A Family, At Last

by Susan Crosby

  She started to laugh. “It’s like another yellow rose. We’ll remember. Go do what you need to do. But hurry back.”

  He flipped a wall switch, and the fire came to life. He wouldn’t have to tend the fire all night.

  Karyn wandered around the room, studying his space, which was unsurprisingly clutter free, knickknack free and masculine. The only photo was one of him holding Cassidy. She looked to be about a minute old. Cass had the same picture in her room.

  His bed was an enormous four-poster. He’d already folded back the covers, leaving an open expanse of dark blue sheets. She sneaked a peek under the pillows and found condoms. Not just one or two, but six.

  Six.

  It was going to be one glorious night.

  When he returned, he had the dog still on the leash and the vase of roses in his hand. He set the vase on a nightstand, crated the dog then carried it out to the hallway. Then he lit the candles.

  “Where were we?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

  “We’d only just begun....”

  He pushed her blouse over her shoulder as he dragged his tongue along her skin. “I’ve been wanting to do this all night.”

  “What? Tell me exactly.”

  “Uncover you, inch by inch. Your nipples stayed hard all through dinner.” He bit her nipples lightly through her blouse and bra. She dropped her head back and moaned.

  “Are you on the pill?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  He nodded. “I’ve always worn protection.”

  “Good. That’s good.”

  He straightened, kissed her then waited for her to open her eyes. “I don’t want to use protection tonight. I’ve got some, and I will, if you want, but—”

  She lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him. They undressed each other, hands shaking, clothes falling this way and that.

  “I feel like I’ve been waiting a lifetime to see you like this,” he said, admiring her. “It’s only been two weeks since we met, a week since you got here. And yet—”

  She put a hand over his mouth. “No and yets. No what ifs. This is the truth for now. No past. No future. Just the moment. Promise me.”

  “I promise. One long night of moments.” He framed her face, made her look him in the eye. “Give me everything tonight. Don’t hold anything back.”

  Doubt again swirled around her. Could she make love with him and leave? “Will this be our only time?”

  “Would the answer change what’s going to happen? What should happen? We both want it.”

  Except I’m in love with you, so it’s different for me.

  Vaughn lifted her onto the bed then tugged a yellow rose loose from the rest of the bouquet. He used the petals on her body to draw winding paths up, down, over and around. She tasted of roses and vanilla when he settled his mouth on her and explored.

  “Together,” she pleaded, reaching for him.

  He covered her body with his, grit his teeth as he eased into her, wanting to drag it out, to enjoy the intimate connection, for both of them. He watched her face, saw when the ecstasy started and joined her. Fast. Way too fast. Then a slow return to each other’s arms and awareness of the world around them again.

  “Home run,” she whispered, panting.

  “Grand slam.” He rolled onto his side, taking her with him. “Do you want covers?”

  “No.” She nestled close, her face pressed against his neck so that he could feel her breath, still unsteady, then stayed like that for a couple of minutes.

  He closed his eyes, lightly ran his hands up and down her back, and committed the moment to memory. He already wanted her again. He enjoyed everything about her, her curves, her scent, the way she kissed, her enthusiasm. Oh, yeah, her enthusiasm.

  “The bathroom’s behind that door,” he said into her hair, which tickled his nose.

  “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”

  He climbed out of bed to turn down the gas on the fireplace. The room was plenty warm. He stood at the window watching the snow fall in big flakes, drifting down, shutting out the world.

  He turned when he heard the bathroom door open, waited for her to come to him, fulfilling one of his fantasies. He would never tire of that view.

  “You are one gorgeous man,” she said, sliding her arms around him but leaning back so that he could kiss her.

  “You are a goddess,” he said, his lips against hers. “Art should be modeled after you.”

  She seemed embarrassed by his flowery words. He was surprised himself. He didn’t wax poetic to anyone. “It wasn’t a line,” he said, in case she thought that.

  “Okay, then. Thank you.”

  “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want the rest of the champagne or maybe dessert?”

  “Not yet.” Karyn laid her head against his chest, his solid, sturdy, kissable chest. He’d restrained himself, which surprised her. He hadn’t before. He’d always sloughed off his civilized mantle and been so serious. She’d kind of expected, well, not an attack, but something more uncontrolled.

  Not that she hadn’t enjoyed herself. She had. Hugely. She’d just been surprised. In fact the whole evening had been one surprise after another.

  “You are thinking too hard,” he said, his voice rumbling through his chest to her ear. He was also flatteringly aroused already.

  “Care to guess my thoughts, Lawman?” she asked, arching back a little, making eye contact, pressing her hips closer.

  “Would it have anything to do with that bed over there, Hollywood?”

  “It definitely would. May I show you?”

  He laughed. “That was so polite.”

  She grinned, grabbing him by the hand and tugging him toward the bed. “You. There. On your stomach.”

  His brows went up, but he did what she asked, then she straddled his thighs and massaged his rear for a few seconds before she bit him lightly.

  “I loved when you did this to me,” she said, remembering. “Is it okay with you?”

  “Unless I tell you otherwise, assume you have a green light.” He sucked in a hissing breath as she let her fingers wander.

  “Same here.”

  He made a sound that could have meant “the world is flat” for all she knew.

  She cherished him, body and soul. It was important to bring him pleasure, to know she could, to drive him crazy with need. She made him roll over. He reached for her.

  “You can have your turn later,” she said, feeling powerful as she leaned over him—and liking it. It was a first for her, but she didn’t confide that. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to tell.... She hoped not.

  Oh, yes, here was the Vaughn she’d been expecting, the one who lost control—no, gave up control, in this instance. She experimented and refined, laughed when he begged, then finally let him find satisfaction.

  His whole body heaved, his breath ragged. He grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her up and over him, holding onto her, his arms wrapped all the way around her.

  “Proud of yourself, I think,” he said at last, humor in his voice.

  “Very.”

  “As you should be. That was phenomenal.”

  So, he hadn’t known it was her first time. Good. “I love it when you don’t hold back.”

  “I wasn’t just asking it of you,” he said. “It was a promise I was making to you, too.”

  She crossed her arms on his chest and rested her chin there, studying him.

  “You’ve got plans for me?”

  “Do I ever.”

  “Yeah? Tell me.”

  “I’d rather show you.”

  “Tell me first.”

  He did, in minute and graphic detail, leaving her face burning and everything else throbbing.

  “What are you
waiting for?” she asked.

  He didn’t make her wait a second longer.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Morning came too soon. Karyn insisted they watch the Rose Parade in bed, so Vaughn humored her, distracted her and eventually took her attention away from it altogether. In the middle of the night they’d eaten brownie sundaes and taken a bath, which was beyond his fantasy of showering together, although they did that, too, when they couldn’t put off the reality of the new day any longer.

  They didn’t talk about what would happen next. At the earliest they wouldn’t find out the test results for another day.

  They cleaned up the kitchen, made breakfast and ate in companionable silence, at least until Karyn reached across the table for his hand and said, “I wish we had one more day.”

  The phone rang, shattering the moment.

  “Happy New Year,” he said instead of hello.

  “Aren’t you coming to get me, Daddy? I miss Belle.”

  He watched Karyn remove their plates. She was back to wearing her high-heeled boots. “Good morning, Cass. You don’t miss me?”

  “Well, of course I miss you. But Belle needs me.”

  “I need you, too.”

  “Daddy!”

  He smiled. “I’ll be on my way in a few minutes. Did you stay up until midnight?”

  “Did I stay up until midnight?” she asked someone nearby. “Uncle Mitch says almost.”

  “Good for you. I’ll see you shortly, sweetheart.”

  “Bring Belle!”

  “She made it to midnight?” Karyn asked, putting the last mug in the dishwasher.

  “Almost. That probably means ten o’clock.” He came up behind her and put his hands on the counter on either side of her, bringing his body close to hers. “It was a good night, Hollywood.”

  “That would be the understatement of the year.”

  “This is January first,” he said, laughing quietly.

  He slid his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him, her head resting on his shoulder, a cozy, homey kind of gesture. She felt right—and as if she’d been there forever.

  “It’s going to be hard keeping my hands off you now,” he said.

  “Ditto.”

  He turned her, kissed her, then held her for a long time. “Want to come along to pick her up?” he asked, knowing he had to end their idyll sometime.

  “Sure.”

  “Think you can look Mitch and Annie in the face? Because you can be sure they know what we were doing last night.”

  “I’ll just smirk.”

  They crated up Belle and put her in the truck. They held hands, or more accurately, she curled her hand into his. He didn’t know why that felt different, more protective, but it did. Because it emphasized how much smaller her hand was?

  Snow dusted everything, from the trees to the ground, not lots of it but enough to make a pretty picture.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said, her eyes wide, appreciation in her tone.

  He decided not to tell her what a pain the snow could be for taking care of the cattle who wintered on the ranch—the extra food they needed to fuel internal warmth, the sheltering. Sometimes there were drifts waist high. Someone could be driving the plow all day. Fortunately, days like that didn’t happen often.

  They left Belle in the truck. Cass came flying out of the house and leaped at Vaughn, then hugged Karyn with a huge grin on her face. As they went into the house, he heard Karyn say in passing to Mitch and Annie, “My lawyer says to say no comment.”

  “My personal shopper advised me of the same,” Vaughn said.

  “That good, huh?” Mitch said under his breath. Vaughn stared back until Mitch laughed.

  After hugs all around, they headed home.

  “Can we ride today, Daddy? I haven’t ridden in the snow.”

  “Let me see how icy it is. We can’t risk going on ice. What else would you like to do?”

  “I’d like a manicure.”

  “Guess that lets me out.”

  “Men have manicures, you know. And pedicures, too. Karyn and I can give you one.”

  Karyn was loving the conversation, especially because Vaughn was squirming at the idea. “We wouldn’t put polish on your nails,” she said. “Just file and buff.”

  “It’s not like I haven’t had one before,” he said. “When I lived and worked in San Francisco, I did. But most of my clients here wouldn’t trust a manicured lawyer.”

  “Oh, come on, Daddy. It’ll be fun.”

  He sighed. “Fine.”

  “Yay!”

  “Your influence is complete,” he muttered to Karyn as Cass fussed over Belle, getting her overly excited in her crate.

  It set the tone for the rest of the day. They skipped the horseback ride, played games in front of the fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over embers. They were insulated by the holiday, the snow, the lack of everyday routine. Eventually they got around to the mani-pedis. Karyn liked it because she could touch Vaughn. She massaged lotion into his feet and legs, and he closed his eyes and enjoyed it until Cassidy said it was her turn. She chose purple polish for her toes and blue for her fingers.

  Intense and serious, Vaughn applied polish on Karyn’s toes, as meticulous in doing it as he was about everything else in life. It wasn’t professional looking, but it wasn’t bad. He talked her into the same purple as Cass.

  They spent time working with Belle.

  They were like...a family. Karyn felt it all day, that connection, the sense of well-being.

  “How do you usually spend New Year’s Day?” she asked him as they warmed leftovers from last night’s unfinished meal, while Cass watched a Disney movie, Belle in her lap.

  “At Mom and Dad’s watching football. I can’t say I miss seeing the ball games—I’m more of a baseball fan myself—but the rowdiness and the food? That I miss. Especially the food. Wings and nachos. Jen makes this kind of layered dip, vegetarian, of course, that’s out of this world.”

  “Did you miss doing that today?”

  “It would’ve seemed strange without Mom and Dad. Different this year, too, with Annie and Austin. Mitch didn’t even meet them until summer, so it would’ve been their first, too.”

  “They went from meet to marriage pretty quickly, didn’t they?”

  “To hear them talk, neither one of them thought they’d marry again for years. Annie just wanted to raise her son and earn enough with the farm to subsist. Mitch had gone through a bad divorce. He’d even left the country for a few years.”

  “Love conquers all?” she asked.

  “For them, apparently.”

  “Are you seeing bumps in the road?”

  “Not at all.” He’d set the table and poured wine for them and milk for Cassidy. “Mitch felt he knew everything he needed to know about her. Personally, I’ve learned you can’t know someone until you’ve spent a lot of time with them.”

  There it was, the answer to the question she couldn’t ask. “Like how long?”

  “At least a year.”

  Karyn took a mental step back. “If you’d waited that long with Ginger, you probably wouldn’t have Cass.”

  “And I don’t regret that relationship for that very reason.” He came up close. “Change of subject.”

  She waited.

  “We could have the test results tomorrow,” he said.

  “I know. If Kyle isn’t her father, do you want me to leave?” She held her breath, waiting for his answer, surprised she was bold enough to ask.

  Vaughn saw the hopefulness in her eyes. If she wasn’t Cass’s aunt, he had a battle ahead of him with Jason Humphreys—or maybe someone else. He didn’t need the complication of Cass falling in love with Karyn, too, doubling her pai
n if he ended up with a custody battle and who knew what after that.

  And yet, he wanted Karyn’s support, her presence, her shoulder to lean on.

  “Let’s face it when we have to,” he said. “As for tonight, will you spend the night with me? I’ve got a monitor in Cass’s room, and she’s rarely ever awakened during the night. We’ll lock our door. She couldn’t—”

  “Yes,” she said. She wouldn’t pass up another night with him, even though he thought he needed a year, and she didn’t think long-distance relationships worked, not for long anyway. But one last night? She wanted a hundred yellow roses in her memory.

  Cass almost fell asleep at the dinner table. As soon as she was settled in bed for the night, Karyn and Vaughn retreated to his room and the coziness of his fireplace. Naked, they got into bed but just wrapped up in each other’s arms.

  “You said before that you would be back to work on January second,” Karyn said. “What will you do?”

  “New year, new contracts for a lot of people. I also have a personal decision to make. A law firm in Sacramento has been courting me to join them. They specialize in ag and ranch contracts and would like to expand up here.”

  “So it doesn’t mean going to Sacramento?”

  “That would be an easy no if they wanted that.”

  “What would make you say yes?”

  “The days when a farmer or rancher could run their own business just by working hard are gone. There are so many regulatory restrictions now regarding land, air and water—and I agree with them. We need to be kind to the land and the animals because that’s good for people. There’s also worker safety, more regulated now than ever.”

  “Regulated enough to drive families out of the business?”

  “Very much so. The family-based operations need more legal help than ever. Ranchers are specializing, but farmers even more so. Look at Annie. It’s all about organics for her and very specific crops. It’s the best way to make a profit these days.

  “So to answer your question, I’ll say yes if I feel the Sacramento firm can help me with aspects of the business that I’d rather not deal with and if they don’t gouge my clients. I can keep my rates down on my own, but not if I’m part of a firm.”