Secret Love - Brenda Jackson [70]
“Well, I didn’t. My father wouldn’t allow it. He never wanted me to have close girlfriends.”
Jake frowned. He couldn’t help but wonder what other things she had missed out on during her childhood by being the daughter of Jack Swain. “But I thought you spent a lot of time with your grandmother while your father traveled.”
“I did, but Dad had given her strict rules and she knew better than to break them and put her at risk of losing me. So the only friends I had were the ones he selected for me.”
Intrigued and more curious about her childhood, he said, “Like Kyle and Sterling?”
“Yes. Dad thought friendships with men were safer. He claimed women befriended each other one minute then couldn’t stand each other the next. It was natural for me and Kyle Garwood to become friends since our families were well-acquainted. In fact, Kyle’s grandfather is the one who financed my father’s first movie. As a child growing up, I occasionally spent my summers at Kyle’s grandfather’s cabin in the mountains.”
“Special K?”
“Yes, Special K. I met Sterling through Kyle when I was in my teens. The three of us—Sterling, Kyle and I—became best buddies and have remained so over the years.”
She looked at Jake. “So there were never girlfriends around to have fun with, to discuss our coming-of-age and all the things that went with it, to share breathy revelations or earth-shattering secrets. You know, just someone to hang out with.
“And,” she said, pulling in a deep breath, “it’s been only recently that I’ve realized what I missed out on. Just the little time I spent with your nieces has shown me how close they are and just how much fun they have together. I think it was nice of them to include me in their group.”
Jake cocked his head to look at Diamond carefully. Again he was reminded of what Sterling had told him about her in the beginning. She was a person who loved people and who enjoyed being around them. But because of her status in life, she’d been denied that. Now it seemed her father had denied her other things as well. Something as elemental as having another woman for a friend.
“Of course they would include you,” he said. “You’re a part of the family, and they think you’re special. Not only because of your accomplishments in the movie and film industry, but because you’re also the one who captured my heart.”
He chuckled. “Everyone had pretty much given up on me in the love department. But you came along and changed that.”
Diamond smiled at him. “So you don’t have a problem with my staying at the cabin tonight with your nieces?”
“No, I don’t have a problem with it.” Not anymore, he thought. You really need that time to formulate friendships you’ve been denied.
Jake stood with her in his arms. “Oh yeah, before I forget, I need to let you know that I’m having the telephone number here changed.”
Diamond lifted a brow. “Why?”
“Because it’s accessible to the public. Since the news of our marriage appeared in the morning paper, anyone can call here.” Someone already has, he didn’t bother to add.
“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” she said, as he placed her on her feet. “And we do want all the privacy we can get, don’t we?”
He reached out and let his thumb caress her cheek. “Yes, baby, we do.”
Chapter 18
T he next day, Diamond stood at the window in Jake’s bedroom and gazed out. As far as her eyes could see, there were endless plains of lush green peaks and valleys. This was her home, the home Jacob Madaris had given her to be shared with him and his family.
This was Whispering Pines. It was Madaris land that had been in the family for six generations. She could just imagine the hard work, labor and tiring days that had gone into keeping the land out of the hands of others. Jacob had once told her that there had been a number of African-American families in Texas who had been fortunate to own spreads such as this over a hundred years