Winter's Embrace (19 page)

“I’ll get a lawyer.” Stu
looked at the ground.

“You haven’t gotten one yet?
Hope you have deep pockets.” He smirked when Stu glanced up.

Stu shrugged. “I guess that’s
what I’ll do. I’ll be back, Stone. You don’t scare me.”

“Fine.
Just take my advice on marrying Clare. She isn’t really that good—”

“Clare’s plenty good, the best
I’ve ever had. She knows more than that little whore you’ve been sleeping
with!”

Stone grabbed the man’s
collar. “Listen and listen
good
. What I was going to
say is that she really isn’t that good at being faithful. If I ever hear
another word out of your mouth about
Winter
, it will
be your last. Got it?”

Stu nodded his head, his face
full of panic.
“Got it.”
He wrenched away from Stone
and walked out of the barn with Snoopy barking at his heels.

Good dog
. If Clare was behind all of this, it had to be
about money, he reasoned. It didn’t make him feel relieved one bit. Clare was
unpredictable, and Lord only knew what she had up her sleeve.

Chapter Fifteen

After putting Rachael to bed,
Winter
practically flew down the stairs. She had to know
what Stu said. The day had been immeasurably long while waiting for a moment
alone with Stone. Her patience took a U-turn as soon as he walked into the
house. His face showed the misery she also felt. It wasn’t good news, she could
tell, and now she was beyond frazzled.

Stone sat in the leather chair
next to the fireplace, staring intently at the fire. She whispered his name and
he turned, giving her a sad smile.

“It’s bad isn’t it?”

“Come sit down.” He gestured
to the chair opposite him.

Winter sat, not taking her
gaze off him. “Tell me.”

“Stu came to see Rachael.”

“Just
like that?
He shows up?”

Stone nodded slowly.
“Pretty much.”

Winter waited for more. Now
was not the time for Stone to be a man of few words. “I want to hear all of
it.”

“He wanted to see Rachael and
I said no.” Stone sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair.

“That’s all he said?”

“He did mention Clare and
something about marrying her.”

Winter jumped up. “You’re
kidding.”

“I wish I were.”

“So, Clare is behind this? I
thought she didn’t want Rachael. How can you sit there so calmly?”

Stone's expression was solemn.
“Believe me, I feel anything but calm. I’ve thought of nothing else all day.”

“When are they getting
married?”

“I didn’t ask.”

She knew that her mouth hung
open. Her disbelief was too great. “How could you not have asked? Why is Clare
in our lives?”

“Winter—”

“No. Don’t ‘Winter’ me. Clare
changed the course of our lives. She played you and it led to nothing but
heartache!”

Stone stood and approached
her. The agony in his eyes was too much. He encircled her with his arms and she
couldn’t help but cling to him. Her heart hurt. It was if someone had taken it
out and stomped on it. Tears trailed down her face as she sobbed into his
chest.

Stone rubbed her back and
murmured calming words to her. Eventually the storm passed.

“We knew this was coming,
Winter. We just didn’t know all the players.”

Nodding, she grabbed a tissue.
Clare had stolen him ten years ago and she was back for more. This time, the
stakes were higher.

“I don’t understand why Clare
wants her. She didn’t even send a Christmas gift.”

“She’s probably just upset
with me. It’ll all blow over.” He tried to pull her into his arms again. She
pushed him away.

“Don’t touch me. Please just
don’t.”

Stone stared at her. “You’re
bailing on me?”

“No. I don’t know what I'm
doing and I’m scared to death. I thought I was all done being mad at you for
dumping me, but I feel it. I feel the heartbreak of it all over again.”

“I’m counting on you to stand
by me. I thought you were fine with getting married, actually more than fine.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t
know.”

“I guess until you know, you
can sleep in your old room, and I’ll sleep in mine.” He practically growled.

Winter cringed. She was out of
words.

“Fine.
I’ll see you tomorrow.” He spun on one foot and walked away from her.

Winter sat back down in front
of the fireplace. No matter what she did, it was wrong. She’d had a lifetime of
wrong choices, choices made for her. How dare he suggest that she was bailing
on him? It was going to be a long, lonely night and in the morning, she had to
act happy for Rachael’s sake.

She never did sleep that
night. She tried, but in the end she got dressed, came back downstairs, made
coffee, and watched the wind blow. The sunrise had been spectacular. Still,
loneliness and pain filled her.

She couldn’t figure out
Clare’s angle in all of it. She didn’t want kids. It made no sense, unless she
thought that Stone came with Rachael. Where did that leave Stu? Did he even
know that he was being used? Stu seemed normal enough, maybe he really did want
to know his daughter.

She heard Stone’s footsteps
coming down the stairs. Her body automatically stiffened. This wasn’t how she
wanted to live her life. She wanted a happy ending, not this.

Gazing out at the sunrise, she
didn’t turn around. “I made coffee.”

“Thanks.”

She heard him get a mug and
pour himself some. She wrapped her arms around her middle trying to keep
herself from falling apart. Even Snoopy stood beside her, staring out the
window. There didn’t seem to be any words left to say.

“It’s supposed to be warmer
today. Spring is right around the corner.” His voice sounded strained.

“Warmer would be good.” She
still stared out the window.

“Listen,
Winter
,
I know this isn’t how you pictured our life to be, but for now, it is what it
is.”

Winter turned and studied him.
He calmly drank his coffee, leaning against the kitchen counter. “What is it
exactly?”

Stone shrugged his broad
shoulders. “Right now, all I want is to keep Rachael safe. I would have thought
you’d want the same thing.”

“I married you didn’t I? I
foolishly rushed into this. Why do you suppose I did that? How dense can you
be? I love Rachael as if she were my own.” Anger fueled her.

“Winter don’t go on so.”

“Wait, Stone, not another
word. I never go on so, as you put it. I am a real, flesh and blood woman who
has dreams. Dreams that at one time revolved around you. I’m going upstairs to
get our daughter, and frankly, I don’t want to talk to you.”

She needed to think of herself
for once. How it would all play out, she had no idea, but she was no longer a
doormat. Winter headed to the stairs with Snoopy following at her heels.

“I’ll be back later and we
will talk.”

Winter didn’t answer him.

* * * *

Later that day, Stone slapped
his hat against his thigh and wiped his brow with his shirtsleeve. One of his
bulls had frightened Spirit. Not only was he tossed to the ground, but Spirit
was long gone. It was past dinnertime, and he still had a ways to walk.
Obviously, no one would miss him.

Winter was probably glad he
hadn’t come home since she didn’t look like she wanted to talk to him ever
again. Damn, he certainly had a way with women. Why she couldn’t just buck up
and be there for him while this whole Stu and Clare thing was going on, he
didn’t know. He just couldn’t focus his time on their relationship with Rachael
in the balance, but she didn’t seem to understand.

The world was not filled with
roses and pretty words. He would have thought
Winter
knew that. He’d been patient with her and she was mad at him? The more he
walked, the angrier he became.

What ever happened to standing
by your man? Winter was from Texas surely she knew about that rule. And where
the hell was Spirit? Dang horse should have come back for him. Hadn’t he made
it back home yet? Weren’t they worried about him? At least it wasn’t bitter
cold, but he wished he had his coat. Another hour and he would be home. Damn,
his feet hurt.

He didn’t have to worry about
Rachael, she was happy with
Winter
. He thought he was
happy with
Winter
, and she was happy with him. Guess
not. She didn’t seem the least bit happy. Even though the marriage had been for
the sake of the custody battle, he thought she’d happily taken him as part of
the package. Hadn’t she been pining for him these last years?

He saw Spirit riding toward
him. Thank God, but he still hadn’t figured out what to do with
Winter
. “Hey, boy, where have you been? I’m glad you came
back.” Spirit butted his head against Stone’s shoulder. “I know it’s been a
long day.” Grabbing his coat off the saddle, he put it on and mounted. He’d be
home in no time now.

Setting
Winter
straight on a few things was first on his list. Oh, hell, who was he kidding?
He had a lot of making up to do. The whole mess was his fault. He’d hurt
Winter
, with his jealousy, lies, and overbearing behavior
and he needed to make things right. How, he had no idea.

The sight of the barn and
house was a relief.
Crabby came out with a worried expression.
“I was just about to go looking for you.”

“Got
thrown.”

“You okay?”

Stone got down off Spirit.
“Had a long walk but I’m fine. Take care of Spirit for me?”

Crabby grinned.
“Sure thing.”

Now to make things right with
Winter
.
Maybe if he just held her and
kissed her.
He walked toward the house,
then
stopped. He really had no idea what to do and he knew he’d better figure
something out fast or he’d lose her.

Rachael and Snoopy greeted him
at the door. Stone picked up Rachael and patted Snoopy on the head. He glanced
toward the kitchen and all he saw was
Winter’s
back.
She probably didn’t know that she had an enticing rear end.

“Honey, I’m home.” He hoped
she would turn around. No reaction. He put Rachael down, and slowly snuck up on
Winter
. He grabbed her around the middle, and began to
nibble her neck. At first, she sputtered a protest, but soon she laughed.

Winter turned in his arms, her
eyes mirrored her relief. “I was getting worried. You didn’t come home to
talk.”

Stone leaned down, and kissed
her delectable lips. He gazed at her, and smiled. “I only have one thing to
say. I am sorrier than you will ever know. I’ve taken you for granted and I
don’t think I’ve told you how much I love you enough.”

“What?”

“Mommy.
He
loves you.”

Winter’s smile lit up the whole
kitchen. “We still have things to talk about.”

“I know we do. Maybe we can
talk later in bed.”

Winter’s face turned red and
she glanced at Rachael who was busy with Snoopy. “We’ll see.”

Stone kissed her again,
drawing her close to him. He wanted her to feel his proof of desire. “This is
what you do to me.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

Laughing he kissed her cheek
and let her go. “I’m hungry.”

* * * *

The warm water caressed her
body and
Winter
sighed as she relaxed in the tub.
Stone had been acting like a teenager in love all evening. He sat next to her
on the couch and held her hand. He kept kissing her, and he took every
opportunity to brush against her. It was fun and heck, she loved it, but did it
make everything else just go away?

He said he was sorry, but
sorry for what? She didn’t want to make the mistake of jumping into bed with
him again if it wasn’t right. She worked all day to get up a good anger and he
deflated it by kissing her neck. Maybe this was another one of his plans.

The bathroom door opened and
in came Stone. His gaze raked her body, making her shiver. “You’ve been in here
a long time.”

“Have I?”

He grabbed the towel and held
it for her. Winter licked her lips as she felt her nipples tighten. Slowly she
stood up and got out of the tub, watching him the whole time.

Stone examined her from head
to toe. Desire flooded her. She quickly stepped into the towel he held and
smiled when he wrapped his arms around her, towel and all.

“Stone, before this goes any
further we do need to talk.”

Stone lifted her up into his
arms. “I said I was sorry. Maybe you need to hear more.”

She nodded.

Stone sat her on his bed and
left the room. He came back with her robe. “Put this on and we’ll talk.”

He turned around as she dried
herself and put on her blue robe.

“Should we go downstairs?” she
asked.

Stone took her hand, drawing
her closer. He kissed her with such tenderness it almost brought her to tears.

“I’ll have you naked in two
seconds if we stay here.” He led her down the stairs, his fingers entwined in
hers.

He had her so off balance she
couldn’t think. She had to remind herself that she was angry and she had a
right to be angry. Her body was screaming “
forget
it,
just grab him.”

“Are you cold?” He teased.

“No, I’m fine. Listen, if we
are going to talk, you have to stop looking at me that way.”