The Cowboy and His Baby. Sherryl Woods

is,” her mother admitted, an ominous note in her voice. “Harlan Adams is a powerful man.”

      “That’s not news. What’s your point? What does he have to do with this? It’s between me and Cody.”

      “Not if Harlan gets it into his head to claim his granddaughter,” her mother stated, a note of genuine fear in her voice. “There’s no way we could fight a man like that.”

      Melissa was stunned by what her mother was suggesting. “Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid? Jordan’s known for almost a year now and he hasn’t even spilled the beans. I suspect the rest of the family will react with just as much indifference.”

      Her mother didn’t seem to be reassured. “Just watch your step. I’m warning you, Melissa, keep that baby as far away from Cody Adams as you can.”

      Though she didn’t think the warning was necessary, Melissa nodded dutifully. “I don’t think we have to worry about that. Cody will probably be gone before we know it.”

      Just then the sounds of her daughter’s cheerful, nonsensical babbling echoed down the narrow hallway. Melissa smiled. Her heart suddenly felt lighter than it had all day. The baby had had that effect on her from the moment she’d been born.

      “Did she just wake up?” she asked as she started toward her old bedroom.

      “I doubt she’s even been asleep. She didn’t want to go down for her nap. I think she sensed the tension in both of us. You go on in. I’m going to fix your daddy’s dinner.”

      Melissa went to pick up her daughter from the crib her mother had put up next to the twin bed Melissa had slept in for most of her life. Sharon Lynn was standing on shaky, pudgy little legs, hanging on to the crib rail. Her eyes lit up when she spotted her mother.

      “Ma…ma…ma.”

      “That’s right, darling girl,” Melissa crooned, gathering her into her arms. “I’m your mama.”

      She inhaled the sweet talcum-powder scent of her baby and sighed as tiny little hands grabbed her hair and held on tight. “You’ve got quite a grip, little one. You must have gotten that from your daddy. I’m the original hundred-pound weakling.”

      “Da?” Sharon Lynn repeated, echoing a sound Melissa had taught her while showing her a snapshot of Cody. Her mother would have pitched a royal fit if she’d known.

      “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.

       Chapter Three

      For 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