Chapter Ten
Angus wasn't sure if he was coming or going where Gwen was concerned. He'd come back determined to shake some sense into her and force her to admit she still had feelings for him.
When she'd yelled at him through the door, telling him to go away, his heart had dropped like a lead weight into his belly. He'd stood there in shock, his feet refusing to move. Then she'd thrown open the door, cussing him one second and hugging him the next.
“So what's it to be? Are you going to throw me out again, or can I come in?”
She raised her head, tears swimming in her eyes, with traces on her face, leaving tiny, shiny tracks across her skin. “Oh, Angus.”
Not the answer he was looking for, but he couldn't argue with the fact he was holding her in his arms again. And damn, it felt good to hold Gwen, even as she soaked his best shirt with a flood of tears. And damn that dress. As pretty as she looked in it, the garment only made him want to rip it off her and make love to her into the small hours of the morning.
“Ahem. Just so you know, I can't get out with you two standing in the way.” Mona grinned. “I could stand here and watch this touching reunion, or you could let me squeeze by and leave you two alone.”
Gwen pushed away from Angus and smoothed the front of her dress, tears falling onto her hands. “I'm sorry. I was just going to call and tell you I would be picking up Dalton tonight.” Her voice broke and she refused to look him in the eye.
“Why?” Angus tipped her chin up and his chest tightened at the hazel eyes full of tears. “Babe, what's wrong?”
She only shook her head, the tears sliding down her cheeks.
Angus pulled her back against him and held her, his heart breaking along with whatever was breaking hers.
“I'll just be going now.” Mona attempted to squeeze by them.
“What happened here?” Angus asked.
“Gwen can tell you all about it.” Mona made it past them and through the door. “But if a slick, blond cowboy with a belt buckle bigger than his dick shows up, shoot him.”
Gwen laughed, her fingers digging into Angus's shirt. “Mona, you don't have to go.”
Mona called out, “Oh yes I do, sweetie. You can thank me later.”
Angus edged Gwen into the room and closed the door behind them. “Okay, now tell me what's going on.”
“I don't want to go into it.” She stepped away and scrubbed tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “You couldn't do anything about it anyway.”
“I might be just a cowboy, but I'm smarter than I look.” He winked. “Try me.”
“No, really. I have to go.” She glanced around the room, her gaze seeming to roam without purpose. “I need to go pick up Dalton.”
“He and Colin would be heartbroken if you picked him up now. They have the entire living room converted into Fort McFarlan and when I left earlier, they were laying siege on Mom's stash of cookies.”
Gwen laughed, hiccupped and dropped her hand to her side. “This is all so messed up.”
“Seriously, trust me. I'm pretty good at turning things around.” And he hated seeing her cry. It was tearing him up inside.
“It's my business. Not something you need to worry about.” She pushed out of his arms, turned to gather her purse in her hand and slipped her feet into the strappy black stilettos. “Look, Angus, you don't have to go through with any more dates, and I doubt I'll come back to Temptation anytime soon. We should say goodbye now and forget this weekend ever happened.”
He grabbed her hand and made her stop what she was doing and focus on him. “We made a deal. Eight dates. We shook on it. I'm not reneging and neither are you. Something's got you scared. Whatever it is can be fixed.”
“I'm not so sure.”
“Sweetheart, you're not alone anymore. I'm here. I can help.” He tipped her chin up. “If you let me.”
Gwen pushed her hair back from her forehead and sighed. “Fine. Remember Dalton's father who wasn't in the picture?”
Angus frowned. “Yeah.”
Those tears welled again. “Well, he's just decided to be in the picture.”
“When?”
“He left a few minutes before you came back.”
Angus's fist clenched. “What did he want?”
“Custody of Dalton.” Her voice wobbled. “Dalton's never met the man. He'd be so afraid to go with him.” Gwen bit down on her trembling bottom lip.
“Are you telling me his father didn't know about him until now?”
“No. I notified him with a certified letter when Dalton was born, and told him in that letter that I didn't expect anything from him. He never responded. All I got was the signature card in the mail that he'd received the letter.”
“You didn't have any legal documentation drawn up granting you sole custody or anything?”
“I didn't think I had to. Wayne never made a claim.” She gulped. “Until tonight. He's threatening to sue for custody. I think he really wants money, not custody.”
“Bastard.” Angus wished the man were there so that he could wrap his hands around the man's throat and squeeze until he turned blue. Any man who used a child to blackmail a woman should be strung up the nearest tree.
“I need to get to my son.” She tried to shake Angus's hand off her arm. “What if Wayne tries to take Dalton from me?”
“He won't. Colin and my mother are with Dalton right now. He's safe and I doubt Wayne will find him at the ranch.” Angus stroked his hands down Gwen's arms. “Babe, he's in the safest place possible.”
“Are you sure?” She looked up at him, her eyes swimming again. “I don't know what I'd do without Dalton. He's the only family I have.”
“What about your parents? Where are they now?”
“They died in an auto accident a couple months before Dalton was born.”
“I'm sorry to hear that.”
“What am I going to do?”
“You're going to come home with me.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “To get Dalton. I'll drive back to Dallas tonight.”
“No,” Angus said, shaking his head. “You're going to come stay at the ranch tonight. I have a friend who could recommend a really good child-custody lawyer.”
“Thanks, Angus, but I can contact my corporate lawyer and get a recommendation for an attorney in Dallas. I can take care of this myself. I'm sorry I fell apart all over you.” She gave him a crooked smile that melted his knees and made him want to hold her and never let her go again.
“If I didn't want you to fall apart on me, I'd have told you.” He held on to her hand, refusing to release her, afraid that if he did he'd lose her forever. “Let me bear some of your burden. I'm strong. I can handle it. Besides, Dalton's a neat kid. I'd help you out just for his sake, even if I didn't love you as much as I do.”
“I should go back to Dallas,” she said, her voice quavering.
“You're not going back now. It's too late.” He led her toward her suitcase and threw her belongings in one-handed, still holding on to hers. “You're coming home with me, and we'll work this out together.”
For a moment she watched. Then she shook her head. “Okay. I'll come with you. If you'll let me have my hand, I'll get my things from the bathroom.”
Angus gently squeezed her fingers. “As long as you don't try to make a run for it. You're done running.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave him a watery smile and hurried to pack her toiletries, adding them to the jumble of clothes in her suitcase. Less than five minutes later, they climbed into his truck, leaving her Cadillac behind.
Angus's heart swelled. It felt like he was bringing Gwen home for good. He had no doubt there would be trouble in the near future, but he hoped this would be the first step toward the rest of their lives together.
When Angus pulled up to the ranch house, Gwen didn't wait for him to open her door or help her down. She slipped from the truck and hurried toward the house, anxious to see for herself that her son was okay.
With Wayne in the area, she didn't trust him to leave her son alone.
Angus removed her suitcase from the backseat, followed her up the porch steps and then reached around her to slip his key into the lock.
Inside, the house was dark except for a soft lamp lit in the living room. Blankets were strung from one piece of furniture to the next in an impressive array covering the majority of the room.
“Hey, I didn't expect you two to come back tonight.” Colin rolled out from under the tent and pushed to his bare feet.
“Where's Dalton?” Gwen asked.
“He's fast asleep inside.” Colin smiled and held up the edge of a blanket. “See for yourself.”
Gwen squatted beside the fort and peered inside.
Dalton lay curled up on a sleeping bag, a pillow beneath his head, a smile playing at his lips.
Relief filled Gwen and she straightened, unwilling to wake her son from such a sound sleep, nor did she have a good reason to.
“He and I had a lot of fun, and we even snagged some of Mom's best cookies. All in all, it was a good time.” Colin nodded. “That's a great kid you got there.”
“Thanks.” Gwen smiled.
“No. Thank you for sharing him with ol' Uncle Colin.” He puffed out his chest and grinned. “I kind of like the sound of thatâUncle Colin.” Angus's brother winked. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I promised Dalton I'd spend the night in the fort.” The man stretched. “I have to admit, it was a lot easier sleeping on the floor when I was Dalton's age.”
“Then let me,” Gwen suggested. Colin had already done so much to make Dalton's stay fun and exciting.
Colin frowned. “No way. This hero-worship thing is addictive. I wouldn't want Dalton to think I bailed on him in the middle of the night.” Colin ducked beneath the blankets. “Good night, you two.”
Gwen's belly tightened as Angus led her down the dark hallway to a room on the right and switched on the light. “This is Brody's old room. He lives in Seattle right now, though Colin is working on getting him to come home.”
The room was painted in a soft gray-blue. The large, queen-sized bed draped with a brown-, navy- and cream-colored quilt took up much of the space. Photographs lined the wall, all lovingly framed and tastefully placed, Gwen assumed by their mother. They were photos of a boy growing into a man. Some were taken in sports uniforms, others were of him and his brothers laughing and smiling for the camera, wearing jeans and freshly pressed shirts as if they were going to church.
“My room is directly across the hall. Colin's is the next one over and Mom has the room at the end. She used to be a light sleeper when we were teens, but she can sleep through almost anything now that we're grown and not trying to sneak out.”
Gwen paused in the doorway, her hand on the knob, her teeth chewing on her lower lip.
Angus pulled her into the safety of his embrace. “Everything is going to be all right.”
“I hope so.” Gwen laid her cheek against his chest, inhaling the fresh outdoorsy, masculine scent that was all Angus. Her fingers curled into his shirt and she held on. “Would your mother be shocked if you stayed in here with me?”
A soft snort stirred the hair at her temple. “I guarantee she'd be fine with it. She'd wish for me to be happy. And being with you makes me happy.”
He smoothed his hand over her hair and backed her into the room, closing the door behind him.
“What about Dalton?” Gwen asked, undoing the buttons on his shirt.
“As far as he knows, you're at the B and B in Temptation.” Angus pressed a finger to her lips to quell her next question. “I'll slip out before morning to make it easier for you.”
She smiled up at him and tugged his shirt loose from his jeans. “Thank you.”
“I'm glad you're still wearing this dress.” He slipped one strap from her shoulder and let it fall to her waist. “I'll be even happier when you're wearing nothing at all.”
“Then here, let me.” She shrugged out of the other strap and let it drop to her waist. Her breasts shone in the light from the moon coming through the open blinds. “Maybe we should close those?” She nodded toward the window.
“No. I like seeing your skin bathed in nothing but moonlight.” He reached behind her and unzipped the lower half of the dress and it floated to the floor, leaving her naked and tingling all over.
Gwen took a step back, giving him a full-length look at her body, proud she'd kept her figure by working out five days a week. “You locked the door?”
Angus nodded, his nostrils flaring. He ripped his shirt off his shoulders and toed off his boots. “I'd say you haven't changed a bit, but you have.”
Gwen frowned, her ego taking a hit. “Having a baby does that to a woman.”
He ripped the buttons loose on his jeans and shoved them off, stepping free and naked to stand in front of her. Reaching out, he traced a finger along the side of her cheek, down the long line of her neck and across a breast. “You're even more beautiful than you were at twenty-one.”
“My hips are bigger.” Gwen held her arms up and swayed.
Angus caught her hips in his big hands. “They have a sexier curve.”
“My breasts are fuller.” She plumped her breasts, her back straight, her chin held high, happy she'd increased a cup size in the seven years and hadn't lost the perky bounce.
“More to love.” Angus raised one hand to tweak a nipple.
Her heart light, she smiled and wound her fingers through his hair. “I like the way you think, cowboy.”
“I love everything about you, babe.” He bent to capture her mouth and kissed her, holding her body against his, his stiff cock pressing into her belly.
When they broke apart, Gwen took his hand and led him to the bed. She flung back the quilt and lay across the clean white sheets. “It's been seven years; we can't make up for lost time.”