Secret Love - Brenda Jackson [52]
“Once you explain things to them, they’ll understand. The key is telling them about it.”
The cool night breeze made Diamond shiver as she stood on the porch. Jacob still had not returned and his dinner sat warming in the oven. She was getting worried although a few of the men had mentioned seeing him working on a fence at the end of the north pastures.
She had thought long and hard about what Blaylock had shared with her. She could kick herself for being so stupid and so insensitive. How could she have thought that Jacob was completely satisfied with their arrangements? How could she not have known how he had really felt?
She thought of his beautiful home. She had walked through all the rooms that evening, taking stock of each one and noticing that there was nothing to indicate her presence in his life. Even in his bedroom and study, there weren’t any pictures of her or them together.
And all because of their secret.
Diamond knew that her husband was a proud man who had given her the world—his world. Not only had he shared his home and land with her, he had introduced her to passion the likes of which she had never known before. From the first, he had ignited fire inside of her. It had been something they had shared from the time she had arrived on Whispering Pines. He had always been understanding and supportive when she had needed it most. He had always been there, waiting for her to return and giving her the peace and tranquility she sought, the passion she craved, the love she needed and the closeness she had wanted.
Unhesitantly. Unselfishly.
How could she not love, honor and adore a man such as that? How could she not want to publicly acknowledge her love for him, and then be strong enough to handle the consequences of doing so?
“Diamond?” Jake’s whispered voice touched Diamond like a gentle wave along the ocean shore. “It’s late. What are you doing out here?” he asked.
Diamond inhaled a shaky breath as she turned toward his voice. She had not heard him approach. His face suddenly appeared out of the darkness and into the glow of the starlit sky. She looked up at him. He wore an expression that she had never seen on his features before. Guarded.
She felt his gaze lock on her face and wondered what he was thinking. Staring into the warmth of his dark eyes, she thought that although his features were guarded, the look he gave her was tender.
“I was out here waiting for you, Jacob,” she answered finally.
“Why?”
Why? Her mind began spinning with his single question. “Because I wanted to see you. You’ve been gone all day and I—”
“I had work to do.”
She nodded. “Yes, I know, and I didn’t expect you to change your schedule for me.”
It was only after she had spoken the words that realization suddenly hit her. In the past he’d always done exactly that. Each and every time she returned to Whispering Pines, he had made changes in his schedule to spend time with her. In essence what she had done was force him to do the very thing she had not wanted—interfere with his work on the ranch.
All the things he had done he did because he loved her. He had loved her enough to make his house feel like a home for her whenever she was here. But far more important, he had done what Samuel had never done. He had trusted her when they were apart. Not once had he questioned her about any of the articles that appeared in certain magazines and tabloids, linking her with other men. She didn’t know too many men who would have been able to handle that. But he had because he knew in his heart that she truly belonged only to him.
“How are you feeling, Diamond?”
Diamond’s thoughts were snatched back into focus with Jacob’s question. Even now he was thinking of her well-being. “I’m fine, Jacob.”
He nodded. “So what’s on your mind? Why were you waiting for me? What’s bothering you?”
She nervously licked her lips. He could decipher her mood so easily. It always surprised her how he could sense when something was bothering her. She cocked her head