Lucky 7 Bad Boys Contemporary Romance Boxed Set (103 page)

She fought down a sob. Ever since she left him, she had been hoping and praying he would burst through the door at work or at home and sweep her into his arms. Beg her to come back, declaring be couldn't live without her.

Now she knew he would charge through the door, all right. But not to kiss her and tell her he loved her. She swallowed hard to hold back her burning tears, her heart tearing in two. She hadn't realized how desperately she wanted to go back to him.

She loved her job here, and the people were wonderful. But when she searched her soul, deep down, she knew she would never be truly happy without Cole. And now she knew her worst fears had come true. She closed her watery eyes and shuddered out a sigh.

He would never love her.

From the street outside came the screech of brakes and the loud rapport of a truck door slamming.

And it sounded like he'd just arrived to tell her so.

* * *

Cole had brought the truck to a thundering halt in front of the small stucco bungalow he knew belonged to Lanie Padilla, and he catapulted out of the cab.

He stormed up the path. This was just the perfect end to a really perfect week. Yes, sir. He was mad as hell, and somebody was going to pay.

He slung open the screen door and shot through it. There sat Rini and the Padilla woman, cozy as could be, sipping tea on the couch. He searched frantically for Chance, spotting him lying on an odd, faded purple quilt at Rini's feet, sucking contentedly on a toy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" he demanded, too irate to know which woman he was addressing.

Lanie Padilla set her tea mug shakily on a coffee table. "Hello, Cole," she said in a soft voice, rising to her feet.

He clenched his jaw tight, not wanting to speak to the woman at all. He'd managed to avoid it all these years, and it galled him to have to exchange words with her now. He turned to Rini instead. "How could you have done this behind my back?" he snapped through gritted teeth.

On the floor, Chance jerked, startled, and gazed wide-eyed at Cole, then burst into tears.
Just great.
Everyone was thrilled to see him.

He clamped an iron grip on his temper and reached down to snatch Chance up before Rini could get to him. "There, there, little one. Daddy didn't mean to scare you." He kissed his cheek and pulled him to his chest to comfort him.

Rini was watching him with shiny, doleful eyes. His heart melted, and for a split second he thought he might break down and draw her up into his embrace, too.

But he needed to know what was going on. "This arrangement is not acceptable, Rini. You should have asked before you hired this woman to watch my son."

Lanie Padilla looked at him levelly. "She didn't know who I was when she hired me. I just told her a few minutes ago."

He sneered. "Because you knew I'd be coming to put an end to it." He pinned his gaze on Rini, who looked about like Chance had—just before he'd erupted in tears. "You're coming with me. Get your stuff." He swung to the other woman. "You're fired. And don't ever talk to my wife or son again."

Rini's eyes darted up in surprise at the possessiveness in his tone, but then filled with a determination he'd never seen before. "Oh, no you don't, Colton Lonetree. You can't stomp in here like a caveman, shouting and giving orders. I won't have it."

He stared at her, shocked speechless by the vehemence of her statement and the flash of fire in her eyes. It was the first time she'd ever stood up to him on anything—the first time she'd ever even raised her voice that he could remember. He nearly grinned.

"She's your mother, Cole. Talk to her!"

That brought him back to reality with a bang, and he scowled. "She may have given birth to me," he hissed, "but she is
not
my mother. Let's go."

"No." Rini crossed her arms over her chest and sat back resolutely. "If you're so sure you were the victim back then, you've got nothing to lose from hearing her side of the story." She narrowed her eyes in challenge.

He met her glare with one of his own. "Seems to me I'm holding all the cards," he said, glancing down at Chance, who had stuck the end of Cole's tie into his mouth. "I could just walk out the door and leave you here."

"And get charged with kidnapping," she retorted, sparks practically shooting from her eyes.

Her newfound self-assurance looked good on her. He felt absurdly aroused. Jeezus. Hell of a time to think about—

Abruptly he paced to the window and gazed out over the green valley, bouncing Chance on his arm. The majestic purple mountains rose in the background like a Hollywood set. They looked unreal. Sort of like this situation.

He loved Rini and wanted her back. If he left now, he could kiss that little scenario goodbye. But if he stayed, what would he be forced to endure?

Holding his face impassive as granite, he turned and leaned against the windowsill. "All right. I'm listening."

The woman who would be his mother clutched her hands together in front of her and suddenly looked scared to death. She hadn't moved an inch since rising from the sofa, but now she stepped nervously away from it. Rini's eyes followed her every move, radiating support and encouragement. Cole didn't like that one bit.

When the woman spoke, he had to strain to hear her. "I'm not sure how much others have told you—"

"Nothing," he said loudly. "I made it clear I wasn't interested."

Rini frowned at him. He frowned back.

"I see," his birth mother said quietly. "Oh, Rini," she said in a rush, "I appreciate you trying to do this, but it won't work. Why don't you just go with him? I'll be okay." She hurried toward the back bedrooms.

Damn! He couldn't let her get away. Without quite realizing what he was doing, Cole strode over and caught hold of her arm. Her skittish gaze halted on his hand, then she peered uncertainly up at him.

He had to endure this.
For Rini.
He took a deep, cleansing breath, and hoped like hell he wasn't going to regret it. He let go of her arm. "No. Rini's right. This is way overdue. Tell me. Please. I want to know."

She looked into his eyes and must have seen the attempt he was making, and possibly what it cost him to do so. Swallowing, she moved away, walking a circuit around the room, touching a doily here, a pillow there, a picture frame on the mantel.

"I didn't give you up willingly, Cole. I want you to know that. If I'd had any kind of choice, I would never have let you go."

He'd probably known that all along, deep down. But hearing it from her like this, now, punched a hole in both his gut and his tenacious bitterness. With a sinking feeling, he nodded.

"I was fifteen when I got pregnant. Young and careless."

Where had he heard that before?

"Your father was from Pechanga Rez, right up the road. Joseph Perada was his name."

Cole's world suddenly tilted on its axis, his stomach doing a free fall. Dizzily, he watched Lanie clutch the edge of the mantel, her knuckles going white. He clung to Chance for dear life.

Her voice trembled. "I've never told anyone that before." She drew herself up and rubbed her arms. "He died in a car accident shortly after. Who knows what might have happened if…"

Cole's head spun. His father was dead.
Joseph Perada. Your father.
His father was dead.
That's why he never came for you.
"An a-accident?" he managed to stammer.

Lanie grasped the end of the thick braid flowing over her shoulder and twirled it around her finger. "He and some buddies were at a party. Drank too much. The usual story." Around and around.

"Did you...love him?" Somehow he already knew the answer, and his heart lodged thickly in his throat.

"We were young, but what we had was special." Her dark eyes—so much like his own, he reflected painfully—softened. "Yeah, I loved him. A lot." She cleared the rasp from her voice. "His folks didn't approve of me, of course, but we met whenever we could. His brother had an old Chevy he'd borrow to come down to see me, when he was supposed to be going to the library to study."

"Why didn't his family approve?" Rini interjected from the couch.

Cole switched Chance to the other arm and went to sit next to her. He'd heard stories about Lanie's parents. At the time, they had just helped confirm his low opinion of her.

"My mom was a drunk. Dad couldn't hold a job and was always in trouble for gambling. The social workers came around constantly, threatening to take me away—and did a few times—even though I had aunts and uncles willing to let me live with them." Her expression fell in defeat. "In the end, they took you instead."

He gritted his teeth, torn between anguish and anger. Through his work with Tanya at the Center, he knew the story was more than plausible.

"That's awful," Rini murmured. "How can they just take a woman's baby like that? It's inhuman."

Cole sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands. "Happens to us all the time. The Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted to make it possible for tribal councils to find foster or adoptive parents within the child's own tribe. But all too often, it was ignored."

"There was no ICWA when they took you." Lanie shook her head. "I'd tried my best. I quit school and went to work as a house cleaner. It was against the rules, but I took you with me to the houses where no one was home. I couldn't rely on Mom to be sober enough to remember to feed you."

He looked up in surprise. "But I thought— How old was I when…?"

"Nine months. One of the rich lawyers I cleaned house for came home unexpectedly while I was there with you. He felt it was his duty to report it. I lost my job, and Social Services stepped in."

Cole's chest tightened as he watched his mother struggle to continue speaking.

"They didn't care that I had aunts and cousins who would help me out. They were determined to put you in foster care." She swallowed several times. "I'd seen firsthand what happened to kids who went through that system, and I couldn't bear for it to happen to you. Someone suggested I call a private adoption agency to help me find a decent home where you could grow up with a real family. It seemed like the only way to keep you safe."

His heart felt like a knife had sliced it in two.

Her hands came up to cover her face. A single sob escaped, then she wiped her cheeks with her palms. "I'll never forget the day they came to take you away. Dad had gone to some dog race somewhere. Mom was drunk, as usual. The social worker turned up her nose and wouldn't even come in the house. I cried and begged and pleaded to keep you. Nothing helped."

Cole glanced over and saw a tear trickle down Rini's face. She reached out and took Chance from him, then rocked him back and forth, her cheek to his head, leaving a pool of wetness on his soft, black hair.

Cole didn't feel all that in control himself.

He grabbed for his tie and rose to pace to the window. "Nine months. I can't believe they never told me I was that old. No wonder I felt abandoned." He turned, desperately fighting the vicious, bitter demon that threatened to eat his insides.

"You had an old silk quilt I'd picked up at the Goodwill and cut down for you. Purple silk. Must have had some interesting history." She chuckled through her tears, walking slowly to the quilt on the floor. "But you refused to sleep without it. Cried like a pup when it was in the wash."

Her smile faded as she picked up the worn purple quilt and clasped it to her breast. "They wouldn't take it. Said it was inappropriate for a child."

He looked down, realizing he was still clutching his tie in his fist, frantically smoothing the fabric with his thumb. When she approached him with the outlandish little quilt and offered it to him, he lost it.

Grabbing the quilt in one arm and her in the other, he crushed them both to him, not bothering to stem the tears that leaked from behind his tightly squeezed lids. "Oh, Mother," he choked out, "I'm so sorry."

She sobbed in his embrace, her arms wound around his waist. For a long time they stood swaying back and forth, comforting each other in their misery and elation.

When he was able, his eyes sought Rini. She smiled at him, her red-rimmed eyes shining with tearful joy. He extended a hand to ward her in invitation. Wiping her flushed cheeks free of moisture, she got up with Chance, and all four of them joined in a big hug.

"Oh, C-Cole," she stammered.

Lanie pulled away slightly, her watery smile radiating the peace of having a great burden lifted. "Does this mean I'm not fired?" she asked with a hiccup.

"I guess it does." They laughed and hugged again, and Cole savored the moment as he had seldom before in his lifetime. His happiness was complete as he basked in the embrace of his beloved family. He kissed each one in turn, starting with his mother's cheek, then Chance's hair, and ending with Rini's lips.

His mouth sought the warmth of hers, lingering over its moist, soothing heat. Her lips responded lovingly, surprising him with their intimate caress.

Rini suddenly disentangled herself and put her fingers to her mouth. "This is so wonderful. I'm so happy for you," she murmured.