Read Online The First Gardener by Denise Hildreth Jones - Free Book Online

her smile.
    “Thank you, baby,” she whispered as he buttoned the final button of his shirt.
    He leaned down and kissed her softly on her lips. “Mack, you don’t ever have to thank me for making love to you.”
    “I know. Just thank you for always making me welcome.” She finished knotting his tie and pushed it up closer to his neck. She knew Sarah was well aware of what was happening, but she still didn’t want it to be too obvious.
    “You are always welcome.”
    She leaned her head against his chest. “I love you, Gray London.”
    “I love you too, babe.”
    “Let’s pray this worked.”
    His lips moved against her forehead. “Even if it doesn’t, I like it when you visit me like this.”
    She leaned her head back, laughing. “You like this wild woman, huh?”
    “Love it.”
    She moved toward the door and turned the gold doorknob. “I’ll see you at home.”
    “Call me when you pick up Maddie,” he said. “I can’t wait to hear how her day went.”
    “How ’bout if I have her call you.”
    He was slipping his feet into his shoes. “That’d be perfect. Love you, Mack.”
    “Love you too.” She turned back toward him, then grinned. “Oh, hey—your zipper.”
    “What?” He reached down and felt his exposure. “That wouldn’t give anything away, would it?”
    “Might give away more than you intended.” She laughed.
    He zipped his slacks as she walked across his office and out the door. She prayed silently that this one was it. That this afternoon encounter would result in the baby boy they both desired and they both deserved.

 
Chapter 7
    Gray struggled to get his mind back on work. It was difficult because Mack’s visit had taken over all of his senses and co-opted his thoughts.
    The truth was this whole baby-making process left him badly torn.
    He certainly didn’t mind the afternoon trysts with his wife. And it was true that he wanted another child—especially a boy. He wouldn’t trade Maddie for the world, but there were still days when his heart ached for a son. He wanted so much of what a father and son could share, what he and his own dad had shared.
    Yet Mack’s body wouldn’t cooperate. And the reality of another round of fertility treatments was beginning to wear on him. He was tired of the mood swings the medication caused in Mack, tired of having to order his entire love life around thermometers and calendars, tired of worrying about the whole thing. It wasn’t like he didn’t have anything else on his plate. He was the governor of Tennessee, for goodness’ sake!
    Of course he could never tell Mackenzie any of this. She had her heart set on another baby, and she had suffered so much trying to have children. They both had. The last thing he wanted was to pressure her.
    He sighed. No point in worrying about what he couldn’t control. Better to focus on what was. Mack. Maddie. And his work, which was—
    The chirping phone interrupted his thoughts. “Yes?”
    Sarah was on the other end. “Gray, I’ve got Green Hills Nursing Center on line two.”
    His sigh was heavy. For a moment he’d forgotten about that particular worry.
    “Thanks.” He pushed the button. “This is Gray London.”
    “Governor, this is Harriet Purvis.” Harriet was the nurse who oversaw his father’s care at the Alzheimer’s unit in the Green Hills nursing facility. There was almost no chance that she was calling with good news.
    “Your father had him a bad spell today. He’s been yelling at some of the other patients, calling them some names I’d rather not repeat—you know, like he would have called the North Koreans. And then, well . . .”
    She paused, and Gray steeled himself. “Go ahead, tell me. Is he dropping his pants again?”
    Silence on the phone. Then, “We found him in bed with another patient. A female patient. And he put up quite a fight when we tried to move him. Said she was his . . . war bride. We barely got him out of the room before the poor woman’s husband