Canyon. Brenda Jackson
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When she came to a traffic light she glanced into the backseat to make sure Beau was okay. She couldn’t get over how easily he had accepted Canyon.
And just how easily Canyon had accepted him.
Canyon hadn’t demanded a DNA test for verification, instead he’d claimed that Beau favored Dillon’s son. Had that been the reason why his acceptance had come without any hassles? Well, there hadn’t been any hassles so far. They still had to talk, and someone who’d been as close to Canyon as she had been in the past knew that while he had a cool demeanor on the outside, he was simmering on the inside.
Keisha drew in a deep breath and exited onto the road that would take her home. Glancing in the rearview mirror her gaze met Canyon’s as he seemed to look right at her. Gee whiz, did he have to look at her like that? With an intensity that had her dragging in more than one shaky breath and a rush of heat flooding her stomach, making it quiver. She gripped the steering wheel and refocused on her driving.
Canyon had always been able to get to her. At that moment, she couldn’t help but remember the day nearly four years ago when they’d met...
“Excuse me. Is this seat taken?”
Keisha looked up from the papers she’d been reading. A shot of hard lust reverberated through her veins. Lordy. Standing in front of her had to be, without a doubt, a man who could get a “yes” out of a woman without even asking the first question.
He was tall, more than six feet, and she had to strain her neck to look up at him. He had smooth mahogany skin, dark eyes, a firm jaw and a too-delicious-looking pair of lips. Once she got past his facial features then she had to deal with his broad shoulders and a too-fine body in an immaculate business suit.
“So, is it?” he asked in a deep, sexy voice.
She self-consciously licked her lips. “Is what?”
“This seat taken? It seems to be the only one empty.”
She glanced around the courthouse’s lunchroom. He was telling the truth. “No, it’s not taken.”
“Mind if I join you?”
She had to bite her lips to keep from saying he could do anything he cared to do with her. Instead, she said, “No, I don’t mind.”
She watched as he pulled out a chair and settled his tall frame in the seat. She had to be in court in less than an hour. At any other time she would have been annoyed at being disturbed, but not this time. This man was worth the interruption.
Extending his hand out to her, he said, “I’m Canyon Westmoreland. And you are?”
“Keisha. Keisha Ashford.” She accepted his hand and wished she hadn’t. Her belly vibrated the moment they touched. And then, suddenly, it seemed the room quieted and they were the only two people in it. The only thing she heard was the sound of their breathing. The way he stared into her eyes made her breath catch. She felt the rush through her veins.
The sound of silverware hitting the floor made her blink, and she realized Canyon still had her hand. She tugged and he released it.
“So, Keisha Ashford, are you an attorney or a paralegal?”
She lifted a brow. “Does it matter?”
He shrugged broad shoulders. “Not with me. I’m sharing a table with a beautiful woman and I’m not complaining about anything.”
She chuckled, appreciating his compliment. “You sound easy.”
“Um, maybe.”
A smile spread across her lips. She liked him. She had checked out his ring finger. It was bare, with no indication that a ring had once been there. “I’m an attorney.”
“So am I,” he said smoothly.
“I can tell. You look the part,” she said.
He leaned over the table and she drew in his intoxicating male scent. “Let’s meet later so you can tell me what you mean by that.”
Oh, she thought. He was good. As smooth as silk. Any other time, and with anyone else, she would have brushed off what was definitely a flirtatious come-on. But not today. And, for some reason, not with Canyon Westmoreland.
Instead of agreeing to his suggestion, she said, “Canyon is an unusual name.”
“Not according to my parents,” he said, smiling. “I was conceived one night in the Grand Canyon, so they felt my name fit. I understand it was one hell of a night.”
She tilted her head. “Your parents told you that?”
“No, but I heard them share a private joke about it every once in a while. It brought them fond memories for years.”
“And what do they think now?”
She saw a flash of pain flare in his eyes. “I don’t know. My parents were killed in a plane crash a little over fifteen years ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said.
“Thanks. Now what about meeting me later for drinks? There’s a place not far from here. Woody’s.” He glanced at his watch. “Around five. Hopefully, if we win our individual cases, we will have reason to celebrate.”
She smiled. “That would be nice. I’ll be there.”
He tipped his head and the smile that spread across his lips was priceless...and sexy as hell. “Good. I’ll look forward to later, Keisha Ashford.”
She swallowed as his gaze raked over her in a way that had her skin scorching. At that moment she was drenched in full awareness of him and could only respond by saying truthfully, “So will I....”
“Mommy.”
Keisha’s thoughts returned to the present at the sound of her son’s voice. He had been busy playing with one of his toys while sitting in his car seat. Beau was just as high-spirited as any other two-year-old and typically never stopped talking except when shoving food into his mouth. But today things were different. She couldn’t help wondering if Canyon’s presence had something to do with it.
“Yes, Beau?”
“Dad gone?”
Was that disappointment she heard in his voice? Moving here from Texas had been hard for him. Her mother had become a regular fixture in his life and the first months away from his grandmother hadn’t been easy. Beau had made her fully aware what tantrums were about.
“He’s in the car behind us.”
She looked in the mirror and saw Beau trying to twist his body around in his car seat. “Why?”
She lifted a brow. “Why?”
“He not here. Our car?”
Keisha felt a headache coming on and knew after Canyon’s visit she would have to have a talk with her son. “Because he has his own car.”
“Go home with us?”
“Yes.” Too late she realized how that sounded and quickly moved to clear it up. “He has his own home. Not ours.”
“Not our house?”
“No, not our house.”
He didn’t say anything, but went back to playing with his toy. When they got home she would feed him dinner, give him a bath and then let him have a little playtime before putting him in bed. When it came to bedtime, she was lucky. Beau didn’t have the issues some other kids did with fighting sleep. He eagerly went to bed each night as if it was his God-given right to get eight hours or more of sleep.
She glanced back into her rearview mirror at the car still following closely behind her. Her gaze connected with Canyon’s once again.
She no longer loved him, she was sure of it. Her love hadn’t dissipated immediately