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“Bull! Carter’s mother appealed to you because she wasn’t much more than a one-night stand who didn’t ask anything of you beyond the physical. It was a fly-by-night imitation of a relationship on the rebound. And since then you haven’t even bothered to pretend—all you’ve had is flings. One-night stands.”
“Wow, I am not going to talk about one-night stands with my grandmother,” Lang said.
“The point is, you’ve built a wall around yourself. I know it’s protective and gives you the sense that you have the control that you lost with Audrey so you can’t get hurt again, but you can’t live a full life that way, honey.”
“Maybe I’m just holding out for something more.”
“If you’re holding out for anything, it’s Audrey’s clone. You’ve nixed every genuinely nice, substantial girl who’s crossed your path for the past three and a half years because something about them didn’t measure up to Audrey. And that has to stop!”
He really hadn’t come over here tonight to have the riot act read to him.
“Maybe what I’m holding out for is what I felt for Audrey and that just hasn’t happened.” Under his breath he added, “Except the next time I’d like it if the other person feels that way about me, too.”
“You aren’t going to find that in the kind of women you’ve been seeing. And in the meantime, you need to open up enough to be a father to that baby.”
“Well, the result is that he has cheesecake in his hair,” Lang concluded matter-of-factly, and then steered the conversation to what he’d come to his grandmother’s house to discuss in the first place. “Because apparently you didn’t think it was enough to throw me into the deep end with him, you also thought this would be a good time for me to take my turn at your project of making amends.”
Camden Incorporated had been founded and built by Lang’s great-grandfather, H. J. Camden. A scrappy man who had been willing to do just about anything to accomplish his goals.
The family loved H.J., and had hoped that the rumors and suspicions that he had been ruthless and unscrupulous were false. They’d also hoped that the suspicions that his son Hank and his two grandsons had acted as H.J.’s henchmen were false, too. But the recent discovery of H.J.’s journals had left them with no illusions. Camden Incorporated had been built by methods the current Camdens weren’t proud of.
GiGi and her ten grandchildren had set out to make amends to people harmed by H.J., Hank, Mitchum and Howard’s actions, or to the families and descendants who might have suffered as a result.
GiGi decided which of her grandchildren to send on each particular mission. Part of her reasoning being to learn what harm had been done then to offer an opportunity of some kind that might benefit and compensate without appearing to be an outward admission of guilt and an offer of restitution. Their fear was that any public admission of guilt might inspire unwarranted lawsuits against them.
This was why Lang had approached Heddy Hanrahan on Monday.
“Maybe juggling so much will actually be good for you,” GiGi said. “Sometimes having your hands full forces the walls to come down.”
Lang wondered if his grandmother was thinking about herself when she said that. She had opened up her home and herself to ten grandchildren when they landed on her doorstep. As a result, he, his sisters and cousins had been well cared for and had experienced a warm, loving upbringing. But even if that was what she was trying to accomplish for Carter, Lang was still completely overwhelmed and he couldn’t say he liked the position she was putting him in all the way around.
“Now tell me what happened with the Hanrahan girl so you can get that boy home and cleaned up,” GiGi commanded.
Lang saw that nothing he said was going to gain him any help with Carter so he proceeded to outline how his meeting with Heddy Hanrahan had gone for his grandmother.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that she’s going under if she doesn’t take the deal, but she’s leery of us,” he concluded.
“Of course she would be, it goes with the territory,” GiGi said. “But you told her she can have everything in writing?”
“I did. And even though she seemed on the verge of saying no, I got her to think the proposition over. I’m going back after work tomorrow to see what she has to say.”
“Do you think she knows about her mother and your father?”
Lang shrugged. “I have no clue. We only talked business. And Carter ate a lot of cheesecake. We tried two varieties, and that magazine article was right—they’re terrific. We won’t have any problem selling them for sure.”
“And beyond the fact that she didn’t jump at the chance to go into business with us, how was your reception otherwise?”
“Okay,” Lang said. “It wasn’t what Jani met from Gideon that first time she approached him. Heddy Hanrahan doesn’t seem to hate us the way Gideon did initially.”
His cousin Jani had been dispatched on the last of these ventures, and the man she’d encountered during the course of that—Gideon Thatcher—had not been happy to have any contact with a Camden.
“I could tell that Heddy was shocked when I introduced myself,” Lang went on, “but she didn’t tell us to get out or anything. And when I asked her to sit and talk, she did. She was actually fairly friendly—cautious but nice enough.”
“Did you learn anything about her or her family? Is her mother still around? Is she married? Divorced? Widowed?”
“She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.”
“You met her mother?”
Somehow they were on different tracks. “No,” Lang said, “I didn’t meet anyone but Heddy. I meant Heddy wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. Her mother wasn’t around and didn’t come up.”
Lang wasn’t sure if he’d misunderstood his grandmother because of the way she’d asked the questions or if it was just that he had Heddy Hanrahan on the brain. Because despite the fact that his hands had been full with Carter, his head had been full of Heddy Hanrahan since meeting her.
Thoughts of her had been creeping up on him every time he turned around. Thoughts and images of her. Of that lush red hair—not carrot-colored at all, but a deep, dark, rich mahogany red. Beautiful. She had beautiful hair. Wavy and thick.
And it wasn’t only her hair that had had him sneaking peeks of her when he should have been keeping closer tabs on Carter—which was how Carter had ended up with cheesecake in his hair in the first place. Heddy Hanrahan also had the most flawless peaches-and-cream skin he’d ever seen, and luminous hazel eyes with bright green flecks.
Plus she had a face that was as delicate as fine china: a gently curved brow; high, pronounced cheekbones; a thin, straight nose; and a mouth that sported such pink kissable lips….
Not that he’d had any thought of kissing her, for crying out loud, because he hadn’t. He was just trying to do business with her, to compensate her and maybe the rest of her family, for what had happened to them years ago.
Okay, so he’d also taken enough of a look at her compact little body to know it was great, too—with curves in all the right places—but that didn’t mean he’d itched to touch her.
Although yeah, maybe a little part of him had. But it didn’t mean anything.
“Heddy Hanrahan didn’t mention her mother at all?” GiGi’s voice pulled him out of the reverie he’d slipped into.
“No,” Lang answered in a hurry, hoping he didn’t seem dazed. “We only talked business. You said you couldn’t find an obituary for her mother, so she must be around somewhere, but she didn’t come up.” Then something occurred to him that rocked him. “Heddy Hanrahan couldn’t be my half sister, could she?”
“Don’t be silly,” GiGi chastised. “The article said she was thirty. It’s been thirty-six years since Mitchum was involved with her mother. I was just hoping to hear that her mother was still happily married to her father and had had a good life after what went on with your dad.”
A good life after what went on …
That was what they hoped for in all of these cases— to discover that the people burned by dealing with the Camdens in the past had gone on to bigger and better things and not suffered long-term negative effects.
“So she’s pretty, is she?” GiGi said then.
“Beautiful,” Lang said, putting it out front so GiGi couldn’t think it made any difference to him. “Why? Would we not be offering her this deal if she was homely as hell?”
GiGi smiled a smile that irked him because it seemed to say that she saw through him. But she was wrong. He wasn’t interested in Heddy Hanrahan the woman. He might not agree with his family’s assessment that he’d closed himself off, but he certainly had enough on his hands right now without adding romance or a relationship or even another one-night stand.
Although he really, really would like to see that rust-colored hair down….
But he was always sort of a sucker for a redhead, so that didn’t mean anything, either.
He didn’t want to talk any more about Heddy Hanrahan or her looks with his grandmother, though, so he raised his chin in the direction that Jonah had taken Carter and shouted, “Carter! Come on, we need to get home!” Then, wanting to give his grandmother a little of what she’d dished out, he said to GiGi, “We’d better get going so you can have your evening alone with your old high school squeeze. Seems like he might as well move in, he’s here so much.”
“It’s in discussion,” GiGi said.
“Really …” Lang countered with raised eyebrows. “Is that why you won’t babysit for me? You’re too busy getting busy with—”
“I am not going to talk about that with my grandson!” GiGi said with a laugh, echoing what he’d said to her earlier about one-night stands.
“Ooo-hoo, GiGi’s gettin’ busy …” Lang teased. And he actually thought his grandmother’s ordinarily pink cheeks might have turned a shade pinker.
Sliding out of the breakfast nook, he went around to the other side where GiGi was sitting and leaned close to her ear. “It better be more substantial than a one-night stand,” he goaded playfully before he kissed her on the cheek.
She swatted his arm and said just as playfully, “Mind your manners!”
No chance. Lang decided to be incorrigible. “Shall I have a talk with him? Make sure his intentions are honorable?”
“What makes you think mine are?”
Lang laughed and straightened. He did love the old bird even if she had taken him to task tonight.
“Come on, Carter,” he shouted again just before Jonah Morrison herded the toddler back into the kitchen. “Let’s go. We have to pick up some dinner so we can eat fast and get you a bath and wash your hair. I’m thinking pizza tonight.”
“Wis ‘napple!” Carter contributed.
“Only on your part. I don’t like pineapple on my pizza.”
“Look how good you’re getting—you knew what he was saying,” GiGi praised.
Lang merely rolled his eyes and shook his head before he put on Carter’s coat and they all went to the front door.
“Let me know what happens tomorrow with the beautiful Heddy Hanrahan,” GiGi called after him as he led Carter out, clearly getting Lang back with a jab of her own.
“I will,” he answered just before he hoisted Carter into his car seat.
But the mere mention of Heddy was all it took for the picture of her to pop back into his head—and there was no denying that she was beautiful.
It just didn’t have anything to do with anything.
And neither did the small feeling of eagerness that ran through him at the thought of seeing her again tomorrow.
Because while he would never admit it to his grandmother or any of the rest of his family, even if he didn’t have learning to be a father to Carter on his plate right now, he wasn’t ready to let another woman in.
Not even one with red hair.
And he wasn’t sure he ever would be….
“I’ve gone over your books backward and forward, Heddy, and I wish I could tell you something else. But the honest, ugly truth is that you’ve been open for fifteen months and this shop is not making it.”
Heddy had called her cousin Clair on Monday night after closing up to tell her about the visit from Lang Camden. Clair was a certified public accountant and she did Heddy’s books as a favor to Heddy. Now, late on Wednesday afternoon, Clair had showed up with those books to present to Heddy on paper how her business was going under.
“You used the lion’s share of Daniel’s life insurance money to start the business,” Clair continued. “You’ve had to draw on the rest for working and living expenses because you haven’t made a profit a single month since you opened last year, so what’s left is just about gone. Is there any reason to think you’ll have a turnaround and business will pick up?”
“I hoped that the article would do it but it hasn’t. So no,” Heddy admitted.
“Then I say take the deal from the Camdens,” Clair concluded. “Protect yourself but take it. Clark can draw up papers or look over anything the Camdens come up with to make sure everything’s to your advantage. You know how competitive my husband is, and he’s dying to go head-to-head with the big-boy Camden team of attorneys. But, sweetie, it’s either that or go back to nursing.”
Heddy shook her head. “I can’t do that,” she said with the same edge of near-panic that the idea had given her since she’d left pediatric nursing after that awful night that had cost her so dearly. “I can’t even stand the thought of going back to working with kids—of being close to any kids, sick or well. No way.”
“You know the fact that you were a nurse and on duty that night isn’t to blame. And whether or not it’s the way you want it, working that night actually saved you,” Clair said compassionately.
It was the same thing her cousin had said numerous times in the past five years.
“You could go into some other area of nursing—you were so good …”
More fierce head-shaking. “No. Maybe it doesn’t seem logical or reasonable—or even sane—to you, but I can’t go back to doing what I was doing that night. These stupid cheesecakes were my salvation.”
Clair sighed. “Then take the Camden’s offer,” she reiterated as if there was no other advice she could give. “Clark and I will keep an eye on your side to make sure what happened to your mom and your grandfather doesn’t happen to you. If it’s set up the way it was laid out to you, even if the Camdens do bail, what Lang Camden said is right—you can sell to grocery stores or restaurants. That still puts you in a better position than you’re in now.”
That was how Heddy saw it, too. Despite trying to talk herself out of it since Monday when she’d watched the hauntingly handsome Lang Camden leave.
“But there’s still Mom,” Heddy said direly. “I haven’t told her anything about this yet. You know she’ll hit the ceiling.”
“You can’t blame her. But still—”
Heddy and Clair were sitting at one of the tables in the shop—Heddy with her back to the door, Clair facing it—when the shop door opened.
“My second customer of this whole day,” Heddy muttered to her cousin, wondering why Clair’s jaw dropped when she glanced at whoever had just come in.
When Heddy got up to tend to the customer, she saw it was Lang Camden, with Carter in tow again.
“Oh,” Heddy said, understanding her cousin’s expression.
“Hi.” Lang greeted the two women with a smile.
He was dressed in another business suit. This time it was a dark grayish-blue, with a pale blue shirt and matching tie. While Heddy had been tormented by the recurring mental image of the man far, far more than she’d wanted to be since Monday, she was somehow struck all over again by how drop-dead gorgeous he was.
“Hi,” Heddy said after a pause. “Uh … Clair, this is Lang Camden. Mr. Camden, this is my cousin and best friend—and accountant—Clair Darnell.”
“Call me Lang,” he amended. “Nice to meet you, Clair. I hope you’re here in all your capacities to persuade Heddy to do business with me.”
Clair was jolted back into the moment. “We’ve talked,” she said without giving anything away. Then she gathered her purse and a file folder from the table and said to Heddy, “I have to get going, but let me know what you decide. And if you want, I can be there when you tell your mom….”
“Thanks,” Heddy responded as Lang followed his eager little boy companion to the display case and Heddy walked with Clair to the door.
Once they were there, Clair leaned close to Heddy’s ear and whispered, “You didn’t tell me he looked like that! I could leave home for him.”
Heddy laughed softly, as if his good looks didn’t affect her—which was a long way from the truth. Not only was she unable to stop thinking about him, she’d even dreamed about him. Three times in only two nights …
“You wouldn’t leave Clark for anyone,” she whispered back to her cousin.
“Don’t be too sure,” Clair muttered as she peered over Heddy’s shoulder for a second glimpse. “And the kid?”
“I don’t know who he is. He was with him before, too,” Heddy said just as Carter announced loudly that he wanted “burberry” pie.
