Cowboy Daddy (10 page)

Jake didn’t say anything; he simply nodded and picked up the suitcase. “I’ll take it and wait for you downstairs.”

Laurel wasn’t so circumspect. “Gosh, you hardly have any luggage. Whenever we went anywhere, Mom brought tons of stuff.” She grinned. “She had this set of matching suitcases. There were four of them. The really big kind. Once, when we went to New York for a week, Mom brought twelve pairs of shoes. Dad and I counted. She had lots of pretty dresses and jewelry.” Laurel’s smile faded and her expression turned sad. “My mom was beautiful. Daddy and Grandpa always told her she could have been a fashion model.”

Anne glanced down at her generous bust and wide hips. She wasn’t overweight, but at five foot four and almost a hundred and twenty pounds, she wasn’t anyone’s idea of a fashion model. She picked up her carry-on bag, then her keys and ushered Laurel out of the condo. “She sounds lovely,” she said, and locked the door.

“Oh, she was.” Laurel pushed the button for the elevator. “She had dark hair, like Daddy’s. It was long and pretty. She used to wear it up and then put on diamond earrings.” Laurel looked at Anne. “Daddy says I’ll get the earrings when I’m old enough. I want to wear makeup, but he doesn’t like it.” She grimaced. “Mom wore a lot of makeup all the time. She always liked to look put together.”

She said the last two words with an affectation, as if playfully mocking her. When she giggled, Anne smiled with her. The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.

On the trip down, Laurel continued to chatter on about the charms Ellen Masters had possessed. Anne started feeling more dowdy and inadequate by the minute. Maybe she should have packed some better clothes, she thought as they stepped into the foyer of the building. She didn’t own much jewelry. A good portion of her extra income went to Becky Sue to help with the five kids. She’d thought about packing that silk dress, but had decided against it.

They stepped into the sunshine. Jake was waiting at the curb. Her suitcase had already been stored in the back of his black Ford Explorer. He took her carry-on bag and stowed it in the back seat. Laurel climbed in after it. He held open the passenger door and Anne stepped up into the vehicle.

Jake walked around the front, then slid in next to her. As always he wore jeans. Today his broad chest was covered by a polo shirt that hugged his hard muscles. The bright red knit fabric brought out the deep color of his tan. The Stetson shaded his eyes, but she didn’t mind that. He had invited her to join them because there wasn’t any other easy solution. It didn’t matter what kind of clothes she wore or the fact that she would never be as pretty or well dressed as his late wife. She would only ever be a thorn in his side.

They pulled out into traffic, then headed for the freeway that would take them west. Laurel continued to talk about clothes. Anne glanced down at her ownoutfit of cream-colored shorts and a pale peach T-shirt. She had broken down and bought jeans for her stay at the ranch. They were the only practical attire for that sort of environment. After all, she was going to be living with a cowboy.

She shot Jake a glance. He concentrated on the road. Mirrored sunglasses hid his eyes from view, but she suspected he was staring straight ahead. He drove confidently, relaxed, but with both hands on the wheel. There was something about the set of his head. It gnawed at the back of her memory. What was it?

Suddenly she had to turn and glance out the passenger window so Jake wouldn’t see her smile. He reminded her a little of Bobby. She looked over her shoulder at Laurel. No wonder they looked like father and daughter.

They stopped for an early lunch. Laurel continued to keep the conversation going. Anne nibbled at her hamburger and salad. She had to talk to Jake, but didn’t know how to get him alone. She didn’t want to get Laurel excited about stopping to see Becky Sue and cousins she didn’t know she had, only to have her father veto the idea.

In the end, fate and Laurel intervened. “I’m done,” Laurel said, pushing away her plate. “Dad, I need some new batteries for my Walkman and video games. May I have some money?”

He reached in his front pocket and pulled out some bills. “Buy plenty of batteries,” he said, then winked.

Laurel rolled her eyes. “Dad
hates
my music,” she told Anne. “He makes me listen to tapes using my headset.”

“I like that,” Anne said. “I think my taste is a little closer to your father’s than to yours.”

“That’s ‘cause you guys are old.” Laurel took the money he offered and headed for the convenience store that shared the parking lot with the gas station and restaurant.

Anne watched her go. “She’s a good kid.”

“I know.” Without his sunglasses and Stetson, Jake looked more approachable. He’d even joked with his daughter. But whenever he glanced at her, he iced up.

“You’re going to have to do a better job of pretending,” she blurted out.

They sat across from each other in a booth at the back of the restaurant. He raised his dark eyebrows. “Pretending what?”

“That you don’t hate me.”

Jake leaned back in the booth. He stretched one arm across the red vinyl seat. “I don’t hate you.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“In my position, would you be any different?”

“No,” she admitted. “But we’re going to have to learn to get along. Otherwise the two months will be unbearable.”

“Agreed.”

This would be the time to say something conciliatory, she told herself. Instead she was about to throw the fat into the fire. She glanced at him. He looked casual and in control. A lock of dark hair fell onto his forehead. The hollows of his cheeks emphasized the firm lines of his mouth and jaw. He was much too good-looking. If he ever turned his charming smile in her direction, she would melt. Not only because she found him attractive and they seemed on the verge of starting a fire every time they touched, but because he was a cowboy. Everyone had a weakness, she just wished hers could have been ice cream or gin.

Td like to make a detour,” she said, then stared at the table. She began folding her paper napkin back and forth, pleating the white square into a long thick length.

“A historical site?” He sounded faintly amused.

“Paradise. It’s a tiny town near El Paso. My cousin Becky Sue lives there.”

Both his hands slammed onto the table. She jumped. “What the hell are you up to?” he growled.

She risked looking at him. Fire leapt from his eyes, but these flames weren’t caused by casual contact. They were fueled by rage. I thought—”

I won’t allow you to manipulate my daughter for your own purpose. If you think introducing Laurel to a bunch of relatives will further your case, you’re dead wrong. The only reason you’re here today is because I care about my daughter. But don’t push me, lady. I have the law on my side.”

She fought the urge to shrink back in her seat. Instead she forced herself to stare him directly in the eyes. “Have you ever been to west Texas?”

He frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Paradise is miles from anywhere. The population is about a thousand. It’s hot, dusty and poor. Most everybody lives in a trailer. Some of them are lucky because theirs is a double wide.” She paused and glanced down at the table. She was systematically shredding her napkin. She let go of the paper and pushed the mess to the side of the table. “Laurel is still confused about what happened when she was born. I thought if I showed her where I grew up, if she could see that it was poor and ugly, she might be grateful for what she has now.”

She folded her hands in her lap and looked at him. He leaned his forearms on the table. “That sounds good, but I don’t believe you. There must be another reason you’re doing this.”

His assumption that she had something to gain pushed all her buttons. Her temper overrode her desire to get along with Jake. “Who dumped on you so badly you can’t recognize a decent act for what it is?” she asked hotly. “What could I possibly gain by this? Even if Laurel falls in love with Becky Sue and her

kids, there’s no way
I’m
going back there to live. I worked damn hard to get out of that town.” She shook her head. “I’m tired of you judging me. You’ve had months to get used to the idea of Laurel wanting to meet me. I’ve had less than two weeks. My entire life has been turned upside down. I’ve risked a promotion that I’ve worked toward. I’ve tried to be fair and do what was best for everyone. I’ve put up with your innuendo and bad temper. Yes, I gave Laurel up for adoption. Yes, I have a certain responsibility to her. I am doing the best I can with what I have. If you can’t see that, you’re a bigger fool than I thought, and you deserve to lose your child.”

With that, she started to slide out of the seat. Before she could, he reached out across the table and grabbed her arm.

“Wait,” he said. “Please.”

Jake didn’t release his hold until she settled back in her seat. Only then did he let go. But even after he’d propped his arm up on the back of the vinyl booth, he could still feel the softness and heat of her skin. As always when he touched her, need flared to life inside him. He hated his body’s betrayal. If only he’d returned to the land of the living with any woman other than her. But he hadn’t. And she was right. He was going to have to get over his problems with her or it was going to be a long two months.

He shifted to ease the pressure in his crotch. “I don’t mean to be a complete jerk,” he said.

“Only half a jerk?”

Her smile was tentative. She was always willing to meet him partway. He had to give her that.

“Only half,” he agreed, letting go of his anger.

“I know you’re afraid.”

“It’s hard not to be.”

“You’re not going to lose her.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “She might already be gone.”

“No.” Anne shook her head. “Laurel loves you. You’re a good father.”

If only that were true. But Anne didn’t know about the last two years. She didn’t know about how he’d withdrawn from his child so that he could mourn Ellen and figure out a way to deal with his guilt. She didn’t know about how he wanted a son to carry on the Masters name. She didn’t know that he was the reason they’d had to adopt in the first place. She didn’t know he wasn’t enough of a man.

“Not good enough,” he said bluntly, “or she wouldn’t have gone looking for you.”

“Maybe it won’t be such a bad thing.”

He studied her. “Maybe not.”

She wasn’t unattractive, he admitted to himself. Just different from Ellen. Anne had let her strawberry-colored hair go wavy today. A headband held it away from her face with only a fringe of bangs falling on her forehead. Her pale peach T-shirt brought out the color in her cheeks. She had freckles on her arms. Maybe they weren’t so bad, either. He’d noticed her legs were nice. She was more curvy than his late wife had been. His gaze lowered to her full breasts. A lot curvier. The clinging knit of her shirt outlined her shape. She would fill his hands. The thought made his fingers curl into his palm and the ache in his groin deepen. He sighed. There were a few single women not far from the ranch. He was going to have to consider taking up with one of them. He might not hate Anne Baker, but he sure as hell didn’t trust her. The last thing either of them needed was to complicate their relationship with sex.

“You really think letting Laurel meet your cousin and her family is a good idea?” he asked.

Anne shrugged. “I don’t see how spending the night in Paradise is going to make anything worse. Hopefully she’ll see that I made the best decision at the time.”

“You sound as if you regret that decision now.”

She slid out of the booth. He followed. Before heading for the door, she looked up at him. “I’ve always regretted it. That doesn’t mean I’ve figured out if I did the right thing or not.”

“You’ve got the job you wanted, and soon you’ll have your promotion.”

“I know.”

She started walking. The scent of her perfume trailed after her like a seductive call. It whispered against his skin, making him break out into a sweat. He tried to ignore the sway of her hips in her shorts and the way her hair bounced as she moved. He had a sudden desire to know if her creamy skin tasted like peaches.

When they stepped outside, Anne slipped on her sunglasses. “I’d like to get sodas for the next leg of the drive.”

“Fine by me.” He moved into step beside her. “There’s a cooler in the back. We can buy a bag of ice and keep them cold.”

Before they entered the convenience store, Anne stopped. “What about Becky Sue? Are we going to go by there?”

He was torn between wondering if it would help or somehow make things worse. “When the two months are over, you’re still going back to Houston.”

It wasn’t a question. “I know.”

“She’s my daughter, Anne. Nothing can change that.”

Her mouth twisted. “I know that, too.”

“Then we’ll stop.”

* * *

“S
o Becky Sue’s five kids are my cousins, too?” Laurel asked from her place in the back seat.

Tm not sure. They might be your second cousins,” Anne answered. “I’ve never known how that works.”