The Airman's E-Mail Order Bride (Heroes of Chance Creek Book 5) (11 page)

“Colt!” he boomed. “What are you doing here?”

Heather rushed up the stairs, but her chance to speak to Colt alone was gone. Austin, Zane and Regan crowded into the entryway, followed by Austin’s wife, Ella, who was tall, blond, and as glamorous as the movie star she used to be, even if her belly was nearly as rounded as Regan’s was.

“Colt!” Zane said, tugging a third woman forward. “Meet my wife, Storm!” She was blond, too, but her hair fell like a waterfall of light to her waist, and even in the dead of winter her California tan hadn’t yet faded.

“And this is Dan, a friend of mine who’s come to stay,” Mason said gesturing to a man Colt didn’t recognize. “He used to be a Navy SEAL, too. He’ll have to tell you all about the extreme training camp he’s opening here—his fiancée, Sarah, will join us in the spring.”

Colt leaned forward to shake hands. “Glad to meet you. Glad to see you all! I’ve got some news, too. Heather and I are engaged.” He turned back to Heather and pulled her forward, lifting her left hand to show them the new ring that graced it. She wished she could disappear in a puff of smoke, but all she could do was hold out her hand and let everyone exclaim over her ring.

“You’re engaged?” Regan flung herself at Heather and hugged her. “I’m so glad you two worked everything out!”

“How come you didn’t tell us your mission was done, Colt?” Mason said.

“I didn’t think you were rotating stateside so soon,” Zane echoed, coming to clap Colt on the shoulder.

Heather noticed Austin hung back and Ella wasn’t smiling. Any minute someone was going to spill the beans about Richard.

“How long do you have before you go back?” Mason said.

“Here’s the thing,” Colt began. “I’m not going back.”

‡

C
olt’s stomach tightened
as his brothers’ expectant gazes turned to shock and confusion. Crowded into the entryway as they were, he and Heather had barely made it into the house. He’d thought about holding off until later to spill his news, but had decided it was best to get it all out at once. Now that he’d announced their engagement, nothing could stop his wedding to Heather from moving forward. He was ready to sort things out with his brothers and get on to the good part of moving home.

“I separated from the Air Force earlier this month,” he said.

The small room went quiet. “Does that mean you’re home for good?” Mason said.

“Maybe.” That depended on their reaction to what he had to tell them.

“Don’t you want to stay?” Zane asked, frowning.

“Of course I do. But—”

“Where else would you go?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t decided—”

“What about Richard?” Austin sounded angry.

Colt broke off, confused. “Richard?”

“Colt, we really need to talk. Now,” Heather said urgently.

“Uncle Mason!”

A boy careened down the hallway and came to a stumbling halt when he took in all the adults grouped in the entryway. He was nearly as tall as Colt and his brothers, and had the Hall blue eyes and frank features.

“Richard! What are you doing here?” Heather looked as shocked as Colt felt about this sudden interruption.

Richard turned to her. “Uncle Mason said I could come over for the day. But, Mom—what’s going on? Is that—?” The youth’s voice cracked uncertainly and he stared at Colt as if he’d seen a ghost.

A chill traced down Colt’s spine.
Mom?
Heather had a son? Who was his father?

He stared back at the boy. Was he Austin’s? Or…

Suddenly dizzy, Colt reached out and steadied himself with a hand on the wall. He turned to Heather. “That’s your boy?” Why hadn’t she said anything?

She nodded. He could tell she was struggling to speak. “Yours, too,” she said finally. “I tried to tell you.”

He looked the boy over again, too stunned to comprehend. “Mine?” He had a son? “How old?” he managed to rasp out.

“Thirteen. His birthday was in November.”

Thirteen years. All that time ago he’d made love to Heather, and nine months later she’d given birth to his son.

And she’d never told him.

He scanned the room. No one else seemed the slightest bit surprised by this revelation. The floor seemed to tilt beneath his feet.

“We found out last summer,” Austin explained. “You were already overseas.”

“We didn’t want to tell you until we could speak to you face to face.” That was Zane. “I don’t understand, though. You two are engaged. Didn’t you know?”

Come home now.
He remembered Zane’s messages and the truth of it hit Colt like a thunderclap. All these years he’d been throwing himself in harm’s way, taking the most dangerous assignments, almost daring fate to end his life. Trying to hide from the pain of his father’s death.

And all this time he’d had a son?

The boy stared back at him, waiting for his reaction, so anxious Colt could tell he was trembling. He wanted to go to him, to pull him into a hug, to tell him… something.

But what? That he was happy to find out he’d missed his first thirteen years? That he didn’t care Heather had hidden their baby away—kept him all to herself because she thought him unworthy to even know he existed?

Anguish tore through him and he felt more alone than he ever had in his worst assignments overseas. As he looked around at everyone looking back at him he couldn’t stand it anymore. They’d all known about his son, and no one had told him. It wasn’t enough that the woman he loved had kept him from Richard; his brothers had helped her. Why had they done that… unless they thought he didn’t deserve to know? Colt staggered back, reached blindly for the door and yanked it open when his hand finally closed around the knob. He lurched outside and slammed it behind him hard enough to rattle the Hall’s windows. Sick to his stomach, he stumbled down the stairs. Was that true? Was what he’d done so bad he didn’t deserve to know about his own son?

When he reached the bottom of the porch steps, the door swung open again and Mason hurtled after him.

“What are you doing?”

“Leaving.”

“That won’t solve anything!”

“It’s what you want. What all of you want! Isn’t it?”

Mason caught him before he could open the driver’s side door. “That boy has waited months to meet you. No, not months—years. He tracked down Austin last summer because he thought Austin was his father. It broke his heart to find out he was wrong. Since then he’s waited for you.”

“She never told me. Heather never said a word.”

“Because she was trying to protect you. To protect all of us. She thought if she told you it would split up our family.”

“That’s bullshit.” Colt slammed his palm against the hood of the truck. She’d secretly despised him all this time. She had to, or she’d never have done this.

“No, it’s not. We’d just gone to Florida when she found out. Dad was dead. The rest of us were in shock. We were hurt, furious, spoiling for a fight. She knew if she spilled the beans that the two of you had been together, Austin would have lost his mind. She did what she thought was right.”

“Does she love him?” Colt turned on him and searched Mason’s face for an answer. “Tell me! Does she still love Austin?”

“No. She loves you. She just did what she thought she had to do.”

So had he. He’d joined the Air Force. Taken every mission offered to him. Exiled himself from Chance Creek.

While his son grew up without him. He held his hands wide in defeat. “I can’t do this. I just… can’t.”

“Well, guess what? You have to.”

“Really? Why the hell are you in such a damn hurry to get me back in there? You’ve all done just fine without me, haven’t you? Austin’s the saint. I’m the loser who can’t even be told about his son. So let him take over.”

“Colt—you’re being ridiculous!”

“Am I?” He was so overwhelmed he couldn’t think straight. “Or maybe this isn’t about me at all. Maybe this is about the ranch. You’re afraid you’ll lose it if I don’t marry her.”

Mason’s expression hardened. “Why wouldn’t you marry her? You loved her enough to steal her from Austin in the first place. She’s the mother of your son. You put a ring on her finger. You belong together.”

Colt remembered Heather in the motel room, throwing her arms around him. Making love to him over and over again with the abandon of a teenager. Had it all been a setup? Had his brothers used Heather to lure him home? A raw pain ripped through his heart to think that all of it was a lie.

“For God’s sake, Colt—you’re the one who left her behind and never got in touch again. If anyone should be angry, it’s Heather!”

Colt stiffened. “Did she say that? She’s angry at me because I left?”

“Of course she was angry. But now you’re back and the two of you are getting married. She’s forgiven you. Why can’t you forgive her?”

Colt could only stare at him. Had Heather forgiven him? How could she when he’d made her pregnant, then walked away without saying good-bye? The more he thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense.

Maybe she hadn’t forgiven him. Maybe she just needed to marry him to get the ranch. The ranch her son would one day own a part of. He saw now how neat and tidy it all was. That’s why she’d answered his ad under a fake name: to lure him in and make him fall in love with her before she revealed her plan.

He felt like a bear caught in a trap he would have entered willingly. He loved Heather and now that he had a son he would love him, too. All he’d ever wanted was to find a way back home to this ranch. Why couldn’t they see that? He looked past Mason, took in the Hall and the pastures surrounding him and came to a decision. It didn’t matter now how he’d come to be here. Fate had given him a chance and he meant to take it. He’d make his last stand right here. He’d try to be worthy to be Richard’s father. To be worthy to be Heather’s husband. To be worthy to be his father’s son. Then, and only then, Heather would forgive him. They would start again and find the love they’d lost so many years ago.

“Okay,” he said but his voice was rough with pain.

“You’ll stay?” Mason watched him worriedly.

“I’ll stay.”

When Colt walked
back into the Hall, followed closely by Mason, Heather’s heart started to pound all over again. She’d thought Richard would make a break for it out the back door as soon as Colt had raced out the front—the stricken look on his face nearly broke her heart—but Austin had leaped to stop him, gripped the boy’s shoulders and talked to him in a low, earnest voice. Storm had come to touch Heather’s arm and ask if she was okay. Heather hadn’t been able to answer.

She stepped back as Colt re-entered the house. He looked defeated and her heart throbbed to know she was the cause of all his pain. If only she’d acted differently when she’d found out she was pregnant with Richard. She hadn’t wanted to break up Colt’s family, but that wasn’t the only reason she hadn’t called Colt. She’d been too afraid he’d reject her again. When he left Chance Creek she’d been able to tell herself grief had made him leave her behind, but if she’d told him about the baby and he’d refused to return, she’d have to admit to herself he’d been using her from the start. Now she knew what her pride had cost all of them.

“Richard,” Colt said from his place in the doorway. “I’m glad to meet you.”

Richard nodded warily as Heather held her breath.

“Everyone else, I’m sorry for the disturbance. I didn’t mean to cause a fuss the moment I came home. I was just… surprised. Maybe you all can understand.” He moved to Heather’s side and to her surprise he gripped her hand. “I wish I’d known about you a lot sooner, Richard, but that’s neither here nor there now. I’m looking forward to the release party in a few days time. I’m home and I’m going to marry your mother. I’m going to make sure we get our ranch. We’ll be a family.”

Richard nodded. Heather felt a ray of hope. Did he mean it?

“Congratulations,” Regan said suddenly, breaking into a smile. “I know you’ll be very happy together!”

“Congratulations, to both of you… and Richard,” Zane chimed in.

The others murmured their congratulations, too—even Austin, although he stumbled over his words.

“I could use a minute alone with Heather,” Colt said to the group when the conversation died down again. Heather swallowed as everyone nodded and drifted away. Austin put an arm around Richard and led him toward the kitchen.

“Colt, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Richard,” she said as soon as they were alone. “I wanted to, but—”

“What’s done is done. It’s in the past. It’s time for us to build our future.”

As Heather stared
up at him, Colt wondered if there was any way to repair the damage they’d done to each other. One thing was clear. They both needed time to process what had just happened. If they tried to push forward now, they were likely to make things worse. And then there was Richard. Colt thought about the anxious way his son had watched him.

“I’m going to ask you to do something you’re not going to like,” he said.

“What?”

“Leave—for now.”

“O-okay.” A tear streaked down her cheek. Colt reached out and wiped it away.

“Just for a few days.”