Adopted Son (15 page)

Grace was smart enough to know she still had stars in her eyes, so she knew it was best to take it slow—to make the right decision for her. She’d devoted ten years of her life to the firm, building it, promoting it and making it the best. Maybe she wasn’t ready to walk away. People depended on her.

She dabbed at her mouth and clutched her napkin in her lap. “I do have some conditions.”

“Conditions!” Stephen’s eyebrows jerked up in disapproval. Normally she would instantly backtrack, anything to remove that look from her dad’s face. Today she stared straight back at him, unrelenting and unflinching.

“What are they, darling?” Joanna asked, very smoothly.

Grace held up one finger. “Number one—we’re not hiring Mann. I think we’re clear on that now. Number two—the day care stays. Number three—you will stay out of the firm completely and not use it for political gain. Number four—do not call Byron behind my back. Number five—I will not be spending fourteen hours a day at the office.”

“That’s your decision, but you love that firm and you love being a lawyer. It’s been your dream since you were a little girl.”

“That’s just it. I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m a woman and I’ve had very little time to explore that part of my nature.”

“Of course, darling, we understand.” Her mother touched her arm. “And you don’t have to explain this to your father or me.”

“I just want you to be happy,” Stephen said.

Grace stood. “Thank you.”

Joanna jumped up and tucked Grace’s hair behind her ear, just as she had when Grace was a child. “I’m so proud of you,” she said. “Both you and Caroline. You’re strong, independent women.”

“Sometimes a little too strong.” Stephen spoke his two cents.

“But, darling—” Joanna kissed his cheek “—that’s the way you wanted them to be.” She dropped her voice to a deeper tone. “Strong enough to make it in a man’s world.”

“That’s not funny, Jo.”

“No it isn’t, so pay the bill and let’s go see our grandson. I told Caroline we’d come by for a visit before we left town.”

Stephen fished his wallet out of his pocket and laid his credit card on the table. The waiter immediately whisked it away. Stephen pushed back his chair.

As he stood, he held out his hand. “Congratulations on opening your old man’s eyes.”

She shook his hand, then remembered what Tuck said about families hugging. On impulse, she hugged him. “I wasn’t trying to be difficult.”

He squeezed her tight. “I seem to remember Caroline saying that once.”

“Yes.” She drew back. “I think we’re a lot like you.”

He nodded. “I really want my girls to be happy.”

“Then stop interfering in our lives.”

“That’s hard when you love someone.”

Joanna linked her arm through her husband’s. “But he’s going to try very, very hard.”

Grace kissed them goodbye and walked out into the bright April day. The sun warmed her skin and her mood. She was going back to work, but this time on her terms and in her own way. She didn’t have to prove anything to anyone but herself. Then she would decide what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She had a feeling she already knew.

All she could see were dark eyes calling her home. A home that had a table with names carved on it and a wall of photos that touched her heart.

T
UCK SPENT THE DAY
doing what he always did on Sundays—housework. He did the laundry, changed his bed and washed Sam’s, then he vacuumed and made a list of things he needed from the grocery store. He put his work clothes in a bag for the cleaners and set it by the back door so he wouldn’t forget it in the morning.

He hated every minute of the tedious, boring chores. It crossed his mind that if he had a wife she would help run the household. That wouldn’t be bad. Suddenly he could envision Grace here and that was a startling revelation. He didn’t push it away as he normally would. Maybe his mind-set was changing. Maybe Grace was changing his way of thinking. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was mid-afternoon and Grace hadn’t returned.

Although, he hadn’t asked her to, had he? He should have, but he didn’t want to pressure her. She was feeling her way now and he recognized that. There’d probably never been two more mismatched people than the two of them. But they’d found each other. Grace carried a lot of responsibility with the Whitten Firm and he couldn’t see her giving that up for good. And he would never ask her to.

He walked into the small bedroom he used for an office. It used to be his and Eli’s room until they moved upstairs. He was in the process of redoing it for Brady. His computer was now in his room and soon he’d have to put his office back together. Brady wasn’t going to live here.

He sucked in a deep breath, went into his bedroom and sat at his computer. He was working on an embezzlement case and had all the evidence to turn over to the district attorney. A woman who had worked thirty years for a large company had steadily been depositing over a half million dollars into a bogus account.

The owner had finally become suspicious and talked with the district attorney, who asked the Texas Rangers to investigate. In the morning, Tuck would turn in his findings and probably by tomorrow evening the woman would be arrested. He hoped the theft was worth it because prison was not a place for a sixty-year-old woman. What made people do such crazy things?

He stood and flexed his shoulders, needing exercise. Grabbing his hat, he headed for the corral. He glanced at his watch again. Grace hadn’t called or come back. He had expected her to. He’d really wanted her to.

G
RACE DRESSED IN JEANS
, sneakers and a mint-green blouse and headed for Tuck’s. He hadn’t asked her to come back, but last night they both had been feeling the same thing. There was no question in her mind that their feelings were real. She had to see him.

To tell him she was going back to work.

As she drove up she saw him on a horse, galloping toward the barn. Her heart skipped a beat. Dressed in jeans and a chambray shirt, his hat was pulled low over his eyes. She quickly got out of her car.

Sam barked at her feet. She picked him up, her eyes on Tuck.

He saw her and leaned down to open a gate. She set Sam on the ground and started to run. As she reached him, he removed his boot from the stirrup and held out his hand. Without a second thought or a single word, she put her sneaker in the stirrup and placed her hand in his.

With one pull, she was on back of the horse, her arms locked around his strong waist. Usually the smelly, sweaty horse would unnerve her, but today it didn’t bother her. She was with Tuck and she’d never felt more safe or alive.

They galloped through a pasture then into a valley of spring grasses and steadily climbed a steep, rocky hill. Oak branches brushed against her, but she clung to Tuck, loving the strength of his back and the easy rhythm of the ride.

At the top of the hill, Tuck stopped the horse and they dismounted.

“Oh, my,” she said, gazing at the valley below. She could see Tuck’s house, Caroline and Eli’s and miles of the Texas Hill Country. “This is spectacular.”

“It’s my favorite place,” he said, and they sat side by side in the grass. “I came here a lot as a kid. I was king of the world and superhero all rolled into one.”

She watched the excitement on his face. “You were happy as a kid.”

He nodded. “There was a lot of sadness, too, because of the abused kids. But Ma and Pa had a way of making us feel safe and secure. They were incredible people.”

She heard the love in his voice and she didn’t have to ask if he loved them. It was evident in everything he said and did. He loved them so much he was willing to give up having a life of his own to continue what they had started.

“Look.” He pointed. “Your parents are getting into their limo.”

“I can almost see the relief on Eli’s face,” she said. “Caroline’s, too.”

They watched the car pull out of the drive. “How did the meeting go?” Tuck asked.

She told him everything that had been said.

“So you’re going back to Whitten’s?”

“Yes.” She plucked a blade of grass and twisted it around her finger. “I started a lot of things I have to see to fruition, especially the day care. But my time is my own and the office will not be my whole life, as it has been in the past.”

“I didn’t know if you were coming back here or not.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “You didn’t ask me.”

“I didn’t want to put any more pressure on you in case…”

She touched his lower lip. “In case I decided last night was a mistake.”

“Something like that.” His tongue licked her finger.

Her lower abdomen tightened in uncontrollable need. “Kiss me and let’s see.”

He bent his head and caught her lips in a mind-blowing kiss. Her hands found their way into his hair, knocking off his hat. Groaning, he pressed her down into the grass and nothing was said for a while.

Kissing her cheek, her neck, her collarbone, he breathed, “We have to stop. I don’t have a condom.”

She knew he would never risk an unwanted pregnancy. That wasn’t part of his plans, nor hers. But she felt a moment of disappointment that he was so in control. She recognized the insane feeling as a purely female reaction.

He rolled to his back, staring up at the dimming sky. Dark clouds were chasing away the sun as it slowly sank in the western sky. She rested her head on his chest and they lay in the peace and the quiet of a lazy spring afternoon.

“What did you do while I was gone?” she asked, making circles on his shirt with her forefinger.

“Housework.” He made a face.

“Poor baby.”

“And a lot of thinking.”

“Really?” She raised her head. “Guys actually do that?”

He tugged her hair in retaliation. “Yes, guys are capable of some deep thinking. Or, at least, I am.”

“What were you thinking about?”

He sat up. “My life. Showing you the table and looking at the wall of photos made me realize that I’m clinging to the past. I’ve changed nothing in the house but the master bedroom. Everything else is the same as when Ma and Pa were alive. I’m living in the past.” As he said the words, he knew they were true.

He drew up his knees. “You asked if I felt the need to take in children because it was something Ma and Pa wanted me to do. I guess that’s true. I don’t want anyone to ever forget the sacrifices they made, especially me. So I keep the legacy alive but…”

She linked her fingers with his and he gripped them tightly. “But what?”

“It’s their legacy, not mine.” He took a deep breath, hardly believing he was saying the words out loud, hardly believing that he was allowing himself to say them. But with Grace it was so easy. “I’m living their life. It’s time I started living my own. I know in my heart that’s what they would want.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to start refurbishing the farmhouse. I need to make it mine—my home, not my childhood home.”

“Have you changed your mind about taking in children?”

“I’m not sure. All I know is that I’m looking at life a little differently.”

He gazed into her eyes and saw the hope. He knew they had to talk about their relationship. “With everything in me I want to ask you to be a part of my life, but we both know that’s premature. I’m going through a life-changing decision and I’m not sure it’s the right one. Only time will tell. And that’s what we need—time. I suggest we take one day at a time being honest and true to each other and see what happens. What do you think?”

She smiled. “I think you’d better kiss me.”

“Yes, ma’am, my pleasure.” He took her lips gently, tenderly, binding them together in a way no one would understand but them.

Raindrops peppered their bare heads. “Damn.” Tuck jumped to his feet and pulled her up, grabbed his hat and plopped it onto her head, then they sprinted for the horse. Slowly they made their way down the hill, the rain steadily growing heavier. When they reached the valley, Tuck kneed the horse and they flew across a coastal pasture. Grace buried her face against him, trying to hold on to his hat but the wind whipped it from her fingers.

“Tuck.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

The horse splashed through puddles as they made a beeline straight for the barn. As hard as they tried, they couldn’t outrun the rain. By the time they reached the barn, they were both soaking wet.

Tuck quickly unsaddled the horse and let him loose in the corral, then they made a dash for the house, laughing like kids. They stood in the utility room, their hair plastered to their scalps as water dripped onto the floor. Sam barked at them but they didn’t pay him any attention.

Tuck grabbed a towel off the dryer and began to dry their clothes, but they were too wet. “We have to get out of these wet things.”

She shivered. “I’m freezing.”

“Quick, start stripping.”

Within seconds their wet things were in a heap and they were naked. Tuck vigorously rubbed her hair then her body. One stroke led to sensuous movements that had nothing to do with drying. He pulled her against his damp body and kissed her deeply. With groans, moans, turns and twists they made it to the den, then down the hall and into the bedroom.

Tuck wanted to take it slow, but he forgot slow the moment he saw her naked body. Through heated kisses, sensuous caresses and mind-tripping emotions they made love, then cuddled together in the bed at six o’clock in the evening.

G
RACE RAN HER FINGERS
though his hair, loving the feel and texture of it. The threads of gray at his temples made him look that much more handsome.

“If you keep doing that, we’ll never leave this bed,” he said in a drowsy tone.

“That’s okay with me.” She trailed her finger down his straight nose to his full lower lip. She loved touching him and she loved everything about him. They hadn’t said the magic words and surprisingly she was okay with that. They both had decisions and choices to make—life-changing decisions. Time would tell if their lives were meant to be together. In the meantime they would get to know each other and the future would unfold the way it was meant to be.

She only hoped she had the strength to handle whatever that was.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Starving.”

He crawled out of bed and handed her a T-shirt then slipped on a terry cloth robe. “I make a mean grilled cheese. C’mon.” Taking her hand they walked into the den.

Sam met them, whining at Grace’s feet.

“Poor baby,” Grace cooed, picking him up. “We’ve been neglecting him.”

“He’s a con artist,” Tuck remarked, continuing on to the kitchen. As he got cheese out of the refrigerator, he watched Grace cuddling Sam. Sam never did that with him. Grace was good with dogs and babies. Jesse’s eyes lit up whenever he saw her. He wondered if she ever thought about having children of her own. All women did, didn’t they?

He’d never thought Grace had motherly instincts, but his whole perception of Grace had changed—drastically. She’d make a great mother.

Grace put their clothes in the washing machine and then cut up apples to go with the sandwiches. They sat in comfortable silence, eating.

“This grilled cheese is delicious,” she said, licking cheese from her fingers.

“It’s Ma’s secret recipe. Every kid who came here loved them.”

“I can see why.”

He took a bite of a quartered apple. “Have you ever thought of having kids?”

“Sure. All women do. But I firmly believe in marriage first, then baby. I’m still looking for my Prince Charming or—” she made quotes with her fingers “—‘Mr. Right.’ I’m told I’m pushy and bossy and men don’t go for that type of woman.”

“They just don’t know you.”

Her eyes opened wide. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

She nibbled on an apple. “So are you a candidate for my Prince Charming?”

“Definitely.” He grinned. “We’re alike in so many ways. I never realized that before.”

“How are we alike?”

“We both have very strong father figures in our lives and their approval means a lot to us.”

“Yes. And it’s time we learned to deal with the feelings about our fathers.”

“We’ve made a start.”

“How else are we alike?” she asked.

“Neatness—yours is over the top, but lately you have it under control.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes. Right now I want to wipe the table and spray bleach on the floor where Sam licked the crumbs from my sandwich, then mop the whole floor. It’s just an urge, though. It used to be important to me to be organized and neat. It meant I was in control. But I don’t need to be in control every minute, every day of my life. I kind of like running and laughing in the rain and not caring about the mess on the floor. It makes me feel more human, more feminine.”

He watched her animated face and felt a catch in his throat. Her hair was in disarray around her face, her eyes sparkled and her expression was dreamy. Could she be more beautiful? He didn’t think so.

“So how are we different?” she asked.

He thought about it for a minute. “Let me put it this way. You’re like an expensive imported bottle of champagne. Me, I’m a domestic beer made in Texas.”

Smiling, she slid onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “That doesn’t mean we can’t find some common ground.”

He kissed her gently. “I think we already have.”