Cowboy Come Home (20 page)

And prayed she’d never have to leave his embrace.

STILL IN A VACATION MODE, the Randalls sat around the breakfast table the next morning, having a second cup of coffee. Even BJ. wasn’t rushing out to do her rounds.

“Man, it feels good to have us all together again,” Jake said, looking over at the children playing in the playpens. Toby had already left for school, but everyone else was there.

“Do you think I should go wake up Camille? She doesn’t usually sleep this late,” Megan suggested.

“She’s probably enjoying a morning free of children,” Janie said. “I know I did, when we were in Hawaii, and I’m their mother. Poor Camille deserves to sleep late.”

There was a general nod and agreement. Pete asked Jake about the work for the day, as if signaling an end to their laziness. Before Jake could respond, they heard a car drive up.

“Visitors this early? Maybe it’s the sheriff,” Chad suggested.

“Nope, I don’t think so. The FBI came to town and got Nettles before supper last night,” Jake said. “I don’t think—”

A knock on the back door ended any speculation. Mildred opened the door and invited their guest in. Bill Haney, looking apprehensive but determined, entered the kitchen.

Jake stood. “Howdy, Haney. Come sit down.”

“No. I—I need to see Griffin.”

Jake frowned. “He’s not up yet. You know he’s been sick. I said I’ll tell you when—”

“He was well enough to knock a fella down yesterday. You’re trying to protect him from me, but—”

Red came around the table. “Now, don’t get all upset, Bill. If Jake said he’d let you know, then he’ll let you know.”

Haney, obviously recognizing a sympathetic note in Red’s voice, turned to him. “You don’t understand, Red. I know you don’t have a high opinion of me, but I can’t stand the strain. I have to tell him.”

“Tell him what?” Red asked.

“That I’m his father,” Haney said, before swallowing like a man crossing the desert without water.

While Pete and Jake had known, they hadn’t divulged that information to the rest of the family. A shocked silence filled the room.

Finally, after staring at the man, Red turned to Jake. “I think you’d better see if Griff’s awake.” Then he led Haney over to a seat at the table and poured him a cup of coffee.

With a sigh, Jake rose. He didn’t like the idea of springing Haney on Griffin so early in the morning, while he was still recuperating. But what choice did Jake have?

He walked down the short hall to Griffin’s room, rapped on the door and pulled it open.

“Griff, you need to—Uh-oh!”

CAMILLE MUST’VE BEEN on the edge of sleep before Jake’s noisy arrival, because she came awake at once with the rapping on the door. But she couldn’t make any movement to prevent being discovered naked in Griff’s arms.

There wasn’t time.

But there was time to see Griff open his eyes, see Jake at the door and then stare in horror at her.

Horror.

As in he wished he’d never seen her.

And certainly not naked in his bed.

Well, she’d wanted an answer. There it was. She’d forced herself on him last night. And like any red-blooded American man, he wasn’t turning down free sex, but he didn’t want anything to do with the morning after.

After Jake slammed the door closed, she reached for her terry-cloth robe as she slid from the bed.

“Camille, wait, don’t go!”

She ignored him.

Oh, he was a gentleman. But she’d seen his honest reaction. All the polite words he could spout wouldn’t change what he felt.

And those polite words wouldn’t change what was going to happen now. She was going to leave. With a broken heart that would last her the rest of her life. Just like the love she felt for Griffin Randall. He would always be a part of her.

Without looking at him, she circled the bed while she tied a knot in the sash that held the robe closed. She had to get away before she broke down into tears and pathetically begged him to love her.

He’d warned her. Over and over again. It wasn’t his fault that she loved him and wanted to believe he could love her.

She had to get out of there.

Swinging open the door, she charged out of his room, ignoring his desperate call, right into the kitchen.

If she’d run into a plate-glass window, she couldn’t have been more shocked. The entire family, except Toby, was staring at her, their mouths opened, their eyes widened.

With a sob, she tore into a run, streaming past her beloved friends as if they were demons, chasing her.

She had to get away.

SHOCKED SILENCE FILLED the kitchen.

Then Megan jumped to her feet. “I have to go see about Camille.”

The other ladies immediately followed suit. “We’re coming, too,” B.J. added. “Jake, watch the kids.”

As soon as the kitchen was empty of all females, except for Elizabeth, Caroline and Torie, who showed no interest in the bizarre goings-on of the adults, silence fell again.

Finally, Bill Haney said, “What’s going on? Are you going to wake up Griffin or not?”

Jake cleared his throat. “I think Griff is awake now. I’ll just, uh, just check with him about coming out.”

“Yeah, he may not be up to it,” Brett said with a chuckle that earned a glare from his older brother.

As Jake turned away, Chad whispered, “I think you brought Griff two presents from San Francisco instead of just one.”

Brett grinned in return.

EVEN AS QUICKLY as they followed, the ladies found Camille already in the shower, so they settled down on the two chairs and the bed to wait for her emergence.

“Do you think he seduced her?” Megan whispered.

B.J. shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m sure he didn’t force her. After all, he’s a Randall.”

“But we don’t really know—I mean, he’s only been here a few weeks,” Megan argued, worried about Camille.

“Jake trusts him,” BJ. returned.

They sat in silence. Who could argue with that remark?

The bathroom door opened, and Camille gasped as she faced the Randall female contingent unexpectedly. She was wrapped in a towel, even her hair wet. “What—what are you doing here?” she demanded, her cheeks flushing.

“We want to know if you’re all right,” Megan said, hurrying to her side. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Camille closed her eyes, then opened them, hoping tears wouldn’t fall. “No, of course not.”

“But he seduced you?” Janie asked.

“No.” Camille spoke clearly. She wasn’t going to blame Griffin for her troubles. “No, I seduced him. With your gift from San Francisco,” she added, looking at Anna.

“Oh. Good for you,” Anna said with a big smile.

Camille acted as if she’d been slapped. “Good for me? You approve?”

B.J. chuckled. “When you live in glass houses...you know?”

“But I shouldn’t have—”

“Why did you?” Megan asked softly.

Camille debated her answers. But in the end, there was only one. “I love him.”

“And that’s the only reason we approve,” Anna assured her. “We’ve all been there, sweetie. Sometimes all you can do is love them.”

Camille sagged against the door frame. “You don’t understand. He warned me, again and again, that he would never marry, never love—”

“They all do that,” Mildred said, chuckling. “Well, not Red,” she added. “That man was marriage minded from day one, but that’s because he’s older, more mature than these boys. They don’t understand what’s best for them.”

Then the tears fell. Camille couldn’t help it. They were all so wonderful, standing there trying to comfort her, believing everything would work out for her and Griff, when she knew it wouldn’t.

“He—he doesn’t ever want to see me again.”

“He said that?” Megan demanded, her hackles rising.

“Not in words, but—but,” she sobbed, “he looked at me like that.” She relived that look in her mind, knowing she would never be able to forget the piercing pain when she gave up her fantasies about a future with Griff.

Apparently, she’d convinced her audience of the hopelessness of her situation because silence fell. Finally, Janie asked, “What are you going to do?”

Camille swallowed. “I have to leave. He said—” She came to an abrupt halt. No, he hadn’t said. He’d called to her. He’d asked her to wait, but she’d run away.

She forgot all about the women in her room, women she’d come to love and respect. All she could think about was her disorderly retreat this morning. She hadn’t done what her father said. She’d run.

She whirled back around to face the others. “He didn’t tell me to go away. He called for me to wait.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I was embarrassed. Because I’m a coward.”

Megan jumped to her feet and hugged Camille. “Don’t be silly. You’re not a coward.”

“I am if I don’t make Griff tell me to my face to go away,” Camille slowly said, her gaze fastened on the window, as she stared out at the mountains.

“Good plan,” Megan assured her, and the others nodded.

Camille started for the door, then stopped and looked down at herself. “Maybe I’d better dress first I’ve made enough appearances today in my bathrobe.”

“Yeah,” B.J. said. “We’ll make sure Griffin is still around when you’re ready.”

The ladies left Camille’s room.

“Should we have told her about Mr. Haney?” Anna asked as they descended the stairs.

“I think maybe we should leave that to Griff. But I hope that information doesn’t drive him away before he has a chance to realize how much Camille is offering him,” Megan said with a sigh.

Chapter Sixteen

G
riffin searched for his sweatpants as he searched for his sanity. The morning was starting at a faster pace than he could handle.

As he found them, thrown on the floor a few feet from the bed, he remembered how they got there, how Camille had ended up in his bed. He stared into space, remembering even more how incredible their loving had been.

How much he needed to find Camille.

The look on her face as she ran from the room scared him. Did she hate him because he hadn’t been able to resist her? Did she think he’d made love to her without loving her?

At least that much was clear to him now. He might not know much about being a family man, but he was ready to learn. Whatever it took, he wasn’t going to let Camille get away.

He almost fell to his knees at that thought.

“Uh, Griff...?” Jake called from the door.

He spun around and thought he was losing his balance.

“Easy there, cuz. Are you all right?”

Griff covered his face with his hands. Then he looked at Jake. “I will be. I need to find Camille.”

“Uh, well, I’m sorry about interrupting earlier. But Bill Haney is here.” Jake leaned over and picked up a T-shirt from a chair, handing it to Griff. “Put this on.”

Jake’s order made sense, when nothing else did, so Griff put on the T-shirt, along with his sweatpants. “I gotta find Camille,” he repeated.

Jake ran a hand through his hair. “Well, now, Griff, not just yet.”

“Why? I didn’t intend to hurt her. I have to explain. She was upset when—”

“I know. And she won’t leave until you talk to her.”

“Leave? She’s leaving?” Griff started for the door, willing to run over Jake if he didn’t get out of his way. He couldn’t let Camille leave.

“Hold it, Griff. We’ve got another problem.”

“I can’t let Camille leave, Jake. I can’t.” His strength seemed to have deserted him. His legs were trembling with weakness.

“We won’t let Camille leave, I promise, if I have to hogtie her myself.” He held Griff’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “I promise.”

Griff slumped down, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Okay. Thanks, Jake.”

Jake stood there, his hands on his hips, staring at him. Griff struggled to his feet. “I’m ready.”

“Good. ’Cause Haney—”

“No, ready for Camille. She—”

“We’ll get to Camille. But you’re going to have to deal with Haney first.”

Griff felt even more confused than when he’d first awakened. Buying land held no significance until he’d set things straight with Camille. Things he hadn’t understood until last night.

“Jake, Haney means nothing to me. You can—”

“No, Griff, I can’t. I wish I could. Come with me and you’ll understand.” Jake took his arm and pulled him into the kitchen.

The children were playing quietly, as usual at the end of a meal. The Randall brothers and Red were sitting with coffee mugs in front of them. Griff immediately craved his own mug, filled with steaming, fragrant coffee.

And Bill Haney—at least Griff supposed the man was Bill Haney—sat beside Red, staring at him.

“Coffee, Red. He’s gonna need it,” Jake ordered, keeping his hand on Griff’s arm, as if sensing how disoriented his cousin was.

Griff almost fell into his normal seat, at the end of the table beside Jake’s place. When Red set the coffee in front of him, he muttered his thanks and brought it to his lips as if it were a potion that would give him life.

The hot liquid hit his stomach, and Griff drew a deep breath. His worried look went to the door. He knew Camille was somewhere upstairs.

He was distracted by Red setting a plate with biscuits and sausage in front of him. “Get some protein in you, boy. You’re going to need your strength.”

Everyone knew of his difficulties with Camille? Griff looked around him, receiving some sympathetic looks. Bill Haney left his seat by Red and moved down the table to sit across from him.

Just as he did so, the door opened and all the women returned to the table. Except Camille.

Jake cleared his throat, after everyone settled down again. “Uh, Griff, Haney has something to tell you. I hope you’ll listen to him.”

Griff stared at Jake and then the man across from him. What was going on? They insisted on talking about buying land now? The man seemed tense, even more tense than Griff himself.

“Okay,” he muttered as he bit into a sausageand-biscuit sandwich. He hated feeling this weak.

When nothing was said, he looked at the man across from him. “Mr. Haney?”

The man stiffened, then spoke abruptly. “I’m your father.”