suggested, not wanting to ask for too much when Cody had already been more than generous about his work schedule.
“Son, let me give you a piece of advice. If you’re hoping to put the sparkle back in Sharon Lynn’s eyes, you’re going to have to do better than that. Now, here’s the plan I’d suggest. You call up a travel agent, get yourselves booked at a fancy hotel on a Caribbean island and don’t even think about Los Piños or anything else for at least a week.”
His grin broadened. “Now I’m not suggesting you take him along, but I’ve seen Harlan Patrick moping around here for the past few weeks. Seems to me he could use a break, too. He could take Jordan’s plane, fly you all wherever you want to go, spend a few days on the beach and bring you all back.”
Cord chuckled at Cody’s suggestion. He was acting far more like an indulgent daddy than a boss. And the idea itself was perfect. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Hell, no, not if it means I could get some real work out of the two of you when you get back. You’re both so distracted I’m surprised we have any cattle left. I’ve got half the men in the crew chasing around behind you to make sure the gates are closed.”
Cord winced. “It’s that bad?”
“Well, I’ve got to say you’re better than my son. Since Laurie took off, his head’s in Nashville whether he’ll admit to it or not. Might’s well go on up there, for all the good he’s doing me.” He regarded Cord intently. “So, is it a deal? Should I talk to Jordan about the plane and get Harlan Patrick ready to take off, say, tomorrow?”
“Make it the day after and we’re on.” He figured it was going to take him at least that long to convince Sharon Lynn to go along with this and to pick a destination she’d always dreamed of visiting. He met Cody’s gaze. “Just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re not expecting Harlan Patrick to move into the same hotel we do, are you?”
Cody chuckled. “No, if I were in your shoes, I’d probably insist her baby brother go on to another island.”
“Another hotel would probably do,” Cord said, then grinned. “That way he’ll be close enough to baby-sit.”
“You know something, son? This could turn out to be the damnedest honeymoon anyone in the family’s ever taken,” Cody said approvingly. “Daddy’s going to be real disappointed he’s not the one who thought of it.”
Chapter Eighteen
“You want to go where?” Sharon Lynn demanded, staring at Cord incredulously.
“To the Caribbean,” Cord explained patiently.
“Now?”
“Why not now?”
“You have a job. I have Dolan’s. There’s the custody battle. How can you possibly suggest going away?”
“Because we need a break. We need time alone with the baby to catch our breath, to just be a family.”
Her gaze narrowed. “A family?” she repeated, regarding him warily. “Cord, we’re not a family, not really.”
“Who says we’re not?” he retorted heatedly. “In the eyes of the law, we are. In the eyes of your family, we are. It’s only the two of us who set down a bunch of silly ground rules we don’t know how to change.”
Those silly ground rules were the only reason she’d been able to accept the idea of this marriage in the first place and now he wanted to change them? She should have seen this coming, should have known he’d want more from her than she could give, that his patience would wear thin. Her grandfather had warned her of that.
Before she could refuse this idiotic offer of an expensive vacation, he reached for her hand. He seemed to know that she couldn’t think straight when he was touching her.
“Cord,” she protested, but not nearly vehemently enough.
He met her gaze evenly. “We need this, darlin’. We surely do. What could be so terrible about taking a trip? We’ll spend a few days sitting by a pool or swimming in the warm Caribbean waters. Maybe go out dancing. Eat some exotic food. Take a moonlit walk on the beach.”
He painted an idyllic picture. “It does sound tempting,” she admitted. So tempting that her already weakening resolve to keep Cord at arm’s length was likely to fly out the window by the end of the first romantic day. Though he’d never once mentioned the word, it sounded an awful lot like a honeymoon. The very idea made her tremble.
“Then let’s do it,” Cord urged. “Harlan Patrick’s agreed to fly us down,