But he must have left his boots outside. He went up without her hearing him.
A few minutes later, as she was filling the water glasses, he appeared in the archway to the living room. He wore a clean shirt and had Ben in his arms.
Their gazes met. Her heart turned over.
I love you, Preston. I love you. I do.
“Hi,” he said softly. In his eyes, she saw it all. Everything. The night before. The wild and wicked magic they had shared just that afternoon.
“Hello.”
“Belle, hi!” Ben did his own version of a wave, fisting his little hand, then spreading his fingers wide.
She gave the wave back to him in kind. “Hello, Benjamin.”
He sighed and leaned his head on Preston’s shoulder. “Dada...” He sounded dreamy. Content—his suffering of that afternoon forgotten, his bond with his father growing stronger by the day.
She said, “Dinner’s almost ready.”
Silas came in from the living room. “How about a little whiskey first?”
So they went into the living room. Silas offered drinks around. The McCade men had their whiskey. Ben had a sippy cup of watered-down apple juice. Belle and Charlotte each took a small amount of the Cabernet they would be enjoying with dinner.
Marcus appeared when they sat down to eat and the ranch hands came over from the cabin. Everyone agreed the food was first rate. They let Ben stay up for a while afterward because he’d had his nap so late. When he finally went to bed, Vince and Jack returned to their quarters. Preston, Silas and Marcus settled in to watch a poker tournament on television.
It was the perfect opportunity for Belle and Charlotte to get some presents wrapped. They worked until eleven. And when they were done, there was a nice, festive pile of packages underneath the big tree.
And Charlotte said, “I left a few things at Silas’s house. I believe I’ll walk across the yard with him, and bring them back to wrap.”
A few minutes later, Marcus had retired to his room and Charlotte and Silas were on their way across the snowy yard. Belle and Preston were alone.
She got the baby monitor from the table in the living room and went into his arms at the foot of the stairs. “I’ve been thinking about that rocking horse up in the attic.”
He brushed a tender finger along the side of her cheek. “Have you?” In his eyes were promises. The kind she could hardly wait for him to keep.
“I wonder if Richard Gibbons could repaint it, so it’s all fresh and new.”
“Ask him.” He kissed her, just a light brush of his lips across hers.
“I believe I will,” she said.
“I’ll bring it down for you tomorrow.”
“Perfect.” They climbed the stairs together, their arms around each other.
She stayed in his bed until he got up to do his morning chores.
Back in her own room, she couldn’t get back to sleep. So she showered and dressed and watched the dawn break from her bedroom window. The snow was white and endless to the far horizon, over a foot deep.
Doris showed up in her big four-wheel-drive pickup at nine on the dot.
There was more baking. Richard Gibbons came by in the afternoon to take the rocking horse away. He said he would have it done by the end of the week.
Mary Beth Deluca called. She wondered if perhaps Belle and Charlotte would like to help out with the interdenomination holiday food and clothing drive.
Belle and Charlotte agreed that they would love to do whatever they could. So Belle told Mary Beth they would be available both Thursday and Friday to pick up donations and take what they gathered to the Masonic Hall, where everything would be packed up to be distributed to families in need.
That evening was like the one before it. Charlotte found another reason to go home with Silas. And Belle spent the night in Preston’s bed.
The next morning, Tuesday, at a little after eight, a FedEx truck pulled into the yard. Belle knew what it was before the driver knocked on the door: the official paternity test results had arrived.
She signed for them but didn’t open them. She would wait until Preston came in from working with the horses and feeding his cattle. She knew what the results would be, of course. But still, she felt a certain anticipation, a rising sensation in her chest. It was a big thing: the legal proof that Preston was Ben’s father.
When he came in at two, she waited until he’d gone upstairs to shower. Then she got the cardboard envelope and went up to his room.
She tapped on his door, but he didn’t answer. He was probably still in the shower. She tapped again, called his name—not too loudly. Ben was asleep the next door down. She tried the doorknob. It turned. He hadn’t locked it, so she dared to go on in.
She was sitting on his bed when he emerged from the bath, freshly shaved, wearing nothing but a big white towel, carrying a second towel in his hand. The sight of him had her breath catching in her chest. She loved everything about him—the fine, clean, strong muscles of his arms, the shape of his lean feet, his thick, conservatively cut dark blond hair that was sticking straight up as he rubbed it with that second towel.
“Keep looking at me that way,” he suggested low. “You’ll force me to kiss you. And you know what will happen after that.”
She sighed and almost told him that she loved him.
But no, it wasn’t the time for that.
Not yet.
Instead, she brought the FedEx envelope out from behind her back and held it out to him. “It came this morning.”
His big arms dropped to his sides and he said in a near-whisper, “The results...”
Nodding, she rose. “I thought you should be the one to open them.”
He tossed the towel across a chair, held out his hand. She passed him the envelope. He stared silently down at it for several seconds. And then he looked up at her. “I keep thinking, what if...”
She understood his fear, but she had no doubt it was totally unfounded. “It’s only the proof, Preston. We all know the truth.”
Still, he didn’t open the thing. He turned stiffly, went to the chair where he’d thrown the towel and sat down. “It’s crazy. But I keep thinking...how I really don’t remember what happened that night, between me and Anne. That seems a like a crime somehow. I...” His voice caught. He gulped. “He’s mine, right? Nothing can change that.” He held the envelope between his two hands, his big, broad shoulders slumped, and he looked up at her pleadingly, needing confirmation.
She gave it. “You’re a fine man, Preston. You don’t need to be so hard on yourself. Anne knew that you are Ben’s father. If she’d had any doubts, she would have shared them at the end.”
He swallowed hard again. And then he turned the envelope over and pulled the tab. He removed the results.
And stared down at them.
“Well?” she prompted, her heart suddenly racing. “What does it say?”
It took him what seemed like forever to look up at her again.
Finally, he did. “It’s says there’s a 99.9942% chance that I’m Ben’s father.” He looked absolutely terrified. “That’s good, right? He’s mine?”
She laughed. “Oh, Preston. Yes. In terms of statistical probabilities, that is as good as it gets. Ben is yours—which we already knew. You can stop worrying now.”
He was blinking like someone had shined a blinding light in his eyes. “I knew it. But still, I can hardly believe it.”
“Believe it.” All at once, tears clogged her throat and burned her eyes. She thought of Anne, the summer before their junior year at Duke, standing on the pebbled shore at Rive Blanche, Montedoro’s most famous beach, not far from the casino at Colline d’Ambre. Anne, in a white tank suit, her hands on her lean hips, staring out over the sea. Belle had called to her. She’d looked back over her shoulder with a tiny, faraway smile....
Anne. Gone. Lost to me forever. She pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling.
He saw. “What?” He swept to his fee
t. “Belle...” He reached for her.
With a sigh, she curved into him, into his warm, strong arms. She rested her head against his bare chest. He smelled of soap and shaving cream.
He kissed her hair. “What is it? Tell me.”
“It’s Anne.” She sighed and pressed her lips to the warm flesh of his shoulder. “I miss her. I’m going along fine and then...I don’t know. It just comes at me all over again. It overwhelms me. The fact that she’s gone. That I will never see her again in this life.”
The test paper rustled as he gathered her closer. He didn’t say anything. He just held her—until she straightened her spine and gently pulled free of his embrace.
She brushed the unwelcome tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s a great moment. We should be celebrating.”
He dropped the test results and the empty envelope on the chair and grasped her shoulders. “Don’t be sorry. You lost your friend.”
She tried to look away, but he only waited until she finally met his gaze again. “Really.” She tried her best to sound reassuring. “I’m all right.”
He wasn’t convinced. “No. It’s tough for you. I see that. Anne is...gone. And now, in a few weeks, you’ll be saying goodbye to Ben.”
Saying goodbye to Ben. Her heart seemed to drop to her midsection.
Because he said it so calmly. So surely. As though it had never even occurred to him that she might stay on, that the two of them might be sharing more than a holiday fling.
“But I thought that...” The dangerous words were almost out before she remembered to hold them back.
He held her gaze, blue eyes full of tender concern. “What? You thought what?”
She was jumping too fast, she knew that. Assuming too much. She needed to back off a little, give them both the time and the room they needed to see if they really might have some kind of a future together.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s not important. Not now.”
“What’s not important?” he demanded.
She stared in his eyes and knew she was going to open her mouth and reveal the truth.
Chapter Twelve
But she didn’t. Belle composed her expression. She went on tiptoe and kissed him. And she spoke gently, without heat. “Forgive me. It’s an emotional time. I’m sad to have lost my friend. But I’m happy for you and for Ben.”
Frowning, he studied her face. It took him several seconds to decide to believe that there was nothing bothering her beyond how much she missed Anne.
But in the end, he did believe it. He pulled her closer. “Thank you. For everything. For...more than I can ever repay.”
The dangerous moment was over. She told herself she was glad. And she kissed him again and said he should hurry and get dressed, so they could share the big news.
And then Ben woke from his nap and she went to get him up and the rest of the day unfolded, all warm and cozy in the big, festively decorated ranch house.
Rhiannon called that evening. Belle took her phone upstairs for privacy while she talked to her sister.
“Did you think about what I told you?” Rhia asked.
“I did.”
“And?”
“And then Saturday night, I seduced him.”
Rhia laughed out loud. “Fabulous. And now?”
“It’s beautiful here, snowy. The house is all done up for the holidays. Ben and Preston are growing closer.” There were the tears again, rising, making her throat clutch. “And I think I’m falling in love.”
Rhia gasped. “Oh, I knew it.”
“Rhia, I want to tell him, to talk to him about the way I feel for him.”
“So, then, you should talk to him.”
“It seems too soon.”
“Then wait.”
Belle laughed through her tears. “You’re no help.”
Her sister said gently, “No. I suppose I’m not. But I love you and whatever you decide, I just know it will be the right thing.”
“I just have this feeling, Rhia. That when I do tell him how much I care, he won’t believe me. He won’t believe that what we have is something that can last. He’ll send me home. I don’t know what to do. I truly don’t.”
“Then I will tell you. Slow down. Take a deep breath. And enjoy every minute.”
* * *
Belle did her best to take her sister’s advice. She kept busy for the rest of the day. And that night she spent, joyfully, in Preston’s bed.
Wednesday morning, she got a call from the North Carolina investigator who had done the background check on Preston. Before he had time to do much but say his name, she told him that she’d satisfied herself as to Preston’s suitability as a father and she would appreciate if he would send her a bill.
He laughed good-naturedly and told her that from his research, “Preston McCade is a real upstanding citizen. His ranch is in the black, he’s never been arrested. Never been married. Nobody’s suing him. Ran a red light once. But that’s about the extent of his reprehensible behaviors. If you want more, I would need your go-ahead—along with my daily rate plus expenses—to take a trip to Montana and get a little more up close and personal on the man.”
“That won’t be necessary. Send me the bill?”
“You got it, Yer Highness. You take care now.”
After she hung up, she went ahead and called Anne’s attorney in Raleigh. She said she was preparing to turn custody of Ben over to his biological father. The attorney, who had been given previous instructions and a thorough briefing on the situation and possible outcomes, said he would have all the necessary documents overnighted to her that day. They could take them to Preston’s attorney and proceed from there.
That night in bed, she told Preston that the private investigator she’d hired before she met him had called him an upstanding citizen. “I told him to send me the bill.”
He laughed and nuzzled her neck. “He didn’t mention all those banks I robbed?”
She moved in closer, rubbed her cheek against his scratchy one. “Everyone makes a mistake now and then.” He cradled her breast, caught the nipple between his fingers and rolled it a little. “Don’t distract me,” she said a little breathlessly. “There’s more.”
He nibbled on her earlobe. “I’m listening.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll be getting a big pouch of documents from Anne’s lawyer.”
He was really listening now. He braced up on an elbow. In the light from the bedside lamp, his square-jawed, beard-scruffy face was eager, intent. “This is about my getting custody?”
She nodded. “Also, there’s a large trust. Anne was quite well-off. Almost everything went to Ben. So you’ll have to be brought up to speed on that.”
“All right.”
“You’ll need a good lawyer on this end.”
“I know one, Joshua Cawley. He does family law and estate planning. We’ve used him a couple of times and his work is always first rate. He’s in Missoula.”
“Do you think he could meet with us tomorrow? We should go right ahead with it, I think. Next week is Christmas week. It will be hard to get much done then....” And after that, it would be the New Year. She had a couple of speaking engagements in late January, for Nurses Without Boundaries. Her life...her real life...was calling her, rushing to meet her. This beautiful holiday season would be ending soon.
Way too soon.
Preston said, “I’ll call him first thing. See if he can fit us in before the weekend.”
“Wonderful. I told Mary Beth Deluca that Charlotte and I would help with the food and clothing drive tomorrow and Friday. But I’m sure she’ll understand if I have to change plans. We could help Saturday, if she could use us then.”
“Just as long as you save Saturday night for me.”
Her heart lifted. “I just might do that. What, exactly, are you planning?”
“There’s a dance at the Masonic Hall. Come with me.” When he looked at her like that, she was absolutely certain there was no way he could let her g
o.
“I will consider it,” she told him coolly. But then he peeled back the blanket and touched her. A moment later, the only word on her lips was “Yes.”
* * *
The papers from Anne’s lawyer arrived first thing the next morning. Preston called his lawyer, who told him what personal documents he would need to bring. The attorney said he could see them that afternoon. That meeting took three hours. When Belle and Preston left Cawley’s office, the transfer of custody was officially set in motion. There would be a hearing before a judge sometime in the New Year, Cawley had told them.
But it was only a formality because all the papers were in order, the child’s guardian, Belle, would not contest the action and Ben’s mother had made it clear in her will that Preston was her son’s father and should be awarded custody if he so desired.
Friday morning, Richard Gibbons delivered the old rocking horse. He’d done a beautiful job restoring it to its former glory. Belle put it in the foyer by the tree, where they all could admire it. After the holidays, Preston could put it away, save it for when Ben was old enough to ride it.
Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, too, Belle and Charlotte and Marcus gathered clothes and food for families in need. Preston and Silas were left at the ranch with Ben. It was good practice, everyone agreed, for the McCade men to take care of the youngest McCade on their own.
Mary Beth and the other ladies who ran the drive were grateful for the help. When Mary Beth learned of Belle’s work, she said how important it was “To get out into the world and lend a helping hand...and you know, Belle, if you ever considered moving to Montana, we could keep you real busy. We’re always looking for team leaders and coordinators for the state’s Red Cross efforts. And then we have our United Way donation drives and any number of worthy projects run by the members of our local churches.”
Belle was touched. “I certainly have felt welcome here. And I do appreciate your hospitality.”
Mary Beth blushed and allowed as how she’d never known a real princess before. “It’s an honor, I must tell you. Especially given that you are as lovely inside as out.”
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