The Nine-Dollar Daddy

by Day Leclaire

  “You like my mom?”

  “Yes.” He forced himself to finish the milk and wondered if there was any tactful way of restocking her fridge. Knowing Cassidy and her independent streak, he rather doubted it.

  “You want to marry her?” Hutch asked, catching Ty off guard.

  Damn, the kid was direct. “It’s a bit early to tell, don’t you think?”

  Hutch didn’t reply. He simply waited.

  Aw, hell. If it hadn’t been for that damned kiss... “I’m giving it serious consideration.”

  The chin jutted out an inch. “I’m part of the package, too, you know.”

  “I knew that going in,” Ty reassured him gently.

  Gradually, Hutch relaxed. “Okay. Do you want to see my room?”

  “Sure.” Carefully washing the empty glass, Ty upended it on the drain board.

  Hutch’s room proved to be a revelation. Shoved in one corner was a mattress, minus a box spring or frame. Instead of a dresser, cartons lined one wall, with clothes neatly folded in each. The rest of the room was dominated by a huge desk—and a very expensive state-of-the-art computer. That simple fact told him more clearly than anything else where Cassidy’s priorities lay.

  “Nice setup.”

  Hutch glanced uncertainly at him. “The school told her to get me one. I’m...” He snatched a quick breath and then said in a rush, “You better know right off. I’m smart.”

  Ty nodded. “I figured as much.”

  “No. I mean I’m really smart,” Hutch emphasized. “Scary smart. So if that’s gonna bother you, maybe you should say so now before...” Resolutely, he turned his face toward the computer. “Before anybody gets their feelings hurt.”

  “Hutch.” The boy ignored him, busying himself with the machine. “Look at me, please.”

  Reluctantly, Hutch lifted his gaze to Ty’s. Settling his glasses more firmly on the bridge of his upturned nose, he braced himself. “Yeah?”

  “It doesn’t bother me.”

  “Okay.”

  “Look at me and listen to what I’m saying to you, kid.” Brilliant blue eyes fastened on Ty’s face again, a desperate kind of hope burning in the apprehensive gaze. “Smart’s okay with me. Even scary smart. I don’t have a problem with it and I won’t. Got that?”

  The chin wobbled. “Yeah. I got it.”

  “Good. Now, why don’t you show me how this thing works.”

  The next few minutes passed with Hutch chattering away a mile a minute. Ty could see why the school had recommended a computer for the boy. Did they have any idea, though, what a financial sacrifice it had been? He doubted it. He suspected Cassidy Lonigan’s pride came in as abundant a helping as her generosity.

  “Hutch? Where...?” She appeared in the doorway then and smiled uncertainly. “Oh. There you two are. Everything all right?”

  “Great! Ty knows almost as much about computers as I do.”

  She lifted her eyebrows, impressed. “Wow. That’s quite a compliment.”

  She’d brushed out her braid so her hair fell in a straight dark curtain to cup her shoulders. She’d also changed from her uniform into a light gray, short-sleeved blouse and matching slacks. Looked like he wouldn’t be slipping his hand under her skirt again today, Ty realized regretfully. A damn shame.

  “You look great,” he said. And she did. Fantastic, in fact, despite the lack of a skirt. The slacks emphasized her endless legs and narrow hips, while the soft color made her eyes more intense than usual. “Ready to go?”

  “I guess.”

  Her enthusiasm underwhelmed him, but he simply grinned. “Good.”

  She avoided his gaze, fixing her attention on her son. “I’ll call you from the restaurant and give you the phone number. And I’ll send Mrs. Welch over, although I think she wants to watch you at her place tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  She dropped a kiss on the top of his head. “Don’t open the door without looking to see who it is.”

  Hutch glanced at Ty and grimaced. Women, his expression said. “I know.”

  Still she hovered and Ty suspected that if she wasn’t wringing her hands, he and Hutch would be doing some fast maneuvering to get clear of those twenty-six inches. “I won’t be late.”

  “Have fun and goodbye,” Hutch said meaningfully.

  She’d run out of things to say and knew it. Surrendering to the inevitable, she walked to the door. Turning, she announced, “I’ll see you soon.” Apparently, that pointed declaration satisfied her, for she allowed Ty to tow her from the apartment without too much of a struggle.

  The instant they left, Hutch frowned. Part of his plan was working. The computer had picked the perfect man for a father. But his mom was proving to be a bit of a problem. Calling up a certain file, he keyed in his password to open it and began typing.

  Progress Report

  Bad news. Mom hasn’t changed her mind about Ty even though they kissed. They don’t know I saw, but I did. Course, his losing her job for her didn’t help. You’d think he’d have thought of that! For sure that smacker he planted on her should have made her want him for a husband. But, noooo!

  Conclusion

  Maybe those things take time. Maybe you have to be exposed to a bunch of kisses before they take effect, like germs or something. She hasn’t caught a love cold yet, cuz they haven’t been around each other long enough. Or maybe he’s catchier than she is. If that’s the case, we’ll have to be where he can infect her more often.

  Proposed Response

  I talked to Miss Willie about the changes Ty’s gonna make to the application form and she promised to make sure it didn’t reject him. So I have that front covered. As for further infecting Mom... Looks like Plan B will have to be put in motion after all.

  Finished, Hutch printed up his latest entries, folded the pages carefully and slipped them into a preaddressed envelope. Tomorrow he’d mail it.

  Just as he’d promised.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Experiment #1: Protective Instincts

  Goal: To bring out the protective instincts in Ty. According to the documentary I watched at school last month, the male in the animal kingdom will protect his mate from harm. So let’s see whether or not he’s capable of that. Because if he’s not, he isn’t the right man for Mom.

  Procedure: I hate to do this to my own mother, but she’s gonna have a bet of bad luck...

  “So, WHERE are we going?” Cassidy demanded the instant they left her apartment building.

  She probably should have asked instead of demanded. Aunt Esther had done her best to drum graciousness and tact into Cassidy’s stubborn psyche. Unfortunately for all concerned, the lessons hadn’t taken.

  She shot Ty a disgruntled look. He’d had the upper hand in what passed as their relationship for far too long and she’d had a really bad day, thanks to him. Asserting herself would clue him in to that fact. At least, that was the plan. “Well?” she prompted impatiently.

  To her frustration, he waited until they were both settled in his oversize truck again and buckled into their seat belts before replying. “We’re going someplace private. Someplace where we can get to know each other and talk without interruption.”

  No wonder he’d trapped her in his pickup before answering. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach—or was it a hangman’s noose that threatened to choke her? Maybe both. “How private?” This time she asked. Nicely.

  “Very.”

  “Like a private restaurant, right?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Uh-oh. Panic set in. He was a man; she was a woman. He’d kissed her. She’d dissolved into a pathetic puddle. And now it was vital she find the means to slip away before he touched her again and started the process all over. “I’ll need to let Hutch know where I am,” she babbled. “He has to be able to reach me in case there’s a problem. I can’t just—”

  “Easy, sweetheart. Relax. My jacket’s on the back seat. There’s a phone in the pocket. Call Hutch and I’ll give him my
private number. That way, he can reach us no matter where we are.” He glanced at her, his green eyes calm yet implacable. “On this, or any of our future dates.”

  Her alarm intensified. “You’re assuming there’s going to be more than one.”

  “It isn’t an assumption.” He braked for a red light and turned to look at her, resting his arms along the top of the steering wheel. He filled his side of the truck, his shoulders impossibly broad, the power of his arms straining the fabric of his shirt. “It’s a fact.”

  “Stop doing that,” she groused. “It’s not fair.”

  He lifted a tawny brow. “Doing what?”

  “Looking like...” Gesturing toward all the deliciously male parts that kept distracting her every time he flexed, she accidently clipped his shoulder. To her relief, he hardly flinched at all. “That. It doesn’t give me a fair chance when we argue.”

  For a brief instant, something hot and primitive flared to life in his gaze. If the light hadn’t turned green then, she knew he would have kissed her. Again. “All that bothers you?”

  Would she ever learn to keep her mouth shut? “Only when you tense it up so the ripply stuff shows through your clothes,” she muttered.

  “And if I wasn’t wearing any clothes?”

  So she’d actually see the ripples in all their naked glory, like when he’d changed his shirt earlier? No way would she answer that one! She might think about it for a spell or two or drool a bit, but he wouldn’t drag a single blessed word out of her on the subject.

  Her silence must have blabbed because his chuckle rumbled over to her side of the pickup and eased into her pores. She could feel an ache building—an ache for something she’d spent years burying beneath a hard-won control. Did he know what that laugh did to her? He must. Somehow he’d discovered how long it had been since she’d last been with a man and—He interrupted before she could finish her thought, thank heaven.

  “Next time we argue, I’ll strip down to guarantee an easy win.”

  Cassidy stifled a groan at the image. Why couldn’t he be sensible? More importantly, why couldn’t she? “If you’d just do things my way, that wouldn’t be necessary,” she explained.

  His dark voice reached for her again, wrapping her in warmth. “Do you really think that’s going to happen?”

  No. “Absolutely.”

  To her intense relief, he didn’t laugh outright. “Face it, sweetheart. You’re stuck with me. Your son purchased the San Antonio Fiesta Special from Yellow Rose Matchmakers. That means you date me or one of the other candidates the computer picks until the Fiesta’s over. Since the computer only coughed up one match so far, it looks like I’m all yours for the next month.”

  Did that also mean she was all his? Oh, no. Not a chance. “Hutch couldn’t possibly have had the money for something like that,” Cassidy protested.

  Ty grinned. “Willie gave him a bargain. You’ll be pleased to know that I came at the rock bottom price of nine dollars plus change. He’d have made it ten, but he needed bus fare to get back home.”

  Her pride did a quick jump start and she struggled to keep it under control—without notable success. “How much does it really cost?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “It is to me. If he didn’t pay enough—”

  “Don’t bother finishing the thought. There’s no point.”

  “I can’t take advantage of your grandmother’s generosity. It wouldn’t be right. Besides, I don’t like being obligated.”

  “Too bad. It would offend her if you refused the discount. The deal she made was with the boy, not you. And since she runs the Yellow Rose, she’s allowed to strike any deal she wants.”

  Cassidy gave up. She wasn’t going to win this particular fight and she knew it. She slid Ty an assessing glance. Considering his earlier threat, if she pushed, he’d start whipping off his clothing. And as interesting a sight as that would be, surrendering to his stronger will seemed the best option for her mental health. For now, at any rate. “Thank you. That’s very kind of Miss Willie.”

  “See? That didn’t choke you too badly.”

  A smile teased her lips. “It dam near killed me,” she retorted.

  “Hardly showed at all.”

  She settled against the bench seat and forced herself to relax. “So where are we going that’s so private?”

  “My place.”

  She jerked back upright. Crud. “I don’t think—”

  Ty released a sigh of exasperation. “Do you argue over everything?”

  “Just about,” she answered with painful honesty. “But I have a point this time. It’s not appropriate to go to a man’s place on the first date.” Good grief. If she didn’t know better, she’d have sworn she’d opened her mouth and Aunt Esther had voiced one of her “rules”.

  “Old-fashioned girl, huh?”

  “Not really. Let’s just say I learned common sense the hard way.” Maybe the hardest way possible.

  “I’ll behave.” He gave her another of those cool green glances—the sort that warned he was always in control and she’d do well to remember it. “Willie’d have my hide if I didn’t.”

  “Hah.” Cassidy folded her arms across her chest. “Don’t tell me she could slow you down once you’d made up your mind about something.”

  “She’s been known to put a damper on my enthusiasm from time to time.”

  “But she hasn’t stopped you,” Cassidy guessed shrewdly.

  “Not when I want something bad enough.”

  She doubted he meant it as a warning. Still, she intended to take it that way. The sensation of being hunted returned full bore. Ty exuded an innate patience and determination that matched the sheer size and power of the man. Instinct told her that once he’d fixed his sights on a quarry, he’d track it relentlessly. Capturing his prey would only be a matter of time, his success a given. More and more she’d begun to suspect he’d fixed his sights on her. Whether he’d done it at the request of his grandmother or to help Hutch, she couldn’t guess. But unless she found a way to dissuade him, he’d have her in the end—something she preferred to avoid at all costs.

  For the hour it took to reach his place, she worried endlessly about how to extricate herself from her latest predicament. Finally, she gave it up as pointless. Why fuss about what she couldn’t fix? She’d had that particular lesson drummed into her more than once. Too bad she was such a slow learner. Ty turned into a gated entranceway just then, which succeeded in distracting her. As they bumped along the gravel road, she focused on their destination—a large homestead that topped a bluff and overlooked an endless spread of cattle country.

  “Is all this yours?” she asked in astonishment.

  “Yes.”

  She studied the impressive building as they approached. The main part of the house had been roughly hewn from logs, with succeeding generations expanding from there, combining wood with stone as the house sprawled outward from its well-aged core. “It looks old. Has your family owned it for long?”

  “It’s been in Merrick hands for a while now.”

  “How long’s a while?”

  He shrugged. “Think Alamo and add a handful of years.”

  “Your roots go deep.”

  She couldn’t help voicing the wistful observation. What would it be like to have the land of your forebears beneath your feet? To know that generation after generation had lived and died, loved and cried, laughed and grieved on the same spot. She’d give almost anything to be connected to that long a lineage, to help continue it.

  To belong.

  Yearning turned to determination. Okay. So she didn’t have a heritage to match Ty’s, nor could she offer one to Hutch. That didn’t mean she couldn’t make a home for them. As soon as she’d saved enough, they’d have their own house. It might not be like this, but it would be a start. She’d learned long ago that thirsty roots dug deep. Soon she’d belong somewhere, too.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She’d bee
n so preoccupied with her thoughts and plans, she hadn’t realized they’d stopped. Ty’s all too observant gaze was fixed on her face. How much had she given away? she wondered uneasily.

  “I was thinking about what it must be like to have a family history like yours.” She waved a hand toward his home. “A connection to the past.”

  “Proud. Comfortable. And frustrating,” he answered promptly.

  “Frustrating?” She swiveled to look at him. “Why?”

  “It comes with a lot of responsibility.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You have a problem with that?”

  “No. But my father did. He felt trapped by his legacy.”

  “Did he run?” The question escaped before she’d considered the wisdom of asking it.

  “Yes.” It was his turn to level a narrowed gaze on her. “Familiar with that response, are you?”

  Cassidy escaped the car as though sprung from a trap, nearly hanging herself before she remembered to unclasp her seat belt. Ty exited, as well, only he did it without incident. He reached into the back seat of the extended cab and recovered the cell phone from his jacket.

  “Why don’t we get this over with?” she suggested uncomfortably, as he dropped the compact phone into the pocket of his jeans. Anything to end their conversation.

  “I assume you mean our first date.”

  She had the grace to blush at his dry tone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t...” Setting her jaw, she turned to confront him over the width of the truck’s hood. “Actually, that’s precisely what I meant. I apologize for being rude about it. But to be honest, I’m not interested in dating anyone.”

  “You haven’t told Hutch you feel that way.”

  She shrugged. “It hasn’t come up.”

  “Hutch isn’t waiting for your ex to sweep back into your lives?”

  “No.”

  “Then I gather I won’t have to worry about that, either.” There was no mistaking his satisfaction.