‘‘You could at least pretend to be intimidated,’’ she grumbled. ‘‘Need I remind you that I do have the power to behead you.’’
‘‘Cheap talk. I’m starting to think you’re not even a real princess.’’
She sat angled toward him, their knees bumping. A couple of floor lamps provided subdued lighting, as did the crackling fire. As she inhaled the sweet scent of wood smoke, Alex promised herself that no matter what happened, she would always remember this night. The way Mitch sat so close to her, the sensual, unspoken but very real promise between them. She wanted to hold all her memories from the ranch in a special place in her brain so she wouldn’t lose a single detail. For reasons she didn’t quite understand, she sensed that they were going to be a very important part of her life and not anything she would want to forget.
His gaze settled on her face. ‘‘But you are a real princess, aren’t you. No matter that I wish you weren’t.’’
His comment surprised her. ‘‘Why would you wish that?’’
His only answer was a shrug.
Alex wasn’t sure what to make of that. Her royal status shouldn’t matter to him, unless he was talking about her invasion of his house. If she hadn’t been royalty, there would have been no reason for her to have stayed this long. Except she didn’t think that was what he meant.
‘‘I’m glad you’re going to be here for Thanksgiving,’’ he said. ‘‘My folks wanted me to come up to Washington and stay with them, but I’d already decided I couldn’t get away. You’re going to save me from a very solitary dinner.’’
‘‘I’m glad. I would hate to think that I was intruding on a carefully planned event.’’
‘‘Not likely. Betty makes most of the meal beforehand. Last year John was around, but this year I was going to be all on my own.’’
Alex frowned. ‘‘I hadn’t thought of this before, but I just realized that your brother is going to miss a very important family holiday. Would he really stay away and not even call you or your parents?’’
Mitch shrugged. ‘‘He might. John has his own demons to deal with. I gave up judging him a long time ago.’’
There was something in Mitch’s tone, a whisper of discontent, or was it anger? ‘‘Don’t the two of you get along?’’
Mitch was silent for a long time. He shifted so his head rested against the back of the sofa and his long legs stretched out in front of him. The movement meant they weren’t touching anymore, and Alex tried hard not to feel abandoned. She could see that Mitch had lost himself in the past.
‘‘We get along fine…now,’’ he said slowly. ‘‘Since our late teens, we’ve been pretty close. But there were a lot of years I hated the sight of him.’’
She couldn’t imagine hating one of her sisters. ‘‘Why?’’
‘‘Because I was afraid.’’ He rested his hands on his flat belly and drew in a deep breath. ‘‘I was four when my parents adopted John. They had explained to me that they wanted to give me a brother or sister but that they couldn’t. I found out later that my mom had had some troubles during delivery and the doctors recommended she not have another baby. So they decided to adopt another child.’’
‘‘Why would that frighten you?’’
‘‘I thought they were replacing me. I thoughttheythought I wasn’t good enough, that they’d adopted John because they didn’t think I would be able to handle the responsibility of the ranch. He was there as backup in case I screwed up.’’
‘‘Did you ever discuss this with them?’’
He shook his head. ‘‘Eventually I figured out that they’d really wanted another child, and that they thought a boy would be more fun for me. I let all the ambivalence go.’’
‘‘Are you sure?’’ Alex asked before she could stop herself. Then she pressed her fingertips to her mouth. ‘‘Sorry, that just slipped out. You don’t have to answer that question.’’
‘‘I know, but it’s a good point. Sometimes I still work the thought over in my mind and wonder if I’m good enough. But not very often and never for long. I do a good job here, and I know my parents are proud of me.’’
More important, he was proud of himself. But this time Alex managed to hold the words back.
‘‘I worry about John,’’ Mitch admitted. ‘‘No matter how my folks tried to make him feel like one of the family, he’s never completely fit in. Even as a kid he seemed to be searching for something else.’’
‘‘Is that why he disappears?’’
‘‘I guess. Something out there keeps calling to him, and he keeps leaving to find it.’’
Was John her long-lost brother, searching for his true identity, or was he just a man with a case of wanderlust? She didn’t have the answer, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted one. As much as she needed her future settled, Alex wasn’t in any hurry to leave the ranch…and Mitch.
‘‘We are so much alike,’’ she mused. ‘‘You and I,’’ she added when he glanced at her and raised his eyebrows.
‘‘What are you talking about? Little lady, we couldn’t be more different.’’
