Grady took off his hat and ran his hands through his hair. He set the Stetson on the hood of the car, then glanced at her. “Yeah. He accused me of using their hospitality and generosity to get what I wanted.”
“Even if that was true, you did the right thing. You married her,” Jen protested. “Why was he so angry that it took months to settle things between you?”
Even in the dim light from the restaurant, she could see the bleak expression in his eyes. “I didn’t understand then, but I do now. It’s all about a father’s unconditional love. He was furious at me, assuming I’d taken advantage of his little girl. God knows if I were in his shoes, and some guy married one of my girls under the circumstances he thought, I’d probably react the same way. And I can understand why Lacey was afraid he would do something to get himself into trouble.”
“She was responsible for the two of you burying the hatchet?”
He nodded. “She insisted. She knew she was dying. But she wouldn’t let go until she made the two of us promise to raise the babies together. And we did.”
“He never knew the girls weren’t yours?”
“They are mine,” he said fiercely. “Lacey gave them to me.”
“I’m sorry. Bad choice of words. He never knew the truth?”
Grady shook his head. “And he never knew I didn’t love her—not as more than a friend. Not the way she deserved to be loved. And until the day he died, I kept from him the truth about the night they were conceived.”
Jen moved beside him. She wanted to take him in her arms, but she was afraid. So she leaned against the car’s front fender, so close to Grady that her hip brushed against his thigh. She wasn’t sure what to do with the information he’d just revealed. Emotionally speaking, she had a bad feeling she was in deep trouble. But she couldn’t go there. She turned her thoughts to his custody case. And what Billy Bob’s lawyer had said in court. Grady had custody of the girls and a ranch that wasn’t his.
“So when Lacey’s dad died, he left the ranch to you?”
“Yeah. He said I was the son he’d never had and the father of his granddaughters. It ate at me—keeping the secret. But he was dying and there was no peace for him in telling the truth then.”
“Billy Bob’s lawyers could make a case that you kept it to yourself to get your hands on the money that rightfully belongs to the girls.”
“And they’d be wrong,” he said, his voice full of passionate intensity. “Clark Livingston handled the will. I had him put everything into trust for the girls. I only manage the ranch. Any profits pay the bills and get channeled back into the operation.”
“Why did you tell me all this, Grady?”
He looked down at her, but his eyes gave nothing away. “I figured it was about time to take myself off the pedestal you had me on. Besides, you need to have all the facts. We don’t want any surprises to come out in the courtroom. The fact is I’m a selfish so-and-so.”
“How can you say that?” she cried. “You’ve raised those girls without getting anything in return.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I did what I thought was right. I owed the Millers and it was an easy way for me to pay them back. But the fact is, I got everything in return. Those two girls are my whole world. I can’t give them up. Maybe that’s selfish. It’s not for me to judge. But, by God, I’ll do my damnedest to give them something back. When Kasey and Stacey are of age, I intend to turn over one of the most prosperous ranches in Destiny.”
“Well, then, we have to do everything we can to see that your intentions are realized,” she said.
He let out a long breath. “I’m glad you see things my way, Counselor.”
“I do.” When she glanced at him, she saw a flash of white teeth in the dim light. “What?”
“I do. Two little words that give a man ideas.”
“What kind of ideas?” she asked, narrowing her gaze.
“Ideas like—why don’t you marry me?”
“What?”
“I think the girls were onto something.”
“Don’t you remember? I explained to them two people get married because they love each other. It’s the first, best and only reason to take the long walk down the aisle.” She stopped and shook her head. “But look who I’m talking to. The man who marries damsels in distress.” She frowned. “Not that I’m in distress. You get my drift.”
“What if we fall in love?” he asked.
“We won’t. We can’t.” She sidled away from him. “That’s impossible.”
“Why? I’ve already confessed my crush. And you didn’t deny that whole pedestal thing I had going on.”
How could she? He’d been right on the money. She had a serious case of hero worship. And he’d confessed his deep, dark secret, then said he was selfish. Ha! If everyone in the world were so self-centered the human race would be living in Mr. Rogers’s neighborhood. She was afraid, very afraid. She didn’t want to care about a man again. Especially a man who had good reason to not care about her in return.
“This discussion is pointless,” she said, moving away from him.
“You told the girls that if I was married my chances in court improved.”
“Your chances might improve if you married anyone but me.”
“Why do I think this isn’t about legal ramifications at all?”
“Because it isn’t. And I think you should take me home now.”
She opened the passenger door and started to step up. It was high. In her short, straight, tight skirt, there was no way she could get in and leave her dignity intact. She turned around, and he was right there in front of her. His chest wide, strong, stable. Comforting. Yet he made her uncomfortable at the same time. In a sensuous way.
“What are you afraid of, Jen?”
“I’m afraid to climb in and flash you with the promised land.”
One corner of his mouth curved up. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“Since you don’t seem inclined to let this drop, think about it, Grady. How ironic is it that you married without love because Lacey was pregnant. You fell in love with the twins. To keep them, your best chance is to marry—again without love.”
“What if we fall in love?” he asked for the second time, his voice husky, deep, seductive.
“First of all, it can’t happen because I won’t let it. This case is too important. I can’t afford the distraction. You know that.”
“Horse manure. What’s second of all?”
“Huh?”
“You said first of all. That implies there’s more. Lay it on me.”
“Second of all, think about it. What chance could we possibly have?”
“A better one than most people.”
“Most guys wouldn’t give a tumble to the widow of the jerk who did what Zach did to Lacey. Whether you loved her romantically or not doesn’t matter. You were her friend and cared enough to help her out of a jam. A jam my husband was responsible for. It’s too big a hurdle.”
He reached out and put his hands at her waist, and in one smooth, effortless movement lifted her onto the vehicle seat. No promised-land peekaboo. Always the nice guy. Once a hero, always a hero.
“You’re wrong,” he said softly, hardly more than a deep whisper.
Since his hands were still at her waist, warm and welcoming, and chipping away at her resolve, she rested her hands on his shoulders. “And what about the girls?”
“What about them? They think you’re the best thing since Dude Ranch Barbie.”
She couldn’t help smiling at that. “As flattering as that is, I don’t deserve it.”
“Why not? Granted, you’re not as tall, proportionately speaking. Or as well endowed. But that’s highly overrated. I’m here to tell you that a man doesn’t care about that sort of thing. All we want is to see our woman naked—”
“Stop!”
“What?”
“You’re deliberately muddying the waters.” M
other Nature had just cranked up the outside temperature. That had to be the reason she was hot all over. “Okay. For the sake of argument. What if we fall in love? How could you ever trust my judgment, Grady?”
His gaze smoldered. There was no other word to describe the expression. “When are you going to stop being afraid and take a chance?”
“I don’t know…”
“Yes, you do.”
He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. She could muster only a split second of resistance before giving herself up to the sensation. Coming home. That’s how he made her feel. She sighed against his mouth, then opened her own to him. Hungrily. He swept his tongue inside, and the contact sensitized every nerve in her body. Her skin was hot and any second she could go up in flames. When he slid her closer, she almost expected to see a shower of sparks. Instead, her skirt rode up to her hips and she opened her knees, permitting him between them.
Her breath hiked up along with her skirt. The only thing separating them, as far as flesh to flesh was concerned, was her panty hose and his jeans. Liquid heat flowed through her, making her insides as hot as her skin. He pressed her to him—soft breasts to muscled chest. She could feel his heart racing, and her own kept pace. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him with everything she had. It wasn’t smart. In fact, it was probably the dumbest thing she’d ever done. But she was beyond caring.
All she wanted was to be in this man’s arms forever. If he never stopped kissing her, holding her, she would be the happiest woman in the world. She would give him everything.
She dragged her mouth from his and nibbled along his strong jaw, ignoring the scrape of five-o’clock shadow against her lips. When she ran her tongue around his earlobe, she heard him hiss out a breath. She smiled, ecstatic that she wasn’t the only one feeling the earth move. She was putty in his hands and couldn’t find the will to care.
She kissed his neck. “Grady, we need…”
Breathing hard, he pulled back. “I trust you implicitly. When are you going to let yourself trust me?”
“I do.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t. But you can. The reason I know is because I’m this close to the promised land, but I’m not crossing over. Not until you’re ready to trust me not to hurt you.”
“I’m ready,” she protested. “Believe me.”
“But you’d have regrets,” he said, dragging in air. “I’ll wait. And you can take this to the bank—waiting is not easy. Damn, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” He removed her hands from around his neck and kissed her right palm, then folded her fingers in on it. “It’s time to set the past to rights. I’m not about to make another mistake.”
Dazed, she blinked at him. “But…”
“No buts. Now I’ll take you home.”
He backed away, gently pressed her knees together, swung her legs around, then slammed the car door. Along with her slender hopes. She couldn’t believe it. She’d kissed Grady O’Connor with complete abandon.
At least one of them had kept a cool head. Sure as heck wasn’t her. She should be grateful to him for giving her a dash of reality and a cold reminder. All his talk about trusting him was to let her down easily. Always the hero. If he cared the way she did, he wouldn’t be able to turn his back on what she’d offered. But the truth was he’d saved her from making a big mistake.
Her belief in happily ever after had died with Zach. Nothing that had happened since had changed her mind.
Not even tonight. Although she was very much afraid the shattering sound she heard was her heart breaking.
Five days after his dinner with Jen, Grady sat behind his desk trying to work. He needed to get through a stack of paperwork big enough to choke a horse. But every time he tried, he saw Jen’s face. The fear in her eyes when she’d said, “What if we fall in love?”
There was no “what if” about it. Not for him. Not anymore.
His intercom buzzed and he pushed the button. “Yeah?”
“Whoa.” Phoebe’s voice was rife with questions. “Who tweaked your tail? You said no calls and you weren’t seeing anyone short of the president of the United States. I swear no one got past me, Sheriff.”
“What is it, Deputy?”
“Jensen Stevens is here to see you.”
A surge of adrenaline mushroomed inside him. He hadn’t seen her in the flesh since that night. Since he’d kissed her to within an inch of his self-control. He’d begun to think she was avoiding him. Then he remembered how afraid she’d looked at the idea of loving him and knew she’d been avoiding him. The only reason she’d be here to see him was about the custody case.
“Sheriff? Grunt or something so I’ll know you’re still with me?”
“Funny, Phoebe.”
“Thanks. I try.”
“Send Miss Stevens in.”
“Miss?”
“Don’t go there, Phoebs.”
“Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir,” she snapped out just before clicking off.
A few moments later there was a knock on his door, then it opened. “Can I come in?”
He stood up. “Yeah. Have a seat,” he said, indicating the chairs in front of his desk.
She was a sight for sore eyes. In her green sundress she looked like a walking meadow and smelled just as sweet.
“This won’t take that long. Hannah Morgan called me,” she said, still standing. “The DNA results are in.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “And?”
“She said there are no surprises. There’s over a ninety-five-percent certainty that Zach is their biological father.”
“Okay.”
“Billy shows a family connection. Which we also knew.”
“Right.”
She took a deep breath. “There’s no possible way, genetically, that you could be their father.”
“So it’s exactly what we expected.”
“Yeah. But that’s not all.” She met his gaze, uncertainty in her eyes. “We’ve got a date in Judge Kellerman’s court for a week from today.”
“Good,” he said, sitting down. “The sooner the better.”
“I’ve lined up character witnesses. I’ll give you the list. Let me know if there’s anyone missing. Anyone you can think of who will testify that you’ve got wings, a halo and can walk on water.”
“That leaves out my staff,” he joked. “And probably anyone I’ve arrested.”
Her mouth curved up, reminding him how sweet her lips had tasted that night under the stars. But the serious look on her face told him she wouldn’t appreciate him sharing the thought. Geez. Enough. He had to concentrate. He couldn’t do that when he was preoccupied with thoughts of kissing his legal representation.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people in town who would be more than happy to stipulate as to your good name. And your positive effect on the girls. Like they said, everyone in Destiny loves their dad. I’ll make sure you get a copy of the list.”
“Okay.” He glanced at the photo of his twins smiling at him from the frame on his desk. He loved those girls more than anything. Only them, until now. He looked at Jensen and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He had to find a way to convince her of how he felt.
She gripped the back of the visitor’s chair so hard her knuckles turned white. “I have the report that the department of social services compiled from their home evaluation.”
“What good will that do?”
“I’m sure Billy’s lawyers did the same. Since he’s living in a rundown motel outside of town…”
“I don’t see how that will help, since he’s planning to move to the ranch when—if—he gets custody.”
“The judge won’t miss the contrast, Grady. She can’t. You’ve spent the last nine years doing a great job of raising these girls. If he can’t provide a good home on his own, she’s going to have to make the connection that he’s a money-grubbing bottom feeder.”
“Is that the correct legal definition?”
“Yo
u bet it is,” she said.
His humor faded. He didn’t believe it would happen. But Jen had warned him about the unpredictability of the situation. He had to be realistic. “What if it’s not enough to cancel out his biological link? After all, he is their uncle. Now we have the proof.”
Her expression was grim. “Thanks to me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. I’ve thought it enough for both of us. I think I’ll go see Jack.”
“No. Let me.” He stood up.
“Okay. His new store must have state-of-the-art technology.” She walked over to the doorway, then turned back. “In the meantime, I’ve got a week to come up with a brilliant strategy. Ten ways to beat a bottom feeder at his own game.”
Grady sensed that everything in his world was riding on this case. He felt Jen’s intensity to win and wondered why. He had no hard evidence, but his gut told him if she lost in court, any chance they might have had together would be lost, too.
Chapter Eleven
Someone shook her shoulder. Jensen sat up, disoriented, heart hammering. She glanced around through sleep-blurred eyes. One look out the window told her it was dark. Where was she?
“Jen? It’s Grady.”
“Oh, gosh,” she said, blinking up at him. Then she took another look around. This was her office, her desk. “I guess I fell asleep. What time is it?”
“Way past time for you to go home.”
She looked at her watch. “Holy moley. Eleven o’clock.”
“Yeah.” Without bothering to take himself around to the visitor side, he leaned a hip against the corner of her desk. The corner that was right inside her personal work space.
Her heart rate, just slowing from the abrupt awakening, kicked up again. Then she remembered why she’d been working late. Tomorrow she had to go into court armed with a rock and a slingshot and convince Goliath he wasn’t untouchable after all.
The problem was a rock and a slingshot didn’t seem to be enough when the opposition had biology going for them and the welfare of two little girls was at stake.
What If We Fall in Love? Page 12