendage? Mason felt as if he’d left parts of himself scattered around the Maitland mansion. He’d have to go back upstairs and fetch the Stetson he’d lef
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight After she checked on the girls and found then sleeping, it occurred to Gina that she didn’t know where the kitchen was. On the far side of the house, she guessed, and set off with the sense of venturing to another continent. In the living room, she glanced outside. The large picture window was shaded by partially open blinds that gave her a striped view of Mason’s kingdom. In the yard, chickens pecked for food, guarded by a flop-eared, splay-footed hound so droopy that Gina doubted it could rouse itself if a fox came to call. A ginger cat, ignoring the birds and the dog, pounced on a whirling leaf near the small building that must be Mason’s office. Past the office lay two barns. One, she recalled, was for horses, the other for cattle. Beyond them sprawled three corrals of varying sizes, the farthest one edged by tight, high-sided corridors that she guessed were cattle chutes. Outside the complex, the ranch spread out like a scene from a movie. On green rangeland, cows gr
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine Mason ached all over as he stumped uphill toward the house. His empty stomach didn’t help his frame of mind, either. Taking a long-overdue ride around the ranch, he’d found one of the pastures overgrazed. He, Ed, Bart and Paul had spent the rest of the day moving one of the herds to another section. The men had kept up with fence repairs while he was gone, but there were calves to inoculate and brand, and the equipment was eternally in need of maintenance or repair. To his surprise, Ed hadn’t been keen on the idea of selling off the horses. He’d asked Mason to give Jennifer and Paul a chance to show what they could do. The man was letting fatherly affection sway his judgment. Mason intended to put out the word through some of Rance’s contacts that he was looking for a buyer. Earlier today, he’d seen Ed’s daughter working a bay mare Rance had bought shortly before his death. The animal must have been mistreated once, because she’d thrown the girl and kicked at her viciously
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten “This baby is doing splendidly.” Dr. Rogers beamed as he finished examining Lily. “She’s thriving, I’m delighted to say.” “Wouldn’t you expect as much, with Gina taking care of her?” Mason asked, moving to dress the little girl in her cheerful yellow gown. He was pleased at the doctor’s comment, but not certain it would mean anything to a judge if his sister pursued a custody battle. When he removed Lily from the table, Gina laid Daisy in her place. The two of them coordinated their movements with a smoothness that came from taking care of the girls together night after night. “I wouldn’t take it for granted, even with expert supervision,” the pediatrician said in answer to Mason’s question. “Some babies, especially preemies, fail to thrive for reasons we don’t entirely understand. They need appropriate care, of course, but it’s no substitute for love. That’s what children need most. And adults, too.” He seemed to be referring to Gina. Mason had to admit she looked happier
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven From the porch, Gina could see bowls and platters crowding the buffet table. The scent of barbecuing steak filled the air. She nearly lost her appetite, though, when she noticed the way everyone was regarding her. Was that curiosity, or disapproval? Maybe she shouldn’t have chosen this dress for a barbecue. She was grateful when Mason ascended the steps to join her. His powerful presence made everyone else fade to obscurity. When he flashed her the edge of a smile, prickles ran through her. Together, they lowered the stroller to the yard. Yesterday, in Austin, he’d asked if she thought she belonged at the ranch. She hoped there was a hidden meaning to the question, that he was beginning to enjoy having her in his home. Several guests headed their way, people she didn’t recall meeting at church last Sunday. Introductions were made, and Gina tried to keep straight who lived on which of the nearby ranches. They all seemed friendly, so she supposed her earlier apprehension h
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve When she finished weighing Daisy, Gina made a note on her pad and put an exclamation point after it. Like her sister, the baby had shown a healthy gain in the six days since the party. Gina only wished there’d been a comparable improvement in her relationship with Mason. Instead, it seemed to have gone backward. He hadn’t touched her since last Saturday, and he no longer gazed at her with that melting expression she sometimes used to catch on his face. They’d reached a tentative, unspoken pact in which they fussed over the girls, speculated about Margaret and Stuart’s plans and treated each other with the pleasant, distant air of acquaintances. Even though she saw Mason several times a day, she missed him keenly. It was as if a wall had gone up between them, and Gina didn’t know how to break it down. Her arms tightened around Daisy as the little girl snuggled into her lap. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Gina’s throat caught. “You’re so sweet, you know that?” Pee
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen Gina saw the tension in Mason during dinner but, mercifully, he avoided an outright quarrel. Although it was clearer to her than ever that the Waldmans had no real emotional bond to the girls, she shared his misgivings about how matters might fare in court, given Stuart’s ability to twist matters to support his position. The one bright spot in the ordeal was Sandra. Her good nature and cheerful adoration of the girls were a pleasant change from her parents’ self-absorption. Gina trusted her enough to let her watch Lily and Daisy while she herself taught the parents CPR in the living room. Bonita, sensing a storm brewing, had wisely left immediately after finishing the dinner dishes. Stuart handled the practice doll as if it oozed slime, and endured the training session with a mocking smile on his face. Margaret tried harder, and mastered the procedure as well as most inexperienced parents Gina had seen. There was a key difference, though. Neither Margaret nor her husba
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen The storm might have been a blessing in disguise, Mason told himself as he stabled his horse on Sunday morning, but it had been a darned ugly one. The blessing was that it had prevented him from breaking his silent promise to leave Gina alone. The cost had been a bone-jarringly uncomfortable night spent in a lean- to when it got too dark to ride home safely, and, this morning, the sight of still more erosion near the creek. On the way back, he’d also noted some posts tilting in the soggy soil. Although it was Sunday, he and his men needed to make sure none of the fences had broken. Grimly, Mason recalled that today the whole Whitlaw family was scheduled to participate in a choral concert fifty miles away in the town of Groundhog Station. He could sure use Ed’s help, and even Kevin’s, although the boy was a bit young for heavy work, but they, Linda and Jennifer formed the backbone of the Horseshoe Bend choir. He would have to handle the work without Ed until Monday. At
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen “I’ll call the men on the walkie-talkie,” Nana said. “At least I’m good for something.” “You’re good for lots of things,” corrected her daughter. “We’ll be right back.” Gina and Bonita threw on hooded yellow rain slickers and, together, pulled open the door of the underground tornado shelter. Even though they stood beneath an overhang, light rain slanted at their ankles and feet. Gina was glad she’d put on half boots and tucked her jeans inside them. They descended a ladder into the concrete rooms. The air smelled musty, despite the ventilation system, but the battery-operated lamps showed her that the place was clean. Checking the corners and under the furniture, they made sure no snakes had taken refuge here. Then, using baby slings that had been gifts from neighbors, the two women carried Lily and Daisy down into the shelter. Once the girls were settled in a portable play-pen, Bonita assisted her mother in descending and Gina brought their supplies. At last they were
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen Gina didn’t know where she’d gone wrong. It was obvious she’d made Mason angry, but what had she done? He’d made love to her on impulse. Maybe he was angry at himself for doing something he hadn’t meant to do. Maybe he had been looking forward to ending their marriage. Now that Stuart and Margaret no longer sought custody of the girls, he might not want to complicate matters. Tears pricked her eyes. This time, they sprang from emotions far more painful than fear. She’d given Mason everything. And she’d loved having him inside her, loved the fierceness of the man’s unleashed desires. In spite of everything, she believed they belonged together. Her whole body felt sore. She hadn’t been aware of the hardness of the ground while they were lost in passion, but now her muscles ached. Still, the ache inside, and the emptiness, were infinitely greater. It was hard to find her garments in the dark, and her fingers fumbled with the back of the bra three times before she got it ho
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen Gina wasn’t sure how she managed to maintain her composure during the babies’ checkup. Dr. Rogers glanced at her curiously a couple of times, but he misinterpreted the source of the problem. “You should cut the number of night feedings to one,” he said. “You both look like you could use more sleep.” She nodded, and tried not to think about the fact that she wouldn’t be the one feeding Lily and Daisy any longer. The babies were progressing so well, the doctor continued, that they no longer needed monitors. “You’ve both done a wonderful job,” he said. “You don’t think they’ll have any residual problems because of their prematurity?” Mason asked. “Not at all,” the doctor said. “In fact, with such a loving environment, they should continue to do exceptionally well.” He shook hands with them and recommended that the girls be brought back in a month. After he left, a nurse came in to administer vaccinations, and then Mason made a new appointment. Gina held each little girl
Chapter Seventeen
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