Tess leaned back against the cracked bark of the ma-drone tree.
"Mama! Look! It's a twirling seed." Katie raced up to Tess and dropped to her knees, skidding through the tall grass. "I found it all by myself."
"That's great, sweetie. Show your daddy how well you
can throw it."
Katie scrambled to her feet and deftly threw the maple seedcase. It whirled through the air and flo
ated to the grass. Katie jumped and shrieked with joy, then ran over to tell Savannah about the flight.
Tess glanced over at Jack. He was looking at Katie, and there was a soft, faraway look in his eyes. "She's quite a girl," Tess said quietly. He smiled. "Yeah."
Their eyes met, and in that instant, that look, something powerful passed between them. Something special and filled with promise.
All of a sudden Tess felt beautiful and wanted and welcome. She felt?for one bright and shining moment? loved.
Then it was gone. Jack looked away, and the connection vanished as if it had never been. She let out her breath in a shaking, depleted sigh. The world seemed to drop out from underneath her. Once again sue felt like the little deaf girl waiting?always waiting?to be invited into the warm, cozy home.
Waiting. The thought made her angry. She'd always been waiting. Always.
And it was her own damned fault. She'd let her life be put on hold by being too scared to reach for love. She'd always been terrified of rejection?of being told she wasn't pretty enough, or talented enough or loving enough. After enough adoptions that didn't come through, enough parents who didn't want her, she'd stopped even reaching out. She'd lived in lonely safety, her heart in no danger of being broken again.
No more, she thought suddenly. She'd been given another chance at life, at love, and by God, she wouldn't wilt away from possible heartache this time. She wanted Jack to love her, and she wanted to love him.
She had only two choices. Either wait in lonely silence for him to come to her, or go out on that shaky, too slim limb and reach for the stars. It was no choice at all.
Chapter Twelve
Tess's latest attempt at cooking breakfast was another dismal failure.
"We could use it to tack down area rugs," Lissa said brightly, washing down her second bite of oatmeal with a big swallow of milk.
"It'd hold up wallpaper," Savannah added with a grin.
Katie giggled. "It'd catch rabbits, too. Just throw a bunch on the ground." She pounded her little fist on the table for emphasis. "Bounce, bounce, stick."
The three of them dissolved into laughter. The carefree, happy sound tugged at Jack's heart. He glanced around, studying each one of them in turn. Savannah looked prettier than he'd ever seen her. Bright splashes of pink spotted her cheeks, and her blue eyes glowed with happiness.
His gaze turned lovingly to Katie. His Katydid. Her big brown eyes were shining and bright with laughter. The sight of her made his chest ache with longing for the relationship he'd never let himself develop with her, for the thousands of lost moments and lost opportunities.
Maybe they're not lost anymore. Maybe ...
He glanced across the table, and his breath caught. His wife was looking right at him, and once again her eyes seemed to see too much.
Once again he thought: Maybe. The small pod of hope buried deep in his heart sent roots twining around his soul.
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The tentative tendrils that had been planted at yesterday's picnic began to sprout and grow.
A soft, beguiling smile shaped her lips. Crazily he knew it was a smile meant for him alone. She dipped her head in an almost invisible nod.
His heartbeat picked up speed. So did his pulse.
I'm not imagining this, he thought suddenly. It's real. She's changing?really, truly changing.