“He loved you,” Irina said, feeling as though she still had to defend Kellan’s father to him.
He smirked at that and had another taste of his scotch. “Had a strange way of showing it.”
“His only regret was how he’d treated his children.”
“Even if I accept that,” Kellan said quietly, “it doesn’t excuse him. Doesn’t make me sad he’s gone or wish for more time with him. Because frankly, every minute I ever spent with Buck turned into a contest of wills. The old man had a head like rock.”
Her eyebrows lifted and Kellan grinned unexpectedly. What that smile did to her was lethal. How would she ever live without him in her life?
“Okay, so I inherited some of Buck’s stubbornness.”
“Some,” she agreed, then tried to make him understand again. “Kellan, you have regrets. We all do. Can’t you believe that Buck did, too?”
Before he could answer, the stereo shut off and live music erupted. They both turned to look down at the stage from their balcony table. A country band of five men in jeans, boots and hats were playing and singing and the crowd was already moving onto the dance floor.
Kellan stood up and held out one hand to her. “Dance with me.”
He was full of surprises today and Irina was charmed. Everything about this trip had disarmed her. The private jet, his beautiful home, his easy smiles and the fun they’d both had touring this amazing city. But Kellan himself had touched her more than she ever would have believed possible.
He was attentive and sexy and funny and sexy and chivalric and sexy, and every second she spent with him made her love him more.
She slipped her hand into his, and when his fingers folded around hers, Irina felt the sharp blast of heat slam into her heart. As he led her down the stairs to the dance floor, all she could think was that when she lost him this time, the pain might actually kill her.
Ten
For the following week, Kellan fell into a pattern of filling his days with work and his nights with Irina. His assistant, Ellie Rae, kept him up-to-date with what was happening in Nashville via email, but for now, he was content to remain in Royal and oversee his businesses long-distance.
And the longer he stayed in his hometown, the less he wanted to leave it again. Even the ghost of Shea seemed less haunting. Maybe because things had changed enough that he was able to be in Royal now without expecting to see her around every corner. Or maybe, he told himself, it was simply time.
But everything in Royal wasn’t rainbows and sunshine. There was still the will, Miranda and even the mystery of those four file folders he’d once seen in Buck’s briefcase. He needed answers and Kellan wasn’t going anywhere until he got them.
Sitting on a sofa in the great room, he briefly thought that by rights, he should have been behind the massive desk in Buck’s study at the Hollow. Yet another reason to stay in Royal—fighting Miranda for his legacy. Grumbling under his breath, Kellan opened his email. He fired off some instructions to Ellie Rae, checked out a new property he was thinking of buying and then deleted a few emails from people wanting him to donate to whatever cause was the favorite that week.
He almost deleted the last email when he saw that it was from Dawson Beckett. He hadn’t given the man another thought since Nathan Battle had called Irina in Nashville. So why was he contacting Kellan?
Against his better judgment, he clicked Open.
Blackwood, thanks to you and your bitch Irina, my businesses are folding.
Kellan smiled to himself. Good news after all.
Your daddy was a bastard and you’re no better.
Chuckling now, he kept reading. If Beckett was miserable, Kellan was happy to hear all about it.
And speaking of bastards, Beckett continued, got some news for you, boy. Your daddy left you another brother.
What the hell?
Found out Buck’s secret twenty years ago and held on to it for the right time. Well, this is it, you son of a bitch. Hope to hell it tears what’s left of your family apart.
Kellan slammed the lid of his laptop shut. Scraping one hand across his face, he stared at nothing while his mind raced. Another brother? Was it true? Buck had been a lousy husband and it was common knowledge that he’d cheated on Kellan’s mother regularly. But had there been a child?
And if so, why hadn’t Buck done anything about it? Was his soul really so small as to ignore his own child?
Even as he considered it, Kellan knew it was very likely to be true. Though Dawson wasn’t exactly a beacon of truth. Buck had ignored his legitimate children. Why not one whom he could keep hidden?
But who, besides Dawson Beckett, knew about this?
He stood up, stalked across the great room to the wet bar in the corner and poured himself a scotch, neat. He downed it in one gulp and relished the river of fire filling him. His breath came fast and his brain raced with information he had and speculation on what he didn’t.
Did Miranda know about this other sibling? Did Kace?
Did Irina?
In the week they’d been back from Nashville, they’d been together every night. Mostly she stayed at his ranch since there was no way in hell Kellan would stay at the Hollow as long as Miranda was holding court there. Irina had become an integral part of his life. Seven years ago, he’d run from the woman who he feared could make him forget Shea and the pain of loss. Today, he had been grateful for her.
Now all he could think was maybe it had all been a lie.
“Hell,” he muttered, glancing at the bay window, “I even put up a damn tree because of her.” The gigantic pine, regally decorated, shone with lights that he and Irina had strung themselves.
Briefly, he remembered that night and how they’d celebrated that tree, naked in his bed, with the door firmly locked.
And in all the time they’d spent together, Irina hadn’t said a word to him about this. She’d never again spoken about those files that she’d brought him a couple of weeks ago. Never even hinted about the possibility of another Blackwood sibling.
But there had been four files in that case. Files she claimed that Buck had kept on each of his children. And that told Kellan she had to have known.
She’d simply chosen not to tell him.
He glanced at the time. Irina’s night school class had ended by now, so she’d be home soon. As anger rippled inside him, Kellan made a decision. Until he had more information, he’d be the one keeping secrets.
* * *
A few days later, the Texas Cattleman’s Club was decorated for the season—and the annual holiday party.
Twinkling lights lined the branches of the trees in the parking lot and surrounding the club. Inside, the lights continued along the ceilings, and twined through pine boughs that lined the mantel and wound around the stair rails. There were several Christmas trees set up in different areas of the club with wrapped gifts destined for local charities gathered beneath them. Balls of mistletoe dangled from the ceiling on red ribbons and every white-cloth-covered table boasted red candles and a tiny vase filled with roses and pine sprigs.
Christmas music pumped through the speakers and everything seemed perfect—but wasn’t. Irina was on edge. She felt as if her nerves had nerves. For the last couple of days, Kellan had been different. Quiet. Introspective. Cold. She’d caught him looking at her with speculation in his eyes, but when she asked him about it, he brushed her concerns aside. When they made love, he didn’t hold her afterward, but rolled to his side and stared at the ceiling.
There was definitely something wrong, and the fact that she didn’t know what it was was making her crazy.
She had thought that the two of them were becoming closer. The trip to Nashville had done that, she thought. Because they’d had a chance to get away from everything that was hanging over their heads here, in Royal. Miranda, the will, Dawson. Secrets. Shea.
> There was so much going on that at times it felt as if she were running in place. But since Nashville, she’d sensed a change in Kellan. He’d been happier, more open, more...involved than ever before. Until three days ago.
She missed that new Kellan. Missed that sense of rightness between them. She wanted him back. But she didn’t know what to do to get him.
He was across the room from her at the bar getting them drinks. She picked him out of the crowd easily, though it had to be said that Royal, Texas, had more than its fair share of tall, well-built, gorgeous men.
Kellan wore a tuxedo as if born in it. His dark hair and beautiful blue eyes gave him a dangerous look that set off licks of heat inside her whenever she looked at him. Would it always be like that for her? She sincerely hoped so.
“Who are you checking out?”
Irina smiled when Lulu walked up. Though the party was a private one every year, meant for TCC members and their families, for some reason, the ladies of the reality TV show had been invited this year. Irina, for one, was glad of it. She enjoyed Lulu, Fee and Miranda.
Lulu’s strapless, floor-length ice-blue dress skimmed her figure and outlined every curve. Her hair was done up in a twist at the top of her head while allowing soft tendrils to lie against her cheeks and neck.
“You look beautiful.”
Lulu grinned. “Thank you. So do you. I love that dress.”
So did Irina. It was dark red, with spaghetti straps and a deeply cut V bodice and a thigh slit. When Kellan first saw her in it, his eyes had flashed with the kind of heat that made her want to forget all about the TCC’s annual formal party.
“So who are we watching?”
Irina smiled again. “Kellan.”
“Ah... And, ooh, he’s talking to Kace.” She made almost a purring sound. “Isn’t that interesting? Well, well, the lawyer looks very studly in a tux, doesn’t he?”
“I suppose,” Irina said and noted that Kellan was frowning as he talked to Buck’s lawyer. What did that mean?
“Come on, Irina. I want you to see Miranda’s dress. She went into Dallas to find it.”
“All right, but—”
“Come on.” Lulu threaded her arm through Irina’s and pulled her along. “Kellan’s not going anywhere. It’s a party, remember?”
* * *
“You’ve got nothing to say about this?” Kellan demanded.
Instead of answering, Kace LeBlanc ran one finger around the inside of his shirt collar. “Why do they make us wear these damn things? Feels like I’m being hanged. Slowly.”
“You’re avoiding the question.” Kellan had been gnawing on this other-sibling thing since that email from Beckett. He was unsettled. Uneasy. There was a cloud over him when he was with Irina now, because he couldn’t be sure she wasn’t working with Miranda against him.
He glanced over his shoulder to where he’d left Irina and saw her walking away with Lulu. Just that one look at her and his body tightened. His heart ached and he didn’t like it. She was beautiful, though, no doubt.
When he first saw her in that red dress it had nearly knocked him out. Her long, silky hair was pulled back from her gorgeous face to fall in a curtain of curls down her back, and the thigh-high slit in her dress, not to mention the deeply cut bodice, was designed to drive him a little wild with desire.
Yeah. She was beautiful. And desirable. And so many other things that were now impossibly important to him. But was she treacherous, too? That was something he had to know.
Keeping his voice low, he demanded, “Damn it, Kace. Talk to me. Did my father have another kid?”
Kace looked around, to make sure no one was listening. He didn’t have to, though. The banquet hall at the TCC was packed with what felt like the whole damn town. The noise level was just shy of deafening, so no one would be overhearing them.
“I can’t talk to you about this, Kel,” the other man said tightly. “I’m your father’s lawyer...”
“Buck’s dead.”
Kace winced, then shrugged. “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t end my responsibilities toward him and his estate.”
“This is bull, Kace,” Kellan insisted. “What about your responsibility to me? To Vaughn? And Sophie? We’ve got a right to know what the hell’s going on.”
Kace shook his head. “Not yet.”
Frustration roared through him and Kellan had to fight to keep his temper in check. Last thing he needed was that damn camera crew swinging around to catch him in the middle of another argument. Besides, standing here giving Kace a hard time wouldn’t do him any good anyway. He knew Kace. The man was loyal to a fault and as stubborn as Kellan himself. If he felt honor bound to stay silent, then there was no way Kace going to break a confidence—or the law.
“Fine.” Admitting defeat, he nodded abruptly. “I’ll find out on my own.”
“Damn it, Kel,” Kace said quickly. “Just leave it alone. Always so damn impatient.”
“I think I’ve been plenty patient.”
“God,” Kace muttered, “it’s like dealing with Buck again.” Louder, he said, “You’ll know everything eventually. Wait for it. You don’t have a choice in this, Kel.”
“Wait? You want me to wait?” he repeated. “How much longer? I’ve got Buck’s ex living in the family home, inheriting everything, and now I’m supposed to quietly sit back and wait to find out if I’ve got another sibling out there? Really?”
Kace shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t really think you would.”
“If you’re not going to help,” Kellan said, “then just stay out of my way.”
“Well, don’t do anything stupid.”
Kellan just looked at him for a long minute. “Stupid would be to stand by and trust that everything will be fine. I don’t do waiting.”
He threw one last look toward Irina, surrounded by Miranda and the women of the Ex-Wives TV show, not to mention the camera crew. Miranda was here, so that meant he could get into the Hollow and look through Buck’s office without being stopped or hassled. And if he was fast enough, Irina wouldn’t even notice he was gone.
* * *
Standing in his father’s office, Kellan half expected to hear Buck’s voice telling him to get out. This study had been the old man’s inner sanctum and no one was allowed inside when Buck wasn’t there. Or when he was there. Or ever, really. Naturally, it had been the one room in the house that Kellan was always fascinated with.
“You can’t stop me now,” Kellan muttered as he walked to the closet. That was where Buck had kept his briefcase and so it would be the first place Kellan looked.
He found it, carried it to the desk and laid it down. For a second he paused, because once he opened this case, there would be no going back. But to go forward, he had to know the truth.
The four manila folders were inside. Kellan set aside the ones labeled with his, Sophie’s and Vaughn’s names. Then he picked up the last one and opened it.
Darius Taylor-Pratt.
Kellan stared at the photo of a smiling man younger than himself, but with the clear stamp of their shared father on his features. Brown hair, brown eyes and clearly a Blackwood. He quickly scanned everything Buck had kept on the man and finally came back to the picture. There was no denying it. Darius Taylor-Pratt looked too much like Buck to even think about pretending otherwise.
Kellan had another brother. Another should-be heir to the fortune that Miranda had already stolen.
He thought about the lost years, time that he and his three siblings had lost. Time together they’d never have now. “Dad, you bastard. You should have told us. We should know our brother.”
But then, there was a lot Buck should have done differently in his life. Gritting his teeth, Kellan used his phone to take a picture of Darius’s file, then packed everything away again, set the case back in the closet and left the Hollow. Sitting in his c
ar, Kellan tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as his brain ran with all of the new information. But there was one thing he kept coming back to.
Irina.
Did she know about Darius?
Was she in on all of this with Miranda?
Was her part in Miranda’s plan to keep him so busy in bed he didn’t ask questions?
Kellan needed to know.
* * *
Forty-five minutes after he left the party, he was back and scanning the room for Irina. When he spotted her, a flash of need jolted him. In spite of his questions. In spite of the sense of betrayal echoing inside him, everything in Kellan screamed at him to hold her. Kiss her. Touch her. Claim her.
Irina was on the dance floor with Kace, smiling and laughing up at his father’s lawyer. Under the twinkling white lights, she looked ethereal. Like something that had stepped out of a dream. And yet all he could think was that she’d tricked him. Lied to him. Kept the truth from him.
And still he wanted her.
Pulse pounding, he stalked across the room, tapped Kace on the shoulder and said, “Cutting in.”
His friend grinned. “I don’t know, she’s awful pretty.”
Irina smiled up at Kellan and even as his heart turned over in his chest, he wondered how she could do that. How could she look so pleased to see him, if she’d been betraying him all along? Was she that good an actress?
“Yeah,” Kellan ground out. “Find your own girl.” He swept Irina into his arms, dismissing Kace without another thought. He steered her through the crowd, swaying to the music—some old song from the fifties, romantic, haunting.
The other dancers swirled past them in jewel tones, but he didn’t see them. He could see only her. Irina’s right hand in his, her left on his shoulder, she leaned into him and tipped her face up to his. She was so beautiful that, for a moment, he almost forgot the fury driving him.
All he could think was that he’d come so close to letting go of Shea. Letting himself love Irina. Had it had all been a game?
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