Jared's Counterfeit Fiancee - Brenda Jackson [38]
“Good night. I’m playing pool with my cousins and Reggie tomorrow night, but I’ll be by early Saturday to pick you up. Is seven o’clock a good time?”
She turned to him and wished she hadn’t. He had stepped back into the light and stood tall and looked handsome. His coat jacket was slung over his shoulder and held in place by his fingertips. The pose was unforgettably sexy.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, seven will be fine. I’ll be packed and ready to go.”
“All right.”
Giving him one last look, Dana opened the door and slipped inside. She leaned against the closed door when she heard him walk away, and then moments later the sound of his car leaving.
It was only then that she was able to slow down the beating of her heart and breathe easy again. How would she ever survive a weekend alone with Jared Westmoreland?
Jared stood next to Dana and watched as she placed the bouquet of fresh flowers on her mother’s grave.
When he had picked her up bright and early she had been friendly and perky, the complete opposite of him first thing in the morning. He could be a bear until he downed at least two cups of coffee. But she had opened the door all smiles, packed and ready to go.
During the drive they had talked about a number of things including early memories of the time she’d spent in Brunswick, backyard cookouts with her parents, going to church together as a family on Sundays and how she would greet her father at the door whenever he’d come home from work.
They stopped once for lunch, but otherwise they had driven straight to town. Once there they had found a florist shop to purchase the flowers and had then driven to the cemetery.
He had considered remaining in the car, letting her have her private moments, but a part of him wanted to be with her, to stand beside her and let her know that he was there and that he cared. After a few moments of silence she straightened and automatically, as if it was the most natural thing to do, she leaned up against him and he offered her the support she needed.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close to him. “You okay?” he asked softly.
She tried to smile and the effort made Jared’s throat tighten when he saw the tears in her eyes. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s just harder this year more than ever because today would have been their thirtieth wedding anniversary. They got married on my mother’s birthday.”
Dana gazed up at him through misty eyes. “Mom always reminded Dad that she should get two gifts that day instead of one, and of course he always came through. They loved each other very much, Jared. In a way I think if they had to die it was better for them to go together. I can’t imagine my father living a normal life without my mother or vice versa. They had dated since high school and were so close, so connected. But the beauty of it all was that they never made me feel like I was an outsider. Dad used to say that I was the greatest gift of their love.”
Jared nodded, knowing she needed to talk, get her feelings and emotions out. He was jarred into the realization that some marriages endured. Her parents’ had. So had his parents’ and his aunt and uncle’s marriage. For a long moment they didn’t say anything, they just stood there, needing the silence. He admired her ability to do this, to come here twice a year and face the pain of her loss with the poise and grace he had come to associate with her. He couldn’t imagine getting a call, saying that both his parents were gone—unexpectedly, just like that. And if that were to happen, at least he had his brothers, the entire Westmoreland family. Dana had no one.
But today she had him and he wanted her to know that. He reached for her hand, linking their fingers. He was glad he had come, pleased that he was with her in this place, sharing such a personal and private moment. It meant a lot to him that it was his shoulder she was leaning on, his hand she was holding. And for the very first time in his life he felt he was in