Part 17 (2/2)

Colby immediately got out of her seat when he began removing his pants. ”Sterling, wait!”

He smiled that sensuous smile she had come to love. ”I am waiting. I'm waiting for you to take off your clothes, too.”

She quickly glanced around, expecting John to appear any minute. She didn't care that he was supposed to be flying this jet. She knew there was such a thing as autopilot.

At that moment, John's voice came over the intercom. ”Mr. Hamilton, you have a call.”

Colby released a huge sigh of relief. Sterling, however, had a huge frown on his face.

”Who is it, John?”

”It's Kyle Garwood. And he said it's important.”

Sterling slipped back into his s.h.i.+rt and pants. ”It better be,” he mumbled. He looked at Colby. ”It seems you've been saved by the bell for just a little while. I'll be back in a minute so don't think you're out of the woods yet because this wolf has every intention of mating when he returns.”

Colby shook her head as she watched Sterling leave the room, pulling the door closed behind him. She knew he had all intentions of doing just what he claimed he would do when he got back.

She sat back down in her seat and thought some more about the past week. Although they had enjoyed the time they had spent together, in all reality, nothing between them had changed. She was still operating under the time clock he had established. She knew that as far as Sterling was concerned, the contract between them was still valid. Although he had shared the information with her about his mother's visit, he had given her no indication during the past week that her position in his life had changed. And that thought bothered her more than anything because she knew she had fallen even more in love with him.

Colby straightened in her seat when she heard the sound of Sterling returning. When he opened the door, she took one look at the expression on his face and knew something was wrong. She stood and immediately went to him.

”Sterling, what's wrong?”

He didn't say anything at first, and for a moment she wondered if he would.

”That was Kyle,” he finally said, pulling her into his arms. ”Nicholas Chenault contacted him to see if he could locate me.”

”Why?”

”The blood clot on Angeline's brain burst and she was rushed to the hospital. She had to undergo emergency surgery and is now in critical condition. They're not sure she's going to make it.”

”Oh, how awful.”

Sterling sighed. ”I'm surprised Nicholas Chenault wanted me to know.”

Colby pushed herself out of his arms and looked up at him. ”Why wouldn't he want you to know? Angeline Chenault is your mother, too. Evidently she told him the truth, and he feels you should know. I personally think you should be there with him during this time.”

Sterling frowned. ”How can you think anything like that? He doesn't know me. And even if Angeline told him about me, Chenault and I are strangers.”

”The two of you are brothers, Sterling. You can't hold against him what Angeline Chenault did to you all those years ago. And as far as I'm concerned, you can't hold it against her anymore, either. She came to you and apologized and tried to make peace.”

Sterling began pacing and muttering before coming back to stand before Colby. A dark scowl covered his face. ”Do you know what you're asking of me?”

She met his gaze. ”Yes. I'm asking that you do what you know in your heart is the right thing. I think you should go to the hospital and be with your brother during this time. I have a feeling he needs you.”

”He may resent me being there.”

”I honestly don't think he will. Otherwise, why would he have tried contacting you?” A confused expression then shone on Colby's face. ”How did he know Kyle Garwood would know how to reach you?”

”It's well-known in the business world that Kyle and I are business partners on a number of ventures as well as good friends.”

Colby nodded. ”Are you going to go?”

Sterling rubbed the back of his neck, still unsure of what he should do. Again, against his will, he felt compa.s.sion for the woman who had turned her back on him, and now, thanks to Colby, he was beginning to feel compa.s.sion for his brother and what he was probably going through right now.

”I can't go. We're just getting back from our honeymoon, and I need to get you settled in. Have you forgotten I'm to fly to Spain next week to begin filming, and-”

”Stop making excuses, Sterling. Mac can meet us at the airport and take me to your home in the mountains. By the time I'm on my way, John can have the plane refueled and ready to fly you where you need to go. I'll be fine until you return. And I'm sure you'll get to Spain on time.”

Pulling her close, he wrapped his arms around her waist. ”Are you sure?”

”Sure of what?” she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. ”That I'll be fine until you return or that you'll make it to Spain on time?”

Sterling grinned as he placed a kiss on her lips. Leave it to Colby to calm and soothe any frazzled situation. ”I don't want to leave you, you know.”

She smiled at his words. That was the first time he had even hinted at the possibility that maybe...just maybe, he liked having her around.

”You have to go, Sterling. It's time you let go of the past. Your mother asked for your forgiveness, and I think it's time you gave it to her...before it's too late.”

Chapter 19.

Colby stared out the car window. ”What a lovely town. I think I'm going to like living here.”

Mac gave her a dubious look. ”If you do, you'll be the first wife of a Hamilton who did. All the others hated this place.”

She remembered Sterling telling her that. ”I don't see why. Who wouldn't like living in a quaint and quiet town that's located within a stone's throw of the Smoky Mountains?”

”A bunch of bored women with nothing better to do than sit around complaining.”

Colby smiled. She really liked Mac. ”How much farther is it to Sterling's home?” she asked, s.h.i.+fting around in the seat to take a look at a new hospital they had just pa.s.sed. It seemed they had been riding for quite a while.

”Not much farther. His property is at the very end of town. We're already in Hamilton, North Carolina.”

Colby raised a brow. ”Is it a coincidence or do the Hamiltons have a city named after them?”

”In a manner of speaking it's named after them. Sterling didn't tell you all about his family's history?”

She shook her head. ”Other than to mention there haven't been any girls born into the Hamilton family in over a hundred years, and the fact most Hamiltons are divorced men, he didn't mention anything else.”

<script>