The Texan's Contract Marriage (6 page)

“I’m sorry about that.”

“You’ll definitely pass inspection. Although they loved Jillian. They were heartbroken over the crash besides being so hurt over the loss of Kern.”

“That’s understandable.”

“I’ve thought this proposal over. You’re beautiful, and you’re a rising opera star. They sounded impressed.”

“This is their first grandson. Is that correct? Your sister has two girls.”

“That’s right. My parents are not into grandchildren as much as a lot of parents or they wouldn’t live over a thousand miles away.”

“So your sister is the person you’ll be concerned about. I assume she’s happy with this.”

“She doesn’t know about it yet. I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Have you told Mr. Grayson?”

“Yes, I discussed it with him. Jess approves.”

“That surprises me. You’re very close to him, aren’t you?”

“Sometimes I think he’s more my dad than my own father. He taught me a lot about the ranch. He’s been around as far back as I can remember. I’m closer to him than I am to my parents. They were always busy, but Jess had time for me and Kern. Actually, for Ginny, too, but she didn’t hang out with him when she became a teenager. I did a lot. Now Jess is a best friend, maybe sometimes still a dad.”

“You can’t beat that combination,” she said, smiling at him. “I’m glad you have someone like that even though no one can take away your grief or replace your brother. But your sister may not be happy to see you marry without love.”

“Ginny will adjust. She knows I’m doing what I want. I take it you’re close to your sisters.”

“I’m closest to Ashley,” Camille replied. She lapsed into silence for a time. “My head is spinning with all this. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“My offer is real, and I hope you accept. I know you didn’t have it in your plans to share Noah a lot of the time, but I think when we do this, it will work out where both of us are happy. I hope you’d rather have him with Jess and me out on the ranch some of the time than backstage going from pillar to post.”

“Backstage is exciting to me, but backstage will not begin to hold the draw for him that your ranch will.”

“If you accept, the Circle R will be his ranch, too,” Marek replied. Startled, she stared at him, thinking about all the changes in their lives. If she married Marek, Noah would become Marek’s heir.

She shook her head. “The whole thing is staggering. You’re a very wealthy, powerful man. I forget about that when I’m with you, but then moments come when I’m reminded about your status. Is this a command instead of an offer?”

“Of course not. We’ll negotiate, but I’ve tried to be generous.”

“You’ve been generous far beyond my imagination. When I met Kern, I didn’t know how wealthy your family is. I’m not from Texas and at that time had never heard of the Rangels. Your brother was so down-to-earth and unpretentious. He was filled with fun and he was sort of happy-go-lucky. I didn’t dream he had this fortune. I didn’t know that until after the weekend.”

“That was Kern absolutely. Money meant little to him. We were born into wealth, and I’ve increased it. Kern worked for me and he helped. I’ve been lucky, but after a point where you’re comfortable and fed and have necessities, the wealth is not what makes you happy.”

“Whatever it was, your brother was a happy man.”

“If Kern had lived, you would have been Mrs. Kern Rangel. He would have charmed you into accepting. Kern wouldn’t have given up.”

They both became silent for the rest of the ride. At her door he took her hands. “Listen to me. Don’t worry. I want you to be happy. You’re Noah’s mother, and Kern would have done anything he could to make you happy. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. We’ll work out something here. This is a start, but I thought a marriage, even though it is definitely a marriage of convenience, would be the best solution for all. Especially for Noah.”

She nodded, aware of him standing close, holding her hands, trying his best to be nice to her while trying to persuade her to accept his offer. If they married, could she avoid losing her heart to him? Or letting the marriage destroy her career?

“I’m a little overwhelmed. Actually, a lot overwhelmed. I’ll talk to my sisters and my family and try to get accustomed to the idea. Start thinking about a few more details regarding when Noah would be with you and when he would be with me,” she said, realizing before the words were out of her mouth that he had probably already planned what they would do.

“You tell me what you want on that,” he said, surprising her.

“He’s too little to leave with you.”

“One more thing to think about—when I have him, will Ashley stay? I’ll need a nanny.”

Startled, Camille stared at him. “I hadn’t thought about that, but she would stay with Noah. I’d want her to continue as his nanny. I’ll have to ask because she may not want to do so. Staying on your Texas ranch would be entirely different for her than traveling with both of her sisters.”

“That’s right. But if she’ll do it, I’d prefer her to remain his nanny. I think everyone will be happier, including Noah.”

“If she stays, it’ll completely change her life.”

He gave that faint crooked smile again. “I hope it’s not that big a change. We have a great ranch and I’m usually working from sunup to sundown, so I won’t be underfoot. I’ll pay her salary. Whatever it is, you can promise her a raise.”

“You’re generous.”

“If you let me have Noah part of the time, you’ll be the most generous.”

Once again he framed her face with his hands. “Camille, I’ll try my best to make you happy. I just want to be part of his life and so does Ginny.”

“I understand. I want you to be in his life. That’s why I contacted you in the first place.”

She gazed into his earnest dark eyes and wondered about their future. She had tied her life to his and there was no turning back now. He was unbelievably handsome, and her heart drummed. He leaned forward to brush a light kiss on her forehead, and then he stepped away. “I’ll call you about Tuesday.”

He turned and headed to his limo in long strides.

Dazed, Camille stepped inside, locked the door and leaned against it. Ashley stood waiting farther down the darkened hallway.

“I didn’t think you were ever coming inside. I know you weren’t smooching out there, so what was going on?”

“I have to talk to you. I assume Noah is asleep. Where is Stephanie?”

“Stephanie is out with the latest guy. Noah is asleep. You’re later than I thought you’d be. We can go anywhere to talk. The baby monitors are on.”

“Let’s go to my room. Let me see Noah for just a second. I promise I won’t wake him.”

“Sure. What did you do tonight?” Ashley asked.

“We went to his Dallas home and he cooked steaks. He had a staff to do everything else.”

“I can’t even imagine. What’s the home like?”

“Not as fancy and elegant as I expected. Upper scale, nice, but not knock-your-socks-off elegance. Very comfortable with everything you could want. Pool, patio, outdoor living area and kitchen,” she replied as they paused in front of the nursery. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“I’ll be in your room,” Ashley said, walking ahead.

In the rosy glow of a small night-light Camille tiptoed across the nursery to the high-sided white crib and looked down at her sleeping son. Her heart felt squeezed, and she longed to hold Noah close. Tears stung her eyes. No matter what they did, she would lose Noah some of the time. He would have Marek’s influence now. He would spend part of his life with Marek. Stephanie had been right. Momentarily, bitter regret enveloped her, and she wished she could go back and undo telling him about Noah. She reached out to touch his hand lightly, feeling the smooth, warm skin that was so soft. She had never loved anyone the way she loved Noah. Even though it would be difficult to live with, deep down she felt she had done what was right by revealing his existence to Marek.

Hopefully, Marek would be a good influence for her baby. And the Rangels deserved time with Noah just as Noah deserved a dad and his ranching heritage. She wiped her tears and took a deep breath. “I love you, sweetie,” she whispered, touching a wispy lock of his hair. She wiped more tears and turned away, glancing back once at the sleeping baby.

She paused in the empty playroom, picking up a stuffed pink pig that Noah loved. Camille ran her hands over the pig while she tried to get her emotions under control. She didn’t want to go to Ashley in tears. Her sisters loved Noah, too. Stephanie would be furious, but the money might calm her. Stephanie had a profound appreciation for money.

After taking a deep breath and trying to think about something else for a few minutes, she went to the master bedroom.

Ashley was curled up on the sofa, quietly waiting.

“Let me change quickly and I’ll join you,” Camille said. “Do you want anything to drink before we start talking? We may be here awhile.”

“Now I’m getting really curious. I’ll go get us both something. How about lemonade?”

“Sure. I’ll be right back.”

When she returned in a turquoise T-shirt and plaid pajama pants, Ashley was waiting with two tall glasses of lemonade on the table near the sofa. A plate of cookies rested between them.

“Let’s hear what’s up.”

“Get ready for a shock. I’m talking a really big shock,” she said. Ashley nodded. “He’s proposed a marriage of convenience.”

“No!” Ashley’s brow furrowed while her eyes widened. “You turned him down, didn’t you? You can’t do that—”

“Ashley, listen to me. Remember, I contacted him in the first place because I wanted Noah to know his paternal family. I wanted Marek to be a father figure to Noah. I haven’t given him any answer. He asked me to think it over, and I told him I would get back with him next Tuesday after talking to my family.”

“You can’t even give his proposal a moment’s consideration. You don’t have any reason to agree and you have every reason to say no.”

“Do you want to hear everything or not?”

“I want to hear. Marriage is impossible. He would have far more legal claim on Noah. You’d be tied into a loveless union. Even though he is handsome, wealthy and sexy. I’ll give him that much. You’d have to share Noah. Big-time. Marek wouldn’t love you. He would interfere with you in every way. You can’t even consider it.”

“Do you want to hear his proposal or not?” Camille went through all Marek had offered. When she relayed how much money he would give them, all the color drained from Ashley’s face and her mouth dropped open.

Camille grasped Ashley’s hand, which was cold as ice. “Ashley. Are you all right?”

“Five million now and a million a year plus an allowance?” Ashley repeated breathlessly, sounding dazed.

“That’s right. I’m trying to avoid thinking about the money, but it’s impossible. With funds like that I can send you to school. I can give Mom and Dad financial help in taking care of Grandma. I can pursue my career without feeling I have to make it to be able to survive and help my family. Ashley, that money would lift a huge burden off my shoulders.”

“I knew he had money, but I didn’t know he had that much,” she said, still sounding dazed as she stared beyond Camille.

“It will change your life and mine, for sure. It will change Noah’s. He’ll have a trust fund set up for him, and I’m sure it will be generous. Marek will be a father to him. We’ll lose him some of the time, but definitely not all of the time. And Marek asked if you would stay as Noah’s nanny. That’s what he wants, and he said he would pay your salary, which, I’m certain, would be larger than what you’re getting now.”

“My word. I can’t imagine all this, Camille. Mom will faint. She doesn’t do well with surprises.”

“I know. I’ll break it to her slowly.”

“When you started, I figured Stephanie would be furious with you for revealing Noah to Marek. Now, I don’t think she will be if you tell her about the money at the same time you tell her about the proposal. You know Stephanie and money. That’s the driving force in her world. How much is he going to want Noah?”

“We haven’t gotten to that, but Marek keeps telling me that he wants me to be happy and he doesn’t want to hurt me in any way.”

“You’ll be a millionaire.”

“Ashley, get around the money. It’s a plus and you can’t ignore it, but that isn’t what’s critical here. I think Marek should be in Noah’s life. I also think a marriage of convenience might work and benefit Noah, which is the paramount criterion.”

“True, but I cannot stop thinking about the possibilities the money would give us.”

Camille listened to Ashley talk while part of her thoughts were on Marek and his proposal. Was he happy with the prospects? How much of the time would he want Noah at the ranch with him? Could Ashley live in the isolation of a ranch on the Texas plains?

She didn’t have answers to those questions, and she tried to focus on Ashley, who was still chattering about Marek’s offer. Camille couldn’t see how she could have any answer except one.

*

The next morning Marek sat over coffee with Jess, who had hung his hat on a hook at the door in the back entrance. Jess studied him as he sipped steaming black coffee. “What did Ginny say?”

“You can guess. She’s totally opposed, thinks I’ll regret getting locked into a loveless marriage. She’s certain I have a lot to lose. As you can imagine, she was wild.”

Jess merely nodded. When Marek’s phone rang, he glanced at the number. “Here she is again. I’ll have to listen to all her arguments this morning.”

“Hi, Ginny,” he said. He nodded. After a moment, he ended the call. “She’s on the drive coming in. The whole Dalton family came with her so the girls can ride while Ginny talks to me. Frank will stay with the girls. She wants to talk to me in person. For her to drive all the way out here from Dallas is even more serious.”

Jess drank the last of his coffee and stood. “That’s my cue to get the horses ready. I’ll see about Frank and the girls. You can deal with Ginny. She’ll come around, but you’ll have to listen to her vent about it. She’s just looking out for you and your best interests.”

“I know.” Marek walked out with Jess and watched Ginny and her family spill out of their van. Jess greeted Ginny, and they talked a moment with Ginny waving her hands before she walked toward the house. Jess shook hands with Ginny’s husband while the girls stood waiting for his greeting.