by Stuart, Amie
THE END
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RED HEADED STRANGER
The rest of Alex's afternoon passed uneventfully until they left to wade through rush hour traffic to pick up Darrach from daycare. "My vacation approval came through, too."
"Good because I’ve decided what I want for my anniversary present."
He relaxed in his seat as they hit a slow-going stretch of highway, covering her hand with his, the Tahoe's steering wheel firmly gripped in his other hand. "What’s that?"
"I want to spend Christmas with your family." She smiled over at him. "In Bluebonnet."
Alex dropped her hand like it was on fire while his other hand tightened its grip on the steering wheel. He slammed on the brakes as a Prius cut in front of them, happy for the distraction, then slowly blew out a heavy breath. "Maybe next year—"
"No next year! This year. Unless you were planning on waiting to tell them about us when Darach graduated high school?"
"Of course, not." He caught her frown out of the corner of his eye. "But after Thanksgiving—"
"All the more reason to. It's time to mend fences and move forward. I’m sorry your dad cheated, I’m sorry you’re having a hard time dealing with the whole sister thing, but I’m having a hard time dealing with this, too. It's not fair, Alexander! Ten years is long enough to hold a grudge—if that’s what it really is."
She’d thought this out a lot. Probably longer than just the afternoon. No wonder she hadn’t mentioned it at lunch. Neither she nor Shak had ever understood why he hadn't told his family about her and Darach. It had nothing to do with her being mixed or Darach either. He wasn’t ashamed of them or that. It was about his dad cheating. It was about Delaney. Plain and simple.
“Of course that’s what it is. You know this has nothing to do with you and Darach.” He didn't blame her for being impatient, but now…now it was about timing. There was no way he could go to his family now and say he was married and had a bouncing baby boy. An announcement like that would be tantamount to a slap in Ty and Betti’s faces. He turned into the daycare and parked, his mind reeling as he tried to think of a way to change Kei's mind.
"Well that’s not how it feels. You have until the twenty-third to call or write them, Alexander. I want to meet your family. I want our son to meet his family. That's what I want for our anniversary." She slid out of the SUV before he could stop her, slamming the door with a solid thud.
Great, just great. What a mess. How the hell could he call his family? How the hell could he go home for Christmas? Worse, how the hell could he tell Kei no?
He watched Keilana exit the daycare a few minutes later, Darach on her hip, her lips pursed. She was mad, and it wasn’t often she was angry with him. She barely glanced at him as she strapped the baby in the carseat and slammed the back door.
"Don't slam the door on him like that," Zander snapped as she climbed in the passenger side.
"Don’t talk to me like that."
"Kei, you know—"
"No, Alexander!" She rounded on him, her dark eyes blazing. "No more excuses! This is the perfect way to make up for you losing your temper at Thanksgiving!"
Swallowing hard, he turned to a wide-eyed Darach in the back seat who listened to his parents argue. His lower lip was puckered into a pout. "Hey, buddy," Alex said softly. He got a quivering smile in return. "Did you have a good day?"
"Can we please go home?" The snap of her seatbelt echoed like a gunshot through the truck.
Darach mewled and his father was in complete empathy.
* * *
For the first time in their marriage, he and Keilana were having A Major Fight. Not their usual kiss and make up spats. And nothing he did or said seemed to get through to her.
December twenty-third finally arrived. Alex got up, dressed to go jogging and left her present—a diamond pendant and a gift certificate to her favorite spa—on the coffee table. When he returned at six, the presents were gone and she sat curled up on the couch nursing Darach. He stood at the foot of the couch, loose limbed and sweaty from his run, hoping his peace offering was enough. "Happy Anniversary."
She looked up at him, expectantly. Waiting for more. Zander closed the space between them and sat beside her, not caring, for once, that he’d leave sweat stains on the material. Her brown eyes were so hopeful as she thanked him for her presents.
He swallowed hard. "You're welcome."
"That’s it?" The hope in her eyes turned to sadness, then anger as a tiny frown puckered her brows. Her lips thinned and her grip on Darach tightened. "You’re not going to do it, are you? You're not going to call them. Nothing?"
He slowly shook his head. "No, Kei—"
"Fine." With a nod, she shifted, turning her back to him.
Alex sat watching Darach, who eyed him over her arm. "Kei." He reached for her, wondering just how he could explain the why of it to her in a way that she would finally understand.
She jerked her shoulder away. "It’s going to be a long week."
Their vacation week together officially started today.
"I’m going to take a shower." He leaned over and kissed Darach’s head then headed for the stairs, where the sound of his name brought him up short.
He turned to face her, swallowing his disappointment and sadness at her anger. An anger he rightly deserved.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Angel."
He stripped off his sweaty clothes once he reached the second floor, dumped them in willow laundry hamper right inside the bathroom door, then turned back to the brightly wrapped package on the bed. He slowly unwrapped it, smiling at the collage of family photos that Kei had had matted and framed for him. Then he laughed to himself at the funny card she’d included.
Everything would be fine. She couldn’t stay mad at him forever and Momma’s birthday was in March. Maybe, by then, everyone would have settled down, and he could tell Momma then or invite her up for lunch. Just the four of them. No brothers, no Aunt Susie, and no Delaney!
He was halfway through his shower when the bathroom door flew open, bringing in a blast of chilly air that left him scrambling. "Kei!"
"Alex! Dade called. He says you need to come in. Something about the Sparks case. He said you'd know."
"Did you tell him I'm on vacation?"
"Special request from upstairs."
So much for the beginning of his vacation, but it wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last. And at least it would give Kei some time to cool down. He stepped out of the shower, cleaner but no happier, and quickly dressed.
He found Kei across the hall in the nursery, changing Darach’s diaper. "I'll try not to be too long."
"Alright."
He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, planting a soft kiss on her neck. "I’ll be back as soon as I can," he murmured, reaching out to squeeze Darach’s chubby foot with a grin.
She relaxed against him. "Take my car."
"Are you sure?" The constriction in his heart easing up at her peace offering.
"Go on—" she gave him a gentle nudge. "Take my car, you know you love it."
"Thanks. Dinner tonight? Any place you want—The Mansion, maybe? If we can get Connie to babysit." He stood in the doorway watching her, feeling like a hopeful puppy.
"I’ll call Connie while you’re gone." She smiled at him for the first time in almost three weeks, but that didn’t erase the sadness he saw in her eyes.
He crossed the room and cupped her face, kissing her again in a slow easy play of tongue that made him anxious to get there and back. "I swear I’ll make it up to you, Angel."
She just nodded as he leaned over and blew raspberries on Darach’s naked belly. The baby squealed and let out a big belly laugh in response. Up to now he’d been quiet, as if he sensed his parents’ unhappiness. "I’ll be back as soon as I can."
Downstairs, Alex filled a travel mug with coffee, then grabbed the
keys to her Z4 off the key rack by garage door. With a click of a button, the door slid up, and he circled the car, climbing behind the wheel with all the eagerness of a sixteen-year-old with his first girlfriend. He slowly backed down the drive, engaging the automatic garage door behind him. There wasn’t much Kei was particular about, but her car was definitely one of them and she rarely let him drive it, claiming he dogged on it. Which he did…just not when she was with him. Of course, telling a man not to dog on a sports car was like setting a woman loose in a mall and telling her not to buy anything.
With a smile, he downshifted and headed for the freeway.
About The Author
Amie Stuart is the last of a dying breed, a native Texan, and still makes her home there, where cowboys and music (her other two loves) abound. Growing up, she wanted to be a lawyer and a psychologist. No doubt the shrinks would have a field day with her head, but she's seen the error of her ways and considers all those other jobs 'research' for the writing gig.
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Other Works By Amie Stuart
ROPERS RULE
HANDS ON
MAKE U SWEAT
HITTIN IT
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON
Table of Contents
Copyrights
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
EPILOGUE
RED HEADED STRANGER
About The Author
Other Works By Amie Stuart
