soon not get into with Sharon Lynn’s daddy, but he dutifully sat just the same.
“What exactly is going on between you and my daughter?” Cody began bluntly.
Cord bristled at the question, even though he understood Cody’s need to ask it.
“With all due respect, sir, she’s a grown woman. I think that’s between Sharon Lynn and me.”
Cody rose halfway out of his chair, a scowl on his face. “Now, listen here, you impertinent son of a gun.”
Cord held up a hand in a quieting gesture. “Sir, I know where you’re coming from. You’re worried about her. What I can tell you is that I will never do anything to hurt her. Circumstances, fate, call it what you will, threw us together and brought that innocent little baby into our lives. There’s a bond between us because of that. It may lead to something more. It may not. For myself, I hope it does. That’s as honest as I can be.”
Apparently it wasn’t quite enough to satisfy his boss. Cody’s gaze remained suspicious. “And this has nothing at all to do with the fact that she owns a ranch of her own?”
Cord went absolutely still, caught between shock and fury. He should have anticipated the question. Somehow, though, he’d pushed his discovery that Sharon Lynn was the widowed owner of a nearby ranch from his mind. He should have seen that Cody would add up his plan to buy his own place and his growing friendship with Sharon Lynn and come up with a devious scheme. In Cody’s place, he might have done the same. Still, the question rankled.
“What are you asking me?” he demanded quietly.
“I’d say it’s plain enough. I’m asking if your interest in my daughter has anything at all to do with the fact that she has some property. You told me yourself that it’s your goal to move on as soon as you can get enough money for some land. I can’t help thinking that courting Sharon Lynn would be a quicker way to go about it, wouldn’t it?”
Cord was on his feet before the words were out of Cody’s mouth. Because he was older, because he was Sharon Lynn’s father, he cut him more slack than he would any other man asking the same questions, making the same rotten accusation. He braced his hands on the desk between them and leaned across.
“You listen to me and listen good,” he said tightly. “I’ve gotten nothing in life that I haven’t worked for. I sure as hell don’t intend to start now. Until she told me the story of her marriage, I didn’t even know Sharon Lynn was related to the man who had owned that property nearby. She’s not using his name. She’s not living there. I had no idea she was the widow folks had told me might be interested in selling.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I don’t lie,” Cord said emphatically.
Cody still wasn’t through. “But now that you do know,” he began, his expression hard, “that’s all the more reason for staying in contact with her, isn’t it?”
“I am with Sharon Lynn because of the baby and because I’ve grown to care deeply for her. For you to say otherwise is a disservice to her and an insult to me.” He met Cody’s harsh glare with one of his own. “Maybe you’d like it better if I move on. I can be out of here in an hour.”
“And leave Sharon Lynn after telling me how devoted you are to her?” Cody asked with an edge of sarcasm.
“I didn’t say I’d be leaving her or Los Piños, but I will leave White Pines this morning, if that’s what you want.”
Harlan Adams stepped into the office just then and stared from Cody to Cord and back again. “What the hell is going on in here? You two are making enough ruckus to scare the horses clear down to the barn.”
“Just a little disagreement, Daddy,” Cody said in a milder tone.
Harlan turned a skeptical gaze on Cord. “Is that the way you see it, too?”
Cord nodded, despite the anger churning inside him.
“Then what was that crazy talk I heard about you leaving?” Harlan asked.
“I was just asking if that’s what Cody wanted.”
“Well, why the hell would he?” Harlan retorted, gazing at his son. “Right, Cody?”
Cody flushed a dull red. “Daddy, you don’t know all the facts.”
“What facts? I know this man knows ranching. I know he’s a hard worker.”
“Couldn’t prove that by me,” Cody muttered.
“Excuse me?” his father said.
“Nothing.”
Harlan