And now this Westcott owned the place—for the time being—and wanted to take her there for a week or so. How could she refuse? She’d spent every summer of her childhood at the big Victorian house on the beach, and when her father’s finances had forced them into selling, she’d mourned its loss. She couldn’t wait to stay there again.
And yet, she couldn’t rationalize leaving the family business unattended.
“I’ll have to find someone to work at the shop for me,” she told him. “Maybe my mother. Or Kristen. Her spring classes have ended, and when I called home this morning, she told me that Josh has fully recovered the feeling in his leg and is being released from the hospital today. I suppose I could ask my mother and Kristen to run things.”
“If they will, we’ll leave tomorrow, around noon,” Cole said. “It shouldn’t take me much longer than a few hours in the morning to settle my business.”
“My mother will be at the hospital when I visit this evening.” With a glance at the bedside clock, Tess reluctantly withdrew from his embrace. “I told her I’d be there by seven. I’d better get dressed.”
“You’re going to the hospital to visit your father?”
Tess nodded, slipped out of bed and donned her robe. “My mother told me this morning that he’s doing much better. He’s out of traction. He wants to talk to me.” Anxiety washed through her at the thought. She wasn’t sure what her father had to say, but she knew he was violently opposed to her marriage.
“I’ll come with you.”
The offer stunned her. “To visit my father?”
“I was going to drop by there tomorrow,” he said, rising from the bed, a splendidly naked Adonis, “but this will work out better in terms of my schedule.”
“But why would you want to visit him?” The thought of Cole and her father in the same room shook her. “Surely you realize that he considers you the enemy.”
“We’ve got business to settle.”
“Business? What kind of business?”
He hesitated. “I don’t want to get your hopes up too high, but when I had a drink with the governor before his fund-raiser yesterday, I mentioned the assault charges, and he promised to call the district attorney about them. I have an appointment with the D.A. next Monday to discuss the whole fiasco. I’ll need to arrange a meeting between Leo, Josh and your father before then to make sure we present a united front.”
“Oh, Cole.” She squeezed her hands together in hope. “Do you think the charges might be dropped?”
“Maybe, if we can get the D.A. to view the incident as a family matter.”
Gratitude welled up in her. “Thank you.” She slid her arms around him and showered his face with fervent kisses. “Have I ever told you how wonderful you are?”
Surprise flickered across his face, then his gorgeous green eyes smiled into hers. “No, I can say with absolute certainty that you never have.”
“An oversight. A gross oversight.”
Swaying with her in a full-bodied hug, he murmured into her hair, “This isn’t just another attempt to satisfy my manly needs, is it?”
She blinked. Frowned. Pulled back to peer at him. Had she heard him correctly? No. Surely she hadn’t. “What did you say?”
“I said, ‘this isn’t just empty flattery, is it?’”
Tess narrowed her eyes. His consummate innocence was just a little overdone. “That’s not what you said.” At a slight quirk of his mouth, the truth slowly dawned, and she jerked away from him. “You searched my dresser, didn’t you? You found that translation and read it.”
“What translation?”
“Ohhh! You scoundrel.” She threw a punch at his muscle-hard shoulder.
He caught her arm and swung her around until he held her from behind, her back lodged against his front, their arms entwined across her chest. “You brought it on yourself.” His voice was low and soft with amusement. “You taunted me with that translation, then hid it from me.”
“Of course I hid it from you.”
He rubbed his beard-stubbled chin against the side of her neck, sending sensual tingles throughout her. “Why?” The word itself tingled thrillingly across her ear.
“Because I know what you’ll do.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He feathered kisses along her jaw, then let her go. “But we’d better hurry. Let’s get this trip to the hospital over with.” He glanced at his watch. “My manly needs are already growing. You’ll be sorely needed by nine.”
She sucked in a hissing breath.
Wasn’t he just too cute?
Before he saw it coming, she snatched a glass of ice water off the nightstand and dashed it squarely where he needed it most. “That should take care of those manly needs for a while.”
*
They left for the hospital slightly later than planned—only after he appeased her by bringing out his family bible and swearing on it that he would strive with body and heart to satisfy her womanly needs wherever and whenever she wanted him to.
He then drove her to the hospital and held her hand in his strong, warm, steady grip, satisfying a need she hadn’t even recognized. “You’re worried about this visit, aren’t you?” he asked.
“A little.” Her father had been at war with the Westcotts his entire life, and he wasn’t one to let bygones be bygones. He hated the fact that she, his daughter, had defied him by marrying the son of his worst enemy. What would he say to her? How would he respond to Cole?
“Are you concerned that I’ll do some harm to your father with this visit?”
“No, I’ve been told his vital signs have been strong and steady. My mother said he’s calmed down quite a bit since that fight with Leo at your place. Plus, the news you’re bringing about the governor talking to the district attorney should make him happy. But still, he’ll probably … well, say things. Insulting things.”
“Even from the little I know of him, I’d be surprised if he didn’t.” He kneaded her hand and rubbed his thumb across her palm in soothing circles. “I’m not going to retaliate, Tess. There will be no battle.”
With a jolt, she realized that her heart, her loyalties, had become divided. She was worried not only about her father, but about Cole, too. The thought of someone disparaging him—even if that someone was her own father—brought out her protective instincts. Imagine that. Tess McCrary, feeling protective of Cole Westcott. What had the world come to?
He needed no one’s protection, let alone hers. Still, she hated that her father was at odds with him. Of course, the Westcotts and McCrarys always would be at odds. Her father would see to it.
As Cole pulled into the hospital lot and parked his long, low elegant sports car, apprehension filled Tess. “I think it would be best if you wait outside the room until I talk to him. I’ll call you in if … I mean, when … I think the time is right.”
Cole kept her hand in his as they walked into the hospital, rode the elevator and strolled down quiet corridors. When they neared her father’s room, he gathered her to him in a fortifying hug. “Don’t worry. Your father will be okay, and so will I.”
He’s reading my mind again.
She forced a smile and brushed the dark, springy waves back from his face with a tenderness she couldn’t deny. “I know. But thanks anyway.”
This wouldn’t do. This wouldn’t do at all. She was feeling too tender toward Cole. Because of the lovemaking, probably. She wasn’t the kind of woman who could make love to a man without feeling something for him. Nevertheless, she couldn’t just allow those feelings to run amok.
They seemed so damn close to running amok.
Gathering her poise, she withdrew from the sanctuary of his arms, prepared herself for battle, and left Cole in the hall while she entered her father’s private room.
“About time you came to see me.” Though he wore a back brace, her father looked robust enough to take on the world. His thick white hair glinted, he smelled of aftershave and his dark pajamas and robe lent
him a sober, distinguished air.
Her mother smiled a greeting from the other side of his bed. The smile looked somewhat strained, though. Not a good sign.
“Last time I was here, you wouldn’t speak to me,” Tess reminded him as she kissed her father’s smooth-shaven cheek.
“Sorry I lost my temper. You’re a good girl, Tessie, and I know that. You married Westcott because you thought you had to rescue your mother and me from debt, and because you want to search for Phillip. All that takes money.” His gray eyes, so much like her own, gleamed with concern. “I realize now that you’re not betraying us or your fiancé. You’re sacrificing yourself. And I can’t let you do that.”
“I’m not sacrificing myself. It’s a business deal,” Tess assured him, settling into a chair beside him. “A lucrative one for everyone concerned.”
He held her hand between both of his own. “Living with the enemy for five months is not a business deal. I won’t let you live with Westcott for your mother and me, or even for Phillip. We won’t take any of the money. I won’t let you pay off my bills. And you’re not going to work in my store, either. You’re barely earning a living there. It’s time for you to get back to your own life.”
“I’m living my own life, the way I see fit.”
“You left your job at the university. I shouldn’t have allowed it. I thought I’d be back on my feet in no time, but I wasn’t.”
“Until you are, I see no reason I can’t help you out by—”
“No.” His tone, his gaze, brooked no argument. She knew when her father had made up his mind, and this was definitely one of those times. “If you want that two million dollars and McCrary Place
, it’s up to you. But your money’s your own. Your property’s your own. Your time’s your own.”
She hadn’t expected this. She felt cut off. Adrift at sea. Her life had been built around her parents’ needs. With good reason. They needed her!
“I’m asking you to please put an end to this nonsense with Westcott,” he said.
“I can’t. I’ve made a commitment to stay with him for five months, and I will.”
“You were forced into that commitment. I know what Westcott did with my business loans. He foreclosed on them to pressure you into marriage.”
She couldn’t deny it. He’d done precisely that.
“I won’t have anyone playing mind games with my little girl.” Her father’s face flushed with anger. “That’s why I’m suing him. I’m suing him for everything he’s got Cole Westcott, and his cousin, too—the cop who shot Josh.”
“You’re suing?” Tess jumped to her feet. She’d always known of the possibility, but she hadn’t thought he would. “You can’t do that.”
“I can, and I will. I’ve got a lawyer who’s sure he can make the case stick. He’s even willing to defend me against the criminal charges for free. What’s more, Tessie, you can walk away with more money than Westcott’s giving you. This lawyer also represents his stepmothers in the inheritance case.”
“Oh, Daddy, no…”
“I’d rather have you leave Westcott now and forget about the money. But if you want it that badly, come over to our side. His stepmother Deirdre is willing to pay you more, and all you have to do is be honest in court. Admit that it’s just a business deal. Tell them how he pressured you into it. Keep your eyes open for signs that he’s stepping out with other ladies. Get the specifics. Work with the detectives Deirdre has following him. Let’s teach this Westcott bastard that he can’t buy and sell McCrarys.”
Tess felt as if she might hyperventilate. “You listen to me, Ian Patrick McCrary,” she cried, brandishing a threatening finger at him. “If you sue Cole, you’re suing me. Because I’m his wife. We’re one legal entity.”
“A divorce will take care of that. My lawyer will handle the divorce, too.”
“I don’t need your lawyer. And you don’t, either. We’ll have all the money we’ll ever need, if you’ll only—”
“We will have money—when I win that lawsuit. And if we play our cards right, we might get that damn Westcott put away on fraud charges. Or extortion, maybe.”
“If you sue him or go after him in any way, I will never speak to you again.”
He stared at her in hurt surprise, and a dull flush crept up his neck and face. “You would do that over some ‘business deal’?”
Her throat closed so tightly, she could barely breathe.
“Oh, Tess,” cried her mother, “please don’t do this. Come home. You don’t need that Westcott money.”
“It’s not the money. I’ve given my word. Doesn’t that count? Doesn’t honor and commitment and principle mean anything to either of you?”
“I’ve lived my life based on honor, commitment and principle.” Her father’s voice shook with emotion. “That’s why I want you to turn away from the fast money that Westcott’s promising you. He’ll probably find a way to beat you out of it, anyway.”
She gazed at her parents with a feeling of sick helplessness. How could she make them understand that they were reading Cole wrong, and that the money no longer played a big part in her commitment to him? How could she explain the change in their relationship when she didn’t fully understand it herself? She certainly couldn’t tell her father she was sleeping with him. He wasn’t open-minded about things like sex—especially where his daughter was concerned. And she couldn’t say that she and Cole had become friends. He wouldn’t believe it. What kind of friendship grew so strong, so vital, in the space of a week?
For lack of a better plan, she acted out of impulse—the pure, simple need to have Cole with her, standing beside her, lending her his support. Swallowing the huge lump that threatened to choke her, she squared her shoulders and called on a higher power to guide her through this confrontation. “I brought someone with me,” she announced. “Someone I’d like you to meet.”
Her parents frowned at her, then glanced at each other in puzzlement.
Tess opened the door and gestured.
Cole stepped in. With one look at her face, he narrowed his eyes. “Tess?” He reached for her. She went to him. It seemed the most natural thing in the world—his arms enfolding her in a warm, protective huddle. She buried her face against him and absorbed his sureness and strength.
No one said a word.
Cole swore he’d never experienced silence quite as potent. The only sound he heard was the thudding of her heart and the drumming of his own pulse in his ears. What had her parents done, what had they said, to upset her so much? She’d looked on the verge of tears and felt stiff with tension. Anger stirred in him. What had they said?
Forcing himself to wait for her explanation rather than demanding one from her parents, he leveled a hard gaze at the couple who stared at them in open shock.
Tess soon lifted her head, met his eyes with a deeply troubled look, then turned to her parents. “Daddy, Mama,” she began, “I’d like you to meet Cole Westcott. My husband.”
He didn’t miss her emphasis on the last two words. The profound gratification of hearing her introduce him that way kept him silent for a moment—as well as the fact that her parents remained frozen and staring.
“Cole,” Tess continued, her voice quiet and tight, “please meet my parents, Ian and Margaret McCrary.”
“Ms. McCrary,” Cole greeted with a nod. Even at her age, she retained a china-doll, blue-eyed prettiness that she’d passed on to Kristen. Not to Tess, though. Tess’s beauty had more to do with fire and earth and all things powerful. When Margaret McCrary had gathered her wits enough to return his nod, he murmured, “I can see why my father never forgave himself for losing you to another man.”
She blushed at the reminder of the fact that she’d been engaged to his father when she’d met McCrary. That fact had sparked the worst of their rivalry.
Her husband lost his frozen mask and scowled.
Cole extended his hand to him. “Mr. McCrary.”
McCrary ignored his outstretched hand
and glanced past him. “What do you mean by this, Tess? Are you trying to tell me there’s something personal between you two?”
“Living together has a way of making things personal.”
His annoyance slowly turned to dismay. “How personal?” Abject horror gradually set in. “Don’t tell me you’re sleeping with him!”
Her face warmed, but she maintained a steady gaze. “I believe that’s between my husband and me.”
His gaze lost its hard edge. Anguish replaced it, clearly shaking Tess all the more. “What are you doing, Tessie? You told me this was a business deal.”
“It is.”
“Since when do you do business in the bedroom?”
Her eyes widened. “It’s not like that. It—” But her choked whisper couldn’t sustain whatever she’d been about to say. Or maybe she simply didn’t have more of an explanation to give. Her lips compressed. Her throat muscles worked.
Incensed by her father’s implication, Cole slid his arm around her shoulders and held her close. “No matter how much you disapprove, Mr. McCrary, Tess is my wife.”
McCrary shot him a loathing glare. “I wasn’t talking to you, Westcott. I’m talking to my daughter.”
Cole drew on every ounce of his self-control. And for the first time in his life, he didn’t know right from wrong. Did he have the right to stop this man from upsetting Tess further? She was his wife. He had a marriage certificate to back up that claim. But only a certificate. And wedding rings. He’d bought her the nicest damn ring he could find—as if that meant something. No binding promises had gone along with it. No commitment beyond five short months. Four months and three weeks, to be exact. His claim didn’t really amount to much.
This granite-eyed man glaring hatred at him was her father, tied to her with a permanent, God-given bond. Did that give him the right to verbally assault her? Doing business in the bedroom. If he’d been anyone else, Cole would have wrung a profuse apology from him. He wasn’t far from doing just that.
McCrary turned his gaze to Tess, and the animosity softened to distress. “I should have known this would happen. You’ve been lonely for too long. You were ripe for the picking.”
HOT-BLOODED HERO Page 17