The - Cowboy’s - Secret - Twins (18 page)

Henry turned to look at Charlie and Jimmy. “Search him, Jimmy. I need a key to get this chain off her.”

A moment later he unlocked the chain and removed it from her ankle. As he gently rubbed her skin, she remembered how he’d rubbed her cold feet on the night that they had been snowbound together.

Then she was in his arms, weeping in the aftermath, and he held her tight, as if afraid to ever let her go again. Eventually he did let her go. Gordon arrived along with several other deputies who would process what was now part of a crime scene.

Jimmy left to take Charlie to jail and Melissa and Henry and the boys got into Gordon’s patrol car so he could take them home.

The car seats were shifted from Charlie’s vehicle to the back of Gordon’s car and once the boys were settled in they immediately fell back asleep. Melissa sat between them, happy yet exhausted by the turmoil and the lateness of the hour.

As they drove home Henry told Melissa about Hilary telling them that she thought Charlie might be involved. When they got back to the house Mary and Hilary stepped out on the porch to greet them. Henry carried the twins and when Melissa reached the porch Mary pulled her into a bone-crunching hug. “Thank God,” she said. “Thank God you’re all okay.”

As Mary released her, Melissa grabbed Hilary’s hands. “Thank you,” she said to the beautiful woman. “You saved my life.”

Tears shone in Hilary’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe he did this. I always knew Charlie had a mean streak, but I never knew he was capable of something like this.” She pulled her hands from Melissa’s. “I’m going home now. I’m sure you all need some time alone.”

An hour later the twins were asleep in their beds upstairs and Jimmy arrived to take a statement from Melissa.

It was near dawn when Jimmy left and Mary led Melissa to one of the spare bedrooms. As they passed the boys’ room she saw Henry sitting in a chair just inside the door, as if guarding the king’s treasure. Daddy on duty, she thought, and knew he’d probably be in that chair until dawn. Minutes later as she lay in bed, even though she was exhausted she couldn’t shut off her mind. Not only did her brain whirl with all the events and emotions of the night, but thoughts of Henry also filled her head and her heart.

She needed to get home. She couldn’t stay here any longer. She’d allowed him into her heart in a way no other man had ever been. Each and every moment she spent with him only deepened her love for him. It was time to go.

Chapter 14

H enry felt sick.

She was leaving. They were leaving. Even though he’d known this time would come, he wasn’t ready to tell them goodbye, even if it was just a temporary goodbye.

It was midafternoon and the sun shone through the window as she finished the last of her packing. “I hate to see you go,” he said.

“I know, but it’s not like this is a final goodbye.” She shut her suitcase and smiled at him, but her smile looked forced. The sunshine found her hair and sparkled in it and a press of emotion rose up in Henry’s chest. He swallowed against it, unsure why this was so difficult. She pulled her suitcase off the bed and set it on the floor. “I need some time at home, Henry.” Her eyes weren’t as bright as they usually were. “I need some time to process everything that’s happened.”

He nodded. “I know. At least we know now that there’s no more danger here. The next time you come back things will be completely different. You’ll have no reason to be afraid.”

She gazed at him with an enigmatic expression on her face. “I’m just glad it’s all over for you…for us.”

“I’m sorry, Melissa. I’m so sorry that you and the boys were put in any danger.”

She held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known about Charlie. You have nothing to be sorry for.” She glanced at her watch. “And now, I really need to get on the road.”

He nodded and reluctantly picked up her suitcase. Together they went down the stairs, where Mary and the twins were in the living room.

“You’ll come back, won’t you?” Mary asked worriedly.

“Of course,” Melissa replied. “And anytime you want you’re welcome to come to Amarillo for a visit.”

Mary smiled. “I might just surprise you.”

“I’d love a visit from you,” Melissa replied. She leaned down and picked up James from the blanket on the floor where they had been lying.

“I’ll get Joey,” Mary said. As she picked up the smiling little boy tears filled her eyes. She looked at Melissa and gave her a teary smile. “I don’t know what’s worse, saying goodbye to these precious boys or saying goodbye to you.”

“I packed up some of the Christmas presents in the trunk,” Henry said as they all left the house and walked to Melissa’s car, and Mary put Joey in his car seat. “If you need or want anything else, just give me a call.”

“We’ll be fine,” Melissa said, then leaned into the backseat to buckle James into his seat. When she straightened, her gaze held Henry’s for a long moment.

In the blue depths of her eyes Henry saw words unspoken and a shine of emotion that momentarily stole his breath away. It was there only a moment, then gone.

“Thank you. Thank you both for your generosity,” she said. Once again her gaze met Henry’s and he thought she was going to say something more, but instead she slid into the driver’s seat and waved goodbye. As he watched her car disappear down the driveway, he was struck with the fiercest wave of loneliness he’d ever felt.

“You’re a fool, Henry James Randolf,” his mother exclaimed and started back into the house.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything,” he said.

“That’s right. And that’s why you’re a fool.” She went into the front door and slammed it behind her.

Henry swiped a hand through his hair and sighed. Women. He’d never understand them. His mother was probably upset with him because he hadn’t managed to talk Melissa into moving into the carriage house. But after the trauma she’d suffered the night before, he hadn’t wanted to pressure her anymore about it.

There might be a time in the future to bring up the subject again. In the meantime he had some things to take care of that would hopefully take his mind off the empty ache inside his chest.

For the next three days Henry stayed as busy as he could. Everyone in town was stunned to hear what Charlie had done and Henry was shocked and warmed by the amount of support he received from friends and neighbors.

He also made a difficult apology to Tom Burke, who surprised him by saying he was resigning his position as city manager and he and his wife were moving to Florida.

It was each evening after his mother had gone to bed and he sat in his chair with a glass of scotch when thoughts of Melissa and the boys filled his head.

It was amazing how much they had imbued the house with warmth, with joy. He missed seeing her smile and hearing that musical laugh of hers as she teased him. He missed talking to her, just sharing moments of time that could never be recaptured again.

She was a wonderful woman and someday she’d make some man a wonderful wife. He couldn’t help it that he wasn’t the man to fill that role in her life.

He would be the best father that he could be, but that’s all he had to offer her. He hadn’t pretended to be anything else but what he was—a confirmed bachelor.

The time with Henry at his house had taken on the quality of a wonderful dream as Melissa threw herself back into her real life. The boys settled back into their normal routine as if they’d never been away from home and Melissa tried to do the same.

It was Thursday morning when she sat at her computer in her living room working to build a brand-new slick Web page to advertise her business. The twins were on the living-room floor, babbling happily to her and to each other. At least they didn’t appear any worse for the drama that had taken place in that little shanty. Even Melissa was surprised by how easily she’d managed to put it all behind her. She had a life to build and couldn’t dwell on that night with Charlie and how close she’d come to losing everything.

She tried not to think too much about Henry. She was in his life by accident and she couldn’t forget that. It hurt to think of him, to love him and know that she would always be the mother of his children but never the woman of his heart.

For the past four nights she’d spent hours on the Internet trying to reconnect with MysteryMom but she hadn’t been able to find the woman in any of the chat rooms she’d visited or anywhere else. It was as if she’d been a figment of Melissa’s imagination.

Melissa would have liked to tell her that she’d successfully united Joey and James with their daddy and in that respect the story had a happy ending.

And someday maybe Melissa would find her happy ending with a man who would love her, a man who wouldn’t be able to wait to marry her. At the moment the idea of romance with anyone left a bad taste in her mouth. It would take her a while to heal, to get over the heartbreak of loving Henry.

At least he hadn’t spoken again about her moving into the carriage house. If he brought it up again she was afraid she would confess that the reason she didn’t want to live there was because she was in love with him. She didn’t want to burden him with her love. The last thing she wanted to do was complicate their relationship.

It was important for the boys’ sake that Henry and Melissa’s relationship remain calm and pleasant, not filled with stress or tension. She stopped working on the Web page at six and fed the boys a bottle, then snuggled with them on the sofa. This was the time of the evening when loneliness struck her the hardest.

As the twins got sleepy and fell silent, the quiet of the apartment pressed in on her. She couldn’t help but remember those nights with Henry when they’d sat and talked and just shared little pieces of each other. She had to make sure in the future she maintained an emotional distance from him. She was going to have to see him on a regular basis but somehow, someway, she had to uninvolve her heart where he was concerned.

When the boys had fallen asleep she carried them one at a time to the cribs in their small bedroom then returned to the living room. She sat back down at the computer, but her thoughts were still consumed by Henry. He’d called every day since she’d been home, short chats about the twins that had only made it more difficult for her to gain the emotional distance she needed from him.

He’d wanted her to drive back to Dalhart this weekend, but she’d told him that she wasn’t ready to make the drive again. He’d been disappointed but seemed to understand and they’d made plans for him to come to her apartment the following weekend.

There was a motel nearby and he could stay there and when she went back to Dalhart she would stay at a motel and he could visit the twins there. It was important that she set boundaries when it came to the visitation. He was her weakness and it would be far too easy for her to fall into his bed if he wanted her every time they were together for visitation.

Even now as she thought about being with him, kissing him and making love with him, she was filled with a longing that knew no bounds. She was just about to stop working on the Web page and turn on the television when a knock fell on her door. She opened the door and her breath caught in her throat.

Henry. He stood before her as if conjured up by her thought, by her deep longing for him. “Surprise,” he said with a smile that looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“Henry…What are you doing here?” She opened the door to allow him inside and as he swept by her she caught the sweet familiar scent that belonged to him alone. She closed the door and turned to face him. He looked wonderful in a pair of worn jeans and a flannel plaid shirt and his winter coat. He looked just like the sexy, handsome cowboy who had rescued her on that snowy night over a year ago.

“I couldn’t wait until next weekend or the weekend after that,” he said. She frowned. “But you’ve come so late. The boys are already asleep for the night. You should have called and let me know you were coming.”

He shrugged out of his coat and laid it across the back of the sofa. “I would have called, but I didn’t know I was coming until I was in the car and on my way.” He stared at her for a long moment, his gaze inscrutable. “We need to talk.”

He seemed nervous and ill at ease and suddenly she was afraid. Had he come to tell her that he’d changed his mind, that he’d decided he was going to fight her for custody of the twins? Had being away from them made him decide he’d do anything to keep them with him?

“Talk about what?” She sank down on the sofa, afraid that her trembling legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer. She motioned him into the chair opposite the sofa but he remained standing with his back against the door, as if he might escape at any moment.

“I want to talk to you about the carriage house,” he said.

“Henry, I…”

He held up a hand to stop her from saying anything more. “Please, just listen to me for a minute. I’ve never offered something to somebody and then taken it back, but that’s what I’m doing now. I don’t want you to live in the carriage house.”

Even though she hadn’t intended to move in there, his words shot a sliver of pain through her. He didn’t want her there. He didn’t want her that close to him.

She nodded and told herself it was for the best. It hadn’t been something she wanted to do anyway. “Okay,” she replied.

“No, it’s not okay. Nothing has been okay since you and the boys left.”

He shoved off from the door and walked the width of the room to stand in front of her. He stared at her, his expression impossible to read. He finally drew a deep breath. “I thought I had my life all figured out, then you arrived with the boys and everything got all screwed up.”

“I’m sorry. It was never my intention to mess up your life,” she replied. Could this get more horrible? She fought back the sting of tears, refusing to allow him to see the depth of emotion inside her where he was concerned.

With one smooth movement he sat next to her. “My mother told me that my father might have done me a disservice in pounding into my head that all any woman would ever want from me was my money. Certainly my relationship with Hilary proved him right.”