The Cowboy's Secret Baby. Karen Smith Rose

want to try to work out visitation with her first. If we can’t come to terms, then I guess I’ll have to see a lawyer.”

      “You don’t want to bring a lawyer into it if you don’t have to,” Eli agreed. “No better way to get two people on opposite sides of the fence.”

      Would Marissa work with him to decide what was best for Jordan?

      “When am I going to meet my nephew?” Eli asked in a tone that said he wanted an answer now.

      “I promise you’ll meet him soon.” Ty meant every word. He never broke a promise.

      His uncle nodded because he knew that was true.

      Ty’s dad had broken too many promises, and his uncle realized Ty was determined to be a different kind of man than his father ever was.

      * * *

      On Saturday, Ty fully expected Marissa to be at home. But when he stopped at her apartment, he found no one was there. Sure, he should have called first, but he didn’t want her avoiding him when she saw his name on caller ID. Did he really think she’d do that? Well, for two years she hadn’t told him he had a son. He wasn’t sure what she’d do.

      Standing outside the door to her apartment, he dialed her cell phone number, fully expecting to get a message. But she answered on the second ring, and of course, she had seen who was calling.

      “Ty? I’m at work. Can I call you back later?”

      For some reason he didn’t want to wait till later. He’d already missed too much time with his son. He wanted to make plans as soon as he could.

      “How about if I come there and we can talk for a few minutes? I won’t take up much of your time.”

      When she hesitated, he asked, “Where’s Jordan?”

      “He’s with a friend, Kaitlyn Preston.”

      Kaitlyn Preston. He’d seen the name somewhere. Suddenly a doctor’s shingle came to mind. Dr. Kaitlyn Preston had an office in the same building as his orthopedist. Then he remembered something else. Marissa had mentioned Kaitlyn in association with The Mommy Club.

      Raintree Winery was about a mile out of town toward the hills. There was a rumor there was even a hot spring on the property. Hot springs. Marissa. A kiss. A touch. He shook the thoughts out of his head.

      “I’ll be there in less than ten minutes,” he said.

      And he was.

      Driving down the lane into the winery, he passed scenery more manicured than the Cozy C’s. There were rows and rows of trellises covered with grape vines as well as purple, white and yellow chrysanthemums blooming everywhere. He’d heard the vineyard was coming to be known for its gardens as much as for its grapes and wines. Visitors who stopped to taste Raintree wines also toured the beds of roses and native flowers and shrubs. The vineyard’s property line on the western edge touched the Cozy C’s north pasture.

      Ty followed the visitors sign that led to the winery offices. There was another driveway leading to the wine tasting center. He passed a guest cottage on the left and the main house on the right. That house was huge, more like a mansion compared to the ranch house on the Cozy C. Right past it he found the Raintree office complex, pulled into the designated parking area and switched off his ignition.

      This was some place.

      Ty walked up the path to the office, pulled open the heavy glass door and stepped inside. He didn’t know what he expected, maybe to see Marissa sitting at a desk, welcoming any visitors who might come in.

      But that wasn’t the way it was. He spotted her through a glass partition. She was standing by a huge mahogany desk focused on a state-of-the-art computer monitor. He could tell by its size and sleek design. She wore tailored russet-brown slacks and a crisp pale peach blouse. She’d clipped her hair away from her face, but that didn’t keep the curls from tumbling forward.

      He felt the old attraction, and he attempted to ignore it.

      She wasn’t alone in her office. A man about as tall as Ty stood there with her, handing her some kind of printout. He was well built with black hair. He wore a white oxford dress shirt and navy suit trousers. Ty recognized him. Jase Cramer’s photo had appeared online and in newspapers with his articles about children in African refugee camps.

      Ty hadn’t been oblivious to the world outside the rodeo circuit. After all, a Pulitzer Prize winner made headlines.

      He strode toward the office. Marissa glanced up, and the glass walls seemed to drop away. It was just the two of them, staring at each other, wondering what the future was going to bring.

      She had stopped midsentence apparently and Jase looked from her to Ty and then back again.

      “This is the man you were expecting?” he heard Jase ask her through the open door.

      She motioned him in. “Jase Cramer, meet Ty Conroy. Ty, this is my boss.”

      As Ty shook Jase Cramer’s hand, he was sizing him up, and Jase was doing the same thing to Ty.

      Jase turned to Marissa. “Would you like to go someplace more private than this?”

      Marissa’s cheeks pinkened. “No, this is fine. Thanks.”

      “We’re almost there, Marissa. You’ve done a terrific job planning the Christmas-week celebration. You’ve managed to get great vendors on board, and the publicity you generated is acquiring lots of interest. We’re good. Don’t let the odds and ends tie you up in knots, okay?”

      She nodded.

      After a last smile for Marissa and a nod to Ty, Cramer left the office. Just outside the door, he said, “I’ll be in the wine tasting room if you need me for anything.”

      Again Marissa nodded and then she laid the papers on her desk.

      “The Christmas celebration,” Ty mused aloud. “That’s a big event at Raintree. A big event in the area. Visitors go hopping from one winery to the next. You have to plan it?”

      “I planned it,” she said proudly, “consulting with Jase and Sara, of course, and the other wineries in the area. That’s one of the things I do here, Ty. I plan the events.”

      He must have made a sound of surprise or looked surprised because Marissa’s shoulders went back and she stood a little straighter. “Did you think I’d stay a waitress in a diner all my life?”

      He realized he’d underestimated Marissa. Apparently becoming pregnant and having a baby had made a huge difference in her life.

      “Girls in Fawn Grove who start out as waitresses usually end up as waitresses. I really didn’t know what your life goals were. We didn’t talk about that.”

      She seemed to relax a bit. “No, we didn’t. The ironic thing is I took this job for the insurance benefits. And when I started, I was basically Jase’s secretary.” She motioned to the office beyond hers. “That’s where he works. But as the months went on, I handled more and more responsibility, and he saw that I really seemed suited for everything that goes on here, from setting up the wine tasting schedule to incorporating holiday themes in the gardens, to planning everything from an ice-cream festival to a music fair. I quickly moved up. I like the work I do here, and even more than that, I like the people I work with.”

      Ty nodded. “That’s important. One of my friends from the rodeo circuit who wants to retire is going to hire on with us at the Cozy C. Clint and I have known each other since my first rodeo. He’s good with horses and anything else that needs to be done.”

      “I guess you have a lot on your plate right now, too,” she said, “getting ready for the opening.”

      “It’s coming together. Uncle Eli wasn’t 100 percent on board at the beginning, but I think that’s changing. I sure hope it is.”

      “So your uncle doesn’t want to turn the Cozy C