The Enchanted Land Read online

Morgan jumped up from the table. “But he left me alone! He didn’t even know about Adam. I should think that would be sufficient reason for a divorce!”

  “Ah, yes… Adam is another problem. Before he was born, a divorce would have been a lot simpler. Now, of course, there is the possibility that the courts would award Adam to his father.”

  Her mind went blank. She sat down again. “What do you mean?” Her voice was harsh.

  “Well, I briefly told Mr. Bradley about your troubles in San Francisco. I assured him that you were totally innocent, but he said that no matter what the truth of the matter was, your stay at Madame Nicole’s would look very bad on paper. And later, you lived with an unmarried man—Theron. It all looks bad.”

  “But none of that was my fault!”

  “That wouldn’t really matter. Seth’s lawyer could use those facts to tarnish your character.”

  Morgan sat quietly, her hands folded in her lap. She couldn’t even imagine losing Adam.

  “There is a way.”

  “How?”

  “If we found Seth and persuaded him to waive all rights to his son.”

  Morgan felt helpless, defeated. “He’d never do that,” she whispered.

  “How do you know? We’d have to find him and ask him.”

  She stood up. “Please excuse me, Gordon, I’m not very hungry this morning.” How do I know? I know because Seth loves his son very much and he would never give him up. Never.

  Gordon smiled. He really shouldn’t have lied that way. Not lied, really … but bent the truth. Mr. Bradley had said all those things, but had added that there were ways of getting around the situation. Gordon had simply neglected to mention them to Morgan. It was for her own good, though. Someone had to stop her from ruining her life.

  “Well, Adam, shall we go ride a horse?”

  Adam grinned, showing little white teeth. “Ride horse.”

  “Very good. A few more days and you’ll be able to argue with your mother.”

  Morgan spent the morning helping Roselle in the kitchen. After lunch, she went to Gordon’s study to work on the household accounts. She tried a hundred times to make the horizontal row of numbers match the vertical row.

  “Mama.”

  She looked up to see Adam running to her, arms outstretched. She was glad for the excuse to leave the hated numbers. “What happened to the pink-and-white cherub who left here this morning? I think this boy must have lived all his life with coyotes. Do you have a kiss for your mama?”

  Morgan looked up to see Seth’s large form smiling down on them. “I brought him back. He needs a nap in the afternoon. It’s too tiring for him to ride in the sun all day.”

  She began to inform him that she was perfectly capable of caring for her own son, but choked back the angry words. “That’s very thoughtful of you.” She looked down at Adam’s head. He was sitting in her lap, his back to her. He was perfectly still, a sure sign that he was tired. She shifted him to one side in preparation for lifting him.

  In one stride, Seth was across the few feet separating them. He took Adam in his arms. His hand brushed her breast. It was as if a torch had touched her. Seth looked into her eyes, but she turned away quickly, hiding her reaction.

  “If you’ll show me where his room is, I’ll put him in bed for you.”

  “I’ll…” She saw in his eyes that he’d have his way. “Follow me.”

  “With pleasure.” His eyes were on the sway of her skirts as they went upstairs. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks again.

  “Just put him here on the cot. I need to undress him before I put him in bed.”

  Seth carefully deposited the sleepy Adam on the cot, and began unbuttoning his shirt.

  Morgan started to intercede, but he brushed her aside. “I want to. I don’t get to spend much time with him, and I want to, whenever I can.”

  Morgan stood back and watched as Seth awkwardly removed Adam’s shirt. It was funny to see the rugged little body treated as if it were eggshells. Adam, for some reason of his own, decided not to bend his arm. Seth worked for several minutes with no result. Adam’s eyes were half closed, but she knew he was very much awake and enjoying his father’s increasing frustration.

  A giggle finally escaped her.

  Seth whirled on her. “What’s so funny?” he demanded.

  “You. You act like he’s a piece of handblown crystal. I assure you he is very strong. I could show you bruises he’s made on me—” She stopped because Seth’s eyes were twinkling.

  “I’d like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “To see your bruises.”

  She looked away and stepped in front of Seth to tend her son. Adam’s eyes opened wide. “Yes, you little imp, you know I won’t put up with your nonsense. Now let’s get out of these clothes.”

  She began to undress Adam quickly, all too aware that Seth had not moved from his place behind her. She could feel his breath on her neck as he leaned nearer to watch.

  “Is that how it’s done?” His voice was low and very close.

  She turned to answer him. His face was only inches from hers. His eyes were slightly hooded, the lips parted and sensual. Her breathing became more shallow as she saw the strong neck and the blond hair that curled above his open shirt. She knew the look well. She had often fallen into his arms when he had looked at her like that.

  “I remember a time when you undressed a larger man.”

  With all her strength, she turned back to her son. She did not respond to the thigh that pressed against hers. She turned away from Seth and bent to pick up Adam. Seth moved in front of her and easily picked him up, put him into the bed, covered him, and kissed his forehead. He stared down at Adam for a minute.

  “He’s a good-looking boy, isn’t he?”

  She could swear Seth puffed his chest out. She looked at him in disgust. Her voice was cutting. “Yes. All the Traherns are handsome people.”

  Seth’s eyes teased. “I know one little grandaughter who’s a beauty.”

  She glanced away.

  Seth looked around the room for the first time, walking to a group of drawings on the wall. He turned startled eyes back to Morgan. “This is you, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “But how did they get here? I thought you left New Mexico when you were a baby.”

  Morgan explained briefly about the agent her father had hired, and why he had written that preposterous will.

  Seth threw his head back and laughed. Adam turned over in his bed but did not waken. Morgan opened the door and they both went into the hall.

  “Would you mind telling me why my story is so amusing?” Her voice was hostile.

  “Because I thought that will of your father’s was one of the meanest things I’d ever encountered. But he was a sly one. He knew all along about that crazy mother of yours and the way she’d raised you.”

  “My mother was not crazy!”

  “I shouldn’t have put it that way. I’m sorry.”

  “I’ve found that a lot of things my mother taught me were perfectly true.”

  “Such as?”

  “Men! Men are not to be trusted. They use women. Women are better off without them.”

  She didn’t see Seth move, but all at once, she was in his arms. Before she could think, his lips found hers, quietly at first and then searchingly. Her arms went around his strong, hard body, pulling him closer. Her long-withheld passions came to the surface, and she felt she was falling.

  Her body acted by itself, pressing her softness against his muscular thighs and hips. Her mouth opened under his and she returned his thrust with an eagerness of her own. Her lips moved with his. His lips sought her neck, traveling down the tendons with little nibbling bites, causing chills along the curve of her spine and on her legs. “I love you, Morgan. I’ve always loved you.”

  The words pierced her brain, recalling a time when she had said those words to him. She remembered his sneer. She couldn’t let it happen again. She wasn