One Night with You

by Francis Ray

  There was silence and shared looks filled with unwavering love and devotion.

  “Go on,” Luke said.

  Brandon agreed. “Cameron couldn’t be happier. So are Faith and I. Duncan deserves the same happiness.”

  Blade kissed Sierra lightly on the forehead. “If there is anything I can do.” He didn’t have to finish.

  “Then we’ll do it,” Sierra said, stopping to get a glass of iced tea before heading outside.

  Raven accepted the glass from Sierra to be polite more than from wanting anything to drink. Her trembling hand caused the ice cubes to clink against the sides of the glass. In the quiet, the noise seemed unnaturally loud.

  “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to,” Ruth said. “We’ll just sit here. It’s a beautiful day. We haven’t been home long.”

  “Phoenix had an exhibit at the hotel, and we all went,” Faith said.

  “Faith’s idea to incorporate different art forms in the hotel is gaining national recognition,” Mrs. McBride said. “She’s done wonders at the hotel.”

  “It’s easy to see Faith loves what she does,” Sierra said. “Her career is her passion. Just like Mama’s is teaching.”

  Mrs. McBride stared at her daughter. “And she’s smart enough not to throw it all away.”

  “Mother,” Faith said, reaching out to take her mother’s hand in hers.

  “Sometimes you aren’t given a choice,” Raven said quietly. “You can’t have both.”

  “Have you changed your mind about wanting tenure at St. John’s?” Ruth asked.

  Raven looked at the glass in her hand, then set it on the marble-topped table in front of her and went to stand by a bed of blooming pink rosebushes. “As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted security, stability, a place I didn’t have to leave, roots. I thought I had found it here.” She faced the other women.

  “And now?” Sierra asked.

  “I’m not so sure.” Raven circled her waist with her arms.

  “Duncan?” Sierra asked.

  Raven blinked. Sierra had lulled her once again into revealing more than she intended. She tried to backtrack. “Sierra, I appreciate all you and Blade have done for me, but my personal life is off-limits.”

  “Of course,” Ruth said, going to Raven. “Sierra, like all of us, just wants to help with whatever is troubling you.”

  “And I appreciate your concern, but there are more men in the world than just Duncan,” Raven said.

  Sierra was too sharp not to figure out what was going on between Raven and Duncan. She should have been more cautious.

  The last thing Duncan or she needed was a take-charge person like Sierra to become involved. Raven had initially wanted to talk to Ruth because she’d been so successful in marrying off her five children. She’d had a good marriage until her husband was killed in a plane crash. She knew how relationships were built, how they worked.

  Too late, Raven realized Ruth had been successful because she knew her children so well. Ruth and Raven had only known each other a little over a year. No one could help her.

  “Faith, don’t forget you have to call Duncan and let him know Raven is safe,” Sierra said.

  Raven’s gaze snapped to Faith. She didn’t have to look to know Sierra had seen her reaction.

  Faith came to her feet. “Is there anything you want me to tell him?”

  This time Raven was ready. “Please thank him for allowing me to do the research. It will be immensely helpful on the path to gaining tenure.”

  “All right.” Faith went back inside.

  “Then you’re staying at St. John’s?” Mrs. McBride asked, coming to her feet as well.

  “Yes,” Raven responded, hoping her smile wasn’t as forced as it felt. “What I said earlier was only nerves. I have an appointment with the president of the college on Wednesday to discuss my findings and the paper I plan to write. I guess I was trying to psych myself up in case it doesn’t go the way I want.”

  “Could have fooled me,” Sierra said mildly.

  Raven glared at Sierra. She might be the daughter of a woman Raven respected and the wife of her benefactor, but Sierra was beginning to irritate Raven. “Since this isn’t your concern, it hardly matters.”

  Sierra’s brow shot up. Slowly she came to her feet. “I shouldn’t have to remind you that my husband went to considerable expense, then and later, to put security around the cave. It is my concern.”

  “Sierra,” Ruth said.

  Raven snatched her arms down and stepped toward Sierra. “That’s right, your husband. Not you.”

  Sierra met her. “Blade isn’t just my husband. He’s the other half of me. My heart beats faster when I see him. He’s my joy, my everything. Perhaps one day you’ll have enough courage to go after what you want and find out what I mean.”

  Raven gasped.

  “Sierra, that’s enough,” Ruth said.

  “Sierra,” Blade called. “Let it go.”

  Sierra kept her gaze on a silently fuming Raven for a long second, then turned toward Blade, stopped, and looked back. “If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t care. If you want to talk, you know how to find me.”

  Raven didn’t want to talk; she wanted to throw the glass of tea at Sierra’s retreating back. How dare she!

  “Forgive Sierra,” Ruth pacified Raven. “She speaks before she thinks, and isn’t shy about interfering in other people’s business. She means well.”

  That’s debatable, Raven thought. “I’m leaving.”

  “I’ll walk you to the door,” Ruth said.

  Good idea. If Sierra said one more word, if she looked at Raven wrong, she would show her what it was to cross her.

  “Wait,” Mrs. McBride protested when they moved toward the door. “Please. Was she right? I have to know. Are you the woman who is going to break the curse and save my son, save Duncan?”

  Chapter 17

  Duncan jerked up the phone on the second ring. “Is she all right?”

  “Yes, Duncan,” Faith said.

  He relaxed back in his office chair, then realized Faith, usually talkative and happy, wasn’t either. “What’s the matter? Is it Mother?”

  “No. No,” Faith quickly rushed to assure him. “It’s . . .”

  He straightened abruptly. “You and Cameron are still happy, aren’t you?”

  “You always worry about us. We worry about you. You deserve a wife and children.”

  But he’d never have them. “I make a great uncle. Ask Joshua.” Cameron hadn’t known he had a son until Joshua was over four years old. “Are you and Cameron still happy?”

  “We’d be happier if you had what we have,” she said.

  “Who would have me?” he asked, trying to tease her out of her morose mood.

  “Sierra seems to think Raven would.”

  “What!” He shot up from his seat. “What happened! What did Sierra say? Is Raven upset?”

  “Slow down, Duncan, but at least I have my answer.”

  He tried to think of a plausible explanation for his outburst. “It’s just that I remember how tenacious Sierra can be. Raven doesn’t deserve to be picked on.”

  “From what I heard, Raven can take care of herself.”

  “What happened?” Duncan paced as he waited for an answer.

  “Nothing much. Sierra pushed and Raven pushed back. They’re both strong-willed women,” Faith disclosed. “The thing is, earlier I was watching Sierra. She pushed, but it wasn’t malicious. I think it was to get Raven to open up.”

  About us. “Sierra should mind her own business.”

  “I got the distinct impression that Blade and her mother will impress that upon her,” Faith told him. “The thing is, Sierra has a will of her own.”

  “She’d better leave Raven alone.”

  There was a short pause. “Duncan, is Raven special to you?”

  She’s just my world. “I already told you.”

  “Yes, you did. Why don’t I think you’re not being completely
honest? What I can’t decide is if it is just with me or yourself, too.”

  “The Double D is the only mistress I’ll ever have,” he said, gazing out the window to the mountains beyond.

  “I don’t believe that, Duncan,” Faith said fiercely. “Cameron thought he’d never be happy in a relationship after Caitlin walked out on him. Now, he, Caitlin, and Joshua couldn’t be happier.”

  “And Mother and Father are miserable.”

  Another pause. “I wish we could help them. They were so happy once.”

  “Forever isn’t for everyone.” Talking would solve nothing. No matter what he said, his father wasn’t taking his mother back irregardless of how much he still loved her. “Thanks for calling.”

  “You can call Raven yourself. She should be at home by now.”

  “There’s no need. You gave me the information I need.”

  “All right, be stubborn. Just remember, I love you, and anytime you want to talk, I’m here.”

  “I’ll remember. Good-bye, Faith.” Duncan placed the receiver in the holder. The trouble was, he remembered too much.

  Raven slammed into her house, paced, and clenched her fists. Who the hell did Sierra think she was? It was a good thing the Maserati was gone or Raven would have been tempted to have Buddy give it a “kiss.”

  The thought of Sierra’s outrage on seeing a dent on her precious luxury car almost made Raven smile. Instead she plopped down on the sofa she’d dragged from California when she accepted the job at St. John’s. She might have to move a great deal, but she wanted her surroundings to be constant.

  Like her slow cooker.

  She leaned her head back. Leaving the slow cooker at the Double D had been her way of helping Rooster take care of Duncan, and she hoped each time he saw it, he’d think of her and miss her and eventually he would come and get her.

  Are you the woman who is going to break the curse and save my son, save Duncan?

  Her eyes closed. The hope in his mother’s eyes tore at Raven’s heart. She hadn’t been able to answer. Head down, she’d walked away.

  Angry, feeling hopeless and helpless, Raven had quickly gone to her Jeep and driven home. How did his mother expect her to break the curse and save Duncan? His mother certainly hadn’t figured out how to win back the man she’d loved and divorced.

  Life. You never knew what it would throw at you.

  Perhaps her mother was right. Have no expectations and you weren’t disappointed. Before the thought completely formed in Raven’s head, she knew she couldn’t live that way. She couldn’t drift aimlessly through life. What she didn’t know was what to do next. Pushing up from the sofa, Raven went back outside and began to unload her Jeep.

  “It didn’t work,” Stella McBride whispered softly, her voice unsteady. “Raven couldn’t save Duncan.”

  “I wouldn’t be sure about that,” Ruth answered.

  Stella glanced up sharply. “What?”

  Ruth sat on the living room sofa beside Stella and placed her hand over Stella’s clasped ones. “I believe, like Sierra, that Raven and Duncan were romantically involved. He wouldn’t have been so concerned otherwise, and she wouldn’t have been so upset.”

  Stella bit her lip. “But if they can’t work through whatever problems they’re going through, it will devastate him. Duncan hated that he wasn’t able to keep his marriage together. He felt the fault was all his instead of that immoral woman he had the misfortune to marry.”

  “Failure is a part of life,” Ruth told her. “It’s what you do afterward that makes the difference.”

  “Sometimes, no matter what you do, the failure remains,” Stella answered, lowering her head.

  Aware that Stella referred to her divorce, Ruth gently squeezed the other woman’s hand beneath hers. “It won’t this time.”

  Stella’s head came up. “What do you mean?”

  “We have an unexpected ally.” Ruth smiled.

  “Who?”

  “Sierra,” Ruth answered. “You wouldn’t know it from looking at her now, but initially in elementary school she didn’t have very many friends. She hasn’t forgotten those lonely days and is a champion of anyone she thinks could use a friend.”

  “But Raven and Sierra had words,” Stella said with a frown.

  “Sierra has a tendency to push people to make them reveal more than they intended.” Ruth patted Stella’s hands again. “My guess is that Sierra is already working on a plan to help Raven and Duncan realize their hearts’ desire and go after what would make them happy.”

  Hope glimmered in Stella’s eyes. “What would make Duncan happy is a woman who loves him.”

  Ruth nodded. “And just as I first thought, Raven is that woman.”

  “You’re going to help Raven and Duncan, aren’t you,” Blade said. It was a statement, not a question.

  “It’s nice when the man you love knows you so well.” Nestled on top of Blade in their bed, Sierra smiled; then her expression grew serious. “They need my help.”

  His warm laughter drifted over her naked length as his hand swept up and down the curve of her back. “I suppose you already have a plan.”

  “Of course.” A smile on her face, she kissed him. “This time Mama needs my help.”

  Jet-black eyebrows lifted. “Mrs. Grayson set them up?”

  “I’m sure of it.” A frown darted across Sierra’s forehead. “I thought it was strange when she didn’t ask Professor Waller, an old friend, a soror, and a professor of archeology at Bozeman University, to authenticate the cave. She lives an hour from Duncan’s ranch.”

  He shook his head. “Your mother does have the talent, and I thank God for it.”

  Sierra kissed him again, this time longer, deeper. “But unlike all the others, I nabbed you all by myself.”

  “You still think it wasn’t by chance that Mrs. Albright requested Shane’s help?”

  “Positive. Fate had a hand as well, since Shane and Paige had met before he went to Atlanta, but it was Mama who brought them back together. Since they’re ecstatic, it doesn’t matter how it happened, only that it did.” Sierra chuckled.

  “What?”

  “I have a strong suspicion that Rio is on her list, but he seems to have figured it out.” Sierra made a face. “He has a habit of disappearing when Mama shows up.”

  Blade nodded. “I’ve noticed, and he’s not afraid of anything or anyone.”

  “Shows he’s a smart man.”

  Blade swept his hand through her hair. “He hasn’t figured you out. Like tonight when we arrived home and you told him you’d delivered me back safe and sound so he could go to bed.”

  Her hands palmed Blade’s face. “I know that he and Shane used to shadow your every move, that since Shane’s marriage Rio is in charge and has to be out in public when he’d rather be in the background. I might tease him, but I’m aware he worries when we’re out and he isn’t with us. I also know that, if needed, you and he could handle any situation.”

  “This life isn’t what you envisioned, is it?” he asked.

  She glanced around the enormous bedroom and saw the fifteen-foot stone fireplace, the elegant English and French antique furnishings, the silk-draped four-poster, then finally the most important thing, the man who held her heart. “There is no way I could have imagined such complete happiness, that I would feel so safe and secure with a man, a man whom I can share my most intimate thoughts with, a man who, with just a look, turns my knees to jelly.”

  “You’re my passion, my life,” he said fiercely.

  “We’re blessed. It would be tragic if Raven and Duncan had a chance at even a fraction of what we have and they didn’t take it.” Sierra’s eyes narrowed. “Duncan’s ex did a number on him. She chased men and, when it was over, the entire town of Elks Ridge knew it.”

  “That kind of betrayal is hard to overcome, but not impossible with the right woman.”

  “Exactly. Duncan needs a little nudge to realize that Raven is worth the risk. Men have to be shown
the way occasionally.”

  “Since I was a bit slow, I won’t take offense for the male population.”

  As she grinned at him, her hand slid down the warm, muscled length of his body and closed on his erection. “You’re not slow any longer.” She kissed him, straddled him. “Tomorrow I start on Duncan; tonight is for us.”

  The next morning, a few minutes past six, Sierra dialed Duncan’s phone number. She’d been up since five. A smile curved her lips as she watched her naked husband and the reason she had asked him to wake her up at five enter their bathroom. She wanted to help Raven and Duncan, but she wasn’t about to skip the sensual pleasure of slowly waking up in Blade’s arms and making love.

  “Morning, McBride.”

  “Good morning, Duncan; it’s Sierra.” There was a telling pause on the other end. Duncan, a smart man in most things, probably thought she had called to interfere. She had, but not the way he expected.

  “Yes.”

  “On behalf of Blade and my mother, I just wanted to thank you for allowing Raven to authenticate the caves,” she told him, then waited a beat. “Raven is presenting her findings to the interim president at St. John’s on Wednesday. She said she’s a bit nervous.”

  “Raven isn’t afraid of anything,” he said forcibly.

  “I’m just repeating what she said,” Sierra said innocently. “Perhaps you don’t know her that well.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s the bravest—” He stopped abruptly.

  “Mama is certainly in her corner,” Sierra commented to get the conversation going again. “I’m thinking of having a get-together Saturday night and inviting some of Blade’s single male business associates. A woman can’t spend all of her time working.”

  “You—”

  Sierra put her hand over her mouth to smoother her laughter and thought it was a good thing their conversation was on the phone or she might have had to defend herself. “Well, I won’t keep you. I wanted to catch you before you left the ranch house. I have things to do myself and a possible party to plan. Bye.” Sierra hung up the phone and went to join Blade in the shower. Let Duncan stew on that!