An Irresistible Bachelor(72)

She stared at him, amazed. "May I see it?"

He handed the document to her. The handwriting was different, more curvaceous. A woman's, she thought.

"I saved it," Jack said, "because it was old and curious, but I never thought it had anything to do with Nathaniel. Many members of the family served in the military and fought in conflicts in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. But considering the sheet you found, it makes me think."

"It certainly does." She compared the two and was struck by how the ink had faded in a similar way.

Jack shrugged. "I've read all of Nathaniel's journals. He never mentions a woman until he gets married to Jane Hatte. He does talk about General Rowe, though, the man he fought with against the British at the Battle of Concord. The two were very close and Rowe did have a wife, Sarah."

She looked at him. "So maybe Nathaniel and Sarah had an affair."

"It might explain why Nathaniel didn't marry until much later." He took back the letter and her new find and put them both in the envelope. "Good thing Grace is coming up for the party next week. Maybe she can fill in some of the details."

Callie cleared her throat. "Listen, about Thanksgiving. I'm sure you'll have guests, so I'm going back to the city—”

"But I don't want you to go. Unless you have family to see, stay here."

The words had come out of him fast and hard and she couldn't help but smile.

"Won't you need my room?"

"No. And even if we couldn't put everyone up, I'd send people to a hotel before I'd displace you."

Her grin widened. "What about the holiday dinner?"

"We don't really do the whole turkey thing. Not since my father died. The big event is our annual holiday party the day after. Which you are, of course, invited to."

Callie nodded, pleased. "Okay, M stay for both."

He smiled with satisfaction. "And have dinner with me tonight?"

"I'd love to."

"Good. I've got a tough day of off-site meetings ahead of me, but I promise to be back around six. And I'll be very hungry by then."

As he looked at her from under heavy lids, her body warmed up. Moving with obvious intent, he came around the desk, took her into his arms and kissed her until they were both breathing heavily.

"I'll be thinking of you," Jack said. "All day long."

The feeling was mutual.

Callie spent most of the hours working on the painting, with pictures of Jack floating in and out of her mind. At four o'clock, she took a break and went out to play with Arthur in the yard. She was at the side of the house, throwing his favorite tree branch as far as she could, when a black Town Car pulled into the drive. As Arthur shot after the stick, she watched the limousine stop under the porte cochere. A uniformed driver got out and opened the rear door.

A tall, slender blond woman emerged from the car. Even from across the lawn, it was obvious she was someone important. She was dressed in a black suit and, with her short, stylized hair, she was very chic.

Callie had a fleeting thought that she'd seen the woman somewhere before. Maybe in Stanley's gallery?

The door to the house opened and Mrs. Walker emerged with arms outstretched. As the two embraced, Arthur came back with the stick and dropped it on her foot.

She threw it quickly and turned back, but there wasn't much else to see. The two women had disappeared into the house and the limousine driver was leaning back against the car as if he was used to waiting.

She returned to work, anxious for the two hours to pass so she and Jack could get away from the house. It was curious how ten thousand square feet could still be suffocating and she couldn't wait to be alone with him. She'd decided some necking in that Aston Martin would be a fine way to start and end an evening. Although on that logic, it was too bad the man didn't drive a Volvo station wagon.

Or a minivan.

An hour later she heard the garage door go up and the low growl of Jack's car. She whipped off her breathing mask and ran her fingers through her hair, spreading it out over her shoulders.

When he got to the second floor, she ate up the wide smile on his face.

"I missed you," he said. "How was your day?"

"I've done some great work this afternoon. Take a look at the top of his head. The waves in his hair are remarkable." Callie leaned in close to the canvas, pointing out the area with her wooden stick.