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Tina cringed. She generally tried to avoid creating drama, but this time she hadn’t seen any other way around it.
“Yeah, well, I think we took care of that,” Zach said, shooting Tina a sideways glance. “This is Valentina Devereaux, Hildie.” He cleared his throat. “Princess Valentina Devereaux.”
Hildie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Princess?” she echoed. “You didn’t really kidnap a princess, did you?” She glanced at Tina. “I mean, I know it’s been awhile since you’ve been on a date, but—”
“Hildie,” Zach interjected. “Tina is pregnant with my child.”
Hildie’s jaw dropped. “When in tarnation did that happen?”
Tina felt her cheeks heat at Hildie’s suspicious expression. “It wasn’t planned, Miss—?”
“Just Hildie. Everybody calls me Hildie. And what do I call you? Your majesty? Your highlyness.”
“Tina would be fine,” she said.
“Humph,” Hildie said and lifted an eyebrow at Zach. “You said you were bringing a guest, not a princess. She may not like beef stew.”
“I’m sure it’s wonderful,” Tina rushed to say. “I’ll try not to be any trouble. I’m just looking forward to the quiet.”
“Well, we’ve got a lot of that around here. Come on in. Dinner’s waiting,” Hildie said and walked down the hall.
“Oh, dear,” Tina said. “I believe I’ve already upset her.”
“Don’t worry,” Zach said, putting his hand on her lower back and guiding her farther into the house. “Hildie may look like she’s just taken a bite out of a green apple, but she’s got a heart of gold.”
Hildie served the hearty meal in the kitchen nook instead of the formal dining room. Zach was pleased to see Tina eat a healthy portion of the stew and corn bread, although he didn’t eat as much as usual. Although he’d been determined to bring Tina home, now that she was here, he was on edge. The ranch had become his cave, the place where he could hide and grieve. He hadn’t brought a woman to the ranch since his wife had died.
Hildie refilled the water glasses. “So when’s the wedding?”
Tina choked on a bite of her corn bread. “Oh no,” she said, taking a long drink of water. “No wedding. Zach and I barely know each other.”
“Well, you know each other well enough to get preg—”
“Hildie,” Zach interjected. “Tina just arrived here. She just made the decision to come to the ranch yesterday. Let her settle in.”
“Humph,” Hildie said. “It don’t make sense to me.”
Hildie left the room and Tina leaned toward him. “Is she always this opinionated?”
He nodded. “And she doesn’t hold back. Don’t worry. She’ll adjust. If she gets too pushy, just tell her to back off.”
Tina bit her lip. “I can’t fathom telling that woman to back off.”
“Pretend she’s your brother,” he said.
Her lips lifted in a smile and he felt something in his gut twist. The sensation took him by surprise. “If you’re done, I’ll show you around the house.”
“Thank you. That would be nice,” she said and followed him to her feet as he rose.
Zach led her through the den, formal areas and his office area downstairs, then took her upstairs. Proud of the home he’d designed and helped build several years ago, he couldn’t help wondering what Tina thought of it. She paused at the collection of family photographs in the upstairs hallway. “Is this your mother and father?” she asked. “And these other children? I think I remember you mentioning a brother.”
He nodded. “Yeah, those are my parents, and my brother and sister,” he said, pointing to another photograph. He felt a twinge of regret. His relationship with his brother and sister had suffered after the death of his wife. He’d shut everyone out.
Surprised at the onslaught of emotions he was experiencing, he cleared his throat. “Your room is down the hall,” he said and walked toward the largest of the guest rooms. His former wife had chosen the colors for this room. Shades of green and blue-green provided a soothing haven. His own blood pressure always seemed to drop a few notches when he stepped into this room.
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Tina said. “I love the colors.”
“Good,” he said with a nod. “There’s a connecting bath with plenty of towels. I’ll bring a couple of shirts for you. The remote for the TV should be on the nightstand. Anything else you need that you can think of?”
“Toothbrush and toothpaste,” she said.
“I’ll tell Hildie to bring you some. Anything else?” he asked, feeling his heart tug at the vulnerable expression on her face. Giving into an urge, he extended his hand to her arm and gently squeezed. “You’re safe here,” he said. “I’ll make sure of it.”
She took a deep breath and appeared to stiffen her spine. “Thank you. I’m afraid of how much I’m imposing.”
“You’re the mother of my child,” he said firmly. “This is no imposition. You’ve been taking care of everyone else. It’s damn time someone looked after you.”
She blinked. “I have royal doctors and assistants. I didn’t mean to give you the impression that I have to do everything on my own because I don’t.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But it’s pretty clear your family doesn’t put your health or your need to take a break first. Now that you’re pregnant, that needs to change. I can make sure that will happen.”
“What about the paparazzi? They always show up,” she said, her eyes darkening with fear.
“I have electric fences and gates. I don’t usually have to close those gates, but I can and I will. Plus there’s Hildie. She took on a brown bear one time. The bear turned tail and ran.”
Tina stared at him for a long moment, then laughed. “Oh, my goodness, I can easily visualize that.”
The sound of her laughter eased something inside him. He smiled. “I’m not stretching the truth. The only thing that scares Hildie is the dentist. I had to take her to fix a broken tooth. That’s how I found out you were pregnant.”
Tina lifted her hand to her throat. “At the dentist’s office?”
“I was in the waiting room killing time. I saw your photo in one of those gossip sheets.”
She winced. “The bump article,” she said. “I received an anonymous tip from someone that the article was going to be published and left Chantaine just before the story hit. I was hoping to avoid the first wave from the media while I figured out how to handle everything.”
“France wasn’t far enough,” he said.
“Nowhere is far enough,” she said woefully. “I’m afraid you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into by bringing me to your home.”
“I’ve been through worse,” he said, his own personal tragedy never far from his mind.
She widened her eyes. “With the media?”
He shrugged. “With life,” he said. “Don’t worry about me. The media is the least of my concern. Get some rest. If you need anything, let Hildie or me know. I’ll let her take you into town so you can get what you need tomorrow.”
She still looked vulnerable. His hands ached to pull her against him, but he resisted the urge. She wasn’t exactly the same woman who had gone to bed with him months ago. Back then, he hadn’t known she was a princess. Back then, she hadn’t wanted him to know. She’d wanted one anonymous night just as he had. Now, everything was different. In a way, they were strangers more now than ever before.
She licked her lips and a flash of that dark night of need snapped through him. “Thank you for taking me away. For bringing me here.”
Zach gave into the urge to stroke her hair and cup her head. “I know you’re still wound tighter than a spring, but you’re safe here. Soon enough, you’ll realize you can relax.
And no thanks are necessary. I wouldn’t have it any other way. ’Night Tina.”
She took a deep breath that seemed to tremble out of her when she exhaled. “Good night, Zach.”
Chapter Five
When Tina awakened the next morning, the sun slithered through the curtains covering the windows. She heard a vague vibrating sound, but couldn’t quite place it. Glancing at one side of the bed then the other, she squinted at the clock on the nightstand. 10:30 a.m.
Embarrassment rolled through her. Oh, my Lord. She’d slept for twelve hours. Everyone would think she was the clichéd princess, accustomed to rising late, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. The soft buzzing sound continued and she finally placed the noise. Her cell phone. Blinking, she pushed her hair from her face and slid out of bed. Where had she put the darn thing?
Following the sound, she finally found it beneath her discarded clothes from the night before. At the moment, she wore one of Zach’s T-shirts and the well-worn cotton felt delicious against her skin. She pulled out her cell phone and surveyed the recent calls. Her brother, her sister in Paris, her next youngest sister, her assistant, her brother, her brother, and her sister in Paris.
Sighing, she mentally formed a strategy for each call and pushed speed dial for her brother.
“How long are you planning on staying there?” her brother demanded as he picked up the phone.
“I’m not going to have a long discussion. As I told you before, I’m here in Texas of my own free will. Not sure when I’ll return. I’m figuring things out.”
“Figuring things out?” her brother echoed. “And how are we supposed to deal with this? I’m shocked at your lack of consideration.”
“Consider it belated rebellion,” she said. “I’ll be in touch when I can give you more information.”
“But Tina, how are we to explain this to the press?”
“I don’t really care,” she said. “You have professionals on staff to take care of this. Let them do their job.”
“And what about your appearances?”
“Either cancel them or let my sisters step up. Take care, sweetie,” she said and disconnected the call.
She called her sister in Paris to reassure her that she hadn’t been abducted. Ericka was shocked that Tina was pregnant out of wedlock, but recovered enough to offer Tina any and every assistance.
“How could you do this to me? I’ve only been out of college for two years and just when I’m enjoying life in Florence, Stefan insists I move back to Chantaine?” her younger sister, Bridget, said when Tina called.
“That’s two more years than I had,” Tina said, more blunt than she’d ever been with her younger sister.
“But this is a terrible scandal,” Bridget said. “There will be questions every which way I turn. How will I answer them?”
“That’s what the palace PR is for. They will help you,”
Tina said, feeling the urge to return to bed and pull the covers over her head.
“But Tina, how could you do this? Everyone was counting on you to be the normal one,” her sister huffed.
Tina sighed. “Maybe that’s why it happened. I just couldn’t be normal and dutiful anymore. I’m sorry. I—” Her voice broke and she swallowed over the lump in her throat. “You’ll do fine. Maybe better than me,” she said. “Love you. Bye for now.”
She disconnected the call and turned off the phone. She couldn’t bear hearing the disappointment in her family’s voices one more minute. Her eyes burned with unshed tears and she tried to hold them back, but they seemed to well up from her belly to her tight chest and tighter throat. A sob escaped and then another. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried like this. When her mother had died? When her father had passed away?
A sharp rap sounded on the bedroom door, startling her. She sniffed and swiped at her wet cheeks.
“Hildie here. I have breakfast for you,” the housekeeper said and opened the door.
Horrified, Tina groped for something to cover herself. In her world, staff never entered without receiving confirmation from her.
Hildie bustled around the room. “I don’t often get a chance to deliver breakfast in bed, but since you’re here I do. Lord knows, Zachary never sleeps past dawn,” she said with more than a twinge of disapproval as she placed the tray on a table. “It’s a good thing you rested well, being pregnant and all. I read that it takes a day to adjust to each time zone change, so you’ve got a few days to go. And according to what Zachary said, they’ve been running you like a mule during harvest. A woman with child needs her rest. I hope some of this will suit you. Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, grits, fruit and toast.”
Hildie finally glanced at Tina. The woman narrowed her gaze as she studied her then caught sight of the phone in Tina’s hand. “You’ve been crying. Has someone been bothering you?”
Tina sniffled but shook her head. “Not bothering. I had to return a few calls.”
“To who?” Hildie asked crossing her arms over her chest.
“Just a few members of my family,” Tina said, wondering why she felt the need to answer questions from staff.
“Humph,” Hildie said. “Well, if they’re upsetting you, it just won’t do. Zachary won’t allow it.”
Taken off guard by the woman’s suggestion that Zachary would somehow be able to control or even influence her family, she shook her head. “Excuse me? Zachary won’t allow it? My family doesn’t operate by everyone else’s rules.”
“Neither does Zachary Logan,” Hildie said flatly. “But I imagine since he got you out of France in no time flat, you got a taste of what he’s capable of. If not, you’ll see soon enough. Go ahead and eat. Zachary tells me you need to go to the store. It takes about a half hour to drive to town and I suspect you’ll tire quickly.”
“I’m really not that fragile,” Tina insisted, moving to the table where Hildie had placed her breakfast.
“Uh-huh,” Hildie said. “That’s what a lot of moms-to-be say. Then all of a sudden they’re passing out or crying because they haven’t had enough rest.”
Offended, Tina lifted her chin. “I wasn’t crying because I hadn’t had enough—”
“With all due respect, Miss Highlyness,” Hildie interjected. “Please eat your breakfast. We’re wasting daylight.”
Thirty minutes later, Tina joined Hildie in a black Ford truck. Tina was clean, but her face was stripped clean of cosmetics except for lip gloss and a little powder. Her hair was still damp as Hildie barreled down the road.
Tina gripped the door with one hand and the edge of her seat with the other. “Are we in a hurry?” she asked.
Hildie shrugged and turned the country radio station to a higher decibel. “Not really. I just don’t like to waste time getting where I want to go.”
Tina swallowed over a knot of panic in her throat. “How far to the store?”
Hildie waved her hand and guided the steering wheel with her knee. “Not long,” she said and cackled. “You can be sure I’ll get there in no time.”
If we don’t meet our maker first, she thought and continued her death grip. Hildie gave a running commentary on the history of the area and talked about her niece, Eve, apparently her pride and joy.
When Hildie pulled into a parking lot and screeched to a stop, Tina breathed a sigh of relief.
“Here we are,” Hildie said and winked at her. “They have a maternity department here.”
Tina walked into the store and felt as if she’d stepped into a foreign country. The truth was that her assistant often shopped for her. Tina rarely visited retail stores. She was too busy.
She felt Hildie studying her. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Don’t they have what you want?”
