Canyon

by Brenda Jackson

  Even knowing everything she had to do over the next two days did not dampen her mood. She’d won three cases this week, and she knew her bosses, Leonard Spivey and Adam Whitlock, were pleased.

  Three years ago, Leonard hadn’t liked it when she’d given him only a week’s notice before leaving Denver and moving back home to Texas. But because she’d been one of the firm’s best attorneys, he’d been kind enough to give her a very good recommendation—and to welcome her back to the firm when she’d needed to return.

  Sometimes things happened for a reason. When she’d moved to Texas, it hadn’t taken her long to land another job at a law firm in Austin. And had she not returned home, she probably would not have found out about her mother’s breast cancer scare.

  Luckily, Keisha had been there for her mother during that difficult time. The two of them had always been close. Lynn Ashford was a strong and independent single parent. After the man who’d fathered Keisha denied she was his, Lynn had moved away from her hometown of Austin and settled with her daughter in Baton Rouge. Then, when Keisha’s grandfather had died when she was fifteen, she and her mother had returned to Austin to be there for Keisha’s grandmother.

  There had been many hard times while growing up. To compensate, her mother had worked two jobs, leaving Keisha in the care of her grandmother. But seeing how hard her mother had worked without the help of a man had shown Keisha that if push came to shove, she could do the same.

  Her heart ached when she thought about the man who had proved that fact to her.

  Canyon Westmoreland.

  She’d fallen in love with him the first day she’d laid eyes on him, but that love ended when she discovered he’d been unfaithful to her. She could tolerate a lot of things, but the one thing she wouldn’t tolerate was infidelity. Trust was paramount and a loss of it meant an end to everything…even a relationship that had held so much promise. Or she’d thought it’d had promise. Obviously she had been wrong.

  Now, after three years, she was back in Denver. The scandal that had hit the law firm where she’d worked in Austin, and the firm’s eventual shutdown by the Texas Bar and the justice department, had made leaving a necessity. She’d known she would miss her mom, and that she was taking a chance with her decision to return to Denver, but Spivey and Whitlock was the one law office where she wouldn’t have to start at the bottom. She needed the money because she had more than herself to think about these days. However, to assure that she didn’t run into Canyon, other than for business, she’d deliberately moved clear on the other side of town from Westmoreland Country.

  She knew the story of how Canyon’s parents, aunt and uncle had died in a plane crash, leaving fifteen orphans. Staying together hadn’t been easy, especially since several of the siblings and cousins had been under the age of sixteen. But together, the Westmoreland family had weathered hard times and was now enjoying the good times thanks to the success of the family’s land management firm, Blue Ridge.

  Canyon’s parents had had seven sons: Dillon, Micah, Jason, Riley, Canyon, Stern and Brisbane. His aunt and uncle had had eight children: five boys—Ramsey, Zane, Derringer and the twins Aiden and Adrian; and three girls—Megan, Gemma and Bailey. From what Keisha knew, the majority of the Westmorelands were now college educated and successful in their own right, either working for the family firm or in their chosen profession. She’d met most of them when she had attended the annual Westmoreland Ball while she was dating Canyon. The ball was a huge event in the city and benefited a number of charities.

  Her thoughts shifted back to one Westmoreland in particular. Canyon.

  The Grand Canyon, as she would sometimes call him during more intimate moments.

  The memories of those times hurt the most. She had loved him and had believed he loved her. She had opened her heart, and her home, to him. He had moved in with her after they’d dated for six months. She’d assumed their relationship was moving in the right direction. He had proved her wrong.

  The blaring of a horn prompted her to glance in her rearview mirror. What in the world? she asked herself, frowning.

  The drivers of the two cars behind her were engaging in some kind of road rage. It appeared that the driver of a burgundy car was trying to run the driver of a black sedan off the road.

  Deciding the last thing she needed was to get involved in what was going on with those two drivers, she increased her speed and drove on ahead, leaving behind what she perceived as two hotheads vying to be king of the road.

  Keisha checked the clock on the dashboard. She was eager to reach her destination and the person waiting for her there.

  * * *

  Canyon watched the black sedan speed off. Although he’d gotten pretty close to the car, the tinted windows had prevented him from determining if the driver had been a man or a woman, but he was leaning more toward a man.

  He returned his attention to the road in time to see Keisha turn the corner a couple of blocks ahead. He continued to keep his distance, not wanting her to know she was being followed. It had been a long time since he’d been in this section of Denver, but because of the nature of his business, he knew about all the new development in the area. Several housing communities had been constructed, along with a number of shopping places and restaurants.

  He watched Keisha put on her car’s right blinker to turn into what he at first thought was a doctor’s complex. Upon getting a better view of the huge sign out front, he saw it was Mary’s Little Lamb Day Care. He frowned. Why would she be stopping at a day care? Maybe she was doing one of her coworkers a favor by picking up their child, or she could have volunteered to babysit tonight for someone.

  He slid into a parking spot and watched as she got out of her car and went inside, smiling. That probably meant she was ready for the weekend to begin. Hopefully, her good mood would continue when she saw that he’d followed her home. His focus stayed on her, concentrating on the sway of her hips with every step she took, until she was no longer in sight.

  He was about to change stations on his radio when his cell phone rang. He hoped it wasn’t Stern again. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was his cousin Bailey, the youngest of the Westmoreland siblings and cousins living in Denver. Growing up, Bailey had been nearly as bad as Bane when it came to getting into trouble.

  He clicked the phone on. “What’s up, Bay?”

  “Zane’s back. He got in today.”

  Canyon nodded. His cousin Zane had left town a good three weeks ago on what Canyon had assumed was a business trip, only to discover later that his cousin was running behind a woman he’d once had an affair with by the name of Channing Hastings. Rumor had it that Zane was returning home with a wedding band on his finger.

  “He’s married?”

  “Not yet. He and Channing are talking about a Christmas wedding.”

  A Christmas wedding? It was hard to believe Zane, a die-hard bachelor, was thinking about settling down.

  “Didn’t think I’d live to see the day.”

  “Well, I’m glad he came to his senses.” Bailey paused and then said, “Don’t forget this is chow-down night.”

  Every other Friday night, the Westmorelands got together at his brother Dillon’s place. The women would do the cooking and the men would arrive hungry. Afterward, the men took part in a poker game and the women did whatever they pleased.

  “I might be a little late,” he said, since he wasn’t sure how his confrontation with Keisha would go. If she was babysitting somebody’s kid, he would follow her home just to see where she lived and then return at another time and try to talk to her. At some point, he needed to let her know about the person who’d been following her. It might be something she needed to check into, especially if it was related to a case she was working on.

  “Why?”

  He frowned at Bailey’s question. “Why what?”

>   “Why will you be late? Dillon mentioned you left work early today.”

  For some reason Bailey assumed being the youngest automatically made her privy to everyone’s business. Instead of answering her, he tapped on the phone several times and then said, “Sounds like we have a bad connection, Bay. I’ll talk to you later.”

  He clicked the phone off in time to see Keisha walk back out of the building. Studying her face he saw she was still smiling, which was a good sign. She was also chatting with the little boy whose hand she was holding—a boy who was probably around two years old.

  Canyon studied the little boy’s features. “WTF,” he muttered under his breath. The kid could be a double for Denver, Dillon’s three-year-old son. In fact, if Canyon didn’t know for certain that Denver was at home with Dillon’s wife, Pam, he would think it was Denver’s hand that Keisha was holding. An uneasy feeling stirred his insides as he continued to study the little boy whose smile was just as big as Keisha’s.

  Canyon took in a gasping breath. There was only one reason the little boy looked so much like a Westmoreland. Canyon gripped the steering wheel, certain steam was coming out of his ears and nose.

  He didn’t remember easing his seat back, unbuckling his seat belt or opening the car door. Neither did he remember walking toward Keisha. However, he would always remember the look on her face when she stopped walking and glanced in his direction. What he saw in her features was surprise, guilt and remorse.

  As he got closer he watched defensiveness followed by fierce protectiveness replace those other emotions. She stopped walking and pulled her son—the child he was certain was their son—closer to her side. “What are you doing here, Canyon?”

  He came to a stop in front of her. His body was radiating anger from the inside out. His gaze left her face and looked down at the little boy who was clutching the hem of Keisha’s skirt and staring up at him with distrustful eyes that were almost identical to his mother’s.

  Canyon shifted his gaze back up to meet Keisha’s eyes. In a voice shaking with fury, he asked, “Would you like to tell me why I didn’t know I had a son?”

  Two

  Keisha drew in a deep breath while thinking about what she would say, and from Canyon’s tone of voice she knew it better be good. She’d often wondered how he would react when he found out he had a son. Would he deny her child was his like her own father had done with her?

  Instead of answering his question, she countered with one of her own. “Would it have mattered had you known?”

  She saw surprise flash in his eyes just seconds before his lips formed a tight line. “Of course it would have mattered,” he said with affront. “Now tell me why I wasn’t told.”

  Keisha could tell by the way her son held tight to her skirt that he sensed something was wrong, and she knew how anxious he got around strangers. Although she wished otherwise, the time had come for her and Canyon to talk. But not now and not here.

  “I need to get Beau home and—”

  “Beau?”

  She lifted her chin. “Yes. My son’s name is Beau Ashford.”

  The anger that flashed across his face was quick. And although he muttered the words, “Not for long,” under his breath, she heard them.

  She slowly pulled in a deep breath and then carefully exhaled it. “Like I said, Canyon. I need to get Beau home to prepare dinner and then—”

  “Fine,” he cut in before she finished. “Whatever you have planned for tonight, I’m included.”

  Like hell he was. “Now look here, Canyon. I—”

  She stopped talking when she saw Pauline Sampson, owner of the day care, approaching them. Pauline had been one of Keisha’s first clients when she’d begun practicing law five years ago. She was also a friend of Mr. Spivey’s wife, Joan. Pauline was smiling but Keisha saw deep concern in every curve of the woman’s lips. There was also a degree of curiosity in her eyes.

  “Keisha, I happened to glance out my window and saw you were still here. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” Pauline said smoothly.

  If everything wasn’t okay, Keisha had no intention of letting Pauline know. “Yes, everything is fine, Pauline.” She hadn’t planned on making introductions, and she was aware that Canyon knew it. She really wasn’t surprised when he took it upon himself to make the introductions himself.

  Extending his hand out to Pauline, he said, “How are you, Pauline? I’m Canyon Westmoreland, Beau’s father.”

  Keisha watched Pauline’s brow lift in surprise. “Westmoreland?”

  Canyon flashed Pauline what Keisha knew to be his dashing smile, one known to win over jurors in the courtroom. “Yes, Westmoreland.”

  She saw interest shine in Pauline’s eyes. “Are you related to Dillon Westmoreland?”

  Canyon kept his smile in place. “Yes, Dillon is my oldest brother.”

  Pauline’s smile widened. “Small world. I can definitely see the resemblance. Dillon and I went to high school together and serve on the boards of directors of several businesses in town.”

  “Yes, it is a small world,” Canyon agreed, glancing at his watch. “If you don’t mind excusing us, Pauline, Keisha and I need to get Beau home for dinner.”

  “Oh, not at all,” Pauline said, beaming. “I understand.” She then glanced up at Keisha. “Have a good weekend.”

  Keisha doubted that would happen now. “You, too, Pauline.”

  She knew not to waste time talking Canyon out of following her home. He wanted her to answer his question—not tomorrow or next week, but tonight.

  When Pauline turned to go back inside, Keisha moved toward her car and gasped in surprise when Canyon reached down and picked up Beau. Keisha opened her mouth to warn him that Beau didn’t take well to strangers. She closed it when instead of screaming at the top of his lungs, Beau wrapped his arms around Canyon’s neck.

  Canyon adjusted their son in his arms. “I’ll carry him to the car for you.”

  She frowned. “He can walk.”

  “I know he can, but I want to carry him. Humor me.”

  Keisha didn’t want to humor him. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Father or no father, if Canyon thought he could bombard his way into her or Beau’s lives, he had another think coming. He’d made his choice three years ago.

  She tried pushing her mother’s warning to the back of her mind. When Keisha had discovered her pregnancy and shared the news with her mother, Lynn had warned her not to assume Canyon would be like Kenneth Drew. Lynn believed every man had a right to know he’d fathered a child, which is why she had told Kenneth. Only after his decision not to accept Keisha as his child had Lynn ceased including Kenneth in her daughter’s life.

  Lynn felt Keisha hadn’t given Canyon a chance to either accept or reject his child, and he should be given that choice. Keisha hadn’t felt that way. Knowing her father had rejected her had tormented her all through childhood and right into her adult life. It had been her decision to never let her son experience the grief of rejection.

  When they reached her car, she opened the door to the backseat and moved aside to watch Canyon place Beau in his car seat. Then another surprise happened. Beau actually protested and tried reaching for Canyon to get back into his arms.

  “It seems he likes you,” Keisha muttered, truly not happy with it at all.

  Canyon glanced over his shoulder at her. “It’s a Westmoreland thing.”

  Keisha didn’t say anything. If that was his way of letting her know his son should have been born with his name, he’d done so effectively.

  “From now on, partner, I’ll never be too far away,” she heard him say to Beau and wondered if he realized he needed her permission for that to happen. When it came to her son, he would only have the rights she gave him.

  As if Beau understood, he then s
poke to Canyon for the first time. Pointing his finger at himself, he said, “Me Beau.” He then pointed at Canyon. “You?”

  Canyon chuckled and Keisha knew he had deliberately said the next words loud enough for her to hear. “Dad.”

  Beau repeated the word dad as if he needed to say it. “Dad.”

  Canyon chuckled. “Yes, Dad.” He then closed the car door and turned to Keisha.

  Ignoring the fierce frown on his face, she said, “You seem to be good with kids.”

  He shrugged. “Dillon has a son named Denver who’s a little older than Beau, and I’m around him a lot. They favor.”

  She lifted a brow. “Who?”

  “Beau and Denver. Although Denver is a little taller, if you put them in a room together it might be hard to tell them apart.”

  It was Keisha’s time to shrug. She would know her son anywhere. Besides, she couldn’t imagine the two kids looking that much alike. “Since you insist that we need to talk today, you can follow me home. But I don’t intend to break my routine with Beau because of you.”

  “I don’t expect you to.”

  She moved to walk around to the driver’s side of the car when he reached out and touched her. Immediately, heat raced up her spine and she was forced to remember the raw masculine energy Canyon possessed. She’d have thought that after three years she would be immune to him, but it seemed nothing had changed in the sexual-chemistry department.

  “Keisha?”

  With her pulse throbbing, she fought to regain her composure. She lifted her chin. “What?”

  He met her gaze and held it. “Is there any reason someone would be following you?”

  “What are you talking about?” Keisha asked, frowning.

  Canyon shoved his hands into his pockets. “I started following you from your job, but I wasn’t the only one. A black sedan pulled out in front of me and whoever was behind the wheel followed you until a mile or so back. That’s when I tried getting the driver’s attention by driving close along the side of the car and forcing him or her to pull over. I don’t know if the driver was a man or a woman since the windows were tinted. Instead of pulling over, the car made a quick right turn at the next corner and kept going.”