“Mom,” Ryan called and shot off. He nearly jumped into her arms.
“Oh, Ryan,” she cried. “You’re safe.” She hugged him tighter. Inhaled that wonderful familiar boy’s smell of dirt and sweat. She loved it. She released him and did a quick examination. Although he’d been checked out in a small clinic near where he’d been found, she needed to see for herself. “You sure you’re okay?”
His head bobbed up and down. “I’m okay. The doctor said I just got some bruises.” He yanked up his shirt. “But they don’t hurt anymore.”
Just then Buck and Rosalie appeared and were calling to him. Before Mallory could stop her son, he shot off toward them. She was left alone with Chase. She finally was brave enough to look at him.
“Is he mine, Mallory? Is Ryan my son?”
Mallory swallowed and managed a nod.
His jaw worked. “We need to talk.” He glanced toward Ryan. “I’ll be back tonight.”
“No, it’s too soon.”
He tipped his hat back, his gaze bore into hers. “Too soon? Hell, Mallory, I’d say it’s years too late.”
He turned and walked back to the helicopter. The pilot started it up and soon it was in the air.
What was she going to do now? How could she explain everything away?
Buck waited for her as Rosalie took Ryan on ahead into the house. “He’s going to take a bath.”
She shook her head. “Kids are so resilient, aren’t they?”
“Oh, I think Ryan’s going to have his share of nightmares for a while.” He studied his daughter. “But we’ll be here for him.”
She felt the tears sting. “Chase knows, Dad. He knows Ryan is his son.”
He nodded. “It’s time. That boy needs a father…a real father, but only if Chase will be there for the boy.”
Mallory didn’t need to go into the reasons for their breakup. Buck Kendrick hadn’t been happy about his young innocent daughter dating a man who never planned to make a commitment.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes, Dad. To start with, I never should have married Alan…. I should have tried harder to contact Chase.”
“Sweetheart, we can’t stand here and try to atone for all the mistakes made in our lives. If so, I’d have to take some blame, too. I pushed you into that sham of a marriage…but you and Alan seemed to be a great match.” He shook his head. “I had no idea that would turn out so badly.”
“Dad, stop it. It was my choice.”
Alan had been her boyfriend in high school, but knew his feelings for her were stronger than hers for him. When Mallory went off to college she ended their relationship, knowing she wanted to experience life. But they’d stayed friends. When she came home that summer from college and saw Chase, she fell hopelessly in love.
Chase didn’t. When he got the call to join the rangers, he was packed and gone without so much as a backward glance. Alan had been the one who came back into her life and was willing to take on another man’s baby. So she thought…
“But he hurt you and Ryan…and I can’t forgive him or myself for that.”
“Maybe if I’d tried harder to contact Chase all those years ago, it would have made a difference.” She looked toward the house. “Now, my only concern is protecting my son.”
He had a son…. He had a son….
The rest of the day those words had played in Chase’s head, even during all the paperwork and debriefing on today’s capture. He’d thought it would keep his mind off facing Mallory’s betrayal. It didn’t do any good. He was angry. How could she keep their son a secret?
Jesse stopped by his office right before the shift ended. “Hey, Chase. Wanted to let you know that Jacobs and Reyes are back in Sweetwater.” He shook his head. “Man, I’m glad they’re in lockdown now, especially Jacobs. He’s one mean son of a gun. The guy seemed to get pleasure out of telling me what his plans were for the boy. Reyes was pretty talkative, too. He was interested in your relationship to Wade Landon.”
That wasn’t uncommon. “How so?”
Jesse shrugged. “When I said Wade Landon was your uncle the guy just grinned. Think he’d know anything?”
“What’s Reyes? Forty-two? He could have been around back then. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check his record…. Monday.” Reyes wasn’t going anywhere.
Jesse started to leave, then turned back. “You want to go for some food…maybe a beer?”
“Thanks, but I have plans,” Chase told him as he cleared off his desk.
Jesse didn’t move. “Well, if you want to talk, I’m around,” he said and started to leave.
“I’m going to the ranch to talk with Mallory.”
Jesse nodded. “I’d say that’s a good place to start.” He smiled. “Well, like I said, I’ll be around if you want to…get a beer.”
“Thanks.”
Chase watched as Jesse walked out. Would he ever be ready to talk about this? If he were honest, he wasn’t sure about his own feelings. How are you supposed to handle the news that you’re a father? That you have a son? There were eight years he’d missed with his boy. How was he supposed to feel? The problem was he felt too many things, joy…fear…and a lot of anger…
Before seven that evening, Chase had showered and changed, then walked out of his town house and climbed into his dusty white truck to head to the Lazy K Ranch. He knew one thing. Learning Ryan was his kid had affected him like nothing else had in his life. He’d spent less than two hours with the child, but already he felt a bond.
But an instant father? What if Ryan hated the idea?
Chase turned off the highway and drove down the road that led to the Lazy K Ranch. He’d traveled this route many times when he’d been dating Mallory. Mostly he’d come by when Buck wasn’t home or out on the range. Her father hadn’t been crazy about a—so-called—older man dating his college age daughter.
Chase made a snorting sound. He was all of twenty-eight back then.
His heart rate accelerated as he pulled into the circular drive of the Spanish-style home. The golden stucco-and-stone structure revealed Buck’s wife, Pilar Kendrick’s, Spanish heritage. The patio out front was made of hand-painted tiles with a large fountain in the center. He climbed out of his truck and went to the door and knocked.
It wasn’t too long before he heard footsteps from inside. “I’ll get it,” called a child’s voice. The door opened and a freshly bathed Ryan with his hair combed neatly stood smiling up at him.
“Hi, Chase.”
“Hi…Ryan,” he answered, suddenly feeling awkward.
“Mom said you were coming tonight. Will you have supper with us? Rosalie made enchiladas.”
“That’s pretty hard to pass up.”
“It’s my favorite.” His dark eyes were bright. “That’s why she made it. For me.”
Chase stepped though the doorway into the terra-cotta tiled entry with rough-plastered, cream walls and dark wood trim that matched the rest of the house.
“You should get special treatment,” he told him. “You were brave to handle everything.”
“And I didn’t cry…much,” he said proudly, then leaned forward. “I got scared sometimes, but don’t tell Mom ’cause she’ll start crying again, and I don’t like it when she’s sad.”
“It’s our secret.”
“What’s your secret?”
Chase looked toward the archway that led into the living room to find Mallory. His chest constricted as if he couldn’t draw air into his lungs. She had on a long, multicolored skirt and a rose-colored T-shirt. Her shiny ebony hair lay in soft waves against her shoulders. Although her green eyes were weary, she looked beautiful. That was something he didn’t need to notice tonight…or any night.
“Nothing. Just some guy talk.”
“Well, you can talk about it later. Rosalie says supper is ready.” She looked at Chase. “I hope you’re hungry.”
He nodded as Ryan ran on ahead. “This isn’t going to keep us from having our discussion.”
“
I know, but Ryan needs family right now.” She straightened. “This doesn’t just involve the two of us, there’s a child to think about. And I’m going to do everything I can to protect him.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing for these years, protecting him from me?”
“However you feel about me, Chase, don’t take it out on Ryan. We’ll settle things after my son goes to bed.”
“I agree with you there, except he’s our son, Mallory.” He glared at her. “You need to remember that from now on.”
Mallory sat on Ryan’s bed watching him sleep. She silently thanked God over and over again for bringing her son home safely. When he’d been kidnapped she wasn’t sure she’d ever get the chance to put him to bed again. Now that she had a second chance, she also had a second threat. Was Chase a threat to her family?
She saw the look on his face during supper, and knew he wasn’t just going to walk away. And she wouldn’t deny Ryan his father, either. Not again.
She placed a kiss on her son’s forehead and watched as he curled up on his side and snuggled deep into the pillow. She walked out and closed the door behind her.
Whatever was going to happen with Chase, she still had to return home to Levelland in a few days. The success of her business depended on her being there. She couldn’t expect her partner, Liz Mooney, to handle both the training and the broker business. She headed down the stairs to the great room where she had left Chase with her father.
Surprisingly, she found the two men leaning over the dining table going through one of Ryan’s baby albums. She hadn’t wanted to notice how devastatingly handsome Chase was. At nearly thirty-seven, he was toned and trim. She sighed as her gaze roamed over his long body. He wore jeans better than any man she ever knew. They rode low and fitted over his tight rear end and muscular thighs.
“That’s the first time I got him on a horse,” Buck said. “Mallory threw a fit.”
She started into the room. “That’s because Ryan was nine months old.”
“I was holding him…firmly,” her father said.
She frowned at him. “He was still too young to be on a horse.”
“After that she wouldn’t let me take him out of the house until he was three.”
Mallory smiled, but Chase didn’t. She didn’t blame him. She’d been the one who’d caused him to miss all those years.
Buck closed the album. “Well, I think I better call it a night.” He turned to Chase. “I can finally sleep now. Thanks for bringing Ryan home.”
Chase nodded. “I’m glad it worked out.”
Buck paused for a long time. “So am I.” He placed a kiss on his daughter’s cheek and walked out of the room.
Mallory suddenly felt nervous. For a lot of years she’d wondered about Chase. She’d known he’d become a Texas Ranger, but she never dreamed he’d be back here…in this house.
And after today everything would change…her life and Ryan’s life would never be the same.
“Can I get you some coffee?”
“No,” he said as he folded his arms over his chest. “All I want right now are some answers.”
She nodded, directed him to a brown sofa, and took the chair across from him, putting the glass-top coffee table between them. “Ask whatever you want.”
“I’ll start with the obvious. Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”
“At first, I couldn’t believe it was true,” she said weakly. “We used protection.”
He didn’t respond.
“And I did try to call you.”
“Like hell you did,” said growled. “I don’t remember any phone calls from you saying you were pregnant with my child.”
She took a breath and let it out. “I called…your mother. I asked her to get you a message…and that it was important that I talk to you.”
She saw a glint in his eyes that told her he’d gotten the message. “You should have tried harder—Told her the reason.”
“The day we broke up and you left, I was devastated.”
“If I remember correctly, you were the one who told me to get out,” he challenged.
Mallory remembered everything about that last night. They’d made love. She told him she loved him…and he told her he was leaving for Austin to join the rangers. “You chose to leave.”
“I told you before we started dating, that our relationship couldn’t go beyond the summer because I would be leaving for training. Besides, you were returning for college.”
“That was my father’s plan. I wanted to go with you, and you didn’t want me. You let me know that being a Texas Ranger was all you wanted.”
His jaw tightened. “So to punish me you didn’t tell me about my baby and you married another man.”
“It wasn’t like that.” She stood and went to the window. “I was so hurt. My world ended when you went off to Austin. I was convinced you’d find someone else…and forget all about the naïve college girl back home.”
She took a breath, and continued. “About three weeks later, Alan came to the ranch with his father. I hadn’t seen him since we graduated high school. We’d dated off and on, but mostly we used to be friends.” She looked at Chase’s stone-cold glare. “I had just learned I was pregnant…I was shocked and scared. And, yes, I told Alan. He listened to me, let me cry it out. He told me he’d always love me…that he’d take care of me and the baby. He asked me to marry him right then.” She left out the part about Buck’s trouble with the ranch, and Alan’s father stepping in as a business partner.
Chase’s fists clenched. “Nice to know you forgot me so quickly.”
“I didn’t!” she gasped. If he only knew how much she’d loved him. She also didn’t tell him she was terrified to be a single mother. “I didn’t decide to marry him until after I tried to call you several times, but you never returned those calls.” She paused for his explanation. She got none. “You weren’t coming back to me, were you?”
His gaze never broke with hers. “Doesn’t seem to matter now. You didn’t give me the chance.”
“It seems answering my phone call would have given you a big chance.” She felt tears well. Even after all these years, why did it still hurt so much? Pride was fighting with her emotions. “So when Alan asked me to marry him, I accepted.”
“After all these years of your silence—when you’ve been living happily ever after with my child—you expect me to believe anything you say.”
CHAPTER THREE
MALLORY WAS FUMING. How dare he?
“I didn’t think you wanted us.” She lowered her voice. “You didn’t call me, or see if I was okay.”
He glared at her for a long time. “So you just hopped into bed with another man to find a more favorable father for your baby.”
“No, it wasn’t like that. We—” She stopped. There was no reason to tell Chase about how long it took her to give herself to her husband.
“You what, Mallory?” he prodded. “Found it easy to give yourself to another man.”
“No, it wasn’t easy. You knew you were the first man…and how much I loved you.” She took a breath. “It was you who didn’t want me…And I was convinced you didn’t want our baby, either.”
He was silent as he glared at her. “If I’d known we created a child that night, I never would have left you.”
She closed her eyes. “I didn’t know that. I was young and scared, Chase. And so unsure that I could compete with your dream.” She tried to stay calm. “And you had always made it clear that avenging your uncle’s death, and being a ranger came first in your life.”
Chase’s gaze moved from hers, not before she saw a flash of his own guilt, too. So she’d hit a nerve. He wasn’t so righteous now.
“Maybe I was wrong to turn to Alan, but he said he loved me…that he’d love Ryan.” She hesitated and that caught his attention.
“What happened?” he repeated. “What did Hagan do? Did he change his mind about the boy?”
“Nothing at first, he was a good
husband…and good to Ryan. But he wanted more children….”
“But what?” Chase coaxed.
“I agreed, but I never got pregnant and Alan learned he couldn’t father a child. After that our marriage was never the same. And his relationship with his son was…strained.”
“Stop calling him that,” Chase said angrily. “Ryan is my son.” His hands clenched. “What I want to know is was the boy punished for your husband’s…inadequacy?”
“No! And stop interrogating me like a criminal. Alan never lifted a hand to Ryan.” Her husband had saved that for his wife. “We separated not long after that.” Her voice softened. “About two years ago Alan was killed in an accident.”
“It still doesn’t excuse what you did, Mallory. You kept my son from me.”
She wasn’t about to tell him her recent plans to find him. He wouldn’t believe her. “And you ran out on me,” she emphasized. “I was miserable and lonely, and I turned to another man who promised to love me. I never got any promises from you.”
Chase opened his mouth to argue when a child’s cries drew their attention.
“Ryan,” Mallory gasped as she ran to the stairs and hurried up to his room. Chase was right on her heels.
She pushed open the door, rushed to the bed and eased down beside her son as he was thrashing around on the mattress. “Ryan, wake up, honey.”
The boy gasped and sat up. “Mom!” he cried and hugged her. “They’re coming after me again.”
“No, honey.” She held him close. “Those men are in jail. They can’t hurt you anymore.”
Chase stood at the door feeling awkward as he watched Mallory rock her son back and forth. This was all so new to him. How do you learn how to be a father? How do you make up all those lost years?
Maybe he should just walk away. Who would know? He saw the boy’s tears in the dim light and something tightened around his heart. Ryan had stolen that same heart the second Chase walked into the shack to find the eight-year-old trying to be so brave.
Texas Ranger Takes a Bride Page 3
