Twin of Ice Read online

  “Probably jealous,” Kane snorted, running his hand up and down the smooth skin of her waist and hip.

  “Why do you think Jacob Fenton paid Sherwin for working in the mines when it’s obvious that he’s too weak to actually earn his salary?”

  The groan Kane gave as he rolled away from her was heartfelt. “I can see that the honeymoon is over. Or, with you, maybe it’s still on, since you only started these questions after we got married. I reckon you can get dressed by yourself. I got some business to finish before I can go to bed.” With that, he left her alone.

  Houston was torn between wanting to cry and being glad that she had asked Kane what she had. There was something deep between the Fentons and the Taggerts, and she was sure that Kane could never be truly happy until he was rid of what bothered him.

  The next night, Houston woke shivering and somehow knew that her sister’s life was in danger. She’d heard her mother’s often-repeated story of how one afternoon when Houston was six years old she’d dropped her mother’s best teapot and started crying that Blair was hurt. They’d finally found Blair by the side of an arroyo, unconscious, her arm broken from having fallen from a tree. Blair was supposed to have been attending a dancing lesson.

  But the odd bond between the twins had not appeared since then—until now. Kane called Leander, then held Houston for over two hours until she stopped shaking. Somehow, Houston sensed the danger was over, stopped shaking, and fell into a deep sleep.

  The next day, Blair came to Houston’s house and spent the afternoon telling her what’d happened that had indeed endangered her life.

  * * *

  It was four days later that Zachary Younger burst into their lives. The Taggerts were just sitting down to dinner when the boy, a footman running after him, stormed into the dining room and yelled that he’d heard that Kane was his father, and that he already had one father and didn’t want another one. He left in the next breath.

  Everyone seemed to be stunned except Kane. He sat down while the others remained standing and asked the maid what kind of soup they were having tonight.

  “Kane, I think you should go after him,” Houston said.

  “What for?”

  “Just to talk to him. I think his heart was broken when he found out that the man he thought was his father wasn’t.”

  “Pam’s husband was the boy’s father as far as I can tell. And I sure as hell didn’t tell him any different.”

  “Perhaps you should explain that to the child.”

  “I don’t know how to talk to no kid.”

  Houston looked at him.

  “Damned woman! In another year, I’ll be broke ’cause I’ll have spent all my time doin’ whatever fool things you dream up for me to do.”

  As he started out the door, Houston touched his arm. “Kane, don’t offer to buy him a single thing. Just tell him the truth and invite him to meet his cousin Ian.”

  “Why don’t I invite him to live here and help you think up things for me to do?” He went out the door muttering about “starvin’ to death.”

  Kane walked out the door slowly, but Zach was moving even slower. He caught up with him. “You like to play baseball?”

  Zach turned, his handsome young face full of fury. “Not with you I don’t.”

  Kane was taken aback by the boy’s anger. “You ain’t got no reason to be mad at me. From what I hear, your father was a good man and I never said otherwise.”

  “The people in this nothing town say you’re my father.”

  “Only in a manner of speakin’. I didn’t even know you existed until a few weeks ago. You like whiskey?”

  “Whiskey? I . . . I don’t know. I never drank any.”

  “Come on inside then. We’ll have some whiskey and I’ll explain to you about mothers and fathers and pretty girls.”

  Houston was nervous all afternoon as Kane and his son spent hours locked together in his office. And when at last Zachary left, he looked at Houston from under his lashes, his face red, his mouth smirking.

  “Zachary was certainly looking at me oddly,” she said to Kane.

  Kane studied the fingernails of his left hand. “I explained to ’im about makin’ babies, and I guess I got carried away.”

  Houston’s jaw dropped a fraction.

  Kane grabbed an apple. “I got to work tonight ’cause Zach is comin’ over tomorrow to play baseball with me and Ian.”

  He gave her a sharp look. “You sure you’re all right? You look a little green. Maybe you oughta rest a while. Takin’ care of this house might be too much for you.” He kissed her check before he returned to his office.

  * * *

  It was four days later that Kane decided to visit Vaughn’s Sporting Goods and see what other game equipment was available. His and Edan’s team had been soundly beaten by the team of Ian and Zachary. Ian, having spent most of his young life inside a coal mine, was awed by Kane and not yet sure enough of himself to accuse Kane of not playing by the rules. After all, it was Kane’s bat.

  Zach had no such qualms. He made Kane follow every rule to the letter and would not let his father be what Kane called “creative.” So far, Kane’d had to forfeit every game because he refused to follow any rule that someone else had made. He wanted to rewrite the baseball rule book.

  Now, he and Edan were in the sporting goods store choosing tennis equipment, bicycles, and an entire gymnasium set of Indian clubs and pulleys.

  On the other side of the counter was Jacob Fenton. He rarely left his house now, preferring to stay at home and read his stock reports and curse the fact that his only son wasn’t interested in business in the least. But lately, his future had brightened, because his daughter, whom he’d dismissed as worthless long ago, had returned to his house with her young son.

  Young Zachary was all that a man could hope for in a son: eager to learn, interested, extremely intelligent, and the boy even had a sense of humor. In fact, Zach’s only flaw was his growing attachment to his father. On afternoons when he should have been at home studying how to manage the coal mines he’d someday inherit, he was at his father’s playing games. Jacob had decided to fight fire with fire and buy the boy all the sporting equipment he could find.

  Kane, his arms full of tennis racquets and two pairs of fifteen-pound dumbbells, turned a corner and came face to face with Jacob Fenton. Kane stood there staring, his face rapidly starting to show his rage.

  Jacob had no idea who this big, dark man was except that he looked vaguely familiar. The suit the young man wore obviously cost him some money.

  “Excuse me, sir,” Jacob said, trying to pass.

  “Don’t recognize me out of the stable, do you, Fenton?”

  Jacob realized that this man reminded him of Zachary. And he knew quite well why Taggert’s face showed hatred. He turned away.

  “Wait a minute, Fenton!” Kane called. “You’re comin’ to my house for dinner two weeks from today.”

  Jacob paused for a moment, his back to Kane, and gave a curt nod before briskly leaving the store.

  Kane was silent as he put his purchases on the counter and Edan handed the storekeeper a long list of equipment. “Send all this to my house,” he said, not bothering to identify himself before he walked outside and climbed into his old wagon.

  When Edan was beside him, he clucked to the horses. “I think I’ll get me somethin’ better to drive around in than this ol’ wagon.”

  “Why? So you can impress Fenton?”

  Kane looked at his friend. “What’s in your craw?”

  “Why are you inviting old man Fenton to dinner?”

  Kane’s jaw stiffened. “You damn well know why.”

  “Yeah, I know why: to show him that you’ve done better than he has, to show off your pretty house and your pretty silverware and your pretty wife. Have you ever thought what Houston’s going to say when she finds out that you want her just as much as you want a new carriage?”

  “That ain’t true and you know it. Houston’