Redheaded Stranger: A Cowboy Love Story (Bluebonnet, Texas) (3 page)

"Well that’s not how it feels. You have until the twenty-third to call or write them, Alexander. I want to meet your family. I want our son to meet
his
family. That's what I want for our anniversary." She slid out of the SUV before he could stop her, slamming the door with a solid thud.

Great, just great. What a mess. How the hell could he call his family? How the hell could he go home for Christmas? Worse, how the hell could he tell Kei no?

He watched Keilana exit the daycare a few minutes later, Darrach on her hip, her lips pursed. She was mad, and it wasn’t often she was angry with him. She barely glanced at him as she strapped the baby in the car seat and slammed the back door.

"Don't slam the door on him like that," Alex snapped as she climbed in the passenger side.

She glared at him, her eyebrows puckered together. "Don’t talk to me like that."

"Kei, you know—"

"No, Alexander!" She rounded on him, her dark eyes blazing. "No more excuses! This is the perfect way to make up for you losing your temper at Thanksgiving!"

Swallowing hard, he turned to a wide-eyed Darrach in the back seat who was listening to his parents argue. His lower lip was puckered into a pout. "Hey, buddy," Alex said softly. He got a quivering smile in return. "Did you have a good day?"

"Can we please go home?" The snap of her seatbelt echoed like a gunshot through the truck.

Darrach mewled and his father was in complete empathy.

* * *

F
or the first time in their marriage, he and Keilana were having
A Major Fight
. Not their usual kiss and make-up spats that barely lasted a day. Far from it. And nothing he did or said seemed to get through to her.

December twenty-third finally arrived. Alex got up, dressed to go for a run and left her present—a diamond pendant and a gift certificate to her favorite spa—on the coffee table. When he returned at seven, the presents were gone and she sat curled up on the couch nursing Darrach. He stood at the foot of the couch, loose-limbed and sweaty from his run, hoping his peace offering was enough. "Happy Anniversary."

She looked up at him expectantly. Waiting for more. Zander closed the space between them and sat beside her, not caring, for once, that he’d leave sweat stains on the material. Her brown eyes were so hopeful as she thanked him for her presents.

He swallowed hard.  "You're welcome."

"That’s it?" The hope in her eyes turned to sadness, then anger as a tiny frown puckered her brows. Her lips thinned and her grip on Darrach tightened. "You’re not going to do it, are you? You're not going to call them. Nothing?"

He'd thought it over. He really had. Besides the Ty and Betti issue, no way was he spending Christmas with his folks. Not even for Kei could he do that. He slowly shook his head. "No, Kei—"

"Fine." With a nod, she shifted, turning her back to him.

Alex sat watching Darrach, who eyed him over her arm. "Kei." He reached for her, wondering just how he could explain the why of it to her in a way that she would
finally
understand.

She jerked her shoulder away. "It’s going to be a long week."

Their vacation week together officially started today.

"I’m going to take a shower." He leaned over and kissed Darrach’s head, then headed for the stairs, where the sound of his name brought him up short.

He turned to face her, swallowing his disappointment and sadness at her anger. An anger he rightly deserved.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Angel."

––––––––

H
e stripped off his sweaty clothes once he reached the second floor, dumped them in the laundry hamper right inside the bathroom door, then turned back to the brightly wrapped package on the bed. He slowly unwrapped it, smiling at the collage of family photos that Kei had had matted and framed for him. Then he laughed to himself at the funny card she’d included.

Everything would be fine. She couldn’t stay mad at him forever and Momma’s birthday was in March. Maybe, by then, everyone would have settled down, and he could tell Momma then or invite her up for lunch. Just the four of them. No brothers, no Aunt Susie, no Dad and
no Delaney.

He was halfway through his shower when the bathroom door flew open, bringing in a blast of chilly air that left him shivering. "Kei!"

"Alex! Dade called. He says you need to come in. Something about the Sparks case. He said you'd know."

"Did you tell him I'm on vacation?"

"Special request from upstairs."

So much for the beginning of his vacation, but it wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last. And at least it would give Kei some time to cool down. "Fine."

He stepped out of the shower, cleaner but no happier, and quickly dressed. He found Kei across the hall in the nursery, changing Darrach’s diaper. "I'll try not to be too long."

"Alright."

He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, planting a soft kiss on her neck. "I’ll be back as soon as I can," he murmured, reaching out to squeeze Darrach’s chubby foot with a grin.

She relaxed against him. "Take my car."

"Are you sure?" The constriction in his heart eased up at her peace offering.

"Go on," she gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow. "Take my car, you know you love it."

"Thanks. Dinner tonight? Any place you want—The Mansion, maybe? If we can get Connie to babysit." He stood in the doorway watching her, feeling like a hopeful puppy.

"I’ll call Connie while you’re gone." She smiled at him for the first time in almost three weeks, but that didn’t erase the sadness in her eyes.

He crossed the room and cupped her face, kissing her again in a slow, easy play of tongue that made him anxious to get there and back. "I
swear
I’ll make it up to you, Angel."

She just nodded as he leaned over and blew raspberries on Darrach’s naked belly. The baby squealed and let out a big belly laugh in response. Up to now he’d been quiet, as if he sensed his parents’ unhappiness. "I’ll be back as soon as I can."

Downstairs, Alex filled a travel mug with coffee, then grabbed the keys to her Z4 off the key rack by garage door. With a click of a button, the door slid up, and he circled the car, climbing behind the wheel with all the eagerness of a sixteen-year-old with his first girlfriend. He slowly backed down the drive, engaging the automatic garage door behind him. There wasn’t much Kei was particular about, but her car was definitely one of them and she rarely let him drive it, claiming he dogged on it. Which he did...just not when she was with him. Of course, telling a man not to dog on a sports car was like setting a woman loose in a mall and telling her not to buy anything.

With a smile, he downshifted and headed for the freeway.

I
stood in Darrach’s nursery, him in my arms cooing and tugging at my hair as I waited for the sound of my car to fade away. A deep sigh of relief escaped me and I padded across the hall to our room on slippered feet, ready to put my plan into motion.

I had hoped that pushing Alex to try again with his family would work, but he'd balked. His refusal to give me something so simple for an anniversary present stung. As did the reason why. He still hadn't mentioned his sister-in-law's miscarriage and his sin of omission had left me furious. It didn’t matter whether Alex had caused or contributed to it; he'd kept it from me.

Initially, we’d intended to go to Bluebonnet after settling in Dallas two years ago, but I’d had the miscarriage. Alex had reluctantly gone without me and stayed gone barely twenty-four hours. He’d confessed that seeing his father and mother, who were obviously not happy, had been difficult and he couldn’t stand the tension. I'd respected that and let him take the lead regarding his family.

But no more. Not after my visit with his father.

At best, I had an hour to pack and get the hell out of town before Alex returned. I hated doing this to Alex; I hated doing this to us, but I didn't see any other way.

I laid our largest suitcase on the bed and yanked two more totes out of the closet, and then got busy packing. My mind ran at a hundred miles per hour and so did the rest of me as I chattered to Darrach and dressed. He crawled around after me and I’d stop periodically to kiss and hug him. Darrach followed me across the hall to his room, crawling on chubby knees, making sweet baby noises as I loaded his diaper bag and a tote bag with necessities, then dressed him in warm clothes. Bless his heart, this wasn't the first Christmas I'd imagined for him.

By the time I hauled everything downstairs, deposited the baby in his exer-saucer and packed some food for him, thirty minutes had gone by. My heart never slowed and my hands shook while I loaded the Tahoe. And I nearly came out of my skin at a knock on the front door, momentarily panicking at the thought of Alex returning too soon.

Except, of course, Alex would
never
knock at the front door.

Weak with relief, I made kissy-faces at Darrach as I flew past him and checked the peephole. Connie Shakela stood on my tiny front porch, dressed to the nines and her blond hair perfect.

Sighing, I slid the chain back and turned the deadbolt. I couldn’t not answer the door, so I pasted a bright smile on my face and debated my next move. "Hey, what's up?" I panted, fully aware that I was sweating and shaking from nerves. "Where are the girls?"

"At dance." One eyebrow quirked in question, she looked me up and down. "Is this a bad time, Kei?"

Connie and John were our best friends and not just because they were also an interracial couple. I’d never ask them to get in the middle of my marriage. I bit back a hysterical giggle at the thought of Alex coming home to find her tied up in the middle of the kitchen, a dishtowel in her mouth.

Behind me, Darrach squawked, making my decision for me. I had less than thirty to get gone...if I was lucky. Probably less.

"I’m leaving Alex," I announced, swinging the door wide for her to enter.

She stepped inside, eyes wide, and I closed and locked the door. "
What?
Where
is
Alex?"

"He thinks there's a work emergency. I don't have long, Connie."

She reached for me. "Do you want to talk about it? I thought you two were so happy?"

"It's temporary." At least I hoped it was. "Help me load the Tahoe and hold Darrach for me and we can talk, otherwise I’ll have to leave you tied up in the kitchen." Then I
did
giggle, my hysterics bubbling over. I loved my husband and son more than anything, but damnit, enough was enough.

She stepped into the living room and plucked Darrach up before turning to face me. "Walk and talk, woman."

She followed behind me as I explained and continued to load the SUV. With her to hold Darrach, I even managed to squeeze in the porta-crib and his exer-saucer.

Once I was finally ready, I stood in my sunny little blue and white kitchen, my purse and Darrach's diaper bag on my shoulder. I refused to allow myself to think too hard about what I was doing.

Connie handed Darrach to me. "After three years of waiting, I can't say I blame you, honey."

"Thanks." We stood staring at one another for way too long, until I swallowed the tears that threatened. The clock was ticking. I had to go. "Are you going to stay here and tell him?"

"You couldn't pay me to have that conversation." She shook her blond bob for emphasis. "Besides I have to pick up the girls in twenty minutes. Are you going to leave a note or anything?"

"Nope. He’ll know where I’ve gone. If he doesn’t, then he needs to turn in his badge."

I had about three hours until Darrach wanted to nurse again and it was a five-hour drive to Bluebonnet, Texas, home of the Rockin’ B Ranch and my in-laws—who I’d finally meet today come hell or high water.

She chuckled and we hugged quick and hard. "I’ll turn the lock on the front door behind me. Go!"

* * *

O
nce I hit the highway, I shut off my cell phone and didn't look back until we stopped at a fast food restaurant in San Marcos. I ate while I nursed Darrach, then fed him some of the food I'd packed. I’d done everything but think about Alex. And stop shaking.

As the traffic outside of San Marcos lightened up and the highway straightened, my mind drifted back to the first time we'd met. I’d seen him around the Atlanta field office plenty of times, and he always struck me as so with it and collected. That only made our first meeting all the funnier. He'd stood right behind me in the cafeteria line, followed me out and stood next to the table where I'd joined some friends. We’d giggled like schoolgirls at his lovesick expression as he'd finally asked if my name was
Carolina
, which brought another round of giggles. I’d corrected him, telling him my name was
Keilana
, and he’d flushed beet red, made only more obvious by his redhead’s complexion. It took a lot for Alex to tan. I’d discovered that tidbit on our wedding/honeymoon/trip to meet the folks in Oahu five months later. How we got there still makes me shake my head.

After our first date I’d complained to my friends that he was a perfectionistic, anal-retentive jerk. He wasn’t, but he is conservative, a creature of habit,
very private
and, well, somewhat rigid. Lucky for him, he had me to keep the rigor mortis from setting in, and normally, he'd be the first to admit it. He also wasn’t afraid to laugh at himself, in private, and said my biggest selling point was that I kept him from taking himself too seriously. And I made him laugh.
And
I was good in bed.

I took a deep breath and glanced in my rearview mirror at Darrach who was sound asleep. My hands shook a bit again as I wondered how his family would feel about having a "new" daughter-in-law and baby grandson show up on their doorstep unannounced—for Christmas no less. I probably should have at least
called
my father-in-law, but still hadn't worked up the nerve to tell him about the baby.

I was too nervous to even review what I knew about them but scolded myself. I’d graduated high school early—
with honors
—I had two bachelor's degrees and a master’s, for goodness sake. I still couldn’t quell the tremors as the Tahoe sped past the sign announcing the next three exits were all for Bluebonnet.