Dreams Don't Wait

chapter 13





Jenny, Cal, and Evan were sprawled on Jenny's bedroom floor, coloring, when Linc came in a half hour later. He stood in the doorway unnoticed and watched them until he got that peculiar lump in his throat.

"I thought you were supposed to be in bed, Princess Jennifer Mae Stewart," he said, adopting an appropriately sober tone.

"I'm better now," Jenny stated matter-of-factly and continued her coloring.

Linc glanced down at Evan. "Some baby-sitter you are."

"She's fine. Honestly," she said. "There's not a trace of fever. She probably didn't need to go to the hospital at all. I guess I overreacted." She looked away from him, seeming intent on getting her crayons back in their box. The lady was edgy, very edgy. He didn't know why, but the thought cheered him.

"People tend to do that when they care. You did the right thing. Thank you. I meant to tell you that earlier, but I, uh, got sidetracked."

Evan flushed crimson.

"Daddy, Cal brought me a coloring book. Come see. Look what he's done." She pointed to one of the pages Cal had colored. "You do one, Daddy. I'll pick it. Okay?"

Linc joined the trio on the floor. "Okay. Which one is mine?"

Jenny turned a couple of pages. "This one. It's a castle, and it's right next to Evan's page."

He picked up a blue crayon. "Good. I can't think of anyplace else I'd rather be."

"I'm going to visit with Maud awhile," Evan stammered, getting to her feet. Was that Cal chuckling as she stepped into the hall?

* * *

"Of course you'll stay for dinner. I've made enough for a small army. I wouldn't want it to go to waste." It was seven o'clock, and Evan and Cal were at the back door, ready to leave.

"Thanks, Maud, but I promised Cal a pizza," Evan protested.

"That's okay, Mom. We can do that tomorrow." Cal sniffed the air. "I'll pass on pizza for Maud's cooking anytime. And I'm going to study at Mike's tonight, so it'll save me some time."

Maud looked pleased. "That settles it then."

Evan cast a nervous glance in the direction of the kitchen door. Linc was still upstairs. She didn't know how he'd feel about her and Cal staying for dinner. She didn't know how he felt about anything. He'd been strange since last night, acting as if their terrible argument never happened. Evan felt as though she were in a house of mirrors, where nothing was quite what it seemed. She was about to protest again when Linc came in carrying a pajama-clad Jenny in his arms. Copper wasn't far behind.

"Evan and Cal are staying for dinner," Maud said before she could open her mouth.

"Good." Linc's blue eyes locked on Evan. "And after dinner, we'll have that talk we didn't get around to last night."

The remark was typical Linc, more command than question and managing to carry enough innuendo to capture the interest of everyone in the room. Evan glanced at Maud and Cal, who were both instantly preoccupied with setting the table and making a clatter. Jenny was not so circumspect. She gave Evan a curious look, seemed to consider something, then cocked her head.

"Do you love my daddy?" she asked. The question came with the startling swiftness of a Jack-in-the-box.

The clatter stopped. Evan didn't have to look to know the attention of both Cal and Maud was riveted on her.

And Linc had the most peculiar smirk on his face.

When she glared at him, he gave her an innocent what's-a-dad-gonna-do kind of shrug and cocked his head in much the same manner as Jenny. He was waiting for her answer—right along with his daughter. They were both unmanageable, incorrigible, unpredictable, and... and... she couldn't imagine her life without them—either of them.

Her heartbeat slowed, eased to a deeper, more satisfying rhythm. Ivy halls, libraries full of books, university degrees, foreign ports—dreams , all dreams. And dreams could wait.

"Yes, Jenny, I love your daddy," she said, her heart now solidly in her throat.

"Me, too, Evan?" the child asked, eyes wide.

"You, too, sweetheart." Oh, yes, you, too, my darling Jenny.

"Can Cal be my brother then?" Jenny wanted specifics.

Evan turned back to Linc. "I don't know, Jenny. That's up to your dad," she said. By the look on Linc's face, he hadn't expected either her honest answer or her challenge. He looked as though he'd been poleaxed.

And this time the collective attention in the room was on him. He didn't take his eyes off Evan when he said, "Maud, would you take care of Jen for a while? Evan and I need to talk—now." He let Jenny slide down his chest to the floor.

Smiling broadly, Maud took Jenny's hand.

"Yes!" Cal said, giving Linc a thumbs-up sign and grinning at his mother.

Linc grabbed Evan's hand and towed her out of the room, down the hall, and into the library. As the door closed behind them he turned toward her, both hands on his hips.

"Say that again," he ordered.

"First you give me back what you took away, Mr. Lincoln Stewart. I have no intention of being mistress of your manor." Evan was now fully in the spirit of Linc's game. Whatever it was.

For a second he looked confused, then he laughed as he remembered. But his smiled quickly faded. "Fair enough, but first I think we should hammer out a few conditions."

"Conditions." She didn't like the sound of this at all.

"Yes, conditions. I may be thickheaded at times, but I've figured one thing out. There's something about being married to me that scares you. I need to know what it is."

She hesitated, not sure where to begin, how to explain. "It's not you, Linc, and it's not Jenny. I know that now. It's me. All the years working—raising Cal—I guess I locked on to a dream. Maybe it was to keep me going. I don't know. And when we lost Jenny that afternoon—" She lifted her eyes to his. "You were right, I was scared. More than scared, I was terrified. Until then, I'd forgotten how ferocious a mother's love could be, the demands on it—the pain of it—and I just wanted to run. The very idea of making that commitment again paralyzed me. I didn't think I could handle it. There were so many times with Cal when I nearly didn't make it that—" She broke off, waited a moment. "But that doesn't matter now."

"It does matter. It matters to me." He took her face in his hands. "But you're not alone anymore, love. I'm here. Maud's here. And there's Cal. We're a family. We're not going to leave you with all the fun of raising Jenny. Besides, she may need discipline from time to time, and I know you'll want to call on me for that." He smiled.

"Right. That's definitely your department."

Linc gave her a long look, turned serious. "School? Travel? They're important to you, aren't they?" And I never realized it. He wanted to kick himself clear across the Pacific Ocean. If he hadn't been such a stubborn ass, so determined to get his way, he'd have seen it.

She nodded, then shrugged. But that shrug took effort, he could tell. "I always regretted not finishing school," she said. "I was an A student when... Well, that was a long time ago. It doesn't matter now. I'll get back to it someday." She stepped up to him and touched his face. "I love you. I love you so much, I can't even think of a life without you and Jenny." Looking into his eyes, she added, "But I think you already know that."

"And I love you." One small step and she was in his arms. His mouth slanted over hers. "And I always will. Don't ever doubt it," he said gruffly, before giving her a kiss to forever seal his words on her heart. He pulled back and rested his chin near her ear, took a steadying breath.

"So you're planning to quit your job?" he asked.

"Uh-huh." She cuddled closer.

"And do what? Hang around and bother me all day?"

She pulled her head back and looked at him quizzically. "Look after Jen, of course."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Linc, you know that's what you want."

He took her face between his hands. "What I want is for you to stamp paid on that dream of yours. Go to school—with your son. The semester's just started. There's still time. And I'd bet Cal would love it."

Her eyes widened. "But Jenny. What about Jenny?"

"Jenny starts kindergarten next week, and if I'm not here, Maud is." He kissed her forehead. "Jenny has lots of people to love and care for her, love. It's not like when you were raising Cal." He paused, then added, "And for at least the next year or so, you've got yourself a house-husband. After that, I can't make any promises, because we might have to live in England for a while. Of course, an A student may want to spend a year or two at Oxford or Cambridge—if her marks are good enough. Sound okay?"

When she only gazed at him wide-eyed and didn't answer, he said, "Dreams don't wait, Evan. Not forever."

Evan's heart thumped in a crazily uneven rhythm, its beat thrumming madly in her ears. "You're sure? Absolutely, totally, and completely positive about this?"

"I'm sure." He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, and finally her mouth. His voice was down an octave when he lifted his head to give her a blue-eyed gaze. "Marry me."

Not a question. A statement.

"I take it that was a proposal?"

"Freely given and—"

"Freely taken away?" she reminded him.

His grin seemed inspired by the devil. "I wanted to show you what you were missing."

"Really?" She arched a brow.

"Evan," he said. "Answer me."

It was her turn to smile, first in mirth, then from a deep and sure happiness. "My answer is yes, my lord. A yes freely given, and—"

"Forever." He kissed her softly, lingeringly.

"Forever," she whispered against his lips, "and the morning after."

The End