The Candidate's Wife (16 page)

Less than two hours later, Julia gazed out the car window at acre after acre of rolling fields, all carpeted with grass so lush and green it almost hurt her eyes. Silvery alders and tall, proud Douglas fir lined the base of the hills to the east. A creek ran through the center of the Carmichael ranch, a gleaming ribbon of water that wound itself around a stately home and a cluster of immaculate barns and stables.

Danny, who sat between Julia and Adam in the back seat of the Mercedes, leaned over to share the view. "Wow, pretty cool place."

Julia laughed. "My sentiments exactly." She turned to Adam. "How many horses does your mother keep here?"

"About a dozen thoroughbreds, at last count," he answered. "Mother's favorite is Firefly, the mare who's running today. You may have heard of High Noon. He's our stallion who won a couple of major races last year."

Julia nodded as the driver stopped the car and jumped out to open a wooden gate. "I remember reading about him. Pretty impressive. What about you? Do you have a favorite horse?"

Adam grinned. "Her name's Filibuster. I visit her whenever I'm on the ranch." He turned to Danny. "Hey, pal, want to take a ride?"

Danny's eyes lit up. "Can I really? Can we, Mom?"

Julia frowned. "I don't know, Adam. Danny's never ridden a horse before."

"He'll be perfectly safe. We'll ride Fili together -- Danny can sit in front of me." Adam's eyes sparkled. He looked truly excited for the first time since Julia had met him. Funny, but both her son and her husband suddenly had the same look about them, a kind of boyish eagerness that made her smile, too. "How about you, Julia?" Adam asked. "Do you want to come along, or wait at the house?"

"I've never ridden, either, and don't tell me that all three of us will fit on that horse of yours."

Adam shook his head and flashed her a warm grin. "True, but we've got a nice little gray gelding who's never hurt a fly. All you have to do is sit in the saddle, and Quaker will do the rest."

"Well. . . ."

"Mom, please!" Danny bounced up and down on the seat until his head nearly hit the roof. "Say we can. Oh, please, Mom, I'll never argue with you again if you say yes to this one little thing, not ever, not even if you say I have to --"

Julia laughed and covered his mouth with her hand to dam the endless stream of words. "Okay, Danny, enough! We'll go riding!"

Danny threw his arms around her. "You're the best mom in the whole entire world, and I really, really mean that."

Over his shoulder, Julia smiled at Adam and shook her head in exasperation. Adam winked at her just as the car pulled up in front of the Carmichaels' country home, an imposing two-story building with white marble columns, surrounded by a broad expanse of manicured lawn and a tall, black wrought-iron fence. Julia's previous nervousness suddenly tripled. The house reminded her once again that Adam inhabited a different world, a world of money, power, and privilege.

Julia, Danny, and Adam climbed out of the back seat. Julia rounded the car and pulled her duffel bag from the trunk. She located casual clothes for herself and for Danny, then followed Adam into the spotless stables, where he spoke to one of the grooms and then showed Julia into a tack room.

She quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a crisp white cotton shirt. When she emerged, Adam had traded his dark suit for a pair of immaculate cream-colored
jodhpurs
that hugged his long, muscular thighs and emphasized his trim hips. He also wore a pair of tall, gleaming leather boots and a shirt with enough buttons undone to reveal the light dusting of hair on his sculpted chest.

Julia's heart raced at the sight of Adam in his riding outfit. With a day's growth of whiskers and dab or two of dirt, he -- well, he'd still look just as urbane and sophisticated as he did in a coat and tie, Julia decided. This was no cowboy. Still, he looked more relaxed and down-to-earth than usual as he leaned against the stable door, backlit by the late afternoon sun. His hair gleamed like fresh honey, or ripe wheat, or. . . .

Fortunately, before she could get too carried away, Danny let out a cry of pleasure as a stable hand led out two horses: Julia's gray Quaker, and a spirited black mare she assumed must be Adam's. The mare danced impatiently until Adam took the reins and stroked her neck. Then she grew calmer, whinnied, and nuzzled his hair. Julia suppressed a sigh. Apparently, females of every species found Adam irresistible.

Adam lifted Danny into the saddle and then swung up behind him.

"Hey, there's no handle on this saddle," Danny protested.

Adam chuckled. "We're riding with English tack. You've probably seen Western saddles on TV, and you're right -- not much of a saddlehorn on this one, kid. It's a little more difficult. But I won't let you fall off. Trust me."

Great, Julia thought, as the stablehand boosted her onto Quaker's back. Leave it to Adam to do things the hard way. She clung to the reins and prayed she wouldn't fall. The ground looked a long ways off. Please don't let me embarrass myself. If I do, I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it.

Adam gave them a few pointers, then they set out from the paddocks toward a well-worn path along the creek. To Julia's relief, the gray gelding trailed after Adam's horse at a slow, stately pace, and Julia had no trouble keeping her seat. As Quaker drew even with Adam's Fili, Julia smiled. Her son was in heaven. As he leaned back against Adam's broad chest, his grin spread from ear to ear. When Adam let him take the reins, Danny's smile somehow grew wider still. Julia suspected that Adam had made yet another friend for life.

Adam rode with easy grace. Even Julia, who knew little about horses, could see that his mount responded to his every slight movement. Adam belonged in the saddle, she realized. He looked as much at home on Filibuster as he did up on stage at a rally or debating a bill on the floor of the state senate.

Adam turned and caught her staring. "You doing okay there?" he asked.

"Fine," Julia said. Surprisingly, it was the truth. She was even enjoying herself. A cool morning breeze gently chafed her cheeks and ruffled her hair as they rode east toward the hills on the path that ran parallel with the creek. No one spoke, but it was a comfortable silence.

The horses clattered over a wooden bridge into a small orchard. Silver-green lichen blanketed the branches of twisted, gnarled apple trees that had just dropped their leaves for the winter. She held her breath in amazement and delight.

Adam glanced over at her. "What do you think?"

Julia let out her breath. "It's magical, isn't it?" she asked softly.

Adam nodded as he lifted his eyes to the treetops. He suddenly looked years younger, as if some burden had fallen away. "This was one of my favorite places when I was a boy."

Danny leaned his head back to stare up into Adam's face. "I guess this is where you grew up then, huh?"

Adam's jaw tensed and his eyes hardened, but he nodded. "Yes, in a manner of speaking." His voice, too, had grown colder. "I spent my holidays here on the ranch, but my parents sent me away to boarding school when I was seven."

Julia heard Danny's sharp intake of breath, and she felt a matching stab of pain. She'd known that Adam had attended an East Coast prep school, then gone to Harvard for college and law school, but she hadn't suspected the rest of the story. "You went to boarding school at seven years old? But you were just a baby!"

Adam shrugged. "It wasn't so bad, I guess. My parents were busy people. My father lived in the city most of the year anyway, and only visited the ranch when it came time to entertain his cronies." He grimaced, and again Julia ached for him. Abruptly, he changed the subject. "We ought to start back."

They rode back faster than they'd come, but when Danny asked if they could trot, Adam glanced at Julia and shook his head. "Maybe next time."

Pleasure suffused Danny's expression. "You mean we get to come back here?"

"That's right, pal. Maybe we could even get you a pony of your own."

"A pony? Really?" Danny was breathless with awe and hope. "Mom? Really?"

Julia winced. More promises. Would Adam really keep them? She met Adam's eyes again and gave him a frown and a shake of her head. "Don't get your hopes up, Danny," she said. "We'll have to wait and see about that."

Back at the stables, they found that the stablehand had disappeared. Adam dismounted, then helped Danny down. Danny ran off to look at the other horses.

"Need a hand there?" Adam approached Julia and reached up to her. She caught her breath as his hands closed around her waist. As he swung her from the saddle, his muscular arms bore her weight with barely a sign of effort.

Julia slid down into Adam's embrace. His hands moved from her waist to her upper arms. He pulled her closer still, crushing her breasts against his chest. He smelled of musk and earth and something else, something wonderfully male and enticing. They stood frozen for a moment. Then Adam dipped his head until his mouth lingered just inches from hers. Julia's pulse raced as Adam's breath warmed her lips like the most intimate of caresses.

It began as a gentle kiss. Then Adam groaned and coaxed her lips apart. Without a moment's hesitation, Julia responded. She couldn't help herself. Exquisite sensations raced through her body as Adam's tongue traced her sensitive lower lip, then probed the recesses of her mouth.

Need as sharp as hunger prompted Julia to lift her arms and wind them around Adam's neck. She wove her fingers into the short, soft hair at the nape of his neck. Adam groaned again and slid his hands down Julia's back. He pulled her hips tightly against his own, so that she felt the solid proof of his arousal hard against her belly. The gesture provoked a spiraling ache so strong it drove all reason from Julia's mind. She had never responded to any man with such powerful need. She had never imagined her body capable of such all-consuming desire.

After what felt like an eternity, Adam broke the kiss. His lips burned a trail down Julia's neck. His mouth skimmed the hollow at the base of her throat, and Julia moaned aloud. She closed her eyes and slid her hands down Adam's arms, relishing the sensation of corded muscle under her palms. She longed to feel his bare skin, to caress the hot, silken hardness of his body and touch her lips to every inch of him. She wanted. . . .

"Mom? Adam? Come quick -- you've got to see this!"

The sound of Danny's voice broke the spell. Adam stepped back,
with obvious
reluctance. But the expression on his face, and the desire in his eyes, told Julia that the kiss was only a preview of things to come.

Three days later, Adam stood before the mirror in his own bathroom. He frowned at his tuxedo-clad reflection as he fumbled with his bow tie. He was preparing to take Julia to the symphony ball. Though he would have preferred to skip the benefit, he knew he would find plenty of cameras at the event. He needed the publicity, needed it desperately.

In the final two days before the election, Norris led by seven points in the polls. To make matters worse, the incumbent governor's lead kept growing as he flooded the airwaves with ads. Every time Adam turned on the TV, he saw Norris's smug face. The Carmichael campaign couldn't compete; their funds were all but depleted. Now Adam's last hope was a stellar performance at the final debate, scheduled for taping the next morning. Maybe he could win over the remaining undecided voters and somehow turn the tide.

Unlikely, he knew, but he was grasping at straws. He'd worked himself half to death the last three days, with Julia at his side, but for all his campaign appearances, interviews, and speeches, he'd made little progress. With a growl of frustration, Adam undid the lopsided knot in his tie and whipped the offending scrap of fabric from around his neck. "To hell with it," he said aloud, grimacing at his reflection.

"Need some help?"

Julia's reflection loomed behind him in the mirror. She had on a flaming red strapless dress made of shirred silk. It made Adam remember the even softer, smoother, warmer silk of her lips under his. He stifled a groan as the sight of Julia's lush curves sparked exquisite sensations all through his body, and the shadow between her breasts drove him almost to the brink of insanity.

For the last few days, every time he kissed her gently, or even held her hand, he felt the familiar heavy ache of longing in his groin and an equally powerful ache in his heart. He wanted her so badly.
Sometimes when he
laid
in bed just a few rooms away, he had to clench his fists and grit his teeth to keep from going to her.

But Adam knew he couldn't rush her. He'd hurt Julia, and hurt her badly, with his accusations. She had asked for time, and he would give her just that -- even if it killed him, as sometimes he thought it would. He would continue to treat her gently, to solicit her opinions and listen to what she had to say.

A hint of a smile hovered on Julia's lips, and Adam realized he'd been staring for several seconds. "I said, Do you need help with your bow tie?" she repeated.

"Yes, please," Adam said.

She stepped closer. Adam stood still while her deft, slender fingers accomplished the task. Adam closed his eyes and inhaled the clean, sweet smell of her. Vanilla. Innocent, fresh, and yet somehow maddeningly seductive. The smoldering ache of need built in him again, then spread through his belly and downward.