BROKEN (24 page)

She knew all too well he wasn’t the same person and couldn’t help thinking how ironic it was that
Kincaid
had trusted her implicitly yet denied her his heart while Mitch, who was undeniably fierce in his love for her, couldn’t give her the trust she so desperately longed to have.
 
Maybe she’d been wrong not to go to him and tell him she knew who he was.
 
If it was his fear of losing her that was holding him back, it only stood to reason he
would
admit the truth if she assured him she love him.
 

Impulsively, she gave Hank a big hug.
 
“I do accept it, and I’m glad he has someone he can talk to.
 
Now if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go lie down for awhile.”
 
Jessie kissed him on the cheek then turned to go upstairs when he stopped her again.

“Hey, Jess, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“What made you fall in love with him this time?
 
Was it because he changed?”

A soft smile curved her lips.
 
“He hasn’t changed, Hank.
 
I imagine he’s the same man he’s always been.
 
I just didn’t know him before.”
 

She turned away before he could ask her anything more probing and trudged up the stairs.
 
He probably suspected she knew
,
but that was okay.
 
She’d already made up her mind to confront Mitch with it tonight after dinner anyway.
 
The pregnancy was wearing her out as it was
,
and the constant worry over Mitch only added to the run down feeling that seemed to dog her every day now.
 
In short, she was systematically being drained both physically and mentally and didn’t think she could take much more.
 
Curling up on the bed, Jessie let exhaustion overtake her and was asleep within minutes.

It was late afternoon when she woke to find Mitch lying beside her.
 
He was propped up on one elbow, his eyes transfixed on the hand he was holding to her belly.
 
She’d never seen him like this before, so filled with emotion, his expression totally unguarded, and if she’d ever had any doubts that he loved her or wanted the babies she was carrying
,
they were instantly banished.
 
Then one of the babies kicked against the palm of Mitch’s hand.
 
For a moment he looked startled
,
but when it happened again, his face lit up and a huge grin spread across his face.
 

“It’s getting cramped in there,” she said softly.

Mitch’s hand slid up around her waist to her back and pulled her closer.
 
“I love you,” he said thickly.
 

Jessie curled her fingers around his neck and pulled him down to her.
 
“I love you too.”
 
She brushed her mouth against his in a slow, seductive sweep.
 
“Have I ever told you how incredibly sexy you are?”
 
His response was little more than a low, masculine groan as Jessie traced his lips with her tongue.
 
“Or how just looking at you makes my heart race.”
 
She left a trail of moist kisses along his firm jaw line and down the side of his neck.
 
“Or how the scent of your skin drives me half crazy with desire.”
 
Another low moan rumbled deep in his chest.
 
“Or how…”

“Perfectly we fit together,” he finished for her as his hand glided up her thigh and slipped beneath her dress.
 

Jessie’s body jerked in response as he caressed her through the thin material of her panties then slid them off and tossed them aside.
 
He didn’t bother undressing her and paused only long enough to shove his boxers and jeans down to his knees before easing himself inside of her.
 
She seemed especially sensitive to the slick heat of him as her muscles stretched to accommodate his thickness, every gentle stroke sending her higher and higher until her entire body convulsed uncontrollably from the tidal wave of sensations that ripped through her.
 

As the warmth of his seed spread deep inside of her, Jessie silently cried out the name of the only man she’d ever truly loved.
 
Mitch
.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                         
***

Mitch had come to some resolutions after
speaking
with both his parents and his little sister, Jill.
 
It hadn’t been easy telling them exactly what had been going on at the ranch, though they’d known that
was
where he
had
been
living
for the past several months.
 
Originally he
’d
told them he
was only staying there
to help Jessie out
and they believed him
.
 

They knew about Jessie, of course, because Adam had told them
,
so they already had a soft spot for her even though they
had
never met.
 
After all, this was the woman who
had
helped their son get past the dark moods that followed each mission, and she was the only woman who
had
held Adam’s attention for more than a few weeks so they knew she had to be someone special.

They’d listened without comment just as
Mitch
asked while he told them the real reason he’d gone there and how he
had
fallen love from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her.
 
He
confessed that
he’d only intended to stay for a few weeks, give Jessie her memories and move on, and how loving her as he did now made that impossible.
 
Then he told them about the babies.
 
He could hear his mother softly crying while his father remained staunchly quiet, an indication that he was just as choked with emotion as she was.
 

“I want to marry her,” Mitch told them, “and I want to bring her to meet you before the babies are born.”

“You want us to keep up the illusion
that
you’re Adam?”
 
His father asked
in
a disapproving tone.

“Just until after she has the babies.
 
I want you to meet her but I can’t risk upsetting her right now.
 
Please Dad.”

To his surprise, it was his mother who put her foot down.
 
“No, Mitch, we won’t do it.”

“Then I can’t bring her,” he said, totally disheartened by her lack of support.
 
He’d been counting on his mother
 
to talk his father into it
.  W
ithout her as an ally
,
his father would never
give his
consent.

“You can and you will,” she told him firmly.
 
“Now
,
you listen to me Mitchell Allen Kincaid, if that girl loves you as much as you say she does and if she’s even half as smart as Adam bragged about her being, then it won’t matter one bit to her.”

“How can you say that, Mom?
 
I deceived her, she won’t ever forgive me.”

Her voice softened.
 
“You may have fooled her into thinking your name is Adam, but haven’t fooled her into thinking you’re a different man than who you really are.
 
You can’t deceive the heart, honey.
 
She fell in love with you for who you are inside and she
will
keep right on loving you after you tell her the truth
,
especially once she knows your reasons for doing it.”

“Listen to your Mom,” his father said.
 
“Tell Jessie before it goes any further.”

“How?
 
How do I even begin to tell her what I’ve done?”

“You’ll find the right words when the time comes,” his mother assured him.

After he hung up, Mitch
took
a few minutes to gather himself then dialed his little sister’s number.
 
He explained it all to her just as he had his parents, including their refusal to pretend he was Adam.
 
Jill
was of the
same opinion; if Jessie really loved him, she
would
forgive him.

“You know I loved Adam with all my heart,” Jill said, “but he never was one to express his feelings the way you do.
 
Maybe Jessie doesn’t know you’re not Adam, but you obviously touched something deep down inside of her that he couldn’t get to.”

“How do I know that for sure, Jilly?”

“Because if she loved Adam the way she does you, he wouldn’t have stayed with her and you know it.
 
He couldn’t have handled it and would have left regardless of how
strongly he felt about her.
 
He was never meant to have a love like that, Mitch, and it would have terrified him.”

“Maybe he didn’t know.
 
She could have hidden it from him,” he said miserably.

Jill laughed.
 
“Oh Mitch, stop killing yourself over this.
 
From what you’ve told me, Jessie is extremely affectionate and expressive of her feelings.
 
So ask yourself this; if she really wanted to hide her love from you, how successful do you think she
would
be?”

Mitch closed his eyes
.  He
pictur
ed
Jessie’s brilliant smile, the look on her face when he entered the room, the soft touches, the way she kissed him, the love that shone from her eyes when he made love to her.
 
Even her voice changed when she spoke to him.
 
It was soothing and gentle, laced with emotion that ran strong and deep.
 
His sister was right.
 
If she
had
ever looked at Adam as she did him or spoke with such love in her voice, Adam would have ran like a frightened rabbit.

“She couldn’t,” he finally answered.
 

“So go to her, Mitch.
 
Tell her the truth
,
then bring her back here so we can welcome her into the family.”

Feeling as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders, he high tailed it back to the ranch and found
Jessie
in the bedroom taking a nap.
 
Stripping off his boots, he climbed onto the bed and lay on his side so he could watch her sleep.
 
Her beauty stole his breath and he
couldn’t
resist
the urge to
touch her.
 

His hand stopped wandering when it came to her belly
,
and for quite some time he
was
content to hold it there
,
marveling over idea that their love had produced two baby boys.
 
Then he felt the jab of a tiny foot against his palm and his heart surged with the power of his love for both his sons and their mother, and the need to join his body with hers and become almost unbearable.

Jessie was coaxed out of sleep by feathery kisses and a pair of wandering hands. 
Her desire to be made love to was instant and demanding, and she gave into it without hesitation.  Whatever hurt feelings she’d harbored before crawling into bed dissipated the moment he sank into her
and proved that his love was just as real as her was. 

Afterwards, as she
lay nestled in his arms,
Jessie felt
confident that everything would work out.
 
All she had to do was make it through dinner and then they could sit down and talk, all night if they had to.
 
Whatever lies or half-truths that had been told would be aired and together they
would
figure out some way to break the news to everyone else.
 
Hank knew of course, but she doubted any of the other ranch hands had figured it out, and then they
would
conquer the townspeople.
 
Surely once they all understood that she accepted who he really was, they would too.