The Truth (18 page)

She jumped when she heard a giggle behind her. Turning, she realized she wasn’t alone and had just been caught talking to herself in the mirror.

“Let me guess, first time meeting the in-laws?” The friendly woman rinsed her hands in the sink beside her. “It’s not so bad. The nerves will settle, but don’t have any dreams of being besties with the mother. That
never
happens.”

Lexie opened her mouth to reply, but nothing made it past her tongue.

The stranger dried her hands and smiled before turning to leave. “Good luck.”

The woman was right; it did kind of feel like she was meeting her in-laws for the first time. Only for her, it was after she’d divorced their son and dragged his heart over a mile of gravel. Maybe it was worse than that. She was meeting her son’s grandparents for the first time, and ironically, they didn’t yet know he existed. Worse, if they did know, they had chosen to pretend he didn’t exist. She wondered if she would know the truth simply by witnessing the introduction.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, she spotted Grayson and Ryan standing at the tall windows, watching another plane take off. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but Ryan was talking non-stop, his hands moving a mile a minute. Grayson reached over and put his arm around him, using his other hand to point at the plane just touching down. Her heart melted watching the two of them. It was the first time she realized how similar they were in both looks and mannerisms.

They turned when she walked up behind them, Ryan grinning widely, and Grayson seeming a bit awe-struck. She leaned over and whispered in Grayson’s ear.

“You’d better get used to it. I can’t get through a day without that little boy wrapping himself tighter around my heart.”

He looked at her, with his heart in his eyes when Ryan took hold of his hand.

Leaning toward him again, she added, “Or at least until he’s sixteen. From what I hear, after that the only thing wrapping tightly is your hand around a bottle of some kind, drinking the pain away and praying for the return of the non-possessed child you used to know.” She laughed at the look of horror on his face, and added, “Or at least that’s what my parents said happened to them.”

Grayson shook his head. “That makes sense. Your parents must have saints named for them, after raising you and Jordan.”

For a moment, it was almost like it used to be, the three of them, laughing, together, teasing each other and happy. But Lexie was reminded of where they were and why the minute the limousine pulled up to the curb at the airport. An older man wearing a black suit and black hat came around the car and opened the door. He directed the skycap to load their luggage into the trunk and turned to smile at Grayson.

“Welcome home, Grayson, sir,” he said. Looking over at Lexie and Ryan standing behind him, his eyes showed his surprise before he added, “I was informed that you’d be bringing one guest. Shall I call ahead and have another room prepared for your additional guest?”

Another room prepared? Chauffer’s, limousines and Grayson, sir? Lexie was beginning to feel like she’d stepped into a modern day version of
Gone with the Wind
. “That won’t be necessary,” she informed the chauffer. “My son and I will be fine in one room, thank you.”

Ryan tugged on Grayson’s sleeve, a mixture of excitement and trepidation playing across his face. When Grayson looked down at him, he asked, “Is this your car?”

“It’s here to pick us up, yes,” Grayson answered.

“Can I get in?” Ryan was inching his way closer to the open door. When Grayson told him yes, Ryan ran and jumped inside, causing all three of them to laugh at the number of “Wow’s” and “you gotta see this” that were being shouted from behind the tinted windows.

The drive from the airport was beautiful. Pastures of deep green grass were surrounded by white fences, and horses ran happily through the fields. Tall yellowwood trees bordered portions of the road, creating a warm cocoon-like feeling. She couldn’t remember having seen such a beautiful place.

The driver turned off the main road and through a large gate with Hunter Stables scrolled in the metal. The driveway seemed to go on for miles, and she could see acres and acres of pastures. They passed a huge barn with men walking horses in and out of the large open doorway.

The driveway curved again, and Lexie’s mouth fell open when the house came into view. When Grayson had told her he’d grown up on a ranch, this was certainly not what she’d pictured. She counted four chimneys rising from the roof, and two huge covered porches granted a clear view of the property. Large trees created a beautiful green backdrop to the tan brick and white pillars of the mansion. The driveway circled around a huge bronze statue of a horse rearing up on its hind legs.

“Ranch, huh?” She mumbled, unaware she’d spoken aloud.

Grayson laughed, “Of sorts, yes.”

“And you choose to live in a tiny one bedroom apartment and work for scraps as a cop.” She shook her head. “Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

“I’m doing what I love to do,” he told her, looking directly into her eyes as if willing her to believe him. “This is my parent’s world. It was never mine.”

The driver stopped the limo at the base of the wide stairs that led to the massive front doors and came around the open the door. Before she could fully stand, the front doors opened and another man in a black suit came toward them. After greeting Grayson, he began to unload the bags from the trunk.

“Hello Grayson, darling.”

Lexie looked up at a tall, striking woman with dark hair pulled back smoothly from her face. She wore charcoal gray slacks and a cream cashmere sweater with multiple strands of pearls falling in different lengths from around her neck. Her hands were folded in front of her with more pearls wrapped around her wrist and an enormous diamond ring caught the light of the sun. She looked at Lexie and Ryan with curiosity but didn’t move to approach them.

“Hello, Mother,” Grayson replied, stepping onto the porch and kissing her delicately on the cheek.

Lexie was surprised by the formality between them. There was no warmth, no signs of excitement at seeing each other after so long a time. The woman smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes and appeared well practiced.

Grayson turned to them and waved them over. “Mother, this is my friend Alexis Wayne.”

Lexie held out her hand, only to have it ignored. “It’s very nice to meet you,” she said in a clipped voice. “And this is my son, Ryan.” Lexie added.

Ryan stepped back, and took hold of his mother’s hand. He looked up at Lexie, and she was surprised by the fear in his eyes. “Ryan, can you say hello to Grayson’s mother?” Lexie nudged him slightly.

Ryan watched her warily but did as he was asked. “It’s nice to meet you,” he told her. Then looking up nervously, added, “You’re different then my other grandma. She smells like chocolate chip cookies and likes to play Go Fish. Do you like Go Fish?”

Both Lexie and Grayson inhaled, neither expecting the turn in the conversation. It was obvious by the slow drain of color on his mother’s face that she was not only confused, but extremely uncomfortable. “Go what?” she asked, reacting as if Ryan had just sworn at her.

Ryan stepped back and clung to Lexie’s leg. Grayson reached over and patted his shoulder, smiling at him in reassurance.

“Grayson, what does he mean?” Her voice cracked, and her jaw opened and closed multiple times with no further sound. She ran her long fingers over her neck, almost as if attempting to dislodge an imaginative item stuck in her throat. She swallowed, and spoke in a broken voice. “What is this? Who are these people?”

Lexie pulled Ryan tighter against her side, struggling to keep silent as Grayson’s mother’s tone all but spit on them as unworthy of her.

“Grayson, I’m going to take Ryan to see the horses,” Lexie said, her tone sharp.

His mother stood up straight, and whipped her head around to stare at Grayson incredulously. “You aren’t seriously going to let them wander the grounds alone are you? I don’t think that is a wise idea at all.” She turned to Lexie and eyed her suspiciously.

Grayson stepped in between them, attempting to break their stare down. “It’ll be fine, Mother. Besides, you and I need to talk.”

His mother looked around him and locked eyes with Lexie. She was shocked by the venom in the older woman’s eyes.

“That’s a good idea,” Lexie said to Grayson. “You go speak to your mother, and come find us after you’ve located and hidden all of the sharp objects.”

Grayson chuckled and then cleared his throat to cover up the sound. Lexie smiled at his mother, a sarcastic syrupy smile, and was pleased to see her eyes grow wide, and her mouth drop open in shock.

Grayson followed the path that led from the house to the barns. Hearing the whinny of the horses and the commands of the trainers in the breaking pens brought a smile to his face. He’d missed this — the smells, the openness, the activity … all of it. He’d grown up with reins in his hands and the expectation of taking over the family business. His father had understood his need to break away, to take his own path, but his mother was another story. She was used to having things her way and her only child becoming a soldier, then a police officer, was not in her plan. Neither was becoming a grandmother to a four-year-old.

He took a deep breath and tried to remind himself she was in shock. Her reaction had been less than gracious, even bordering on snobbish and rude. The fact that he’d asked his mother if she’d known all along and chosen to keep it from him hadn’t helped his cause. He was sure she hadn’t known, but it didn’t make sense. Maggie heard he’d died from somewhere, but where? Who would have told her such a lie? It was obviously someone she believed would know. But if it had been a member of his family, it wouldn’t be like Maggie to keep Ryan a secret. Would it?

Maggie and his mother had never gotten along. If he were to be honest with himself, very few people got along with his mother. She was opinionated, aloof, and had the ability to be as cold as Alaska in January. She had never approved of Maggie, thought she was beneath him, and after ranting about Lexie for ten minutes, he’d learned his mother thought even less of her than she had Maggie.

He smiled, recalling the scene between his mother and Lexie on the porch earlier. Lexie had stood up to his mother in her typical way; sarcasm served with a warm smile. No, the two of them would not be friends anytime soon. He supposed it didn’t matter at this point. Lexie would be Ryan’s mother, and he hoped they could be friends, but he knew they couldn’t be anything more. Even in the knowing, the pain was undeniable.

He spotted her leaning against the fence of one of the breaking pens, pointing at the horse and trainer while talking to Ryan. Ryan stood on the bottom rung of the fence, his mouth parted, and his eyes wide with awe. He tried to focus on the warm feeling flowing over him as he watched his son, mesmerized by the beauty in front of him, instead of the way Lexie’s jeans stretched across her hips. It seemed unfair to still want her the way he did.

Having heard his footsteps, they both turned around. Ryan’s face broke into a huge grin. “Mom says maybe you’ll take me riding,” he said pulling Grayson’s hand. “Can we go now?”

Grayson smiled at Ryan’s excitement and looked over at Lexie. The wind tossed her hair, blowing it softly across her cheeks and carrying the faint scent of her perfume toward him. The setting sun shone from behind her creating a halo of light. She still took his breath away.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he turned to Ryan before opening them again. “We have to be in for dinner soon, but how about we take a ride first thing in the morning?”

Ryan jumped up and down with excitement. “Yes!” He shouted. “I want that horse.” He pointed to the sixteen-hand chestnut colored thoroughbred rearing up on his hind legs in the middle of the round pen.

“I think we might need to start off on a different horse for now,” he said, patting Ryan on the shoulder trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. “Maybe one that’s not so high strung for your first ride.”

“Okay, but I want a big one,” Ryan added, taking his hand and walking with him toward the house.

Grayson looked over at Lexie. “You’re welcome to join us,” he told her. “Could be a lot of fun.”

She nodded her head and attempted to smile, but didn’t speak as she followed beside them.

“Dinner is a bit of a formal affair, I’m sorry to say,” Grayson told her. “My mother tends to overdo it normally, so you can imagine the scene when we have guests.”

“With your mother’s warmth and graciousness, I’m sure her table is surrounded by guests regularly,” Lexie said sarcastically.

Grayson chuckled. “Yeah, she definitely has a way about her.”

Lexie grunted, and then sighed. “Grayson, I don’t have anything dressy packed. I thought this was a ranch, remember?”

“I’m sure anything you brought will be fine. You always look beautiful.” Grayson realized he’d spoken out loud when Lexie looked at him with confusion. You need a muzzle, he thought to himself. Choosing to pretend he’d never said it, he bent down to Ryan. “Why don’t you run ahead and have Annie show you your room. We’re right behind you.” As soon as Ryan pulled far enough ahead, he stopped and turned to Lexie. “I’m sorry about my mother’s behavior earlier. She’s still not happy I’m living in California, and once she spotted you, I think she may have believed you were part of the reason I stayed there.”

“I don’t think she would have behaved much differently if I lived next door, Grayson.” She shook her head, and smiled at him. He got the impression she was silently telling him he was a moron.

“She can be a bit judgmental, but she’ll come around.” Grayson said, unsure if he was trying to convince her or himself. “She has to, for Ryan’s sake.”

“How did that go by the way?” Lexie asked as they made their way toward the house.

“I don’t think it’s real for her yet. Hell, I’m not sure it’s real for me yet.”

Fresh from a shower and standing in a fluffy pink towel, Lexie was becoming frustrated as she pulled clothes from her suitcase. She threw a pair of jeans onto the stack piling up on the bed. Who threw a formal dinner on a Thursday night? She’d believed they were staying on a ranch, and packed accordingly. This wasn’t like any ranch she’d ever seen. Judging by the outfit his mother had worn at four in the afternoon, dinner would be tuxedos and evening gowns.