by Kristi Gold
Caroline looked at him curiously. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yeah. She hated him. And I believe her.”
“Is that your head talking or your heart?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” He knew exactly what she’d meant, and he hated being that obvious in his admiration.
She gave him a knowing smile. “I’ve seen the way you look at her, and the way she looks at you. I sense quite a bit of mutual admiration between the two of you.”
Ford stared at what was left of the booze in his glass. “Once I found out she had nothing to do with Spencer’s murder, I realized I liked her a lot. Actually, I liked her before I found out. Crazy, huh?”
“No, not crazy at all. I understand completely. I knew I was in love with Lucas not long after we met.”
In love? Ford sat back and drained the glass dry. “I didn’t say that, Caroline.”
“Love truly isn’t so horrible, Ford. And you know, California isn’t, either. It’s really a rather nice place to live. Especially in the Napa area.”
He knew where this was leading. Time to rein her in. “I have a farm. And a business. Abby’s there. My life is there. In Nebraska, not California.” Funny how he’d sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well as Caroline.
She didn’t look the least bit ruffled. “Then perhaps you might consider taking a souvenir back with you.”
Normally Ford might be angry over the less-than-subtle hints, but he couldn’t be mad at Caroline. Playing dumb was his best defense. “Well, I thought about picking up some of those weird spices from Chinatown for Abby.”
Caroline stared at him like she could see right through him. Probably because she could. “Ford, I hope that you don’t let what your mother did ruin your chances of finding someone special. Not every woman is like her. And I hope you forgive me for trying to sound like your mother.”
If only she had been his mother, then maybe his history with successful relationships might not be nonexistent. “I hear what you’re saying, Caroline. But I just met Kerry. I have no idea how long I’ll be here, and it’s probably best to keep things light between us.”
After a pat on his arm, she took her hand away and laced it with the other in her lap. “Of course, dear. You know what’s best for you. I trust you’ll find that special someone some day. Maybe sooner than you think.”
Ford already had a special lady. Kerry Roarke was special in many ways. And he hadn’t realized until that moment how much she’d begun to affect him. But he didn’t care to confess that to Caroline—or even to himself.
Kerry knocked twice and was almost ready to give up when the door swung open to Anna Sheridan. “May I help you?”
A polite enough greeting, but Kerry noted the wariness in her brown eyes. “You probably don’t remember me, but we’ve met before. Kerry Roarke, Spencer Ashton’s former assistant.”
“I remember you. Why are you here?”
From her distrustful tone, no doubt Anna believed Kerry had replaced her sister in every way. “If I could come in for a minute, I’ll explain. It’s important.”
Anna didn’t budge. “Can you at least give me a hint?”
“I have a message to give you from Grant Ashton.”
Kerry immediately noticed the change in Anna. Her stern expression brightened and her shoulders seemed to slump, as if hearing Grant’s name made her boneless. “You’ve seen Grant?”
“No, but his nephew, Ford, received a letter from him. I’m here on his behalf. And I promise this won’t take long.”
Finally Anna moved aside and allowed Kerry to enter a small living area decorated with rough-hewn furnishings and a lot of quilts. “Have a seat and I’ll be right back,” Anna told her before disappearing down a hallway.
Kerry took a seat on the sofa and nervously thrummed her fingers on the cushions as she prepared a mental laundry list of questions to present to Anna. She had to be kind, considerate and above all, cautious. Otherwise, Anna could very well boot her out before she had answers.
Anna returned shortly thereafter and sat on a small chair catty-corner to the sofa. “I’ve put the baby to bed early because he didn’t have his nap today. He could wake up a few times before he’s down for the night.”
In other words, make it quick, Kerry. “I understand. First of all, Grant wants you to know he’s going to be okay.”
She looked away. “But he’s not okay. He’s still in jail.”
“True, he is. But Ford’s trying very hard to get him cleared.”
“Anyone who came in contact with Spencer Ashton suffered for it.” Her acid tone indicated the extent of Anna’s hatred.
Discretion was definitely in order, Kerry decided. Otherwise, Anna might stop talking altogether. “I know. I worked for Spencer Ashton. He could be very charming. It’s understandable why a woman like your sister would have fallen victim to that charm and suffered for it.”
Anna finally brought her attention to Kerry. “But you didn’t?”
“No. I’d heard about him through the office grapevine, and I knew immediately he couldn’t be trusted. He was a master manipulator.”
“How well I know. He definitely manipulated Alyssa.” She leaned forward, a world-weary look on her face. “And I hold him responsible for her death. He wanted her to get rid of the baby, and when she wouldn’t, he wrote her off completely. He didn’t even have the decency to check on her when she called and told him she was in labor. By the time she got to the hospital, she was hemorrhaging. It’s a miracle they saved Jack. But they couldn’t save her. In a way, I think she gave up.”
Although it was bad form to think ill of the dead, Kerry despised Spencer Ashton more now than she ever had. “I’m sorry, Anna. At least Jack has you now.”
“I’m all that he has.”
Which would give Grant prime motivation to protect her if, in fact, she was somehow involved in the murder. “Anna, I hate to ask this, but I have to know. Do you have any knowledge about what happened the night Spencer was murdered?”
Her shoulders tensed, but she failed to look at Kerry. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Oh, but she did. Kerry had become well versed at reading people, although Ford had been the exception. But in a way, she’d probably known he was hiding something; she just hadn’t wanted to see it. Anna Sheridan was definitely hiding something.
“Did you have anything to do with his murder?”
Surprisingly, Kerry saw no anger in Anna’s expression. “I hated him, but I would never risk leaving Jack alone. So the answer to your question is no. I did not kill Spencer Ashton, even though I never shed a tear over his death. And I am positive Grant didn’t kill him, either.”
“How do you know that for sure?”
“Because he was with me that night, all night, right here.”
That was not what Kerry had been expecting. She hesitated for a moment, trying to regroup from the shock. “If that’s true, why haven’t you come forward?”
Anna’s eyes welled with tears. “Because he told me not to. He was afraid for me and for Jack. Afraid for Jack because of some threats we received on his life. And afraid for me because he thought the police might believe we were in on the murder together. I asked him to let me tell them, but he made me promise I wouldn’t.” A few tears drifted down her cheeks, and she swiped them away with the back of her hand. “But I can’t do it anymore. I’ll come forward. I’ll take a lie detector test if I have to. Anything to get him out of that horrible place.”
Kerry considered going to her and giving her a hug, but Anna stiffened her frame and resumed her calm in short order. “So now you know the truth. If you’d like, I’ll ask Caroline to stay with Jack and I’ll go with you back into San Francisco to talk to the police tonight.”
At the moment Kerry wished Ford were there to hear the truth and to advise her on what to do next. All she knew right then was Anna looked as if she might crumble in a mild wind. “One night isn’t going to matter, Anna. I
’ll have Ford call you in the morning and arrange a time for you to come in to the police station. I’m sure he’ll want to accompany you.”
She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes. “I can’t stand the thought of Grant being in that place even one more hour, much less another night.”
Unfortunately, Kerry was in the position to see the reality of the situation where Anna was not. “I seriously doubt they’ll release him immediately.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s going to take time. I suspect they’ll want to know why you waited to come forward, and they’ll have quite a few questions.” They really might believe she was in cahoots with Grant, a fact Kerry didn’t feel Anna could handle at the moment.
Leaning over, Kerry pulled a tissue from the holder set out on the end table, stood and handed it to Anna. “Are you going to be okay in the meantime?”
Anna dabbed at her eyes, sniffed, then tucked her auburn hair behind her ears with one shaky hand. “Sure. I’ll be fine. As long as I know Grant will finally get out, I’ll take whatever might come.”
If only Kerry could be so sure Grant would be released, but she wasn’t. “I’m going back to the house to talk with Ford. Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Only Grant’s freedom.”
Spoken like a woman in love, something that was more than obvious to Kerry, even if Anna Sheridan hadn’t admitted it to herself, or to him. And as Kerry traveled back to deliver the news of Grant’s alibi, she also recognized she had fallen in love with Grant Ashton’s nephew.
During the drive back into the city, Ford tried to be optimistic, but even in light of Anna’s revelations, he was too afraid to let himself believe. “It might not be enough,” he muttered without taking his attention from the road.
“We’ll have to wait and see. I personally think we have enough to get Grant cleared. Or at the very least, get him out of jail for the time being. We just have to keep hoping.”
He reached across the console and took her hand. She had become his sanity, keeping him grounded yet providing an escape when he’d needed it most. “Thanks for everything. I owe you.”
She lifted his hand and brushed a kiss across his knuckles. “You can pay me back when we get to the hotel.”
Ford intended to do just that, with a long, hot session of lovemaking. He looked forward to holding her all night, waking up to her in the morning. Just thinking about that made him want to punch the accelerator and speed all the way back into the city. In deference to safety, he refrained.
After a few moments passed, Kerry pointed to a bend in the road that separated the highway from a gravel drive. “Turn right.”
He shot her a look of confusion. “Why?”
“Because I want to see something.”
Ford wanted to see her naked, and soon. But he couldn’t refuse her anything right now, if ever. “Okay, but this better be good.”
“It will be.”
When he turned onto the narrow road, Kerry instructed him to pull over to one side. Once he had the vehicle parked, she hurried out of the car and rounded the hood, signaling him to follow. By the time Ford got out, she’d already crossed the street to stand on the other side.
As he approached her, she said, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” without turning around.
He had to admit that the rows of grapevines, turned gold by the light of the three-quarter moon, were pretty impressive, but not as impressive as Kerry.
Moving behind her, Ford wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. “You’re beautiful.”
She looked back at him and kissed his cheek before returning her attention to the panorama. “Does it look like this at midnight in Nebraska?”
“Yeah. Minus the vines, of course. Lots of corn, especially right before harvest. Abby and I used to play hide-and-seek in the stalks when we were kids. In fact, we hid from Grant or Buck on more than one occasion.”
“That must have been wonderful.”
At times Ford hadn’t realized how much he’d taken for granted, until he’d seen the world through Kerry’s eyes. “I had a good childhood.” Even with an absent mother, who’d never been much of a mother at all.
“You know, mine wasn’t so bad when my mom was alive. She used to take me on long walks and never told me I couldn’t climb trees or swim in the creek. I miss being that carefree. I still miss her.”
He was going to miss Kerry when he had to leave. Badly. “I can’t even imagine what it would be like not having Grant around.”
“Then don’t imagine it. Don’t invite that into your life.” She turned into his arms to face him. “Do you know what you need?”
“No, what do I need?”
She smoothed a hand over his chest. “A distraction.”
He couldn’t agree more. “Oh, yeah? What kind of distraction?”
“This kind.” Clasping his nape with one hand, she bent his head to meet her lips and kissed him but good. A long, hot kiss that caused Ford’s body to jolt to life.
She pulled away and smiled. “Did that help?”
“Some, but I could use a little more distracting.”
“And I have the perfect way to do that.”
Ford expected her to kiss him again, but instead she caught his hand and led him to the back of the SUV. After dropping his hand, she raised the rear door and climbed inside. Ford definitely enjoyed the view of her butt while she pulled a latch and pushed the rear seat forward.
Turning, she sat down at the edge of the cargo space, her long legs dangling, her skirt riding up her thighs, and patted the space beside her. “Come here and let me get your mind off your troubles.”
Just thinking about what she might do had Ford close to losing his mind. Once he settled beside her, she slipped off her heels, tossed them behind her and then nudged him to his back.
“What exactly do you plan to do to distract me?” he asked although he was fairly sure he already knew the answer to that.
“Guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” she told him as she pulled the tails of his shirt from his jeans.
He sucked in a deep breath as she raised the polo until she had his abdomen exposed. “Now you really have my curiosity up.”
Slowly she lowered his fly, keeping her gaze on his face as she traced the outline of his erection through his briefs. “I do believe your curiosity isn’t the only thing that’s up.”
Quite an understatement. “You’re definitely right about that.”
Lowering her head, Kerry placed soft kisses right below his navel as she grasped his waistband. He gritted his teeth when she worked his slacks down his thighs. This kind of distraction could very well kill him. “Kerry, I…” He couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.
After raising her head and nailing him with a sultry look, she reached up and pressed her fingertips against his mouth. “Hush and just let me do this.”
“Someone might drive by,” he muttered as she pushed his briefs down to join his slacks.
Surprisingly, she laughed while Ford didn’t find a damn thing funny about the situation. Hot, but not humorous.
“We’re on a rural stretch of road at a quarter past midnight,” she said as she ran a slow fingertip down his length. “And if someone does happen to come by, too bad.”
Too good, Ford thought when she enveloped him in her warm, sweet mouth. He twisted his hands in her hair to secure himself against the total sexual charge. With every pass of her tongue, every draw of her lips, he grew harder than stone, balanced on the brink of coming completely unwound.
As much as he enjoyed what she was doing, Ford didn’t want it to end this way. He wanted to be inside her when he couldn’t hold out any longer. He wanted her to take this trip with him.
Pulling her head up, he kissed her hard, kissed her quick, then said, “Do you still have that condom in your purse?”
She grinned. “Yes, sir, I sure do.”
“Get it.”
When she
crawled forward and leaned between the front seats, Ford couldn’t resist lifting her skirt and forming his palm her between her thighs. As he’d predicted, she was hot and damp and ready for some action. And while she rummaged through her purse, he slipped his hand beneath the silk panties and touched her without mercy.
He heard her gasp before she declared, “Found it.”
So had Ford, and he knew just what to do with it. Kerry went limp, her arms braced on the back of the passenger seat, her hips moving in sync with his fingers. He lifted her skirt, pressed his open mouth to her bottom and slipped a finger inside her. This time she moaned as he stroked her, inside and out, her breath riding out in an uneven tempo. She trembled as Ford quickened the pace, determined to rock her world the way she had rocked his. He didn’t let up until he’d brought her to a climax than made her knees buckle.
She regarded him over her shoulder, her body still limp against the seat. “You are determined to drive me crazy.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Plan or not, now it’s my turn again.” She scooted back and stretched out beside him, tore open the condom and did the honors herself. Ford realized they didn’t have a lot of room but he was damn determined to make this work. While he was considering how he was going to get inside her without knocking himself out in the process, Kerry shoved his pants farther down, slinked out of her panties and then straddled his thighs. She guided him inside her, her hair flowing down in a golden veil around him. For a brief moment, he considered how this would look to anyone who happened by—his legs still partially out of the SUV, his pants down around his ankles and an incredible woman on top of him. Frankly, he didn’t give a tinker’s damn how it looked, not when Kerry took him on a reckless ride straight into oblivion.
He kept one hand on her breast and the other in motion between her legs as she moved in a slow rhythm up and down his shaft. “Don’t hold back,” he said in a harsh whisper, relinquishing all his control to her.
He saw understanding dawn in her expression before she resumed a wilder pace. He witnessed a total look of awe as the pleasure took over. He felt the pulse of her orgasm while he was seated deep inside her, and that nearly drove him over the edge completely. But he didn’t want it to end now, even though his body was saying something different. Even though every muscle in his gut constricted with the effort to prolong the experience. Unable to fight any longer, he clasped her hips beneath the skirt and lifted his own hips to meet her with one final thrust. He shook from the strength of his own climax and automatically pulled her down against his racing heart.
