Christmas Showdown (5 page)

“I don’t know, Trey.” Things were happening
too fast for Kelly.

“Please? I deserve the chance to make things
right with TJ, with you.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“You’re the mother of my son. I owe you
plenty.”

“What about your girlfriends. Do you plan to
traipse women in and out of your house in front of our son?”
In
front of me?
But she left those words unspoken.

“There will be no girlfriends, as I expect
there will be no boyfriends around our child.”

Now Kelly was really confused, but she had
already made a decision, remembering her plan from earlier in the
evening. “Fine. This holiday season can be a trial period. We can
stay for a week or so. When you get tired of being a father and
change your mind about us staying with you, we’ll have our place to
fall back on.”

He stood, leaning over to pinch her chin
between his thumb and forefinger so their gazes met. “If that’s
what you’re counting on, don’t hold your breath. This is more than
a trial run, darlin’.”

Then he did something that surprised the hell
out of her. He kissed her. And it wasn’t just a peck. It was a
full-blown, make-your-toes-curl, sultry kiss that included plenty
of tongue. With TJ in her arms she couldn’t do anything but
surrender to the sensual attack against her senses. When Trey
pulled away, her lips were still puckered, making her feel beyond
stupid.

“Good night, darlin’.” He gave her chin a
nudge and then released her. “I’ll see you bright and early in the
morning—around seven.”

***

The lights of Trey’s parents’ two-story ranch
house beamed. As his mother promised, they were waiting up for him.
In fact, his mother and Melissa, his youngest sister, sat on the
front porch swinging with a blanket wrapped around them, guarding
them from the chilly night. His father must have heard his truck,
because he stood in the doorway.

Before Trey climbed out of his vehicle his
seventeen-year-old sister was at his door. “So is it true? You have
a son?” Moonlight danced over her big eyes filled with concern.
Dressed for bed, she wore flannels and fluffy black-and-white cow
slippers, and her long black hair was pulled into two braided
pigtails.

He gave one of her pigtails a tug as he shut
the door. “Yep.”

“Any chance he’s not yours?”

“I don’t think so.”

His father had stepped outside to join Trey’s
mother when Jason’s truck pulled up beside his. His older brother
was out of the vehicle in no time flat. That’s when Lance
maneuvered his four-wheel drive next to Jason’s.

Getting out of his vehicle, Lance looked from
one sibling to the next. “Hail, hail. The crowd’s all here,” he
joked, before nailing Trey with an inquiring glance.

“Well, except for Suz. She’s on a date. But
she’s on her way,” Melissa added.

“Rumors travel fast in this family,” Trey
noted with a scowl. He should have anticipated that news like this
would have the Burstyns coming out of the woodwork. He was just
surprised that Granddad and Grandma weren’t present, or half a
dozen cousins that lived in the vicinity.

“Especially when the rumors are in the
caliber of this one,” Jason added. “So?”

“Will you leave him alone long enough to get
into the house?” His mother came to his rescue. She hugged herself.
“It’s cold out here. I’ve got coffee and hot chocolate brewing.
There’s fresh cinnamon rolls on the table.”

That was all Jason and Lance needed to hear.
Both of them turned and hurried into the house. Melissa stayed with
Trey, walking arm-in-arm toward the house.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Okay? Yes. Shocked? Hell, yes.” His boots
echoed off the wooden porch while Melissa’s slippers made a
shuffling sound.

“Does he have the eyes?” she asked.

“Mel, leave the boy alone. Son,” his father
jutted out his hand to shake Trey’s, “your mom has been chomping at
the bit, so you best come inside and spill the beans or no one is
getting any sleep and that includes me.”

The dynamics in this family were much like
most families, Trey guessed. When something happened to one of
them, it happened to all of them.

As he stepped inside the warm, inviting
cabin-style house, the fresh scent of pine wafted off the tall
Christmas tree adorned with family heirlooms while the woodsy smell
of mesquite burning in the fireplace touched his nose. He wiped his
boots on the slab of carpet before the door as he had done for
years, and then removed his hat and hung it on the hatrack.

Walking past the living room, he entered the
large open kitchen with granite countertops and copper pans hanging
from the brass pot rack chandelier above the island. He took a seat
at the table. Gazing out the bay window that overlooked the
backyard, he stared into the darkness.

“So, Trey, what’s this I hear about a
son?”

His father’s gruff voice broke into Trey’s
wonderings. He drew his attention to the large man resting against
a wooden chair. Gray peppered the man’s black hair, but he still
had firm control over his family.

“Did you happen to hear about the Collier’s
Bank robbery today?”

His mother and father nodded while Melissa
shook her head.

“You get the call?” Jason asked, chewing on a
mouthful of pastry.

Trey picked up the coffee cup his mother set
before him with a comforting smile, and then he took a drink before
continuing. “Yeah. The witness was a woman I met in Denver at a
conference about two years ago.”

“And?” Lance urged.

“Hush.” Melissa swatted his hand.

“I won’t go into a lot of detail, but—”

“Oh no, bro.” Lance chuckled, dodging
Melissa’s swing. “Don’t think you’re going to get away with
glossing over the details.”

Melissa, along with their mother, leveled
another scowl at him.

“Fine. I had a one-night stand in Denver and
now I have a child. TJ is about fifteen months old. Yes, he has the
Burstyn eyes.” He flicked a lock of hair that hid his stubborn
cowlick. “He even has this damn thing.”

“Have I taught you nothing about protection?”
Jason sighed, stuffing another piece of cinnamon roll into his
mouth.

“Yes. Dammit. I used a condom.” When his
mother and sister blushed and Lance choked on a laugh, Trey felt
himself shrinking inside. “Sorry, Mom. Mel. But it is what it is. I
have a son.” What more was there really to say?

“If you used protection, how can you be sure
that the boy is yours?” his father asked.

“It can happen,” Melissa said. “Condoms are
known to have a breakage rate of over two percent. In fact, women
whose partners use a condom have a two percent per-year pregnancy
rate possibility if the man knows how to— Uhmm. Put it on, versus a
fifteen percent per-year pregnancy rate with typical use.” When
everyone’s wide eyes landed on Melissa, she said, “What? Don’t tell
me you guys weren’t listening in sex education? Or perhaps that was
Trey’s problem. He, uh, didn’t know how to wear it right.” She
grinned sheepishly while Jason, Lance and their father burst into
laughter.

Trey noted his mother wasn’t laughing.

“Son, where is the boy now?” she asked.

“With his mother. We had to take him to
urgent care.” When concern darkened his mother’s eyes, he added,
“It’s just an ear infection. But damn, the boy has some lungs. He’s
sleeping now and hopefully will feel better tomorrow.”

Melissa placed a hand over his. “So what do
you plan to do?”

“I’ve asked Kelly to move in with me. I want
my son with me.”

Jason frowned. “But you don’t even know this
woman.”

His large hands rested on his belly. Paula
liked to cook and after ten years of marriage it was showing around
his brother’s waist. Not that he was fat, but he definitely could
spare a pound or two.

“Tell us a little bit about the child’s
mother,” his mother said.

“She’s a lead teller at the bank. A gunman
shoved a pistol in her face and she didn’t wilt like a flower, so
that should tell you she has mettle. She’s smart, beautiful, and
ready to fight me if she has to over TJ.”

“TJ?” Melissa repeated.

“Trey, but I don’t know what the J stands
for. And no, I don’t know his birthdate. I don’t know what his
first word was or when he took his first step, and I don’t have any
idea what he wants for Christmas.” Trey paused to push his fingers
through his hair. “I’ve missed a lot of his life and don’t want to
miss any more.”

“But moving this woman in with you. Son,
that’s a huge step,” his father said.

“Yeah, and letting Kelly out of my sight
could be a bigger mistake. She was as surprised to see me as I was
to see her.”

His mother frowned. “So she intentionally
kept you in the dark?”

“No. It isn’t like that. I didn’t even tell
her my last name. Where I lived. Nothing. I’m as much to blame as
anyone.” He looked up at his mother. “I’m not proud of myself, Mom.
But I am trying to make things right.”

“I can see that, Trey, and we’re here to help
in any way we can,” she assured him.

Elbows on the table, his father steepled his
fingers. “So what are your immediate plans?”

“Tomorrow I’ll pack the two of them up and
move them in with me. I haven’t done any shopping, so after that’s
done I thought perhaps we’d go shopping. Stay up trying to put some
toys together, ’cause judging by what Jason and Lance have done in
the past, I’ll probably be doing the same. Then Christmas day we’ll
come and spend it with all of you.”

“We’ll help with the moving.” Jason naturally
included Lance in the offer.

“Thanks, but I don’t think she’ll bring much
over to the house. She’s still of the opinion this is a temporary
situation, a trial run. Kelly believes within a week I’ll get tired
of playing house and boot them out. So she’s only agreed to stay
for the holidays.”

“Can’t blame the girl for being cautious.”
Suz breezed into the kitchen, stopping only to press red lips on
Trey’s cheek that he knew would leave a lipstick mark. Of course
she would think this way. At twenty, the ebony-haired beauty was as
independent as a bird in flight.

Their father gave the oldest of his daughters
a discouraging glance after he scanned her tight leather pants and
the rather low neckline of her sweater. “Did your mother let you
out of the house dressed like that?”

She swiped a hand through the air, brushing
him off. “Oh, Dad.”

“The girls and I’ll do some grocery shopping,
because I’m sure your cupboards are bare, then we’ll go over to
your house and give it a good cleaning, right?” Their mother pinned
her narrowed gaze on both his sisters. They nodded obediently,
because Dad wasn’t the only one who ruled the roost in this
family.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“And I’ll have our attorney run a full
security profile on this Kelly. What’s her last name? You should
also get a paternity test.” His father wasn’t one to let someone
waltz into this family without checking their credentials, plus if
he knew his dad he would also be paving the way to get custody of
TJ should it be necessary. This wasn’t the first time one of his
sons had gotten into a mess.

“It’s McMaster, but it isn’t necessary. I’d
rather you stay out of this.” No matter what his father might dig
up, Trey would stay his course. TJ was his son. And Kelly intrigued
him to the point he had every intention of getting to know her
better—in the right way.

Pushing his chair from the table, he stood.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some things I need to do before
tomorrow.” Jason and Lance followed suit, each of them a step
behind him as they grabbed their hats and headed for the door.

When they got outside, his older brother
grabbed Trey’s bicep, dragging him to a stop. “There’s more you’re
not telling us.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

He started to inform his brother it was none
of his business, but he paused. “There’s something about this
woman. A chemistry.”

“You mean lust,” Lance laughed.

“No. If it were merely lust I could deal with
it. It’s something more. Something stronger.” Now that mushy
comment might get his man card taken away. “Truthfully, I’ve
thought about her over the years. Haven’t been able to get her off
my mind. When I saw her again today those feeling were, well,
magnified. Now I find out I have a son. Damn. I’m so fucked up I
don’t know which end is up.”

“She’s a beauty?” Lance asked.

“Oh hell, yeah. Fiery red hair. Green eyes
that glow like emeralds. And long legs that—” He stopped because
the thought of those long legs wrapped around his waist sent a
shiver up his spine. “But I don’t get the sense she feels the same
about me, because she sure isn’t running back into my arms.”

“And maybe that’s the allure,” Jason stated
matter-of-factly. “Still, I’m dying to meet the woman who has
screwed this much with your head.” Jason slapped him on the
back.

“Me too,” Lance chimed in.

“Back off, Lance.”

His brother’s inability to keep his hands off
other women had been one of the reasons for his divorce two years
ago. The other had been that he and Kristen should have never
gotten married since they fought like dogs and cats. But one thing
Trey could say about his brother—he was a good father. His daughter
Chastity meant the world to him.

In his line of work, Trey had seen the toll a
broken family took on children. His niece was no different. The
fighting between her parents kept the child in a world of flux.
Trey didn’t want that for TJ and he wasn’t willing to do this
fifty-fifty split thing, so his only alternative was to convince
Kelly to see things his way.

Hell. What was he saying?

Half his precinct was either divorced or on
the edge of getting one. Evidently, policemen didn’t make the most
reliable marriage material, but Trey was different. He wasn’t
married to the job. If he needed to, he could quit the city and
work on the ranch. It’s what his father and mother had always
wanted.