Читать книгу Twin Ties, Twin Joys: The Boss's Double Trouble Twins / Twins for a Christmas Bride / Baby Twins: Parents Needed - Raye Morgan - Страница 12

“LOOK,” Darcy said, making a wide sweep with her arm. “Texas in the noonday sun. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Mitch heard the emotion in her voice and started to smile, but then he looked at what she was presenting to him and he frowned instead. He gazed at the rolling hills, the scattered stands of pecan and live oak, the rocky creek bottoms. A red-tailed hawk was circling a water hole and he thought he caught sight of a white-tailed deer flashing into a thicket.

It suddenly occurred to him that she was right. Why was it he had never noticed before? Texas was beautiful.

He’d spent most of the last few years in countries where deep green jungles and jagged mountains and turquoise water defined beautiful landscape. This was a different type of beauty and it resonated deeply with something in his inner core—his heart and soul. Texas was home. It had been a long time since he’d thought of it that way.

He turned and looked at Darcy. She was trying to figure out just where the borders of the Heartland Project stood and she took the binoculars from him to check. He watched the breeze ruffle her hair, exposing her tiny ear. It curled like a pink shell against her head. He wanted to touch it, run a finger around its curve. He moved closer and she looked up from the binoculars, startled to find him so near.

“Uh … I think we can see the border better from that ledge just through those bushes,” she said, gesturing toward another vantage point. “I’ll go take a look.”

She turned and went quickly, as much to flee from the look she’d seen in his eyes as anything else. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She pushed her way through the brush, looking back to see that he was following. And then a branch tangled with her hair.

“Ouch!” She stopped, caught by the bramble, yanking at it and only making matters worse.

“I’ll get it,” he said, reaching into her hair and prying the tangle loose.

She closed her eyes. He was much too close. She couldn’t breathe. He was going to touch her. She knew it without being told.

And there it was. His fingers were still wrapped in her hair, but his lips were on her neck.

“Oh!” she cried, trying without a lot of success to pull away. She swung around to look at him. “Don’t.”

He held her face in his hands. “Darcy, I can’t …”

Can’t what? she wondered a bit hysterically, but she knew. He couldn’t stop this. Well, neither could she. So who was going to do it?

When his mouth covered hers, she whimpered, as though he were fulfilling a need she’d held back too long, and she opened to him greedily. His hand on her face, his body so close, his mouth on hers. All felt so good, she was afraid she would sink into this ecstasy and never come up for air.

She had to pull away. She had to break this off. She couldn’t let this go on for another minute.

Well, maybe just a minute. Or two. For just a little while, could she let herself touch heaven again?

No! She had to be strong. She had to think of her twins.

That did it. She finally pulled away from him, breathless and angry with herself.

“Oh, Mitch!” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand while staring into his clouded eyes. “Promise me you won’t ever do that again.”

“I can’t,” he said very softly, his gaze never leaving hers.

Shaking her head, she tore away from him and hurried back to the car. He caught up with her before she reached it, grabbing her elbow and pulling her around to face him. The moment she looked into his eyes, she was relieved. He looked like a different person.

“You’re right, Darcy,” he said calmly, dropping her arm when he could see she wasn’t going to run. “Of course you’re right. And I’m sorry.”

She nodded. “Me, too,” she said.

He took a deep breath. “We’ve got too much emotional baggage between us. We’ve got to deal with it. We didn’t settle things about the twins.”

She nodded again. “No, we didn’t, did we?”

He grimaced. “We got sidetracked with you talking about marrying Bert Lenson.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not marrying Bert Lenson.”

“Then why did you throw his bald-headed hat into the ring?”

I was only trying to scare you. She couldn’t say that out loud, but it was the truth—though she didn’t even want to admit it to herself.

“I was just using him as an example of the kind of man my boys need in their lives. I just wanted you to understand the reality of the situation. You should know what’s going on.”

He shrugged. “You know, I’m a little surprised you even think I should have any say in the matter.”

She hesitated. “Look, Mitch. I know you can’t be the sort of father I would want for them. But you are their biological father. We have to go from there.”

He nodded, searching her eyes. “Just by saying that, you give up a certain amount of control. You understand that, don’t you?”

She nodded. “Yes. I know.”

He shook his head, studying her as though he could hardly believe what he saw. “I have to admire your integrity for that. It takes guts to take that sort of risk.”

She quickly dampened her dry lips with her tongue. “You know, in a funny way, I trust you. I know you’ll do the right thing, whatever we decide that will be.”

They stared at each other for a long, long moment.

“Okay,” he said, taking her hand to lead her back to the car. “We haven’t decided what to do, but we’ve decided to trust each other. That’s a step in the right direction.”

She nodded. It really was.

They were back on the road in minutes, pulling out onto the two-lane route, heading back toward the city. Mitch stretched and let out a deep breath. “We need to get something to eat,” he said brightly.

“Speak for yourself,” she responded tartly.

He looked at her, bemused. “Okay, I will. I could eat a horse.”

She almost smiled. “That’s a dangerous thing to threaten out here in horse country.”

She could see his slow grin out of the edge of her vision. “I’ll make do with a burger,” he said. He sat up straighter in his seat. “And I know just where we can get one.”

“Where?” she asked skeptically. They were out in the middle of nowhere. She hadn’t seen a gas station for miles, much less a hamburger stand.

“Turn right on the Sorrel Highway.” He pointed out the sign just ahead. “It’s been years, but I think it’ll still be there.”

She turned where he’d indicated, but the land looked empty in that limitless way that didn’t bode well for hamburgers. How many miles would he want to go before giving it up as a lost cause?

“It’s got to be out this way,” he reassured her. “I remember it well. My grandfather had a cattle ranch in the Sargosa Hills and I used to go out and help him work the place sometimes on summer vacations. There was this old recluse of a guy—think of your ultimate stereotype of the old prospector with a pickax on his shoulder and a mule by his side. His name was Ry Tanner.”

He scanned the horizon, then pointed as a ramshackle building came into view. “There it is! See that bed and breakfast? That’s got to be the place. Stop there.”

Darcy frowned doubtfully as they pulled up in front of the ancient building. A two-story frame in a rustic Victorian style, standing out alone on the treeless plain, it looked like a survivor of another age. The sign said, Tree Stump Bed And Breakfast. Another sign, hanging by a tattered rope, said, Café. And there were a few tables and chairs set out on the browning grass of the front yard, in the shade of a small stand of cottonwood trees.

“Mitch, are you sure?” she began.

“Absolutely,” he said, getting out of the car. “We can get some lunch here. Come on.”

She followed him but she wasn’t too keen on this. The place almost looked abandoned.

“I don’t know,” she murmured, frowning.

But Mitch was cupping his hands and calling toward the entry to the building. “Hello! Anybody here?”

There was a dusty silence for a moment, but just as Darcy was starting to turn away, a gruff voice came from the house.

“Go away. We’re closed.”

Mitch grinned, giving Darcy a wink. “It’s him,” he said before stepping closer. “Ry Tanner, ya ole reprobate. Is that you?”

There was a pause, then the voice sounded again. “We’re closed, I tell you.”

But Mitch had mounted the steps to the front door and was peering in through the milky glass. “Ry Tanner, come on out here.”

“Who’s that?” the voice demanded.

“Mitch Carver.” He spread out his arms. “Don’t you remember me?”

The door opened a crack and a grizzled head appeared. “Mitch Carver! Is that you?”

“It’s me, all right.”

The door opened a bit more and the old man stood in the light. “What are you doin’ here? I ain’t seen you for years.” His gnarled face turned and his beady black eyes took in Darcy, too. “And you got yourself a pretty girl. Poor thing. I never thought you’d find one would put up with ya.”

Mitch laughed. “She doesn’t. But that’s another story.”

The man shuffled out onto the porch and nodded toward the tables on the grass. “Come on over and set a spell,” he said. “Out here in the cool breeze.”

“We came to get some food,” Mitch said as they followed him to the table.

He shook his gray head. “We’re closed.”

“A little snack will do. That’s all we need.”

Dropping down into a chair, Ry Tanner frowned at his company. “I told you, we’re closed.”

“No, we ain’t.” A plump, pretty woman who looked to be in her forties came out of the house.

“Don’t listen to him,” she said, smiling at them all. “He’s just playin’ hermit. You’re old friends of his? Y’all sit down. I’ll get you some food.”

Ry grumbled, but it was becoming apparent that his grumbling didn’t mean much. Darcy and Mitch sat down across from him and the woman, whose name was Betty, took their order and hurried into the house to prepare their food.

“You two married yet?” Ry demanded, glaring at Darcy.

“No!” they both said at once.

He nodded, looking at Mitch. “Good.” He leaned closer, confiding. “But you watch out. Here’s a life lesson, son. They try to trap you.”

“Trap?” Darcy knew he was just an old man but she couldn’t hide her outrage. “Why would I want to trap anyone?”

He glanced at her, then back at Mitch. “Marriage. That’s all any woman wants, you know. She wants to pluck you off the vine and plunk you down into her own little teacup.”

Darcy blinked at the strangely mixed metaphor.

“I have never tried to trap anyone into anything, much less marriage. And you know what? I’ll tell you a secret.” She leaned toward him conspiratorially. “I wouldn’t marry him if he asked me to.”

“See?” He waved a finger in the air. “That’s the first trick they use. Playin’ hard to get.” He nodded knowingly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her sideways. “Watch out for that one, my friend.”

She shook her head. Mitch was silently laughing, his blue eyes dancing. She glared at him. He was having too much fun with this.

“The male ego never ceases to amaze me,” she muttered.

Ry seemed to take offense. “Well then, what are you coming by here bothering people fer?”

Darcy’s jaw dropped. This crazy old man! “We don’t mean to bother you. Mitch just thought …”

He looked triumphant. “Ya see there?” He nodded to Mitch. “There she goes, takin’ your side, letting you think she’s defending you. That’s number two on the roster. Write these down, son. You need to keep a list about you at all times. Ya gotta be prepared to counter their attacks.”

Mitch was laughing, Darcy was confused between reluctant amusement and annoyance, and Ry Tanner seemed to be in his element now.

But Betty had her own advice. “Don’t listen to him,” she suggested as she put a pair of huge hamburgers, with fries, out in front of them. “He just likes to hear himself talk. Don’t you, Pops?”

Ry grumbled, but the hamburgers were good and Darcy was famished. She had to admit the old man was like a piece of old Texas. He should be in a museum somewhere. But she couldn’t say he was much of a lunch companion. Mitch seemed to have a strange affection for this old man, but she didn’t think she could share it.

“So, Ry Tanner,” Mitch was saying casually. “What do you know about the Heartland Project? I hear it’s going in right next to you here, isn’t it?”

Ry nodded. “Yes, that’s true. They even wanted to buy out my land. But I’m hangin’ tough.” He shook his head. “We’ll see.”

Darcy’s eyes widened and she stared at Mitch. The two men went on talking about the project, about what was being planned and how Ry’s land might enter into the deal, but she hardly listened. So this was what Mitch had come along with her for, this was what had been his reason for hunting down Ry Tanner.

And here, a part of her had been thinking he might just have wanted to be with her. And that part of her had been reveling in that hope, hadn’t it?

What a fool she was! In the first place, for wanting him to want to be with her. And in the second place, for wanting that despite the danger it posed. Was she crazy? So it seemed. That did it. She was going to have to be much tougher on herself from now on. After all, she’d fallen for this man’s charm before. She had a record to live down. She had to be doubly careful.

Mitch had a devilish look in his eyes as they walked back to the car. She glanced at him suspiciously. “What?” she asked him.

He leaned against the car door and his gaze rose slowly to meet hers. “The Heartland Project,” he said softly. “I want it.”

She stared at him, mouth agape. “You’re crazy!”

“Pipe down,” he warned, laughing at her. “Get in the car. Let’s not advertise it.”

“There is no way you can get that project,” she went on as she slipped into the driver’s seat. “You know that, don’t you? There are plenty of big boys after it. Ned Varner, for one.”

“Ned Varner has been my family’s nemesis for years, you know,” he told her casually. “He makes moves every time he thinks my father’s hold on the company is weak. Fear of what he was up to was the very reason my mother got me to come home.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure she was thinking defensively, not for you to try a suicidal move like trying for the Heartland Project.”

His head rose and he had a steely look. “I’m going after it.”

She was astonished at his crazy naive attitude. “What are you talking about? You don’t have the experience, the background. You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“I could do it.” His blue eyes were intense as they held hers. “You and me together. You can teach me the ropes. I’m a quick study.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Wait a minute.

Why would I be teaching you the ropes?” She threw her hands up. “If I know so much, why aren’t I heading the project?”

“Because you don’t have the credentials.” Reaching out, he cupped her cheek in his hand and looked deeply into her eyes. “Let’s face it, Darcy. They won’t let you. But you and me together—we could do it.”

His touch was something between fire and silk, and she knew it could act on her like a drug. She pulled away, shaking her head. “You’re nuts,” she said, starting the car.

She was fuming and he was making jokes. He wanted the Heartland Project, and he wanted to use her to help get it. Now wasn’t that just special! If she wasn’t careful she would get roped into having even more of her life taken over by this man. Who did he think he was, anyway?

But she knew the answer to that, didn’t she? Oh! She wanted to scream.

Still, she managed to control herself and she was quiet most of the way back into town. So was Mitch.

Probably thinking over ways to get her to pull in the Heartland Project for him. That was not going to happen!

But how was she going to avoid it, working for him in that office every day? She’d known this was going to be a problem from the beginning.

“It’s Friday night,” he said suddenly, as they entered the city limits. “Date night. Have you got a date?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do,” she said, tossing her hair back and looking at him sideways.

“Oh.” That surprised him. “So who’s the lucky guy? Bert Lenson?”

Was that sarcasm she heard? Had to be.

“There are two of them, actually,” she told him. “A couple of very special guys. We’re planning to paint the town. If things really get hot, I might even let them stay up past their bedtime.”

He’d realized what she was doing long before she wrapped it up and he waited, a twisted smile on his face. “The joys of motherhood,” he said dryly.

That put her back up but she held back the sharp comment that came to mind. “I suppose you’ve got plenty of old girlfriends you could look up,” she said instead.

He laughed. “Oh sure. There are old girlfriends of mine scattered all over the San Antonio area. Terra Dulce is crawling with them.”

“I would have thought so.”

He turned in his seat, shaking his head. “Are you crazy? Look how old I am, Darcy. All my old girlfriends are too busy organizing car pools for their kids to give me the time of day. Arguably some of them will be divorced, but still …”

“Ah, it’s the kids that turn you off, is it?” “I didn’t say that.”

She pulled onto the local freeway. They were almost back at work. “What do you have against kids?”

“I don’t have anything against them,” he said, though he sounded a bit too defensive. “I’ve dealt with kids before. Last year I hid out with a woman who had two kids and I spent a lot of time helping her take care of them. I can give bottles. I can even change a diaper if I have to. I don’t want to. But I can. I’m not totally clueless.”

But Darcy was still hung up on what he’d said at that beginning of that monologue. “'Hid out'?”

He sighed, hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s a long story. Forget it for now. Someday I’ll tell you all about it.”

She could tell by the finality in his voice that these were his last words on the subject—for now, at least. She turned into the ACW parking lot and pulled into her space.

“Well, that was fun,” she murmured, turning off the engine and starting to gather her things to get out of the car. And then she noticed he was still sitting there, making no move to exit. He had the look on his face that she was beginning to realize meant he had something he wanted to say. So she settled back into her seat and sighed.

“Okay. Out with it.” “Darcy, I’ve been thinking.” Here it came. He had big plans for things she could do to help him win that darn project. “Yes?” she said.

He was quiet for a moment, then turned and looked into her face.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I think we should get married.”

“What?” She couldn’t have been more surprised. “I was thinking that maybe we should reconsider this marriage thing.”

She was struggling for breath.

“Why?”

“If you look at it objectively, it’s only fair. This whole situation is as much my fault as it is yours.”

The man had experienced an epiphany. “Oh, you think so?”

He was frowning thoughtfully. “I realize I’ve taken too long to come to this decision, but you’ve got to admit, the twins threw me way off kilter. You had nine months to get used to the idea of having kids before they even got here. I didn’t get that luxury.”

“But Mitch …”

“It won’t be a normal marriage,” he added quickly. “I’ll be gone most of the time. But at least we’ll be married.”

She stared at him. This was one spectacular turnaround—only a few hours ago he’d been staunchly declaring he would never marry. Or had she heard that wrong? Whatever it was, she didn’t think she had better rely on it. Besides, he still hadn’t mentioned the babies.

“Let me get this straight. We’ll be married, but you’ll be gone most of the time.”

He nodded, his eyes bright with confidence. “That’s about the size of it.”

“I see.” She gave him a wry smile. “So you want to tie me down while you are free to go off and do whatever strikes your fancy.”

His look darkened a little. “Well, kind of. Though that isn’t exactly the way I was thinking of it. You’re putting it a bit unfairly.”

She looked at him and laughed. She knew that a part of her would always be bound to him no matter what they did. But she had to stay hardened against him. He still hadn’t made one gesture toward the boys. If he didn’t feel anything for the twins, the rest of this was moot. She didn’t even want him in her life.

“Darcy, think about it,” he was saying, trying to be convincing. “It could work. There would be advantages. I could check in periodically, sort of like military guys do. If you could live with a part-time husband …”

“No.”

“No?” He looked surprised.

Her steady gaze pinned him back. “It sounds like a great idea—for you. You’d be having your cake and eating it, too.”

He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Mitch …”

“Okay, I’ll put it this way.” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, then gazed at her over it. “Darcy, will you marry me?”

Something very like a butterfly was flapping around in her stomach. She was very close to being sick. This was so like what she’d dreamed of, and yet, it wasn’t good enough. She pulled her hand away from him.

“I can’t marry you.”

“Why not?”

“You are not marriage material. We knew that from the beginning. Nothing’s changed.”

He stared at her, his blue eyes turned black as night in the dim light of the parking structure. “That’s where you’re wrong, Darcy. No matter what we decide here, everything’s changed.”