"Ah, ah. Name calling is so juvenile, don't you agree? We're grown men... relatives, actually. No reason we can't get along."
Tim nodded toward the papers. "Those are your copies to keep. We have the originals. If we should have any reason to think you or Marcus are behind any problems that might occur around the mine or the ranch, Mr. Duncan will be in touch with you."
Jason stood. "Now, wait a minute. We can't be blamed for everything that might happen out there, for God's sake."
"Of course you can't. Just as we certainly can't be held responsible if the IRS suddenly begins to take an intense interest in your many businesses." Tim spread his hands. "Things happen. All part of life."
He and Greg walked out of the room, into the lobby, into the elevator, through the echoing marble lobby on the ground floor and out to the street.
Tim took a deep breath and sighed. "Ah, smell that fresh diesel and soot-filled air. A welcome relief to the rather closed atmosphere we just left, wouldn't you say?"
Greg lifted his brow. "I got a distinct scent of fear upstairs."
"Not surprising."
"So that takes care of Mr. Barringer."
"I think so, and so did Charlie. I think Jason will take into consideration the possible consequences of going after Elisabeth, and decide that it isn't worth the risk."
"I don't think the man knew what hit him."
"That's the point. Nothing's hit him, yet. Charlie wanted to give him fair warning. If the man behaves himself, he'll be home free."
"If he gets vindictive, he'll—"
"Find out a little more about the uses of power." A cab pulled up and they got in and headed uptown.
Greg dropped Tim off at the homestead but refused his offer to spend the night. He wanted to put in a few hours on the road to Missouri so he would be home by the next day.
Tim didn't insist. He had other things on his mind. He let himself into the house and looked around.
This house would always remind Tim of Charlie. He could almost hear Charlie's voice from the other room, smell the scent of the cigars he'd smoked until the doctors^ had insisted he give them up. He would miss the old man. He just hoped he had carried out his instructions in a way that would have pleased him.
Carrying his bag, Tim started up the stairs. He decided to shower and change before dinner. He was tired. He'd done a great deal of traveling in the past couple of days. Plus he had a feeling of letdown, which was not unusual. He generally experienced the feeling whenever he finished an assignment.
The water felt good beating down on his shoulders. He stood there for a long time, allowing his mind to stay blank. He didn't want to think about the next few hours and how important they would be to his future.
When he walked into the bedroom he glanced at the bed. Never had it seemed so inviting to him. Slowly he walked over to it. Climbing the stairs, he decided to relax for a few minutes. He still had plenty of time before dinner. He'd just stretch out for a while, then get dressed and go find Elisabeth.
Those were his last thoughts before he fell sound asleep.
Chapter 11
Tim was awakened by a lingering kiss. He opened his eyes and saw a green-eyed young woman with moonlight-tipped blond hair staring at him. Her hair fell around them like a silken veil, enclosing them in a scented haven.
"I've invented a new fairy tale," she whispered with a smile. "The sleeping prince, found in all his natural splendor, adorned only by the soft shadows of early evening, awaiting the touch of one special person to arouse him from his slumber."
Tim slipped his arms around her, making sure he wasn't still asleep. She felt very real in his arms. "You'd better kiss me again. I may still be dreaming."
Elisabeth searched for and found his mouth once more. This time Tim took control, threading his hand her hair, his fingers splayed against the back of her head. With possessive insistence he explored her mouth with his tongue, delicately probing. She met his thrust with a dainty, duel-like rhythm of her own.
When the kiss ended they were both breathless.
''If I'd known I was going to be greeted with such an enthusiastic welcome I might have considered leaving before now.'' Tim began to stroke her back, wishing she wasn't wearing so many clothes.
"You've missed the point," she said with an impish grin, running her finger along his jawline.
''Which is?"
"I'm trying to bewitch you so you won't ever want to leave me again."
Tim's hand stilled at the words. "You are?"
She nodded her head emphatically.
With an unexpected move he rolled until she was lying beneath him. He propped himself up on his elbows and stared at her. She gazed at him with a serene air he wasn't sure he'd ever seen before.
"You mean all those hours of careful preparation I've spent listing the reasons we should stay together were unnecessary? All my arguments, my most persuasive manner, my unassailable charm aren't going to be called upon to convince you?"
"You sound disappointed," she pointed out dryly.
He laughed. "Not on your life. I'm relieved, even if I don't understand."
"Don't you? Then you underestimate your own charm."
"None of my friends would agree with you, believe me."
Elisabeth placed her hand along his jawline. "I love you, Tim."
Her words jolted him as though he'd received an electric shock. He could feel his heart racing so fast he wondered if it was going to spin out of control.
''When did you discover that?"
She cocked her head, as though in deep thought. ''Oh, a few hours after I walked into Granddad's room and saw you standing there for the first time."
"That soon?"
"That soon. We were sitting together on the sofa in front of the fireplace. You were talking and I was watching you and I realized that now I understood why my mother had chosen to spend her life with my father, despite everything that stood between them."
"So when I suggested that we marry, you agreed because..."
"Because I had no other choice, feeling the way I did."
He rewarded her for her honesty by giving her a very thorough kiss. When he raised his head he was frowning slightly. "Then why did you lie?"
"About what?"
"When I had my memory lapse. Why did you want me to believe that ours was just a pretend marriage?"
Her cheeks pinkened. "You remember differently?"
"Yes. I remember everything that happened between the two of us. No wonder I found myself making love to you in my sleep. No wonder it felt so natural. We had already been together so often. So why lie?"
"I think that at some deep level I don't fully understand, I was trying to protect myself from being hurt. Before I met you, my life had been carefully controlled and choreographed. I was in charge. I knew what I wanted in life, or thought I did—a sense of safety, a haven, a place where I'd be without pain.''
"Cemeteries offer such a place, you know."
She reached up and nipped his ear. ''Meeting you put me in a tailspin. You didn't give me time to think, to gain control, before we were married and caught up in the whirlwind of our desire for each other."
''And you didn't like that?"
"I was afraid of it. Your losing your memory gave me an opportunity to regroup, to try to regain my sense of self, to come to terms with everything that had happened and to apply some logic to the situation." She ran her fingers along his collarbone, then made a trail across his chest. "Besides, I wanted to give you an out."
"Me? What are you talking about?"
"You were so shocked to see me when you woke up that morning, don't you remember? As though you couldn't conceive of a reason you would wake up in my bed. I felt as though I was seeing the real Tim Walker for the first time, not the man I'd married and been living with. I was getting a true reaction from you because you no longer remembered any promises you might have made to Charlie."
He groaned. "I never made any promises to Charlie whe
re you were concerned."
"You told him you would protect me. That you would take care of me."
''Of course I did. You were my wife when I told him that. I suppose I assumed that you would also protect and take care of me, as well." He touched the back of his head where he'd been hit. "Which you did."
''I just didn't want you to feel obligated to me, that's all. Particularly if you couldn't even remember who I was. I thought if your memory didn't return you would feel free to leave without any complication."
He cupped her breast and gently massaged it. "Do you consider yourself a complication?''
"I didn't want to be." She shifted slightly, moving her legs so he lay between them. ''Granddad told me that you never stayed in one place too long and that I would be taking advantage of you if I tied you down and took away your freedom."
"Oh, he did, did he?"
She nodded.
"Maybe I'm ready to be tied down, as you call it. Freedom isn't all it's cracked up to be. I know what it's like to be somewhere and realize that nobody knows... or cares... where you are. There's your ultimate freedom. It's a cold and lonely place, and frankly I'm tired of it. I can think of nothing nicer than to discover that my whereabouts are important to somebody, that there's someone somewhere who is thinking about me, concerned about me, maybe even a little worried if they haven't heard from me."
"Does that mean you're going to stay here with me and not go running off without any explanation like you just did?"
He grinned. ''Well, you have to give me a little time to adjust to my new status in life. I'm not going to be able to change overnight."
''Are you going to tell me where you've been?"
He leaned down until his lips were only a fraction of an inch away from hers. "I might be persuaded to talk if I were given the proper incentive."
She raised her head to kiss him, then with a sudden lunge pushed him off balance so he fell back while she scrambled off the bed.
''What was that for?" he asked in an aggrieved tone.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. "You're much too eager to be coaxed, my friend. Besides, our dinner is getting cold."
"How can you think about food at a time like this?" He sat up, pushing his hand through his hair. He was thoroughly aroused, and since he was as bare as the day he was born, his condition could not be overlooked.
Elisabeth was thinking the same thing, but she had scarcely eaten since he'd been gone, and she had to eat now. Besides, Mrs. Brodie would be pulling her hair, trying to keep their meal edible.
She picked up a pair of his jeans and tossed them to him with a grin. "I'll see you downstairs."
❧
Elisabeth waited until halfway through their meal before she brought up the argument they'd had about her career the day he was hurt.
"You mean the discussion we had about your alter ego, Lisa Barry?" he asked.
''Yes. I felt guilty about your being hurt, as though somehow I was at fault because we had argued earlier—" He shook his head at her fractured logic, but she continued. "I also felt a little guilty about telling you our marriage was just pretence—"
''Now that was a totally justified guilt."
"Before Granddad died I finally told him about Lisa Barry and asked his forgiveness for not sharing her with him."
He took her hand. "I'm glad. He deserved to know."
"Yes. I felt very ashamed of myself because he was so pleased for me... surprised, of course... but his pride was apparent. I'm glad you goaded me into telling him before it was too late."
"I am, too."
She studied the man across from her for a moment before she said, "Having you come into my life blasted so many of my ideas and beliefs about myself. It was as though I was really looking at myself for the first time, and not really liking what I saw."
Tim glanced at her plate. "Are you through eating?"
She looked down, surprised to see that her plate was clean. "Why, yes, I suppose I am."
"Good." He pushed away from the table, took her hand and led her out of the dining room. Instead of crossing the foyer to the front room for coffee, he turned toward the stairway.
"Tim, it's not even eight o'clock yet."
"I don't care. I have this very sudden urge to get horizontal. I can't quite remember why. Maybe my memory's slipping again. Perhaps you'd better come with me and make sure I'm ail right."
She shook her head and with a chuckle followed him up the stairway.
Come to think of it, she realized, he had never told her where he and Greg had gone, or why. Maybe she would test her persuasive powers and see how potent they were.
Elisabeth smiled. Perhaps she had found a new career. Being married to Tim would certainly be entertaining and educational. With a protective movement across her stomach she mentally added. And probably broadening.
Epilogue
From her vantage point atop a small rise, Elisabeth viewed the never-ending beauty of the mountains that surrounded her home. This little knoll had always been a favorite place for her to come whenever she wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a while.
Today was one of those days.
Bright wildflowers splashed brilliant color across the meadow, and the green of the aspen and birch trees added richness to the scenic panorama spread before her.
She glanced at the envelope she held in her hand. Elisabeth had lost count of the number of times she had read the letter it contained, her last message from her grandfather. Today, the first anniversary of his death, seemed an appropriate time to bring it out once more, as though in some way she could share the serenity and the beauty of the place with him.
The stationery crackled as she removed the expensive sheets of paper from the envelope and stared at the distinctive handwriting that belied his years. He had written it on her wedding day, but had waited until he was gone to have it given to her.
She began to read.
My darling Elisabeth,
Words cannot begin to express the joy I felt today as I gave you in marriage to such a fine young man as Tim Walker. In the years that I have known him, he has impressed me with his quiet integrity, his determination and plain common sense. I had hoped that someday you would find a man worthy of all you have to offer. It is my beUef that you have found him. Thank God he immediately recognized and appreciated you for who and what you are ... a very special person.
I can rest easy now, knowing that Tim will always be there for you. I know what you told me about not wanting the ranch given to you, so I know you are going to be upset with me when Neil reads the will. Please hear me out before you make any decisions.
Despite all that I have ever accumulated in this life, the homestead has always been where my heart resides. I was born there, all my roots are there, and I would like to think that you and your children will continue to live there down through the years. I have made the necessary arrangements to see that you are given no trouble over this inheritance, and I trust Tim to take care of any unpleasantness that might occur. I know I can count on him to keep both of you safe and secure.
I have always felt that God understood my loneliness, so He sent you to me to add meaning to my life. I always regretted that your father never knew you, and if there's anything to what the churches say about an afterlife, I know that he was pleased I managed to find you and bring you home where you belong.
The only request that I leave with you is to be happy in your newfound love. Give of yourself, for if you do, you will discover as I did that no matter how much you give, you seem to receive double and triple the amount in return. Never be afraid of loving, no matter what happens. Love is what makes everything else in your life worthwhile.
Your loving grandfather
There was a slight sound from somewhere behind her, a rustling of the thick blades of tall grass. She hastily wiped the moisture from her eyes before glancing around. Her eyes lit and she watched Tim striding up the hillside toward her, a baby tucked comfortably into
the curve of his arm.
His smile became a laughing grin when he saw her face turned toward him. ''Hello, darling. I wouldn't have disturbed you except your daughter can't tell time. I've been trying to explain that she couldn't be hungry yet, that she only ate a short while ago. But she's as stubborn as her mother and refuses to listen to reason."
He leaned over and carefully placed the baby in Elisabeth's arms before sprawling alongside her in the grass.
Young Jessica left no doubt in anyone's mind what she expected, no, insisted, on having, and Elisabeth unbuttoned her blouse and brought the tiny infant to her breast. Jessica's fretful cry was cut off in mid-sound, and she began to noisily enjoy her meal.
"What a little pig," Elisabeth muttered with a sigh. "I have trouble picturing us ever making a lady out of her. She wants what she wants when she wants it."
Tim cupped her other breast. "I don't see anything wrong with that philosophy. It's always worked very well for me."
She leaned toward him and gave him a brief kiss, which he returned with enthusiasm. When their lips parted Tim leaned back so Elisabeth could lean against him.
"What a beautiful spot. No wonder you enjoy coming up here."
''Yes. Granddad and I used to come up here and have picnics during the summers I was home. He said he always felt like a king sitting here, the master of all he surveyed."
Tim glanced down and saw the letter lying beside her. He recognized it as the one Neil had given her the day of her grandfather's funeral. She had waited until Jessica's birth to give it to him to read. He had been touched by the sensitivity she had shown in giving it to him then, at a time when he'd felt so inadequate to be ail the things Jessica needed in a father.
Charlie had believed in him and Charlie had been an excellent judge of character. He had seen something in Tim that Tim himself wasn't sure existed. All Tim knew was that he would do the best he could to provide the safety and security Elisabeth and Jessica, and any other children they might have, deserved.
Max 2 - A Love Remembered Page 13