Canyon

by Brenda Jackson

  She took her tongue and licked her top lip, still feeling the aftertaste of pleasure. After she’d gone back to bed, the ache in her head was gone but the ache between her legs had been almost unbearable. It had been an hour later before she’d finally drifted off to sleep with dreams of endless sex with Canyon flowing through her mind.

  “We’re here. Looks like your guys are waiting on you.”

  Keisha glanced out the car window and felt a flutter in her stomach when she saw father and son sitting side by side on the porch, leaning back on their arms with their legs swinging simultaneously while watching the car pull up. Both had similar huge smiles on their faces. She understood why Beau was smiling. He was glad to see her. But why was Canyon smiling?

  She couldn’t imagine that he was glad to see her. She knew he’d been kind enough to provide shelter to her and Beau for the next week, but she knew the only reason he had was because he wanted to protect his son. She just happened to be part of the package.

  As soon as she opened the car door, Beau charged across the yard to her. “Mommy! Mommy! You home, Mommy!”

  She raised a brow. Home? Beau had only been here for two days and he already thought of Canyon’s place as home. What about her house? Granted the last time he’d seen it, it had been a mess, but still…

  “Yes, Mommy is here,” she said, smiling down at him. “Were you a good boy?”

  “Yes, good boy. Daddy-Dad has horse. Big horse,” he said, widening his arms. “I ride.”

  Keisha chuckled. “Did you?”

  “Yes.” He turned toward Canyon. “Didn’t I, Daddy-Dad?”

  “You most certainly did.”

  Keisha watched as Canyon eased off the porch, and she felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach when his jeans stretched tight across his muscled thighs. She couldn’t ignore the rush of desire that poured through her as she stared at him walking toward her with a stride so sexy she felt flushed by its heat.

  “Well, we’ll be going now,” Pam said, reclaiming Keisha’s attention.

  She glanced at Pam and all the other women staring at her with a “we understand” smile on their faces. “Okay, and thank you all for everything.”

  “No problem. Jill is leaving early tomorrow morning, and she and I plan to do a movie tonight. At least I don’t have to get up and take her to the airport. Aiden is such a sweetie. He volunteered to take Jill for me,” Pam said, getting back behind the wheel of the van.

  “I bet he did,” Keisha heard Canyon mutter under his breath as Pam drove off. She glanced at him, wondering what he meant by that. He had come to stand beside her. He looked good, and he smelled good. It was a powerful combination.

  Keisha then looked at Stern who’d gotten out of his car to help the ladies remove the shopping bags. “Thank you, Stern.”

  He gave her a sexy smile. “My pleasure.”

  “Looks like you bought a lot,” Canyon said in a throaty voice, moving past her to take the shopping bags from Stern.

  “I took your advice and decided to humor you.”

  Canyon threw his head back and laughed. “Thanks.”

  “Well, I hate to run, but I’m meeting JoJo in town. We’re attending that Muscle Car Show,” Stern said, opening the door to his car and sliding inside.

  “Thanks, Stern,” Canyon said.

  “No problem. Lucky for all of you that I didn’t have a date or anything,” Stern said, grinning. Giving them a wave, he then drove off.

  Keisha glanced over at Canyon. “Who’s JoJo?”

  “His best friend, Jovonnie Jones. They have been friends since they were kids in middle school. Her father owned an auto mechanic shop in town, but she took things over when Mr. Jones passed away.”

  Keisha lifted her brow. “She’s a mechanic?”

  “The best. She works on all our cars,” he said, turning toward the house. “Where do you want these?”

  “Up in my bedroom. I mean the bedroom you’re letting me use,” she corrected.

  “I knew what you meant, Keisha. Did you buy something for yourself, as well?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t put it on your charge card. I used my own, but thanks for the offer.” She glanced down at Beau, whose hand she was holding firmly in hers as they went up the steps to the porch. She looked back at Canyon. “Was Beau a good boy?”

  “Of course. All Westmorelands are good,” he said, grinning.

  She rolled her eyes. “So you say.”

  “So I know. And speaking of Westmorelands, there’s something I want to discuss with you,” he said, opening the door and gesturing for her to go in front of him.

  She released Beau’s hand when he tugged for her to let go. She watched him scamper off to the living room where he flipped down on his stomach to stare at the huge fish tank, which was becoming his favorite pastime. Canyon had purchased several fish to add to the tank yesterday and that had fascinated Beau even more.

  When Canyon returned from placing the bags upstairs, he found her sitting down at the dining room table. “So what do you want to talk with me about, Canyon?” she asked, wondering what his discussion would involve.

  Instead of sitting down across from her, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and leaned back against the huge breakfast bar that separated the dining room from the kitchen.

  “It’s about Beau.”

  Her stomach knotted at the serious look in his eyes and the firm set of his jaw. “What about Beau?”

  “I want my son to have my name, Keisha.”

  She swallowed. “Your name?”

  “Yes. He’s a Westmoreland, and I want his last name to reflect that.”

  * * *

  Canyon knew he had a fight on his hands, but he was ready for the battle. He had thought about it from day one and felt justified in what he was asking. There was no reason for his son not to have his name.

  He waited and watched Keisha study the floor before looking back up at him. “All right.”

  He blinked, surprised at her response. “All right?”

  “Yes, all right.” She stood. “I’m sure Beau hasn’t had a nap yet so I’ll take him up—”

  “Whoa. Wait a minute,” he said, straightening away from the breakfast bar.

  “Yes?”

  “Why?” he asked.

  She lifted a brow. “Why what?”

  He gave her a level look. “Why are you being so charitable all of a sudden?”

  She stiffened her spine. “Did you think I wouldn’t agree to it?”

  “Yes.”

  She held his stare and then turned away for a second before turning back to find his gaze searching her face. “Well?” he asked, staring her down.

  She eased down into her chair. “I owe you an apology, Canyon.”

  More surprise flashed in his eyes. “Do you?”

  “Yes. Beau is your son and no matter how things ended between us, I should have told you about him.”

  Canyon froze. Of all the things he had expected her to say, that wasn’t it. She was right. She should have told him about Beau. “Is that the only thing you’re apologizing for?”

  He watched her lift her chin. She fully understood what he was asking. Was she also apologizing for believing he had betrayed her?

  “Yes, that’s the only thing I’m apologizing for.”

  He stared at her for a long moment. In other words, she still believed him to be a cheating bastard. One day she would realize just how wrong she was about him. When that day came, what would she do? Would she think any words of apology could erase what she had put him through? Had put them both through?

  Holding in the anger he was feeling, he said, “I’ll contact a man who handles all the Westmorelands’ legal affairs. He will complete the paperwork for the change.”


  “That’s fine.”

  He bit back the words to tell her that she was wrong. It wasn’t fine. At that moment, he wasn’t sure if things between them could ever be fine again.

  * * *

  “Honest, Mom. Beau and I are okay,” Keisha said, talking into her cell phone. She and her mother made a point of talking every Sunday afternoon and Keisha knew she should tell Lynn what was going on.

  “And the police have no idea who’s responsible?” Lynn asked.

  “Not yet, but they’re on top of this.”

  “So you and Beau are living at a hotel?”

  Keisha nibbled on her bottom lip. “No, we aren’t at a hotel.”

  “Then where are you?”

  Releasing a deep sigh, Keisha spent the next fifteen minutes telling her mother everything, including her recent apology to Canyon for not telling him about Beau.

  When she finished, Lynn didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I’m glad everything’s out now, Keisha. I never felt you should keep Beau a secret from his father.”

  “I know, Mom, but during that time the pain was more than I could bear.”

  “I know, baby, but he had that right. Even I knew better than to do that to your father.”

  “Yes, but what good did it do?” Keisha asked curtly. “How could he have believed I wasn’t his?” It was something she had wondered about, but had never asked.

  “Because I was supposed to be on birth control, and he didn’t want to believe it hadn’t worked. And, unfortunately, at the time a woman had accused his older brother of the same thing and they’d found out she was lying.”

  “But he loved you, so he should have believed you,” Keisha said fiercely.

  “Um, that’s easy for you to say. You loved Canyon, yet you didn’t believe him when he denied sleeping with that woman.”

  Her mother’s words were a blow that Keisha felt in her belly, nearly knocking the wind out of her. “My situation was different,” she defended softly, while her insides struggled for normalcy.

  “Was it?”

  “Yes.” Keisha glanced out the kitchen window, again wondering if she’d done the right thing by staying here and not at a hotel. It was getting dark, but Canyon was still outside. She could see him working in his yard. Earlier, he had washed down the barn with a hose and before that he had washed his car. He was working off his anger. She understood and accepted his actions.

  “I don’t see how. You never saw them in bed together and only went with what that woman said. Getting back to your father, when he saw you for the first time, he knew you were his.”

  “Yes, but I was fifteen by then.” She had gone over this with her mother plenty of times. Granted, her mother had moved away from Texas, which had made it impossible for her father to see her, but as far as she was concerned the timing and the distance had been his fault. All he’d had to do that day when they’d run into him and his brother in a restaurant was to look at her to know how wrong he’d been. He had spent the past fourteen years since that day trying to undo that wrong. But she’d refused to meet him halfway. A part of her couldn’t let go of how he’d rejected her before she’d been born.

  Needing to change the subject, she asked her mother how things were going at the hospital where she’d worked for more than twenty years. Keisha then inquired about the ladies who’d worked with her for years and whom Keisha considered honorary aunties. The same women who’d been there to give their support during Lynn’s breast cancer scare. She knew her mother wanted to return to their discussion of both Canyon and her father, but Lynn knew when to back off. After all, Keisha was her mother’s daughter, and although the mother might have mellowed over the years, her daughter had not.

  When Keisha heard the kitchen door open and close she didn’t have to turn around to know Canyon had come inside. “Okay, Mom, we’ll talk again later. It’s time for me to put Beau to bed.”

  “All right, sweetheart. Tell Beau that Gramma loves him. And say hello to Canyon for me.”

  Keisha nodded. “I will.”

  Keisha clicked off her phone and slowly swiveled around. Canyon was leaning against the refrigerator with his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans, staring at her. A rush of awareness swept through her. It sizzled her insides and sent a gush of blood through her veins. “That was Mom. She told me to tell you hello.”

  He nodded and said nothing.

  “Beau wanted to wait until you came in to eat.”

  Canyon glanced around. “Where is he?”

  “Sitting at the dining room table listening to his books.” Canyon had bought Beau a stack of audio storybooks with colorful pictures, which he was enjoying. “I’ll let him know you’re here so he can eat and get into bed at a reasonable time.”

  She made a move to walk past Canyon and he snagged her arm. When she glanced up at him, he moved to stand directly in front of her.

  “I accept your apology.”

  Ten

  Keisha was still mulling over Canyon’s words hours later, even after she’d taken a shower and gotten into bed. Why did his acceptance of her apology make her feel worse instead of better? And why did her mother have to bring up her father?

  A mental image of the man who’d fathered her flashed through Keisha’s mind. The physical resemblance was there for even a half-blind man to see. She had her father’s eyes, nose, lips and forehead. He’d seen it that day, and she had seen it for herself. That day he had discovered just what a fool he’d been to think her mother had betrayed him. The sad thing was that it had taken him fifteen years to realize the truth.

  Since then, he’d made several attempts to reach out to her, but she didn’t want anything to do with him. She’d even gotten upset when she’d found out her mother had given in and let him back into her life. Her mother didn’t think Keisha knew, but she did.

  Easing out of bed, Keisha decided to go downstairs and grab her ereader off the coffee table where she’d left it earlier. It was past midnight, so she would read a novel until she got sleepy. She didn’t have any court cases this week, which was good, and she had spoken to Mr. Whitock. After explaining the situation, he had agreed that she should take the week off.

  Sliding into her robe, she checked on Beau one last time before leaving the room to go downstairs.

  * * *

  Canyon stood at his bedroom window, staring up at the sky. He resented the seesaw of emotions coursing through him. One minute he was filled with so much anger about all Keisha had done, and then the next minute he was overcome by a need for her that could erupt into desire with very little effort.

  And that kiss last night hadn’t helped matters. It had only proved that the physical chemistry between them was stronger than ever. His need had flared up so swiftly he could have taken her then and there. That was why he had ended the kiss the way he had. His desire for her had been so sharp it had cut into everything, including his common sense. She could ignite desire in him without even trying.

  Like earlier that day, when he’d come in from outside and she’d been talking on the phone to her mother. He had stood leaning against the refrigerator, feeling tightness in his loins. A warm rush of heat had flowed through him. She looked damn good in her jeans, which emphasized her lush curves and shapely backside. He could have ogled her for hours. And when she’d turned around he’d been captured by her incredibly beautiful face. His senses had been reduced to mush.

  And then he had accepted her apology. While he was working off his anger outside, he had remembered how he and his brothers used to fuss and fight and how his mother would make them apologize to each other. His mother always told them not to apologize or accept an apology if they didn’t really mean it.

  Canyon rubbed a hand down his face. He had accepted Keisha’s apology because he believed she’d been sincere in maki
ng it and regretted keeping Beau from him. To continue to feel bitterness and anger toward her wasn’t healthy, not for him and not for his son. And very quickly Beau had become the most important person in his life.

  As far as the issue of Keisha still believing that he was a cheating bastard, that was something that would not keep him up at night. She could think whatever she wanted, he didn’t care anymore. As long as she didn’t keep him from his son then he could deal with anything else. Besides, he no longer loved her. But he did want her. Lusty thoughts were keeping him up, making it hard to sleep. He’d already told Dillon he was taking tomorrow off. He had spoken with Roy McDonald, who had agreed to meet with him and Keisha at noon tomorrow to complete the paperwork to change Beau’s last name.

  When he’d mentioned the appointment to Keisha earlier tonight she’d said she would need Beau’s birth certificate, which was at her home. So he would take her there in the morning to get it. He’d gotten the okay from Pete earlier yesterday that all prints had been lifted and it was okay for Keisha to bring order to her home. Canyon had already made arrangements to take care of that, as well.

  He stretched his body, deciding to go downstairs and walk outside for a while. Seeing the sky from his bedroom window was nice, but on a night like this he preferred being beneath it.

  * * *

  Keisha made it across the living room before she collided with a hard muscled body. A spark of desire flashed through her the moment they touched. When she reached out to grab Canyon, to stop herself from falling, she touched his bare chest and heard his quick intake of breath. His arms went around her waist to steady her.

  “Oh, sorry, Canyon. I didn’t know you were still up.”

  “I wasn’t. I couldn’t sleep and thought I would take a stroll outside,” he said in a deep, husky voice.

  “Oh. And I came downstairs to grab my ereader off the table where I left it earlier.”

  “Couldn’t sleep again?” he asked.

  “No, I couldn’t sleep again.” Why were they still standing here with her hands on his chest and his hands around her waist? And why was his heart beating so fast beneath her palms and why was hers beating just as rapidly? And why were so many too-lusty thoughts flowing through her brain, causing heat to stir and making every cell in her body throb as she inhaled his manly scent?