by Leanne Banks
Daniel cringed. “Oh. That would suck.”
“You’re telling me,” Zach said and took another long swallow from his drink. “Why isn’t a proposal, a ring and a commitment forever enough?”
“Women,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “I’ll never really understand them. Like I’m trying to take care of—” He broke off abruptly as if he’d thought better of stating his thoughts aloud.
“Take care of what?” Zach asked.
Daniel shook his head. “Nothing that’s gonna make any difference.”
“Sounds like a woman,” Zach said.
Daniel looked at him and grinned. “Could be right.”
“Does this have anything to do with the property you’re thinking about buying that’s close to mine?”
“Don’t ask. Don’t tell,” Daniel said.
“Whoa,” Zach said, his mind working double time. “I’m trying to think what could possibly draw you back to Logan County.” He paused, searching his memory. “The only thing that comes to mind is Chloe Martin. She has a kid. Not sure what’s going on with her husband…”
Daniel’s face turned dark. “Like I said, don’t ask. Don’t tell.”
“Is her husband alive?” Zach asked
“No,” Daniel said. “Next subject.”
Understanding how much pain a woman could cause a man, Zach cut his brother some slack and changed the subject as he’d requested. “I like that singer Trace Adkins. Do you?”
“Yeah,” Daniel said. “I think the man has suffered.”
“Most of us have,” Zach said.
A blonde stepped between them at the bar and smiled at both of them. “How ya doin’, boys? Wanna buy me a drink?”
Zach briefly thought of another time in his life when he was free and could hit the sheets with a woman for a night of mindless satisfaction. Even though the woman bared the tops of her breasts and smiled with sensual invitation, he felt nothing.
“Sorry. I could buy you a drink, but that’s where it would end,” he said.
“Me too,” Daniel said.
The woman gave a wry smile. “Thanks for being honest. I hope I find someone like you.”
Zach watched her walk away as did Daniel.
“We are in a bad, bad way,” Daniel said.
“Yeah,” Zach said. “It’s just plain sad.”
“So how you gonna work it out with the princess?” Daniel asked.
“No idea,” Zach said. “Maybe another Jack and Coke will tell me.”
Daniel laughed. “Good luck with that.”
Zach took a taxi to his Dallas apartment and stripped out of his clothes, then sank onto his bed alone. His brain was swimming. His arms were reaching for Tina.
She’d filled his nights and dreams, making him forget his pain with her body and warmth. Tonight he instinctively reached for her, but she wasn’t there. She’d become more than a warm body to him. She’d warmed his cold soul and heart. But he still couldn’t let her in. Letting her in could destroy him. How could he possibly remain strong if he let down his guard to her?
His gut twisted and he felt more empty than ever. Swearing to himself, he wondered how he could keep her without becoming vulnerable….
Tina stayed awake until well past midnight. Zach didn’t return, she noticed. She slept in the guest bed because she couldn’t imagine returning to his bed. She didn’t know if he would want her. She didn’t know if she could give herself as freely as she had in the past.
She resented Zach’s reluctance to discuss his loss with her. At the same time, she understood it. Sometimes loss was private, but she also knew that keeping silent could cause wounds to fester. When her father had died, she was given instructions from palace PR how to properly discuss her grief. The same with her mother, who had died years before.
Be strong, she’d been told. And Tina had done her best, but now, years later, she wanted and needed a more authentic relationship, one where they didn’t hide important things from each other.
For the next several weeks, Zach spent most of his time working in Dallas. He called Tina every day to check on her, but their conversations felt stilted. Although she’d focused on helping with the children’s hospital charity event, Tina couldn’t help feeling cranky about the wide gulf that separated them. He might as well be in Timbuktu.
After finishing another conversation with Zach, Tina returned to the kitchen to continue counting the receipts from the charity event with Hildie and her niece.
Several moments passed while she concentrated on the pile in front of her.
“You’re quiet,” Eve said. “Anything wrong?”
Tina sighed. “Nothing more than usual,” she muttered.
Eve widened her eyes. “Then what’s the usual? The lunch with a princess event was a huge hit. We made a lot of money.”
She shrugged. “It’s not the charity event. It’s the useless conversation I have every day with Zachary. Same question, same answer. Done in two minutes. Even after my latest ultrasound showed I’m carrying a girl, he didn’t seem to have much to say. If he’s going to spend all his time in Dallas, it makes me wonder why I’m staying here.”
“Zachary has always divided his time between the ranch and the businesses in Dallas,” Hildie said. “It’s not unusual for him to be gone a month at a time if business is going well. I was surprised he managed to stay here as long as he did when you first arrived. He’s usually in town at least one day every two weeks. Often more.”
Tina nodded, but she wasn’t at all sure Zachary’s motivation didn’t stem from their argument the day before he left. “The timing for this trip seems a bit coincidental.”
“How’s that?” Eve asked, stretching a rubber band around her receipts and setting them aside.
“We had a discussion the day before he went to Dallas. It didn’t go well,” Tina said.
Hildie refilled each of their cups with hot tea. “I can’t imagine what kind of discussion would bother Zachary that much. Unless it concerned Jenny and the baby.”
Tina couldn’t quite conceal a small grimace.
“Oh, no, you didn’t,” Hildie said.
“I think it’s important that we’re open about this,” Tina said. “He clearly has strong feelings about the fact that I’m pregnant. I mean, he doesn’t love me, but he asked me to marry him and—”
Eve’s jaw dropped. “He asked you to marry him? Why didn’t you tell us you two were engaged?”
“Because we’re not,” Tina said. “I turned him down.”
Both women stared at her in shock.
“You turned down a proposal from Zachary Logan? The father of your child?” Hildie asked.
“He doesn’t love me,” Tina said.
Hildie snorted. “That would change. With the right people, love will grow.”
“No wonder he’s camping out in Dallas,” Eve said.
“You act as if this is all my fault,” Tina said. “All I wanted was for Zach to share a little about his relationship with his wife with me. Just a few words.”
“Easier to rip out his spleen,” Eve said.
“Or his liver,” Hildie added.
Frustrated by the accusatory looks from the women, Tina met their gazes one at a time. “His proposal included the words. It’s the right thing to do.”
“Well, it is,” Hildie said.
Eve paused. “Yeah, but I can see your point. If you’re looking for hearts and flowers, it was missing in a big way.”
“If you’re looking for hearts and flowers from Zachary Logan, then you’re looking in the wrong place. Zachary is more solid than all that. He’s the kind of man who will stay true.”
“I wasn’t wanting hearts and flowers. I wanted to know that he wasn’t marrying me just because I was pregnant.” She folded her hands together. “I wanted this proposal to be different. I’ve received proposals from other men where our marriage would have been a kind of barter. A trade of my title and position for something they could offer my country
. With Zach, I just wanted to believe love between us was really possible.”
“I can’t blame you for that,” Eve said.
Hildie’s mouth was set in a frown for a long, silent moment. “Well, if you’re serious about this love thing, then you better realize it’s gotta go both ways. Maybe you could do a little more on your end, if you get my drift, your highlyness.”
Chapter Twelve
That night, Tina tossed and turned. The suggestion that she should extend herself more to Zach irritated her. After all, she was here on his ranch in Texas instead of Paris, Italy or even her own country. That should mean something.
Besides, after their picnic disaster and Zachary’s subsequent disappearance, he should come to her. He was the one who’d been unreasonable. And for goodness sake, she was a Devereaux. A Devereaux didn’t go chasing after ranchers.
For one flicker of a moment, she thought how horrible that last thought would sound if she said it aloud. Tina groaned. She sounded just like a princess. Oh, heaven help her and everyone who encountered her in her current mood.
She would do something, she told herself. She didn’t know what, and she didn’t know how, but she would do something. Tomorrow, she resolved. It was after 2:00 a.m. and she and the baby needed their rest.
Dragging herself out of bed the next morning, she stayed in her room while she sipped a cup of tea and wished it were coffee. Her head felt as if it were full of mud. She stared out her window at the changing colors of the landscape of Zach’s ranch. Although the temperatures were still warm, the vivid greens of summer were beginning to fade with the changing of the season.
Feeling a kick from the baby, she smiled and put her hand over her belly. She had always been protective of her family and people in need, but she’d never felt such a consuming urge to shield anyone as she did her baby.
A tap on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Yes?” she called.
“It’s Hildie,” the housekeeper said and opened the door. “What can I fix you for breakfast?”
“I’m not very hungry. I can toast myself an English muffin,” she said.
Hildie lifted her eyebrows in disapproval. “The baby may want more than that to eat.”
“The baby’s fine,” Tina said. “She’s doing her morning kickboxing. Would you like to feel her?”
Hildie looked hesitant, then quickly moved toward her. She extended her hand and Tina drew it against her abdomen. The baby gave several quick kicks and Hildie’s eyes widened. “She’s a little pistol, isn’t she?”
Tina nodded and laughed. “My thoughts exactly.”
Hildie sat gingerly on the chair beside Tina, her hand still resting on Tina’s belly. Longing darkened her gaze. “I planned on having children, but when my husband died after six years of marriage—” She shook her head.
“And you never met another man who interested you enough to give him a chance?” Tina asked.
Hildie shook her head and lifted her lips in a sad smile. “Chet was my one and only. I was a lucky woman to have him every day that I had him. I just wish I still had a piece of him by having a child, but it wasn’t meant to be.” She removed her hand from Tina’s abdomen. “Feels like she quieted down a little now.”
“I never dreamed how amazing it would feel to have a baby growing inside me,” Tina said. “Yes, there are definitely some discomforts, but it really is a miracle. Speaking of miracles, I have been thinking about what you said to me last night. At first, I was offended, but I’ve decided you may be right. Perhaps I should make an overture toward Zachary.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Hildie said with a firm nod. “Shows you’re a good, strong woman.”
“Thank you,” Tina said. “In order to make my overture, however, I’m going to need your assistance.”
Hildie immediately looked doubtful. “My assistance?” she echoed and immediately shook her head. “If you think I’m going to take you anywhere without notifying Zachary, then you’re wrong. Princess or no, you got me in big trouble last time. Zachary made it perfectly clear that—”
Tina lifted her hand. “I want to surprise Zachary at his Dallas apartment. I’d like to take him a meal. We can prepare the meal tomorrow and you can drive me to his apartment where I will surprise him when he arrives home from work. Now tell me,” Tina said, putting her hand over Hildie’s. “What could possibly go wrong with that plan?”
After Hildie showed Tina her secret recipe for Zachary’s favorite pot roast with onions, potatoes and carrots, Hildie and Tina made a few quick stops along the way to Zachary’s apartment so that she would arrive about an hour before Zachary was expected to leave the office.
Tina adjusted the shades on the windows and rearranged the small bouquet of flowers as she waited for him. She felt a crazy combination of emotions as she fluttered around the apartment where she and Zach had shared that first passionate night together.
She wondered how he would feel about her unexpected visit. A home-cooked meal would push aside some of his reservations she hoped, and glanced at the clock again. Hildie had given her precise instructions for reheating the roast. According to the time, she could begin the process in eight minutes.
Too edgy to relax, she poured herself a glass of water and walked through the small apartment again. Although the living space appeared comfortable, it was so generic-looking that she wondered how Zach could possibly stand to spend so much time here without adding just a few of his own belongings to make it feel more welcoming.
“It’s been a rough week for both of us,” Daniel said. “Let’s go out for a steak.”
“I don’t know,” Zach said. He’d been wrestling with memories and regrets all day. “I thought I would just grab a burger and watch some mindless TV tonight.”
Daniel made a face. “That’s what you do every night. C’mon. We can go to Hooligan’s Bar and drown our sorrows together.”
“We just acquired a new company for nearly nothing. What do you need to drown your sorrows about?” Zach asked.
Daniel scowled. “I don’t wanna talk about it. Just like you don’t wanna talk about it.”
“I don’t know if this is a good idea. That place can get wild on Friday nights.”
“Stop arguing and come on. It’s not like you have any other plans,” Daniel said.
Tina put the pot roast on at precisely the time Hildie had instructed, added the dinner rolls to the oven, then put salad into bowls. Although she had rarely set a table, she knew how. Glancing at the clock, she sat at the small dinette table and wished she had brought something to read or her laptop.
Instead, she checked her text messages and voice mails. Her sisters were finally starting to settle into performing their official duties, although they often complained to Tina.
During the last few months, Tina had shared tips on making their tasks easier, but she truly believed that dividing the assignments was what made the job less of a beast.
Her brother, however, was still the same beast he’d always been. He’d gone through a threatening stage with Tina. Then he’d turned silent, refusing to speak to her. As much as Tina loved her brother, his silence had been far easier to bear.
She wished he would find a woman, or at least a mistress. Surely that would ease some of his…frustration.
The timer went off, signaling that dinner was ready. Tina glanced at the clock and frowned. No sign of Zach. He must be staying a little late, she decided, and turned off the oven. Hopefully, he would be home soon.
Minutes turned into hours and Tina didn’t know what to do. This was supposed to be a surprise, so she didn’t want to call him. She considered calling Hildie but didn’t want to drag the housekeeper into the situation any further. Hildie had been a nervous wreck during the entire drive from the ranch.
Sighing, she decided to wait. She turned on the television. Knowing Zachary, there was a perfect explanation. And it wasn’t as if he’d known she would be here. She just hoped she didn’t ruin the roast before he arrived.<
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Hours later, Tina awakened to the sound of the door opening and footsteps. She rose from her cramped position on the sofa in front of the television. She wasn’t sure when she’d fallen asleep.
“Zach?”
Zach came to a dead stop in the hallway just outside the den. “Tina?” he asked, rubbing his face as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Relief shot through her and she walked toward him. She noticed his hair and clothes looked disheveled. “Yes, I was hoping to surprise—” She broke off as she caught a whiff of his breath then something else that immediately made her stomach knot with suspicion. “Where have you been?”
Zach raked his hand through his mussed hair. “Daniel insisted on taking me out to dinner. He said I needed to get out. How long have you been here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
She noticed his words were just slightly slurred and frowned. She’d been waiting here like the good little wife while he’d been out drinking. “You smell like liquor,” she said, darts of fury poking through her like spikes.
“Yeah, I had a few too many. I took a taxi home,” he said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when—”
“You also smell like cheap perfume,” she said, identifying the other odor he was wearing.
Zach lifted his hand. “That’s not my fault. Daniel was flirting with these two women and they kept trying to get me to dance. One of the women was really pushy and sat down on my lap. The only way I could get her away was by leaving.”
Tina was so upset she could hardly breathe. “Sitting on your lap,” she said, barely swallowing the urge to shriek. “Is this what you’ve been doing every night? No wonder you haven’t returned to the ranch. You’ve been too busy having all your fun.”
“No,” he said, but she couldn’t stand to hear any more excuses. She felt like a total fool for waiting for him while he’d been out drinking and letting pushy women sit on his lap.
“I need to go,” she said more to herself than him. She couldn’t stand one more minute in his presence. “A cab,” she said, walking to the sofa to grab her purse. “I’ll get a cab.”
