In Bed with the Opposition

Fascinated by Abby’s efficiency, he watched her line up baby wipes and powder, then lift Sunnie to place a white pad with pink bunnies on it beneath her. How did women automatically know what to do? Were women born with an extra gene that men didn’t have?

That had to be the reason, he decided. He and Abby were the same age, and up until Sunnie came into his life they had both been childless. Yet taking care of a baby seemed to come as naturally to Abby as drawing her next breath, while he was at a loss as to what he should do about everything.

In what Brad would judge to be record time, Abby had the old diaper off of Sunnie and the new one in place. “These are what you use to fasten the diaper around her.” She pointed to the tabs on the sides he hadn’t noticed before. “They are a softer version of Velcro so as not to scratch her tender skin. All you have to do is make sure it’s snug, but not too tight, then—”

Fascinated by the sound of her melodic voice and wondering why he suddenly found it so enchanting, it took a moment for Brad to realize Abby had stopped speaking. “What?”

“Pay attention, Price. You can’t be assured that someone will always be around to come to your rescue whenever Sunnie needs changing.”

“I am paying attention.” He had been listening—just not to the crash course on diapering a baby that Abby had been delivering. He wisely kept that bit of information to himself.

Looking doubtful, she asked, “What did I just tell you?”

Abby had to have the bluest eyes in Texas, he decided as she stared up at him expectantly. They were the color of the blue bonnets that grew wild in the spring, and Brad couldn’t help but wonder why he’d never before noticed how vibrant and expressive they were.

“Well, Mr. Price?” The diaper successfully changed, she picked up Sunnie and stood to face him. “Your niece and I are waiting.”

He cleared his throat as he tried to remember what she had said. But the sight of her holding Sunnie, tenderly pressing her lips to the baby’s soft cheek, was one Brad didn’t think he would ever forget, and he couldn’t for the life of him think of one single reason why he found it so compelling.

“Uh … well … let’s see.”

What the hell was wrong with him? Why all of a sudden was he having trouble concentrating? And why did his lapse of attention have to happen in front of her?

He never had problems focusing on a conversation. Why then, couldn’t he think of anything but how perfectly shaped Abby’s lips were and how soft they would feel on his skin?

“Get it snug. Fasten with Velcro. Avoid pinching tender skin,” he finally managed with no small effort. “Got it.” He gave himself a mental pat on the back for at least remembering that much.

“It took you that long to remember something this simple?” she asked, giving him an accusatory look. “Lucky guess.”

“Yup.” He shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that I got it right.”

She shook her head. “You have to do better than that, Bradford. You can’t just guess. You have to learn how to do these things for her.” Abby slowly swayed side to side the way he’d seen many women do when they held a baby. “You’re her daddy now. You’ve got to step up to the plate and hit a home run on this. Sunnie is depending on you to know exactly what you’re doing and to do it when it needs to be done.”

Abby was right. At times he found the responsibility of adopting his late brother’s child and raising her as his own to be overwhelming. “Let me assure you, I’ll do whatever it takes to see that Sunnie has the best of everything, including the care she needs,” he said, irritated that she thought he would do anything less. “I think you know me well enough to realize that I never do anything halfway. When I commit to something, I’ll see it through or die trying.”

Staring at him a moment, she finally nodded. “Be sure that you do.”

They both fell silent when Sunnie laid her little head on Abby’s shoulder. It was obvious she was about to go to sleep.

As he watched, Abby closed her eyes and cuddled the baby close. “Don’t ever lose sight of how blessed you are to have her in your life, Brad.”

“Never.” Something about her heartfelt statement and the fact that she had used the preferred variation of his name caught him off guard and without thinking he reached up to lightly run the back of his knuckles along her smooth cheek. “You’re going to be a great mom someday, Abigail Langley.”

When she opened her eyes, he wasn’t prepared for the haunted look that clouded Abby’s crystalline gaze. “I’m so sorry, Abby.” He could have kicked himself for being so insensitive. It had barely been a year since her husband, Richard, passed away and Brad knew for a fact that they had being trying to start a family when the man died. “I’m sure that one day you’ll have a family of your own.”

She shook her head. “I wish that were true, but um …” She paused to take a deep breath. “… I’m afraid children aren’t in my future.”

The resigned tone in her voice had him nodding. “Of course they are. There will be plenty of time for you to have kids. You’re only thirty-two, the same as me, and even if you don’t meet another man you want to spend the rest of your life with, there are a lot of women choosing single motherhood these days.”

She was silent a moment before she spoke again. “It’s more complicated than meeting someone or choosing to be a single mother.”

“Maybe it seems that way now, but I’m sure later on you’ll feel differently,” he insisted.

When she looked up at him, a single tear slowly slid down her smooth cheek. “It won’t make a difference no matter how much time passes.”

He couldn’t understand her abject resignation. “What’s wrong, Abby?”

She stared at him for several long seconds before she answered. “I’m … not able to have … children.”

It was the last thing he expected her to say, and it made him feel like a complete jerk for pressing the issue. “I’m really sorry, Abby. I wasn’t aware.…” His voice trailed off. What could he say that wouldn’t make matters worse?

She shrugged one slender shoulder. “It’s not like I haven’t known about it for a while. The test results came back the week after Richard’s funeral.”

That had been a little over a year ago, and Brad could tell she still struggled with the gravity of it all. Why wouldn’t she? To lose your husband and within days learn that you could never have a child? That had to be devastating.

Not wanting to cause her further emotional pain by saying the wrong thing, he decided it would be best not to lend his support with words. He had already put his foot in his mouth once and wanted to avoid doing so again. Putting his arms around her and his sleeping niece, he simply stood there and held her.

But the comforting gesture quickly reminded him of another time when he would have given anything to have her slender body pressed to his. They had just started high school, and over the summer between middle school and freshman year, he had developed more hormones than good sense. At fifteen, he had been more than ready to abandon their rivalry in favor of being able to call her his girlfriend.

Unfortunately, Richard Langley had caught her attention about that time, and from then on it had been obvious that Abby and Richard were destined to be together. And it was just as well, Brad decided. She could push his buttons faster than any female he had ever met and have him grinding his teeth in two seconds flat. It had been that way back then and it was still, after all these years, that way now.

“It would probably be a good idea if we head toward the assembly room,” she said, effectively ending his trip down memory lane. “It’s almost time for the meeting to be called to order.” Her tone was soft, but her voice was steadier than it had been earlier, and he knew she had regained the majority of her composure.

Nodding, Brad released her and took a step back. He wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t make the moment more awkward than it already was. “I should have just enough time to get one of the staff to watch Sunnie before the speeches begin,” he finally said, checking his watch.

“How long do you think she’ll nap?” Abby asked, walking over to carefully place the infant in the car-seat carrier. “If you think she’ll sleep through the speeches, I’ll watch her while you address the general membership.”

Since Sunnie had come into his life, they had established a truce of sorts, but old habits died hard. He didn’t believe for a minute Abby was willingly helping him to win the office they both sought. But neither did he believe she would do something underhanded like wake the baby in the middle of his speech. In all of their years of competing against each other, neither of them had ever resorted to sabotage to come out on top.

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” She put the baby wipes and powder back into the diaper bag. “But don’t think I’m doing it to help you with this election or that I won’t take great pleasure in beating the socks off of you when the results are announced at the Christmas Ball.”

More comfortable with the return of the rivalry they’d shared for as long as he could remember, he smiled. “Of course not. You’re doing it for—”

“Sunnie,” she said, picking up her purse and the diaper bag.

Grinning, Brad took hold of the baby carrier’s handle, then put his hand to the small of Abby’s back to guide her toward the coat room door. “Ready to go in there and listen to the best wrap-up speech you’ve ever heard?”

“In your dreams, Price,” she said, preceding him out the door and into the hall. “I know you’ve always been a windbag, but you would have to produce a Texas tornado to impress me.”

Walking toward the assembly room, he laughed. “Then you had better prepare yourself, Ms. Langley, because you’re about to be blown away.”

Seated at the table with all of the candidates running for the various club offices, Abby checked on Sunnie napping peacefully in the baby carrier on the chair between her and Brad. Satisfied the infant would sleep through at least the majority of the speeches, Abby looked around the assembly of Texas Cattleman’s Club members.

Up until seven months ago, the TCC had been an exclusively male organization with no thoughts to making it open to women. But she had broken through the glass ceiling and become the first female member in the club’s long history.

Unfortunately, the invitation to join had not been because of what she could bring to the club, but due to her last name. Founded by her late husband’s great-great-great grandfather, Tex Langley, over a hundred years ago, the TCC had always boasted a member of the Langley family in its ranks. But with Richard’s death a year ago, it had been the first time since the organization’s inception that a Langley had not been listed on the club’s membership roster. She had a little known bylaw requiring Langley representation within the club to thank for her admittance.