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Clay watched as his aunt managed to charm yet another person into opening up and sharing her life. Allison never ceased to amaze him. Cole was lucky to have her.
He slid his arm around Mel’s bare shoulders and said, “I’m starving. Let’s find a table somewhere and hit the buffet.”
Allison chuckled. “I believe your mother expects you to sit with them tonight,” she said, nodding to a table across the room from the entrance.
“Great,” he said, slowly moving his hand along Melanie’s shoulders and down her arm to her hand. Taking it in a firm grasp, he said, “Let’s go meet the folks, gal. Hope you’re up for this.”
He started across the crowded room with the sound of Allison’s laughter ringing in his ears.
Melanie said, “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were nervous about seeing your folks tonight.”
“Not nervous, exactly. It’s just that they’ve been trying to get me to come back home for years and I’ve never made it until now. I generally meet up with them somewhere during their travels.”
“Ah. So they’re going to be surprised to see you here tonight?”
He knew his laugh sounded a little hollow. “It seems I’m the only one who’s surprised,” he said, glancing back at Cole. “Sometimes I forget the kind of power this family can wield.”
Cody, Clay’s father, stood when he spotted them approaching the table. His grin lit up the room. “Glad you could make it, son,” he said, grabbing Clay in a bear hug. “Somehow I expected you to show up in your uniform.”
“I took time to shave and change into my tux at the airport. You wouldn’t have wanted to see what I looked like coming off that plane this evening.” Then he leaned over and hugged and kissed his mother, Carina. “I swear, Mom, you get younger-looking every year.”
He introduced Melanie to his parents.
Carina said, “Clay’s sisters will be thrilled to death to meet you, Melanie. They should be arriving any time now.” She gave Clay a quick glance that spoke volumes. “We had no idea that Clay knew you.”
With commendable poise, Melanie chuckled and said, “I’m just one of his many deep, dark secrets, don’t you know?”
Clay thought it was time to change the subject. “Have you two been to the buffet yet?” he asked his parents.
“Actually, we thought we’d wait until the line thinned down a little,” Carina replied.
“Obviously you haven’t skipped as many meals as I have getting here,” Clay said. He looked at Melanie. “How about it, Mel? Think you can force yourself to eat something?”
She held up her fist in a mock threat before turning to his parents and saying, “Let’s see if feeding him will calm this unruly beast, shall we?” She led the way to the buffet, giving Clay the opportunity to admire her figure, showcased in a flaming red dress that clung to every curve.
As soon as they reached the line in front of the buffet Clay caressed the small of her back. “Have I mentioned how exotic you look in that dress?” he whispered in her ear.
She leaned against him slightly and glanced over her shoulder at him. “I was beginning to think you hadn’t noticed,” she replied with a saucy grin.
“I may be suffering from severe jet lag at the moment, but I’m not dead.”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, causing her body to enticingly rub against him. “Mmm. So I notice.”
He laughed outright. “How long has it been since I last saw you?”
“Not that I’m counting, but it’s been close to eight months…four days…and, oh, six-and-a-half hours?”
“Unfortunately it’s going to be several more hours until I can get you alone, I’m afraid. I have no idea how long this meeting will last tonight.”
“It must be important for him to have it this evening.”
“Oh, it’s important, all right. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble to get me here.”
The line moved ahead of them, and Melanie straightened and picked up a plate. “I’ll be waiting for you whenever you can get away.”
He smiled at her, placing his fingertip lightly against her bottom lip. “I’m counting on it.”
Pamela McCall sat at one end of the ballroom watching the milling crowd, wishing she were anywhere else but at this big benefit bash. It felt a little strange to be back in Texas socializing with many of her father’s constituents. She’d made a point of avoiding the political life he’d embraced for years.
However, she’d responded to the invitation out of a sense of loyalty toward the Callaways, particularly Cody and Carina Callaway. Her childhood would have been dismally lonely if Carina hadn’t stepped into her life and filled in the empty space left when Pam’s mother had died.
Pam knew that it was time for her to attempt to repay part of the debt she owed them, despite her personal feelings in the matter.
Ostensibly the party tonight was a benefit to raise money for various charitable causes, but anyone who knew the Callaways was aware this gathering was a bold statement made by the family: Don’t Tread on Me.
Her father, a U.S. senator from Texas, had sent one of his staff members, Adam Redmond, to be her escort for the evening. Pam had made her own way in life and jealously guarded her independence from her domineering father, but she saw no reason to be rude to Adam, who was a nice guy. He was tall, dark, handsome and charming…and only those close to him knew that he was gay.
He was also a dear friend.
She glanced at Adam and smiled. “I’m so glad you’re here, Adam. I can’t imagine anything worse than coming to something like this alone.”
Adam looked around the room before he said, “I thought you knew some of these people, especially the Callaways.”
“Oh, I do. In fact, I was practically raised with Cody and Carina’s children from the time I started grade school. Their daughters are like sisters to me.” She continued to scan the room. “Speaking of whom, I haven’t seen them yet. I—oh, no,” she murmured.
“Is something wrong?”
Pam tried to make light of the moment. “Not really. I just hadn’t expected to see him here tonight,” she said, deliberately turning away from the room and facing Adam once more.
Adam chuckled. “Him? He doesn’t have a name?”
She attempted to hang on to her sense of humor as well as her emotional balance. “Sorry,” she said with a forced smile. “His name is Clay Callaway, the only son of Cody and Carina.”
“Why wouldn’t you expect him to be here? You’re the one who pointed out earlier that the Callaways had turned out in force tonight.”
She shook her head. She didn’t want to discuss Clay Callaway with anyone. Not even with a man as understanding as Adam. She should have expected him to be here, but as the years had passed without hearing anything about him, she’d managed to put him out of her mind. Or so she had told herself.
The twelve years since their last meeting seemed to have vanished as she noted the changes in him.
He’d been a nineteen-year-old boy back then.
He was all muscular, mature male now. She closed her eyes briefly. Seeing him again after all this time would not be a problem. She would not let it be a problem.
When Pam didn’t say anything more, Adam asked, “Which one is he?”
She nodded to the buffet table. “See the man standing next to the blond bombshell in red? That’s him.”
“Hmm. They make a very attractive couple,” Adam said amicably enough.
She watched Clay and his date leave the buffet line with loaded plates and thread their way through the crowd to a table she hadn’t noticed before. Cody and Carina were there, which meant she’d have to go over there some time tonight to say hello.
She took another sip of champagne and decided to postpone that particular meeting for as long as possible.
“Are you ready to get something to eat?” Adam asked several minutes later.
With a renewed determination to enjoy herself, Pam smiled gratefully at him and said, “Sure, let’s go.”
After eating more than was strictly comfortable, Clay could feel himself relaxing into a mellow mood. The drink that kept getting refilled also contributed to his overall sense of well-being. He and Melanie danced several times before someone came to the table to ask her to dance.
Clay smiled his acquiescence and moved over a chair so that he was now next to his mother, who had just returned from the ladies’ lounge.
“You look upset,” he said in a low tone. “Anything wrong?”
She shook her head. “Oh, not really. I just get so angry sometimes at the way things work out.”
“Such as…?”
“I happened to see Katie in the lounge. You know that louse, Arthur Henley, is still giving her a bad time, even though the divorce has been final for over six months.”
“Are you talking about Cole’s daughter, Katie?”
“Yes.”
“I hadn’t heard about the divorce. What happened?”
“She finally found out about all his extravagant spending, the other women, his many mistakes at work. Once she filed papers against Arthur, Cole fired him because so many of his management decisions had ended up costing the company a bunch of money.
“Arthur blamed Katie for losing his job, of course. I think he considered himself invincible, from the way he liked to live, throw his weight around, and in general be totally obnoxious. Your dad said the joke in the company for several years was that Arthur was only a divorce away from bankruptcy. I guess it never occurred to him that eventually Katie would get her fill of his behavior and toss him out on his ear. From what she was telling me just now, he’s doing anything he can either to harass and annoy her or to play on her sympathies.”
“Why’d she marry him in the first place?”
Carina smiled. “You know Katie. With her exuberance for life and her need to take care of everyone she meets, she fell headlong into the idea of helping Arthur meet his full potential. Let’s face it, the man is very charming when he wants to be, as well as highly intelligent. He played into her need to be needed, portraying a courageous man working to overcome his impoverished background. I swear he wanted to make Katie feel it was her fault that he’d come from such a poor family. I remember how she used to make all kinds of excuses for him, based on his miserable childhood. Eventually, even our optimistic Katie had to give up. I say that, sooner or later, a person has to take responsibility for himself, instead of looking for others to blame.”
“I’ve lost track of time. How old are Trisha and Amber now?”
Carina’s face softened. “They’re five and absolutely adorable. They remind me so much of Katie when she was at that age…so full of life.”
He glanced around the room. “Where’s Katie now?”
Carina looked around. “I think she’s sitting with her folks tonight. I found her crying in the lounge. I guess Arthur dropped by just long enough to upset her and try to ruin her evening, then left. Being Katie, she was fighting mad that she’d allowed him to get to her that way.” She spotted Katie making her way through the tables across the room and nodded. “There she is now.”
Clay excused himself from the table and wound his way through the crush of people to his cousin.
He hadn’t seen her in years. Her hair had darkened from the reddish-blond color he remembered to a soft auburn, and her beautiful eyes had lost their sparkle. He’d never met Arthur Henley but decided on the spot that the man should be horsewhipped for making Katie miserable.
“Hi, cuz’, how about a dance?” he asked as soon as he was close enough to be heard.
Katie, looking his age rather than the ten years older he knew her to be, glanced around at him in surprise. “Clay? My word, I can’t believe it! You grew up on me when I had my back turned.”
He led her out on the dance floor. “It’s good to see you again, Katie. Where are you living these days?”
“In Austin.”
He was surprised when he took her in his arms to discover that she was tiny. Because of the age difference, he’d always remembered her as being one of the “big kids” in the family. Time certainly had a way of changing a person’s perspective. She barely came to his shoulder, even though she wore high heels.
“You’re looking smashing tonight. Black definitely plays up your beautiful coloring,” he said. It was true. Her fair skin, amber eyes and dark red hair were all enhanced by the midnight color of her gown.
Her eyes filled with tears. “You’re good for my ego, Clay,” she whispered, and looked away.
“I can’t believe the twins are already five. I remember hearing about their birth. Guess I’ve been away for longer than I realized. Maybe I’ll get to see them while I’m home this time.”
She glanced at him in surprise. “Don’t you have to get back to your assignment right away?”
“Actually, I’m on a thirty-day leave, so I’ll be hanging around for a few weeks.”
She brightened. “Well, then. Why don’t you plan to come see us next week? I know the girls will be delighted to see their handsome cousin.”
He wanted to ask her about Henley but decided not to bring up a subject that would be a reminder of all she’d been through. Instead, he kept the conversation lighthearted and teasing. By the time the dance was over, she was laughing with a hint of the old sparkle in her eyes.
He escorted her to the table where her parents held court, bowed over her hand and thanked her for the dance with suitable intensity—causing her to laugh again—then returned to his own table.
Once again, Melanie was dancing. Since his dad was in deep conversation with someone Clay didn’t know, he held out his hand to his mother. “Would you like to dance?”
She grinned. “Taking care of all us neglected women, are you?” She hopped up and took his hand. “I’d love to.” He swung her out onto the dance floor. “Do you know how long you’ll be here?” she asked after they circled the floor once in silence.
He glanced at her and shrugged. “I’m officially on leave for thirty days, but I understand there’s more to my being here than that. I’m to meet with Cole later tonight and will probably find out what’s expected of me.”
“They’re all really worried, Clay. And they aren’t certain who they can trust. Whoever was behind those attacks has money and power. Your dad feels they probably already have their fix in with those in authority.”
“I wonder what they think I can do to help?”
“Your dad says you’ve developed useful skills during your stint in the military that would assist in the investigation to find out who’s behind the assault. Once we have that, Cole will be able to handle it from there.”
“I’ll do whatever I can. You know that. I’m curious why he didn’t ask his own son? Clint’s working in clandestine operations and has more experience in that type of investigation than I do.”
She smiled. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Cole.”
Clay turned them around on the crowded dance floor so that he was now facing in another direction. His attention was drawn to a woman dancing nearby. She was tall and held herself proudly. The high-necked, long-sleeved silver dress she wore was provocative in its simplicity, subtly drawing the eye to her sleek lines. She wore her blond hair drawn up in a classic style that emphasized the pure, aristocratic planes of her face.
She looked like a princess to Clay.
Suddenly she looked his way and he got a glimpse of her eyes. He’d only known one person with eyes so blue they were almost purple. His worst fears had just been confirmed. She had shown up for the benefit. On some level he must have known that he would see her there tonight. However, nothing had prepared him for the sight of her after all these years.
She’d been an attractive teenager. She’d become a stunning-looking adult.
“What is Pamela McCall doing here? I would have thought she’d be too busy with her social life in Washington.” He looked around the room. “Is her father here as well?” He studied the man dancing with her. He was as dark as she was fair. They made an attractive couple.
Not that it mattered to Clay, of course.
