He came directly toward her, his tall rangy figure quite a sight for her overworked brain. She could do nothing but stare up at him, dazed.

His face filled her vision, his icy blue eyes hot with fear and concern and rage. He hunkered down to her level. “Are you all right?”

The roughness of his voice didn’t faze her, nor did the way his entire body tensed, braced for battle. What did were the tears she felt spring to her eyes.

He was so innately sweet, even when she’d destroyed him. It amazed her that he could put aside his fierce anger at her deception, all to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

“Are you?” His voice changed, lowered, became unbearably gentle. Shifting nearer, he froze when she instinctively winced at the close proximity. Careful not to touch her, which only made her hot tears fall, he lowered his voice even more. “Did he hurt you, sweetheart?” Barely suppressed violence shimmered beneath his control.

“Of course not!” Rand exclaimed indignantly, straightening. “Don’t you have eyes in your head? She shoved me!”

In one fluid motion, Stone rose to his feet, grabbed Rand by the front of his shirt and held him against his desk. “Why were your hands on her?”

“She fainted!” But while Rand shouted this in a holier-than-thou tone, Jenna noticed he did not even attempt to protect himself from the younger, clearly stronger man. “You’re going to be very sorry, Cameron, if you don’t get your hands off me. I feel a huge lawsuit rising.”

And he meant it, Jenna realized. “Stone,” she said, rising shakily to her feet and swiping awkwardly at her tears. “I’m okay.”

Stone didn’t budge, just held Rand with ease. “I don’t know how you live with yourself, Ridgeway. Fooling the whole town, hiding how sick you are.”

“Still holding a grudge, I see,” Rand rasped out.

“Stone. Please. I’m fine.” Jenna set a hand on his back. The muscles beneath her fingers were taut, yet quivering.

“He touched you. He scared you.”

“Yes,” she said quickly. “I started to faint. It was my fault, not his this time. Please,” she added, grasping his shirt in her fist and tugging. “Please, Stone, listen to me.”

Surprisingly he did. The instant he let go of Rand, the older man scrambled behind his desk, straightening his shirt as he glared at the both of them. “Get out.”

Ignoring him, Stone looked at Jenna. “You came here for Sara.”

“Yes. She-”

“I know. I came back for something and saw the note. You dropped everything, faced what had to be your greatest nightmare and came here.” He looked confused. More hurt than angry now, thank God. “For her.”

“I had to,” she said simply.

“You had to.” Stone nodded calmly, but when he let her look into his eyes again, she saw humbling affection, relief, lingering concern-and a need that stole her breath. It was such a staggering show of emotion she could hardly speak. “Please,” she whispered. “Please, let’s get out of here.”

Stone turned to Rand. “Where’s my daughter?”

“She went back to her classroom,” Rand said with a sniff. “It was a case of mistaken identity. It wasn’t her. She’s off the hook and back to work.”

Stone sent him a smile that was only such because he showed his teeth. “See that you don’t make that mistake again.”

Then he opened the door and waited patiently for Jenna to pass through first. He was still painfully careful not to touch her, which left Jenna both grateful for the chance to compose herself and regretful for a lost opportunity.


In the parking lot Jenna climbed into her car while Stone held the door open for her.

He’d insisted on escorting her, staying until he’d satisfied himself that she was not only buckled in, but capable of driving. She’d told him three times she was just fine, but her damn voice kept shaking and her hands were icy.

She’d faced Rand Ridgeway. The thought kept dancing in her head. For her daughter, she’d faced her nightmare. It felt good.

Stone leaned on the still-open door, his body preventing her from shutting it. She wished he’d hold her, but the night before he’d made it quite obvious just what he’d thought of her.

“You can go to your meeting now,” she told him. “I’m fine.” She couldn’t face his anger at what she’d done, not now.

He hunkered down and studied her. “You’re still trembling.”

She was, had been since Rand had touched her, but she couldn’t seem to stop.

“Jenna. Let me…” He reached in, and his arms-those solid warm arms-encircled her, gently easing her against him as if he was afraid of hurting her.

Emotions raced through her, the strongest a terrible fear she was dreaming. If she woke up, he’d be gone. So would Sara.

“This is the first time in a long time that I’ve held you as Jenna.”

He didn’t sound resentful or angry, and she sighed in relief, luxuriating herself in his strength. She felt his lips slide over her forehead, into her hair, then his jaw settled on top of her head. Tucked firmly into his body, she could think of nowhere else she’d rather be, and suddenly, she was holding on for dear life as she shivered in delayed shock.

He just held tighter, holding her for long moments while she struggled for composure.

When she finally pushed back, his grip on her eased immediately, but he didn’t let her go. “I’m sorry,” she said finally.

“Don’t be.”

The words rumbled from his chest, against the ear she had pressed flat against his shirt. She became excruciatingly aware of his every breath, of his arm brushing ever so lightly against her blouse, which in turn brushed against her breasts. And at her hip, she became aware of a growing heat, a pressure that told her he was every bit as aware of her as she was of him.

“Thank you,” he said. “For rushing here for Sara.”

Where was his anger? “You don’t have to thank me for that. She’s my child too.”

“So she is.”

There was his temper. It flashed briefly in his eyes. Regarding her, he again hunkered down, but he didn’t touch her this time. “Are you really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’m stubborn, not a complete idiot. I know a good part of what you’ve been running from for so long is what he did to you. I know what you faced in there, how hard it must have been.”

“Yes.” She stared down at her hands. “I can’t believe he’s still the principal.”

“No charges were ever filed, Jenna.”

There was not an ounce of reproach in his voice, but she felt weighed down just the same. “I should have done it, I know.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she dropped her head to the steering wheel. “But no one wanted to believe me.”

A soft sound of regret escaped him, and she felt the light touch of his hand in her hair, confusing her. “You were young. And betrayed in the worst possible way. You can’t beat yourself up for how you reacted.”

She didn’t answer, and cupping the nape of her neck, he gently forced her head up. “That’s exactly what you’ve been doing for ten years, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He wouldn’t let her look away. “You’ve been running, not from me or Sara, or even the memory of your mother and Rand. You’ve been running from yourself.”

The compassion and understanding in his voice was difficult to take because she thought it might be pity. How she hated having him feeling sorry for her. “No.”

“Don’t lie. You promised you wouldn’t.”

“I…” Sighing miserably, she closed her eyes. “I’m so mixed up, Stone. I just want…”

“What?”

“I want much more than this.” She spoke so quietly that Stone had to lean closer. A strand of her hair caught in the stubble on his chin, and he nearly succumbed to a desire to rub his face in her hair. His weakness for her sent irritation swimming through him. Remember her deceit, he reminded himself.

“I want you and Sara to like me,” she admitted in that same uncertain voice.

Stone let out a stream of air, releasing his annoyance. He of all people knew she had a right to feel so uncertain, so defensive, and it went a long way toward softening him.

So did the memory of the terror on her face when he’d walked into that office and seen her in Rand’s arms. He’d completely forgotten his own pain and, instead, seen red. It hadn’t occurred to him until he’d had Rand pinned against the desk that the man couldn’t possibly have recognized her. That the pale and trembling Jenna had been reacting to her past.

Yet this new Jenna was different from the old, far more sure of herself. So why had she allowed Rand Ridgeway to get to her like this?

Did she honestly think so little of herself that she still didn’t think people would believe her? Believe in her?

Stone looked at her more closely and saw the truth in her hunched position. in the defeat in her eyes. Jenna still didn’t believe in herself. She still didn’t realize that people could care for her, love her.

On top of this, she was mortified at having to be “rescued,” so much so that she was sucking in all her emotions, desperate to hide her insecurity from him. And evidently she’d taken his thoughtful silence as a further rejection.

Why was he thinking like this? Where had his anger gone?

“I can’t stand knowing if you hate me…” She frowned. “Never mind. I’m sorry, please excuse me.” Pushing him away, she slammed her door shut and drove off.

Stone stood there in the parking lot, devastated by all he felt.

The realization of her insecurity tore at him. All she’d ever asked for was to know that he didn’t hate her.

He didn’t. In spite of everything, in spite of how he wanted to, he couldn’t.

So why hadn’t he told her? Was he that selfish? Yes. All he’d seen, all he’d felt, had centered around him. He hadn’t given her feelings a thought.

“Dammit,” he muttered. And he ran to his truck to follow her.