Millionaire in Command(23)

       
           



       

She'd felt Kyle's hurt for his daughter, the raw edge  to his  lovemaking. That shared connection had dissolved her defenses  against  him, leaving her open and so much more vulnerable than she'd  ever  imagined.

Then she'd woken alone. Gazing across the room to  the open balcony  door, she found him on the porch back at his computer.  He'd pulled away  again, and she didn't know why. She could understand  his frustration  over losing full custody of his daughter, fears of the  next judge's  hearing upsetting Nina's world even more. But his retreat  seemed  motivated by more than that, since it had only grown deeper after  they  had made love.

She swung her feet to the floor and padded  across to watch him through  the open French doors. A light breeze  fluttered the whispery curtain  and lifted her hair, the air muggy after  the night of rain.

What would Kyle do if she walked up behind him  and massaged the tension  out of those braced shoulders of his? Maybe it  was worth the risk to  find out. She stepped outside only to pull up  short when she saw the  deep furrows in his brow. "What's wrong?"

"Take  a look at this." He turned his laptop screen toward her,  displaying an  image of Bianca at a beach party, dancing between two  men, an umbrella  drink held over her head. "Does that seem like Bianca  was working to  make a better life for her child? Check out the time  stamp."

Less than a week ago.

"There  are more. Lots more. And not just drinking, but drugs and even a  sex  tape that, uh … " He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his  head. He  clicked the drop-down menu to save the latest Internet site,  his jaw  flexing but his eyes still flat and emotionless. "It appears  she didn't  spend much time wasting away missing her child."

The crowded  party and cabana sure looked like it provided phone  service, yet she'd  never bothered to call. Phoebe pulled out a chair  and sank down beside  him. "Why didn't the private investigator find  these?"

"Most of  them are from the past week. And I have some, uh, skills from  my  military intel days." His fists clenched on the table, his wedding  band  glinting in the high-noon sun. "Damn it all, I should have been  doing  this myself from the start."

"You've been doing everything you  could to take care of Nina from the  first moment you met her." She slid  her hand over his fist. "This is  scary stuff. Thank goodness you found  it now."

He slipped his hand from under hers and clicked through more computer commands. "I need to do more. Time's running out."

"When  do you leave to start your new job?" It seemed he'd already left   emotionally now. The fragile common ground they'd just begun to share   seemed to be slipping away as surely as the cresting waves pulled sand   from the shore.

"I've pushed back all my meetings until we get things settled with Bianca. I meant that time is running out for Nina."

"What if it takes a while to settle the custody issue?" A frightening possibility they both needed to face.

"It won't," he said curtly. "I won't let it."

She  touched his wrist, trying again to break through the icy exterior  that  only cracked during sex. "Some things are beyond even the control  of a  mighty Landis."

"The great thing about being a Landis is that  we're all equally as  determined. I have a wealth of support when it  comes to being there for  Nina."

"When it comes to your daughter, there's no replacement for you."

He  turned suddenly-haunted eyes on her. "You think I don't know that?  I've  already told the family I'm not taking the job heading up Landis   International. I have options, and I intend to make the most of them."

She  was stunned at this abrupt shift in his life plan. "But surely you  can  just postpone it. You won't be happy nailed down to one place,  you've  said so yourself. There has to be a better compromise. Let's  talk this  out."

"There's nothing to discuss."

She leaned closer,  refusing to let him push her away. She'd fought for  Nina and she would  fight just as hard for him. "Kyle, damn it, you're  the one who keeps  preaching to me about not shutting down, about coming  back to life."                       
       
           



       

Something  smoked through his eyes and for a moment she thought she  might have  truly gotten through to him. Then his beautiful blue eyes  iced over  again.

He shoved his seat away, iron grating across stone tiles.  "This isn't  about me. We're in the middle of a custody battle. Unless we  work  together, presenting a unified front in our marriage long-term, we   could well lose Nina for good." He closed his laptop and stood. "We   should get moving so we're not late picking up Nina."

He left her  sitting on the porch alone and confused. As she sat,  stunned at the  loss of lighthearted Kyle with his bolstering one-sided  smiles, his  words trickled through, about staying a married couple  long-term.

Finally he'd committed to staying together, yet she'd never felt farther apart from him.





Eleven



Sitting  in an antique rocker in the living room, Phoebe cradled Nina in  her  arms even though the baby had gone to sleep at least fifteen  minutes  ago. She hadn't been able to let her out of her sight since  they'd  picked her up yesterday. The room was silent but for the  rustling of her  mother-in-law at the coffee table, pulling Thanksgiving  decorations  from a plastic storage bin.Phoebe couldn't help but be  warmed by the  lack of pretension in such a powerful world figure.  Wearing a  lightweight orange sweater set-and blue jeans-Ginger Landis  Renshaw  could have been any other grandmother preparing for the  holidays with  her family. What would it have been like to have such a  woman to turn to  after Roger had died? Or when she'd been wrestling  with what to do  after Bianca had disappeared?

Kyle was sequestered with his  brother. Maybe he would find some comfort  and reason there since  Sebastian would understand the pain after  having lost his adopted  daughter. Heaven knew Kyle still wasn't  listening to her. His emotional  retreat from her stung more than she  could have ever imagined a few  weeks ago. How had she opened herself to  so much pain again?

Phoebe  rested her cheek against Nina's head and inhaled the sweet scent  of  baby shampoo, watching her mother-in-law lift out a brass  cornucopia.  "That's a beautiful piece."

Ginger glanced over her shoulder with  a smile before placing the horn  of plenty on the mantel. "It belonged  to my first husband's  grandmother. She loved the holidays. She also gave  me the most  exquisite family Nativity, a magnificent collector's piece.  It's in a  museum now, but I had a replica made for my grandchildren to  enjoy."

"How lovely to have such long-living traditions in your  family." She  glanced down at the wedding ring Kyle had placed on her  finger, over  the spot that had once worn Roger's simpler gold band.  "Forgive me if  this is too personal, but did your husband-the  general-ever have a  problem being reminded of your first marriage?"

Ginger  turned slowly and leaned back against the cool hearth. "Hank and  I have  been friends for years, back when we were both married to other  people.  I helped him with his children after his wife died. He helped  me after I  lost Benjamin. This love we've found came later and  certainly surprised  us both, pleasantly so."

"No jealousy then?"

"None. That  doesn't mean we got over losing a spouse quickly. When I  say it took us a  long time to find each other, I mean a very long time.  Years. Yet here  we are, blending our Nativity scenes and families."  She patted Nina's  diapered bottom. "I look forward to setting up the  crèche with my  granddaughter someday."

"Make sure you take pictures, lots and  lots of them." In case Phoebe  wasn't a part of her day-to-day life  anymore. Regardless of Kyle's talk  of working together, she didn't have  faith in the long-term hope for  their relationship.

"I have  photos in the album of my boys setting up the Nativity with  their  grandmother. In fact … " She leaned into the container, sifting  through  padded ornament holders. "I believe the replica ended up in  here with  the Thanksgiving decorations."