Cooper stopped typing and glanced over his shoulder. His blond hair was mussed, he hadn't shaved in days. Jack had never seen this GQ Simon looking so rough.

"You look like you need a drink," Cooper said, getting out of his chair. He was shirtless, and his jeans had more holes in them than his d.a.m.n driveway.

"I know about the pictures and the tapes of Donovan and Derek." Jack's voice was rough, like sandpaper.

Cooper glanced up at him before opening the fridge and tossing him a cold beer. Jack watched Cooper pull back his tab and take a good long drink, but he didn't open his. He was too angry to drink.

"She told you?"

"No."

Cooper was surprised. Jack could see that.

"Did you leak the story?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Cooper set his beer down onto the counter. "Jack I've been here since the fundraiser and no I didn't leak the story. I've got hydro and water and that's about it. I've got my cell and the only reason I called Maverick back was because he threatened to out me if I didn't. I'm not ready for the world to know I'm Lee Holloway."

"Who?"

"Never mind. It wasn't me. h.e.l.l, I don't even have internet. Nothing." He shrugged. "It wasn't me."

Jack saw the truth in his cousin's eyes, and he pulled out a chair, setting his beer on the table. He had a good idea who it was.

"The story was leaked to the press when I was up at the cottage. .A story about Donovan and Derek, and it alluded to video and pictures of the two of them together. I just came from Derek, and he told me it was true." Jack grimaced. "Said he'd had s.e.x with Donovan, but that you had the evidence." He glared across the room at his cousin. The thought of anyone seeing Donovan like that made him sick. "Do you have it?"

Cooper ran his hands through his messy blond hair and sighed. "I do."

Jack was off his chair in an instant, long legs carrying him across the room until he stood toe to toe with Cooper.

"Calm down," Coop said, hands in the air, palms up. "Just listen before you go off half-c.o.c.ked and throwing punches."

Jack let him back up and watched him closely. "How the h.e.l.l did you end up with something like that?"

"A few years ago, Derek hosted a Christmas party as his place, remember? A lot of your staff was there. Tucker. Beau. You left, and I stayed for some more tequila. Derek got loaded and started going on about Donovan. Told me he was the reason for your breakup. Said he had evidence."

Jack swore and ran his hand along his jaw.

"Look. I've never liked the guy. He's always had an unhealthy infatuation with you, and I never trusted him. I didn't know if he was bulls.h.i.tting or telling me the truth, so I asked to see his so called evidence. The guy was c.o.c.ky as h.e.l.l and took me to his office. He poured me anther tequila and then popped in the thumb drive. I didn't see much, a few images, no video, but it was enough to know that what was on there would do damage. I took it and told him that if he ever mentioned it to anyone, I'd make him wish his life was over. I'd take everything. His wife, his nice cushy life and, most of all, I'd make sure he never had anything to do with you again."

Jack bent over, hands on his knees. This wasn't what he'd wanted to hear. Maybe some part of him was hoping it was all a big misunderstanding, but this? This was real.

"She's pregnant with my kid."

Cooper was shocked. At least that's how Jack was going to take the blue streak that fell out of his cousin's mouth.

"I gotta be up front with you, Jack. I warned her to stay away from you." At Jack's blank stare, Cooper sighed. "Look. You're family, and I thought she was bad news. At the fundraiser, I told her to stay away. That if I caught wind of her hooking up with you, I'd release the tapes. It was bulls.h.i.t, but she didn't know it. h.e.l.l, I'd never wish that kind of political storm on you. But for her to risk that." He shrugged. "Maybe I was wrong about her. Maybe you mean a lot more to her than I was giving her credit for. What's she saying about all this s.h.i.t?"

"I don't know." G.o.d, Jack felt like s.h.i.t. "The whole thing's a mess."

"What are you going to do?" Cooper asked. "About Donovan?"

"Do you have it?" Jack asked, ignoring his cousin's question.

"I don't think you want to see that, Jack."

"Have you watched it?" he asked, taking a step toward Cooper.

"No. The two images I saw were enough."

"Do you have it?" Jack asked again, jaw clenched tight and mouth grim.

Cooper disappeared for a few minutes and when he appeared again, he had the thumb drive in his hands. He handed it over. "I have a safe under the floorboards in my bedroom. n.o.body knows that I own this property, so I thought it was as good a place as any to keep it." Cooper nodded toward his desktop. "Use my computer I'm going to bed."

Jack waited until his cousin was gone and even though he felt sick to his stomach, he inserted the thumb drive. When he was finished watching the material, he got up and would have put his fist through the wall-if it was drywall. As it was, the walls were made of plaster, and he was pretty d.a.m.n sure he broke several bones in his hand before he made it to the kitchen sink and vomited.

Chapter Thirty.

Donovan wrinkled her nose and shook her head as she re-read the instructions in the cookbook. What the h.e.l.l was sifting flour?

With a sigh, she got up from the table and glanced outside. Roger would be back from the mainland soon, and she'd promised a meal. Her. Useless as h.e.l.l, Donovan James was going to cook a meal for Roger and Mary.

She smoothed her hair back and tucked the wild waves behind her ears. It was humid, but she loved the warmth. She'd been cold since she arrived. Since Gravenhurst.

Donovan wasn't sure she'd ever be warm again. She closed her eyes as a wave of nausea set in and waited for it to pa.s.s. This was something new. She'd been back on the island for nearly two weeks and had only experienced nausea the last few days. It was real. The pregnancy was real.

She rested her hands over her bare stomach and smiled. "Welcome to your life, whoever you are. It's going to be stupid, crazy ride."

Okay. Focus.

There was the sifting of the flour. Donovan wandered back into the kitchen and, after chewing on her bottom lip for a few moments, decided that maybe they didn't need this fancy apple dessert after all. Maybe cut up fruit would do.

Her eyes brightened. Just like the fancy fruit trays in all those hotel rooms she stayed in when on tour.

She set to work and cut out the watermelon Roger had brought for her the week before. One of four, it was the only one left. She giggled and patted her stomach once more.

"Guess you like watermelon huh?"

Once that was done, she carved out the pineapple and tried her d.a.m.nedest to make it look like something. It was leaning a bit when she placed it in the middle of the watermelon, and she decided that it looked like a bird. A phoenix to be precise. How metaphoric. Out of the ashes and all of that.

She cleaned grapes, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries and filled in the s.p.a.ce around her phoenix. After that she cut up the watermelon and placed it as artfully as she could and when she was done, took a step back.

It looked pretty d.a.m.n good.

She flew across the kitchen and opened up the large fridge and then placed her creation inside. Next, she checked on her marinating steaks (so the marinade was out of a bottle-she wasn't telling anyone that) and took out the vegetables for her salad.

She had three kinds of onions, a red pepper and mushrooms. Somehow the colors had seemed right when she was in the grocery, but now she was rethinking the whole salad thing too.

Deciding she'd ponder it in the shower, Donovan headed to her bedroom, eyes firmly fixed on her door and not the one at the end of the hall. Even so, she couldn't help the way her heart contracted or the pain that spliced across her chest when she thought about Jack. It would always be there, she supposed.

"And I can't hide out here forever."

But for now? It was the perfect sanctuary, and Grace had come through big time, getting her back to the island without anyone knowing. It took her less than an hour to shower, wash her hair and put on some makeup. She was sick of walking around looking like death warmed over.

Once satisfied with her appearance, Donovan rifled through her closet, fingers closing around a simple coral dress. Strapless, it hugged her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and fell into a straight line, touching the tops of her toes. She slipped into a pair of white Fendi flats and headed out to the main room.

It was almost dinner time.

She heard voices and knew that Roger and Mary must be on their way over. Quickly fluffing the pillows on the sofa, she set her guitar back in its stand and grabbed the book that was laying on the edge of the coffee table.

Aldus Huxley. The Doors of Perception.

"Yeah, that's so not going to happen," she said with a laugh and tossed it into the bin. Her fingers trailed over the People Magazines that were there, and for a moment, her joy dimmed. The c.r.a.p that was her life rose up, and she knew that if she let it, it would consume her.

So she carefully folded the magazines back and turned, a smile on her face because she heard the door swing open.

Except it wasn't Roger. And it certainly wasn't Mary.

It was six feet two inches of someone wholly male. Six feet two inches that belonged to the only man to own her body and soul.

Jack.

She didn't realize that she'd said his name out loud until she heard it echo in the room.

"You look like s.h.i.t."

She said the first thing that came to mind and her breath caught when a ghost of a smile played around the corner of his mouth.

"I feel worse."

"How did you..." She began, but then a big wad of emotion closed her throat off, and there were no more words.

But he didn't need them. He was striding forward, his long legs eating up the distance in less time than it took to sneeze. He scooped her into his arms and that was it. She was done.

She began to shake so hard that she felt the vibrations run up his arms as he held her.

"I'm so sorry, Donovan. So f.u.c.king sorry." He buried his head in her hair, and she realized that she wasn't the only one shaking. "Can you forgive me? Please tell me I'm not too late. I'd have been here sooner, but it took a week to track you down, and even then Grace was stubborn as h.e.l.l."

She'd longed to hear those words and yet, confused, Donovan moved so that she could see his face. "Jack, I don't understand. I should be the one asking for forgiveness. That night...I don't...I can't explain exactly what happened but you have to know I never meant for any of it. I've never loved anyone but you."

"I saw it, Donnie." His eyes looked haunted, and she squirmed until she could get some room between them. Shame burned her skin, and she looked away, but his hands were there on her chin. Gentle. Caressing.

"You did nothing but trust someone. He..." Jack's voice was ragged, his eyes moist. "He took advantage. Pumped you full of booze and preyed on your pain. He used you. He f.u.c.king raped you, and he's going to pay."

"Rape?" Donovan's stomach rolled, and she thought she was going to be sick. Rape made it so much worse. She'd never been able to remember the details of that night but she'd thought it was her mind trying to block it out.

"But he showed me two pictures." She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to banish them from her mind, but they were there and she whimpered.

"I watched some of the video."

She whimpered and he hugged her fiercely. "You said no, Donovan. You said no, and I'll never forgive myself for leaving you with that monster."

"All this time," she managed to say. "All this time wasted because I thought I'd betrayed you. Betrayed our love by sleeping with him. Why would he do that?"

Jack gently kissed the corner of her mouth. Her nose. And her chin. He showered kisses over every single inch of skin that he could find.

"He's a sick son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h, and if he ever comes near you again..."

Jack exhaled. "I'm never leaving you again," he finally said, resting his forehead on hers. "Never."

Donovan fisted his T-shirt and slammed her body so close to his that she could feel every breath he took. She heard his heart beating and inhaled his scent. There was still stuff to work through, but for the first time in forever, it seemed, she was standing still, and her mind was at ease.

Eventually, she glanced up at him and then nodded toward the kitchen. "I made dinner."

Jack's brows furrowed, and there was that ghost of a smile that told Donovan everything was going to be all right. "Really."

She nodded. "For real. For Roger and Mary."

"Well, Roger and Mary aren't joining us for dinner."

"Oh."

His hand slipped between them, and her breath caught when he fell to his knees and rested his head against her abdomen. Gently he kissed her through the thin material of her dress.

"So, it's just going to be the three of us," he murmured.

She sank her hands into his hair. "Yes."

"Sounds pretty amazing to me."

"Me too."

Jack rose slowly. "I love you, Donnie." He swept his mouth across hers, and she smiled.

"If you really love me, you'll chop up the vegetables for the salad."

"I can do that." He dropped another kiss on her mouth.

"Maybe do something with the potatoes I bought, because I was going to boil them but wasn't sure what to do with them once they were boiled."

"I'm pretty good with potatoes." He nibbled around her ear and Donovan squirmed in his arms, her body reacting the way it always did where he was concerned. Fast and hot.