She was surprised at the praise, but found herself denying the relationship. “He’s not my Cord.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He’s not.”
“Whatever you say, baby. You need anything, you let me know, okay?”
“Thanks, Daddy.” As always, after talking with her father, Sharon Lynn felt safer, more reassured that all was right with her world. Despite her fierce protest to her father, she felt the same way with Cord around.
So where the devil was he? She didn’t believe for an instant that he and Harlan Patrick were off on some male bonding ritual. Her brother had plenty of drinking buddies, if that’s all he needed. No, this had something to do with the baby. She would stake her life on it.
She wandered into the bedroom to check on Ashley, then lingered just to watch her sleep. She couldn’t resist trailing a finger over the soft curve of her cheek.
“Oh, sweetie, what’s going to happen to you?” she murmured. “And what will happen to me, if you have to go?”
When she heard the knock on the front door, she jolted, then brushed away the tear that had been tracking down her cheek. When she finally got to the door, she found Cord waiting on the porch, his hands jammed into the pockets of his sheepskin-lined coat, his cheeks ruddy from the cold.
“Sorry to come by so late. Mind if I come in?”
“Of course not.” She stepped aside, hoping he couldn’t tell how relieved she was to see him. “Can I get you a cup of coffee? You look half-frozen.”
He nodded. “Coffee would be great.”
He followed her into the kitchen, but instead of sitting, he leaned back against the counter and watched her. Feeling his gaze following her made her movements jerky. She splashed the water as she poured it into the coffeemaker, then scattered coffee grounds every which way.
“Something wrong?” he asked finally, amusement threading through his voice.
“You’re staring,” she admitted. “It’s making me nervous.” She turned to scowl at him, only to catch a smile hovering on his lips. “You don’t have to look so blasted pleased about it.”
“Why not? I figure it has to be a coup to rattle your supreme self-confidence.”
She stared at him. “Me?”
“Yes, you. You’re unflappable. Didn’t even let finding a baby on your doorstep cause you to miss a beat.”
“Maybe I just don’t let it show.”
He seemed skeptical. “You pride yourself on your acting skills, darlin’?”
“No, of course not.”
“Good, because you didn’t manage to hide the fact that you’d been crying when I turned up here. What was that about?”
“Nothing.”
“Our girl’s okay?”
“Ashley’s fine.”
“Nothing new from Justin?”
“Nothing,” she agreed.
“Then why the tears?”
“Something in my eye.”
“Now, sweetheart, that’s not acting,” he chided. “That’s outright lying.”
“You don’t have to know everything, you know.”
“When it comes to you or Ashley, I do,” he said matter-of-factly.
She decided enough was enough. It was time to turn the tables. “Does that work both ways?”
He suddenly looked uneasy and evaded her direct gaze. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean do I have a right to know what’s going on with you, if it has something to do with Ashley?”
“Of course.”
“Then why don’t you tell me what you and my brother have been up to the last couple of days?”
He grinned. “You missed me.”
He said it with an irritating touch of triumph. “No more than I would a stray cat who’d been coming around and then suddenly vanished,” she retorted.
“Is that right?”
“Do you intend to answer me or not?”
“Maybe. In time. Right now, I’ll take some of that coffee, if it’s ready.”
Sharon Lynn chafed at the delay, but she poured the coffee, then plunked herself down at the kitchen table. “Talk to me, Cord Branson.”
He pulled out a chair, turned it backward and straddled it. “It’ll be my pleasure. Any particular topic you’re interested in?”
“Cord!”
“Okay, okay. Your brother and I were over in Garden City doing a little nosing around about Hazel Murdock.”
Her heartbeat seemed to thud dully. “And?”
“To tell you the truth, we didn’t find out much.”
“Is she coming after the baby or not?” she asked, unable to keep the frantic note out of her voice.
“I don’t know. I purposely avoided talking directly to her.”
Sharon Lynn buried her face in her hands. “Oh, God, she is. I just know it.”
“You don’t know any such thing. Be grateful that it’s taking her so long to make up her mind.”
“Why?”
“Because the longer it takes, the less likely the courts will view her as being the best person to raise the baby. They’ll have to wonder why she waited, if