Читать книгу The Texan's Surprise Son - Cathy Mcdavid - Страница 10
Оглавление“Would you like to see the outside?” Jacob gestured toward the French doors leading to the back patio.
“Sure.” Mariana smiled politely.
He hadn’t yet broached the subject of visitation, wanting to ease into it. A tour of the house seemed like a good starting point. As they’d gone from room to room he felt like a private standing nervously by while the general conducted his inspection. She seemed satisfied, other than the fact that he was lacking child protection devices. A lot of them, apparently. Outlet covers. Cabinet locks. Baby gates. The list went on and on.
She’d assured him all the items needed could be easily purchased and installed. If he didn’t have the time, a service could be hired to handle it.
A service? Jacob was impressed. What will they think of next?
He flipped on the patio light, and Mariana stepped outside. Her gaze traveled the yard.
“No pool,” she said with obvious relief.
“I’ve been considering putting one in.” At her horrified gasp, he asked, “Don’t kids like pools?”
“Toddlers should never be around water.”
“I guess I can wait a few years.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Man, she was obsessive-compulsive where Cody was concerned. Or he was completely ignorant when it came to young children.
Okay, guilty as charged. And given that Leah had recently passed, Mariana’s overreacting really wasn’t unreasonable.
The subject of their discussion was still enamored with Buster and paying no attention to the adults. He walked alongside the Queensland heeler, his small hand resting on Buster’s neck. Periodically, he bent and whispered into the dog’s ear or kissed the top of his head. Jacob admitted it was kind of cute.
“Is that a corral?” Mariana peered at the back of the property.
Uh-oh. She had that look on her face again. What had Jacob done wrong now? “I have a full acre, so I built a paddock and a couple covered stalls.”
“You have horses?”
“One horse. Amigo. I keep my working horses at the Roughneck and ride there. Amigo is retired. He was my first horse when my mom married Brock. I take him out about once a week for old time’s sake.”
She tilted her head. “A retired show dog and a retired horse?”
“What can I say? I have soft spot.”
“That’s nice.” The warmth in her voice was a pleasant change.
“Cody can ride Amigo if he’d like.”
“No riding.”
“Not tonight,” he agreed. “Another day.”
“He’s too little. And horses run off.”
Well, that didn’t last long. Mariana was back to bearing her mother-grizzly-bear teeth.
“Amigo’s crippled in his back legs and couldn’t run off if he tried. A slow walk is the most I can get out of him.”
“Absolutely not,” she stated firmly.
For some reason, her bossy attitude rankled Jacob. Cody was his son. Didn’t that give him say in what the kid could and couldn’t do?
Jacob opened his mouth to speak, then promptly shut it. The feelings to nurture and protect that had started yesterday while at the Roughneck were growing stronger and stronger. He had a responsibility, and he’d assume it gladly and without reservation. But shouldn’t he also feel love? An automatic and unbreakable bond between the two of them like the one Luke shared with Rosie?
Jacob studied Cody, who was still lavishing affection on Buster, and guilt pricked at him. This was the child he’d fathered. What was wrong with him?
Maybe they just needed more time together. The idea made sense. A lot of sense.
The three of them returned inside after a short walk around the yard. Jacob won back some lost points by having a large grassy lawn that Mariana proclaimed was perfect for playing.
“I could install a swing set,” he suggested.
“When he’s older.”
Of course. Why had he even asked?
She was a puzzle, and he found his attention drifting away from Cody and toward her. She wore another suit, except this one had pants rather than a skirt. Too bad. Jacob was a confirmed leg man, and despite the stress that marked their initial meeting, he’d noticed her legs, which were long and shapely enough to appear in a bathing suit ad.
He’d like to see her in a bathing suit. A bikini. Maybe one day soon he could suggest they all three go swimming at the Roughneck. The pool was heated year-round.
On second thought, she probably wouldn’t allow Cody within a mile of the pool. Not unless it was drained of water.
Inside, Mariana offered to wash the dishes. “It’s only fair since you cooked.”
Jacob saw an opportunity and took it. “Great. Cody and I will get acquainted.”
“O...kay.”
Before she could protest, Jacob took Cody into the family room. Buster and Cody both, that was. The kid wouldn’t go two feet without the dog.
There, Jacob sat on the couch and called Buster over. His ploy worked. Cody came, too.
“Watch this,” he said and waved his hand in front of Buster’s face. It was a technique he used to get the deaf dog’s attention. “Green ball.”
Instantly, Buster dashed over to a wicker basket in the corner of the room filled with dog toys. He stuck his nose in the basket and came up with a bright green tennis ball, which he brought back to Jacob.
Cody stared in amazement.
“That’s nothing,” Jacob said and told Buster, “monkey.”
The dog dashed off again to the toy basket and brought back a stuffed monkey with one arm and one eye missing. Buster was a little hard on his toys.
“Okay, here we go.” As Cody watched, Jacob set both the ball and the monkey on the floor in front of Buster. The dog sat and stared intently but didn’t move. “Buster, if I say three, you pick up the ball. If I say four, you pick up the monkey. Ready?”
Thump, thump, thump. The dog’s wagging tail hit the floor.
“Seven, nine, one, sixteen, twelve.” Jacob looked at Cody and winked. The boy couldn’t count, but he seemed entertained. “Ten, four.”
Buster snatched up the monkey in the blink of an eye.
Cody burst into laughter.
“Good dog.” Jacob patted Buster’s head. “Tell him he’s a good dog.”
Cody patted Buster as Jacob had done and said, “Good dog,” over and over.
A tug pulled at Jacob’s heart. It was admittedly tiny, but definitely there and something to build on.
He showed the boy a few more of Buster’s tricks, finishing with a display of Buster’s vocalizing abilities.
“Say hello,” Jacob commanded, and the dog yowled comically.
“That’s amazing,” Mariana said.
Hearing the warmth in her voice, Jacob glanced up. The matching warmth in her expression had him unable to stop staring. She was more than pretty, she was compelling, and the effect she had on him was potent.
“I can’t take any of the credit,” he said. “My friend trained him.”
She came over and petted Buster. “I bet he was something to see.”
“If you go onto YouTube and search his name, you’ll find a few videos from his heyday. They’re fun to watch.”
“I just might do that.” She moved to the couch and sat next to Jacob. “We can’t stay much longer. Cody’s bedtime is eight.”
“Thanks for bringing him by.”
“I think it went well.”
“Before you go, can we spend a few minutes discussing visitation?”
“Oh.” She abruptly tensed. “Don’t you want to wait for the DNA test results?”
“That’s a week away, at most.”
Sensing his performance was over, Buster stretched out at Jacob’s feet. Cody tumbled on top of the dog, whose only reaction was a soft grunt.
“Have you told your family yet about Cody?” she asked.
“Like you, I was waiting. I mentioned him to a friend the other day.” Jacob turned the tables on her. “Have you told your mother?”
There was a slight flicker in her expression and then she finally said, “Yes.”
“How did she take it?”
“She’s concerned for Cody’s welfare. Please don’t take that wrong. It’s nothing against you personally.”
“I don’t. I’m a complete stranger. Perhaps she and I can also meet. In fact, I’d like that.”
“Eventually.”
Again, her tone rubbed him the wrong way. “Wow, she must be really upset. Is she going to fight me?”
“There’s nothing to fight. You haven’t been proven to be an unfit father.”
“I’m not any kind of a father.”
“Which is one of the reasons I’d prefer to start with weekly supervised visits. Like tonight. Then, we could progress to unsupervised visits. After a few months, you could take Cody for a whole day.”
If her expression weren’t so serious, he’d think she was joking. “Am I a criminal?”
“What?”
“You’re treating me like one. Supervised visits?”
“This is going to a big adjustment for Cody. Moving too fast will only confuse him, and he’s already suffered so much.”
“I get big adjustments, Mariana. My mother married Brock Baron when I was nine, and my life changed completely. I promise you I’ll be sensitive to Cody’s needs.”
“I’m sure you will. But he’s only two.”
“And he’ll probably adjust a lot faster than a nine-year-old. Look at him.” Both their glances traveled to Cody, who lay snuggled beside Buster, the thumb of one hand shoved in his mouth and the fingers of his other hand entwined in the dog’s thick fur. “Does he look like he’s struggling?”
“It might be a different story if I weren’t here.”
“Why are you backpedaling all of a sudden?”
Her lips thinned. “I’m not.”
“You came to me. You suggested I have a role in Cody’s life, to whatever extent I choose.”
“After an adjustment period.”
“According to you, a very long adjustment period. Did your mother change your mind?”
“My mother does have reservations and raised some valid points. After considering them, I reviewed my original position.”
Always the carefully worded answer. She was definitely an attorney.
“Look,” he said. “I’m the first to admit I lack parenting experience. And I’m going to need help. But I won’t be treated like a criminal, either.”
“I apologize. I was out of line.”
He nodded. “Thank you for that.”
“I really want for us to work together on what’s best for Cody.”
“Agreed.”
“Good.” She relaxed. “What if Cody and I come by—”
“I’d like for Cody to move in with me. Right away.”
“What!” She stared at him as if he’d suggested she jump out of a plane without a parachute.
“I told you that first day, if he was my son, I’d do right by him. Well, I will. And for me, that means being a full-time father. Not pawning him off on his mother’s relatives.”
The plan that had started taking shape yesterday during Jacob’s ride crystalized. He would be a better father than Oscar Burke and Brock Baron combined.
“I love Cody. You wouldn’t be pawning him off on me.”
“You’d be welcome to visit anytime. Your mother, too. Have him on weekends.”
Mariana shook her head. “You can’t possibly care for a toddler. You don’t even have a crib.”
“Small details that can be worked out.”
“Have you ever bathed a child or changed a diaper?”
Diapers? Okay, he hadn’t thought of that. “Larger details, but they can still be worked out. Other men manage to be fathers.” He was thinking of Luke. “I’m sure I can learn, too.”
“You work during the day. And you’re gone every weekend to some rodeo.”
“Cody’s in day care now. There must be a suitable place between my house and the drill site.”
She held up a hand as if to stop him. He almost expected her to say, “Your honor, I object.”
What she did say was, “This is much, much too quick. He just lost Leah. He can’t lose me, too. There has to be another solution.”
“There is. You can move in with me, too.”
“What!”
“Temporarily. Just until Cody adjusts. A month should be long enough, don’t you think? Longer if necessary. I can get off work early on Thursday.”
Her mouth worked, but no words came out.
Jacob couldn’t help grinning. Seems he’d finally done it. Shocked the unflappable Mariana Snow into silence.
* * *
“HAVE YOU LOST your mind?” Lucille Snow pressed her palms to her cheeks and squeezed her eyes shut. “You can’t do this.”
If Mariana had lost her mind, she wasn’t the only one. Jacob was plumb crazy to suggest she stay with him. Then again, she’d agreed. What did that say about her?
“Mom, please. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“I’m going to lose my grandson.”
“He’ll be two hours away.”
“What if he insists on full custody and won’t let me see Cody?” She bit out the word he as if Jacob were indeed the criminal he’d accused Mariana of calling him.
“He said you could visit as often as you wanted. Even have Cody for weekends. But if by some chance he refuses, we’ll go after him. Grandparents have rights, too.”
“You shouldn’t have told him he was Cody’s father.”
“But he is Cody’s father, and denying him his son would be wrong.”
Last evening surely hadn’t gone as planned. Mariana went from being the one in control to being a helpless bystander as Jacob made plans. If only she hadn’t been so impulsive. She should have insisted they hammer out visitation before she introduced him to Cody.
“Leah wouldn’t approve.” Her mother’s voice had started to shake. “I’d stop you if I could.”
This...vehemence was new.
Mariana went over and put an arm around her mother’s shoulders. “Working yourself up into a frenzy won’t help.”
“Cody’s so little. He’s already been uprooted once these past months.” Her mother started to cry.
“Drive up again this weekend. Or maybe I’ll drive down. That way, Cody can see Grandma, too. She loves seeing him.”
Mariana’s grandmother was also in Austin. Though still living alone, she’d grown frailer this past year, ever since her hip replacement, and required more time and attention from her daughter.
“Watch him carefully.” Mariana’s mother brought her tears under control.
Him meaning Jacob. “I will, Mom. But he’s not a brute. He was really pretty good with Cody the other day.”
“He doesn’t know the first thing about toddlers.”
“Which is why I agreed to stay with him. Temporarily.” And she wasn’t leaving until he’d convinced her beyond a shadow of a doubt he was capable of parenting a small child for extended periods of time. It required more than a great dog, a nice yard and impressive cooking skills. “Leah trusted me to do what’s best for Cody, and I think this is best.”
She continued packing her suitcase, taking a mental inventory. Underwear. Toiletries. Four pairs of shoes. Workout clothes. Sleepwear.
Sleepwear? What should she bring? Mariana had never cohabitated with a man in a platonic relationship. She’d never cohabitated with a man period. Not that she was a prude. She’d spent nights at her boyfriend’s place before. When she’d had a boyfriend. Sleepwear wasn’t an issue then.
She settled on her two least-sexy pajamas and threw in a thick robe for good measure. Cody sometimes woke up during the night. She’d be appropriately covered should they find themselves wandering the house.
Helena, Mariana’s secretary, had proved invaluable. She’d ordered a portable crib, a portable changing table, plastic crates to substitute for dresser drawers and all manner of small necessities. Then, she’d had the items delivered to Jacob’s house. She’d also located a childproofing service. They were scheduled for later in the week.
Mariana saw no need to move Cody’s furniture and belongings just yet. Best to wait and see how things progressed. Jacob might reconsider. His insistence on this arrangement was a knee-jerk reaction to her insistence that they wait.
And she’d only insisted because her mother had come unglued. Mariana’s staying with Jacob seemed like a good compromise.
What had gone wrong the other day? she wondered. Mariana was usually good at coaxing people into doing what she wanted. It served her well in her profession. Yet she’d failed to coax Jacob into moving slowly. Was she blinded by his looks and appeal? She didn’t want to label it attraction. She couldn’t possibly be attracted to him. He wasn’t at all the kind of guy she went for. Besides, he’d fathered her sister’s child.
“Where’s Cody?” Her mother peered down the hall, her expression anxious.
“In his room. Packing a suitcase.”
“You’re not leaving that up to him!” Her mother started for the door.
“Mom, come back. He’s just playing.”
To keep Cody occupied while she packed, Mariana had put a second suitcase on the floor of his room. That was all it took. Cody had spent the past twenty minutes filling the suitcase with mostly toys and picture books. She’d have to sneak in later when he wasn’t looking and repack with clothes and shoes.
“How soon are you leaving?” Her mother’s frown shouted her unhappiness.
“Soon. I promised Jacob we’d be there before dinner. We need to settle in before Cody’s bedtime.”
“Doesn’t he rodeo every weekend?”
Would her mother ever call Jacob by his name?
“Yes, but he’s planning on coming home early Sunday. To spend as much time as possible with Cody and get to know him.”
Her mother harrumphed. “Your dad had every chance in the world to get to know you and your sister, and it didn’t matter. He still chose rodeoing.”
“Not every man is like Dad.” Mariana picked through her jewelry box, selecting earrings and necklaces to take with her.
“You can’t right his wrongs, you know.” Her mother sniffed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Telling Cody’s father about him. You think that Cody having a father in his life will make up for you and Leah missing out.”
Mariana gaped at her mother. “That is so far from the truth.”
“Is it?”
She couldn’t possibly be trying to re-create the past by manipulating the present. Telling Jacob about his son was a matter of principle. Or wasn’t it?
Leah had easily dismissed their father, content to live her life as if he never existed. Mariana had been different. She’d experienced an entire range of emotions where Zeb Snow was concerned. Anger at him for abandoning her, resentment that he wasn’t there, longing to know him, hope that he’d change and come back for her.
No, Cody didn’t deserve to grow up like either she or her sister had. Jacob Baron would be a good father. She had to believe that.
An hour later the three of them were loading the car, Cody again “helping.” The Infiniti’s small trunk and backseat were full to bursting.
“Have you got everything?” her mother asked. She’d already loaded her small suitcase into her car in preparation of returning to Austin.
Mariana wiped her forehead. “Probably not.”
When they were finally ready to leave, her mother held Cody and cried as if he were leaving for a year.
“Mom, please. You’re upsetting him.”
Indeed, the boy had started whimpering. Though he could simply be tired. It was nap time.
Her mother straightened. “Call me when you get there.”
“I will.” Mariana lifted Cody and placed him in his car seat. His attention was immediately drawn to the boxes and bags piled on the seat beside him.
“My blanky.” He slapped a plastic bag.
“That’s right. It’s your blanket.” She thought he might sleep better with his own bedding.
“Bye, darling.” Mariana’s mother leaned into the car and kissed his forehead. “I love you.”
“Bye-bye. Bye-bye.” He waved out the window when Mariana shut the door.
Pivoting, she found herself engulfed in her mother’s arms and the recipient of a hug as fierce as the one she’d given Cody.
“I hope you’re not making a terrible mistake.”
The statement, delivered in a foreboding tone, stayed with Mariana the entire drive to Jacob’s house. She felt no better when she arrived and saw him standing outside, waiting.
