The - Cowboy’s - Secret - Twins (14 page)

“Henry, dammit, wait for me,” Jimmy cried as he parked the car and got out.

Henry didn’t wait. He headed for the front door with a single-mindedness and once he got there he banged on the door with his fist. By the time the door was opened by Tom, Jimmy had reached the porch. Henry didn’t say a word, but rather grabbed the short man by the front of his pristine white shirt and dragged him out the door.

“Hey, get your hands off me,” Tom yelled and jerked out of Henry’s grasp. “What the hell is wrong with you, man?”

“Have you been out to my place tonight, Tom? I see your car has been driven. Did you come to pay me a little visit?” Henry glared at him and became aware of Deputy Gordon Hunter joining them on the porch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tom exclaimed, his beefy face red. “I haven’t been anywhere near your place tonight.”

“Then you hired somebody to throw that pipe bomb through my window.” Henry took a menacing step toward him. “I had babies in the house, you bastard.”

Tom looked from Henry to Jimmy. “A pipe bomb? I don’t know a damn thing about a pipe bomb.”

“Then where did you go tonight?” Henry demanded. “Your car has been driven recently. Where did you go?”

“To the damned grocery store,” Tom exclaimed in frustration. “We’re supposed to get more snow. I needed to get a gallon of milk. Is that a crime now?”

“It’s true,” Gordon said. “I’ve been watching him, tailing him all evening. The only place he went is to the grocery store.”

Henry stared at Gordon, then back at Tom. “I’m warning you right now, Tom. If anything happens to anyone I care about, I’ll be back here to see you and I’ll beat your ass to a pulp.”

Tom looked at Jimmy in outrage. “Did you hear that? He threatened me with bodily harm.”

Jimmy shook his head. “Nah, he didn’t threaten you. He promised you.”

Jimmy clapped his hand on Henry’s back. “Come on, Henry, nothing more can be done here for now.”

Henry shot Tom another killer glare, then stalked back to Jimmy’s car and got into the passenger seat. As Jimmy and Gordon spoke to Tom for another few minutes, Henry steamed.

How were they ever going to get to the bottom of this? Whoever was responsible was smart enough to leave no clues behind, to do the kind of sneak attacks that made it impossible to investigate.

One thing was clear. He couldn’t allow Melissa and the boys back into his home until the situation was resolved and that angered him more than anything.

It was a tension-filled ride back home. Jimmy talked the whole way, detailing his plan to investigate what had happened.

“We might be able to find fingerprints on the pieces of the bomb that survived the blast. There might be specific traceable material that was used. Don’t you worry, Henry. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”

As he babbled on, Henry stared out the window, his mind drifting to Melissa and the boys. What were they doing at this moment? He glanced at his watch and realized his sons would be sound asleep and tonight he wouldn’t be able to stand in the doorway and smell their scent, watch their little faces as they dreamed. Tonight he and Melissa wouldn’t be able to sit together in the living room, enjoying quiet conversation after his mother had gone to bed.

The fact that some nut had taken these particular pleasures away from him reignited the fire of his anger. But by the time they finally reached the house the anger had burned itself out and he was simply exhausted. Randy and Charlie sat with his mother in the living room and he quickly told them what had happened with Tom, then Charlie and Randy left.

“Are you all right?” his mother asked as he walked to the bar and poured himself a healthy dose of scotch.

“No. I’m angry and frustrated and I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just pull out of the election.” He sat on the sofa next to her.

“Is that what you want to do?”

“I don’t want anything to happen to Melissa and the boys.”

Mary smiled at him. “That didn’t answer my question. Besides, as soon as the roads clear Melissa and the boys will return to Amarillo. You still have to live here with any decision you make.”

Henry released a sigh and dropped his head back against the cushion.

“I’ve never really been scared in my life, but the thought of how close danger came to Melissa and the boys put a fear in my heart I never want to feel again.”

“Parenthood brings with it a multitude of fears.” Mary patted his hand.

“The first time those boys get on a bicycle your heart is going to race with fear. The day you put them on a bus to go to school you’re going to be filled with a terror as you think of all the things that can go wrong. But you’ll also know a joy greater than anything you’ve ever experienced with them.”

Henry nodded.

“And then there’s Melissa,” Mary said softly. “You light up in her presence, Henry.”

“She’s the mother of my children,” he replied.

“I think she could be more than that to you if you’d just open up that heart of yours,” Mary said.

“I don’t want her to be any more than that,” he replied with forced lightness.

Mary sighed. “Your father was a wonderful man, Henry, but he was obsessed about some woman stealing your money. I worry that instead of making you careful, which was his intention, he made you incapable of allowing anyone close to you.”

He was in no mood for one of his mother’s attempts to get him to change his mind about love and marriage. He tipped his glass up and drained his drink, welcoming the hot burn down his throat. “Mom, it’s been a long day and I’m exhausted. I have a lot of things to think about and I don’t want to have a conversation about my decision to stay single.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She got up from the sofa. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning and hopefully by then Jimmy will have this all figured out and we can get back to a normal life.”

“Good night, Mom.” He watched her disappear up the stairs, then once again leaned his head back and released a long sigh.

He hoped Jimmy had some answers in the morning, but he didn’t expect him to have any. He looked over at the phone. What he’d like to do is call Melissa, just hear her voice before he called it a night. But it was late and he didn’t want to wake the boys. Besides, he’d told her he’d call her first thing in the morning.

He got up from the sofa and walked to the window. It was snowing again. Yesterday he’d hoped for snow so that he could keep Melissa and the boys here longer. Now he prayed for it to end so she could take the boys back to Amarillo where they would be safe from the madness that had become his life.

Chapter 11

I t was the longest night of Melissa’s life. The motel room was typical of motel rooms all around the country, equipped with a king-size bed, a television in a cabinet and a desk. It was spotlessly clean and once she’d placed the desk chair and a barricade of pillows along one side of the bed, the boys fell asleep almost immediately.

Unfortunately sleep remained elusive for her. She took a fast shower and changed into her nightgown, then got into bed and tried not to relive the events of the night.

What was happening at the house? Were Henry and Mary all right? If anything happened who would come to tell Melissa that something had gone wrong? Surely somebody would keep her informed.

She tossed and turned with worry and fear and it was during those long hours of sleeplessness that she realized the depth of her love for Henry James Randolf III. And in that realization she knew she would never be able to give him what he wanted.

The idea of making her home in the carriage house, so close, yet not a part of his life, was physically painful to consider. She could easily imagine the kind of routine they’d fall into over time. The twins would spend a lot of their time in the big house with Henry and Mary and occasionally the desire Henry and Melissa felt for each other would rear up and explode and they’d make love. There would be no commitment, no love, just an arrangement. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t sacrifice her own dreams of a marriage and love forever just so that Henry could get what he wanted—full-time access to the boys and an occasional release of sexual tension with her.

As soon as possible she was heading home and she and Henry would work out a viable visitation plan, one that didn’t involve her living in his backyard.

She finally fell asleep around dawn and awakened around eight with a sliver of sunshine drifting in around the edges of the curtains. The boys were still asleep. The disruption from the night before had apparently exhausted them.

She got out of bed and pulled on the luxurious burgundy robe Henry had bought her and moved to the window to peer outside. Although it had snowed another inch or so overnight, the sun was a welcome sight. Surely by late evening or first thing in the morning the roads would be cleared enough that she and the babies could go home.

She needed the reality of her little apartment, away from Henry, where she could think clearly. Being with Henry definitely muddied her mind. The ring of the telephone on the desk pulled her from the window. She grabbed up the receiver and said a soft hello.

“You okay?” Henry’s deep voice filled her ear.

“I am now that I know you’re okay,” she replied. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I’ve been worried about you.”

“I almost called you last night to tell you that everything was fine, but I was afraid I’d wake the boys. I’ve got a glass company coming out first thing this morning to replace the broken window in the bedroom. Jimmy and his men went over it with a fine-tooth comb looking for anything that might be evidentiary. How are the boys?”

She glanced over to the bed. “Still sleeping. What happened after I left last night?” She listened as he told her about going to Tom Burke’s home and confronting the man he thought responsible.

“You didn’t really expect him to confess, did you?” she asked when he was finished.

“No, but it would have been nice if we could have settled all this last night. I’m hoping Jimmy will be able to get something from the pieces of the device he collected last night, something that will be enough evidence for an arrest.”

“You know I can’t come back to the house,” she said, her heart heavy as the words left her mouth.

“I don’t want you and the boys back here,” he replied. “Not until this is all resolved. Last night was too close for comfort and I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you or Joey or James.”

Melissa squeezed the receiver closer to her ear as she heard the passion in his voice. He cared about her. She knew he did, but it wasn’t enough for him to invite her fully into his life.

“You have everything you need there? The roads are still pretty bad but you should be able to get home sometime tomorrow.”

“That’s what I thought when I looked outside the window a minute ago, and yes, I have everything I need—we need.”

“I’ll have Charlie or one of the other men deliver your car later today or first thing in the morning. I don’t want to be seen there with you.” He paused a moment. “So I won’t be able to tell you or the boys a personal goodbye.”

She could hear the regret, a true longing in his voice, but she was almost glad that there wouldn’t be a personal goodbye. There were going to be enough goodbyes in their future and she had a feeling she’d find each and every one of them difficult. “You’ll let me know if anything changes?”

“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll call you later this evening in any case. And, Melissa, I’m so sorry about all this.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Just take care of yourself, Henry. My boys need their daddy.”

“And I need them,” he replied softly, then with a murmured goodbye he hung up. By that time the boys were awakening and she changed diapers and fixed them each a bottle of formula.

While they ate their breakfast she made a pot of coffee in the coffeemaker provided, then studied the menu she found on the desk from the diner next door.

She was starving and she knew part of it was probably stress-related. She picked up the phone and called in an order for an omelet and toast. While she waited for the food to be delivered she got dressed for the day. The boys had just finished their bottles when her food was delivered. She sat at the desk to eat and kept one eye on the twins, who entertained themselves by playing with their fingers and toes and gurgling to each other as if sharing a secret language.

The omelet was excellent and after she’d cleaned up the mess she stretched out on the bed and played with her sons.

Maybe it had just been the spirit of Christmas that had her feeling so strongly about Henry. The days she had spent in his home had been like a fantasy of everything she’d ever wanted in her life. She didn’t care about the lavish gifts or the fancy mansion; she didn’t care about personal cooks and sterling silverware. She didn’t need any of that. It had been the warmth of family that had seduced her, the caring both Mary and Henry had offered to her and her children. It had been the shared laughter and the comfortable small talk.

Henry was going to make a tremendous father, but he’d warned her all along that he wasn’t interested in becoming a husband. Still, somehow he’d made her want to be his wife.

Instead of thinking of what would never be, she tried to focus on what she intended to do when she got home. She was more determined than ever to jump back into her decorating business. She’d contact old clients, solicit for new ones and hopefully the business would grow.

Somehow she and Henry would work out a solution to the visitation issue, one that would allow each of them the independence to continue their own lives. Eventually perhaps she would find a man who would love her like she wanted to be loved, a man who would bind his life with hers. Although at the moment the idea of any man other than Henry filled her with repugnance.

What she’d once felt for Tom was a pale imitation of her feelings for Henry. She realized now that she hadn’t loved Tom. She’d never loved like she loved Henry.

The day passed achingly slow. When the boys fell asleep for their naps, she turned on the television and watched two soap operas that she’d never seen before.