The Texan's Surprise Son

Her cell phone rang just as she turned off the ignition.

“Yes, Helena,” she said after her secretary identified herself.

“Sorry to bother you this late, but I thought you’d want to know now rather than in the morning.”

Mariana braced herself. “What is it?”

“Paulo Molinas’s attorney has filed a motion to suppress Medallion Investments’ phone records.”

“Dammit,” she muttered, then glanced over her shoulder. Had Cody heard her curse? She didn’t think so. “All right. Pull the former case files we talked about and leave them on my desk for the morning.”

“Will do.”

They discussed a few more details before ending the call. Mariana tried to focus on Cody and his introduction to Jacob. It took all her effort. Her firm’s joint lawsuits had gained momentum in recent weeks. Ten-hour days made caring for Cody challenging. She was lucky to have gotten off early.

That wasn’t the reason she wanted Jacob to have shared custody of Cody, she told herself for the hundredth time. Her workload and demanding schedule had nothing to do with it.

Opening the rear passenger side door, she bent over Cody and unbuckled him from the car seat.

“Daddy, Daddy! Where Daddy?”

She winced at the loud voice inches from her ear. “Shhh. We’ll see him in a minute.”

“I firsty.”

“We’ll get you a drink inside.”

This constant speaking in the plural amazed her. She couldn’t recall thinking about it, only doing it. Was that normal? Did every mother, or aunt or guardian, naturally fall into the habit?

Lifting Cody from the car, she set him on his feet and grabbed the overstuffed diaper bag.

“Wait a minute,” she said when he started squirming. Setting the diaper bag down, she adjusted his little denim jacket, re-fastening the buttons that had mysteriously come loose during the ride.

She’d have preferred Cody wear something newer and without a hole in the left sleeve. But this particular jacket was his favorite, and he’d pitched a fit when she tried to put him in a hooded sweatshirt. Even his favorite cartoon character on the front hadn’t swayed him.

He would have run ahead if not for her firm grip on his hand. As it was, he pulled her and the diaper bag along like a heavy anchor through water.

“Slow down, honey,” Mariana admonished.

The house, a newer one-story with tan stucco exterior and—this was good—a block fence enclosing the rear yard, sat on a corner lot. Hopefully, Jacob didn’t own a pool. Toddlers and water were a dangerous combination.

Mariana thought it interesting that he didn’t live at the Roughneck, his family’s ranch. The place was certainly big enough. Then again, this house was closer to the drill site where he worked. Or maybe he simply liked his privacy.

If he assumed any level of custody, he’d soon lose that luxury. There was no such thing as privacy with a two-year-old in the house. If presented with a closed door or locked cabinet, Cody felt compelled to holler until it opened or his lungs gave out.

Her high heels wobbled as they walked along the slate rock path leading to the front door. Changing clothes beforehand would have been nice. There’d been no time, however. Mariana was barely able to rush from the office to day care, navigate traffic and still make it here—she glanced at her watch—twelve minutes late.

Jacob opened the door seconds after she rang the bell. Had he been watching from the window?

“Hello,” he said in a neutral voice, his gaze meeting hers briefly before traveling to Cody where it remained. “Come in.”

“Thank you.” She required a moment to collect her wits.

He looked good. His short dark hair appeared freshly combed, and the scent of soap clung to him as if he’d recently washed up. Like her, he hadn’t changed from work. His pale blue chambray shirt had a Baron Energies logo embroidered on the front pocket and the sleeves were rolled up to reveal strong, muscled forearms.

Mariana was beginning to think he could dress in a ratty T-shirt and gym shorts and she’d still be affected. How might he look in, say, a suit? Or, better yet, a tuxedo?

She wagged a mental finger at herself, warning her mind not to go there. Theirs was a business meeting. Of sorts, anyway. There were certainly business matters to discuss.

“This is Cody.” She propelled the boy ahead of her, realizing only then that he’d stopped jabbering.

In fact, his small mouth literally hung open, and he stared up at Jacob with enormous eyes.

“How do you do, pal?” Jacob smiled. If one could call the thin slash splitting the lower half of his face a smile.

Was he nervous? Angry? Shy? Distrustful? All of the above?

Cody suddenly flung himself at Mariana, hugging her legs with all his strength, and whimpered.

“It’s all right, honey.”

She stroked his downy soft hair, not noticing until right that moment how much it resembled Jacob’s. Only a shade lighter. The shape of his face was similar, too. As was the color of his eyes.

“I didn’t know if you might be hungry.” Jacob started through the living room.

Mariana and a reluctant Cody followed. “Cody can always eat. He’s not fussy like some kids.” Actually, Mariana didn’t know anything about other kids. She was repeating her mother’s frequent declarations. “I’m not really hungry.”

She spoke too soon. The moment they entered the kitchen, a delicious aroma had her practically drooling. When was the last time she’d eaten a meal that wasn’t takeout or purchased in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store?

“You cook?” she blurted without thinking, then could have kicked herself for being rude.

“I got home a little early. Figured if I was hungry, you and Cody might be, too.”

“One of us had animal crackers on the drive over.”

“Can I take that for you?” He reached for the diaper bag, and their fingers brushed.

He didn’t pull immediately away. Mariana glanced up to find him staring at her. Instantly, her mouth went dry. Oh, boy.

“Mariana.”

“Yes?”

The corners of his mouth tipped up. “Let go of the handle.”

“Oops. Sorry.” She watched him stow the diaper bag on the floor just around the corner, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. Men didn’t do this to her. She didn’t let them.

Pretending nothing was amiss, she said, “You have a nice place.”