“And you have proof?”
“My lawyer is waiting in the anteroom with a file for your attention.”
The gavel banged. “We will recess for an hour in order to give me opportunity to review the facts in this matter. In the meantime, Mr. Vincent is remanded to another room, where he will be under observation until such time as this matter is resolved.”
Nicholas lifted Amanda, and with his free arm around Lin’s waist, they left the courtroom. Behind them, Vincent was sputtering loudly, his attorney trying without avail to silence his threats against half a dozen people.
“Where are we going?” Lin asked, aware that she was being hustled by two uniformed men before them and two more in their wake, as they left the building. A carriage awaited at the foot of the ornate stairway before the courthouse, and Nicholas bundled his two charges in, just a few feet ahead of the mob of reporters who had followed them closely.
“You told them you’d give them a statement,” she reminded Nicholas.
“I lied.” He grinned at her. “I think we’re home free, sweetheart. Grayson said he’d contact us at the hotel. And while we’re waiting, I’ll send off some correspondence just to keep things rolling, both here and in Texas.”
“And then what?” she asked. “Have you decided what we will do next?” And if he said that this bustling city was his choice of a home? If he missed the noise and the flurry of traffic and the excitement of financial dealings he’d been a part of here, then what would happen?
His head tilted a bit as he considered her. “What are you thinking, Lin? Have you changed your mind about living in Texas?”
She shook her head quickly. And then halted the movement. “I’ll do whatever you like, Nicholas. If Collins Creek is your choice, I’ll be more than happy to live there. If you decide to stay in the city, I’ll be content to be here with you and Amanda.”
“Neither of those options appeals to me any longer,” he said quietly. “I think we’ll discuss this later, when we’re in a more secluded spot.” His glance at Amanda was significant, and Lin nodded in agreement.
To love, honor and obey. She recalled those words from the ceremony that was actually a blur in her memory. She certainly loved him. He was the most honorable man she’d ever known, and while obedience wasn’t her strong suit, she would do whatever Nicholas asked of her. Whatever he had up his sleeve, so long as it involved their being together, she was determined to agree with his plans.
Nicholas stood with his back against the hotel room door, and his hand reached toward the two females across the room. “Ladies,” he said solemnly. “I have the verdict of the judge in my hand. Would you like to hear it?”
Lin’s heart pounded beneath her breasts, and she touched her cheeks with trembling hands. “Please, Nicholas. Don’t make me wait.”
He opened the envelope and scanned it quickly. “It says that full custody of the child in question has been granted to Nicholas and Carlinda Garvey. Her financial matters are to be handled jointly by Nicholas Garvey, in whatever area he chooses to call his home outside of the city of New York, and in this city, under the direct supervision of Amanda’s grandfather, Horace Grayson. Mr. Grayson has been given the privilege of visitation with the child when it is mutually agreeable to the two gentlemen in question.” He paused. “There’s a footnote. Vincent Preston is being held for trial.”
He looked up at Lin and his smile was a thing of rare beauty. “Does that suit you, sweet?” he asked.
“What does it mean, Uncle Nicholas?” Amanda asked in a small voice.
He bent to lift her in his arms, beckoning Lin to join them. “It means, my little girl, that you are mine. Mine and Lin’s to share. We are your legal guardians from this moment on.”
“Will you ever get to be my mama and papa, so I can have my own family?”
“Is that what you want?” Nicholas asked her solemnly.
“Oh, yes. I want to call you my papa, and my Linnie can be my mama.”
“That suits me just fine,” Nicholas said, leaning to whisper in Amanda’s ear. “Why don’t you call your new mama by that name and see if she answers you.”
“Mama?” Amanda allowed the word to roll off her tongue and then repeated it.
“I like the way that sounds,” Lin said, fearful of being teary eyed in front of the child, yet unable to hold back the emotion that enveloped her. “I’d like to be your mama,” she said, her voice breaking on the words. “I’ve always thought it would be wonderful to call you my own.”
Amanda sighed, snaking one arm around Nicholas’s neck, the other encompassing Lin’s, drawing them together as a unit. “Do you remember when we all kissed each other one time when we were back home?” she asked. “Could we do it again?”
“I believe that could be arranged,” Nicholas said. And so the ceremony was performed, much as it had been on that day only months before, when the kisses had been given and received in the wide foyer of their home in Collins Creek.
“Now it’s really true,” Amanda said. “When can we go home?”
“And you, Lin? Are you ready to go home?” They lay in the bed, high in the hotel, listening to the hubbub of nighttime noises from the street below, where carriages and buggies still made their way past the row of hotels and restaurants on this busy avenue. His arms held her in an embrace that still made allowances for her wound, and his loving had included special attention given to the scars she would wear as a reminder of their brush with peril.
“Wherever you are, Nicholas, is home to me,” she said quietly, meaning the words from the depths of her heart. She could adapt to any place in the world, so long as Nicholas shared the same home and breathed the same air as she.
“I told you I wasn’t content to go back to Collins Creek forever,” he reminded her, “and I think I need to let you know my thoughts on that.”
“You also said you didn’t plan on staying here in the city,” she said.
“Is that agreeable with you?”
“Yes, I’ll go with you no matter where you take us.”
“My thoughts are on a piece of property north of Collins Creek,” he told her. “One I thought I might purchase from Cleary. I spoke to him briefly about it, and he seems quite agreeable to selling that thousand acres to me. It seems he and Augusta are happy to stay where they are.”
“And you?” she asked. “Where will you be happiest? Are you weary of business and the sounds of the city?”
“I’ve found little appeal here,” he said. “My best times have been in Texas. At the ranch where we began our marriage.”
She held her breath. It seemed almost too good to be true. “The ranch? We’d be going back to the ranch?”
“Not exactly,” he said, his words slow. “I thought to build a new place for us, down the road a ways from the old house, something a bit larger, more modern, with room for several more occupants, and of course, Katie, should she decide to come with us. What do you think?”
“Could Faith stay on in the old house, then?” Aware of the hopeful tone of her voice, she held her breath, and was relieved when Nicholas laughed softly.
“Even if I think she’s a beautiful woman?” And then he squeezed her against himself and rocked her in his embrace. “Of course she can. That was part of my plan.”
“Oh, Nicholas,” she whispered. “I couldn’t have thought of anything more perfect.” And then she pushed at his chest. “You’re planning on breeding horses, aren’t you? You’re wanting to buy a stud to breed with Faith’s mare. Just like you planned before.”
“Yes, that’s a part of it. But there’s more. I want to expand the place, build small homes for hired help, maybe a bunkhouse for extra hands. I have my sights set on ranching. Your city man is ready to shed his suits for denim trousers and settle down.”
“It sounds wonderful, but can we afford all that?” she asked, thinking of the enormous amount of money that would be involved in such an undertaking.
“Oh, yes, love. Your husba
nd has a number of investments that have paid off well, and the bank in Collins Creek will be making money for years to come. I’ll warrant that Thomas would like to be the manager there, and we’re not going to be so far away that I can’t keep an eye on things if necessary.”
“A new house.” She closed her eyes, envisioning a wide porch, with a turret on one end, and a room high above where she might look out upon the acres of pasture and the herds of horses he would raise.
“Are you already planning it?” he asked, his words teasing her gently.
“I’m so happy, Nicholas,” she said, her arms sliding around his neck, her face buried in his throat. “You’ve made all my dreams come true.”
“Not all of them, I’m sure,” he said. “We have a few more plans to set in motion.”
“I want a porch swing,” she said. “And a room for our children to play, where they can have their toys and books scattered about and no one will care.”
“What children?” he asked idly. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Maybe,” she said. “We should know for certain within a few weeks if your work has shown results.”
Epilogue
“What do you think?” he asked, standing behind her in order to shield her from the chill wintry wind. His hands pressed firmly against her swollen belly, and she clasped her own over his fingers. Beneath his palm, a tiny foot or elbow nudged him, and Nicholas laughed aloud.
“My son is passing judgment,” he said cheerfully. “He likes the house thus far.”
“So do I,” Lin agreed. “I’ll like it better when it’s finished though. When do you think we can move in?”
“Not until the weather breaks,” he told her. “Another month probably.”
“That’s after the baby’s arrival.”
“You said it would be a week or so, yet. Don’t you want to stay in Collins Creek for that?”
“Katie will be here,” she said, “and Faith will help. She’s already offered.”
“I want you to have the best medical attention we can get,” he said quietly. “You’re my very life, Lin. You and Amanda have made me a happy man, and I can only look forward to more of the same, once this rascal makes his appearance. But I won’t take any chances with this.”
“It may not be a boy, you know. What if it’s a girl?” she asked.
“Not a chance, sweetheart,” he assured her. “I spoke to him just last night, and he told me he’s already planning on learning how to ride in a couple of years.”
She laughed aloud. “Is that what you were doing? Talking to your child?”
“My son,” he said, correcting her gently.
“You’ll wait until I think he’s old enough to get on a horse before you put him on the saddle in front of you,” she said sharply.
“Until he’s out of diapers,” he agreed.
“And then some,” she muttered, aware that this sham dispute was but another in a long line of such discussions they’d held during the past several months.
“You’re cold,” he said, feeling a shiver travel the length of her spine. “Let’s get you out of the weather.”
They climbed into the buggy and he tucked the robes around her, lifting her collar to protect her neck from the wind’s bite. Then he picked up the reins and the mare leaned forward, drawing the vehicle into motion.
“We’ll stay with Faith tonight, and then head for Collins Creek in the morning,” he told her. “I probably shouldn’t have brought you here so late in your pregnancy. I don’t know how I let you talk me into it.”
She smiled, a secret, joyous expression of pure bliss lifting her lips as she felt the drawing of her muscles again. It had begun yesterday, with a backache, and Katie had assured her that she’d be in her bed within a day or two. And so she’d persuaded Nicholas to bring her here—here where the babe had been conceived in the old house, where she’d found happiness beyond her wildest dreams.
It was a short trip to the house, a light snowfall providing a magical setting for the trip. There, Katie, Amanda and Faith awaited them, and Katie’s eyes were sharp as she looked closely at Lin’s smile.
“You’ve done it, haven’t you, girl?” she said, the query more closely resembling a statement of fact.
“Done what?” Nicholas asked quickly, looking from one woman to the other, as Faith laughed softly, her hands on Amanda’s shoulders.
“I lied,” Lin said simply. “I told you there was no chance of the baby being born for a couple of weeks yet.”
“You lied.” Nicholas looked baffled, and then his brow rose, and his voice followed suit. “You lied? You lied to me? You’re going to have the baby? Here?”
“I think so,” she said. And then, as a solid contraction caused her to catch her breath and bite at her lip, she nodded emphatically. “I’d say it was a certainty.”
It was a boy. He waited until it was almost dark before making his appearance, and Amanda had long since given up staying awake, and was sleeping soundly in the next room. Faith and Katie worked together well, Nicholas decided, coaxing and cajoling their patient. He was given the task of holding her hand and wiping her forehead. That he suffered along with each pain was no surprise to him, for if Lin felt the agony of childbirth on his behalf, he intended to share every groan she uttered.
And so he did. And when the boy, the beautiful, black-haired son Lin offered into his keeping was placed in his arms, he shed tears. Katie and Faith were kind enough to turn aside, as if unable to watch his humble attendance on the child of his heart. But Nicholas felt no loss of pride in his reaction to the babe he held.
“He’s more than I dreamed of,” he told Lin, settling beside her on the bed. “I think he looks a bit like me, don’t you?” His smile was hopeful, and she matched it with one of her own.
“Of course he does,” she said practically. “I looked at you every day for a pattern while he was forming inside me. Who else should he resemble?” She watched him, aware of the pride in his expression, the strength in his hands, the love in his eyes. “What shall we call him?” she asked.
“We have a friend in Collins Creek who named his son in my honor, you know,” Nicholas said. “Could we return the favor?”
“You want to name him Cleary?” she asked, frowning.
“No, of course not. I’d thought we’d call him Jonathan. It’s Cleary’s first name.”
“Oh, I suppose I knew that, but I’d forgotten.” She considered the idea a moment and found it appealing. “What about a middle name?”
Nicholas cleared his throat. “I have an idea for that, too. But it has to be what you want, Lin.” He met her gaze and spoke the words slowly. “I’d like to call him Jonathan Grayson Garvey.”
“For your father,” she breathed, and then she smiled her approval. “I think he’d like that.”
“He’s made it his business to keep a check on you during the past months, you know. Each wire he’s sent, every letter he wrote to Amanda, he asked about you and about the baby. He’s planning on traveling here when he hears the news. I’ll be sending him a wire when I get a chance to go to town.”
“Have you forgiven him then, for his failures?” she asked.
Nicholas was silent. “I can’t, Lin. Not yet, though I’ve tried. It was too long a time of neglect on his part for me to forget so quickly. I think he’s a different man than the one who sired me thirty-five years ago, but that remains to be seen. I know he cares about Amanda, and he’s diligent in his record keeping as to her legal and financial affairs.
“And most important, it’s because of him that Vincent Preston is in prison even now.” He met her gaze. “We owe him much, it seems.”
“Then we’ll call Jonathan by your father’s name, too.”
“Just like that?” he asked, the query a reminder of other days, when they had come to agreement so readily.
“Just like that. I love you, Nicholas.”
“And I love you, Mrs. Garvey,” he told her quietly.
“And me the most blessed of all men.”
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6044-6
TEMPTING A TEXAN
Copyright © 2003 by Carolyn Davidson
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* Edgewood, Texas
Tempting a Texan Page 27
