The Cowboy and His Baby by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page B

though, there was no way the truth could be kept hidden forever. Cody had already seen his daughter. His brother knew that Sharon Lynn was Cody’s. Sooner or later the pieces of the puzzle would come together, and when they did, she didn’t have a doubt in her mind what Cody’s reaction would be. If he’d been furious when he’d thought she was cheating on him with his best friend, he would destroy her when he found out about the baby she’dkept from him. Maybe he wouldn’t fight her for custody as her mother feared, but he would make her life into the hell she deserved for deceiving him in the first place.
    She rubbed her knuckles against Sharon Lynn’s soft skin and sighed again. There was so much of Cody in her daughter. She had the same stubborn tilt to her chin, the same dark blond hair that streaked with gold in the summer sun. And, for the most part, she had the same sunny disposition and laughing eyes Cody had had before he thought Melissa had betrayed him.
    It had hurt today to glimpse the old teasing Cody, only to see him vanish in the space of a heartbeat at the first mention of the past. When he’d walked out of Dolan’s, her heart had been heavy with the burden of guilt and fear.
    â€œI have to be the one to tell him,” she whispered finally, her fingers caressing that precious cheek. “I have to tell your daddy all about you.”
    Maybe by revealing the truth herself, before he learned it from someone else, she would have some small chance of earning his forgiveness. They could work out a solution together.
    Tomorrow, she vowed. First thing tomorrow afternoon when she got off work, she would drive out to White Pines and tell Cody everything. And then she would pray that it didn’t cost her the only person on earth she held dear.

    * * *

    Too restless to stay in one place for long as he contemplated how to go about discovering whether Melissa’s baby was his, Cody drove over to visit Jordan and Kelly. Six-year-old Dani was always adistraction and he just might get a chance to hold that nephew of his. He had a hunch it would be a bittersweet sensation given what he suspected about Melissa’s child being his own.
    â€œUncle Cody!” Dani screamed when she caught sight of him. She ran and leapt into his arms, planting kisses all over his face. “I really, really missed you.”
    The weight of her in his arms, the peppermint-sticky kisses, filled him with nostalgia and accomplished exactly what he’d hoped for. “I really missed you, too, pumpkin. I’m sorry I didn’t get to take those kittens you had for me awhile back.”
    She patted his cheek consolingly. “That’s okay. Francie had more. Want to see? One is all black with a white nose. I think you’ll really, really like him.”
    He grinned. “I bet I will,” he agreed. “We’ll go see him later.”
    â€œWe’d better go now,” Dani protested. “Later it will be my bedtime.”
    â€œGive me a few minutes inside to say hello to your mom,” he negotiated. “I’m sure it won’t be your bedtime then.”
    Dani braced her hands against his chest, leaned back in his arms and studied him intently. “You promise you won’t leave without going to see the kittens?”
    â€œI promise,” he said, solemnly crossing his heart as he put her down.
    â€œOkay,” she said cheerfully, and ran toward the house screaming, “Mommy, Uncle Cody’s here and he says he’s going to take one of Francie’s kittens.”
    â€œThank goodness,” Kelly called back as she emerged from the house, a grin on her face. “Conned you again, huh?”
    He chuckled. “If you’re not careful, that child of yours is going to be the biggest scam artist in the entire United States.”
    â€œI prefer to think she’ll have a career in diplomacy or maybe negotiating strike