Expecting His Secret Heir(17)

Her sass had Sadie laughing out loud.

"Especially now," Ms. Saben went on with a small smile. "I'm just fully  recovered from pneumonia. Off all my medicines and pronounced one  hundred percent by my doctor. If I had to stay in that house one more  second, I'd have gone stir-crazy. So I offered to come out here with the  girls.

"They get a fun night out from watching me," she went on. "And I'm not afraid to get out on the dance floor myself in a bit."

"I'll bet you know a thing or two about dancing," Sadie said, inspired by the older woman's daring.

"Honey, you've gotta dance while you still can. Besides, I'd rather  break a hip that way than push a walker at the old folks' home."

"Amen," Sadie said with a salute of her tea.

The same muscular server who had delivered Sadie's food earlier came  bearing Ms. Saben's potato skin appetizer. Sadie suppressed a grin when  the older woman said, "It's a vegetable, right?"

"You got that right, Ms. Saben," the man said before ambling back to the kitchen area.

"I'm so glad Zach was able to hire some decent men to work around here,  now that he and KC have so much going on in their lives," Ms. Saben  said. "But life does go on, especially new babies." She eyed Sadie. "You  have any babies at home?"

"Not yet," Sadie said. Babies were far in her future, if ever. Right now, she had her mom and sister to take care of.

"Well, that little Carter is a joy, and KC deserves her happiness."

"I heard James Blackstone tried to keep KC and Jacob apart..." Sadie prompted, sensing the woman enjoyed telling her stories.

"Indeed he did. And KC had every intention of telling Jacob about the  baby, but she was fearful-for herself and her family. James threatened  their livelihood, you know."

"No, I didn't."

"Oh, yes. He owned the land Lola's is built on. Luckily, Jacob and Aiden  have deeded it over to KC's mother. You know, so she could feel  secure."

Sadie murmured her approval.

"Jacob Blackstone is a good guy. Not like his grandfather. None of the  boys are, but there's a lot of men who are none too happy about having  the responsibility of a child sprung on them. A lot who would walk away.  Ignore it. Not Jacob. And soon there will be a wedding to celebrate,  once the, well, sadness is done."

For Lily. They would definitely need some celebration after losing a woman so important to all of them.

As if she were a hunting dog, Sadie suddenly caught the deep timbre of a  man's voice and knew immediately that Zach had arrived. Her eyes  searched restlessly until she spotted him coming out from the kitchen  area, where she knew there was a back entrance.

Apparently Ms. Saben didn't miss her interest. "So that's the way it lies, huh?"

Sadie swung guilty eyes in the older woman's direction. "What?"                       
       
           



       

"Oh, honey, don't be embarrassed."

Too late. The dreaded heat had bathed Sadie's cheeks already.

"There's not a woman your age who hasn't pined over that one...and a few  not your age, too." Ms. Saben giggled like a schoolgirl. "Talk about  another good man. One who's had a hard life, but powered through.  Nothing like his daddy, either."

And just like that, the seed was planted. There was a theme in both  their families' lives-unwanted children. Did Zach have any kids out  there he'd neglected? The heart that had yearned for him for five years  said he was too responsible for that, too protective. But people were  crazy sometimes. Did he have an ex hovering on the fringes, waiting to  pounce or holding a child as leverage?

One glance at Ms. Saben told Sadie she had an inkling of the direction  of her thoughts, so she might as well be honest. "Does he date a lot?"

Admiration shone in the older woman's gaze. "Honest answer? No. I  haven't seen or heard of him dating more than three or four women-why,  since he got home from the air force, I guess." She studied Zach as he  greeted his mother behind the bar.

So did Sadie. The strong, protective stance drew her, as did the hug he  gave his much smaller mother. Her heart instantly melted.

"Maybe that's why..." Ms. Saben mused.

Sadie turned her way. "What?"

Ms. Saben's gaze met hers. "He loves his mama."

Sadie nodded. "And his sister."

Approval lightened the older woman's gaze. "Men who know how to take  care of women don't normally play around, because they know how it  affects the woman being played with."

Like a ton of bricks, the knowledge hit Sadie. Zach hadn't been playing  with her-he wasn't that type of man and didn't have that kind of  reputation. And she'd ruined it by walking away...even if she'd done it  to protect him.

She couldn't face him with that knowledge so fresh in her heart. Not tonight. Maybe not ever.





Ten

Sadie had been to several impressive mansions throughout her lifetime.  Her boss's home was essentially a villa at the end of a lane full of  overblown palatial residences that offered every amenity imaginable,  including an entire apartment for her in the refurbished barn whose rent  came out of Sadie's salary.

But Blackstone Manor gave the impression of a family home despite its  grandeur, starting with the red-rimmed eyes of a very fragile-looking  butler. "Good afternoon, madam," he said solemnly, prompting an urge to  hug him close and comfort him with hot tea.

Neither of which Sadie did, because this wasn't her home or her rodeo.  But her natural sympathy, coupled with the fact that she genuinely liked  the Blackstones, made it hard to remain objective.

Lily Blackstone had lingered into January. The family had been able to  celebrate Christmas at home, and the announcement of another brother's  engagement, without the black cloud of death intruding. That had come  with the frigid winds and gray skies of deep winter.

Sadie had been around Black Hills long enough now to give her a tempting  feeling of belonging. Some days she wished she could live forever in  this sleepy friendly town, with its good, its bad and its quirks.

And except for a brief flight home one weekend to visit her mom, she had.

She and Zach continued to participate in a dance of sorts, a waltz that  separated them and brought them close again, but not nearly close  enough. Sadie began to recognize that she was procrastinating. She  didn't want to have to make a decision, didn't want to figure out what  she'd do back home if she didn't get the money to bail her sister out.

At least she was being paid for her current job, even if it meant phone  calls from a yelling, screaming Victor almost every night.

Today, she wouldn't think about that. She wouldn't give him the  satisfaction of knowing how much he upset her, and she would hold on to  the knowledge that his private investigator hadn't had any more luck  digging up dirt on Zach than she had.

She greeted Mr. Callahan, Ms. Saben and the Batemans as she made her way  across the front parlor. Finally she was beginning to feel welcome. How  would she ever live without this when she returned to Texas?

Christina and KC remained at the back of the parlor near the fireplace while many townspeople mingled throughout the room.

"Hello, Sadie," KC said, pulling Sadie into a hug. "We were hoping to get to see you."

"I'm so sorry," Sadie said, feeling the inadequacy of having no true way to comfort them.

"Thank you," Christina replied, ever gracious. "I'm glad you could come by."                       
       
           



       

Sadie glanced around. "This place is incredible."

KC grinned. "I felt the same way when I first stepped inside. I bet your photographer's senses are at full attention."

"Definitely."

The sound of a large group of people in the foyer had them all turning  their heads in that direction. Several couples who had all arrived at  the same time made their way to the Blackstone brothers first.

"Looks like we're about to have our hands full," Christina said, patting  Sadie's arm. "We'll see you more in a little while, but please feel  free to explore."

"And Zach is around here somewhere, too," KC added, her smile looking a little sly to Sadie.

KC hadn't made any secret of her approval as the two women had gotten to  know each other more, and had hinted a time or two that she didn't  understand why Sadie and Zach didn't at least go on one date. Obviously  Zach had not filled his sister in on their history. Sadie wasn't going  to do it for him.

It was simply another dark mark on the friendships she was creating  here. She told herself she need never see these people again after she  betrayed one of their own, which only reinforced the notion that she  didn't want to cut them out of her life.