Wild At Heart

by Susan Fox

  She rushed to the closet, yanked the door open and switched on the light. The huge walk-in was more room than closet. It easily held the personal things she hadn’t had time to return to the attic, as well as the few boxes of her mother’s things.

  In moments, she’d found the metal box. She fumbled with the key that had been taped to it, then opened the lid. Her fear and frustration mounted as she flipped through the small selection of papers until she found a folded document at the very bottom of the box.

  Rio set the box aside and quickly unfolded the paper. The name Ned Cory was printed neatly in the space where it should have been, and her relief was so profound that she sagged against the wall.

  But the movement made the light and shadow cast by the overhead fixture shift over the printed lines. The tiny marks around her father’s name caught her attention. She straightened, her heart thumping wildly as a new wave of panic shot through her.

  She rushed back into her room for the lamp on the bedside table. She switched on the lamp, then lifted off the lampshade to hold the birth certificate up to the bulb. The series of white marks beneath the dark print were plainly visible. What must have been the white print from correction tape spelled out enough letters on either side of Ned Cory’s name for her to read. Samuel Kendall Langtry.

  Rio lowered the paper. She walked shakily to the dresser and picked up the other birth certificate to take to the lamp for comparison. Both of the notarized documents were identical. Except for the correction tape letters on the one with Ned Cory’s name typed over them, the original name in the father space on both documents was Samuel Kendall Langtry.

  Rio set the documents down, her head spinning, her body quaking. She barely made it into her bathroom before she became violently ill.

  Rio moved through the rest of the morning in a fog, her heart so turbulent with emotion that she was perpetually nauseous. The pain was unbelievable. The horror of realizing she was madly in love with her own half-brother devastated her.

  The bitter sense of betrayal added more torment. She’d loved Sam as the father she’d never had, loved and trusted and devoted herself to him. But he’d known all along that he was her real father, or he couldn’t have placed a copy of her birth certificate in the book he’d left for her to find. Why had he done that? Why had he allowed her to find out this way?

  The letter he’d left for her said, You’ve been everything a man could want in a daughter…Remember that I love you, my precious daughter…The words had been a beautiful compliment when she’d read them. Now they seemed to be a confession of sorts. Perhaps he’d written them to prepare her for what he’d planned for her to find later.

  Though she’d never told Sam directly, she’d been certain he’d somehow known that she was in love with Kane. Why hadn’t he warned her away from her own brother? The shock of it made her head swim, and yet it was unbelievable that Sam could do such a thing.

  She and Kane had marveled at Sam’s restraint, she remembered bitterly. The way he and her mother had placed honor and morality above their own desires had been admirable. But the sad truth was that their parents’sense of honor and morality had evidently come late in their relationship. Too late.

  Rio couldn’t imagine telling Kane what she’d discovered. She couldn’t bear to put the hellish burden of horror and guilt on Kane that was causing her such agony.

  Oh, God, if there was a way to stop the engagement, yet spare him the truth, she had to find it! Anything had to be better for Kane than knowing he’d been planning to marry his own half-sister.

  None of the others ever made me feel anything I couldn’t walk away from…you had some special power over me, he’d said. Remembering the words increased her agony. He shouldn’t love her, he couldn’t love her. She’d loved him almost half her life and she was terrified she’d never be able to stop loving him.

  Somehow she had to spare him that, she thought wildly. It would be better for Kane, and perhaps some small comfort to her, if he suddenly hated her.

  Rio ended up packing a second bag. On her way downstairs with her luggage, she took a stealthy detour to Kane’s room and slipped inside. She propped the note she’d written in the middle of the marble tray on his dresser, then set the beautiful engagement ring he’d given her next to it.

  Because everyone in the house knew she was driving to Dallas today, she didn’t bother to tell anyone goodbye. She carried her bags directly to the big garage, stowed them in the trunk, then got her car out. In seconds she was speeding down the ranch road, heartbroken to have to leave Langtry and everything she’d ever loved.

  Kane,

  I’m sorry to tell you this way, but I’m afraid I can’t go through with our engagement or the wedding. I feel like the spoiled brat who cries for a toy until she gets it, then suddenly loses interest because the toy isn’t as wonderful as she thought, or she finds something newer and shinier.

  I’ve left the phone number of my new attorney below in case you need to get in contact with me. Don’t worry about my half of the ranch going to the animal rights people. I’m not refusing the inheritance. We can just say that I’ve taken Sam’s death hard and that I need to get away from the ranch for a while.

  I think I might go to Colorado. I’ve hardly been off Langtry my whole life, except for college, and I’d like to see the mountains. Or maybe I’ll go to Paris, since I took a year of French. I’ll call in a few weeks.

  Rio

  Kane was brutally tired from his trip and the taxing flight he’d had coming home. One of the engines on the small plane hadn’t been running right and air turbulence had been strong. Rio’s note hit him like a two-by-four across the chest. He read it again, then growled long and low.

  If he hadn’t been so tired, he’d have seen past the toy analogy. He’d have realized that everything was even more desperately wrong than it appeared. Particularly when Rio, who craved the massive spaces and distances of Langtry, suddenly wanted to go to Paris. He wouldn’t remember for days that she’d never taken a French course in her life.

  Rio was numb and she welcomed the lack of feeling.

  But if her heart was numb, her mind was roilingwith confusion.

  Had she been born before or after Ned and Lenore married? Had Ned known all along that she wasn’t his child? Why had her mother married Ned instead of Sam?

  She knew so little of her parents’ backgrounds and families due to their early deaths and lack of information that she had no idea what the answers were.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about Kane. How was he? Had he found her note? Was he angry? Did he hate her now?

  Rio ruthlessly stopped the questions before she could feel the pain they caused her. It had been three weeks since she’d fled Langtry. Though she checked in regularly with her lawyer, Kane had only placed one call to him. As instructed, the attorney had declined to answer Kane’s demand to know where she was.

  Even if the lawyer had told precisely where she was, she would have been gone from there by the next morning. She’d rarely spent more than one night anywhere since she’d left the ranch. She’d been driven before by grief and restlessness when she’d roamed Langtry back home. The difference now was that a much greater pain drove her.

  Instead of running toward the soothing vistas of the land, she’d fled to the much more complicated vistas of the big city. If there was any way to stop loving Kane, she had to find it.

  Rio was sitting in a small, comfortable restaurant in San Antonio one afternoon. Her appetite was even worse in the heat, so she’d only ordered a large iced tea. She was moodily stirring the ice cubes with a straw, her spirits as downcast as ever, when someone stopped by her table.

  “Is that you, Miz Rio?”

  Ty Cameron’s voice was a low, smooth drawl, but it startled Rio to hear her name. She glanced up and forced herself to smile at the handsome rancher.

  “May I join you, or are you waiting for someone?” he asked her next.

  Rio shook her head and made a tense
gesture toward the chair across from her. “Please sit down, Mr. Cameron. I’d be pleased for you to join me.”

  She felt heat climb her cheeks as Ty sat down and his blue eyes met hers full-on. She should have known better than to come to San Antonio, but she’d felt as if she’d been nearly every place else in Texas these past weeks. Because Ty Cameron was also a businessman who traveled widely, their paths might just as easily have crossed in Dallas or Houston as in San Antonio. On the other hand, being seen by him in San Antonio might project a different message than if she’d met him in another city.

  “Did you decide to come down and see what we do for fun in my little part of the country?”

  Rio couldn’t help noticing how good-looking Ty was. Or that his gaze was intense with male interest.

  “I’m taking a sort of vacation,” she said awkwardly. “I thought it might be nice to see some of the state.”

  Ty’s gaze gleamed with curiosity the smallest moment before he gave her an easy smile. “I’d be proud to show you around.”

  Rio gave a tiny shake of her head and a rueful twist of lips. “Thanks, but my feet are already two sizes larger than they were this morning,” she told him, then took a nervous sip of her iced tea.

  His smile widened as he leaned back in his chair. “What you need is a quiet, comfortable place to put your feet up so you’re in a better position to get spoiled. Since hotels and motels tend to lose their novelty quick, I’d like to ask you to come out to the ranch. You can have your pick of guest rooms, and I got a gal who runs my house who’s not only the best cook in Texas, but the most dedicated chaperone in the whole southwest.”

  Rio couldn’t help but get the message. Ty was perceptive enough to realize that she’d never consider staying at his ranch unless there were other people around. The mention of a dedicated chaperone was meant to put her at ease and show his respect for her. It also hinted that he might have romantic intentions.

  The automatic refusal she wanted to give him suddenly stuck in her throat. She’d been traveling for weeks, lonely and suffering the worst emotional pain of her life. Ty Cameron was a gentleman. She was mildly attracted to him, and he apparently was mildly attracted to her.

  It was either common sense or desperation that reminded her that she had little hope of letting go of her love for Kane or loving anyone else, unless she made an attempt to get to know someone new.

  She toyed with her straw as she made herself give him a small smile. “Thank you, Mr. Cameron. I think I’d enjoy visiting your ranch.”

  Cameron Ranch was massive. It took them twenty minutes to drive from the front gate on the highway to the main house. Ty led the way in his car while Rio followed him in hers.

  The ranch house was a sprawling one-story adobe with a red tile roof and arches all along the front. The barns, ranch buildings and corrals were set behind the house and to the east. The familiar sights and sounds made Rio homesick suddenly, but she made herself smile as Ty carried her luggage and ushered her into the cool interior of the tiled entry hall.

  Ty’s housekeeper was a Mexican-American woman with a wide smile and dark eyes that sparkled with good humor. She welcomed Rio effusively, then led the way to a guest room.

  At supper that evening, Maria proved to be every bit the good cook that Ty had boasted, and her happy, gracious presence as she bustled in and out from the kitchen put Rio at ease. Ty was an even better conversationalist than in the past, and his pleasant, easygoing banter lifted her spirits tremendously. Rio ate more at that meal than she had in weeks, but afterward, she became so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.

  Ty saw her to her room, then thanked her for accepting his invitation. He asked if she’d like to go for an early ride to see part of the ranch, and seemed pleased when she said yes.

  That night, Rio got the best night’s sleep she’d gotten in what felt like months. She awoke the next morning less heartsore, and realized that for the first time in a long time, she looked forward to the day.

  Before she knew it, Ty had persuaded her to stay at the ranch far longer than the one night she’d meant to. She felt better staying at Cameron than anywhere she’d been these past weeks. She wasn’t certain exactly why that was, other than her private speculation that ranch life was far more familiar to her than cities and traveling.

  She wished she could credit a romantic attraction to Ty with her improved outlook on life. Though he’d made no secret of his interest in her, Rio could summon no more than a distant appreciation for Ty’s sunburnished good looks and a pleasant feeling of friendship toward him.

  It was on the fifth morning of her visit that the two of them were down at one of the corrals watching one of the wranglers put a showy two-year-old Arabian gray through her paces on a longe line. They were standing together at the fence when Ty’s hand brushed hers.

  As if merely touching her had given him the idea, he took her hand and threaded his fingers with hers.

  Rio had to force herself not to automatically pull her hand from his. She tried to be patient as he casually rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. The tiny spark of feminine response she felt gave her hope for a mere instant before the sudden memory of Kane’s bold touch doused it. Though her heart had felt numb for weeks, the sharp memory pricked it.

  “You’re as tense as a bronc about to blow, Rio. Are you just skittish, or does my touch put you off?” Ty had been the soul of tact and gentlemanly behavior her whole visit, but his question was to the point.

  Rio was overwhelmed by a surge of emotion so strong that she couldn’t speak for a moment. She gave his hand a tentative squeeze of apology, then felt his warm, hard grip tighten in silent consolation.

  “I’m sorry, Ty,” she said softly. She couldn’t look him in the eye, she couldn’t have looked anyone in the eye while she said, “Your touch doesn’t put me off, but it does remind me of someone I’m trying to forget.” Her voice broke unexpectedly on the last word.

  “Kane Langtry?”

  Ty’s question had come so quickly that it made her breath catch, but she gave a stiff nod.

  He chuckled. “Well, I reckon you came to the right place,” he said, then leaned close. His voice went low to drawl out the shameless brag, “I’ll have you know, Rio Cory, that I’m probably one of the few men in Texas who could make you forget all about Kane Langtry…if you’re sure you want to forget.”

  Rio gave another stiff nod. “I have to.”

  Ty released her hand and slid an arm around her shoulders to pull her against his side. “Then give it time, darlin’.”

  Rio hesitated, then slid her arm around his lean middle. Neither of them said more as they watched the Arab filly.

  Kane stared at the fax the private investigator had just sent. After weeks of waiting for Rio to come home to Langtry or to at least call him, he’d finally given in and hired an investigator. It galled him to have to do such a thing, but he’d done it.

  He’d fumed over their broken engagement and the cavalier note she’d left for him. If she’d turned out to be the spoiled brat in her note, then to hell with her. It took all of a day for his fury to burn itself out. The rest of the time since then, he’d carried around an ache that rarely eased. He blamed himself for Rio’s flight.

  She had taken his father’s death hard. The riding accident had to have been traumatic for her, though she’d taken her share of spills before. His sudden proposal, his insistence on a large wedding and his impatience to have it soon might have been too much.

  Rio was strong, but she felt things deeply. She was a reserved woman, shy and sometimes self-conscious. Her aversion to drawing attention to herself might have made the prospect of a huge wedding frightening.

  He’d concluded all this from what he thought he knew about her. He’d hired the investigator to find her so he’d have a chance to get her back. He’d been so determined to be understanding and forgiving. He’d forgo the big wedding, he’d let her have or do whatever she wanted, as long as she came h
ome with him. He’d meant to do everything in his power to make her happy—until he’d read the last entry of her itinerary.

  According to the information that was staring him in the face, Rio might just have caught up with the newer, shinier toy she’d mentioned in her damned note.

  “Would you like me to fix you a drink?” Ty asked as he joined Rio in the spacious family room at the back of the huge ranch house after supper.

  Rio smiled, more and more at ease with him, but secretly troubled that she couldn’t summon anything more than feelings of friendship for him. Her soft, “Nothing for me, thanks,” made him nod with clear approval.

  “To my knowledge, my mother never touched a drop of alcohol in her life,” he said as he crossed the room. “But we’ve got plenty of soft drinks over here,” he added as he reached the liquor cabinet and got down two crystal tumblers. “You could either choose a soft drink, ice water, or I can get you some iced tea.”

  He glanced back at her and she smiled. “Then pick any soft drink, lots of ice.”

  “Comin’ up,” he replied, then turned away to open the small refrigerator and select one.

  Rio watched him use tongs to put ice in her glass, then pour the cola. The confidence in his every move fascinated her. Kane bore the same confidence, though his was tinged with a natural arrogance that managed to be more appealing than conceited.

  The shaft of pain that speared her heart made her look away from Ty. The moment she’d first caught herself comparing Ty to Kane, she’d been horrified. From then on, her mind had been flooded with scores of examples of parallels and contrasts. She could barely notice anything about Ty anymore that her mind didn’t automatically compare to Kane.