LITMIR.BIZ

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nothing less. Niki’s virtue was perfectly safe with him.

      “I guess I should have asked if you were married,” Caleb put in.

      Sawyer shook his head. “Not married. No girlfriend. Just me.”

      Caleb looked genuinely sympathetic. “Too bad.”

      Sawyer didn’t think so. He was perfectly content on his own. Besides, family history proved that marriage was never a good bet for a Layton. He didn’t think he’d inflict the state on any woman, let alone one that he cared about.

      “Come and meet my wife,” Caleb interrupted his thoughts.

      They started for the front yard, with Caleb pointing out a woman in a pair of faded blue jeans and a red, plaid shirt. Her long, chestnut hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she held a tiny infant in a blue blanket in her arms.

      “Your baby?” Sawyer asked, falling into step, still making conversation about things he already knew.

      “Better be,” Caleb joked.

      Sawyer couldn’t help but smile at that.

      “Mandy,” Caleb called as they neared, fondness clear in his tone.

      The woman glanced up. She smiled, green eyes shining with obvious love as the two men approached. “Hello, darling.”

      Caleb kissed her mouth, then he kissed the baby on the forehead.

      “This is my wife, Mandy. Sweetheart, this is Sawyer Smith. He just bought the Raklin place.”

      Mandy’s smile broadened. “Welcome to Lyndon Valley. This is Asher. Our new son.”

      “Congratulations,” said Sawyer, looking down at the sleeping child. “How old is he?”

      “Three months.”

      The baby’s eyes were closed. His skin was almost translucent, and his little, bow mouth made gentle suckling motions in his sleep. He looked delicate and vulnerable swaddled in the flannel blanket.

      It never ceased to amaze Sawyer that rational people would bring something so fragile into such an uncertain world. Didn’t they worry about what could happen? How did they sleep at night, thinking about the danger?

      Not that Lyndon Valley seemed dangerous. In fact, it was a million miles away from both political strife and inner city problems. And Caleb and Mandy were probably great parents, salt of the earth.

      It occurred to Sawyer that a normal man would feel guilty lying to such obviously decent people. Luckily, Sawyer’s emotions had been hardened over the years. But the thought led him to wondering if Niki was cold as ice, or if she was ashamed of her own deception.

      He glanced up, seeking her out again.

      She was looking directly at him, and when his gaze met hers, something arced through the atmosphere between them. It was an awareness that went beyond two strangers meeting. She quickly blinked and looked away, but not before it occurred to Sawyer that she might already have his number. Was it possible that she knew exactly who he was, and that she was playing him? Could she be that good an actress? He immediately realized he couldn’t take the chance.

      “He’s a beautiful baby,” he said to Caleb and Mandy. “Can you excuse me?”

      He left them, making his way toward Niki.

      She’d moved away from the crowd, going downhill toward the creek and a little white footbridge that crossed it.

      He continued after her.

      They had to have another conversation. And he needed to pay attention to more than just her beauty this time. If she even suspected he was a Layton, she’d bolt the second his back was turned.

      Niki braced her palms on the rail of the footbridge, gazing toward the crystal-blue water of Flash Lake. Tiny ripples were signaling the beginnings of an evening breeze that would keep the flies at bay.

      Flash Lake was surrounded by brilliant green willows and silvery aspens. Craggy mountains jutted up behind it, creating a picture-perfect setting against the vast sky. Closer in, horses grazed in the flower-dotted meadows, their black, brown and white coats, glossy in the rays from the setting sun.

      Since it was midsummer, colts and fillies frolicked through the foot-tall meadow, their high-pitched whinnies carrying up the slope. Wheatgrass and clover freshened the air, while the crystal creek gurgled six feet below her, hiding water bugs and speckled trout. Though it had only been three months, there were moments when she had to struggle to remember the sights, smells and sounds of Georgetown.

      But, not today. Today, D.C. was crowding out Colorado.

      Niki knew the reason. Looking into Sawyer Smith’s blue eyes, feeling what she’d felt, and wanting what she’d wanted, she’d been reminded that she was a fraud. She wasn’t Nellie Cooper. She was Niki Gerard, daughter of Gabriella Gerard, the most notorious woman in the nation’s capital.

      That she shared a father with Caleb and Reed was nothing but a genetic coincidence. Her real life and her real world were far removed from their lives out here.

      She hadn’t given it much thought at the time, but now she knew she’d been wrong to bring her problems to their doorstep. She wished she didn’t like them so much, or that Mandy and Katrina hadn’t been so kind.

      If she’d found her mother’s diary, she might never have come here. If she had the diary, if she could read the entries, she’d know who to fear and how to fight back. But she’d searched every square inch of the penthouse, tracked down every safe-deposit box, checked every nook, cranny and corner. She’d even had a professional search through Gabriella’s computer and email accounts, thinking the diary might have been electronic. But, no luck.

      “Nice view,” came a deep voice that sent an instant quiver up her spine. His footsteps sounded on the little bridge.

      It took Niki a moment to find her own voice and respond. “It’s beautiful,” she agreed, praying Sawyer would keep right on walking.

      But he didn’t. He came to a halt and copied her stance, bracing his own hands on the painted white rail, gazing out at the lake.

      “You’re not hungry?” he asked pleasantly.

      The aroma of grilling burgers was beginning to fill the air. Niki’s empty stomach reacted to the enticing scent. She’d learned there was nothing like fresh air and physical work to heighten an appetite.

      “Getting there,” she admitted.

      He was silent for a minute. “So, this is going to be Reed’s house?”

      Niki nodded, her attention going back to the two-story building.

      “It’s a big house for two people,” Sawyer observed.

      “Reed wants four children.”

      “Four?” Sawyer sounded surprised.

      “I think he’d go for more if Katrina would agree.” Niki had been present for some of their good-natured arguments. She couldn’t help thinking about the way Reed looked at Katrina. He was head over heels in love, and Niki was sure he’d agree to anything she asked.

      “What about you?” Sawyer asked.

      The odd question surprised her. “I’m a long way from thinking about children.”

      Even if it did become safe for her to go back to her real life, she didn’t think she was motherhood material. She certainly hadn’t had any kind of a role model in her own mother. Gabriella was only eighteen when she’d given birth to Niki. They’d been more like friends than mother and daughter. And while Niki’s childhood and teenage years had held more than their share of excitement, they’d also been chaotic and confusing.

      “I was wondering if you might live here when the house is finished,” Sawyer clarified. “You seem to be working hard on it.”

      Niki reframed

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