Don't Tempt Me by Julie Ortolon Page A

living area, but then he laid it on the coffee table next to a canvas book bag. Her interest was piqued as she realized the diaries must be in the bag.
    "Bobby called to say they can't make it ---Paige has the flu ---so it'll just be us."
    How in the world would she eat a bite, knowing the answers to so many questions sat there, waiting for her, mere feet away?

Chapter 6
    A wonderful sort of chaos reigned throughout the evening as the family passed huge bowls of chicken pasta, tossed salad, and steamed vegetables around the table. Little Lauren, who truly was one of the cutest babies Jackie had ever seen, banged happily on the high-chair tray while a pretty sheltie cruised beneath the table for crumbs.
    "So, tell us about your great-grandfather," Scott said as he passed Jackie a basket of bread. "What happened to him after Jack died?"
    "Sweetheart, at least let her finish eating before you start interrogating her." Allison gave Jackie an apologetic look. "You'll have to forgive Scott. Ever since he read the diaries, he's been fascinated by Jack Kingsley."
    "And frustrated by how little I've learned."
    Jackie looked at Adrian. "I thought you said the diaries told all about Jack Kingsley."
    "They reveal what manner of man he is, but very little about his past or his family history."
    "Apparently, he didn't like to talk about himself." Allison gave her fiance a meaningful look. "Sort of like someone else we know."
    "Few men want to parade their past sins before a woman they're trying to impress," Scott said.
    "Only because they underestimate a woman's ability to admire them even more for what they've overcome." Allison smiled at him.
    Watching them, Jackie felt a pang of envy. What would it be like to have that sort of total acceptance?
    Scott turned back to her. "Not to badger you, but can you tell us anything about your great-grandfather? Marguerite mentioned his name was Andrew Kingsley even though Jack never married the mother, but I can't find him in any of the census records after the Civil War."
    "Actually, he's my great-great-grandfather, but that's such a mouthful, I usually shorten it."
    "Same for us and Marguerite," Adrian said. " 'Great-great-great-grandmother' sounds like we're stuttering."
    "Exactly." Jackie nodded. "Anyway, he was christened Andrew Taylor Kingsley. Andrew after his father, whose full name was Andrew Jackson Kingsley, and Taylor because it was his mother's last name."
    "Jack's name was Andrew Jackson?" Rory asked, wiping a glob of orange baby food from her daughter's hair. "Well, there's something Marguerite never mentioned. No, no, peanut, let's eat the carrots, not wear them."
    "Ca-ca!" Lauren shouted loudly, making Jackie blink with the force of her lungs while Adrian and Scott burst out laughing.
    "Don't laugh," Rory pleaded. "You'll just encourage her."
    "Ca-ca!"
    Chance shook his head. "Every time she says that, it sounds like she's saying S-H-I-T in Spanish. And wouldn't you know, carrots are her favorite food."
    Jackie hid a smile as the baby clapped her sticky hands. Lord, she was adorable.
    "Ca-ca! Ca-ca!"
    Chance turned to Jackie with a long-suffering sigh. "You were saying ..."
    Jackie pulled her attention away from Lauren. "I was just explaining why there's no Andrew Kingsley in the census records. He went by Andrew Taylor after his father died."
    "Why?" Adrian asked from the opposite end of the table, where he sat as the head of the family.
    "Well, you know ..." Jackie looked around uneasily.
    "Ah, let me guess." Adrian topped off his glass of wine. "Did it have anything to do with Henri's accusations that Jack Kingsley was a Yankee spy, so that he could literally get away with murder?"
    "I don't think Andrew believed it." Jackie toyed with the pasta on her plate, wishing she had more of an appetite. The little bit she'd managed to eat tasted incredible. "He had the letter that claimed otherwise, but during and after the Civil War, being connected to an accused Yankee spy could be