Bring On The Night

He had met her family and learned she was an only child and had few relatives, but the few she had all lived in Fayetteville. She’d had a successful job in advertising. Three months later, they were married.

It took only seconds for those memories to flash in Jonah’s mind as he stared at her. Then he noticed movement at her side. A small child was tugging on her hand, and she looked down and spoke to him.

Pain sliced into Jonah as if someone had stabbed him.

He had known that Kate would remarry. She was too beautiful, too appealing, too sexy to stay single for long. But the child was proof of her union, and it hurt to face the reality. The boy looked about four or five years old. He had straight black hair and skin darker than Kate’s, as if he had already been out in the sun a lot this spring.

Their divorce had taken place five years ago. She hadn’t wasted any time in finding someone else, Jonah thought bitterly.

As if drawn by a will stronger than his own, Jonah’s attention returned to Kate’s face. While he moved toward her, he argued with himself whether or not to say hello, mentally telling himself to walk on past, stay out of her way and keep her out of his. She was a married woman now, with her own life, just as Jonah had his. Why open old wounds?

A few more steps and he was beside her, and she turned and looked into his face.

The impact of gazing into her thickly lashed hazel eyes was another blow to his middle, one that stole his breath and made his pulse jump erratically. Those seductive green-gold eyes could change hue with passion, vary with different colors of clothing, sparkle with humor and melt with love. Big eyes, a wide mouth, prominent cheekbones…She was always more vivid and striking than anyone around her. Today gold-and-red earrings dangled from her ears, giving her a gypsy look that went with her wild cascade of hair.

“Hello, Kate,” he said quietly. It hurt, remembering the terrible pain of breaking up the marriage.

As she looked at him, her eyes widened, her jaw dropped and all color drained from her face.

He frowned and reached out to steady her, because she looked as if she might faint. She caught the counter edge and held it in a white-knuckled grip. He was amazed at her reaction. Could she be that unhappy to see him, in a chance encounter in a public place?

“Kate?”

“Hello, Jonah,” she whispered, and he could see her make an effort to pull herself together. She blinked, licked her lips and stared at him. If he had drawn a gun on her, he didn’t think she could have looked more terrified.

“Are you all right?” he asked, feeling upset by her reaction.

“Yes,” she answered. “I’m surprised to see you.” She was mumbling, barely loud enough to be heard. “We—we need to go,” she stammered.

When she started to turn away, Jonah knew she would walk out of his life again, which was what she wanted. And he had to let her go because long ago their lives had separated.

“Mommy,” the little boy said, tugging on her arm.

Jonah had forgotten the child, but looked down at him now. When their gazes met, Jonah felt as if he had smashed into a brick wall. His breath left his lungs and his pulse roared in his ears. The shock he had experienced inheriting a ranch and fortune was nothing compared to what he felt now.

He blinked and stared, looking into brown eyes as dark as an inky night. The hint of prominent cheekbones to come, the childish nose that already had a slightly hawkish shape…this was a face Jonah knew well, from his own childhood pictures.

There was a stunned silence while Jonah’s brain registered what he was seeing. He stared dumbly, his mind piecing together the truth.

Then his knees weakened, and he started to shake as he stared in disbelief, knowing he was looking at his own son.

Chapter 2

When Jonah looked at Kate, he saw the truth in her eyes and realized why she had been so stunned to see him. Throughout those years, he’d had a son, and she had kept that fact from him.

The truth and all its implications, plus his first reaction of riveting shock, began to transform his emotions.

A slow, burning fury started in the pit of his stomach and spread until he had to clench his fists and struggle to contain his rage. Never in his life had he yelled at a woman or touched one in any manner to cause hurt, but he wanted to shout at Kate now and he wanted to shake her. Instead, not trusting himself to speak, he held his temper and inhaled deeply.

Someone jostled him, and he realized they were partially blocking the aisle. He caught Kate’s arm, careful to not grip her tightly, knowing he had to keep a check on the anger boiling within him.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said through clenched teeth, turning toward the door and leaving the camera, candy and magazine behind.

She took the child’s hand and all three of them went outside into the hot sunshine. Jonah moved to the shade of a tree, away from the drugstore entrance. He dropped her arm and looked again at the child and then back to Kate.

“How old is he?”

“He’s four. In a few months, he’ll be five,” she replied, and Jonah flinched as if hit. Five years ago was when Kate had walked out.

“You knew when you left me,” he said, thinking about the divorce and the battles they’d had. “You knew, Kate! Dammit, how could you!”

“Please,” she whispered, “not here.”

He wanted to shout that they would talk here and now, but he had to think about his child. “We have to talk,” Jonah declared.

“I know that,” she answered, and glanced at their son. Jonah realized she didn’t want the little boy to overhear the conversation. “But not here and not now. This is my son, Henry,” she said. “Henry, meet…” Her voice trailed away. When words failed her and she looked stricken, Jonah realized she had been unprepared to ever cross paths with him.

“It’s Jonah,” he said to the boy, extending his hand.

Jonah took the small hand offered to him, wanting to pull the child into his arms and hug him. But he knew he couldn’t. It took great effort to keep from staring at Henry. Jonah scanned every inch of the little boy, memorizing forever the child’s straight black hair, slender frame and wide, thickly lashed eyes. His slightly full lips and that hawkish nose that had been passed down to nearly every male in Jonah’s family, and more than a few of the females.

“Hello, sir,” the boy said politely.

Jonah tried to smile as he released the child’s hand, but failed.

“I’m staying at a motel. I can give you my phone number—” Kate began, but Jonah shook his head. He wasn’t giving her a chance to disappear again.

“No, Kate,” he interrupted. “Let’s go to a park and talk right now. Henry can play while we talk. C’mon. I have a car.”

Wide-eyed, she stared at him and slowly nodded. “We have to get Henry’s booster seat from my car. I’d drive, but with the car packed with our belongings, there’s no room.” He linked her arm in his, trying to ignore the jump in his pulse when he touched her. She took Henry’s hand, and they got the booster seat and then walked to Jonah’s rental car, where Jonah held the door while she climbed inside. As soon as Jonah secured the booster seat, Henry got into the back and buckled himself in.

They drove in silence to the park, and Jonah wondered whether Henry was an extremely quiet, shy child or if he had picked up on his mother’s anxiety.

After they parked in the shade of an elm, the three of them walked to a wooden park bench that was close to swings and playground equipment. As Henry ran off to climb on a wooden structure, Jonah and Kate sat on the bench, leaving a wide space between them. As soon as they were settled, he turned to her.

Gazing at her profile, he realized she had changed. She was far thinner now, her skin drawn tightly over those prominent cheekbones. His gaze drifted down to her long, shapely legs, which stirred his desire even when he didn’t want them to.

“Are you married?” he asked bluntly, and she shook her head.

“No, I’m not.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about my son?” he demanded, still trying to control the fury that burned in him.

She turned to look at him, gazing steadily, with a lift of her chin. “It wouldn’t have mattered if I had told you. You wouldn’t have left Special Forces just because your wife was pregnant.”

“I had a right to know,” he said, each word clipped with suppressed anger that he struggled every second to control.

She flinched as if he had struck her. “I know you did,” she said, looking away and watching Henry. “But it would have made it harder to separate, and I wanted out of the marriage. And you had your life, the life you wanted more than anything else.”