by Sara Orwig
“I like reporters, politicians, even lawyers,” she answered.
“Well, now, that’s a good thing because you’ll be knee-deep in lawyers tonight. And you’ll get all their attention, I promise you, especially since you’ve announced your Calhoun blood.”
Her nerves jangled. “Is that going to be a problem for your family?”
“They’ve already accepted Jake and they can’t wait to get to know you, including Tony. I’ll guarantee you that being a Calhoun doesn’t deter Tony. Your looks overcome your heritage.”
She laughed. “I can’t wait. I’m coming now. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble spotting me.”
“Oh, I don’t think so either. I know I’m going to be dazzled. See you, hon,” he said and was gone.
“Hon.” She suspected he had thrown that in casually without thought, but it had sent a tingle through her. If only he had meant the emotion it implied, but she knew better.
She picked up her purse, locked up and left, excitement mounting over another evening with Wyatt.
Once again she took the elevator to the second level, stepped off and walked around a corner toward the stairs. The moment the lobby came into view, she saw Wyatt. Tall, dressed in a charcoal suit with a charcoal-and-black tie, a broad-brimmed hat on his head, he stood near the foot of the stairs. His gaze caught hers and she was barely aware in her peripheral vision of reporters and others converging awaiting her.
She couldn’t tear her gaze from Wyatt. Tonight she was going to his house to meet part of his family. Tonight the ties between them would grow stronger. She would be in his arms later, sharing kisses, making—
Stop! She practically screamed the command at herself. She had to tear her thoughts from contemplation of what was to come and concentrate on now.
As she started down the steps, photographers and amateurs took her picture. She had long ago learned to descend a staircase while smiling at her audience waiting below.
“Have you talked to your Calhoun relatives who live here, Destiny?” one man called out.
A barrage of questions followed, and she couldn’t understand any of them. She paused about five steps from the floor and held up her hand. Instantly, the crowd became silent. She glanced quickly around the lobby once again and saw a few women waiting to see her, holding copies of her book, which gave her a thrill.
Wyatt waited patiently while she answered questions, signed books and finally told the small crowd farewell.
He took her arm and in seconds they were in his car and driving away from the hotel.
“No one follows you,” she said with amusement, looking over her shoulder.
“I’m the sheriff. They know me and they have sense enough to know I don’t want to be followed. They want my cooperation when something happens, so they cooperate with me. You gave them your time and I waited. Now they’re showing some manners and good sense and leaving us alone. This is a town filled with intelligent, kind people.”
“You like Verity.”
“Of course I do. This is home and these are my friends and relatives.”
“They’re nice. And Verity has the sexiest sheriff this side of the Atlantic Ocean.”
One corner of his mouth curled in a faint smile. “Just wait until tonight and maybe you’ll think the whole U.S.A.,” he said.
Laughing, she ran her hand over his knee. “When I planned to come to Verity, I never, ever expected to see more of you than just a few moments when I arrived.”
“You knew your sister and I saw each other.”
“Desirée and I do not attract the same men. Or rather, go out with the same men.”
“I can imagine in a way, but most any man would want to go out with either one of you. Looks run in the family.”
“Thank you. My mother was the real beauty until her health failed. When I was little, I thought she was the most gorgeous woman in the world.”
“That’s nice for a little girl to think about her mother.”
“She was beautiful. Desirée is, too. Since the day she was born people would stop to look at her. She’s the one who looks like our mother. I resemble our grandmother on Mom’s side.”
“Desirée is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever known.”
“That’s what most men say.”
“You’re not jealous either,” he said, and she shook her head.
“Never. That would be like being jealous of my child. I practically raised her. Besides, I don’t have any difficulty attracting men—at least since I reached sixteen. I was the awkward kid until then, too plump, too tall, a mess of unruly curly red hair that I didn’t know how to deal with. Desirée was the pretty one.”
She turned slightly in the bucket seat to face Wyatt, comfortable with him, comfortable with talking about her past. “Like I said, our mother was beautiful—at least she was in pictures when she was in her twenties. She never was well after Desirée was born, so I had to help and my grandmother was around a lot. Also, my aunt. She had a son who was my age and like a brother to me.” She shrugged. “We fought so much and maybe that’s where I lost some of my fear of things, but I also learned a bit about dealing with boys.”
“Do you still have your grandmother with you?”
“She’s in L.A. and her health is failing. I try to talk to her daily. I love her deeply and we’ve always been close. She’s the one who told me about my Calhoun heritage.”
“Do you still see your cousin or your aunt?”
“Sure. They’re in L.A., so I don’t see them as much as I did when I lived there. He’s a director and he’s part of the reason Desirée is in the movies.”
“You have an interesting family.”
“I think you should tell me about your family since we’re about to spend the evening with them,” she said, studying Wyatt and thinking about later tonight when they would be alone. The thought of making love again started a fizzy current of excitement and anticipation bubbling in her. She wanted to be alone with him again. At the same time, it was one more tie that bound her heart. Wyatt had gotten to her in a way few men had, though she suspected he would forget her within a month after her leaving and he would never feel a pang when she went.
She didn’t like to think about telling him goodbye. How could she get even this deeply involved with him in such a short time? She didn’t believe in love at first sight—something her sister firmly believed and said had happened with almost every new eligible male she met.
Destiny’s gaze roamed over Wyatt’s profile and she wondered what he thought and felt. All she knew was that he desired her and it was lusty, hot sex, nothing deeper.
Despite their connection and easy conversation, she felt she had never touched Wyatt emotionally and the realization that she wanted to disturbed her.
“Was Katherine your only real love?” she asked.
He drove silently for so long, she thought maybe he hadn’t heard her. Then, finally, he answered. “I met her when I was finishing law school. I was so in love with her and we got engaged. She wasn’t as much in love with me, apparently, and then someone else came along. He was older, successful, a U.S. senator, and the first thing I knew, we were no longer engaged and she was out of my life forever. That’s the one time I’ve been truly and deeply in love.”
“Are you over her?”
“In a way. In another way, I don’t ever want to go through that kind of pain again so I’m careful about relationships. To that extent, maybe I’m not over her.”
“You have your parents, your siblings—you’re not accustomed to loss.”
“I’ve lost grandparents I loved and it hurts. I guess I was deeply in love with Katherine, actually blindly in love with her or I would have seen what was happening. What about you? Ever been deeply in love?”
“No. I had a wild crush in college for a whil
e, but then it sort of faded away for both of us. No big hurt when we parted. We just mutually agreed our feelings for each other were over. I’d like to love a man with all my heart—but that hasn’t happened yet.”
“Maybe you’re fortunate. Love can hurt,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“At least you can talk about loving your ex-fiancée. That’s a good sign.”
“It’s getting to be a long time since law school. Time helps.”
“I’ll bet you’ve left some broken hearts in Verity and probably anywhere else you’ve lived.”
He smiled. “Don’t know much about that. I haven’t been close enough to a woman to break her heart.”
“So now you’ve given me warning to avoid falling in love with you.”
He smiled again. “I don’t think there’s the slightest danger of that happening. You and I are both too strong-willed to fall in love, plus too much at cross-purposes over your reasons for being in Verity. We have busy lives that are poles apart in what we do and where we live. Nope—we’re both safe from even the slightest heartbreak. But I’ll miss you and the best sex I ever had.”
She laughed. “I better not fall in love with you. Sheesh! With that description, you would never return my love. You didn’t add that you won’t really risk your heart again. Part of you is closed to the world.”
“You’ve got it right.”
“Wyatt, sometimes in affairs of the heart, we can’t always control what we feel. I know that you intend to control everything in your life, but it doesn’t always work that way.”
“It will where my heart is concerned,” he said in a flat voice and a chill slithered around her heart because she had never heard so much determination in one brief sentence that had been spoken quietly.
“Thank heavens I’m not head over heels in love with you, then.” She said it flippantly, but couldn’t quell the disturbed feeling in her stomach. “Does Katherine live in Verity or Dallas or in D.C. with the senator?”
“No. He’s no longer a senator and they live in Cleveland, his hometown, where he’s head of a company that is headquartered there. I wish them well. If she showed up tomorrow, divorced and wanting to go out together, I don’t feel like I’d be interested. I imagine we’ve grown apart over time and I wouldn’t trust her again. We were kids, in law school. Life is different now and we’re both different. Last I heard she had two kids.”
“If you’re truly over her, I wouldn’t think your heart would still be locked away.”
“I just don’t want that kind of pain.” He glanced quickly at her and then back at the road. “Trust me, I’m over her. Tonight I’ll be with a sexy, gorgeous redhead so I’ll be blind where other women are concerned. I definitely can’t wait for the rest of the evening after my family leaves.”
She reached over to place her fingers lightly on his thigh and saw his chest expand as he inhaled deeply.
“Who will be at your house?”
“You’ve met most of them now. Nick will be there. He’s the state representative and his life is politics. He’s the one who lost his pregnant wife in a car wreck.”
“That’s really tough. It hurt terribly when we lost Dad, Mom and my grandfather.”
“Sorry. Nick hides his hurt, but he keeps busy and out in the public. I think part of that is to avoid going home and being by himself.”
“I can understand. When Mom died, it tore up my grandparents and it was so hard on Desirée. We’d already lost Dad. I tried to be the rock for all of them, which actually helped me sometimes. You get through it because you have no choice. I’m sorry for Nick, though. That’s a dreadful loss.”
“They have a bad loss in the Calhoun family, too, if you get to meet all of Lindsay’s siblings. Mike Calhoun’s wife died from cancer. He has a little two-year-old, Scotty. You may not meet Mike. He lives on a ranch and stays home with Scotty. He isn’t over his loss and he doesn’t socialize much. Mike’s quiet and a loner. At least Nick gets out and mingles with people all the time and that helps.”
“It does help. That’s what I’ve always done.” She could see that Wyatt was affected by Mike’s loss, even though he was a Calhoun. She tried to lighten the mood by asking, “Who else will be there tonight?”
“Tony—you know him.” Wyatt smiled as he talked about his brother. “He’s definitely his own person and has his own ideas.”
“He’s delightful. You, Nick, Tony,” she said. “Where does Madison fit in?”
“I’m the oldest, then Madison, Nick and Tony’s the baby. Madison and Jake were high school sweethearts and our parents didn’t want them to marry. Dad got wind that they were planning to elope and he stopped it. Actually, he was underhanded about it, but he thought Jake might be headstrong—which he probably would have been. They didn’t know what Dad had done until this year. They’re happy now and old enough to know they want to be together.” He cast her a glance. “While you’re here, are you going to try to meet more Calhouns?”
“Yes, if I get the chance. I liked Lindsay and Jake. They were both cooperative and friendly.”
“Jake usually is. Lindsay may offer to introduce you around to the rest of her family.”
They passed two metal posts with barbed-wire fences stretching away on either side. They drove long enough on a graveled road that she turned to him.
“Where is your house? How big is this ranch?”
“It’s big and I’m far away from the highway. The ranch is different from my house in town. This is where I’d rather be. There is nowhere on earth as great.”
“That’s a true Texan. Ah, finally,” she said as they topped a rise and she saw lights. It was still dusk and she could see the sprawling house and buildings beyond it. She was amazed by the number of buildings and the size of his house and outbuildings. Judging from the smile on Wyatt’s face, he felt at home here, and she was seeing yet another side to Wyatt.
Cars and pickups were parked along the wide drive at the back of the house. He parked and came around the car and as she watched him, she forgot all about dinner with his family. Tall, broad-shouldered, purposeful in his stride, Wyatt took all her attention and she wanted to be in his arms. Again, she wondered how he had captured her interest so quickly and thoroughly.
The wraparound porch was welcoming with flowers in pots and flowers still blooming in beds that flanked the porch. Tall, wooden rocking chairs were scattered on the porch along with a hammock, small tables, a couple of padded chaise lounges. The place looked inviting and comfortable.
Inside, lights blazed and her curiosity rose about Wyatt’s family. They entered through a wide hallway with boots lined against the wall, a hat stand that held half a dozen wide-brimmed Western hats. Wyatt held her arm lightly while tempting smells of cooking beef and barbecue assailed her. She could see part of the kitchen through an open door and two cooks in uniforms with aprons bustled back and forth.
Going through another door with Wyatt, she entered a wider hall that ran the length of the house. Two-story-high, beamed ceilings added to the spaciousness in the big hallway that was lined with oil paintings of Western scenes.
The house revealed more of the billionaire side of Wyatt with luxurious furniture, a thick hall runner on the polished hardwood floor, crystal chandeliers and, visible through the back of the house, a fountain and a pool.
“You have a beautiful home,” she said.
He gave her a crooked grin. “Thanks. It’s comfortable. You’ve only seen the back and the hall. Sometime later we’ll take a tour. I want you to see my bedroom.”
“I can’t wait,” she said, her mouth going dry. She knew his reason for wanting her there, and while she agreed, she thought she’d learn a lot about this handsome cowboy from his private quarters. His smile had vanished and the look in his eyes held a promise of hot kisses later in the night.
“Right now you get to know my family better. They have bugged me about getting together with you since they discovered you were in Verity.”
“Here I am.” She had enjoyed meeting them at the hotel and now she wanted to get to know them better.
“Follow the noise and we’ll find them, probably out on the patio because it’s a nice evening.”
Wyatt turned to pass through a large living area with a giant-screen television, a wet bar, clusters of brown leather chairs, leather sofas and tables. A huge stone fireplace filled one corner of the room. They stepped outside onto a long patio that ran the length of the back of the house. Beds of blooming flowers filled the yard.
“This is so pretty,” she said, gesturing around the yard.
“Thanks. I love it out here where it’s quiet. Something you probably can’t understand.”
“You’re accustomed to that life. I need people around me and things going on. It’s what I’m accustomed to, just as this has always been your life.”
As they joined the others, Destiny was greeted by Madison and Jake who glowed with happiness. Jake smiled at her. “I’m happy to have this chance to get to know another Calhoun better. How distantly are we related?” he asked.
“My great-great-great-grandfather was Eldridge Calhoun. It’s my mother’s side of the family. Her mother was a Calhoun and her grandfather was a Calhoun. I have a family tree at home.”
“I’m not familiar with Eldridge Calhoun. I’ll have to look him up. So the feud has never mattered in your family?”
“No,” she replied, “at least not for my mom. Now, Mimi, my grandmother, is different. She’s more into the feud. She’s warned me about the Milans,” she replied, smiling and Jake grinned, slipping his arm around Madison’s waist.
“Someone should have warned me she was going to steal my heart,” he said lightly.
“My grandmother really hasn’t ever known any Milans. We moved to California when I was young and we don’t know a lot of family members who live around here. My mother lost touch completely and she died rather young.”
“Sorry,” Jake said. “We’ll have to have you out so you can meet my family and at least know this branch of the Calhouns. You already know Lindsay, so there’s just Mike, his little boy, Scotty, and my other brother Josh that you haven’t met. Our parents live in California now.