by Susan Crosby
“I can’t do this,” she said, her face in her hands. She’d rather be alone than live through another Christmas like the three previous ones with her parents.
She didn’t hesitate another second but canceled her flight then called her mother—and lied.
“I’ve got a sinus infection, Mom. The doctor says I can’t fly. Maybe I can reschedule in a couple of weeks.”
“You do sound stuffy.”
Because she’d spent an hour straight crying.
“Karyn,” her mother said then stopped.
“What, Mom?”
There was a long pause, then she said softly, almost apologetically, “We have a tree this year.”
Shock slammed into Karyn. What did that mean? Should she see if she could get her seat back on the plane?
No. She wouldn’t be able to keep the news about Cassidy to herself. She couldn’t give her parents that kind of hope, especially if they were finally coming out of their grief.
For the first time in years they wished each other a Merry Christmas.
Feeling hollow, she pressed Vaughn Ryder’s number on her cell phone. After five rings she was about to hang up when she heard him say hello.
“It’s Karyn Lambert,” she said, trying to shake off her tenuous emotions.
“Karyn.”
Not a good start, she thought. He was all cool and businesslike. “I was wondering about the test results.”
She didn’t hear him sigh, but she was sure he had. “As I told you in an email yesterday, I saw you on Thursday. On Friday I shipped the sample. The lab was closed Saturday and Sunday, so they didn’t receive it until today. And, yes, they did receive it. I checked. It takes seven to ten days for results.”
“Oh.”
“I understand that you’re anxious, but we can’t hurry the process.”
“I just feel so far away.”
“I would agree that 550 miles is a long way. It’s almost to Oregon.” After a brief pause, he said, “The Huntsman’s Lodge is near our ranch. If you’d like to come up at some point and be nearby when the results are in, you’re welcome to. But if your brother isn’t the father, it’d be a useless trip.”
“I’ll think about it. Thanks.”
“Merry Christmas, Karyn.”
“And to you. And Cassidy.”
Take some time off. Gloriana’s words echoed in her head as Karyn hung up the phone. Now that she’d canceled her trip home, she could take Vaughn’s suggestion and drive north. Hang out nearby.
She looked up the motel on her cell phone, then checked the time. If she left at four in the morning, she could be only thirty miles from Ryder Ranch between four and five in the afternoon. She’d researched everything last week, hopeful, saving the route on her phone’s GPS.
Karyn reserved a room, then gathered up the gifts she’d already bought and wrapped for Cassidy, although not in Christmas wrap...just in case. Making several trips to her garage, she stowed everything so that she could just get up and go. She drove to a nearby gas station and filled her tank, then stopped at a market to pick up food for the journey. In the stationery products section of the grocery store she spotted a sketch pad. On impulse she tossed it in her cart.
That evening Karyn didn’t think she would sleep but she drifted right off, which meant she’d made the right decisions, she thought when she awakened hours later, clear-headed, at 3:45 a.m. Traffic was heavy, even then, at least until she got about an hour out of town. Then it was just a long drive with only music and her thoughts to keep her company.
She stopped every couple of hours and stretched, had something to eat, then got going again. She hit traffic again in Sacramento. After that it was smooth sailing until, almost thirteen hours after she’d started, she pulled into the motel parking lot, feeling like she’d played a game of tackle football.
It would be dark soon. She would find a place to get a warm meal then go to her room and crash.
But as she walked toward the office, she slowed, then stopped. Her brother’s daughter could be thirty miles away....
Karyn got back into her car, grabbed her directions and started driving. She didn’t know what she would tell Vaughn when she got there. She didn’t even know if she could find his house within the ranch property, but she’d spotted what looked like might be his on Google Earth. She assumed the small, private roads visible from high in the sky would be marked in some way. Except if she didn’t get there before dark, she would probably have to abandon her quest.
For today.
Luck was on her side. The ranch itself was marked with a large sign. She followed her Google photo of the property, took a side road, then another, then another. Just when she thought she was lost, a house appeared, two stories and beautiful, surrounded by trees and with a paddock and barn behind it. A hitching rail stood in front of the house, which made her smile.
“Well, Karyn, you’re not in Hollywood anymore,” she said, staring.
As she sat in her car admiring the house and land, awareness of her actions the past twenty-four hours washed over and through her. She’d reacted emotionally to Gloriana Macbeth’s normal behavior—she’d overreacted, that is. She hadn’t thought through the potential consequences of showing up here. There was a child involved who had already been hurt by her mother’s abandonment. Karyn couldn’t contribute to that pain.
She restarted her engine. She would return to the motel, as planned. She would be patient and wait for the test results. So what if she was alone for Christmas?
As Karyn put the car in gear, the front door opened and the cowboy lawyer came out.
He didn’t look happy.
Chapter Four
Annoyance wrapped around Vaughn like a lasso on a bucking bronc, pulling tighter and tighter as he went down his steps and headed to the electric blue VW Bug parked in front of his house.
She climbed out. Even angry, he acknowledged he was as impressed with her now as he was the first time he met her. Her super-tall heeled boots gave her height, and her fashionable clothes showed off a body he’d recalled with clarity several times in the past few days, but she also looked totally out of place for the environment.
And...fragile.
Which didn’t stop him from laying into her. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Leaving,” she said, looking panicked. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking. I’ll go right now.” She eyed the house. “Did Cassidy see me?”
“She’s baking cookies with my mother at my parents’ house.”
Some of the tension left Karyn’s face. “Thank goodness.”
“Why are you here?”
She closed her eyes briefly, as if in pain. “You invited me.”
“I believe I told you there was a motel nearby where you could wait for the test results, which won’t be in for at least a week.”
“I needed to get out of town.”
“You made the FBI’s Most Wanted list?”
She shook her head but said nothing.
“Why did you need to get out of town?” She hadn’t seemed like a flighty woman, but appearances could be deceiving. He’d learned that the hard way.
“Christmas isn’t a...good time of year for me. I usually fly to Vermont to see my parents, but I canceled the trip.”
The fragility was there, still, in her face, especially her eyes. “Why isn’t it a good time of year for you?” Then he remembered. He’d learned that her brother had died on Christmas Eve. It took some of the steam out of him, allowing a little sympathy to worm its way into his irritation.
“You ask hard questions,” she said, sort of smiling. “A lot of factors went into my decision, including getting angry at Gloriana Macbeth. I’m always well behaved in public, but this time I wasn’t.”
An
image of the many-times proclaimed sexiest woman alive flashed in Vaughn’s head. “I read she was a client of yours.”
“She was.”
“Ouch. That bad?”
Karyn shrugged. “It was suggested that I take some time off.”
He didn’t want to know more, didn’t want to see the hurt in her eyes any longer. Didn’t want any kind of attachment to her. He’d always been drawn to women who needed taking care of. He recognized it as his fatal flaw.
“I just wanted to meet my niece,” she said quietly.
“That hasn’t been—”
“Confirmed. I know. I just feel it in my bones.”
“I need hard fact.”
She sighed. “I know.” She looked around. “It’s gotten dark. I need to go while I can still see the roads. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
She was too late. He heard his mother’s truck head up the driveway. As soon as the vehicle stopped, Cassidy jumped out and raced to Vaughn. She had red and green frosting not only on her clothes but also in her hair, the same sprung curls as Karyn’s, although blond rather than light brown.
Vaughn stumbled over the introductions, especially when Karyn’s eyes glistened. He gave her name but nothing else. His mother, her short blond hair hidden by her usual straw cowboy hat, looked at him curiously, but Cassidy just offered her hand to shake.
“Nice to meet you,” his daughter said, like an adult, to Karyn.
“Same here.” Karyn looked like she wanted to scoop up Cassidy and never let go.
Cassidy peeked into Karyn’s car. “Do you live in there?” she asked, her green eyes going wide.
Karyn laughed. “No, but it’s full, isn’t it? I’m traveling.”
“Are you staying with us?”
Karyn didn’t take her eyes off Cassidy. “I have reservations at a motel nearby.”
“But why are you here?”
“She came to paint, Cass. She’s an artist.” He ignored the way Karyn fired daggers at him with her eyes as he winged an answer he hoped his daughter would accept.
“Paint what?” Cass asked.
“Whatever interests me,” Karyn said.
“Oh!” Cassidy’s eyes went wide, then she jumped up and down. “It’s my turn! It’s my turn, isn’t it? Finally. Right, Daddy? My official family portrait.”
“Um...” Karyn took a couple of steps back, panic having replaced the daggers. “I don’t—”
Cassidy hugged her father. “Oh, boy! Come on, Karyn. I’ll show where it’s going to go.”
“Sweetheart,” Vaughn said, putting his hands on her shoulders to still her. “Karyn needs to get back to the motel.”
“But it’s dark.”
“Cars have headlights.”
“Cass has a point,” his mother said, a twinkle in her eyes.
Little escaped her. She’d obviously seen there’d been some misperceptions going on.
“She should stay here with us,” Cass said, looking triumphant.
“What?” Vaughn and Karyn said at the same time.
“You have enough room,” his mother said. “It’ll be so much better than driving back and forth. That’s a long trip to make every day.”
“Oh, I couldn’t,” Karyn said, but everyone looked at Vaughn.
“Sure you can,” Cassidy said. “The Ryders are always good hosts, right, Grammie? Right, Daddy? We are known for it,” she added because she’d heard it said for her entire life.
Vaughn felt stuck at first, then he realized he’d been given a great opportunity. She could observe him and his daughter for a couple of days and see what a team they were, how much love they shared, what a good parent he was. The setup could be the advantage he needed to convince her not to take him to court over custody—or whatever plan she had in mind. She’d mentioned instructions in a will—
No, she couldn’t win custody, even shared. Probably. But he didn’t want to hedge his bets.
“Of course you should stay here,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear sooner.”
“And you’ll come to dinner at the homestead tonight,” his mother added.
“Oh, no. Thank you but no. I can’t intrude on family time.”
Since when? Vaughn wondered. Maybe it had been her plan all along.
“Nonsense, dear. There’s plenty of food. You might be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of us—not only our family but our staff, too. It’s a little chaotic but fun.” She gave Cassidy a kiss. “We’ll see you later, all cleaned up.”
“Go hop in the shower,” Vaughn told his daughter when his mother’s truck was out of sight. “Shampoo twice.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She skipped off then hopped the stairs one at a time, her boots hitting each step hard. She slipped them off before she went into the house.
Karyn rounded on Vaughn. “What does she mean about a portrait?”
“All the kids have a portrait done at around this age. She’s well aware of it and has been pressing me to have hers done.”
“I don’t do portraits.” Once again panic had set in her eyes, joining her fear or anger or whatever else she was feeling.
“I saw your art in your apartment—”
She laughed, high and harsh. “The last time I was home my mother insisted I take them with me. I did them in high school. I took pictures and copied them. That’s right. Be scared. I can’t follow through with what you just promised. I might be able to sketch her if I practice a lot, but paint a portrait?”
“You have to.”
She blew out a breath and stared at the ground. “I don’t even have any equipment.”
“We’ll figure something out. Will you try?”
“Of course I’ll try. Just lower your expectations, okay?” Karyn looked toward the house. “She’s adorable. I’m sorry for the situation I put you in, but I’m glad I got to see her and glad I’ll spend time with her.”
“It’s fine. Let’s unload your car.”
Karyn couldn’t get a read on him. She figured he would be so angry with her, but he just seemed...contained.
He reached into her car and hauled out her bags. He picked up the largest suitcase and her garment bag and stood back while she got the others. His mouth quirked up on one side, making him seem years younger than thirty-eight. He was ten years older than she. His graying temples didn’t age him as much as his weathered face, as if he’d been in the sun a lot—or had lived a hard life. She followed him to the house. “You told me before that you have a big family. Does that include siblings?”
“I have three brothers and two sisters. I’m the oldest. The youngest is in her last semester in college. She just got home last night for Christmas.” He opened the door then let her precede him.
Inside, Karyn stopped and stared at the beautiful house. Home, she corrected herself, because it looked comfortable and was filled with personal items like photographs and original art, not all of it Western. Wood dominated but not overwhelmingly. The furniture was slightly oversized, the upholstery inviting. He had a fondness for tabletop-size sculptures, mostly free-form but a few horses, too.
“You coming?” he asked from the top of the staircase.
A suitcase in each hand, she rushed up to meet him then followed him down a hall.
“Did you expect to stay a month?” he asked, nodding toward her suitcases.
“I didn’t know what the weather would be.” She hefted one of them. “Shoes.”
His brows lifted, and she challenged him with a stare in return, daring him to comment.
“That’s Cass’s room on the right,” he said, not pursuing the subject. “You’re on the left.”
“And where are you?”
“The other end on the same side as yours. Don’t go getting any ideas, though. I lo
ck my door at night.”
“I didn’t—I mean, I won’t—”
He laughed. “Just kidding.”
She sort of laughed, too, if a little shakily.
“My door’s always unlocked.” He disappeared into what would be her room, still chuckling to himself.
She liked that he’d teased her, even if it had caught her off guard. Their time together would go much smoother if they could relax enough to joke around with each other.
“This is beautiful, Vaughn, as is the rest of your home.”
“Thanks.” He eyed her. “Is there anything left to bring upstairs?”
“Nothing I need at the moment.” She would leave Cassidy’s gifts in the car for now. They weren’t Christmas gifts, after all. “What’s the dress code for tonight?”
“We’re casual on Christmas Day, but we’ll dress up a little tonight. Not like a fancy dress or anything, but your best jeans and a sweater or something.”
Karyn realized she’d been smiling for a while now. Her best jeans? That was easy. “What time?”
“We’ll head over as soon as Cass is ready. Will that give you enough time?”
“Works for me.”
“I’ll leave you to it then.” He went out the door, pulling it shut behind him.
Karyn opened her garment bag and hung up her clothes, finding the outfit she was looking for and leaving the remainder of the unpacking for later. The guest room seemed huge without him. Like the rest of his house, there were no frills here, but it wasn’t sterile either. Plus it had a private bath.
Her reflection confirmed how tired she was, but a good night’s sleep would cure that. For tonight, his family would be a distraction at a time she needed it most.
Karyn changed into a dark green V-neck sweater with sparkles through it, black skinny jeans and a pair of spiky black heels dotted with rhinestones. She added sparkly snowflake earrings and necklace, spritzed on a little vanilla perfume, then dabbed on some lip gloss.
Her goal tonight was not to get caught staring at Cassidy. Vaughn would understand her obsession, but the rest of his family might think differently.
