“Why are you still working in the diner? How long does painting an office take anyway?” Kellan finished his coffee and set the mug down.
Kace shook his head. “Billy Talbot and his son are doing the painting—”
“Well, that explains it.” Billy was good at his job but he was a notorious perfectionist. Painting the office could take a month or more.
“Yeah. But he swears he’s almost finished.”
Kellan really didn’t care. “What’s this meeting about, Kace?”
“About you and your inability to wait for a damn thing,” Kace muttered. “I was asked to explain a few things to you.”
“Asked by whom?”
“Not saying.”
Kellan lifted his coffee and held it between his hands. “So, when some people ask you to do something, you do it?”
Kace sneered at him. “You know, I’m glad I went to school with Vaughn, not you. You’re too damn annoying.”
Kellan laughed shortly. He’d scored a point and they both knew it. “What are you supposed to explain?”
“It’s about Irina.”
“Nope.” Kellan started to slide out of the red vinyl booth, but Kace stopped him. Kellan contemplated climbing over the leg blocking his way. It wouldn’t exactly look dignified, but he wasn’t about to sit there and listen to someone else tell him about Irina.
“Damn it, Kellan, listen to me.”
“Why the hell would I?”
“Because if you don’t, you’re a damn fool. I’m willing to admit that you are many things, but I never figured that foolish was one of them.”
“Fine.” Kellan eased back and signaled Amanda Battle for a coffee refill. If he was going to do this meeting, then he needed the caffeine.
“Hi, boys,” she said as she poured fresh coffee into their cups. “Anything else I can get you?”
“Not for me,” Kellan said. He didn’t plan on being there long enough.
“Once I’m done with Mr. Personality,” Kace said, “I’ll have bacon and eggs.”
Amanda laughed, patted Kace’s shoulder. “You bet.”
When she was gone, Kellan said, “All right, talk.”
“Irritating. Just irritating.” He took a breath and said, “I was asked to explain that Irina knows nothing about your father’s will.”
A knot in Kellan’s chest tightened. “I didn’t think she helped write it. But she did know about—” he glanced around the diner, making sure no one was listening “—about my brother and said nothing.”
“She couldn’t.” Kace muttered something under his breath, clearly fought for patience, then said, “Buck told her about Darius before he died and asked her to say nothing. She promised Buck she’d do as he asked. I happen to know that when you give your word on something, you don’t break it, no matter what.”
“And that’s important why?”
Kace looked exasperated. “Because for some reason, you expected Irina to break her word. You seem to believe that keeping it is a betrayal of you.”
He hadn’t thought of it like that, and he didn’t much care for it now. She’d tried to tell him the same thing that night, but he hadn’t wanted to listen. He’d been too wrapped up in his own anger—at his father, at the will, at the damn universe for keeping his brother away from them.
“Look.” Kace kept talking and Kellan listened. “I don’t know how much you know about Buck and Irina...”
He frowned. “I know some. She told me.”
“Good. Did you know that Buck offered to pay for her schooling, but she turned him down? And after he died, she found out he had paid it all off, so she has no debt.”
“Yes. She told me that.”
“And Buck’s the one who arranged a work visa for her. Gave her a job. A home. Somewhere to feel safe from that bastard she’d married.”
Kellan idly turned his heavy coffee cup in circles on the tabletop. His heart felt like a lead weight in his chest. All of the things Irina had been through and survived humbled him. Hell, it made him proud of the way she had thrived. And as much as he hated to admit it, her loyalty to Buck was understandable, given his father’s role in her life. “Yeah. I know most of that.”
“And still you can get pissed at her for not breaking her word to Buck?” Kace looked amazed. “He was the one man in her life who helped her and expected nothing in return. The one man who offered her safety. The man who gave her a shot at a future.”
“Damn it, Kace.” Kellan was feeling lower than dirt.
“And on his damn deathbed, this man told her a secret and asked her to not say anything about it. She gave that man her word.” Kace gave him a hard look. “And you give her a hard time for that? Call her out? What the hell, Kellan? You used to be better than that.”
Kellan gritted his teeth and swallowed hard. He didn’t argue, because how the hell could he? He’d come to most of this on his own already. Hearing Kace say it all out loud only underscored it. And made him feel worse than ever.
“Irina’s sense of loyalty is every bit as strong as yours,” Kace said. “You shouldn’t be punishing her for it.”
And that pretty much said it all, Kellan told himself. He’d given her grief for doing exactly what he would have done in her place. For three days, he’d been kicking himself for turning on her. For three nights, he hadn’t been able to sleep because he needed her and he’d pushed her away.
He should have known. Should have realized that betrayal wasn’t in Irina’s nature. She was too loving. Too open, kind, in spite of what she’d been through in her life. And instead of seeing that, appreciating that, Kellan had attacked her for being who she was.
“I made an ass of myself,” he grumbled and, man, did that cost him.
“Damn.” Kace shook his head. “Never thought I’d hear you admit something like that.”
“Yeah,” Kellan grumbled, scraping one hand across his face. “Me, either. Didn’t enjoy it.”
“Not surprising.” Kace shrugged. “But I’m not the one you should be saying it to.”
He looked at his old friend. “You’re right. I need to find Irina. But just know this, Kace. Our fight against Buck’s will isn’t over. Whatever happens between me and Irina... You and I aren’t done.”
Sighing, Kace only said, “Of course we’re not. Now go away so I can have some breakfast.”
Kellan slid out of the booth and marched out of the diner, headed for his truck. He needed to talk to Irina. Needed to tell her that he had been wrong. That he missed her. Needed her. And damn it, he wasn’t going to lose her.
* * *
Irina needed to get out of the house. She’d moped enough. Missed Kellan enough. Now she needed to be with people, try to recapture her joy in the Christmas season and avoid all thoughts of Kellan.
“Good luck with that,” she murmured, digging into her purse for the keys to the ranch truck.
The icy wind slapped at her and Irina tugged her coat closer around her. It wouldn’t help, though, because since that last night with Kellan, she’d been unable to get warm. It was as if the chill in his eyes had seeped right into her bones. He was the one man she wanted and the one man who didn’t trust her.
Shaking her head, she pushed him out of her mind. She climbed into the truck, adjusted the mirror, then stopped dead and stared as Kellan’s luxury truck came roaring up the main drive like a dragon swooping in on a castle.
Her heart gave a solid jolt, but her mind sent a firm warning to keep calm. Inviting hope now would only make her feel worse when it didn’t work out. He was probably coming to yell at Miranda again.
But he jumped out of his truck and ran to hers. He yanked open the driver’s-side door, looked into her eyes and Irina’s foolish heart began to hope.
“Thank God I caught you,” he said. “We have to talk, Irina. Or I have to talk, anyway, and I
want you to listen—no.” He stopped, scrubbed one hand across the back of his neck and said, “I’m asking you to hear me out.”
His eyes fixed on her and she realized that he’d never asked her for anything before. His hair was ruffled by the wind. He wore a dark brown leather jacket, a red sweater, black jeans and boots, and he looked so amazing, he took her breath away.
While he waited for her decision, she knew there was nothing to decide. Of course she’d listen to him. And she’d hope this conversation went better than their last one.
“All right, but let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.” She grabbed her purse from the bench seat.
Kellan took her hand to help her down, then released her immediately. Irina curled her fingers into her hand because she missed his touch.
“Is Miranda home—never mind,” he said, holding up one hand. “I don’t care if she’s there or not.”
She smiled and shook her head. “She’s not here. She went shopping. I was about to join her and the others. I want to buy some Christmas presents for my sister and her family.”
“I’m glad I caught you, then.” He took her hand again and led the way into the main house, through the foyer and into the great room.
“What is it, Kellan?” she asked, slipping out of her coat and tossing it onto the nearest chair. “What’s so important?”
“You,” he said quickly. “Us. We’re important, Irina.”
There went that thread of hope again. She clung to it and waited. Her heartbeat jumped into a wild gallop and she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. It wasn’t easy. Because she’d missed him so much, that just being near Kellan now was electrifying.
He came to her, and looked down into her eyes. “The other night, I was angry.”
She laughed a little and folded her arms across her chest in an unconscious defensive move. “I know. So was I.”
“You had a right to be,” he said solemnly.
“Really.” It wasn’t a question, though she was curious about what had changed his mind. Why he was here. What had made him see the truth.
“Yeah.” He scrubbed his face with one hand. “I’m sorry for all of it. If I’d taken the time to think it all through I would have known that you’d never trick me. Betray me. Lie to me.
“It’s not who you are, Irina. And I should have remembered that.”
Hope continued to grow in spite of the fact that she tried to rein it in. “I didn’t want to keep that secret from you, Kellan.”
“I know that. I do.” Kellan laid both hands on her shoulders. “And I know that your relationship with my father was different from mine. I’m glad he was so good to you, Irina. I’m glad you had someone you could count on.”
A sheen of tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back frantically. Releasing a breath, she nodded and said, “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
His hands on her shoulders sent spears of heat shooting through her body and she welcomed it after the soul-deep cold she’d lived with for days.
“The truth is,” he continued, “I don’t think I ever knew the real Buck and that is a shame. But through you, I’m getting a different picture of my own father.”
“I’m glad.” She met his eyes and saw so many emotions shining there, she couldn’t identify them all. And Irina wondered if her eyes were reflecting the same thing.
“Yeah, me, too,” he said. “But I didn’t come here to talk about Buck. What you said the other night, about Shea?”
“Oh, Kellan...” She still felt bad that she’d thrown those words at him—though she still believed he’d needed to hear them.
“No. Don’t apologize. You were right.” He took her hands in his. “I’ve been holding on to the memory of Shea for all the wrong reasons. I thought I was protecting myself, but I wasn’t. I was hiding. And, Irina, I’m done hiding.”
“What are you saying, Kellan?”
Behind him, winter sunlight pierced the front windows and lay across the floor in a soft golden pattern. The lights on the Christmas tree flickered, and in the hearth, a gas fire burned against the winter cold.
But all Irina could see was Kellan’s eyes.
“I’m saying I love you, Irina.”
She swayed under the impact of those words.
“I’m not afraid to say it anymore,” he went on in a rush. “In fact, I want to say it every day. To you. I never thought I’d be in love again, but I am. And it’s real and rich and everything to me. You are everything to me.”
“Oh, Kellan, I love you so much.”
“Thank God,” he said with a choked laugh. “I was worried that I’d blown it completely. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you. So sorry I didn’t trust you.”
The pain she’d carried for days began to drain away and Irina smiled up at him as he went on.
“You gave your word to my father and I respect that you kept it in spite of me being an ass.”
She laughed again and covered her mouth with one hand to muffle it.
“You changed everything for me, Irina. Hell, I’ve got a Christmas tree in my house. But it’s not Christmas without you. Come home with me. Be with me. Marry me.”
“Marry you?” She blinked. He loved her and that would have been enough for her. But marriage? Family? This was the greatest Christmas gift she’d ever known.
“Yes. Marry me. Make a family with me.” He cupped her face in his palms. “Irina, losing Shea broke my heart. You healed it. You brought me back from a dark, lonely place that I never want to visit again. Don’t leave me out here all alone. Without you, I’ve got nothing.”
Tears spilled from her eyes, but she was smiling at him.
“I know this inheritance fight isn’t over—” He kissed her. “But it can wait. What can’t wait is living a life with you. Marry me, Irina. Love me.”
It was all she’d ever dreamed of. Kellan was here, loving her, holding her, promising her a shared future that looked so bright, it almost hurt to imagine it. Hope soared and love sailed with it.
“I do love you, Kellan. I always have,” she said softly.
“So that’s a yes? You’ll marry me?”
“Of course I will,” she said, joy bubbling up inside her.
He pulled her in tightly to him, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the curve of her neck. “You’re everything to me, Irina.”
Her heart was so full now, her chest felt tight. “Oh, Kellan, I’ve loved you since the moment we met. Nothing will ever change that.”
“Then you’ll come home and spend Christmas with me?” He straightened up and looked down into her eyes. “This one and every other one for the rest of our lives?”
“Yes.”
He grinned. “I’ll even ban Vaughn from the house so he can’t storm in on us if you want.”
Irina laughed again and it felt wonderful, to be so light, so full of wonder and hope and anticipation. “No, you won’t. I love your family. All we have to do is remember to lock the door.”
“Trust me on that.” He nodded and asked, “So, fiancée, do you want to go buy those presents for your sister? Because we could do some ring shopping while we’re at it.”
“A ring?” She swallowed hard, but it didn’t stop the tears from flowing again.
“Of course a ring,” he said, pulling her up against him again. “Any one you want.” He kissed the top of her head. “And you know, if you’d like to deliver those presents in person, we could fly to Russia. Surprise your sister.”
She stared up at him, jolted. Visiting her sister had been a secret dream, but one so out of reach she rarely even let herself think about it. “Are you serious?”
“I am,” he assured her. “Or we can bring her and her family here for a visit, if you’d rather.”
“Kellan, you keep touching my heart so deeply.”
She smiled and looked into those beautiful blue eyes, seeing love shining back at her, and Irina knew that she’d already received the gift of a lifetime. Love.
“You, Kellan,” she whispered. “I want you.”
“I’m all yours, honey. Now and always.”
As his arms came around her, she felt everything in her world slide into place. When he kissed her, she felt their souls link, felt their lives entwine and knew that this once-in-a-lifetime love was everything she’d ever dreamed of.
* * *
Don’t miss a single installment of
Texas Cattleman’s Club: Inheritance:
Tempting the Texan
by USA TODAY bestselling author
Maureen Child
Rich, Rugged Rancher
by Joss Wood
Available January 2020
From Boardroom to Bedroom
by USA TODAY bestselling author Jules Bennett
Available February 2020
Secret Heir Seduction
by Reese Ryan
Available March 2020
Too Texan to Tame
by Janice Maynard
Available April 2020
Her Texas Renegade
by USA TODAY bestselling author Joanne Rock
Available May 2020
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Rival by Joanne Rock.
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