In His Keeping (Slow Burn #2) (2 page)

Her eyes closed as she said the last, and tears leaked silently down her cheeks.

“I couldn’t bear it if you ever grew to resent me for that,” she continued in a broken voice. “I never want you to look at me and see what I can’t give you. Something another woman
could
.”

He pulled her tightly into his arms, wrapping himself around her until she relaxed and melted against his body.

“There will never be another woman for me,” he said gruffly. “I’ll never want for more than you can give me. I swear it on my very life, Ginger. My heart and soul belong to you. You own them—and me. And I hope to hell I own yours as well.”

“I love you,” she whispered. “Now do me a favor and put the angel up for me, and our tree will be complete.”

But it wouldn’t be and they both knew it. A simple ornament lay nestled in a box where the other ornaments were stored.
Baby’s First Christmas
and the year engraved on the commemorative sterling silver baby spoon.

If all had gone as it should, she’d be delivering in a matter of days. A Christmas baby, she’d exclaimed in delight, when the doctor had given them the due date. Even now she would be swollen and heavy with his child, and he’d be rubbing her feet for her and holding her in his arms feeling their daughter kick and roll between them.

Ginger pulled away and carefully unwound the bubble wrap from the delicate porcelain angel tree topper. Using the step stool, Gavin reached up and carefully put the last decoration in place.

“It’s perfect,” she whispered, eyes bright with tears.

He kissed away every single tear and then pulled her into his side so they could stare at the tree she’d taken such painstaking measures to make beautiful. His wife loved Christmas. Their first holiday together would long stand out in Gavin’s memory because, before her, Christmas had been just another day for him. An inconvenience since most places were closed for the holidays and people were out of town or simply unavailable.

But when Ginger came into his life, she’d forever changed him. She’d laughingly dragged him out of his Connecticut home to get the biggest, most glorious live tree they could find.

That was yet another change she’d wrought. Though he owned a grand house with rolling acreage and complete privacy, he’d always hated to stay in it alone. He’d spent most of his time in his Manhattan apartment. Until Ginger.

Now it was rare that he ever stayed over in his apartment and if he did, he ensured she was there too. He hadn’t spent a night away from her since the very first time they’d made love. She’d turned his house in Connecticut into a . . . home. Warm, inviting, full of love and happiness.

“I love the tree,” he said honestly. “You did a wonderful job, just as you do every year.”

“Is it possible that I’ve turned the Grinch into Father Christmas?” she teased.

He chuckled. “What do you think? I didn’t personally spend an entire day trying my best to kill myself by attaching lights to every exposed area of the outside of the house because I hate the holiday.”

“You
do
hate the holiday. But you love me,” she said cheekily.

He laughed. “I’m getting better. And I don’t hate anything as long as you’re a part of it.”

Her entire expression softened and love warmed her eyes. She turned, tilting her head to receive his kiss when their doorbell rang.

They both frowned and Ginger drew away, her gaze flitting toward the foyer.

It was nearly 11 p.m. Who on earth would be at their door at this hour? For that matter, how would anyone have gotten through their security gate without their knowledge?

Gavin immediately grew serious. “You stay here and don’t move. I’ll see who it is.”

“But . . .” she protested.

He silenced her with a quick squeeze and then reached into the drawer of the sofa table, drawing out his pistol. He tucked it out of view and then gave her another look that told her not to move and then strode toward the front door.

He frowned when he glanced through the speakeasy window that could be opened but was barred to prevent anyone on the outside from opening it. No one was standing there, but the motion light had been activated and still shone over the glistening snow-covered landscape.

Pulling the pistol from its hiding place, he eased the door open and stared into the still night. Cold air washed over him, the wind whistling in his ears. There was a full moon casting a glow over the white layer of snow. Only the sound of trees swaying and the crack of ice as branches broke disturbed the serenity.

He damn near tripped over the object at his feet. He took a hasty step back and glanced down, stunned to see what looked suspiciously like a . . .
baby carrier
?

He immediately dropped to his knees, carefully pulling back the blanket that covered something inside the carrier. When he lowered it enough to take in the contents, his breath escaped in a startled gasp.

“Gavin, what is it?”

Ginger’s worried voice reached him and before he could tell her to stay back, the baby chose that exact moment to begin wailing, though it came out more of a whimper of distress than a true sob.

His wife gasped and crouched down beside him, reaching for the precious bundle before he could think to do the same.

“Oh dear God, Gavin! Someone left a baby out here to
freeze
?”

The horror in her voice was evident. He was still too flabbergasted to collect his scattered thoughts.

“Bring the carrier in,” Ginger said crisply, as she hoisted the baby higher in her arms and rose from her kneeling position on the porch.

He followed her in but something told him he should be out there looking for the person who’d left the baby. They still had to be on the premises. He owned quite a bit of acreage and it would take several minutes to get off his land no matter which direction they’d come from.

But he was drawn to the picture of his wife standing by the fireplace, carefully unwrapping the baby and then tucking the downy head beneath her chin as she swayed in an effort to comfort the crying child.

“Is there a note?” she asked anxiously. “Anything at all to explain what in the world someone was thinking to do such a terrible thing? It’s Christmas! You don’t abandon a baby in this kind of weather at Christmastime!”

Distress radiated from her in tangible waves. He quickly tossed the contents of the carrier and indeed, an envelope fell to the floor next to the blankets and two tattered stuffed animals.

“Read it to me,” she urged, though she never looked at him. Her gaze was solidly fastened on the baby in her arms and for a moment he couldn’t breathe.

He was looking at what could never be for them. The pain was nearly overwhelming. Ginger looked at the baby with such tenderness and love as she rubbed her hand over the baby’s back in an effort to soothe him or her. Hell, was it a boy or a girl?

He tore open the envelope with shaking hands and quickly scanned, fully prepared to spare his wife anything that could hurt her. But what he read shook him to the very core.

I can’t take care of my baby. She would always be in danger with me. She needs someone to love and protect her. I’m counting on you to raise her as your own and never let anyone know the circumstances of her past. You likely think I’m the most horrible mother on earth to give my baby to complete strangers, but it’s because I love my daughter that I give her into your care and keeping and ask you to love her as I would and raise her as your own. She can never know about me or her biological father. Swear to me you’ll keep my secret. My heart is breaking, but only the knowledge that you’ll provide for her as I cannot gives me the strength to do what is best for her. She was deeply loved. Please never doubt that. I only ask that you love her every bit as much as her father and I do.

When Gavin finished reading the letter, his hand was shaking noticeably and Ginger sank onto the couch, holding the baby tightly against her chest as she stared incredulously at her husband.

Then he quickly went to sit beside her on the couch, reinforcing her hold on the tiny bundle because she was shaking every bit as much as he was.

She pulled the blanket down to expose the baby’s face and Gavin lost his heart on the spot. A beautiful baby girl stared back at him as Ginger gently stroked her finger down one soft cheek.

And as quickly as he’d lost his heart, he made a decision. A decision that would forever change the course of his and Ginger’s lives. Calm descended even as his mind began working at incredible speed, swiftly calculating their options.

“I want you to pack a bag,” he said, the betraying note of uncertainty leaving his voice and in its place implacable resolve. “We’re leaving the country and we’ll be gone for a while.”

His wife’s eyes widened. “What are we going to do, Gavin?”

His gaze was steady as he stared back at her. He curled his hand around her knee, not wanting to take her hand away from the baby.

“We’re going to do as we were asked and raise her as our daughter.”

TWO

FIVE MONTHS LATER . . .

GAVIN
had always had an understanding for what money and power could achieve, but it wasn’t until Arial, the name they’d chosen for their precious baby girl, that he fully appreciated or felt there was a
purpose
for the wealth he’d accumulated his entire adult life. As though he’d always been preparing for something so important. In the moment that innocent baby girl had arrived on their doorstep, he’d known that his wealth would
finally
serve a greater purpose.

It had all come down to this and to what he had been able to provide his wife—and now his daughter.

Ari was theirs. There was a paper trail he’d meticulously crafted documenting his wife’s pregnancy and the fact that after so many miscarriages he’d taken her away and kept her in complete isolation and privacy to give birth to their daughter.

A birth certificate listing date of birth, his and Ginger’s names as the parents, even the small clinic he funded where she’d been “born.”

Now, for the first time, they were returning to the United States with their daughter, assured that Ari’s past was airtight. That all the
i
’s were dotted and
t
’s crossed. All they had to do was resume their lives, but even with the confidence that Ari’s past was unshakable, Gavin wasn’t fool enough to ever even think about relaxing his guard. Their lives would be forever altered, and he didn’t have a single regret for the changing course of their destinies. He had all a man could ever hope for—wish for. It was all finally his, a fact he gave thanks for every single day since that snowy Christmas night when Ari had entered their lives.

He’d carefully explained to Ginger the changes to their lives that would occur, that they would have to exercise complete caution in every aspect of their day-to-day lives. He’d worried that Ginger would feel imprisoned, that she’d grow tired of living such an isolated existence, but he should have known that his wife—like him—would do anything at all to protect their daughter.

An unbreakable bond had been formed that night when Ari had been left on their doorstep. It was inexplicable and instantaneous, as if she’d always been meant to be theirs. And that bond had only strengthened until neither of them could remember their lives before Ari was a part of their family.

The very first thing Gavin had done in his preparation to return to the United States was to quietly sell his house in Connecticut, because he wanted no trace of their past before Ari. No chance of Ari’s mother showing back up at the same place she’d left her baby, asking for her back.

He’d systematically worked during the months they were out of the country to remove them from the public eye. He’d sold off several of his businesses and invested the proceeds so that his family would always be secure.

He’d bought a huge home under a dummy corporation that could never be traced back to him and made sure that the security was impenetrable. And then he’d worked to turn it into Ginger’s dream home. A place she would love and wouldn’t be upset over being confined to so much.

She laughingly told him that she had everything she could possibly ever want. A husband she loved and a daughter she adored. No sacrifice was too great for her if it meant keeping her family.

Seeing Ginger so happy for these last months had given Gavin a sense of purpose he’d never before experienced. After so much sorrow and loss, the woman he loved sparkled with life, love and laughter. Every day she delighted in discovering something new about motherhood and their precious baby girl.

Gavin knew in his heart that there was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect them both. No price was too high to pay. No, he hadn’t done it cleanly or by the book. He should have notified the police and social services. And pursued adoption through the proper channels.

But he only had to look into his wife’s eyes as she stared at that tiny baby girl and he knew he could never risk losing their daughter by doing things the “right” way. He could live with his conscience and even live with his soul forever being damned just as long as Ginger was happy. He’d brave the fires of hell and the devil himself before ever being the cause of her eyes losing their shine.

She looked at him as though he was a hero—
her
hero—when in fact he’d broken so many laws that years in prison spread ominously before him were it ever discovered all he’d done. And he’d made damn sure that Ginger was in no way touched by the decisions he’d made. That if it were ever discovered what he’d done, Ginger—and Ari—would be free.

Ginger laced her fingers through his, clenching them anxiously as she adjusted the fabric baby carrier that held Ari so she faced Ginger and was nestled against her mother’s chest. They disembarked the small jet, Gavin being extremely careful that she not stumble or fall as they hurried toward the waiting car.

When he slid into the backseat beside her, she turned to look at him, her brow creased with tension.

“I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” Ginger said in a shaky, apologetic voice. “I trust you, Gavin. Please don’t think I don’t. It’s just that for the last five months we’ve seemingly lived a world away from reality. Like we had our own little bubble where time stopped and no one but us existed. And now that we have to return to the real world, I’m so scared. I’m scared this has all been a dream and when I wake up tomorrow Ari will be gone.”