by Ann Major
“I care about you. And Noah.”
“I’ll have you know you can’t just buy your way into my office because you want to bully me.”
“I beg to differ.”
“I think you’re contemptible.”
“Take the check. I’m sure you, as the director, can’t afford to turn down a donation that large,” he murmured as he placed the check in her trembling palm and folded her rigid fingers over it finger by finger. “Just as I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to inform your board that you wouldn’t make time for such a generous donor.”
She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. “I will have my board send you a letter formally thanking you.”
“I’m sure you will, but I’d prefer a personal thank-you.”
“Okay! Thank you.” Straightening his check, she slid it into her top drawer. “You’ve had your fun. Now, would you please go?”
“No. I intend to meet Greg—and Noah—before I leave town. Greg’s due here soon, I believe?” He looked at his watch. “Oh, dear, is he late?”
She kicked her desk, wishing it were him.
Grinning, he sat down to wait.
When he refused to budge no matter how hard she glared at him, she sank down into her own chair in weary defeat. In the tense silence that ensued, time dragged and her green walls felt as if they were pressing in on her.
“Okay,” he said in a terse tone several minutes later. “You’re short on time, so let’s not waste it by sulking. I’m here for one thing—to convince you to agree to marry me.”
“This is the twenty-first century. You can’t force me into a shotgun marriage six years after the fact.”
“We have a son. Giving him my name is valid enough reason for me.”
“I don’t want to involve him in our messy relationship.”
“It wouldn’t be like that.”
“Really? You expect me to believe that after your caveman tactics today? You think because you’re a Coleman and I was born a nobody, you can bulldoze over me? You have zero respect for me or my job.”
“I attended a public tour. The website made it clear anybody could attend.”
“You know what I mean.”
“If you think I’m going to sit on the sidelines and let another man father my son, even if that man is a paragon, you don’t know me very well. Noah’s mine, and I intend to make sure everybody knows it. I’ll fight you—until you agree.”
She stared at him. His green eyes were as brilliant and stubborn as Noah’s. She studied his black hair with its widow’s peak and couldn’t ignore his striking resemblance to her darling, if tenacious, little boy.
Cole was so handsome. Even now when she was at loggerheads with him, his virile male presence filled the space of her tiny office in an overpowering way that made her desire him. If she quit fighting him, could a marriage between them work? They did both want what was best for their son.
Sensing that he’d scored on some level, he reached across her desk and caught her fingers in his. Even that was enough to make her sizzle. When she felt her cheeks flush, she tried to will herself to tear her hand from his, but couldn’t. So she shut her eyes and counted to ten before she reopened them and met his gaze—and felt the same overwhelming need to hold on to his hand. She’d been alone so long, fighting for Noah and herself without much help. It hadn’t been easy.
“I was jealous during the tour,” she whispered. “Of you and those women.”
“Were you really?”
“Ridiculously so,” she admitted in a raw whisper. “And I hate feeling that way…because that’s how I felt a lot of the time when I was growing up. You had all those girlfriends from good families chasing you, and I was so low in your eyes, you didn’t know I was alive.”
He smiled sheepishly and his hand tightened around hers.
“Sorry,” he whispered. “I was a beast today. So much was at stake I felt I had to come.”
At his sincere tone, she looked at him in confusion, every bit as dazzled by his dark good looks as the five women had been. Oh—she was hopeless. What did he really feel for her? “Do you really think our marriage could work long-term?”
“If we both work at it.” In his eyes, all she saw was tenderness and compassion mixed with a profound, burning need.
“I feel like I’ve built something solid at My Sister’s House,” she said.
“I was very impressed by your tour.”
She snorted. “I was awful, and you were flirting.”
“With you.”
“I feel that I might be throwing it all away if I married you.”
“Nobody’s asking you to quit your job.”
“I used to have this foolish dream of marrying someone who loved me. When I became a single mother, I knew I would have to be more practical. Greg came along, and because of our similar backgrounds, I thought our relationship could work. But you—you and I live in different worlds. You have this huge, legendary ranch, and you own oil fields. You wouldn’t be the least bit interested in me if it weren’t for Noah.”
“Then why did I drive home to Yella when I heard you’d come home?”
“I hate feeling that I wouldn’t contribute to your life in any way other than being Noah’s mother. I would be a burden.”
He leaned across the desk and whispered against her earlobe in his deep, musical baritone, both thrilling her and chilling her. “I want you in my bed. Doesn’t that count?”
He lusted after her the way every man in Yella had wanted her mother.
But for how long? she wondered, remembering how easily he’d let her go. How would he see her when he no longer felt that way? It could happen soon, if the people in his life who mattered to him refused to accept her.
“You want Noah, so you’ll take me, too?”
“If our situations were reversed, and I had him, would you marry me, to be closer to him?”
She would have married the devil to be with Noah.
He pressed her fingers and stared into her eyes. “So, enough of this. What do you say? Will you marry me?”
Before she could answer, she heard quick, determined footsteps outside her door and jerked her hand free a second before Greg burst through the door. The unruly lock of blond hair that usually fell across his brow was as unkempt as ever. Smiling bashfully, he handed her a vase of limp yellow roses.
“I’m afraid I left them in my car all morning in the heat.” His soft brown eyes held genuine regret.
“Why, thank you, Greg,” she said, feeling awkward since Cole was staring holes through her. “There’s someone here….”
When Greg turned to Cole, she lifted the roses to her nose in an attempt to conceal her nervousness. “Mr. Coleman is just leaving after making a donation.”
She glared at Cole frostily, willing him to leave. Greg held out his hand to Cole. “The mission welcomes all donors, large or small. I’m Greg Martin, Miss Gray’s fiancé.”
“John…Coleman. Most people call me Cole.” They shook hands.
“The oilman I’ve been reading about, who owns Coleman’s Landing, who played a hunch and discovered the Devine-Chalk oil play over in Devine County?”
Cole nodded. “The same. More importantly, I’m Noah’s father.”
Maddie’s face flamed with a mixture of guilt and anger even before Greg whirled on her. “Noah’s father?”
“He was just going,” she said.
“Noah’s father?” Greg repeated. “No wonder I had the impression I was interrupting something important.”
“We ran into each other last week in Yella,” Cole said.
“Now I see why you’ve been so tense and uncommunicative this week,” Greg said, glancing at Maddie.
“I—I meant to tell you,” Maddie whispered.
Greg turned to Cole. “Maddie told me you were out of the picture…that you wanted nothing to do with Noah.”
“I didn’t know about him—until she came to Yella last week and we reconnected.”
> “Reconnected?” Greg’s soft eyes glanced at Cole before settling on Maddie. “I see,” he murmured at last, after reading her face.
She resented Cole for forcing this on her. The last thing she’d ever wanted to do was to stun Greg like this or to hurt him.
“Greg, it’s too complicated to explain right now, but if you and I don’t leave, we will lose our reservation.”
“We’re not that late. I think I’d like to hear what Mr. Coleman has to say about this complicated matter.”
She placed a hand on Greg’s sleeve. “No….”
“Maddie and I parted in a rather unpleasant way,” Cole began. “I was unaware she was pregnant. When she called to tell me about Noah a year or so later, I was newly married, so I refused her calls…and her letters. Now that I know about Noah, I want to be part of his life full-time.”
“Of course.” Greg’s hurt, thunderstruck tone intensified her guilt.
“While it may complicate things for the three of us, having his father in his life will be wonderful for Noah,” Greg said.
Maddie’s mouth went dry. She resented the way both men seemed to be making all the decisions as if her opinion didn’t matter.
“So—are you free for lunch?” Greg demanded of Cole.
She shook her head. When Cole said he was, she could have kicked him.
“What do you say I bow out, and you take her instead?” Greg said to Cole. His firm tone held a schoolteacher-like edge that she’d never heard before.
“Greg?” she pleaded. “What are you doing?”
“Sounds to me like you and Cole have a lot to work out,” Greg said.
“Let me explain!”
“Don’t worry. If you still need me tonight, I’ll babysit…like I promised.”
Then, just like that, he was gone—seemingly out of her life—and she was alone with Cole, whose green eyes glittered with infuriating triumph.
“I’m glad that’s settled. Now, will you agree to marry me?”
Twelve
The French bistro where Greg had made reservations was located in a discreet brick building just off Sixth Street in downtown Austin. The waitstaff was French, the food was fresh and authentic, and the softly lit, informal rooms with their lace curtains and their cut flowers in old French liquor bottles had a sweetly romantic air.
Not that Maddie felt the least bit romantic. What she felt was a burning fury that Cole was so determined to have his way that he didn’t care who he crushed to get it.
Since the restaurant was so popular, the small rooms were crowded, even at one-thirty, and the two of them were jammed so tightly into a tiny corner booth that every time she moved her thigh brushed Cole’s. Despite her anger, she blushed in response.
Sulkily, she ordered her usual salade verte while Cole cheerfully ordered a croque-monsieur for himself. When their food came, they ate in silence. Only after she’d finished chewing her last scrap of lettuce did Cole speak.
“What time’s your all-important fundraiser?”
“Seven,” she said, her voice low, tense and sullen.
“What time does Noah get out of his camp?”
“That’s none—”
“What time?” His tone was harsh and deliberately calculated to intimidate her.
“Four. But I’m going to leave him in aftercare until nearly six because I’ve got a lot of work…”
“I want to meet him—before the fundraiser—so change your plans,” Cole said. “You’re going to pick him up at four and bring him to the house. I’ll be waiting for you there.”
“That would mean I’d have to leave the office at three-thirty.”
“Then do it.”
She met his eyes, intending to argue, but his face appeared to be carved in stone. “I have a meeting with a board member at three,” she said.
“I suggest you show him my check. Then tell him there’ll be more, a whole lot more, tonight at the fundraiser, but only if you keep me happy.”
“I’m not letting you take over—”
“I’m not sure you have a choice,” he said smoothly. “I can assure you that if you make me happy, you’ll have the most successful fundraiser in My Sister’s House’s history, which you’ve indicated is crucial this year. Then you’ll be able to keep your position for as long as you wish. But if you continue to fight me, not only will you risk losing your precious job, you could end up in an expensive custody battle that you might not win.”
She flinched.
“So, back to this afternoon,” he continued pleasantly. “If you’re smart, and I think you are, you’ll tell your board member I’m demanding another meeting with you after four. If you take off early, I promise you, my generosity will more than make up for those lost two hours in your office.”
I mustn’t let him do this to me! But for the life of her she couldn’t figure out a way to stop him.
“I…I’ll never marry you after this,” she whispered defiantly.
“That’s a battle for another day…or night,” he said, smiling. “One I don’t intend to lose.”
Ignoring the way she tensed, he held up his hand and signaled the waiter for the check.
Thirteen
“Oh, man!” Noah shouted from the backseat of her car.
Filled with dread at the thought of Cole waiting for them at her house, Maddie took her eyes off the silver, tanklike SUV ahead of her to study Noah in her rearview mirror. His black head was lowered as he concentrated fiercely on the game he was playing on her cell phone. Glancing back at the SUV, she turned on the radio so she wouldn’t dwell on Cole.
Five minutes later, when she turned onto their street, Noah let out a war whoop. “Cops! Oh, boy!” he shouted. “How come they’re at our house? Hey, and there’s Tristan!”
Tristan, who had carrot-red hair and Harry Potter glasses, was their new next-door neighbor and Noah’s new best friend.
When she jerked the wheel toward the curb, Cole and Tristan, who’d obviously had time to bond, rushed toward them.
“Who’s that?” Noah demanded as he eyed Cole suspiciously.
Standing tall beneath the flickering shade and brilliance of her huge oaks, Cole’s carved features resembled those of a pagan god, harsh and ruthless but dangerously compelling.
“Just an old friend,” she whispered in panic.
His hard eyes on Noah, Cole’s large, tanned hands were clenched as he waited for them to get out.
She stared past him to the uniformed officers on her porch with false bravado. “What’s going on here?”
“There’s been a break-in. According to the police, there have been several in your neighborhood. Whoever did it broke a back window.”
Just what she needed, she thought wearily as Cole knelt to Noah’s level.
“Maybe when the officers finish, you and your friend Tristan here can help me board up the window,” Cole said.
“To keep the bad guys out?” Noah said, beaming up at Cole with immense excitement.
“Yes.”
“Cool,” Noah said.
“I’m Cole. What’s your name?”
“Noah. This is Tristan.”
“I already met Tristan. In fact, he and I are planning to play some football later.”
“Cool! Can I play, too?”
“You’d better believe it!”
“Cool!”
Introductions over, Noah and Tristan dashed up to the porch to watch the police do their work.
Cole stood up. “Good thing I was here to deal with the cops. You look exhausted. How can I help?”
She felt exhausted, both mentally and physically.
“I have the fundraiser to get through, as you well know,” she said. “Not to mention whatever ordeal you intend to put me through tonight. Now on top of all that—a break-in.”
“All I want is to marry you and take care of you and our son. That doesn’t have to be an ordeal, you know. It could be a mutual pleasure.”
She shook her head. “I don’t see
how.”
“Looks like I’ll have to show you,” he said.
Before she knew what he intended or had time to steel herself not to respond, he pulled her to him and kissed her hard.
As always when in his embrace, she lost the ability to control herself or think coherently. His muscular body was rock-hard and her softer figure melted against him. Her wanton pulse raced while flames lit her nerve endings with a hunger that reduced her to a primal, craven creature.
She knew what he wanted—what she wanted—but she was determined to fight it. She wouldn’t let him break her heart as he’d done six years ago.
“Stop,” she pleaded, even as her body trembled beneath his onslaught. His caressing fingers on her flesh made her blood run hot. “Not in front of Noah!”
He tensed, and she sensed his reluctance to do as she asked.
“For now,” he whispered roughly, letting her go.
Shaken, too aware of Noah watching them, she hugged herself tightly.
For his part, Cole stepped back a few feet, as if removing himself from temptation.
* * *
Hell, Cole was stunned by how much fun he’d had tossing the football to his son and Tristan while Maddie dealt with the cops. He’d enjoyed helping the kids nail a board over her window, as well, while a flock of grackles fought noisy battles in the highest limbs of her oak trees.
How long had he spent hanging out with the boys while Maddie got ready for the fundraiser—a mere hour and twenty minutes? And already paternal pride swelled inside him. He’d liked Maddie watching them from the windows; he’d liked making himself useful to her while enjoying the boys. Even in this brief time he’d had with his son and the mother of his son, he was surer than ever that he wanted to be a permanent part of their lives, all the time, not just for weekends and holidays.
Noah, who was as bright as a new copper penny, was quirky and cute. He’d shown Cole the Shining Star medal he’d won at school and had liked it when Cole had teasingly started calling him Shining Star.
The boy had a good arm. He could catch passes, too, and run like the wind. Funny how in such a short time, Cole already felt like his father.
