Heartsong (Singing to the Heart Book 2)

by Sara Walter Ellwood

  God, she told him she loved him. Her admission sent a shiver through him and had his heart singing of the possible future with the woman still soundly asleep in his rumpled bed.

  The ringing of the doorbell jerked him out of his daydream of a life with Michaela.

  “What the fuck?” He tossed the empty water bottle into the trash compactor and headed out to the door to murder whoever thought it wise to show up at his house at six a.m. Throwing opened the door, he didn’t care he was wearing a pair of gym shorts and nothing else. “Gary, this had better be--”

  But it wasn’t Gary on the other side of the door. Lydia Greenhow stood on the porch, holding a bundle covered in a pink blanket. That’s right; she’d said she had a baby when he’d seen her in Cheyenne. But what was she doing here? She ran her gaze over his body and an appreciative smile touched her red-painted lips. The sight made him wish for a full set of clothes.

  “You need to leave before I call the cops.” He made to shut the door, but she stepped through before he had the chance.

  “Where’s the wifey?” When he didn’t justify the question with an answer, she looked around his great room with widened eyes, then clucked her tongue. “So, this is how the other half lives? Wow…”

  He crossed his arms over his bare chest and glared at her. She had some awesome balls to show up at his home. How the hell did she find his address? As far as he knew, he paid Gary a handsome fee to keep such personal information from making it into the public Internet cesspool. “How did you find my address? Screw that. How the hell did you get on the property?”

  She shrugged, shifted the baby in her arms, and walked into the living room. “A friend of a friend. You know.”

  He didn’t know, but he would talk to the community management about this invasion.

  Stopping at the leather couch, she touched the arm and smiled at him. “Nice. I knew you’d have good taste.”

  Except when it came to picking up annoying groupies. God, what had he seen in her? Dressed as she was this morning in a short black leather miniskirt, a short, fake fur jacket over a low-cut, tight shirt, and high-heeled boots, she looked more like a hooker than a dancer. “What do you want?”

  She sat on the couch and faced him, making herself at home, which pissed him off all the more. The baby made a mewling sound as if she was waking up. “I got to thinking after we met in Cheyenne and news came out that you married your pregnant girlfriend--”

  “My wife is not pregnant.” He cut her off, hating the tabloid rumor still making rounds. “You need to leave, or I’ll throw you out.”

  When her smile turned calculating and she shifted the bundle in her arms to face him, the baby looked up at him with dark brown eyes. Lydia pulled the pink blanket away from her head, revealing a tuft of brown hair. As the only possible reason for her to show up on his doorstep with a baby dawned on him, his heart fell into his stomach. “I don’t think you’ll do that after you meet your daughter.” She nuzzled the baby’s dark hair but never took those gleaming, triumphant blue eyes from his. “Natasha, meet your very rich daddy.”

  Chapter 15

  The sound of the doorbell awakened Micki from a sound sleep. Gabe’s side of the bed was empty. The sheets held his residual heat, and she stretched into it, relishing the memories the slide of the soft, warm sheets on her naked body conjured. She ached in places she hadn’t in years. Damn, she’d forgotten what sex with Gabe was like.

  Gabe’s lovemaking wasn’t all she recalled. Her heart beat faster as his words of love rushed over her. He wanted a future with her, and she admitted she loved him. Had she forgiven him? Maybe she had enough to believe they could build a life together.

  She had to finally admit she’d missed him. This past week had been interesting and fun. After the first day, she made herself at home in his house. She loved the layout and clean design of the place, and she could see herself and Jesse living here at least a few weeks out of the year. Home would always be the Lazy M, but she liked what she’d seen of Nashville.

  What would life with him be like? Last night had been a taste of his fame. She didn’t like being in the limelight. The red carpet was a nightmare of gargantuan proportions, but Gabe moved them through the reporters, photographers, and fashion commentators’ nosy questions as quickly as humanly possible. If she hadn’t been so grateful, she may have believed he was embarrassed of her, but she knew that wasn’t the case. He respected her dislike of such invasions of her privacy.

  She had to pee but didn’t want to get up. Curling around Gabe’s pillow, she buried her face into the soft down, closed her eyes, and breathed in his scent. She’d forgotten how much she loved his spicy sandalwood fragrance. The idea of waking up every morning with him sent a tingle through her.

  When she heard voices downstairs, she glanced at Gabe’s phone where it was docked in a charging station, which was also an alarm clock, on his bedside table. Twenty minutes after six. Who would show up this early? Hopefully whoever it was would soon leave so Gabe could come back to bed.

  Back home on the ranch, she never slept in this late. Although he’d worn her out, she wanted another round of lovemaking with him the moment he returned. She could think of a few things she’d like to do to her very sexy husband.

  “I don’t fucking believe you.” Gabe’s raised voice startled her out of her morning after fantasy.

  She sat up and listened. Who was he talking to? Gary? Trish? They were the only logical conclusions.

  “Fine, don’t believe me, but I can make things really interesting for you and that new wife of yours,” said a female voice Micki didn’t recognize. “I wonder what the press would make of my story.”

  When someone brought up the press that usually was a sign whatever they were saying wasn’t good. God, that was the last thing she and Gabe wanted.

  Micki got out of bed and grabbed her old, terrycloth robe from a rack of hooks inside Gabe’s massive closet. As she headed out of the room, she tied the belt and finger combed her hair. She hoped she wasn’t spotted on the mezzanine overlooking the great room.

  The cry of a baby brought her up short and froze her to the corner of the bedroom in the hallway. She stared over the wrought iron railing at the edge of the mezzanine and held her breath. A woman dressed in a super short black miniskirt, fur jacket, and high-heeled boots held a crying baby wrapped in a pink blanket. She stood next to the couch, bouncing the child as she held her to her shoulder and cooed to soothe her.

  Micki recognized the blonde immediately from the tabloid and Internet articles she’d read featuring the stripper with Gabe. He must have seen Micki move as she covered her mouth at the top of the stairs, or otherwise sensed her, because he looked up at her. His face was stained red and his eyes dangerously dark. Lydia Greenhow followed the movement of his gaze and turned to glare in her direction.

  Lydia’s lips twisted into a smug smile. “Well, don’t you look like you’ve been ridden hard and put away wet? I do know how that feels. Imagine my shock sixteen months ago when I discovered I was pregnant a few weeks after the best sex I’d ever had.”

  Gabe’s face contorted into a frightful sneer, and he grabbed the woman’s free arm. “I want you to get the fuck out. Now.”

  Like in a dream, Micki descended the stairs. Her heart clinched painfully in her chest. Dear God, was that baby really Gabe’s? The little girl’s big brown eyes, red-rimmed from her tears, stared at Micki over her mother’s shoulder. Her chubby cheeks were wet and splotched with pink. She looked healthy as she sucked on her thumb. Micki’s heart ached at the thought of Gabe having a baby with another woman. Although she was jealous, mostly sorrow filled her.

  She knew how it felt to be rejected by her father.

  He propelled Lydia toward the door. In the entry, she jerked out of his grip and glanced at Micki. “I don’t have anywhere to go. My mother tossed me out on my ass and I used all the money I had to get to Nashville.”

  “Do I look like
I care?” Gabe clenched his fists. “I don’t believe for a moment that baby is mine. I know I wasn’t the only man you fucked, and just because the timing might be right doesn’t make it so. My guess is you’re broke and decided to see how much you can get from me.”

  “Gabe.” Micki rested a shaking hand on his arm. “You can’t send her and a baby out into the cold.”

  He glanced at her and some of the anger drained from his face. After he took a deep breath, he ran his hand into his already mussed hair. “Okay.” He went over to the table by the door and pulled out a drawer. When he turned, he held a business card out to Lydia. “Take this to the Motel 6 by the interstate and give it to the front desk. Tell them to call the number on the back to arrange for payment.”

  Lydia narrowed her eyes on the card. “Right. Like the clerk would believe me.”

  “I’m calling to let them know you’re on your way.”

  Lydia took the card and glanced at it. “You know, you haven’t heard the last of me.”

  She reached for the door, but Gabe stepped in front of her and glared down at her. “Later today my lawyer will call you. He will arrange to take you to the hospital.”

  Micki was as puzzled as Lydia looked.

  “Before I give you a cent more, I want a paternity test.” Then he smiled, but the sight caused Micki to shiver. “If the kid is mine, you will sign her over to me and my wife.”

  “I will do no such thing.” Lydia’s face drained of color and she held the baby closer to her.

  He ignored her. “Then I’ll pay you a million dollars to get the hell out of my life. If by some chance any of this gets into the press before the bank transfer, the money stays right where it is. Understood?”

  Micki shuddered at the coldness, not only Gabe’s expression, but in his tone. A horrible thought occurred to her as she remembered his words to her after church on the day they announced their engagement.

  “If you hadn’t miscarried, the moment I found out you were pregnant I would’ve been back. You may have broken off our engagement, but I would have been a father to my baby.”

  She stared at Gabe, fear and anger tumbling through her, freezing her blood. Would he have treated her this way if she hadn’t miscarried their baby?

  Lydia looked as afraid as Micki felt at that moment, but she shrugged the shoulder not supporting her baby and pasted on a wan smile that never reached her eyes. “Fine, but if you want me to be quiet, you’d better make it two million, and I’ll need fifty grand of it now.”

  He snorted and shook his head. “I’ll pay for your hotel and make sure you don’t go hungry, but I won’t give you a dime until I know for sure the kid is mine. Trust me, if you tell your tale to the press and the baby is mine, you get nothing and I’ll fight you for the baby.” Reaching behind him, he opened the door and moved out of Lydia’s path. “The choice is yours, but I think I know what it will be. Now get out.”

  Gabe closed the door with a bang that made Micki jump. “Fuck! Like I need this bullshit.” He stabbed all of his fingers into his hair and gave the dark mess a tug.

  Micki wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. In a way, she understood Gabe’s behavior toward the baby until he learned her paternity, but his coldness toward the baby made her angry. He didn’t even seem to acknowledge the little girl.

  “Is this how you would’ve treated me if I hadn’t lost our baby?” She couldn’t believe she asked the question.

  He let go of his hair and turned to face her. “What are you talking about?”

  She shook her head and moved toward the kitchen. “Nothing. Go make the phone call to the hotel before Lydia gets there.”

  Several moments later, Gabe’s footsteps brushed along the Italian tile floor as he entered the kitchen. She stared out the French doors at the rain splashing off the pool cover as she sipped a cup of coffee she’d brewed with his Keurig. When he stopped behind her, she took a deep breath and turned. He was barefoot and still dressed only in a pair of loose shorts. Dark curls outlined his toned pectorals and defined his six-pack. With his hair mussed and the dark beard stubble clinging to his jaw, he was gorgeous.

  “Michaela, I’m so sorry about this morning.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and his gaze slid from hers. “Hell, I’m sorry about ever setting eyes on her.”

  He moved toward her and reached for her, but she sidestepped away from him. She met his furrowed gaze and set the mostly full cup of coffee on the bar. “I can’t say I’m happy about this. Damn, you having a child with her will make our case for Jesse all the more complicated.”

  “I’ve already called Reese. He’s working on making this go away.”

  His words sliced through her. “Go away? Gabe, that baby could be yours.”

  “Yes, she could be. But she could as easily not be.” He headed toward the coffee maker. After disposing of her used K-cup, he popped in a fresh one. A moment later, the sound of steam escaping and the pungent scent of coffee filled the air. “She’s a gold digger. And the last thing I want is for her to damage our chances to adopt Jesse.”

  She thought about the young man she’d fallen in love with, before fame and fortune jaded him. “Gabe, you would have thrown her out of here into an icy rain without even caring if she had a place to stay if I hadn’t stepped in. That scares me.”

  He took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. “I wasn’t thinking.” He took a step toward her and reached for her again. This time she let him touch her. He held her shoulders. His golden-brown eyes filling with--fear? “Michaela, I was afraid of what her having my kid would do regarding Jesse and of what you’d do when you found out. I can’t lose you. Not now that we’re together.”

  He enveloped her into his hug, but she didn’t embrace him back. She had to untangle her emotions. What kind of complication would this would bring to their adoption case? How many more women were out there who would show up on his doorstep claiming their kid belonged to Gabe? But the feeling clogging her heart the most was the fear that if things didn’t work out between them, he would simply take Jesse away from her.

  She had no illusions about their marriage. He’d told her once before he’d loved her but left with another woman to make his dreams come true. It was only a matter of time before he abandoned her again. Only this time, Jesse was also at stake, not just her heart.

  She backed away and shook her head, her sinuses burning with the bitter tears she refused to let fall. “No. Just because we had sex and said things we didn’t mean doesn’t erase our deal. We adopt Jesse and get a divorce.”

  “Michaela?”

  Before the first treacherous tear could roll down her cheek at the pained rasp of his voice, she turned away. “I think I should be getting back to Texas. I’ve been away from Momma long enough. Besides, she has an appointment next week with the neurologist to discuss the facial surgery, and I don’t want to miss it.”

  She was halfway up the stairs when he said, “I’ll book a flight.”

  With a nod, she hurried to Gabe’s bedroom. Once inside, she took a deep breath and banished the moisture from her eyes. Tears never solved anything, and they sure as hell weren’t going to ever fix her and Gabe.

  The only thing that would do that was to get away from him.

  * * * *

  Later that night, Gabe entered his empty house after leaving Reese’s office. How could a day that had started out so promising end up so damned shitty?

  After Michaela left that morning, he’d gone with Reese to an appointment the lawyer had set up with Gabe’s personal physician at his clinic. Trish arrived with Lydia and the baby a few moments later. In the lab, the physician took a cheek swab from both Gabe and the baby, then reassured them they’d have the DNA results back in a few days. They’d left the clinic and headed to Reese’s posh office, where Lydia oohed and ahhed over the richness of the lawyer’s space and the fantastic view of Nashville from the thirtieth floor.

  Despite th
e hours they’d spent together, first at the clinic, then at Reese’s office going over the terms of the contract Lydia signed, Gabe felt no more connected to the baby than he had when he’d first seen her. Sure, the timing of Lydia’s pregnancy was perfectly in line with the time they’d spent together in Vegas sixteen months ago, but wouldn’t he have sensed something if the baby was his?

  He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the one person who might have an answer. Twenty minutes later, Gabe answered his door to let Seth Kendall in.

  Seth moved into the living room and removed his trademark black Stetson. When he turned to Gabe, he narrowed his eyes on him. “Where’s Micki?”

  Gabe snorted and poured them each a glass of Gentleman Jack. Seth took his whiskey and sat on one of the leather chairs opposite the couch.

  He dropped onto his couch and stared into his glass of amber liquid. Had Michaela lied about loving him? If she loved him, why did she still want the divorce after they adopt Jesse? The thought of letting her go again ripped his heart in two. “She went back to Texas this morning.”

  Seth swirled the whiskey in his glass with a contemplative furrow in his brow. “I’ve been wondering something, and I think I’ve kept my trap shut long enough.” When Seth’s bright green gaze caught his, Gabe knew his friend figured out the reason for the rushed marriage. “You and Micki got married, hoping you could adopt your brother. At first I thought maybe she was pregnant, but I didn’t think so after I saw you two together at the wedding. Something seemed off.”

  “I guess our plan is pretty transparent, but yeah, we got married for Jesse. Our plan was”--remembering Micki’s words that morning, he winced and corrected himself--“is to get divorced once the adoption goes through.” Gabe tossed back half of the fine Tennessee whiskey.