Canyon

by Brenda Jackson

  “Not defending her, Canyon. Just giving you something to think about. Keisha thought you were unfaithful. I’m sure you’d even admit things looked pretty bad. The woman was naked in bed and you were coming out of the shower practically naked. That woman played the two of you.”

  “Yes, but Keisha should have believed me.”

  “I’m wondering,” Dillon said, as if he’d given what he was about to say some serious thought.

  “Wondering what?”

  “If you had come home from a trip and found a naked man in your bed, with Keisha barely wrapped in a towel, what would you think?” Then, without missing a beat, Dillon said, “Looking forward to seeing you and your family at breakfast in the morning. Good night.”

  His family.

  “Good night, Dil.” After Canyon clicked off the line, he rubbed a hand down his face. Now he would spend the night thinking about what Dillon had said.

  Five

  “Wake up, Mommy. Big bed.”

  Keisha forced open her eyes, one at a time, to find her son’s face right in front of hers. She blinked and then recalled where they were and that Beau had been asleep when they’d arrived.

  She pulled up in bed and tumbled him into her arms, loving the laugh she got out of him. “Good morning, Beau. Yes, this is a big bed.”

  “Not Beau’s bed.”

  “No, not Beau’s bed,” she said, running her hand through the thick curls on his head. Knowing he would have another question for her, she quickly said, “Potty?”

  He nodded. “Yes, Mommy. Potty.”

  She eased out of bed to lead him to the bathroom and watched as he looked at everything for the first time. Beau was pretty smart for his age. He mastered his words well for a two-year-old and bathroom training hadn’t been the horror story she’d heard it would be. They had just come out of the bathroom when there was a knock on the door. She quickly grabbed her robe off the bed before saying, “Come in.”

  Canyon strolled in.

  Keisha tried not doing a double take but it was hard when Canyon Westmoreland was eye candy. Dressed in jeans and a Western shirt, he was the epitome of a fit male with a physique that would put most men to shame. That body…muscled shoulders, perfects abs and broad chest…and she of all people knew how hard that chest was since she’d been intimately pressed against it a number of times. The muscles of his upper thighs would tighten whenever she gave him a—

  “And how is everyone doing this morning?” he asked.

  She was grateful for his intrusion into her thoughts. The last thing she wanted to remember was any intimacy she’d shared with him. Her gaze moved from the lower portion of his body and traveled up to his face. He was smiling.

  What on earth did he have to smile about? And why did it appear he was in a good mood? Before going to bed they’d had heated words, but you wouldn’t know it from the smile on his face. Then it hit her why he was acting so nice. Beau. Canyon might not be willing to pretend for his family, but he evidently had no problem putting on a front for his son.

  “Dad!”

  Before she could stop him, Beau took off, racing across the room and launching his little body right at Canyon. Canyon’s deep laughter filled the room as he picked up Beau in muscled arms and lifted him high in the air. That got a squeal of glee from Beau.

  She just stood there and watched the interaction between father and son, still somewhat astonished with how quickly Beau took to Canyon when it usually took him a while to warm up to strangers. And before yesterday, Canyon had been a stranger.

  While holding Beau high over his head, Canyon glanced over at her. She saw a flash of heat pass through his eyes and was convinced it had nothing to do with anger. In fact, she was so sure that she tightened her robe around her.

  “How is everyone doing this morning?” he repeated when the only sound in the room was Beau’s laughter.

  Heat stung her face at the thought that he’d caught her staring. “We’re fine. You’re up early.”

  “Breakfast at the main house, remember?” he said, lowering Beau to the floor. “You haven’t changed your mind about going, have you?”

  As if he’d given her a choice. “No. You said nine and it’s barely seven.”

  “I know. I got up at five and worked out some. Now I’m about to go horseback riding in the canyon, which is something I do every Saturday morning.”

  “Big bed, Dad.”

  Canyon laughed at how wide Beau had stretched out his arms.

  “Mine is bigger,” he said to his son, extending his arms out wider.

  Beau’s eyes widened. “Bigger?”

  Canyon smiled. “Yes, bigger.” He then glanced over at Keisha. “I’ll leave you two to get dressed and will be back in an hour to give you a tour of my home.”

  “That’s not necessary,” she said.

  “Yes, it is. Beau will be spending a lot of time here with me, and I want you to be comfortable that he’s in a safe environment.”

  Tilting her head, she studied Canyon’s features and saw the same handsome man she’d always seen. But there was a determination in his eyes that let her know that when it came to Beau he meant what he’d said last night. He would not let her come between him and his child again.

  “I’ll be ready for that tour when you get back,” she said.

  He arched his brow and continued to look at her as if surprised she’d given in so easily. She was smart enough to know which battles to fight and which ones to let go…for now. “Come on, Beau, we need to get dressed.”

  “Wanna see Dad’s big bed, Mommy.”

  She was curious about Canyon’s big bed, as well. “Later, Beau. We need to put our clothes on and get ready to go. Your daddy is taking us somewhere.”

  He looked at her confused. “My daddy?”

  “Yes.” Keisha knew that right now, to Beau, Canyon was Dad…as if Dad was Canyon’s name and not the role the name represented. She needed to make Beau understand. “Mommy,” she said, pointing at herself. “And Daddy,” she said, pointing at Canyon.

  Beau poked out his little bottom lip. “No, Mommy. He Dad.”

  Keisha smiled. “Yes, and he’s Daddy, too.”

  Beau scrunched up his face. “Daddy?”

  “Yes, Daddy.” She knew Beau was trying to recall all the times he’d heard other kids use the word daddy, mostly during pickup at day care or when the twins next door talked to Everett. Beau had never been around a male for any long period of time, and he certainly hadn’t been around one that he could call daddy. Until now.

  Beau turned to Canyon and a big, wide smile spread across his lips. “Wanna see your big bed, Daddy-Dad.”

  Canyon couldn’t help but laugh out loud before saying. “And you will, but not now.” He looked at Keisha. “Thanks.”

  * * *

  Canyon knew what Keisha had tried to do this morning with Beau, and he appreciated it.

  After one hell of a sleepless night, he’d woken up determined to make this a good day. He would be introducing Beau to his family, and he was pretty damn excited about it.

  An hour later, as Canyon returned from riding his horse, he was still filled with excitement. There was something about riding across his land and through the canyon that soothed him. Not only was it his heritage and his legacy, it was also his solace. And one day he would leave it all to his son.

  Beau.

  The realization that he had a son filled him in a way he hadn’t thought possible. A child had never been a top priority for him. Hell, a wife hadn’t either, until Keisha. But seeing Beau, holding him, touching him—that parental part of Canyon had come alive and had become so deep that he could feel it in every part of his body. He’d meant every single word he’d told Keisha last night. He didn’t intend to be separated from his child ever a
gain.

  He wasn’t sure how she would deal with it or how she would deal with him. That wasn’t his concern. The only thing that mattered to him was building a strong relationship with his child, starting now. Today. He needed to make up for all the time he’d lost, and he refused to let her stand in his way.

  He recognized the frigid looks she was prone to giving him and knew his responsive stare was just as bad. The only thing holding his temper in check whenever he thought about the two years he’d lost was to remember what Dillon had said last night. She could have made a different decision regarding Beau, but she hadn’t.

  He walked into his house, placed his Stetson on the hat rack and glanced up at the same time that Keisha and Beau were coming down the stairs. Beau grinned wide when he saw Canyon and was about to take off toward him, but Keisha held firm to his hand. “No, Beau. Remember. No running down the stairs.”

  “Yes, Mommy.”

  Canyon couldn’t stop staring at Keisha. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a pullover blouse. To his way of thinking, she looked absolutely beautiful. He recalled yesterday when he’d seen her walk out of her office and noticed that her body had changed. Now he knew why. Because of Beau.

  She’d always had a nice body, now it was even curvier. More enticing. More tempting.

  He pushed those thoughts from his mind. He would not become involved with a woman who didn’t trust him, and she’d proved just how much she didn’t.

  As soon as Beau’s feet touched the floor, he took off running toward Canyon. “You know the rule, Beau,” Keisha said. “No running in the house.”

  He stopped and looked back at Keisha. “Not my house.”

  Canyon had to cough to keep from laughing out loud and hung his head when Keisha shot him a warning look. “It doesn’t matter, young man, whose house it is. No running in any house. Understand?”

  He nodded and then walked as fast as his little legs could take him to Canyon. He reached up his arms. “Pick me up high again, Daddy-Dad.”

  “See what you started,” Keisha said.

  Canyon chuckled as he hoisted Beau up in the air, thinking that he didn’t mind. In fact, he loved hearing the sound of his son’s laughter. “And for the record, this is your house, too, Beau.” He glanced over at Keisha with a look that dared her to refute his words.

  He placed Beau on his shoulders and said, “Now for that tour I promised you.”

  * * *

  Keisha had already seen Canyon’s living and dining rooms as well as the kitchen. But he showed all of it to her again anyway. “While I’m showing you around, note if anything is a red flag where a child is concerned and let me know so I can change it.”

  “All right,” Keisha said as he led her up the second set of spiral stairs.

  This was the first house she’d seen that had two beautiful spiral staircases, but the layout didn’t look odd. The two staircases appeared to join at the top, when they really did not. The effect was simply breathtaking.

  With Beau still perched on his shoulder Canyon turned when they reached the landing. “This is where my suite is located as well as other rooms for my pleasure.”

  For his pleasure? She wondered what kind of rooms they were.

  It didn’t take her long to find out. She entered the first room, the one he’d called his mini-gym. His personal workout room had every piece of weight-lifting equipment imaginable. Next was a game room with a dartboard, a pool table and a big flat-screen television that seemed to be over eight feet wide.

  “Nice,” she said. She could envision him in both rooms after a long and tiresome day at the office. He would probably work out first, shower and then go into his game room and unwind before calling it a night.

  “This way to my bedroom,” he said, leading her down a spacious hall that led to massive double doors made of dark oak. When he opened the door she just stood in the doorway and stared.

  “Big, big bed, Mommy.”

  That was an understatement. She was familiar with a queen-size bed since she had one of her own, and of course she’d seen a king-size. But this one had to be a super-duper king. “Yes, this is definitely big.”

  “Big, big, Mommy,” Beau reiterated

  She chuckled. “Okay, Beau. Big, big. Your daddy has a big, big bed.”

  “Let’s see if it’s too big for you,” Canyon said, dumping Beau off his shoulders and into the center. Beau bounced up and down, laughing a few times.

  “Fun, Mommy, fun. Come on bed, Mommy. Get in Daddy-Dad bed.”

  Keisha was certain her face tinted at the thought of her doing that. “No thanks. I’ll just stand here and watch you.” She didn’t have to glance over at Canyon to know he was looking at her. She could feel the heat of his gaze all over.

  Instead of looking at Canyon, she walked over to the huge wall-to-wall window. He had an amazing view from his bedroom, of the canyon as well as the Denver sky above it.

  Her heart began pounding in her chest when she felt Canyon’s heat and knew he had come to stand behind her. To take her mind off his presence, she said, “This is a beautiful view of the canyon.”

  “Yes, I think so, as well. That’s why I designed the house this way so I could wake up to the canyon every morning.”

  She turned and noticed Beau still bouncing as if Canyon’s bed was a trampoline. “And what about your guests? They don’t have this view.”

  He shrugged as an impish grin touched his lips. “No, all the guest rooms have a view of the mountains. I don’t think that’s so bad.”

  She didn’t think it was so bad either. In fact, she’d liked it, and when she’d woken up this morning, she couldn’t help looking out the window at the mountains while getting dressed. This house, Canyon’s Bluff, could grow on a person.

  “Come on, let me show you the other parts of the house.” He moved away, went to the bed and caught Beau in his arms as he bounced. Canyon then left the room.

  She followed, taking a quick peek into his bathroom. She shook her head. The master bath was to die for and was bigger than the living room at her house. Her house. She then remembered why she was here and what someone had done to her home, her sanctuary. The place where she’d always felt secure. She couldn’t push away the thought that someone had intentionally taken that security from her. Like the deputy had said, whoever had trashed her home had done so to make a point. But she had no idea what it was.

  Fifteen minutes later, Canyon ended his tour in the room that housed an indoor swimming pool. Like the rest of the house, the room was beautiful, and no matter what the weather was outside—even if the grounds were blanketed in snow—you could have a nice swim.

  “So did you see anything?” he asked in a voice that, to her way of thinking, sounded way too sexy. They were leaving the pool room, and he took the time to lock the door behind him.

  She lifted a brow. “Anything like what?”

  “Anything I need to be concerned about when Beau spends the weekends.”

  His words reminded her that he intended to be a part of her son’s life, her life, whether she wanted him to or not. “The only thing I saw that would concern me is the pool. Beau can’t swim.”

  He nodded as he led them back to the living room. Beau was still riding Canyon’s shoulders with his legs dangling around Canyon’s neck. “No problem. I intend to start teaching him how to swim next week.”

  Keisha bit down on her lip to keep from telling Canyon he shouldn’t make assumptions. Granted, upon seeing how well Canyon and Beau were getting along, a part of her was regretting keeping them apart, but she refused to let him run roughshod over her.

  She was still Beau’s custodial parent…although she had placed Canyon’s name as the father on the birth certificate. That had been the one concession she’d given after being hassled by her mother. Lynn had regretted no
t putting Kenneth Drew’s name on Keisha’s birth certificate. Even though Kenneth had not claimed his daughter, she was his blood nonetheless. Acknowledging that kinship would have at least given Keisha the name of the man who’d fathered her.

  “If you recall, I taught you how to swim,” Canyon said, putting Beau down on the floor, watching as he walked quickly over to the huge aquarium and pressed his face against it.

  Keisha felt an intense pull in her stomach. Canyon would have to remind her of those lessons. It had taken triple the length of time it should have taken…not that she hadn’t been an adept student. But mainly because they had spent their time exploring the numerous positions a couple could use while making love in water. To this day she would never forget those swimming lessons on one of the lakes in Westmoreland Country, and judging by the way he was looking at her, he hadn’t forgotten either. Just remembering sent sensual chills through her body. Chills she didn’t want to feel.

  Deciding not to respond to his comment about her swimming lessons, she said, “As to the other parts of your home, I didn’t notice anything since we won’t be staying long. However, I would like to take a more in-depth tour later today on my own.”

  Being around him was unnerving her when it shouldn’t. She’d accepted that the sexual chemistry was still there, even after three years, but she had expected to be able to handle it much better than she was.

  “Help yourself. I want to make sure I do things right, and I want to make sure you won’t be worried when he’s here with me.”

  “But I will worry anyway, Canyon,” she said honestly. “And when I do worry, please don’t take it personally. It comes with being a mother. Now that you know about him, you’ll worry, too, although you know I’m capable of taking care of him. It comes with being a father.” She hesitated a moment and then added, “Although some men take that role more seriously than others.” She smiled. “I even worried every day when he was with Mom. I used to call so much she would fuss at me for bothering her.”

  Canyon thought about what Keisha had just said. “Your mother took care of him every day while you worked?” he asked.