Winter's Embrace (18 page)

“No. I’ve been talking to
lawyers all day. There is no way I can keep Stu from being in her life.”

“Then we can keep her?” She
held her breath.

“There seems to be a lot of
factors involved. I have to find out if Clare wants custody, too. She might not
even be a factor. But Stu wants full custody immediately. I was able to get a
court order giving me custody for now, but if he takes me to court, anything
could happen.”

“Don’t they have to prove that
he’s the father first?”

“A simple DNA test could take
care of that.”

Winter sat down on the
oversized couch, pulling Stone down next to her. “Is there any way that you are
the father?” Quickly she laid her finger over his lips. “I already know that
you two had sex during your marriage. Clare told me the day she called here.”

Stone’s eyebrows rose sharply.
“She said that?”

Pretending to study her hands,
she didn’t look at him. “It doesn’t matter. At the time, I just wished that you
had told me the truth. I thought you—I believed what you told me.”

A loud sigh finally filled the
silence. “Winter, look at me. Please?”

She didn’t want to. She didn’t
want to hear about the wonderful, full, exciting sex life he had with Clare.
They’d shared magic together last night and it would kill her to be compared to
Clare.

“Winter, I did lie to you. I
tried at the beginning to make the marriage work. I didn’t want you to be hurt
by what happened with Clare anymore.”

She wanted to scream at him
and tell him that he hurt her deeply, but now wasn’t the time. “What about nine
months before Rachael was born?”

A wide frown graced his face.
“No, after the first couple years we never…”

Entwining her fingers with his
she held on to him. “There must be something we can do.”

The bleakness of his
expression brought tears to her eyes again.

“My lawyer suggested that we
get married. He believes that a stable home environment could work in our
favor. I don’t know why but I have a feeling Clare is behind this and any
advantage we can gain by being married will be well worth it.

“Married? I guess, eventually,
someday, when we get everything sorted out.”

“My lawyer wants us to move on
it now before Stu files in court.”

Everything was happening too
fast and it scared her and left her heart pounding in her chest.

Leaning toward her, he reached
up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Last night was good between us,
wasn’t it?”

Those gray eyes, why did they
have to be so sexy and full of promises? “Did the lawyer really say we needed
to get married soon?”

Pulling away, he sat back and
scowled. “You still don’t trust me.” The hurt in his voice went straight to her
heart. “I never should have lied to you.”

“I’m not trying to be
difficult. I want to do what’s best for Rachael, too.”

“Exactly, we need to do this
for Rachael’s sake. And yes the lawyer really did suggest we get married as
soon as possible.”

He seemed so sincere but…

“Winter we can’t lose her.”

Not able to sit still another
moment, she stood up and began to pace, well aware of his intense stare. This
was what she’d longed for wasn’t it? He was a great father and last night had
been amazing, but doubts lingered. He lied to get her to his ranch, he lied
about Racheal, he lied about his life with Clare, but his latest lie about
Racheal’s real father had to be the worst lie of all.

Where was the ring and sweetly
worded proposal she’d dreamt about? It sounded reasonable the lawyer would
advise him to get married. She stopped pacing and he instantly came to her
side, with questions in his eyes.

Winter nodded and Stone
instantly pulled into his arms. He kissed the side of her neck and whispered,
“thank you.”

Leaning against his broad
chest, she closed her eyes, hoping and praying she made the right choice.

Chapter Fourteen

“We’re getting married this
afternoon.”

Stunned,
Winter
turned from the breakfast dishes she was washing.

“It needs to be done and today
is as good as any.”

She didn’t know what she’d
expected, but she thought she’d have more than a few hours’ notice. “You’re
sure about this?”

His mouth opened than closed
as he crossed his arms. “Do you mean am I sure that I want to get married or do
you mean am I sure the lawyer said so?”

She hesitated and he looked
disappointed.

“I’ll go tell Rachael.” He
quickly turned and walked away.

The last dish was washed,
dried and put away. At least he acknowledged she had reason to doubt his word.
Hopefully it was a major step in their relationship. She wished she could
automatically give him the benefit of the doubt but trust once broken needed to
be earned again. She wanted to be more confident in his ability to change but
she was afraid of being hurt again.

Her doubts faded as she heard
Rachael yelling “Yippee!”

Rachael ran into the kitchen
and straight into
Winter’s
arms. Her hug was tight and
her eyes shone with happiness. “Wow, I’m ‘
dopting
Spot and you.”

Slowly her tense muscles eased
as she watched her daughter. “Yes that sounds about right. We have to get
ready. I know just the dress you should wear.”

The sound of footsteps echoed
and
Winter
raised her head until her gaze met Stone’s.
He was a handsome devil.

“No need to go to all that
trouble.”

“Trouble?”

“Crabby is an ordained
minister. He’s going to marry us.”

“What? Don’t we need to file
some papers?”

“My lawyer is taking care of
it and will have them ready by noon.”

“I see but surely we need a
cake.” She had no idea why she even mentioned a cake.

Stone shrugged. “It doesn’t
matter to me but if you want to get all dressed up and make a cake its fine. I
have work to do. I’ll be back by noon.”

She took Rachael’s hand and
gave it a quick squeeze. “Rachael and I will make the cake, and then we will
get ready in our finest clothes.”

“I’ll see you two in a couple
hours.” He put his coat on and left.

“Let’s make the cake. Can Spot
come to the wedding?”

“We’ll make the cake, visit Spot
and then get ready.”

* * * *

Damn
. He felt nervous standing with Crabby and Henry,
waiting for
Winter
and Rachael to appear. Crabby and
Henry both wore their good clothes. Heck, Crabby even slicked his hair down
with some hair junk. He was finally getting what he wanted but the expected joy
wasn’t in him. Winter’s reluctance haunted him. All of this was his own
fault,
he should have legally adopted Rachael long ago. He’d
been blindsided and now he had the huge task of earning
Winter’s
trust.

She deserved more than a hasty
wedding, and she deserved more than him for a husband.

“You two hold down the fort, I’ll
be right back.” He noticed their puzzled glances, but he didn’t have time to
explain. He
hightailed
it up to his room. He wished he
had a bouquet of wild flowers for
Winter
. She was just
like a wild flower herself, beautiful and unexpected. All the difficulties
lately had been because of his jealousy and anger.

Maybe
Winter
didn’t want to marry him.
Oh hell
. He
never actually asked her. He’d told her they were getting married. He’d had
such plans when he asked her to move to Montana. He thought she’d fall into his
arms and they would simply get married but nothing about their relationship had
come easily.

Hearing the door to
Winter’s
bedroom open, he grabbed two more items out of his
drawer and hurried to the hall. Once there, he stopped short. Winter looked
beautiful. She had a light blue gown on that outlined every curve, every
delectable curve. Her long, blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and her
green eyes glimmered.

“We’re ready, Daddy. We both
have blue dresses and we borrowed hair clips see?”

Stone’s heart lightened when
he saw the gold and crystal clip Rachael wore and the tiny blue butterfly clip
in
Winter’s
hair.

“I have something for you
both.” He reached into his pocket, and took out two necklaces. “These belonged
to my mother.” He put a gold crucifix around Rachael’s neck and she squealed in
delight.

He approached
Winter
and smiled. “You might remember these.”

She gasped and nodded.
“Your mother’s pearls.”
She turned around so he could put
them on her.

“She’d be happy that they’re
yours now.” Stone turned her until he could see her eyes.

“I know that I have a lot to
make up for and I will, I promise. I have to ask you something.”

Doubt flickered in her eyes.
“I never even asked you, honey. Winter, will you marry me?”

“Say yes, Mommy!”

Winter glanced down at Rachael
then back at Stone. So many emotions played across her face, but she finally
smiled. “I would be honored.”

“Does that mean yes?” Rachael
asked, excitedly.

Stone picked her up and kissed
her cheek. “It sure
does,
pumpkin. We better hurry
before she changes her mind.”

“Hurry, Mommy!”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the
world.”

Crabby and Henry were both
pulling at their collars when the three of them came down the stairs. Stone
wanted to laugh, but he didn’t. He was glad they were there.

They stood in front of Crabby
with Rachael between them holding their hands. He’d never forget the surprise
in
Winter’s
eyes when he pulled out the velvet-covered
box containing the engagement ring he’d bought for her months ago. When it was
time for their kiss neither hesitated and Stone’s heart smiled.

“Are we married?” Rachael
asked, looking up at the adults.

“Yes we are.” Stone picked
Rachael up, and hugged her. He couldn’t lose her. He just couldn’t. He gave
Winter
a brief smile. “I heard a rumor that there is cake.”

Rachael wiggled until he put
her down. She grabbed his hand and led him to the chocolate cake. It was a bit
lopsided, but to him it looked perfect.

“A better cake I’ve never
seen.”

“Yep, I made it and Mommy
helped.”

Stone caught
Winter’s
gaze and laughed. “Do you like the ring?”

Winter touched the ring with
her right hand. “It’s beautiful. I didn’t expect to have ring.”

“We’ll get matching wedding
rings soon. There wasn’t enough time.” He studied her face and was rewarded
with a beaming smile.

“That would be nice.”

“Cake
time.
I’ve been waiting and waiting, and now I’m starved.”
Rachael twirled in a circle, her dress floating around her.

Laughing,
Winter
grabbed a knife off the kitchen counter.
“Hmm.
Who
should get the first piece?
Maybe Crabby?”

“No. Please, can I have the
first piece?” Rachael eyes grew wide.

“Okay.” Winter laughed.

It warmed him to see how much
Winter
and Rachael loved each other. His gut clenched
knowing it still could all be taken away.

She looked like a winter’s day
in her blue dress, so fresh and new. Her blonde hair spilled in waves down her
back and he longed to bury his face in it, breathing in the scent of fresh
flowers.

Winter walked toward him with
a piece of cake. He knew the tradition, the bride and groom fed each other the
cake. Keeping some tradition was the least he could do.

Winter’s eyes turned
mischievous, as she got closer. She picked up a piece of the cake, and he
opened his mouth. The next thing he knew, he had cake smeared all over his
face.

He didn’t have time to get
mad. Her laughter was infectious and soon he was laughing, too. He wiped his
face clean with the cloth
Winter
handed to him. “Ya
know, in Texas that’s what we call a
hangin
’
offense.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re
not in Texas.” Winter took the cloth back and kissed him.

His longing for her grew
suddenly in that moment and he wanted to scoop her up and take her upstairs. He
wished he could strip her gown off and kiss her whole body. He wasn’t even sure
there would be a wedding night. Everything had happened so quickly he wasn’t
sure about anything.

Both Crabby and Henry kissed
Winter’s
cheek as she handed them cake. “Hey, hands off my
wife.” He tried to sound light hearted, but a bit of jealousy set in. The envy
in Henry’s eyes wasn’t missed.

Winter blushed. “It’s just a
congratulations kiss.”

“All kissing will be done by
the groom.”

Her eyes narrowed a bit before
she turned and helped Rachael clean the frosting off her face.

“Boss, we’re going to take
off, lots of cows to see to.” Crabby shook his hand.

“Congrats
and all.”
Henry nodded to them.

“Looks like you have company.
Want us to stay?” Crabby yelled from the front door.

“No, that’s okay. Thank you
both for being here.” Stone walked to the door and saw a gray truck coming up
the drive.
Stu.
His heart stopped for a moment. He’d
asked Stu to stay away while he talked to his lawyer. This day, which should
have been his happiest, was taking a bad turn.

“Who is it?” Winter stood by
his side.

“Stu.”

“I’m going to take Rachael
upstairs so we can get changed.”

Stone turned toward her and
her eyes were full of worry. “That’s a good idea.”

Winter took his hand and gave
it a squeeze. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

Stone grabbed his coat and hat
and then stepped outside as his cousin got out of his truck. “Let’s talk in the
barn.”

Stu nodded and followed.

Stone took a deep breath. He
hoped it wasn’t bad news. He wished now that he had fathered Rachael. He loved
her so deeply and the thought of losing her wrenched his heart. He walked to
Spot’s stall, pretending to look him over. He needed a moment to regain his
sanity. Finally, he turned. “What brings you here?”

Stu straightened his
shoulders. “I have a right to see my daughter. I’m here to see her.”

“Your
daughter.
Hell, Stu do you even know her name? What about her
birthday? She is a person with likes and dislikes. You know what I found
strange the last time we talked? You never asked me any questions about her.”

Stu hesitated. “I, well of
course I know her name. Her name is Rachael. The rest I’ll find out as it comes
up.”

“No. It’s not going to happen.
You know you have balls. I have to give you that. First you have an affair with
my wife and now you want Rachael?”

“That was a long time ago.”
Stu’s fists clenched and unclenched.

“Why do you want Rachael?
Why this sudden interest?”
Staying calm was asking too much.
He wanted to plant his fist in Stu’s face.

“Clare has rights too.”

Stone stared at Stu. It was
all coming together. He’d bet anything that the whole thing was her idea. “So,
you talked to Clare.”

Stu turned red, realizing his
mistake. “We talk.”

Stone shook his head in
disgust. “Just tell me, what did she promise you?”

“It’s really none of your
business.”

“Anything that affects Rachael
is my business!”

Stu took a step back. “Clare
and I, I mean me and Clare. We’re going to get married.”

Stone took a step forward.
“What else?” He noticed the perspiration that began to form on Stu’s forehead.

“That's it, we’re getting
married and we want Rachael.”

“I wouldn’t advise it.”

“Why?”

“Clare couldn’t be faithful if
her life depended on it. You know that first hand.”

“I’m not here to talk about
Clare. I’m here to see my daughter.”

“Seriously?
The
answer is no.” Stone took another step forward. He took great delight in Stu’s
fear.