Cold Hearts (22 page)

“Jackson Lumber Company,” she said, and then gasped. “Oh! Jackson! Your company! Oh, my gosh! Oh, Mack! It’s huge. It’s amazing.”

“Yeah, do you want to see inside? If you don’t feel like it yet I totally understand. We’re a little short on time anyway, so—”

“Yes, I want to see inside. I feel fine. If you don’t mind introducing me looking like this,” she added, and pointed at her face.

“Baby, trust me, they already know I got hurt and why. They already know you nearly died. You’re going to come across as one tough survivor, okay?”

She nodded, already getting nervous as he pulled into the parking area and then drove around back.

“This is where I always park,” he said, and before he even got out, someone had already spotted his SUV and was pointing. “Well, no sneaking in for us. We’ve been made. Are you ready?”

“I feel like I’m about to meet your family for the first time,” she said.

He paused, touched by what she’d said. “In a way, I guess you are.”

He circled the truck to help her out. By the time she had both feet on the ground, at least a dozen men had surrounded them.

“Wow, boss, it’s good to see you up and around,” one man said, and then he grinned at Lissa. “So here’s the little lady who just took Summerton’s most eligible bachelor off the market. She’s sure a pretty thing.”

Lissa grinned. “Most eligible bachelor?”

Mack couldn’t have wiped the smile off his face if he’d tried. “Just filled in one of my blanks there,” he said. Then he introduced her. “Everyone, this is Melissa Sherman, the girl I should have married ten years ago and didn’t, but that’s about to change. Melissa, these are the best employees in town. The old guy is Mark. The one with the Mohawk is Charlie. The bald guy with the beard is Andy. He grows hair on his face because it won’t grow on his head.”

And so it went as he introduced one after the other, all the men laughing at how he singled them out. By the time he was through, Lissa had forgotten about her face and everything else but how absolutely perfect the rest of her life was going to be.

“It’s great to meet all of you, but I still have one heck of a concussion and just quit seeing double. So if I forget your names next time I see you, I hope you’ll understand.”

And with that admission, she sealed herself as all right with every man there. She’d seen them like Mack saw them—as equals, not the hired help, which was part of why Mack Jackson’s business thrived.

“You guys get back to work,” Mack said then. “I’ve gotta take her in to meet the real boss or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

They all laughed as they went back to their jobs, knowing just who Mack was referring to.

As they walked through the lumber barn, Lissa was properly impressed with the size of the area where the lumber was sorted and stored.

“Are you up for the stairs?” Mack asked, pointing to a flight with a dozen steps that led into the back of the building, where the offices were located and then it opened out into the shopping area up front.

“Yes, if I go slow,” she said.

“I can carry you,” he offered.

“No, you can’t, because the last time you did that it made you bleed, so just give me time and I’ll be fine.”

He grinned at her bossy attitude and followed that sweet little ass all the way up and then inside the building.

“My office is four doors up the hall on the left,” he said. “My secretary’s office is up one from mine.”

“Well, your ‘brothers’ out there were fun, but now I’m meeting ‘Mother’ and it’s making me nervous.”

He took her by the hand. “Honey, no matter what I said out there, I
am
the boss. I can assure you if I love you, they’ll love you, too.”

They had only gone a few steps when a skinny middle-aged woman came flying out of the office he’d said belonged to his secretary, and when she saw them, she threw up her hands and headed their way.

“It
is
true! They said you were here, but I didn’t believe them.” She kept talking as she walked, waving her hands and wiping away tears. “Oh, Mack Jackson, it is so good to see you in one piece. When we heard what happened, I can tell you there were some prayers sent up. And this must be Melissa. My sister works at the hospital in Mystic. I already know the whole awful story about what happened to you, and I can’t tell you how thrilled we are that this ridiculously handsome boss of ours is finally going to settle down and get married.”

Lissa laughed. She couldn’t help it. The woman was adorable, and she’d actually made Mack blush, something she’d never seen happen before.

Mack just shook his head. “Melissa, this is Bella Garfield. She’s not just my secretary, she also knows where all the bodies are hidden around here. I couldn’t do this without her. Bella, this is my girl, Melissa Sherman, but everyone calls her Lissa.”

Bella was beaming as she took Lissa’s hand, and patted it over and over. “I’d hug you, but I know you’re hurt. And I know Mack probably wants to show you off to everyone else. It’s a joy to meet you, and I know you’re going to have a long and happy life with our own James Bond.”

Lissa frowned. “James Bond?”

Bella giggled. “Yes! We all think he looks like Daniel Craig. You know, the actor who plays James Bond.”

Mack stifled a snort. “Except I’m taller, not blond or British and my eyes aren’t blue. Except for all that, sure I do,” Mack muttered. “Damned embarrassing, if you ask me.”

“Makes as much sense as you claiming I look like Cindy Crawford,” Lissa said.

Bella stared at Lissa, and then squealed and clapped her hands. “Oh! You
do
! My goodness, you sure do, with that cute little mole by your lips and all!”

Lissa rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure, except that I don’t have long dark hair, I’m half a foot shorter and the only similarity between my face and hers is a mole.”

“Then, we’re a pair of misfits, girl,” Mack said. “Bella, go back to work. Lissa, come with me. There are people to meet, and we have places to be.”

Bella giggled and flew back to her office, and for the next thirty minutes Lissa was introduced to so many people who blatantly adored Mack that her head was spinning. By the time they were back in the car and on their way to his house, she was exhausted and he was wired.

“After you see the house and I get my clothes, we need to eat some lunch. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry already,” he said. “If it’s okay with you, we can get takeout and eat on the way back to Mystic.”

Lissa agreed. “That would be wonderful. I think I’m all talked out for now, but this morning has been an eye-opener for me in so many ways. I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason, and, Mack, if we had gotten married and had a baby ten years ago, there’s no telling how our lives would have turned out. The one sure thing is that we would be two different people than the ones we are now, so just for the record, I admire the man you became without me.”

Mack thought about what she’d said.

“I never thought about it like that, but you’re right. Even if I regret losing those ten years with you, we have so much to be thankful for now. You’re one hell of a woman, Melissa, and however you got to be the warrior woman that you are, I’m grateful you’re mine.”

She was still smiling when he turned a corner and pointed down the street.

“There’s the house, the white two-story with the stained glass. It’s been completely remodeled since I bought it, but if there are things you don’t like we can always change—”

Lissa held up her teacher finger to indicate silence.

“No, that is not an option. I do not come into your world and change it, just as you do not come into my world and change me. We’re filling in blanks, not redoing lives. I already loved everything about you before. We’re picking up where we left off, which means I already love your house because I love
you
.”

Mack grabbed that teacher finger and kissed it, then pulled up into the driveway and stopped beneath the portico.

“There’s also a three-car garage in the back, but I rarely use it,” he said.

“Oh, Mack, this place is breathtaking. I can’t believe this is going to be my home.”

He grinned, excited that she was so obviously pleased.

“Come inside and prowl around to your heart’s content while I get some clothes, okay?”

“You don’t want to give me the grand tour?” she asked.

“I don’t think I could stand the suspense,” he said. “I’d rather you poke about and pretend it’s a house you’re thinking about buying.”

She laughed. “That sounds like fun. I think I’d like that.”

“So take the grand tour on your own, m’lady. Your castle awaits.”

Eighteen

L
issa’s mouth dropped as they entered the foyer.

“Mack! Oh, my Lord!”

“You like it?” he asked, trying to see the house anew through her eyes, from the white marble flooring to the two-story entryway with the spiral staircase in the center and the massive chandelier dangling overhead.

“It’s stunning. And this spiral staircase is straight out of a movie.”

He grinned, thrilled that she was as entranced with the old girl as he was.

“That staircase was a huge selling point for me when I bought it. My bedroom is upstairs, first door on the right. You explore down here and I’ll be down soon. If you want to go upstairs, wait and I’ll take you up in the elevator.”

“You have an elevator?” she asked.

“The old woman who lived here before I bought it had it put in. She was crippled with arthritis, so the stairs had become an issue for her, but she refused to move her bedroom downstairs. The elevator was her solution. It’s safe. I’ve used it before.”

Lissa was listening, but already itching to see more, and Mack could tell it.

“Go,” he said. “I’ll be down in a few minutes. The library and office are that way. The kitchen and dining room are over there. The living room is straight in front of you. There’s a guest bath just before the library, and a bathroom inside the utility room off the kitchen.”

Lissa turned left, a little intimidated by the sound of her footsteps echoing on the marble, and poked her head in the guest bathroom. She was enchanted by the Old World decor mixed with state-of-the-art bath fixtures. She went from there to the library and was immediately hooked by his collection of books. She moved up for a closer look at the shelves, running her fingers along the spines, checking titles and authors.

The large overstuffed chairs scattered around the room had been situated near the best natural lighting, and the thought of whiling away long hours curled up in one of those chairs with a good book and a blanket seemed like heaven.

The office was decorated much like the library—walnut stain on the wide-plank flooring, soft-as-butter leather in a dark oxblood color and the most up-to-date office equipment anyone could need. The computer system alone was awe inspiring, considering the fact that hers consisted of a laptop and a cheap printer.

She was imagining this house decorated at Christmas, with seven-foot tall trees and garlands hanging from the doorways, as she backtracked and found the dining room. When she saw the length and breadth of the room, she gasped, then, on impulse, sat down in the chair at the head of the table, folded her hands in her lap and gazed down the length of the cherrywood table with seating for twelve. The chandelier hanging midway above the table was obviously an antique that had been wired for electricity, although it had once been made for candles. She closed her eyes, picturing the chairs filling up with family—multiple generations all linked by blood and marriage. She could hear the faint sound of footsteps overhead and knew Mack was still up there gathering what he needed. It seemed a bit sinful to be so happy in the midst of such sadness, but that was how she felt.

The thought of the kitchen beckoned, and she moved quickly from the dining area straight into the kitchen just by crossing a hallway.

A massive expanse of white cabinetry hung on two entire sides of the room, with a long working island in the center. The countertops were white granite with swirls of gray, highlighted by a black-and-silver backsplash. She found a pantry the size of her little kitchen back home and a door leading down into a huge basement. The commercial stove and adjoining convection oven and grill were complemented by a massive side-by-side refrigerator-freezer. After a little more poking into what she thought was another refrigerator, she quickly realized it was a commercial-size cooler. Mack obviously had no reason for keeping it full, but it held an assortment of cold drinks and fresh produce. She imagined a holiday’s worth of baking lining the shelves and did a happy dance as she moved through a generously sized utility room with a large washer and dryer to the bathroom beyond, pleased by all she was seeing.

The only thing left to see on the first floor was the living room, so she returned to the two-story foyer and circled the spiral staircase, opening the floor-to-ceiling double doors behind it, only to find the room that felt most like home.

Despite its massive size, the overstuffed furniture looked inviting. There was a fireplace at the end of the room, and French doors on the wall to her right that exited onto a large covered verandah. She could see the entire scope of the grounds behind the house as well as a ten-foot-high privacy fence made of huge chunks of gray stone. Except for the big-screen TV and the up-to-date technology elsewhere in the house, the place was straight out of the late nineteenth century. She couldn’t believe this would be home for the rest of her life.

She walked back into the foyer just as Mack came down the stairs carrying a garment bag and a small duffel.

“So what do you think?” he asked, as he hung the garment bag over the stairs and pulled her into his arms.

“This doesn’t feel real. It’s so elegant and so comfortably inviting that I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and find out it was just a dream.”

“No dream, just me making dreams come true. I always loved this era of architecture. It was a job bringing this house up to a contemporary level of comfort without ruining the aesthetic of it.”

“I love it, I love your taste in decorating and I love you.”

“Good,” he said. He kissed her soundly. “Now let me show you where the real loving happens.”

“You mean the bedrooms,” Lissa said.

He just smiled and pointed to a door on the east wall.

“The elevator,” he said.

Her steps were hurried as she followed him, and when he opened the door, she was immediately enchanted with the decor of the elevator car.

“It’s all mirrors,” she said.

“With silver-plated handrails,” he added, pointing to the panel. “Up and down buttons. You can’t get lost.”

And up they went. The door opened to reveal a hallway, and a few steps farther along was the master bedroom. Mack opened the door and then walked her in.

Lissa’s eyes widened as she saw the elaborately carved polished-wood headboard. The dark burgundy bedspread and the burgundy-and-gold draperies at the windows added to the feeling of a bygone era. There was a wide-screen TV on the wall opposite the bed, a separate dressing area with two large walk-in closets and, beyond, a very elegant en suite bath.

Lissa walked around examining everything, listening to him talk about how he’d found the antiques and how they tied in with the decor, and she realized how many blanks she needed to fill in with this man compared to the young man he’d been.

“Are those cherubs on the headboard?” she asked as she moved closer.

“For fertility, I was told.”

“Said the most eligible bachelor in town,” she said, unaware she’d spoken out loud.

Mack suddenly sensed her insecurity.

“You’re the first woman who’s been in this bedroom, Melissa. I did all my entertaining downstairs.”

She turned and walked into his arms and buried her face against his chest.

“You don’t have to explain. You don’t have to say anything. Thanks to my mother, our allegiance to each other ended ten years ago. What happened between then and now doesn’t matter to me except that you’ve become an amazing person because of it.”

He tilted her chin until he could see her face, then looked beyond the bruises and the swollen lip to the woman he loved.

“All the time I was working on the house, people kept asking me who the woman was who would hold court here. I never could answer because every time I closed my eyes and imagined a woman at my side, I always saw your face. When my shoulder is well, I’m going to carry you across the threshold to seal the deal, but, Melissa, my love, for all intents and purposes, welcome home.”

They sealed the moment with a long, heartfelt kiss that made the massive bed that much more inviting, but that was for later, when they could both move without pain.

* * *

Lissa was overwhelmed and bubbling with excitement as they finally started home with a bag of burgers and fries between them and two cold drinks in the cup holders in the console.

They ate as they went, looking forward to their future, but at the same time still cognizant of the memorial service to get through before that future could officially begin.

Lissa needed to check in with her principal, and as soon as they got back to Mystic, she asked Mack to drop her off at the elementary school.

When he pulled up to the curb, she patted his knee. “I’ll call you as soon as I’m through, and you can pick me up, okay?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “I need to drop by the church. I got a text from Pastor Farley while I was gathering up my clothes. He said the ladies at the church want to serve desserts and coffee after the memorial service. He said it won’t take any planning on my part, just an okay. What do you think?”

“I think it’s the perfect way to end the service. You and your dad’s friends all coming together is a good thing, and you know how he loved his sweets.”

Mack pushed a tumble of curls back off her forehead with the tip of his finger, smiling absently at the way the curls wound back around it, ensnaring his finger just as she had his heart.

“He sure did like his sweets, and you’re right. It’s a thoughtful thing they’ve offered to do. I’ll give him the green light when I get there. You call when you’re ready and I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Yes, all right,” she said. Then she eased across the seat and quickly kissed him. “For good luck,” she said softly, and then she was out the door.

He waited, watching until she was all the way inside the building before he left.

* * *

Lissa sniffed the air as she walked in the front door. There was something about the scent of a schoolhouse that was unmistakable. It had to do with lots of children, huge amounts of food cooking in a cafeteria and books—books that had been handled by generations of little hands. She felt at home here, and yet she was torn by what was happening in her life. She wanted so badly to make a home with Mack and live the life they’d meant to have, raise the babies they were meant to raise and just be. But there was this business of a contract to fulfill and half a year of school yet to teach. Either she stayed here to teach and saw Mack only on weekends, or she moved into the house in Summerton straightaway and drove almost an hour to work and an hour home every day.

But like Mack said, they would figure it out, and right now she needed to let Mr. Wilson know that she still hadn’t been cleared for work.

She walked into the office and was greeted by the secretary’s squeals of surprise and joy at seeing her back. There was a teacher there who had to have a hug, which brought the principal out of his office to see what all the fuss was about.

When Wilson saw Melissa’s face, he tried without success to hide his dismay.

“Melissa! Good Lord. Are you all right to be up and about?”

She smiled. “For short stints, yes.”

He nodded, pleased that she seemed to be in good spirits. “What a nice surprise to see you walking around. Is there anything you need?”

“Yes. Do you have time to talk with me a bit?” she asked.

“Of course I do. Come in, come in,” he said, leading the way back into his office.

Lissa sat down, folded her hands in her lap and then got right to the point.

“As you know, my stalker problem is over. What you don’t know is that I’m getting married soon and moving to Summerton, or living here through the week and going there on weekends. We haven’t worked that part out yet, but I want you to know I fully intend to honor my contract and finish out the year.”

Wilson had a knack for hearing more than what was being said. “Congratulations! As for coming back to work, I have no doubt of your sense of professional responsibility.”

Lissa nodded. “Thank you, but you should know that while I am up and moving around some, I haven’t been released to come back to work yet. I hope that’s not a problem.”

“Not at all. In fact, the woman we hired as your substitute is doing a great job. It seems this job came along at the perfect time for her. She’s recently divorced and the mother of two young ones. They’ve been living with her mother, but she said it’s causing a bit of tension, and the sooner she can save up to get her own place, the better.”

As Lissa was listening to the story, a whole scenario was opening up inside her head.

“I take it she’s certified to teach?”

“Yes, fortunately for us,” Wilson said.

“Does she want a permanent teaching job?” Lissa asked.

“Oh, yes, she already had a résumé on file here, hoping something would open up for the fall semester.”

Lissa saw a solution to two problems instead of one, but she needed Wilson’s approval to make it happen.

“Mr. Wilson, I have a suggestion that might solve both her problem and mine. I would gratefully turn in my resignation now due to a family move if she could be hired in my place. It would give her the steady job she needs, and me the freedom to move and live with my husband. It’s just a suggestion, and I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, but...”