The thought of Harlan Adams negotiating anything with her boss gave Jessie chills. “Absolutely not. I’ll make the call later today. After that I suppose we can talk more about how long I’m staying.”
She gazed directly at Mary and tried to recall the precise tone of voice she’d used so successfully the evening before. “But no nanny. It wouldn’t be fair to hire someone and then turn right around and fire them again.”
“Well, of course not,” Mary agreed far too readily. “We’ll send her home with you. It will be our gift.”
Jessie felt as if she were losing control of her life. “You said yourself that my apartment is tiny. When you visited, you complained you could barely turn around in it. It can hardly accommodate a live-in nanny.”
Mary didn’t even bat an eye at that complication. “Then we’ll find you someplace larger,” she said at once. She picked up her cup of tea. “If you decide to go back, of course.”
“I thought we had settled that,” Jessie began, then sighed. Clearly she would be better off saving this particular fight for another day. She didn’t have the strength for it this morning. She stood. “I think I’ll go back up and check on Angela.”
“No need, Jessica. I believe Maritza’s sister is sitting with her now.”
She had married into a household of control freaks, Jessie decided, fighting her annoyance. Erik had quite likely been the only one in the group whose personality didn’t demand that he take charge of every single situation. She had learned her lesson from observing him, though. If she didn’t stand up to them, they would dismiss her opinions and her plans as no more than a minor nuisance.
“There’s no need for her to stay with the baby,” she told Mary forcefully. “I have a few letters to write this morning and some calls to make, so I’ll be with her.”
With that she turned and headed for the stairs, fully expecting yet another argument. For once, though, Mary was silent. Well, almost silent, Jessie amended. She thought she heard her mother-in-law sigh dramatically the instant she thought Jessie was out of earshot.
Back in her suite, she found a beautiful, young Mexican woman sitting right beside Angela’s crib. Apparently she had taken her instructions to watch the baby quite literally, because she didn’t even look away when Jessie entered the room.
“Buenos dias,” Jessie said to her.
The young woman glanced her way and smiled shyly.
“Do you speak English?” Jessie asked.
“Yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“Lara Mendoza.”
“Lara, thank you for looking after the baby. I’ll stay with her now.”
Lara seemed alarmed by the dismissal. “But it is my pleasure, señora. It is as Señora Adams wishes.”
Jessie bit back a sharp retort. “It’s not necessary,” she insisted gently. “I’ll call for you, if I need you, Lara.”
Lara’s sigh was every bit as heavy as the one Jessie had heard Mary utter. Apparently she was testing everyone’s patience this morning.
Still, she had to admit that she was relieved to be on her own. Perhaps the decision to come to White Pines had been a bad one, after all. All of the things she’d hated most—the control, the dismissal of her opinions, the hints of disapproval—were coming back to her now.
She realized that for all of her hopes and dreams when she’d married Erik, this still wasn’t her family. Jordan and Cody seemed to like her well enough. Even Harlan appeared to be fond of her. But Mary was another story. Every time her mother-in-law addressed her, Jessie couldn’t help concluding that the older woman found her sadly wanting.
Suddenly she was filled with a terrible sense of despondency. Perhaps there was no place she really belonged anymore, not here and certainly not with Luke. He’d made that clear enough. Perhaps it was time she accepted the fact that she and Angela were going to have to make it entirely on their own.
A tap on the door interrupted her maudlin thoughts. She eyed the door suspiciously. She didn’t think she could take another run-in with Mary just yet.
“Who is it?” she called softly, hoping not to wake the baby.
“Open the door and find out,” a masculine voice said.
The sound of that unmistakable voice gave her goose bumps. She practically ran to fling open the door, relieved and elated by his timely arrival.
“Luke,” she cried and propelled herself into his arms without considering his reaction.
Despite his startled grunt of surprise at her actions, he folded his arms around her and held her close. Suddenly she no longer felt nearly so alone. Breathing in the familiar masculine scent of him, crushed against his solid chest, she felt warm and protected and cherished. Those feelings might be illusions, but for now she basked in them.
After what seemed far too brief a time, Luke gently disengaged her and stepped back just far enough to examine her from head to toe. His expression hardened, as if something he saw angered him. She couldn’t imagine what it could be.
“What’s this?” he demanded, rubbing at the dampness on her cheeks. “What’s wrong, Jessie?”
Jessie hadn’t even been aware that she’d been crying before his arrival. Or maybe they were tears of joy at seeing him. Or perhaps simply the overly emotional tears of a woman who’d just given birth. She couldn’t say. She just knew that at this moment she had never been more grateful to see someone in her life.
“Jessie? What’s going on?” he asked as he led her away from the door and shut it behind him. A worried frown puckered his brow as he waited with obvious impatience for answers. “What has my family done to you now?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Everything. Oh, Luke, they’re taking over. I’m trying so damned hard not to let them. I am not a weak woman. You know that.”
“No mistake about it,” he agreed.
Jessie barely noticed the sudden return of a twinkle in his eye. She was too
