The Blackstone Heir

by Dani Wade

  “Yeah, laying your heart bare can be a little difficult. I’d hesitate, too.”

  Jacob threw a sidelong glance at the other man. He was awfully chipper for a guy the police still considered a prime suspect in a major felony case. “She said she trusted me to come back to her.”

  “Finally figured it out, didn’t ya?”

  “You know, I’ve had money all my life, but her trust in me? That’s one of the most precious gifts I’ve ever been given.”

  Zachary nodded.

  “I’d better be damn sure not to break it,” Jacob concluded.

  “Bingo. I think you’ve got this figured out.” Zachary spread his hands wide. “My work here is done.” Then he looked Jacob straight in the eye. “Did you hear? KC’s been doing a great job getting the charity started. And Toby secured us some cotton, thanks to KCs skills as a negotiator. We’re good to go for fall.”

  “Thank goodness. I knew putting her in charge was the right move.”

  “Trust me, putting Sis in charge is always the right move.” As Zachary walked away, he said over his shoulder, “Hope you made sure the ring was spectacular.”

  Damn, that man was a mind reader. Jacob did have a ring, but that wasn’t the most important thing he was offering tonight.

  Determined now, he marched through the door and made his way straight to the bar, not looking left or right. Only KC, dead ahead in his sights, mattered. His heart tried to crawl up his throat before he reached her.

  Man, was she beautiful. He watched as she pulled a beer with naturally confident moves, smiling at the customer with graciousness and a hint of flirtation. He wanted to growl out that she was his, but she wasn’t—not so long as he chose to keep her a secret, as if she wasn’t important enough to be an acknowledged part of his life.

  That was about to change.

  She saw him and smiled her casual smile, sticking to the routine of the past months. Only the slight widening of her eyes gave away her surprise.

  “We need to talk,” he said, nodding toward an unoccupied corner of the bar.

  He could tell from her slow steps that she wasn’t sure she wanted to follow him. But it seemed that she couldn’t stop herself. “Jacob, you don’t have to—” she said from behind him.

  “Yes,” he said, cutting her off. “You may not need the words, but I do. I need to explain what happened while I was away.”

  Her eyes widened. He’d given her no reason to expect this, no reason to anticipate him doing anything more than waltzing back home as if nothing had changed. But it had. He had.

  He came around the bar into the forbidden bartender zone, not caring who was watching. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know if this is the right thing to say. I know it’s not the most romantic or charming. It wasn’t until I got to the hospital that I realized, if I called you, the only thing I’d ask was for you to come. To be there with me.”

  She shook her head. “Why didn’t you? Why didn’t you ask me to stay?”

  “Uprooting you, disrupting Carter’s schedule... It made no logical sense.”

  “But I would do it because I love you. That’s what people do. Not shove the people who love them away because they aren’t convenient for them.”

  “You’re right. You aren’t convenient.”

  Her wince told him that stung a little. But his point wasn’t a soft one.

  “Neither is how I feel about you. Or Carter. I want everything to fit in its little compartment and you don’t...Which is a good thing.”

  “I really don’t understand.”

  Her welling eyes made him feel like such a jackass.

  “I’m rigid in my own ways, sort of like my grandfather. I like consistency. Logic. Rules. You are none of those things. And I want you more than anything.” Shaking his head, he couldn’t hold back an unexpected grin.

  “I left. I didn’t call. I had reasons—my battery died, I couldn’t leave Luke’s bedside, there were paparazzi everywhere and things to take care of. But I figured out they were just excuses...and not even good ones.”

  He moved in closer, anxious to feel her body heat against his. She threw a glance to the side, looking over the crowd, but for once he couldn’t care less who was watching.

  “I screwed up, KC. The truth is, I was afraid. If I had called you, I’d have dissolved into a blubbering mess begging you to join me.”

  Now he had her full attention. “But I still don’t understand why that’s a bad thing,” she said, reaching up to rub the curve of his jaw.

  “It’s just a thing I’m not used to. Something I don’t know how to handle.” His laugh was dry. Half-angry. “Aiden, Luke and I—we’ve stood on our own since our father died. Not relying on anyone else. I don’t know how to change that. But I have to try, because these feelings aren’t going away.”

  He ducked his head to nuzzle her soft hand. “I know I won’t handle things the way you want me to. Emotions and life and fear. But I will always come back to you and Carter. Always. Not because I have to, because I want to.”

  Her expression was wide-eyed and wondrous. Was it happiness...or fear?

  Or both?

  As she took a tentative step toward him, the DJ took a break. Perfect timing.

  The music faded from the room, leaving the sound of people making their way to the bar for another drink. But she had eyes only for him. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw her brother serving the patrons lining up at the bar. Then a mischievous grin spread across her lips.

  “So what is it I can get you, Jacob Blackstone?”

  Her sexy confidence, mixed with carefully cloaked need, melted every last ounce of resistance inside him. “You, KC Gatlin.”

  He spoke loud enough for the words to carry to those behind them. After that, the speed of gossip in a small town took over. By the time she asked, “What?” he had the attention of half the bar.

  “KC, I only need one thing,” he said with a small grin. He let his palms flatten on the smooth counter behind her to ground himself, ground them. “Would you and Carter come live with me at Blackstone Manor?”

  She joined in the collective gasp, her big eyes even rounder now. She glanced at the crowd. “Jacob, what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying my mother needs me at home. My brother will need me there very soon. But in the midst of all of that, I want to give you what you need. Please come with me. Don’t make me go alone.”

  “But I don’t belong—”

  He stopped her protest with a kiss. “You’re the best thing that could have happened to me. I’m just sorry it took me so long to do something about it.”

  The whispers rippled across the room. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him. “Come on, KC,” Aiden said. “Put us all out of our misery and accept the poor guy. His moping is driving me crazy.”

  Jacob glanced over to Zachary. “Zachary, may I?” Jacob asked, garnering permission in more ways than one.

  KC’s brother gave a short nod and a smile. “Be my guest.”

  In seconds, Jacob had the ring in his hand.

  “I thought you didn’t like public displays,” she said, examining the princess-cut emerald that matched the green that was flashing in her eyes.

  He tilted her chin up with his finger to get a look at the real thing. “Sweetheart, with you, I’ll take you any way I can have you. And I’d rather the world know you were mine than risk for a moment the chance of being without you.”

  “But what about...” She glanced around at their audience, then leaned closer and whispered, “The mill, the crazy person threatening people? You said it wasn’t safe.”

  “I promise you now, I will not let him ever harm you or Carter, no matter what it takes.” He pulled her closer, now whispering in her ear, “KC, I love what we’ve built together. But I need you with me, in ev
ery part of my life. Will you marry me? Please?”

  “Jacob, don’t you know I’d follow you anywhere? All you had to do was ask me.”

  As the cheers erupted around them, he let his lips speak his gratitude against hers.

  Seventeen

  Later that night—long after all the excitement had died down, Jacob had bought a few rounds and Zachary had offered to close up for the night—KC finally had Jacob to herself. He opted for a long, hot shower to wash off his travel fatigue. When he came out of the bathroom, KC was in bed, staring at her new ring.

  “Is Carter asleep?” he asked.

  “Yes, I just got him back down.” Her little man’s excitement at seeing his daddy again had simply added to the night’s joy.

  Jacob reached for her hand, rubbing over her fingers right above the band. “I realized something while I was in the shower.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I didn’t tell you the most important part.”

  Yep, KC’s heart was definitely gonna explode.

  “I told you I was too logical.” He grinned in a self-deprecating way that warmed her, because Jake was usually the confident one. “I do love you, KC. You’ve changed me, you and Carter both. For the better, I hope.”

  I believe you. The words trembled on her lips. She wanted to say them so badly, but all she could think about was her daddy leaving for the store one day and never coming back. Logically, she knew it wasn’t the same. But her woman’s heart wouldn’t give up the fear.

  “KC, do you remember what I told your mother and grandmother?”

  She looked over at him sitting on the corner of their bed. She felt like a kid who’d been given permission to go crazy in the candy store but was afraid the sugar might kill her. “When?”

  “That first Sunday dinner? Your grandmother asked me how she could know that I was trustworthy.”

  Oh, right. She nodded, afraid to speak as his words brought a lifetime of thoughts rushing to the surface.

  “I told her then and I’ll tell you now—me promising to always be here, to put you and Carter first is all well and good. But they’re just words. Instead, I’ll have to prove it to you through my actions.”

  “Like taking our relationship public in a major way?”

  “Oh, yes. But in my defense, your brother egged me on.”

  “What?”

  He grinned, reaching out to hold her hand, turning it so that her engagement ring caught the light. “He’s really sneaky, that one. But seriously, it will take time, and I may make mistakes, but I’ll prove it to you and Carter. Every day.”

  Jacob was looking at her as if all her secrets were already known. As if he knew he couldn’t force a response, he changed tactics. “Would you come to bed with me?”

  Oh, boy. She should be more than ready to jump into bed with the man who’d just asked her to marry him. But her emotions were all over the place, her thoughts racing... “I don’t know.” Why did she feel as if she was being put through an endurance test?

  “Not for sex,” Jacob said, surprising her. His sincerity shone from his amber eyes. “Right now, I need something more.”

  More? She’d always thought men saw sex as the ultimate expression of their emotions. And in a way, it would be easier to go back to that sexual focus. But she needed more—and she wanted to give Jacob the opportunity to prove himself to her in a way no man had bothered to do before now.

  “I love you, KC, and after everything that’s happened between us, I can’t think of anything better than to spend a few hours just lying in your arms.” His voice deepened, his face twisting with emotion. “I need you.”

  Minutes later, as she sank against him in their bed, no longer alone and abandoned, she knew she could let go of the fear. “I love you, too,” she whispered.

  * * *

  Less than a week later, KC took the one step she’d resisted since Jake’s return to her life. Fear and excitement settled in a tingly mass in the pit of her stomach as she stood before the elaborately carved entrance to Blackstone Manor. Even the lion door knocker intimidated her, which was saying a lot. Usually she was pretty hard to rattle.

  Standing confidently by her side, Jacob said, “Welcome home.”

  She clung to the happiness in Jake’s eyes as if it was her own personal life preserver. She wasn’t used to this kind of wealth; most of her life, she’d had an average amount of money, though she had vague memories of some financial struggles after her dad hit the road.

  But a house this size, the luxurious grounds, someone to cook, to clean... She was totally out of her element.

  Even Christina’s welcoming smile didn’t calm KC’s nerves about fitting in. Holding a sleeping Carter in her arms like a shield, she let Jacob escort her inside, despite a deep-rooted desire to return to her little house on the other end of town.

  But it wasn’t long before the residents were welcoming her as if she were a long-lost daughter. Nolen smiled as he greeted her. The look in his faded blue eyes was sincere as he encouraged her to let him know if she needed a hand with anything. Marie didn’t have any of the older man’s reserve. She embraced KC and Carter together, then oohed and aahed over the baby.

  Jacob grinned. “Now, I don’t wanna start a rivalry, so I won’t comment on your mom’s peanut-butter cookies in front of Marie...”

  The cook frowned in his direction.

  “But Marie’s chocolate-chip cookies are the best I’ve ever tasted. If you smell them baking, better get to the kitchen. They go fast.”

  Leaving the beaming cook behind, Jacob showed KC where everything was on the first floor. With a mysterious intensity, he said, “Do you want to see our suite?”

  She looked up the elegant, sweeping staircase to the second floor. “Actually, don’t you think it’s time I met your mother?”

  His gaze sobering, Jacob led her up the staircase and to the right. KC paused and nodded toward the opposite side of the hall. An open set of double doors revealed a room under construction. “What’s that?”

  “That used to be my grandfather’s suite.” He squeezed her shoulder. “We’re renovating it for Luke because it’s closest to the elevator.”

  She met his look, seeing all the worry and exhaustion over his brother’s injuries, emotions Jake kept well hidden—except in the darkest hours of the night when he held her close.

  Then Jacob led them into a feminine suite decorated in shades of lavender. Lily Blackstone lay as still as a frozen angel, her only movement the lift of her chest as she breathed.

  As they approached the bed, Jacob said, “KC, this is my mom, Lily.”

  His hushed voice held respect and tenderness. KC watched the comatose woman in silence for long moments, thinking about her own mother and her love for Carter. With a small smile, she left the warmth of Jacob’s arms and crossed to the side of the bed opposite all the medical equipment. “Ms. Blackstone,” she said. “This is your grandson, Carter.”

  Then she slipped her son into the gap between Lily’s arm and her side, cradling his head against his grandmother’s warm body.

  Carter continued to sleep soundly as KC talked. “He looks a lot like Jacob and Luke. Jacob says they both had these same blond curls when they were babies. He has Jake’s feet, too—long and a little narrow—”

  After a few more minutes by Lily’s side, KC felt Jacob’s presence behind her. Though she twisted his way, he didn’t give her the chance to glimpse his face. Instead, he buried his head into the crook of her shoulder, his arms drawing her close.

  He stood like that for a long time—silent, shaking—until he finally pulled back. It was reminiscent of the night he’d asked her to marry him, long after they’d lain down in bed together. Finally looking down, his amber eyes were dry but glowing with emotion.

  “Thank you.
” Two simple words—it was amazing how much they meant to her.

  Then he kissed his mother’s cheek and scooped Carter back into his arms. Their son’s eyes peeked open for a minute, then closed once more after he’d reassured himself that Daddy was there.

  “I’ve got something to show you,” Jacob said, taking her hand to lead her back down the hallway and up two more flights of stairs.

  “I can see I’ve got my work cut out for me,” she teased, huffing a little at the climb.

  Jacob paused. “I should have taken you to the elevator.”

  “Are you kidding? My legs are gonna look great after a month of this.”

  He grinned, stepping close to brush his lips across hers. “No, KC, it’s hard to improve on perfection.”

  She loved that he would let himself tease and be teased now. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Blackstone... So will hefting the baby up these stairs for me.”

  They continued to the third floor, this time turning left at the top of the stairs. “We’ll be close to the elevator, too. I’m just used to taking the stairs unless I have my hands full,” Jacob said, adjusting Carter in his arms.

  She ran an appreciative eye over the main room, decorated in various shades of green. Then Jacob led her through a door on the other side. “We have a good chunk of this floor,” he said as he led her through what looked like a walk-in closet. “There’s a single bedroom on the other side that Aiden uses for storage, since the room he shares with Christina isn’t very big. And another empty room.”

  “And what else?” KC asked, mentally adding up all the square footage on the floor and marveling at the size of the place.

  “This.”

  Jacob opened the door onto a baby boy’s wonderland nursery. Walls painted a green shade to match the other room. A race-car theme, which made KC smile. Everything a baby and mama could need, including a snuggle chair built similarly to the one in her living room. “Wow, Jacob. This is beautiful. Did Christina do this for you?”

  He raised his brows in mock offense. “Heck, no. I did this myself. Even assembled the crib.”