The Cowboy's Lullaby. Judy Duarte

also hoped you two will continue for a while.”

      “Desiree explained her wishes to me weeks ago,” Chloe said. “And as difficult as it will be for me to remain in Texas, I promised her I would do so.”

      “Well, she didn’t say squat to me,” Jake snapped. “I didn’t even know she had cancer. Or that she was dying.”

      “Jake,” Willoughby said, “what’s done is done. But if Desiree told me once, she told me a dozen times. She wished the two of you had been closer.”

      Jake raked a hand through his hair. Okay, so he’d been a bit…hardheaded. What would it have hurt to be…well, not friends, but…

      He blew out a sigh. He should have taken the olive branch she’d tried to give him, but it was too damn late to do anything about it now. Either way, he wasn’t going to reveal his regret here. Or anywhere, for that matter.

      “Desiree also asked that you return here in six weeks with your decision,” Willoughby added. “And, at that time, if you can’t agree, a preappointed third party is to evaluate the relationship between the child and each adult and determine who should be granted full custody, with fair visitation given to the other.”

      “Who is the third party?” Jake asked.

      “Desiree asked that the identity be kept secret so that there was no chance of influencing the decision. Of course, Mrs. Braddock was hopeful that it wouldn’t come to that.”

      Jake suspected the psychologist was the person who would make the ultimate decision on custody. It only made sense. And, that being the case, maybe Jake ought to volunteer to take Brianna to her appointments so he could share his concerns with the doctor about Chloe’s ability to parent.

      Willoughby reached into a manila envelope, withdrew something small and handed it to Chloe. “Here’s the key to the ranch.”

      A chill hunkered over Jake, as he watched his father’s memories and essence be given to a stranger—at least, symbolically.

      And what about Brianna?

      Who would make sure she was okay during all of this?

      Damn.

      As it was, he had no choice but to agree with his stepmother’s foolish request to move back to the ranch temporarily. If they were all together, it would be easier for Jake to look out for Brianna’s best interests and make sure she was treated well.

      And if she wasn’t?

      Then he’d have firsthand evidence for the custody battle he would wage when Desiree’s fantasy family failed.

      Chapter Three

      The next morning Jake packed his bags, then threw them in the back of his Lincoln Navigator and headed for the ranch.

      During the entire one-hour-and-fifteen-minute drive out of the city, he utilized his cell phone, informing his office staff and rescheduling as many meetings as possible. He’d do what he could from a distance, but there would be days when he’d have no choice but to make the trek back to Dallas.

      Damn. His life would be out of whack for six long weeks.

      Desiree had surely been out of her ever-loving mind when she’d cooked up this scheme. Not that he wouldn’t have put his life on hold indefinitely for Brianna or done whatever it took to make sure she adjusted to her loss. But he couldn’t figure out why Desiree had thrown Chloe into the mix. It hadn’t been necessary—unless this was some lame attempt to punish Jake. Of course, if she’d known how much he now regretted not coming around more often, she wouldn’t have bothered. His conscience would be punishing him for a long time to come.

      Up ahead he spotted the entrance to the ranch and turned on his left blinker. Then he swung into the tree-lined, graveled drive and continued to the house.

      The wooden fence, which surrounded the front portion of the property from the county road, had been bright white when his father had been alive, but it needed a fresh coat of paint. He’d have to see that it got done, because when the designated time passed and the custody issue had been settled, he was going to put this place on the market, something his father should have done years ago.

      The Braddock Enterprises office was in the city, as was Jake’s townhouse, so there was no reason to keep the ranch.

      He parked his SUV near the barn, removed his things—a leather briefcase and an overnight bag—then headed toward the front porch of the sprawling custom-built adobe house. His first inclination had been to open the front door without knocking, something he’d done when only his father had lived here. But times had changed.

      As he climbed the front porch steps, the morning sun moved from behind a cloud, casting its light over him. A westerly breeze kicked up, and he caught a whiff of alfalfa. In the distance, a horse whinnied.

      He almost felt like a kid again. Coming home.

      But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The ranch had ceased being a home to him the day Desiree had moved in. The day his father had become another person.

      Jake knocked lightly, and when no one responded, he rang the bell. It was discomfiting to know there was a stranger living here—even temporarily.

      Footsteps from within sounded, and Barbara Davies, the housekeeper, answered the door.

      He lifted the briefcase he held in one hand and the suitcase he held in the other. “Desiree’s orders.”

      “Yes, I know.” She stepped aside, allowing him entrance. “She mentioned it to me a month or two ago.”

      Again Jake was reminded that he hadn’t been privy to squat. And since he was probably to blame for refusing his stepmother’s offers of friendship, another rush of regret twisted a knot in his gut. There wasn’t much he could do about it now, though.

      “Would you like to stay in the master bedroom?” Barbara asked. “I’ve got it ready for you.”

      Since that room had been the one his father had shared with Desiree, and then hers alone, he wouldn’t feel comfortable in there. “No, I think I’ll stay in my own bedroom, the one I used as a kid.”

      After his folks had split up, Jake lived with his dad, who insisted upon spending every weekend at the ranch to give his city-boy son a wholesome dose of reality.

      There’d been some good times, Jake supposed, remembering the old fishing hole, horseback riding. But there’d been chores, too. Mucking out stalls, shoveling horse manure.

      “Consider them character-building tasks,” his father had often said.

      At the time Jake had been skeptical. He still was, he supposed.

      As Mrs. Davies closed the door behind him, he was pulled from the nostalgic past and forced back to the awkward present.

      He scanned the living room, the leather furniture, the oak and glass-topped tables and shelves, the stone fireplace with its rough-hewn mantel, the colorful Southwestern art on white plastered walls. Desiree had redecorated when she’d moved in, but she hadn’t changed much since then.

      “From what I understand,” the housekeeper said, “your old room is just the way you left it. I dust it twice a week, and although the sheets are clean, the bedding needs to be freshened. I’ll do that later this morning.”

      “Don’t worry about it.”

      “I take pride in my work,” she said. “And it’s no trouble at all.”

      The warm aroma of cinnamon and spice drifted in from the kitchen, and his stomach rumbled, reminding him he’d only had an espresso earlier. “Something sure smells good.”

      Mrs. Davies beamed. “It’s the zucchini muffins in the oven. Desiree told me you liked them. And they’re almost ready.”

      How would Desiree have known that? he wondered. Had he mentioned it to her once? If so, it was odd that she’d