Almost Home Part 36

He was protecting her, Katherine realized. Even now, after everything that had happened, he was protecting her from his father. A small seed of hope took root and refused to let go.

"He doesn't have anything to say," Zach said to the crowd. "In fact, he's leaving, aren't you?"

Jackson raised his champagne gla.s.s. "Not without toasting the new Stanton heir, the new soon-to-be-owner of Stanton Farms. To Zach's replacement-Miss Katherine Stanton." Jackson wasn't done yet. "Oh, before I go, I found a cuff link, Katherine. I believe it matches the one Margaret saved to remind her of your father." He held it up in his hand. "I'm sure someone will want to claim this."

Katherine steadied herself on the railing as the cuff link glittered in the light from the chandelier. How could Jackson have the cuff link? It was tucked away in her chest.

Katherine looked at J.T., who reached out a hand to his wife, a hand that was ignored. She glanced over at Leeanne and Jimmy, who couldn't seem to look at each other. Justin stood by the door with his wife, a pretty pale blonde with innocent eyes who seemed to have no idea what anyone was talking about.

Then Katherine looked at Zach. He answered her plea. He took the cuff link out of his father's hand. "That's enough," Zach said. "You've had your fun. It's over."

"Not quite," Jackson said. "There's still Mrs. Stanton's wedding ring to discuss." He directed his gaze toward Claire. "Zachary took it, you know. Sold you out. Amusing, isn't it? He's spent so much time pretending he isn't exactly like me."

Katherine drew in a sharp breath, hoping that neither Claire nor Harry would turn on Zach now, not here, not in front of everyone. She turned to see Harry tighten his hold on Claire, but her grandmother appeared to be quite calm.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Tyler," Claire said. "I have my wedding ring." She held up her hand.

And the crowd turned back to Jackson.

He shrugged. "A copy, I'm sure."

"No. Now that you've had your say, I'd ask you to leave, sir," Claire said with dignity.

"This time you're really through," Zach said forcefully. "You're a liar and a thief and no one here will believe a word you say, so you might as well go." Zach grabbed his arm. "Now, do you want me to drag you out of here or will you come without a struggle?"

Jackson looked at Zach in complete astonishment. "You're my son."

"Yes, I'm your son, G.o.d help me."

Katherine watched Zach glance around at the people he'd always wanted to impress, and wondered how he'd had the guts to say it so loudly, so proudly.

"It's too bad none of us get to choose our parents, isn't it?" Zach turned back to Jackson. "I may have to live down your reputation every day of my life, but I certainly don't have to do it in your presence. You're leaving now."

Jackson didn't move, and father and son stood silently glaring at each other. Then Sam Jamison came forward to stand at Zach's side, followed by Justin, and another man and another, until half the valley was standing on Zach's side.

Thank G.o.d, the people of Paradise had finally realized that Zach Tyler was not their enemy. He was their friend. Katherine felt the tears well in her eyes.

"You're done here, Tyler," someone in the crowd said.

"Go away, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d," someone else called out, until chants of anger rang through the foyer.

Jackson pulled his arm out from Zach's grip. He straightened his suit coat and smiled as if he'd just been elected president instead of declared a public nuisance. "You're no longer my son," he said to Zach.

"Thank you," Zach said with a smile. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Just for that, I won't tell you who Katherine's father is." His words quieted the crowd once again. "But I know. And someday everyone will know. So just wait and wonder, my friends, and know that at any moment Jackson Tyler can take you down." Jackson pushed his way through the crowd to the front door, tipping his head as he left the house.

After a moment of tense silence, Harry cleared his throat. "We have drinks and food. Please help yourselves."

As if released from a gate, the people broke in two directions, toward the living room and the dining room where buffet tables and waiters serving champagne awaited.

Claire turned to Katherine with a compa.s.sionate look in her eyes. "I'm sorry about that."

"It wasn't your fault." She smiled at Claire. "Did you see what Zach did? Wasn't he amazing?"

"Amazing. He loves you, Katherine."

"It wasn't about me. It was about him finding peace with himself."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit. Why don't you talk to him? I think he's waiting for you."

Katherine turned her head to see Zach at the bottom of the stairs, a few feet from her. She walked down to him, studying every lonesome, handsome line in his face, soaking up the memory to take with her. She didn't want to forget him, not ever.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome." He gazed down at her with the same yearning intensity that burned through her body, as if he wanted her but he was afraid to touch her.

"I'm leaving Paradise," she said abruptly.

He drew in a sharp breath. "When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Why so soon?"

She licked her lips. "I don't belong here. You were right that very first day. I'm already bored. And I don't care all that much for Claire and Harry. I mean, it's fine they're my grandparents and all, but they're not my kind of people."

"You're such a liar," he said softly.

She tried to act nonchalant. "I'm telling the truth. I don't fit in here. So I'm leaving. I told Claire that I absolutely will not have anything to do with this farm, so Harry better leave it to someone who cares about it. Someone like you."

"You don't have to do this for me."

"Why would I?"

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Because you love me."

Her heart stopped. "I-I do," she said in a shaky voice, wis.h.i.+ng she could have said I do not. But he wouldn't have believed her. "That doesn't matter. The two of us don't fit together either, remember?"

"I thought you were going to fight for me."

She hesitated. "I don't know how. You haven't returned my calls. And even now, you seem too far away."

"Then come with me."

"What?" Goose b.u.mps ran down her arms at the look in his eyes.

He took her by the hand and led her through the entry, out of the house, and onto the back porch where the shadowy darkness enveloped them like a warm, cozy quilt. Katherine drew in a deep breath and smelled the lavender. Suddenly she had the crazy feeling everything was going to be all right.

She looked over at Zach. "Do you smell it?"

"The lavender? I can't get it out of my head. Every time I go to sleep, I feel like I'm lying down in a bed of flowers. And you're always with me, Kat. I can't get rid of you either. And I've tried. Believe me, I've tried. The last few days have been one long agonizing pain in the-"

"Shh." She put a finger against his mouth. "If you call me a pain in the b.u.t.t, you're going to break the mood here."

He smiled down at her. "I wasn't going to come tonight. I didn't think I could see you and not want you." He paused, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I was right. You look beautiful. Even if the Stantons hadn't announced you were their granddaughter, every eye in the place would have been on you."

"Not me, you. What you did tonight. It made me proud."

"Me, too," he replied with a self-mocking smile. "You were the one who wanted to walk the high wire, but I guess it took losing my own safety net-the Stantons-to realize that I didn't need one anymore."

"You never did, Zach."

"I did a long time ago when I was sixteen years old." He paused. "I told Harry about the ring. I guess he didn't have a chance to tell Claire. Otherwise, I don't know what she would have said."

"Exactly what she did. She knew. She told me she'd always known. But she loved you like a son."

Zach's eyes glittered with emotion. "She's something else, you know."

"I do know. And so are you. You're bigger than your father in every way imaginable. I think that's why he tried to hurt you tonight. You went up against him, and he thought he could teach you a lesson, take you down to his level, only you wouldn't go."

"I would have died before I let him hurt you." He touched her cheek with one finger. "You are so soft, so vulnerable, Kat. You make me want to protect you."

"I feel the same way about you, even though you don't need my protection. The people of this valley stood next to you tonight, Zach."

"And it didn't really matter to me, because you weren't standing by my side," Zach replied. "I've spent the last few days at the track watching Rogue run, trying to concentrate on my dream, trying to imagine not just the next couple of weeks but the next couple of years, and I couldn't do it, not without you in the picture." He grinned at her. "You're not going back to California, Kat. You have too much unfinished business here."

"Like what?"

"I still owe you a riding lesson."

"That's right, you do."

"Then you'll have to start learning about the horse business from the ground up. And then there's the racing world, a wild garden to tame, and grandparents to get to know..."

She felt her heart begin to sing. "Do you mean that, Zach? Do you want to do it together?"

"Well, I figure if I let you go back to California, I'll probably get the farm back. If I encourage you to stay in Kentucky, I'll get both you and the farm. I might be bullheaded, but I'm not stupid."

She grinned up at him. "And what do I get if I stay here?"

"Paradise?" he suggested wickedly.

"And what else?"

"Me."

"And what else?"

He paused. "The best s.e.x you've ever had?"

"And what else?"

"A couple of kids," he said with a sigh.

"Don't sound so happy. What else?"

"Good grief. What else could you possibly want?"

"Your soul."

Zach stared down at her. She'd always wondered what it would be like to have Zach's energy and intensity focused only on her. Now she knew. It was heartbreakingly wonderful, and she didn't want it to end. But she couldn't have a part of him. She had to have all of him. She'd settled for less so many times before with people who liked her but didn't love her. She wouldn't do it again.

"You already have my soul, Kat," he murmured. "But I guess you need to hear the words."

"I do."

"Then here they are-I love you."

Her mouth trembled, her legs shook with the force of her emotions, and she had to hang on to his waist so she wouldn't fall to the ground. "I didn't think you could ever say that to me."

"I could have said it days ago. I thought it; I just couldn't get the words out. I was a gutless coward."

"I love you, too, Zach."

"If Rogue loses, I could be a poor man," he warned her. "I've invested everything I have in that horse."

"We'll never be poor. We have each other. And if you don't want to get married, I understand."

He shook his head. "Oh, I'm definitely marrying you. I want you tied to me for all time."

"You'd take that chance? That empty aisle, all those people watching?"

"For you, yes. Will you marry me, Kat?"

"I certainly will." She smiled into his eyes. "Now, are you ever going to kiss me?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

He sealed his promise to love her with a spellbinding kiss that made her wish for a very short party. "I wanted you to come tonight. And now I just want us to leave," she confessed with a smile. "How long do we have to stay here?"

"I think the Stantons want to show you off. You've brought a new light into Claire's eyes. Even Harry seems softer."

"I'm starting to love Claire. Harry will take a little more time. Do you mind sharing them with me, Zach?"

"Sam told me once I needed a pack of my own to run with. I think with you, Harry, Claire, we have the beginnings of a pretty nice family."

"We certainly do."