“You’re perfectly safe here,” Henry said later that evening to Melissa. “The house has a state-of-the-art security system. Nobody can get in here without me knowing about it.”
Melissa nodded and took a sip of her wine. Mary had just gone to bed, the boys were also down for the night, and Henry and Melissa were sitting in the living room with the glow of the Christmas tree lights the only illumination in the room.
There was no question that the safety of her sons had been on her mind all afternoon and evening. How could she even consider moving here knowing that somebody wanted to do harm to Henry? Knowing that it was possible she or her boys could be casualties in whatever war was being waged?
“I can’t seriously consider moving here until the issue is resolved, not that I’m seriously considering it anyway,” she said, giving voice to her thoughts.
“But I want you to consider it seriously,” Henry said. He paused to take a sip of his scotch. “The special election is in February. Certainly by then I’m confident that Jimmy will be able to figure out who is hassling me. It would probably take you that long to make the move anyway.”
“Hassling you?” She raised one of her eyebrows at him. “Honestly, that’s a pretty weak description for what’s happened just since I’ve been here. That tire blowout could have killed us both. The truck could have rolled and we wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“I swear I won’t do anything to put you or the boys in danger,” he replied.
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. I plan on going home tomorrow afternoon.”
“But it will be Christmas Day,” he protested. “You can’t leave tomorrow. You’ll break Mom’s heart.”
She smiled at him. “Ah, first you try to bribe me with a job offer and now you’re using your mother to manipulate me. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
He laughed and that familiar warmth shot through her at the pleasant sound. “I refuse to feel guilty if it forces you to stay a little longer. Besides, Etta will be making a traditional Christmas feast for lunch tomorrow and what difference does another day or two make?”
“You just want more time to try to talk me into moving here,” she said.
He nodded, his eyes teasing her. “There is that,” he agreed.
“Okay, I won’t leave tomorrow. But the next morning we’ve got to get back home.”
He finished his scotch and set the glass down on the coffee table. “And what then?” The teasing light in his eyes vanished. “When will I see the boys again?”
Melissa realized that her life was about to get more complicated. She’d been thrilled that Henry wanted to be a part of the boys’ lives, but now she was faced with the logistics of how they would make it all work.
“I guess I can commit to twice a month driving here for a weekend visit,” she said. “I know it isn’t ideal, that you’d like to see the twins every day,” she added as she saw the dismay on his face. “But, Henry, you have to work with me here.”
“I know.” He leaned back against the sofa and frowned thoughtfully. “I never knew how kids would make me feel, how much they’d make me want to be there for them, to protect them and teach them. I never dreamed that thoughts of them would be so all-consuming.”
She smiled, finding him even more attractive than ever with love for his children—for her children—shining from his eyes. “Welcome to parenthood.”
He shook his head and smiled. “I never knew it would be like this.” His features were soft in the glow from the Christmas lights and Melissa found herself wishing for things that could never be.
She wished she and Henry were married and tonight after checking on their children they’d get into bed together and make love all night long. She wished they’d share breakfast the next morning and talk about their shared dreams, laugh over secret jokes and know that they would face each other over their first cup of coffee every morning for the rest of their lives.
Foolish wishes, she knew. Wishes brought on by the glow of the Christmas tree and the warmth of family that permeated this house. She was slowly being seduced by Henry and his mother and she knew she’d be a fool to hope for anything except weekend visits for the boys and nothing more.
Still, she’d allowed him to talk her into staying another day because she’d been reluctant to leave this house of warmth, reluctant to leave him.
“Are there twins in your family?” he asked, pulling her from her wayward thoughts.
“Not that I know of. What about yours?”
“I think there were twins on my father’s side of the family,” he replied.
The doorbell rang and Henry checked his watch with a frown. “Who could that be?” Melissa watched as he rose from the sofa with a masculine grace.
When he disappeared from her sight, she leaned back in her chair and released a sigh. She’d enjoyed the day with him far too much.
His ideas about marriage had shocked her. Was he so afraid a woman would take his money? Did he not believe that he was worth anything simply as a man? What good was it to have money if all it made you do was worry about who might take it away from you?
She wondered what had made Henry so cynical about love. Had some woman hurt him in the past? Certainly Tom had hurt her, but even the pain of his rejection hadn’t made her belief in true love waver.
When he returned he carried his car keys with him. “That was Willie from the garage. He delivered my truck.” He pocketed the keys and sat back down on the sofa.
“Henry, do you have a computer?” she asked. She knew he had never really embraced her story about MysteryMom and more than anything she wanted him to believe that she had no interest in any of his money for herself.
“Sure, in my study. Why?”
“I was wondering if maybe you could let me use it to see if I can connect with MysteryMom. This is the time of the evening when I normally could find her in the chat room. It’s important to me that you believe what it was that brought me here to you.”
“You haven’t given me a reason not to believe you.”
She heard the faint edge of doubt in his voice and the yet that had remained unspoken. What he meant was that she hadn’t given him a reason not to believe her yet.
“Maybe not, but for my own peace of mind I’d like to show you.”
Once again he got up from the sofa. She finished her wine and then followed him down the hallway to the study. The room had seemed enormous the first time she’d been in here, but as he gestured her into the chair behind the desk and he stood immediately behind her, the room seemed to shrink.
They waited for the computer to boot up, and she was intensely aware of his scent, that provocative scent of clean male and spicy cologne. She could feel his warm breath on the nape of her neck and she fought a shiver of pleasure and hoped he didn’t notice that she was suddenly breathless.
“There you go,” he said. “You’re Internet connected and can go wherever you want to go.”
She placed her hand on the mouse and began to maneuver her way to the chat room where night after night for months she had talked to MysteryMom and other single mothers and mothers-to-be. But when she tried to find the room where she had spent so much of her time, bared so much of her soul, it was gone.
“I don’t understand,” she muttered softly as she clicked and whirled the mouse in an effort to locate the chat room. “It’s not here.” She felt a sick frustration welling up inside her.
“Melissa, it’s Christmas Eve, that’s probably why nobody is there.” He placed his hand on her shoulder.
“No, you don’t understand. The room always had a virtual sign welcoming single mothers and it’s gone. The room itself isn’t there anymore.”
She looked up at him, surprised to feel thick emotion rising up inside her. She’d wanted to prove to him that it had been MysteryMom who had brought her here and not his money or the lure of a life on easy street.
“Do you have an e-mail address for this MysteryMom?”
/> She shook her head negatively. “We always just talked in the room. If we wanted to talk privately we instant messaged each other. I only got one e-mail from her and that was the directions here, but when I tried to answer her back my reply bounced back to me.” She covered his hand with one of hers. “You have to believe me, Henry. It’s so important to me.”
He gazed at her for a long moment. It was a piercing gaze, as if he were looking into her very soul. “I believe you, Melissa. You don’t have to prove anything to me.”
He pulled his hand from her shoulder and turned off the computer. “Come on, it’s getting late and Santa will come early in the morning.”
She was ready to get out of the study, ready to get away from him. His scent, the gentle touch of his hand and the way he’d gazed at her had all combined to make her feel more than a little weak in the knees.
They left the study and as they walked back through the living room Henry turned out the Christmas tree lights, then turned on a switch that illuminated the stairs. They climbed up the stairs side by side and again Melissa was struck with a wistfulness that things were different between her and Henry. Everything would have been much less complicated if they’d dated for a long time, fallen in love and then she’d gotten pregnant.
And if wishes were horses, I’d have a whole herd, she thought. When they reached the top of the stairs she went into the boys’ room and Henry followed right behind her.
She went to Joey’s crib first and her heart expanded in her chest as she saw him sleeping peacefully. He had a little smile on his lips, as if his dreams were happy.
She then checked on James, unsurprised to see that he’d managed to wiggle himself sideways in the crib and had worked the blanket off him. She didn’t attempt to move him from his position, but covered him again with the blanket, then backed away from the crib and into the hallway.
“James is a restless sleeper. He’s more easily awakened than Joey and never keeps his blankets on,” she said softly as she moved across the hall to her bedroom doorway. “I guess then I’ll just say good-night.”
“Melissa, I enjoyed spending the morning with you.” He took a step toward her and stood so close she could feel the radiating warmth of his body.
“I had a nice time with you, too,” she replied as her heart drummed a little faster.
There was a heat in his eyes that excited her and when he reached up to smooth a strand of her hair back from her face his simple touch electrified her.
“I thought about you often after that night,” he said, his voice a husky whisper that stirred a simmering fire inside her. “I wondered if you’d gotten where you were going okay, if somehow, someway, our paths would ever cross again. I can’t believe how little we shared and yet how much we shared.”
“It was a crazy night,” she replied half-breathlessly.
“I’m feeling a little crazy right now.” He didn’t give her time to think, time to process what he’d just said. He pulled her into his arms and his lips claimed hers.
It never occurred to her to step back from him, to deny him and herself the pleasure of kissing him. Just as she remembered, his lips were a combination of tenderness and command, of controlled hunger.
She opened her mouth to allow him to deepen the kiss. His body was rock-hard against hers as his hands slid down her back and pulled her closer to him.
Their tongues swirled and danced and Melissa felt herself falling into a sensual haze of instant desire. No man had ever been able to stir her like Henry. No man had ever made her feel as alive as she felt in his arms, with his mouth on hers.
He released her suddenly and stepped back, his eyes hooded and dark. Melissa fought for composure when all she really wanted was to grab him by the arm and pull him into the bedroom with her. Then she was struck by a thought that dashed all desire away.
“You’ve tried bribery and manipulation to get me to agree to move here. Is seduction your next weapon to use?” she asked.
A slow grin curved the edges of his mouth upward. “I promise you I will never seduce you in order to get you to move into the carriage house. The only reason I would seduce you is strictly for my own personal pleasure and nothing more.”
He reached out and touched her lower lip with his index finger. “And I do intend to seduce you, Melissa. But, for tonight, sleep well and I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter 7
Henry awakened the next morning with a sense of excitement he hadn’t felt since he’d been a very young boy. The air smelled of Christmas, of baking cinnamon rolls and fresh evergreen boughs and the cranberry-scented candles his mother loved to burn.
For a moment he remained in bed, thinking about the day ahead and the night before. Kissing Melissa had been an early Christmas present to himself. He’d wanted to kiss her all day.
As he watched her wander through the stores, her lips pursed thoughtfully as she considered her purchases, all he could think about was capturing that lush mouth with his own. Even in those moments immediately after the blowout he’d wanted to cover her trembling mouth with his and kiss her until the fear in her eyes transformed to something else.
Kissing her had been just like he remembered. Her lips had been soft and hot and welcoming and he hadn’t wanted to stop. He’d wanted to take her by the hand and lead her to his bed.
Afterward he’d told her good-night and he’d gone back downstairs and spent the next several hours wrapping presents and placing everything he’d bought and the items that had been delivered over the past twenty-four hours under the tree.
By the time he’d finished it looked like toy land had come to the Randolf home. As pleased as he was about what he’d bought the twins, he couldn’t wait for Melissa to open her presents from him.
It had been a long time since Henry had been excited about giving to somebody else. Sure, he was a generous contributor to a variety of charities, but buying for Melissa had given him a special kind of pleasure.
He pulled himself from bed and after a shower left the master suite. It was just after six when he passed Melissa’s door and glanced inside to see her still in bed.
She was nothing more than a short, lean lump beneath the blankets, her hair the only thing visible. He wanted to crawl beneath the blankets with her, pull her into his arms and make love to her as the sun crested the horizon. That would definitely make it a Christmas to remember.
Instead he backed away from the doorway and checked on the boys, who were still sleeping soundly. He drew in a deep breath of their baby scent and felt a piercing ache at the thought of having to tell them goodbye even for a brief time.
He continued down the stairs. The tree was lit up, candles burned on the mantel and two stockings were hung, each with one of the boy’s names in big glittery letters. His mother had been busy already.
He found her in the dining room, sipping a cup of coffee. She stood as he entered and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Henry,” she said, her eyes twinkling as brightly as the lights on the tree.
He hugged her and returned the greeting. “You’re up early,” he said as he poured himself a cup of coffee from the silver coffeepot in the center of the table.
“I couldn’t stay in bed another minute. I can’t wait for Melissa to see everything we’ve bought for the boys. I can’t wait to see them in the little outfits I bought for them.” She smiled and shook her head. “Christmases are going to be wonderful from now on.”
“When Melissa and I sit down to discuss the visitation, I’ll insist that the twins are here at Christmastime,” he replied, although the words certainly brought him no comfort.
He wanted the boys here all the time. He wanted to see their first steps, he wanted to hear the first time they said da-da. He didn’t want to wait days or weeks at a time between visits.
“You haven’t managed to talk her into moving here? Staying in the carriage house?” Mary asked.
“Not yet. But I still have until tomorrow to make my case,�
� he replied.
“She’s leaving tomorrow?” Mary’s dismay showed on her features.
“That’s what she says.”
“It would be nice if we could talk her into staying until after New Year’s Eve.”
Henry grinned knowingly at his mother. “Then we could try to convince her to stay until after Valentine’s Day, or maybe Easter.”
Mary laughed and nodded. “I don’t have a problem with that.” Her smile grew thoughtful. “It’s not just the boys. I like Melissa. She’s the kind of girl I once dreamed that you’d marry and build a family with.”
Henry scowled. “You know that’s not happening so don’t even start.” Most of the time Mary seemed to respect his decision to remain single, but occasionally she launched a sneak attack in an attempt to get him to change his mind.
“If not Melissa, then surely you can find some nice woman to fall in love with,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I hate the idea of you growing old alone. I want you to have what your father and I shared.”
He paused to take a sip of his coffee. “I have sons who will keep me company as I grow old and that’s all I need.”
“I’m just saying it would be nice if they all could be here full-time.”
Henry leaned back in his chair. “I have a feeling she isn’t going to make a decision about moving here until I can assure her that it’s safe. The greeting committee of bullets flying has to play a role in her not even considering it right now.”
“Jimmy still doesn’t have any idea who is responsible?” she asked with concern.
Henry shook his head. “He’s coming over tomorrow and we’re going to sit down and discuss the whole thing.”
At that moment Melissa appeared in the doorway, a twin on each hip. Both Mary and Henry jumped up to take the boys from her.
“Merry Christmas,” she said, her eyes sparkling brightly. She looked beautiful in a cheerful red sweater and jeans. Her cheeks were flushed with color and her hair was shiny and smooth to her shoulders.
The Cowboy's Secret Twins Page 7