Chapter 8
Kendall ran her hands down over her body as she stood in front of the floor length mirror. No, the lump wasn’t very big-she was only about twelve weeks along-but it was definitely there. She swept up to her breasts, amazed all over again at how they’d grown.
Grif thought he’d died and gone to heaven. They’d started to grow, becoming more plump than she’d ever been before. She had to caution him a couple of times because they were so sensitive. That sensitivity led to earth shattering orgasms though, which he very happily coaxed out of her every night. And some mornings. And some afternoons. She was flattered in that he never seemed to get tired of her.
And she never tired of him. Though he was around morning, noon and night, they got along well together. They never fought or even really said a cross word to one another. They’d settled into married life as if they’d been made for it.
Grif took her on a date one day. He dragged her from the office and packed her into the truck, refusing to tell her where they were going. As soon as he turned onto the mountain road, though, it was obvious he would be taking her up.
As they climbed in elevation, the snow became more pristine. He pulled into one of the many lodges that catered to tourists and walked her inside. When he spoke to one of the attendants, she was shown to a private dressing area. Grif had brought a bag for her and as she looked inside, she realized he had raided her closet, bringing her woolens to stay warm. The attendant had placed a snow suit inside the door, so she dragged it on after her clothes.
She stepped out of the dressing room, smiling at the thought of coming down the mountain as fast as she dared. In the past few years, she’d become a passable skier.
A young, dark-haired attendant stepped toward her. “Can you follow me please, Mrs. Parks?”
A thrill went through her at the use of the unfamiliar name. She’d been going by Herrington, but if Grif had given her Parks to use, maybe he was trying to tell her something.
She followed the girl through the lobby of the resort, then down a flight of stairs and along a walkway. When they exited a doorway, Kendall found herself on the opposite side of the lodge. Grif stood a few feet away, holding the reins of a very large black horse.
Kendall smiled in wonder, stepping forward to rub the animal on his massive head. “Oh, Grif. He’s beautiful. I can’t believe you brought me out here.”
“Well, we haven’t done anything yet, but I thought you might like to go on a sleigh ride with me.”
She grinned, realizing the horse’s body had hidden the old-style carriage sleigh. Her throat tightened with emotion at the thoughtful gesture and she could only nod. Grif held her hand as she stepped up inside and sat on the bouncy seat, then followed her up. He spread a rustic throw rug over her knees before gathering the reins and clicking to the horse.
“Jack is a very eager boy,” Grif told her as they turned toward a trail head.
The horse took off at a heavy, ground-eating trot. Kendall laughed and held onto Grif’s elbow as they swished past the evergreens lining the trail. Snow flew from the skids of the sleigh and she laughed with genuine enjoyment. Nobody had ever done anything like this for her before.
They wound their way up the mountain and eventually came to a clearing that had been set up for a picnic. A square patch of snow had been cleared away to make room for a large blanket. Setting on one corner of the blanket was a large wicker basket.
Kendall glanced at Grif. He seemed a little leery of how she’d react, so she let him see the genuine appreciation in her face. “Is this a date? Our first date?”
Grif winced and pulled on the reins, guiding the horse to a nearby tree. “So we’ve got the order of things jumbled up. Give a guy a break.”
Kendall laughed at the look on his face. “Well, I guess I was the one who started everything on the wrong foot.”
He raised a brow at her and nodded firmly before hopping from the sleigh to tie the horse. When he returned, Kendall took his hand before stepping down into the snow. The powder was more than six inches deep, but slick underneath. With the temperature rising as they rolled into spring, the ground had begun to warm.
Grif walked her to the blanket, then held both arms as she lowered to the ground. Though she wasn’t very big, she appreciated the help. Balance had become tenuous sometimes.
Lunch was a fragrant beef stew with a crusty French bread. They didn’t talk about anything important, but managed to find several similarities in what they liked and didn’t like. And when the afternoon sun made her drowsy, Grif pulled her into his arms and laid down on the blanket. He tucked her into his side and rested his chin against her hair.
“This was a lovely first date. Thank you,” she sighed.
She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head before they both fell asleep.
Grif seemed to be at loose ends, though. He’d gotten leave from the agency he worked at in Denver, but he needed something permanent to keep busy. She had offered to place him on the payroll at Herrington, but he’d given her a scathing look. She realized now the offer had probably sounded like charity.
The friendliness they’d had after the date had taken a hit that day.
She couldn’t worry about it now, though. Herrington had another quarterly board meeting today. She was going to have to come clean about the pregnancy soon because her clothes were getting tight. She wanted to push the announcement off till next month.
Her father called as she was getting ready to go in.
“Hey Dad. You’re up early.”
He sighed over the line and she could picture him in her mind as he swung around in his big leather office chair at home. “Well, I’ve been getting up and heading into the office for forty years. Don’t know if I’ll be able to turn off my clock when you do take over the reins.”
She laughed lightly, but she could hear something in his voice that worried her. “What’s wrong?”
“Not sure exactly, but I wanted to give you a heads up. Hunter has been making a few waves, recently, saying you were knocked up and that you had to marry your security man.”
Kendall sucked in a breath. She hadn’t told her father about the pregnancy yet, but this was the perfect opening. “I didn’t have to marry anyone, but what if I was pregnant?”
The subtle squeak from her father’s chair stopped abruptly and the silence lengthened. “Kendall Victoria Herrington, are you pregnant?”
“I am, Dad. About twelve weeks.”
There was an explosion of sound on the other end of the line that sounded like her father had dropped the phone. There was jostling and banging, then her father came back on. “Are you lying to me because you know how much I want a grandbaby?”
She laughed. “No, Dad. I wouldn’t do that. It’s completely true. It didn’t happen exactly the way I wanted it to, but we’re working it out. Grif is a good guy. Marrying him was not a hardship. At all.”
She realized then that her handsome husband stood across the room in his standard white T-shirt. He held his prosthetic in his good hand, as if she’d interrupted him putting it on. His eyes were shadowed from her and she wondered if she’d said something wrong. He turned away and disappeared into the bathroom.
She wanted to go to him, to ask what was wrong, but she could only deal with one fire at a time.
“I had planned to wait to tell the board, but perhaps I should beat him to the punch.”
Dad hm’ed on the other end of the line, but she could tell he wasn’t thinking strategy when he asked her, “Are you going to name it after me if it’s a boy?”
Kendall laughed, loving that her once driven father had mellowed enough to want to enjoy grandkids. “Well, we’ll see. We’ve got a long ways to go yet.”
She heard whispering through the line, then a woman’s voice in the background.
“Emily says she’s overjoyed. And that she knew all along.”
Kendall laughed again, happy that she had let the two of them in on the secret.
“Well, tell her she’s at least going to be official Godmother.”
Frank repeated what she said and then huffed into the line. “She just burst into tears and disappeared. I think that means she would love that.”
“Well, it was an easy choice.”
“Why not Deedra?”
Kendall straightened, aware her father had just thrown her into a minefield. She loved her father, but his choices were sometimes bizarre. Why he’d thought Deedra would be good for him, she had no idea. But it wasn’t her place to tear the woman down. Her father would have to see it himself before he accepted anybody else’s word.
“Well, I’m sure Deedra is a nice lady, Dad, but...,”
“Bullshit. She’s not and we both know it. A little birdie helped me see a few things recently and Deedra’s time may be coming to a close. Hell, she didn’t even come home last night.”
Kendall was torn at the news. The woman had venom running through her veins and her father did not need to be around her. But she held some appeal for her father. “I’m sorry it’s not working out, Dad.”
“Ah, well, anyway. Back to the baby. I think you should let the board know. But also convey to them how healthy you are and how excited you are to be welcoming another Herrington into the world, to continue the line in our successful business. Most of these men have known you for several years now Kendall. They know what kind of businesswoman you are.”
Tears blurred her sight at her father’s praise. He didn’t give it lightly, she knew. And his support meant the world to her. “Ok. If you think that’s what I should do I will.”
“I’m not telling you to do it, but I think you’ll have more support than you need. Take your husband with you. He’ll back you up if the shit hits the fan.”
“I will,” she promised.
“In all seriousness honey, he’s a good man to have in your corner.”
“Oh, I know, believe me.”
A knot of tension she hadn’t even been aware of carrying for the past couple of months eased. There wasn’t a lot she didn’t tell her father. Keeping the pregnancy from him and Emily had been difficult.
Walking back into the bedroom, she peered into the bathroom for Grif. He’d just finished shaving and had grabbed a towel to dry his face. She wanted to snug up to him and nuzzle his smooth jaw.
The man seriously turned her on. Yes, she’d always been attracted to him, even when he’d first hired on, but the more time she spent with him the more she loved.
Loved. Yeah, she was getting there.
Grif raised a dark eyebrow and she realized he’d asked a question. “Sorry, what?”
“What did your father say?”
She leaned her butt against the bathroom counter and folded her arms over her chest. “That I need to have faith in the men he’s done business with for years. And that Deedra may be out of our lives soon.”
He reached for his toothbrush and set it on the counter. The prosthetic moved in to hold it down while his other hand maneuvered the twist cap off the end of the tube. Kendall didn’t know if she could do it that way, untwist the little lid with the same hand holding it. He layered the paste on, remounted the lid and started to brush his teeth. “What did Deedra do, did he say?”
She laughed at the froth foaming his mouth. “No, he didn’t. Don’t care really as long as she’s gone from his life.”
Grif’s eyes met hers in the mirror as he spat in the sink. “Well, he’s a smart man. He’ll figure it out.”
“My dad is a very smart man. He told me to keep you close when the shit hits the fan.”
Grif laughed and shook his head. “I like your dad just as much. My father was not a model citizen. Lifetime crook.”
“Really?”
“Died several years ago. Before I joined the Marines and lost my hand.”
“When did your mom die?”
He gave her a funny look. “She didn’t yet, as far as I know. Probably still sitting in the same chair smoking cigarettes and drinking vodka as she was years ago.”
Kendall cringed. “Sounds like the military was an escape for you.”
“Oh, definitely. I’d have been career if I hadn’t made that one rookie mistake. EOD doesn’t have a great record for longevity. We all eventually get blown up.”
She cringed at the matter-of-fact way he said it, wondering how many of his buddies he’d lost.
“Now I’m ‘combat modified’.”
Kendall’s heart ached at the term. Though she’d never heard it before, it seemed appropriate.