The Heiress and the Sheriff (6 page)

“Gabrielle, come here, I want to show you something.”

Gabrielle turned her head to see that Maggie had entered the courtyard and was taking a seat at a large round glass table shaded with a huge flowered umbrella.

She hurried over to where the other woman sat. “Hi, Maggie! It's nice to see you.”

She smiled warmly at Gabrielle. “I was planning to come by yesterday to check on you. But I got busy with my son, Travis. He wanted to go horseback riding, and I
decided it would be a good time for me to get back on a horse and put what happened with your accident behind me.”

Gabrielle took a seat in the chair directly across from her. “I'm glad you did. I would hate to think it spoiled your pleasure in riding.”

“It hasn't,” Maggie assured her, then with a sad frown, she added, “but I can see you still haven't remembered. Have any sort of memories flashed through your mind?”

“No. Sometimes it seems like…well, vague impressions come over me. Especially since Wyatt uncovered my address. More and more I'm beginning to think I don't have a family.”

Maggie's brows puckered into a frown. “Surely not. You're a young woman. I doubt your parents are deceased. What makes you think such a thing, anyway?”

Gabrielle shrugged. “I can't explain myself. It's just a feeling I get especially when I see you Fortunes together. I don't think I had the connection of a family the way you all do. Maybe I have a family but we're estranged. I just can't remember. And the harder I try, the more my head hurts.” She shook her head and sighed. “The Double Crown Ranch is at least fifteen-hundred miles from my address in California. That's a long distance. Especially for a young woman to be traveling alone. What was I doing coming here? And Maggie, Wyatt told me something else that bothers me even more.”

Concern in her dark eyes, Maggie leaned forward. “What?”

“What he told me is personal and—well, frankly, it's hard for me to accept.”

“What is it?” Maggie prompted.

Gabrielle glanced around to make sure the two of them were alone. “I'm a virgin.”

Maggie's mouth fell open. “How does
he
know?”

Seeing where the other woman's thoughts were leading, Gabrielle quickly waved away her assumption. “Not by intimate investigation!”

“Then how—”

“How he found out doesn't matter. What it implies is what bothers me,” Gabrielle confessed. “Maybe I actually am a religious zealot. The virginity certainly goes along with the Bible Wyatt found in my car. Or maybe I'm just abnormal.”

“Gabrielle,” Maggie gently scolded, “you're not abnormal! Why would you think something like that?”

Color flooded Gabrielle's cheeks. “Well, I'm a little old not to…have known a man, don't you think?”

“You don't know how old you are,” Maggie argued.

“Anyway, being a virgin is something you should be proud of. I know my life would have been a lot less complicated if I had waited to give myself to a man. As it was, I ended up pregnant and married to a man I didn't love.”

“I take it you're not talking about your husband now?”

With a dreamy smile, Maggie shook her head. “No. Dallas is wonderful to me and my son. I'm happily in love.”

Gabrielle sighed. “Well, it's a cinch there's no man out there for me. If there was, I wasn't
that
close to him.”

Maggie reached over and patted the back of Gabrielle's hand. “You're worrying far too much. Things are going to fall in place for you. Just wait and see.” She leaned back in the chair and snapped her fingers. “Oh, I almost forgot.”

She leaned over for something on the floor by her chair. Gabrielle watched her lift another huge sack filled with packages onto the table. “I went into San Antonio today to run some errands, and while I was there I picked up a few more things I thought you might need.”

“Maggie!” Gabrielle gasped. “You've already given me
so much. This really isn't necessary. You're spending far too much—”

“Gabrielle,” she interrupted, “my husband isn't lacking for money.”

“It doesn't matter if he is rich. I don't want to take advantage.” She could already imagine the sardonic look on Wyatt's face when he found out Maggie had spent more money on her.

A lump suddenly filled Gabrielle's throat. She was a stranger to these people, yet they continued to treat her with warmth and caring kindness. Dear God, she couldn't have been coming here to hurt them! The idea was too horrible to contemplate.

“You already gave me everything I needed the day I was released from the hospital. And anyway, I promised Wyatt I'd leave the things here whenever I left to go home.”

Maggie stared at her in comical disbelief. “Whatever for? They're yours.”

An odd sort of pain crawled its way beneath Gabrielle's chest. Damn the man, even when he wasn't around he had the power to affect her.

“To prove to him that I'm—I'm not a gold digger.”

Maggie laughed freely. “Honey, leaving your clothes and things behind isn't going to prove anything to Wyatt, believe me. No woman could prove her worth to that man, so don't bother to try.”

Unable to hide her curiosity, Gabrielle asked, “Why do you say that? Is he one of those men who hate women?”

Even as she asked the question, Gabrielle couldn't imagine such a thing. The other night when Wyatt had carried her to bed, she hadn't felt any hatred in him. When he'd stroked her hair, it had been with a gentle hand.

“No. I don't think he actually hates women,” Maggie
told her. “In fact, from what I hear he was pretty serious about a girl some years back. But something happened. I don't know what. Anyway, they parted company, and he's been a loner ever since. I guess he lost his trust in women and doesn't think they're worth the effort.”

The idea of Wyatt loving and losing a woman was hard for Gabrielle to take in. He seemed too strong and sure of himself to ever be besotted or brokenhearted over a woman.

“One bad romance shouldn't have that much effect on a person,” Gabrielle pointed out.

“Well, I don't expect losing his mother the way he did helped matters,” Maggie said, her expression thoughtful.

“His mother died?”

Maggie shook her head. “She left when Wyatt was very young. I've heard my parents talk about it. She just up and walked away, and no one ever heard from her again. I suppose it's a possibility she could be dead now.”

Gabrielle stared at her in dismay. “Wyatt doesn't know what happened to her?”

“I don't know. You'd have to ask him that. And I wouldn't if I were you. He can get downright mean if you touch his sore spots.”

Gabrielle had already learned that to some degree. Still, she wanted to know about him. Why was he so hard and suspicious? Especially of her.

“What about his father? Do you know anything about him?”

“My father, Ruben, says Leonard Grayhawk was a mean man who had drinking bouts. I guess Wyatt was lucky—or determined—to survive his childhood.” She gathered up the large department store bag. “Enough about that dismal stuff. Let's take these things to your room. And Gabrielle, no matter what Wyatt says, you're not leaving any of these
things behind. You're going to look absolutely too pretty in them.”

Gabrielle followed Maggie into the house. But as she opened the packages of expensive clothing and expressed her pleasure over them, thoughts of Wyatt lingered like a haunting shadow in the back of her mind.

His mother had left, never to contact her son again. And his father had been anything but loving. It was little wonder Wyatt had turned into a hard man. No doubt he'd had to be tough to survive and climb to the life he had now. But surely growing up without love would only make him want to seek it more.

I think he's lost all trust in women.

Wyatt hadn't tried to hide the fact that he doubted Gabrielle. But she'd believed his attitude was because of all the things that had been happening to the Fortunes, not because she was a woman.

So what could she possibly do to gain his trust? Nothing, she told herself grimly. Without her memory, she was helpless. She was at the mercy of Red Rock's sheriff.

And worst of all, he knew it.

B
ack at the Sheriff's Office, Gonzolez stood in front of his boss's desk and waited until Wyatt finished his telephone conversation before he spoke.

“You wanted to tell me something?” the older man asked as Wyatt hung up and glanced at him.

“Yes. You might as well forget that number out in California for now. I don't think it's going to produce anything.”

“The young lady hasn't remembered anything?”

Wyatt leaned back in the leather chair and raked fingers from both hands through his short hair. He was more exhausted than he could ever remember being, but there was so much he needed to do on the Fortune case. And over the past two days there'd been a rash of local brawls that had filled the jail with drunks and assault cases. He still hadn't finished the paperwork on all the arrests.

“If she has, no one has bothered to tell me about it.”

“What about those last two women you were trying to locate? The ones who'd requested Matthew's sperm?”

Wyatt heaved out a heavy breath. “Both of them had moved around like gypsies. I had to track them through a long list of old addresses before I had any success locating them. I finally reached one this morning. She told me she was never able to get pregnant and has given up on the idea. The last one I contacted this evening. No luck there
either; she had second thoughts and never went through with the artificial insemination.”

“So now what, Wyatt? It's a damn cinch some woman out there gave birth to that child. You think Matthew had a few rolls in the hay and just doesn't want to own up to his wife about it?”

Wyatt shook his head. “No. He's adamant about being faithful to his wife, and I know Matthew. He's not a man who would lie. For any reason. There has to be some other explanation. And it's come down to the woman who registered under the name Brown at the fertility clinic. If we could find her, we might be getting somewhere.”

Gonzolez shook his head. “Well, that whole thing about another baby being delivered for the kidnap ransom is downright weird. If this Brown woman is the mother of Taylor, why would she give her own son away—and keep Bryan?”

“Who the hell knows. There're some crazy people out there,” he said with a weary sigh, then added thoughtfully, “But oddly enough, having baby Taylor in the house has helped the Fortunes. At least, it did until we learned Matthew was his real father.” Wyatt reached for his hat, put it on his head, then rose to his feet. “I'll be out at the Double Crown if you need me.”

 

In the study of the Double Crown ranch house, Ryan Fortune stood quietly with his back facing the cold fireplace. A few steps away from him, a tall young man in his early thirties with short dark hair paced up and down like a caged tiger.

Parker Malone had been a friend of the family for years. He'd played football with Matthew in college, and his father's law firm had handled many legal matters for the Fortunes through the years.

Parker was currently handling Ryan's divorce. With Sophia's greedy claws wrapped around his money and a percentage of his assets, it was going to take a damn good lawyer to break her hold and leave him in the clear to marry Lily. And from all Ryan had heard and seen, Parker possessed one of the best legal minds in this part of Texas.

Unfortunately, during these past few months, he could see the younger man was embittered about marriage. And Ryan could hardly blame him. Parker had watched his parents go through a hellish divorce, and then before he'd reached the age of thirty, he'd suffered through his own divorce. It was no surprise to Ryan that the man was continually advising him to put thoughts of marrying Lily out of his mind. At least until they had Sophia where they wanted her.

“Look, Parker, I know my love for Lily seems foolish to you. And I admit I made a terrible mistake in judgment when I married Sophia. But at the time I was in a black hole. Janine had died and I missed her terribly. I couldn't see what Sophia was really all about. But Lily is different—”

The lawyer interrupted with a shake of his dark head. “Ryan, I'm not putting Lily down. I'm only trying to make you look at things sensibly. You could have waited to buy an engagement ring. We have no concrete promise yet that Sophia will sign the fifty-million dollar settlement we offered her.”

“As far as I'm concerned, what Sophia does or doesn't do has nothing to do with buying Lily an engagement ring. I'm going to marry her, one way or the other. And to hell with what it takes to get Sophia off my back.”

Parker paused in mid-stride to frown at Ryan Fortune. “That's just the sort of thinking I'm worried about. The woman doesn't deserve a penny, Ryan. It sickens me to
think you're going to be giving her fifty million. Nothing is worth giving her more!”

Ryan's faint smile was tinged with sadness as he closed the distance between them and clamped a fatherly hand on Parker's shoulder. “That's where I disagree, Parker. Lily's love is worth everything to me. I lost it once. I won't let that happen again. One of these days you're going to meet someone who will change you. And then you'll know what I'm talking about.”

“I very much doubt—” Parker was interrupted by a knock on the study door.

Ryan moved away from him and called, “Come in.”

Rosita stood inside the open doorway. Her gaze encompassed both men, then settled on her boss. “Wyatt would like to see you, Ryan. Are you busy now?”

“No. Send him on in.”

The housekeeper left, closing the door behind her. Parker said, “I'd better be going so you two can talk. We'll discuss what's happening with the divorce later.”

“No. Stay. Wyatt might have some news we'll all want to hear.”

“All right.”

A knock sounded on the door, and Wyatt stepped into the study.

“Good evening, Wyatt,” Ryan quickly greeted him.

“You know my lawyer, Parker Malone.”

Wyatt glanced at the young man. “Nice to see you again, Parker.”

“Same here.” Parker nodded warmly.

“I didn't mean to interrupt,” Wyatt said. “But I do have some news on the case. Are Matthew and Claudia home?”

“I think so. I'll buzz his suite and tell him you're here.” He started across the room toward an intercom. As he
walked, he tossed over his shoulder, “Have you found out something about Bryan or Taylor?”

“In a way. I've discovered something Matthew and Claudia need to know. I'll tell you when they get here.”

Ryan nodded grimly.

In less than five minutes Matthew and his wife, Claudia, entered the study. Her shoulder-length blond hair was perfectly groomed, her makeup equally flawless. Yet the desperate look in the woman's blue eyes told Wyatt she wasn't nearly as composed as her appearance would lead one to believe. As for Matthew, his expression was one of a man who seemed resigned for more bad news.

As the whole group turned their attention on Wyatt, he tried to remember the last time he'd been able to report anything positive to these people. He ached for them all. They were his friends, yet even with his sleuthing abilities, he hadn't been able to put things right for them.

“I know you were all hoping I'd be able to uncover Taylor's mother through the list of women I received from the sperm bank. Today, I succeeded in tracing down the last two. There is one name left, but I've discovered the name is phony and so is the address. And from their records she only visited the clinic once and never returned for a follow-up visit.”

Grim-faced, Claudia moved away from her husband and came to stand in front of Wyatt. “What did you find out from the two women you did track down? Did one of them give birth to Taylor?”

Wyatt took a deep breath and let the bomb drop. There was no way to avoid it. “No. One of them was never able to conceive and finally abandoned the idea altogether. The other one had second thoughts and decided she didn't want to get pregnant by artificial insemination.”

Claudia flinched as if Wyatt had slapped her, then she
whirled on Matthew like a wounded animal. “Bastard!” she said coldly. “You had an affair and all this time you've let me go through this agony—”

Tears choked off the rest of her words, and she ran toward the door. Matthew threw his hands up and hurried after her.

“Claudia, I didn't have an affair! I've told you—”

She jerked open the door, then paused on the threshold, her head held high. “I don't care what you've told me! Wyatt's evidence proves it. I'm not staying in this house with you another minute,” she said through gritted teeth.

“But the baby—”

“I'm taking Taylor with me. He might be yours by blood, but you obviously didn't care enough about him to even acknowledge his birth.”

Matthew groaned loudly. “Claudia, I didn't know about his birth! There was no woman. Wyatt just said there's one more name—”

“Sure. A phony name,” she interrupted as tears began to stream down her face. “Oh, go tell your lies to someone else!”

The door slammed in Matthew's face and he slowly turned to face the three men. “I don't know what to do anymore,” he said, his voice defeated, his shoulders sagging.

“I'm sorry, Matthew,” Wyatt said. “I was afraid Claudia might react like this. But I had to tell you.”

Matthew nodded glumly. “Of course you did. It's not your fault. But dammit, Wyatt, what does it all mean?”

Behind them, Parker spoke up like the true lawyer he was. “Matthew, are you certain you didn't have one fling? Maybe one night you were feeling tired and depressed. You stopped in town for a drink or two, and one thing led to another.”

“No! I would never betray Claudia in such a way. I love her! Dad, you believe me, don't you?”

“I've never known you to lie about anything,” Ryan told him. “But I can see how it all looks mighty incriminating to Claudia.”

He stared in disbelief at his father. “Then you're taking her side in this thing? You think she should move out—away from me?”

Ryan held up his hand. “I'm not saying anything like that. I can see where both of you are being hurt by this whole thing, and my taking sides would only make matters worse.”

Wyatt placed his hand on Matthew's shoulder. “I know this probably won't help much right now, but I promise, Matthew, I will find the woman who gave birth to Taylor. If this Brown woman is the mother, I'll find her someway. And then Claudia will have to believe you.”

He looked gratefully at Wyatt. “Yeah, I know you will, partner. But by then, will any of it matter? How can I live with a woman who doesn't believe in me?”

“Touché!” Parker bellowed. “If you need a divorce lawyer, Matthew, you know where to find me.”

“I just might at that,” Matthew muttered, then stalked rigidly out of the study.

Wyatt planted his Stetson back on his head and glanced at the two men left in the room. “Well, I guess I've stirred up enough trouble for one night. I'll say goodbye to you two.”

“Thanks for coming, Wyatt,” Ryan said to him. “I'm sorry you had to witness that scene between my son and his wife. But you, as much as anybody around here, know what they've been going through.”

Wyatt nodded, his lips compressed in a stern, straight line. “Yeah. I'll keep you posted on anything I uncover.”

On his way out, Wyatt found himself turning toward the corridor that led to Gabrielle's room.

As he stood outside Gabrielle's door, he asked himself what he was doing. He'd come to the Double Crown only because he had wanted to give Matthew and Claudia the crushing news about the baby in person, rather than over the telephone. There was no reason for him to see Gabrielle tonight. Except that he wanted to.

As he knocked lightly on her door, he cursed himself for his weakness. Young virgins were not his style. And young virgins with no recollections of their past were way off-limits. Yet something about her tugged at him long after he heard her voice and looked upon her face.

“Yes? Come in. The door is unlocked.”

For one brief moment he considered turning on his heel and quickly walking away. Then, cursing himself for being a coward, he pushed through the heavy door.

She had been sitting on the leather couch, but the moment she saw it was him, she stood. A silk, peach-colored robe was wrapped around her slender figure and cinched at her waist. Even from this distance he could see the naked outline of her breast beneath the fine material, and his body stirred with unashamed longing.

“I didn't know it was you,” she said bluntly.

“Obviously.” He walked over to where she stood, his eyes drinking in the tousled hair piled atop her head, the smooth brown column of her throat, the curves of her bare lips.

“Don't you ever rest?”

His lips twisted into something close to a grin. “Only when it's a necessity.”

Like the heavy
thud
of a bass fiddle, Gabrielle's heart pounded inside her chest as his gaze continued to sweep over her face and down to the gaping material between her
breasts. Not caring how virginal or modest she looked, she reached up with one hand and clasped the robe tightly together.

Her action made the grin on his face deepen, and Gabrielle felt stunned, bowled over by the flash of his white teeth and the dangerous glint in his hazel-green eyes. How many women had seen that same sensual look on his face and been lured into his bed by it?

“Why are you here? Have you found out something else about me?”

The question reminded him who he was and why he'd come to the Double Crown in the first place. It hadn't been to see her. But now that he was seeing her, he didn't regret his decision to walk down here to her room. She looked like a juicy apricot. Sweet and tart and, oh, so ready to bite.

“Scared?”

She lifted her chin a fraction. “Not of you,” she lied.