moment snapped and she bolted upright at the same time he released her and quickly rose to his feet. “What happened?” he asked. Reluctantly he held out his hand to help her up, unsure if she’d accept his aid or not. They hadn’t exactly been on friendly terms for the past few years.
She slipped her small hand into his and he pulled her up, both of them breaking the physical contact instantly once she was on her feet.
She looked around, as if momentarily confused. “I don’t know. I guess I fainted.” She frowned and her hand went to her stomach. “I got really light-headed and sat down and that’s the last thing I remember.”
“Why would you faint? You’ve never been the fainting type before.” He looked at her in disbelief.
A new tiny frown danced in the center of her forehead. “I...uh...didn’t sleep well last night and I missed lunch.”
His disbelief deepened. A night of little sleep and a missed meal wouldn’t make somebody as healthy and strong as Catherine faint. There had to be something else going on with her.
“I’m pregnant.” The words blurted from her lips. Her eyes widened as she slapped a hand over her mouth. She slowly raised her hand to her hair and twirled a strand of it, a remembered indication to him that she was upset. “I took a test just a little while ago and it was positive. I’m going to have a baby.”
A whole new host of emotions flew through Gray. “I’m sure Dirk must be very happy. Is there a wedding planned for the near future?” He knew she’d been seeing society playboy Dirk Sinclair for the past six months or so. Their pictures had graced the society pages more than once in recent months.
“There won’t be a wedding,” Catherine said as she started walking toward the house. “Dirk and I broke up two months ago when he discovered I wouldn’t get my inheritance until I turned thirty years old.”
Gray fell into step beside her. Everyone who lived and worked at the ranch knew that Catherine’s father, Jethro, had stipulated that all heirs had to live at the ranch until they turned thirty years old and only then would they receive their inheritance, a substantial amount of money.
“Only my sisters know about the baby and I’ve sworn them all to absolute secrecy. Dirk will never know. He made it obvious to me that he was courting my money, not me, and I don’t want him in my life for any reason.”
“I’m sorry about you and Dirk,” Gray said, only because it was expected of him.
“I’m not.” She raised her chin. “I’m just grateful he showed his true colors before I accepted his stupid proposal.” Her hand slid down her light blue sweatshirt and lingered on her stomach, her eyes darkening. “This is my baby and nobody else’s.”
Gray’s stomach clenched with an unexpected tightness. He was surprised to discover that it bothered him more than a little bit that she carried another man’s baby. It was a stupid reaction that he refused to give weight. He was never meant to be the father of her children. Far better men than him were destined for that particular role in her life.
What her information did do was make him recognize that this would make her a particularly desirable victim to any kidnapper with a brain...two Colton heirs for the price of one.
“If you’re smart you’ll keep this a secret for as long as you possibly can. It puts a huge target on your back,” he said and then hurriedly added, “not that it’s any of my business.”
He thought she saw a faint flinch etch across her pretty features. “You’re right, it isn’t any of your business,” she replied coolly, making him wonder if he’d seen the flinch or just imagined it. He couldn’t imagine that there was anything he could say to her that would actually hurt her.
Whatever he’d thought they had together years ago had been nothing but an illusion and in the four years that he’d been back at the ranch she’d dated a variety of men befitting a Colton, confirming to him that she’d never really cared about him anyway.
Still, when they reached the back door where she would enter and he would continue on around the mansion to the entryway for staff, he took her by the arm.
He wanted to ask her what in hell was she thinking? There was danger all around them. This was the worst time to let people know a new Colton heir was on the way. It had only been three months since somebody had tried to kidnap the youngest Colton heir, Cheyenne, the first time. A second attempt had been made less than a month before, thankfully both unsuccessful, but the first attempt had left his best friend’s mother dead.
At the moment, Catherine and the baby she carried lived in a crazy world, in the house that suddenly felt mad with a simmering sick energy.
“I’m serious, Catherine. You need to be careful and you should keep your pregnancy a secret.”
She pulled her arm from his grasp, as if unable to abide his touch. “I’ve been taking care of myself for years. I’m sure I can take care of myself now.” She didn’t wait for a response, but turned on her heels and went inside the door, leaving him only the whisper of her perfume lingering in the air.
He muttered a curse and headed for the employee door. He’d have just enough time to head up to his Spartan room in the male staff housing area, take a quick shower and then get down to the employee dining room for dinner.
Minutes later, he stood beneath a spray of hot water and tried to keep his thoughts away from Catherine, but it was next to impossible.
Holding her in his arms for those brief moments had picked the scabs off scars he’d thought long healed. In the five years that he had been away from Dead River Ranch and working on a ranch in Montana, he’d occasionally dated other women. But none of them had managed to evoke in him the depth of tenderness, the wealth of desire, the overwhelming rush of love that Cath had so many years ago.
Cath. She’d always been his Cath but since his return to the ranch she was Catherine in his heart and mind, the distinction necessary for him to forget what had been, what he knew would never be.
In the four years since he’d been back at the ranch, as if by mutual agreement she and he had steered clear of each other, rarely speaking to one another unless it was absolutely necessary.
She’d stopped being his problem almost nine years ago and there was no reason for anything to change now. Still, he couldn’t help the simmering anxiety that tightened in his chest as he thought of what a perfect target she would make for a kidnapping and ransom scheme.
The crime had been attempted before with the result being the wrong child kidnapped and a beloved governess dead and the second attempt had only intensified the feeling in the house that both crimes were probably inside jobs.
The family was a convoluted mess, with an ex-wife, illegitimate children and sundry other relatives living in the mansion while the patriarch, Jethro, battled leukemia and drifted in and out of consciousness depending on the day. His illegitimate son, Dr. Levi Colton, had come to do what he could for the man who was his father.
He’d not only brought a bag of medical tricks with him, but also the baggage of a child who had never been acknowledged. At least in the past month Levi had found some peace and had fallen in love with pastry chef Katie McCord.
Gray had no idea how well the staff had been vetted. Mathilda Perkins, the head housekeeper, was in charge of the hiring and
