Fortune's Secret Baby

“Oh, sweetie, what’s all this crying about?” Kirsten cooed as she held the child close. “It’s okay now, I’ve got you.”

Cooper crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the pang in his heart at her words.

“He’s been bawling like that for close to a half hour now,” he said when she looked at him. “He calmed down some, but I guess that was just a rest before he revved up again.”

“Is he wet? Did you check his diaper?”

Diaper?

Damn! Cooper let his silence answer her.

Kirsten walked to the changing table and laid Anthony down on the padded cushion. “What about a bottle?” she asked, her tone softer, matching Anthony’s now-quiet fussing while making quick work of changing the baby. “It’s been a few hours since he last ate. Did you make up a bottle for him from the formula we left on the kitchen counter?”

Strike two. The thought of a bottle never crossed his mind. “I’ll go get one now.”

She paused in closing up a fresh diaper on the baby to look at him. “Cooper, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound so—”

“Don’t worry about it.” He waved off her apology and headed for the doorway. “Be back in a minute.”

Seconds later, he walked into the kitchen but stopped at the sight of his cousin, Jeremy Fortune, a can of powdered formula and jug of filtered water in front of him, mixing up a bottle.

Cooper leaned against the door frame and fought not to react to the unnamed emotion bubbling up inside him at the sight of the doctor who looked so at ease fixing a meal for his son.

But life in general was easy for his cousin; being one of the good Fortunes made it so for him and his four brothers, all of whom had found success, both professionally and in their personal lives. Cooper and his siblings had never had it easy despite sharing the Fortune name, a name that carried a lot of respect and admiration, not only in Red Rock, but all of Texas.

Then again, Cooper’s brother, Ross, and their sister, Frannie, both had finally found happiness and love over the last year and his other brother, Flint, had made a name for himself as a fine arts dealer.

So where did that leave him?

Up until a couple of weeks ago, he’d lived a good life with a few simple guidelines: Always do the best job you can. A healthy bank account was more important than material belongings. Avoid stepping on another man’s toes where the ladies were concerned.

And no putting down roots. Better to be a rolling stone than a moss-covered rock stuck in one place. That last one led easily to the most important rule of all.

Never marry or have kids.

No sense getting involved when his personal history made it clear he was never going to be any good at it. Being a wandering cowboy, moving from ranch to ranch, job to job, came as natural to him as breathing.

Happily ever after? Not for him.

Scrubbing his face with his hand, Cooper pulled his mind from the past to deal with the here and now. He wasn’t angry, at least not with Jeremy or Kirsten. They were only doing what they knew was right for Anthony.

Was he pissed at himself for not remembering the basics Kirsten had tried to drill into his head for the last ten days? Or was it something more—a sense of defeat, of loss?

When Anthony had pulled away from him and reached for the woman who’d been taking care of him for the last four months, he felt like he’d been kicked in the gut by a wayward horse hoof.

“Ah, I guess I beat you to bottle duty.” Jeremy finally noticed Cooper standing there. “We heard Anthony crying when we walked in. I told Kirsten to let you handle things, but she lasted less than five minutes before heading upstairs. I figured having a second bottle ready to go wouldn’t hurt.”

Cooper smiled, hoping for the practiced grin he’d refined back in high school that had charmed everyone from cheerleaders to the local sheriff deputies. “You figured right.”

Jeremy secured a clear plastic cap over the nipple and tossed the bottle in Cooper’s direction.

He grabbed it midair. “Why don’t you take it upstairs?” Cooper asked. “I figured I’d catch the end of the game.”

His cousin just shook his head. “He’s your kid, Daddy.”

That was the first time someone had called him that and it hit Cooper right between the eyes. Hell, he hadn’t said the word to himself yet.

“What?” Jeremy asked.

Cooper shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Look, I know this … this whole situation is the craziest thing we’ve ever had to deal with—”

“With this family?”

A slight frown slipped over Jeremy’s face. “Okay, the craziest thing you’ve had to deal with since you headed out for greener pastures twenty-odd years ago, but you’re doing … You seem to be working hard at figuring everything out.”

“Yeah.”

His cousin put the jug of water into the refrigerator before turning back. “You know, finding out she wasn’t Anthony’s aunt was a bit of a shock for Kirsten. She and her brother believed the baby was his after his ex-girlfriend left Anthony with them.”

Cooper had already heard this crazy story.

When they’d managed to finally find the ex-girlfriend, she admitted neither she nor Kirsten’s brother were the baby’s true parents and that another man she was involved with gave her the baby to care for. Then the ex-girlfriend skipped town. The police were still trying to find her.

“If that gold medallion hadn’t been left with Anthony,” Jeremy continued, “who knows if we would’ve ever connected the baby to your side of the family.”

Cooper nodded. The medallion was one of four identical coins given to him and his siblings years ago as a Christmas gift from their mother. He hadn’t even realized it was missing from the inside zippered pocket of his duffle bag all these months.

“It’s been hard for Kirsten, but she’s happy you two have found your way to each other. She just wants what’s best for everyone. What’s best for Anthony.”

And you aren’t it.

The words weren’t spoken, but Cooper got the message.

Loud and clear.

“Are you nuts?” Flint Fortune took a long swallow before returning his beer bottle to the table with a loud thud. “Moving out? Living alone with Anthony? You’ve been in the kid’s life two weeks!”

Cooper ignored his younger brother and concentrated on Ross, the older one, who sat across from him in a booth at Red, a celebrated family restaurant in Red Rock. Owned by José and Maria Mendoza, Red was managed by one of their many offspring, Marcos, who’d sat the Fortune brothers in a corner booth to allow for private conversation.

Ross eyed him over the rim of his own beer, one brow raised.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a few days.” Cooper answered Ross’s unspoken question, his thumb tracing patterns in the condensation on his glass of iced tea. “I know it’s the right thing for me. And for Anthony.”

Taking a mouthful of tea to soothe his parched throat, Cooper reminded himself again why he’d sworn off alcohol the night he’d found out about his son.

There was no way his child would ever associate the stale odor of booze with a parental touch. The few times Cindy had displayed halfhearted affection to Cooper, the embrace always reeked of perfume, cigarette smoke and whatever drink she’d chosen as her favorite cocktail of that week.