Читать книгу In Bed with the Opposition - Kathie DeNosky - Страница 8

Brad Price stared at the object in his hand, then at the tiny baby girl grinning up at him as she grabbed her foot and tried to stuff her tiny toes into her mouth. When had Sunnie lost her little pink sock?

Scratching his head, he scanned the floor. She had it on when they arrived at the Texas Cattleman’s Club not two minutes ago. How could a baby barely six months old be so quick?

He once again glanced at the disposable diaper he held. What in the name of all that was holy had he gotten himself into, taking on the responsibility of raising his late brother’s child? He knew about as much when it came to taking care of a baby as he did about piloting a spacecraft to the moon.

When he had made the decision to adopt Sunnie, he had even gone so far as to give serious consideration to dropping out of the race for the TCC presidency. But only briefly. He had made a commitment to seek the office, and he never went back on his word. Besides, he believed in the club and everything it stood for, and he intended to raise Sunnie to believe in those values, too.

The organization needed someone with a level head and a solid plan, and he was the man with both. He had several ideas on ways to bridge the ever-widening gap between the old guard and the younger members in order to unite the club and renew the solidarity that had always been an integral part of the TCC. It was something that had to be done to ensure its future and to continue the valuable services it had always provided for the residents of Royal, Texas.

But if he didn’t figure out how to change Sunnie’s diaper, and damned quick, it would all be a moot point. He would miss outlining his vision for the TCC at the annual general meeting, and for the first time in the club’s history, a woman—the only woman ever to be allowed to join the organization—would be voted into office by default. He’d be damned if he’d let that happen.

Closing his eyes, Brad counted to ten. He could do this. He had a master’s degree in financial planning, had graduated from the University of Texas summa cum laude and in the years since had built a thriving career as a certified financial planner, amassing a sizable fortune of his own. Surely he could figure out something as simple as changing a baby’s disposable diaper.

But where did he start? And once he figured out how to get the one she was wearing off and the new one in position, how the hell was he supposed to fasten it around her waist?

As he studied the sides of the diaper Sunnie was wearing, he tried to remember what his housekeeper, Juanita, had told him when she gave him a detailed lecture on diaper changing before she left him high and dry to rush off to Dallas for the birth of her third grandchild. Unfortunately, he had been preoccupied with putting the final touches on the campaign wrap-up speech he was supposed to give at today’s meeting and barely heard the woman. In hindsight, he should have taken extensive notes or at the very least given the matter his undivided attention.

Just when he decided he was going to have to find one of the club’s female employees and ask her to do the honors of changing his niece, he heard the door of the coat room open. “Thank God,” he muttered, hoping it was someone who knew more about the intricacies of a disposable diaper than he did. “Would you mind giving me a hand here?”

“Having a bit of a problem, Mr. Price?” a familiar female voice asked. Relieved that help had arrived, Brad couldn’t work up the slightest bit of irritation at the obvious humor in Abigail Langley’s tone.

Turning to find his lifelong nemesis standing just inside the door, a knowing smile curving her full coral lips, Brad released a frustrated breath. They had been rivals for as long as he could remember and for the past several months bitter opponents for the coveted office of president of the TCC. At any other time her perceptive expression would have no doubt had him grinding his teeth. At the moment, he couldn’t feel anything but gratitude.

“How are you at putting these things on a baby?” he asked, holding up the offending object.

Laughing, Abby hung up her coat. “Don’t tell me the mighty Bradford Price has run into a problem he can’t solve with his superior logic.”

Not at all surprised that she took the opportunity to make fun of him, he gave her a sarcastic smile. “Cute, Langley. Now will you get over here and help me out?”

She walked over to stand beside the plush sofa, where his niece lay nibbling on her toes as she stared happily up at them. “You don’t have the slightest clue what you’re doing, do you, Bradford?”

Her use of his given name never failed to cause a slow burn deep in his gut. He knew she was using it to taunt him, much as she had done when they were in school. But he couldn’t afford to retaliate. If he did she might not help him, and there was no point in denying the obvious anyway. They both knew he was in way over his head. Besides, arguing with her wouldn’t get him any closer to getting the damned diaper changed.

“Isn’t it apparent?” The familiar irritation he always felt when they were together had replaced his earlier relief at seeing her. “Now, are you going to help me or am I going to have to go in search of someone who will?”

“Of course I’ll change Sunnie,” she said, as she set down her purse and seated herself on the couch beside the baby. “But I’m not doing it to help you.” She tickled the baby’s rounded little tummy. “I’m doing it for this little angel.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

He didn’t care who Abby was doing it for, as long as his niece was changed and dry in time for him to make arrangements for someone to watch her while he gave his closing campaign speech to the TCC general membership. Then, when all of the candidates had finished speaking and were asked to leave the room for final comments from the members, he fully intended to take Sunnie home for a much-needed nap for both of them.

The day had barely begun and he was already exhausted. Taking care of a baby was proving to be a lot more work than he had anticipated. Aside from the feedings at the most god-awful hours of the day and night, there was so much to take along when they left the house, it was like moving.

“Why didn’t you leave the baby with your housekeeper?” Abby asked as she tucked her long, dark red hair behind her ears and reached for the diaper bag Juanita had packed before leaving on her trip.

“She got a call early this morning that her youngest daughter has been scheduled to have a Caesarian delivery tomorrow. She’s on her way up to Dallas to be there for the birth,” he answered, absently. “She won’t be back for a couple of weeks.”

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.

She sighed, then squared her shoulders and sat up a little straighter. It didn’t matter what the reason was that had gained her membership in the TCC; she’d blazed a trail. Now she fully intended to see that other women were considered for entry into the prestigious ranks just as soon as she became the new club president. She couldn’t think of a more fitting way to open the new clubhouse she was sure the members were going to vote to build than to have a membership roster with the names of many of the women who had supported the Texas Cattleman’s Club throughout the years.

When her name was announced as the next speaker, she checked on Sunnie one last time before walking up to the podium to outline her agenda. Looking out over the room, she could tell that the older members were less than pleased to have her in their ranks, let alone see her running for the high office. But that was just too bad. It was time they joined the twenty-first century and realized that a woman was just as capable of getting things accomplished as any man.

After going over each point in her plan for the future of the TCC, she ended her speech with a mention of her pet project. “The building committee has hired an architect and presented his plans for a new clubhouse. It is my sincere hope that you vote to move forward with this project to build a new home for our club and the exciting new era we are entering into. In closing, I ask that you all consider what I’ve said here today and base your vote on what I can bring to the Texas Cattleman’s Club presidency, not on my gender or my last name. Thank you, and I look forward to serving as the next president of the Texas Cattleman’s Club.” As she walked back to the table to take her seat, she received a rousing ovation from some of the club’s newer members and a grudging nod of respect from a couple of the older ones.

She was confident that she had done all she could do and represented the Langleys, as well as her gender, to the best of her ability. Now it would be up to the members to decide what direction they wanted the TCC to take when the actual voting took place tomorrow.

“Top that, Price,” she said, throwing down a challenge to her lifelong rival.

His hazel eyes twinkled as he rose to his feet and prepared to walk up to the front of the room. “Piece of cake, darlin’.”

She wasn’t fooled by his use of the endearment. Like most Texas men, Bradford Price called all women “darlin’.” What she couldn’t understand was why it sent a tiny little shiver coursing throughout her body.

Deciding it was best to ignore her reaction, she concentrated on Brad delivering his speech. She had to admit he was an engaging speaker and had a lot of good ideas—some of them paralleling her own. But that didn’t mean she was ready to concede.

For as long as she could remember she and Brad Price had been pitted against each other in one competition or another. Sometimes he won, other times she came out on top. But the rivalry was ever present and at times quite fierce.

Abby couldn’t help but smile as she remembered some of the contests they’d found themselves embroiled in. Their game of one-upsmanship had started in the first grade, when they worked to see who would be ranked higher on the honor roll at the end of each term. In middle school, they had competed to represent their class on the student council. By the time they reached high school, they were in an all-out race to see which one of them would be at the top of their graduating class. That particular competition had turned out to be a draw, and they ended up sharing the honor of being co-valedictorians.

Through it all, they had goaded, teased and thrown out challenges, and although their rivalry had never become a cutthroat battle, they hadn’t been friends, either. That was why, earlier in the coat room when Brad had shown such genuine concern and compassion, he had thrown her off guard. Maybe that was the reason she had felt compelled to tell him about her infertility.

She took a deep breath. Her inability to bear a child wasn’t something she discussed freely, and she couldn’t believe that she had opened up to him about it. She hadn’t even been able to bring herself to tell some of her close friends. Why had she shared one of her most painful secrets with him?

As she pondered her uncharacteristic behavior, Sunnie began to squirm within the confines of the baby carrier, and Abby knew she was about to wake up. If the infant’s whimpering was any indication, she was working up a lusty cry. Before they disrupted the rest of Brad’s speech, Abby grabbed the diaper bag and her purse, then picked up the baby from the carrier and walked to the double doors at the back of the room.

They hadn’t been out in the main hall more than a few minutes when Brad—baby carrier in hand—and the other men running for the board joined them. “After the vote tomorrow, all we have to do is wait until the Christmas Ball to see who wins,” he said, setting the carrier on the floor beside them.

“We’re done for the day?” she asked, placing a pacifier to Sunnie’s eager lips.

Brad nodded. “It’s a good thing, too. I think I need to take this little lady home and give her a bottle before we both crash for the afternoon.”

“Have you considered hiring a nanny?” Abby asked, patting the baby’s back as she swayed from side to side in an effort to keep Sunnie calm.

“I don’t intend to hire anyone to take care of Sunnie,” he said, stubbornly shaking his head. “I took on the responsibility of raising her and that’s what I fully intend to do. I’m not handing her care over to someone else, other than an occasional night out or a business meeting.”

When he didn’t elaborate, she felt compelled to ask, “How on earth are you going to manage taking care of her for the next couple of weeks without your housekeeper being around to advise you?” She hoped he was better at feeding a baby than he was at changing diapers.

Abby watched him run his hand through his thick, dark brown hair. She could tell he was a bit uneasy about being solely responsible for Sunnie’s care. “I’ll do my best, and if I run into something I can’t handle, I’ll call my best friend Zeke Travers’ wife, Sheila, or my sister, Sadie, for advice,” he said decisively. “Sheila’s a nurse and took care of Sunnie until I got custody. I’m sure if needed, one of them would be willing to come over and show me what to do.” He smiled. “By the way, thank you for watching her while I finished my speech. I really appreciate it.”

“I didn’t mind at all.” Setting the diaper bag on the floor, Abby knelt to place Sunnie in the carrier, then secured the straps and tucked a blanket in around her. “My ranch isn’t far from your house. If you can’t get hold of Sheila or Sadie, you can always give me a call and I’ll try to answer whatever questions you might have.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said seriously.

When she stood up, they stared at each other for several long moments as they both realized the other candidates had left and they were alone.

He suddenly gave her a lopsided grin. “Have you looked up?”

“No,” she answered slowly. “Should I?”

He pointed to something hanging from one of the heavy beams on the ceiling. “You’re standing under the mistletoe.”

“I hadn’t….” her breath caught when he stepped forward and put his arms around her waist “.noticed.…” Surely he wasn’t going to kiss her?

“I have to,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “It’s a tradition.”

Before she had the chance to remind him that they were opponents and that she wasn’t interested in observing that particular custom with him or anyone else, his mouth settled over hers in a kiss so gentle it left her speechless. Firm and warm, his lips caressed hers with a mastery that confirmed all the rumors she had heard about him being a ladies’ man. No man kissed that way without having one of two things—either a natural sense of what pleased a woman or a wealth of experience. Abby suspected that Bradford Price had an abundance of both.

Feeling as if her legs were about to fold beneath her, she reached up to put her hands on his wide shoulders. The solid strength she felt beneath the fabric of his black Armani jacket sent her heart racing and did nothing to help steady her wobbly knees. But when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her more fully against him, her legs failed her completely and she sagged against him.

Thankfully Sunnie chose that moment to spit out her pacifier and wail at the top of her little lungs, effectively bringing Abby out of the spell Brad had put her under. Leaning back, she quickly looked around to see if anyone had been watching them. She was relieved to find that the hall was empty.

“I … need to … get my coat,” she said, feeling as if the oxygen had been sucked from the room. “Sheila and I have… some shopping to do for the party…. at the women’s shelter.”

“Yeah, I should get Sunnie home for a bottle and a nap.” To her extreme displeasure, Brad didn’t act as if he had been affected one darned bit by the kiss.

He stuck his hand out and without thinking, Abby reached out to shake it. The moment their palms touched, a warm tingling sensation streaked up her arm. She quickly drew back.

“May the best man—”

“Or woman,” she automatically corrected him.

Shaking his head, he gave her that knowing grin of his—the one that never failed to make her want to bop him. “I suppose it won’t hurt for you to hang on to that little dream until it’s announced that I’ve won.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Price. I most certainly will,” she said, with renewed determination. “I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I win.”

“We’ll see about that, Langley.” He picked up the baby carrier and diaper bag, then turned toward the exit. “If I were you I wouldn’t start polishing your gavel just yet.”

“I could say the same thing about you and your presidential gavel,” she shot back.

His deep laughter as he walked down the hall and out of sight sent a wave of anger coursing through her. What on earth had gotten into her? Why had she let him kiss her? And why was she standing there like a complete ninny, watching him leave?

Unable to understand her atypical behavior, Abby started toward the coatroom. She wished she had the answers to why she’d acted so out of character, but at the moment nothing came to mind—other than she might have temporarily lost her mind.

Shaking her head, she pulled on her coat and walked to her car. She wasn’t certain who she was more angry with, him for being so blasted arrogant or herself for letting him get away with it.

But one thing was crystal clear. Nothing like that was going to happen again. Aside from the fact that she wasn’t interested in being kissed by any man, she was far more comfortable dealing with Bradford Price her lifelong opponent than she would ever be with Brad Price—arguably the best kisser in southwest Texas.