Free The Cowboy and His Baby by Sherryl Woods Page A

didn’t?”
    â€œNever,” she said emphatically, her gaze unflinching.
    â€œBut I saw…”
    â€œYou saw exactly what I wanted you to see.” She shrugged. “Unfortunately, you leapt to the wrong conclusion.”
    He stared at her blankly. “I don’t get it.”
    It was time—way past time—to spell it out for him. “Brian and I had one date. It wasn’t even a date, really. It was a setup. Brian only went along with it because he knew I was crazy about you. You were supposed to get wildly jealous, realize you were madly in love with me, and propose. You were supposed to fight for me. You weren’t supposed to haul your butt out of town without looking back.”
    â€œJealous?” He stared at her in bemusement. “How the hell was I supposed to know that? You were in his arms. What was I supposed to think, that you were discussing the weather?” he asked in a tone loud enough to wake the dead.
    â€œYou’re shouting again,” she observed.
    He scowled. “Well, so what if I am?”
    Melissa chuckled despite herself. He was too darned stubborn to recognize even what was staring him straight in the face, much less the subtleties of the trap she had tried to spring on him. No wonder it had failed so miserably. She should have issued an ultimatum in plain English if she’d wanted him to marry her, not tried to trick him into recognizing his own feelings. As for right now, he obviously needed his present circumstances clarified for him.
    â€œMabel’s probably taking notes,” she stated patiently. “Eli may be calling the sheriff. Other than that, there’s no reason to quiet down that I can think of.”
    Cody groaned and sank onto a stack of boxes. When he finally looked at her again, she thought she detected a hint of wonder in his eyes.
    â€œThen the baby really is mine?” he asked quietly. “Jordan was right?”
    â€œNo doubt about it, at least in anyone’s mind except yours.”
    His gaze honed in on hers and an expression of complete awe spread over his face. “I have a baby.”
    â€œActually, you have a toddler, ” she corrected. “She’s thirteen months old.”
    â€œWhatever,” he said, clearly unconcerned with the distinction. “Tell me everything. I want to know her name. How long you were in labor. What time shewas born. I want to know what she likes to eat, whether she can talk, how many steps she’s taken, if she has allergies, what her favorite toy is. I want to know every last detail.”
    The yearning behind his words struck her. He almost sounded as if he regretted missing out on so much. His eagerness was impossible to resist. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to see him with his daughter. It was something she’d dreamed about since the first moment the doctor had confirmed her pregnancy.
    â€œWouldn’t you rather just go and meet her?” Melissa inquired softly.
    He nodded, apparently speechless again.
    â€œI’ll speak to Eli and be right with you,” she promised.
    â€œDon’t try ducking out the back,” he warned, but he was grinning when he said it.
    â€œI’m not the one who runs,” she reminded him.
    His comment might have been half-teasing, but hers was not. She wanted him to know that she was stronger now than she had been when he’d abandoned her. She wanted him to know that she was tough enough and secure enough to fight him for her daughter, if she had to.
    But she also wanted him to see that she was brave enough to allow him into his child’s life, if he wanted a place there. This wasn’t about her any longer. It wasn’t about her feelings for Cody, though those clearly hadn’t died. This was about her daughter and what was best for her. It was about giving her child a chance to know her father.
    Even so, as they walked down Main Street toward the tree-lined street where her