Free The Cowboy's Saving Grace, an erotic western novella (Taming the Cowboy) by Emma Jay Page B

the door open for her, but she didn't seem to want to go in first, so he did.
    This room was worse than the other one. Man, if a person had to work inside, why would they work in a place that looked like this? Dark walls and furnishings, illuminated with a florescent overhead light and a cluttered desk. A man in a bad suit, old enough to be God, crouched behind it, peering at them over thick glasses. Liam wondered if the man even left the office since the 1970s.
    "I'm Liam, this is Grace. We have a child together and we want to work out child support and visitation."
    The old man raised bushy brows. "You're in agreement on this?"
    Liam nodded, but didn't see Grace's reaction.
    The old man pawed through some files on his desk.
    The lawyer went over the standard agreement with them, which sounded reasonable to Liam, but Grace grew more and more tense.
    "Liam isn't used to being around kids," she told Mr. Richaud when he mentioned two weekends a month of visitation. "He's never been a hundred percent responsible for someone else before."
    Well, that hurt, accurate though it may be. "I don't mind spending time with the both of you, so you can show me what to expect for when I take him on my own."
    "You're only in town another week. You can't learn that much in that amount of time, especially since you need to concentrate on riding."
    "Okay, so I'll come back every couple of weeks to see you. Why are you pushing me away, Grace?"
    "Because we don't need you. We've been just fine without you."
    He rubbed his hand over the direct hit. He’d spent most of his life priding himself on not being needed, but he was ready to step up. Why wouldn’t she let him? "A boy needs a good daddy."
    "And you think you can be that?" Her blue eyes riveted on him.
    "I'm going to do my damnedest. I'm here," he motioned toward the lawyer, who was looking from one to the other with avid interest, "to make that commitment to Noah, to you. Why can't you let me?"
    She drew in a breath through her teeth, and he sensed she wanted to say more, but wouldn't in front of the lawyer. What did she want to say? Was she going to bring up his four year absence again? Because if she did, he could point out she had plenty of time to inform him he was a father, and hadn't. What would the lawyer think of that?
    But she kept quiet and filled out the paperwork the lawyer handed her on the clipboard. As Liam filled out his own, he listened to the raggedness of her breathing, as if she was ready to cry.  She handed back the paperwork before he did, and Mr. Richaud looked over it.
    "Customer service at Lexington Inc," Mr. Richaud read. "I'm not familiar with it."
    Liam twisted to look at her. Customer service? He supposed bartending could be interpreted that way. But Lexington Inc?
    She squared her shoulders. "They're a corporation that runs a number of tourist-targeted venues in the city."
    Liam snuffled a laugh. Sure. They owned a bunch of strip clubs. She was hiding who she was because, why? She was afraid it would be used against her? He supposed he could see that. He handed over his own paperwork, and the lawyer frowned.
    "Son, child support has to be paid every month whether you're making money or not. Do you have another source of income besides the rodeo?"
    "I have a couple of sponsors who offered me good contracts after seeing me ride the other night. All that money will go into a savings account that I can use for Noah." He leaned forward. "Look, I know on paper I'm not the best dad.” His own had been an excellent example of what not to do. But Red Stacey, Kennedy’s dad, had taken he and Luke under his wing and showed them what a man should be. He could put that to use now. “But I know what it takes, and I'm going to be the best Noah deserves."
     
    ***
     
    When they walked out of the office, Grace's nerves hadn't abated. Her hands were still shaking as she pulled out her car keys. Claire's coaching had worked, and the lawyer had no idea she was a bartender.