The Cowboy and His Baby (4 page)

“Oh, baby,” she murmured, tightening her embrace. “Your daddy's right here in town. He has no idea what he's been missing all these months. He has no idea that he has a precious little girl.”

Cody would have made a wonderful father, she thought with a sigh. He would have been too indulgent by far, too readily conned by sweet talk and a winning smile, but, oh, how he would have
cherished and protected a child of his. Her foolish actions had cost him the chance to prove that. Worse, they had cost her daughter a chance to be loved by an incredible man. There were days when she almost made herself sick with regrets.

“We do okay by ourselves, though, don't we?” she asked, gazing into round, dark eyes that reminded her too much of Cody. The baby returned her gaze with the kind of serious, thoughtful look the question deserved. Melissa wondered how many years it would be before that innocent contemplation turned to something far more accusatory because her mother had robbed her of any contact with her father.

“Don't,” her mother pleaded, coming up behind her.

“Don't what?”

“Don't tell him.”

“Who said I was going to?” Melissa asked.

“I know that look. You're making up pipe dreams about what it will be like when Cody finds out he has a baby girl. You're expecting him to declare he's never stopped loving you and sweep you off to get married.”

Her expression turned dire. “It won't be that way, I'm telling you. If he cares about the baby at all, he'll take her from you. That's how much he hates you for what you did to him. You made a fool of him in front of the whole town by going out with his best friend. A man never forgets a betrayal like that. I don't care if it was just a bunch of foolishness on your part. The results were the same as if you and Brian had had something going.”

“You don't know anything about Cody's feelings,” Melissa argued, even though she had just seen with
her own eyes that Cody did despise her. She didn't want to believe he could be cruel enough to try to take their daughter away from her.

“Are you willing to take that chance?” her mother demanded.

The baby whimpered, either because she was picking up on the sudden tension or because Melissa was holding her too tightly. “No,” she whispered, fighting the sting of tears as she kissed her daughter's silky cheek. “No, I'm not willing to take that chance.”

She had been weaving pipe dreams, just as her mother had guessed. The risk of trying to make them come true, though, was far too great. Rather than winning back Cody, she could very well lose her child. She would die before she let that happen. Sharon Lynn was the most important thing in her life.

All the way home she assured herself that she only needed a few days. If she kept the secret just a few more days, Cody would be gone and that would be the end of it.

Later that night she sank into the rocker beside Sharon Lynn's crib and set it into motion, hoping to lull the baby to sleep and to quiet all those clamoring shouts in her head that told her she just might be making the second worst mistake in her life by keeping silent. As much as she hated to admit it, her mother was right about one thing. If Cody did learn the truth from someone else, there was no telling what he might do to exact revenge.

F
or the past two days Cody hadn't been able to stop thinking about his brief meeting with Melissa at the funeral. She looked exactly as he'd remembered her, her long hair a tangle of fiery lights, her body slender as a reed except for the lush, unexpected curve of her breasts.

Even before he'd heard her voice, in that instant when he'd caught her to prevent her from falling, he'd known it was her just from the way his body had reacted to touching her. He had hated that reaction, hated knowing that his desire for her hadn't waned at all despite the months of self-imposed exile. That seemed like the cruelest sort of punishment.

Late that night after the funeral he'd been pacing downstairs when his father had come out of his office and caught him. Harlan had guessed right off that his agitation had to do with Melissa, though he'd been uncommonly cautious in broaching the subject.

“I thought I saw Melissa at the church today,” Harlan had said casually after he'd pulled Cody into his office and they were both seated in comfortable
leather chairs in front of a blazing fire, glasses of whiskey in hand. At the reference to Melissa, Cody had put his aside without tasting it. He'd feared if he got started, he'd never stop.

“She was there,” he'd conceded, his voice tight.

“Did you get a chance to talk to her?”

“We have nothing to say to each other.”

“I see,” Harlan said. He'd let the silence build for a bit, taking a sip of his drink before adding nonchalantly, “I heard she's been working at Dolan's Drugstore, running the soda fountain for Eli. Doing a good job, too. Eli says business is up. The kids are hanging out there again instead of driving to the fast-food place out on the highway.”

Cody hadn't even acknowledged the information. He'd just tucked it away for later consideration. Ever since, he'd been considering what to do about it.

He could drive into town, march into Dolan's and confront Melissa about what she'd done to him, something he probably should have done the very night he'd found her with Brian. He could raise the kind of ruckus that would be the talk of the town for the next year. It would go into the textbook of Cody Adams lore that had begun when he was barely into puberty. If half the tales had been true, he would have worn himself out by the time he was twenty.

Sighing, he conceded he couldn't see much point to adding another wild exploit to his reputation. A scene would only rake up old news, embarrass Melissa—not that he cared much about that—and tell anyone with half a brain that Cody wasn't over her. Otherwise, why would he bother to stir up the cold ashes of their very dead relationship?

No, for the sake of his own pride if nothing else, it was better to stay the hell away from town. He repeated the advice to himself like a mantra, over and over, until he should have gotten it right.

Even as his old red pickup sped toward town late Tuesday morning, he was muttering it to himself, swearing that he'd have lunch with Luke and Jordan at Rosa's Mexican Café, then turn right around and go back to White Pines. A couple of beers and a plate of Rosa's spiciest food would wipe all thoughts of Melissa straight out of his head.

Unfortunately he hadn't counted on his brothers getting into the act. He'd been certain that they would leave the subject of his love life alone. He hadn't counted on the fact that both of them were now happily married and apparently intent on seeing that he took the plunge, too.

“Hey, Cody, why don't you drop by Dolan's as long as you're in town?” Jordan suggested after they'd eaten. He said it with all the innocence of Harlan at his matchmaking best.

“Any particular reason I should?” he inquired, refusing to fall into Jordan's trap.

He lifted the cold bottle of beer to his lips and took a long, slow drink just to show how unaffected he was by the prospect of seeing Melissa, whom Jordan clearly knew worked at Dolan's. This was probably the whole reason his brothers had suggested meeting in town in the first place rather than gathering at White Pines. They'd been plotting behind his back to try to force a reunion between Cody and his ex-lover.

“They still have the best milk shakes in the whole state of Texas,” Luke chimed.

“We've just eaten enough food to stuff a horse,” Cody stated flatly.

Luke and Jordan exchanged a look.

“Worried about your handsome figure?” Luke taunted.

Cody scowled at his oldest brother's nonsense. “No.”

Luke went on as if he'd never spoken. “Because if that's it, I'm sure they have diet sodas in there, served up by the sweetest gal in all of Texas, or so I hear.”

“I don't want a milk shake. I don't want a diet soda. There is nothing that drugstore has that I want,” he said pointedly, scowling first at Luke and then at Jordan.

“Sounds to me like a man who's protesting too much,” Jordan observed. “What does it sound like to you, Lucas?”

“Definitely a man who's scared out of his britches,” Luke agreed.

Cody drew himself up indignantly. “Scared of what? A milk shake?”

“Maybe not that,” Luke conceded. “How about Melissa Horton?”

Ah, a direct hit. Cody sighed. “I am not scared of Melissa,” he said with extreme patience. “I feel absolutely nothing for Melissa.”

“Cluck, cluck, cluck,” Luke murmured, making a pitiful attempt to mimic a chicken.

The sound grated on Cody's nerves. He balled his hands into fists. He hadn't gotten into a rip-roaring fight with his big brothers in a very long time, but Luke was pushing every one of his buttons. And, from the teasing glint in his eyes, his big brother knew it, too. Even Jordan sensed that his patience was
at an end. He eased his chair between them, a conciliatory expression on his face.

“Now, Luke, don't rile Cody,” he said blandly. “If he says he doesn't want to talk to Melissa, then who are we to interfere?”

Cody didn't exactly trust Jordan's sudden taking of his side. Jordan had a knack for sneak attacks that could cripple a business adversary before he even knew he was under seige. Cody eyed him warily.

“That's true,” Luke conceded, his turnaround just as suspicious. “Daddy meddled in our lives enough that we should be more sensitive to Cody's feelings. Besides, Melissa probably doesn't want to see him any more than he wants to see her.”

“Why? Is she involved with someone?” Cody asked, regretting the words the instant they slipped out of his mouth. The triumphant expressions on Luke's and Jordan's faces were enough to set his teeth on edge.

Jordan stood as if he'd just recalled a business crisis that couldn't be put off. “Come on, Luke. We've obviously accomplished our mission here,” he said blithely. “The man is on the hook. Let's leave him to decide whether to wiggle off or take the bait.”

“A fascinating metaphor,” Luke commented, joining Jordan. He glanced back at Cody. The teasing glint in his eyes faded. “Don't be a damned fool, little brother. Go see the woman. You know you want to. It's time you settled things with her once and for all. We want you back here for good.”

Cody finished the beer after they'd gone. He thought about ordering another one, but decided against it. It would only be delaying the inevitable. Some sick, perverse part of him wanted to see
Melissa, just as Luke had guessed. He needed to know if that reaction he'd felt at the church had been a fluke or the undeniable response of a man for the woman he'd belatedly realized that he'd always loved.

He paid the check—his damned brothers had stiffed him on the bill, on top of everything else—and then headed down Main Street. In the middle of the block he hesitated, staring across at the front of the drugstore that had been his favorite hangout as a teenager. His and Melissa's.

Little had changed. Dolan's Drugstore was still printed in neat black, gold-edged letters on the door. A display of toys sat on the shelf beneath the big plate-glass window, visible to any child passing by. A rack of comic books stood off to the side. Cody suspected they were the same faded editions that had been there a decade before. The toys looked suspiciously familiar, too. In fact, when he'd crossed the street for a closer look, he was almost certain that there was a ten-year layer of dust on the red, toy fire truck.

Telling himself he was fifty kinds of crazy for going inside, he found himself turning the knob on the door anyway. A bell tinkled overhead, alerting anyone working that a customer had entered.

The soda fountain was on his left, partially blocked by a section of shelves with first-aid supplies and a new display of condoms. Talk about times changing. He couldn't think of a better example. He recalled the first time he'd ever come into the store to buy condoms. They'd been behind the pharmacy counter then. He'd blushed brick red when he'd had to ask Mabel Hastings to give them to him. It was a wonder
he'd ever gone back. His only consolation had been that she'd seemed even more embarrassed. After that he'd always made sure Eli was on duty when he'd returned for a new supply.

A half-dozen teenage girls were sitting on one side of the U-shaped soda fountain, probably discussing schoolwork, or, more likely, boys. An equal number of boys was on the opposite side, tongue-tied and uncertain. The sight of them brought back a slew of memories best forgotten.

There was no sign of Melissa, though clearly someone had served the kids their shakes and hamburgers. Cody fought a bitter feeling of disappointment. He hadn't wanted to come here, but now that he had gathered the courage, he wanted to get this encounter out of the way. He wanted to shove the past behind him once and for all. He doubted a meeting would be enough to keep him in Texas, but maybe it would buy him some peace of mind.

“Hey, Missy, customer!” one of the boys shouted as Cody slid onto a stool close to the cash register.

“I'll be right there,” a voice capable of raising goose bumps on any man past puberty sang out from the back.

The door to the storeroom swung open. Melissa emerged, her arms loaded with two trays of glasses piled atop each other. Her gaze zeroed in on Cody with impeccable precision. Every bit of color washed from her face. The trays wobbled, then tilted. Glasses crashed to the floor. Her gaze never wavered from his, despite the sound of breaking glass.

Several of the teenagers sprang to their feet and rushed to clean up the mess. Cody couldn't have moved if his life had depended on it. Apparently
Melissa couldn't, either. Not even the swirl of activity at her feet caught her attention. He felt as if he'd been punched in the gut.

This definitely wasn't the reaction he'd been praying for. In fact, it was exactly the opposite. He'd wanted to look into those soft, sea green eyes of hers and feel eighteen months of hurt and anger boiling into a fine rage. Or, better yet, he'd wanted to feel nothing at all.