The Blackstone Heir

by Dani Wade

  The look of approval in KC’s eyes, mixed with something fiery, told him he’d scored more than a few points with his words.

  Still, the uneasy current in the room continued until after the table was cleared. Figuring the women needed some time to discuss him, Jacob followed Zachary out back. An unusually large garage occupied substantial real estate behind the house. As soon as he stepped inside, Jacob could understand why.

  He let out a low whistle as he eyed the old-school Camaro on blocks in the middle of the room. “Nice. You do the work yourself?”

  Zachary nodded. “It’s relaxing.”

  “You’d get along really well with my brother Luke.”

  “I’ve never had the pleasure of being formally introduced to our resident celebrity, though I’ve seen him some in Lola’s. I’d love to take a look at his racing car.”

  “He has a mechanic for his stock car, but he does a lot of work on it himself, too. Says it’s soothing.”

  Zachary smirked. “I agree. But somehow I suspect you didn’t come out here to talk to me about restoring cars.”

  Jacob gave a half grin. “Caught me.” He paced a semicircle around the front of the car, letting the open hood and engine beneath distract him. “So how bad was it? What do I need to know about KC’s childhood?”

  “Why haven’t you asked her?”

  Jacob didn’t need to turn around to see the condemnation on Zachary’s face. He could hear it in his voice. “No, I haven’t. Or I didn’t, before. Now...” He shrugged. “I’m not sure we’re ready for that kind of conversation.”

  “When you’re sure, KC should be the one to tell you.”

  But conversations like that were easier to have while staring at cars instead of facing a woman’s vulnerable eyes. Which was why he’d asked Zachary instead of KC.

  Remembering the other reason he’d come out here, Jacob glanced over his shoulder. Zachary stood near the tool bench, twirling a wrench between his fingers. “Have you thought any more about our conversation at the mill?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’ve thought about it a lot. Hard not to. I’m keeping my ears and eyes open. You’d be surprised how little attention people pay to Maintenance.”

  “No, I wouldn’t. When I spoke to him, Bateman said you have a great track record. He doesn’t understand, with your outstanding military career, why you chose to come home.”

  “And be just another man who couldn’t stick around to help my family? The military gave me a chance for an education I couldn’t have afforded otherwise. Now I have a decent job close to home and can be here to take care of my family on a daily basis. Something they’ve never really had.”

  Which made Jacob all the more anxious to prove to KC that he could be there on a daily basis, too. And not just for Carter—heaven help him.

  Time to get off this subject before his guts got any more twisted. “So you’ll help us?”

  “I don’t really see it as helping you and your brother, or even Bateman. I’m worried about the safety of the people who work there, the security of this town. I think the more vigilant security team has helped shut down some of the problems, but I want to know how the saboteurs are getting onto the mill floor and tampering with the equipment.”

  Jacob nodded knowingly. “So I’m giving you an excuse to do something you already wanted to do.”

  Zachary grinned. “I’ll never tell, boss.”

  Zachary may be helping them, but he was as cautious as his sister, and Jacob had a feeling the other man wouldn’t have hesitated to brush him off if he hadn’t already wanted to get involved. He was his own man, and didn’t apologize for his choices. Which made him a good brother for KC, and a good role model for Carter—

  Jacob hoped Zachary didn’t end up being the only role model in Carter’s life. Could Jacob possibly live up to Zachary’s example?

  * * *

  What to do with a man you would alternately kiss or smack silly? KC could feel the conflict pulling her in two different directions.

  “Thank you for letting us babysit,” Christina said softly, as if she could read the unease vibrating along KC’s nerves when she handed over her baby.

  Christina snuggled a sleeping Carter closer, the move reassuring KC. She’d never left him with anyone other than family. And the fact that she’d only found out about this little trip an hour ago hadn’t given her time to prepare her emotions.

  Or pack her stuff.

  “I hope I remembered everything,” she said, sliding the overstuffed diaper bag off her shoulder and putting it next to the travel bassinet Jacob was setting up. “Carter usually stays with my mom while I’m working. It was easier to just outfit her house with everything he would need since he spends so much time over there.” She couldn’t hide a frown at the man who had sprung this idea on her without notice. “Jacob didn’t give me much time to prepare...”

  The scoundrel had the audacity to glance up at her with an unapologetic grin. What was he so happy about? He used to hate any kind of spontaneous decisions, unless they could be carried out in the privacy of her house. She’d be scared, if he didn’t seem so pleased with himself. This was like a date...which she’d never truly had with him.

  He’d even gone to the trouble of getting a sitter for it. Her married friends often complained about their husbands not doing that. She should be grateful, excited.

  She kept telling herself not to let this mean anything, but her hopes rose without her permission. The past few days they’d shared many heated glances and deliberately accidental touches. But she’d been afraid to make the first move, to invite him back into her bed without an understanding of what he was really looking for here.

  Instead, she waited. Where was all her spunk when she really needed it?

  Aiden chimed in. “Oh, whatever we don’t have I’m sure we can find up—”

  Christina’s sharp movement, seen out of the corner of her eye, pulled KC out of her distraction. “What?” KC asked.

  Her friend simply tucked her arm securely back around the baby. “Aiden was saying we’ll find it if we don’t have it.” She threw a wary glance in Jacob’s direction. “After all, we’ll need to learn what we’re doing soon enough. We’ve recently started trying for a baby of our own.”

  Shock held her still for a moment, then KC rushed over. Smiling her excitement, she hugged her friend carefully around Carter. “That’s wonderful, Christina. I’m so happy for you.” Happy, and maybe a little jealous. Christina’s world would be real, not the make-believe one she and Jacob had created.

  “What about all the travel y’all will be doing between here and New York?” Jacob asked from behind her.

  Aiden shrugged with a nonchalance that KC hadn’t known any of the Blackstone brothers to possess. “Christina says we’ll manage.”

  “I have no doubt she will,” KC said with a smile for her friend.

  Christina was one of the most capable women KC had ever met outside of her own family. She cared full-time for Lily Blackstone, the men’s comatose mother, ran the household and was highly involved in the community. Now she was building a life with her new husband.

  If KC had based her opinion solely on Jacob, she’d have thought inflexibility had been bred into the Blackstone brothers. Strict adherence to standards and procedures served him well in business, but not so much in relationships. On the other hand, Aiden was a successful art import/export dealer, now running his business in New York from Blackstone Manor in South Carolina. Even with trips to New York, it wasn’t an easy task. Had he learned to adapt on his own, or with Christina’s help?

  Of course, with a nickname like Renegade, Jacob’s twin, Lucas, was a whole different animal. After all, it took a special kind of daredevil to take on stock-car racing as a career.

  The conversation whirling around her finally came to a halt and Jac
ob ushered her toward the door. “He’ll be ready to eat when he wakes up,” he said, surprising her with the same last-minute instructions she’d been about to give. “Make sure Aiden gets diaper duty. It’s the ultimate test of manhood.”

  Then they were out the door and walking to Jacob’s SUV. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” she asked as he helped her into her seat.

  “Nope.” Stubborn man.

  His grin reawakened the ache in her chest. He was so beautiful with the sun glinting off the dark gold of his hair. For a moment, time stood still as he leaned against the side of the car watching her settle into her seat. She could reach out and touch him, pull him close if she wanted to, but fear of risk kept her still.

  Then the moment passed and he headed around to his side of the Tahoe. He belted in, then they started forward instead of back down the driveway as she’d expected. “Come on, where could we possibly be going back here?”

  Without answering, Jacob drove around the impressive manor with its landscaped back lawn and down a rutted road carved out of the surrounding fields of tall grass. They meandered down along the fence line until they passed a cabin that looked as if it was under construction, then turned into some dense woods on the opposite side of Blackstone Manor from the mill. She’d never been on this side of Blackstone land. Their families obviously ran in different circles, so all her hiking and partying experiences with her friends were in the forest south of town.

  “I wanted to give you a surprise,” Jacob finally said, throwing her a teasing glance she felt all the way to her toes.

  “I thought you hated those,” she retorted. He did. She could tell by the small frown that formed between his brows whenever she threw him off balance. He’d often overcompensated when she’d do anything not according to his plan, reestablishing control over every situation. Not that she had a problem with him being in control; it was simply fun to throw a wrench in his works every once in a while.

  He paused the SUV, glancing over at her with a look that threw her even more off balance. It was a look of lust and mischief with an intensity she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Surprises might not be my favorite,” he said, “but you love them. Don’t you?”

  Normally she did. Thrills like surprise birthday parties and unexpected gifts peppered her life because her family knew she loved them. Most of her friends knew it. She never thought Jake had wanted to acknowledge it.

  Only this time the thrill was combined with nerves. Not because this didn’t make her happy but because she didn’t have the one answer she really wanted. Why was he doing this?

  “You surprise me all the time,” he said. “You work hard every day and night. I thought you deserved something special.”

  There was no escaping the sexy intent in his gaze. They’d been skirting around this issue for days. But if this was an attempt to take their relationship back to where it had been before Carter, was she willing to accept that?

  Obviously nothing had changed since their affair, except the fact that they were living together and their families knew. He came into Lola’s most nights while she was working, but they had only the most casual of interactions while they were in public. Barely any conversation. Nothing other people could construe as a relationship. But his eyes rarely left her unless one of his brothers was present.

  While she hadn’t gone out of her way to keep their involvement a secret, she also hadn’t advertised it, either. That small, small girl still tucked deep inside wanted him to make the first move, signal to everyone that she was his and worthy to be presented as a couple.

  The farther they drove, the more she could feel herself weakening. Jacob stopped the truck near a gorgeous little meadow beside the stream that flowed through Blackstone land. KC drew in an awed breath. The spot was gorgeous, lush with green clover, tiny purple flowers and even a weeping willow tree. A dreamy place perfect for outdoor seduction.

  The question remained: Would she let him?

  Nine

  “You’re not eating much,” Jacob said as he watched KC pick at the potato salad on her plate. “Marie’s a great cook. I thought you’d enjoy this.”

  KC had been behaving oddly ever since they’d left Blackstone Manor. He’d understood her nerves in taking the baby over there. After all, she’d never left Carter with anyone but family. But he was confident Christina would take good care of him, and thought KC would be more comfortable with someone she knew than with him hiring a sitter.

  He simply hadn’t been able to wait any longer for time alone with his former lover.

  But KC didn’t seem to be enjoying herself. She set down her drink and turned her turbulent hazel eyes his way. “I just—don’t understand, Jacob. I mean, this feels like a date.” She shook her head, her thick tumble of hair catching the sunlight. “Is it supposed to be? Because I honestly don’t know how to respond.”

  Jacob aimed to keep it light. The last thing he wanted was to pressure her. “How else was I supposed to signal that I wanted to take what we have to the next level? I thought putting the moves on you over spit-up duty wouldn’t be quite appropriate.”

  Her grin was just what he’d been aiming for. “What’s the matter, Jake? Getting tired of the couch?”

  He met her smile with one of his own. “Oh, a long time ago, believe me.”

  When she shook her head at him, he decided it was time to push just a little. “What? Wouldn’t you be? Can you blame me for trying? After all, we are living together.” At the moment. He shook the thought away.

  “No, Jake, I don’t blame you,” she said, sobering. “It’s just so like you to ask me. Most men would have let the heat of the moment take care of that for them.”

  “Considering everything that’s gone before?” He shrugged. “That doesn’t seem right. Besides, I couldn’t get through life without a plan.”

  She nodded, a slight smile forming on her lush lips. “You’re right. Having a plan is so you, Jake.”

  He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to trace the curve of her jaw with his fingertips. “You deserve the best, KC.” And she did. After thinking about everything her family had been through, Jacob had been doubly ashamed of letting her believe she wasn’t worth acknowledging. Especially since the whole purpose of keeping her a secret had been to keep his own life simple and uncomplicated.

  Or had it? Going public would have meant exposing her to James Blackstone months before the confrontation that had sent her away. Would Jacob have lost those days with her if she hadn’t been able to handle the pressure? And what about the community? Would they have been able to accept the differences between the two of them? Or would they have looked down on her as a woman who made herself conveniently available to him when he was in town? As accurate as that sounded, the truth had been a beautiful thing for him.

  Suddenly he couldn’t wait to get to his big reveal. “KC, I need to take a trip.” He gave her soft skin one more stroke before he pulled back. “I want you to come with me.”

  “The whole 24/7 thing?”

  He shook his head, already picturing how that was about to change. “Nothing to do with that. I’m ready for more than just being your co-parent, KC. This trip—it would be just you and me.”

  She swallowed hard. “Where? When?”

  “I need to go back to Philly for a fund-raiser, a ball for a charity I’ve been involved in helping for a long time. I’d love for you to accompany me.”

  Instead of the happy acceptance he’d been expecting, KC pulled back with a frown. “You want me to go to Philadelphia again?”

  “Yes.” He drew the word out, uncertain now. His memories of their one weekend in Philly were some of the best of his life. Weren’t they for her?

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She rose, pacing across the thick carpet of clover.

  He watched her
for long moments, not sure how to respond. Coming to his feet, he asked, “Why not?” Why did he have to choose a complicated woman to become involved with? Nothing was simple with KC.

  “What’s the point, Jacob?” She faced off with him, squaring her stance opposite his. “Nothing’s really going to change, is it? I thought I could accept that, I really want to. But I think that might do more damage than I’m willing to accept.”

  What? “I’m confused,” he said.

  “I mean, a weekend in Philly for sex and a fund-raiser. I doubt you want to show me off to your high-class friends, but I’m guessing you’d feel guilty about taking another date. While here at home, I’m still only good enough to be kept like a hidden mistress.” She hugged her arms around her waist. “I thought I could live with that, but—no thanks, Jacob.”

  As he took in KC’s obvious distress, Jacob winced.

  “I’m sorry, KC,” he said, swallowing past the lump in his throat. He closed in, wrapping his arms loosely around her. He needed to touch her, for her to feel him, but he still wanted to look into those hazel eyes as he told her the truth. Hopefully, she’d believe him.

  “I’m really sorry for not realizing how much this was like, well...” He swallowed again when she raised her eyebrows. “How this was exactly like before. But that wasn’t my intention. I’m trying to keep you and Carter safe.”

  “What?” she asked, tilting her head as if she hadn’t heard him right.

  “I forgot you weren’t here when Christina was hurt.”

  Surprise stiffened her body. “Hurt? What happened?”

  “There was a fire. Aiden’s studio at the back of the property. The one that’s now being rebuilt. Some guys set it on fire, not realizing she was inside. They were trying to strike out at Aiden, but she got caught in the cross fire. She could have been seriously injured if Aiden hadn’t gotten there in time to get her out.”