Second Time Around (4 page)

He glanced around at the click of Duncan’s seat belt being unfastened. “Did you rent a car?”

“The only thing they had was a Jeep,” Duncan said. “It should be waiting on us.”

He reached into the overhead and pulled out several bags. “You know, being on a ranch will probably be good for that leg. Might even see some improvement. No matter how many hours you spent in the gym, sitting behind a desk most of the day wasn’t helping.”

2“So you told me.” Quinn stepped into the aisle and lifted out several more bags.

“At least twice a day, if I remember correctly.”

“For all the good it did.” Duncan paused as the pilot appeared and opened the door, then went past him into the warm sunlight.

Quinn stopped the pilot as he turned back toward the cockpit. “Jack, when are you heading back to Chicago?”

“In the morning. It’ll take most of the afternoon to service the plane. Duncan booked a room for us at a motel near here.”

He nodded. “Have a safe flight back.”

“Thank you, sir. And you have a pleasant vacation.”

Duncan was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and Quinn glanced at his watch as he joined him. “Let’s grab something to eat before we head out. I don’t want to get there right at lunch time.”

“Sounds good to me.”

* * * * *

“I’ve never been to the mountains before,” Duncan commented as they headed north on Antelope Flats Road, leaving the town of Jackson behind them. “It’s a good thing I’m not claustrophobic. It kind of feels like they’re falling on you.”

“I think most people feel that way at first. You get used to it.” Quinn looked out at the majestic peaks of the Grand Tetons, Rendezvous Mountain towering in the distance.

Snow still covered the higher slopes, the sun causing the white powder to glimmer with sparkles of light.

“I guess you spent a lot of time here when you were growing up. Strange, but Edward never struck me as the type of person who would enjoy a place like this.”

Quinn smiled sardonically. “He didn’t. It was my mother who loved it. My grandfather bought her the ranch as a wedding gift. Until she died, we stayed here every summer and holiday.”

“And this is where you met your wife?”

His wife. A strange tickle of emotion ran through Quinn. He’d spent every day since the accident trying to make himself believe that Lanie was no longer his wife. But she had been, even if they hadn’t realized it, and Duncan’s words brought all those possessive instincts surging back to life. His wife, his child.

“Yeah.” He traced his scar with one finger. “Although at first she was just a pest.

She was only fourteen. I was eighteen. Her parents had died a few months before and she’d moved in with her grandparents, the Howells. Their place was next to mine, so we were neighbors.” For the first time in years, he let himself remember the night he’d met Lanie, and a smile played around his lips as he related the incident to Duncan…

2~~~~~

Who would have thought prim, proper Susie Morsten would be so hot, so

uninhibited? Or maybe she just got her rocks off because they were practically in public.

He knew some women did, had even participated with a few of them, although he personally preferred privacy.

Yeah, it sure looked to be a good summer, even if he’d had to blackmail Edward into letting him spend it here in Wyoming. His father thought he should work at the company, waste his last few months of freedom before college started in the fall.

For once, Quinn had stood up to him, threatening to withdraw from college if he weren’t allowed to spend summers at the ranch. And for once, Edward had realized he wasn’t bluffing. He’d meant every word. His father hadn’t given in gracefully, but he had given in and that was the only thing that mattered.

Trying to ignore the burning ache in his groin, he glanced around the dark balcony of the only theater in town. There were only a few couples scattered through the seats, most preferring the bottom floor. As far as he could tell, no one was paying any attention to them.

While Susie’s panting breath slowed, he kept his hand cupped on her. Her head was buried in his neck, his free arm around her shoulders, his hand inside her blouse as he teased a plump nipple.

As soon as he was sure she’d recovered enough, he let his fingers do the walking.

Instantly, she arched into his hand, another moan quivering from her lips.

“God, Quinn. Are you trying to kill me?”

“If you want me to stop, just say the word,” he murmured.

“No,” she gasped. “Don’t stop. There. Oh, yes, Quinn. Yes.”

A high-pitched, mocking voice came from right behind them. “Oh, yes, Quinn. Yes.

Don’t stop, Quinn.”

Quinn froze.

“Man, you two are so disgusting. Why don’t you get a room? Hasn’t it occurred to you that some people would actually like to watch the movie?”

He turned his head enough to identify the small figure as female. From her size, a very young female, although her words indicated she might be older than she looked.

“Go play with yourself, kid.”

“At least, if I feel the urge, I’ll do it in private,” she shot back. “Watching that kind of stuff could warp my delicate psyche, you know.”

In spite of his irritation, Quinn couldn’t stop his lips from twitching. The kid had a smart mouth on her, that was for sure.

“Come on, Quinn. Let’s get out of here.” As they stood Susie shot a glare at the girl.

“You breathe one word of this, Lanie Stewart and I’ll know where to come looking.”

2Even in the dark, he could see the girl’s gray eyes widen in mock innocence.

“Leaving on my account, Susie? You sure ‘Studly’ here can walk with that boner?”

Damned if the kid wasn’t right. He could barely walk. He didn’t need to look down to know the bulge in his jeans was really obvious. Trying not to hobble, he followed Susie down the aisle, still chuckling over the kid’s remarks. He pitied the man who had to handle that one when she was full-grown…

~~~~~

Duncan was laughing out loud by the time he finished the story. “When Lanie found out I lived next door, she spent the rest of the summer driving me nuts. Followed me everywhere, always smarting off about something. Almost ruined my love life, popping up at the damnedest times. But we wound up friends. Maybe because she didn’t know anyone else,” he mused.

Friends right up until the time he’d realized that Lanie had done something no other woman had ever done to him before. She’d made him fall in love with her. It hadn’t been a stunning revelation, captured in a single instant of time. It had been a gradual thing, building up over the years as she’d matured. Looking back, he suspected a part of him had fallen in love with the flat-chested, skinny-as-a-rail kid he’d met that first summer.

Now they had a child together. A child he was on his way to meet for the first time.

* * * * *

Lanie braced herself, leaned down, and snagged Zack around the waist as he darted past her, heading for the back door. “And just where do you think you’re going, cowboy?” She lifted him onto her hip in spite of his struggles to get free, and inhaled the sweet little boy aroma.

“Mama!” His bottom lip extended in a pout. “I want to play with the puppies.”

“Nap first, puppies later.” She ran a hand through the black hair that was so like Quinn’s.

“But I promised Daisy I’d be back.”

“I’m sure Daisy will understand. She’s probably got the puppies asleep by now, anyway.”

His pout increased. “I could wake them up.”

“That’s some lip you’ve got there. Think I need to help you hold it?” When he nodded, she gently grasped the bow shape with her thumb and index finger, causing Zack to collapse in giggles. It was a game they had played since he was a baby, and it never failed to make him laugh.

2She deposited him on the floor, giving him a playful swat on his tiny jeans-clad bottom to head him in the right direction. “Upstairs with you, sir.”

“But I’m not sleepy.”

Lanie smiled, knowing he’d be out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.

“Tell you what. If you don’t want to sleep, you don’t have to, but Mr. Jingles is tired and he can’t rest without you. Why don’t you lie down with him for a few minutes and then you can get back up.”

Mr. Jingles, a colorful harlequin made from parachute silk, was one of the first toys he’d ever had, and was still one of his favorites. When Zack had started walking, she’d only had to listen for the sound of the bells on the dolls shoes and hat to know where her son was currently located.

Zack looked at her suspiciously. “You promise?”

“Cross my heart.” She made an X on her chest.

They had reached the stairs when the sound of a vehicle on the driveway drifted through the open windows at the front of the house.

“Company!” Zack yelled with glee, making a U-turn and racing out the front door.

Lanie sighed as she followed at a more sedate pace. She’d never get him to take that nap now. Unless it was Jared. He could get Zack to do almost anything. She hadn’t been expecting him until later tonight, but maybe he’d decided to stop in between calls.

She heard the motor die. It didn’t really sound like Jared’s truck, she decided. For that matter, it didn’t sound like any of the vehicles she was familiar with. She quickened her pace and pushed the screen door open.

Zack was standing uncertainly halfway between the porch and the black Jeep Cherokee, and a tingle of anxiety ran over her as she moved closer. Her son tended to be way too trusting of strangers.

“Zack.”

He ignored her, his gaze fixed on the Jeep as the passenger door began to open. The windows were tinted, and she could barely make out the shape of two people inside, but suddenly she knew. Even as Quinn unfolded his body from the seat and stood, her heart slammed into her throat.

Zack. Oh, god. He wasn’t ready for this.
She
wasn’t ready for this. Somehow she kept her feet moving until she was standing behind her son. Shakily, she rested a hand on his shoulder, as much to comfort herself as him.

“Quinn. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Quinn felt like he was drowning. Each breath was labored and he’d broken out in a sweat. One hand gripped the top of the door so tightly his knuckles turned white. He couldn’t take his eyes off the little boy in front of him. Zack. Lanie had called him Zack.

His hungry gaze devoured every detail from the miniature boots to the thick mop of black hair. He didn’t look like either Lanie or himself, Quinn realized. Instead, he was a mixture of both. His wide gray eyes and firm chin were definitely Lanie’s, but that dark 2hair and straight nose mimicked Quinn’s own. He ached to hold him, to just touch him, but he knew instinctively it would be the wrong thing to do right now.

Zack studied him just as intently, and Quinn fought for control. Leaning down slightly, he smiled. “Hi there, Zack. Do you know who I am?”

The little boy nodded. “You’re my daddy. Aren’t you busy anymore?”

“Busy?”

“Mama said the reason you never come to see me is because you’re real busy.”

A wave of dizziness swept over him, threatening to bring him to his knees. “No,”

he said softly. “I’m not busy anymore. I don’t plan on being busy for a long time. As a matter of fact, I thought I’d hang around here for a while, if that’s okay with you.”

“I have to ask Mama before I invite guests to stay.” He was leaning back against Lanie’s legs. “Who’s he?” He pointed at Duncan, who had come around the Jeep.

“This is a good friend of mine. His name is Duncan.”

Duncan held out his hand for Zack to shake. “Hi, Zack. How’s it going?”

“Okay.” Zack released his hand and stuck one finger in his mouth before suddenly remembering his earlier mission. He looked back at Quinn. “I’ve got puppies. Want to go see them?”

Lanie cupped his cheek. “Not right now, sweetie. I need to talk to…your father…first. Why don’t you take Duncan to see them?”

The little boy looked up at Duncan. “You want to see my puppies?”

“You bet I do. Puppies are my favorite things in the whole world.” He shot a quick glance at Quinn. “Are you going to be okay?” he murmured softly. “You’re white as a sheet.”

Quinn merely nodded, his gaze still on his son.

Zack took Duncan’s hand, then turned back to Quinn. “Are you going to leave again?”

“No, Zack. I’m not going to leave.”

Apparently satisfied, Zack headed around the house, dragging Duncan with him.

“Quinn? What’s going on? Why are you here?”

“He’s beautiful, Lanie.”

“He always has been.” Her tone could have frozen salt water. “If you’d ever bothered to come see him, you would have known that.”

Feeling as though he’d aged twenty years, Quinn sank back onto the edge of the passenger seat. “And how the hell was I supposed to come see him when you didn’t bother to let me know we had a child?” Tiredly, he rubbed his face. The shock and turmoil of the last two days was finally starting to hit home. “I didn’t think even you could do something like keep my son’s existence from me.”

Her eyes narrowed, anger turning the gray to a flashing steel color. “Right, Quinn.

You expect me to believe you didn’t know about him when you’ve been sending him presents every Christmas and on his birthday?” Indignation rang in her voice.

Slowly, he shook his head. “I don’t even know when his birthday is. Edward must have sent the gifts.”

“If this is supposed to be some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s funny. Or is this your way of finding an excuse for ignoring him all this time?”

“I wasn’t ignoring him. What I said is the truth. And if you hadn’t shown up with that letter from the court, Edward would have never told me.”

“But— He promised— You signed the custody papers!” She took a shaky step forward and gripped the Jeep’s door as if it were the only thing keeping her on her feet.

“Oh, God. I don’t know why this surprises me, but it does. I didn’t believe even Edward could be that cruel.” Her gaze searched his face. “You honestly didn’t know?”

“If I’d known, nothing could have kept me away, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have given up custody of my child.” He pulled himself to his feet. “Can we go inside?