Tempting the Rancher Read online

  He shifted her in his lap, both to keep her there but also to bring some relief to the erection pressing painfully against his zipper. “And why can’t I love you?”

  “Because you’re still in love with your wife. You’ve been grieving for her for ten years and you want me to believe I came along and changed that in less than a month?”

  He knew he had to tell her the truth. All of it. He had to tell her what only he and Garth knew. Doing so would bring back memories. Painful memories. But he loved her. And he owed her the truth.

  “Yes, I guess that would be hard to believe if I had been grieving for Kalyn for ten years. But I stopped loving my wife months before she died. I stopped loving her when I found out she was having an affair with another man.”

  * * *

  Bailey swallowed. Of all the things she’d expected him to say, that wasn’t it. “Your wife was unfaithful?” she asked, making sure she’d heard him correctly.

  “Yes, among a number of other things.”

  She lifted a brow. “What other things?”

  Walker drew in a deep breath before lifting her from his lap to place her in the chair beside him. He paced the room a few times before finally leaning against the wall.

  “I need to start at the beginning,” he said in a low, husky tone. But she’d been around Walker enough to detect the deep pain in his voice. “I was in the marines, stationed at Camp Pendleton. A few of the guys and I took a holiday to LA, preferring to tour the countryside. We came across a film crew making a movie. Intrigued, we stopped and, believe it or not, they asked us to be extras.”

  He paused before continuing, “One of the women who had a small role caught my eye and I caught hers.”

  “Kalyn?”

  He looked over at Bailey. “Yes. That night she and I met at a restaurant and she told me her dream was to become an actress, that she was born in Los Angeles and loved the area. We slept together that night and a few times after that. I was smitten, but I thought that would be the end of it. It was only a few months before my time in the marines ended and I was looking forward to heading home. Both Garth and I were.”

  He paused. “Dad had written and I knew the ranch was becoming a handful. He couldn’t wait for me to come home to help. I told him I would. Practically promised.”

  He moved away from the wall to sit in the chair beside her. “I basically broke that promise. A few days before I was supposed to leave I got a call. Someone had viewed a clip of me as an extra and liked what they saw. They didn’t know whether I could act or not but thought I had what they termed ‘Hollywood looks.’ They called me to try out for a part in some movie. I didn’t get the part but they asked me to hang around for a week or two, certain they could find me work.”

  He leaned back in the chair as he continued. “Kalyn said she was happy for me. She also told me she thought she was pregnant. I never questioned her about it, although Garth suggested I should. I didn’t listen to him. Nor did I listen when he tried to get me to leave California and return home, reminding me that my dad needed me. All I could think about was that Kalyn might be pregnant and I should do the honorable thing and marry her. So I did.”

  “Was she pregnant?” Bailey asked curiously.

  “No. She said it was a false alarm, but I was determined to make my marriage work regardless. I loved her. I suggested we leave LA and move to Kodiak Island, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She would cry every time I brought up the subject. She told me she hated a place she’d never seen and she never wanted to go there.”

  Bailey couldn’t imagine anyone not liking Hemlock Row, especially before they’d seen it.

  “I talked to my dad and he told me to stay with my wife and make my marriage work and that he would hire a couple more men to help out around the ranch,” Walker continued. “Although he didn’t say it, I knew he was disappointed that I wasn’t coming home with my wife.

  “A few months later I got the chance at a big role and my career took off from there. Kalyn was happy. She loved being in the spotlight as my wife. But I missed home and when I told her I’d made up my mind to leave and return to Alaska, she told me she was pregnant.”

  Bailey lifted a brow. “Was she really pregnant this time?” she asked in a skeptical voice. It sounded to her as though Kalyn’s claim that first time had been a trick just to get Walker to marry her.

  “Yes, she was this time. I went with her to the doctor to confirm it. Things got better between us. I fell in love with Connor the moment I heard his heartbeat. And months later, when I felt him move in Kalyn’s stomach, I think my son and I connected in an unbreakable bond. I couldn’t wait for him to be born. When he finally arrived I thought he was perfect. I couldn’t wait to take him home for my parents to meet their grandson.”

  “You took him home to Hemlock Row?”

  “Yes, but not until he was almost a year old. Kalyn refused to let me take him any sooner than that. Connor loved it there with his grandparents. I took him everywhere and showed him everything. Kalyn didn’t go with us and told me I could only be gone with Connor for a week. I was upset about it but was grateful that my parents got to meet Connor and he got to meet them. A few months after I returned to LA I learned my mom was sick and the doctors couldn’t figure out why. I went home a few times and each time I did, Kalyn gave me hell.”

  Bailey frowned. “She didn’t want you to go home to check on your sick mother?” she asked, appalled.

  “No, she didn’t. Things got pretty bad between us, although we worked hard to pretend otherwise. In public we were the perfect, happily married Hollywood couple, but behind closed doors it was a different story.”

  He stood again to pace and when he came to a stop in front of where she sat, her heart almost stopped. The look on his face was full of hurt and anguish. “Then one day I came home and she dropped a bombshell. She told me that for the past year and a half she’d been having an affair with a married man and he’d finally decided to leave his wife for her.”

  He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he said, “And she also wanted me to know that Connor was not my son.”

  “No!”

  The pain of his words hit Bailey like a ton of bricks, so she could imagine how Kalyn’s words must have hit him. The son he’d fallen in love with was not his biological son. She couldn’t imagine the pain that must have caused him.

  “I told her I didn’t care if Connor was my biological son or not. He was the son of my heart and that’s all that mattered. I loved him. She only laughed and called me a fool for loving a child that wasn’t mine.”

  There were a lot of words Bailey could think of to describe Walker’s deceased wife, and none of them were nice. “What happened after that? Did she move out?”

  “No. Her lover must have changed his mind about leaving his wife. When I came home one evening after picking up Connor from day care, she ignored both of us and stayed in her room. I knew something was wrong, I just didn’t know what.

  “A few days later, on the set, I got a call letting me know there’d been an accident. It seemed Kalyn lost control of the car in the rain. She was killed immediately but Connor fought for his life. I rushed to the hospital in time to give my son blood. He’d lost a lot of it.”

  “So he was your biological son!”

  “Yes, Connor was my biological son. She had intentionally lied to me, or she might have been sleeping with both me and her lover and honestly didn’t know which one of us was Connor’s father. Connor lasted another day and then I lost him. I lost my son.”

  A tear slipped from Bailey’s eye, and when more tears began to fall, she swiped at them. He hadn’t deserved what his wife put him through. No man would have deserved that.

  “But that wasn’t the worst of it,” she heard him say as she continued swiping at her tears.

  “It wasn’t?” She couldn’t imagin
e anything worse than that.

  “No. After the funeral, I came home and found a letter Kalyn had written to me. She left it in a place where she figured I would find it.”

  Bailey’s brows bunched. “A letter.”

  He nodded. “Yes. She wanted me to know the car wreck wasn’t an accident. It was intentional.”

  Bailey’s heart stopped. “Are you saying that...” She couldn’t finish the question.

  “Yes,” he said softly with even deeper pain in his voice. “Kalyn committed suicide. Being rejected by her lover was too much for her and she couldn’t live another day. She wanted to take her lover’s son with her.”

  She saw the tears misting his eyes. No wonder his son was buried in his family’s cemetery but his son’s mother was not. The awful things she’d done, and the fact that she’d hated Hemlock Row sight unseen.

  “Nobody knows about that letter but Garth. He was with me when I found it. We decided turning it over to the authorities would serve no purpose. It would be better to let everyone continue to believe what happened had been an accident.”

  Bailey nodded. “Did you ever find out the identity of Kalyn’s lover?”

  “No, although I had my suspicions. I never knew for certain.” He paused. “I told myself that I would never love or trust another woman. And I hadn’t. Until you. I didn’t want to fall in love with you, Bailey. God knows I fought it tooth and nail. But I couldn’t stop what was meant to be. Yes, I said what I said to Garth, but I was in denial, refusing to accept what I knew in my heart was true. I’m sorry for the words I said. But the truth is that I do love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved any other woman.”

  She eased out of the chair and went to him, pulled him to her and held him. He had been through so much. He had lost so much. He had experienced the worst betrayal a man could suffer. Not only had Kalyn intentionally taken her life, she had taken the life of an innocent child.

  Walker pulled back and looked at her. “I know there can never be anything between us. You don’t love me and I understand that. You’re in love with your land, and I accept that, too, because I’m in love with mine. I made Dad another promise, this one I intend to keep. I’ll never leave Hemlock Row again.”

  She stared deep into the dark eyes that had always mesmerized her. “You just said you loved me, yet you’re willing to let me go back to Westmoreland Country?”

  “Yes, because that’s your real love. I know your rules, Bailey.”

  A smile touched her lips. “And I’m breaking the one I thought I would never break.”

  He looked at her questionably. “What are you saying?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m saying that I love you, too. I realized I loved you weeks ago. I think that’s why I came to Kodiak to personally apologize. I missed you, although I would never have admitted that to myself or to you. I do love you, Walker, and more than anything I want to make a home with you at Hemlock Row.”

  “B-but what about Westmoreland Country?”

  She chuckled. “I love my home, but Gemma and Megan were right. Home is where the heart is, and my heart is with you.”

  He studied her features intently. “Are you sure?”

  She chuckled again. “I am positive. I’m officially breaking Bailey’s Rules.”

  And then she slanted her mouth over his, knowing their lives together were just beginning.

  * * *

  A few days later, Walker eased out of the bed. Bailey grabbed his thigh. “And where do you think you’re going?”

  He smiled. “To stoke the fire. I’ll be back.”

  “Holding you to it, Alaskan.”

  Walker chuckled. He couldn’t believe how great his life was going. Everyone was happy that he’d gotten everything straightened out with Bailey and she had decided to stay. Next week was Thanksgiving and they would leave Kodiak Island to spend the holiday with her family in Westmoreland Country.

  After stoking the fire and before he returned to bed, he went to the drawer and retrieved the package he’d put there earlier that day. Grabbing the box, he went back to the bed.

  “Bailey?” She opened her eyes to look at him. “Yes?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  When she saw the box he held she almost knocked him over struggling to sit up. “You’re proposing to me?”

  He smiled. “Yes.”

  “B-but I’m in bed, naked and—”

  “Just made love to me. I can’t think of any other way to complete things. I want you to know it’s never been just sex with us...although I think the sex is off the charts.”

  She grinned. “So do I.”

  He opened the box and she gasped at the ring shining back at her in the firelight. “It’s beautiful, Walker.”

  “As beautiful as my future wife,” he said, sliding the ring on her finger. Halfway there, he stopped and eyed her expectantly. “You didn’t say yes.”

  “Yes!”

  He slid the ring the rest of the way and then pulled her into his arms. “My parents would have loved you,” he whispered against her ear.

  “And I would have loved them, too. And I would have loved Connor.”

  He pulled back. “He would have loved you.” Walker held her hand up and looked at it. “I thought the timing was right since I’ll be taking you home next week. I don’t want your family to think I’m taking advantage of you. When they see that ring they will know. I love you and intend to make you my wife. Just set the date. But don’t make me wait too long.”

  “I won’t.”

  He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Thanks for believing I was worthy of breaking your rules, Bailey.”

  “And thanks for believing I am worthy of your love and trust, Walker.”

  Their mouths touched, and she knew tonight was the beginning of how things would be for the rest of their lives.

  Epilogue

  Thanksgiving Day

  Bailey looked around the huge table. This was the first time that every one of her brothers, sisters and cousins—the Denver Westmorelands—had managed to come home for Thanksgiving. Even Bane was here. The family had definitely multiplied with the addition of wives, husbands and children. She and Walker would tie the knot here in Westmoreland Country on Valentine’s Day.

  Everyone was glad to see Bane. It had been years since he’d been home for Thanksgiving. In fact, they hadn’t seen him since that time he’d shown up unannounced at Blue Ridge Land Management, surprising Stern and Adrian.

  Bailey wondered if she was the only one who noticed he seemed pensive and preoccupied. And not for the first time she wondered if something had happened on his last covert operation that he wasn’t sharing with them.

  “You okay, baby?” Walker leaned over to ask her.

  She smiled at him. “Yes, I’m fine. You love me and I love you, so I couldn’t be better.”

  The announcement that she was marrying and leaving Westmoreland Country had everyone shocked. But all they had to do was look at her and Walker to see how happy they were together.

  Thanks to Lucia and Chloe, Bailey would still work for Simply Irresistible, working remotely from Kodiak Island. She’d been doing it for a while now and so far things were working out fine.

  The Outlaws, all six of them, had come to visit, and just like Bailey had known, everyone had gotten along beautifully. They were invited to the Denver Westmorelands’ annual foundation banquet and said they would return in December to attend. That way they would get to meet their Westmoreland cousins from Atlanta, Montana, North Carolina and Texas. Word was that Bart still hadn’t come around. According to Walker, Garth intended to find out why his father was being so difficult.

  Since Gemma, Callum and their kids were in town, Bailey and Walker were staying at the bed-and-breakfast inn Jason’s wife, Bella, owned. It was perfect, and she and Walker
had the entire place to themselves.

  Bailey figured she would eventually get around to building her own place so she and Walker could have somewhere private whenever they came to visit, but she wasn’t in any hurry.

  After clinking on his glass to get everyone’s attention, Dillon stood. “It’s been years since we’ve had everyone together on Thanksgiving, and I’m thankful that this year Gemma and Bane were able to come home to join us. And I’m grateful for all the additions to our family, especially one in particular,” he said, looking over at Walker and smiling.

  “I think Mom, Dad, Uncle Thomas and Aunt Susan would be proud of what we’ve become and that we’re still a family.”

  Bailey wiped a tear from her eye. Yes, they were still a family and always would be. She reached under the table for Walker’s hand. She had everything she could possibly want and more.

  * * *

  “You wanted to see me, Dil?” Bane asked, walking into Dillon’s home office. Out the window was a beautiful view of Gemma Lake.

  Dillon glanced up as his brother entered. Bane appeared taller, looked harder, more mature than he’d seemed the last time he’d been home. “Yes, come on in, Bane.”

  Dinner had ended a few hours ago and after a game of snow volleyball the ladies had gathered in the sitting room to watch a holiday movie with the kids, and the men had gathered upstairs for a card game. “I want to know how you’re doing,” Dillon said, studying his baby brother.

  “Fine, although my last assignment took a toll on me. I lost a good friend.”

  Dillon shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Me, too. Laramie Cooper was a good guy. The best. We went through the academy together.”

  Dillon knew not to ask what happened. Bane had explained a while back that all his assignments were confidential. “Is that why you’re taking a military leave?”

  Bane eased down in the chair across from Dillon’s desk. “No. It’s time I find Crystal. If nothing else, Coop’s death taught me how fragile life is. You can be here today and gone tomorrow.”