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  She picked up the receiver and said hello, hearing Henry’s childish voice. “Mommy! I’m having a cool time. We’re going swimming this afternoon.”

  “Great! You can show Grandma and Grandpa how well you swim. I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too,” he said, but he raced over the words.

  “We’ll hang up now. I’ll call you tonight, Henry.” She replaced the receiver to find Jonah watching her. He had jeans on and was bare-chested, with his feet in loafers. She was conscious of her appearance as his gaze drifted slowly over her. He reached for her to pull her onto his lap. “You look beautiful.”

  She sat down and wrapped her arms around his neck and wished there were no tomorrows to worry about. “Jonah, could we both trust again—you trust me to stay, and I trust you to cease taking risks?”

  Chapter 12

  H e gazed at her in silence, his dark eyes unfathomable. “I don’t know whether I can give you an answer, Kate. We can try, and see how it works out. What would be the harm in that? We still want each other, so why not try?”

  She realized the implications of his question. Get back together. Could they work it out? Would he really change? Would he ever trust her? Could she stay worthy of that trust?

  She trailed her fingers along his jaw. “I’m willing to try,” she said quietly, her heart pounding because she was going to risk everything for him again.

  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her exuberantly. When he released her, he looked at her with a solemn gaze. “Okay, Kate. Move in with me, into my bed and into my life.”

  She inhaled deeply. “Jonah, I hope—”

  He kissed her once more, stopping her words, and the next time he raised his head, he repeated his question. “Will you move in with me?”

  “Yes, I will,” she said, making a commitment that both thrilled and frightened her.

  “Oh, Kate, how I’ve wanted you!” he exclaimed, tightening his arms around her.

  As if he were the only solid thing in her world, she held him and kissed him, but she wished the words he had said were I love you instead of I want you. She was committed now and she hoped that things worked out, and she was wrong about him tiring of ranch life.

  “We’ll just have to take each day as it comes,” she said, and he arched a brow.

  “You don’t sound very sure,” he said.

  “I’m not and I don’t think you are, either.”

  “I guess not,” he said, “but in the meantime, life will be better and Henry will be happier.”

  “True. And in the meantime, right now, I want to eat. I feel like I haven’t eaten for three days.”

  “C’mon, darlin’, and I’ll feed you. You know, you could take the whole week off and just loll around here with me.”

  She laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Jonah! A week off a job I just started?”

  “Ah, Kate. Your laughter is the best sound in the world. How I love to hear you laugh and see your eyes sparkle. Every smile is a gift for me.”

  “That’s mutual. You’re sexier than ever when you laugh.”

  “I can’t buy that one,” he said, grinning at her. “You don’t have to work, Kate. If we get back together, you don’t have to keep that job,” he said in an earnest voice.

  “For now, I’m keeping my job, at least until we see that this is what we want,” she said, moving off his lap.

  “Suit yourself, darlin’.” In minutes Jonah had fried slices of pink ham, prepared fluffy yellow scrambled eggs, poured orange juice and coffee. Kate had made toast and set the table, and when they sat down across from each other to eat, Jonah took her hand.

  “I want to hang on to you. I want to make sure you’re here with me.”

  “I’m with you and I’ll go back up to bed with you after we eat.”

  “There went my appetite for food—”

  “Sit down, Jonah! I said after we eat.”

  Grinning, he plopped back in the chair and picked up her hand again, brushing kisses on her knuckles. “I’ll just nibble on you for breakfast.”

  “You’d better eat your ham and eggs or you’ll be starving soon and you’ll have to get out of bed again.”

  He grinned and started eating. When he did, she took a bite of eggs. “These are wonderful, Jonah,” she exclaimed, closing her eyes while she chewed.

  “They’re just eggs. Kate, I want to tell you something.”

  “And this ham is delicious. Everything is wonderful.”

  “Kate, can you tear yourself away from food a moment and listen to me?”

  She opened her eyes. “Sure,” she answered, drinking her hot coffee. “What is it?”

  “I didn’t see any reason to tell you before, and I didn’t want it to make a difference in our relationship.”

  She stared at him and wondered what he hadn’t told her that he didn’t want to make a difference. “What is it?”

  “Don’t look so worried. It’s good news. When I inherited this ranch, that wasn’t all. Each one of the beneficiaries inherited money, too.”

  “Well, that’s wonderful, Jonah. That’s how you can afford the catering and chartering planes and all. That’s great.”

  She bit into her toast, spread with raspberry jelly. “I was starving.”

  “So I noticed,” he drawled. “Kate, it was over a million dollars.”

  Her mouth fell open and she stared at him, stunned. Her appetite fled and she felt dazed. “Over a million? Plus this ranch?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Mercy, Jonah! That’s an enormous fortune!”

  “Yes, it is. I have a financial advisor and lawyers and an accountant, and I’m trying to get more of the inheritance into charities. Kate, I can do all sorts of things for Henry.”

  “Oh, mercy!” She was still stunned, unable to grasp that Jonah now owned so much. “Maybe that’s why someone tried to blow up the barn. Maybe someone hates you for that inheritance.”

  “I’ve thought about it. I don’t know if Gabe Brant inherited that much from his father.”

  “That’s a lot of money,” she said, barely thinking about Gabe or the bomb. “Over a million dollars. Your family didn’t say anything.”

  “I told them I hadn’t told you and I wanted to wait.”

  “Were you scared that I’d go back to you for the money?” she asked, feeling indignant.

  “No, not at all. Just the opposite. I know how independent you are and I thought the money might run you off for good.”

  “Mercy!” she exclaimed, still stunned.

  “So you see, you don’t have to work if you’d rather stay home with Henry.”

  She thought about that for a moment. “For now, let’s keep things the way they are,” she said, and he nodded.

  “Kate, if there is anything you or Henry need, just tell me.”

  She closed her eyes, momentarily taken aback when she thought how she had saved and struggled and sold all the furniture that she and Henry had, plus her parents’ things, to make ends meet and pay her parents’ medical bills.

  Jonah reached over to take her hand again. “I’m sorry for the difficult time you had.”

  “See, there you go again,” she said, trying to get a grip on her emotions. “You know exactly what I’m thinking. I never have a clue with you.”

  “That wasn’t too hard to guess. And I mean it—anything you want, just get it.”

  “There is one thing, Jonah, since you obviously can afford it. My car is in constant need of repair. I don’t have to have anything newer, but I’d like something that I’m not always pouring money into and that runs when I need it.”

  “I think we can take care of that,” he replied, and she saw the amusement in his expression.

  “Now don’t go out and buy some expensive, brand-new car.”

  “I’ll get you a car that’s reliable. How’s that?”

  “It’s great. Over a million…!”

  “You forgot to eat, and your eggs are getting cold.”

>   “So they are,” she said, returning to her breakfast. She tilted her head to study Jonah. “I might look into schools and see what would be best for Henry, because now there are possibilities I wouldn’t have considered before.”

  “I think that’s great. I’ve been told that Stallion Pass has an excellent school system.”

  “I’ll check into it. You’re not driving a new car, either.”

  “I’m driving the one I inherited, and my pickup. I got everything that went with the ranch, plus the money.”

  “I just can’t get used to the idea. What about Boone and Mike?”

  “They each got the same amount.”

  “That’s amazing. All because you saved the man’s life.”

  Jonah nodded. “Now that you’re not so interested in eating anyway, come here,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her around the table to his lap. He wrapped his arms about her.

  “If you kiss me, I’ll taste and smell like ham and eggs.”

  “Do you think I care?” he asked before his head dipped down and her answer was lost.

  Midweek, Kate was eager to leave work and get home. She had taken two days off, spending them in Jonah’s arms. She was in love with him all over again, loving him more than she ever had before. She appreciated him more, loved him for being such a great father to Henry, loved him doubly for the agony she had gone through away from him.

  And he seemed to be settling into life on the ranch. He went out to work on the range, taking an interest in every facet of the operation. She dared to hope that he had changed. And she hoped that whoever had tried to blow up the barn had moved on or would soon be caught, because life was better than it had ever been. She loved Jonah deeply, although she suspected they both were still wary of getting hurt.

  She turned into the drive and thought about her job. In some ways she loved the work, and Henry would start school this year, so she wouldn’t mind so much being gone during the day. Jonah was with him constantly when she was away, too. They still hadn’t hired a nanny. Kate knew Jonah was waiting until life was safer and quieter before he hired a stranger to come into their lives to care for Henry.

  In some ways, Kate wanted to quit and just be home with their son, but she wanted to be more certain about her relationship with Jonah. She wanted a declaration of love from him, because that statement that he would never trust her again was impossible to forget.

  Nights with Jonah were magical and she missed being away from him days. She was falling more in love with him every hour and no longer tried to resist him.

  She took a deep breath now, her pulse accelerating because in minutes she would be with him. Yesterday when she had gotten home from work, she had walked into his arms, and they had made love there in the kitchen.

  She tingled as she recalled scalding kisses and lovemaking. She was eager to be in his arms again now. She’d made the last turn and was driving toward the house when she saw a car she didn’t recognize and wondered if they had company. Kate knew Jonah had given the help time off so he could be alone with her.

  She parked, climbed out and hurried forward, to meet Jonah on the porch. “Is someone here?”

  “Yep, this someone,” he said, smiling at her and picking her up in his arms to carry her inside. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, forgetting the car or company or anything else except him.

  He set her on her feet while he continued to kiss her, and she ran her hands over him, tugging off his T-shirt and tossing it aside. When she did, she looked into his dark eyes and saw desire that stirred hers even more.

  Then she was back in his arms, pulling off clothing, and he walked her into the family room and lowered her to the thick rug while he kissed and caressed her.

  They loved frantically, as if it were the first time in a long time, and finally lay exhausted in each other’s arms. “Welcome home,” he said softly, his tongue following the curve of her ear.

  “That’s an incentive to keep working, so I can come home every day to that kind of welcome.”

  “If you don’t want to keep working, we can arrange something like this every day, even if it isn’t an official welcome home.”

  “Are you trying to bribe me into staying home?”

  “Not at all. You do what you want. But I’m glad you’re here now.”

  “I don’t know where my clothes are.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You don’t need them.”

  She touched his jaw. “I’m not spending the evening running around the house nude.”

  “Suits me fine if you do,” he said.

  “No way. Now let’s gather the clothes and go have one of those long, luxurious baths in your great big tub.”

  “Will do. You go on. I’ll bring the clothes.”

  Smiling, she left, turning at the door to watch him walking around, picking up scattered clothing, oblivious to his own nudity. When her gaze raked over him, her pulse raced again.

  She hurried upstairs to start a bath, and it wasn’t until dinnertime that she remembered the black car parked by the back gate. “Jonah, whose car is that outside?”

  “Actually, it’s yours. I bought—”

  She screeched and jumped up, dashing outside to look at it. She ran to the shiny, four-door sedan and turned to see that he had followed her out. “You did what I told you not to. This is brand-new.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “I love it!” she exclaimed, running back to throw her arms around him.

  He hugged her and laughed. “I didn’t know you’d be this enthused. I should have gotten this for you sooner.”

  “It’s wonderful now, Jonah. Thank you!” As they kissed, she forgot about the car once more, and soon he picked her up to carry her inside, kicking the door closed and leaning against it, letting her slide down his length until she stood on her feet while they continued kissing.

  Thursday night when she lay in his arms, she asked him, “Will we go get Henry on Saturday?”

  “If you want. I don’t know that it’s one degree safer than it was when he left. Nothing has happened.”

  “I want him to come back home.”

  “We can’t lie around in bed like we have been or make love all through the house the minute you get home,” Jonah said.

  “Do you object to him being here?”

  “Of course not. I miss him, too.”

  “Then I want him here,” she said.

  “In the meantime, darlin’, I have you all to myself and I want you naked and I want to love you senseless.”

  “I think that’s what you’ve got right now. Or have you forgotten what we’ve been doing the past few hours?”

  “Completely. Why don’t you show me what I’ve forgotten?”

  “Sure thing, honey,” she said in a sultry voice that made him draw a deep breath. She turned to kiss him, winding her arms around his neck and pulling him close against her.

  Later, when Kate was asleep, Jonah lay back with one arm folded behind his head while he played with Kate’s hair with his other hand. The past few days had been paradise. The more he loved Kate, the more he wanted to love her. And he had heard her declarations of love when she had thought he wasn’t awake, or in the throes of passion when she thought he wouldn’t hear her.

  Yet she hadn’t declared that love to him when she knew he would hear her. He suspected she was holding back, just as he had to admit he was doing. He knew Kate too well. Right now, nothing was happening to cause any conflicts between them, but when Henry returned, there would be moments when he would want to let Henry do things that Kate considered dangerous. If she didn’t get her way, would she walk out of his life again?

  He knew he was having a difficult time letting go and trusting her. As much as he loved her—and he had loved her once with all his heart—he couldn’t let go of his doubts.

  They couldn’t resist each other, but at the same time they couldn’t trust each other. And that was not the way it should be, he knew. He wanted her badly, but
he couldn’t change himself.

  He knew Kate hadn’t changed, either, and she wouldn’t. He tugged on his earlobe as he mulled over the dilemma, and then he looked down at Kate sleeping blissfully beside him.

  Maybe he was worrying needlessly. He rolled over, pulling her into his arms.

  On Saturday they returned to his parents’ place to pick up Henry. During the afternoon, Jonah was with his dad as they sat in the shade of a tree in the backyard and watched the boys playing ball.

  “You think it’s safe for Henry to go home with you again?”

  “I don’t know, Dad. Nothing’s happened since someone tried to blow up my barn. I’ve got more alarms installed and now the men patrol the ranch. I keep two dogs up by the house.”

  “Well, we like having him here, so if anything happens, bring him back for however long you want. He’s well-mannered and easy to have around, and you know your mother loves having him here.”

  “I know she does. Thanks for keeping him this past week. I know he’s had a great time.”

  “I think he has. He likes his cousins.”

  Jonah saw Kate cross the patio and head toward the kitchen. She wore a yellow sundress and she looked wonderful. He had bought a bracelet for her and wanted to give it to her tonight after they got home and had Henry tucked into bed.

  Kate stepped into the kitchen from the patio, her hands full of tumblers. “Here are more glasses the boys had outside,” she said to Maggie, who stood frying chicken in a skillet. “What can I do to help you?”

  “You can pour water and milk for the kids. We’re nearly ready to eat.” She got a platter from the cabinet and turned to Kate. “Things are better between you two, and I’m glad.”

  Kate smiled. “Did Jonah tell you that we’re back together?”

  Maggie shook her head. “No, he didn’t. But it shows in both of you, and I’m so happy for you.”

  “We haven’t told anyone because we don’t know ourselves if it will last.”

  “I think it’ll last. He loves you very much.”

  “He doesn’t say so,” Kate replied, looking into Maggie’s friendly brown eyes. “We’ll have to see how things work out.”