Texan's Baby (5 page)

“Think you can get some sleep?” he asked.

“I doubt it.”

“I've never seen you look so tired.”

“Comes with the job,” she mused, thankful the mood had lightened at least for now. “Thanks for what you said earlier, by the way.”

His brow came up as he took a seat on the couch. “And that was?”

“For saying I was a good mother.”

“Whatever is going on between us, and believe me, we're going to talk about this all very soon, doesn't affect how I think of you as Mason's mother.” He paused thoughtfully. “I meant every word of what I said. He couldn't have done better.”

The deep rumble of his voice, the way it poured over her like Amaretto on vanilla ice cream, would cause her knees to buckle if she'd been standing. He'd always had that ability to make her legs turn into rubber.

“It means a lot to hear you say that, Dawson.”

“Come sit over here on the couch,” he said, motioning for her to take a seat next to him.

She did, feeling the heat swirl as their shoulders touched. He still had that effect on her and she should be concerned about that. As it was, she was just happy that she could feel that way for anyone. To say her love life had been a draught since getting pregnant was the understatement of the year.

Walking away from Dawson had been one of the most difficult things she'd ever done. Until sitting next to him on the couch right now.

Chapter Five

Dawson urged Melanie to put her head on his shoulder as he leaned deeper into the sofa, tabling his anger for now.

If they were going to coparent, they were going to have to learn to work together. None of that could happen in her current condition and his former state of mind. She was run-down, skittish and exhausted, and he couldn't help feeling partly to blame. As it was, he'd been throwing a lot of subtle anger at her. Not that he wasn't still mad.

Right now he acknowledged that it was more important to set his own frustration aside and do what was right for Mason. And that involved making sure his mother took better care of herself.

As soon as he figured out what to do about Sprigs so they could set this ordeal behind them, Dawson would take the necessary steps to ensure that Mason had everything he needed. First order of business would be figuring out an appropriate amount of child support. Melanie was stubborn. She'd argue about taking the money. He could see that it was important for her to feel as though she was taking care of her son.

Dawson could tighten his own belt enough to swing paying her bills.

A noise shot straight through him. He held steady, and that was a good thing, because that small, honking-like-a-duck sound came out of Melanie.

She was asleep on his shoulder and that shouldn't give him satisfaction.

It did.

* * *

M
ELANIE
WOKE
WITH
a start and quickly scanned the room. Dawson was pacing in front of the window, holding Mason. The image of him shirtless, with their son against his chest, could melt a glacier in Antarctica. She wouldn't be able to erase that picture for a long time, and maybe a little piece of her heart didn't want to. “How is he?”

“His fever is down and he hasn't coughed again.”

“That's great news.” Maybe life could be like this? Dawson could pitch in to help share some of the load. His mother was wrong. He looked pretty happy holding his son. “I should change his diaper.”

“Changed it when he woke up. That wasn't as easy as it looks. On the internet they use a baby doll to demonstrate. This little guy doesn't hold still.” Dawson seemed pleased with himself.

Melanie had worked so hard at creating a life for herself and Mason without really including others. She'd moved to Houston to get away from Dawson, but that had also separated her from her family and any help they could give. Her sister was busy with college in Austin. Maybe it was time to let someone else in. “Did you get any sleep?”

“No.”

“I can take Mason for a while. Let you get some shut-eye.” She made a move to get up.

Dawson waved her off.

“Not necessary. I don't need that much rest. Plus, I was doing some thinking. We should talk.” He paused—so not a good sign—and she prepared for the bombshell he was about to drop.

“Mind if I get a cup of coffee first?” she asked, needing to put off the conversation until she had enough caffeine inside her to handle what was sure to come next. A discussion about Dawson in their life, permanently.

“You don't drink coffee,” he said.

“I need caffeine and I'd kill for a toothbrush right now.”

“You'll find that and toothpaste in the bathroom. Pepsi's in the fridge. I had the store manager cut up some limes and there's ice in the bucket.” He motioned toward the counter. Sure enough, ice and a glass waited.

“Seriously?” Okay, now she knew she was dreaming.

A few minutes later, clean teeth sealed the deal. This felt too good to be real life.

“That's still how you like it, right?” he asked as she walked into the room.

“Yeah. I just didn't think—”

“What? I'd remember?”

“That you'd care.” She pulled out the baggy of wedge-sliced limes from the pint-size fridge.

“If you doubted my feelings before, then you don't need to anymore. I'm ‘all in' with everything connected to this little boy.” His tone was laced with just enough ice to send a chill rippling down her back. It wasn't much, not enough for someone who didn't know him to pick up on, but she knew.

He bounced the baby on his knee and Mason was too happy for her to ruin the moment by shooting a zinger back. Besides, she didn't want to start a fight in front of him, and since she was about to have her favorite drink courtesy of Dawson, she decided to let his comments slide as she fixed her soda.

Ice in a glass, followed by Pepsi and then the lime and this was shaping up to be the best morning she'd had in a long while. She took a sip and could've sworn she heard angels sing. “I slept crazy-good on that couch last night.” She glanced at the clock. “Correction, this morning. Thanks for seeing to Mason.”

“He needed his breakfast and you have to take better care of yourself.”

So much for polite conversation.

Melanie decided nothing would ruin her first Pepsi. She walked over to the small table and chairs nestled in the corner rather than sit in the living area.

Not having to rush around to change Mason's diaper and fix him something to eat left her feeling a little useless. This should be a glorious time. Had she forgotten how to have an easy morning? This wasn't exactly a normal situation. She tried her best to ignore the big presence on the chair, but he seemed intent on sweating her out.

“Okay. Fine. What did you want to discuss?” she asked.

Dawson was on his feet. He made a beeline toward her, and her pulse beat faster with every step he came closer. She set her Pepsi down in time to receive Mason.

“Do you smell that?” he asked, turning his attention toward the appliances.

“No. What?” She sniffed near Mason's diaper, grateful that wasn't the kind of scent he was talking about.

“Did you leave anything on in the bathroom?”

“Like what? There's only a hair dryer in there. I think you'd hear it.” She glanced around the room, and must've seen the smoke at the same time as he did.

Dawson raced toward the door to the hallway and placed his hand on it. “It's hot. We're not going out that way.”

“That's not good.” Melanie tamped down the panic rising in her chest.

“No. It isn't.”

“Why aren't the smoke detectors going off?” She motioned toward the sprinkler on the ceiling.

“Good question. The control panel might've been disabled,” he said with a frustrated grunt.

“This can't be related to us, can it? How would anyone know we were here?” she asked.

“I thought we'd be safe all the way out here. Whoever set the fire might've located your car in the parking lot.” Dawson disappeared into the bathroom and she heard water running. Melanie found a phone and called 9-1-1.

It took two minutes in total to report the fire.

Dawson returned a few seconds later and placed the towels at the base of the door, sealing off the room. “We're not getting out that way, so that means we have to use our other option.”

Melanie glanced around the room as Dawson disappeared into the bedroom. She had no idea what options he was talking about.

“I'm going to close this door so I don't scare the baby when I break the window,” he said as he appeared in the doorway.

“Okay. I'll gather up supplies.” She let Mason stand by himself at the coffee table. He was a good walker but could get ahead of himself and end up on his back side.

Melanie spent the next five minutes packing the diaper bag.

A crash sounded as the sirens blared in the distance.

Dawson appeared in the room a moment later. “We can't leave until the firemen get here. There's no way to get him down safely. This whole scenario makes me think someone's trying to flush us out.”

“I hear the sirens.” Smoke was creeping in through the vents causing Melanie to cough.

Dawson picked up Mason and held him tight to his chest. “Let's bring him in the other room where the air is clear.”

The little boy angled his body toward the floor, started wiggling and winding up to cry.

“He wants down. What should I do?” The big strong Dawson looked at a loss for the first time since this ordeal had started last night.

Melanie held out her hands, trying to see if her son would come to her. Mason let out a whimper and shook his head.

“Come on, baby.”

His answer was still no.

She located her keys in the diaper bag and jingled them. He took the bait this time and angled his body toward her.

Dawson jumped into action the second they hit the next room. He wet towels and stuffed them under the door to prevent smoke from filling the bedroom. And then he paced.

The next ten minutes waiting for the firemen to arrive were excruciating.

Dawson was signaling the firefighters in the lot as they roared up to the building.

Once they were discovered, it didn't take but a few more seconds for a safety ladder to be placed against the wall and a fireman to climb the rungs.

Melanie handed over her baby and then followed the fireman down. Dawson was already there by the time she set foot on the ground. He'd wasted no time jumping out the window and had managed to bring the diaper bag with him.

Since it was midday, there were fewer cars in the parking lot. About twenty people stood around, watching the building to see what would happen next. A few others milled around.

With the noise and commotion, it would be easy for Sprigs to hide among the onlookers, so she held Mason tighter to her chest.

Dawson kept her tucked behind him, scanning the lot as he waited their turn to give statements.

“We'll need to stick around a little while. Stay close,” Dawson said, his gaze scanning the lot, keeping his body between her and everyone else. He motioned toward an officer and whispered to her, “This place isn't safe and I don't want either of you out of my sight.”

Chapter Six

Melanie strapped Mason securely in his car seat. It hadn't taken long to give her statement to the officer a few minutes ago, since it was the same as Dawson's. They'd also relayed their belief that this could be connected to the case in Mason Ridge. The officer had taken notes and then promised to connect to the sheriff's office.

“It might be best to get out of Texas for a few days until this whole thing blows over,” Dawson said.

“I have to work tonight and I need this job.”

“I'm not sure I like the idea of you going back to work until we sort this out.” He moved to the driver's side, so she handed him the keys.

She didn't want to remind him of the fact that she'd had a life before last night that she needed to get back to, a safe life that didn't include home invasions and arson.

“Do you think he's here?” She glanced around. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach.

“Might be. Either way, we're not taking the chance.”

Dawson snaked out of the parking lot and then hopped on and off the highway a couple of times, checking the rearview.

“Sprigs had to be involved with that fire, didn't he? It's too coincidental,” she said.

“Do you remember when the Sno-Kone building burned down?” Dawson asked.

“Yeah, I do. It was during one of the hottest summers, late July. They never caught the guy.”

“Dylan saw Sprigs watching from in between cars in the parking lot. He set the fire.” Dawson changed lanes.

“I remember specifically that they never caught the guy. Why didn't Dylan go to the cops?”

He slanted a look at her and then returned his full attention to the stretch of highway in front of them.

“Right. With Dylan's criminal history they wouldn't have believed him,” she said, deflated.

“Or worse, they would've accused him of doing it instead.”

“Why would anyone report a crime they committed themselves?” The sheriff's department needed a serious overhaul. She doubted Sheriff Brine would hold office much longer given his personal association with the Alcorns. The senior Alcorn might've been cleared of suspicion, although he had to have been covering, but his son was guilty. And he was going to do the prison time.

“People do crazy things and Dylan isn't stupid,” Dawson said. “Which is why he didn't get caught for most of the stuff he pulled.”

“I can't believe how much he's changed.”

Dawson quirked a glance at her.

“I've been in touch with a couple of the girls. They've been keeping me up-to-date,” she clarified.

“He straightened himself out in the military.” Dawson changed lanes again. “I'm guessing the attack on your parents' house was a crime of opportunity and that means Sprigs or one of his people is watching you. The guy from last night most likely works for Sprigs. When he didn't get the job done, Sprigs may have decided to step up and take care of it himself at the hotel.”

“Except these are just theories. We have no evidence and we can't prove anything,” she said.

“True. Rest assured that I have every intention of ensuring your safety personally.” His tone left no room for doubt.

“No one knows where I live in Houston. I've kept my address private from everyone but my family, Lisa and Samantha. Those are the only people who can track me down,” she said.

“You're going to have to open your circle a little wider, you know, now that everything's changed.”

She didn't respond. He was talking about himself and, most likely, his family.

“And I've been thinking about something else, too. I don't want you to work. Not while Mason's little and you have to sling drinks at some bar,” he said, matter-of-factly.

“Not a chance. I don't want to depend on anyone else for a check.”

“We haven't been off to a good start here and I'll take responsibility for my part. However, I get a say in how my son's brought up from here on out, and I don't want his mother working in a bar. Period.”

Period?
Did Dawson suddenly get to dictate her life? How would that work out for her? The idea of being home with Mason and not being exhausted all the time was serious nirvana to her, but not like this. Not when she'd have to watch the mailbox every month for a check from Dawson, or set her phone on alert to be notified if he made a deposit in her bank account. Just the thought of being completely dependent on someone else made a hot rash creep up her chest. She'd worked too hard for her independence.

“No can do. End of story,” she said a little too emphatically.

“I beg to differ.”

“You don't get to step in and tell me how to run my life, Dawson.”

“I'm offering you an opportunity here. I thought you'd want to grab on to it. Why does it frustrate you? You said you wanted to spend more time with Mason.” That he sounded genuinely confused didn't help matters.

“I do.”

“Then why are you being so stubborn?”

Is that what he thought? He didn't have hordes of money stashed in a bank account somewhere. He worked for a living, and he'd started saving for his own ranch when he was a kid. No way would she take his savings away from him.
He'd resent it if I did
, a little voice in the back of her mind said. Owning his own ranch had been his dream since he was a little boy. And he'd been waking up early and driving into Dallas for a job at a major online retailer running logistics that he didn't like for a very long time to make it come true. Even though his parents had more than enough money to fund any venture Dawson set his sights on, he was too proud to take their handout. Precisely the reason he should understand her position.

“It's important for me to take care of us, and I've been doing a pretty darn good job of it so far,” she said.

“Just like that?” came out half hurt, half growl.

It was better for her to upset him now than to be the reason he had to abandon his future.

“Thank you, though. I do appreciate the thought. It's just that I need to be able to take care of things on my own.”

“Like you have been by shutting me out?” he countered.

“I'm sorry about my decision up to this point when it comes to you and Mason. But my life is a different story. I make the calls. You'll be involved with your son. I get that. And we'll work out a decent schedule for visitation later.”

“Visitation?”

“Oh, I assumed you wanted to be part of Mason's life. I totally understand if that's not the case.” Was she off base?

“Try and keep me away.” His low timbre sent a different kind of shiver down her neck.

Was that a threat? She decided to let it slide. They were both stressed and that had their nerves on edge. Dawson wouldn't stay mad at her for long. And she had his best interest at heart. He'd see that eventually.

In the meantime, this was going to be one long car trip. One hour down, four to go.
Oh joy!

Mason had nodded off in the backseat, which meant that Ms. Waverly, the babysitter, was going to have an interesting time watching him tonight. Or, more likely, Melanie was going to have a tough time tomorrow considering he didn't do so well when his schedule was off track. Toddlers craved routine.

But then, what if Sprigs figured out where she lived? Would he come for her? Mason could get hurt in the cross fire. Anxiety engulfed her like a wildfire.

“I've done everything I can to keep my information private, but what if he finds me in Houston?” She couldn't keep panic from her voice.

“He won't. And if he does, I'll be there to stop him.”

“You can't stay at my place forever. You have work to get back to. Your life is in Mason Ridge.”

“Let me worry about that,” he said. “Besides, every law enforcement agency is looking for him right now. You're on high alert and he's been getting away with his crimes for a long time because he's not stupid.”

“He could hurt Mason to get back at me.” Her voice sounded small even to her. “Maybe I should call my parents and ask them to pick him up. He could go on the road with them for a little while.”

The idea of being separated from her son even for a short period knifed her heart, but she clamped down the pain. There was no way she'd risk her son's safety just so she could see him every day.

“Let's look at this logically. You could call your folks and have them take him on the road. If Sprigs is determined to get to you, then he could track them down. They're older, unsuspecting—”

“I'd tell them what was going on, Dawson.”

“Fine. Even if they know what they're getting into, that doesn't mean they can keep him safer than we can, than
I
can. I don't like the idea of being apart. Not when our son could be used against you.”

“You have a good argument,” she conceded. She'd be relieved if not for the fear settling over her. No matter how much this felt like a bad dream, this was real and it might not be going away any time soon.

“No one's taking our son.” Dawson's words, the determination in them, brought a wave of comfort over her fried nerves.

“You're right,” she said. “I'm not going back to Mason Ridge and neither is Mason.”

“For now, I'll agree to those terms. I'll tell my family about my son as soon as we get better acquainted and then they'll want to be part of his life, too.”

It shouldn't wrench Melanie's stomach that Mason would have so many more people in his life to love him. She couldn't think of that without the selfish thought that meant she'd get so much less of him. No matter how she looked at it, there was no way she could or would deny his father or grandparents visitation.

However, the conversation with his mother might not go as smoothly as Dawson assumed. He didn't have any idea what the woman had said to a newly pregnant Melanie that made her hightail it out of town.

Heck, Melanie had been so naive that for half of her pregnancy she'd expected Dawson to show up, thinking that surely his mother would've shared the news at some point. She hadn't, so Melanie had kept up her end of the bargain. The way she'd read his mother's threat was that she got to keep her son if she disappeared.

Over time, Melanie had let go of the fear his mother would follow through. The woman had only wanted Melanie to disappear.

Dawson would still be in the dark about his son if Melanie hadn't gone to Mason Ridge. Even though she was terrified of the future and of the coming changes, she couldn't regret that decision now.

Dawson knew.

All her cards were on the table for everyone to see, or soon would be. Didn't that leave a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach? Having Dawson around played havoc with her mentally and physically. And she was already exhausted from both. The thought of bringing more people into the equation didn't exactly calm her stress levels.

The rest of the drive was unsettling save for the fact that Mason slept most of the way. He'd barely coughed and she figured the reason he was sleeping so much was that his body was fighting the virus.

Getting home to her own apartment was the best part of her day.

The strong possibility that Sprigs was still near Mason Ridge made her even happier to be in Houston. In fact, she didn't care what Dawson said, she had no plans to return to her hometown after all that had happened. Not until Sprigs was safely locked behind bars. Maybe not even then.

She didn't care what Dawson thought about her plans, either. He could come to Houston for a visit to his son anytime he wanted to.

Even though it was inevitable, she didn't want to negotiate with Dawson. She still remembered how broken he'd been when he lost his sister, because it was the same look that was on his face when he realized her son was his child, too.

Was his mother right? Would Dawson always hold her in contempt for bringing back those old hurts?

Was it somehow making it all worse that he found out about Mason this way? Heck if Melanie knew what the best path was anymore.

No relationship, no matter how strong or steeped in history, could survive that betrayal. She'd known that on some level when she made the deal with the devil in the first place. She'd been scared, hormonal and alone, and his mother had pounced on the opportunity to put Melanie in her place—a place below the Hill family. In Alice Hill's opinion, Melanie had never been good enough for Dawson.

Seeing the hurt in his eyes—hurt she'd put there—Melanie couldn't argue with the woman's point.

* * *

M
ELANIE
'
S
APARTMENT
MIGHT
lack in square footage but it made up for it in charm. The place was all her, and Dawson didn't want to instantly feel at home there even though he did.

The living area was open to the kitchen with a large pass-through in between. She'd placed a couple of beige bar stools there. A couch and a pair of chairs flanked the fireplace. The wood mantel had several candid pictures of her and Mason. Dawson could see the age progression in the photos and part of him wondered who'd taken the shots. Jealousy roared through him at the thought of another man being around his son.
And Melanie. Touching Melanie.

Okay, fine. He didn't like the idea of another man's hands on Melanie, but she wasn't exactly territory he had the right to claim no matter how possessive he felt. Seeing his son in her arms didn't help with that particular emotion and Dawson figured he needed to get used to all this. She wasn't going away. He wasn't going away. And there could be a man in her life...no... Dawson couldn't even go there in thought.

No other man got to spend more time with his son than him.
Or with Melanie
, a little voice inside his head said. Dawson would like to quash that cursed little voice, too. He didn't need to have feelings for her, especially since he was already jealous thinking of a make-believe guy spending time with her and Mason.