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Pain gripped her chest. Oh, how she wanted to paint, but Wyatt took up almost all of her free time and when she was done with him, she was usually too tired to even consider getting out her paints.
“And that wouldn’t be fair to Blake,” she said. “There will come a time when I can paint again.”
She had started a piece that she planned on giving to Lauren for her birthday, and if she was going to finish it, she needed to work on it, but the stress of the last few days had kept her from it.
“When are you seeing him again?”
“Next Saturday. He’s going to come here and keep Wyatt while I run errands and I may even sneak in some time painting.”
Her mother cackled. “If you need me to keep the baby while the two of you go out to dinner, let me know.”
Oh no, she was not going to encourage her mother anymore by going out alone with Blake. And yet, the memory of that kiss had left her wanting more. The sex between them had been so good and yet it had also produced Wyatt.
“Do his parents live on the ranch?”
“No,” she said, her chest aching for him. “His parents were killed in a tornado when he was in his teens. They were not rich then and the tornado destroyed their home, killing them.”
“Oh my,” her mother said. “So Wyatt will have uncles, but no other grandparents.”
“That’s right,” Cristina said, ready to get off the phone. It had been a really long day and she was tired.
“Do me one favor,” her mother said. “Keep an open mind about Blake. Don’t compare him to your father and me. Yes, we had to get married, but things could have been so much different if your father had not started drinking. Write your own story and don’t use ours as a reference.”
Tears welled in Cristina’s eyes. That was the kindest thing her mother had ever said about her father. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll do my best. Why didn’t you ever remarry?”
“Because regardless of the way your father acted, he was my first and only love. I kept hoping he would get help. That was the one thing I held onto until the day he died.”
Cristina’s heart ached for her mother. It must have been horrible to love someone who treated you so badly and yet you couldn’t let them go.
“Mom, thanks for telling me,” she said.
“Goodnight, dear,” she said and disconnected the line.
Gazing out the window, Cristina sighed. In one week’s time, life had certainly changed.
Just then she saw a man walking around the parking lot of her apartments and glancing up at her window. She stepped back and watched as he took photos of her apartment and her new car.
What the hell was he doing? Fear gripped her stomach as she gazed outside. Someone knew who Wyatt’s father was and she was beginning to suspect that it was someone who wanted to make money.
Greed was rampant and she didn’t want any part of someone trying to blackmail Blake or herself.
Could it be her neighbor?
CHAPTER 14
Blake watched his brothers all taking a seat at their office in the main house. It wasn’t a big room, but it had a table big enough for them all to get around, and today, he’d asked Madison to talk to them.
His older brother Adrian frowned at her. They were officially engaged and their wedding would be held this fall after roundup. It was Adrian’s second marriage, but this time, he’d chosen well. They all liked Madison. Her mother was their housekeeper and she’d grown up here with them.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as he stared at his fiancée.
She smiled at him. “Blake asked me to attend.”
That seemed to confuse him even more and he frowned at Blake.
“You hitting on my woman or keeping secrets?”
“You’ll soon know,” he said smiling.
