would have been the time to go. Instead she’d bought Dolan’s and pretty much ensured that she’d be here forever.
“Easier?” Cord repeated. “I don’t understand.”
She forced a smile. “No, I don’t suppose you do.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I’m not sure I believe that.” His gaze searched hers. “Something tells me it matters very much. Are you going to tell me the whole story?”
“Maybe,” she said. “One of these days.”
He tilted his head “Now, you see, you do know how to keep secrets, after all.”
She could feel a slow grin spreading across her face. “You’re right. I guess I do. Does that make me a woman of mystery?”
“It does to me.”
She gave a little nod of satisfaction. “Well, then, that’s something.” She flashed him a brilliant smile. “So, tell me, what are you doing here? I’m surprised you’re not eating in the bunkhouse out at White Pines. The food’s better there than anything I could throw together for you.”
He winked at her. “But the company’s a whole lot more fascinating around here.”
Sharon Lynn flushed under his warm gaze, but before she could warn him off, before she could make it clear that she wasn’t interested in pursuing anything more than conversation—or maybe just a hint of flirting to see if she was still any good at it—he turned away and scanned the drugstore.
“Where’s my girl?” he demanded. “I’ve spent the whole weekend wondering how she was getting along. Everybody at the ranch was offering up opinions, but I couldn’t wait to see for myself.”
So that was why he’d come, she thought, feeling oddly disgruntled by the discovery that this visit was all about the baby. Apparently he’d just been making idle, small talk with her, biding his time.
Before she could reply, Cord spotted the portable crib and headed straight for it. Sharon Lynn watched as he scooped the baby up and held her in the air. The baby gurgled with delight as she had earlier for Grandpa Harlan. Sharon Lynn wanted to haul the baby into her arms and explain that girls shouldn’t go trusting a man whose attentions were so fickle. Then again, maybe she was the one who needed that advice. She’d realized when Cord walked through the door that she’d been half watching for him all weekend long.
“You’ve made a conquest, I see.” She couldn’t seem to help the testy note in her voice. Fortunately Cord seemed oblivious to it.
“I’ve always been a big hit with ladies under two.”
Sharon Lynn was willing to wager he’d been a huge success with women of any age. Aside from his looks, there was that quick wit and easygoing charm about him that could weave a spell in the blink of an eye. If she’d been a lot less wary of men and relationships, she might have been taken with him herself. As it was, she could view the ingrained flirting with tolerant amusement. Or so she reassured herself.
“Have you ever been married?” she asked.
He took the out-of-the-blue question in stride. “No, why?”
It was as if the words had just popped out of her head. She couldn’t have explained if her life depended on it. She swallowed hard and managed to improvise. “You’re so good with the baby. It’s as if you’re used to this. I thought maybe you’d had a wife and kids.”
He shrugged. “Nope. Just second nature, I suppose. I like kids, but I’ve never had any of my own. Guess I always thought kids deserved two parents who loved each other and intended to stick together through thick and thin. There’s never been a woman I felt that way about.”
“Lots of brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews?”
He shook his head. “No, an only child. Maybe that’s why I gravitate toward big families with lots of kids underfoot.”
“Then you’re at the right place at White Pines. As you’ve seen already, the ranch is crawling with family.”
He settled the baby against his shoulder, then turned his penetrating gaze on Sharon Lynn. “Ever heard the expression about being all alone in a crowd? Sometimes when what you want most in the world seems almost within reach, it’s harder than ever to accept that you don’t really have it.”
As his words sank in, Sharon Lynn’s gaze sought out the baby. It was true. For the past two days, she had been caught up in a game of make-believe. She had held a child in her arms and despite all the disclaimers she had voiced to her family, she had pretended that the