by Seton, Cora
“I mean it; we have to talk.” Heather dung in her heels and stopped him.
Colt turned her to face the rings. Hell, no. He didn’t want to hear why they should slow things down, or put the wedding off. He’d asked her to marry him and she’d said yes. If they talked about it, they’d be buried under all the reasons they shouldn’t do it. He could count them on his fingers right now. They hadn’t dated in years. They’d barely dated at all. They’d betrayed Austin. Aaron had died alone. Just thinking about all of it made his chest tighten. The way he saw it, their one chance at happiness lay in not thinking or talking until they were married. If they stuck to making love everything would be fine.
“Later. Pick a ring.”
“But—”
“How about that one?” He pointed to a beautifully cut diamond on a platinum band. Fairly traditional, but special all the same, just like Heather. Colt gestured to a clerk who came to open the case.
The clerk handed the ring to Colt and he slid it on her finger. “What do you think?”
She softened. “It’s wonderful. Colt—are you sure?” He knew she was asking about more than the ring.
“I’m sure. You and I are meant to be together. That’s all that matters, okay?”
She hesitated.
“Try on some more,” he said, picking another one out. He did his best to ignore the worry he saw in her eyes. He’d set his course and he meant to keep it, no matter what.
Heather did try on a few more rings, but in the end she returned to the one he’d chosen.
“I like this one best.”
“We’ll take it,” he said to the clerk.
They picked a wedding band to match and one for Colt as well, although the store didn’t have one in his size. He got the next larger one, knowing he could get it resized at the jewelry store in Chance Creek. The clerk put the bands in small velvet boxes, but Heather kept the engagement ring on her finger. Colt settled the bill and they emerged back into the crisp daylight.
“I feel… official,” Heather said.
Colt lifted her hand. “You are official. Officially about to become my wife. We’ll schedule the wedding soon. I don’t want to wait.”
An expression he couldn’t decipher flitted over her face, and she opened her mouth to speak. Colt sensed trouble again, so he leaned down and kissed her. “Come on. Let’s go surprise the hell out of my brothers.”
There it was again—that look of… Colt couldn’t pinpoint her expression. Worry? Fear? He led her to her truck. Too bad if Austin was angry. Too bad if everyone else thought it was wrong. He’d never let Heather go now.
“But, Colt—”
He opened the door for her and helped her in. “See you at the Hall.”
“Colt!”
He closed the truck door firmly and strode to his car. There might be a hundred reasons why they shouldn’t get married.
He didn’t care about any of them.
“You’re what?” Camila squeaked over the phone when Heather called her. Heather put her on speaker phone, fired up her engine and backed out of her parking spot.
“Engaged—to Colt.” Heather was so excited she could barely speak, and at the same time she was terrified. She wanted to tell Camila everything, but she knew her friend would die if she found out Heather still hadn’t told Colt about Richard. She’d tried, but every time she opened her mouth, he cut her off. He was excited, too, and that thrilled her to the core. Still, she didn’t know what to do.
“That’s amazing! See, I told you my plan would work!”
“I thought your plan was for me to leave Colt tied up.”
“My plan was for the two of you to be in the same place at the same time—with at least one of you naked. Where are you now?”
“Leaving Billings. I can’t talk long.” She wished she could. She needed Camila’s advice more than ever.
“Are you coming back to Chance Creek?”
“We’re on our way to Crescent Hall. Colt wants to announce our engagement to the rest of his family. He bought me a ring.”
“Take a picture and send it to me.”
Heather stopped the truck in the middle of the lot, quickly took a photo with her phone and sent it. Glancing up, she saw Colt looking at her through his rear-view mirror. He lifted up his hands in a what’s going on gesture. She waved at him.
“Just sent it, I’ve really got to go.”
“I’m so excited for you! So Colt was okay when he found out about Richard?”
Heather winced as she put down the phone again and began to drive. She followed Colt to the lot’s exit. “Listen, I can’t talk. I’m about to get on the highway. See you soon!”
She hung up before Camila could say another word, pulled out into the traffic, and trailed Colt down the road, but as she drove, her worry grew. Why wouldn’t Colt let her tell him about Richard? It was as if he knew she had something to share he didn’t want to hear, and now they were headed for disaster. She had to tell him before they reached Crescent Hall, but she could barely keep up with him, let alone pass him and try to get him to pull over. She couldn’t message him and drive at the same time, either. She’d have to intercept him before he went into the Hall.
When they got to Chance Creek, however, Heather got caught at a light and she was a half-mile behind Colt when he turned into the ranch’s driveway. By the time she pulled up and parked, he had walked up the steps to the porch and was opening up the front door.
Heather leaped from the truck. “Colt—wait a minute!”
She was too late. The door swung open and Mason appeared. Slightly taller than Colt, he had the upright bearing and muscled body of a long time Navy SEAL.
“Colt!” he boomed. “What are you doing here?”
Heather rushed up the stairs, but her chance to speak to Colt alone was gone. Austin, Zane and Regan crowded into the entryway, followed by Austin’s wife, Ella, who was tall, blond, and as glamorous as the movie star she used to be, even if her belly was nearly as rounded as Regan’s was.
“Colt!” Zane said, tugging a third woman forward. “Meet my wife, Storm!” She was blond, too, but her hair fell like a waterfall of light to her waist, and even in the dead of winter her California tan hadn’t yet faded.
“And this is Dan, a friend of mine who’s come to stay,” Mason said gesturing to a man Colt didn’t recognize. “He used to be a Navy SEAL, too. He’ll have to tell you all about the extreme training camp he’s opening here—his fiancée, Sarah, will join us in the spring.”
Colt leaned forward to shake hands. “Glad to meet you. Glad to see you all! I’ve got some news, too. Heather and I are engaged.” He turned back to Heather and pulled her forward, lifting her left hand to show them the new ring that graced it. She wished she could disappear in a puff of smoke, but all she could do was hold out her hand and let everyone exclaim over her ring.
“You’re engaged?” Regan flung herself at Heather and hugged her. “I’m so glad you two worked everything out!”
“How come you didn’t tell us your mission was done, Colt?” Mason said.
“I didn’t think you were rotating stateside so soon,” Zane echoed, coming to clap Colt on the shoulder.
Heather noticed Austin hung back and Ella wasn’t smiling. Any minute someone was going to spill the beans about Richard.
“How long do you have before you go back?” Mason said.
“Here’s the thing,” Colt began. “I’m not going back.”
Chapter Nine
‡
Colt’s stomach tightened as his brothers’ expectant gazes turned to shock and confusion. Crowded into the entryway as they were, he and Heather had barely made it into the house. He’d thought about holding off until later to spill his news, but had decided it was best to get it all out at once. Now that he’d announced their engagement, nothing could stop his wedding to Heather from moving forward. He was ready to sort things out with his brothers and get on to the good part of moving home.
“
I separated from the Air Force earlier this month,” he said.
The small room went quiet. “Does that mean you’re home for good?” Mason said.
“Maybe.” That depended on their reaction to what he had to tell them.
“Don’t you want to stay?” Zane asked, frowning.
“Of course I do. But—”
“Where else would you go?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t decided—”
“What about Richard?” Austin sounded angry.
Colt broke off, confused. “Richard?”
“Colt, we really need to talk. Now,” Heather said urgently.
“Uncle Mason!”
A boy careened down the hallway and came to a stumbling halt when he took in all the adults grouped in the entryway. He was nearly as tall as Colt and his brothers, and had the Hall blue eyes and frank features.
“Richard! What are you doing here?” Heather looked as shocked as Colt felt about this sudden interruption.
Richard turned to her. “Uncle Mason said I could come over for the day. But, Mom—what’s going on? Is that—?” The youth’s voice cracked uncertainly and he stared at Colt as if he’d seen a ghost.
A chill traced down Colt’s spine. Mom? Heather had a son? Who was his father?
He stared back at the boy. Was he Austin’s? Or…
Suddenly dizzy, Colt reached out and steadied himself with a hand on the wall. He turned to Heather. “That’s your boy?” Why hadn’t she said anything?
She nodded. He could tell she was struggling to speak. “Yours, too,” she said finally. “I tried to tell you.”
He looked the boy over again, too stunned to comprehend. “Mine?” He had a son? “How old?” he managed to rasp out.
“Thirteen. His birthday was in November.”
Thirteen years. All that time ago he’d made love to Heather, and nine months later she’d given birth to his son.
And she’d never told him.
He scanned the room. No one else seemed the slightest bit surprised by this revelation. The floor seemed to tilt beneath his feet.
“We found out last summer,” Austin explained. “You were already overseas.”
“We didn’t want to tell you until we could speak to you face to face.” That was Zane. “I don’t understand, though. You two are engaged. Didn’t you know?”
Come home now. He remembered Zane’s messages and the truth of it hit Colt like a thunderclap. All these years he’d been throwing himself in harm’s way, taking the most dangerous assignments, almost daring fate to end his life. Trying to hide from the pain of his father’s death.
And all this time he’d had a son?
The boy stared back at him, waiting for his reaction, so anxious Colt could tell he was trembling. He wanted to go to him, to pull him into a hug, to tell him… something.
But what? That he was happy to find out he’d missed his first thirteen years? That he didn’t care Heather had hidden their baby away—kept him all to herself because she thought him unworthy to even know he existed?
Anguish tore through him and he felt more alone than he ever had in his worst assignments overseas. As he looked around at everyone looking back at him he couldn’t stand it anymore. They’d all known about his son, and no one had told him. It wasn’t enough that the woman he loved had kept him from Richard; his brothers had helped her. Why had they done that… unless they thought he didn’t deserve to know? Colt staggered back, reached blindly for the door and yanked it open when his hand finally closed around the knob. He lurched outside and slammed it behind him hard enough to rattle the Hall’s windows. Sick to his stomach, he stumbled down the stairs. Was that true? Was what he’d done so bad he didn’t deserve to know about his own son?
When he reached the bottom of the porch steps, the door swung open again and Mason hurtled after him.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“That won’t solve anything!”
“It’s what you want. What all of you want! Isn’t it?”
Mason caught him before he could open the driver’s side door. “That boy has waited months to meet you. No, not months—years. He tracked down Austin last summer because he thought Austin was his father. It broke his heart to find out he was wrong. Since then he’s waited for you.”
“She never told me. Heather never said a word.”
“Because she was trying to protect you. To protect all of us. She thought if she told you it would split up our family.”
“That’s bullshit.” Colt slammed his palm against the hood of the truck. She’d secretly despised him all this time. She had to, or she’d never have done this.
“No, it’s not. We’d just gone to Florida when she found out. Dad was dead. The rest of us were in shock. We were hurt, furious, spoiling for a fight. She knew if she spilled the beans that the two of you had been together, Austin would have lost his mind. She did what she thought was right.”
“Does she love him?” Colt turned on him and searched Mason’s face for an answer. “Tell me! Does she still love Austin?”
“No. She loves you. She just did what she thought she had to do.”
So had he. He’d joined the Air Force. Taken every mission offered to him. Exiled himself from Chance Creek.
While his son grew up without him. He held his hands wide in defeat. “I can’t do this. I just… can’t.”
“Well, guess what? You have to.”
“Really? Why the hell are you in such a damn hurry to get me back in there? You’ve all done just fine without me, haven’t you? Austin’s the saint. I’m the loser who can’t even be told about his son. So let him take over.”
“Colt—you’re being ridiculous!”
“Am I?” He was so overwhelmed he couldn’t think straight. “Or maybe this isn’t about me at all. Maybe this is about the ranch. You’re afraid you’ll lose it if I don’t marry her.”
Mason’s expression hardened. “Why wouldn’t you marry her? You loved her enough to steal her from Austin in the first place. She’s the mother of your son. You put a ring on her finger. You belong together.”
Colt remembered Heather in the motel room, throwing her arms around him. Making love to him over and over again with the abandon of a teenager. Had it all been a setup? Had his brothers used Heather to lure him home? A raw pain ripped through his heart to think that all of it was a lie.
“For God’s sake, Colt—you’re the one who left her behind and never got in touch again. If anyone should be angry, it’s Heather!”
Colt stiffened. “Did she say that? She’s angry at me because I left?”
“Of course she was angry. But now you’re back and the two of you are getting married. She’s forgiven you. Why can’t you forgive her?”
Colt could only stare at him. Had Heather forgiven him? How could she when he’d made her pregnant, then walked away without saying good-bye? The more he thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense.
Maybe she hadn’t forgiven him. Maybe she just needed to marry him to get the ranch. The ranch her son would one day own a part of. He saw now how neat and tidy it all was. That’s why she’d answered his ad under a fake name: to lure him in and make him fall in love with her before she revealed her plan.
He felt like a bear caught in a trap he would have entered willingly. He loved Heather and now that he had a son he would love him, too. All he’d ever wanted was to find a way back home to this ranch. Why couldn’t they see that? He looked past Mason, took in the Hall and the pastures surrounding him and came to a decision. It didn’t matter now how he’d come to be here. Fate had given him a chance and he meant to take it. He’d make his last stand right here. He’d try to be worthy to be Richard’s father. To be worthy to be Heather’s husband. To be worthy to be his father’s son. Then, and only then, Heather would forgive him. They would start again and find the love they’d lost so many years ago.
“Okay,” he said but his voice was rough with pain.
/>
“You’ll stay?” Mason watched him worriedly.
“I’ll stay.”
When Colt walked back into the Hall, followed closely by Mason, Heather’s heart started to pound all over again. She’d thought Richard would make a break for it out the back door as soon as Colt had raced out the front—the stricken look on his face nearly broke her heart—but Austin had leaped to stop him, gripped the boy’s shoulders and talked to him in a low, earnest voice. Storm had come to touch Heather’s arm and ask if she was okay. Heather hadn’t been able to answer.
She stepped back as Colt re-entered the house. He looked defeated and her heart throbbed to know she was the cause of all his pain. If only she’d acted differently when she’d found out she was pregnant with Richard. She hadn’t wanted to break up Colt’s family, but that wasn’t the only reason she hadn’t called Colt. She’d been too afraid he’d reject her again. When he left Chance Creek she’d been able to tell herself grief had made him leave her behind, but if she’d told him about the baby and he’d refused to return, she’d have to admit to herself he’d been using her from the start. Now she knew what her pride had cost all of them.
“Richard,” Colt said from his place in the doorway. “I’m glad to meet you.”
Richard nodded warily as Heather held her breath.
“Everyone else, I’m sorry for the disturbance. I didn’t mean to cause a fuss the moment I came home. I was just… surprised. Maybe you all can understand.” He moved to Heather’s side and to her surprise he gripped her hand. “I wish I’d known about you a lot sooner, Richard, but that’s neither here nor there now. I’m looking forward to the release party in a few days time. I’m home and I’m going to marry your mother. I’m going to make sure we get our ranch. We’ll be a family.”
Richard nodded. Heather felt a ray of hope. Did he mean it?
“Congratulations,” Regan said suddenly, breaking into a smile. “I know you’ll be very happy together!”
“Congratulations, to both of you… and Richard,” Zane chimed in.
The others murmured their congratulations, too—even Austin, although he stumbled over his words.
