“Harlan Patrick?” she called after him.
“Yes?”
“Things will work out with Laurie. They always have before.”
“I hope you’re right, but something in my gut tells me this time is different. She’s never put quite so much distance between us before.”
“Uncle Jordan’s plane can cover a piddly little distance like that in no time.”
His expression brightened for the first time since his arrival. “So it can,” he murmured thoughtfully. “And it just so happens, I have a pilot’s license.”
“See there. There’s always hope.”
He walked out whistling, looking a whole lot happier than he had when he’d come in an hour before.
“His mood’s improved,” Cord noted. “You must have a magic touch.”
“Not really. Used to be I had a tendency to always look for the silver lining in all the clouds. For a while now I’d forgotten how.”
Cord grinned. “But it’s coming back to you.”
She gazed straight into his eyes and nodded. “Yes, lately it’s been coming back to me.”
Chapter Ten
Even though he’d told Harlan Adams he would put it behind him, the fight with Cody kept gnawing at Cord. He was silent through most of the evening with Sharon Lynn, pitching in to help her with dinner, sitting across the table from her, but unable to make himself say what was on his mind. She kept casting worried glances his way, but she didn’t try to pry.
“Did Lizzy come by today to draw the baby’s blood?” he asked eventually, just to fill the silence.
She gave a little nod, clearly no more eager to talk about that than he was to bring up the fight with her father. “How long will the typing take?” he asked, anyway.
“She should be calling any minute,” Sharon Lynn said with a nervous glance toward the phone. “She promised to check with the lab before she left the hospital.”
Knowing that only added to the strain already filling the air. The tension was thick enough to turn a sun-baked rattler jittery. They fell silent and stayed that way.
After dinner, with the baby already asleep, Cord knew it was time to either go or stay. And, if he stayed, he was going to have to get into the substance of his argument with Cody. Sharon Lynn had already heard just enough from her brother to deserve a complete explanation from him.
As she put the last dish away in the cupboard, she turned to face him. “We’ve been avoiding it all evening and it hasn’t worked. You might as well tell me exactly what happened out at White Pines today,” she said. “I’ve heard some from Harlan Patrick. I’m going to hear the rest eventually, anyway.”
He didn’t even bother trying to pretend that he misunderstood. “Just how much did Harlan Patrick tell you?”
“That Daddy’s afraid you might be after Kyle’s land,” she said bluntly. “Just so you know, I meant what I said earlier. I don’t believe it for a minute.”
Well, that was certainly to the point, Cord thought ruefully. “That’s about it. I don’t know what else I can say.”
“I don’t understand how he could even accuse you of such a thing. You didn’t even know that property belonged to me.” She hesitated, her gaze fixed on his face. “Did you?”
He thought he heard a tiny hint of uncertainty in her voice. It made him angrier than ever at Cody for indirectly giving her a reason to distrust him.
“No,” he said flatly. “I’m curious about something, though. Why didn’t you tell me about it yourself? Maybe if you had, we could have gotten the issue out in the open a long time ago.”
“To tell you the truth, it never even occurred to me,” she confessed with a sigh. “That property means nothing to me. I hardly even think of it as mine. Kyle had changed his will the morning of the wedding. Even if he hadn’t, I probably would have inherited it because as of that night I was his wife, his only family.”
Cord had been so caught up with Sharon Lynn, the baby and his new job, that he hadn’t even checked into the ranch. What would have been the point? He didn’t have the money to buy a bag of dirt at the moment, much less a ranch.
“Have you kept it up and running?” he asked.
She nodded. “Kyle had a good foreman out there and plenty of hired hands. I saw no reason to close it down. I let the foreman and his family move into the main house. I told him we’d keep it going for a year and see how it went. I even promised him a chance to buy me out, if he decided he wanted to.”
“So that land’s spoken for, anyway, right?” Cord hoped his disappointment wasn’t obvious. It was for the best that it wasn’t available, not when its very existence could have put a huge stumbling block between them.
“We didn’t put it in writing, if that’s what you mean, but we made a verbal agreement. In my book, that’s binding enough.” She studied his face. “Does that disappoint you?”
He forced a smile. “Darlin’, I’ve never pretended I didn’t want a ranch of my own someday. And it’s true that I’d heard there was one nearby that a widow might be willing to sell. I swear to you, though, that I had no idea you were that widow, not until you told me about the accident and Kyle. Then it all added up.”
“But you didn’t say anything,” she said pointedly.
“Because I’m a very long way from being able to buy so much as an acre of land, from you or anyone else, and until I can, what’s the point of talking about it? If your land is all but sold, it’s for the best. I don’t want it coming between us. I don’t want you to ever have any reason not to trust me. When the time comes, I’ll buy my own land and I’ll pay a fair price for it.”
She regarded him with obvious regret. “If only I’d known—”
“Stop that,” he said, cutting her off. “Even if you had known I was going to turn up, the foreman out there has more right to your husband’s ranch than I would have. What you’ve done is exactly the right thing.” He grinned. “Maybe it’ll even get your father off my back, once he knows.”
“I’ll tell him,” she said, her expression brightening. “That ought to put an end to it. I won’t have him making any more ridiculous accusations where you’re concerned, not when you’ve been so kind to me.”
“I’ll tell him, but don’t blame him for any of this. He’s your father,” Cord said, surprised to find himself defending Cody’s behaviour. “He has every right to look out for your best interests. Much as I hate to admit it, that’s exactly what I would have done if our positions had been reversed.”
Sharon Lynn seemed amused by his passionate declaration. “Did you tell him that when you two were fighting?”
“You can laugh if you want to, but yes. In so many words, that’s exactly what I told him.”
She looked surprised. “You did?”
“Haven’t you noticed, darlin’? I’m a reasonable man. I can see more than one side to things, even when a man’s all but accusing me of trying to use his daughter to get what I want in life.”
“I had no idea men were capable of a thing like that,” she said dryly. “Or are you just a remarkable man?”
“Maybe I’ll just let you go on thinking that I’m unique. It’ll work in my favor in the end.”
She directed a look his way that was oddly shy. “You don’t need any extra brownie points with me. You’ve already earned enough to last a lifetime.”
He could feel his smile spreading slowly across his face. “In that case, maybe I’ll cash one in.”
“Oh?”
“Come here, darlin’.”
He knew it was reckless, knew it was more than a little dangerous, but still he beckoned her over to where he was sitting on the sofa, then patted the space right next to him. She hesitated, seemed to consider the request, then moved slowly across the room. After another hesitation, another quick search of his face, she sat.
“Closer,” he urged.
Her gaze narrowed. “What are you up to?”
“I told you. I’m cashing in one of those brownie points.”
“I’m not sure it works that way,” she protested.
“We can make it work any way we want it to,” he countered. “This is between you and me. We set the rules, right?”
“I suppose.”
He pointed to a spot on his cheek, right where he’d been told often enough that there was an intriguing dimple. “Now, how about a little kiss right here?”
She went absolutely still at the request. There was a fleeting instant of panic in her eyes before it gave way first to resignation and then to what he interpreted as bold anticipation. She reached over and touched the same spot on his cheek with the tip of her finger.
“Right there, correct?”
His pulse had begun to race at the slight caress. He nodded, rather than trying to force an answer past the sudden lump in his throat.
She leaned forward ever so slowly, deliberately taunting him. Cord clenched his fists at his sides to keep from reaching for her, claiming her. The brush of her lips, when it finally came, was as light and feathery soft and rapid as the touch of a bird’s wings. He had a feeling her heart was racing just as quickly.
“Nice,” he murmured. He glanced sideways in her direction. “How many of those points did you say I’d accumulated?”
She grinned. “Enough.”
“Then let’s try that again.”
This time just as her lips neared his cheek, he turned so that the kiss landed squarely on his mouth. After the first startled instant, the first flaring of panic in her eyes, she sighed softly and stayed right where she was, her lips teasing his.
Cord’s hands came up to cup her face. His fingers threaded through her hair. Another sigh shuddered through her and as it did, he deepened the kiss, tasting her, dipping into the mysterious, honeyed sweetness of her mouth.
The kiss lasted forever...but not nearly long enough. He was the one who pulled away, though he didn’t release her face. He studied the bright patches of color on her cheeks, the confusion in her eyes.
“Was that a mistake?” he asked quietly.
She swallowed hard, then returned his gaze bravely. “No,” she said in a whisper. “Not a mistake. Just a surprise.”
He grinned at that. “You didn’t see it coming? Haven’t expected it since the day we met?”
“Okay, yes, maybe.” The confusion was back. “Do we have to talk about it?”
“Only if it’s a problem.”
She shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know if it is or not. Cord, I can’t make promises. I can’t look ahead. You need to know that.”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh. It was a kiss. Not a commitment.”
In time, though, in time he wanted more from her. Much more.
The phone rang then, jarring them both out of their reveries. Sharon Lynn’s hand trembled visibly as she reached for it. After she’d answered, she turned to him and mouthed, “It’s Lizzy.”
Her expression darkened at whatever Lizzy was telling her. “I see,” she said finally. “What happens next?”
Cord could see from her bleak expression that the news wasn’t good. He reached for her as she hung up, pulled her closer so that her back was resting against his chest.
“The blood type’s a match,” she said, her voice thick with choked-back sobs. “They’ll have to do more testing.”
Cord held back his own dismay. “She could still be ruled out as the baby’s grandmother,” he reminded her. “Millions of people have the same blood type.”
“I know. It’s just that...”
“It’s just that you wanted it to be over, at least for now.” He felt her barely perceptible nod against his shoulder. “The testing won’t take forever. We have to be absolutely sure.”
“I know,” she said.
Her utter stillness, the sadness in her voice, combined to touch him in a way that Lizzy’s report hadn’t. It galvanized him into plotting his own strategy for handling things from here on out. Let the police and medical experts do their thing, he thought. There were other kinds of evidence that would be needed if there was to be a court battle, other ways to gather proof. He didn’t have a lot of money left and it had been meant as a stake toward buying his own ranch, but this was a better use for it.
“I’ll hire a private investigator tomorrow,” he promised her. “By the time he’s done, we’ll know everything there is to know about Hazel and Victoria Murdock.”
She turned to face him. “Private investigators cost money,” she protested. “You’re supposed to be saving every cent toward a down payment on a ranch.”
“That can wait. This can’t.”
“I have some money.”
“No. This is something I need to do.” He met her gaze. “Let me, Sharon Lynn. Let me do this for you.” He hesitated, gazed directly into her eyes and added quietly, “For us.”
Maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed to him that she visibly relaxed. A halfhearted grin came and went.
“You’re just after more brownie points, aren’t you?” she teased.
He laughed at that. “Okay, you’ve got me. That is something I am surely counting on.”
* * *
First thing in the morning Cord sought out Sharon Lynn’s father. He wanted to settle the matter of the land with him and he wanted to see if Cody could recommend a private investigator to look into the background of the Murdocks.
Cody glanced up from his paperwork when Cord walked into his office. Despite the truce, his eyes were still filled with distrust.
“I’m delighted you decided to show up this morning,” he said sourly.
Cord let the comment pass. He knew he needed to prove that he was a responsible employee. He hadn’t demonstrated it up until now, even if his reasons were sound.
“Do you have a minute?” he asked.
Cody put down his pen and gestured toward the chair. “Have a seat.”
“It’s about Sharon Lynn and that land of hers.”
“I’m not sure we ought to be getting into that,” Cody said. “We’re likely to come to blows. Daddy’ll pitch a fit if I injure the man he’s all but handpicked for my daughter.”
Cord grinned. “You’re assuming you’d actually manage to lay a hand on me.”
Cody scowled for an instant, then sighed. “I may be out of practice, but I can still hold my own in a brawl,” he muttered. “And I’m just itching to prove it.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I just don’t think it’ll be necessary after you hear what I have to say.”
“Go on then.”
Cord told him what he and Sharon Lynn had discussed the night before. “So, you see, that land isn’t available. She’s made an agreement with the foreman and she’s sticking by it, just as she should. And I’m going to go right on working here and saving my money. I’ll have my own spread one day, but it won’t be that one.” He gave Cody a wry look. “Satisfied?”
The older man looked relieved. “To be truthful, yes. Despite what happened yesterday, I like you, Cord. I didn’t want to believe that your motives where Sharon Lynn were concerned were anything but honorable, but I had to say something. I couldn’t just let my suspicions pass.”
“I know that, sir. I didn’t like what you had to say, but I could understand your need to say it. I told Sharon Lynn that myself when she wanted to come out here herself and tear a strip out of your hide.”
Cody chuckled. “She would have, too. That girl’s got the Adams’s temper and spunk, even if it has been in short supply the last few months. I’m glad to hear it’s coming back and relieved to learn it won’t be directed at me.”
“There’s one more thing,” Cord told him. “It looks as if there’s a good chance that woman Justin found over in Gard
en City is the baby’s grandmother. They’re running another set of tests to confirm it. I wasn’t crazy about what Justin had to say about her and I’m not sure he didn’t leave some of it out. I was thinking it might be a good idea to hire a private investigator to do some checking. I wondered if you knew of anyone.”
Cody’s gaze narrowed. “It sounds as if you and Sharon Lynn are thinking of fighting the woman’s claim to the baby, if it turns out she has one. Is she that attached to the child?”
“We both are, but we’ll fight only if it seems like the right thing to do,” Cord insisted.
Cody stood up and began to pace. “I don’t like it,” he said. “Sharon Lynn’s getting too involved with that child. Now you’re talking about a private investigator.” He shook his head. “It’s going to get messy. She doesn’t need that.”
“Believe me, I understand where you’re coming from,” Cord assured him. “Like it or not, we are involved. Whoever left that baby on Sharon Lynn’s doorstep saw to that. I just want to be sure whoever winds up with custody has the baby’s best interests at heart.”
“And you think this woman who might be the grandmother won’t care about that?”
“It’s just a feeling I got from what Justin said and what he didn’t say. He’s got a responsibility to go by the law. I understand that. He may not be in a position to dig deep enough into this woman’s life to make sure she’s the right person to care for that baby.”
“What about social services?”
“I’m sure they’ll do their jobs. I’d just feel better if we had all the facts, too. I know Sharon Lynn feels the same way.”
The mention of his daughter did the trick. Cody nodded. “Let me call Justin and see what he thinks. If he agrees, I know just the man for the job. Lizzy’s husband and I hired him a while back when we were having some problems around our ranches. He was fast and he was thorough.”
Cord could see that was the only concession he was going to get for now. Maybe Cody’s caution was justified. It wouldn’t hurt to wait a few more hours. He stood up.
“I’ll be waiting to hear from you, then.”
Wildflower Ridge Page 30
