Marrying a Delacourt (10 page)

The instant the uncensored remark was out of Michael’s mouth, alarm spread across Jamie’s face. He stuck his spoon back in his ice cream and pushed it away. Grace reached over and moved it back.

“There is no need for you to worry,” she told him quietly. “Michael and I will handle anything that comes up.” She gazed at Michael. “Right?”

“Absolutely,” he said with more conviction than he probably felt.

“Promise?” Jamie asked.

“You have my word on it.”

“But—”

“Jamie, I promise,” she said solemnly.

Finally reassured, Jamie dug into his sundae, polishing it off in no time. Josh, who’d been too busy scraping every last bit of hot fudge out of the bottom of the dish to pay attention to the tension swirling around him, finished up and climbed off of the stool.

“Can Jamie and me go for a walk around town?” he asked.

“If you don’t leave Main Street,” Michael said.

Grace regarded him with surprise. “Are you sure—?”

“It’ll be fine.”

After they’d gone, she sighed. “Jamie’s scared. Are you sure they won’t just take off?”

“I’m as sure of that as I am of anything,” Michael said. “Which isn’t saying a lot right now.”

Sharon Lynn came around and sat on the stool next to Grace, the baby settled in her lap with a dog-eared picture book. “Obviously I set off a panic earlier. Why don’t you fill me in? Maybe I can help.”

“Maybe we do need an objective opinion. You and I are a little too close to the situation,” Grace said, trying to gauge Michael’s reaction. He finally nodded.

With that go-ahead, Grace gave Sharon Lynn a brief summary of the situation.

“Those poor boys,” Sharon Lynn murmured more than once.

“Any ideas about how we can keep them together?” Michael asked. “Grace and I are both committed to making that happen.”

“How would you feel if I held a family powwow?” Sharon Lynn asked. “All of us have big homes. And nobody’s more devoted to the concept of family than an Adams. Surely among us we could come up with a place for them to stay so they’d be together. Then we could go to social services, present them with a solution they couldn’t possibly refuse.
I’m living proof that the tactic can work. What do you think?”

“Are you sure there are people in your family who would consider taking in two boys they haven’t even met yet?” Grace worried.

“I know it,” Sharon Lynn said. “I’d have to talk to Cord, of course, but I’d do it in a heartbeat. I always wanted a ton of kids around. We don’t have as much room as some of the others, but we could make it work.”

Grace thought of those dry legal pages that had summarized Sharon Lynn’s battle for custody of the little girl who had been left on her doorstep. She saw that same kind of commitment and love shining in her eyes now. Jamie and Josh would definitely be in good hands with Sharon Lynn.

So, why did she feel so empty inside thinking of the boys staying right here with a woman like Sharon Lynn as their mother? Why was saying no her immediate reaction?

Because she wanted them for herself, she realized with a sinking sense of loss. She couldn’t delude herself that her response was anything other than pure jealousy over the fact that Sharon Lynn had a family to offer them. It was a selfish, knee-jerk reaction.

“Well?” Sharon Lynn asked. “What do you think?”

Michael’s gaze settled on hers. “Grace?”

“It’s an option,” she said slowly, trying to hide her dismay. “You’re very generous to even consider the idea.”

“Shall I talk to Cord and the others? See if we come up with any other brilliant solutions?”

“I think we should let her,” Michael said. “Right, Grace?”

Grace forced herself to nod agreement, because she wasn’t sure she could speak around the sudden lump in her throat.

“And in the meantime, I think maybe you should talk to my cousin Justin,” Sharon Lynn went on. “If you’ve filled the local sheriff in, you might avoid any problems about letting the boys stay here, rather than turning them in the second you discovered them in the barn. Justin can take his own sweet time about filing paperwork when it suits him. Not that he approves of such things, but one look at those boys and how happy they are and I think in this instance it will suit him just fine.”

“Thanks, Sharon Lynn,” Michael said. “I think we’ll do exactly that. Now we’d better go round up those two and get them back out to Trish’s, before anybody else starts asking questions about who they are and where they came from.”

Trying to make up for her earlier lack of enthusiasm, Grace gave Sharon Lynn a hug. “You really are wonderful. Your kids are very lucky.”

“No,” Sharon Lynn said fervently. “I’m the lucky one. I’ve got the sexiest, most loving husband on the planet and three great kids. Why not share that if I can? I’ll call you all later and let you know how things turn out when I talk to the family.”

Outside, Grace spotted Jamie and Josh peering in the window of the feed and grain store. They seemed perfectly content for the moment, so she turned to Michael.

“Do you think we should call Justin?”

“I think it might be the smart thing to do,” he said. “If he’s anything like Sharon Lynn, he’ll be on our side. That can’t hurt.”

“What if he’s not?” Grace asked worriedly. “What if he’s a by-the-book kind of guy?”

“Dylan says he is,” Michael admitted. “But he also says there’s no one he’d rather have on his side in a fight.”

“How well does Dylan really know him?”

“They worked together when Kelsey’s son was missing. Dylan said the only thing that mattered to Justin was getting the boy back, not which rules might have been bent in the process. He even considered going to work for Justin as a deputy. For Dylan to even think about doing that, the man has to be a good guy.”

He studied Grace. “You’re not convinced, are you? Not about any of it, including Sharon Lynn’s willingness to take the boys in if her husband agrees.”

“How can I not be glad about that?” she said, but she couldn’t manage to force any enthusiasm into her voice.

Michael touched a hand to her cheek. “Grace?”

She forced herself to meet his gaze, saw the concern in his expression. “What?”

“What’s really going on here? No evasions this time. I want the truth.”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly.

“You want those boys to stay with you, don’t you?” he said, putting into words what she’d been afraid to say.

Her breath caught at the accuracy of his assess
ment. It had been a long time since anyone had been able to see into her heart like that, since anyone had even tried. She owed him an honest answer.

“I know it’s not realistic, that it doesn’t make any kind of sense, but yes, I want to keep them in my life,” she admitted.

“In your life?” he asked skeptically. “You could do that no matter where they wind up. You really want them with you permanently. I can see it when you look at them. It’s exactly what I was afraid of.”

“I know it’s wrong, even selfish,” she finally conceded, then regarded him fiercely. “But, yes, that is exactly what I want. Those boys need a loving home and I want to be the one to give it to them.”

“What about your career?”

“I can make it work,” she insisted. “I wouldn’t be the first woman to have to juggle work and parenting.”

“But two kids, out of the blue?” he asked skeptically. “Jamie and Josh are trying really hard right now to do everything they can to please you, but it won’t always be that way. Jamie’s a teenager. Teenaged boys can be a handful. Are you prepared for that?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. She might be good for Josh and Jamie, but they would bring even more into her life, something that had been missing for as long as she could remember.

Michael cupped her chin in his palm, his gaze locked with hers, as if he were searching for assurance that she had no doubts about her claim. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he nodded. “Then we’ll do what we can to make it happen.”

Her heart leaped at the conviction she heard in his voice, the certainty that everything would be settled just the way she wanted it. Given Michael’s reputation as a determined man and a tough negotiator, she didn’t doubt for an instant that he could make it happen.

But then what? Despite her brave words, how would she manage if she won?

What had he gone and done, Michael worried as he sat up late that night while Grace and the boys slept upstairs. How was he supposed to keep his promise to her? And, for that matter, how did he feel about her determination to bring Jamie and Josh into her life on a full-time basis? Would there be room for him in that equation? Did he want there to be?

When he could no longer stand the way his thoughts kept shifting back and forth with no resolution in sight, he picked up the phone and called Tyler, waking him out of a sound sleep.

“Michael?” his brother asked sleepily. “What’s going on? It’s the middle of the night. Don’t you have something better to do, or did Grace go home?”

“Grace is asleep,” he said, then drew in a deep breath. “So are the two boys I discovered hiding out in the barn.”

Tyler’s sharp intake of breath suggested he’d finally come awake in a hurry.

“Michael, what the devil is going on over there?”

“You have no idea,” Michael said wryly. “But I think I could use a friendly face.”

“And you’d prefer mine to Grace’s? You obviously need another lecture on your priorities.”

“It’s gotten complicated,” Michael said. “Since you got me over here, I figure you owe me.”

“I’ll be there first thing in the morning,” Tyler agreed at once. “It might be a real good time for me to be out of town anyway.”

Something in his little brother’s voice alerted Michael that he wasn’t the only one with a lot on his mind. “Ty, is everything okay?”

“Nothing I can’t handle with a little fancy footwork,” Tyler assured him. “See you in the morning.”

“Thanks, bro.”

“Anytime. You know that. Want me to bring Jeb, too?”

“No, I think you and I can handle it. Dylan should be back any day now, too. And Trish. If we need backup, they can step in.”

“What kind of backup are we talking about?” Tyler asked.

“Not the six-shooter variety,” Michael said with the first genuine laugh he’d uttered in days.

“I’m relieved. Just remember one thing till I get there.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s nothing a Delacourt can’t do, once he puts his mind to it. Get more than one of us in a room and we’re indomitable.”

“I hope so,” Michael said fervently. “For once in my life I’m counting on it.”

He wasn’t sure when he said it if he was thinking of Josh and Jamie, or if he was thinking about Grace.

G
race tossed and turned for what seemed like hours before finally giving up, tugging on her robe and padding down the hall to the bathroom to get herself a glass of water. On her way she spotted a light on downstairs and opted to head to the kitchen instead.

Was Michael still up? Was one of the boys sick? She peeked into Josh and Jamie’s room, saw that they were both sound asleep, then headed for the stairs. It had to be Michael.

She crept down silently, then peered into the living room. He was stretched out in an oversized chair in front of a fire that was little more than burning embers. He was holding a half-empty glass of wine in one hand, but his eyes were closed. She inched closer, intending only to throw an afghan over him
and take away the precariously balanced glass, but he opened his eyes as she neared.

“What are you doing up?” he asked, his gaze settling on the deep
V
of her robe.

Grace barely resisted the urge to tug the robe closed. She was not going to let him see that he could make her nervous with nothing more than a glance. “I couldn’t sleep,” she told him. “What about you? Have you even been to bed?”

He shook his head. “Come over here and sit with me,” he suggested. When she didn’t move, he added quietly, “Please.”

She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to throw caution to the wind and slide into his embrace, but were want and need enough? “Why?” she asked, her gaze locked with his.

A smile tugged at his lips. “Just because,” he said lightly.

She shook her head. “Not good enough.”

“Because I need you, Grace,” he said, his voice raw. “There, you got me to say it. Is that enough?”

Was it? Whether it was or not, she was drawn across the room until she was standing beside him. Still, she didn’t join him in the chair. Watching her intently, he held out his hand.

The instant she put her hand in his, she knew that the choice had been made. This was the man she had loved for as long as she could remember. This was the man whose slightest touch was magical. Even now, with hands clasped and nothing more, she felt the heat and tension building inside, felt her pulse ricochet wildly. Six years and nothing had changed.
He still had the power to make her weak-kneed with longing.

His thumb rested on her wrist. There was a glint of satisfaction in his eyes as he detected her racing pulse. “Come on, Gracie,” he urged, using the nickname only he had ever dared. “One more step.”

One step, she thought. It sounded so insignificant, and yet it would change everything. It would put her back in Michael’s arms, leave her vulnerable and aching and needy. And even if she satisfied that need tonight or tomorrow or the next day, in the end she would be alone again. How could she do that to herself, open herself to that kind of pain?

As she debated with herself, he waited, exhibiting more patience than usual. In the end, that was what convinced her. She had the sense that he would wait forever, if need be. She found that somehow reassuring.

With a sigh, she settled in his lap, snuggled against his chest in a way that had once been as familiar to her as the rasp of his five o’clock shadow against her skin. His cheeks were shadowed now by the beginnings of a beard. With hesitant fingertips, she caressed the very masculine, sandpaper texture, then drifted lower to rest her hand against the heat of his neck.

All the while his eyes glittered, darkened with some emotion she couldn’t quite read.

“It’s not going to be enough,” he said at last. “I thought it might be, but it’s not. I want you, Gracie. All of you.”

She had accepted that before taking that first step, so the words came as no shock, but the shudder of
anticipation did. “I know,” she replied softly. “I don’t think a day has gone by that I haven’t wanted you. Not in six years.”

He regarded her with apparent amazement. “Seriously?”

“Have you ever known me to kid around about something like that?”

A smug grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “So that’s why you’ve been so tough on me whenever you had the opportunity? Sexual frustration?”

She scowled at his assessment, started to pull away, but he held her in place with little effort.

“Don’t go,” he said.

“Why should I stay?”

“Because you want to,” he suggested lightly. “And because I need you to.”

She sighed. “Oh, Michael, I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why?”

“Because they confuse me.”

“I thought I was being straightforward and honest.” He took her hand and moved it to the hard shaft pressing against her. “Here’s the evidence, counselor.”

“But that’s just it,” she said. “You and I have different definitions of need, different expectations.”

His gaze settled on her breasts. The nipples were pushing against the silky fabric of her robe. “Are you so sure of that?”

“It’s not all about sex,” she said impatiently. “If it were, I would have stayed with you years ago. You and I never had any problems in bed. All it took was a glance for us to be ready, a touch. I found it mad
dening that I could be so furious with you, so sure that I had to get you out of my life, and yet my body would betray me, just as it’s doing now.”

“Are you so sure it’s a betrayal?” he asked. “Maybe it’s just reminding you of something that’s right, something that never should have ended.”

“It had to end, Michael. You know it did. You weren’t ready to make the kind of commitment I needed, the kind I still need. I have to know I can count on a man, that he’s going to be there for me when it’s important, not tied up in some endless, insignificant meeting. I need to know that
I’m
not insignificant.”

“The future doesn’t come with guarantees. Isn’t it enough that
I’m
here now?”

“You’re only here because you were tricked into coming, because you found two scared boys in the barn and you’re too honorable to desert them. Tell me you’re not chomping at the bit to be back in Houston, back in your office with a schedule of back-to-back meetings and nonstop phone calls.”

He hesitated, which was answer enough. Then, to her surprise, he said, “I’m not. I was before you got here, but I’m not now. I’ve never been less bored in my life.”

“It’s been a couple of days,” she scoffed. “How long do you really think that will last? You’re a compulsive overachiever.”

“You’re not the first person to say that to me recently.”

She couldn’t help smiling at his irritated expression. “Tyler, I presume?”

“Exactly. He’s never let me forget that I’ve done
a lot of stupid things in my life because of work—or that the worst one was missing your graduation.”

“Since the message obviously hasn’t sunk in, apparently he hasn’t said it often enough.”

“Who says it hasn’t sunk in?” he protested. “I learn from my mistakes.”

“Then why haven’t you had a serious relationship in all these years?” she asked bluntly. “And don’t try telling me it’s because you couldn’t get me out of your head. I know better. I read the society pages. There’s been a steady stream of beautiful women in your life, but none of them lasted more than a few weeks.”

He regarded her with smug amusement. “Interesting.”

“What?”

“That you followed my love life so closely.”

“The Houston media followed it closely. It was hard for anyone who reads the newspaper to miss. Based on what I read, I’d be willing to bet that sooner or later you got tied up in this or that and just forgot all about the lady of the moment. The next time you surfaced, you just moved on to someone new, probably because the last lover wouldn’t take you back. Or maybe because by then you’d forgotten her name.”

He winced at the harsh assessment, but he didn’t deny it. At last, sounding wounded, he asked, “Is that what you really think? Do you honestly think I’m that cavalier about women?”

“Aren’t you?”

“No. I wasn’t cavalier about you, either. I made a mistake. A bad one. But I never stopped loving
you. You threw me out, remember? You weighed everything we had against that one mistake and dumped me.”

Grace thought she detected hurt in his eyes to match the wounded tone in his voice, even after all this time, but surely that couldn’t be, surely she’d never had that much power over him. It was true that it had been one mistake—one huge mistake in her eyes—but there had been signs it would happen again and again.

“You know why I did it,” she said.

“I know what you said. I even know what you believe, but I think it was something else entirely, Gracie.”

She stared at him in astonishment. “Such as?”

“I think you were scared, maybe even more terrified than I was. I think I gave you the perfect excuse to run and hide behind old fears.” His gaze locked on hers. “Well? Am I right?”

“I…” Her voice faltered. Not once had she ever considered that she had seized on a mistake to bail out of a relationship that she feared would end down the road anyway. Had being abandoned by her father made her instinctively distrust Michael—any man—right from the start? Although she didn’t like what it said about her level of insecurity, she couldn’t deny the possibility. If she’d given him a chance to prove himself back then, would Michael have changed or would he have let her down? She hadn’t wanted to find out.

“Maybe,” she finally conceded.

He gave a nod of satisfaction. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

He seemed so pleased, but she was more confused than ever. “Where?”

“Out of the past and into the present,” he said. “How about it? Can we start here and now and see where it leads us?”

She stood up to move away from him, because when she was in his arms, she obviously couldn’t think straight.

“This isn’t the time for this,” she said, gesturing vaguely toward the stairs. “The boys—”

“Are a separate issue,” he said firmly. “This is about you and me. Are you willing to give us another chance? Or are you still too scared to try?”

Panic welled up inside her. She wanted to seize the opportunity he was dangling in front of her, but how could she when Josh and Jamie’s fate needed to be decided? Or was that just another convenient excuse to avoid risking her heart?

“I don’t know,” she whispered. Then, because the temptation was so powerful, she added, “Maybe.”

As if he sensed her struggle and that the concession she was making might be the best she could do, he smiled. “‘Maybe’ is good enough for now. Go on upstairs and get some sleep, Grace. Tomorrow’s going to be a difficult day.”

Surprised that he’d let her off the hook so easily, she nodded. “Are you coming?”

“Are you inviting me to share your bed?”

“No.”

“I thought not. You go on. I’ll be up soon.”

She started away, but his voice stopped her.

“Gracie, you don’t have to lock your door. I can
take no for an answer. I won’t sneak in and ravish you.”

She chuckled despite herself. “Too bad. It’s been a long time since I’ve been ravished.”

His heated gaze sent desire flaming through her.

“Just say the word and I can change that,” he said.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” In fact, she thought it was likely that she would think about very little else.

Michael’s blood was pumping fast and furiously as he watched Grace go upstairs. A part of him cursed the fact that he’d let her get away. He knew if he’d kissed her, if he’d caressed her, even innocently, he could have persuaded her to make love with him. Then he wouldn’t be sitting here in this aching, aroused state, regretting the fact that he had a sense of decency and honor.

She’d been right, though, this was not the time to start something, not with her emotions running high because of Josh and Jamie. He would have been taking advantage of that, using her vulnerability to get her to turn to him for more than emotional support.

He waited for an hour after she’d left him before he too climbed the stairs and made his way to bed. He very nearly paused outside her door and reached for the knob—just to check on her, he told himself—but then he remembered his promise. He moved on to his own room and slid between the icy sheets, once more cursing the fact that he could have had her there to warm them.

He fell into a restless sleep, tormented by dreams in which Grace turned her back on him over and
over. By the time he awoke, he was miserable and out of sorts.

A cold shower revived him somewhat. Years of forcing himself to stay focused on the task at hand got him down the stairs in a reasonable mood, ready to tackle their predicament with Josh and Jamie.

Grace barely looked at him, but he noticed she’d abandoned her more provocative shorts and tank tops for slacks and a sedate blouse. Was that for his benefit, a way to warn him off, perhaps? Or preparation for the meeting with Justin?

Jamie looked up from his plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, glanced from Michael to Grace and back again. His fork hit the plate with a clatter. “Okay, what’s up? You guys have been acting all weird since we went to town yesterday.”

“Everything is fine,” Michael began, only to have Grace interrupt.

“We need to tell them,” she said, putting a plate in front of him with a thump, then taking her own place at the table.

Michael noticed she didn’t touch her food. It was evident that she, too, had lost her appetite, just as Jamie had. Even Josh was merely stirring his food around on his plate, not eating it.

“Tell us what?” Jamie asked.

“Michael and I have made a decision,” she began, looking to him for help.

“Right.” He searched for a way to put it into words without scaring them half to death.

Jamie shoved his chair back from the table so fast, it tilted over and crashed to the floor. “You promised,” he said, his voice quivering with outrage and
betrayal as he stared at Grace. “You told me you wouldn’t decide anything unless me and Josh said so, too.”

“Hold it,” Michael said. “Don’t go yelling at Grace. She’s on your side. We both are.”

“Yeah, but you’re just like all grown-ups. You make the decisions, then we’re supposed to go along with them, right? Well, not this time. Me and Josh are out of here. Come on, Josh.”