by Lisa Jackson
“Feeling any better?” Dani asked.
Cody didn’t respond. Taking a chair at the table, he didn’t even bother to look up when Dani placed a stack of waffles and two strips of bacon on a plate and set the hot breakfast in front of him.
“I think we should talk,” she said.
“Don’t want to,” he grumbled, spreading jam on his waffles before attacking them hungrily.
Her stomach in nervous knots, Dani sat down at the table across from her son and cradled a hot cup of coffee in her hands. She studied the anxious lines of his young face and wished she could make growing up easier on him. “Just because I don’t let you have everything you want doesn’t mean that I don’t love you,” she said. When Cody didn’t respond, she sat back in her chair and blew across her coffee. “You hurt me very badly with the things you said last night.”
He ignored her and kept eating in sullen silence.
“I had trouble sleeping.”
“That makes two of us,” he admitted.
“Believe it or not, I don’t want to stand between you and your father—”
“Then why wouldn’t you let me keep the .22?” Cody demanded, dropping his fork and piercing her with furious dark eyes. “You just didn’t want Dad to give me something.”
“No . . . I didn’t want your dad to give you something you weren’t ready for. A .22 is still a gun, Cody. A weapon. It’s dangerous.”
“I’d only use it on rabbits and birds—”
“Is that what you want to do? Go hunting?”
“Why not?”
“You’ve never shown any interest in it before.”
Cody’s lips pressed together. “Maybe that’s because you’ve always treated me like a baby.”
“And having a .22 makes you a man?”
“I just don’t like being treated like a little kid.”
“You’re not. You have responsibilities around here, and you get paid for them. I think you’re a very grownup nine-year-old.”
“Then—”
“But guns are for adults. Period.”
Cody’s chin stuck out and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t you think my father has any say in it?”
“Not when he’s been gone for seven years.” Dani forced a sad smile at her son. “I’m not trying to stop you from growing up, you know, I just want to make sure that you do it one step at a time.”
When Cody realized she wasn’t about to change her mind, he bravely fought off another round of embarrassing tears.
“I know you’ve missed your dad, and I hope that the two of you can make up for lost time,” she said, wondering if she really believed her own words. “But you’re my responsibility and I have to do what I think is best for you.”
“Even if Dad disagrees.”
“Yes.”
He studied his remaining waffles and pushed them aside. “Would you let me live with Dad?” he asked suddenly.
Dani’s stomach dropped, but she tried not to show it. Though she couldn’t imagine her life without Cody, she managed to meet his inquiring gaze with steady eyes. “I don’t think so,” she said honestly. “Oh, I suppose if you were really unhappy with me and I thought Blake would do a better job of being a parent, then maybe I’d agree that you should live with him. But I think it’s a little too early to make that kind of decision, don’t you?”
“I don’t know.” He couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice.
“Well, there’s one thing you’d better think about.”
“What’s that?”
“I won’t be threatened. And I won’t let you play me against your father.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. As long as you’re with me, which I hope is for a very long time, we do things my way.”
“And I don’t have any say in it.”
She shook her head and laughed. “You know that I always listen to you, don’t you?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Sure you do. And neither of us wants to argue anymore. So, let’s put it aside for now. I fed and watered the animals for you this morning. I figured you might want this last day off to do whatever you want. Tomorrow’s a school day.”
“Don’t remind me,” he groaned, but picked up his plate and carried it to the sink.
“If you want, you can have Shane over or maybe one of your other friends.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he said, as if understanding she was trying to mend fences. “But I don’t think so. Dad said he’d come by. Maybe we can go fishin’ or somethin’ .”
“Maybe,” Dani agreed, silently telling herself it was the boy’s right to be with his father.
“You won’t get mad?”
“Not unless he tries to give you the gun again.”
“Good.” Cody went outside and Dani finished her coffee. A few minutes later, she was hanging clothes on the line when she heard the sound of an engine coming down the drive. Bracing herself for another confrontation with Blake, she hurriedly snapped a clothespin on the last corner of the sheet just as there was a knock on the front door. She glanced out the window and recognized Chase’s Jeep.
Thank God!
Heart beating wildly at the sight of him, she threw open the screen door and fell into his arms. “Thank God you’re back,” she whispered, clinging to him, drinking in the smell and feel of him as his arms surrounded her.
A lazy grin slid easily over Chase’s face. “I sure didn’t expect this kind of reception, lady.” But his arms closed securely around her waist and he rested his head on the top of hers. “It’s been a helluva week and I’m glad I’m back.” He placed an index finger under her chin and tilted her face so that he could look into her troubled eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” she repeated.
“Yes—something happened.” His jaw hardened and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What’s Caleb done now?”
“Nothing . . . it’s nothing to do with him,” she said, breaking out of his embrace and rubbing her arms as if suddenly chilled.
“That’s hard to believe.”
“Cody’s father came back yesterday.”
“What!?”
“My reaction, too,” she whispered.
Chase went stock-still. “And?” he prodded.
Dani let out a long, worried sigh. “And he had dinner with us last night”
Chase’s face became hard, his eyes slits as he walked over to the fireplace, leaned against the mantel and watched her. “Just like that—all of a sudden?”
“No. There were some letters and then Cody got a call from him . . . I just can’t believe he’s here.”
“Neither can I,” Chase muttered. “ Strange, don’t you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s been gone for—what, six years?”
“Seven.”
“And now, just when things are coming to a boil with Johnson, when I’m out of town, he shows up.” Chase paced in front of the fireplace, rubbing the back of his neck and his suspicions gelled. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his breath, his fists balling.
“He said something about a job giving out; that he wanted to get to know Cody—”
Chase cranked his head to stare at her. “You believe him?”
Dani sighed and dropped onto an arm of the couch. “I don’t know what to believe. All I know is that I don’t want him here and Cody does. So—I let him come over, just last night. Things were going along just fine until after dinner when Blake tried to give Cody a gun—a .22—and I objected. We argued and I ended up asking Blake to leave with the gun.”
“And Cody didn’t like it.”
“No.” She shuddered. “He screamed and yelled at me, told me he hated me, said he wanted to live with his father . . .”
Her voice cracked and she had to take a deep breath to control herself. “I . . . I stood my ground, but—”
“You’re afraid you’re losing him,” Chase guessed, coming up behind h
er and placing his hands on her shoulders. She was turned away from him, but the tender warmth of his fingers soothed some of her fears. He nuzzled the back of her neck and the strength flowing from his body to hers helped ease her fears.
“I just wish Blake had never come back,” she said bitterly, balling her fist and pressing it to her lips.
“Maybe it’s better that he did,” Chase said, trying to stamp down his own insane feelings of jealousy. “Cody needed to meet him; see what kind of a man his father is.”
“If I just hadn’t gotten so . . . angry.”
“Shh. Don’t blame yourself for doing what you think was right.” Chase rotated her and folded her body neatly to his. “He’s not going to come between you and Cody or us.”
She heard the beating of his heart, felt the security of his hard, strong body against hers. Her arms wrapped around Chase’s neck and she sighed in contentment when he kissed the top of her head. “I’m just glad you’re back,” she whispered.
“Mom?” Cody stepped through the screen door and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his mother and Chase. “Oh, no,” he whispered, starting to back out of the room and staring at Dani with accusing eyes.
Dani extracted herself from Chase’s embrace and followed her son to the porch. “What did you want?”
“Never mind,” he grumbled.
“Cody—”
“He’s the reason you don’t want Dad around, isn’t he?” he said, jerking his head in the direction of the house just as Chase came outside.
“Of course not—”
“Why don’t you just go away, mister,” Cody said, squinting up at Chase. “Instead of trying to be friends with me and coming on to my mom, why don’t you just go back to Caleb Johnson’s place where you belong? Or better yet, go to Idaho or wherever it is you come from!”
“Cody!”
But Cody didn’t bother listening. Instead he jumped on his ten-speed and rode the bike around the corner of the house and down the lane as fast as he could.
Dani started after him and got as far as the side of the house where her pickup was parked before Chase grabbed her arm and restrained her from running after the boy. “Let him go.”
“I can’t!”
“He needs to blow off some steam, work things out in his own mind,” he said. “Let him cool off. He’ll be back.”
Knowing in her heart that Chase was right, Dani looked despairingly down the drive to the rapidly disappearing image of her son. “It’s just so damned hard to let go.”
“I know.” Chase tugged at her arm. “Come on. Let’s go inside. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”
“I don’t think I could eat or drink anything,” she said.
“Try. For me.”
Once in the kitchen, Chase poured them each a cup of coffee and then, as Dani carried the cups outside, he followed with the red enamel pot.
They sat together in the quiet shade of the apple tree and watched the sheets billowing in the slight morning breeze.
“Feeling better?” Chase asked.
“A little,” she said, and then amended the statement. “Make that a lot.”
“I thought so. At least I hoped.”
The crown of her head was warm from the morning sun. A slight breeze cooled her skin and Chase’s presence gave Dani a sense of peace and contentment she’d been lacking in the past few days. If only Cody were here to share this blissful serenity, life would be perfect.
“He’ll be back,” Chase whispered.
“You’re sure?” Her smooth brow puckered with worry.
“I promise.” He touched the side of her face, caressed her cheek, and let his fingers tangle in the soft honey-colored strands of her hair.
“I could almost believe anything you told me,” she said with a dimpled smile.
“That’s encouraging. Listen.” Over the hum of insects and the whisper of the wind in the leaves overhead, the sound of a pickup as it turned into the drive caught Chase’s attention. “I’ll bet Cody ran into a friend who gave him a lift home.”
“I hope you’re right,” Dani said, standing and running to the front of the house only to have her soaring expectations dashed to the ground.
Blake.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, her throat tight. Cody’s bike was in the back of the pickup and Cody was sitting in the cab of his father’s truck as Blake maneuvered the pickup up the twin ruts of the lane.
“I take it Cody’s with his father.” Chase grabbed his hat and put it on.
“You take it right.”
“Do you want me to leave?” Chase asked, though he had no intention of doing anything of the kind.
“No . . . it’s all right.”
“Good.” Chase’s chiseled mouth was set firmly and his arms were folded over his broad chest as he crossed his ankles and leaned against one of the fence posts.
“Momin’,” Blake said as he got out of the cab of his truck. Chase touched the brim of his Stetson in reply. The hat shaded his eyes and gave him an opportunity to watch Blake Summers. He felt immediate dislike for the man but didn’t say anything because of the boy. Instead he held his tongue for a later time, when Cody wasn’t present. The effort made his muscles ache with tension.
“I—I didn’t expect you back so soon,” Dani said, looking nervously from Blake to Chase and back again.
“Found my son hightailin’ it into town. Thought I’d better find out why.”
A muscle jumped in Chase’s jaw, but still he leaned on the fence post, as if content to stay out of a family argument.
“We had a little misunderstanding.”
“A big one, the way I hear it.”
“It was just a disagreement, Blake.” She turned concerned eyes on her son. “Cody, are you okay?”
The boy lifted a shoulder and stared at her with total disrespect. “I guess so.”
“You know I don’t like to fight with you.”
“Then why’s he still here?” Cody asked, pointing at Chase. Chase shifted, pushed up the brim of his hat and straightened. Walking over to Dani and standing near her, he introduced himself to Blake and was offered a tightlipped nod in return.
“Chase is here because I want him here,” Dani said, feeling color burn her cheeks.
“Just like Dad’s here ’cause I want him here,” Cody retorted. He took a step closer to Blake and continued to glare at Chase.
“The boy and I plan to go fishin’,” Blake said. “He claims he’s got himself a right good hole above the south fork.” Blake glanced at Chase and his lips twisted downward before he looked back at Dani. “So if ya don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind, as long as you stay on the place.”
Cody took hold of Blake’s arm and eagerly started leading him to the back of the property. “Come on, Dad, you’re gonna love it!”
“I’m sure I will,” Blake said as they passed Dani and he darted her a quick, assessing glance. He was wearing a smile that didn’t seem quite natural and his skin was taut over the angles of his face. He hadn’t shaved and there were bags below his reddened eyes.
Dani’s stomach curled. She’d seen Blake in the same shape before; hungover and surly after a long night’s binge.
“Why did he come back here?” she asked herself once Blake and Cody were out of earshot.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Chase said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully as he watched Cody and Blake walk past the barn. “Maybe he’s feeling mortal; needs the security of knowing his son.”
“And maybe he’s up to no good,” Dani thought aloud.
“Time will tell.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Dani said. “I just hope that he doesn’t hurt Cody.”
“So you honestly don’t think that Blake is just here because he loves his son?”
“I don’t think Blake Summers is capable of love,” she said firmly, as Blake, Cody and Runt waded across the creek and walked through the final field before disappearing into the thicket of b
rush and pine trees in the foothills.
Chapter Ten
Chase noticed the lines of worry etching across Dani’s forehead and the way she chewed on her lower lip long after Cody and Blake had left. “Maybe you’d better tell me if you want me to stick around,” he suggested.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, turning her attention to him.
He was standing in the shade of the apple tree. Reaching upward, he picked an apple that was beginning to stripe red over green and tossed it in the air, catching it deftly. “Just that I don’t want to interfere—cause any more problems between you and Cody.”
“You aren’t.”
“I heard what he said.”
“I know, but he was angry with me, not you. He can’t seem to understand that what Blake and I shared is over. He thinks we should be able to resurrect it somehow.”
Chase shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “And what do you think?”
“Honestly?”
He nodded, his firm mouth turning down at the corners. “Honestly.”
“I wish he’d never come back. That he’d just leave us alone.”
Chase’s thick brows arched. “Well, once the newness of having his dad around wears off, maybe Cody won’t be so quick to champion Blake’s cause. Right now Blake’s come back for the boy and that makes him a hero in Cody’s eyes. But you’ve always been here for him. Cody’s a smart boy. He’ll come around.”
“I doubt it,” she said with a sigh as she walked back toward the house. “But I don’t suppose there’s any point in brooding. Blake’s back and that’s that. I’ll just have to learn how to deal with him.”
Chase grinned. “That’s the spirit.” He tossed the apple to her and she caught it. Smiling, she took a bite of the tart Gravenstein and then made a face. “I think you rushed this one,” she said, opening the screen door and waiting until Chase had walked inside.
“Meaning the apple?” he asked.
“I don’t know; I get a feeling you rush everything. Jump in feet first.”
“Sometimes.”
She straightened the afghan on the back of the couch before going into the kitchen. “Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea? Or—” she opened the refrigerator and peeked inside “—uh, we still have some orange juice, half a pitcher of lemonade and a few cans of beer that Blake hasn’t found.”
