Texas Two Step: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 1 (13 page)

Olivia chuckled at the description of her son. “I know. Stopping him can be like stopping a runaway locomotive.” She kissed the top of Adam’s head again, savoring the little boy smell of sweat and youth. “I can’t begin to thank you for watching him. Once I knew you’d keep him for the night, I didn’t worry about him at all. He wasn’t any trouble, was he?” she asked, stroking Adam’s dark, wavy hair.

“No more than usual,” Nancy replied with a laugh.

Adam pointed toward the corner. “Who’s he?”

In her joy at seeing Adam, Olivia had forgotten Mitch.

Dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt, Mitch stood in the corner near the bathroom door. Verbally, he was quiet. However, his clenched face and balled-up fists screamed volumes.

She glanced toward him with arched eyebrows, praying he’d excuse himself and leave without making a scene.

He didn’t.

Mentally, she crossed her fingers he hadn’t gotten a good look at her son.

He had.

His gaze bounced between her and Adam, his face flushed, his eyes cold and flat. He didn’t have to say a word. The wrath in his expression said everything.

Mitch was furious. And in shock. When he’d moved to the corner, he wasn’t sure who would be coming through the door. If someone had suggested Olivia’s son, he’d have scoffed. To his astonishment, a miniature replica of himself stared back at him from her bed.

Last night, when they’d gotten to her house, he hadn’t turned on lights. Instead he’d navigated through the entry hall into the shadowy living room and down to her bedroom with the light from the full moon. Later, he’d kept the room dark so she could rest. Of course he’d noticed the baby pictures, but he’d assumed they were pictures of a nephew. But now…

He was thankful he was leaning on the wall. His legs melted to mud at the sight of her son. He’d ridden bucking horses that’d left him less stunned.

Adam was Olivia’s son, not her lover.

His son? Their son?

No, impossible. She’d never have kept their child a secret from him. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

She had.

So what was Friday night all about?

Mitch pushed off the wall and took two long strides to the bed. Holding out his hand he said, “I’m Mitch Landry.”

The little boy eyed him critically then placed his small hand inside Mitch’s large one. “I’m Adam Montgomery Gentry.”

Mitch smiled. It wasn’t his son’s fault he’d been kept away. “It’s nice to meet you, Adam. You should call me—” He hesitated and locked gazes with Olivia’s fear-struck eyes. She knew he knew. How could he not? “You can call me Mitch. So Adam, how old are you?”

“I’m five,” the boy said, holding up five fingers spread wide apart.

This child’s black hair and blue eyes were straight out of his gene pool. If a picture of five-year-old Mitch were placed side by side with a picture of Adam, he doubted his own mother could tell the difference.

Olivia hugged the boy close to her, as though Mitch would snatch him. The little boy pushed against his mother’s chest to sit upright. Olivia flinched, either from fear or pain, and right now, Mitch didn’t care which. He was so mad that—

He shoved his anger at the child’s mother into another compartment of his mind. Compartmentalizing. It was one of his strengths. “Five. Wow. You’re really getting old, huh?”

Adam—his son—nodded.

Mitch smiled through gritted teeth and decided to bide his time until he could speak with Olivia alone. No need to upset the boy…his son.

His son.
Oh God. He had a son.

“Mitch is my friend,” Olivia explained to Adam. “He helped me get home last night. But he lives far away and has to go home.”

Mitch dropped into the overstuffed reading chair he’d pulled next to the bed last night. “No, I don’t have to go home right now,” he said. Was it only a few hours ago he’d sat in the exact chair and considered a future with Olivia?

“My dad lives far away too,” Adam said. “Well, he’s kinda my dad and—”

“Mitch doesn’t need to hear your life history,” Olivia said, tousling Adam’s hair.

“Oh, but I’m interested,” Mitch said in a tone reserved for horse thieves and cattle rustlers. “Tell me about your
kinda dad
. Where does he live?” The pounding in his head made it almost impossible to hear Adam’s reply.

Adam looked at his mother, then back at Mitch. “’Oming.”

“Wyoming,” Olivia corrected. She smoothed his hair with her fingers. “Remember? Drake is living in Wyoming right now.”

Adam huffed. “That’s what I said. ’Oming.” He looked at Mitch. “I don’t have a real daddy, so Drake said he’d be my daddy. But I’ve got a bunch of uncles.”

The muscles in Olivia’s face buckled as she gnawed the inside of her cheek.

Mitch’s jaw ached from being clenched so long and so hard. No real daddy, his ass. Adam’s real daddy lived in south Texas. He rasped in a deep breath and let it out slowly, a trick he’d learned to help keep his anger in check, something he had to do for now.

He glanced toward the young woman who leaned against the doorframe observing the soap opera playing out in front of her. One sandal-covered foot rested on top of the other. “I’m Mitch Laundry.” He stood and stretched his hand across the bed.

The girl stepped forward to grasp his hand. “I’m Nancy Luther. My husband and I work at Jim’s Gym with Olivia.”

“Nice to meet you, Nancy. Thank you for taking such good care of Adam last night. I know how worried Olivia was about him.”

Olivia squinted her eyes in a threat and frowned at Mitch.

She didn’t scare him. He’d faced down mad bulls and wild horses. He moved his gaze from her to Adam, his son.

Good Lord.
His son.

He backed up until his legs hit the chair and he sat.

False cheer brightened Olivia’s face when her gaze moved from him to Adam. “I guess Momma was wrong. Mr. Mitch isn’t leaving right now.”

“What did the doctor say?” Nancy asked.

He watched in a fog as Olivia told Nancy about the emergency department visit and the doctor’s recommendations. His mind continued to reverberate from the shock of realizing he had a son.

I have a son.

“So, that’s about it,” Olivia said, drawing his attention back to the discussion. “I’ll be up and around before you know it.” She hugged Adam. “Honey, Momma needs to get some rest. I bet Nancy has some fun things for you to do today. And then tonight we’ll go get pancakes for dinner. Chocolate-chip pancakes. Would you like that?”

Adam’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout. “I don’t wanna go back to Nancy’s. I want to stay here and play with my Legos.”

“I know, sweetheart, but I’ll see you in just a little while.”

“No. I’m not going.”

Adam twisted out of Olivia’s embrace and accidentally bumped her leg. She grimaced. That bump must have hurt, but right now Mitch was too irate to feel sorry about her pain.

Olivia pressed her cheek to Adam’s hair. “Nancy will bring you home this afternoon.” She looked at the young woman leaning on the doorjamb. “About four? I’m pretty sure he has clean clothes in my office.” She poked a finger into Adam’s belly, making him laugh. “Make sure he takes a shower too.”

“We can do that. Tell you what, big guy,” Nancy said to Adam, “let’s go down to Jim’s Gym. You can ride the bikes and lift weights like your momma does. Then you can help me sweep the whole place. What do you think about that?”

Adam tilted his head to one side as though in deep contemplation of Nancy’s suggestion, then he nodded and said, “Okay. Can I have ice cream this afternoon for helping?”

Mitch wanted to smile at Adam’s oblivious manipulation of the situation, but he didn’t. He was too busy doing the math in his head. Had Olivia known she was pregnant when he left Dallas? Had she known when he’d called to tell her about marrying Joanna? Known and chosen not to tell him?

Conflicting thoughts battled for control of his mind…and his emotions. The overwhelming confusion was too much to allow him the ability to perform anything more complicated than subtract five from six. He noticed his knee was shaking and leaned forward on his elbows, digging them in to quell the movement.

Olivia kissed Adam’s cheek. “I think, just for tonight, you can have ice cream after your pancakes.”

Pleased he’d gotten what he wanted, Adam slid from the bed. “Okay.” Nancy took his hand. “Don’t forget about the pancakes.”

Olivia smiled. “I won’t. Momma loves you.”

“Okay,” Adam said. “I’m ready to go now,” he said to Nancy with a big grin.

“I’ll talk to you later today,” Olivia said to Nancy. “Thank you again for taking care of him. It’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

“Sure thing, Olivia. The big guy and me are going to have some fun today. Right, Adam?”

“Right,” his little voice said and he began pulling Nancy from the room. “Can I sweep first?”

Olivia smiled and waved as Adam and Nancy left.

Mitch stood and stared in stunned silence at the woman he thought he’d known so well and loved so deeply.

The same woman who’d hid his son from him. Lied to him. Deceived him. Made a fool of him.

“Isn’t there something you’d like to tell me, Olivia?”

Chapter Seven

She laid her head on the pillow and shut her eyes, praying he’d leave. No way she could get that lucky.

“Olivia. You’re not asleep. Goddammit, open your eyes.” Fury radiated from every word.

She flinched and squeezed her eyes tight. “Go away, Mitch. I need to rest.”

“Not in this lifetime, baby.”

The mattress dipped and she rocked. His scent and warmth surrounded her. She peeked through slit eyelids. He was braced on his hands, leaning over her. A battalion of shivers racked her body.

“Don’t try to tell me that wasn’t my child who just walked out of here. Adam is my son.”

What could she say? How could she explain? He’d never understand. Heck, he’d probably not believe her anyway. Besides, it was his decision to marry that had changed their lives.

When she didn’t respond, he slapped his hands on the mattress. A jolt of fear shot through her. What was she going to do?

“Answer me,” Mitch demanded. “I dare you to tell me that Adam isn’t my son.”

Olivia opened her eyes, but she couldn’t find the words to speak. She slipped her hands under her thighs so he couldn’t see them shaking.

If only she hadn’t fallen. If only she hadn’t accepted his ride home. If only she hadn’t fallen asleep. If only…if only…

There was no way to change the past. There was only the reality of the present. She struggled again to find the words. She swallowed, but the knot in her throat remained firmly lodged.

Mitch jerked away from her and stood, staring down. The muscles in his cheeks flexed as his jaw tightened. “Damn it. How could you not tell me? How could you keep me from my son?”

She scooted up in bed and crossed her arms. “His name is Gentry, not Landry. Drake Gentry is the only father Adam knows, and don’t you forget it. Drake. Not you.”

He gave a snort of incredulity. “Surely you’re not going to try to bluff your way out of this.”

His expression kept changing from anger to disbelief, to disappointment, then back to anger for another cycle. She wasn’t sure which bothered her the most, his anger or his disappointment in her.

Turning away from her, he paced around the room while he uttered savage cuss words under his breath. His fingers curled into fists, relaxed, then curled again. Abruptly, he picked up the water glass from last night and smashed it against the far wall. His fingers balled again into fists, then released.

“Did breaking my water glass help?”

He whirled to face her again. “I don’t give a rat’s ass who you were married to at the time or whose name you wrote on that birth certificate. That boy is my flesh and blood.” When she opened her mouth to reply, he said, “Don’t even bother to deny it. You’d just be wasting your breath. He’s my fucking clone.”

Beneath her thighs, her fingernails dug into her flesh as she infused steel into her backbone and her voice. “You are not going to barge into our lives, throw your weight around and get what you want. It doesn’t work that way. Adam is a great kid with a man in his life who loves him.”

“In his life?” Mitch scoffed. “He doesn’t even live in the same state with this ‘incredible man in his life’. God, Olivia. How could you have let some other man claim my child as his own?” He raked his fingers through his hair, tugging on the roots in frustration. “Could you not have found ten minutes to call me and let me know I was going to be a father?”

Heat infused her cheeks, a touch of embarrassment mixed with a pound of resentment. “Let’s see, Mitch,” she said, venom dripping from every word. “I guess I could have told you when you called to explain that you were marrying your dead brother’s fiancée because she was pregnant and you wanted the baby born as a Landry. Telling you then seemed a little tacky. I thought one unplanned pregnancy was enough of a burden on you.” She leaned toward him, “But then I guess you could have gotten your younger brother to marry me. You know, keep it all in the family.”