Westin Family Ties. Alice Sharpe

already said everything,” she said, turning back to face him. “It’s funny, I guess. I dreamed of the moment you would find me so many times. That you would hold me in your arms and beg me to come back, thrilled I was carrying your child. But you aren’t asking me to come back to you; you’re telling me I’m an obligation. You want me to come back so you’ll feel better, not because it’s what’s best for us.”

      His gaze turned stormy. “I thought a lot about this moment, too, Cassie, and in my dreams you weren’t wanted for murder while holding our unborn child hostage to my inability to react exactly how you rehearsed it.”

      She started to protest and stopped. Is that what she was doing? Her head began to pound.

      “Face it. You’ve gotten yourself into a real mess. You can’t stay here.”

      He was right. That was the crux of the problem. Not the baby, not their marriage or their future, but the murder of an old woman and all the events that came afterward.

      “Why would Banner say you took jewelry if you didn’t?” Cody added. “He must have known you’d contradict him.”

      “He asked to search my suitcase before I left. I had nothing to hide, so I let him.”

      “Then the jewelry was actually in your possession.”

      “Exactly. There were several pieces stitched into the lining. When he found it, I panicked. The cab was right there and I just couldn’t think further ahead than getting away. I’d seen this apartment for rent during my walks and I knew it would be safe here, so I had the cab drop me at the bus station and then took a city bus back. I’d never felt like a fugitive before.”

      “So someone planted the jewelry.”

      “Of course. Maybe if I hadn’t bolted…oh, I don’t know. Maybe if I go back to the mansion now and talk to Robert, Mrs. Priestly’s grandson, or Donna, his sister, make them understand, they could get their father to back down. I don’t want Mrs. Priestly’s money, I’ll tell them that. I was going to talk to them this morning when I walked over there, but there were so many people—I’d forgotten about the wake.”

      Cody shook his head. “Emerson Banner is aching to sic the police on you. You can’t go back there.”

      She pressed her temples with her fingers. “Could you just stop telling me what I can and can’t do?”

      He swore under his breath and regarded her from beneath the brim of his hat. “One last time. Come home.”

      She shook her head. “Not like this.”

      He stared hard at her a moment, then closed his eyes. In that moment he was so vulnerable her heart ached for him. When his eyes flickered open again, she saw he’d summoned the Westin resolve she knew so well.

      “I came here ready to give you a divorce if that’s what you wanted,” he said, his gaze straying down to her belly. “It’s pretty obvious, even to me, that you don’t want to be part of my life anymore.”

      “That’s not necessarily true,” she said. “I just need to finish this alone. Maybe you could return to Wyoming and let me think and maybe you could figure out how you feel about everything, too.”

      “I know how I feel. What if they arrest you?”

      “You’ll be my one phone call.”

      Again he stared at her. She wished he would hug her and yet hoped he wouldn’t. Did he know he was one touch away from winning?

      “We’ll do it your way,” he said. “Do you need money?”

      “No. Mrs. Priestly paid me in cash and I hardly ever spent a dime. I’m fine for now.”

      “But if the baby comes, a hospital—”

      “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about…us.”

      He stepped close and touched her cheek. When his lips brushed her forehead, she almost crumbled.

      But she didn’t.

      “Don’t disappear again.”

      “If I decide to slink away in the night it will be from this place and these people, not from you, I promise.” Her breath caught as his fingers drifted away from her face.

      “Goodbye, Cassie.”

      And then he was gone.

      She moved to the window and parted the drapes a little, watching him walk down the sidewalk. It didn’t take too much imagination to picture herself beside him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders…

      Go after him.

      No. She couldn’t.

      But she wanted to.

      And yet she felt pretty certain he felt relief that she didn’t.

      As she turned from the window, she spied the blue scarf. She’d bought it for herself, surprised real silk had found its way into a thrift store. Now it symbolized all the months of loneliness and indecision she’d suffered, and blue seemed an appropriate color.

      She needed a walk. Dare she go outside again?

      Her hand was on the knob, she was ready to open the door, but in the end she could not face all that open space. Instead she twisted the old lock and, feeling about as big and ungainly as a house, sagged on the sofa.

      Cody was gone. Had he said one positive thing about their baby? Had he mentioned love? She tried to remember, but the last half hour replayed like a bunch of jumbled words and impressions, and all she could really recall clearly was the fear of Emerson Banner and the touch of Cody’s lips on her skin.

      Exhausted, she fell asleep before she could think it through.

      WALKING AWAY from that apartment was the worst moment of Cody’s life.

      He’d found her.

      And lost her. Again.

      And now, of course, there was a baby. His baby. He was going to be a father whether he was ready or not. Had she planned the pregnancy to present it as a done deal and then started a conversation he’d screwed up because he hadn’t known the script?

      No, she wouldn’t trick him. Wasn’t her style.

      Cars were leaving the Priestly house, and there were a lot of people milling about outside. He saw Emerson Banner and his wife standing on the porch, probably saying goodbyes. There was a lot he wanted to ask them, but the police car parked in front of the house kept him moving. He took a circuitous route back to his truck, got behind the wheel and made a U-turn to avoid passing the big Victorian house.

      He checked out of the motel, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the road. As he racked up the miles he grew more and more uneasy. Not for a second did he think Cassie had a thing to do with Mrs. Priestly’s murder, but why did she say she could have done things differently? The murder sounded like a foiled robbery attempt, nothing else, so why did Cassie say the old lady had been worried for days? He’d been so caught up in trying to get Cassie back into his life that he’d neglected to ask some pretty basic questions.

      His thoughts immediately circled back to their baby. How did he feel about becoming a father? Unprepared, that’s how. Three hours ago, he hadn’t even had a wife or at least one he was sure was alive…

      The afternoon wore on, and he tried to comfort himself with the knowledge he’d be home soon. Cattle market was over. Despite a tumultuous year, they’d done well; Adam’s conversion to an organic herd was paying off. They’d been able to stow away an excellent store of hay and grain for the coming winter. Now there were several miles of fencing along the main drive that needed to be restrung before winter, but his brother Pierce was a whiz at that and for the first time in many, many years, he was once again ranching on the Open Sky. And then there were the upcoming weddings…

      What kind of man leaves a woman he cares for in the situation Cassie was in? So what