N. Walters - Jackson’s Jewel

She was alive and her stalker had been caught. That was all that mattered. She’d shared an incredible few weeks with an exceptional man and now it was over. It was time to move on with her life.

Tilting her chin up, she walked out of the farmhouse and closed the door behind her. Stopping long enough to snag her sandals, she hurried to her car without looking at the porch swing. Emerald slid into the front seat of her car, shut the door and turned on the ignition in one smooth motion. She backed the car away from the house and headed down the road, refusing to look in the rearview mirror as she drove away.

Jackson watched from the edge of the tree line as Emerald left the house for the last time and got into her car. His fingers dug into the trunk of the tree to keep from running to her and dragging her back inside. He didn’t want her to go, but he had no right to keep her here.

Their relationship had been intense because of the circumstances that had brought them together. But he knew that her life was not here. She was a city girl, reared in a famous family. Her family and her career were in New York. He was a farm boy through and through and could never be happy anywhere else.

These past few weeks had been the best of his life. Emerald had filled a void he hadn’t even known existed until she’d arrived. Smart, funny and beautiful, she’d brought joy and sunshine to his mundane existence. There was no doubt in his mind that he loved her. He could easily picture growing old with her, rearing a family together. But that wasn’t in the cards.

He loved her enough to let her go.

He knew himself well and knew there would never be another woman for him. Emerald, with her curly black hair and her gypsy looks was the one for him. Any other woman would pale in comparison.

As the car pulled away, he took a step forward, reaching out his hand as if he could somehow stop her. He blinked as his eyes began to sting. It was only dirt on the breeze, he assured himself as he dragged his hand over his eyes. As the car disappeared from view, he turned and slowly trudged back to work.

Emerald stared at her computer screen, her eyes burning from overwork. All she’d done since she’d returned home to New York was work. She’d not only managed to recreate all the work she’d lost when her computer was destroyed in the kitchen explosion, she’d outlined an entire new collection as well. Seasons, she was calling it.

So far she’d created summer, which consisted of wildflowers such as daisies, buttercups, violets and a multitude of others, along with butterflies and bees. It was colorful and dramatic and would look wonderful on cards, stationery and journal covers, not to mention a line of accessories that would be ready for next summer.

Now she was starting the work on the fall collection. She wanted rich burnt orange, red and gold as her palette. She’d done some research on the area surrounding Meadows, seen some pictures of the autumn season, but it wasn’t the same.

Pushing her chair away from her desk, she rose and went to the window. Staring out, she took in the sights and sounds of the city. People and traffic bustled up and down the busy streets. Horns blared, people shouted. What had filled her with energy and excitement only months before now just annoyed her.

Slamming the window shut, she leaned her head against the glass and took a deep breath. She longed for the clean air of the countryside, the sound of the birds twittering in the morning, the silence. She wanted to be back on the farm with Jackson.

But she had to stop thinking about him. What was done was done.

“Are you okay?” Emerald almost groaned aloud. It was Topaz. Both she and Sapphire had been watching her like a pair of hawks since she’d returned home.

Summoning up a weak smile, she turned from the window. “I’m fine. I’ve finished the summer collection and started on autumn.”

“That’s good.” Topaz strolled into the room, looking chic and sophisticated in a cool green linen suit. Chunks of amber circled her wrist, set in an intricate band of silver. It was one of Sapphire’s pieces. Emerald, in her jeans and Jackson’s shirt, felt like a wrung-out dishrag next to her sister.

As Emerald watched warily, her sister went to the desk and examined several finished designs for the summer line. Her stomach clenched and she realized she was slightly nervous. With everything that had gone on with the stalker and her design block before that, it had been quite a while since she’d created anything this special.

“This is wonderful.” Topaz carefully laid the drawings back on the desk. “They have a vibrancy and realism that’s amazing. Sapphire is already designing the jewelry to go with this line.” Topaz turned and leaned back against the desk, crossing her arms across her chest. “She’d very excited about the wildflowers and she has an entire butterfly collection in mind.”

“That’s good.” Emerald was pleased but she couldn’t really work up any enthusiasm.

“Yes, it is.” Her sister pushed away from the desk and sighed. “When are you going to tell us what’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong. I’m fine.” The words came automatically and Topaz frowned at her.

“No, you’re not.” Her sister’s voice was flat as she strode forward, determination in every line of her body.

“Am I late?” Sapphire hurried into the office, slightly breathless as she balanced three large beverage containers and a bakery bag in her hands.

“We haven’t started yet.”

Emerald stared from one sister to the other. “What’s going on?”

Sapphire plunked what Emerald suspected were café mochas and a selection of treats from Althea’s Bakery, a favorite of all three sisters. The only time they brought out this much chocolate and calories was when there was a serious discussion on the table.

Topaz wrapped her arm around Emerald’s shoulders and propelled her toward the comfortable couch and chairs that created a sitting area in the office. Sapphire had already curled up in one of the chairs and was busily opening the bag and setting cream puffs and éclairs onto paper napkins.

She found herself seated on the sofa with her café mocha in one hand and a cream puff in the other. Topaz pinned her with her golden-brown eyes and Emerald swallowed. She’d seen that look many times before and knew that time had run out.

“Tell us what happened.” Topaz’s voice was like velvet over steel. If Emerald didn’t spill the story, her sister would end up on Jackson’s doorstep demanding answers.

Emerald opened her mouth to once again say that nothing happened. Instead the entire story tumbled out from deep inside her. She told them about running and how she stumbled upon the job at the farm. She left out nothing as she spun the story of what had happened when she and Jackson met and what had followed. She poured her heart out, stopping occasionally to sniff back the tears that threatened.

“So you see, it’s nobody’s fault that I fell in love with him. We’re both adults and there was no commitment on either side. It was an intense affair and now it’s over.” And if she said it enough times maybe she’d even start to believe it.

Sapphire handed her a tissue, which Emerald took gratefully. Topaz, on the other hand, was thinking, and that was always dangerous. Her older sister sipped her café mocha thoughtfully. “The man insists you stay with him, doesn’t seem to care that his home is almost destroyed and risks his life for you?”

Emerald nodded. “Jackson’s one of a kind. He felt responsible for me.” Her heart clenched. “He’s big on responsibility.”

Topaz was shaking her head. “The man loves you.” She said it so matter-of-factly that Emerald sat up straighter.

“How can you say that? He sent me away.”

“No, he didn’t.” Topaz laid her drink on the table and reached out and took Emerald’s hands in hers. “He set you free. Don’t you get it? From everything you’ve told us, his actions show that he has deep feeling for you.”

“The sex between us was explosive,” she muttered, feeling her cheeks heat. She’d skipped over those parts of the story. They were too private, too special to share even with her sisters.

Topaz shook her head emphatically. “No. I’m not buying that. The guy thinks he’s doing you a favor by letting you come back to the city and your life here.”

A seed of hope began to bloom within her and she suddenly realized that she’d never really lost it. “He did keep saying that my life was in New York and his was on the farm.”

Sapphire came over to sit beside her, offering her a quick hug. “I’d say he was too afraid to ask you to stay just as you were too afraid to tell him you love him. He would no more ask you to come live on the farm than you’d ask him to sell it and move to New York.”

“You really think so?” She so wanted her sisters to be right. It was an idea that she’d mulled around in her own mind, but Jackson didn’t seem to be afraid of anything. Except from what she’d learned about him, he’d isolated himself to keep from being hurt. His family had all left him, leaving him alone on the farm. He didn’t even have a pet for heaven’s sake.

“I do.” There was a certainty to Topaz’s words that had Emerald raising an eyebrow in question. “I saw him one night. I’d already left the hospital, but I’d forgotten my sweater and went back for it. The door was slightly opened and I peeked in just in case one of the doctors or nurses was with you. He was standing there watching you sleep.”

“I never knew he was there.” Emerald was shocked. As far as she’d known, Jackson had left the next morning and not returned to the hospital. He’d never told her any differently.