by Sara Orwig
“I think it does,” Lindsay replied.
“I guess I’ll test out your theory, Lindsay,” Destiny said. “I haven’t been in Verity long, but I’ve been welcomed by all I’ve met, Milans and Calhouns, and I hope that doesn’t change, but I can add my own background to this discussion.”
Suddenly Wyatt’s attention focused on Destiny and he forgot the crowd. Her gaze met his, but with the bright lights, he doubted whether she could really see him.
“I was born in Houston, Texas,” she said and paused while there was applause from some of the onlookers. “My family on my mother’s side was Calhouns.”
Six
Shocked again by Destiny, Wyatt frowned. Why hadn’t she told him? Stunned, annoyed. One after the other, the emotions battered Wyatt as he watched her. There was applause and Destiny walked closer to the crowd gathered to watch her while she still gazed at Wyatt.
She had rocked his world from the first moment he had spotted the red limo. So far, this was the biggest jolt of all and his annoyance transformed to a simmering anger.
She was a paradox to him—physically intimate with him, yet holding back this vital information about herself until she decided to tell the whole town. Why hadn’t she told him that she was a Calhoun, especially since she knew he’d been upset about her interviews because of the feud?
Instantly, he guessed she had waited for the biggest impact by announcing it during this interview. From the first second he should have realized she waited for the biggest public relations impact.
His anger eased only slightly because she still could have told him and let him know that she would announce it this afternoon.
He folded his arms and stared at her while he absorbed the news that he had been in bed with a Calhoun. Again, he recalled the first moment he had seen the red limo in his parking spot and her in his office. He had known she would cause trouble in his peaceful town and his quiet life. She had proven him right over and over and this was a crowning touch—except he suspected the worst was still to come.
He watched Destiny in the front of the ballroom, calm and professional as she continued. “I was never caught up in the feud because my mother wasn’t. I knew nothing about it until we moved to California when I was a teen and I was told by my grandmother, who has strong feelings about being a Calhoun,” she said. “My heritage gives me a personal interest in the feud now.”
She smiled at Lindsay. “I’m looking forward to meeting more of my Calhoun relatives.”
“Jake and I’ll be happy to introduce you,” Lindsay said, smiling in return.
Destiny stepped forward, closer to her audience. “Since we’ve heard from Lindsay Calhoun, I think in all fairness, we should give her neighbor a chance to speak because he’s in our audience—if he’s willing to come forward. Tony Milan?” She looked at the audience.
Wyatt groaned. For a moment he hoped Tony had left, but then he saw his brother walking up to the front of the room, turning to the audience and saying, “I’ll guarantee you, I’m speaking to this Calhoun. I have no quarrel with her,” he said as he took Destiny’s hand. “Welcome to Verity.”
Wyatt noticed that everyone applauded except Lindsay. Jake said something to his sister and she shook her head.
“Thank you,” Destiny said. “Sit and join us. Do you have anything to add to what Lindsay has told us?”
“She’s covered it all,” he said, still smiling as he pulled his chair a few inches away from Lindsay and sat.
Wyatt felt it was too soon to yield to the relief he was beginning to feel. He was proud of Tony for keeping the situation light and upbeat and placing Destiny in a position that might make her want to cooperate. Tony and Lindsay had not looked at each other. If he just kept his cool, the interview would move on.
“As big as these ranches are, I wouldn’t think you would ever get in each other’s way,” Destiny said and Tony simply shrugged and smiled while Lindsay gazed solemnly at Destiny.
“Texas isn’t big enough to avoid this clash,” Lindsay said quietly, but some in the audience heard and laughed.
“You don’t have anything to add to this?” Destiny asked Tony.
“I’m sitting between my new Calhoun brother-in-law and the beautiful Calhoun star and host of the television show, Unsolved Mysteries, so no, I’m not causing a ripple with Calhouns today,” Tony said with a big grin and got a round of applause that Wyatt joined.
Destiny laughed. “I might move back to Texas,” she said to the audience and smiled at Tony. The audience responded with hearty cheers.
“Move to Verity,” someone yelled and she waved. Destiny smiled, looking at the audience. Wyatt had drifted slowly until he was standing near a cameraman. As she talked, Destiny looked directly into Wyatt’s eyes.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve met Milans and Calhouns and I like them all, so I see no reason for a feud to continue. I wish you happiness and an end to the feud,” she said to Jake and Madison.
She turned to the audience. “So that’s the history and the story of a Texas feud from generations ago until the present day. Thank you, Lindsay, Madison, Jake and Tony. Thank all of you for stopping to join us and your gracious hospitality to me and my staff.”
While the lights dimmed and the taping broke up. Destiny turned to talk to her guests while people from the audience began to line up to talk to her.
Wyatt let out his breath and moved to the edge of the crowd, stepping back, waiting to make sure everyone left without a problem. He walked to Tony. “Thank you and I’m proud you could resist coming back at her.”
“I wanted to, but I figured the entire family would be relieved if I didn’t and Madison is so happy right now—I don’t want to do one thing to toss a damper on her joy.”
“So maybe my little brother is growing up. That’s good, Tony, because I know Lindsay is no saint.”
“Don’t get me started, Wyatt.”
“I wouldn’t think of it. I’m glad you can come to dinner Friday night.”
“I’d like that.” He glanced around the room. “Lindsay’s talking to Destiny. I’ll get out while everything is smooth. I don’t care to join in any conversation that Lindsay is part of. If I do, Destiny might see the bad side of the feud come to life.”
“See you Friday night and thanks again for averting more trouble.” He watched his younger brother turn and leave the ballroom and he was proud of Tony. The room was emptying fast. Wyatt started to join Destiny, but Nick stepped in front of him.
“It went better than I expected,” Nick said. “Still wish I could hire her.”
Wyatt smiled. “Won’t happen. Even for money, I don’t think she would give up the limelight. She’s a natural for the work she does.”
“Yes, she is. I have to run now or I’m going to be late for an appointment, but I’ll see you Friday night.”
“Great.”
“I was proud of Tony.”
“He is growing up, Nick. He held it in and I know it took an effort.”
“Amen. He surprised me because those two have strong feelings between them. See you,” Nick said over his shoulder as he headed toward the door and was gone.
Wyatt moved on, hanging back until Lindsay turned to leave. He looked into her blue eyes. A Calhoun without brown eyes, he thought.
“Hi, Lindsay,” he said.
“Wyatt,” she answered coolly and he was surprised she even bothered to acknowledge him because most of the time she didn’t. She hurried past him and out of sight.
He waited while Destiny finished talking to the camera crew and to Amy. She strolled over to Wyatt.
“Destiny Calhoun, that was a surprise,” he said. “I suppose you waited for the most dramatic moment to break that news around here. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“It surely wouldn’t
have made a difference, would it?”
“Not at all,” he answered. “It would have been nicer not to get it cold like I did. Maybe this way I felt shut out of your life even more than I am.”
Something flickered in the depths of her eyes. “That does surprise me. What we have is a lusty, physical attraction with no future to it. I never thought about either of us getting closer otherwise. You keep part of yourself locked away all the time.”
“I suppose I do,” he said quietly. “Maybe today for a brief time I got closer and in the euphoria from that feeling, your announcement emphasized that I had made a mistake.”
“Other than physically, I don’t think we were one degree closer today,” she said solemnly. “You just didn’t like being surprised. You haven’t shared your past with me or lost one bit of that wall you keep around yourself. I didn’t think you’d care when I let you know my heritage, and I got a little drama out of announcing it when I did.”
“You got your interview and it went better than I expected,” he said, wanting to drop the discussion of deepening their relationship. That wasn’t going to happen.
“Your brother is a charmer and it’s a stretch to imagine him fighting with anyone, much less someone as pretty as Lindsay Calhoun,” Destiny said.
“Tony has his moments. So where did you get all the camera crew?”
“An affiliate in Dallas.” She checked her watch. “Shortly, I have an appointment to talk to one of your local historians—Gilda who works in the Verity Historical Museum.”
“Gilda can tell you the history of this place. She’ll be more informative than the little museum. She knows more about Verity and the people here than anyone else in town.” He shifted his weight while he gazed into Destiny’s expressive green eyes that relayed desire.
“Well, I was hoping we could go back to your room and finish what we started,” he said, wanting to touch her, but resisting because of the people moving around them.
“I thought we did finish what we started.”
“Hardly. I’ll show you next time I get the opportunity.” He resisted the urge to do so now, though he did lean a little closer to her. “I’m glad you did the interview because that’s what caused me to go to the hotel to talk to you.”
“I don’t see any chance to really be with you until Friday night.”
“I’ll pick you up Friday night. That way I’ll get to talk to you because once we get to my house, my brothers are going to take all your time.”
She smiled at him. “Fine. I see Amy headed my way. I’d better get back to work.”
“Okay, see you Friday,” he said, leaving the ballroom and feeling Destiny watching him walk out.
Wyatt left for the office, but he didn’t feel like dealing with business. He was thinking about his reactions to Destiny. Besides the fantastic sex, he enjoyed being with her and the more he got to know her, the more he wanted to have her with him. She was lively, bringing an enthusiasm for life into any situation she was in. Charm came naturally to her and she charmed everyone around her. She was usually positive, upbeat, filled with life, an extrovert who loved the people she met, interacted easily with them. Destiny was so many things he wasn’t, but he liked that about her.
She would only be here a short time and then gone out of his life. He wanted Destiny here longer. The time would come when he’d be ready to tell her goodbye because since his breakup he never got deeply involved, but not this soon. It startled him to realize that he had stronger feelings for Destiny than for anyone since Katherine.
It surprised him even more to realize that he hadn’t even thought about Katherine very much in the past two days. After all these years since law school, he usually couldn’t get Katherine out of his thoughts—until now. The constant excitement with Destiny would drive everything else out of any man’s thoughts. The pain of his breakup was fading more than ever. He was still certain he would never love again the way he had loved Katherine—consequently, he hoped he was never hurt again the way he had been with her—but Destiny was making a difference in his life and he enjoyed her flamboyant style and bubbling enthusiasm, which continually amazed him.
At the door, he glanced over his shoulder and met Destiny’s gaze. He left, wondering what her next surprise would be.
* * *
After her last meeting of the day Destiny returned to her suite, tired but pleased with the information she got from the local historian. Changing out of her business clothes, she looked around her bedroom and her thoughts continually drifted to Wyatt and what they had done there earlier that afternoon. She thought about their lovemaking, being in his arms. In his quiet, determined way, he was the most exciting man she had ever known—something she had never expected to feel about him.
Would he ever come to Chicago to see her once she left Verity?
She felt a wishful stab of longing because she knew he wouldn’t. Once she left Verity, they would be out of each other’s lives forever—if they were ever in each other’s lives at all except for the wild, lusty moments of hot sex. That was not enough substance to build a relationship on, she knew, so they would fade into oblivion. She had no illusions about their relationship. It was purely physical, nothing more. At least that had been the way she had viewed it until the past hour when Wyatt had told her he had felt shut out when she didn’t tell him she was a Calhoun before the public announcement.
Wyatt’s confession had shocked her. It was an indication that he felt something beyond a physical relationship. She knew that his heart was locked away, but maybe there was a crack in that rock wall around his heart. Maybe Wyatt was more vulnerable to deep feelings than he wanted to admit.
There had been a few moments when she had caught a shuttered look in Wyatt’s eyes after making love. She felt he had shut his mind to even thinking about their relationship, but his remarks this afternoon indicated otherwise—and made her stop and question how deep her feelings ran for Wyatt.
Destiny shook her head. Wyatt was far more than she had expected and she responded to him beyond her wildest imaginings. She liked being with him and had to admit he was a calming influence in her life. No matter how much they liked being together, she didn’t expect to see him again when she left Verity—unless she returned for the show. She had never been in love in her life and Wyatt wasn’t the man to give her heart to because it would be a hopeless love. He may have relented slightly, but he still guarded his heart.
Was she warning herself about him...or was she worrying after the fact? Was she already falling in love?
Was she going home in love with him?
But how could that be? He was not her style at all. She had dated famous men, movie actors, newsmen, dynamic people who moved on the national scene. Wyatt’s world was one little town and one sparsely populated county in West Texas, and a ranch filled with cattle. True, he had flown her to Dallas for dinner in a private room, but overall he still led a quiet life. He was controlled, and low-key. He did have a streak of arrogance, expecting to get his way and what he wanted out of life. She had to laugh, though, because she might have a streak of that also. But still, Wyatt Calhoun was the most exciting man she had ever known.
“Sheesh,” she said aloud, wondering how he had captured her interest. She couldn’t really be in love. When she got back to Chicago, she expected to forget Wyatt fairly fast. At the same time, she liked the way he listened to her, giving her his full attention. She felt he liked her for who she truly was, not a television personality. She felt she could trust him and she understood why the townspeople wanted him for sheriff, because he was honest and trustworthy.
For now, though, she wanted to be in his arms and she wanted his kisses.
The interviews today had been interesting and she had eased off asking Lindsay Calhoun questions that she would have asked if she hadn’t known how unhappy Wyatt was with the interview. Lindsay
was a spitfire and Destiny knew she could have gotten some good quotes and sound bites out of her. Her nemesis, Tony, on the other hand, was a charmer. So different from his laid-back, laconic older brother.
In some ways, being in Verity County was like stepping back in time. The people here had old-fashioned habits and values, and they’d been incredibly friendly and courteous to her. Just like Wyatt, there was nothing in Verity that she thought would have been her taste but, to her surprise, the quiet little town held an appeal for her. She liked everyone she met and they had welcomed her, again in a sincere way that she felt had nothing to do with her show or her book. The town was refreshing with a relaxed atmosphere and, each day, she could see more of why Wyatt wanted to keep the peace and quiet. In hectic lives, the serenity was a welcome relief. No wonder he liked calling it home.
Shortly, she’d return to her home, Chicago. She’d leave Verity, and Wyatt, behind and return to her life. For some reason, that didn’t seem to have the same appeal anymore.
* * *
Friday night Wyatt called her from the lobby promptly at seven.
“I’ll be up to get you unless you want another grand entrance,” he told her. “There is a Verity reporter and one from Lubbock and one from Fort Worth hanging out in the lobby. Word has gotten around that you’re a Calhoun, so now they all have a new slant to a story about you. I think I know the answer, but I’ll ask, do I come up to get you and we take the private exit?” he asked, sounding amused.
“Of course not. I’ll make the grand entrance in the lobby and talk to the reporters. The publicity will be good. I’ll get rid of them quickly because I’ve done this before, although it is easier to escape in the limo, I think. Are you parked at the front?”
“Yes, I am,” he said. “Don’t worry. When you want to escape, I’ll see to it that we escape.”
“I have no doubts. I’ll bet you think I crave attention as much as Desirée.”
“I think you thrive on it,” he said and she laughed.