LITMIR.BIZ

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mind returned to Kelly. A thousand questions hit him with pinpoint accuracy and he couldn’t answer even one of them. Did he have a child? A son? Despite using precautionary measures, it was more than possible. When he’d held Kelly in his arms, the passion was intense beyond anything he’d ever experienced. He’d never wanted to let her go. His desire for her was insatiable. Their nights together had turned into days, and then back into nights. It began as hot sexual need. But by the time he had to leave, that white-hot passion had expanded into the blending of two souls. Even now, just thinking about her, those blue-green eyes crazy with need for him, the scent of her shampoo, the feel of her silky skin and the soft cries as her desire crested at the pinnacle of their lovemaking, had parts of him hard and throbbing. Kelly had a way of making him crazy. Apparently some things didn’t change.

      * * *

      Kelly sighed with relief knowing she’d skirted one confrontation, but was equally aware there would be more to come. Jace wouldn’t give up and just go away. She knew him that well. He went at everything he did with dogged determination. Whether it was training a filly at the ranch where he’d stayed a year ago or hiding his identity from the world. From her. While it had been a shock to learn his real name and profession, it didn’t come as a surprise how easily he’d duped her. Jace Compton was proficient at anything he set out to do. It was small wonder he was highly acclaimed as an actor. And according to Matt, Jace had received the same admiration when he played pro football. It was all or nothing. Defeat wasn’t a word in his vocabulary.

      But she qualified the thought: it was possible he hadn’t as yet come up against a mother protecting her child. Whatever rules governed his life would fly out the window. There were no offsides or penalties. No interceptions. No retakes. Kelly might not be a match for him on a football field or a movie set, but Jace would encounter significant resistance if he tried to push into her life with intentions of taking her child. Figuratively, he’d be lucky if he came out with only minor scratches and a limp.

      She’d just turned off the kitchen light and was headed to her bedroom when a hard knock on the front door stopped her in her tracks. Surely not. Surely Jace wouldn’t come back here tonight. But intuition told her he was standing on the porch. Squaring her shoulders, she returned to the front room and opened the door.

      “We need to talk.”

      It was neither a demand nor a question, but somewhere in between. She wasn’t about to act as though she didn’t know what he wanted to discuss. With a glance back at Matt’s closed door, she stepped outside, closing the front door behind her. She absently noticed the rain had stopped. A cooling breeze touched her skin. Somewhere in the distance crickets chirped. But her focus was on the big man who stood in front of her, almost a silhouette in the night.

      “Is the baby mine?”

      Kelly wanted to be anywhere but here. She had often envisioned this moment, but at the same time kidded herself into believing it would never happen. She drew in a deep breath. She couldn’t lie to a man about his own child. Regardless of what he’d done to her, he had the right to know the truth. It was what he might try to do with that truth that had her on the brink of panic.

      “Yes.”

      “Kelly, why didn’t you tell me? The cell number I gave you should have worked.”

      He didn’t question whether she was telling the truth, a fact that surprised her. But his voice held frustration mixed with anger. She knew only too well what those feelings felt like.

      As many times and in as many ways as she’d tried and failed to reach him, his question sounded ridiculous. Part of her wanted to go back inside the house and close the door behind her, refusing to give him a second more of her time. The other part of her wanted to share the wonder of their beautiful son. The little things that made him laugh. The way he mouthed what would someday be words. The overall amazement of him.

      Did Jace deserve to know such things? Did he even care? She’d wasted months of her life alternately wishing he would come back and hoping he never would. In her mind she’d practiced what she would say if she ever saw him again, all sorts of scenarios with a wide variety of outcomes. Now that the moment was here, she didn’t have a clue how to proceed or what to say. She crossed her arms over her chest and faced him.

      “I did try to reach you. It was a bit of a challenge since I didn’t even know your name.”

      “Kelly—” He raked his hand through his hair.

      “The cell number you gave me kicked over to a voice mail box that was full. You really should learn to delete your old messages. Some new ones might be important.”

      She’d swear he cringed.

      “I was able to contact your friend, Garret. The son of the rancher you stayed with last year? He gave me another number and a password, but apparently he had it wrong or it had been disconnected.

      “I did speak with your manager. Bret... Gold-something. Goldberg? Goldman? Is that right? It took me about a week to track him down. Another five weeks to get him on the phone. He didn’t think it was such a good idea that I talk with you.”

      She ignored the obscenities that fell from Jace’s mouth.

      “I tried a couple more times to reach you through your cell, but after a few months, I gave up. So. Now you know. You have a son. Belated congratulations.”

      Kelly could hear the sarcasm in her own voice but made no effort to conceal it.

      “Kelly... I screwed up, okay?”

      She shook her head. “No, you didn’t. Screwing up is when you do something accidentally. Not when it’s done on purpose. And so, no. In this case, it isn’t okay. You lied. You lied to me from the moment we met. Then you disappeared and never looked back.”

      How many nights had she lain in bed, consumed with the need to hold him, to touch him, to hear his voice again? At times the want had been almost unbearable, her mind elevating it to the level of death. Had he ever thought of her? Did he even remember any part of their time together?

      She could sense his aura now, feel the warmth from his body through the darkness, and that same need ran through her like liquid fire. What was it about this man that made her want to forget the past year? Just forget everything and step into his arms and feel his touch once again? The thought made her angry, and she held on to that emotion. She couldn’t be weak. She had to think of Henry and be strong.

      “I understand why you’re mad. You have every right to be.”

      “Yes. I do. And before you accuse me of getting pregnant on purpose, I didn’t. I had a career plan and had envisioned a vastly different future. I have no way to prove it and I don’t intend to try. Now, did you want anything else? Or are we finished?”

      “I...I don’t know. I’ve only known I had a son for two minutes.”

      “Give it about nine months. Maybe it will soak in.” She hesitated, looking absently at the worn paint on the porch where they stood. “He...he almost died, you know?” Her voice broke; tears burned her eyes. “When he was born? They thought I would lose him. For six days, it was hour to hour, minute to minute. But he’s a tough little guy. He may not have been expected or wanted but... Yeah. He’s strong. And he’s smart.” She quickly swiped the tears from her cheeks. “If he gets his strength from his father, I’m grateful to you for that.”

      “I want to take care of you. Both of you.”

      Logic demanded she consider if it was fair to Henry to deny the financial assistance Jace was more than capable of providing. But they were doing okay. Henry wanted for nothing and she didn’t want to open Pandora’s Box. She shook her head. “We don’t need to be taken care of. I want nothing from you. And he doesn’t need anything from you. There are no shackles here. Contrary to popular belief, I’ve never tried to con anyone. Or entrap them. I’m not about to start now. So just...you know, carry on with your life. Throw your wild parties. Make your films. It’s a little late for regrets, so don’t give us a second thought. We’ll

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