“Her nose is all wrong,” Maggy grumbled, grasping at straws in an effort to discourage him.
“Her nose, you say?” Cody repeated, with a lift of his brow. He was working hard to keep the amusement out of his eyes and the grin off his face. “You’re not jealous are you, Mags?” he asked, bending down to whisper with an ear-to-ear grin on his face.
“I’m not jealous,” she insisted heatedly, knowing it was a lie. She was so jealous, she wouldn’t be surprised if her skin turned green. “It’s just…just…that she just doesn’t seem the type. Look at her figure,” she whispered, turning around to look at Priscilla. Cody’s eyes followed hers. “On second thought,” Maggy grumbled, turning him around again, “maybe you’d better not.” She tried another tactic. “Cody, do you really expect someone to believe that body has had a baby?”
Deep down, Maggy knew she was being totally irrational and unfair, not to mention illogical, but she couldn’t help it. Her mind got the message, but the message clearly wasn’t getting to her vulnerable heart.
“Well, the least we can do is talk to her. What could it hurt?” Cody asked, grabbing her hand and dragging her back to Pricilla. It was do or die, Maggy realized glumly. She was not about to turn Cody and Bobby over to this woman. She’d sooner trust a rabbit in a garden of lettuce than this female with Cody and Bobby!
“Tell me, Priscilla,” Maggy said, deciding to jump in with both feet before Cody could open his mouth. “How do you feel about children?”
“Children?” Priscilla whispered, paling visibly.
“Yes, children,” Maggy repeated with relish. “You know, those messy little people who need to be fed and changed, burped and bathed.”
“Mags!” Cody growled, but she ignored him. She could almost feel the wind from Prissy Priscilla’s retreating feet, and she wasn’t about to stop now.
“We’re speaking of one child in particular,” Maggy explained helpfully. “He’s two years old and cute as a button. Of course, you do realize that children at this age behave more like puppies than people. They wet and bite, but that shouldn’t be a problem, should it?” Maggy asked sweetly.
“I…I…mmm…allergic to children,” Priscilla mumbled, inching away from them as if they had something contagious. “My agent knows—it’s clearly specified in my contract that I don’t have to work with…” Priscilla swallowed convulsively. “Children,” she whispered. “They’re messy and noisy, and…” Her voice trailed off.
Maggy turned to Cody, giving him a look that said I told you so. “See what I mean?” she whispered, watching as Priscilla continued her hasty retreat.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Cody grinned down at her, and shook his head. “Well, Mags, I’ve got to hand it to you. That was some performance.”
“Performance?” Maggy repeated blankly. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said airily, taking Cody firmly by the arm and hustling him toward the door. “She really didn’t look like the motherly type, Cody.”
“No, I guess not,” he admitted, grinning at her wickedly. “I’m sure your vast store of information on Bobby’s behavior had nothing to do with her hesitancy, either.”
“Of course not,” Maggy confirmed, deciding to jump to a more neutral subject. “Cody,” she said with a sigh, “I’m really tired, and we have had a full day. Why don’t we go back home?” she suggested. “It’s still early and it’s such a beautiful day. Why don’t we get Bobby and spend the afternoon by the pool?” Maggy knew she was babbling, but she didn’t care. She wanted Cody out and away from Prissy Priscilla before he had a chance to change his mind. “We can have a barbecue, go for a swim and just relax. Maybe even have some fun. What do you say?” Without giving him a chance to answer, Maggy yanked open the door and dragged Cody through it, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief.
“More dogs?” Bobby asked, grabbing at Maggy’s legs as he shoved the last of his hot dog into his mouth.
“No more dogs, tiger,” Cody growled, tucking his hands behind his head as he sprawled lazily in the hammock. “You’ve already had two,” Cody admonished without opening his eyes.
“Damn.” Bobby’s lips turned down and Maggy immediately reached for him.
“Come here, Sport.” Settling the baby comfortably on her lap Maggy checked to be sure Cody’s eyes were still closed before reaching for another hot dog off the patio table.
“More dogs, Ma-ma?” Bobby asked hopefully, looking up at her with big, pleading eyes. Chuckling softly, Maggy held a finger to her lips to quiet him.
“Shh,” she cautioned. Grinning from ear to ear, Bobby took the little bites of hot dog she handed him and happily stuffed them into his mouth.
Smiling at the bliss on the toddler’s face, Maggy inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of the late-summer blooms that filled the grounds of her mother’s estate. After the fiasco at the theatrical agency, they had returned to Lake Geneva, rescued Bobby from his nap and spent the afternoon together just swimming and enjoying themselves.
Relaxed and comfortable, Maggy felt totally at peace with herself. Being with Cody and Bobby seemed to bring a lightness to her heart. Oh, how she enjoyed being with them! She felt so free when Cody and Bobby were around. Free from rules and regulations, free from all responsibilities. It was a freedom she hadn’t known was possible in her hitherto restricted life.
“You’re going to spoil that boy,” Cody drawled, and Maggy jumped guiltily. Opening one eye, Cody grinned at her.
“How did you know?” she asked with a laugh, giving Bobby the last of his contraband hot dog. Unconsciously she stroked the baby’s head.
“Intuition.” His eyes met hers. “You know, Mags,” he said, lifting his head to get a better look at her. “You’re really good with him.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “So are you.”
“Honey.” He laughed, leaning on one elbow and crossing one bare foot over the other. “I’ve had lots of practice. Bobby’s been with me since he was a year old, but even before that he spent more time with me than he did with his mother.” Cody was silent for a moment. “Pearl’s not a bad woman, just a bit mixed up. She was too young to take care of a baby.”
“So you assumed responsibility for him.” Maggy glanced up at him, feeling her admiration and respect for him grow. His eyes caught and held hers for a long, silent moment, and her heart beat a wild rhythm in her chest. She could hear her own breath coming short and heavy in the still air.
Her two-piece bathing suit offered little covering. She could feel the way his look touched her, sliding down her slender frame and warming her almost as if Cody’s hands were traveling over her instead of his gaze. Her blood seemed to heat up as it coursed quickly through her veins. In an effort to do something to distract herself, Maggy wrapped her arms tighter around Bobby and rocked him on her knees as a hot shiver skittered over her delicate skin.
“Mags,” Cody said softly. “If you’re so good with kids, why is it you don’t have any of your own?”
Maggy glanced up at him sharply. Suddenly she realized how much she missed having a family of her own; a man of her own. She had her job at the academy, her mother and her various charitable activities. She had thought her life was complete. Now she was vividly aware that something had been missing in her life…love.
Startled at her train of thought, Maggy shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant. “I guess I’ve just been too busy with my career.”
“Can’t you have a career and a family of your own?”
“I never really thought about it,” she conceded, shifting uncomfortably. Maggy didn’t want to admit that before Cody and Bobby had roared into her life, she had never considered having both. “How about you?” she inquired. “Why aren’t you married?”
“I don’t know,” Cody said with a heavy sigh. “There’s not many women willing to take on me and a baby.” He grinned at the thought and Maggy found herself smiling, knowing how she had reacted when she had first met Cody—how inti
midated and off balance she had been. Cody did have that effect, she realized with amusement. Cody was outrageous, reckless and totally charming, not to mention irresistible. “I guess a woman would have to be pretty special to accept and love both of us. Bobby and I come as a package.” He raised his brows “You know, baby makes three.”
How could someone not accept and love both of them? Maggy asked herself, glancing down with affection at Bobby who was snuggled up in her lap, almost asleep. Smoothing back his hair, Maggy bent and kissed his head. The child had quickly earned a permanent place in her heart, and Maggy knew without a doubt that any woman would be lucky to have Cody and Bobby in her life, to have their love. She pushed the thought back to the far corners of her mind. Yes, any woman would be lucky, she thought wistfully, knowing she could never be that woman. She had agreed to help him, and she had agreed to let him help her, but Maggy knew she had to keep out of Cody’s arms, and keep him out of her heart.
Her mind knew all the logical reasons, all the rational reasons; they were too different, their philosophies of life too far apart. While she led her life based on rules and regulations, Cody on the other hand deliberately ran his without any rules or regulations. When he wasn’t within eyesight, Maggy knew and accepted all the logical reasons she shouldn’t get involved with him. But, Lord, when he was here, grinning down at her, doing his best to charm her into agreeing with him, Maggy felt her resistance blow away like a kite on a windy day.
“Bobby and I, we do all right,” Cody went on. “Except when I get myself in a fix like the one I’m in now with Modern Motherhood.” Maggy could hear the humor in his voice and wondered again if perhaps she had been just a bit rash in her refusal to accept the award for him. The thought had been playing around the corners of her mind all day, ever since they had left the theatrical agency and Prissy Priscilla.
“Cody?” she asked suddenly as a thought occurred to her. “Do the editors of Modern Motherhood know you’re a man?”
“Well, yes.” He grinned. “And no. That’s another whole set of problems and another whole long story. You’re probably not going to think this story is too logical or sensible, either.”
“Probably not,” she agreed with a smile. “But go ahead and tell me anyway.”
“See, I write under the name of Bea Cody for Modern Motherhood, and—”
“What’s the B for?” Maggy asked with a frown, knowing Cody’s penchant for telling stories in bits and pieces. She didn’t want this story to get away from her.
“No, not B the letter, Bea as in Beatrice. It was my mother’s name,” he went on to explain. “And since most of the advice I learned about mothering came from her, I thought it only fair to give her some of the credit. I guess the editors just assumed I was a woman, and I haven’t exactly told them any different. What my sex was didn’t seem important. I consider myself Bobby’s mother and father. See, the magazine relies heavily on the publicity generated every year from the contest. It not only helps their circulation but boosts their advertising revenues, too. The winner gets her picture taken with the editors accepting the award and the scholarship. That’s one of the reasons that award has to be accepted in person. So you can see why I’ve got to find a woman.” Cody quietly swayed back and forth for a moment, staring off into space. “That award means a lot to me, Mags, not only because of the scholarship but because mothers are real special people to me. I wouldn’t want to do anything to embarrass the editors or anyone from the magazine.”
Maggy nodded, understanding a little better why Cody was so desperate to find a woman. She looked up at him and found him watching her. The more she learned about the man, the more she was learning to care about him. And, she realized, there was nothing she could do to stop her feelings.
“Why did you agree to help me, Mags?” he asked finally, bringing his eyes back to hers.
Why indeed? she wondered. Was it only to keep an eye on her mother and keep her out of trouble, as she’d claimed? Or did her reasons go deeper than that? Maggy knew the answer, but she wasn’t sure she was ready or willing to admit such a thing. Not to herself, or to Cody.
“For my mother’s sake.” She was never very good at lying, and feared he could see right through her words. “Cody, I understand why you want to do this,” she said quickly, anxious to change the subject. “I really do. I can see how important Bobby and his future are to you. In fact, I kind of admire what you’re doing,” she said softly, causing Cody to sit up abruptly. He threw his long legs over the side of the hammock and looked at her curiously.
“You do?” His voice was so surprised that she laughed.
“I do.”
He cocked his head, his eyes twinkling in delight. “Even though it’s not sensible or reasonable?”
“Yes, even though it’s not sensible or reasonable,” Maggy admitted, finally realizing that being sensible and reasonable had its place, but not necessarily in Cody’s life. What he was doing was so right, so wonderful, it really didn’t matter whether it was sensible or reasonable.
“Well I’ll be…” Cody muttered, looking at her in surprise. The look on his face took her breath away, and Maggy directed her attention to Bobby who was fast asleep in her arms. “Is your mother the only reason you agreed to help me?” he asked, and Maggy had a feeling he was asking a whole lot more than just one question.
“No,” she said carefully. “I…I don’t want to see Bobby lose that scholarship.”
“Are those the only reasons?” he asked hopefully, and Maggy could see a mischievous smile on his lips. Cody was direct if nothing else, she thought humorously, smoothing back Bobby’s hair. She knew what he was asking. Cody wanted to know if the reasons for her help extended to him and her feelings for him. She tried to remind her heart of all the reasons she couldn’t get involved with him, but her heart didn’t appear to be paying much attention.
Aware that he was watching her carefully, Maggy glanced away, deciding the best course of action was to change gears. Quickly. “Cody, what are you and Bobby going to do after the award ceremony?”
“Do?” he asked with a frown, clearly not understanding.
“Are you going to go back to Tennessee?”
Cody looked at her intently, his eyes warm and serious. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“A lot of things.” Cody swayed gently in the hammock, letting his eyes slide over her until a slumbering wave of heat shimmied over her skin. “I don’t like to make plans too far in advance,” he told her. “I kind of like to take each day as it comes.”
Well, Maggy mused, so much for being nosy. She had no more of an idea what Cody was going to do now then she had before.
“How do you manage to write and still take care of Bobby?” she asked, deciding to be nosy for just a little while longer, or until she got some answers—whichever came first. “Do you have help?”
Cody threw back his head and laughed. “Help? Honey, do you think that little tiger would be as attached to me, or you for that matter, if someone else was taking care of him?” Cody shook his head. “After Pearl ran off, Bobby went through a bad period. He’d stand by the window and cry for his mama for hours. It tore my heart out,” Cody said quietly, and Maggy instinctively tightened her arms around Bobby, feeling an unexpected pain for him. “From the day Pearl left it’s just been me and him. I spend almost every waking moment with him. During the day we go to the park or the pool, or just play in the yard. At night, when he’s asleep, I write.”
“Oh, Cody,” she breathed softly, realizing just how special the man was.
“Bobby’s out like a light,” he said quietly. “I think we’d better put him to bed.” She started to rise, but Cody slid off the hammock and crossed over to her lounge chair.
“I’ll do it, Mags. You’ve done so much for him. You stay put. Sit and relax for a few moments. It’s so beautiful out; maybe we can have some…fun?” One brow rose wickedly as he scooped Bobby out of her arms and headed toward the house.
What was she going to do? Maggy wondered dismally, absently picking up a blade of grass. She still had to find a woman for Cody; her mind knew it, but her heart didn’t want another woman involved with Cody or Bobby, for any reason. Emotionally, Maggy knew she was headed for heartbreak. She was more attached to Bobby than she had a right to be. And to Cody, her mind echoed.
If Cody went back to Tennessee… When Cody went back to Tennessee… Her mind pushed back the unpleasant thought.
Being with Cody had enabled her to see for the first time that life didn’t have to be lived only according to someone else’s rules and regulations. Not every action had to be sensible, logical and rational. What Cody wanted to do in order to insure Bobby’s future wasn’t any of those things, but Maggy knew in her heart it was right—oh, so right.
For the first time in her life, Maggy wished she could be more like her mother. She wished she could let her heart rule her head. But old habits die hard, and Maggy knew she wasn’t quite ready yet to toss aside all that she had worked for in order to do what her heart wanted.
“Mags?” Cody’s voice brought her back to the present. “Ready for some fun?” Cody’s long legs carried him in quick strides to her side. She fixed her eyes on the dark hair, on his broad chest that narrowed down and disappeared into the tiny scrap of black material he insisted was a bathing suit. Tying to gather her scattered thoughts, Maggy smiled up at him and took the hand he offered.
Without warning, Cody gave a whoop and then picked her up in his arms.
“Put me down!” she cried, clasping her arms around his neck as he walked toward the pool. With a wicked smile in his eyes, Cody sauntered down the steps at a leisurely pace until he stood waist deep in water. “Don’t you dare drop me!” Maggy warned, trying to look stern but failing miserably.
Grinning lecherously into her startled face, Cody bent and dipped her into the water so that her entire back, legs and neck were wet. She let out another screech as the cool water lapped against her warm skin.
Baby Makes Three: Heartwarming Love and Laughter Page 10
