Redemption (41 page)

Authors: Kathryn Barrett

BOOK: Redemption

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Fortune had never felt this good.

Even with one arm out of commission, Matt still managed to find all the right spots, teasing her with his fingers until she begged him to stop.

“Matt, please! I want you, now.”

“Take it, babe. You’re in the driver’s seat.”

Claire decided she really, really liked being in the driver’s seat. She bore down on him, filling the need she’d had for so long…and he responded, as if the same need drove him.

Together, they reached climax, Claire shuddering above him as he gasped, holding her tight, one arm around her back.

“Matt, I love you. I love you.” Tears gathered behind her eyelids as emotion threatened to overwhelm her—hormones again. “Oh, God, I’ve loved you—ever since the first time,” she admitted, lowering her mouth to his, kissing the face she’d dreamed about—but this was no dream.

He gathered her close, tucking her in against his good arm. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Contentment eased over her, and all the old fears, the old insecurity, vanished as somewhere, the dawn gathered and Fate’s bronze lips cracked in a smile.

Epilogue

C
LAIRE
W
ATCHED
A
S
H
ER
S
ON
and his father splashed in the pool. Sadie, who’d taken a liking to Claire, preferred to rest at her side, stretched out alongside her redwood lounger.

“That’s two points for our side, buddy!”

“You cheated, Dad! No going into the deep end!” They were playing basketball in the pool, substituting a beach ball for the regulation ball and making up the rules as they went along.

“Hey! I already spotted you five points. What more do you want?” Matt complained, then called out to his wife, “Hey, Claire, your son’s definitely got your negotiating instincts. He’s already talked me out of five points, he’s up by six, and he wants me to roll over and play dead. If this were a boardroom, I’d be losing my shorts right about now.”

She just smiled from the sidelines. It might be the only thing he had inherited from her, she thought. Every day he looked more and more like his father, and soon the girls at school would notice as well.

A drop of water landed on the page of the
Business Week
she was reading, and she felt a shadow cool the skin on her arm.

“I think it’s time you got your hair wet.”

She looked up in alarm. “No, Matt, I told you, I don’t want—”

But her words were cut short when he lifted her up. “It’s okay, honey. I swear, I won’t let you go. All you have to do for now is get in and get wet.”

She stared into his eyes, her own hidden behind sun shades. He had proposed the idea before, but she had always found a convenient excuse.

“It’s time to let it go,” he said softly, walking across the smooth tile toward the crystal-clear pool.

He was right, she realized. And there would never be a better time, with the two guys she loved—and trusted—here to catch her.

She glanced at the water, and for a moment, the old fear caught her.

“One step at a time—deal?” His voice was warm, persuasive, his eyes magnetic, the color of the sea at dawn.

“Deal,” she agreed, her voice hardly wavering.

He led her to the edge of the steps that led into the pool. Her hand in his, they made their way, inch by inch, into the pool, until she was standing in three feet of water.

“See? It’s not so bad,” he said, still holding the fingers that clutched his more tightly now.

Tripper tread water nearby. “See, Mom? There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just water,” he pointed out, as if she had mistaken it for quicksand.

She gave him a wobbly smile. “You’re right. Just water. Cold water,” she amended as a shiver passed through her.

“Come on. A few more feet, and you’ll be done for the day.”

“No, I want to go all the way.” She eyed the far end of the pool. Eleven feet. Drowning depth.

But it wasn’t the actual depth that caused a curl of fear to knot in her stomach. It was the thought of suffocating under the weight of it, the fear of never being able to surface once she lost her footing. But the hands at her side were strong, steady, and supportive against her waist.

As she slowly walked toward the center of the pool, the water exerted pressure on her chest, and conversely, she felt a freedom, a lifting of a weight that had held her down.

And then Matt was supporting her, his height adding inches to hers so that she floated freely in the deep end.

She leaned back, faced the sun, and closed her eyes. The water bobbed gently around her, and she felt cleansed. For the first time.

Matt’s hands were strong beneath her, his warm chest inches from hers. Tripper circled like a dolphin around them.

Gulls screamed overhead. An ocean breeze scuttled the clouds, and when Claire opened her eyes, for an instant she thought she saw God’s face. The face from her childhood, the God she had wanted to believe in but had eventually given up on.

It was time, she realized. Time to let go of the fears, the memories, and the guilt. And time to share the news she had been clutching close like a life preserver.

She turned her head slightly to avoid the sun’s rays. “Matt,” she murmured. “I have to tell you something.”

“You want to try scuba diving,” he said, gazing down at her with an expression that didn’t match his joking words.

“Maybe later. After the baby’s born.”

He stood completely still for a moment, while the words sank in. “The baby?” he said, his voice pitching slightly upward at the end.

“That’s right. You’re going to teach her to swim, aren’t you?”

His arms tightened around her, and then he tilted her up until she was facing him, her legs wrapped securely around him.

“You’re pregnant.” He stated the words as if to nail down the fact.

“That was the idea, wasn’t it?” She gave him an indulgent grin.

“You talked to the doctor?”

She nodded. “Just before I left Philadelphia.”

“Oh, Claire.” His voice was husky, and his lips met hers in a kiss before he pulled her to him, hugging her there in the middle of his pool.

Claire laughed, squeezing him back. She felt so totally free, totally alive. A weight lifted off her shoulders, and for a moment, she thought, if she had wanted to, she could float above the water.

The End

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my editor, Milli Davis, for understanding when I announced to her that I’d be moving across the Atlantic before the end of the summer, and adjusting her schedule so we could finish those last few edits on
Redemption
. We made it!

About the Author

Kathryn Barrett reluctantly put aside childhood dreams of becoming an author and took a more practical approach, majoring in Business Administration in college. But after marrying an Air Force officer, she realized a career in high finance didn’t suit an itinerant lifestyle. She happily returned to her first love, writing stories that feature larger-than-life characters, family relationships, and of course, a happy ending.

Having lived all over the United States, Kathryn and her family have recently relocated to northern Virginia, after ten years in the United Kingdom. She enjoys long walks with her squirrel-obsessed dog, traveling to tiny European countries, cooking vegan feasts, and, only occasionally, she still reads the
Financial Times
.

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