by Sara Orwig
She laughed. “Wyatt, if you marry, for her, it will not be a marriage of convenience.”
He grinned and propped his head on his hand to look down at her. “I should keep you around to give my ego a boost.”
“I don’t think your ego needs the slightest boost. You have enough self-confidence—enough to slip over into arrogance.”
“Arrogance? Me? I don’t think I’ve been accused of that before.”
“Then you’ve been around people who did not speak out as much as I do.”
“That’s accurate,” he said and she laughed with him. He pulled her close, hugging her tightly as he stretched beside her. He felt hard, warm and solid and she felt another pang at the thought of telling him goodbye.
How had she fallen in love with him? She should have guarded her own heart. They hadn’t known each other long but she suspected she might be in love with him for a long time to come. She shivered as she thought of how cold her life would be without him in it.
He pulled away slightly to look intently at her. “Are you cold?” he asked, grabbing a sheet to pull over them. “Maybe I need to warm you again—or we can sit in a steamy tub or have a hot shower. What’s your preference?”
“With you, how could I care which it is. You pick something. This is good right now.”
He pulled her close. “So we stay right here in each other’s arms.” After a few moments of silence, he shifted so he could see her face. “Do you plan to marry? Have a family?”
“I’ve raised one child and feel as if I’ve had a family, so it’s not so urgent, but I do want a family. A family is the best part of life. Later, maybe. I really have never found the right man.”
“You would disillusion a universe of men if you made that announcement public.”
“I know better than to do that,” she said.
“My brother Nick is green with envy over your public relations skills. He would like to hire you, but he knows he can’t.”
She laughed. “He never gave an indication of that. After meeting your brother, though, I don’t think he needs any help with PR. He’s handsome, likable and with the tragedy in his life, he’ll be sympathetic to some. He’s a smart man and evidently, he’s had successful political campaigns already and made all sorts of contacts here and in Washington.”
“You’ve described Nick perfectly.”
“Now, Tony... I would love to have your youngest brother on my show. Actually, each of you would be interesting. In fact, if I could get the three of you to appear—”
“Forget it, lady. No way will the sheriff of Verity, Texas, appear on Unsolved Mysteries.”
She laughed. “I’ll wager I can get Tony and Nick to appear if I ever do a show about Verity.”
“I won’t take that wager. Nick would love the publicity and Tony would love flirting with you.”
“Maybe Lindsay Calhoun is taking the wrong approach with Tony. I can’t imagine fighting with him.”
“There’s not a guy on this earth who would fight with you. But Lindsay can be tough. You haven’t met any of the older generation of Calhouns and Milans—that’s where the feud is still alive. Lindsay’s mother won’t speak to any of the Milans. The Judge talks to us, but he doesn’t like us. My folks don’t like the Calhouns. Go back and find any grandparents—that feud is still going.”
“Now you tell me.”
Destiny rolled Wyatt onto his back and lay on top of him, placing her hands on the bed on either side of him to raise herself slightly. Watching him, in a slow move, she rubbed her breasts lightly against his chest. His expression changed and his blue eyes darkened, desire burning in their depths.
He wound his hand in her thick hair and tugged lightly, drawing her down to kiss her. In seconds she pulled back enough to straddle him, running her fingers lightly over him and playing with him. He was aroused, ready to make love, and he placed his hands on her narrow waist and turned her over so he was above her.
“I want you now,” he whispered and kissed away any answer she had.
* * *
Later Saturday morning, Destiny sent a text to Amy telling her to take a few days off and tell Duke and Virginia to do the same. Destiny wrote that she would see them Monday.
From that moment on, she tried to shut the future, even the next week, out of her thoughts. She lived for the present moment, enjoying Wyatt’s company and his ranch, until late in the evening after they had made love and she was in his arms as they lay on their sides talking.
“Wyatt,” she said, “you’re not still in love with Katherine, are you? You’re just afraid to risk loving again.”
He stared at her for a few silent moments. “I suppose you’re right. I don’t really want Katherine in my life anymore. I just never want to go through that kind of loss.”
“Life doesn’t come with guarantees. Sometimes it’s worth the risk.”
He looked amused and one corner of his mouth lifted. “Is this a proposal?”
“Don’t be silly.” She cocked her head and looked intently at him. “I’m not ready to say goodbye.” She ran her fingers in his thick hair. “I’m here, Wyatt. You better guard that frozen, locked-away heart of yours well. I may want to unlock it more than I want to find the secrets of the Wrenville house.”
His eyes narrowed a fraction and then his expression changed when he gave her another faint smile. He ran his fingers lightly over her bare shoulder. “You just want what you can’t have, Destiny. You rise to a challenge. If I’d propose to you, you’d say no and I’d probably have a difficult time getting to see you.”
“You think? Well, you haven’t, so hang on. As the man said, ‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,’” she drawled in a breathy, sultry voice. She leaned closer, tracing the curve of his ear with the tip of her tongue, then the corner of his mouth and then his lower lip. “Maybe it is the challenge I love. We’ll see,” she whispered.
With a groan Wyatt enveloped her and he kissed her possessively, a hard, deep kiss that ended all talk.
Hours later, she lay stretched against him, held in his arms while he slept for the first time since they had been together. She shifted, turning on her side to look at him, placing her hand lightly on his chest. His arms tightened around her, but in a short time, he relaxed and soon his breathing was deep and even again.
She had found the thing he feared most—being hurt again. She knew that with his attitude toward love there was no permanent future for them, yet she loved him and she didn’t want to pack, tell him goodbye and return to Chicago to never see him again. This was the first time love had come into her life. She was surprised, shaken and uncertain how to deal with it.
She settled against him, staring into the room that had only one soft lamp glowing. How could she have fallen in love with him?
* * *
Sunday night she was in his arms, sitting between his legs in a king-size bathtub of hot, sudsy water. “These have been decadent, wonderful days and nights, Wyatt. We’ve loved, danced, loved, eaten, showered and loved some more. Hasn’t been much sleeping going on.”
He chuckled. “We can catch up later on sleep. This is much better. A chance you might call and cancel going back tomorrow?”
“No way. We’d be the talk of the town.”
“Might at that. I suspect we might already be. You’ve disappeared with me for the weekend and your staff is on a break. No one has missed us much—to put that correctly, no one has missed me. I hope they think I’m showing you the sights.”
“Best sights ever,” she said, caressing his thigh.
“I’m the one who has had the best sights,” he said as he cupped her breasts in his warm, wet hands.
“It’s been good, but I should go back to town tomorrow morning. You know I should have gone back tonight.”
“I know no such thin
g. I want you here with me as long as possible.”
“You’re making me rethink Monday. Maybe we should let the town gossip. I’ll bet they haven’t had anything to gossip about you since my sister was here.”
“Not even then. Everyone was so taken with the movie as well as Desirée that they had a lot of things to talk about. Let’s get out of this tub and you can text Amy and tell her you’ll be back Thursday before you change your mind.”
“So now it’s Thursday you want. Wyatt, that’s almost a whole week.”
“There’ll be gossip either way, so make it Thursday. We’re already the number-one gossip topic in Verity.”
“You’ll get tired of me,” she replied.
“Let me dispel that idea right now,” he said, lifting her cascade of auburn hair to kiss her nape.
* * *
It was two in the morning on Thursday when he took her to her suite at the Verity Hotel and it was four in the morning before Wyatt left to drive to his Verity home and get an hour’s sleep before work.
He got to the office before anyone else arrived. A little before seven Val arrived and minutes later Dwight entered.
“It’s been a calm, quiet week,” Val said.
“People have been getting to know the Boydens and Ms. Osgood, who is as nice as Destiny,” Dwight said. “We had her out to dinner Sunday night because my wife got to know her when she talked to her at length about Destiny’s first book,” Dwight stated.
“The Boydens drove to Dallas. They got some tips on places to eat, things to see,” Val added.
Wyatt didn’t want to think about Destiny’s staff and how their job here would soon be done. All too soon now she would leave for Chicago. He wasn’t ready to tell her goodbye. He wanted her to stay a lot longer. “I’ll go see what’s on my desk,” Wyatt said, turning to leave.
“Duke Boyden said they will go out to the Wrenville house today and spend the day. He didn’t say, but I think they’re going to look for the legendary letter that Lavita is supposed to have written,” Dwight said.
“I wish them lots of luck,” Wyatt remarked dryly. “I don’t think any such letter exists. I can’t imagine that Lavita Wrenville had a fortune to hide or any big secret she actually intended to pass along. Kids have hunted through that house in years past over and over and never found anything.”
“Are you going to try to stop her from looking?” Val asked.
“No. Let them look. It won’t hurt, as long as they don’t disturb the structure of the house. When it reverts to Verity next year, we’ll go through it carefully first and tear it down, but that’s different.”
Wyatt headed to his office, leaving the door open as he sat behind his desk. There was no way he could stop her search, but at least she was bringing an air of excitement and fun to everyone so far. He might as well resign himself to acceptance. She’d won this round.
He received a text and pulled out his phone to read it.
Miss you. Going to W. house later if you want to join us. Will look around for the letter.
See you this pm. Plan on dinner with me, he replied. He wanted to see her and he missed her when he got to his house from the hotel in the early hours. For certain he wanted her in his arms when he went to bed tonight.
If he could, he would go to the hotel now and make love to her this morning, but he didn’t think she would cooperate and he knew he had work to do. Nothing earthshaking though, but he would really stir gossip if he took more days off. He smiled, thinking she had set his world spinning a different direction. Nothing had been the same since he had spotted the red limo in his parking spot. It had been a red flag warning of change in his quiet life.
He thought about her going back to Chicago. Even though they hadn’t talked about it, he knew it would be soon. He was going to miss her. That realization still shocked him. He never missed the women who went out of his life—at least, not since Katherine.
He thought about Destiny’s warning that she wasn’t ready to say goodbye. He was certain that simply was because if he had proposed or begged her to stay longer, he thought she would pack and go, turn down his proposal and be on her way without a qualm. She was accustomed to getting her way and having things under control in her life and that was what the warning to him had been about. They weren’t in love.
The moment he declared that to himself, he frowned. What did he feel for her? He didn’t want her to go back yet. Later, it would be okay, but right now she was a fantastic lover and he wanted her with him in his bed for a lot more nights before they said goodbye. He liked the long talks they had, the fun, the silly moments, just being with her and looking at her, holding her soft warmth close in his arms. She was one person he could talk freely to about whatever he wanted. She always seemed interested and was a good listener, even more so than Katherine had been. He wanted to keep her in his life a lot longer.
It was a good thing he hadn’t fallen in love with her. She wouldn’t return the emotion and she would be gone in a flash. He couldn’t imagine Destiny settling on a ranch in obscurity. She was meant for the life she had—out in public, in the limelight, playing to an audience. He wasn’t in love, but he wanted to be with her right now, tonight, and he didn’t want her to go back to Chicago anytime in the near future.
His phone rang and he saw it was Dwight.
“Wyatt, Duke Boyden is here. He wants to see you.”
“Send him back,” Wyatt said, hanging up and standing to walk to the door. As soon as Duke came in sight, Wyatt smiled. Dressed in his black chauffeur’s uniform that pulled across his thick shoulders, Duke approached him with a swing of his shoulders in a take-charge walk that was masculine and proclaimed control. In seconds, Wyatt offered his hand to receive a tight grip.
“Come in. Have a seat.”
“Sure,” Duke said, following Wyatt into his office and closing the door.
Figuring Destiny had sent Duke to ask him something about the Wrenville house, Wyatt sat in the other wingback chair facing Duke.
“Sheriff, I don’t want you to take offense, but I thought we should talk.”
Startled, Wyatt focused more intently on Duke. “Sure. Go ahead.”
“Virginia and I have known Amy and Destiny a long, long time. They’re both like sisters to me.”
Forgetting the Wrenville place, Wyatt waited in silence.
“I just want to try to avoid seeing Destiny get hurt.”
Wyatt had to bite back a laugh. The moment was too ridiculous for him to get angry. “How’s that?”
“It’s just that she’s never been interested, really interested in any of the men she meets. I think she might be in you. She doesn’t usually get very involved with any of them. I don’t want to see her unhappy.”
“I think you made this clear before. And I think you’re being influenced by Desirée.”
“No, not at all. Desirée wants nearly every man she meets and she’s on an emotional roller coaster over them.”
“I still feel that there might be a threat in this conversation.”
“Oh, no, not at all,” Duke said blandly. “I’m just looking out for Destiny.”
“She’s a grown woman.”
“I know, but she’s still vulnerable. People are in matters of the heart.”
“I think I can put your mind at ease. There is no matter of the heart here.”
“Actually, she just spent a week with you. Destiny doesn’t do things like that.”
They stared at each other and Wyatt knew he had just been threatened and that Duke felt Destiny was in love, which was not the situation. They were deeply involved in hot sex, nothing more.
“Do you always talk to the men who take her out?”
Duke stared at him for a few seconds before shaking his head. “This is a first. There’s never been a need before a
nd I’ve known her and chauffeured her since her mother was alive.”
Wyatt was silent. Now he was puzzled and his curiosity had deepened.
Duke stood so Wyatt came to his feet. “I’ve got to get back. She wouldn’t be happy if she knew I was here, because she feels she can take care of herself. She’s a caring woman. She’s taken care of her parents, her sister, her grandparents, Amy. Destiny is a caring person and I don’t want her hurt.”
“She won’t be unless it’s because she doesn’t find anything at the Wrenville house,” Wyatt said and Duke gave him a hard look.
“Maybe we’ll see you out there. Don’t come to the door. I know my way out,” Duke said and left, leaving the door open behind him.
Wyatt shook his head. The man was part bodyguard, part pit bull and all protector. Problem was Duke had threatened him and there was a law against threatening an officer of the law, but Wyatt wouldn’t pursue it and Duke knew that he wouldn’t.
According to Duke, that was the first time he’d ever talked to a man about his relationship with Destiny and he had known her for years—maybe since she was a teen. That meant Duke thought she was more serious now than ever in her past. Did he think she was in love?
That thought shook him slightly, but Wyatt felt Duke was wrong about how serious his relationship was with Destiny.
Wyatt went back to his desk, trying to go through the mail. After thirty minutes, he shoved aside the stack of letters. He had read three, but his thoughts kept jumping back to Destiny. Twice he had reached for the phone to call her.
Wyatt slammed shut his desk drawer, got up and took his hat off the rack to jam it on his head. He walked down the hall in long strides.
When Dwight looked up, Wyatt nodded. “I’m going to the Wrenville house to see what Destiny and her staff are doing.”
“Sure,” Dwight said, his eyes getting wider. “She’s going to be disappointed. No one thinks there is anything in that house. Not a fortune—not even a little money and no letter revealing which man shot the other.”
“I agree, but she doesn’t live here, so she has high hopes.”
