“She could if you let her.”
“And why would I do that?” Adam’s fingers, laced together atop his stomach, tightened until the knuckles went white.
“Let me answer that with another question. Do you really like living like a damn monk?” Travis demanded. “Do you enjoy locking yourself away on this ranch? Shutting out everybody but me and Jackson?”
Adam inhaled slowly, deeply, getting a rein on the flare of anger that had erupted inside him. “I’m not shut away. I’m working. The ranch demands a lot of time and—”
“Tell that to somebody else,” Travis said, neatly interrupting him. “I grew up here, too. I know what it takes to run this place. Didn’t I watch Dad do it year after year?”
“Dad didn’t have the same plans for it I do.”
“Yeah,” Travis agreed amiably. “Dad wanted a life, too.”
“I have a life.”
Smiling, Travis nodded. “After seeing that kiss, I’m guessing you’ve got a shot at one, anyway. If you don’t screw it up.”
Adam fixed him with a frown. “Is there a reason you came by here today? Or are you just here to be another thorn in my figurative paw?”
“The thorn thing appeals, I’ll admit. But I did have a reason.” Standing up, Travis stuffed both hands into the pockets of his black slacks. “I’m taking one of the family jets to Napa for a couple of weeks.”
“Bon voyage,” Adam said, standing himself. “But what’s that got to do with me?”
“Just wanted to let you know. There’s a winery there doing some interesting stuff with cabernets. Want to see what I can find out about their operation.”
“So why is it when you do something related to the vineyard it’s okay, but when I’m concentrating on the ranch I’m a recluse?”
“Because—” Travis grinned “—I make time for the ladies, too. I don’t live and die by the grape, Adam. And now that you’ve got yourself married again, maybe it’s time for you to remember that there’s more to life than this damn ranch.”
“You know exactly why I’m married. Don’t make it out to be more than it is.”
“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t work out. For both of you.”
“Not interested.”
“Just because you and Monica—” He stopped short when Adam flushed a dark red. “Fine. We won’t talk about it. Even though you should—”
“I don’t need to be psychoanalyzed, either.”
“Wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Travis said, then continued. “Go ahead, Adam. Bury your future because of your past. But—” he half turned to point toward the ranch yard beyond the barn “—that’s a fine woman out there. Too good for you to use and toss away. She deserves better.” When his brother didn’t say anything else, Travis added, “Hell, Adam, you deserve better.”
He didn’t want to talk about any of this. “Don’t you have a winemaker to seduce?”
“I do indeed.” Travis headed for the door and stopped on the threshold. “But do me a favor while I’m gone?”
“Depends.”
“Try not to be such a complete ass all the time. Give Gina a chance. Give yourself a damn break, will you?”
When Travis was gone, Adam couldn’t settle. He paced the narrow confines of the office and listened to the sounds from the yard. The clatter of hooves on a metal gate, the nervous whinnies, Gina’s delighted laughter.
He stopped dead, concentrating on the near magical music of it.
And he told himself that no matter what he felt or didn’t feel for Gina, once she was pregnant, deal done. Marriage over. She’d move out and he’d move on.
Despite what Travis seemed to think, there was no hope for a future here. Adam had already proven to himself that he simply wasn’t the marrying kind.
Eight
Gina left Adam sleeping in their big bed. She grabbed her robe from a nearby chair, tugged it on and belted it at the waist before slipping out of the bedroom. She couldn’t seem to fall asleep no matter how long she lay there in the darkness. So why not get up, make some tea and have a few of Esperanza’s cookies?
At the doorway, she looked back at her husband and her heart turned over as she studied him in the dim light. Even in sleep, Adam managed to look powerful, aloof. As if his emotions were closed up so tightly they couldn’t even find the surface when he wasn’t actively guarding them. Apparently she would have to do battle with his subconscious, as well.
She sighed a little, shut the door quietly behind her and wandered down the hall toward the stairs. The house was quiet, tucked up for the night, resting after a long day. Gina only wished she could rest, too. But her mind was just too busy. She couldn’t stop thinking about Adam, their argument earlier and the way he’d watched her from afar as she settled the Gypsies into their new home.