Blackbird Lake (19 page)

Brady straightened and met his boss’s sharp gaze. He’d always loved a challenge and he knew Denny was testing him. “I get it. You won’t be sorry.”

“Better not be.” But Denny shot him a quick approving glance before he turned back to the truck. Jake clapped him on the shoulder before he, too, turned back.

Brady didn’t say much as they drove to Jake’s own cabin, where Brady had left his Harley and Denny had parked his truck.

“You want to come back to the office and talk over what kind of flooring, windows, appliances, and stuff you want?” Denny asked from the passenger seat. “All the same in each cabin, or different?”

“Different. But sorry. Can’t work on it today.” Jake glanced at his watch. “Got my niece’s birthday party. I need to get my butt over to Travis and Mia’s place pronto or both my brothers will do their damnedest to beat the shit out of me.” He let out a chuckle. “I’ll stop by your office Monday and fill in all the blanks.”

“Yeah, I forgot. I know all about that party. Karla and the kids are there by now, too.” Denny McDonald shook his head. “Birthday party for a one-year-old, with a dozen or so toddlers running around? Bedlam. Better you than me, Jake. You should check out the shindig going on next week, though. The big dating auction. That seems more your style.”

“First I’ve heard of it.” Jake steered the truck around a rabbit that had decided to skip across the road.

“Most all of the single ladies in town got roped into being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Karla’s on the planning committee. It’s headed up by Ava Todd, Dorothy Winston,
and Martha Davies. Not that you need to pay for a date, Jake, not from what I hear,” Denny added with a laugh. “But don’t forget, this is for charity. Lonesome Way needs a new animal shelter bad. You should check out the auction, too, Brady. All the available women in town gathered in one spot. Should be a helluva night. If I wasn’t a happily married man, I’d buy a ticket.”

“Yeah, I might check it out,” Brady said indifferently, leaning his shoulders back against the seat. But all the while he was wondering if Madison was nervous. And if she’d track him down to remind him to show up before the auction started.

He’d seen a flyer over at Pepperoni’s Pizza—apparently her band, the Wild Critters, had a gig at the Spotted Pony tonight. Maybe he’d head over there, see if they were any good. If he got the chance, he’d let her know he hadn’t forgotten about the auction.

Just in case she was worried.

Jake had been present at every single one of his nieces’ and nephews’ birthday parties, so he waded comfortably into the madness of knee-high toddlers yelling, laughing, and crying, and mommies shushing, smiling, and soothing.

Into a sea of balloons and streamers everywhere. Into the hilarious sight of Mia’s little dog, Samson, racing around on the deck with Bronco, both of them intermittently barking to be let back in.

To music—a children’s song Madison was strumming on a guitar. And then there was Travis, the ever-efficient dad, shooting video and pictures of the kids and of a side table piled high with gaily wrapped gifts, and kids of all ages under five running amok and underfoot.

He spotted Zoey right away, playing patty-cake with Rafe’s daughter, Ivy. Starting toward them, he adroitly stepped around various tykes. But it was taking all of his willpower not to scan the room immediately for Emma and Carly. He knew damn well if he went over to greet Emma first, every woman in the room would sit up and take notice. Everyone in town would be buzzing about why he greeted
Carly McKinnon’s daughter before his own niece at her own birthday party.

And Carly would most certainly kill him, he decided grimly.

He did manage to spot both her and Emma as he was stepping carefully around a couple of three-year-olds chasing each other across the long, high-ceilinged living room.

Emma’s pretty little face sparkled. She was wearing a pink velveteen dress and white leggings and she clutched Bug tight in her arms. Kneeling beside Madison as the young woman played the guitar, Emma was happily singing along with her babysitter to “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” Several other kids were gathered around, too, joining in, yelling that Old McDonald had a “pig!” and a “cow!” and a “duck!” at the appropriate moments.

Carly stood in the hall deep in conversation with Karla McDonald. He had to keep himself from staring at her. She was incredibly beautiful. Sexy and serene in a silky peach blouse tucked into soft black pants and black leather flats. There was a simplicity and a sophistication about her that made him want to stare. Her long red-gold curls tumbled in sumptuous waves past her shoulders, brilliant as fire in the light streaming through the windows. Her low, husky laugh reached his ears just as he stopped beside his niece and knelt down to press a kiss to her cheek. Zoey grabbed for his neck. With a grin, Ivy scrambled to her feet.

“Uncle Jake, take over for a minute, okay? I need to help Aunt Mia with the cake and ice cream.”

Just like that she was gone, no longer a kid herself, but a beautiful, almost grown-up young woman, a teenager, bolting past him, and Jake slid into her place, his big hands gently patting against Zoey’s tiny fingers. It seemed like only a week ago that Ivy was Emma’s age. A baby, racing around on barely steady, chubby legs.

His stomach lurched. Holy crap, would Emma grow up as fast?

He’d better not waste any more time getting to know her
better, or she’d be a teenager before he knew it and think she was too cool to spend time with her dad.

Her dad.

Closing his eyes a moment, he felt almost overwhelmed by the sudden need to get things settled with Carly right away.

His brain clicked back to where he’d been ten days earlier—on the road between Lincoln, Nebraska, and Sioux Falls. Alone in his truck, Carrie Underwood singing sweet and fine on the radio. No dog taking up his passenger seat. No worries. Just the open road, the call of the rodeo, his upcoming commercial shoot—and an idea buzzing in his head for a way to help bullied kids.

But now was a whole different story.

Playing patty-cake with Zoey, he allowed his gaze to shift momentarily to his daughter. Carly had scooped Emma into her arms and was headed toward the festively set dining room table as Mia sailed in with a pink-and-white-frosted birthday cake on a big turquoise platter. Carly and Emma. They looked so right together, so easy and carefree and happy….

Just how did he fit into this picture? That was what he had to figure out. He needed to do this right. Mistakes weren’t an option—not when his little girl’s happiness was at stake. And he had to make up to Carly for her having shouldered all the responsibility for so long. Even though that had been her choice.

Still, it was a strange, heavy feeling, having responsibilities to someone other than himself, responsibilities that had crashed down on him out of the blue.

I’m going to need a solid couple of weeks before I go back on the road,
he realized suddenly. He had to give himself at least that much time with Emma, but it wasn’t all he needed to do. He had to work out a plan. Set things up with Carly, figure out a schedule for financial support payments, for visits.

And come to some basic agreements about how to parent Emma together while living apart.

He’d call Ron Messina from the Turner Taylor Advertising Group later in the day and tell him he’d fly in for one day only to the photo shoot in a few weeks, but he couldn’t stay any longer. He’d already canceled his appearance at the Bighorn Bull Rodeo in Wyoming.

He didn’t give a damn who was pissed. He needed Emma to know deep down that she was loved, every bit as much as Rafe loved Ivy and Aiden, as Lissie’s husband, Tommy, loved their little Molly, and with the same dedication that Travis loved Grady and Zoey.

Just like his nieces and nephews, Emma needed to know she could count on her father anytime she needed him.

He sensed that the foundation of that trust needed to be laid, solidified, before he could return to his life on the road, to the crowds, the noise, the grit of the rodeo.

He tried not to think about Melanie. How she’d trusted him. How he’d let her down…

He couldn’t
ever
not be there for Emma when she needed him.

His chest tightened painfully. Then he caught Carly watching him. She was seated beside Mia’s great-aunt Winny at the big dining room table, with Emma cuddled on her lap. Carly’s cautious smile wasn’t lost on him as he met her gaze.

Jake could read women pretty well. And he knew this woman was still doubting that he’d be a good father to Emma. It would be a helluva lot harder to convince her than his daughter, he realized grimly.

It would take time for Carly to trust him. Maybe a lot longer than two weeks. But she’d eventually see he meant what he said. Even after he left town, he’d call and come back often enough to convince her—and Emma—that despite being on the road, he was in this for the long haul.

Jake had no chance to speak with Carly alone until nearly all the guests were gone. Finally he spotted her while Madison and Ivy were keeping an eye on the few remaining kids.

Travis’s adopted stepson, Grady, and his friend Zane had shown up minutes earlier, and Aunt Winny had assigned them a job: gathering up all the torn wrapping paper scattered around the living room, and then scrubbing cake frosting off the hardwood floor. As Carly breezed out of the kitchen and swerved to avoid the boys, Jake had a moment to study her. She had one hell of a slender, sexy body. And an airy, almost ethereal beauty with those softly sculpted cheekbones and luminous green eyes. It all added up to a delicious combination of a very hot woman.

Quit looking at her and focus on what needs doing,
he told himself almost angrily. When she glanced toward him, he gestured toward the sliding glass doors. Though she hesitated for a fraction of a moment, she gave an almost imperceptible nod and moved forward to slip out on the deck just ahead of him.

“Emma needs a nap after all this excitement,” she began briskly as Bronco and Samson bounded past her and back into the house. “We’re taking off any minute. Just as soon as I—”

“Can you spare me a few minutes to talk to you first?”

Careful green eyes lifted to his face.

“What about?”

“Making this situation easier for both of us. You interested?” Jake closed the sliding door and waited for her reaction.

“I guess that depends on what you have in mind.”

Reaching for her hand, he led her down the deck steps. “Just a short walk so we can talk in private.”

“But Emma—”

“Madison and Ivy are with her. I slipped them each an extra ten bucks to keep an eye on her until we get back. Come on, this way.”

He led her down a grassy bank that sloped toward a stand of cottonwoods. Autumn leaves crunched beneath their feet as they left Travis and Mia’s big two-story house behind and Carly found herself walking silently beside him along a winding, sun-splashed trail. The ground was slightly hilly
and uneven here, but peaceful and quiet. She could hear the gurgle of a stream nearby and caught the scent of burning leaves in the distance. It merged with the damp smell of the earth into a pleasant woodsy freshness.

When they reached a small clearing where a few wildflowers still wavered in the wind, Jake halted. The grass grew thick here, and the cottonwoods offered just enough shade.

“Alone at last.” He flashed a quick smile, as if hoping to break the awkwardness between them.

“Considering what happened the last time we were alone, that might not be the best idea.”

“
Considering
that a beautiful little girl happened last time, maybe we could go for a boy this time,” he replied without missing a beat. He was joking, but her face froze.

“You actually think that’s funny?”

“Nope.” He slanted her a cool gaze. “I don’t think it’s the least bit funny that I didn’t know I had a daughter all this time. Or that you didn’t feel any inclination to tell me. But I’m willing to accept you had your reasons, Carly. Now, though, things are going to be different. You and I…” He stepped closer. “We’re going to start working together. And we need to start right now, before we waste any more time.”