Authors: Randi Alexander
He kissed her. “I like that about you. You’re
up for an adventure, as long as I do all the work.”
She smacked his arm. “You’re just lazy.”
“I am.” He threaded his fingers through her
hair and kissed her, thoroughly and with the hunger she loved
provoking in him. “One more stop and we can head back to the
house.”
“Okay.” She climbed on back and they drove
about fifteen minutes to a beautiful spot in a green valley.
He cut the engine and swung his leg over the
ATV, helping her up. “This is where I want to build.”
“Let me guess, a pulp plant so you don’t have
to buy any paper goods?”
“Hmm.” He scratched his jaw. “That’s not such
a bad idea.” He winked. “But no. I want to build a house here.” His
voice went deadly serious.
She could barely tear her gaze away from the
look in his eyes. Turning in a circle, she surveyed the beautiful
spot, imagining a big house with lots of outdoor space, and maybe a
pool. “It’s lovely.” She didn’t dare pretend she was the woman of
the house. The dream was just too seductive.
He came up behind her and pulled her back
against his chest. “It’ll be long and low, no steps, all on one
level. Less dangerous for kids.” He pointed to the right. “A garage
for the cars, a barn next to it for horses and ponies.” He kissed
her neck. “A playground, someday. Can you picture it?”
She nodded. The evocative images made her
crave a future here. LA was alive and exciting, but this would be a
real life. A real family.
“I’ve got plans.” His voice held
excitement.
She sighed. “Yes, you do.”
He chuckled. “No, I mean I worked with an
architect to draw up plans for it.” He turned her toward him and
ducked his head to look at her. “All I have to do is give him the
go-ahead, and we can start building.”
Her mouth went dry. What was he asking her?
This was all very lovely, but far too soon.
“Want to see them?” His eyes sparkled.
She relaxed when he didn’t do anything crazy
like get down on one knee. “Yes, I’d love to.”
They raced back to the house, Tracy laughing
and hanging on as they flew over bumps and down into gullies.
They settled on deer meat for supper. He took
a big roast out of the freezer, they seasoned the hell out of it,
and tossed it in a roasting pan with vegetables, onions, garlic,
and chopped potatoes.
Once it was in the oven, he took her into the
living room. The doors on either side of the television led to
offices. One was Angus’, the other Steele’s.
She wandered around his office, looking at
the beautiful wildlife paintings hung on the dark wood paneled
walls. His desk was the size of a small car, and the chairs
traditional leather wingbacks.
He spread the blueprints on his desk,
anchoring the corners with rocks.
“You must look at these quite often.” She
leaned in next to him.
“Too often.” He pointed to the first paper.
“This is the setup from the top.” He detailed each room’s function
and the relation to the rest of the house. When he’d finished, she
could easily picture herself living in the home.
“What do you think?”
She ran her fingertips over the paper. “I
absolutely love it. The big windows and use of tall spaces. It’s as
spectacular as your cabin.”
He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Glad
you like it.”
“Could I make one suggestion?”
Smiling, he nodded. “I’d have been
disappointed if you hadn’t.”
She suggested a slight adjustment in the
kitchen. He asked about a few other things, and they worked out a
few changes, a few additions, but he didn’t go for her joking idea
to completely scrap his man cave.
The timer went off in the kitchen, and they
headed in for supper. When they’d filled plates and wine glasses
and sat at the table, he placed a crock of sour cream between
them.
She scooped some on her plate and used her
fork to taste it. Her eyes widened. “You weren’t kidding. This is
the best I’ve ever tasted.”
He ladled another dollop on her plate.
“You’ll want to have it on everything, now. You’re as addicted as I
am.”
She was. Addicted to him and the life she
envisioned with him.
An hour later, they sat in the living room
with bowls of ice cream and coffee. Her selections included maple
nut, chocolate peanut butter swirl, and mint chocolate chip. He had
a giant bowl of vanilla swimming in chocolate syrup. Such a complex
man; simple tastes in some things, expensive in others, like the
French champagne and gourmet appetizers he stocked on his jet.
They talked about the ranch, about the
history of his family, and about Val’s kids, but despite her
leading questions, he never brought up Ryder.
When the topic turned to his dad, she made
one more try. “Did you ever find out what upset your dad yesterday?
Val said he was on the phone with someone, and became very
agitated.”
He shrugged. “Something is always riling that
guy up. It’s the Scottish in him.”
“Who was he talking to?”
He locked gazes with her, narrowing his
eyes.
She casually licked the ice cream off her
spoon and blinked at him.
“I can ask him when I see him tonight.” His
voice sounded a little angry.
“No, don’t upset him, please.” She set down
her bowl. “Whoever it was, it had to be important to get him that
worked up.” She turned to face him and set her hand on his thigh.
Mentally, she begged him to tell her.
“You know how parents are.” He watched her
intently.
“I do.” Pink splotches dotted her cheeks.
“Did you get in touch with your mother?”
“We talked this morning.”
He lifted a brow.
Had he heard her talking on the phone?
“Nothing new.”
His jaw tensed. “Okay.” Steele checked his
watch. “Speaking of parents, I should get going.” He stood. “Here’s
the remote if you want to watch TV. If you need anything, pick up
any house phone and dial eleven to talk to the ranch foreman, Sam.
I’ll be back after Dad falls asleep, so it could get late.” He
leaned down for a kiss. “I’ll meet you in bed.”
She nodded and swallowed back the pain that
choked her throat. “Please tell him I’m praying for him.”
He smoothed her hair. “Thank you, Tracy.
That’ll mean a lot to him. And it means a lot to me.” He gave her a
soft smile then walked away. The sound of him pulling on his boots
came from the kitchen, then the door opened and closed, and he was
gone.
He wasn’t going to tell her. She’d given him
every opportunity, but he still kept Ryder a secret. Flopping
sideways on the couch, she rested her head on her bent arm. He
bottled up all his feelings then let them burst out in angry
torrents. He didn’t trust her enough to tell her about his brother.
He had issues with his family that he couldn’t get past because he
shoved everything in a closet and slammed the door shut.
She couldn’t be with him anymore. Not like he
was, and he didn’t show signs of wanting to change.
Closing her eyes, she let the pain wash over
her. She had to get away quickly, especially with Angus coming home
the next day. Meeting the man who sired Steele would be a trauma to
her heart. She needed to book a flight, arrange for transportation
to the airport, and rent a car in Great Falls.
She couldn’t move, though. It overwhelmed her
to have to say goodbye to him. Tears started leaking from her eyes.
“Oh hell, Steele. Why don’t you trust me enough to confide in me?”
Rubbing her eyes with her fingers, she sat up. She hadn’t confided
in him, either, so she couldn’t lay all the blame on him. “No. It’s
just too soon for us to trust each other, and with all the shit
both of us have going on, we never had a chance.”
She stood and picked up their bowls and cups.
Her ice cream had melted into gooey pools. She trudged into the
kitchen and washed it down the sink. What a waste. The delicious
ice cream, the feelings Steele evoked in her heart. Gone, replaced
with disappointment. Would she ever completely heal?
Halfway to town in one of the ranch trucks,
Steele still couldn’t figure out why Tracy’s questions seemed so
out of place. As if she was interviewing him, or testing him
somehow. Did she know something? Had Val let something slip?
He’d asked her about her mother, and she’d
admitted talking to her as if it was a sin. He’d heard part of the
conversation this morning. He couldn’t figure out what was
happening, but evidently someone they knew was getting out of
prison. Her brother? Her ex-boyfriend? Her current boyfriend? Was
there an ex-husband out there?
Was it even her mother she was talking
to?
He looked down to find the speedometer
reading ninety-three. He pulled his foot off the gas pedal. “Fuck.”
he was lucky he hadn’t gone right off the road, or worse, gotten
stopped for excessive speed. That’d look good in the tabloids.
He brought his thoughts back to the reality
of the situation. He’d heard her talking to someone who she said
was her mother. He could accept that. But the conversation made
very little sense. It was her private business, he wasn’t
entitled
to know what was going on in her life, but it would
have been good if she’d volunteered the information, especially
since she’d promised to fly to Montana in a day or two.
“Shit.” Just like he hadn’t volunteered a
goddamn thing about Ryder? Even with all the opportunities to say
something like, “yeah, that was Ryder’s truck. Ryder Landry. And
oh, just in case you’re interested, he’s my illegitimate
half-brother.”
Sounded easy now, but to her face, it would
have been like removing his own kidney with a rusty spoon.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but the
situation had been out of control for so long, he didn’t know where
he was standing right now. So how the hell could he explain it to
her? Possibly after Dad came home. After Ryder started showing up
at the ranch to see him. He’d feel his way through his relationship
with his brother, with Val, and with Dad before he blurted it all
out to Tracy. Possibly.
“Or, you could have Ryder shanghaied and
indentured on a slow boat around the world, and put this off until
he found his way home.” The corner of his mouth twitched. He’d
suggest that to Ryder, and see what he thought of it.
He pulled into the hospital lot. It was
empty, mostly, and he immediately spotted Ryder’s truck glowing
like a neon cherry under a lamppost. He gave in to the urge and
parked next to it. Why? He had no idea, and he wasn’t in the mood
to explore his gut feelings right this second.
He entered the hospital and the security
guard nodded. He nodded back and found the stairs to the second
floor and strolled down the hallway in the opposite direction from
the ICU. The waiting room was empty so he headed to the room with
the number Val had given him. The place was quiet, the lights
dimmed except for the under-counter lights at the nursing
station.
“Mr. McLairn.” One of the young nurses
stood.
“Hi. Anything new on my dad?”
She typed in her laptop. “Good news. The
doctor has a stress test scheduled for tomorrow morning, and if all
goes well, your father should be released around dinnertime.”
“That is good. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Her smile said he’d be
welcome to a lot more, if he was willing.
He just walked away. His days of accepting
offers of sex from women he didn’t know were over. He’d work to
keep Tracy by his side, and if things didn’t shake out right,
goddamn it, he’d work even harder.
He pushed open the wood door of his father’s
room.
His father stopped talking, and Ryder looked
over at him.
“Sorry.” He backed up a step. “I’ll sit in
the waiting room until you’re finished.”
Angus gestured with one hand. “Nonsense. Come
in here and close the door.”
Steele froze. This was the first time Ryder,
Dad, and he had been in the same place together.
Two sets of eyes, shockingly the same color
green, stared at him. The tension in the room thickened as no one
moved.
What the fuck was he afraid of?
Grow a
pair, Steele. Deal with your life.
He closed the door, drew a chair up next to
Ryder, and sat. “Can’t say as I’ve been looking forward to this
moment, gentlemen.”
Ryder cracked a smile, and his father let out
a laugh and smoothed down his thick, salt-and-pepper hair.
“Boys...” His father pressed a button and with a metallic buzz, the
head of his bed rose. “We’ve got us some talking to do.” He lifted
a bushy eyebrow. “While I wish we had a nice bottle of Scotch,
we’ll have to make do without.”
“Never had a taste for Scotch.” Ryder set one
ankle atop his other knee.
“Och, we’ll get you some of the good stuff,
aged thirty years or more. You’ll grow to like it, son.” Angus
stopped and looked at both of them, as if he’d just realized what
he’d called Ryder.
His brother cleared his throat. “That got us
to the meat of the topic.”
Steele cleared his throat and grunted. His
blood pressure rose a bit. It was all out there, now. “I’ve got a
question.” He looked at his dad, then at Ryder. “For both of
you.”
Angus squared his shoulders. “Have at
it.”
Ryder didn’t move.
He stood. He had to pace before something
inside him boiled over. “Did you know about this before Gwen’s will
was executed?”
“No.” Ryder looked him dead in the eye. “I
swear I didn’t.”
He could almost believe him. Almost. Steele
looked at his dad. “You?”
“You’ve asked me this before and I’ve
answered you with the truth.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “This is
the last time you’re allowed to ask me this, son,
dae ye
ken
?”
He knew Angus was serious when he used
Scottish. Steele was just as serious. He’d give it right back.
“
Aye, faither, ah ken
. The last time I ask.”