Chapter Sixteen
Alex said nothing as he followed Maddie into the old house. The building had been painted white at one time, but now appeared to be coated in the same fine brown dust that covered everything else in sight. Alex had read bits and pieces about the American West. None of that had prepared him for the vast emptiness that seemed to surround them on all sides. And that was just the terrain. The dirty men standing in the ranch yard were uncouth, and that was putting it mildly. He had never been so very aware of the gulf between himself and others. Perhaps Maddie had been right. He was a snob.
“Come in and take a load off,” Maddie’s Aunt Lori said graciously.
Lori swept her hand around the room to indicate the hodgepodge of overstuffed leather furniture. Alex found he was somewhat mesmerized by the room itself. An array of hunting rifles in a glass front case was displayed prominently in the center of the room. A stone fireplace dominated one wall, and there were bits and pieces of wrought iron art all over the walls and tabletops. He felt as though he’d stepped onto a movie set.
Maddie plopped onto a sofa and spread out. Alex sat gingerly on an adjoining chair and wondered what was going to happen next. Lori had disappeared into what he had assumed was the kitchen. Moments later she reappeared with a tray holding three glasses, a pitcher of lemonade, and what appeared to be round chocolate snack cakes.
“Ding Dongs!” Maddie said eagerly. She reached for a cake before Lori had even managed to set the tray on the coffee table. The plastic wrapping was duly ripped away, and Maddie took a bite. “So good! Man, I’ve missed these!”
“Sweetie, they have Ding Dongs in New York,” Lori snorted. “Try going to the store every once in awhile.”
“Haven’t been in New York for almost a week.” Maddie polished off her cake and poured herself some lemonade. “We’ve got a problem, Aunt Lori, and I need your help.”
“Why don’t we start with your traveling companion?” Lori sent a pointed glance in Alex’s direction.
“Oh.” Maddie actually gave a dismissive wave. “This is Alex Stepanov. He and I met a few months back. We sort of—you know—got together. Now I’m pregnant.”
Lori put her face in her hands. “Madison Castillo! You know better than that!”
“I know.” There was a plaintive note in Maddie’s voice. “But Alex is really great, Aunt Lori. He’s been taking good care of me.”
Lori did not look convinced. “So why do you need my help then?”
***
MADDIE REALIZED THERE was no good way to say this. She kept looking to Alex for help, but he appeared to be frozen or something. His gaze kept darting around the room as though he had never seen furniture before. Sure, the place was a little rustic, but it was homey and welcoming.
Maddie sighed. She was going to have to explain things to her aunt on her own. Fine. “Alex’s family is sort of important in Russia.”
“Important?”
“He could probably be the heir to the Imperial Throne if there was one,” Maddie admitted. “So his mother really wants him to establish a dynasty so that when the tsars are reinstated Alex has a shot at the title.”
“Are you kidding me?” Lori asked drily. “I’ve never heard anything so farfetched in my life.”
“I might agree, except this is my life and it’s all quite true,” Alex said stiffly.
Maddie realized he very likely felt like her aunt was calling him a liar. That was certainly no way to start a life together.
She hastily intervened. “He’s telling the truth, Auntie. And his cousin has made several attempts to get rid of me and the baby.”
Lori stood up and put her hands on top of her head. She paced a few laps around the room. “I can’t even wrap my mind around the idea that you’re pregnant!” She blew a stream of air through her lips. “Okay. So we can deal with that. What do you want to do about him?”
“Alex?” Maddie was a little offended. “I want to try and make things work! What else would I want? Why would I bring him out here otherwise?”
Alex stood up. “I’m feeling as though your aunt would rather I leave.” He glanced at Aunt Lori. “Would I be correct?”
“Hell yeah,” Aunt Lori groused. “You get my niece knocked up, and she automatically gets a target painted on her back? What kind of man does something that irresponsible? You can’t tell me you didn’t know this would happen if you had a baby with someone not approved by your family.”
“Auntie!” Now Maddie stood up. They were all staring at each other as though they were going to have a show down or something. “That’s not fair! Alex didn’t impregnate me on purpose. The condom broke. We were trying to be responsible, but these things happen.” Okay. That was really awkward, and now Alex looked as though he was about to have a stroke. Apparently talking about broken condoms with relatives did not fall under the heading of good manners.
“I know that things happen!” Aunt Lori said, obviously agitated. “But I’m just saying that when they do happen, it shouldn’t involve one party’s family attempting to murder the baby mama!”
Oh boy, her aunt was really hot under the collar. Maddie realized now that springing this situation on Aunt Lori hadn’t been the best plan.
Maddie had certainly been right that her family was going to protect her, but she’d underestimated what they were likely to do with the range bull that had messed with their prime heifer.
***
ALEX HAD A bad feeling that this situation was going downhill fast. He took a deep breath and gathered his self control. He needed to assert himself now or risk being—what did they call that? Oh yes. Lynched. There was certainly enough of a mob out front to take care of him.
Alex raised a hand and stared straight at Lori. “Look. I appreciate that you’re concerned about your niece. I care deeply about Maddie. Not just because we spent a night together a few months ago, but also because I have gotten to know her and have found her to be an incredible person. The way she puts herself on the line for the people she cares about is amazing. So while I didn’t intend for this to happen, I have to say that I’m not sorry it did.” He turned his gaze to Maddie. “I want you to be safe. That’s all that matters. I cannot control my family. I have some of my business associates and my security team looking into things, but the truth is that in order to get my mother to stop, I have to deal with her directly.”
“No,” Maddie said softly. “I don’t want you to go.”
“I’m not going to go right now. I have to make arrangements to meet my mother someplace where I can get the upper hand and figure out a way to manipulate her into leaving me alone. That takes planning.”
Maddie closed the distance between them and grabbed his arm. “So plan from here.”
“I don’t know if your aunt wishes me to stay.” He glanced at Lori, hoping that his speech had achieved the desired affect.
The woman appeared to be thinking it through. All things considered, she was a tiny person. She could not have been more than five foot two or three. She had Maddie’s red hair, although hers was shot through with gray and pulled up into a haphazard ponytail. She wore jeans and tooled cowboy boots. Everything about her was almost elfin. Alex wondered where Maddie had gotten her athletic build and if he would ever meet the rest of her family.
“You can stay,” Lori finally said. “You need to understand that Maddie is my first concern, though.”
“Then you and I are on the same page,” Alex said smoothly. “Maddie is all that matters to me right now. Her and my child.”
“A child you’re not going to claim,” Lori said bitterly. “Not officially anyway.” Then Lori turned to Maddie. “Sweetie, I want you to really think about this! This man hasn’t offered you anything! He’s standing here saying that your relationship will always be illegitimate because he needs a wife with the right pedigree and you don’t have it!”
***
MADDIE HAD NEVER really considered things in the way her aunt was saying them. She turned and gazed at Alex. “Is that true?”
“About the illegitimacy?” He looked mildly surprised by her question. “What is there to be legitimate about? There is no real succession, no tsar, and nothing to inherit but more money than any one person could spend in a lifetime and a century of blood and hatred.”
Why did she suddenly feel so naive? “What are we doing, Alex? Where is this relationship going? If I’m going to risk everything, I need to know that you have my back.”
“I do,” he insisted. “I would think I’ve shown that many times over.”
She blinked, trying hard not to cry. “Have you?”
Maddie’s emotions were all over the place. She wished the stupid pregnancy hormones would lay off. Finally, she managed to take a deep, ragged breath. They obviously needed to have a talk. Things had happened so quickly that she hadn’t really had a chance to consider all of the things her aunt was talking about. They were good points. What was their future going to be? She couldn’t just keep running all over the world to avoid Alex’s idiotic family. That was no life for her, and it certainly wasn’t a good way to raise a kid.
“I’m tired,” Maddie said abruptly. “I’m going upstairs to sleep for awhile. I don’t want to think about this right now. I just need to rest.”
“That’s a good idea,” Aunt Lori murmured. “Your bedroom is just how you left it, sweetheart. Go upstairs and lie down. The boys and I will keep your beau entertained until you feel like you’re ready to join us again.”
There was a tiny voice in Maddie’s head that was pretty sure that Aunt Lori’s idea wasn’t a good one, but she was too tired and overwrought to think about it any more. She reached out to Alex. “Come up and tuck me in, please?”
He nodded, and she took his hand. Towing him behind her, she made her way through the house to the narrow stairs. Once they were on the second level, she didn’t even have to pause to remember which door was hers. She entered the tiny corner room and sighed in relief.
He looked around with interest. “How long has it been since you’ve been back here?”
“I was nineteen when I left.” She eyed the white lace and overstuffed pillows adorning the bed. “I always thought this was what a lady’s boudoir was supposed to look like,” Maddie admitted with a rueful laugh. “Now it seems a little on the frilly side.”
Alex was already pulling back the duvet. “That doesn’t affect how well you’ll sleep. Climb into bed.”
“Will you be all right out there?” She felt a sudden jolt of anxiety.
“Yes.” He looked more determined than certain. “I’ll be fine.”
“Because the hands can be sort of mean when they get it into their head that someone has it coming.” She was already yawning, though. Her eyes drifted shut, and she didn’t quite get what he said in return. Maybe it didn’t matter right now. She needed rest.