Claiming the Texan's Heart

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  His expression reflected his sympathy. “Only, you proved the opposite.”

  “And cleared everyone else at the foundation in the process.” Adelaide paused. “It was important to me that no one but my dad and his mistress, Mirabelle Fanning, the bank VP who helped engineer the fraud on her end, were blamed.”

  Wyatt approached the windmill again. Durango got significantly closer, but when he tensed, he moved him away again. “Paul never explained anything to you?”

  She sighed. Maybe it was good they were finally discussing this.

  “No.” Although Buttercup was showing no fear, Adelaide turned the mare away, too. Keeping pace, she continued, “It’s probably good that my dad never hinted what he was up to, because if he had, I would have had to turn him in.” Her heart clenched in her chest. “And what happened was hard enough as it was.”

  For once, Wyatt seemed to understand the depth of her loss. “I’m sorry your dad put you through that.”

  Adelaide’s lower lip trembled. Without warning, her throat was clogged with tears. “I’m sorry he put us all through it.”

  Wyatt caught her reins and brought her and the mare in close. “It’s all going to be okay, sweetheart,” he reassured her.

  And in that moment, Adelaide could almost believe it.

  * * *

  “How did the riding go?” Lucille asked when they walked back in several hours later.

  Wyatt looked around, surprised at the difference a family could make. His ranch house had always been comfortable, but it had never been what anyone would call warm and cozy. Now, with Adelaide at his side, blushing prettily from the exertion of their afternoon, Jake and Jenny napping angelically in their travel cribs, his sister Sage in the kitchen, whipping up something that smelled delicious, and his mom in front of her laptop computer, still working on the details for the Welcome to the Family party for Adelaide and the twins, it was downright homey.

  Who would have thought?

  “Our session with the horses was great!” Adelaide went to the kitchen sink to wash up, her dark wavy hair tumbling about her face. “Wyatt got Durango to go all the way up to the windmill and stop. No problem.”

  Sage made a comical face. “And that’s a plus because...?”

  Wyatt had to admit, at the moment, Adelaide did sound like she had it bad. For him. A notion that made him grin.

  Oblivious to the brother-sister teasing, Adelaide enthused, “A good cutting horse has to trust his rider, so he can go where he needs to go and do what he needs to do without even thinking about it. He’s also really got to trust and like his trainer. And even though it’s clear that unlike Buttercup—who’s a cowgirl’s dream—Durango is still a newbie at all this. I swear he would follow Wyatt anywhere.”

  Sage burst out laughing. “Maybe she should do your advertising.”

  Before he could stop himself, Wyatt said, “Or join me in the business.”

  At that, all three women blinked.

  “Adelaide has a profession,” Lucille said.

  “But she’s always wanted a career teaching riding,” Wyatt informed her.

  More stunned looks. “Is this true?” Sage asked.

  “I thought you liked working at the Lockhart Foundation!” Lucille said, hurt.

  In salvage mode, Adelaide swiftly lifted both hands, palms out. “I do.”

  “Then?” Lucille pressed, looking even more distressed.

  “She would like working with me more,” Wyatt insisted, matter-of-fact. Having just had a taste of how great life could be, if they just went back to a simpler time when they’d both been happy, before all the heartache and divisiveness of the last ten years, he turned to Adelaide. Who, to his surprise, was suddenly heading for her phone. Head down, gaze averted. He paused, wondering if he had gotten this all wrong. “Wouldn’t you?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he thought he heard her mutter. She whirled back to face him and his family, the closeness they’d shared during their ride suddenly gone. Gaze serious, she said, “I think we’ve had enough changes.”

  An awkward silence fell.

  Sage perked up. “Speaking of changes, have you seen the latest from the online gossip sites? The stuff that was posted late last night?”

  Adelaide and Wyatt shook their heads.

  Beaming, Lucille tapped on her keyboard. “I’ve got them bookmarked,” she said, then proceeded to pull them up, one after the other.

  The Daily Texas Dish featured a photo of Adelaide and Wyatt kissing outside Sage’s bakery, his two older brothers looking on. It was next to another photo of Adelaide and Wyatt cooing over the twins in the stroller, on the sidewalk outside her home. The headline proclaimed: Infant Twins Have Made the Wyatt Lockhart–Adelaide Smythe Love Match a Family Affair!

  Another from the Dallas Morning Sun gossip page showed Wyatt and Adelaide strolling hand in hand through the Laramie town park, sharing a sidelong glance. The caption proclaimed: As Valentine’s Day Approaches, Is Love in the Air?

  The third was on the website for Personalities! magazine. It showed Adelaide and Wyatt emerging from the bakery, under the banner: Secret Marriage Brings Peace to Texas Family Feud!

  Appearing shaken, Adelaide moved uneasily onto a stool. “I can’t believe we made a national magazine with this.”

  Deciding they both could use a drink after their rigorous outdoor activity, Wyatt went to fix two tall glasses of electrolyte-infused ice water.

  “We made the national news with the embezzlement scandal at the foundation last summer,” he reminded her.

  “I much prefer these headlines,” Lucille retorted happily, getting up to give Adelaide, then Wyatt, then Sage, all reassuring hugs. “And peace between our two families.”

  “It sure beats the stories that were out there a few days ago.” Sage sighed.

  Wyatt nodded. “We all owe Hope a debt of gratitude.”

  “And there were will be a fresh batch of photos posted tomorrow,” Lucille added. “From the activities on the ranch today.”

  “Speaking of which,” Adelaide cut in, “now that we’ve replaced the negative with the positive, do you think we can finally call off Marco Maletti and end the clandestine paparazzo-stalking?”

  Chapter 11

  “I’m all for ending the tabloid stuff, too,” Wyatt admitted after his mother and sister had left.

  With the twins still sleeping, he and Adelaide went up to change out of their horse-riding clothing and shower.

  Not sure how much time they actually had, Adelaide stripped down to her skivvies. “Then why didn’t you back me?”

  Wyatt followed her into the master bathroom. “Because if Hope—a renowned crisis manager—says it’s too soon to stop feeding positive stories and accompanying photos to the press, then it is.” He pulled off his own shirt and jeans. Picking up his electric razor, he ran it over the stubble on his jaw. “Why does it bother you so much?” he asked.

  Adelaide turned on the water in the shower, peeled off her undies and stepped into the masculine-tiled stall. She tipped her hair back, beneath the warm invigorating spray. “I don’t like the idea of someone surreptitiously following us. Photographing...everything. It makes me feel vulnerable and exposed.”

  He opened the glass door and walked in, his gaze roving appreciately over her naked body. Taking her into his arms, he dropped hot, openmouthed kisses along her jaw. “Like this...?”

  A delicious shiver went through her. “Wyatt...”

  He gripped her tighter, his mouth capturing hers. Lower still, she felt the force of his arousal, hot and demanding. A river of need swept through her. Hands sliding down her back to her hips, he urged her back against the wall and nudged her legs apart with his knee.

  He kissed her again, one hand skimming a nipple, the other moving between her thighs. Drawing her into a sweet and pleasing current of desire, maki
ng her as wild for him as he was for her. Helplessly, she lifted herself against him. Wanting, needing. Trying to...then unable to...wait.

  He held her until the aftershocks passed, then left her just long enough to roll on a condom. Stepping back into the shower, he lifted her so her legs were wrapped around his waist. Thrilled by the raw, primal need she saw on his face, she sank onto him, cresting together through wave after wave of seductive pleasure.

  Wyatt knew Adelaide was wary of the future, as well as the here and now. He also knew this was the one thing—the only thing—that would make her feel better. And if it helped him, too, he thought as a sigh rippled through her, and then a moan, if it helped them get even closer, then so much the better.

  He kissed her softly and tenderly, sliding into and out of her, possessing her rough and hard. Until she peaked again, exquisitely and erotically, and this time he came with her.

  * * *

  Afterward, with the babies still quiet, Adelaide wrapped herself in her cozy white terry-cloth robe. Emotions awhirl, she went to the suitcase containing her clothes.

  He stopped drying his hair with a towel and ambled closer. “I can make room in my closet for you, you know.”

  His scent—all warm, sexy man—sent another thrill thrumming through her. “That’s okay.”

  His smoky blue eyes leveled her. “Don’t want to get too comfortable here?”

  She rose, undergarments in hand, determined to be practical, even if he wouldn’t be. “More like I don’t want to overstep my bounds. Become even more intrusive to your living space than the twins and I already are.”

  “Hey.” He caught her arm and reeled her back to his side. “Why so formal, sweetheart? I thought we had a good time this afternoon.”

  She smiled. “We did.” Heaven help them, they did. In fact, if nothing stood in their way, they’d be making love again right now.

  He let her go and rocked back on his heels, still searching her face. “Then...?” he prodded relentlessly.

  “What? Are you sorry we made love again? Regretting we moved in together...?” His frown deepened in consternation.

  Now he was definitely unhappy.

  Adelaide swallowed. “No. Of course not. It’s just...” Ignoring the way his gaze scanned the vee of her robe, she pulled the bodice modestly closer, angled her chin and tried again. “You and I have made a lot of changes really quickly.”

  In under two weeks, they had gone from finding out they were not actually divorced, to discovering they had twins, to moving in together, albeit temporarily.

  “Because we had to,” he countered, all implacable male. “What I want to know is why you’re suddenly running so hot and cold again. Having fun with me, wanting to make love with me one minute, putting up all the barriers the next.”

  Exasperated, Adelaide ran her hands through her hair. “I’m unnerved because we’re doing what we always do. Getting way, way ahead of ourselves!”

  Wyatt gathered her in his arms. “No,” he countered gruffly, “we’re catching up.”

  Head lowering, he delivered another smoldering kiss.

  “You see,” she said breathlessly, throwing up her arms and pulling away. “There you go. Seducing me into being reckless again.” Making me feel really, truly married to you. Instead of in the process of consciously uncoupling.

  He shrugged affably. “What’s wrong with that?”

  Not about to reveal how vulnerable she felt, or how tempted she was to do as he had suggested earlier, and at least go back to teaching riding lessons part-time, while still continuing her work as CFO for the Lockhart Foundation, she folded her arms in front of her. “I like to think things through first.” Not just react emotionally.

  He dropped his towel and tugged on a pair of snug black boxer briefs. “Mulling over anything is overrated.”

  She tore her eyes from his lower half. “Says you.”

  He pulled a T-shirt over his head. “I like to go with my gut.”

  She turned away to slip on panties under her robe. “Well, when I go with my first instinct, and let myself be impulsive, I usually make the wrong decision.” She slipped into the bathroom to put on her bra and camisole.

  “Like...?”

  Walking back out into the room, she looked him in the eye. “Agreeing to elope with you.”

  He sat on the edge of the bed. “Why did you do that, anyway? And then run away?”

  Wyatt had never asked anything about that, never wanted to understand. From his vantage point, things were just the way they were. So Adelaide knew even wanting to talk about it was a big step for him. Just as her making love with him, after he had said they were either all in or all out of a physical relationship for the duration, was a big step for her.

  So she took a leap of faith, too. She sat next to him on the edge of the bed, and told him what was in her heart, too. “I wanted to be with you, Wyatt. Really, really bad. I just wasn’t ready for marriage when we set off for Vegas, and—” she was ashamed to say “—I knew it.”

  He craned his neck and asked softly, “Then why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Because it was still what you wanted. And what the reckless part of me wanted. But the more logical part knew it was a mistake.”

  “So you bolted.”

  They sat in tense silence.

  Finally she looked into his eyes and asked the question that had haunted her. “Why were you so insistent we get married as soon as we both turned eighteen? Why were you in such a hurry for us both to grow up?”

  “Because I didn’t want the future my parents were trying to push on me. And the only time I felt good about myself, or really happy, was when I was with you.”

  Same here.

  He grimaced, recalling that tumultuous time. “I was afraid if you went off to college, and I didn’t, you would leave me behind.”

  “But you did go to A&M.”

  “Only for two years. And I pretty much flunked everything but the ranching and equestrian courses.”

  She waved off the defeat. “Only because you weren’t interested in the other stuff. You were bright enough to ace any course.”

  Falling silent, he pulled on the rest of his clothes.

  “Is that why you spent your summers working rodeos as a pick-up rider?” she persisted, pulling on a pair of black yoga pants and a long-sleeved red T-shirt.

  He gathered up their soiled riding clothes and tossed them into the hamper. “How do you know about that?”

  “You and I might not have had a word to say to each other, and been very good at managing not to run into each other, but I knew what was going on with you. Through Sage and your mom.”

  His lips curved wryly. “They made sure I knew what was happening with you, too.”

  But had he been interested to hear? His expression gave no clue. Telling herself she had no reason to be disappointed if he hadn’t been, Adelaide grabbed the hamper of baby laundry. They headed downstairs.

  While she added clothes to the washer, he lounged nearby. “Is my lack of college degree why you wouldn’t want to go into business with me, teaching riding and training horses?” he asked as they entered the laundry area off the kitchen. “’Cause I thought we had a good time out there today. I thought you were finally having a taste of your dream career.”

  “Well, it’s either that or your atrocious handwriting,” she joked.

  Not funny. Okay. Adelaide sobered. “You’re right. I loved training the horses. But I can’t make a life-altering decision like that on a whim. Because whenever I impulsively do something like deciding to buy the cottage in town...”

  He picked up a stray bootie, their fingers brushing as he handed it to her. “Hey, that’s a nice cozy house. Conveniently close to work, like you said.”

  Adelaide added soap and turned on the machine. “Yes, and I knew in the logical part of
my brain that it was never going to be big enough for me and the twins unless I renovated it.”

  He shrugged. “You thought you could wait on that.”

  “And now that the twins are starting to sleep better because we figured out they need to be able to see each other to feel secure, I realize I could have waited a couple years to do the renovation, like I originally planned. But instead I was so anxious to get everything settled and comfy and right...”

  Clearly intrigued, he met her gaze. “Just the way you are here?”

  Back to that. “Keeping my clothes in a suitcase reminds me that this agreement we have to live together, for the sake of our kids, is only temporary.”

  And she needed to be reminded, lest she do something really foolish, like fall head over heels in love with him, all over again.

  “What if it isn’t?” Wyatt asked quietly, coming closer yet. He cupped her face in his big hand. “What if you and I like being together, taking care of the kids together, making love together?” His voice dropped a husky notch. “What then?”

  It would have been easy to say they should forget the divorce and stay together if it had been months, rather than mere days, that they had been bunking together.

  But that simply wasn’t the case.

  Determined not to hurt him, Adelaide chose her words carefully. “It is great things are working out better than we could have envisioned at the outset.”

  He lifted a speculative brow. “But...?”

  Trying not to think what his low, gruff voice did to rev up her insides, she said, “We’re still in the honeymoon period. Immersed in the wonder of being together again in a way we never thought was going to be possible, and of having kids.”

  He slanted her an annoyed look. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  She lifted her palm. “I’m saying it’s why we have to continue to be cautious. Whether we stay together as lovers for the long run is not as important as the fact that we’re going to be the twins’ parents for life.” She paused to let her words sink in. “We have to make sure we can make that part of our relationship work ad infinitum before we even consider changing anything else.”