A Family, At Last

“Please put her away,” she’d said, looking much older than her age.

He had, but she’d kept the one, even though they’d taken other family photos more recently. She hadn’t given up on her mother completely.

He’d kept Ginger’s farewell note because it was proof she’d voluntarily given her to Vaughn. It hadn’t said much. “I’ve had enough. Cassidy’s yours. She’s the one you want anyway.”

She was right about that.

Too wound up to sleep, Vaughn went to his office. He booted his laptop and opened personal shopper Karyn Lambert’s Facebook page. There were photos and testimonials from a few clients, including Josh Renard, the Crime and Punishment star she’d mentioned, and Gloriana Macbeth, a major Hollywood star.

Karyn’s publicity photo showed a competent-looking but also sexy woman. Under different circumstances he might have accepted her dinner invitation. He bet she’d have some interesting stories to tell.

The long day caught up with him. He shut down the computer then went upstairs to his bedroom. He had nothing to unpack except the tube with the swab in it. He would package it well tomorrow and send it to a private lab in San Francisco.

And then the wait would start.

Chapter Three

“I’ll pay you double,” Gloriana Macbeth said, her voice oozing with the charm that had landed her many headliner movie roles.

Karyn rolled her eyes. She was at home talking on her Bluetooth, having just finished wrapping two last-minute purchases for her clients. She would deliver them, pack her suitcase and head for the airport for a red-eye flight to visit her parents in Vermont, a visit she dreaded more than anything.

Karyn drew a deep breath and focused on the phone call. “Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, Glori.”

“Seriously? You’re going to use the Christmas card, pun intended? How long have we worked together? I know you don’t celebrate the holiday,” Gloriana said dryly.

“I still spend the time with my parents.”

“Ah, yes. Where you sit and watch TV and get through the days trying to avoid anything Christmas-like.”

Bull’s-eye. Direct hit. “Still...you’ve got a stylist.”

“She went into labor this morning,” Gloriana said. “And I’m between assistants, as you know. I do wish you would accept that job.”

The woman went through personal assistants with staggering frequency. She was the perfect stereotype of a diva, nicknamed Lady Macbeth for her ruthless ambition. Karyn preferred their friendly-but-not-a-daily relationship.

“Come on, Karyn. I’ll triple your fee. What’ll it take? An hour, maybe? Just show up, help me choose a gown and accessories, then you’re done. You know I don’t trust just anyone, and this is for the cover of People.”

If the woman would just once say please, Karyn might have said yes. “Glori—”

“Quadruple, but that’s it. It should cover your airfare, then you could take another vacation somewhere else to recover from this one,” Gloriana said. “I’ve already had hair and makeup done.”

“All right, all right,” Karyn said to get her off her back and because she needed the distraction. It had been excruciating, waiting for the DNA results.

“In an hour.” She hung up without a thank you or goodbye.

“You’re welcome,” Karyn said into the air. Most of her clients were reasonable and polite, although they sometimes displayed a certain entitlement that often came with celebrity. She continued to keep Gloriana as a client for the status of having a megastar on her list, but also because they’d figured out how to work together with minimal fuss after a rocky beginning five years ago.

Karyn didn’t claim to be a stylist, although she could have been. She didn’t like to focus on only one kind of job, preferring variety instead. Except it had become harder and harder to get up every morning and do the work since Kyle had died.

Karyn grabbed her purse and the packages, pushing thoughts of Kyle from her head, wanting to arrive at the photo studio before Gloriana and look over the gown choices from her favorite designer, which would’ve been sent ahead of her arrival.

Traffic was a bear. What should have been a half-hour trip became almost an hour, giving Karyn no time to set up early. She didn’t like being rushed in general, but today was worse than usual. The combination of being late, Christmas Eve only a day away, the anticipated flight and the elusive test results were almost too much to handle.

But because she was a professional who took pride in her work, she put a smile on her face and knocked on the studio door, which was locked to the general public.

“Is she here?” Karyn asked the studio assistant, Fleur.

“Not yet.” Fleur smiled sympathetically. “Oops. Strike that. Here she comes.”

Karyn slipped past Fleur and into the dressing room. Eight gowns hung on a rack. Shelves were filled with shoes and accessories.

Gloriana came in immediately after, wearing a jogging suit that probably cost what Karyn made in a month. It emphasized Gloriana’s perfect body, made so by hard work—exercise and healthy eating—and a little help from her plastic surgeon. She looked far younger than her thirty-three years.

“There you are,” Gloriana said to Karyn.

“Yes, here I am. Good morning,” Karyn said, smiling serenely, feeling anything but calm.

“Mimosa, Ms. Macbeth?” Fleur asked, passing her a glass without waiting for a response. “I have a tray of pastries, also.”

“That’s not the way to keep one’s girlish figure.” She glanced at Karyn, as if to make a point. “So, what have you chosen?”

Karyn took one gown off the rack. It dazzled with sparkling beads. “This salmon would look wonderful with your skin.” Knowing Gloriana never said yes to the first selection, Karyn held up a teal silk charmeuse, her first choice. “Or this.”

Gloriana flipped through the rest of the gowns, their metal hangers zinging along the rack. “These won’t work.”

Karyn stared at her. “None of them?”

“I believe you have excellent hearing, Karyn.”

“Maybe if you try on the teal—”

“Call Lorenzo. Have him send over more.”

“It’s two days before Christmas, Glori. That’s not a request we can make. And you know if he had more that he thought would work, he would’ve sent more.”

Gloriana spun toward Karyn. “Are you telling me no?”

“You said it would take an hour of my time. I have other clients to help today and a plane to catch.” Karyn held up the two gowns she’d selected. “Either of these would be perfect for the cover. Choose.”

Gloriana stalked to the closest mirror. “I can’t do the shoot now. Look at my face. It’s all blotchy!”

Karyn’s stomach churned so violently she could hardly swallow. Stupid. She’d been so stupid. And yet it was all so silly to her, absolutely inane, to be rejecting perfectly beautiful gowns on a whim. So much was more important in the world.

But she’d never been rude to any of her clients, even when they’d provoked her enough to deserve rudeness in return. She prided herself on her self-control.

“I apologize,” Karyn said. “But I still can’t do what you ask.”

“I’m going to cut you some slack,” Glori said, coming up close, “since I know this is a hard time of year for you. You’ve been blunt, so I will be, too. I strongly recommend you take some time off and figure out if this is what you want to do because more and more I have observed that you’ve lost enthusiasm for it. Get back to painting, which you’ve been saying for years that you wanted to do.”

Karyn couldn’t do anything but nod. Her burning throat had closed tighter. She could barely breathe.

Gloriana cupped Karyn’s arm, which just about undid her. No one touched her these days.

“You’ve stopped talking about friends,” Glori said. “Or about going places and doing things, the way you did when you first came to work for me. I see in you what happened to me. You’ve stopped caring. Maybe you’ve stopped trusting, too. You feel abandoned by your brother, even though he didn’t die by choice. I know what that’s like. And, no, I’m not going to explain that. Just trust that I’m telling you the truth.

“Now, you can be like me and hide behind roles, or you can rediscover yourself and enjoy the life your brother would want you to have. But make up your mind, Karyn. Don’t let grief swallow you up anymore.”

Karyn nodded her head several times, was tempted to hug the woman yet wouldn’t be the one to instigate it, but then Gloriana walked away, the moment gone.

Karyn wanted to find joy again, to live the life Kyle would want for her, that she wanted for herself, but she didn’t know how to change it. She was hungry to share the news with someone, anyone, that he might have a daughter, and she wanted to meet her and hold her and love her, as he would’ve done if he’d known. She couldn’t tell anyone yet. Not even her parents, who still couldn’t talk about Kyle, even when Karyn tried to get them to open up about him and share their memories.

By rote, Karyn delivered her final purchases then drove home and packed her suitcase. Finished, she sank to the bed, shaking.

“I can’t do this,” she said, her face in her hands. She’d rather be alone than live through another Christmas like the three previous ones with her parents.

She didn’t hesitate another second but canceled her flight then called her mother—and lied.

“I’ve got a sinus infection, Mom. The doctor says I can’t fly. Maybe I can reschedule in a couple of weeks.”

“You do sound stuffy.”

Because she’d spent an hour straight crying.

“Karyn,” her mother said then stopped.

“What, Mom?”

There was a long pause, then she said softly, almost apologetically, “We have a tree this year.”

Shock slammed into Karyn. What did that mean? Should she see if she could get her seat back on the plane?

No. She wouldn’t be able to keep the news about Cassidy to herself. She couldn’t give her parents that kind of hope, especially if they were finally coming out of their grief.

For the first time in years they wished each other a Merry Christmas.

Feeling hollow, she pressed Vaughn Ryder’s number on her cell phone. After five rings she was about to hang up when she heard him say hello.

“It’s Karyn Lambert,” she said, trying to shake off her tenuous emotions.

“Karyn.”

Not a good start, she thought. He was all cool and businesslike. “I was wondering about the test results.”

She didn’t hear him sigh, but she was sure he had. “As I told you in an email yesterday, I saw you on Thursday. On Friday I shipped the sample. The lab was closed Saturday and Sunday, so they didn’t receive it until today. And, yes, they did receive it. I checked. It takes seven to ten days for results.”

“Oh.”

“I understand that you’re anxious, but we can’t hurry the process.”

“I just feel so far away.”

“I would agree that 550 miles is a long way. It’s almost to Oregon.” After a brief pause, he said, “The Huntsman’s Lodge is near our ranch. If you’d like to come up at some point and be nearby when the results are in, you’re welcome to. But if your brother isn’t the father, it’d be a useless trip.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks.”

“Merry Christmas, Karyn.”

“And to you. And Cassidy.”

Take some time off. Gloriana’s words echoed in her head as Karyn hung up the phone. Now that she’d canceled her trip home, she could take Vaughn’s suggestion and drive north. Hang out nearby.

She looked up the motel on her cell phone, then checked the time. If she left at four in the morning, she could be only thirty miles from Ryder Ranch between four and five in the afternoon. She’d researched everything last week, hopeful, saving the route on her phone’s GPS.

Karyn reserved a room, then gathered up the gifts she’d already bought and wrapped for Cassidy, although not in Christmas wrap...just in case. Making several trips to her garage, she stowed everything so that she could just get up and go. She drove to a nearby gas station and filled her tank, then stopped at a market to pick up food for the journey. In the stationery products section of the grocery store she spotted a sketch pad. On impulse she tossed it in her cart.

That evening Karyn didn’t think she would sleep but she drifted right off, which meant she’d made the right decisions, she thought when she awakened hours later, clear-headed, at 3:45 a.m. Traffic was heavy, even then, at least until she got about an hour out of town. Then it was just a long drive with only music and her thoughts to keep her company.

She stopped every couple of hours and stretched, had something to eat, then got going again. She hit traffic again in Sacramento. After that it was smooth sailing until, almost thirteen hours after she’d started, she pulled into the motel parking lot, feeling like she’d played a game of tackle football.

It would be dark soon. She would find a place to get a warm meal then go to her room and crash.

But as she walked toward the office, she slowed, then stopped. Her brother’s daughter could be thirty miles away....

Karyn got back into her car, grabbed her directions and started driving. She didn’t know what she would tell Vaughn when she got there. She didn’t even know if she could find his house within the ranch property, but she’d spotted what looked like might be his on Google Earth. She assumed the small, private roads visible from high in the sky would be marked in some way. Except if she didn’t get there before dark, she would probably have to abandon her quest.

For today.

Luck was on her side. The ranch itself was marked with a large sign. She followed her Google photo of the property, took a side road, then another, then another. Just when she thought she was lost, a house appeared, two stories and beautiful, surrounded by trees and with a paddock and barn behind it. A hitching rail stood in front of the house, which made her smile.

“Well, Karyn, you’re not in Hollywood anymore,” she said, staring.

As she sat in her car admiring the house and land, awareness of her actions the past twenty-four hours washed over and through her. She’d reacted emotionally to Gloriana Macbeth’s normal behavior—she’d overreacted, that is. She hadn’t thought through the potential consequences of showing up here. There was a child involved who had already been hurt by her mother’s abandonment. Karyn couldn’t contribute to that pain.

She restarted her engine. She would return to the motel, as planned. She would be patient and wait for the test results. So what if she was alone for Christmas?

As Karyn put the car in gear, the front door opened and the cowboy lawyer came out.

He didn’t look happy.

Chapter Four

Annoyance wrapped around Vaughn like a lasso on a bucking bronc, pulling tighter and tighter as he went down his steps and headed to the electric blue VW Bug parked in front of his house.

She climbed out. Even angry, he acknowledged he was as impressed with her now as he was the first time he met her. Her super-tall heeled boots gave her height, and her fashionable clothes showed off a body he’d recalled with clarity several times in the past few days, but she also looked totally out of place for the environment.

And...fragile.

Which didn’t stop him from laying into her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Leaving,” she said, looking panicked. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking. I’ll go right now.” She eyed the house. “Did Cassidy see me?”

“She’s baking cookies with my mother at my parents’ house.”

Some of the tension left Karyn’s face. “Thank goodness.”

“Why are you here?”

She closed her eyes briefly, as if in pain. “You invited me.”

“I believe I told you there was a motel nearby where you could wait for the test results, which won’t be in for at least a week.”

“I needed to get out of town.”

“You made the FBI’s Most Wanted list?”

She shook her head but said nothing.

“Why did you need to get out of town?” She hadn’t seemed like a flighty woman, but appearances could be deceiving. He’d learned that the hard way.

“Christmas isn’t a...good time of year for me. I usually fly to Vermont to see my parents, but I canceled the trip.”

The fragility was there, still, in her face, especially her eyes. “Why isn’t it a good time of year for you?” Then he remembered. He’d learned that her brother had died on Christmas Eve. It took some of the steam out of him, allowing a little sympathy to worm its way into his irritation.

“You ask hard questions,” she said, sort of smiling. “A lot of factors went into my decision, including getting angry at Gloriana Macbeth. I’m always well behaved in public, but this time I wasn’t.”

An image of the many-times proclaimed sexiest woman alive flashed in Vaughn’s head. “I read she was a client of yours.”

“She was.”

“Ouch. That bad?”

Karyn shrugged. “It was suggested that I take some time off.”

He didn’t want to know more, didn’t want to see the hurt in her eyes any longer. Didn’t want any kind of attachment to her. He’d always been drawn to women who needed taking care of. He recognized it as his fatal flaw.

“I just wanted to meet my niece,” she said quietly.

“That hasn’t been—”

“Confirmed. I know. I just feel it in my bones.”

“I need hard fact.”

She sighed. “I know.” She looked around. “It’s gotten dark. I need to go while I can still see the roads. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

She was too late. He heard his mother’s truck head up the driveway. As soon as the vehicle stopped, Cassidy jumped out and raced to Vaughn. She had red and green frosting not only on her clothes but also in her hair, the same sprung curls as Karyn’s, although blond rather than light brown.

Vaughn stumbled over the introductions, especially when Karyn’s eyes glistened. He gave her name but nothing else. His mother, her short blond hair hidden by her usual straw cowboy hat, looked at him curiously, but Cassidy just offered her hand to shake.

“Nice to meet you,” his daughter said, like an adult, to Karyn.

“Same here.” Karyn looked like she wanted to scoop up Cassidy and never let go.

Cassidy peeked into Karyn’s car. “Do you live in there?” she asked, her green eyes going wide.

Karyn laughed. “No, but it’s full, isn’t it? I’m traveling.”

“Are you staying with us?”

Karyn didn’t take her eyes off Cassidy. “I have reservations at a motel nearby.”

“But why are you here?”

“She came to paint, Cass. She’s an artist.” He ignored the way Karyn fired daggers at him with her eyes as he winged an answer he hoped his daughter would accept.

“Paint what?” Cass asked.

“Whatever interests me,” Karyn said.

“Oh!” Cassidy’s eyes went wide, then she jumped up and down. “It’s my turn! It’s my turn, isn’t it? Finally. Right, Daddy? My official family portrait.”

“Um...” Karyn took a couple of steps back, panic having replaced the daggers. “I don’t—”

Cassidy hugged her father. “Oh, boy! Come on, Karyn. I’ll show where it’s going to go.”

“Sweetheart,” Vaughn said, putting his hands on her shoulders to still her. “Karyn needs to get back to the motel.”

“But it’s dark.”

“Cars have headlights.”

“Cass has a point,” his mother said, a twinkle in her eyes.

Little escaped her. She’d obviously seen there’d been some misperceptions going on.

“She should stay here with us,” Cass said, looking triumphant.

“What?” Vaughn and Karyn said at the same time.

“You have enough room,” his mother said. “It’ll be so much better than driving back and forth. That’s a long trip to make every day.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” Karyn said, but everyone looked at Vaughn.

“Sure you can,” Cassidy said. “The Ryders are always good hosts, right, Grammie? Right, Daddy? We are known for it,” she added because she’d heard it said for her entire life.

Vaughn felt stuck at first, then he realized he’d been given a great opportunity. She could observe him and his daughter for a couple of days and see what a team they were, how much love they shared, what a good parent he was. The setup could be the advantage he needed to convince her not to take him to court over custody—or whatever plan she had in mind. She’d mentioned instructions in a will—

No, she couldn’t win custody, even shared. Probably. But he didn’t want to hedge his bets.

“Of course you should stay here,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear sooner.”

“And you’ll come to dinner at the homestead tonight,” his mother added.

“Oh, no. Thank you but no. I can’t intrude on family time.”

Since when? Vaughn wondered. Maybe it had been her plan all along.

“Nonsense, dear. There’s plenty of food. You might be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of us—not only our family but our staff, too. It’s a little chaotic but fun.” She gave Cassidy a kiss. “We’ll see you later, all cleaned up.”

“Go hop in the shower,” Vaughn told his daughter when his mother’s truck was out of sight. “Shampoo twice.”

“Okay, Daddy.” She skipped off then hopped the stairs one at a time, her boots hitting each step hard. She slipped them off before she went into the house.

Karyn rounded on Vaughn. “What does she mean about a portrait?”

“All the kids have a portrait done at around this age. She’s well aware of it and has been pressing me to have hers done.”

“I don’t do portraits.” Once again panic had set in her eyes, joining her fear or anger or whatever else she was feeling.

“I saw your art in your apartment—”

She laughed, high and harsh. “The last time I was home my mother insisted I take them with me. I did them in high school. I took pictures and copied them. That’s right. Be scared. I can’t follow through with what you just promised. I might be able to sketch her if I practice a lot, but paint a portrait?”

“You have to.”

She blew out a breath and stared at the ground. “I don’t even have any equipment.”

“We’ll figure something out. Will you try?”

“Of course I’ll try. Just lower your expectations, okay?” Karyn looked toward the house. “She’s adorable. I’m sorry for the situation I put you in, but I’m glad I got to see her and glad I’ll spend time with her.”

“It’s fine. Let’s unload your car.”

Karyn couldn’t get a read on him. She figured he would be so angry with her, but he just seemed...contained.

He reached into her car and hauled out her bags. He picked up the largest suitcase and her garment bag and stood back while she got the others. His mouth quirked up on one side, making him seem years younger than thirty-eight. He was ten years older than she. His graying temples didn’t age him as much as his weathered face, as if he’d been in the sun a lot—or had lived a hard life. She followed him to the house. “You told me before that you have a big family. Does that include siblings?”

“I have three brothers and two sisters. I’m the oldest. The youngest is in her last semester in college. She just got home last night for Christmas.” He opened the door then let her precede him.

Inside, Karyn stopped and stared at the beautiful house. Home, she corrected herself, because it looked comfortable and was filled with personal items like photographs and original art, not all of it Western. Wood dominated but not overwhelmingly. The furniture was slightly oversized, the upholstery inviting. He had a fondness for tabletop-size sculptures, mostly free-form but a few horses, too.

“You coming?” he asked from the top of the staircase.

A suitcase in each hand, she rushed up to meet him then followed him down a hall.

“Did you expect to stay a month?” he asked, nodding toward her suitcases.

“I didn’t know what the weather would be.” She hefted one of them. “Shoes.”

His brows lifted, and she challenged him with a stare in return, daring him to comment.