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Authors: Delilah Devlin
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little fantasies too.”
Marti didn’t know what she felt. Relieved the lie was over? Or disappointed because some of the things on that list had come from a part of her she hadn’t known existed and she still might like to give them a try?
Still, he wasn’t angry and didn’t seem disappointed in her. But he hadn’t asked her that question again either. Had he changed his mind?
Jackson tucked a finger under her chin and turned her face toward him. “You okay?”
When had she become such a crybaby? Marti blinked, hoping the darkness hid the wetness welling in her eyes. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
“Then it’s a damn good thing I didn’t make you walk. You’re gonna need everything you have left.”
Marti gave him a crooked smile. “Am I ever too tired for that?”
“No funny stuff back there,” the driver muttered.
Jackson laughed and settled back in his seat, wrapping his arm around Marti’s shoulders. She laid her head on his arm and watched as they turned onto Riverside Drive and clomped toward the park nestled at the edge of the Mississippi. Streetlamps stretched down the drive, and if she blurred her eyes, they looked like shiny crystals strung together. Sitting beside Jackson, enjoying the silence and the feel of the solid body beside her, she began to dream of what a lifetime of such silences might be like.
For once, the thought didn’t leave her feeling like an indigestible meal sat at the bottom of her stomach. Her body relaxed, her chest filled with an aching warmth. Jackson would be a good husband and father. What more could she ask for? He’d already proven he could put up with her crazy shit.
“My dad used to take us on carriage rides,” Jackson said. “Not often, ’cause we only had his cop’s salary, but he knew folks—some of the drivers—and they’d cut him a break. I acted like I didn’t appreciate it. My sister was all about bein’ a princess, and me and my brothers would make fun of her until dad would give us the look.”
“The look?”
Jackson smiled with faraway look in his eyes. “Yeah, I never quite knew what it meant, I just knew it scared the shit out of me. Then we’d behave and let sis enjoy it.”
“Think he knew you liked it too?”
“Yeah, he’d wink after a while. He knew we were boys. We had to make some noise about it first. I mean, ridin’ in a princess carriage with glittery lights?”
His grunt made her smile and think about a young Jackson entranced by the ride, but hiding it behind a boyish gruffness.
He kissed her forehead. “What about you? You rarely talk about your childhood.”
“I was an Army brat. We moved a lot. Not much to tell.”
“You keep any friends?”
“Nah. We’d always lose touch. You learned to make new friends everywhere you go. That’s easier.”
“That’s no way to bring up a kid.”
Marti shrugged. “It wasn’t a bad life. I got to see things. Travel.”
“But you never learned how to stay put. You never got to sink deep roots. Didn’t you ever miss that?”
“Sure. I’d think about it whenever dad got new orders, but then we’d get busy, throwing out things, skinnying down the household. When mom was alive, she’d make it feel like this great big adventure. Like the journey to dad’s next duty station was a long safari.”
“And when she passed?”
Marti sighed. “Then it was just Dad and me. And I was in charge of organizing things.”
“Do you miss him?”
“Sure, but he’s got his buddies. They play golf, go fishing. He’s got a full life.”
“Did he cut you adrift?”
“It wasn’t like that. I went to college. After that I took a job teaching English in China.”
“He let you go, just like that?”
Again, she shrugged, trying to pretend she really didn’t mind that her father had let her go so easily. “Why wouldn’t he?”
Jackson pulled her closer. A kiss landed on her cheek. “I wouldn’t let my little girl go without a layin’ a lot of guilt on her,
Marti didn’t know what she felt. Relieved the lie was over? Or disappointed because some of the things on that list had come from a part of her she hadn’t known existed and she still might like to give them a try?
Still, he wasn’t angry and didn’t seem disappointed in her. But he hadn’t asked her that question again either. Had he changed his mind?
Jackson tucked a finger under her chin and turned her face toward him. “You okay?”
When had she become such a crybaby? Marti blinked, hoping the darkness hid the wetness welling in her eyes. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
“Then it’s a damn good thing I didn’t make you walk. You’re gonna need everything you have left.”
Marti gave him a crooked smile. “Am I ever too tired for that?”
“No funny stuff back there,” the driver muttered.
Jackson laughed and settled back in his seat, wrapping his arm around Marti’s shoulders. She laid her head on his arm and watched as they turned onto Riverside Drive and clomped toward the park nestled at the edge of the Mississippi. Streetlamps stretched down the drive, and if she blurred her eyes, they looked like shiny crystals strung together. Sitting beside Jackson, enjoying the silence and the feel of the solid body beside her, she began to dream of what a lifetime of such silences might be like.
For once, the thought didn’t leave her feeling like an indigestible meal sat at the bottom of her stomach. Her body relaxed, her chest filled with an aching warmth. Jackson would be a good husband and father. What more could she ask for? He’d already proven he could put up with her crazy shit.
“My dad used to take us on carriage rides,” Jackson said. “Not often, ’cause we only had his cop’s salary, but he knew folks—some of the drivers—and they’d cut him a break. I acted like I didn’t appreciate it. My sister was all about bein’ a princess, and me and my brothers would make fun of her until dad would give us the look.”
“The look?”
Jackson smiled with faraway look in his eyes. “Yeah, I never quite knew what it meant, I just knew it scared the shit out of me. Then we’d behave and let sis enjoy it.”
“Think he knew you liked it too?”
“Yeah, he’d wink after a while. He knew we were boys. We had to make some noise about it first. I mean, ridin’ in a princess carriage with glittery lights?”
His grunt made her smile and think about a young Jackson entranced by the ride, but hiding it behind a boyish gruffness.
He kissed her forehead. “What about you? You rarely talk about your childhood.”
“I was an Army brat. We moved a lot. Not much to tell.”
“You keep any friends?”
“Nah. We’d always lose touch. You learned to make new friends everywhere you go. That’s easier.”
“That’s no way to bring up a kid.”
Marti shrugged. “It wasn’t a bad life. I got to see things. Travel.”
“But you never learned how to stay put. You never got to sink deep roots. Didn’t you ever miss that?”
“Sure. I’d think about it whenever dad got new orders, but then we’d get busy, throwing out things, skinnying down the household. When mom was alive, she’d make it feel like this great big adventure. Like the journey to dad’s next duty station was a long safari.”
“And when she passed?”
Marti sighed. “Then it was just Dad and me. And I was in charge of organizing things.”
“Do you miss him?”
“Sure, but he’s got his buddies. They play golf, go fishing. He’s got a full life.”
“Did he cut you adrift?”
“It wasn’t like that. I went to college. After that I took a job teaching English in China.”
“He let you go, just like that?”
Again, she shrugged, trying to pretend she really didn’t mind that her father had let her go so easily. “Why wouldn’t he?”
Jackson pulled her closer. A kiss landed on her cheek. “I wouldn’t let my little girl go without a layin’ a lot of guilt on her,
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