The Unclaimed Baby (9 page)

Justin sighed. “Despite that hope I held out about the baby staying here in the end, I can't help wondering if it wouldn't be easier on Sharon Lynn if we just made other arrangements for foster care now.”

“The same thought crossed my mind a minute ago,” Cord admitted. “But we can't. For one thing, she'd never hear of it. For another, something in my gut tells me this is going to turn out all right in the end.”

Justin clasped his hand. “I hope you're right. I really do. I'll see to it that Lizzy gets by here in the morning to get the blood for the lab and I'll call the minute I know anything.”

“Thanks.”

At the door Justin hesitated again. Cord grinned at his obvious reluctance to go. “It's okay, you know. I won't take advantage of the situation.”

Justin gave him a rueful grin. “Was I that obvious?”

“Let's just say you're not a man who should try bluffing at poker.”

Justin laughed. “No wonder I keep losing in those games out at White Pines.” His expression sobered. “I'm counting on the fact that you're being straight with me. I'm trusting you with my cousin.”

“I won't do anything to make you regret it. I swear it.”

Justin nodded. “Then that's good enough for me. I'll be in touch.”

After he'd gone, Cord remained standing where he was, trying to work up the courage to join Sharon Lynn in the bedroom. Seeing her there, with that big old brass bed of hers dominating the space, was going to make keeping his promise to Justin downright maddening.

But keep it, he would. For a man known for his impatience, Sharon Lynn surely was becoming the test of a lifetime.

 

Sharon Lynn couldn't seem to draw her gaze away from the baby, not even when she heard Cord walk into the bedroom. Her grip on the edge of the crib was white-knuckle tight.

“You doing okay, darlin'?”

“Sure.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You don't have to stay. I know you need to be back at White Pines tomorrow.”

“I'm not going anywhere.”

She was relieved by the refusal. She wasn't en
tirely sure she could bear to get through the night alone. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” He reached around her and loosened her fingers from the crib, then slowly turned her to face him. He tucked a knuckle under her chin. “You need to get some sleep.”

Sharon Lynn folded her arms around her middle and shivered. “I don't think I can.”

Cord drew her against him and held her. “You have to,” he repeated, rubbing her back gently. “Take another one of those bubble baths, if that'll relax you.”

He grinned at her. “Then I'll come back and tuck you in.”

“Will you stay with me?”

“I've already said I would.”

“I mean in here. Will you sleep beside me?” She searched his expression. “I know it's asking a lot.”

“Do you really think you'll sleep better if I'm next to you?”

She almost grinned at his doubtful tone. “I will.”

“Then that's the way it will be,” he said.

He said it so grimly that this time she did grin. “If it'll be too hard on you…”

“Hush. I'll manage. Get ready for bed. I'll go turn out the lights and be back in a flash.”

As soon as he left the room, she pulled out a long T-shirt and slipped into it. She had a feeling the sexy nightie she might have preferred was a very bad idea under the circumstances. There was no mistaking the
fact that she was already asking too much of Cord's restraint.

She had slipped under the covers by the time he returned. He flipped off the bedroom light, then sank down on the side of the bed and removed his boots. She found herself holding her breath, waiting for him to shed the rest of his clothes.

Instead, with a heavy sigh, he stretched out beside her, on top of the bedspread.

“Cord?”

“Yes, darlin'?”

“You don't have to sleep in your clothes.”

“Oh, yes, I do,” he said fervently.

She had no difficulty at all interpreting his meaning. That made her next request all the more dangerous.

“Cord?”

“Yes?”

“Would you mind very much holding me?”

She thought she heard him groan softly, but he dutifully rolled toward her and gathered her close. She sighed with pleasure at the reassuring feel of his arms around her. Then, surrounded by his warmth and his strength, she finally closed her eyes and slept.

A
fter taking one last, longing look at the woman beside him, Cord slipped out of bed at dawn, grateful that he'd made it through the night without violating Sharon Lynn's trust. Holding her had been sheer torture. He'd wanted to make love to her, to make her forget all about the heartache that might lay ahead of them, to give her hope in the future. Their hope.

But there'd been a million and one reasons why he couldn't, why his arms had curved loosely around her, why his hands had remained still, why his lips hadn't brushed hers. The baby had been right there in the same room, for one thing. For another, he would have been taking advantage of her vulnerability. His promise to Justin, his own sense of honor prevented that.

Still, he thought with some regret, it would have
been so easy to seduce her. She was scared and needy. She had turned to him for reassurance, for comfort, maybe even for a distraction, which he could have provided with pleasure. But she wasn't prepared for the consequences of reaching out to him, not for
those
consequences anyway.

So, he'd done the honorable thing. He'd counted sheep. He'd focused on anything and everything
but
the woman in his arms, Even so, he was pretty sure he'd never get the light, flowery scent of her out of his head, never forget the silkiness of her skin or the curve of her hip. He wanted the tenderness and warmth she gave so readily to their abandoned baby directed his way. He needed her to want him as desperately as he was beginning to want her.

Since that was out of the question for now, he moved quietly to the bathroom across the hall, cleaned up, then went back to check on the baby. She was wide-awake and about ready to cry. He plucked her out of the crib, made soothing little noises as he carried her into the living room, then changed her.

“You hungry, angel?”

She gave him a beaming smile that convinced him she understood exactly what he was saying. For an infant who'd endured what she had, she was astonishingly happy. Cord felt a silly grin spreading across his own face in response.

“You were a good girl last night,” he praised. “You didn't wake up once. Sharon Lynn's gonna be
real grateful that you're starting to sleep through the night.”

With Ashley tucked into the crook of his arm, he popped a cup of last night's coffee into the microwave, then heated her bottle. When both were ready, he sat at the kitchen table and fed her, while sipping the coffee.

A glance at the clock told him he'd better make a call to White Pines. Work would be getting underway and Cody was bound to wonder where he was. He reached for the phone and dialed.

“White Pines,” Cody growled.

Obviously not a good morning, Cord concluded.

“Cody, this is Cord.”

“Where the hell are you?”

“In town with your daughter and the baby.”

That was greeted by a long, telling silence. “I see,” he said finally, though he sounded as if the opposite were true. “Mind telling me when you intend to get back to work?”

“Look, it was a rough night last night,” Cord explained. “Justin thinks he's found the baby's grandmother. Sharon Lynn was taking it hard. I couldn't leave her here alone.”

Cody muttered a harsh expletive, then added, “No, I suppose not. Is she okay?”

“She's sleeping now. She's due at Dolan's within the hour. As soon as she's up and on her way, I'll be out there. Leave my assignment with Harlan Patrick or one of the other men.”

“Just see me when you get here,” Cody said and hung up abruptly.

“Oh, boy,” Cord murmured, grazing a knuckle over the baby's cheek. “Looks like I'm in for it.” She regarded him with wide, solemn eyes. “Not to worry your pretty little head, though. I'll handle it.”

“Handle what?” Sharon Lynn murmured groggily, wandering into the kitchen just then.

She was clad in a thick, terry-cloth robe, but she was still sexily tousled, reminding him all too vividly of the night and the bed they'd shared. No woman had the right to be that seductive at the crack of dawn, not when there was nothing to be done about it.

“Nothing,” he replied in a choked voice, regretting that he couldn't snag her wrist and haul her down for a long, slow kiss that would wake them both thoroughly.

She seemed to accept the response at face value. “You should have gotten me up,” she complained with a yawn. “I could have fed the baby, so you could get to work. Daddy's probably fit to be tied.”

“He's a reasonable man,” Cord said, despite recent evidence to the contrary. “He'll understand.”

“Are we talking about my father?” she inquired dryly. She reached for the baby. “Go. Don't jeopardize your job.”

After his conversation with Cody, Cord knew she was right. He relinquished the baby reluctantly, then finished the last of his coffee. He was almost to the door, when she stopped him.

“Cord?”

Shrugging into his coat, he turned back. “Yes?”

“Thank you for staying last night. Thanks for…” She seemed at a loss for words. “Thanks for everything.”

He grinned at the all-encompassing word. “Anytime. I'll see you two later.”

“It's not necessary.”

He frowned. “You keep saying that, darlin', I'll get the feeling you don't care about me. Besides, I thought we were past that. I'll be back.”

She nodded, a smile barely perceptible on her lips. “I'm glad.”

He resisted the urge to go back and kiss her. He'd been hard and aching all night long. He knew he could never pull off a quick, chaste brush of his lips over hers. If he touched her now, it would be a go-for-broke kiss and it would lead them down a path she wasn't anywhere near ready to take. He had to keep reminding himself of that—over and over, if that's what it took.

“See you,” he promised again and left before he could change his mind.

At White Pines, he found Cody in his office, clearly waiting impatiently for his arrival. He leaned back in his chair and scowled at Cord's entrance.

“Finally.”

Clearly his boss was spoiling for a fight. Cord tried to placate him. “I got here as quickly as I could. What is it you need me to do today?”

“We'll get to that. First I think you and I need to have a talk.” He gestured toward a chair. “Sit.”

Cord had a feeling this talk wasn't going to be about ranching, that it was going to be about matters he'd just as soon not get into with Sharon Lynn's daddy, but he dutifully sat just the same.

“What exactly is going on between you and my daughter?” Cody began bluntly.

Cord bristled at the question, even though he understood Cody's need to ask it.

“With all due respect, sir, she's a grown woman. I think that's between Sharon Lynn and me.”

Cody rose halfway out of his chair, a scowl on his face. “Now, listen here, you impertinent son of a gun.”

Cord held up a hand in a quieting gesture. “Sir, I know where you're coming from. You're worried about her. What I can tell you is that I will never do anything to hurt her. Circumstances, fate, call it what you will, threw us together and brought that innocent little baby into our lives. There's a bond between us because of that. It may lead to something more. It may not. For myself, I hope it does. That's as honest as I can be.”

Apparently it wasn't quite enough to satisfy his boss. Cody's gaze remained suspicious. “And this has nothing at all to do with the fact that she owns a ranch of her own?”

Cord went absolutely still, caught between shock and fury. He should have anticipated the question. Somehow, though, he'd pushed his discovery that
Sharon Lynn was the widowed owner of a nearby ranch from his mind. He should have seen that Cody would add up his plan to buy his own place and his growing friendship with Sharon Lynn and come up with a devious scheme. In Cody's place, he might have done the same. Still, the question rankled.

“What are you asking me?” he demanded quietly.

“I'd say it's plain enough. I'm asking if your interest in my daughter has anything at all to do with the fact that she has some property. You told me yourself that it's your goal to move on as soon as you can get enough money for some land. I can't help thinking that courting Sharon Lynn would be a quicker way to go about it, wouldn't it?”

Cord was on his feet before the words were out of Cody's mouth. Because he was older, because he was Sharon Lynn's father, he cut him more slack than he would any other man asking the same questions, making the same rotten accusation. He braced his hands on the desk between them and leaned across.

“You listen to me and listen good,” he said tightly. “I've gotten nothing in life that I haven't worked for. I sure as hell don't intend to start now. Until she told me the story of her marriage, I didn't even know Sharon Lynn was related to the man who had owned that property nearby. She's not using his name. She's not living there. I had no idea she was the widow folks had told me might be interested in selling.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because I don't lie,” Cord said emphatically.

Cody still wasn't through. “But now that you do know,” he began, his expression hard, “that's all the more reason for staying in contact with her, isn't it?”

“I am with Sharon Lynn because of the baby and because I've grown to care deeply for her. For you to say otherwise is a disservice to her and an insult to me.” He met Cody's harsh glare with one of his own. “Maybe you'd like it better if I move on. I can be out of here in an hour.”

“And leave Sharon Lynn after telling me how devoted you are to her?” Cody asked with an edge of sarcasm.

“I didn't say I'd be leaving her or Los Piños, but I will leave White Pines this morning, if that's what you want.”

Harlan Adams stepped into the office just then and stared from Cody to Cord and back again. “What the hell is going on in here? You two are making enough ruckus to scare the horses clear down to the barn.”

“Just a little disagreement, Daddy,” Cody said in a milder tone.

Harlan turned a skeptical gaze on Cord. “Is that the way you see it, too?”

Cord nodded, despite the anger churning inside him.

“Then what was that crazy talk I heard about you leaving?” Harlan asked.

“I was just asking if that's what Cody wanted.”

“Well, why the hell would he?” Harlan retorted, gazing at his son. “Right, Cody?”

Cody flushed a dull red. “Daddy, you don't know all the facts.”

“What facts? I know this man knows ranching. I know he's a hard worker.”

“Couldn't prove that by me,” Cody muttered.

“Excuse me?” his father said.

“Nothing.”

Harlan nodded. “That's better. I also know that he's been a real godsend to Sharon Lynn in this crisis. Dani and Justin have both told me how he stuck by her all day yesterday, when she was jittery as a June bug waiting for news about that baby's mama.”

“He should have been working,” Cody repeated defiantly.

His father frowned. “Since when is work more important to us than family? I'd think you'd be grateful he was there for your girl when she needed somebody to stand by her.”

“If that's all it was,” Cody said, “I would be grateful.”

“You have any reason to believe otherwise?” Harlan asked. “I'm talking hard, cold facts, not crazy suppositions.”

“No, but—”

“Until you do, then, I'd suggest we all settle down and get back to work.”

Cody sighed heavily. “Yeah, fine.”

Cord couldn't let the matter rest so easily. He met Cody's gaze evenly. “You sure that's what you want?”

“Yes,” Cody said with obvious reluctance.

Harlan Adams beamed. “There, now. Isn't that better?”

“Yeah, right,” Cody said. “I just pray we don't all live to regret it.”

“You won't,” Cord assured him quietly. “I guarantee it.”

His temper still hadn't cooled. He doubted Cody's had, either. The truce between them wasn't likely to last. But it had bought him some time.

Time to prove his intentions were honorable. Time to convince Sharon Lynn that they had a future and that that property of hers had nothing to do with it.

 

When her brother slid onto a stool at Dolan's late that afternoon, Sharon Lynn was surprised. Usually Harlan Patrick headed out to be with Laurie Jensen the minute his work was done. She automatically filled a glass with ice and his favorite soda, then put it down on the counter in front of him.

“I haven't seen much of you around here lately,” she commented. “What brings you by?”

“I just felt like it. Is that a problem?”

She frowned at his tone. Normally he was the most affable man in the world. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing, dammit.”

“Well, you don't have to bite my head off,” she snapped right back. “You came in here. I didn't chase after you just to pester you.”

He raked a hand through his sun-streaked hair and mumbled an apology.

“What was that?”

“I said I'm sorry, blast it all. Can't you hear, either?”

She slapped down the rag she'd been using to wipe the counter and walked out from behind it. She grabbed his elbow and spun him around until they were face-to-face.

“Listen here, you big jerk. If you and Laurie had a fight, you don't get to come in here and take it out on me.”

“Who says I had a fight with Laurie?”

“I can't think of another thing that would send you running in here behaving like a bear with a thorn stuck in his paw. Am I right? Did you two argue?”

“You could say that, though it's hard to argue with a woman who won't listen to a damn thing you have to say.”

She saw the flash of genuine hurt in his eyes and said more soothingly, “You two fight all the time. Is there some reason this time is different?”