Cowboy at the Crossroads. Linda Warren

summers, Ginger was always in a panic about her hair.

      “I looked in the car mirror and I couldn’t believe it! I just fixed it, and now I resemble the bride of Frankenstein. Your place is close to work, so I came here for emergency repairs. Can I use your curling iron?” Ginger turned and saw Colton. “You’re here awfully early.”

      “Got something to say about it?” Colton asked in a hard tone.

      “Had nails with your coffee, Prescott?” Ginger returned without skipping a beat, then swung toward the bathroom.

      Becca shrugged. “That’s Ginger.”

      Colton stood up, shaking his head. “I don’t know how you put up with her.”

      “We’ve been friends for a very long time.”

      Colton looked into her eyes. “Don’t worry about us. Don’t worry about anything.”

      “Colton…”

      He placed a finger over her lips. “I’ve got to get to work. I’ll call you later, and I’ll call Cord as soon as I get to the office.” He started for the door. “Thanks for doing this for my family. I know Cord will appreciate it.” Becca stared after him.

      Ginger came back with her hair looking much better. “Stuffed Shirt gone?”

      “Ginger, don’t.”

      “I have to run, anyway.”

      “Can you wait just a second?”

      Ginger glanced at her watch. “That’s about all I’ve got.”

      Becca told her about the visit to Triple Creek, about motherless Nicki and her father.

      “Wow. What’s this Cord like?”

      Becca groaned. “It’s not about Cord. It’s about Nicki.”

      “If you say so.” Ginger sighed. “Now, I’ve really got to go.”

      “Can you water my plants while I’m gone?”

      “Sure,” Ginger called, hurrying out the door. “Phone me when you’re back in town.”

      As Ginger left, Becca tried to ignore her words. Was she doing this for Nicki—or Cord? For both of them was her instant response, and she was getting tired of justifying her actions to everyone. She let out a long breath and went to make fresh coffee.

      Fueled by the additional caffeine and new resolve, she called the Prescott ranch. Cord answered it on the second ring.

      “Cord, it’s Becca.”

      “Hi, how are you this morning?”

      Her stomach trembled at the undertones in his voice, and she wondered why he had this effect on her and Colton didn’t. She swallowed.

      “Fine. Where’s Nicki?”

      “In her room.”

      “Cord.” She couldn’t keep the frustration out of her voice.

      “Della’s fixing her breakfast and I was about to go upstairs and get her. I’m not looking forward to this.”

      “Crying and screaming won’t hurt her. Not eating will.”

      There was a pause, then he asked, “When are you coming?”

      “In about two hours.”

      “Well, maybe I’ll wait and let you work your magic.”

      “Oh, no, Cordell Prescott. You go upstairs and bring her down for breakfast. Today is the day she starts to get better, and you have to be strong.”

      “All right, but if I’m a wreck when you get here, you’ll know why.”

      “Yes, I’ll know why. I’ll also know you’re the biggest softie I’ve ever met.”

      “I’ve been told that.”

      Another pause. Then he asked, “Do you know where Colton is? I tried his apartment but he wasn’t there.”

      “He was here, and he just left. You should be able to catch him at his office.”

      All the warm feelings inside him dissipated and he didn’t understand why. He knew Becca and Colton were seeing each other. That had been for years, so why, all of a sudden, was he feeling so discouraged by this evidence that they were sleeping together? Could Blanche be right? No, Blanche was never right about anything. His interest in Becca was strictly for Nicki’s sake. He would never covet his brother’s lover.

      “Cord.”

      He jerked himself to attention as he realized she was saying his name. “Yes.”

      “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

      He hung up the phone with a frown on his face. What was wrong with him? Nothing, he told himself. He just felt like this because of Blanche and her crude suggestion. He wasn’t attracted to Dr. Becca Talbert. Not at all.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      BECCA WASN’T SURE what to pack, so she took a few of everything, but mostly jeans and tops. With her suitcases in the living room, she stopped to call Grandpa George—Jackson’s father—as well as Rose and Owen. Then she called Dr. Arnold’s office to let them know her whereabouts in case they needed to contact her. Hanging up the phone, she decided that part of her problem was the fact that she had to justify her whereabouts to so many people. At her age, she shouldn’t have to do that. Their love was overwhelming her. Was that ungrateful? She hoped not. She loved her family, but she needed to be free, to experience life on her own. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

      With her bags loaded in the car, she drove toward Triple Creek Ranch. Once she left Houston proper, the scenery along the route was serene and peaceful, so unlike the busyness of the city. Again she parked in the drive near the house and walked to the front door. It swung open before she could ring the bell. A frantic Cord stood there, holding Nicki in his arms. The child’s face was buried in his shoulder and she was crying. Cord stared helplessly at Becca.

      “Good morning,” she said brightly as if everything was normal. “My bags are in the car. Do you mind getting them?”

      Cord seemed dumbfounded. “Sure,” he answered distractedly, and slowly set Nicki on her feet.

      Nicki wrapped her arms around his leg and began to cry louder. “I wanna go to my room. I wanna go to my room.”

      “Becca’s here, baby. Don’t you want to say hi to Becca?”

      Nicki rubbed her head against his leg. “No. Don’t like her.”

      “You liked her yesterday.”

      “No, I didn’t. I wanna go to my room. Daddy, please.”

      Becca could see Cord weakening. “Would you get my bags, Cord?”

      Didn’t she notice he had a child attached to his leg? Then Cord realized this had to be one of her maneuvers to get him out of the way. He disentangled himself from Nicki, but she ran after him crying, “Daddy! Daddy!”

      Becca caught her before she could follow him to the car. She carried Nicki, kicking and sobbing, into the house and sat her firmly on the sofa.

      “Leave me ’lone,” she whimpered, and reached for Dolly.

      Becca held her face between both hands, rubbing her thumbs over the girl’s wet cheeks. “No, I’m not leaving you alone. I’ve come to spend some time with you and that’s what we’re going to do.”

      “Don’t want to.”

      “Why?”

      “’Cause.”

      “’Cause why?”

      “’Cause you’re mean.”

      “We