by Nash, Willa
“I’m an amateur compared to my mom. She’s the real cook in the family. There were always lots of mouths to feed at our house.”
“Oh? Do you have a lot of siblings?”
“An older brother and a younger sister. But my entire family is from Calamity. Aunts and uncles on both sides. Our house always seemed to be the center of the action. Mom would cook for us and whichever cousins were over to play.”
“That sounds entirely different than my childhood.”
“You’re an only child, right?”
I nodded. “Yes, and though they’d never call me an accident, I don’t think my parents had ever intended to have kids. I was the result of a week in Paris and a lot of wine. My mom couldn’t make soup from scratch to save her life. Not that she’d try. I love her dearly, but she’s always known her limitations.”
“Gabriel told me she traveled a lot.”
“If she’s home for two weeks out of the month, it’s a lot. Mom is accustomed to a lifestyle of ultimate freedom—from work and money. Grandpa would have given her a job if she’d wanted one, but she doesn’t need to work. Dad is the same. His family comes from money too.”
“And what did you do while they traveled the world? Did you go with them?” she asked.
“Sometimes. Mostly, I stayed home in the hands of their capable staff. And I spent a lot of time with Grandpa. He’d come and rescue me. Take me to dinner. Invite me to his place to spend the night. On the weekends when he went into his office, he’d bring me along. I’d sit at his desk and he’d give me projects, so it felt like I was working too.”
She smiled. “Is that why you followed in his footsteps instead of your parents’?”
“I suppose. I went to Harvard because that was his alma mater. I went to work for his company after I graduated.”
He’d been my hero.
Once.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, changing the subject. “Are you sick?”
“I feel fine.” Her gaze darted past me to the windows. “A little guilty for being trapped here and leaving the gym to my mom to run. Plus I stole her car. But it’s not like I’ve got options. I’ve never seen this much snow. According to the news, it’s a record.”
“When did it stop?”
“Not that long ago. A few hours. And we’re supposed to get more tonight. When I talked to Mom this morning, she said that the plows are having a hard time keeping up.”
Their misfortune was my luck because the idea of being trapped with her for a few more days was the best I’d heard in weeks.
“Since you’re stuck with me, you might as well put me to work,” she said. “I’m happy to help you clean out Gabriel’s things.”
“What if I wanted to avoid it for another day?”
“That would be fine too.”
“Feel like another movie?”
Work was waiting and while I couldn’t unbury myself from the snow, I should tackle a hundred emails. But at the moment, all I wanted to do was curl up on a couch beside Kerrigan and relax.
Which was exactly what we did. The two of us finished our soup and retreated to the theater room. We watched a movie until dark, then retreated to the kitchen for a dinner of pasta shells and salad that had been provided by the club.
“How are you feeling?” I asked as we stood side by side at the sink, doing dishes.
She smirked. “I should be asking you that question.”
“I’m good.” Spending the day with her had been rejuvenating. Unplugging, just being in her company . . . it was like I hadn’t been sick at all. “I was thinking about jumping in the hot tub. What do you think?”
“Oh, I don’t have a suit.”
Naked. Naked was definitely an option.
“But you go ahead,” she said.
There was probably a suit around here, but only one woman would have left a bikini behind, and I didn’t want Kerrigan in her clothes.
“Or . . . you could just wear your underwear,” I suggested.
Her eyes snapped up to mine and the swirl of lust was unmistakable. Those beautiful brown eyes drifted to my mouth, and I was done.
I captured her lips, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into my chest.
Kerrigan gasped and her hands came to my shoulders, holding on as I dragged my tongue over that goddamn perfect mouth. She parted for me and I dove inside, my tongue tangling with hers.
God, she tasted good. Better than I remembered.
We melted into each other. She clung to me as I tightened my hold. Whatever I recalled from the kiss I’d given her at the motel was insignificant compared to this.
This kiss was the best of my damn life. Until the next. And the next. Something about this woman made me feel that it would only get better. Kiss after kiss, she’d put the past to shame.
She sank into my arms as I nipped at her full lower lip, taking it between my teeth. A whimper escaped her throat and that sound shot straight to my groin.
With a tilt of my hips, I pressed my arousal into her belly, earning another startled, sexy gasp.
“Pierce,” she whispered, pulling back a fraction of an inch.
“Don’t say stop.” My chest heaved as I brought my hands to her hair, threading my fingers into those silky locks. Then I met those eyes of hers, the enchanting brown orbs that had drawn me into her spell.
She swallowed hard. “You’re sick.”
“Were.” One afternoon and evening with her and I felt like a new man.
“Maybe we should just . . . slow down.”
I groaned and dropped my forehead to hers. She was right. If we kept going, I’d fuck her on the kitchen island and that was not what I wanted. Not with her.
“How about that hot tub?” she asked, sliding free of my hold.
I nodded. “I’ll meet you out there.”
First, I needed a moment to get myself under control.
Her eyes flicked to my sweats and the corner of her mouth turned up when she saw the obvious bulge. The smirk widened as she slipped past me, her cheeks a beautiful shade of pink that matched her swollen lips. Then she disappeared from the kitchen and I closed my eyes, dragging a hand over my face.
God, this was stupid. This was probably the most foolish thing to do tonight. I wasn’t in a position to have any sort of relationship, but Kerrigan was so damn tempting.
And tonight, I wasn’t strong enough to resist.
We had no future.
I’d have to explain that to her.
Later.
I left the kitchen and strode down the hallway to my room, where I traded out my sweats for a pair of board shorts. Then I hurried to the patio door. One blast of the winter air and goose bumps pebbled my skin.
I clenched my jaw, swiped the shovel that was propped up against an exterior wall and went to work clearing a footpath to the hot tub. Thankfully, the overhang of the roof protected most of this area from the storm but the wind had still blown in a fair amount of snow.
The hot tub itself was sunken into the concrete slab. I brushed off some of the snow on its cover, then hit the button on the wall to open it up and start the jets. The warm water was nearly too hot for my frozen feet.
The moment my shoulders dipped below the steaming surface, the sliding door to the house opened and Kerrigan stepped outside, her arms wrapped around her waist. Her arms only accentuated the delicious swell of her breasts.
Oh, fuck me. “Those are your underwear?”
Her bra was a nude lace that gave the illusion she wasn’t wearing a thing. Her matching panties barely covered her ass. I’d seen her in skintight leggings before but they’d hidden the smooth, toned skin of her long legs. One look and I was hard.
She smiled as she stepped into the tub, sinking beneath the water. “What were you expecting? Granny panties?”
“I think you’d best stay on that side of the tub,” I said, moving to the corner farthest from hers.
She giggled. “Probably a good idea.”
The
conversation I’d planned to have later—much later—couldn’t wait. I didn’t trust myself around her in those panties and bra. If she gave me even the slightest opening, I’d take it.
And before that happened, she needed to know there was a line in the sand I couldn’t cross.
“About earlier, Kerr. The kiss.”
She relaxed against the wall of the tub. Steam snaked around her face, and for a moment I forgot what I was supposed to say. “The kiss?”
Right. “I’m not in a place to have a relationship. Probably something I should have told you before I kissed you.”
There was a flash of disappointment in her eyes but she forced a smile. “It’s okay. Now that we’ll have a business relationship, it’s better to keep this professional.”
I fucking hated professional.
But she was right.
I also fucking hated that she was right.
Kerrigan turned her attention beyond the patio’s overhang. Snow began to fall in tiny specks, dotting the black night.
I sank deeper into the water, enjoying the contrast of its warmth on my body to the frigid air that nipped at my ears.
“It’s peaceful here,” Kerrigan said.
“It is.” I tore my eyes away from her and into the darkness beyond the house. “I was thinking of getting a place like this in the mountains outside Denver.”
“You don’t want to keep this place?”
I shook my head. “This cabin was his. Maybe he’d hoped that I’d keep it. Maybe that’s the reason he had these requests in his will. But Montana isn’t mine. It was his.”
“It’s a big state, Pierce.”
I loved hearing my name in her sweet voice. “I used to spend time here.”
“At this house?”
I nodded. “Grandpa loved it here because it was separate from Colorado. All of his friends have mansions in Aspen and the pretentious ski resorts within driving distance of Denver. But he chose Montana and loved having us come to visit.”
“Us?”
“Me and my wife.”
Her eyes widened. “I, um . . . you’re married?”
“Ex-wife.”
A flash of relief crossed her expression. “I didn’t realize you were married. Gabriel never told me.”
I huffed. He’d told her how many things, but he’d left Heidi out of the equation? “We divorced in March. She was from Montana.”
“There was a photo in the garbage can.” She scrunched up her nose. “I didn’t mean to snoop, but I saw it the other night and thought it might have been tossed out on accident.”
“Not an accident. I threw it out.”
“That was her? Your ex?”
I nodded. “After he bought this place, she spent a lot of time up here. She’d come here because, for her, it was like coming home.”
And I’d been the idiot to believe her. To trust her.
“Heidi grew up in Bozeman and we met at Harvard. She talked about growing up here often.”
“Is that why Gabriel chose to buy here? Because of her stories?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” I sighed. “It’s hard for me to guess what exactly he was thinking. I’ve spent months and months analyzing the past. Trying to make sense of him. Why he did the things he did. Now that he’s gone, I doubt I’ll ever understand.”
I cast my eyes to the water. The turmoil of the surface was a mirror of how I’d felt all these months.
“Understand what?” Kerrigan asked.
All this time, I’d protected Grandpa’s image by keeping his secret. Not for him. For her. “I don’t want to tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to ruin his memory for you.”
“Will it?”
I nodded.
She took a moment, thinking it over. Then she whispered, “Tell me anyway.”
“Grandpa used to bring Heidi here. Often.”
Maybe it had started off as an innocent vacation. Maybe he’d wanted Heidi from the beginning. Maybe he’d loved her, like he’d promised.
Maybe he’d just wanted something and he’d taken it, even if that had meant taking it from me.
When I met Kerrigan’s gaze, she was already putting the pieces together. But I wouldn’t make her guess. “They were having an affair.”
Chapter Ten
Kerrigan
My jaw dropped so low that a splash of hot tub water landed in my mouth. “He had an affair. With. Your. Wife?”
Pierce nodded. “Yes.”
“But . . .” I couldn’t even put this together. I couldn’t even fathom Gabriel doing this.
He’d loved Pierce. There was no mistaking it. For years he’d told me about his incredible and bright grandson. How could he have slept with Pierce’s wife? That type of betrayal was simply . . . impossible.
No. There had to be a mistake.
“He wasn’t the saint you made him out to be,” Pierce said. “Or . . . he wasn’t the man he made you see.”
“I just . . . I’m sorry.” Oh my God. “I’m so sorry. I-I had no idea.”
“No one did.”
Gabriel, how could you?
I didn’t doubt Pierce. There was too much raw emotion etched on his handsome face. Confiding this in me hadn’t been easy. For a man like him, confident and in control, it was probably like admitting weakness.
Except this was on Gabriel.
For the second time since I’d come here, I thought back to the moments I’d had with Pierce. I replayed them and saw them in an entirely new light. No wonder he’d been so harsh with me. He’d thought I was sleeping with Gabriel, just like his wife. No wonder he’d been so angry at his grandfather.
“How long?” I asked but before he could answer, I held up a hand. “No, wait. You don’t owe me any answers. It’s not my business.”
Pierce’s eyes softened. “If I didn’t want to tell you, I wouldn’t have. I’m not exactly sure. According to Heidi, it had only been going on for six months.”
“But you don’t believe her.”
“No.” He sighed. “She’d been coming to Montana for a few years. Most trips alone. Most trips I learned later had been timed when he’d been here too. Maybe it really was nothing. I never pressed for details.”
I wouldn’t have either. Some people might want every tidbit of information to ease the sting or make sense of it, but in that position, I wouldn’t want to know a damn thing.
The affair was enough.
Opening my mouth, I was ready to release a string of questions, but I stopped myself.
“What?” Pierce asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“Go ahead, Kerr.”
I really liked that he’d started calling me Kerr. Couldn’t we rewind the last hour? Go back to the kiss in the kitchen and forget this madness with Gabriel and Heidi? Except it was out there now and I couldn’t think about anything else.
I mean . . . what the hell? This was daytime soap opera material.
Pierce shifted, leaning deeper into the side of the hot tub. Then he stretched those roped and sculpted arms along the back as he reclined in the water, tipping his head to the ceiling. “I haven’t talked about it much.”
“I don’t blame you for that.”
“But maybe I should.”
I sat perfectly still, waiting. If he wanted to talk about it, I’d listen. If he didn’t, that was okay too. Even though it felt like I’d known him for years, we were just getting to know one another.
“He always kept in shape,” Pierce said. “He was always with younger women. I didn’t think anything of it. That was how he was my entire life. Why would I ever worry that my own grandpa would be a threat?”
“Or that your wife would cheat on you.” At this point, I was livid with them both.
Pierce scoffed. “Exactly.”
“Can I ask . . . how old is she?”
“Thirty-one.” The same age as he was.
“So that’s . . .” I started doing the math in m
y head. Gabriel had been in his sixties when we’d met and that had been nearly ten years ago.
“He had my mom young. My mom had me young. He was seventy-five when he died.”
Seventy-five and thirty-one. My head was spinning.
Gabriel had always been a handsome man, the definition of a silver fox. He’d looked much younger than a typical seventy-five-year-old man. But a forty-something-year age difference? It would have bothered me even if the woman involved hadn’t been his grandson’s wife.
How could Gabriel do this? That was not the man I knew. He’d always acted with such integrity, but maybe Pierce was right. Maybe I’d put him on a pedestal. Or maybe he’d let me.
Maybe both.
“I caught them,” Pierce said.
There went my jaw dropping again. “No.”
“In my own house, if you believe it. The cliches in this twisted scenario are endless. But I came home early from work one day. Heidi and I . . . we’d been having problems.”
“Like the fact that she was sleeping with your grandfather?”
“To name one of many.” Pierce chuckled. “We’d been talking about a divorce. It wasn’t like our marriage was perfect, and that was on us both. But I never would have cheated.”
“So you caught them.”
“In my own fucking bed.” He shook his head. “Took me a minute to even realize what I was seeing.”
No wonder he hated Gabriel. Coming home to talk to your estranged wife only to find your grandfather in your bed . . .
“She says she didn’t mean to fall in love with him. Whatever the hell that means.”
“Do you think she loved him?”
Pierce ran a palm over his beard as he considered my question. “At first, I thought she was just saying it. Making an excuse.”
“And now?”
“I think maybe she did love him. After the divorce, they stayed together.”
Had that picture I’d found been taken by Gabriel? Heidi had looked so happy. A woman at ease with her companion, enjoying a vacation. “Do you think he loved her?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “He never loved his girlfriends. Told me that with each one it was casual. He’d admit that he liked having a pretty face in his bed. But after I caught them, he didn’t call it off. He knew I was furious. He knew I wouldn’t speak to him again. But he stayed with her regardless. That doesn’t say casual to me.”
