Still Here: A Secret Baby Romance (14 page)

I
looked
in the china cabinet door, glancing at my reflection in the glass before I hurried outside to the truck waiting in the driveway. Wyatt just pulled in, but I wanted to get out there before my mother could stick her nose in my personal business.

I’d been staying at her place off and on since I heard the news about the possibility of cancer. I just couldn’t bring myself to go home, really. I hadn’t had enough time with my father when he was ill, and I regretted every moment of it.

I walked through the kitchen to open the side door and found I was too late. Wyatt was already out of the truck, my mother talking to him, Sadie leaned into him getting all the pets she could.

No reason to hurry now, except the look in his eyes when he saw me in the window. He was handsome as hell, dressed in a pair of Wranglers, and a tight black T. It was my weakness. Simple dress, easy look on his face. I’d never met a men who could pull it off like Wyatt could.

And he really was no-nonsense. Simple. Except for the whole billionaire heir thing. I’d almost forgotten about that.

Almost.

“You aren’t going to come into the house for a cup of coffee before you go?” My mom asked, a little hopeful. She genuinely liked Wyatt. Hell, even my father liked him, despite the fact that he’d dated his daughter.

“No, thank you, ma’am. But I’ll come next week just to see you, we can talk about where you stand on that offer.”

“Are you sure? I could tell you some more stories about Rose.” She winked at him.

“What were you telling him, mom?” I asked, it didn’t matter what she was saying, just the thought of the two of them made the scarlet rise in my cheeks.

“Oh nothing much. Just about that one time you flashed the entire summer camp,” she grinned wide.

I flushed red.

“I didn’t know,” I explained, but it was too late. They were both laughing. “The damn top of my suit came off. It wasn’t intentional.”

“She was real popular after that,” my mom joked.

I rolled my eyes.

“Well, I’ll come by later this week and you can fill me in on some more stories as well as talk about the closing,” Wyatt said.

“Sounds good to me.” She beamed and I kissed her cheek before looking at my date.

Did she really have to tell him about the time my top came off in the lake? It wasn’t even my most embarrassing moment.

“After you,” He opened the passenger door for me and I slid into the cab, my sun dress slipping up my thighs as I settled on the vinyl seat. I rushed to pull it down, but not without the blush of heat flooding my cheeks. If he saw he didn’t say anything, closing the door behind me before walking around and getting into the cab.

“Where are we going?” I asked casually, watching the side-view mirror as he backed out onto the dirt road.

“Inside a memory.” He said so softly I almost didn’t hear him. Then he added, “a nice little place not far from here.”

Montana’s landscape was beautiful and diverse, the rocky mountains off in the distance, curves and hills intermixed with good solid farm land. Green surrounded us everywhere, the high altitude of the climate ensured that we were comfortably cool this time of year.

It hadn’t been three miles before he turned off the road onto an access drive.

“This isn’t the way to any restaurant I know.” I knew where we were going, I remembered it too well. The years had caused the brush and thickets to grow up, but it was still the place we used to sneak off to. The one where we kissed for the first time. Where we made love.

“No, I am planning something special for us, Rose.” He winked at me, but kept his eyes on the road.

“Something special?” Wyatt hit a pothole and sent me flying practically into his lap. I imagined what it would be like riding down the road in his lap, our bodies so close. If I thought I was scarlet before I was positively beet red now.

I should’ve worn a seatbelt.

“Like I said, a memory.” His voice was husky as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me close. “It’s a little rough here, Rosey.”

I didn’t need the excuse.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you for the flowers, they’re beautiful.” All the fire went out of my tone, my voice barely in a whisper.

He pulled onto the edge of the field, parking the car right under a big oak.

“So, what do you have planned, a bonfire and some dogs?” I asked, remembering what passed for our first date.

“No, I thought we’d go a little bit more elegant this time.”

Right there in the middle of that field was a set of two tables, one styled like a buffet table with food on heated trays, and the other set elegantly for two. It looked like something out of a dream.

“You didn’t have to-“

“I know. I wanted to. Blackridge has some of the best catering in the city, and I thought we could share it, privately, instead of going into town.” He explained.

“I forgot, it must be a different experience for you now that you’re running your father’s business.” I knew he had money when we were young, but back then it was his father’s money and his father’s business. Now he was the one buying farmer’s homes out from under them and charging them rent to live and work there.

“Going out isn’t always a pleasant experience. Either people want you to do something for them, or they’re mad at you for something you did.” He shrugged. “Thought I’d bring the restaurant to you.”

Some people viewed what he did as a blessing, but other people, people like my cousin Sue, they saw him as part of the problem in Montana.

The small farms were disappearing and he was one of the companies buying them up.

Wyatt opened his door and then mine, helping me out of the truck, my body sliding in his hands as he made sure I landed on the ground safely.

I was glad I’d worn cowboy boots with my sundress, otherwise I’d be sinking into the soft ground below me.

A single waiter was there, cowboy boots and white dress on as she waited to greet us.

“Jeanine, thank you so much for setting up. I’ll text Jinny to come pick it all up when we’re done. Go ahead and take the night off.” He slipped something into her hand, it must’ve been a large bill because she looked at it, her eyes got real big and she nodded turning and walking down to her SUV.

“You’re going to serve me?” I asked in disbelief. I couldn’t imagine Wyatt Graves serving anyone. He was the kind of man who had so much money he didn’t need to lift a finger or do anything. Hell, he could hire people to put his boots on for him if he wanted to.

I was in shock.

“I am tonight.” He guided me to my seat and then turned and grabbed my plate, taking it over to the buffet table. “Venison over asparagus, or a bison burger with greens?” He asked looking between the two meal options.

“Bison, please.” I hadn’t had either in years, living in Denver meant I had access to it, but it was expensive when you were living as a college student, and then hand to mouth trying to make ends meet.

I looked over the spread as I sat across from Wyatt he was so devilishly handsome even now after all these years. I couldn't help but stare at him instead of the food in front of me.

"Rose, you haven't touched your dinner." Wyatt commented.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I forgot how beautiful Montana could be." It certainly couldn't be because I was too busy looking into his deep green eyes to take a bite of anything. I grabbed my burger and sunk my teeth into it, the savory juices making me moan out loud. 

"Yeah, these Montana nights are my favorite. I’ve always been the lover of a Montana Sky in spring. The lengthening days and the deep winds from the mountains. That’s my heaven.” Wyatt stabbed the greens on his plate smiling before he took a sip of his beer.

I, on the other hand, had a glass of red wine that I swirled while thinking about the space between us. It was an unusually poetic statement coming from him.

We were quiet during the rest of dinner, eating and grabbing stolen glances of each other. Finally when we were finished he stood and grab the plates, stacking them and then pulling me up from my chair and away from the table.

“Where are we going now?" I asked as he pulled me towards the row of trees against the edge of the field. 

"I want to show you something." I let him hold my hand, trying not to think about the feel of his skin against mine. That wasn't an easy thing to do, his skin was so warm, the touch of him so real. I couldn't let him get to me. I couldn't let this happen. It was crazy. He was the same exact man that he was five years ago, the same exact man that he be in ten.

We weren't walking long before we came to a clearing in the forest. One that was the top of a ridge. From there we could see everything. It felt like I could see the entire state of Montana. The trees, the fields, they were all laid out there bare before me. This was what I walked away from all those years ago. This is why I had to come home.

“Wyatt, I didn't realize that this was here. How come you never brought me here before?”

"I was planning to we just never had time." He was quiet now looking out across the expanse and then back to me. A part of me wanted to believe that he was telling the truth but it couldn't be possible. He was the kind of man who saved the special spots for only himself. Changing women every other day, why would he share something like that with them?

“That was a long time ago." I didn't know what else to say. It was like a lifetime had elapsed. We were two different people now, two adults. I wasn't sure if this was even going to work. Yes he was handsome but I didn't even know him.

“With the sun going down like this. This is my idea of what heaven must look like.” He smiled at me and then said," this is just the beginning of our night.”

"What do you mean?" I furrowed my brow as I looked at him through the fading sunlight, the twilight so dark that I could barely see the intent in his eyes.

"I have more planned for us, Rose. If you'll come with me. It's your choice I can take you home right now or you can see what I have in store for you.”

I hadn't planned this far ahead, to be honest I really didn't even think that this date would get off the ground, and I was sure that at the end of the dinner he was going to send me home. Just existing here in the silence, in the quiet, it was freeing in a way. It hadn't been like this the first time. We were so swept up in hormones and emotions that I didn't get these moments.

“Who are you?" I couldn't help it, I had to ask. He was not the same man that I dated before. This man was grown. .The ability to be confident in himself, to love the silence between us, that was not the same Wyatt from high school.

"I'm not sure, Rose. It's something that I've been trying to figure out for a while." He smiled sweetly." No one else has noticed. You're here not one week and you already can read me like a book. After all these years.”

He reached across the empty space between us and took my hand holding me tight as the last little bit of sunlight dipped below the horizon. I wasn't expecting him to pull me into his arms but he did. And they were strong as they wrapped around me.

“Wyatt, I–" before I could finish the thought his lips were on mine, the kiss wild and warm.

It was like every feeling that I've had for the last five years every thought was extinguished and I was back there my last summer before college lusting after the older boy that I never thought I could have.

I was swept up in that moment, deepening our kiss, opening my mouth giving him the chance for his tongue to invade me. He took it and every last little bit of reason that was in the back of my brain was screaming at me to stop.

“I want to show you something, come with me?”

I couldn't stop. Not even if I wanted to. Not even if I tried.

“
W
hat is this place
?" Rose asked if she looked around the small amphitheater. I brought her to a little park I’d been working on at the edge of town. It was in the final phases almost ready to unveil. I loved it. I even repurposed old stone to set into a landscape for a stone amphitheater. The playground wasn’t yet finished, but just about everything else was in place. It was scheduled to open in the next couple of weeks.

“This is going to be the finished product of my first community project. It’s for everyone in town." I wanted to see exactly what I was capable of. I fought for months to make this a reality, just a mile from the school in the perfect place for children and teenagers to come and play after school. There was a tennis court, two basketball courts, a dirt bike track, soccer and baseball fields. . There was also a building that housed after school homework help and projects. I’d thought this out a great deal.

I’d worked my ass off on it.

Stage lights lit up the amphitheater, casting a blue halo over it as I got her to her seat. There, a small string quartet filed up onto the stage, the low light giving them just enough luminosity to play. It was beautiful. Light and airy and everything I’d asked for.

"I didn't know that you would ever do something like this." Rose looked up at me, her eyes wide.

It wasn't surprising she felt that way about me, practically the whole town did. But she knew me. She knew who I really was. Rose was the only woman who’d ever seen into my soul. It might’ve been five years ago, but I couldn’t forget that. I couldn’t let it go.

To them I was nothing more than a playboy, the poor replacement of my father. Sure, he contributed to campaign elections and different funding for projects, but he didn't start anything like this. He didn't donate time and land or resources for the poorest of the poor.

“There's a lot that you don't know about me, Rose." I paused then said. “I got into a lot of shit when I was younger, and part of that was because I was bored. I figure, maybe some kids will choose this instead.”

I shrugged. She didn't know the good or the bad or anything in between really. A lot had changed since that summer. I wasn't the same reckless youth that I was then. My tastes had changed. Except when it came to her. Looking into her eyes now, there was no way I could break her heart the way she destroyed mine, even if it was what she deserved. That plan has gone out the window. I wanted her. Needed her. Even if I couldn't admit it to myself.

“Dance with me, Rose." I stood and extended my hand to her. She gasped as I pulled her up into my arms.

I felt so good to wrap myself around her and pull her into the soft sweet romantic song swaying under the moonlight. She was so beautiful I had to pull her close, feel her next to me. I looked down into those deep blue eyes as she stared back up at me. With the park light streaming down on us I could see her lips flush with excitement or arousal, I couldn't tell.

I just knew I had to kiss them.

I reached for her chin and titled it up as I gazed into those full, barely parted, lips. I would have them. I bent down capturing her lips and pressing against them as my tongue invaded her mouth, tasting her. I wanted more than just a taste. So much more. But that would have to wait.

Tonight was about making her want more from me, making her realize just who I was and what I was capable of. I broke the kiss, and left her wanting more, her lips still parted, a flush in her cheeks.

“Wyatt,” her voice trailed off as she looked up at me through those thick lashes. Damn, she was so gorgeous.

“You up for a walk by the creek, or would you rather I take you home?” I asked, looking deep into those beautiful eyes. I wanted more time with her. More time next to her.

“A walk would be nice.”

I wanted to steal as many moments as I could, but my hip pocket started buzzing. God dammit. Why did he have to interrupt everything?

“Shoot, it’s my dad. I have to take this, work.” I cursed under my breath and looked up at her. She was flustered, her cheeks pink and her mouth turned up. She was just as angry as I was.

“You never change, do you?” she said, her voice soft and filled with contempt.

“What?” I asked, “Rose, I don’t have a choice. Just give me a minute, I’ll get rid of him.”

“That’s the same story I heard years ago. You never do, do you?” she asked again.

What the hell was her deal? She was all wound up and coming after me.

“I’m not the one who left. I’m not the one who walked out.” They were bitter words, and I knew it even as I said them. I should’ve held my tongue. Should’ve let her be mad.

But old wounds had a way of opening after all these years.

She stood there, her arms crossed as she watched me. She was angry and I wanted to apologize, but I set my jaw and turned. “I’ll send someone to take you home if that’s the way you feel.”

“Don’t bother, I can get there myself.” She turned away from me and started walking.

Dammit.