Heir to Murder

“No, I came to see how you were doing.” That was true. But only half of the truth. She’d come to tell him that she’d been spying on him for the past several weeks as a favor to Landry. Surely he’d understand how careful the Adairs had to be. The family was rich. Noah could have been a scamming relative looking for a way to make off with some of the Adair fortune.

Since the DNA test, conjecture had been settled. Noah Scott was in fact Jackson Adair and justified in any claim on Reginald Adair’s legacy.

For the past month, Rachel had spent more time at Adair Acres than in San Diego where she was heavily involved in philanthropy, raising money for those in need. She’d put much of her work on hold in order to help Landry and her brothers spy on Noah.

She had to admit, it was much more interesting staying at Adair Acres than at her home, which had become just a big empty space since the deaths of her parents when she was a little girl.

Her chest knotted. Now that she didn’t need to spy on Noah, she didn’t have an excuse to stay. She’d miss having the Adair family around her, and her afternoons of riding lessons with Noah.

Her purpose for coming to Adair Acres that day was to confess her part in Landry’s plan to find out as much as she could about the man they suspected might be the missing Jackson Adair. She steeled her nerves and opened her mouth.

“Less than a week ago, I knew who I was,” Noah said. “I knew who I wanted to be and what to do with my life. I trusted the people I thought were family and the people I was working for. Now, I don’t know who to trust and who I am.”

His words froze what Rachel was going to say on her tongue.

“Apparently, some of them knew before the DNA test that I might be Jackson or they wouldn’t have asked me to take that darned test. Why didn’t they speak up then? Why all the secrecy?” Noah turned his head to the side to face her and held out his hand. “You’re not part of the Adair family. Tell me...” He paused before continuing. “Who can I trust besides you? Right at this moment, I think you are the only person I know who hasn’t lied to me.”

Wave after wave of guilt washed over her as she took Noah’s hand and squeezed it. “Noah, I...” She swallowed hard to clear her throat of the knot forming there so that she could say the words she knew she should. Words that would reveal her for the liar she was and dash his hopes of having someone unbiased to confide in.

Before she could say anything, he rolled over and planted his hands on the boulder on either side of her arms. “When I was growing up, I wished I had a big family, siblings to play with, to love and to share my life and theirs. One simple DNA test and poof! I have it all. But in my head, I’m still the poor cousin working for the rich Adairs. This life, the fancy cars, the social scene, flying around the world at a moment’s notice... It’s not who I am. I don’t belong here. I feel like I need to leave and start over somewhere else.”

Rachel sat up, bringing him with her. “Noah, no. You are a member of the Adair family. You have just as much of a right to be here as they do. It’s not your fault someone stole you from your parents.” It broke her heart to see the man torn by his desire to stay where he finally had a home and family, and leaving because he didn’t fit in. “Things will work out.”

“Whit and Carson can’t be happy about me.”

“Landry is thrilled. She knew how much it meant to her father to find you.” Rachel lifted both his hands in hers and held them between hers. “You just have to give Whit and Carson time to get used to having you around permanently. They already know you—it’s just a matter of accepting you as their brother.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t come here to cause the Adairs trouble and heartache.”

“You can’t leave now. They lost their father and Patsy, their mother, is going to jail. Landry and her brothers may not know it, but they need you as much as you need them.”

Noah shook his head. “Why would they need me?”

“Because you were the missing link to their father’s past. The reason he had such a hard time accepting them. You have to stay and let them get to know you and you them.”

Noah’s fingers closed around hers and he stared into her eyes. “Okay. I’ll stay. But not for them, but because you asked me.” He smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Thanks.”

His mouth was soft, his gesture gentle. It could have been the kiss of a brother to a sister, but Rachel didn’t have sisterly feelings toward this man.

Over the past few weeks of riding lessons, she’d fallen deeper and deeper under his spell. He wasn’t like any of the men she’d dated. He was patient, caring and considerate of her feelings. The man didn’t have a shallow bone in his body and he didn’t give a damn about who could best influence his career or portfolio.

Though Noah thought he didn’t know who he was, Rachel knew exactly who he was: a real man who could be taken at face value and who would love his family dearly.

When he bent to kiss the tip of her nose, she tipped her head back. His lips missed their target, capturing her mouth in a soft brush of a kiss. Before he could pull away, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and pulled him closer, opening her mouth to him. It was up to him to make the next move.

Chapter 2

Noah swept past Rachel’s lips to caress her tongue in a long, sensuous stroke. She tasted of mint and tea and her body was soft against his harder lines. For the past few weeks, he’d dreamed of wrapping his arms around her and holding her close just like this.

He leaned her back against the boulder and explored her mouth, touching, tasting and teasing.

Her slender hands, behind his head, separated and skimmed across his naked shoulders, down his back to his waist and lower to slip into the back pockets of his jeans.

His groin tightened and his kiss became more urgent. He wanted more of her. Leaving her lips, he blazed a path with his mouth across her chin, down the long, slender line of her neck and lower to the V in her button-up blouse.

He reached between them and flipped the buttons loose, one after the other, until her blouse fell open, exposing a lacy black bra. Her breasts swelled over the low cups. As he settled a kiss over each, her back arched off the boulder, rising to meet him.

He cupped one breast and pinched the nipple through the lacy fabric, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Rachel moaned, the sound making every nerve in Noah’s body come alive.

Pushing the cup of her bra aside, he exposed a rose-tipped nipple and captured it between his lips, tonguing it into a tight little bud.

Her fingers curled into his hair, drawing him closer.

After tasting one, he pushed aside the other cup and tasted the fruit of her other breast, laving his tongue across the tip until it too beaded in a tight knot.

When Rachel’s leg slid up the side of Noah’s, he fought for control. Just because he was now her social equal didn’t make it right to take advantage of her. With a huge amount of effort and constraint, he stopped himself before he went further.

Once he pushed himself up to a sitting position, he drew Rachel’s blouse together and grabbed his T-shirt. “We should get back before someone comes looking for us.”

Rachel sat up, straightening her clothes, twin flags of color high in her cheeks. “The way Diablo raced past me, I’d say it won’t be long before someone comes searching for your body.”

Noah pulled his boots on and stood, extending a hand to Rachel. “I’m sorry I took advantage of your kindness.”

She raised a hand. “Please. I’m not sorry you did.”

He grinned and cupped her cheek in his hand. He couldn’t resist one last taste and he bent to kiss her again. When he stepped away, he willed his pulse to slow. The woman had his insides humming, begging for more. “I hope you tied your horse up, or we’ll both be walking.”

“As a matter of fact, I did tie her up.” She led the way to a copse of trees where her white Arabian mare stood patiently.

Noah cupped his hands and stooped low. “You first.”

“No, I can ride on the back. You take the saddle.”

“No. I feel pretty stupid getting tossed off my horse, when I’m the one who is supposed to be teaching riding lessons. I deserve to suffer a little for that.”

“Is that what happened?” Rachel chuckled. “In that case, you should ride on the back.” She stepped into his hand and he lifted her up into the saddle.

Then he put his foot in the stirrup and mounted the horse to sit behind her and the saddle, wrapping his arms around her middle. Her waist was narrow and he liked the way it felt, small but firm.

Thankfully, Rachel set the horse off in an easy gallop, minimizing the jarring gait of a trot.

Noah held on, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. She smelled of honeysuckle and the outdoors and she was soft in all the right places. She calmed him and made him feel natural and at home.

Fifteen minutes later, as they neared the barn, she slowed the horse to a walk. When they rode into the barnyard, Landry emerged, leading another horse. An older woman followed, her brow furrowed, light brown hair pulled back in a neat twist at the back of her head. There was something oddly familiar about her facial structure, but Noah couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Landry called out. “I was just about to go looking for you two. When Diablo came back without his rider, I worried you’d been hurt.”

The woman behind her pressed a hand to her mouth and stared up at Noah.

Noah slipped off the horse and held up his hands to Rachel. Capturing her around the waist, he swung her out of the saddle and set her on her feet. When he turned to face Landry and the woman, he noted that the woman’s eyes had filled and she caught her lip between her teeth. “Is this...?” she said, and stopped, choking on a sob.

“Yes, ma’am.” Landry tied the horse she’d been leading to a post, hooked the woman’s arm and urged her forward. “This is my good friend Rachel Blackstone and my brother, Jackson Adair, better known as Noah Scott. Noah...” She paused, her gaze intense. “This is your mother, Ruby Adair Mason.”

Noah’s heart stopped and then bounded ahead in a pulse-pounding race to catch up. He’d known his real mother was still alive, but he hadn’t gotten past the initial shock of his new identity to think about actually meeting her.

As she stood in front of him, he could finally see himself in her. Emmaline, the woman who’d raised him, looked like an Adair with her dark hair and blue eyes. Although he had blue eyes, Noah had never looked like an Adair. His hair was light, where Emmaline, Reginald and his children had dark brown hair and his facial structure was totally different. More like the woman standing in front of him.

Ruby reached out to touch his chin and then hers. “You have the cleft in your chin like mine.” She smiled through watery eyes. “And blue eyes like your father.”

At a loss for what to say, he took her hand and held it in his. She was thin, almost frail and he was afraid to squeeze hard on her fingers for fear of breaking them. He knew he should say something, but what? “Nice to meet you.” It was lame, but he really was glad to meet the woman who had given birth to him. She had never lied to him and, like him, she was a victim in the whole situation.

“Well, you two will have a lot to talk about.” Landry backed away. “Rachel and I will take care of the horses and we have some baby shower planning to do for Elizabeth and Whit’s upcoming bundle of joy. I could have a lunch and tea prepared for you two up at the big house, if you like.”

Elizabeth and Whit Adair were expecting a baby. Landry, Georgia and Rachel had volunteered to give her a baby shower.

Noah shook his head. He didn’t feel comfortable at the main house and had chosen to live in the guesthouse. But even there seemed too intimate for a first meeting with his mother.

Ruby laid a hand on his arm. “If it’s okay with you, I know of a nice little sandwich shop just this side of San Diego. We could get a bite to eat there and I wouldn’t be far from my hotel.”

“I’ll drive,” he offered.

Ruby shook her head. “If it’s all the same to you, I prefer to take my own car. That way I can go straight from the restaurant to my hotel.”

“Fair enough. I could meet you there in forty-five minutes. I’ll need to shower after my ride and dress in something that doesn’t smell like horse.”

Ruby smiled. “You could come as you are. I wouldn’t mind.”

Her smile was genuine and Noah liked it. “I’d rather shower.”

“Then I’ll see you in forty-five minutes.” Ruby gave him the name of the sandwich shop and turned to leave, hesitated and faced him again. “I’m really happy to finally see you.” Tears flooding her eyes, she hurried away.

Noah’s heart felt like a huge knot in his chest as he walked toward the guesthouse. Too many revelations were hitting him all at once and he didn’t know quite how to process them all. Part of him wanted to put off the lunch with Ruby, but his curiosity about her won out. He wanted to learn more about the woman who should have raised him and loved him.

He couldn’t help thinking how his life might have been had he never been stolen away and raised by his aunt. Knowing what happened and where his mother’s life had taken her after she and Reginald Adair had divorced would help him understand who Ruby Mason was.

After shedding his clothing in the bathroom, he stepped under the cool spray of the shower and washed the creek water out of his hair with a squirt of shampoo. Once he had scrubbed his entire body, he shut off the water and dried himself, dressed in his best jeans and a pullover polo shirt the color of his eyes.

He felt as though he was going to an interview with an important person and he didn’t want to disappoint her. This was his mother. The woman he hadn’t seen since he was too small to remember.

Noah keyed the location into his cell phone and brought up the map. Driving through the gates of Adair Acres, he followed the directions to just outside of San Diego. He parked his truck in front of a bistro with little tables and checkered tablecloths. The sun was shining, but the trees overhanging the front patio provided enough shade to make it comfortable outside.

Ruby sat at a table on the terrace, behind a short wrought iron fence. When she spotted him dropping down out of his truck, she rose, twisting her hands together, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip.

Noah’s own pulse picked up as he closed the distance, passing through the garden gate into the bistro’s patio area.

Ruby smiled tremulously. “I wasn’t sure you’d come. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d changed your mind.”

“I told you I’d be here. I keep my promises.” He held her chair as she took her seat, then settled in the one across the tiny table from her. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

She grimaced. “I came straight here and ordered a cup of tea. It helps to calm me.”

“I’d ask you why you were so nervous, but I find that I’m possibly as unnerved by what’s happened as you are.”

She sighed shakily. “It’s just that I’ve searched for so long. I’d hoped...but I didn’t think I’d ever find you. And now...” She glanced across the table at him, her eyes filling again with tears. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry again, but I can’t help it. I’ve dreamed of this day most of my life, and almost thought it would never happen. And here we are.” She leaned forward, a smile curling her lips through the tears. “I can’t believe how big you’ve grown.”

“I should hope I’d grown big. I’m thirty-seven.”

“Thirty-seven.” She swallowed hard. “Thirty-seven years I didn’t get to spend with you, watching you grow into a man.” Ruby sucked in a deep breath and let it go, her shoulders straightening, her lips firm. “That’s thirty-seven years I need to catch up on. I have so many questions I’d like to ask, but I don’t know where to begin.”

“I have a few of my own. Maybe we can just cover the basics in this meeting. I’m still adjusting to all of this.”

“Of course, of course.” She touched her hand to her face, her cheeks flushed. “Where to begin?” She pulled her wallet out of her purse and extracted a small photograph from it and held it out to him. “This is a picture of you taken a couple weeks before—well, before it happened.” She handed him a photograph of a baby boy with blue eyes and a tuft of bright blond hair.

Noah stared down at the photo. “It looks a lot like the ones my mother, er, aunt had in an album. I can’t understand how she could steal a child and live with herself.”

“From what I was told, Emmaline didn’t steal you. Your grandparents did the stealing and gave you to her.”

“I know. But she knew I didn’t belong to her. She should have returned me as soon as my grandparents handed me over.”

Ruby took the photo from him and stared at it, her gaze far away. “She’d just lost her own baby. I know how awful that feels. I can understand her wanting to keep you. You were probably like a gift that she couldn’t bear to give back. Not after her baby died. Postpartum depression can be bad, but giving birth only to lose your baby afterward had to have intensified her grief.”

Noah shook his head. “You of all people shouldn’t be so forgiving. There’s no excuse for taking and keeping another family’s child.”

“I’d have done anything to have my baby back,” Ruby said, her voice breaking on the last word. “There’s nothing worse than losing your child. God, I left you outside to go answer the stupid telephone.”

Noah reached across the table and took Ruby’s hands. “You can’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have known someone would take your baby.” Though he was talking about himself, it felt as if the child that had been stolen was someone else. And though the woman whose hands he held was his mother, he hadn’t had the benefit of growing up with her. She was a stranger. And that saddened him.

He couldn’t change the past. All he could do was accept the present and build a future with the knowledge and the people he now knew were his family.

Gently squeezing her hands, he urged, “Tell me about you.”

She sniffed and glanced up at him. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” He smiled. “From the time I disappeared until now.”

She laughed and pushed the fine hair out of her face. “There’s not a whole lot to say. After you disappeared, your father couldn’t forgive me for leaving you unattended. For that matter, I blamed myself. I don’t know if you are aware, but Reginald and I married because I was pregnant with you.”

Noah nodded. “I’d heard as much.”

She shrugged. “Since you were gone, there wasn’t any reason for us to stay married. We divorced, I moved away from North Carolina to Florida and he moved to California. In Florida, I met a wonderful man I fell in love with and married.” Her smile was wistful and happy.

“What about other children?” he asked. “Do I have any half brothers or sisters?”

Ruby shook her head. “My husband had a daughter he brought into our marriage.” Her smile widened. “She accepted me as her mother from the moment I came to live with them. Georgia isn’t like a stepdaughter—she’s more than that. I think you’ll like her.”

Noah was still awed by his newfound family. Going from a man with only a mother who kept him secluded from the rest of his relatives to having an entire family and extended family, he was blessed. “Georgia is your daughter? Is she Carson’s fiancée?”

“She is.” Ruby grinned. “Such an unlikely pair. But so in love.”

Noah chuckled. “She’ll give Carson a run for his money. They seem happy together.”

Ruby’s face brightened. “I think so. Carson needed her and she needed him. And now that I’ve found you, I have my entire family in one place. I couldn’t be happier, myself.”

“Will you be going back to Florida anytime soon?”

Ruby nodded. “Yes.”

Disappointment knifed through Noah. “I’m really sorry to hear that. I’d hoped to get to spend more time with you.”

She laughed. “I’m only going back to sell my house. I have nothing to keep me in Florida. Since my husband passed away, it’s just me. Georgia isn’t leaving California and now that I’ve found you...”

Noah found himself leaning forward. He didn’t want distance to keep him from knowing this woman. “Does that mean you’ll be moving?”

“It does. I want to be close to my children.” Her voice caught. “You don’t know how happy that makes me to say that—children.” She patted his hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t move in with you or Georgia. You have your own lives. I’ll get a little place of my own. But with any luck I’ll see you sometime?” She glanced across at him, her eyes wide, hopeful.

He was touched by the warmth in her gaze. “Count on it.”

“What about you? I’ve told you about my life—what about yours? I want to know all about you. Where did you grow up? What was it like for you going to school? Did you play sports, have you ever been married?” She stopped asking long enough to take a breath. “Oh, who am I kidding? I can’t catch up on all thirty-seven years in one lunch. And we haven’t even ordered.”

“We have time.”

“I hope so. Because I really want to know you.”

“And I want to know you.” He lifted the menu. “What do you think you’d like to eat? We can talk while we wait for our food.”

They ordered and talked, catching up on the big events of each other’s lives and some of the little ones that made them who they were. By the time they’d consumed their sandwiches and a couple cups of tea, Noah was more comfortable and relaxed around this woman who was his biological mother.

When the plates were cleared and the check paid, Ruby pushed back from the table. “I should get going. I’ve taken up enough of your time.” She stood and slipped her purse over her arm.

“I’ve enjoyed it and hope we can do this again soon,” Noah said, and meant it.

“Me, too. I know I can’t have back the years I missed, but there are so many more ahead of us. I don’t want to waste a single one of them.”

Noah tossed a couple of bills onto the table and escorted Ruby out to the parking area. “Where did you park?”

“On the side. The front was full when I arrived.”

At the side of the building, a small sedan sat at a slant on the sloped parking spot.

Ruby stood beside the car. “I’m really glad we had this time together.” She looked up at him. “Do you mind if I hug you?”

He smiled. “Not at all.” He bent as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he gathered her slim body in a hug.

Although awkward at first, Noah felt the love and tenderness in her gesture and his heart swelled.

“I’ve always loved you,” she whispered. “And I never gave up hope.” Her arms tightened briefly, and then they fell to her sides. Ruby climbed into her rental car and started the engine, lowering the window.

“When will you head back to Florida?” Noah leaned against the door frame, not really wanting her to leave.

“Not for a couple more days. Do you mind if I come to visit you?”

“Not at all. I’d be honored.”

She backed out of the parking space and then stopped. She shifted into Park, opened the door, jumped out and ran back to wrap her arms around him one more time. “Please tell me you won’t disappear again. Please.”

He hugged her, holding her tight. “I promise.”

Ruby leaned back, rubbing tears from her eyes. “I just couldn’t bear to lose you again.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

She stepped back, straightening her hair. “I know that. It’s just...” With a sigh, she said, “It’s happened before.”

“I’m all grown up.”

“Yeah, and someone killed Reginald. Now that the world knows you’re related to him, you could be in danger.”

He pushed his shoulders back. “I can take care of myself.”

“I’m sure Reginald thought he could take care of himself, as well. Be careful.”