Royal Holiday Baby (8 page)

Hildie blinked. “Alrighty,” she said. “But I'm telling you that you better talk to Zach or there's going to be big trouble.”

“As you wish. But if I can't reach him by cell, I'll need to use the car,” Tina said, because she'd learned that cell service wasn't always reliable at the far reaches of the ranch.

Hildie winced. “I'm not sure that's a good idea.”

“I need the car, please,” she insisted, using her best royal voice.

Hildie frowned. “Alrighty,” she said. “But I'm going on record as claiming no responsibility.”

Tina gave a quick nod. “Thank you very much. I'll take the keys.”

After failed attempts at reaching Zach by cell, Tina asked
where Zach was and drove in the direction of the south pasture, but she couldn't find him. She drove down several dirt roads and finally came upon several men outside a barn. She pulled alongside the barn and got out of the car.

“Hello. How are you? Is Zach here?” she asked.

The men looked at her as if she were an alien. “Zach?”

“Yes,” she said. “Zachary Logan. I need to speak with him.”

One of the men rested his hand on a rake and stared at her. “Who are you?”

She felt a frisson of uneasiness, but didn't give in to it. “I'm Valentina Devereaux.”

The one who'd asked her name stepped forward and dipped his head. “I'm Ray and I'm sorry, but Zach left here about an hour ago. I think he was going to the next field, east,” he said. “But I can't be sure.”

Tina sighed. “Thank you very much, sir. If you should see him, please tell him to contact me.”

“We'll do that, ma'am,” Ray said and tipped his hat.

Tina climbed into the car and headed east. She came upon another barn where one man stood outside. Stopping her car, she stepped out of her car. “Hello. How are you?” she asked. “I'm looking for Zachary Logan. Have you seen him?”

The man shook his head. “I'm looking for him too. He's supposed to stop by here sometime today. You want to leave a message?”

Impatient with trying to track Zachary down, Tina returned to the car to grab a piece of paper and a pen. “Yes, I do. I'm Tina,” she said. “And you are?”

“Fred,” he said.

“Lovely to meet you, Fred,” she said and scribbled a note to Zachary. “Could you please give this to Zachary? Please tell him to call me if he has any questions,” she said, handing him the piece of paper.

“I can do that,” Fred said, dipping his head. “If you need anything you can give me a call,” he said and gave her a business card. “Cell phone number is on the bottom, although as you probably know, the service around here is a little sketchy.”

“Exactly,” she said, pocketing Fred's card. “Thank you very much.”

“My pleasure,” Fred said and Tina got into the car with an invigorated sense of purpose. Surely Hildie was mistaken that Zach would have a problem giving the Gordons a place to stay. Zach would want to help his neighbors.

 

Tired and achy from a long day outside filling in for one of his managers, all Zach wanted was a hot shower, a hot meal and a quiet evening. He stepped inside the mudroom to ditch his boots. His mind flitted to Tina as it often did lately. He wasn't quite sure how to handle the woman. How to keep her at the ranch without her getting under his skin.

A loud shriek caught him off guard. “What the—” He strode down the hallway to sounds coming from the den. Turning a corner, he quickly took in the sight of his very pregnant neighbor, Sheree Gordon, sitting on the couch, an elementary-school age boy sitting in
Zach's
chair working the remote to his large flat-screen TV and Tina sitting on the floor with two small children.

Hildie walked into the den. “Supper's ready. Everyone wash up and—” She caught sight of Zach and immediately stopped.

Tina glanced up at Hildie, then looked at Zach. Rising to her feet with the two little children still clinging to her hands, she met his gaze. “Well, there you are, stranger. I tried to call you several times on your cell today.”

Zach pulled his phone from his pocket and noticed his
message sign was on. “I was out of range for most of the day.”

“That's what I heard, so I drove out to find you. No luck, so I left a message with a man named Fred,” she said.

“Yeah, I didn't get to him today,” he said.

“Oops,” Tina said.

Sheree stood and eased the children away from Tina. “Yes, I know you're having fun with your new friend, but it's time to wash your hands for dinner.” She looked at Zach. “I can't tell you how much we appreciate your letting us stay here with you for a few days. You and Tina are too generous for words.”

Stay here?
he thought and blinked.
Here in my house?

“I mean, I'm due in a couple of weeks and my mother is recovering from knee surgery. The fire totally wiped us out.” Sheree's eyes filled with tears. “Bob and I will never be able to repay you for helping us.”

Zach had heard about the fire at the Gordon ranch and he'd planned to help in some way—maybe help put the family up in a hotel for a few nights, provide a few meals and some clothes. But not this.

The youngest child, a toddler who was a girl, gave a high-pitched shriek that lit his nerve endings like a stream of firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

Sheree winced. “Sorry, she's at the screaming stage, and being in a different place make it worse. Come on, Amy and Doug. Matthew, turn off the TV. Time to get ready for dinner.”

“Mooooom,” the older boy complained.

“Now,” Sheree said firmly and Matt rose from the chair.

After his new guests left the room, Zach met Tina's gaze. “In the future, if you're going to invite people to stay here, I'd appreciate it if you would let me know.”

“I tried, but you weren't accessible,” Tina said.

“You could have waited until I got home just now,” he said.

“No, I couldn't. This family has been through a devastating experience. Someone had to act quickly.”

“Where did you put all of them?” he asked.

“Oh, that was easy. I put Sheree and Bob in the guest room at the front of the house, Matt in the upstairs den on the foldout sofa. We're putting Sheree's mom in the downstairs library so she won't have to take the stairs. And the two little ones will go in the room next to mine. It's such a lovely little room with the seat at the bay window and built-in shelves. I was surprised to find it completely empty,” she said, confusion wrinkling her brow. “I asked Hildie about it, but the phone rang and we got busy.”

Zach's gut twisted into a knot. That room had been for his baby. His baby who had died. A flash of anger rushed through him. What right did Tina have to invade that room? He'd donated the furniture to a charitable organization, but every time he went into that room, he felt the loss well up inside him again, fresh and painful.

Clenching his jaw, he swallowed over a knot in the back of his throat. “Don't do this again,” he told her. “Not without talking with me first.”

She searched his face. “You're angry. Why?” she asked. “This is only for a short time. Is your privacy so important that you can't—”

He lifted his hand. “Enough. I don't want to discuss it anymore.”

“But how can I understand—”

“You understand to talk to me first. That's all you need to understand.”

Clearly not satisfied, Tina frowned then sighed. “Well, I suppose I should also tell you that we're holding a community barbecue here tomorrow night so that neighbors can come
and donate replacement clothing, furniture and household goods for the Gordons.”

Zach dipped his head in disbelief. “Tomorrow night?”

She nodded. “Through my diplomatic experiences in disaster areas, I've learned that one really must move on this kind of thing right away. People forget and needs are left unmet.”

Hearing her use the word diplomatic made something inside him click. “This is a princess thing, isn't it?”

She shot him a wary look. “Princess thing?”

He nodded. “Now I get it. This is the kind of thing you used to do in your country, except maybe on a grander scale. If this is going to be your M.O., then you and I are definitely going to need to have a talk. It will have to wait until later, though, since we have
guests.
”

 

Tina stared at Zachary Logan's broad back as he walked away. She felt a deep sinking sensation inside her as she realized she had imposed upon Zach and clearly offended him.

He appeared weary and frustrated, and now she'd caused a situation where he couldn't be at ease even in his own home. Guilt suffused her. Hildie had warned her, but Tina had brushed the woman's concerns aside.

She had followed her natural instincts when she'd heard about the Gordons' tragedy. Plus, taking care of the Gordons had allowed her to take her attention off of her confusing feelings for Zach.

Hearing the approaching stampede of the Gordon children, Tina had no time to dwell on her regret. She helped Hildie serve the meal and feed the children. Afterward, Sheree offered to help clean up, but Hildie and Tina insisted the woman go rest.

“The poor woman has been through enough during the
last twenty-four hours,” Tina murmured as she helped remove the dishes from the table.

“So true,” Hildie said, then only the sound of clattering dishes filled the kitchen.

“You were right,” Tina said in a low voice, full of misery. “Zach is angry. He was very upset that I invited the Gordons without discussing it with him first. I should have considered his feelings. I just assumed he would want to help—”

“Now, don't you be getting the wrong idea. There's no man more generous than Zachary Logan. He's always one to help out when someone needs it. He helped fund my niece's college education. The man is extremely generous,” Hildie said then sighed. “But everyone has their soft spots. This home is Zachary's cave. Having this place has gotten him through some rough times.”

“What rough times?” Tina asked. “I know the deaths of his parents must have been difficult, but I sense there's something more. But he won't discuss it with me. Tell me, please.”

Hildie shook her head. “It's not my place.”

So frustrated she could scream, Tina tamped down her feelings and finished helping Hildie in silence. All the while, her mind was going a mile a minute. This was ridiculous. How were she and Zach ever going to be able to communicate effectively if she didn't know what had caused him so much pain? She had to find out. She formulated a plan. The day after tomorrow, she was going into Dallas and she was going to get some answers.

“I'm going to heat up a plate for Zach and take it upstairs,” Hildie said.

“I'll do it,” Tina offered.

Hildie shot her a skeptical glance. “Are you sure that's a good idea? He's probably as cranky as a bear with a sore paw.”

“Since I caused the injury, I should make amends,” Tina
said, stiffening her back. She knew full well that Zach would likely give her the cold shoulder.

After heating the full plate of food, she grabbed two ice cold beers from the refrigerator and climbed the stairs to his suite. Gently tapping on his door, she stood and waited. No answer. She tapped again, this time more loudly.

The door swung slightly open and Zachary stood there wearing a towel slung around his hips and, she supposed, nothing else. His hair looked ebony from the wetness. His eyelashes surrounded his blue eyes in spikes of black and water droplets dotted his wide shoulders and muscular pecs. Her gaze drifted downward to the fine hair that arrowed down his flat abdomen.

All male, all man, she thought, her stomach dipping to her feet as she remembered that night they'd shared together. It had been months ago, she reminded herself. And everything was different now.

“Is that for me?” he asked, pointing to the plate she held.

She nodded. “Yes, yes, it is.”

“Bring it in and I'll put on some clothes,” he said and she followed him inside his suite. Domain, she corrected herself. Definitely his domain, she thought as she couldn't resist the urge to shoot a searching glance past the open door into his bedroom. Huge bed, she noticed. Sheepskin rugs surrounding the edge of the bed. Bedside table with a lamp and a couple of books. She wondered what he was reading. Was it for pleasure or business? Since she'd come to the ranch, Zach had seemed all business. She'd seen another side of him. Had that been a complete anomaly?

Wearing a half-unbuttoned shirt and a pair of jeans, he reentered his office/living room. “Thanks for the food. I'm assuming both beers are for me since you're not drinking?”
he said more than asked with a wry suggestion of a grin. “You thought I might need more than one?”

He popped the top on the first bottle and waved toward the sofa for her to sit. Taking a seat opposite her, he placed the plate on the table beside him.

Surprised at his lack of hostility, she lifted her shoulders in confusion. “You seemed tired and I don't think I helped matters. I apologize for taking matters into my own hands.”

“I imagine it's what you've always done,” he said and dug into his meal.

She opened her mouth to protest then changed her mind. “Within certain parameters,” she said. “There were always the opinions of advisers and my brother.”

“Bet that drove you crazy. Always having to answer to someone. Would have driven me crazy,” he said and took a long swallow from his beer. “My middle name isn't Grinch or Scrooge just because I like a little notice when my house is gonna be turned into a temporary hotel.”

Tina felt another twist of regret. “I know that. Again, I apologize. It's not as if this is my home. It's yours.”

He met her gaze for a long moment that made her heart skip over itself. “We'll see,” he said. “I talked with Bob, Sheree's husband, then I talked with Doyle, a friend of mine in Dallas. Doyle's into everything and he happens to have a large mobile home the Gordons can use until their house is rebuilt. Should be ready in two days.”