by Leigh Riker
But had Noah been right? Had she tried to tie Rob down, as he’d accused her of doing with Teddie? What if she could leave the ranch? What if she and Teddie actually took a vacation to see some sights, as Willow and Cody had on their honeymoon? She wouldn’t go as far as South Carolina or Florida, but Teddie would have an adventure when the very notion still made her stomach turn. Or, what if she showed him the city Noah loved, even for a weekend like the one she’d spent at her college roommate’s wedding? That hadn’t killed her.
It was a long time before Noah came downstairs. He didn’t meet her eyes as he said, “I’ll call him from New York.”
He didn’t mention Kate. This—not last night—was to be the real goodbye, then.
“I wish...there was another way,” she murmured.
Noah didn’t answer that. He opened the front door.
The wind swept in, tossing his hair and whipping strands of Kate’s hair around her until she couldn’t see. Blindly, she reached out, her hand grazing Noah’s arm. “Have a safe flight tomorrow.” Before she’d taken a single step from Sweetheart Ranch except in her thoughts, she’d already closed off her options with Noah but couldn’t seem to speak.
For another moment, he looked deeply into her eyes. “I wanted you near me,” he said in a low voice she could barely hear, “even when I knew I could never have you for myself.”
Oddly, as she watched him leave, it seemed as if the world was ending all over again.
And it was her fault.
CHAPTER TWENTY
NOAH CRAMMED ANOTHER pile of papers into his briefcase. Swearing silently, he checked his watch. He was running late, as usual. His flight to London would leave within the hour—or as soon as his driver reached Teterboro Airport, where the company jet was ready to go.
“Daphne,” he yelled. “Where’s the new Prentice contract?”
He and Brent had finally managed to bypass Margot’s father and seal the deal for the acquisition of the start-up company, which would be completed while Noah was in the UK. The branch-office launch would happen tomorrow, and his bags—one containing his tux—were waiting in the outer room.
“First thing you packed,” she called back, then appeared in the doorway. “You’ve asked me twice. Change of plan, Noah. You’re not leaving for another half hour. There’s someone here to see you.”
For an instant, Noah hoped his unexpected visitor might be Kate. He’d been by turn humiliated, embarrassed and miserable since he’d left Sweetheart Ranch a week ago. He couldn’t believe he’d put his feelings on the line then or how much he still missed her. And Teddie. Yet she didn’t appear. Instead, his brother walked into the office. “What the— What are you doing here?” Noah asked.
Zach didn’t wait for an invitation before he dropped onto one of the leather chairs in front of Noah’s desk. “Nice seeing you too,” he muttered.
“No, but I mean...you’re supposed to be at the WB.” According to their mother, Zach had returned to the ranch the day after Noah left.
“Maybe I got used to traveling. Ever since Cass and I got home, I’ve had this itch to hit the road again—or, in this case, take to the skies today.”
Noah glanced toward the anteroom, where Daphne sat. He didn’t have time to play guessing games. “Why are you really here, Zach?”
He lifted a finger. “Number one, I wanted to ask you in person. This isn’t much notice, but will you be my best man?”
Was he kidding? They hadn’t said five civil words to each other in recent memory.
“Zach, I—”
“Just say yes. I already talked to your secretary.”
“Administrative assistant.” Daphne loved her title.
“Anyway. She’ll switch things around in your schedule. I’m getting married again.”
Noah had known Zach was engaged. “But you haven’t yet—”
His brother raised his left hand, the one with a new silver band on his fourth finger. “In the Bahamas.”
“You went out of the country?” Noah had envisioned them driving around the US like Willow and Cody. Zach hated flying as much as Kate did, yet it seemed he must have a passport.
“Man, what a place. Once we reached Atlantis, Cass thought it was the most romantic spot she could imagine. So, we got hitched. Right on the beach. At sunset.”
“Mom didn’t know?” She hadn’t told Noah. “She must have had a fit. You actually deprived her of another big wedding?”
“Bigger than Willow’s.” He groaned. “Can you imagine living on the WB another six months while she and Cass planned our event? Mom already told me after Willow’s wedding that she’d pull out even more stops the next time now that she has experience. You weren’t there,” he reminded Noah with an arched eyebrow, “when those two tore the ranch apart. I couldn’t go through that again.”
“Wow,” was all Noah could think to say.
“Yeah. So now, to placate Mom, I’m told we have to have a second ceremony—to make things official, at least in her mind. She promised it will be a small, simple wedding. And reception. I can only hope.”
“Man, I don’t envy you.”
Zach wasn’t smiling. “You don’t? What I hear, you had your chance and blew it.”
“What are you talking about?”
A pair of fingers rose this time. “Number two. Kate Lancaster.”
His pulse thudded. It wasn’t Noah who’d ruined that. “She made her choice—again—and I have none, except to honor her decision.”
“In plain English, how could you let that woman go?”
“It was quite the reverse.” Noah hadn’t talked to anyone about her. He’d spent the past week holed up in this office, working until midnight not to have a pity party at home alone with a bottle of single malt scotch. “I already humbled myself, laid it all out, and you know what she said?” He didn’t wait for Zach to respond. Noah was angry now, another emotion he didn’t need. “‘Have a safe flight.’”
Zach gazed out the wall of windows at Noah’s view of Central Park and the rain. “You let that stand?”
“Don’t lecture me. I’m the oldest, not you.”
“Well, you obviously need a talking to. Cass used to give me a hard time. I gave her one, too, but in the end—” he grinned “—I never thought I could be this happy. You really gave up with Kate? Mom says she’s never seen two people who belong together more—except me and Cass, of course, or Willow and Cody.” The eyebrow lifted again. “She also tells me you’re crazy about Kate’s kid and you’ve wasted enough time. Instant family, my man. Why pass that up?”
“I couldn’t convince her to try, even to take things slow.”
Zach stretched out his legs. “Maybe you didn’t try hard enough. You always did take off whenever things got rough.”
Noah felt heat rise on the back of his neck. “If you mean my leaving the WB years ago, you know why. I wanted a different life, Zach.”
“Sure.” He waved that same hand at Noah’s well-appointed office. “But you also wanted to get away from Dad. Just making my point.”
“I don’t need your point. That’s all history.”
“Is it? That why you rarely come home now, even when he’s not there?”
Noah flinched. “When I was a kid, about Teddie Lancaster’s age, I was intimidated by Dad’s loud voice, his overbearing manner, his constant disapproval, which only got worse over time. He went easy on you because you were younger, but he had all those expectations of me for the WB.”
“I know that. So what? You’re not a kid now.”
“I still remember the night I left...home. He took me into the ranch office, ranted and raved about my ‘betrayal,’ as he put it. I’d never stood up to him before, and I have to say it felt good to hold my ground—until he delivered his ultimatum.” Noah took a breath. “‘Leave now—and you’re no son of mine.’”
“Ouch. Nobody else has forgotten that, either, but that was a long time ago. He still left you your share of the WB,” Zach pointed out.
Noah couldn’t argue with that. Living in New York, working his tail off here to succeed, he’d been surprised by the inheritance he’d eventually received, but he’d never planned to return, certainly not to take over the ranch. Never considered what his father had done, including Noah in his will. It’s time you earned it, Zach had told him.
“I don’t come home because I have a business to run—like you with the WB.”
Zach gazed at his boots. “Yet all you remember is how unhappy you were there. Am I right? I’m grateful you managed the spread while Cass and I were gone and, yeah, you did a good job, but didn’t you feel even a glimmer of satisfaction then?”
“I didn’t...mind it as much as I thought I would, okay?”
“Especially staying next door to Kate, huh?”
“Drop it,” Noah murmured. “Though I suppose that might suit your purpose to have me take over permanently. Maybe Cass misses LA, planning big social events there, and the ranch is too confining for her. Maybe you’d rather live in the city too.”
Zach looked aghast. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Come on. You didn’t mind taking over the WB yourself?”
“Nope. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Surprised, Noah wondered if he’d ever been listening. He glanced at his watch. “I’ve always thought you blamed me for leaving you holding the bag.”
Zach suddenly grinned. “Are you completely nuts? I get up every morning thanking the lord for my good fortune. Cass loves it there too. Frankly, I was glad when you left.”
“Then why—”
“Do I give you such a hard time? One thing, it’s fun.”
Noah hid a faint smile. That was Zach, and this unexpected conversation seemed like old times again between brothers, like that first night before Zach had left the WB to take a vacation—and get married. Noah searched his desk drawer for his favorite pen. He’d use it to sign the Prentice deal tomorrow. Kind of a good luck charm, because for the past week, he’d been expecting that to go sour too. “Knock yourself out,” he said at last.
“Well, I’ve said my piece.” Zach stood. “I’m holding you up, and I’m meeting Cass at the Guggenheim. We’re in New York for a few days before heading back. The drizzle here is a nice change from the snow we’ve had all winter.”
“Part of which you missed. I’m sure there’s more to come.” Noah walked him to the door. “Are we okay, then?”
“Why not?” Which sounded like a foregone conclusion for Zach. “I think I’ve ridden you hard enough for now. Remember what I said, though, about you and Kate. I know she’s a real homebody, but then so was I. Is this fancy office, your title on the door, the luxury apartment Mom told me about, what you really want? I’d even give up the WB for Cass, if that’s what it took to be with her.” In the doorway, he slung an arm around Noah’s neck. “You won’t do better than Kate, you old dog.” He held up more fingers on his free hand. “By the way, and this is number three, I never resented you for leaving the WB.” His voice dropped lower. “I resented you because I’ve missed my big brother.”
Noah swallowed hard. “I’ve missed you, too, Zach.”
“Then hop on that fancy plane of yours, hotshot, and be there—this time—for our wedding.” He laughed. “Guess who’s one of Cass’s bridesmaids?”
* * *
AFTER ZACH LEFT, Noah sank into his desk chair again. Considering their reunion, he wished he could spend time with his brother and Cass while they were in the city, but London was calling. He added a few things to his briefcase, then closed it. In the anteroom, Daphne kept clearing her throat, as if to remind him the car was waiting downstairs. Time to go.
But had Zach been right? Had Noah left the WB years ago merely to make his own way in the world? Or did he always leave whenever things got tough? Even Wilkins had pointed that out.
True, their father had not been an easy man. From the time he was five years old, Noah had been trained to take over the WB, when all along Zach had probably wanted the job. Finally, of course, Noah had rebelled against those expectations, the narrow restrictions placed upon him. All it had taken then was that one explosive argument to create the break that had lasted with his father until he died. Similar to Kate and Rob’s separation, Noah had never been able to work out their relationship.
He did remember those unhappy times at the WB, but lately, even with his dad no longer there, he hadn’t gone home when the rest of his family needed him, Willow’s wedding being the best example.
Were his dad’s ultimatum and Noah’s last words to him all there was to remember? I’ll show you. They’d both displayed hot tempers then, but at other, better times, he’d taken Noah as a kid fishing or camping on the far pastureland with Zach, and the three of them had cooked over a fire, then slept under the stars. His dad, in a sleeping bag between them, had even told his boys ghost stories, terrifying them, then making them laugh at themselves. Despite their longtime rift, his dad’s death had affected Noah deeply, perhaps more than he’d realized until now.
He’d felt a glimmer of that when he talked with Teddie about Rob. About angels.
Noah had never been able to win his father’s approval, and he couldn’t change that. Yes, he’d made a success of himself, and with J&B doing well plus the Prentice acquisition’s promise, the future looked even brighter. And yet...
When he’d left Kansas, determined to prove himself, he hadn’t stopped loving his father. Because of his disapproval during Noah’s boyhood, maybe he’d stopped loving himself.
For years Noah had focused solely on business, yet J&B was only part of life. If not, and that was the same accusation he’d leveled at Kate about Sweetheart Ranch, he would never have let her know how he still felt about her. He wouldn’t have taken to Teddie as he did. He’d missed out on something after all—having a family. He loved that little kid, loved her too.
His next thought felt like a blow to the head. He hadn’t wanted the WB, a life that could have been spent with her and, now, Teddie. Instead, as Zach had said, he’d run off to New York, to his faster-paced lifestyle, to the few women who’d never seemed as right as Kate did for him. No wonder he’d never married, and to be honest, he wasn’t that happy alone. Was it possible his business, like Sweetheart Ranch for her, had been his own safe haven?
Maybe Noah had been hiding out too.
And what if—the notion seemed like a burst of sunshine after another Kansas blizzard—Kate needed him now just as he’d always needed her?
* * *
TEDDIE RACED THROUGH the house again, steps ahead of Meg. This morning, Kate had gone to town, and Meg suspected she’d made her escape to avoid another meltdown from her son. “Hey, sweetie. Hold up.”
Teddie picked up his pace. “I don’t have to do what you say!”
“Oh, yes, you do, young man,” Meg called in her best imitation of Kate’s mom voice. “Stop or I’ll have to send you to your room.”
Teddie’s defiance would have astonished her—he was usually an obedient child, at least with her—but in the week since Noah had left, he’d become a pint-size monster. Worse yet, he could outthink Meg, who often felt out of her depth. He’d been off his kitchen chair and running through the downstairs rooms before she could blink. She wished she’d told Kate no about babysitting today.
“Problem?” Mac had wandered into the room, yawning. He wasn’t an early riser.
Meg gritted her teeth. Since he’d shown up a week ago, she’d been avoiding him as much as possible, not ready to negotiate that closure to their broken marriage. “I guess I wasn’t cut out to be a nanny.” Or, apparently, a mother, another issue she and Mac had never discussed.
He grinned as Teddie sped past again, pieces of the brownie he�
��d been told to eat at the table flying everywhere. “Let me try.”
Meg said, “I doubt you can do better.”
“Watch me.”
She had to hand it to him. Mac was faster than she was, stronger, too, and in another circuit of the main floor, he snagged Teddie with one arm—Meg had long ago stopped being able to carry him—then tickled him until he was giggling so hard the rest of the brownie fell from his mouth.
Meg groaned. Now she’d have to mop the floor. And why was Mac still here? He should have been flying to Paris or Hong Kong by now, wherever his current route might be. She didn’t want to remember their movie night together, the warmth of him next to her if not touching, the laughter they’d shared over the rom-com they’d watched. Her choice, because she’d hoped he wouldn’t last five minutes before leaving the room. Kate, the traitor, hadn’t joined them as a buffer, the role she’d been reluctantly playing since Mac first walked into the house.
“You give?” Mac raised one hand to tickle Teddie again. “If not, I’ll have to call on Mr. Grabby Fingers—and you don’t want him. He’s a fiend at tickling little boys.”
Teddie roared with laughter. “I’m not afraid of Mr. Grabby.” He wriggled to get down. As soon as Mac set him on his feet, Teddie darted off. “Can’t catch me!”
Meg watched him veer off toward the kitchen. “Mac, he’s headed outside.”
They would never catch him then. Teddie had a million hiding places on the ranch, or he might run to the barn to crouch in Spencer’s stall unseen. Since the night he’d run away in the blizzard, he’d been grounded, but at the moment he wasn’t obeying any rules.
If Kate got home and Teddie wasn’t here, she would be terrified, and Meg would be in trouble. She and Kate weren’t exactly best buddies since their quarrel about Noah. And Mac.
