chuckled softly. “No. He’s out for the night. And he’s not a wanderer so don’t worry about him tumbling down the stairs during the night either.”
“Good, because if you’re up for it, we need to go downstairs and talk.”
She appreciated that he was giving her the option to say no. But she knew they needed to talk, and she wanted to get it over with. “Okay,” she said, turning around.
He was standing too close, and as she looked up into his face lust shot through her. She wasn’t surprised. Canyon had that effect on women. It had been that way for her the day they’d met in the courthouse lunchroom. And it had been that way a month later when she’d attended a meeting regarding a land dispute with his company. Every time Canyon glanced across the table at her she felt her insides sizzle.
“I’ll need to use the ladies’ room first,” she said, rubbing her hands down the sides of her skirt.
“Every bedroom has a private bath. I’ll see you downstairs in a few.” He then turned and walked out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
She let out a deep breath when she heard his footsteps move down the stairs. When she’d made the decision not to tell Canyon about Beau she had been pretty comfortable with it. But she had a feeling that when Canyon finished with her she was going to wish she had decided differently.
* * *
Canyon stood at the window in his living room and looked out. It was dark, but he didn’t need to see to know what was out there: the one hundred acres he had inherited.
From the time he’d been a kid, he’d known he wanted to claim this spot, the one with a perfect view of Whisper Creek Canyon. He didn’t have to be on Gemma’s Lake—the one named after his grandmother—or any of the other lakes and streams in Westmoreland Country. Nor did he have to be close to the valleys and meadows. This was where he wanted to be.
He recalled those times when he would go hunting with his father, uncle, brothers and cousins. They would ride their horses here on this land and then camp out near the canyon. When everyone would fall asleep he would stay awake, wide-eyed while he stared up at the stars. He was convinced only special stars shone on this spot. And they were his stars. Over the years, whenever he was bothered by anything, all he had to do was stare up at them to find the answers he needed.
It was here where he had escaped almost twenty years ago after finding out that his parents and uncle and aunt had died in a plane crash. And it was here where he’d come while in college when he’d made the decision to change his major from medicine to law.
He’d thought he had wanted to follow in his brother Micah’s footsteps and become a doctor, but after two years of medical school he’d known he had made a mistake. He’d been torn about what to do.
Dillon had sensed something was bothering him that week when he’d come home for spring break. And it had been Dillon who’d suggested Canyon take time away from school and come home to seek the answers he needed. So Canyon had taken a semester off.
For those four months, he had crashed with his brother Riley and had spent his days either helping Ramsey with the sheep or Zane, Derringer and Jason with the horses. Then, on the weekends, he’d camped out here, on this land.
When it was time for the next semester to start, he’d made his decision to switch from medical school to law school with his family’s blessings. Although his family got mad at each other sometimes, whenever it came to major issues they stuck together and supported each other.
He took another deep breath as he recalled another decision he had made here on this spot under the stars. It had been the decision to ask Keisha to marry him. One evening while she was out of town on business, he had come here. He’d already decided to build a house on this land and had been gathering ideas for what kind of home he wanted to build and exactly where he wanted the structure to face. Then, out of the clear blue sky, a voice inside his head had said, Keisha will be the woman to live here with you.
He really hadn’t been shocked or surprised by that revelation since he’d never had issues about falling in love like some of his cousins and brothers had. He didn’t have a fear of losing someone the same way he’d lost his folks. His only reason for taking his time about getting serious with a woman was that he enjoyed being single and hadn’t been ready to settle down. He’d figured that one day he would meet that special person, fall in love and marry. He was fine with that idea. He just hadn’t figured it would happen so soon.
He had taken a horse and ridden down into the canyon, camping out that night on this land. He’d looked up at the stars and within minutes he’d known.
He could hardly wait for Keisha to return. He hadn’t been expecting her for another two days. But she’d come home early, found Bonita in her bed and assumed the worst. And Bonita had intentionally led her to believe a lie.
That angered him more than anything else about the situation because the woman had never done anything to rectify the situation. Keisha had been her friend but Bonita had lied to her. Canyon never knew what the woman’s true motive had been.
Canyon’s thoughts returned to the present when he heard the sound of Keisha coming down the stairs. He turned around and moved toward her, pausing briefly to pick up the wineglass off the table where he’d placed it moments ago. “Here, I think you need this,” he said, handing the glass of wine to her.
She accepted it and took a sip. He could tell from the smile on her face that she appreciated the taste. “This is good. Where did you get it?”
“My cousin Spencer and his wife own a vineyard in California’s wine country. Russell Vineyard has been in Chardonnay’s family for years and—”
“Chardonnay?”
“Yes, that’s Spencer’s wife.”
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