then. “Whether you ever want to sleep with me again.”
“Oh, I do, darlin’. I surely do.”
“Offhand, I’d say your chances right now are about that of a snowball’s in hell.”
With that she whirled around and marched up the steps and into the house, leaving him to ponder the wisdom of telling the truth over uttering a more diplomatic little white lie. Short-term, the truth clearly had its drawbacks. Long-term, well, that remained to be seen, he concluded as he followed her inside.
* * *
Laurie stood in the doorway to the living room and drew in a deep breath. Half the adults were down on the floor with Amy Lynn, who appeared to be ecstatic at all the attention. The child was showing off her first teeth in a grin that had everyone cooing at her. She crawled from one new relative to another and offered smacking kisses.
“Quite the little charmer, isn’t she?” Harlan Patrick said proudly.
“Like her daddy,” Laurie observed with less enthusiasm.
“Seems to me she’s more like her mama, enjoying being the center of attention.”
“Don’t start with me, Harlan Patrick.”
“That wasn’t a jab,” he insisted.
“Sounded like one to me.”
He frowned. “Does every conversation we have have to disintegrate into an argument?”
“Seems that way.”
“I’m tired of it, Laurie. I’m tired of the sparring. Aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she conceded.
“Then let’s make a pact,” he suggested. “Let’s declare an honest-to-God truce. Let’s promise to think before we open our mouths and try not to keep hurting each other.”
“I’d be happy to go along with that, if you will.”
“I will,” he vowed solemnly, and sketched an X across his chest. “Cross my heart.”
If only she could count on him remembering that promise for longer than a minute, she thought wistfully. Harlan Patrick always said what was in his heart. It was a blessing and a curse. She never had to sort through lies and evasions, but she also had to shield herself from the sometimes brutally painful honesty.
She studied his face intently, saw the sincerity in his eyes. “I promise, too,” she said just as Harlan Adams spotted her.
“Laurie, my girl, come over here and sit beside me. We have some catching up to do.”
“Badgering more than likely,” Harlan Patrick murmured.
She grinned. “I can handle your grandfather,” she assured him, then winked. “Can you?”
“Doubtful,” Harlan Patrick conceded. “Let me know how it turns out.”
“Oh, no, you low-down, sneaky cowboy. This reunion was your idea. You can come along and share the heat.”
“Now, that sounds downright fascinating.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“You sure? Sometimes a slip of the tongue can be very telling.”
She regarded him impatiently. “Try to drag your mind out of the gutter for two seconds and come with me. I am not facing your grandfather alone.”
“I thought you said you could handle him.”
“I can, but I want backup.”
“Sorry. I left my shotgun at home.”
“I doubt guns will be called for. Just use that inimitable charm of yours to steer the conversation in some other direction if he starts asking about our intentions.”
Harlan Patrick gave her a worrisome grin. “Why would I want to do that? I’m mighty interested in what you have to say on that subject myself.”
“Watch your step,” Laurie warned. “Or I’ll tell him you’ll be lucky if you’re not dead by the time I head out of here tomorrow.”
On that note she headed across the room leaving Harlan Patrick to amble after her. She knew he’d come, if only to protect his own hide.
“Sit right down here,” Harlan Adams said, patting the place beside him on the sofa. “Boy, you can drag over one of those chairs since you evidently don’t trust me to have a private conversation with your girl here.”
When Harlan Patrick was settled, his grandfather turned to her. “Young lady, I have a bone to pick with you.”
Laurie tensed. “What’s that?”
“When you called here a few days ago, why didn’t you say a word about that pretty little baby of yours?”
She breathed a sigh of relief. That was an easy one. “I wasn’t sure how much you knew, or how much Harlan Patrick knew, for that matter. I figured you’d say something if you’d seen the tabloid and put two and two together.”
He nodded knowingly. “That’s why you called, then? You were pumping me for information?”
“Afraid so,” she admitted. “I wanted to know if Harlan Patrick had seen the picture and if so, what his mood was. You told me all I needed to know when you said he’d taken off for parts unknown.”