lawyer was smart enough to take an out when it was given to him. He scurried through the door without so much as a by-your-leave. But his departure ratcheted down Jacob’s anger by a few notches.
“Man, I’ll be glad to see the last of that guy,” Aiden said as he straightened the papers on his desk.
“How much longer?”
Aiden had spent the year dealing with his grandfather’s lawyer after James had blackmailed him into marrying Christina. Luckily, it had all worked out for the best, but the lawyer’s presence was an annoying reminder of their grandfather’s manipulations.
Aiden waved the papers at him. “This is the end of it. The year is almost up and we will be free from it all. Including Canton. I just wish there was a way to punish him for what he’s done rather than be rewarded with the money Grandfather left him.” Aiden settled back into his chair, looking every inch the sophisticated Manhattan art dealer, though he now lived in South Carolina instead of New York. “KC Gatlin, huh? Beautiful, but definitely different from your standard of socialites and fellow businesswomen.”
“Tell me about it.” Jacob started to pace, hoping to expend the energy thrumming beneath his skin. Hell, he just might have to go for another jog, even though he’d done five miles this morning. Especially as he thought about KC’s earlier accusations.
“Where do you want to go from here?” Aiden asked after several moments.
More of that loaded silence.
Finally, Jacob said, “I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to see her again. Didn’t wish we could pick up where we left off when she disappeared. But—no.” He glanced over at his brother. “She’s not right for me long-term.”
“Why not?”
Good question. “Let’s see. She doesn’t fit in with what I want in life, who I am. She’s more like Luke—unpredictable, headstrong.” And makes me feel just as unpredictable. Out of control.
“She’s gorgeous.”
“She works in a bar.”
“Ah, a hard worker.”
Jacob stared hard at the bookshelves, cataloging the shapes and colors of the books but not the titles. “She kept my son a secret.”
“So she panicked and made a mistake. You enjoyed being with her before. What’s the real problem?”
Could he let his guard down? Even a little? Jacob was used to his brothers confiding in him, not the other way around. “I just— Before, it was easy. But she’s right. I kept her compartmentalized so I wouldn’t have any interference in my life.” He ran his hand across his close-cropped hair. “It had nothing to do with only wanting her for sex and everything to do with making our relationship convenient for me.”
“Relationships are anything but convenient. I’m learning to roll with it because the good far outweighs everything else.”
Jacob felt a moment of envy. Inflexibility seemed to have been bred into him. Strict adherence to standards and procedures served him well in business, not so much in relationships. At least, the few he’d had. He rarely saw a woman more than a handful of times, since he wasn’t ready for the long-term thing yet. Maybe not for several more years.
KC had taken him off guard. He could admit to himself that he’d kept her compartmentalized in his life because he’d been afraid—afraid of her taking over, afraid of losing control, afraid of being ruled by emotions instead of his brain.
I want another chance at that woman. No. “She’s my son’s mother. Better to stay close and know your enemy, right?”
Aiden’s smirk took him by surprise. “Jacob, the last time I fell for that line, I ended up married to the woman who changed my life, my way of thinking, forever. For the better, but still...”
“Not me.”
Aiden’s expression screamed famous last words, but Jacob ignored it. Aiden had vowed at eighteen never to return to Blackstone Manor—now he was happily married and living here full-time, with frequent business trips to New York to manage his art import/export business.
Would Jacob end up the same? Moving home was definitely the right choice, especially since his son was now here. But married? Not to KC. As exciting as being with her was, he wanted peace, not unpredictability.
“Jacob.”
The serious tone in Aiden’s voice cut through Jacob’s confusion. “Yeah?”
“What are you going to do about KC? About the baby?”
“Carter,” he said, clearing his throat when it tried to close. “Forcing her to give him to me would probably lead to a legal battle—and prove me to be a jackass. She might not have a lot of money, but she won’t give him up without a fight.” He frowned. “The bigger question is, what is she gonna do about me?”
Aiden thought for a moment. “Do you want her?”
“I do, but I told you, she’s not right—”
“Sometimes things don’t come the way we plan.”
And Jacob had been planning his entire life. He didn’t know if he could give that up.
“I can’t walk away. He’s my son.” Deep down he cringed at the hypocrisy of speaking as if memories of those incredible nights together had no influence on Jacob’s desire to see KC again.
“Then you need to be very careful...for you and for them.”
Jacob glanced over. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what’s going on at the mill. We still haven’t figured out who’s trying to sabotage our business, and until we do, nobody associated with us is safe. Delaying shipments and messing with customers’ orders is annoying, but what happened to Christina last year could have killed her. She wasn’t the target, but that doesn’t change the result.”
Jacob remembered all too well the night a group of thugs had set Aiden’s studio on fire...with Christina inside. The incident was one of many suspicious events at the Blackstones’ cotton mill, but it had escalated the game to a whole new level. “You think they might target my son?”
“Not on purpose, but then again...” Aiden leveled a look at him, sending unease running over Jacob’s nerve endings. “It would be for the best to keep the connection quiet. For now.”
“Right.” For now. Jacob had a lot of experience keeping things quiet in this town.
“So get control, before someone else does.”
Like KC. Jacob had been irritated and fascinated at the baby store. Until she’d burst in and started making demands, he hadn’t known what it would be like to have all that feistiness turned on him as a weapon. His whole body had lit up inside. At this rate, she’d have the upper hand in no time. Leading him about by the nose, or rather, another appendage he’d just as soon keep under control.
Jacob was grateful when Aiden moved
