Tina Leonard - A Callahan Outlaw's Twins (13 page)

“And if they all want it?” she asked again. “It could happen.”

“More like none of them will,” the chief said. “Tighe and Dante love the rodeo. Ash is young—she doesn’t want to settle down. It would take a brave man to show her that she wants a union. Falcon is a seeker. He’ll never settle in one place. Already he’s chafing, being here. Jace doesn’t know what he wants, but he remembers the good times and thinks he just wants to go back to the tribe. Galen has had the weight of responsibility for so long, I don’t know that he’ll ever care to settle down. You had to have been as surprised as I was that Sloan married. He is a seeker, too, but still a loner.”

“I don’t know what to think anymore. What if they don’t want the land? What if they don’t even want to be here, now? I wouldn’t if I was them.”

“They’re aware of the danger, and realize they have special training that is helpful.” Chief Running Bear put his coffee down. “They will always stand for family.”

“But they don’t know us. They have to give up their hopes and dreams to stay here for so long.”

“They know what family is,” he told her. “And in the tribe, family is important. It’s everything.”

“All right. Buy the land,” Fiona said. “Put it under the business auspices of Rancho Diablo. You tell the boys and Ashlyn what we want to do for them.”

“They will not thank you,” the chief warned. “Settling down is not in their nature. This is a carrot for the horse, but a horse doesn’t always want the carrot if he doesn’t trust the man offering.”

“Rancho Diablo is my heart,” Fiona said with warmth. “This is where my sister’s family grew up. I don’t want them to be here unless they wish to be.”

“They will understand this land in time. And it’s the best way to keep the family together.”

“And safe.” Fiona pondered the idea. “Thank you for thinking of it.”

“Again, they will not necessarily thank you,” he said, putting on a straw cowboy hat over his long, braided hair. “The wild horse never thanks the lasso.”

“And the mercs who are living on the land now?”

“Will be in for a surprise. We’ll have them trapped on all sides. And the Diablos will always be free.” The chief went out the door, disappearing the way he always did, with hardly a sound.

Or they’d be building their own trap. Fiona went back to pulling down the Independence Day lights, hoping that this time next year, there’d be lots of children back on the ranch to enjoy them, if the chief’s idea worked. She wasn’t so sure.

But maybe there’d be no need to force Carlos and Julia’s family to stay here if they didn’t want to. Surely something would happen to change the course of Callahan destiny.

Chapter Fourteen

Kendall awakened with a jerk and realized someone was sitting on the foot of her bed, looking down into the babies’ bassinets. “Sloan?”

“Yeah.”

“You came!”

He put a hand over hers. “Hellfire couldn’t keep me from you and the babies.”

She moved to sit beside him. “Aren’t they amazing?”

“They’re beautiful. I wish I could have been with you when they were born.” He looked sad about that.

“You’re here now.” She touched his shoulder, astonished that it felt as if they hadn’t been apart as long as they had. It had been too long. She wished it could be the way it had been once between them, before she’d given away the location of the Callahans.

“I told my brothers and Ash that I was leaving now that you were home from the hospital.” He reached one finger out to delicately caress the baby nearest him. “I can’t believe I’m actually a father.” He turned to look at her, and she saw the emotion in his eyes, in the glow of the night-light she left on so she could tend to the babies. “It would kill me if something happened to one of these little miracles.”

She smiled. “Carlos and Isaiah are going to love their daddy.”

He looked back at his sons. “Carlos and Isaiah. My boys.
Our
boys.”

“How long are you staying?” Kendall asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Not long. Two days. We’ve seen more activity lately, so something may be up. They couldn’t do much during the hard winter we had, so they’ll try to maximize their summer opportunities.”

Sloan crawled into bed with Kendall, and after a long, hesitant moment, she molded herself against his chest. It felt as if he’d come home. Kendall was his home, and Sloan, who’d never wanted to be tied to one hearth, wanted to be with her forever.

He didn’t know how to tell her what he had to say. It was going to rip his heart out.

“Sloan?”

“Yeah?”

“I missed you.”

He smiled in the darkness. “The only way I kept moving every day was knowing that you were here, safe.”

But it had still been hell.

“I wouldn’t have ever let you go if you hadn’t been taken that day.”

She raised her head to look at him. “You wouldn’t have?”

“No. No man lets his wife go.” He tightened his arm around her waist as she lay back down. “I just knew the babies were safer here.”

But the future hung between them, a silent question.

“Now what?” Kendall asked softly.

“It will be over one day.”

She looked at him. “And then?”

He kissed her. “Then we’ll figure out the future.”

She sighed. “I wasn’t going to bring this up now, but given that you might disappear, and since the babies are being quiet for an astonishingly generous length of time, this may be my only chance.” She put a gentle hand against his cheek. “I want to go back with you.”

What man didn’t want to hear that his woman wanted to be with him?

“You’re a brave woman, Kendall Callahan.”

“You’re a hot husband. I intend to be with my man.”

He kissed her hand. “It’s too dangerous for the babies. One day they’ll be strapping young men, but right now they’re pretty little.”

“The boys have a bodyguard. I called Ash today. She said she’d be happy to do the honors.”

He looked down at his little wife, not entirely surprised that she’d been maneuvering to get what she wanted. “Ash’s post is Fiona and Burke.”

“She always says she’s getting fat. She won’t get fat bodyguarding us,” Kendall said. “We get maybe two hours of sleep a night, uninterrupted. And Falcon says he’ll be happy to teach me how to fire my gun better. Says by the time he gets done coaching me, I’ll be able to hit the needles off a cactus at fifty paces.”

Sloan chuckled. “I missed the hell out of you. The hardest thing I’ve ever done was not be with my wife and children. You say I’m a loner, but my wife and boys can give me all the social time they want to.”

“Do you mean it?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It’s probably not wise, but I do believe I can keep you and the boys safe. And with Ash on point, my sons couldn’t have a better champion. But not for a while.”

“I promise not to do anything that’s unsafe.”

“I know. Of course, just walking outside a restaurant shouldn’t have been unsafe.” In fact, taking her and the boys home with him would be like poking his finger in the eye of the devil. But he was a selfish man. He wanted his wife, and he definitely wanted to know his babies. He’d brave the gates of hell to be a father to his precious sons.

It was too painful. He knew what it felt like to be deserted by one’s parents.

“Don’t remind me of that night.” She studied his eyes. “Did you ever find out who kidnapped me?”

He didn’t want to tell her. Had hoped she wouldn’t ask. “It’s not going to make you feel any better.”

“I’m not a woman who dwells a lot in fear, Sloan.”

“We believe the man who took you that night is a CIA operative who knew my mother when she was in the agency.” He didn’t want to say more, but Kendall had the right to know what she’d married into. “From your description, we believe he is our father’s brother.”

“There were three brothers? Jeremiah, Carlos and another?”

He nodded. “The black sheep of the family, you might say. The rogue agent, Wolf.”

“So he knows all your secrets. Because he’s part of the family.”

Sloan nodded. “He has a greater ability to find Molly and Jeremiah. So you were a natural target, and would be still.”

She ignored that. “Does Jonas know that you think it’s his uncle who’s trying to bring him down?”

He hadn’t told his cousin. The person they needed to talk to was their grandfather. “I will, now that I know for sure who it was.”

“Do you know for certain? My description could have been—”

“Falcon was able to verify that Wolf is on the move again.”

“Who were the women with him? The ones that stole my boots?”

He smiled. “You’re still annoyed about that, aren’t you?”

“It wasn’t the boots so much as it became personal. If they’d take me, and then my clothes, where would they draw the line?” She touched the lightning-strike tattoo on the back of Sloan’s shoulder, running her finger down it. “If they’d asked, I would have gladly given them the stupid boots. I’d just never had anyone
take
something from me. In business, people generally negotiate for what they want. Anyway, the stupid boots were a bit too small and pinched my feet a little, so it wasn’t a great loss.”

“Why did you buy them if they were too small?” He kissed her nose.

She smiled, looking like a mischievous little girl, which entranced him. “I’d seen them on the runway in Paris. The one size they had left was the size I bought. And I was only wearing them that night because I was trying to be sexy for you.”

He kissed her. “You’re sexy barefoot.”

“A girl can be vain, just a little.” She traced his lip, then kissed him. “Who were the women with him?”

“We assume some kind of CIA operatives. It would make sense that Wolf would load his team with experts. They’re not important.” Sloan tucked her head under his chin. “Go to sleep while my sons are napping.”

“I want it to be like it was before, Sloan.”

He knew what Kendall was talking about. She meant before she’d told Wolf that it was Chacon Callahans at Rancho Diablo, and that the Callahans they sought were long gone. She felt guilty, and he understood that. Everything had changed. He wasn’t certain it could be put back together. This was his home, his family. He wanted to be with them, whatever the cost.

He hadn’t been completely honest with his wife. She could come back to Rancho Diablo—but not until the coast was clear. He hadn’t wanted to mar their time together by telling her so, but he would never risk Kendall, or his children.

He needed her too much. Even if she didn’t believe that he did.

* * *

I
N
THE
NIGHT
,
the boys woke up, making little noises that Sloan felt deep in his heart. They were so helpless, so defenseless. He loved them so much. His world had always been dark and secretive, but these babies were lightness and life to him. As was Kendall. What could he say? He’d protect them with all he had.

“Come here,” he told Carlos, picking him up to cradle him against his chest. “I don’t know much about what babies want, but I’m a fast learner.”

Kendall rolled over. “Hand him to me, Sloan.”

He did, gently caressing the tender baby skin as he held out his son. “He’s as strong as you are.”

“You’re a romantic,” Kendall said, and she sounded surprised. “Thank you, Sloan.”

“You don’t think I have a romantic side?” Sloan asked gruffly.

She smiled, and he felt stronger. “You’re very romantic.”

Another baby noise caught his attention. “Hey, little one.” He picked up Isaiah. “Mom’s taking care of your brother right now. You’re going to have to talk to me.”

“There’s a bottle in the fridge over there. You can run it under some warm water to knock the chill off, if you want to feed him.”

“All right. Come on, little man.” He warmed the bottle, then sat in a rocker, amazed that his son took to the bottle as if he was used to his father feeding him. “We make a good team,” he told him, his heart twisting when a little hand wrapped around his finger.

Isaiah kept drinking, his trusting eyes looking up at him, stealing inside him. “Your brother’s luckier than you. He got the breast.”

Kendall giggled. “Sloan, that’s breast milk you’re feeding him.”

“But he’s not getting it from a breast. If I was a baby, you can bet I’d rather have the breast than a bottle.” Sloan thought about that. “You have beautiful breasts.”

“You haven’t seen them in months. And they’ve changed.”

He smiled. “Ask any man whose wife has had his children if he thinks her breasts have changed, and I bet his answer is that his wife’s breasts are more beautiful now.”

“If you keep saying those sweet things, you’re going to make me cry.”

He looked down at Isaiah. He stopped sucking for a moment, then started again. “I don’t want to make you cry. I want to make you happy.”

“You do.” She smiled at him. “So much.”

He got up, crossed to the bed, settled next to her with Isaiah in his arms. “I’m glad the babies look like you.”

“They don’t really look like anyone right now. But when they finally do, I’m kind of hoping they’ll have your dark hair. And your smile. Those navy eyes that are a sure Callahan mark.”

“Did you name Carlos for my father?” he asked.

“I did.”

They didn’t talk anymore. Kendall took Isaiah when Sloan fell asleep with his baby son against his chest. She changed the infant, burped him and put him back in his bassinet, then changed Carlos. The baby let out an annoyed squawk at one point, and Kendall smiled, recognizing the signal. “You’re more like your daddy than he realizes. But you probably got some stubbornness from your mother, too.” She moved Carlos to the bassinet, putting him up against his brother. Both babies stopped squirming, settling immediately now that they were touching each other.

Kendall smiled at her sons. Then she got into bed next to Sloan. He rolled over, lining up against her back, burying his face against her neck before he lay still. At peace.

Kendall closed her eyes, her heart finally happy. Content.

Completely in love. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

* * *

W
HEN
K
ENDALL
WOKE
UP
, she saw Sloan standing over her. “Hello.”

He looked at her. “I have to go back.”

She nodded. “I know. I’m coming, too.”

He caressed her face. “You are. But not now.”

She got out of bed. “We’re a family. We stay together.”

“Kendall, the babies are less than a month old. They need to be here. You’ve got an army of staff. They have family to love them. I know that you’re all safe here. Let’s wait until they’re a little older.”

Kendall shook her head as if she didn’t agree, but would go along with his wishes. “All right.”

He crooked a brow at her. “No argument?”

“No,” she said. “No argument.”

“It won’t be long.”

“You’d let me and the boys come with you if I hadn’t blown the cover of the operation.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. There was no harm done.”

She looked into his eyes, searching. “Sloan, it has to matter. Jonas says it doesn’t, but I know it does.”

She looked as if she might cry, and Sloan wanted to comfort her, but knew she was right. Trust had been broken, and so much might have been jeopardized. “Kendall—”

She turned away. “I understand why it’s better if I stay here. It’s safer for everyone. Not just the babies.”

He nodded. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

“I know.” She wiped her eyes and turned back around. “Thanks for coming to visit.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

She nodded, and he left, already wishing he was back with Kendall and his boys.

* * *

“O
KAY
,” F
IONA
SAID
,
striding into the bunkhouse on a Sunday afternoon. It was a hot July day—steamy and windy enough to tease fires onto the baked land—and Sloan was feeling edgy. “We need to talk.”

The men stood, and Ash patted the seat next to her. “Sit here, Aunt Fiona.”

“I won’t sit, thank you. This isn’t a social visit. This is about the direction of the family. Sit, gentlemen, please.”

They did, and Sloan knew why Fiona commanded such respect in the town of Diablo. She was a virtual dynamo. Her white hair was pulled back tight from her face in a bun that never seemed to stay completely together. She had skin the color of pale milk sprinkled with cinnamon, and her eyes always sparkled. She looked like a woman who enjoyed living life to its fullest, meeting all challenges head-on.

“Your grandfather advised me to purchase land north of here, across the canyons. It came up for sale, and he knew the man involved. Felt he could get a reasonable deal, and that it was good land.” She glanced around the room. “This way, the chief believes, we can put a pincer movement on our friends in the canyons.”