“I’m afraid so. The police are out looking for her right now, along with Jake and Max. I don’t think Lacy or you are in any immediate danger, but, Connor…” This time, she had paused. “I’m afraid there’s more.”
Connor braced himself, but it hadn’t been nearly enough. “What?”
“Shelby just called me from the diner. Lacy’s leaving with Chase.”
He’d almost dropped the cell phone. “Leaving?” He’d echoed the word in disbelief, its hard edges scraping over him. “Leaving where?”
“She’s leaving Austin. And, Connor—”
A sense of urgency seized him. There was no time to waste. “I’ll talk to you later, Mother. And thanks for letting me know.” He’d cut off the connection even though she was saying something. Probably wishing him luck.
He was going to need more than luck, but it was a start.
All the way to the ranch house, Connor searched his mind for what he’d say to her. Nothing seemed right. He vacillated between ordering Lacy to stay and begging her to stay.
And letting her go.
He knew the last was the only right thing, the honorable thing to do. To let her go so she could move on with her life. After all, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t known this day was coming, hadn’t tried to prepare himself for it by keeping her at arm’s length. But he had failed miserably. And now that the day was here, the only thing he wanted to do was postpone it. Indefinitely.
Arriving at the house, Connor jumped off his horse, leaving it in the care of one of the ranch hands.
“You going out again?” the man called after him, but Connor didn’t hear him. He was too focused on finding Lacy. On praying he wasn’t too late.
The second he walked in, he knew what his mother had said was true. Lacy was leaving. The two suitcases lined up by the door bore silent testimony.
He could have sworn the very air felt different somehow. Stifling, oppressive.
Damn it, she wasn’t leaving. Not without one hell of a convincing argument.
Like a man possessed, Connor ran through the house searching for her, bellowing her name at the top of his lungs.
He found her in the nursery, packing Chase’s things. The baby was in his crib, sound asleep. Oblivious to the upheaval that was about to occur in his life.
When Lacy turned to look at him, he saw that she’d been crying. Some of the rage within him abated, mitigated by the sight of her damp cheeks.
But he was still angry.
Hands framing the doorway on either side, he physically barred her exit. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Somehow, despite the fury she saw in his eyes, she managed to find her tongue. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to be gone all day.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” He bit off the words. For a moment, his eyes shifted to the baby’s crib to reassure himself that Chase was still there. “Lucky thing I invested in this little doo-hickey.” He held up the cell phone. “Otherwise, my mother couldn’t have called me.” His eyes narrowed as he struggled to curb the rising tide of fury. “She said Shelby called to tell her what you were going to do.” His face hardened. “Seems you can tell everyone else but me what you’re planning.”
She banked down the hurt at the sarcasm in his voice. Maybe he was entitled to it. She didn’t know. All she knew was that this was hard enough to do without being confronted by him.
“All right.” Lacy raised her chin and delivered the message he’d demanded. “I’m leaving. Satisfied?”
He threw the cell phone across the room. It landed on the floor just shy of the wall. “Just like that? Without a word?”
She picked up a long white envelope from the bed and held it out to him. “I wrote you this letter.”
He knocked the envelope aside. Did she think he was some damn employee she was giving a severance note to? “I don’t care about a damn letter.” He loomed over her. “I want you to tell me, Lacy. Face to face. I want you to tell me why you’re sneaking off like some thief in the night.”
Lacy stood her ground, refusing to be intimidated. “I’m not sneaking off.”
“Damn straight you’re not.” Not if he had anything to say about it.
She sighed, her courage flagging dangerously. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. “I just thought it would be better this way.”
His eyes widened incredulously. “Better for who? For you?”
She’d thought it over a hundred times since she’d made up her mind, jumping from one side to the other and back again. If it wasn’t for the baby she was carrying, she would have stayed, even if staying meant dying slowly by inches because she couldn’t have him.
But the coming baby changed everything. She couldn’t add this to the weight he was already carrying. “No, for you.”
Connor’s mouth dropped open. Was she serious? “How?” he demanded. “How is it better for me to come home and find that you and Chase are gone? That the woman who’s brought sunshine into my world is gone?”
It took a second for her to peel away the anger wrapped around his words and absorb their meaning. When she did, she was stunned, certain she hadn’t heard correctly.
“What?”
“You heard me.” What did she want, diagrams? All right, he’d give her diagrams. “I said you brought sunshine into my world. Colors, lights.” He fairly shouted the words into her face. Getting hold of himself, he lowered his voice. “You made me feel like a man again, Lacy, and maybe I don’t have the right to make you stay, but I’m going to try anyway.”
It was as if her brain had gone numb. “Wait, I don’t understand.”
“Then I’ll say it more simply.” His eyes held hers, making his plea far more eloquently than he could. “Don’t go. Please.”
She wanted to melt into his arms, to say yes, she’d stay. Stay forever and always.
But she couldn’t stay, not for the wrong reasons.
She felt shaky inside as she tried to sort his words out. “Listen, if you’re saying that because you feel guilty—”
Now it was his turn to be confused. “Guilty about what?”
Exasperated, she dragged her hand through her hair. “Maybe guilty’s the wrong word.” She turned to face him. “Responsible,” she decided. “If you’re saying this because you feel responsible for some reason, don’t. It’s not your fault, it’s mine.”
Her words were only making things murkier. “What isn’t your fault? Lacy, I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about or why you’re leaving like this, and I’m not going to read any damn letter to find out.” He caught her shoulders, afraid she might run out on him. “What are you talking about and what the hell am I supposed to feel guilty about?”
“Responsible,” she corrected.
“Whatever,” he snapped, in no mood for semantics. “Don’t you realize that the only thing I feel is love? Love for you, love for Chase.”
She couldn’t get herself to believe what he was saying. This was a dream she was having. The dream she was always having. “And the baby?”
“I already said Chase,” he told her impatiently.
“No, not Chase.” Tremors began to shake the castle in the clouds he’d begun forming for her as it dawned on her. “You don’t know, do you?”
He felt more tired than he had in a long while. “Apparently I know very little about what’s going on.” And then it hit him. Suddenly. Like a ton of bricks. Hit him so hard that for a second, the very breath was knocked out of him. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” It all made sense now. The pale color, the tired appearance, her refusal to see Abby. Everything. It all tied together.
“Yes, but—”
“But?” he echoed, catching her hands. “There is no but. You’re pregnant and the baby’s mine. And Chase is mine,” he informed her sharply. And then his tone softened. “The only thing that isn’t mine is you. I guess I did too good a job convincing you that I was too old for you.”
“Too old?” She stared a
t him. “Is that why you think I’m going?”
He couldn’t think of any other reason. “Well, isn’t it?”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and did a little of both. “I’m going because I don’t want you to feel you have to marry me out of a sense of obligation. I don’t want to hear another proposal from you, because this time I might not have the strength of character to turn you down.”
He drew her to him, not firmly but gently. Hopefully. “Then don’t turn me down. Say yes, Lacy. Say yes and accept my love.”
Her heart began to hammer. She refused to listen to what her heart was saying, knowing how easily it could seduce her into believing dreams. “You’re just saying that.”
“Yes, I am saying that. But give me a chance and I’ll prove it to you, Lacy. Every day for the rest of your life.” He took her hands in his again. “Lacy, I’m not the sharpest tack on the board. Sometimes it takes me a while to work things through, to see them in their true light. But I’ve worked it through now, and I know that I’d be the luckiest man under the sun having you for a wife, even for a little while.”
It finally penetrated. She finally allowed herself to believe. He wanted her. Connor really wanted her. She felt as if she was going to cry again. But this time, her tears would be tears of happiness. “Why only a little while? Are you planning to make this a five-year renewable marriage?”
His mouth curved, but his smile was sad. “No, because I am too old for you. They say that men reach their peak at nineteen.”
She didn’t care what they said. “That’s just an average, and there is nothing average about you, Connor O’Hara. There never has been.” She threaded her arms around his waist. “I know that firsthand.”
Having her against him like this felt so right. “So is that a yes?”
She turned her face to his. “It’s always been yes, Connor, right from the very start. You were just too stubborn to hear.”
“I plan to rectify that, starting now.”
She felt the smile spreading throughout her whole body. She hugged him harder. “Just what did you have in mind?”
Connor brought his face to hers, his eyes making love to her. “I’m a man of few words, Lacy, and I’ve already used them all up today. I’d rather show you.”
And he did.
EPILOGUE
WEAVING a path through the sea of friends and relatives who had gathered to celebrate his son’s first birthday, Connor made his way to Lacy.
His wife.
It was still hard to believe, but then, it had only been a little over a week since they’d gotten married, postponing their honeymoon until after Chase’s birthday party. He figured he’d get used to it in about another hundred years or so.
Nodding at his mother, he maneuvered between Max and Chelsea. Lacy had just turned from Jake and Camille after offering them a tray full of hors d’oeuvres.
Connor whispered in her ear. “You’re doing too much again.”
Lacy smiled at his concern. It was rather nice being looked after, even if she wasn’t used to it. “I feel fine, Connor.”
He raised a skeptical brow. “You wouldn’t admit it if you weren’t.”
She laughed. He was beginning to know her. Finally. “Okay, you’ve got me there, but I really am feeling fine.” In fact, if she felt any better, it might very well be illegal. Despite the fact that Janelle was still out there somewhere, posing a possible threat to her, Lacy had never felt better in her whole life.
She paused to rest one hand against Connor’s chest as she looked into his eyes. “Trust me.”
He took the opportunity to brush a kiss against her lips. “With my life.”
“Hey, you two, break it up or we’ll have to turn a hose on you,” Lana Lord warned good-naturedly. “Just because you’re newlyweds doesn’t mean you have to rub it in for the rest of us. Some of us are still looking for our one true love.”
“You’d have to stop working for that to happen,” Lacy told her. It was a known fact that Lana devoted every waking moment to building up her business, a specialty shop for babies.
“Yes, well, maybe someday,” Lana allowed. “Speaking of working, I’m afraid I’m going to have to run right after Chase blows out his candle.”
“The inventory can wait, Lana,” her brother Garrett told her.
“I’ll have you know it isn’t inventory, it’s some befuddled new father I promised to help. He wants me to demystify fatherhood for him.”
Connor laughed, looking toward Chase. The little boy was enjoying a rousing game of patty-cake with his grandmother. “Lots of luck.”
“Here.” Determined, Abby took the tray from Lacy, her tone telling her new sister-in-law that she would brook no protest. “Let me take that from you. You’ve got enough to handle.”
Surrendering the tray, Lacy looked at Connor. “Did you tell her?”
About to make the rest of the rounds, Abby stopped. She looked from Connor to Lacy. “Tell me what?”
“No.” Connor answered Lacy, aware that they were attracting more than just Abby’s attention. “But I guess this is as good a time as any to make the announcement.”
“Tell me what?” Abby repeated as her husband, Kyle, joined her. “What announcement?” she asked when neither Connor nor Lacy answered.
Lacy raised her voice, though from the looks of those around her, it wasn’t necessary. Everyone was listening. “That there’s going to be another place setting at the table next Easter.” Her smile deepened as she felt Connor slip his arm around her.
The next moment, they were submerged in well-wishers. Jake elbowed his way to the center of the crowd. He stared at Lacy. “You’re…?”
She was beaming. “Yes.”
“Wow.” Jake turned to Connor. “Well, you certainly don’t waste time once you put your mind to something, do you?”
“Hey, I’m an old man,” Connor said, deadpan, though his eyes gave him away. “I don’t have time to procrastinate.”
“Yeah, he took care of the baby making up front,” Lacy teased, twining her arms around his waist as she looked around her, basking in the attention of the family she had always wanted.
Singing “Happy Birthday” to the little boy who had won all their hearts was temporarily postponed and hearty congratulations were issued as the Maitlands prepared to expand their ranks yet again.
And happily so.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8721-5
A DAD AT LAST
Copyright © 2000 by Enterprises S.A.
Marie Ferrarella is acknowledged as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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