Branded. Annette Broadrick

if she didn’t sound pious.

      He folded his arms. “You’re treating her like a toy you grew tired of playing with. So let me make myself perfectly clear. If you leave here tonight without taking her with you, or if you decide to leave her somewhere in Las Vegas once you get there—and believe me, I’ll be keeping tabs on that—I’ll make certain you lose all parental rights to her. You will see her only when I think she’s capable of handling it.”

      She looked at him as if he’d slapped her. “You’d take her away from me?” she asked in horror. She started sobbing. “I should have known better than to let you know about her at all. I should have followed my instincts and kept you out of both our lives! I knew you were going to be hateful about this. I just knew it!”

      He stood. “C’mon, I’ll help you get her back to your car.”

      She jumped up. “No! I can’t take her with us. I just can’t! I want what’s best for her, I really do.” Tears continued to run down her cheeks and her nose glowed where she kept wiping it with her handkerchief. She twisted the beleaguered piece of cloth between her hands. “It’s just so hard, Jake,” she said pathetically, “you know? I don’t know the first thing about taking care of her. She won’t behave, she ignores what I say, and just the other day she found some cosmetics in my purse and smeared them all over her face. I know she knew better, but she did it just to spite me! I’ve been doing the best I can, but I just don’t know how to deal with her!”

      “And you think I do.”

      Still wringing her handkerchief, she said, “Well, at least I’ll know she’s with part of her family. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting along with her because you’ve always been good with children. This is the best thing for Heather. You’ll find someone here on the ranch to keep an eye on her when you can’t watch her.”

      Jake held his wrist up to the light. “At one o’clock in the morning? Somehow I doubt that very much.”

      She seemed to regain control of her emotions, long enough to blow her nose. “I’m sure she’ll be okay for a day or two until you find someone to look after her.” Tiffany looked around the patio vaguely, no doubt wishing she was anywhere but here. “I, uh, hadn’t realized it was so late. Ed and his driver have been so patient, waiting hours for you to come home.” She gave him a half smile. “Sorry if I broke up a hot date with one of the local yokels.”

      Despite her words, she didn’t move away. Instead, she continued to stand there, warily watching him.

      “I meant what I said, Tiffany. I’m not going to punish this child by moving her back and forth between us at your convenience.”

      Her shoulders slumped. “I know, Jake. I love her so much, but I’m really not cut out for the whole mother thing, you know? I was horrified when I found out I was pregnant after being extra careful all those years. I didn’t know what to do. Gram talked me into having her, promising me to help with her, and I’m not sorry I did. Honestly, I’m not. It’s just that…” She paused as though searching for words. “I’ve always been high-strung, and trying to deal with her has just been too much for me. My nerves can’t stand the pressure day in and day out.”

      She dropped her eyes and slowly turned away.

      He made no comment as she left the patio. She’d almost disappeared around the corner of the house when she stopped and said, “I almost forgot, Jake. I brought all the necessary papers you’ll need for her—her birth certificate, a record of her shots, that sort of thing. I’d already packed them, thinking she’d need credentials to go overseas with us. I also brought her clothes and other belongings. She’s familiar with them and I hope they’ll help her to adjust.” She looked at him through the shadows. “Goodbye, Jake. Take good care of her.”

      Jake continued to stand there on the patio without moving. He was numb with all that had happened tonight. In a few moments, he heard the purr of a well-tuned engine and watched as headlights swept across the driveway.

      The silence of the country night returned.

      Now that she’d gone, he needed to face what had happened. If Tiffany was telling the truth, he had a daughter. A daughter he’d discovered long after he’d finally accepted that he would never have a family of his own.

      That was the good news. That was the great news.

      The bad news was that he had a daughter who would be waking up in the morning in strange surroundings without a familiar face to reassure her that she was safe. He had a daughter who would probably be afraid of him, at least at first.

      Jake rubbed the back of his neck and picked up his empty bottle. He walked into the kitchen, tossed the bottle in one of the recycling bins on hand and looked around, trying to force his mind to wrap around the idea of instant fatherhood.

      A large manila envelope he hadn’t noticed before lay on the kitchen bar. He sat down on the bar stool Tiffany had used and opened the envelope.

      Her birth certificate was on top. Her name was Heather Anne Crenshaw and she’d been born on Sept. 28, which meant she would be four years old in a little over six weeks.

      He was listed as her father.

      He stared at the document until it grew blurry. He hadn’t been there when she was born. He hadn’t been there when she learned to sit up, to stand, to take her first step or say her first word. He hadn’t been there to watch the infant turn into a little girl.

      He’d already missed so much of her life.

      Jake removed his hat and hung it on the rack beside the door, turned out the lights downstairs and went up to his room. After he sat on the side of his bed and removed his boots, he returned to Heather’s room in his stockinged feet. She had shifted and now lay on her side, still clutching her bedraggled rabbit. He noticed several more stuffed animals sitting at the end of the bed. She looked so innocent lying there, sleeping so soundly. She had no idea how her world had changed yet again. Her great-grandmother’s sudden illness must have been devastating to her. And now this.

      Eventually he quietly checked the closet and chest of drawers. Yes, Tiffany had amply provided for her, he was thankful to see.

      What was he supposed to do now? Come morning, this sweet-looking child was going to wake up and face new people and new surroundings. Of course she would be afraid. She would need to be dressed and fed and…

      He froze. Was she housebroken? How would he know? Raised with three brothers, his only experience around little girls was watching Ashley grow up.

      Ashley.

      She would know what Heather needed, wouldn’t she? Would she be willing to help him out for a few days? He hadn’t seen much of her in the past several years, not since she’d gone off to Texas A&M, but at one time they’d been the best of friends.

      He certainly needed a trusted friend about now.

      Would Ashley be able to help him?

      She was a doctor, wasn’t she?

      Sort of. She was a veterinarian. That was close enough, wasn’t it?

      She was a woman, besides. She’d know what to do with a little girl, since she’d been one herself.

      At the moment, he didn’t have many options. He was desperate. Surely she would be willing to do whatever needed to be done for his daughter.

      Jake returned to his bedroom, looked up her number and called her.

      Three

      Ashley Sullivan unlocked the door to her small apartment in time to hear her phone ringing. She groaned. It was the middle of the night and she was exhausted. Because this was her weekend on call, she’d already been out on two emergencies tonight, once for a mare having trouble with a breech birth and the other to check out a steer whose owner thought had been bitten by a snake. And this was only Friday night.

      A call in the middle of