“You know you can always reach me by cell,” he countered.
“But you don’t always answer,” she argued.
“I do when it’s important. How are you, Pepper?” he asked.
“I’m obviously very overdressed,” she said.
A horse whinnied and Pepper startled. Rob had to suppress a laugh because she was jumpier than a mouse in a parade of Clydesdales. She looked like she’d be more at home in Paris or on the bow of a yacht. If he didn’t know her better, he’d think she looked more the type to tote around a little dog in her purse than to muck out horse stalls.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go up to the house where it’s warm...and clean.”
“No, really, I’m fine,” said Pepper. “We don’t have to leave on my account.”
“Let’s go,” Rob said. “I’m finished out here anyway. The grounds look a little muddy. Did it rain while I was gone?”
“It did,” Kate answered. “But we needed it. Though, I hope it will be clear next Tuesday. I had Becca set a tee time for you, Norman Webber and Gene Hersch.”
“Norman Webber and Gene Hersch? Golfing together?” Pepper asked.
Kate nodded. “Why? Do you know them?”
“I do.” Pepper flushed. “Once upon a time, they were friends of my father. I remember him saying he would never play golf with the two of them together. Apparently, they’re a combustible pair. Was this golf date important?”
Kate’s brow furrowed. “I was trying to maximize Rob’s time. Each one has deep pockets... Combustible, you say?”
“I don’t mean to butt in,” Pepper said. “I just thought you should know.”
Kate shot Rob a glance that suggested she’d just been handed the keys to the kingdom, a See, I told you she was good look. “You are so not butting in. This is fabulous information. When we get inside you’ll have to tell me everything you know about who to pair and who not to. How do you know all this?”
“One of the perks of growing up here. Really, Dallas and Celebration are just big little towns.”
“How do you feel about getting out of this big little town for a few days, Pepper?” Rob asked. “A business trip,” he added quickly. “Tomorrow, actually.”
Their gazes snared, and he knew she was thinking about the last time they’d flown together. Hell, he was, too, and he needed to stop that. He looked away. Kate had no idea about the kiss, and he wasn’t about to have her catching on now—or ever, for that matter.
“Of course,” she said, all business. “Where are we going?”
He stole a glance at her lips. Oh, the places we could go if circumstance hadn’t grounded us.
“We’re going to Disney World. Well, Orlando, actually. This morning, I was able to schedule a meeting with a group of venture capitalists. I had to move fast. So, we need to fly in tomorrow. I’ll need your help with logistics once we get there. Becca is in the process of making the travel arrangements. It’ll just be a quick trip—just a couple of days—but I need to make sure every moment counts.”
As they approached the driveway, Nadia, Rob’s housekeeper, drove up in her van.
Rob looked at his watch. Was it really that late already? Cody was home from school. It threw him a little off-kilter. He wasn’t sure he was ready for Cody to meet Pepper. Not that it should have mattered, but Rob had always done his best to keep his work and home lives separate.
Since Miranda had left and he’d won full custody of their son, he’d made a personal rule to limit Cody’s exposure to his business associates. If Pepper worked out the way Rob hoped she would, then it was inevitable that she and Cody would meet. But this was happening so fast. Faster than he’d intended. Well, it was too late now.
Nadia was already lowering the chairlift with Cody on it.
“D-D-Daddy!” Cody cheered. Even though the boy stuttered through the excitement, it didn’t seem to dampen his enthusiasm over Rob’s return.
Rob hugged his son. “How’ve you been, buddy? I missed you.”
As Cody answered, he felt Pepper’s gaze on them. He couldn’t quite peg why he was so nervous about introducing Cody to her. But sometimes when people saw that Cody was in a wheelchair, they changed. They tensed up, or talked down to him, or sent out a nervous vibe that he always picked up on.
But Pepper knew how to handle herself. She was made of good stuff—even if she didn’t seem very comfortable around horses. There was no reason he shouldn’t introduce her.
Kate gave the boy a quick squeeze and then began getting the report of Cody’s day from Nadia.
Rob bent down, face-to-face with his son. “I want you to meet someone, bud. This is Pepper Merriweather. Ms. Merriweather is working with your aunt Katie and me. Will you say hi to her?”
Pepper walked up to Cody’s wheelchair and knelt down so that she, too, was eye to eye with the boy.
“Hey, Cody, I’m Pepper. I know your dad introduced me as Ms. Merriweather, but if it’s all right with him, you can just call me Pepper.”
That’s when Rob noticed that the hem of Pepper’s angel-cream-colored skirt was dangling in a mud puddle, wicking up the muck.
He motioned to it. “I’m sorry, here—” His knees cracked as he stood and offered her his hand. But she waved it way. Instead, she just tucked the hem up underneath her and continued to converse with Cody.
Okay, so she wasn’t as big a priss as he’d thought her to be in the barn.
She asked him about his day and if he had any homework.
“I’m only f-f-five,” Cody said. “We don’t g-g-get homework in kindergarten. But I think it would be cool if we got some.”
Even though he was stuttering—and only a little bit, actually—Cody seemed perfectly at ease around Pepper, not self-conscious or retreating into his shell like he was so prone to do around new people.
“What book do you have there?” she asked, pointing to the one tucked into the side of his wheelchair.
“W-W-W-Where The Wild Things Are.” He picked it up and studied it.
“The night Max wore his wolf suit...” Pepper whispered.
Rob did a double take. He laughed. What in the world was she talking about?
Cody’s jaw dropped in awed amazement. “You l-l-like this book, too?”
“One of my favorites,” Pepper said. “In fact, my brother used to have a wolf suit when he was about your age.”
Cody’s eyes got as big as two blue moons. “Did he ever have a w-w-w-wild wumpus?”
“All the time,” Pepper said.
“Oh, can we have one sometime?” Cody asked. Not stuttering once.
“That would be so much fun,” Pepper said.
“Would you read me the book now so we can plan our wild wumpus?” he asked earnestly.
“You know what, buddy, not right now. Miss Pepper has to leave on a trip tomorrow, and she probably has a lot to do to get ready. I’ll bet Nadia would read to you if you asked her nicely.”
“W-w-w-would you read it to m-m-me sometime?” he enunciated, and Rob could tell he was getting tired.
“Absolutely,” Pepper replied. “It was really nice to meet you, Cody. I hope to see you again soon. You start planning the wild rumpus, will you?”
Cody nodded with gusto. “Can I w-w-w-wear a w-w-wolf suit like M-M-Max?”
“I’ll see what I can do about that,” she said.
Red flags went up, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her not to make promises she couldn’t keep. But maybe she was sincere— Anyhow, Cody wouldn’t let her forget. The thought of watching highbrow Pepper Merriweather throw a wild rumpus just might be worth taking a chance.
“D-D-Daddy? Is Pepper that nice lady that you said you needed to finish what you started with her? ’C-C-Cause if not, I think you could start something wit
h her.”
Chapter Twelve
“It’s too bad we couldn’t bring Cody to Orlando, I’ll bet he’d love Disney World,” Pepper said as she stared out at the Epcot globe from the balcony of Rob’s hotel suite. “Has he ever been?”
She looked back into the room. The sheers billowed in the warm Florida breeze blowing in through the open sliding doors. Through them she could see a silhouette of Rob sitting at the desk writing.
It was good to have this time away. It felt like a calm before the storm of her mother’s return, which would happen after they got back from Orlando. Marjory would be home for Christmas. Pepper knew that should be a good thing. Thank goodness she still had time to work herself into that frame of mind.
To take her mind off that conundrum, she’d been wondering just what Cody was talking about when he’d asked if Pepper was the nice lady that his daddy was talking about when he said he needed to finish that thing he’d started.
Rob saw her watching him, closed his folio and joined her on the balcony.
“He hasn’t been,” Rob said. “Because of his accident, the poor little guy hasn’t had a chance to do a lot of the things a normal five-year-old would do. I hate that.”
She and Rob stood side by side, leaning against the railing. Their hands were so close, if she slid her hand an inch to the right, they would be touching.
Would that be considered finishing what he started? He had left her feeling very unfinished that night they’d met.
She glanced at their hands again.
Tempting. So very tempting.
But so very off-limits.
Aside from one incident of some whispering and pointing at the airport—“Look, that’s Pepper Merriweather, Harris Merriweather’s daughter. I wonder where she’s jetting off to now? Spending other people’s money”—the flight that morning had been uneventful. They’d had an easy flow of conversation on the plane, reminiscent of their flight home from New York, but the talk had been all business. And that was fine.
“What happened,” she asked. “To Cody, I mean. If you don’t mind me asking.”
It was personal territory, she knew, but the words had fallen out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she wanted to know. She cared. What was wrong with that?
Rob stared straight ahead in the direction of the silver Epcot ball, which seemed to glow electric as it reflected the setting sun. He drew in a breath and exhaled, as if expelling the weight of the world.
“I left him alone with his mother, who in turn let my father take him for the day. My father wasn’t supposed to be driving because he’d lost his license for driving under the influence. He chose that day not only to get sauced, but to also take my son out for a drive. They’d been to Target. The police found the bags in the car. He’d bought Cody a toy truck. That’s probably what they went there for. I never knew for sure because my dad died at the scene. Ran a red light and it was all over. Just like that. Cody seems to have no memory of the accident. Other than the fact that he’s in a wheelchair.”
“Does he ever ask why?”
Rob shook his head.
“He will when he’s ready to know,” she said. “He’s a smart kid, resilient.”
Rob slid his hand next to hers, stroked her pinkie with his. The gentle touch took her breath away.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” he said.
She caught her breath and held it, until he finished his thought.
“I don’t know if I can solely be your boss, Pepper. You’re the first woman in a long time who’s made me feel this way.” He put his hand on top of hers.
His nearness made her senses ping. “Then why are you fighting it?”
“What if it doesn’t work? What if I bring you into my son’s life and we don’t work?”
“You better than anyone know that there are no guarantees. You’re pretty fearless when it comes to business. Still, you’re cautious when it gets too close to home. I can’t blame you. But I want you to know that I would never purposely hurt you or your son. Has that happened before? Other women have broken his heart?”
“His mother did.”
Again she held her breath waiting for this piece of the puzzle.
“His mom couldn’t handle the aftermath of the accident. She freaked out. She blamed me, my father, everyone but herself for leaving Cody with my dad. She was having an affair and would leave Cody with my dad for a few hours two or three times a week. It had been going on for a while, and I had no idea until the accident.”
“Your dad didn’t tell you?”
Rob shook his head. “Because of his drinking problem, Miranda and I had agreed that he shouldn’t be alone with Cody. Not with him being so young—he was three years old. A kid that age needs constant supervision. Miranda wasn’t working. But she still said she needed a nanny. I thought that was ridiculous and I told her so. She was his mother. She was supposed to look after him. That was her job. But she had her sights set on bigger aspirations. I wasn’t refined enough for her. I was too controlling with the money. She had a long list of my faults. And in retrospect, I guess she was right.”
He paused and swallowed hard. Pepper stared down at his hand on top of hers and tried to discern whether he was still in love with his ex-wife. Maybe that was where the hesitation stemmed from.
“You see, she and I came from meager roots compared to this.” He gestured with his free hand, but didn’t move the other from Pepper’s.
“High school sweethearts?” she asked.
“Not really. I was the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. She was the girl who wanted more. We connected at a homecoming event seven years ago. I was the hometown boy who’d made it, and I was there to present a scholarship. She was the girl I could never get, and suddenly she was interested. Nine months later Cody was born. Somewhere in there I married her.”
“You make it sound so romantic,” Pepper said.
“I’m sorry to be a realist, but in retrospect it wasn’t. Miranda saw an opportunity and she took it. She left Cody and me for a better opportunity. Nothing romantic about that.”
So that explains it, she thought. “Is that why you’re not really into the whole social networking gig?”
He furrowed his brow, as if he’d never really thought about it before.
“Maybe. Probably. That and because of my dad’s drinking problem. When I was growing up we weren’t a real social family. We didn’t have a lot. Sometimes we didn’t even have enough to make the electric bill. Do you know what it’s like to live in a dark house? No clue when you’ll get your next meal? That’s why I guess I’m a little cautious with the money. I worked hard to get everything I have, but even now, somehow, this doesn’t seem real to me. Like any day I might wake up and it will all be gone.”
That hit home. “It’s the scariest feeling in the world,” Pepper said. “I’m living that right now. Until two months ago, I didn’t have a financial care in the world. Then one day I woke up and my father was in jail, my mom was in hiding and almost everything else I’d known was gone.”
They both stood silent for a long time, the parallelism of their lives echoing around them. Once upon a time she’d had it all; once upon a nightmare he’d had nothing. Now their roles were reversed, and the common denominator between them was they both knew all the trappings of money still didn’t buy what was most important.
“I’m not looking for someone to support me,” she said. Her voice was soft. The words weren’t a defense as much as they were a gentle declaration of her independence. “I am scared to death, but there’s something exhilarating and empowering about proving that I can stand on my own two feet.”
His stare was bold and assessed her shamelessly. “That’s what I’ve loved about you from the day I met you.”
His words resonated in her soul a
nd they offered to sweep her away. But she wouldn’t allow herself to take him literally. People used the word love far too casually these days. This man whose hand was holding hers, invading her senses, pulling her into his arms, wasn’t even sure what kind of relationship he wanted with her. Or did he? Because there they were, on the balcony of this gorgeous resort, and as his lips brushed hers again, it was as if they were the only two people in the world.
Unspoken feelings spilled over into the wordless confession of a kiss that affected her all the way down to the core of her being. Places inside her she’d been trying to ignore since the night they’d first kissed in front of her house sparked again, and this time they ignited into a blaze.
He kissed her so thoroughly that she forgot her words...her perfectly logical reasons for not mixing business with pleasure. Or maybe she no longer cared. All she knew was that all the reasons why not were shifting and misting around the edges, and her fears were being transported outside of herself until all that was left was the longing for this man, a longing that had taken root in her soul.
His tongue sent shivers of desire rippling through her, and her body demanded more. She wanted to smash through the walls he’d built around himself and find the real him, the man who needed and wanted and loved. She wanted to bridge the distance and reach the essence of Rob that was hidden behind all the barriers he’d erected to protect himself.
She wanted to prove to him that he had nothing to fear from her. She wasn’t like the others. He didn’t have to be guarded with her. As if reading her mind, his arms tightened around her, encircling her with an intimacy she realized she’d longed for her entire life.
Or maybe it was Rob that she’d been waiting for all her life? This man who shied away from getting emotionally involved. This man who had built barriers around himself out of self-preservation and protection his son. But now he seemed to be letting her in, and the magnitude of what was happening was sweeping her away to sweet places she’d only dreamed of.
Rob groaned softly, and Pepper tried to remember just how long it had been since she’d last tasted a man who overwhelmed her senses the way he did. Someone who made her crave his touch, hunger for his kiss. Someone who made her want nothing less than to be naked with him in bed for long hours until they knew each other so well they were etched in each other’s hearts. All she needed was Rob. When was the last time she’d needed someone so badly— She abruptly pulled away, breaking the kiss and blinking in shock.
Texas Christmas Page 11
