Emily's Daughter

“Damn, those women in Houston must be a helluva lot better-looking than the ones in Dallas.”

Jackson laughed again. “It doesn’t have anything to do with looks. She’s someone I knew a long time ago.”

“O-o-oh.”

From that drawn-out exclamation, Jackson knew what Colton was thinking. “It wasn’t some one-night stand. This woman means a lot to me.” As he said the words, he realized that he cared a lot about Emily—probably always had.

“Really. Well, that sounds interesting.”

“I’ll let you know when I plan to return.”

“Wait a minute.” Colton stopped him before he could hang up. “What am I supposed to do about Bill Conley?”

“Use some of that Prescott charm on him.”

“But he wants the system in by the first of the month. That’s pushing it and I refuse to do that. Fast work creates glitches that take much more time to fix.”

“I’ll talk to Bill in the morning. Will that help?”

“It sure will. He treats me like a twelve-year-old.”

Jackson smiled. At thirty-two, Colton had a youthful exuberance, but there wasn’t a thing he didn’t know about computers. Once their customers recognized that, everything went smoothly. “See you next week,” he said, ending the conversation.

“Oh, Jackson, your dad called.”

A knot formed in his stomach. “Did he say if something was wrong?”

“No, he just wanted to talk to you.”

“I see,” Jackson said slowly. He’d spoken with his dad last night and everything was fine. So why had he called again? Eager to get off the phone, he added, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

As soon as he’d hung up, he dialed his father’s number. Six rings. Seven… Finally the phone was picked up. “Hello,” a sleepy voice said.

“Dad, it’s Jackson.”

“Jack, my boy, why are you calling so late? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Dad, I’m fine, but Colton said you called the office. Thought it might be something important.”

“No, not like you mean. I was just mad and upset, and I wanted to talk to you.”

“Why were you upset?”

“Because of that damn aunt of yours. You’ll never believe what she did. She came to visit and brought a woman friend with her. A friend she assumed I’d be interested in. How many times have I told her to stop matchmaking? But does she listen? No. She doesn’t hear a word I say. She wanted me to go dancing with them. Can you imagine? Dancing! I told her in no uncertain terms what she could do with that idea and she got angry. I figured she’d be calling you and complaining about her mean old brother.”

Jackson took a patient breath. It was the same ongoing argument between his father and aunt. Aunt Maude was lively and sociable, and his dad was happy being by himself, fishing or doing whatever he pleased. Aunt Maude didn’t understand his attitude and Jackson had a hard time with it at first. But he’d finally realized his father had spent years in the work force and after his mom’s death, just wanted some peace and quiet.

“She worries about you,” Jackson told him.

“Well, if she worries so damn much, she can come over here and cook me a meal every once in a while.”

“As a peace offering, why don’t you take her out to dinner? Someplace nice.”

“You know Maudie. She’ll want to go someplace where there’s drinking and dancing.”

“Dad,” Jackson sighed. “Aunt Maude’s always been there for you and it won’t hurt to humor her.”

A pause followed. “All right, all right,” he said irritably. I’ll take her out to eat. But if she brings another floozy over here, I’ll—”

Jackson cut in. “Just tell her how you feel—politely.”

“I do, but I think she has a hearing problem” was the wry answer. “Why didn’t you come home today?”

Jackson didn’t miss the quick change of subject, but he was glad. He’d rather not talk about Aunt Maude and how she got on his dad’s nerves. He preferred to discuss Emily.

“I was going to, but I met someone.”

“Really? Of the female persuasion?”

“Yes, Emily Cooper. Remember her?”

A pause. “Don’t think so.”

“Sure you do. Owen Cooper’s her father—a fishing guide on the coast. We stayed at their home that November before Mom died.”

“Yeah, I remember now. A pretty thing with big brown eyes. You were crazy about her, weren’t you?”

Jackson didn’t answer that. His father knew he’d been a lot more interested in Emily than in fishing. Instead, he said, “She’s a doctor now and works at the clinic where we installed the computers.”

“You don’t say.”

“Yes, and I had dinner with her tonight and I’m planning on seeing her tomorrow.”

“Life is strange,” his dad remarked.

“Sure is. I’ve got to go. Be nice to Aunt Maude.”

“I will, and you have a good time. Lord knows you deserve it.”

As Jackson hung up the phone, he planned on doing just that—enjoy his time with Emily.

THE NEXT MORNING Emily waited for Jackson to call or show up at her office, but by noon she began to get a déjà vu feeling. When she finished with her last patient for the morning, she asked Sharon if she’d had any private calls. Sharon said no, and a discomfort settled around her heart. She didn’t think she’d misjudged his sincerity, but then, she didn’t really know Jackson Talbert at all. Of one thing she was certain, she wasn’t waiting for him. She wouldn’t put herself through that again. But now that she’d screwed up her courage to tell him about the baby, she desperately wanted to…needed to. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.

She ordered a take-out salad for lunch and was busily writing notes in patients’ charts when Sharon buzzed her.

She pushed a button on the intercom. “Yes?”

“There’s a Mr. Talbert on line two. Says it’s personal.”