"Take one of those sleeping pills the doctor prescribed for me," Sarah suggested. "They're so mild, one can't hurt you, and they do help me get my brain to slow down long enough to fall asleep."
"Come on," Hal said, scraping his chair back, "I'll go up with you."
>
"Good night, Bob, Sarah," Jenny said listlessly.
"Son, you didn't give us the name of the Mexican contact," Bob reminded Hal.
"I'm not turning in yet. I'm coming right back. I won't be a minute."
Together Jenny and Hal climbed the stairs. At the top, he paused outside his parents' bedroom. "Do you want that sleeping pill?"
"I suppose so. I know I'll toss and turn all night."
He left her and came back a few moments later with two small pink tablets lying in the palm of his hand. "The instructions on the bottle said one or two. I think you should take two."
They went into her bedroom and she turned on the bedside lamp. Cage was right. As soon as she had moved into the parsonage, this room had been outfitted to suit a princess. Unfortunately, Jenny had had little choice in the decorating.
Even a few years ago, when Sarah had suggested it was time for a change, the hated powder blue dotted swiss had been replaced with white eyelet. The room was too juvenile and frilly for Jenny's taste. But she wouldn't have hurt Sarah's feelings for the world. She only hoped that as soon as she and Hal were married, she would be allowed to decorate their bedroom suite. There had never been any mention of their moving to their own house because it was also understood that when Bob retired, Hal would assume his ministry.
"Take your pills and put on your jammies. I'll wait to tuck you in." Jenny left Hal standing in the middle of the room and slipped into the bathroom, where she did as she was told, swallowing both capsules. But she didn't put on "jammies." She put on a nightgown she had surreptitiously bought in the hope that she would have an occasion like tonight to put it to use.
She faced herself in the minor and made up her mind to take action as Cage had dared her to. She didn't want Hal to go. It was a dangerous, fool's mission. Even if it weren't, it was stalling their marriage plans again. Should any woman have to stand for that?
Jenny had a premonition that her future hinged on tonight. She had to stop Hal from leaving or her life would be forever altered. She had to take the gamble; and the stakes were all or nothing. And she would use the oldest device known to woman to assure a victory.
God had sanctioned Ruth's night with Boaz. Maybe this was another one of those times.
But Ruth hadn't had a nightgown that slithered down her naked body, feeling sinfully slinky and sensuous against her skin. Straps as fine as violin strings held up a bodice that plunged down far between her breasts, showing the ample inner curves. The pearl-colored nightgown had a trim, body-hugging fit that didn't miss a single detail of her figure until it flared out slightly at her hips. Its fluted hem brushed her insteps.
She misted herself with a flowery, light perfume and ran a brush through her hair. For a moment after she was ready, she closed her eyes and tried with all her might to gather the courage to open the door. She groped for the light-switch first, mapping it off before she eased the door open.
"Jenny, don't forget to…"
Whatever Hal had been about to say left his mind the instant he saw her. She was a vision, both ethereal and sensual, as she glided toward the door on bare feet and softly closed and locked it. The lamplight bathed her skin with a golden glow and cast the shadows of her legs against the sheer nightgown as she moved.
"What are you… Where'd you get that, uh, gown?" Hal stammered.
"I was saving it for a special occasion," she answered softly as she reached him. She laid her hands on his chest. "I guess this is it."
He laughed uneasily. His arms went around her waist, but lightly. "Maybe you should have saved it until after we're married."
"And when will that be?" She pressed her cheek to the open vee of his cotton shirt. He was dressed casually in jeans.
"As soon as I get back. You know that. I've promised you."
"You've promised before."
"And you've always been so understanding," he said fervently. His lips moved in her hair and his hands smoothed her back. "This time I won't break the promise. When I come back—"
"But that could take months."
"Possibly," he said grimly, tilting her head back so he could see her face. "I'm sorry."
"I don't want to wait that long, Hal."
"What do you mean?"