By the time their flight landed on a private airstrip in Texas, it was past eight in the evening, but for those on the flight, their clocks told them it was well past two in the morning.
They stepped out of the jet and onto a nearly deserted tarmac. There were two cars, one for their party and the other for the flight crew.
Neil shuffled them to a waiting limousine and climbed in the front with the driver.
Sasha took a seat beside AJ and encouraged Claire to go back to sleep.
“We have a good hour before we’ll get where we’re going.”
Claire didn’t need to be told twice.
AJ ran his hand along the leather seat. “Let me guess, this is Mr. Harrison’s, too.”
“No. This is my sister-in-law’s.”
“Your late half brother’s wife.”
“You’ve been paying attention.” She liked that in a man.
He looked out the window. “Following the bouncing ball.” His voice was distant, like it had been the rest of the time they were on the plane after he’d kissed her.
“Well, keep your head up. Trina has remarried. Their home is the easiest to disappear in without the fear of being spotted.”
“Remote?”
Sasha followed his gaze into the vastness of nothing that made up the long spans of space in Texas.
“Secure.”
“Wouldn’t Pohl think to look for you at her home?”
She’d considered that. Which was why she didn’t plan on staying long. Make sure Claire was taken care of, find a direction, and move. Only now she needed to figure out how to do that with a 190-pound man at her side. “Maybe if there were some happy family photos of us. We’re not that kind of a family.”
AJ looked over his shoulder. “You and Trina don’t get along?”
“No. We’re just not . . .” Sasha couldn’t even name what they weren’t. She still felt the need to protect Trina, long after the threats of her father were gone. Trina’s high-profile life kept Neil’s security team on alert from time to time. Sasha was right there to lend a hand. “We’re just not” was all Sasha could say.
AJ stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned his head back. “Aren’t you tired?”
“I’ll drop when we’re inside.” While they were moving, she needed to be alert. Even if she wasn’t the one driving. Once she was at the ranch and had access to a gun, she’d feel better.
AJ closed his eyes. “You’ll have to show me how you do it someday.”
“Do what?”
“Hide the toothpicks holding your eyes open.”
“It’s adrenaline.”
He smiled, even with his eyes closed. “Chemicals.”
The memory of their conversation on the plane repeated in her head. “I aced chemistry.”
AJ reached out, eyes still closed, and grabbed her hand. “So did I.”
Sasha stiffened, not sure what to do.
“Relax, Stick. It’s just a hand.” He tucked her hand in his and sank deeper in the seat.
Pulling it away felt childish.
Leaving it there was awkward.
Claire was sound asleep, and from the way AJ was breathing, it wouldn’t be long for him to nod off, too. She’d slip her hand away from his when he did.
For forty-five minutes, AJ held her hand. Not since junior high had he measured time while holding a girl’s hand.
He let his mind rest, and every time he felt Sasha attempting to pull away, he moved a little and held it tighter.
It was comical just how uncomfortable she was with such a simple thing. For one brief moment he had wanted to make a joke and ask if she wasn’t hugged as a child.
Thank God he’d been taught to think before he spoke. Because after hearing Sasha’s story, he realized that no . . . she hadn’t been hugged as a child. Affection was probably as foreign to her as hunger was to him. Yeah, his father could be a self-centered ass, but his mom had always been there to hug and kiss away the pain.
Who had done that for Sasha?
His heart hurt just thinking about it.
He felt the car slowing down and Sasha shifting in her seat.
AJ yawned away his pretend sleep and gave Sasha’s hand one more squeeze before she slowly pulled it away.
“We’re here.”
AJ peered out the window, expecting to see a whole lot of nothing.
That wasn’t what he found.
They pulled up to a massive gate with someone in a guardhouse. It reminded him a little of Richter. Only on each side of the gate were eight- to ten-foot walls of stone and plants . . . up lights illuminated the walls and made the place feel like a fancy hotel.
Inside the walls, the views just kept coming, split rail fences with land beyond them. Tree-lined driveway that felt like it went on forever. They passed a house he thought was their destination. When they didn’t stop, he kept quiet and waited.
Then he saw it.
“You sure this isn’t a hotel?”
“Positive.” Sasha leaned over and shook Claire’s shoulder.
The girl woke with a jump.
“It’s okay. We’re here,” Sasha coaxed.
Wide, sleepy eyes started to focus. “M’kay.”
The car stopped and AJ reached for the door.
He stepped out and found himself awestruck by the size of the place. It stretched forever, a sprawling ranch that made the Harrison manor house appear way too prim and proper by comparison. “Wow.”
Sasha accepted his hand as she got out of the car but let it go as quickly as she could.
I need to work on that.
“Whoa.” Claire stood with her mouth gaping open. “Where are we going to stay next? Disneyland?”
“You made it.” The voice belonged to a woman trotting down the steps of the house. Petite with long dark hair and honey skin, her smile spread from ear to ear.
AJ turned. “Trina?” he asked in a whisper.
Sasha nodded.
Trina stopped in front of Neil first. “I was starting to worry.”
“Clean flight,” Neil told her.
Trina opened her arms for a hug. “C’mon. It won’t hurt.”
Neil stepped into her hug reluctantly.
“Wade’s coming. He was in the studio,” Trina told him.
“My men?” Neil asked.
“In the kitchen. It’s like old times in there.”
Neil walked away and Trina turned her attention on the three of them. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Trina was all smiles, and Sasha was even stiffer than when she held his hand. “I’m unsure what Neil has told you.”
Trina laughed. “He says about half as much as you do. So next to nothing.”
“This is AJ and Claire,” Sasha introduced them.
Claire waved. “Thanks for having us.”
Trina waved them inside. “You’re welcome, darlin’. If you need anything, just ask. Please don’t be shy.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” AJ said.
Claire glared over her shoulder toward him.
AJ winked.
He stood back with Sasha when Trina and Claire started up the stairs.
“No hugs and kiss hello?” he asked close to her ear.
Sasha looked at him as if he were crazy.
“Okay, got it.”
They stepped into the foyer to find Neil shaking a man’s hand. Jeans, button-down shirt, and cowboy boots. The man fit the ranch a million percent.
Up until that moment, the term gobsmacked had been more of a metaphor than reality.
Up until the exact moment when Mr. Cowboy turned to look at them.
“Hey, hon. Come here and meet Sasha’s friends.”
Trina’s husband turned their way, all smiles. “Hello, Sasha. Lovely as always.” The man didn’t hesitate as he placed an arm around Sasha’s shoulders for a hug.
She looked like she forgot to breathe. “Wade.”
“AJ, this is my husband, Wade.”
Wade put his hand out.
AJ grasped it and tried not to stutter. “Wade Thomas.” Country singer superstar. No wonder they were riding in limos and flying on jets.
He grinned. “I take it Sasha didn’t tell you.”
“Neither did Neil.”
Wade turned to Neil. “Really, man?”
“I forgot.”
That made AJ laugh. “I’ll try not to embarrass myself. Thank you for having us.”
“Anything for family,” Wade said.
Sasha shifted on the balls of her feet.
Claire stepped forward and waved. “I’m Claire and clueless. Should I know you?”
Wade and Trina laughed.
“Nope. Not at all,” Wade said.
Trina started speaking in a language AJ didn’t know. At first he thought it was German but then realized it sounded more Russian. Didn’t matter, he didn’t understand a word, but it appeared both Sasha and Claire caught what Trina was saying.
Claire started to laugh.
“You know I’m just going to make you tell me what you said later,” Wade teased his wife.
“She said you’re famous outside of the house,” Claire told him.
Wade shifted his gaze. “And inside?”
Claire laughed.
Trina stepped around Wade. “Let’s get out of the doorway. Are you guys hungry? I know it’s a long flight, but—”
“I’m starving,” Claire interrupted.
“I told you she wasn’t shy,” AJ said.
It was Claire’s turn to say something he couldn’t understand.
When Sasha laughed, he knew it had to be good.
“Ever feel like you’re the butt of a joke, AJ?” Wade asked.
“Every day this week.”
There had only been a handful of times that Sasha had been in Trina and Wade’s home. Every time except one, Sasha had been part of the security detail policing the place. The other time was shortly after Lilliana was born. Even then, Sasha couldn’t bring herself to stay longer than a couple of hours. Hours that she watched from the sideline while Trina and Wade accepted congratulations from family and friends.
Sasha and Trina were family by circumstance, not blood. A fact Sasha told herself often when she was face-to-face with the woman.
Yet here she was watching the sky change colors from a private balcony on Trina and Wade’s ranch. It was hard to admit how well she’d rested the night before. They’d gone to bed long after midnight and here it was almost nine in the morning, and Sasha had just climbed out of the shower.
Unheard of.
She pulled out her stash of clothes and selected the cleanest pieces to wear. Laundry was in order . . . or a trip to a store. Not that there was time for that.
After tidying the room and piling up her clothes, Sasha tied her hair back and walked through the quiet house to find some coffee.
Noise from the kitchen told her she wasn’t alone.
“Is that good?” Trina said in a high-pitched voice.
Poised in a high chair and shoving a fistful of what looked like Cheerios into her mouth was Lilliana.
At least that’s what Sasha assumed. She hadn’t seen the girl since she was a newborn. And that was nearly a year ago.
“She got big.” And beautiful. But then that was a given considering Trina was a cross between the angelic girl next door and model beautiful. Her Latin American heritage gifted her curves in the right places and perfect skin. And Wade . . . the man may not have been Sasha’s flavor, but he sure did fill out a pair of blue jeans.
“I know, right? I go to bed, and when I wake up, it’s like she’s a different person.”
Lilliana giggled around her full mouth and waved a chubby fist in the air.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did.” Really well. Sasha crossed to the coffeepot and helped herself.
“Oh, let me help you—” Trina started to stand up.
“I’ve got it. Is everyone else still in bed?”
“Oh, no. Wade is out there somewhere with AJ. And Neil has already jumped on the computer and started barking orders to his guys.”
That sounded about right. “And Claire?”
“Haven’t seen her yet. She’s a sweet girl.”
Yeah, she was. And witty. The girl made her want to laugh. Except for some reason Sasha had spent her entire life trying not to. As if laughter was somehow a display of weakness.
She sat in Trina’s kitchen, watching the joy on Lilliana’s face, and wondered what it would feel like to laugh so freely.
Who had told her laughter was a weakness?
Sasha tried to smile . . . knew she sucked at it.
“Are you okay?” Trina asked.
“I’m fine.” Am I?
Trina faked a smile to say she didn’t believe her, and they both pretended all was good.
“Claire needs a safe place to stay while we clear up everything legal.”
“Neil said the same thing. She’s welcome here. You know that.”
Sasha lowered her gaze. “Thank you.”
Lilliana’s laughter turned to a cry and Trina snapped into Mom mode. “What is it?”
As if the baby could tell her.
Trina fussed with the high chair and unfastened the belt around her waist. “C’mere.” She patted her on the back once Lilliana was in her arms and started to shift from foot to foot.
Three steps in and the baby stopped fussing.
Trina was a natural.
“You make that look easy,” Sasha found herself saying.
“It’s not. Lord knows I wish it was.” Trina repositioned her baby on her other shoulder and that’s when all hell broke loose. As in Lilliana decided breakfast didn’t agree with her stomach and she tossed all her cookies on Trina’s chest.
Trina stopped moving. “Oh, boy.” She looked at her daughter. “I bet you feel better.” Trina grabbed a towel lying on the kitchen counter and wiped her baby’s face.
Lilliana seemed oblivious of the mess she’d just created.
Trina, on the other hand, lifted Lilliana away from her chest and looked at Sasha. “Can you . . . while I clean this off?” she asked.
And without approval, Trina handed Sasha the baby, barely giving her enough time to put her coffee cup down. “I, ah . . .”
“I’ll be right back. I’m sure she’s done puking.”
And Trina was gone.
Alone in the center of the kitchen, Sasha held a human who was less than a year old.
Lilliana regarded her with a similar expression to her own. One that said, Who the hell is this and what am I supposed to do with them?
Only Lilliana had a better grip on what to do. She reached out with her chubby, albeit sticky, hand and grabbed Sasha’s nose.
And then laughed.
Giggled.
“What’s so funny?”
Apparently, her question was amusing, since Lilliana giggled again.
A sticky baby hand was on her nose and all she could do was smile. “You defile your mother’s shirt, and now you’re making fun of my nose. I’m not sure I can trust you.”
Lilliana thought the comment was worth another round of laughter.
Sasha moved her to her hip and walked toward the sink. There she ran the water and started to clean off the sticky. “You’re kinda a mess, kid.”
More giggles.
It was hard not to smile.
Lilliana wasn’t as cooperative as Sasha had assumed she would be when it came to water and soap. She pushed her hands away and moved her face from side to side to avoid being cleaned. Still, Sasha managed. “I’m always going to win this . . . you might as well get used to it.”
Now that the sponge bath was done, she grinned and went back to playing with Sasha’s nose.
“Oh my God . . . that’s a baby.”
Claire stood in the doorway to the kitchen, her mouth open.
“Are you sure you’ve earned your diploma at Richter?” Sasha asked, teasing.
Claire walked closer, her eyes glued to Lilliana. “You know Richter. No one brings babies around.”
How sad that Sasha knew exactly what Claire was going through. Babies were not a part of their lives as orphans. At least not once they moved to Richter. No nieces or nephews, brothers or sisters. No. They had no barometers for children unless they were in the primary education dorms at the school.
But holding a kid?
Had she ever held one?
Sasha found herself holding Lilliana tighter. As if she couldn’t gauge if she held her hard enough to avoid dropping her.
“You’re up . . . good.” Trina walked back into the room, a new shirt and pair of jeans covered her legs. “What do you want for breakfast?”
Sasha turned to Trina to give her the baby, only to find her sister-in-law moving to the refrigerator.
“Eggs? Bacon. This is a working farm, we have plenty of breakfast food.”
Claire moved to the kitchen window. “A real farm?”
“Cattle ranch. But Wade insisted on chickens and a garden. Not that I pretend to take care of any of that. But the eggs are good.” Trina moved around the kitchen, pulling a pan from a cabinet and eggs from a basket.
“I thought you said Wade was a country singer,” Claire said.
“He is. But the first part of that is country. And Wade is all that and more before he’s a singer.”
While Trina and Claire carried on, Sasha and Lilliana regarded each other in silence.
Something told Sasha that the silence wouldn’t last for long.
“If he’s so famous, why are you cooking?” Claire asked.
The question captured Sasha’s attention.
Trina moved around the kitchen. “Well, when Neil called and said you were coming, we gave some of our help the week off. Probably better that they don’t see who is here until we clear up any legal details.” Trina glanced at Sasha, then back to Claire. Sasha had brought Claire up to speed on the investigation into AJ’s sister’s death on the flight over. The news didn’t appear to impact her as much as seeing a baby. “Besides, I don’t mind cooking. Once my mother-in-law finally moved out, I had an opportunity to cook a little more.”
“Your mother-in-law lived here?”
“For a short time.” Trina glanced at Sasha. Kept her answers short to Claire.
They both knew Trina’s mother-in-law took a little work to move on after the marriage.
“I can’t imagine living in a house with a mother-in-law.”
Trina opened her mouth, only to have Claire cut her off. “Or even a mother.”
“Oh.” Trina stood dumbfounded. “I can’t imagine.”
Claire shrugged. “It’s okay. Right, Sasha? We turned out okay.”
“Yup.”
Claire smiled at the baby to have that grin returned. “Can I hold her?”
“Sure,” Trina said. “If she starts to squirm, just sit down on the floor with her. She’s scooting around pretty well these days.”
Claire reached her hands out to take her, and Sasha found herself reluctant to let go. “Don’t drop her, even if she pukes on you.”
Trina laughed.
“I won’t. C’mere, cutie.”
Once Sasha’s arms were free, she picked up her coffee again. It’d been strangely satisfying to hold her, if even for a few minutes.
Trina cracked eggs into a bowl. “Did you want some, Sasha?”
“That would be nice.”
Claire made faces and laughed when Lilliana tried to mimic her. It wasn’t long before both of them were on the floor next to a pile of toys.
Bacon started to pop on the stove, dragging Sasha out of her baby trance. “Let me help you.”
“I didn’t know you cooked,” Trina said.
“I don’t. But I can manage bacon.”
“My talents are limited, too.” She lowered her voice. “Wade’s cook is teaching me. And Wade is the master of a grill, so we won’t starve.”
Together they managed eggs, bacon, and biscuits. The biscuits were courtesy of the hired chef that wasn’t there.
They ate and let Lilliana entertain them.
Claire asked questions about the ranch and kept Sasha from having to talk.
“I need to wash my clothes,” she told Trina when they were finished eating.
She shook her head. “If you can direct me to the laundry room, I’ll manage.”
Trina smiled and motioned her to follow. “You have the baby, okay?” she asked Claire, who was content with the task of babysitting.
“It’s just you and me, kid. Let’s go pick up some guys,” Claire said in a high-pitched voice.
They walked up the stairs and toward the bedrooms. “Grab your clothes. I’ll show you the laundry room on this floor.”
“You have two?”
“If you count the guesthouse and the staff quarters, we have four. Crazy, right? There is another laundry pair downstairs, but it’s used mainly for cleaning towels and household stuff.”
“It’s a big place.”
“Huge. And if Wade has his way, it will be even bigger in the next couple of years.”
“Oh, why?”
“He wants his daughter to live here forever. He thinks that if he can buy neighboring ranches, she can have one and always be close by.”
They stopped in her guest room and Sasha gathered an armful of clothes. “He’s a good dad.”
“He really is.”
Sasha was happy they’d found each other.
“Is that all you have?” Trina asked.
Sasha glanced at her laundry pile. “We weren’t shopping when we left Europe.”
“I guess that’s true. You know, you and Shannon are about the same size. She has several outfits here. I’m sure she won’t mind you using them. Now that we’re all having babies, it makes sense to leave clothes at each other’s houses. Packing for kids is hard enough.” Shannon was one of Trina’s friends who lived in California.
“At least borrow something while you’re doing laundry. She has great taste.” Trina led her into a guest room, this one with a crib. She opened the closet and pushed through several hangers. “This is Shannon’s stash.”
Sasha looked down at what she was wearing, then back to the closet. The blue jeans were stylish enough. “You sure?”
“Of course. You change. I’ll grab a laundry basket.”
After sliding into jeans and an olive green short-waisted sweater, Sasha checked her appearance in a mirror. Not her normal outfit, but it worked. She turned to look at her back and grinned. Even her skinny butt looked good in denim.
In the laundry room, Trina stuck around and helped.
And by helping, Sasha meant did the work. “Wade and I hope you’ll consider coming over for Christmas. We’re going to California for Thanksgiving, since Lori will have the youngest babies. I know Reed and Lori would love to see you.”
“Reed mentioned it.”
“So you’ll come?”
“We need to clear up all this before I can even speculate where I’ll be.”
Trina’s face told Sasha that she knew the chances of her showing up were slim . . . even if everything going on in her life at that moment was in the past. As a polite woman, however, she didn’t say a thing.
With the washer doing the work, they walked back downstairs, where Sasha planned on making a quick exit to find Neil. Talking about babies, cooking, and laundry was not in her skill set, and all the domestic stuff was weighing on her.
They found Claire sitting on the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her, and Lilliana curled up on her shoulder, fast asleep.
Both Sasha and Trina stopped in the doorway to stare.
Claire held the baby while quiet tears slid down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” Trina asked softly.
Claire bit her lips and tried to talk. “I-I don’t know how any mom can walk away.”
While Sasha stared, Trina moved in and knelt down to her level. “Oh, honey.”
Sasha realized then that Claire had been abandoned, not orphaned. The results were the same, but the trauma was completely different.
Claire started to cry with shuddered breaths.
A knot in Sasha’s throat caught.
“Here, let me take her.” Trina reached for her daughter.
Once Lilliana was on her mother’s shoulder, Trina offered to help Claire up with a free hand.
Once on her feet, Claire walked straight to Sasha and placed her tear-streaked face on her chest. Claire’s arms wrapped around her with a sob.
For a minute, Sasha just stood there, unsure what to do. No one had ever thrown themselves in her arms and cried before. One look at Trina and Sasha closed Claire into an embrace. One that sparked more tears.
It took a lot of effort to hold back emotion.
Sasha couldn’t remember the last time she’d let that emotion happen, but it sure wanted to now. “Some people suck,” she told Claire.
“Yeah.”
The door leading from the kitchen to the outside opened and AJ walked in beside Wade.
Both men stopped when they saw the crying teenager.
AJ stepped forward. “What happened?”
Claire sucked in a breath and pulled away to collect herself. She looked up at Sasha with a brave face.
“Just a little female bonding,” Trina announced.
Claire smiled through her pain.
“C’mon, Claire, help me put Lilly down for her nap.”
Claire jumped at the opportunity to leave and Sasha was faced with the men alone.
“Is she okay?” AJ asked.
“She’s fine.” Sasha turned and wiped away a single tear that had managed to escape the jail she’d put it in.