“What do you mean?” Alexa asked, her beautiful blue eyes wary, her hands clasped together, each glossy nail a perfect foil for the agitation Cam sensed beneath her calm poise.
“They raised you, and you turned out okay, didn’t you?”
“Yes. And if you want to know if I think my grandparents did the best they could, again my answer is yes. But Cameron and I can raise the twins better.”
“Do you love your husband, Mrs. Sutton?”
Cameron saw her eyes flicker, and she hesitated for just a second. Clearly she didn’t want to answer the question under oath.
But she spoke smoothly and he’d doubted anyone but him could guess how much she didn’t want to answer the question. “I love seeing Cameron play with the boys. I love listening to him talk about his passion for medicine. And the love between him and his brothers colors everything the family does. The twins won’t be getting just a father and mother, they’ll be getting loving aunts and uncles, cousins and—”
“Do you love your husband, Mrs. Sutton?” The attorney pressed her, sensing a weakness he could capitalize on.
Cam’s attorney stood. “Objection, Your Honor. I fail to see the relevance—”
“Overruled. Answer the question Mrs. Sutton,” the judge said.
When Alexa didn’t answer immediately, the courtroom fidgeting stopped. No one whispered or coughed, rattled a paper or so much as shifted in their seat. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
“Let me remind you that you’re under oath, Mrs. Sutton,” the Barringtons’ attorney said.
“I’m aware of that,” Alexa snapped. She looked at her grandparents and then back at Cameron and his gut clenched. “Yes. I love my husband.”
After that, the case moved easily through each of his brothers’ testimony, and by the time the Senator took the stand, it was practically a done deal. However good Alexa had been on the witness stand, her words gnawed at Cameron. Was Alexa telling the truth when she’d said she loved him? The doubt disturbed him. He’d thought they were on their way to a good and passionate marriage, but suppose Alexa had lied so he could keep the twins?
He’d found her courage admirable. And yet he’d wished she could have responded without hesitation. Cam liked being a husband. He liked being part of a family and he liked being married.
Those poor determined-to-remain-bachelors, afraid-to-commit men didn’t know what they were missing. Family was everything, and without it, a man had no place to root himself in the world. Even though Cam was a doctor, he simply couldn’t imagine delivering a baby or saving a life and never having someone to come home to and share the joy with. He liked intimacy, liked sharing, liked loving.
And he’d married a woman who didn’t know what she wanted.
THE SENATOR HAD INVITED the family over for a celebration dinner after the judge ruled the twins would stay with their father and new mother.
The parting scene with her grandparents had been painful for Alexa. No hugs. No goodbyes. Just hurtful glances because she had implied they were behind the series of problems on the ranch.
And now Alexa stood in front of her newly finished closet, her nose screwed up at the scent of fresh paint and wallpaper paste, deciding what to wear. Her silk black skirt and black wraparound top seemed too casual for the occasion, her white beaded pantsuit, too formal.
Cam stuck his head through the door to her room. “Hurry up, sweetheart. The twins will need another bath if you don’t decide soon.”
Alexa groaned. “I should have called Laura and asked her what she was wearing.”
“Something sexy. She wants another child, and she’s determined to make Chase so crazy he’ll forget how hard the last childbirth was on her.”
“You’re a big help.”
Cameron stepped into the room, wearing a black sports jacket that emphasized his broad shoulders over a black sweater with black jeans that made his long legs seem even longer. His gray eyes perused hers, and then his sooty lashes swept down to hide his thoughts. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have thrown Laura’s wanting a third baby in your face.”
Taking her cue from Cam’s elegantly casual attire, Alexa finally pulled out a red blouse and the black skirt and donned them over her slip. “I’m not that sensitive. I suspect the twins are just about all I can handle. So you don’t need to tiptoe around the subject of children, okay? If Laura has another baby, I’ll be happy for her.”
Cam’s nostrils flared just before his eyes turned to smoke. And she knew he was going to kiss her. Anticipation heated her. Cam’s kisses were worth waiting for, and he’d been remarkably generous with them since the custody hearing last week. If he’d been another man, she’d have been sure his mind was bent on seduction.
But Cam had more complicated thoughts. He seemed to have some kind of campaign mapped out to woo her. And she found his intentions not only sexy but invading her dreams at night. Lately her dreams had been erotic, and she kept wondering if he was waiting for her to seduce him.
So she was more than ready for his kiss. A slow heated kiss that had her throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him against her. His spicy aftershave mixed with the scent of his jacket and his natural masculine musk, invading her senses until she wanted to drag him onto her bed and rip off his clothes.
The patter of hushed voices finally wiggled through her consciousness.
“Told you they were kissing.” Flynn’s loud whisper traveled right through the open door.
Jason sounded as if he’d made a new discovery. “He put his tongue in her mouth.”
“That’s yucky.”
“I saw Uncle Rafe breeding a stallion. The stallion’s yang pointed at the moon and he put it right—”
Cam broke their kiss, a smile on his lips. “Boys, we don’t discuss the details of breeding horses in front of a lady.”
Flynn’s little face screwed up with confusion. “But, Dad, Aunt Laura talks about breeding.”
Alexa could see that Cameron was at a loss. His inquisitive sons asked the darnedest questions. Restraining a laugh, she decided to help him out.
She smoothed Jason’s hair and straightened Flynn’s collar. “It’s okay to talk about breeding—but only if the lady brings up the subject first.”
“Okay, got it.” Flynn grinned up at her mischievously. “Are you ready yet? Dad says ladies take a real long time to put on their faces, but yours looks all done and I’m hungry.”
Alexa chuckled. “My face doesn’t come apart into pieces like one of your puzzles.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Your father meant it takes me a long time to fix my hair and makeup.”
“Your hair is clean.” Jason tugged her hand. “Can we go now?”
Cam drove them over to the Senator’s, claiming if they went by horseback they’d be late. But Alexa knew the real reason. The kiss had inflamed her senses and aroused Cameron so much that sitting on a horse right now would be uncomfortable.
Alexa liked the passion that sizzled like lightning between them. But what did she really want? Her life had taken a different path the day she’d learned she couldn’t have children. She’d made the most of her skills and abilities, but now that a new direction offered itself, the chance to have children and a family, did she want to take it?
Would she have wanted children if she could have had them? Maybe. Alexa didn’t know. She most certainly enjoyed the twins. Every time she considered leaving them she thought about how much she’d miss their carefree smiles and delicious hugs, their antics, their curiosity. She loved them.
But did she want to live in Colorado, give up the reputation she’d built for herself in the art world? Then again, she’d always dreamed of retiring and opening her own art gallery in a tourist town, and Highview certainly had enough tourists to support such an endeavor.
During the drive to the Senator’s house, her thoughts drifted as the boys argued over a puzzle in the back seat. It seemed just minutes before they pulled into the Senator’s
drive.
“Look!” Flynn’s excited voice drew Alexa’s attention to Rafe, who was leading a frisky colt onto the driveway.
Sunlight gleamed on the colt’s black back, but it was the delicately arched neck, the proud lift of the head and the intelligent eyes that drew the entire family out of the car to admire the animal.
Rafe, whipcord lean, and elegant from his gleaming black boots to his freshly combed dark hair, held out the hackamore lead to Alexa. His eyes lit with a rakish twinkle and his mouth quirked. “He’s yours.”
Alexa gasped.
“He’s awesome,” Jason said.
Flynn patted his nose. “And friendly.”
Alexa stared at the colt’s finely shaped head, the ears pricked forward. The animal’s graceful neck arched down to well-defined withers, which were in direct line with the croup, the highest point of the rounded and muscled hindquarters. But it was the legs that told her the colt’s value, the feet matching one another in size and shape, the legs muscular and lean and long.
Rafe tipped his hat and placed the lead in her hand. “My gift to you for saving his sire.”
Surprise took her aback. “I can’t accept such a valuable—”
“Take him,” Cameron urged her with a slight smile. “My brother will be insulted if you don’t.”
“But, but…I don’t know anything about training such an animal.”
“You can learn,” Cam said.
“I wouldn’t want to make any mistakes with him. He’s gorgeous but…”
Alexa tried to give the lead back to Rafe. Rafe only refused it and shook his head. “The cost of boarding shouldn’t be much. ‘Course there’s feeding, shoeing, veterinarian fees, insurance, tack and the costs of traveling to the shows—”
“Shows?”
“—and entry fees if you wish to compete.”
“Compete?”
Feeling overwhelmed and knowing she didn’t have the knowledge to do this horse justice, she scratched the animal behind the ears, enchanted with the idea of owning a living thing of such beauty. “I’ll accept him on one condition.”
Rafe and Cameron raised identical eyebrows.
“Is she dumb?” Jason asked. “She can’t give him back.”
“She’s not dumb,” Flynn argued. “She’s scared.”
“Boys—” Cameron’s voice turned stern “—what did I tell you about calling anyone dumb?”
“It’s rude. Sorry, Lexi.” The twins said in unison.
Cameron shrugged. “They have that down a little too pat.”
Were her emotions so obvious that two-year-olds, granted extra bright two-year-olds, could see the fear on her face? Alexa refused to accept so valuable an animal when she had no conception of the responsibilities required to care for him.
“What’s your condition, Alexa?” Rafe finally asked.
“We go partners on him, fifty-fifty.” Alexa held out her hand for Rafe to shake.
Rafe hesitated, looked at Cameron, who nodded slightly, then took her hand. “Partners.”
They shook on the deal, and then Rafe motioned for a ranch hand to take the foal back to his mother. Alexa watched the proud prance of the animal and knew, regardless of whether she stayed as Cam’s wife, she would come back often to check on the colt’s progress.
“She’s looking at the colt like she looks at you,” Rafe teased Cameron.
“You’re just jealous,” Cam teased right back.
“Of a horse?”
“Very funny. Now that the partnership’s settled, let’s go eat.” Cameron steered Alexa toward the front door.
Behind them, Rafe took each of the twins by the hand, shortening his long steps to allow them to keep up. “Do you boys know what a partner is?”
Jason frowned. “She gave you back half the horse?”
Flynn’s high-pitched voice asked, “Why, Uncle Rafe?”
“Because sometimes when you give away half, you get more than if you kept everything for yourself,” Rafe answered patiently.
“I don’t get it.”
“Me, neither.”
“The horse will be more valuable if I train him, because I’m an expert,” Rafe told them.
“I want to be an expert.”
Alexa took Cam’s hand and they entered the house together. Once, she’d felt a stranger here, but now as Laura and Chase, Tyler and the Senator greeted them, and the kids raced toward the dining room, feelings of contentment stole through Alexa. This was the family she’d always wanted.
“Would you like to freshen up?” Laura asked her. “I’ll take you upstairs.”
After petting the horse, Alexa did want to wash her hands, and she also appreciated the chance to speak to Laura alone. They climbed a carpeted staircase lined with family portraits. No stuffy pictures for the Senator. His pictures were framed shots of little boys riding and playing and growing up on the ranch.
Alexa vowed to study them another time. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you…”
“About Cameron?” Laura’s bright green eyes turned to Alexa with a twinkle.
“As a matter of fact, Cameron would be furious with me if he knew I was discussing this with you.”
Laura’s face broke into a friendly grin. “Sounds interesting. I adore gossip.”
Alexa slipped into the first bedroom they came to. “It’s something that’s bothered me for a long time, and Cameron forbade me to say anything to you, but…”
Laura seemed to realize that Alexa wasn’t going to ask some deep secret about Cameron’s past but about the recent problems on the ranch, because her face turned serious. “The men in this family tend to be overly protective of me. Sometimes it’s great. More often it’s a pain in the ass. Talk.”
“The day the bridge exploded, Bodine said he saw someone who looked like you riding in the distance.” Alexa hesitated. “I just wondered if you saw anybody or anything unusual that day.”
Laura’s eyes darkened. “Why didn’t Cameron just ask me?”
“He didn’t want you to think we were accusing you of anything.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’m not made of glass.” Laura stared unseeingly out the window at the green mountains, and Alexa could almost envision her memories turning back to that day. She twisted her fingers through her gorgeous blond hair as she concentrated. “I didn’t hear the blast because Julie and I had taken the twins and Keith out for a ride, and Julie had the radio turned up. Leo brought us a picnic basket for lunch. But I didn’t see anything unusual.”
“Would you have noticed my grandparents’ car?” Alexa asked, hoping to put her doubts behind her.
“Maybe. Maybe not. When the twins and Keith get together, you need eyes in the back of your head.” Laura repeated Chase’s favorite expression with a sigh. “Sorry I can’t be more helpful.”
“Helpful about what?” Chase wandered into the room, and both women jumped.
Laura gave him a bright smile. “Just woman talk.”
Her sister-in-law wasn’t a good liar, but Chase seemed inclined to let it go. He winked at his wife. “I like woman talk.”
“And pillow talk,” Laura teased him right back, took his arm and led him downstairs.
Relieved at their departure, but jittery and a little ill at ease from going behind Cameron’s back to question Laura, Alexa took in several deep breaths. To calm herself, she washed her hands and freshened her makeup, then joined the others for dinner.
As she looked across the table at Cameron and into his shadowed gaze, she knew he suspected the subject of her conversation with Laura. But it wasn’t until they’d gone home and tucked the kids into bed that he stopped her at the upstairs landing overlooking the first floor, cornered her and asked, “So what did you and Laura talk about?”
Ignoring his question, she gestured to the finished living area below. The painters and wallpaperers had done a fine job, and the comfortable leather furniture she’d ordered fit in well with the elegant but snug look she’d been s
triving for. Cam hadn’t mentioned whether or not he liked the finished product, nor had he complained about the bill she’d rung up on his credit card.
“You did a great job and I like the way you’ve turned this place into a home. Now tell me about your conversation with Laura.”
Although he was making her feel as if she’d betrayed him, she didn’t bother lying. But the conversation was going to cost him. She had a few very expensive pieces of art she wanted to hang on his walls. “Laura told me she and Keith met up with Julie, Leo and the twins for lunch the day the bridge exploded.”
Cameron stiffened and anger radiated from him like rain clouds coalescing across a midnight sky. “I specifically asked you not to—”
“Laura didn’t mind.” Although Alexa trembled inside at the sharp edge in his tone, she kept her voice breezy.
His eyes flashed rare annoyance. “That’s not the point. We agreed—”
“You think my grandparents could have hired Leo? He brought them all a picnic lunch.”
“You’re trying to divert me by changing the subject.”
“We aren’t going to agree on this one. Besides, I don’t find it pleasant when you’re angry with me,” she admitted, hoping her words would make him realize that she did care about his wishes—even if she went against them.
Just then, Cameron’s cell phone rang. “Sorry, someone might need me.” He flipped open the phone and listened for a moment, then snapped it shut. “That was the sheriff.”
“And?” There was something he didn’t want to tell her. Something he was considering that he wanted to protect her from.
“Remember the references those security guards used in Denver?”
“Yes.”
“The phone bills were paid by money order.”
“So they can’t be traced.”
“Probably not, but we did learn something interesting.”
“What?”
“You aren’t going to like it.”
“But I should know, right?”
“The phone bills were sent to a post-office box…in Boston.”
Chapter Twelve
At the raw pain in Cameron’s voice, Alexa embraced him, her hands curling up his back, her chest, hips and thighs pressed to him. He gathered her close, breathing in her scent as she tipped her head back and looked into his eyes.
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