Christmas Showdown (3 page)

The last of the air in his lungs rushed out
as he stared at the small image of himself—his son. Denying it
would be futile.

Overwhelming emotions bombarded him all at
once. Disbelief. Betrayal. Anger. Fury so hot that it surged
through his veins like liquid fire. How long did Kelly plan to keep
his son from him? If it hadn’t been for the bank incident he would
have never known he had a son, let alone that they were living in
the same city.

Kelly shut the door and turned to him, her
face pallid. “We need to talk.” Her voice trembled.

He barely held his rage beneath a veneer of
calm—the only thing stopping him from reaching out and strangling
the woman. “Looks like the talking should have happened two years
ago.” He set his Stetson upon the scarred coffee table before the
couch.

TJ started to squirm in her arms. “Down.” But
she held on to him with a death grip.

“I tried to contact you.”

Uh huh
, he thought silently.
Sure
you did
.

“Momma. Down.” The boy’s request turned into
a cry. “Down. Down.”

She started to bounce him on her hip. “Shhh,
sweetheart.”

“Let him down, Kelly. I’m not going to run
off with him.” And neither was she.

Hesitating, she finally set the boy on his
feet before glancing back up at Trey. “I didn’t know your last
name, until today.”

“What about the hotel? The conference
organizers?”

Her backbone stiffened defensively, but she
didn’t raise her voice. “I did contact them. Privacy laws forbid
them from giving me any information. You don’t have any idea how
many times I heard that excuse. Plus I had no idea where you lived,
worked.” With flames in her eyes, she ground her teeth together.
“Whether you believe it or not, I did the best I could.”

TJ approached him, staring up at him
curiously. He placed his tiny shoe on Trey’s boot and then
stretched his arms. “Up.”

Trey’s heart thudded against his chest. He
started to bend down and retrieve the toddler when Kelly’s coolness
shattered. “No!” A panicked expression flashed on her face before
it hardened, and then softened like her voice. “TJ, come to momma.”
She took a step forward as Trey hauled the boy into his arms.

For a moment, she stood silently, her
breathing labored, her eyes moist—from fear or possessiveness, he
didn’t know—and at that precious second he didn’t care.

“Hey, buddy.” TJ smoothed his palm over
Trey’s chin and laughed when he felt the small prickles of his
beard. The boy’s childish giggle made Trey grin ear to ear. “So you
think that’s funny.” He pressed his cheek next to the child’s and
rubbed up and down like he did Samuel’s belly on occasion. TJ burst
into a plethora of titters, causing Trey to laugh out loud.

“I should get him ready for bed,” Kelly said,
holding out her arms expectantly.

“I think due to the circumstances, me
spending a little time with my son warrants a later bedtime.”

“Yes, but—”

Trey shot her a look that he knew could
curdle milk, because he’d used it on more occasions than he’d like
to admit in his line of work to gain a person’s cooperation. It
worked to quiet her, but it didn’t last long.

“I don’t want him falling asleep dirty. He
needs a bath.” She inhaled deeply and released the breath, unaware
that her robe had drifted apart again.

But his cock had noticed, and it firmed
beneath his zipper. He let his gaze sweep down her. “I’ll give him
a bath while you slip into something less comfortable.” He needed
all his senses about him.

She glanced down where his eyes had stopped.
“Dammit.” When TJ stared at her, she corrected herself. “I mean
darn.” Licking her lips nervously, she glared at him. “Have you
ever given a child a bath?”

“Kelly, I come from a big family—two older
brothers, two younger sisters, two nephews and three nieces. I’ve
given my share of baths and babysat. If you’ll show me to the
bathroom I’ll take care of the rest.”

Again she hesitated, staring at him like he’d
grown two heads, before she finally gave in. “This way.”

Still holding TJ, he followed her up the
stairs, his randy gaze locked on the gentle sway of her hips. By
the time he made it to the top, his dick was so hard it was
uncomfortable.

Didn’t that beat all? His was madder than
hell at this woman and still couldn’t think past the desire to bed
her.

“The first door on the left. I’ll get his
pajamas and a towel.” She disappeared into another room as Trey
started to slip off his son’s shoes. The little guy wiggled and
squirmed, but fortunately Trey was able to get him undressed
without any tears.

Quickly, he checked the sizes of his shoes
and clothing. The boy needed a pair of real jeans and boots. He’d
have to wing the fit of a cowboy hat. Turning on the faucets, he
checked the temperature of the water. When it was lukewarm he set
TJ down and the boy immediately started to wave his chubby arms and
splash water to strike Trey in the face.

“I forgot to warn you that TJ is a wild man
in the bathtub.” She set a diaper, a pair of footed, thermal
pajamas and a worn towel on the commode. “His hair needs
washed—”

“I can handle it.” The minute the sharp reply
left his mouth he regretted it. If what Kelly said was true, she
had attempted to contact him. He watched her walked away as he
began to soap up the wild sea serpent dousing his father with more
water.

In reality, his and Kelly’s night had
consisted of partying with her friends and a couple of other
conference-goers, and an attraction too strong to deny. Heavy
petting led to a quick trip to his hotel room and the rest was
history. She had completely worn him out, so much so that he had
barely awakened in time to catch his flight. And he wasn’t free of
fault either, because she had given him her number, but somewhere
between the room, a taxi ride, and the airport he had lost the
small piece of paper she’d written the information on. It could
have happened any time he had withdrawn money from his pocket.

So clearly he was as much to blame as she, or
maybe no one was to blame. Maybe they needed to chalk this one up
to Murphy’s Law and just move forward.

After washing and rinsing TJ’s hair, he
lifted his son out of the tub and wrapped him in the towel. The boy
was in good spirits, jabbering incoherent gibberish that only
another child would comprehend. It was beyond Trey.

“Momma!” He threw open his arms.

She smiled lovingly and reached out for him.
“I’ll dress him.” He went willingly into her arms.

Trey snatched the diaper and pajamas off the
commode before she could. Their eyes met. His determined. Hers
weary. When she realized he wasn’t going away, she turned and
walked into the bedroom and laid their child on the bed. Trey
placed the boy’s clothes beside him.

As she bent over, the t-shirt she wore edged
upward, displaying smooth, unblemished skin above the band of her
jeans. Would it feel as soft as it had two years ago? She worked
with expertise to clothe the ever-moving child as Trey scanned the
room.

Her queen-size bed and dresser, which
appeared to have several drawers off their tracks, were the only
furniture and all that would fit in the cramped room. It sickened
him to think what she might have gone through during this last two
years. Had she been alone? Did she have family to help her? If so,
why would she move away and obviously place herself and their child
in financial straits?

“Dink,” TJ cried out.

Trey shot a questioning glanced at Kelly.

“He wants milk,” she answered before he could
speak. “Sure, baby, let’s go downstairs.” Kelly heaved the heavy
bundle into her arms.

“Here.” Trey extended his hands. “I’ll take
him.” But his offer was met with defiance.

“I’m more than capable. Remember, I’ve been
doing this for over a year, by myself.” Without saying another
word, she spun on the balls of her bare feet and stomped from the
room.

Zing!
He felt that jab go straight to
the heart, because Kelly was right. But dammit, it wasn’t his
fault. Crestfallen, he followed her down the stairs and into a
kitchen large enough for only one person to maneuver comfortably,
which meant she bumped into him.

“Why don’t you go sit on the couch, watch
some football or something,” she snapped.

“Okay. And I’ll take
our
son, so you
can do what you have to in here.”

“I’ve been—”

“Yeah, I know. You’ve done this a million
times,
alone
.” He took TJ from her arms and walked out of
the room.

Tears beat against Kelly’s eyelids, but she
wouldn’t let them fall. She had seen the way Trey looked around her
bedroom. When his gaze landed on the broken dresser, her soul took
another blow of humiliation. Still, she shouldn’t have been so
bitchy. He hadn’t known that TJ existed until today. In all
honesty, he had a right to be angry at the circumstances, but not
at her. She had done her best.

If only he had called her. Clearly that one
night hadn’t meant as much to him as it had to her. The
refrigerator opened with a pop and she reached in to retrieve the
small carton of milk. Like an idiot she had thought there had been
something special between them, something magnetic. But it had been
only sex—a true one-night stand.

Kelly barely caught herself from muttering
one of her mother’s mantras as she poured the milk into a cup. “You
reap what you sow.” But her favorite by far was, “We are the makers
of our own destiny.”

And all of this, she scanned her meager
surroundings, was her destiny.

When she heard TJ whimper, she glanced up to
see Trey cooing softly to him while he bounced the boy on his
knees. Without hesitating, she snapped closed the lid to the sippy
cup, put the milk back in the refrigerator, and walked around the
counter.

“He’s getting tired. Here, honey.” She
extended the cup to TJ and he took it and immediately started to
drink. In no time, he eased back, relaxing in Trey’s arms,
snuggling against the big man’s chest.

This was her favorite part of the evening,
holding TJ as he fell asleep. But tonight his dad held him. It
nearly broke her heart to see the image of father and son, and
surprisingly a tinge of jealousy struck.

TJ was her son.

She had carried him nine months, given birth
to him, walked the floors when he had an earache or cold, and
soothed all the bumps and bruises.

Again, tears beat against her eyelids, but
she remained strong. At the moment, Trey’s intentions were unknown.
Finding out one fathered a child and actually being a father to
said child were two different things.

As TJ’s eyelids drooped, Trey asked, “Where
is his room?”

“There is only one bedroom. He sleeps with
me.”

Trey frowned. “That’s not a good arrangement.
My brother says—”

“Your brother isn’t a single mother living
off a strict budget. I’ve done the best I can.” She began to
tremble with unsuppressed anger. “The roof over our head, the food
we eat, everything I supply without help or government aid. We
don’t have much, but what we do have is love. I do what I have to
and right now the sleeping arrangements are such.”

“Kelly, I’m sorry.”

She inhaled a deep breath before easing it
out and letting go of some of her fury. “It’s okay. Just take him
to bed. I don’t want us to argue around him. He’s had enough of
that throughout his life.” The inquisitive look Trey threw her said
she had some explaining to do. Why couldn’t she just keep her mouth
shut?

When Trey returned, he cautiously took a
place beside her on the couch. “Kelly, I didn’t mean to demean what
you’ve done. I respect you. Most women would be living with their
family, but here you are. The good thing is that you don’t have to
worry about finances or anything else. I’m here now.”

Unease skittered across her arms, raising
goose bumps. “And what does that mean, Trey? Does that mean you
will agree to pay child support?”

“It means I will handle everything. You two
can move in with me. You can even quit working to stay home with
our son.”

“What? We can’t do that. You have a life. We
have a life. We’re complete strangers.”

“We’re not complete strangers, Kelly.” His
hand rose, his palm warm against her cheek. “Don’t you want our son
to have everything he needs?”

Kelly jerked away from his touch. “TJ has
everything he needs.”

“Dammit, Kelly. You’re being unreasonable.
Between my family and me we can give TJ everything. A home.
Education. A family and ranch for him to run and play on. It’s his
heritage.”

Oh God
. The knot in her throat grew to
the size of a baseball. The fact he was implying that he and his
family had money didn’t escape her. If she didn’t agree, did he
plan to take her to court? Take TJ away from her?

“Get out,” she said breathlessly.

“Kelly?”

“Out! If you think you’ll take my baby from
me, I’ll fight you. Dammit, Trey, I’ll fight you.” She didn’t know
until he wiped tears from her cheeks that she was crying—crying
like her heart was breaking, because it was.

“Christ, Kelly. Is that what you think I’m
trying to do?”

She couldn’t speak, only tremble with fear
and anger for the second time today. But this was a completely
different kind of panic, because no one was taking her baby. What
she wouldn’t give to wake up and have all of this be a dream, but
it wasn’t a dream—it was a nightmare.

He reached for her. “Shhh. Darlin’, don’t
cry.”

It did Kelly no good to struggle against his
overwhelming strength. He easily pulled her resisting body against
his, his masculine scent nearly choking her between sniffles as she
fought to regain control. It didn’t help that he held her or gently
stroked her damp hair. He was her enemy, the only one who could rip
her heart from her chest.