Cowboy Daddy (6 page)

Anne gave her another nudge. The girl stepped forward. “I’m sorry, Daddy.” Then she flew across the room and into her father’s embrace.

Jake pulled his daughter close and held her tightly against him. “I know, sweetie.”

From her place in the doorway to the kitchen, Anne looked at the two of them. Jake knew he should be grateful that she’d been so generous with his child, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. She stared at him, at the way he held Laurel, with all the intensity of a starving person staring at bread. He read the hunger in her eyes, and the loneliness.

Laurel stepped away and gave him a brilliant smile. He forced himself to return it. When he looked up, Anne had returned to the kitchen.

Damn. He didn’t want to like her. He sure as hell didn’t want to feel sorry for her. And he certainly didn’t want to remember what had happened that moment when he’d pulled her away from the stove.

“It’s late,” he said. “We should probably be going.”

Laurel looked like she was about to protest, then seemed to think better of it. “Okay. When can I see Annie again?”

He should have been prepared. All the signs had been there. But he’d pretended that it would only happen this one time. Refusing another meeting was the best solution for all of them, but he couldn’t. Not only because Laurel would fight him, but because he couldn’t tell her why she couldn’t see Anne Baker. He didn’t trust the woman, but more than that, he didn’t want to risk losing his daughter. Not when he’d just found her again. Neither of those reasons would make sense to Laurel. He had to decide what to do based on what was right for her, not what was easiest for him.

“We’re leaving for the beach early in the morning,” he said.

Laurel nodded. “I know Annie can’t come with us to the beach, but I have to see her again, Dad. She’s my birth mother.”

That fact had haunted him ever since Laurel had first said the words. As long as he lived, he’d never forget the slash of pain when she’d told him she wanted to contact her “real” mother. He was grateful Ellen hadn’t ever heard Laurel say those things.

“Can’t we stop before we go back to Colorado? Just for a couple of days.” Hazel eyes pleaded.

“One day. We’ll stay overnight, then head back home.”

“Thanks, Daddy.” She reached up and kissed his cheek, then scurried toward the kitchen. “Annie, Annie.”

Anne came out of the kitchen. She looked from the teenager to him and back. He tried not to notice how the pale peach silk shirt she wore brought out the color in her cheeks and darkened her hair to a more auburn shade of red. He looked away from the hopeful expression in her pale blue eyes, and the way her hands balled into fists at her side. If he’d been able to hear her conversation with his daughter when they’d been in the kitchen, it stood to reason she’d heard what Laurel had said. But she still looked nervous, as if she was afraid he would take it all away.

“We’re coming back to Houston after our week at the beach,” Laurel said, bouncing from foot to foot. “I can see you again.” She became very still. “If you want to.”

Anne smiled. “Of course I do, Laurel. I’d like very much to see you again.”

“Great.”

“We need to get going,” he said. “It’s late and we have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Laurel hesitated, then ducked toward Anne.

Jake forced himself to watch the two women embrace. He saw Anne’s eyes close as emotions chased across her face. He saw the tender smile, the brief kiss on the cheek, heard the promise to not forget their plans. He saw Anne scrawl her phone number down, Laurel take it and stuff it into her pocket. He saw his daughter approach him, happiness shining so brightly from her face, it almost blinded him. He saw it all and knew that he was close to losing everything to a woman whom he didn’t like, or trust.

“Wait for me by the elevator,” he told his daughter.

She waved once, then disappeared out the front door. Anne stared after her.

“You can be busy,” he said.

Anne stared at him. “I don’t understand.”

“When she calls you don’t have to see her if you’re not interested.”

A spot of color flared on each cheek. “I
want
to see Laurel again.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets to make sure he didn’t give in to the temptation to strangle her, then moved forward until he was directly in front of her The kitchen door prevented her from backing up, although she didn’t seem inclined to give any ground. The soft light from the lamps made her freckles stand out. He stared at the random pattern and told himself he’d always hated freckles.

“Why do you care?” he asked. “If Laurel is so damn important to you, why did you give her up in the first place?”

He might as well have slapped her. The color drained from her face and her eyes widened with disbelief.

“That’s none of your business,” she said, her voice low and angry.

“If it’s about my daughter, it’s my business.”

“Get out!” She pointed to the door.

“If I leave now, I’m never coming back.”

She parted her lips to draw in a breath of air. He didn’t like the man he’d become these past few days. He was beginning to believe that Anne Baker’s pain was as real to her as his was to him. He almost wanted to take it all back. But he couldn’t. Laurel was his responsibility. The bottom line was this woman had once given her child away. Who was to say she wouldn’t get involved with Laurel, only to dump her a second time when the relationship became inconvenient?

“What do you want to know?” Anne asked, her voice resigned.

“Why did you give her up, and why do you want anything to do with her now?”

She seemed to collect herself. The color returned to her face and this time she was the one to step closer. Less than a foot separated them. She had to lean back to look him in the eye.

“You’re quite a bastard, Jake, aren’t you?” She folded her arms over her chest. “You can threaten me all you want. You’re the one holding all the cards anyway. I can’t make you let Laurel see me. There’s nothing I can say to explain my actions to you. There’s nothing to justify what I did. You’ve already passed judgment on me. If I’d known the name of the family adopting my daughter, I would have gotten in touch with them, with you, right away. I didn’t know. Not a day went by that I didn’t hope and pray Laurel would want to follow the trail I’d left and find me.” She walked to the front door and gripped the knob. “You go ahead and believe what you want. Just don’t be too surprised when you find out you were wrong.”

With that, she swung the door open. Laurel stood in the doorway. “Dad, the elevator’s come and gone. I thought you said we were in a hurry.”

He stared at Anne. From the rapid rise and fall of her chest, he could see that she was still furious.

He brushed past her as he walked through the door. Sparks flew between them, sending liquid need pouring through his blood. He gritted his teeth and kept walking. Behind him, he heard Laurel say goodbye again and promise to call. As the elevator doors opened, he swore Laurel would never have any contact with that woman again.

* * *

“T
hen we need to see to the executive homes. I think three should be—” Anne put down the papers she was holding and glanced at Heather. Her assistant continued smiling. “Why are you grinning at me like that? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?”

Heather shook her head. “You gave me this information two hours ago, Anne. What
is
the matter with you?”

Anne groaned. “My concentration is completely gone. The RCR Company relocation committee will be here at the end of the week and I’m not even close to prepared.”

Heather leaned forward from the seat opposite Anne’s desk. “Man trouble?”

“Don’t sound so excited. No, it’s not man trouble. At least not the way you mean it.” She pushed her chair away from the desk and slumped against the back. “Laurel called me again last night.” In spite of herself she smiled. “Told me all about this movie she’d seen. Boy meets girl. Girl turns out to be a vampire. They don’t make movies like they used to.”

Heather tilted her head and frowned. “But if your daughter is calling you every other night, what’s the problem? I thought you wanted to stay in touch with her.”

“I do. I love hearing from her. We talk about movies and clothes and she tells me everything she’s doing.” Anne picked up a pen and fiddled with it. Just thinking about Laurel was enough to give her a warm feeling inside. She wasn’t sure if it was genes or the way she’d been raised or both, but Laurel had turned out to be a fun, sweet, charming young woman. Their phone conversations were equal parts pleasure and pain. Pleasure at the relationship they were building and pain at what she’d missed all these years. “It’s not her, it’s her father. He doesn’t trust me. The worst of it is, I almost don’t blame him. If she were my child—”

“Isn’t she?”

“Good question. I’ve been wrestling with the same one for almost a week and I still don’t have an answer. All I did was give birth. Jake and his wife raised her.”

“So where does that leave you?” Heather asked.

“Confused.”

“What are you going to do?”

Anne tossed the pen back on the desk. “The only thing I can do. Keep working on the RCR bid. Try not to let the situation destroy my job performance.”

Heather placed her hands on the desk. “When Wilson retires in four months, you’re right in line for the vice presidency.”

Anne nodded. “I know. If I can get RCR to sign, I’ve got the promotion. If not, Tim the Turkey gets it.” She jerked her thumb to the office next door. “He’s always hated the fact that I’ve done better than him and I’m just a woman.”

Heather chuckled. “That does make him cranky, doesn’t it? I’ll go get you the figures for the RCR project.”

“Thanks.”

“When do you see Laurel again?”

“Day after tomorrow. I’m hoping Jake will have cooled off enough so that I can arrange to visit her in Colorado from time to time. I’d like to stay in touch. She’s important to me.”

“Sounds like everything is going to work out.”

“I do my best. There’s nothing like a little Texas hospitality to persuade the unbelievers.” She raised her eyebrows. “Doesn’t everyone want to live in Texas?”

He glanced down at the rink. Laurel perched on the edge of her seat and watched the skaters. “My daughter sure does.”

“I know the move has been hard for both of you, but it’ll get better.”

Tm not so sure.”

“Once school starts and she makes a few friends, everything will change.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I hope you’re right. I couldn’t take another summer like this one.” He sensed she was about to start asking questions he didn’t want to answer. “How long have you worked for the company?”

“Since I graduated from college. There’s been a lot of opportunity for advancement. I’m up for a promotion. To vice president.”

He glanced at her. Now, with her red hair curling to her shoulders, with the casual silky blouse draping the curves of her breasts, with most of her makeup worn away and a tentative smile tugging at her lips, she didn’t look like anyone’s example of an executive on the way up. But he remembered her cool confidence in her office, and the way she’d stood up to him. No doubt Anne Baker could play hardball with the best of them. And win.

“Good luck,” he said sincerely. A hard-won promotion would keep her firmly located in the Houston area and away from his ranch in Colorado.

“Thanks.” She moved her purse off her lap and onto the bench. One of the packages went sliding toward the ground. She grabbed it and set it back on the pile. “Do you think Laurel is going to need anything else?”

Jake eyed the bags. “I can’t imagine anything, but I’m sure she’ll think of something. I still have to buy her a decent jacket and some boots, but we’ll do that back home.”

Anne nodded. “I, urn, I had a good time today. Thank you for letting her call me.”

“Look…” Jake cleared his throat and glanced around at the crowds in the shopping center. Teenagers walked together in groups. Rich matrons clustered around the expensive boutiques and young women pushed strollers through the open walkways. Conversation filled the multistory center, but their bench, tucked in front of the railing overlooking the ice rink, offered an illusion of privacy. “About last week—” He cleared his throat again. He’d been thinking about it for days, but that didn’t make saying it any easier. “I was out of line. You’ve been great with Laurel. You could have made me pay for some of the things I said, and you didn’t. I appreciate that.”

Instead of looking pleased, or at least superior, Anne surprised him by flushing and staring at her lap. “Don’t thank me. I want to see her again.”

Jake stiffened. “We’re leaving in the morning.”

“I know.” The words came out as a whisper. “I can’t let go. I’ve spent all these years wondering about her, and now, to have met her and spent time with her. She drew in a breath. “She’s wonderful.”

“Yes, she is.”

Anne leaned forward. Her hair swung out and shadowed her face. “I don’t mean big visits. Not alternating weekends or anything. I understand that I have no legal rights, but maybe just a couple of days over Christmas break or in the summer. A phone call now and then. Just to stay in touch.”