Harlequin Heartwarming December 2020 Box Set

by Cari Lynn Webb, Linda Warren, Mary Anne Wilson

  He sat there for a moment trying to figure it out. Why wasn’t Luci’s father on record? He reached for his phone again and went over the dates. Luci had been a preemie and the dates would fit. Oh, man! Would Becky do that? Would she keep his daughter from him?

  He stood up and glanced out the window again. Was Luci his daughter?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  WHEN BO GOT up the next morning, his mother had already left for work. He’d heard her moving around earlier, trying to be quiet. But he was a light sleeper. He’d learned that little trick in the army.

  He slid out of bed and pulled on his jeans, the smell of coffee urging him forward. After pouring a cup, he leaned against the counter, noticing the note on the refrigerator. He smiled. Oh, how he’d hated those notes when he was a kid. His mom had to be at work before six and since he was the older one he’d been responsible for his sister, who was only two years younger. Being responsible for Kelsey was like having custody of a rattlesnake. One way or another, you were going to get bit.

  One thing about his sister—she hadn’t liked getting up early, and every school morning it took a dose of courage to deal with her. He’d turn the stereo up to high and she’d put a pillow over her head. He’d drag her out of the bed and she’d curl up on the carpet. He’d put ice in her pajamas and she never budged. The trick that had worked was carrying her to the bathroom, placing her in the tub and turning on the shower. She’d gotten up then, and had come after him with a baseball bat. His smile grew wider.

  He credited her aggravating personality to her red hair, which she’d inherited from their grandmother Goodnight. Their grandmother had a firecracker personality and it didn’t take much of a spark to set it off. She was one of those eccentric types. If you met her once you never forgot her. And Kelsey had a lot of her qualities.

  The note on the refrigerator read, I’ll be home for lunch. And there was a heart beneath it, like she always put on her notes.

  “Really, Mom? I’m not ten and I can fix my own lunch.” He ripped the note off and threw it in the garbage can. That was his mom’s job, though, looking out for them her whole life.

  Considering their turbulent childhood, he and Kelsey turned out pretty good. She’d wanted to go to college and he’d told her he would help and he had. She’d stayed in his apartment for two years, testing his patience every day, while she attended Texas University. Then she got an apartment with a friend. After earning a business degree, she’d worked in the office of a big hospital and today she was the personal assistant to the hospital administrator. Soon she’d probably have his job. If there was one thing they’d inherited from the Goodnights, it was tenacity.

  He took his coffee and went outside to sit on the stoop, trying to figure out his next move concerning Becky. Two old rockers his mom had bought at a garage sale and refinished rested on the porch. Flowery cushions daintily tied in place with bows were too fancy for his taste. Large flowerpots full of colorful blooming flowers nestled close. He had no idea what they were, but his mother had a little bit of everything growing around the house. She had always loved flowers. He didn’t want to intrude on her decorated space and he felt more comfortable sitting on the step. The Tullous house was dark. No one was up yet.

  Who is Luci’s father?

  The question kept prodding at him—he should just march over there and demand that she tell him the truth. But something held him back. He knew pushing Becky wasn’t going to help anything. He couldn’t make demands. He didn’t have the right, so he had to wait for her to tell him. And that might take just a little more patience than he had.

  And he couldn’t allow himself to believe Becky would keep the child from him. He knew her better than anyone, and doing something like that just wasn’t in her. But then, she’d been angry at him since high school and getting even might appeal to her. Hurting him might appeal to her. Leaving him a broken, lonely man might really appeal to her.

  He was about to go back into the house when a white Chevrolet truck drove up to the curb. Cole must have heard Bo was home. Gossip in this town spread like poison ivy.

  They’d been best friends since first grade and had been through the trenches together with their dysfunctional families. They knew each other in and out, and there weren’t many secrets between them, but he’d never told Cole that he and Becky had slept together. That was private, intimate. Cole didn’t need to know that.

  “What are you doing here so early?” Bo shouted to his friend.

  Cole got out and then got his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Zoe, out of the car seat in the back. Then he placed Zoe on her feet and she ran up the walk to Bo with a doll in one arm and a sippy cup in her hand. It had taken a long time for her to grow hair but now she had a topknot with a bow on it, which bounced up and down.

  He picked her up and sat her on his lap. She kissed his cheek and then winced. She hated his beard.

  “Ouchie.”

  He rubbed it over her face and she giggled, wiggling to get down. She pointed to Cole. “Daddy.”

  Cole walked more slowly up the walk in his customary khaki pants and a white shirt with a shiny deputy sheriff’s badge on his chest. In his boots and Stetson he reminded Bo of a Texas Ranger.

  “The sheriff is on vacation and I had to check in at the office. Luckily, everything is quiet in Horseshoe, Texas. And since it’s Saturday, I’m letting Grace sleep in. She’s still having a little morning sickness.”

  They were expecting their second child in late January. Cole and Bo had always thought they’d stay bachelors. They had no idea what love was since they hadn’t experienced much of it in their families. Love had happened unexpectedly for Cole after rescuing a woman in a winter storm. Bo was stuck in Becky-hell-ville.

  Cole eased down beside him on the step. “Bubba passed through here a little while ago and he saw your truck, so I thought I’d check and see what you’re doing home. It’s such a rare occasion.”

  Bo told him what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. “I didn’t feel like talking to anyone.”

  “So your dad is back?”

  “I don’t know. Mom says she’s not in love with him anymore and I don’t have to worry about her taking him back, but I guess I’ll never get rid of that feeling of distrust.”

  “Your mom seems happy these days and I would hazard a guess she’s telling you the truth.”

  Zoe ran up and down the walk and then into Cole’s arms. He picked her up and she wiggled to get down. Over and over they did that.

  “Doesn’t that drive you crazy?”

  Cole frowned. “What? Playing with my kid?”

  Bo nodded and knew he could say anything to his friend. “I’d make a terrible father. I’m not patient like you.”

  “You’ll change your mind when you have one of your own.”

  He looked across the street to Becky’s house. “I think Luci’s my daughter.”

  “Whoa. Wait…what?” Cole’s mouth fell open and he was at a loss for words, but he quickly recovered. “How could that be? You haven’t been with Becky since high school. Or is something going on that you haven’t told me?”

  “Remember her dad’s car accident?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I went over to her house to console her, and one thing led to another and the next thing I know it’s morning and she’s screaming at me to get out. Ever since then she’s avoided me and it’s ironic that we’re both now home at the same time.”

  “Becky’s home just about every weekend.”

  “What?”

  “Her babysitter is going to be gone for two weeks and Becky’s slowly getting Luci into the habit of staying with her grandfather. Craig’s going to keep her while Becky works. He’s excited about that.”

  “Are you now the town gossip?”

  “It’s a small town and I know just about everybody, and if there’s anything p
eople love to do, it’s to talk. I’ve met Becky a few times when I’ve been out patrolling and always stop to talk to her and Luci.”

  “Did you notice how Luci talks?”

  “Yeah. Becky says she has some developmental delays and they’re working on them. She’s a really sweet kid with big blue eyes and…”

  “I know what she looks like,” Bo snapped.

  There was silence for a moment and even Zoe stopped running up and down the sidewalk.

  Bo drew a deep breath. “If she was my kid, I would know, right?”

  “You have to talk to Becky. I can’t imagine her keeping something like that from you.”

  “Me, neither, but…there’s Luci.”

  “Why didn’t you think about this before now?”

  “She wouldn’t see me or talk to me, and I had no idea she had a child or had even been pregnant until about two years ago. I tried to wipe that night from my mind, but yesterday I went over to apologize for my behavior when my dad was here and Luci was outside. Becky was furious that I was talking to her child and told me to stay away from her. I couldn’t understand why she didn’t want me near the little girl. Then later I got to thinking about it and looked up the dates. Yes, Luci could be my kid. Becky said she was premature and the dates would work.”

  “If she is, you have to take responsibility and…”

  “Don’t lecture me, Cole. I know my responsibilities, and I thought if anyone would be on my side, it would be you.”

  Cole patted him on the back. “I’m always on your side. Take some advice from a man who knows you very well. Be patient. Don’t go over there and jump in with both feet demanding things. Be patient and let Becky tell you.”

  He patted Bo on the back again. “I hope she is your kid. She deserves a good father.” Cole got to his feet. “Now I’m going home and fix breakfast for my family.”

  Bo sat there for a long time after his friend had left. Becky came out of the house and walked to her car, got in and drove away. She was wearing scrubs so that must mean she was going to work. And that meant Luci would be home today with her grandfather. Bo hurried inside, showered and changed clothes.

  All the while a plan formed in his head. He would heed his friend’s advice and take this slow. He ate the breakfast his mom had left for him and drank a couple of cups of coffee, watching the clock. By nine o’clock Craig and Luci should be up.

  Opening the curtains and blinds in the living room, he took a peep outside. He didn’t want to miss Luci. He couldn’t wait to see her face again, to search for a resemblance to him. Could Luci really be his child? That sent his nerves blasting through his system, ready to burst forth in a fit of injustice, and it took all his strength to keep himself under control.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement and looked closer. Luci was coming out the front door with a ball in her hands. Craig was trying to hold the door open while the cat and the dog came out, too. He was on the phone. Luci sat on the step and turned her head to look back at Craig. Obviously, he was talking to Becky. He went back inside, leaving the door ajar.

  Bo didn’t waste any time. He strolled across the street to where Luci was sitting with the ball in her lap. Pink lay beside her.

  “Good morning, Luci.”

  “Bo. You. Come.”

  He squatted in front of her and couldn’t drag his gaze away from her beautiful blue eyes, magnified by her pink-framed glasses. Her eyes were just like Becky’s. Blue as a Texas sky and bright as a diamond. She was all Becky and there was no evidence of a dark-haired, dark-eyed man. That didn’t mean anything, though.

  “Can. We. Play?”

  Before he could answer, Craig appeared in the doorway. “Bo, what are you doing here?”

  Bo stood. “I have a date with a beautiful young lady.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He. Play. With. Me.”

  Craig frowned. “Does Becky know about this?”

  “I didn’t ask her. Is that a problem?”

  “Well, yes. I have strict orders for Luci’s play schedule and you weren’t included.”

  Luci turned to look up at her grandfather. “Please. Nobody. Wants. To. Play. With. Me.” Tears simmered in her eyes and a weakening gripped his gut. It was Craig’s undoing, too.

  “Grandpa plays with you.” Craig tried to console her, but it didn’t work.

  “You. Have. To.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

  “Okay. Okay, you can play with Bo for a few minutes in the backyard.”

  A smile split Luci’s face and in that moment Bo knew he and Luci had a connection. A special connection, which just had to be biological.

  Luci jumped up and ran through the house to the French doors to the backyard. Bo followed more slowly.

  “I resent you pushing me into a corner,” Craig said in an angry tone, and that blew the cap off Bo’s patient stance.

  “You don’t want to know how hard I can push, Craig.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Why doesn’t Becky want me anywhere near Luci?”

  “You’re a grown man and she’s a little girl. Luci doesn’t even know you and I find it very strange you want to be friends with her. I just have this nagging suspicion that you’re up to something.”

  Bo took a step toward the older man. “Yes, I am up to something. Who’s Luci’s father?”

  Craig’s chin jutted out. “You’ll have to ask Becky that.” He wasn’t going to budge. His loyalty was to Becky and that was okay. Bo could wait for the answer.

  “Bo.” Luci called from the doorway.

  Bo gave Craig one last look and went to play with Luci. What he knew about playing with kids he could stuff into a thimble, but they weren’t keeping him away from Luci.

  Outside, the first thing Bo noticed was the yard. Years ago there had been no flowers anywhere. Today flowers bloomed along the wood fence and around the covered patio, even in late September. Craig must’ve taken up gardening for a hobby.

  “Bo.” Luci was impatient.

  “Okay, little lady, what do you want to do?”

  “Throw. Ball.” She handed him the ball. “To. Me.”

  “I’ll throw you the ball and then you throw it back to me?”

  “Yeah.”

  He backed up and threw her the ball. She made no attempt to catch it. It hit her in the chest and she stumbled around and fell on her butt. He rushed forward. Oh, man!

  “Are you okay?” Her glasses were lopsided, but she was smiling.

  “Yeah.”

  He straightened her glasses. “Are you sure?” He was very aware that Craig had come out onto the patio with his coffee, and was watching him closely.

  Luci got to her feet. “Yeah. I. Missed. It.”

  He brushed the grass from her skinny legs. “Okay. We have to have a few lessons first this time.”

  She rubbed her head. “’Kay.”

  “Now.” He put the ball in front of her. “Pretend you’re catching it and put your hands around it.” She did as he told her. “That’s what you have to do when I throw it to you. Put your hands out and try to catch it.”

  Over and over they practiced. He’d hand the ball to her and she’d hand it back to him. He backed up a couple of feet and tossed the ball to her. She missed it. She was flushed, but her eyes were bright. She was enjoying herself so he didn’t stop.

  It didn’t take him long to realize she had a problem with coordination. “Keep your eyes on the ball. When you see it coming, grab it with your hands.” She missed it the first few times, but they kept at it. On the tenth time she caught it. Her eyes opened wide in shock and she jumped up and down.

  “I caught it. I caught it!”

  This time Bo was shocked. She’d said the words without pausing. Craig had heard it too and stood up. Bo didn’t want to
point it out to her and embarrass her. He wanted her to know that he liked her just the way she was.

  “Your cheeks are getting red,” Craig said to Luci. “It’s time to come in, have lunch and take a nap.”

  To both men’s surprise, Luci didn’t object. She looked at Bo. “You. Come. Back?”

  Craig walked forward and picked up Luci. “Your mommy will be home this afternoon and you’re going to the park. Remember?”

  “Yeah.” She rested her head on Craig’s shoulder and they walked toward the house.

  “You know the way out, Bo,” Craig said over his shoulder.

  Bo walked around the house to the gate and across the street to his house. He changed clothes and headed for the gym in Temple. He had to stay in shape. The whole time he was lifting weights he thought about the Luci situation. Craig knew Becky’s secret, and if Bo kept pushing he’d get it out of them, but he had to think about Luci’s health. He didn’t want to do one thing to hinder her progress.

  He thought about Becky, too. Why would she keep something like this from him? He didn’t deserve that. Yes, he’d been a foolish teenage boy who had run the first chance he had and hadn’t thought about her or her feelings. He was older now, more mature. But that maturity seemed to fly out the window whenever his father was around. He had a big problem with that, and as long as he recognized it maybe there was hope for him. But he didn’t see any hope for him and Becky.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “REBECCA, WHEN ARE you coming home?” Her dad’s voice was agitated and Becky knew something was wrong.

  “Is Luci okay?” That was her worst fear—that something would happen to her child.

  “She’s fine. She’s taking a nap right now.”