The Horseman's Son

by Delores Fossen

  He’d obviously thought wrong.

  “Does Adam really look like me?” Collena asked.

  He stopped, turned around and considered lying. But he didn’t after he combed his gaze over Collena’s face. “He’s the spitting image of you.”

  Her bottom lip trembled a little, and she blinked hard. “Thank you.” But then she hesitated and stared at him. “You’re being nice to me because of that picture. I asked you to forget about it.”

  Why, he didn’t know, but he stepped closer, violating her personal space. “I’m not being nice to you. If I had my way, you wouldn’t be here at the ranch and you definitely wouldn’t be on the verge of going into the playroom.”

  She lifted her shoulder. “So, why am? Why are you letting me see Adam?”

  “Because I don’t think I have a choice. We’re each other’s obstacles. You want what I have, and I don’t want to give him up. Somehow, we have to work through that, and working through issues is something that I’m usually pretty good at doing.”

  “I offered a solution,” she reminded him.

  “I don’t call that a solution.” In fact, he didn’t know what exactly to call her marriage proposal.

  Since marriage was the last thing he wanted to discuss, Dylan turned and started walking again toward the playroom. Collena was right behind him. And with each step, he dreaded this meeting even more.

  Yet, he knew it was inevitable.

  If he didn’t allow Collena to see Adam, then tomorrow when the roads were clear, she’d no doubt start legal proceedings to get custody. So, he wasn’t being nice. He was doing what he had to do to keep things amicable between Collena and him.

  When he reached the set of playroom doors, Dylan didn’t pause. He didn’t dare. Because he might change his mind. It was like ripping off a bandage. Fast, but definitely not painless.

  He threw open the doors.

  Dylan spotted Ruth first. She was sitting in a recliner with a paperback clutched in her hand. Adam was on a toy car that he was scooting around the room. He looked up, spotted Dylan and smiled the smile that always made him feel on top of the world.

  “Is there a problem?” Ruth asked. Her eyes went straight to Collena, and the nanny got to her feet.

  “No problem,” Dylan assured her.

  Ruth made a nasally sound to indicate she didn’t buy that. “Then why is that woman here?”

  Good question. But Dylan kept that remark to himself. Instead, he stood back and watched as Collena took short cautious steps toward Adam.

  The little boy stopped and eyed the stranger who was approaching him. Adam didn’t smile. Nor did he back away as he sometimes did with people he didn’t know. He simply studied Collena as she stooped to Adam’s eye level.

  “Hi,” Adam said, using his latest favorite word. Except it sounded more like “i.”

  “Hi,” Collena answered. Her voice was clogged with emotion.

  Neither Dylan, nor Ruth said a word, but their gazes met, and he could tell that Ruth saw what Dylan had already known.

  This was definitely mother and son.

  Collena dropped down onto the floor, sitting directly across from Adam, and the two just watched each other. Adam babbled something, reached out and touched Collena’s hair, which was barely a shade darker than Adam’s own.

  That one touch seemed to open the floodgates for Adam. With help from Collena, he climbed off the toy car, took a picture book that was lying on the floor and toddled back to Collena. Adam thrust the book toward her, and Collena took it and began to read to the child.

  The simple gesture got Dylan right in the heart. Adam was more accepting of Collena than he wanted his son to be.

  However, he didn’t have time to react beyond that because his phone rang. Dylan extracted it from his pocket and checked the screen. It was from Mason Tanner, the P.I. friend who’d sent him those faxes about Collena. Dylan had e-mailed the man shortly thereafter and asked him to do a background check on Curtis Reese.

  Because he didn’t want Ruth or Collena to overhear this particular conversation, Dylan stepped into the hall to take the call.

  “Please tell me you found something on Curtis Reese,” Dylan said, commencing with a greeting.

  “I did. Thankfully, his life is somewhat of an open book. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he’s staying at the hotel in Greer and is literally less than eight miles from your doorstep. He’s not alone, either. He has his lawyer and a pair of private investigators there with him. And he has power, Dylan. Lots of it. Along with a couple of judges in his pocket.”

  That was not what Dylan wanted to hear. “Are you saying he could actually win a custody battle?”

  “Absolutely. From what I can see from the outside looking in, he can make a case against either you or Collena Drake. Yours is a no-brainer. The adoption was illegal, and that means legally you have no claim to Adam.”

  Dylan felt as if someone had sucker punched him. “I’ve raised him since birth.”

  “That won’t negate the fact that the adoption was illegal. I’m not a lawyer, but Collena obviously has the strongest claim for full custody.”

  He felt another punch. “Once she has proof that she’s Adam’s mother.”

  “Oh, there’s proof already. I checked the lab where you’d stored Adam’s umbilical cord. They’re the ones who ran the DNA test for the police, and Collena’s DNA is on file because she’s a former cop. Adam is Collena’s son, all right. No disputing that.”

  That one was more than a punch. Dylan was grateful for the brief period of silence that followed. He needed it to come to terms with the fact that Collena had been telling him the truth.

  Hell.

  And the truth was that he could lose Adam.

  “Collena has the best claim for custody,” Mason Tanner repeated. “Unless, of course, Curtis Reese is able to prove she’s unfit in some way.”

  And Curtis just might be able to do that if he could prove that Collena had endangered her unborn child by going on an undercover assignment. A good lawyer could argue that, and Curtis would almost certainly have a good lawyer. Heck, he’d have an entire team of them.

  “What about Curtis Reese himself—what kind of dirt could you find on him?” Dylan asked.

  “Nothing, other than rumors that he owns those judges and a few politicians. He was born stinking rich, inherited his family’s chain of hardware stores, and then added to his wealth through what appears to be legal means. He’s considered a good, upstanding citizen by most. And now that his less-than-stellar son is dead, there isn’t even a hint of danger in any facet of his life. He comes off like a Boy Scout, Dylan, and that’s not good news for you.”

  It wasn’t. His worst fears had been confirmed—he could lose Adam.

  “Keep digging,” Dylan ordered. “I want any and every thing that you can find on not just Curtis Reese, but Collena Drake and the man who recently escaped from jail, Rodney Harmon.”

  “I will, but you have to start looking at the likelihood of a serious custody battle. Or some kind of settlement with Collena. If you can’t buy her off, then if I were you, I’d be hoping that she’s a reasonable woman.”

  Dylan clicked the end-call button, slipped the phone back into his pocket and leaned against the wall. His lungs felt heavy, as if he’d taken in too much air, and every muscle in his body was in a knot.

  What the hell was he going to do?

  He turned and opened the door just slightly so he could see inside the playroom. Ruth was in the chair, and she was glaring at Collena. However, Collena was oblivious, because her attention was focused solely on Adam, who was back on his toy car. His son was grinning from ear to ear and babbling happy sounds.

  Collena turned and spotted him in the doorway. She, too, was smiling, and there were tears of joy in her eyes.

  Dylan didn’t waste any time. There wasn’t a reason to delay this.

  He knew what he had to do.

  He motioned for Collena to come to him
. Her smile faded, probably because she anticipated that he’d gotten some bad news from the phone call. She got up from the floor and, without breaking eye contact with him, she made her way to him.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Everything.” Dylan cleared his throat. He partially closed the door, only leaving it open a small crack. “If your marriage proposal is still good—I’m accepting it.”

  OF ALL THE THINGS that Collena had expected to hear Dylan say, she hadn’t expected that.

  “You’re accepting my marriage proposal?” she asked, certain she’d misunderstood him.

  He nodded. And he looked as if he were facing a firing squad. “The P.I. I just spoke with confirmed that you’re Adam’s biological mother. He also believes that Curtis Reese has a chance of getting custody of Adam.”

  “He does,” Collena agreed, speaking around the lump in her throat. That’s why she’d suggested marriage in the first place. She didn’t have the resources and political contacts to fight Curtis, but Dylan did. With Dylan’s help, she could get custody of her child.

  Her plan was working. That was the good news, but she knew they had a long fight ahead of them. This was just the first step.

  “I thought we stood a better chance of winning if we were together,” Collena added.

  Dylan huffed. “Of course, a judge might see right through our convenient relationship.”

  “I don’t doubt that, either, but Curtis is a widower, and I think a judge would be more likely to keep Adam in the home where he was raised and with parents who’ve made a commitment to give him the best life possible. We’ll just have to be honest and not hide the reason we’re getting married. I’m hoping our marriage will prove to the judge that we’re willing to do anything for Adam’s happiness. Curtis can’t compete with that.”

  His eyes snapped to hers. “You really think we can pull this off?”

  “I don’t think we have a choice. And believe me, for the past three days, I’ve studied all the options. If I’d been able to come up with something better, I would have gone in that direction.”

  “I’ll bet you would have,” he mumbled. He took a hard breath and opened his mouth to say something. However, Ruth interrupted him.

  With Adam in her arms, Ruth threw open the door. “It’s time for Adam’s bath,” she announced.

  Collena desperately wanted to spend more time with her son, but she also needed to work out some details with Dylan.

  Apparently, they were getting married.

  Just thinking that sent a rush of panic through her. She’d come up with the plan before she’d met Dylan. Before she’d realized that she was attracted to him. She wanted her son, but she didn’t want a relationship with Dylan. Not with her past. And not with her excess emotional baggage. She still hadn’t gotten over the painful relationship with Adam’s father.

  Falling for him could ruin everything she’d planned.

  Collena took both a step back, both emotionally and physically, and let Ruth walk past them. Adam gave them a little wave as Ruth carried him down the hall.

  She and Dylan stood there in silence. He was no doubt thinking of the enormous impact of what he’d just done. Collena knew that impact, as well.

  “Don’t mention the marriage to anyone just yet,” Dylan finally said. “I want to be the one to tell the staff.”

  “Certainly.” Though Collena figured that wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation, especially when it came to Ruth. The woman obviously loathed her and was more than just staff. She was family.

  Dylan checked his watch. “I need to make some calls, and you probably want to freshen up. I’ll show you to the guest room.”

  Collena nodded and followed him. “When you talk to your lawyer, you’ll want to make sure that we can keep the custody hearings here in this county. Curtis has a lot of powerful friends in San Antonio.”

  “So, I’ve heard.”

  No doubt he’d learned that from that phone call. “Before I came here, I sold everything I own. It should be enough to cover legal expenses. What I don’t have are Curtis’s contacts in the judicial system.” She paused. “I’m hoping you do.”

  “I haven’t bribed politicians and judges, if that’s what you mean, but people know me in this county. Besides, losing isn’t an option.”

  Collena believed him. She had to believe him. She hadn’t come all this way to fail.

  “You’ll join us for Thanksgiving dinner?” Dylan asked, stopping outside one of the doors in the long corridor of rooms.

  It took her a moment to shift gears in the conversation. “Yes. Thank you.” It would get her more time to spend with her son.

  “In the meantime, I’ll have Ina bring you a tray so you’ll have something to eat.”

  Collena didn’t refuse that, either. She was still feeling a little light-headed, and she didn’t want that with all the critical things going on in her life.

  Dylan didn’t say anything else. He merely opened the door, motioned for her to go inside and walked away. Collena stood there, watching him, and praying that this plan would succeed.

  She stepped inside. The light was already on, so she had no trouble seeing the guest room. Or rather, the guest suite. There was a sitting room with a bay window to her right, and the bedroom and bath were to her left. Like the rest of the house, it was tastefully decorated in warm neutral colors with a dark hardwood floor dotted with Turkish rugs.

  Collena went inside and sank down onto the taupe-and-cream-colored chair in the sitting room. She felt drained and exhausted, but like Dylan, she had some calls to make. She took out her phone, just as someone knocked. She didn’t even have time to get out of the chair before the door opened and Millie walked in.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Millie immediately said. “I thought you were still with Dylan.” She lifted her arms to show Collena a stack of clothes. “We’re close to the same size, and I figured you could use these, especially since we don’t know how long you’ll be here with the snow and all.”

  Collena stood and took the clothes from her. “Thank you.”

  Millie shrugged. “It’s the least I could do, considering your car caught fire.”

  The words were right. Kind, even. But the kindness didn’t make it to Millie’s eyes. In fact, Collena got the same cold vibes from Millie that she did from her mother, Ruth.

  The woman glanced around before her attention came back to Collena. She hesitated, licking her lips. “Is it true? Are you really Adam’s birth mother?”

  Collena nodded.

  “Oh.” And that’s all Millie said for several seconds. “But you gave him up for adoption.”

  “Someone stole him from me,” Collena corrected. She left it at that. The sanitized version was best for now. Later, maybe Dylan would explain everything to Millie and the rest.

  Another “oh” from Millie. Another hesitation. Millie’s breathing was suddenly uneven. “Well, if you need anything else, just ask. The phone there is a private line, in case your cell phone doesn’t work out here. Sometimes, service is spotty.” She went to the intercom speaker on the table next to the chair and pressed some buttons. “And if you need someone in the house, like the cook, for instance, all you have to do is hold down the talk button. Someone will answer. You don’t have to bother Dylan or anything. He has enough to deal with right now.”

  Now, it was Collena’s turn to say, “oh.” There was nothing chilly about that remark, but it was, well, territorial.

  Did Millie have feelings for Dylan?

  If so, this was about to get very messy.

  Millie mumbled a goodbye, and as soon as the woman was out the door, Collena closed it and locked it. She didn’t want anyone walking in on the phone call she was about to make.

  She took her phone from her pocket, flipped it open and pressed in the numbers to her friend and former coworker, Sergeant Katelyn O’Malley.

  “Katelyn,” Collena said when she answered. “I hate to bother you on Thanksgiving—”

/>   “You’re not bothering me. Thanksgiving dinner is still hours away, and you got me out of cooking duty. I owe you, girl. I’m not into basting turkeys.”

  “We’ll work something out,” Collena joked. But the light tone was a facade. She was terrified of what Katelyn might or might not have learned.

  “I’ve been doing some checking on a few of the citizens of Greer,” Katelyn continued. “One thing that really stuck out was Deputy Jonah Burke. Have you met him yet?”

  Collena didn’t like the sound of this. “Oh, yes. Because of the snowstorm, he’s stuck in the house with us.”

  “Well, then, you better hope the roads clear soon. He’s had two suspensions from the job and even had criminal charges filed against him for stalking. The charges were dropped when the person who filed them was killed. That person was Dylan Greer’s sister, Abigail.”

  “Dylan’s sister?” Collena certainly hadn’t expected that. “Why is Jonah still on the force if he was stalking her?”

  “Law of supply and demand. Apparently no one else in Greer wants his job. Still, Jonah’s not well liked, and even the sheriff doesn’t have much good to say about him.”

  Neither did Collena. “I’ll make I sure lock my door tonight.”

  “Don’t lock it just for Jonah Burke’s sake. You need to keep an eye out for two of Dylan’s employees, Ruth and Millie Sayers. Get this—both have been under psychiatric care since Dylan’s sister was killed five years ago.”

  Another surprise, but it wasn’t totally unexpected. “I think they were very close to her. And her death was unexpected. And suspicious.”

  “That, too. I plan to look a little harder at that, especially if Deputy Burke might have had a reason to kill this woman.”

  Katelyn was right. The stalking charge would give Jonah motive, and since he was a deputy, he already had the means. That only left the opportunity, and in a small town like Greer, there should have been plenty of opportunities for the deputy to go after the woman. So, had his involvement been covered up?

  “There’s more,” Katelyn continued. “Millie was dating Burke at the time he was supposedly stalking Dylan’s sister.”