stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at him in shock.
“What did you say?” Cassie squeaked, sure she had misunderstood. “What son?” She wrinkled her brow in thought. Surely there must be something she had missed.
When he didn’t answer, Cassie shook the muscled arm hanging loosely at his side. “Do you have a child, Jeff?”
“Not yet,” he told her, black eyes snapping fiercely. “But I plan to.”
His pronouncement left her speechless, mouth gaping in wonder. Jefferson William Haddon the third was going to get himself a child? How, she asked herself dryly. By mail order and stork delivery? She stared unblinkingly at the grim determination turning up his wide mouth. When she heard his next question, Cassie’s jaw dropped a little further.
“Want to help?” As a come-on it lacked finesse. As a proposal, it left something to be desired. It also left her gasping, as if someone had ploughed their fist into her midsection. She moved weakly down the dusky trail, totally ignoring the illustrious Mr. Haddon, flummoxed by his ridiculous statement.
In fact, the whole conversation was preposterous, she told herself. Totally ridiculous. The inane concept of marrying him and helping him provide an heir to the family fortune was.
The answer to her prayer, a small voice whispered. She tried to brush it away, but the flow of words refused to stop. For years, it reminded Cassie, she had dreamed of raising her own children. Now, at twenty-eight, she had almost lost hope that the right man would ever come along.
Maybe he had finally shown up.
What are you holding out for? Prince Charming? her subconscious chided her. There are all kinds of love. Some of them are learned, like your love for the children. Forget the fairy tale-take reality.
Cassie replayed the lawyer’s voice as it read Judith’s will. Marry him, it said, and she could live in this house, have her foster family, continue with her work and have a large amount of money as well.
Flickering images of her own family’s needs slipped through her mind. Samantha desperately needed cash with the second baby on the way and her husband’s death just last month. Ken was struggling, too, with two stepchildren who needed some professional help.
And Mom and Dad. Cassie pictured the couple’s dilapidated old farmstead. Neither of her parents were in good health and the place had become worn and rundown. One hundred thousand dollars would make an immense difference all around.
But one thought kept surfacing. She would be a kept woman, Cassie reminded herself. She would be marrying Jeff for the money.
And for a child.
Strangely, that thought didn’t bother her as much as Cassie expected it would. Instead, darling little cherub babies floated across her mind, kicking their chubby legs and gurgling in happy voices. The agency never brought her the babies. Her arms ached with the need to hold and cuddle one of those baby-lotion scented bodies.
And there was David. If anyone needed a father, he did. Could Jefferson Haddon possibly be the man God had sent to ease David’s path into adulthood? It seemed impossible; it didn’t jibe with the dream she’d held for so long.
A godly man, proud to be a follower of God, happy to share her work in the church and take his place as the head of their family-Jeff Haddon? A man who would share the same pain she felt when broken, unhappy children were brought to their home; a loving husband who would stand next to her and help in the healing process? Would marriage and children with Jeff give her that Christian family she’d planned for so long?
God, is this really from you?
Cassie heard a voice and turned to find Jeff’s long lean body directly behind her. He was speaking in a low tone that riveted her attention.
“We could both benefit, Cassie. Obviously that’s what Aunt Judith intended.”
She stared at him, transfixed by the dark conviction glinting from his stern face.
“But you’re not in love with me,” she objected, softly. “And I consider that a prerequisite to marriage.”
His gleaming dark head came up at that, his eyes boring into hers.
“No, I’m not,” he agreed dryly. “But then, neither, I think, are you in love with me.” He peered at her as if assessing her ability to understand what he was about to say. Cassie felt an anxious quiver spring up inside. “I’m thirty-five years old. I am fully capable of deciding what it is I want out of life. I want a son.”
Cassie marveled that his voice was so strong and steady. She felt like a quivering mass of jelly herself.
“I’ve been noticing your relationship with these children over the past few weeks,” he told her, his long stride adapting to match her shorter one. “You have the kind of rapport a child needs during its formative years. I think you would make a splendid mother.” His voice added reflectively, “and wife.”
He was serious, Cassie realized. Prince Jefferson actually expected her to agree to marry him and provide the heir to his kingdom.
“Is it so important, this successor for the Haddon family,” she demanded disparagingly, “that you would marry someone you don’t love, someone you barely know, just to continue the family line?”
“No,” he smiled at her sadly, tiny lines radiating around his sardonic mouth. “It’s not important at all, for that reason. But it is important for me to have my own child.” He straightened his shoulders then and grasped her elbow briskly as if getting down to business. “Think about it, Cassie. You would be able to do those things you’re always talking about for kids who need your help.” His voice lowered provocatively. “And you would be able to continue your writing without the kind of interruptions that any other place would afford.”
Cassie whirled to face him, amazed that he knew of her secret life as a children’s author. Then she realized that a man like Jefferson Haddon would have had her thoroughly investigated before considering the possibility of proposing.
The air went out of her suddenly.
“So it would be a business proposition,” she intoned softly, glaring up at him in the silence of the woods. “I get money and the run of the house to continue my work and you get your child. I do have some scruples, you know,” she told him, furious at his extended silence.
“I can’t just coldly and callously go to bed with you because you want a child. Lovemaking is a part of marriage and that’s a serious step that two people take because they want to commit themselves to the future together. If you think that I could treat such a commitment so lightly, then you really don’t know me at all.”
She wasn’t prepared for his strong arms as they wrapped around her. Jeff tugged her against his muscular frame, a tiny smile turning up the edges of his lips. His head tipped down, his mouth meeting hers in a kiss that rocked her to her boot-clad feet.
Cassie felt a longing stretch deep inside. It surprised her with its strength. As she felt his lips touch hers, Cassie curled her arms round Jeff’s strong neck and twined her fingers through his dark, immaculate hair.
She knew that time passed, that one kiss had become many. But each gentle touch of his lips created a need for more.
