Bachelor Father (18 page)

As she walked toward the door, Sadie pulled her snout free and looked at Katherine.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Katherine murmured. “But I want to scare you so much you go away. And stay away.” She cocked the gun.

Mouth dry, she cautiously opened the door a few inches, enough to get her right arm through. The rank scent of the bear assailed her. Both outside and in, silence fell, as if the world were holding its breath. Terror licked at the edges of her self-confidence. Refusing to give in to it, she concentrated hard on her love for Amanda and Zeke, pointed the gun away from the bear and pulled the trigger.

The blast rocked her back from the open door. The bear roared and Zeke yelled at the same time. Pure reflex caused her to lurch forward and slam the door shut just as Amanda started to scream.

“What the hell are you doing?”
Despite his injury, Zeke was standing in front of her in no time, the color leached from his face.

She leaned against the door, shaking violently. “S-Sadie” was all she could say.

He took the gun from her nerveless fingers and stared at her. “You shot her?”

Katherine shook her head. Her lips felt frozen as she tried to form words. “Is she...gone?”

Zeke hobbled quickly to the window. “I don’t see her.” He shut the window and laid the gun on the table before limping over to Katherine. The starkness of fear had given way to a blaze of anger in his eyes. “Damn it, Katherine, why didn’t you call me?”

Still trembling, she gazed at him. She longed to say she didn’t call him because she loved him and wanted to protect him because he was injured. “I thought I could handle it.” Her voice quivered.

“You had no idea what that bear might do! How dare you put yourself in danger like that? My God, Katherine, anything could have happened! You have no idea. No idea.” He sputtered to a stop and stood there shaking his head.

Katherine watched the muscles work in his jaw and the anger simmer in his eyes, and slowly the reason for his tirade sank in. He was furious with her because she’d risked her safety, which could only mean... Maybe their relationship was about more than sex, after all. After considering that for a moment, she had another thought. Her heart beat faster as she realized what she wanted to do.

“I don’t know what the hell you were thinking,” he muttered. “You just took the biggest damn chance in the universe.”

She pushed away from the door. “I’ll get your walking stick.”

“I don’t give a damn about my walking stick. Amanda needs attention.”

“I’ll take care of her in a minute.” She retrieved his stick from the bathroom and walked over to hand it to him. Gazing into his eyes, she no longer tried to disguise her emotions. Maybe he needed to know that her feelings for him were pretty damned intense, too. “Please go over and lie down.”

He met her gaze for several long seconds before he took the stick. “Okay.” He winced as he started back across to the bed.

Scooping Amanda up from the bassinet, Katherine sat in the rocker and cuddled the baby until her eyes began to close. By the time Zeke had climbed back into bed, Amanda was asleep. Katherine tucked her back in the bassinet. Then she turned down the wick on the lantern she’d used to light her reading and walked over to the bed.

Zeke glanced at her. “You know, maybe I’d better take the floor tonight, after all.”

“I’d like you to stay.” Katherine started unbuttoning her shirt.

“Katherine...”

“I know we’ll go our separate ways after we leave here.” She took off the shirt and untied the drawstring on the waistband of the sweats. “And that’s why I want you to make love to me tonight.”

His voice was strained. “Look, you’re probably not thinking straight. Adrenaline can mess with your mind, and the incident with the bear has probably caused you to—”

“I’m thinking perfectly straight.” She stepped out of the pants and got into bed.

“Katherine....” He held her gaze. “God knows I’m not strong enough to talk you out of this.”

She reached up and touched his cheek. “I don’t want you to.”

He took a shaky breath. “Then we need the box of condoms.”

“No.” She moved into his arms. “If this is the only time we’ll have together, I want it to count. I want another baby, Zeke.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Z
EKE
LAY
VERY
STILL
, his heartbeat drumming heavily in his ears as he held Katherine’s gaze. “You’re sure?”

“You were an only child. I was an only child. We both know what a brother or sister would have meant to us.”

“Everything.”

“Yes.”

Once again he had the feeling of looking into the depths of a clear mountain stream, and he knew that she was at peace with this decision she’d made. She wanted this for herself and for Amanda. And best of all, she had confidence in him as a father.

And he couldn’t deny her, not when the urge to mate rose so hot and strong. But there would be conditions this time. “If it happens—”

She nodded. “I have a feeling it will.”

He thought so, too. The certainty of it made him tremble. “You’ll call me the minute you know.”

Her eyes were luminous with anticipation. “Yes.”

“These will probably be the only two children I’ll ever have.” He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’d never have a child with another woman, but if he started speaking in absolutes, she might not believe him.

“Me, too, Zeke.”

He closed his eyes as relief and joy flooded through him. “God, how I needed to hear you say that.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek. “I didn’t know I was choosing you for the father of my first child,” she said softly. “But you’re the only choice for the father of my second.”

“I want to be there this time.” The more time he spent with Amanda, the more he resented missing so much in the beginning. “I want to watch you give birth.”

“You will.”

“And if there are...problems, I want to be there for those, too.”

She combed her fingers through his hair. “The doctor said I shouldn’t have problems next time.”

He captured her hand and placed a kiss on each of her fingers. “Doctors can be wrong, and I don’t want you to be alone if...something goes wrong.” He wanted this so much he could barely breathe, but they wouldn’t go through with it unless he had her word that he wouldn’t be shut out. Not again. His voice was strained as he held her hand very tight. “Give me your promise, Katherine.”

“I promise, Zeke.” She swallowed. “I promise to let you be part of this pregnancy. I promise that you will be by my side when I give birth to our son or daughter. I promise to honor your rights as the father of our ch—”

His kiss transformed her final word into a moan of pleasure as he drew her close. Deliberately he guided her down and started to move over her, but she struggled in his arms. He lifted his head. “What’s wrong?”

Her reply was breathless. “Let me be on top. Your ankle—”

“My ankle can take it. And this time, my love, I need to be in charge.”

Her sigh of surrender was all the encouragement he needed. He covered her body with his.

He wanted to memorize her, absorb her into his pores, drown in the scent and taste of her. And then, when they’d flowed so completely together that they would never be separated, no matter how far apart they traveled, he would spill his seed into her, bonding her to him forever.

He’d never kissed like this, touched like this, wanted like this. He lifted his head and gazed into her eyes to find the same intense purpose shining there.

“I’m going to love making you pregnant,” he said.

She gave him the smile of a seductress, then she went still. “Do you hear the wolves?”

“No. Just my heart pounding like a freight train.”

“Listen.”

He paused and tried to quiet his ragged breathing. Yes, there they were, louder this time, singing their haunting tribute to the moon. “I hear them.”

“I love that sound. It makes me think of you.” An untamed emotion burned in her eyes. “Love me while the wolves howl, Zeke.”

And he’d thought he couldn’t be more aroused. Heat surged in his groin as he began an intimate exploration of her body in tune to the rhythm of the wolves’ song. The wild sound wove its way into his subconscious, driving him to a primitive sensuality as he reveled in her taste, her scent and her wordless whimpers. He longed to carry her outside in the moonlight, lay her on a bed of pine boughs and take possession of her with the swift instinctive stroke of a forest creature. He wanted to howl his triumph to the world.

Yet a part of his civilized mind still functioned, leaping ahead to a time when he wouldn’t have this woman stretched beneath him, writhing with pleasure, and he longed to make this moment last forever.

But instinct seemed to rule Katherine. She tugged at his sweats, pushing them down over his hips. Then she reached for him and guided him to her, spreading her thighs, arching against him. “Zeke, now,” she pleaded with choked urgency.

He felt the call of her body, the insistent pull of her womb, and he followed that call, rising above her to look down into her flushed face.

“Give me another baby,” she whispered.

His erection throbbed in response, but he slipped just barely inside her and paused. “Our baby,” he murmured, looking into her eyes.

“Our baby.”

As the wolves’ howls built to a crescendo, he held her gaze and pushed deep.

* * *

Z
EKE
INSISTED
THAT
THEY
make love all night to guarantee success, and Katherine didn’t argue with him. But finally even their passion for each other couldn’t keep them awake. Entwined in each other’s arms, they slept.

Dawn had not yet found the clearing when Katherine woke to an unusual sound, one she’d never heard in the cabin. It took her several long seconds to realize the phone was ringing, but the meaning of the ringing phone came to her more quickly. Their isolation had ended.

Zeke started to climb out of bed, but she laid a restraining hand on him. “I’ll get it. I can move faster.” She hurried to the phone as Amanda woke up and started to cry. Katherine picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Katherine?” Naomi sounded worried. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Katherine stretched the cord until she could reach Amanda’s bassinet.

“Is that Amanda I hear?”

“Yep.” Katherine cradled the phone against her shoulder and picked up the baby.

“Is
she
okay?”

“She’s fine, too, Naomi. Just a little hungry at the moment.”

“I am so relieved. When I hadn’t heard a word from you, I called the lodge this morning and they said they hadn’t seen you since Friday. The maid reported you didn’t seem to be staying there, although your clothes were still in the room. I was frantic. So I made some inquiries through Lost Springs Ranch and got this number and some idea of where this cabin might be. Apparently it’s quite remote.”

Katherine jiggled Amanda against her shoulder. “Yes, and the phone was knocked out. It must have just been reconnected.”

“I thought you two were going to stay at the lodge.”

“Well, it...didn’t work out that way, Naomi.”

“Good heavens. He didn’t kidnap you and drag you to his lair, did he?”

“No. There was a flat tire, and a bridge that was out, and—I’ll explain when I get back.” She swayed with Amanda, but the baby wouldn’t quiet down.

“You poor woman. You sound exhausted, and Amanda doesn’t sound happy, either. What an ordeal. I understand from the people at Lost Springs that this cabin of his is quite primitive. I had no intention of putting you and Amanda through something like this.”

“It really hasn’t been so bad.” She glanced up as Zeke left the bed.

He’d put on his sweatpants, as if the telephone call from Naomi had restored his modesty. He limped over to the rocker, sat down and held out his arms.

Stretching the phone cord, she crossed to him and leaned down so he could take Amanda. “In fact, it’s been fine.”

Zeke rocked the baby and murmured to her.

“Well, you’re very brave to say that, but I’ve sent a helicopter. They should be there shortly, but I decided to call and see if I could get in touch with you to let you know they were on the way.”

“You’ve sent a
helicopter?
” Katherine glanced at Zeke in horror. Naomi meant to snatch her away from him in less than an hour.

“Of course. They’ll fly you to the airport. The lodge can ship your things back here. Believe me, it’s the least I can do after subjecting you to the weekend from hell.”

Katherine gazed at Zeke holding Amanda. The baby had stopped fussing and was waving her arms at Zeke. The weekend from heaven was more like it. “Can you cancel the helicopter?”

“Well, probably not, but if you’re worried about the expense, don’t think another thing about it. The main thing is to get you and Amanda back safely to New York. I don’t mind paying a little extra to accomplish that. I hope that at least you were able to tie up your loose ends with this man.”

For the first time Katherine faced the fact that she would not be in Wyoming at all if Naomi hadn’t paid a lot of money to arrange for this weekend. First Naomi had bought Zeke at the bachelor auction, and then she’d paid Katherine’s airfare and reserved rooms at the lodge. For that outlay Naomi expected Katherine to tidy up her life so she’d be free to run
Cachet
. Instead, Katherine’s situation with Zeke was anything but tidy, considering she’d spent the whole night trying to get pregnant again.

“You
have
worked things out with him, haven’t you?” Naomi asked. “I expect there’s nothing much to do in that little cabin except talk.”

Despite her turbulent emotions, Katherine almost laughed. Fortunately she controlled the urge. She gazed at Zeke, and looking at him took away all the laughter and replaced it with deep sorrow. They would see each other again, but they would never share another experience like this one. They would never allow themselves the luxury of a passionate embrace or the temptation of being completely alone, because their love could go nowhere. Zeke didn’t want a full-time wife and child, and Katherine couldn’t turn her back on Naomi.

“We’ve worked things out,” she said.

Zeke glanced up at her. She caught her breath at the grief in his eyes. Then his expression closed down.

“Thank God for that,” Naomi said. “Well, I’d love to see you immediately when you get back, but if you’d like a day or so to rest up, feel free. Maybe we can do dinner tomorrow night. I know a lovely little place where they’ll be happy to have Amanda and you won’t be expected to dash into the women’s room to nurse her.”

Katherine forced herself to speak around the lump in her throat. “That...that sounds great.”

“Good. Then we’ll do it. I can hardly wait to see you. I know it hasn’t been that long, but I already miss you both terribly. You’re the daughter I never had, and now that Amanda’s here... Well, let’s just say I’ve come to need that cute little baby face of hers to make me happy.”

Katherine swallowed. Naomi couldn’t have put it any plainer than that. “We’ll see you soon, then. ’Bye, Naomi.”

“Goodbye, dear. You’re a brave little soldier.”

* * *

Z
EKE
ROCKED
QUIETLY
as Katherine hung up the phone and leaned her forehead against the wall. “How long do we have?” he asked finally.

She turned, her eyes brimming with tears. “Not long. She’s already dispatched a helicopter.”

Zeke nodded and kept rocking. He couldn’t let her see that he was being slowly torn apart by their inevitable separation. “Funny how quickly a woman with money can arrange things, isn’t it?”

“I could send the helicopter away.”

He gazed at her, wishing she’d do exactly that, knowing it wouldn’t happen. “No, you can’t,” he said softly. “This woman is your ticket to achieving your dreams. She thinks she’s saving you from a fate worse than death. You said yourself that you couldn’t throw her generosity back in her face.”

Katherine wrapped her arms around her stomach. “I don’t think I can, but I don’t know if I can stand to leave, Zeke.”

It took more strength than he thought he had, but he shoved aside his feelings of loss and concentrated on her. She had a brilliant future in front of her. He couldn’t let her jeopardize it. “If I thought you couldn’t stand it, I wouldn’t have made love to you. Maybe it was a big mistake.”

“Don’t you say that!” She was crying hard now. “Making love to you last night was the best thing in my whole life! No matter what happens now, I’ll never regret that!”

He wanted to cry with her, but he couldn’t. She needed him to be strong. “That’s good, because we can’t take it back. And I’d be willing to bet my last dollar you’re pregnant.”

“I hope to God I am.” She kept sobbing.

“You’re going to need to be tough to break that news to Naomi when the time comes. She won’t like it. One kid was a mistake. Two looks like a habit.”

She started to laugh through her sobs, but there was a touch of hysteria in her laughter. “Some habit. We’ll never make love a—”

“Don’t. Don’t go down that road, Katherine.” His heart twisted in anguish, but he forced his voice into a steady, soothing rhythm. “We can’t think about that now. We’ve both made our choices. We both know those choices are the best for everyone concerned.” He stood, deliberately putting pressure on his ankle. The pain helped. “Go get dressed while I change Amanda. Then maybe you’ll have time to feed her before the helicopter arrives.”

She stared at him, her eyes red. “Ask me to stay. Ask me to stay and I will, Zeke.”

Oh, God.
He struggled with the raging desire to ask her, to beg her to stay with him. Finally he won the battle. “No.”

She went limp and turned away.

Stay,
he screamed silently. But he kept his jaw clenched and said nothing.

She walked over to the cold, sooty fireplace, picked up the blouse and underwear she’d left draped over a chair to dry and started putting on her clothes.

* * *

W
HEN
K
ATHERINE
FINALLY
walked up to her apartment door late that evening, laden down with a sleeping Amanda in the canvas sling, the diaper bag and the car seat, she felt as if she’d been gone a million years instead of only three days. A huge bouquet of colorful flowers sat beside the door. Careful not to disturb Amanda, she set down the diaper bag and the car seat, walked over and plucked out the card. Her heart pounded with the hope that Zeke had—but no, the flowers were from Naomi, with congratulations for going above and beyond the call of duty.