Quade's Babies - Brenda Jackson [26]
He looked across the room. “You’re mixed with what?” he asked, getting her attention. She had been staring down at their son, who was cradled to her bosom.
She looked up. “Cheyenne Indian. My mother is full-blooded Cheyenne. She and my father met at college. Of their three daughters, I’m the one who inherited her features, which is why she named me Cheyenne when I was born.”
“And how many years ago was that?” he asked, holding her gaze. She had told him when they first met that she was twenty-eight, but today she looked a lot younger than that.
She smiled. “How old do you think I am?”
His gaze moved across her features and then said. “Younger. I thought so that night but wasn’t sure, but now I’m almost positive you aren’t twenty-eight.”
She glanced down at her son before looking back at him and responded. “I’m twenty-four, but when we met I was twenty-three.”
His gaze sharpened. “Why did you lie about your age?”
He watched as she chewed her bottom lip for a second before saying, “I figured had I told you the truth, you would have left me alone and I had wanted you too much that night to allow that to happen.”
He blinked, surprised that her response was so honest. Knowing it was probably best not to make a comment, he tried to ignore the intense stirrings in his body that were the result of her words. Even now he was still amazed as to how they had met and the intensity of their attraction to each other.
“Tell me about your sisters and cousins,” he said, deciding they needed a change of subject. From the smile that touched her lips, he could tell evidently she was close to her family just like he was close to his.
“My oldest sister is Vanessa. She’s twenty-eight and Taylor’s next at twenty-six. Vanessa works in PR for our family business and Taylor is a financial advisor. The best there is.”
He latched on to something she’s said. “Your family owns some sort of business?”
“Yes, it’s a huge manufacturing company that was started by my father and his brother years ago. The Steele Corporation. Ever heard of it?”
He let out a low whistle. “Who hasn’t? They have been in the news a lot as one of the few companies who don’t outsource.”
“Yes, and we’re proud of that fact. Although Taylor and I don’t work for the company, we’re members of the board. After my father died, my uncle, along with his four sons, began running the company. Now my uncle has retired and Chance, Sebastian, Morgan and Donovan are doing a good job of handling things.”
She paused a second as if thinking of her family. Then she began talking again. “Chance at thirty-nine is the oldest and is CEO. Sebastian is thirty-seven and is considered the troubleshooter and problem solver in the company. Then there is Morgan, who at thirty-five heads up the research and development department. And last is Donovan, who at thirty-three is in charge of the product development division. Chance, Sebastian and Morgan are married. Donovan is single and according to him, has no intention of marrying. He likes being a ladies’ man.”
Quade nodded. Donovan sounded a lot like his brother Reggie. “What about your sisters? Are they married?”
“Yes, and Taylor is expecting. She’s due to have her baby the first of the year and we’re very excited about it.” Cheyenne paused for a minute, then smiled and said, “Now tell me about these Westmorelands.”
Quade shifted the babies in his arms to make sure they were comfortable before he began talking. “Like I mentioned earlier, my father has two brothers—his fraternal twin brother John and his younger brother Corey. John has one daughter, Delaney, and five sons—Dare, Thorn, Stone and the twins, Chase and Storm. My parents had six boys. Besides me there is Jared, Spencer, Durango, my twin brother Ian and my youngest brother Reggie.” He paused a moment then smiled. “Uncle Corey is the one with the triplets—a girl named Casey and two sons, Clint and Cole.”
“Wow! That’s a large group.”
“Yes, and we’re all close. There’s not anything one wouldn’t do for the other. That’s the way families