Her Sweet Talkin' Man (4 page)

“So should I believe that you're really related to me, that my father sired you?” Fiona asked him, breaking into his thoughts. “And if I should, why should I?”

He shook his head. “I wouldn't if I were you. After all, you seem like a smart lady. You probably already know the rules. Never believe anything a man tells you.”

She studied him for a second, then exchanged a disbelieving look with Crystal. “Even my husband?”

He smiled at her patient tone. “You're right, ma'am. I stand corrected. Never trust a man, unless he's proved himself by putting a ring on your finger.”

“So once a man puts a ring on your finger, he becomes instantly trustworthy?” Crystal asked, crossing her arms and staring at him incredulously.

Ace blinked. He almost smiled at her combative stance. “Why do I feel like I'm caught in the sights of a rifle with the two of you firing the questions? But yes, I get your point, and you're absolutely right. Some men never do become trustworthy, ring or no ring.” Like him, he supposed. Wasn't he here to disrupt the lives of people she no doubt cared about?

“Hmm, I'm offering to take you to meet my family, and you're telling me that you can't be trusted?” Fiona raised a brow.

“That's right,” he said softly.

To his surprise, she suddenly smiled. “I think I like you, Ace. You're direct, no pretense. That's a Carson trait, you know.”

Ace nearly groaned. He didn't want to have any Carson traits. The less he had in common with his so-called relatives the better.

Crystal seemed to sense his consternation. “Are you all right?” She gazed up at him with her pretty, worried eyes. For a moment he couldn't look away.

Fiona chuckled.

Immediately Ace and Crystal turned to her. “Something funny, little sister?” Ace asked.

“Just enjoying myself,” she said. “You know, I had expected this event to be rather dull, in spite of all Crystal's hard work. How nice to find out I was wrong. Lots of surprises today.” She looked pointedly at her friend, and Ace didn't miss Crystal's blush.

“Shall we go?” he asked. “No time like the present to meet up with the past.”

His voice was nearly expressionless, and Fiona winced. “Maybe I'd better go ahead. Daddy's heart might need some warning of what he has in store. Can you make sure that Ace gets there in one piece, Crystal?”

Crystal laughed. “If you knew how my day had been going, you wouldn't be asking that. Still, I think Ace will probably manage to get us all there intact.”

“All?” he asked.

“I'm sorry, I should have said something. I need to pick up my son. Will that be a problem? If it is, I know any number of other people who are going to the Lone Star. I'm sure it would be no problem to find someone to escort you there.”

He gazed down at her totally trusting expression and felt something he didn't want to feel. Guilt? The lady didn't know what he had in mind. She was good at talking people into doing things, as evidenced by this stunning addition to the hospital she'd managed to procure funding for. She would just as easily obtain passage for him to the country club. He'd warned her
that his intentions couldn't be trusted, and yet she was planning to help him find a ride to the country club, anyway. She was prepared to take on more work in finding him a ride. Because she was afraid that he would object to sharing a car with her little boy? What kind of a man would run from a child?

But he knew the answer. Any number of men. The boy's father. His own father.

“I'd like to meet Timmy,” he said, even though he knew this was dangerous territory. The woman was enticing. He needed to keep his distance, and he had absolutely no business at all bringing another innocent into his mess. Especially a child.

No question, he was going to have to be careful where Crystal was concerned.

Maybe he'd better start thinking about that seriously right now, instead of thinking that he'd like to fold her into his arms and take anything that she was willing to give.

“H
ey, partner, that's a pretty neat hat you've got there,” Ace said.

Crystal took her eyes off the road for a minute and looked at Ace. He was turned halfway in his seat, studying her son who was strapped safely into the back seat. From the corner of her eye she could see Timmy fingering the cowboy hat he'd been wearing lately. The quick shy smile on his little face nearly split her heart in two. He had so few dealings with men that he was always eager for their attention.

He stuck his feet straight out as far as he could.

“Got new boots,” she heard him say as she turned her attention back to the road.

“Yep. Nice shiny ones,” Ace agreed. “Your mom pick 'em out?”

Crystal didn't hear anything, which probably meant that Timmy was shaking his head.

“No? You did that all by yourself, wildcat?” Ace's voice was properly weighted with admiration.

Timmy giggled at the nickname, and she could tell that he liked it. “Mr. Ford picked 'em. New boots for me and us all.”

Silence slid into the car. Uh-oh, she hadn't thought Timmy would even remember where the boots came
from. It was true, though. Ford Carson frequently liked to spring surprises on the kids at the day-care center. For half a second she wondered if it was because of some lingering guilt over a son he'd fathered thirty-six years ago. Immediately she felt her own guilt. She liked Ford, and she refused to question his motives.

“For all of you?” Ace finally said. “Your mom, too?”

“Mommy? No,” Timmy said with a laugh. “Ony kids.”

“Mmm, I see.”

But Crystal knew that Ace didn't. “It's just the kind of thing Ford does now and then,” she said. “He drops by and asks the teachers at the hospital day-care center if there's anything that any of the kids need. If one of them needs a hat, they all get hats.”

But once again she wondered what it had been like for Ace. When he had needed a new hat or boots, who had provided them? She couldn't help looking over at him.

“Don't do that,” he said. “I know what you're thinking. It's not why I'm here. I'm not three years old anymore. I'm not here for revenge for
me.
”

He glanced back at Timmy and she was grateful that he had at least considered her son's presence, that he didn't want to scare a child.

Still, she hadn't missed the intonation in Ace's statement. He was obviously here for revenge for
someone,
judging by his words. And in spite of what he'd said, the fact remained that Ace did not look like a man who was looking forward to a reunion. If Ford
truly was his father, then with or without the intent of revenge, things were not going to be easy tonight.

For anyone. When Ford Carson was upset, the whole Carson clan was upset. Fiona had seemed amused by Ace's presence, but then, Crystal knew what Fiona had been thinking. She'd been viewing him as a convenient new man in town—a match for Crystal. Fiona was always doing that kind of thing. Fiona had been purposely avoiding the obvious problems with her family. Maybe she just didn't want to think about them. Maybe she knew she couldn't stop what was going to happen and so had decided to simply get things over with.

Crystal hazarded a glance at Ace. His jaw was set. Tall and strong, he radiated masculinity and power even sitting down. He seemed to fill up the space of her small car. He was a man you couldn't miss in a crowd, a man no woman would want to miss…unless she was a woman who had a problem with men.

Like me, Crystal thought.

She wondered if Fiona wasn't making a mistake in inviting Ace to this gathering where Carsons would be so prevalent. No Carson was easily forgettable, and it looked as if Ace Carson fit the mold perfectly.

She doubted that this would be something anyone could simply get through quickly. Ace Carson was here to make a difference.

A shiver ran through her at the thought.

“You all right?” he asked in that low sexy voice.

She smiled.

“What?” he said.

“I was just thinking how that should have been my
question. Are you all right with this? With going to the Lone Star Country Club? The Carsons and the Wainwrights run it, you know.”

“I know.”

“Are you…hoping to become a member of the family?” Immediately she regretted the words. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that. It's none of my business.”

“Don't be sorry. You've got a right to ask. I invaded your celebration. It's obvious my only reason for being there was to check out the Carson clan. As for wanting to be accepted, that's the last thing I want. I have no interest in being a part of the family.”

Then what? she wanted to ask, and her very interest in Ace troubled her. She shouldn't be here with him. But then she remembered how he'd soothed her on the elevator, how he'd protected her from Branson, how he'd noticed Timmy's hat and boots and drawn a smile from her reserved child.

“I can't tell you what I'm going to say to my father when I finally meet him, but…well, you probably shouldn't be here with me,” he said.

“You're not going to… You wouldn't hurt anyone, would you?”

He chuckled. “My mother's ghost would rise up and smack me good if I did. That's not what this is about,” he assured her. “I don't beat up aging men.”

But that aging man had once been a very young man, a dashing young man who apparently had seduced Ace's mother.

Crystal glanced at Ace and wondered how many women had fallen under
his
spell.

“I won't hit anyone,” he promised. “I never intended that. And I would not subject you or Timmy to that.” He nodded toward her little boy who had gotten bored with the grown-up talk and fallen asleep in his car seat, his cowboy hat slipping off his head to lie half-crushed beneath his chubby pink cheek.

She parked the car outside the massive structure of the country club in the large lot west of the main building, climbed from the car and circled round to free Timmy from his car seat. His body was heavy with sleep, his arms and legs rubbery, his head flopping over.

“I'll carry him,” Ace said, and he took her son from her.

He held him reverently, her fatherless child. But Crystal also noticed that Ace stiffened slightly whenever the boy moved. And when she led him past the gardens, across the enormous porch, into the building and back to the nursery, he looked relieved to be divested of his package. It was obvious that though he seemed to like her child, he still wasn't comfortable with the thought of having one of his own.

She shouldn't have felt that sharp little pain at the thought. After all, she'd already walked this route. But then, this was her son. She wanted everyone to want him.

Not everyone would, though, she knew. It was just a fact of life, one she still struggled with.

“All right, ready to meet the family?” she asked, striving for brightness.

He placed a restraining hand on her bare arm, sending warmth and awareness straight into her. “Not a
chance I'm going to drag you into this.” His expression was stern.

She couldn't help the look of confusion that crossed her face.

He shrugged and smiled. “What I mean is, thank you for the ride, but I accepted because Fiona said that you were going, anyway, and because I wanted to make sure that the jerk who attacked you earlier didn't follow you. He hasn't. But now that we're here, I'm not dragging you into this any deeper. The Carsons are obviously your friends. Furthermore, they don't have any more reason to like me than I have reason to like them. In fact, they have every reason to be suspicious of me and to order me out of here. I might as well tell you that their suspicions would not be without grounds. I'm not a violent man unless someone's being threatened, but I'm not likely to feel too kindly toward the family that made my mother's life a joke and a humiliation. So you and I part ways for now. Go circulate, Cinderella. Just be careful. Not all men—”

“—are trustworthy. I know,” she said with a smile. “A wise man told me that earlier this evening.”

He rubbed his jaw. “Check back with me on that ‘wise man' thing at the end of the evening. You might change your mind.”

She hoped she'd changed her mind about some things, because right now Ace Carson looked very much like a man she wanted to kiss. And she had the feeling his kisses would be very difficult to forget.

 

What in hell was he doing here? The question played through Ace's mind again and again as he lo
cated Fiona and followed her across the lobby of the main building of the Lone Star Country Club, an impressive structure that stretched up four stories. She led him into the elegant blue-and-ivory Empire Room, one of several dining rooms that were apparently available. The whole place smelled like luxury, redolent with flowers and the colognes of the well-heeled men and women who mingled here.

My mother might have cleaned some of their houses at one time, he couldn't help thinking. She would never have been invited here. He almost felt like a traitor for even stepping through the door, but then, of course, it was because of his mother he was here. Once he'd known the whole truth, he'd had to come. For her. And he was pretty darn sure that wherever she was, she was looking down on him right now. It was time he won back a bit of the pride that had been stolen from her.

“Okay, you ready?” Fiona looked up at Ace. He shrugged and couldn't help searching the perimeters of the room for Crystal.

His little half sister laughed lightly. “She's watching from the shadows. I have the feeling that Crystal is waiting to come in and save you if need be. She told me what you did. She doesn't like to feel obligated to anyone.”

“She doesn't need to feel obligated.”

Fiona raised her brows. “You don't know Crystal.”

No, he didn't, and it would probably be best if he didn't get to know her any better. The fact that she drew his attention like nectar attracted hummingbirds
should have already told him he needed to back away. So when he sensed her presence over in the corner, he tried not to look in her direction.

He failed, and he saw that she was in conversation with a smiling, sandy-haired man.

“Ace.” Fiona's voice slipped in.

“He's what? He's who?” a loud, angry male voice at his elbow demanded.

Ace forced his attention away from Crystal and turned toward the angry voice. A man frowned at him. No, make that two men and a woman. The men were both tall, with brown hair, and blue eyes like his. The woman, with her dark brown hair and green eyes, was almost a mirror image of Fiona. The men looked grim, the woman uncertain.

“Are you sure he's related to us?” one man asked, ignoring Ace.

Fiona turned toward Ace. “Not completely, no, but look at his eyes. They're a lot like yours, Matt, and enough like Flynt's that there has to be some Carson blood in him.”

The woman who resembled Fiona closed her eyes for a second, as if she was wishing him away. When she opened her eyes again, she blinked once and nodded.

“I'm Cara,” she said. “Fiona's twin, as you can see, and my sister said your name was what?” She looked as if she really didn't want to know, but good manners obliged her to ask.

Ace raised a brow. “Ace Turner Carson,” he said slowly.

“What do you want?” There was no welcome in the older brother's voice.

“Flynt…” Fiona drawled a warning.

But Ace just smiled, a long slow smile. He
wanted
to make people uneasy. “I don't want much,” he said truthfully. “I'm not here to stake a claim, if that's what you mean, little brother.”

“But you want something or you wouldn't be here,” the younger brother stated.

“That's Matt,” Cara said. “And he has a point.”

“He does. Everyone wants something, after all, don't they?” Ace asked. “I suppose the Carsons—all of you—want to protect your money and your name.”

“You say that as if you mean to threaten us in some way,” Flynt accused, but he looked slightly less hostile now, as if the shock had had time to settle. “Is that what you're here to do?”

Not exactly.

“I don't want any of the Carson cash,” Ace said, biting off the words, “and believe me, I don't pose a threat to any of the Carsons' health. Wouldn't
you
come looking if you found out you had relatives you never knew about?”

The two men seemed to be wrestling with that concept. Fiona and Cara exchanged a look.

“Branson Hines was bothering Crystal tonight. He tried to force her to kiss him. Ace stepped in and sent him packing,” Fiona said softly.

Matt and Flynt Carson looked at each other. Flynt's lips twisted slightly, as he seemed to study what little information he'd been given. Not that Ace cared. He wasn't looking for anyone's blessing. In fact, it was the last thing he wanted or needed. He started to walk away.

“Carson.”

At the single word, Ace stopped and turned back. Flynt's blue eyes were narrowed. “Let's get one thing straight,” he said. “I don't like you and I don't like you being here, but I hope you broke his nose.”

Ace rubbed his jaw. “Afraid not. I'm not an especially violent man.” His voice sounded cold and barely restrained even to his own ears.

“He nearly choked him,” Fiona volunteered.

“Um, I see, not violent,” Matt noted with a frown.

“Didn't appear that he was going to go away without some persuasion,” Ace admitted.

“And you persuaded him?” Cara asked.

“It's something I'm good at.”

The two men exchanged a look.

“You planning on being around real long?” Matt asked.

“For a while.”

“I take it you aren't expecting a big welcome?”

“That would be a bit out of place. And unwarranted since I'm not exactly here on a quest to mend fallen fences.” He stared into his younger half brother's eyes and saw a bit of himself looking back. He didn't like the feeling it gave him. He realized that he had the advantage. He'd come here knowing that there were untold secrets on the Carson front. The four Carson brothers and sisters were just facing that fact.