Sierra wasted no time in shaking her head. “Of course not. He—he’s just helping me out with this. Because he knows I want to keep Bowie. At least for a while.” She turned pleading eyes on her parents. “Please. Both of you, please, keep this to yourselves. Alex and I want everyone to think we’re getting married. Otherwise—well, there might be all sorts of problems.”
Maria groaned. “And you think lying will keep trouble from happening? That’s not logical, Sierra.”
Bowie chose that moment to wake up. As he began to squirm and open his eyes, Sierra reached down and picked him up from his carrier. The slight weight of his body cradled against her breast felt good and right. But she doubted her parents would understand her maternal feelings.
“Alex and I aren’t lying, Mother. We’re just pretending a bit. There can’t be any harm in that. The two of us have been good friends for years. We understand each other. Believe me, there won’t be any problems.”
Maria and Jose exchanged worried glances while Sierra checked her wristwatch.
“I’m sorry, you two, but I’ve got to be going,” Sierra apologized. “Alex is going to be expecting us at his office in about thirty minutes. And I might run into traffic.”
Picking up the plastic carrier with one hand, Sierra turned and started out of the room. Her parents followed close on her heels.
“But what about your sisters?” Maria asked in a frantic rush. “What are we supposed to tell them?”
“That Alex and I are taking care of a baby for the next few weeks. That’s all they need to know.”
Daughter and parents reached the front entrance to the house and Jose laid a gentle hand on Sierra’s shoulder.
“Where is this all going to lead, Sierra? I can’t see anything permanent. And if you become attached to Bowie it could become very painful for you. Are you sure you want to go through such trauma? After all, you’ve just had this breakup with Chad.”
“Your father is right, honey,” Maria added. “If you’re clinging to this child because you miss Chad, then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.”
“Chad isn’t even in the picture now,” she said and realized with a start that she really meant it. Chad had been a bad mistake, nothing more. Strange that it had taken little Bowie and a few words from Alex to make her see that.
“Well, you certainly seemed all cut up about him a couple months ago. When you first told us about the breakup,” Maria countered.
Sierra smiled broadly and marveled that she felt so lighthearted, so good today. Alex had been right all along. She’d not needed Chad “the loser” Newbern to make her happy.
“I was in a mild state of shock, Mother. But that’s passed. And don’t worry, you two, I can handle this.”
With a quick wave she hurried out the door and down the steps. She was half afraid that her parents were going to follow her to the car and insist that they accompany her and Alex to child care services and it was all she could do not to look over her shoulder to see if they were emerging from the house. But as she strapped Bowie and his carrier into the back seat of her small car, the front door remained closed and Sierra drove away with a sigh of relief.
“Yesterday you chased a potential client out of the office and today you tell me to cancel your last two appointments.” Pauline tsk-tsked her tongue as she paced back and forth in front of Alex’s desk. “I really want you to see a doctor, hon. As far as I can tell, you’re cracking up.”
Alex, who’d been trying to concentrate on the notes he’d made during the trial this morning, snapped his head up with irritation.
“Damn it, Pauline, don’t you have anything better to do than to make noise in my office? Go make some coffee or file your nails. God knows you’re not going to do any work around here anyway.”
Pauline stopped in front of Alex’s desk and folded her arms across her chest. “And you are?” she asked in an incredulous tone. “Tell that to the two people who wanted to discuss their problems with you today. Not tomorrow or the next day.”
Tossing down his pencil, Alex glared at her. “Pauline, one of these days that nose of yours is going to get you into deep trouble. It’s none of your business why I’m taking the rest of the afternoon off.”
She pooh-poohed his sarcasm. “Well, you’re so right, Counselor. Your secretary and general right-hand woman doesn’t need to know what her boss is up to. If anyone calls I can just wing it and say you’re out meeting with a go-go dancer who forgot to keep her clothes on.”
Leaning back in his chair, Alex ran a hand over his hair as he thoughtfully studied his secretary. “You really want to know where I’m going?” he asked after a moment.
“Is Texas big?”
A clever grin spread across his face. “I’m going to the offices of child care services.”
His secretary was clearly disappointed. “Oh. I thought you had some wild, hot afternoon date or something,” she confessed, then frowned in puzzlement. “I don’t know of anyone who’s been in the office that’s needed your help with child services. I—”
Pauline’s words broke off as the tinkling sound of the outer door of the building was opened and closed.
“Well, what do you think about that?” she whispered toward Alex. “I might get to go to work, after all.”
Alex chuckled as he watched his secretary scurry out of his office. It was just about time for Sierra to be showing up with little Bowie. Pauline was definitely going to be surprised to see the both of them. And no doubt his clever secretary would take one quick look at the baby and know that Sierra was the woman who needed him.
Tucking away his legal notes, Alex rose from his chair and carried the manila folder over to a tall file cabinet.
As he slipped the notes into the proper spot, Sierra’s voice sounded behind him.
“Am I interrupting?”
Alex turned and was instantly jolted by the sight of his sweet friend. She was dressed in a close-fitting beige sheath and matching high heels. The color enhanced her rosy-tan skin and made her black hair even blacker. This afternoon she had the mass of curls pinned up on the back of her head with a few stray coils left to dangle against her neck. She looked sexy and sophisticated at the same time. And, like an idiot, he wondered if she’d dressed up for his sake or only to make an impression at child care services.
Whistling under his breath, Alex walked over to her. “My, my, you look—fabulous.”
His compliment brought a bright blush of pink to Sierra’s cheeks. “I wanted to make a good impression with child care services,” she said.
For some reason, her admission stabbed him with disappointment but he made a point to push the feeling aside. Sierra was just a friend. Her concerns were for Bowie, not him.
“Well, I don’t think you’ll have any problem doing that,” he said. “Where’s Bowie?”
“Pauline took one look at him and snatched him from me.”
Slipping his arm around Sierra’s waist, Alex urged her toward the door. “We’d better get in there before she ruins him.”
“Alex!” Pauline scolded as Alex and Sierra entered the outer office. “You didn’t tell me that Sierra was the guardian of a new baby!”
“I haven’t had time. And she’s not yet officially the guardian. That’s why we’re headed to child care services,” Alex told her.
Pauline turned a coy look on her boss. “Oh. Sierra’s your reason for time off. I now forgive you.”
“What did she mean by that?” Sierra asked as she and the baby and Alex left the law office.
Alex made a dismissive shrug of one shoulder. “Pauline was cranky with me because I changed some appointment dates.”
“Oh, Alex, I didn’t want to interrupt your work,” Sierra said with regret. “I hope none of this causes you any problems.”
“Forget it, Sierra. Court appearances are always being changed from one day to the next so I’m always juggling appointments. It’s no big deal.”
Alex’s black SUV was parked be
hind the building, forcing them to walk down the block and then cut through to a back alleyway. Alex carried the baby while giving Sierra a steadying hand over the rough asphalt of the back street.
Once they reached the SUV, he buckled the baby in the back seat, then helped Sierra into the front bucket seat before he took his place behind the wheel. Although she’d taken short trips around town with him before, being enclosed in such a small space with him now somehow felt different to Sierra. She tried to hide her nervousness as she glanced over at him and smiled.
Oh my, oh my, she thought. Why was she suddenly seeing a sexy, intelligent lawyer instead of an old college pal? Why was she charmed by the loop of brown hair falling onto his forehead and the dimple that was coming and going in his cheek? This was Alex. Her old friend, Alex. She wasn’t supposed to be noticing him like this.
“Uh—I took the baby by my parents just before I drove to your office,” Sierra said, hoping a little conversation would get that marble in her brain back in the right spot. “They were—surprised, to say the least. I’m not so sure they think it’s a good idea for me to keep Bowie. But that doesn’t surprise me,” she added wryly.
Alex glanced at her as he wheeled them into the flow of traffic. “Why do you say that? Your parents have always seemed like very understanding people to me.”
Sierra twisted her hands together in her lap. “They are. But I’m their youngest child. They don’t think I’m grown up enough to do anything so serious as take on the responsibility of a baby.”
Alex’s brows lifted and fell in contemplation. “Well, it is a serious thing. But you’re not an idiot.” He slanted her a sardonic glance. “You’re only one of those when it comes to choosing boyfriends.”
“Gee, Alex, how sweet of you to say so.”
Laughing at her retort, he reached over and picked up one of her hands. Sierra nearly gasped out loud as he lifted the back of her hand to his lips.
“I can’t get over how gorgeous you look today. I didn’t know you had it in you,” he teased.
And she never knew that a compliment from Alex could make her feel so feminine or desirable. Through the years, Sierra had always seen herself as lacking in the looks department. Especially when she compared herself to her glamorous sisters. To have a man of the town like Alex imply that she was gorgeous was enough to set her heart to pounding.
“Alex, you don’t have to spread it on. I’m feeling confident about this afternoon.”
Alex’s gaze slid discreetly over her crossed legs. Although she was a petite woman, she was shaped like an hourglass. Even her legs were curvy and smooth, the kind that called for a man to touch and slide his hand against them.
While his covert glance traveled from her calf down to her ankle, he surprised himself by wondering what she would do or think if he were to reach over and place his hand on her knee. The fine-gauged material of her stockings would gently rasp against his fingertips. The warmth of her body would seep into his palm.
“Alex! Didn’t you hear me, or are you off in some courtroom?”
Jerking his wayward thoughts back to the present, he glanced at her and hoped he wasn’t blushing. She might not find his erotic thoughts too funny. Sierra wasn’t a prude, but she abhorred sleaziness.
“Uh—sorry, I was just thinking about something. What did you say?”
“I asked if you’d talked to your parents. If you’d told them about Bowie and what you were doing for me.”
The slow curl of heat that had been coiling around in Alex’s groin suddenly froze. “No. Why would I want to?”
Sierra shrugged before she looked over her shoulder at Bowie. The movement of the car was keeping him sound asleep. His pug little chin was tucked against his chest and hidden beneath the collar of his shirt. His head had drooped to one side and he was sucking intermittently on the pacifier she’d placed in his mouth at the start of the trip. She figured the baby was less than a week old and probably weighed no more than seven or eight pounds. But each time Sierra looked at him, she could easily see a young boy learning to ride a bike, a young man graduating college.
“Why not? They’d be pleased to know that you’re helping a child find a home.”
“Like they did?” he quipped dryly.
“Alex,” she scolded softly as she reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I thought you’d forgiven them for not telling you about your adoption. It’s been so long now since you found out about it. Why does it still rile you so?”
He let out a rough sigh as he braked the car at a red light. “It doesn’t rile me, Sierra. I just—wish they could have been honest with me.”
Regret and a sweet sense of caring filled her as she quietly studied his grim profile. “And would that have made you happy? If they’d started out telling you at a very young age that your mother had deserted you on the steps of a building? I’m not so sure, Alex.”
“Let’s not talk about this, Sierra,” he clipped back at her.
Pressing her lips together, she dropped her hand from his shoulder. She’d always wanted to make Alex see that his being adopted didn’t mean he was any less of a man than the next guy. He’d been raised in a normal, loving household. He’d been blessed and he needed to remember those blessings instead of dwelling on the subterfuge of how he’d come to be a part of the Calloway family.
But now was not the time to dig into him about it. She needed his help and when you ruffled his feathers, Alex was unpredictable. If she made him angry, he just might turn the car around, head back to his office and tell her to deal with Bowie on her own.
“All right, Alex.”
The tight grip he had on the steering wheel eased. “Sierra, Bowie will be a man someday and then he—”
Sierra waited patiently for him to finish, but silent moments continued to tick away until she prompted, “Then he what, Alex? What were you going to say?”
Shaking his head, he said, “It wasn’t important. And here’s the block of Department of Human Services buildings. We’re here.” He pulled into the nearest parking slot he could find and killed the engine. “Let’s go in and get this over with.”
Chapter Four
Three days later, on the Mendoza backyard patio, Sierra stood next to her father as he tested a slab of brisket cooking on the barbecue grill. The scent of the juicy beef was enough to make Sierra’s mouth water. Her stomach growled hungrily as her father closed the lid.
“Dad, it can’t need much more cooking,” she protested. “When are you going to take it off the fire?”
With a chuckle, Jose patted his youngest daughter’s shoulder. “A little more patience, honey. By the time you help your mother get the rest of the food out here on the picnic table, the brisket will be ready.”
Relieved that supper was finally near, Sierra hurried into the house to help her mother gather up the accompanying dishes Maria had prepared earlier in the day.
The two of them were setting everything onto the outdoor table when Gloria and her fiancé, Jack Fortune, emerged from the back door of the house.
“You must have smelled food,” Maria said happily at the sight of her middle daughter. “Do you two have time to join us?”
Jack, a tall man with short black hair and blue eyes, sauntered over to his soon-to-be mother-in-law and placed a kiss on her cheek.
“We’ll make time, Maria,” he said. “Gloria heard through Sierra that Jose was cooking brisket. So we invited ourselves.”
Jack was Patrick Fortune’s son and nephew to Ryan who owned the Double Crown Ranch just outside Red Rock. Up until about three months ago, the powerful businessman had been living and working in Manhattan. But Patrick had decided to send his son down to San Antonio to help Gloria establish her jewelry business.
To the whole family’s surprise, Jack and Gloria had established more than a thriving new business. Their baby was due in early fall and their wedding plans were going at a brisk pace.
“That’s good,” Jose spoke up from his positio
n at the barbecue grill. “We’ve got enough food here to feed an army. Does anybody know if Christina is coming?”
“She said that she and Derek would try to make it,” Gloria stated as she hugged her mother and then her father. “But she wasn’t sure. They’ve been doing a lot of extra work lately at Fortune-Rockwell Investments.”
Sierra put down the handful of utensils she was holding and hurried over to greet her sister. As usual, Gloria was a fashion plate in a pair of white capri pants and a red-and-white striped blouse that tied at the waist and exposed her slightly growing belly. Her light brown hair was twisted into a sexy knot at the back of her head and gold hoops swung from her ears. She was so beautiful it was no surprise that one of San Antonio’s most eligible bachelors had fallen for her. Sierra had always felt dowdy in comparison. But her lack in looks wasn’t really important to her anymore. Especially now that she had little Bowie. He’d made all of her values take on an entirely different direction.
“Sierra, I’m so glad you’re here,” Gloria said as she hugged Sierra tightly. “Mom has told me all about the baby. Where is he? I want to see him!”
“That’s all she’s been talking about,” Jack spoke up with a wink. “Maternal hormones at work.”
Laughing softly, Sierra took her older sister by the arm and urged her toward a door that would take them into the kitchen. “Bowie’s in the house, in my old bedroom. I was just about to go in and get him.”
As the two women walked through the kitchen and down a long hallway, Gloria said, “I was so surprised when Mom told me about the baby. I couldn’t believe the mother just left him like that. Now that I’m going to marry the man that I love and have his baby, it’s made me see my role as a woman in a different light. I don’t have to think twice. My child and my husband will always come first in my life.”
Sierra glanced at Gloria and couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. Even though she’d been blessed with little Bowie, he didn’t officially belong to her. Child services could take him away at any moment. And with Chad now gone with the wind, there was no chance she’d be having a child of her own anytime soon.
In a Texas Minute Page 5
