Cowboy Daddy

by Susan Mallery

  “Oh, my God.” Gathering the last of her rapidly dwindling strength, she slipped free of him and leaned against the counter. The cool tile contrasted with her overheated body. They were both breathing heavily, as if they’d run five miles.

  As if they had kissed.

  Kissed. Involuntarily, she licked her lower lip. His mouth pulled into a straight line. No, she cried silently. Not him. Not now. Not like this. She swallowed and forced her eyes closed. Only then was she able to break the spell.

  “You almost stepped into the open oven door,” he said. She opened her eyes. He pointed. “You would have been burned.”

  She shook her head to clear it. “Thank you,” she murmured. “I appreciate what you…” Her voice trailed off as she looked up at him. The fire continued to burn inside him, but the heat of flames had changed from desire to hate.

  She saw the contempt steal across his expression. He blamed her for that moment between them. He thought she’d done it on purpose.

  “Everything smells so great,” Laurel said as she entered the kitchen. “When do we eat?”

  Her presence dispelled the last of the tension between them. Anne turned her back on Jake. It didn’t matter what he thought of her, she told herself. This night was about Laurel, and not about the handsome stranger who had adopted her.

  Chapter 3

  “The beach house is really big, with lots of windows and stuff. We lay around by the ocean. My dad and great-uncle go fishing sometimes, and my great-aunt takes me shopping.” Laurel paused long enough to take another bite of potatoes.

  “Sounds lovely,” Anne said.

  Jake remained silent. Anne told herself she shouldn’t be surprised. He’d been nothing but silent since they’d sat down to eat almost an hour before. Laurel had chattered on about school and the friends she’d left behind in Dallas. Anne had explained a little about her job, but Jake hadn’t said a word.

  “We’ll spend a week there,” Laurel said after she’d wiped her mouth with her napkin. Her smile faded. “Then we’re going back to Colorado.”

  “You make it sound like you’re going back to prison,” Anne teased.

  “Worse. At least in prison you get time off for good behavior.” Laurel stared at her plate.

  Anne toyed with her wineglass. “I think you might surprise yourself,” she said at last. “And you do have that great week by the beach.”

  “Do you like the ocean?”

  “Sure. I love the smell of the salt water, and seeing all the people on the sand.” She wrinkled her nose. “Hot dogs always taste the best on the beach, don’t you think?”

  Laurel laughed. “Yeah. And ice-cream sandwiches. At home, I never eat them, but there—” she shrugged “—I get one every day.” Her hazel eyes widened and she turned to her father. “Daddy, can Annie come with us for a couple of days? You said I could bring a friend.”

  Anne was glad she’d spent the evening toying with her wineglass rather than drinking from it. If she’d been swallowing at that moment, she would have choked. She looked at Jake.

  His tanned skin darkened, and his mouth pulled even straighter. She hadn’t known it was possible for a man to look completely furious and devastatingly handsome at the same time. She clenched her hands into fists and waited for the explosion. Laurel stared hopefully, never realizing what she asked.

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he said, calmly.

  Anne didn’t know she’d been holding her breath until she exhaled it in a loud rush.

  “But why?” Laurel asked. “They’ve got extra bedrooms. You said I could bring someone.”

  “No.”

  The teenager sprang to her feet. Her brown hair swirled around her face and she brushed it back impatiently. “You’re always like this. I never get to do anything I want. You always decide. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to leave my friends behind. You say it’s for me, but it’s always what’s easiest for you.” Laurel threw her napkin on the table and stormed out of the room. There were a few seconds of silence, then Anne flinched as she heard the bathroom door slam shut.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to start anything.”

  “Yeah, I’ll bet.” He stood up. “It takes her about five minutes to cool down, then she’ll be out. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t encourage her. We’re spending the week with Ellen’s aunt and uncle. I don’t think they would understand if you came along.” With that, he turned and left the room.

  Jake was off by two minutes, but Laurel did finally emerge from the rest room. Her eyes were puffy and her face blotchy, but other than that, she seemed to have recovered from her outburst.

  “I’m sorry,” she said as she walked into the kitchen.

  Anne put the last plate into the dishwasher. “It’s okay, Laurel, but I’m not the one you hurt.”

  “I know. It’s just he’s so—” She scuffed her white flats against the wood floor. “He makes me so mad, sometimes. He doesn’t understand.”

  “Maybe you don’t understand so well, either.”

  Laurel looked at her. “You think so?”

  “He’s your father. He loves you.”

  The mouth so much like her own tilted slightly at one corner. “Then why’s he always telling me what to do?”

  “That’s what dads are for. He’s doing what he thinks is best.” She looked at the young woman who, except for a decision made thirteen years ago, could have been hers. Funny, she would have thought she’d give up missing her a long time ago. She’d been wrong. “From where I stand, he’s doing a fine job.”

  “Thank you.” Laurel flushed at the compliment. “Maybe I should go tell him I’m sorry.”

  “Maybe you should.” Anne wiped her hands on the dish towel and gave the girl a gentle push toward the door. “Now is a good time.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can. I know you can.” Anne held open the door.

  Jake had returned to stare out the window. At the sound of her voice, he turned and looked at them. She’d lived in her condo long enough to know that noise and conversations traveled fairly easily from the kitchen to the living room and that he’d probably heard everything they’d said. Not by a flicker of his thick lashes did he give that away. He stood, waiting. Laurel hovered by the door.

  Anne gave her another nudge. The girl stepped forward. “I’m sorry, Daddy.” Then she flew across the room and into her father’s embrace.

  Jake pulled his daughter close and held her tightly against him. “I know, sweetie.”

  From her place in the doorway to the kitchen, Anne looked at the two of them. Jake knew he should be grateful that she’d been so generous with his child, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. She stared at him, at the way he held Laurel, with all the intensity of a starving person staring at bread. He read the hunger in her eyes, and the loneliness.

  Laurel stepped away and gave him a brilliant smile. He forced himself to return it. When he looked up, Anne had returned to the kitchen.

  Damn. He didn’t want to like her. He sure as hell didn’t want to feel sorry for her. And he certainly didn’t want to remember what had happened that moment when he’d pulled her away from the stove.

  “It’s late,” he said. “We should probably be going.”

  Laurel looked like she was about to protest, then seemed to think better of it. “Okay. When can I see Annie again?”

  He should have been prepared. All the signs had been there. But he’d pretended that it would only happen this one time. Refusing another meeting was the best solution for all of them, but he couldn’t. Not only because Laurel would fight him, but because he couldn’t tell her why she couldn’t see Anne Baker. He didn’t trust the woman, but more than that, he didn’t want to risk losing his daughter. Not when he’d just found her again. Neither of those reasons would make sense to Laurel. He had to decide what to do based on what was right for her, not what was easiest for him.

  “We’re leaving
for the beach early in the morning,” he said.

  Laurel nodded. “I know Annie can’t come with us to the beach, but I have to see her again, Dad. She’s my birth mother.”

  That fact had haunted him ever since Laurel had first said the words. As long as he lived, he’d never forget the slash of pain when she’d told him she wanted to contact her “real” mother. He was grateful Ellen hadn’t ever heard Laurel say those things.

  “Can’t we stop before we go back to Colorado? Just for a couple of days.” Hazel eyes pleaded.

  “One day. We’ll stay overnight, then head back home.”

  “Thanks, Daddy.” She reached up and kissed his cheek, then scurried toward the kitchen. “Annie, Annie.”

  Anne came out of the kitchen. She looked from the teenager to him and back. He tried not to notice how the pale peach silk shirt she wore brought out the color in her cheeks and darkened her hair to a more auburn shade of red. He looked away from the hopeful expression in her pale blue eyes, and the way her hands balled into fists at her side. If he’d been able to hear her conversation with his daughter when they’d been in the kitchen, it stood to reason she’d heard what Laurel had said. But she still looked nervous, as if she was afraid he would take it all away.

  “We’re coming back to Houston after our week at the beach,” Laurel said, bouncing from foot to foot. “I can see you again.” She became very still. “If you want to.”

  Anne smiled. “Of course I do, Laurel. I’d like very much to see you again.”

  “Great.”

  “We need to get going,” he said. “It’s late and we have to get up early tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” Laurel hesitated, then ducked toward Anne.

  Jake forced himself to watch the two women embrace. He saw Anne’s eyes close as emotions chased across her face. He saw the tender smile, the brief kiss on the cheek, heard the promise to not forget their plans. He saw Anne scrawl her phone number down, Laurel take it and stuff it into her pocket. He saw his daughter approach him, happiness shining so brightly from her face, it almost blinded him. He saw it all and knew that he was close to losing everything to a woman whom he didn’t like, or trust.

  “Wait for me by the elevator,” he told his daughter.

  She waved once, then disappeared out the front door. Anne stared after her.

  “You can be busy,” he said.

  Anne stared at him. “I don’t understand.”

  “When she calls you don’t have to see her if you’re not interested.”

  A spot of color flared on each cheek. “I want to see Laurel again.”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets to make sure he didn’t give in to the temptation to strangle her, then moved forward until he was directly in front of her. The kitchen door prevented her from backing up, although she didn’t seem inclined to give any ground. The soft light from the lamps made her freckles stand out. He stared at the random pattern and told himself he’d always hated freckles.

  “Why do you care?” he asked. “If Laurel is so damn important to you, why did you give her up in the first place?”

  He might as well have slapped her. The color drained from her face and her eyes widened with disbelief.

  “That’s none of your business,” she said, her voice low and angry.

  “If it’s about my daughter, it’s my business.”

  “Get out!” She pointed to the door.

  “If I leave now, I’m never coming back.”

  She parted her lips to draw in a breath of air. He didn’t like the man he’d become these past few days. He was beginning to believe that Anne Baker’s pain was as real to her as his was to him. He almost wanted to take it all back. But he couldn’t. Laurel was his responsibility. The bottom line was this woman had once given her child away. Who was to say she wouldn’t get involved with Laurel, only to dump her a second time when the relationship became inconvenient?

  “What do you want to know?” Anne asked, her voice resigned.

  “Why did you give her up, and why do you want anything to do with her now?”

  She seemed to collect herself. The color returned to her face and this time she was the one to step closer. Less than a foot separated them. She had to lean back to look him in the eye.

  “You’re quite a bastard, Jake, aren’t you?” She folded her arms over her chest. “You can threaten me all you want. You’re the one holding all the cards anyway. I can’t make you let Laurel see me. There’s nothing I can say to explain my actions to you. There’s nothing to justify what I did. You’ve already passed judgment on me. If I’d known the name of the family adopting my daughter, I would have gotten in touch with them, with you, right away. I didn’t know. Not a day went by that I didn’t hope and pray Laurel would want to follow the trail I’d left and find me.” She walked to the front door and gripped the knob. “You go ahead and believe what you want. Just don’t be too surprised when you find out you were wrong.”

  With that, she swung the door open. Laurel stood in the doorway. “Dad, the elevator’s come and gone. I thought you said we were in a hurry.”

  He stared at Anne. From the rapid rise and fall of her chest, he could see that she was still furious.

  He brushed past her as he walked through the door. Sparks flew between them, sending liquid need pouring through his blood. He gritted his teeth and kept walking. Behind him, he heard Laurel say goodbye again and promise to call. As the elevator doors opened, he swore Laurel would never have any contact with that woman again.

  *

  “Then we need to see to the executive homes. I think three should be—” Anne put down the papers she was holding and glanced at Heather. Her assistant continued smiling. “Why are you grinning at me like that? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?”

  Heather shook her head. “You gave me this information two hours ago, Anne. What is the matter with you?”

  Anne groaned. “My concentration is completely gone. The RCR Company relocation committee will be here at the end of the week and I’m not even close to prepared.”

  Heather leaned forward from the seat opposite Anne’s desk. “Man trouble?”

  “Don’t sound so excited. No, it’s not man trouble. At least not the way you mean it.” She pushed her chair away from the desk and slumped against the back. “Laurel called me again last night.” In spite of herself she smiled. “Told me all about this movie she’d seen. Boy meets girl. Girl turns out to be a vampire. They don’t make movies like they used to.”

  Heather tilted her head and frowned. “But if your daughter is calling you every other night, what’s the problem? I thought you wanted to stay in touch with her.”

  “I do. I love hearing from her. We talk about movies and clothes and she tells me everything she’s doing.” Anne picked up a pen and fiddled with it. Just thinking about Laurel was enough to give her a warm feeling inside. She wasn’t sure if it was genes or the way she’d been raised or both, but Laurel had turned out to be a fun, sweet, charming young woman. Their phone conversations were equal parts pleasure and pain. Pleasure at the relationship they were building and pain at what she’d missed all these years. “It’s not her, it’s her father. He doesn’t trust me. The worst of it is, I almost don’t blame him. If she were my child—”

  “Isn’t she?”

  “Good question. I’ve been wrestling with the same one for almost a week and I still don’t have an answer. All I did was give birth. Jake and his wife raised her.”

  “So where does that leave you?” Heather asked.

  “Confused.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Anne tossed the pen back on the desk. “The only thing I can do. Keep working on the RCR bid. Try not to let the situation destroy my job performance.”

  Heather placed her hands on the desk. “When Wilson retires in four months, you’re right in line for the vice presidency.”

  Anne nodded. “I know. If I can get RCR to sign, I’ve got the promotion. If not, Tim the Turkey g
ets it.” She jerked her thumb to the office next door. “He’s always hated the fact that I’ve done better than him and I’m just a woman.”

  Heather chuckled. “That does make him cranky, doesn’t it? I’ll go get you the figures for the RCR project.”

  “Thanks.”

  “When do you see Laurel again?”

  “Day after tomorrow. I’m hoping Jake will have cooled off enough so that I can arrange to visit her in Colorado from time to time. I’d like to stay in touch. She’s important to me.”

  “Sounds like everything is going to work out.”

  “I hope so.” Anne shrugged. “I wish I knew how much of her wanting to be with me is because she needs a mother figure in her life and how much of it is to get back at her father. If I get too involved before I figure out the situation, I could really get hurt. I want a second chance with Laurel, but I’m not sure how reasonable that is. Or if I even deserve one.” She rose to her feet and straightened her white linen jacket. “I know that my real life is here, with the company. Work is the only thing I can count on. I’m so close to that promotion, I can’t afford to let it go.”

  Heather looked at her. “You’ve got it under control.”

  “It only looks that way.” Anne smiled. “Still, I’m going to keep pretending I know what I’m doing until I figure it out.”

  *

  “I think denim is going to be very hot this year,” Laurel said as she fingered the cropped jacket.

  Anne looked at the price tag and winced. “This isn’t very practical, honey. It snows in Colorado and this isn’t even lined.”

  Laurel grimaced. “Now you sound like my dad.”

  “Maybe your dad has a point.”

  Jake didn’t bother entering the discussion. He didn’t like shopping and given a choice, he would have stayed in the hotel bar and watched the football game on the big screen TV. But Laurel wanted to go shopping with Anne, as part of their day together. He was determined not to let the two of them spend any time alone. He wasn’t concerned about Anne kidnapping the girl, or anything that extreme, it was more an issue of trust. Or lack of trust.