Harlequin American Romance October 2013 Bundle: Twins Under the Christmas Tree\Big Sky Christmas\Her Wyoming Hero\A Rancher's Christmas (42 page)

Long black lashes half shuttered the enigmatic look coming from his dark eyes. “After the phone call I received earlier from the timber king Charles Cavanaugh Wentworth, maybe it's just as well his grandson isn't around to hear this.”

Oh, no.

The long reaching arm of her father-in-law didn't miss anything or anyone.

Chapter Five

Ross's news caused her to lose color. That as much as anything verified his suspicion that something ugly was going on.

Beneath her fetching brunette hair, still damp from a shampooing, he found himself staring into a pair of the same sea-green eyes that had beguiled him from the beginning, but right now they looked haunted.

“You know about him.”

“I know his ancestor amassed a fortune in timber in the mid-1800s and his legacy grew from there.”

“What did he say to you?” she asked quietly.

Though he'd managed to frighten the hell out of her, he had to admire her for maintaining her dignity.
Nothing but the truth, Livingston.
This was no time for games. “He wanted to make sure nothing happens to his grandson and ordered me to make sure you fly home midweek, or else....”

“Oh, no—” He felt the shudder that passed through her body. “W-What did you tell him?” she stammered.

“I told him we know how to keep our guests safe. Before I rang off, I explained that the decision for you to leave was up to you.”

Her dark head reared back.
“You hung up on him?”

The fear in her voice hit him in the gut. “In a manner of speaking.”

A small cry escaped her lips before she turned away. Slipping into marine mode, Ross grasped her other arm, forcing her to look at him.

She presented a pinched white face to him. “Please, let me go before someone sees us.”

“Not yet,” he ground out. “I understand you're in some kind of trouble.”

Panic filled her eyes. “I wish to heaven he hadn't called the ranch, but now that he has, this mustn't become your problem. I couldn't bear it.”

“I'm afraid it already is.” After witnessing her shock, he saw all the signs of someone planning to cut and run. He'd done it himself years ago and could relate.

“Please, don't say that.” Her voice shook.

“I
have
to. After Andy's in bed asleep and we're alone, you're going to tell me what's going on. For the moment you need to present a calm front so he doesn't get alarmed. When we get back to the cabin, ask me to come in and watch TV with you. Hopefully he'll get tired and go to bed.”

Another shudder wracked her lovely body before the fight went out of her, and she nodded. Reasonably confident she could see the wisdom in his plan, he let go of her arm and walked around to get in the truck. Andy was back in a flash and they were off.

When they drew up to the cabin, it was her son who asked him if he'd come in and watch the movie
Shrek
with them.

“I haven't seen that one.”

“There's a donkey in it that's pretty funny.”

“A donkey? That I have to see.”

Andy preceded them into the cabin carrying the plastic bag with their swimsuits.

“Why don't you get ready for bed first, honey?”

“Okay.”

For the next hour and a half Ross watched the entertaining film and laughed in the same parts with Andy. Kit pretended to be involved, but Ross knew she wasn't seeing anything. When it was over, she got up and turned it off.

“Time for bed, honey.”

“I know.”

Ross stood. “See you in the morning at breakfast, Andy. If you want to go fishing, Buck will take you.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

“Good night.”

Kit gave her son a hug. After he disappeared into the other part of the cabin and shut the door, she walked back and sat down on the couch with a wooden expression.

With his voice lowered, he said, “Before I ask you anything else, I need to know something. Has your father-in-law ever laid a hand on you or Andy?”

She smoothed the hair out of her eyes. “No,” she answered in a quiet tone. “He's not like that and doesn't need to use physical force. He can merely guilt you into doing what he wants.”

Those were the same tactics Ross's father had used on him. Though it shouldn't mean anything of a personal nature to him, he felt a sense of relief hearing it. “I may not know all the facts, but it's clear you're in a tense situation.”

She got up from the couch again, hugging her arms to her waist. “We are, and I'm sorry you're involved in any way after inviting us here out of the kindness of your hearts. It isn't fair to you.”

“Why don't you let me be the judge of that.”

“When your letter came, I was deeply touched to think you soldiers would do such a wonderful thing for Andy. It meant so much to me, even if he doesn't truly understand the great honor you've shown us. I wanted to come more than you know and prayed my father-in-law wouldn't try to stand in the way.”

Ross shook his head. “He's
that
controlling?”

“He's always been controlling, but since Winn's death he's been much worse. They have two married daughters, but Winn was their only son. They've been so grief-stricken, they've started to think of Andy as their own son.

“When I received your letter, I told him we were going to accept. He told me I couldn't because they had that cruise in Norway planned. It was just an excuse, of course. He didn't want us going anywhere. That's why I called the ranch and asked if Andy and I could come for the first week of September. Mr. Lundgren was wonderful about it.

“While we were in Norway, my in-laws tried to get me to cancel my plans. They worked on Andy, knowing he didn't want to come to Wyoming. It's my opinion that for him to think of being around some retired marines who'd survived the war was simply too painful for him. At that juncture I took matters into my own hands.

“After we returned to the hotel in Oslo, I left a note for them at the front desk telling them Andy and I had flown back to the States and would be in Wyoming for the next week. Because it was an earlier flight, that's why we arrived in Jackson at three instead of six-thirty.

“Andy was unhappy about it, but I gave him no choice. Since our arrival, all that has changed and he's becoming a different child.”

Ross rubbed his lower lip with his thumb. “I'm glad to hear it. Go on.”

“What do you mean?”

“What else aren't you telling me?” he questioned. “You've already let me know that Mr. Wentworth isn't physically violent with you, so what's really happening here?”

“I'd rather not get into it. I'm ashamed enough as it is. Already I'm sure you're sorry that you ever invited us.”

Ross grimaced. “Forget about that. Since genes don't lie, you two are definitely mother and son. Now I need the answer to another question.” He hated asking it, but he had to know before he made another move.

“Do your in-laws have custody of Andy? Remember that lying to me at this stage won't do you any good. Is that why he was warning me about you?”

“Warning? In what way?”

“He said you needed watching and he shouldn't have let you come.”

She drew in her breath, as if she was holding herself in check. “Charles will stoop to any level to achieve want he wants.”

“What
does
he want?” Ross prodded her.

“He wants Andy to be the son he lost!”

“There's more to it than that for him to phone the ranch asking for one of us in charge.”

A tortured moan escaped her. “No—I mean there
is
a reason, but it's not what you think.”

“Then explain it to me.”

“I—I don't know where to start,” she stammered. “It's complicated.”

“Nightmares usually are. I've got all night, and you're my responsibility while you're here.”

“I don't want you mixed up in this.”

His temper flared. “I already am. Does he have a case against you for being an unfit mother?”

He heard her sharp intake of breath. “In his mind he does.”

Ross felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. “On what grounds?”

“Grounds?” she cried out. “Winn married me without his parents' approval. I was beneath their social class and not the woman they'd picked out for him. Because of guilt, he insisted we live with them at the mansion to make up for it.

“They wanted the marriage annulled, but by then I was pregnant. I thought our living situation was temporary, but it turned out to be permanent. I was a nineteen-year-old without an education from Wellesley or Vassar. I didn't have the right stuff. I didn't come from a family with money or connections.”

Ross was listening. In the lofty circles of the Wentworths and the Livingstons, the right background was of vital importance. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment. He got it. Because of his own highly privileged background, Ross got it with a vengeance.

“
That
made me an unfit mother for a Wentworth, but they adored Andy and took over the parenting, especially when Winn was away. Since his death, everything has been so much worse. I told them I planned to get Andy and me a place of our own because we need to be independent.

“The thought of it has upset them so much, they've refused to discuss it. He has warned me that if I leave the mansion, he'll cut me off without a penny. That wouldn't bother me, but I have to think of Andy's future. I argued with Charles and Florence about it before the trip to Norway. He called tonight because he's afraid I might actually move out.”

“And are you?”

“Yes. I have it all planned. But I haven't told Andy.”

Ross shook his head. “You mean he knows nothing?”

“Not yet. Since Carson's letter inviting us here, I've been making preparations. But nothing can happen until I have a talk with my son. I believe I know how he feels deep inside, but I've got to find the right time to get the truth out of him.”

“If he's amenable, what's your plan?”

“When we leave the ranch, we'll fly to Galveston, Texas.”

Galveston?
Ross's mind reeled. That's where he had his own beach pad, but he hadn't used it in years. He paid a company to keep it cleaned and allowed needy college students to live there. It was an hour and a half away from his family's home in Houston.

“Why Galveston?”

“My hairdresser's daughter Nila lives there and has her own shop. When she visits her mother, who married an easterner, she comes to work with her and gives me a special manicure and pedicure. Over the years we've become good friends. She has a daughter Andy's age and they're friends, too.

“She's put me in touch with the owner of a small bookstore who's retiring and isn't going through a Realtor. I've always wanted to own one. Books are my fetish. I'm hoping to find an investor to go into business with me. I have some savings to keep Andy and me going for a while.”

A while?
Good grief!

“I've done my research and have written up a business plan that includes running a coffee bar with it.”

“That's very enterprising of you. A coffee bar is an excellent idea.” But she would need an investor with a hefty sum, or she'd never get the loan in the first place. A lot of small bookstores were going out of business.

“There's a suitable apartment complex nearby that Nila has checked out for me. I'm planning to fly there and look everything over. There's only one problem. It
is
just an idea, and if it doesn't work out, we'll do something else. But the truth is, Andy and I can't live with his grandparents any longer. They're swallowing us alive. I don't intend to cut them out of our lives. I'd never do that, but we need our own space now.”

“And Andy feels the same?”

“Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe he wants his freedom as much as I do. Though I can't imagine it, if Andy can't bring himself to leave his grandparents, even if it means he has to go away to that school, then we'll fly back to Maine when our trip is over.”

Ross was so amazed by what he was hearing, he could hardly think. “Of course. It's not my place to offer an opinion.”

“You have every right after the way my father-in-law spoke to you.”

* * *

K
IT
WAS
EMBARRASSED
because she was about to lose it in front of this incredible man. “Since Winn's death ten months ago, they've exerted total power over my son. With systematic precision, they've been taking him away from me piece by piece.”

“How could they do that?”

“Because my husband and I married in a private ceremony in Rhode Island without his family while he was on leave from the military. He'd said it was the way he wanted it. My grandmother had died with only $3,000 in the bank. I was alone, too naive for words. Once we'd gone on a short honeymoon, he took me to his parents' mansion to meet them.

“They would have gotten a judge to annul our marriage, but by then I was pregnant. Since I was carrying a Wentworth, that changed everything. Tragically, our marriage disintegrated. We ended up living with them against my wishes. I've never been able to leave since.”

Ross studied her with enigmatic dark eyes, not saying anything.

“They've run my life and Andy's day after day for years, turning him into a Wentworth robot. With Winn gone so much on deployments, the grandparents took over raising him as if I scarcely existed. I wanted to leave years ago, but I was married with no means of support. Winn forbade me to get a job. Andy has no idea my love for his father died early in our marriage.”

Good grief. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

“It was a very unhappy time. They never forgave Winn for marrying me. That's why he insisted we live with them as his way of making it up to them. As for me,
I'm
the one they despised for luring their son into a marriage they found intolerable.

“The more Winn bent over backwards to make amends and placate his parents, the more the gulf between the two of us widened. I'm sure he had other women, but I can't prove it. And though I grieve over his death and grieve for Andy's sake, that world nearly destroyed me. It'll destroy Andy if I don't get us away from them.”