she forced them to stay put. She wasn’t going to fall apart today. She’d made a decision, and she was strong enough to live with it.
All she had to do was get through this fundraiser and it would all be over.
WHEN HARLAN STOPPED BY the guesthouse later that afternoon, he already knew he wasn’t going to see Stacy. He’d spotted her thirty minutes ago, walking into the office area carrying a vinyl dress bag. Apparently she was going to get ready for the party at the main house.
He’d already donned his tuxedo during a quick trip home to his apartment for a shave and a shower. Zachary made a face when he spotted Harlan coming through the door. “You look like you’re going to a funeral,” Zachary commented. “Are you?”
He’d have about as much fun at a funeral, Harlan thought. He sat on the coffee table across from Zachary’s perch on the sofa. “No, just a party.”
“So’s Mommy. Are you going to the party with her?”
“We’ll both be at the party,” Harlan answered carefully.
“Will you and Mommy bring me cake from the party?”
“I’ll ask your mama for you.”
“You could bring it.”
Harlan slanted a quick glance at Charlotte Manning, who was watching them from the kitchen. He saw in her eyes a look of knowing sadness that convinced him Stacy had warned her why he’d be stopping by. He supposed Charlotte would need to be in the loop, since she’d have to spend the rest of the night with Zachary once the goodbyes were said.
He looked back at Zachary. “I won’t be coming back, Zachary. My job is over tonight, and you and your mama will have the place to yourselves again.”
Zachary looked puzzled. “But you moved in.”
“Only for a little while. I have to go back to my own place. My furniture misses me. Just like the horses miss you when you don’t go ride.”
“You can come see me ride, right? Your furniture can let you come see me ride.”
Harlan’s heart felt as if it had ripped in two, pain bleeding into his chest. “I’ll talk to your mama about that.” He reached out and smoothed a spiky strand of hair on Zachary’s head. The child didn’t flinch, a sign of his trust in Harlan. “Listen here, Zachary, I’m going to ask you to do something for me, okay? It’s real important.”
Zachary nodded. “Okay.”
“I want you to take real good care of your mama. You watch after her and be real good to her, for me.”
“Okay,” Zachary answered solemnly.
“And if either one of you ever need anything, you ask for me, okay? ’Cause I’ll come running if you need me.”
Zachary nodded again. “You’ll come running.”
Harlan reached across and pulled the little boy into a fierce hug. After a couple of seconds, Zachary started struggling.
“One, two, three, let go!” he said indignantly.
Harlan let him go. “Sorry. Next time I’ll count.” He headed for the door before he started doing something embarrassing, such as blubbering like a baby.
He turned in the doorway to get one last look at Zachary. The little boy had already lost interest in Harlan, taking his goodbye at face value, and was playing with a couple of toy horses on the coffee table.
But Charlotte Manning was watching him with shining eyes. He gave her a quick nod goodbye and left the house, trotting down the porch steps before he changed his mind and went back.
With each step he took up the path to the main house, he felt as if he was leaving behind the only life that would ever make him happy.
STACY STRAIGHTENED HER DRESS and took a deep breath before stepping out of the governor’s personal library onto the open gallery that circled the ballroom one story below. Guests had started arriving a few minutes ago, but she still had time to make a quick run down to the guesthouse to check on Zachary and Charlotte before the fundraiser went into full swing.
Unfortunately, the ground rules Harlan had set stated that any staffer leaving the main house had to check in with him first so he could alert the perimeter guards.
She found him only a few feet down the gallery, standing at the balcony that overlooked the main floor. The spacious ballroom was the one interior room that looked as if it belonged within the Italianate villa exterior of the Twin Harts ranch house. Oval-shaped, flanked by eight tall white columns supporting the open gallery on the second floor and decorated in neutral shades of white, cream, gold and peach, the ballroom looked like something out of an old movie.
About twenty early arrivals milled about the ballroom, chatting and enjoying the champagne and hors d’oeuvres several white-jacketed waiters offered on shiny silver trays.
Like the rest of the security agents, Harlan was dressed in a simple black tuxedo with a necktie in lieu of a more formal bow tie. He’d shaved since she’d spotted him on her way into the ranch house earlier that afternoon. In fact, he looked completely edible, and she didn’t know how she was going to get through the rest of the night without making a fool of herself.
He turned at her approach, his eyes darkening with a pure, feral hunger that seemed to match her own. “Stacy.”
She swallowed hard. “Just the man I was looking for.”
She saw a flicker of hope in his eyes and realized he thought she had sought him out for personal reasons.
She hadn’t, had she?
“I need clearance from you to leave the ranch house,” she said aloud. “I want to run down to check on Zachary and Charlotte before the party gets into full swing.”
“Why don’t I get one of the agents to walk you over there?” he asked, looking uneasy.
“It’s not necessary,” she said.
He lowered his voice. “The danger isn’t over yet, Stacy. Don’t let anything that went on between the two of us make you forget that.”
“I haven’t.” She softened her voice. “I appreciate your concern about me. And Zachary.”
He leaned closer. “When this party’s over, I want to talk to you. Can I come over tonight?”
Temptation burned low in her belly. But she forced herself to shake her head. “Not a good idea.”
“Then tomorrow. Let me come by tomorrow.”
“Harlan-” She could feel herself crumbling, and it scared her to death.
“Okay. I’ll call ahead and let them know you’re coming.”
She started to walk away, then turned to look at him, unable to cut herself off from him completely. “Maybe we could have coffee at Talk of the Town in a couple of days.”
That was noncommittal, wasn’t it? She could change her mind if she wanted to.
He smiled. “That sounds good. You have my number.”
She returned the smile tentatively and escaped downstairs, her cheeks burning. Greeting a few of the early arriving guests, she weaved her way to the side exit and stopped there for a moment, looking back at the second floor gallery.
Harlan still stood at the railing, watching her.
Her face burning, she headed outside into the cool night.
She knew Jeff Appleton was the agent guarding the checkpoint outside the guesthouse, since he’d asked Charlotte to watch Abby along with Zachary. But he wasn’t at his post when she reached the checkpoint.
Had he gone into the house to check on Abby? A breach of security protocol like that didn’t sound much like Jeff, but he was pretty crazy about his kid.
She’d left her keys back at the ranch house, locked in Lila’s office, so she knocked on the door and waited for Charlotte to answer.
But it wasn’t Charlotte Manning who opened the door.
It was Trevor Lewis.
