Bridget sat next to Cody on the bed, and he sent her an excited smile.

“Dad is so awesome, Mom. You were wrong about him. He’s not the same as your dad.”

“I’m glad you like him.” But she’d expected as much. Cody already had been building a preconceived notion of the hero his father was going to be, and all Bridget could do was keep hoping and praying that Kade didn’t let him down.

“Did he tell you what my present is?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Do you think he’ll bring me something every time he visits?”

“I don’t know. But this isn’t about getting gifts.”

“I know. I was just asking what you thought. I asked him if he still likes you, and he said he still thinks you’re sweet and pretty. He wants to be friends with you again.”

She wished Cody hadn’t brought her into it. She was already feeling the heat of being near Kade, of being far too attracted to him …

* * *

Family Renewal: Sometimes all it takes is a second chance

Coming Home to a Cowboy

Sheri WhiteFeather

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SHERI WHITEFEATHER is an award-winning, bestselling author. She writes a variety of romance novels for Mills & Boon and has become known for incorporating Native American elements into her stories. She has two grown children who are tribally enrolled members of the Muscogee Creek Nation. She lives in California and enjoys shopping in vintage stores and visiting art galleries and museums. Sheri loves to hear from her readers at www.sheriwhitefeather.com.

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Kade Quinn went into shocked silence, his cell phone pressed to his ear. He had no idea what he was supposed to say to Bridget Wells, the woman on the other end of the line. Not after she’d just told him that he was the father of her ten-year-old son.

He couldn’t deny that he’d had a fling with her that fit the timeline, but conceiving a child with her wasn’t in his realm of comprehension.

Struggling to process the information, he let out the breath he’d been holding. In the background, the horses he was training were nickering for his attention. But he couldn’t focus on them right now. Bridget’s news was the only thing he could think about, along with the incessant pounding of his frantic heart.

“I don’t understand,” he finally said. “If you’ve known all along that he’s mine, then why are you just telling me now?”

“Cody decided that he wants to meet you.” She spoke quietly, nervously, it seemed. “He’s the one who looked up your website and got your current phone number.”

Kade remained beyond nervous, too. “Cody? That’s his name?”

“Yes.”

“How long has he known that I’m his dad?”

“For most of his life. But he accepted not meeting you until now. My grandfather helped raise me, and he helped raise my son, too. Grandpa was Cody’s role model, his father figure of sorts. But then Grandpa died last year, leaving Cody lonely for paternal companionship.” After a slight pause, she said, “Not that I expect you to...”

Step up to the plate? Be the boy’s new role model? “If that isn’t what you’re expecting, then why did you call me?”

“Because I promised Cody that I would.”

So what did that mean? That Kade could refuse to meet his son? That he could walk away unscathed?

There was no way in hell that he could ever do that. Kade had issues with his own father, a man he hadn’t spoken to in years. He would never willingly mimic his old man’s behavior. “You should have told me you were pregnant. You should have called me back then.”

“I made what I thought was the right decision at the time, given the circumstances. So please don’t fault me for that.”

He frowned, troubled by her reluctance to include him in Cody’s life. She still sounded leery. “What circumstances?”

“You never kept in touch, Kade. You never even called me after you left, even though you said that you would.”

“I know, but time just got away from me. Besides, I’m bad about that kind of stuff.”

Her breath rushed out. “That’s just my point.”

He struggled to follow her logic. “So because I didn’t call you, you didn’t call me? Even after you found out that you were pregnant?”

“Truthfully, it’s more complicated than that. But I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. If you’re going to come to Montana and meet Cody, we can talk about it then.”

“Are you still in the same area?”

“Yes. In Flower River.”

His thoughts drifted back to the past. Bridget had attended one of his training clinics at the fairgrounds in the town where she lived. He’d been intrigued from the start, noticing her that very first day. She’d been his physical ideal: a blue-eyed blonde with a curvy figure that turned him on. Mostly, though, she was just a sweet, no-frills girl who’d never even been out of Montana.

They’d embarked on a weeklong tryst, and being with her was the most fun he’d ever had with anyone. It wasn’t just about the heat that unfolded between the sheets, but the compatibility when they were hanging out together.

For Kade, that was a rare occurrence. A loner by nature, he preferred to keep to himself. He could count the number of women he’d been with on one hand. Okay, maybe two. But he could go for years at a time without partaking of anyone’s company. Sometimes he missed the warmth of a woman’s body next to his. But it was easier to stay unattached than get pulled into romantic entanglements.

A week, he supposed, was his limit. The precise amount of time he’d spent with the mother of his child.

He squinted into the sun. “Did I make that bad of an impression on you, Bridget?”

“What?” she replied.

“For you to have left me out of Cody’s life.”

“I already told you that it’s complicated.” She cleared her throat. “Just tell me if you want to meet Cody, and we’ll go from there. But if you have reservations, then please stay away. It has to be something you can handle. Otherwise Cody could end up getting hurt.”

“Of course I want to meet him.” He couldn’t just ignore the fact that he had a son. He wanted to do the right thing, to take responsibility, to make a difference in the kid’s life. “And I’m not going to hurt him, not if I can help it. I got hurt plenty by my own dad. I know what that feels like.”

“Really? I didn’t know you had a troubled relationship with your father.”

“It’s not something I normally talk about.”

“I had a problem with my dad, too.”

A bell went off in his head. “Is that part of the complication you keep mentioning?”

“Yes.” Her voice broke a little. “And I was just protecting Cody from more of the same. But like I said, we can talk about that when you’re able to come here.”

He didn’t doubt that it was a long and painful story. But he was still concerned about the specifics and how it applied to him. “I can rearrange things so I can be free sometime next week. But I’m going to drive, not fly, so that’ll add a few more days.”

“Where are you right now?”

“In Texas.” He glanced around the Heartbreak Paint Ranch, a high-end facility that belonged to one of his clients, a country singer and his fashion-model wife. “I’m on a job. I travel the way I always did, and I still do clinics. But I also work for a lot of private parties now. I’ve come a long way since you knew me.”

“I’m aware of the reputation you’ve built for yourself. Cody scoured your webpage. He’s impressed by the famous people you know and all the flashy horses you train. Ever since he got it in his head to meet you, you’re all he’s been talking about. He’s even been bragging about you to his friends.”

Kade hoped he could live up to those kinds of expectations. “I’ll do my best to make him proud.”

“Thank you. He’s going to be thrilled.” Her voice went soft. “After we hang up, I can email you some pictures of him.”

“That would be great.” Kade couldn’t even begin to imagine what his son looked like. “Can I ask you something personal? Since you said that your grandfather was Cody’s father figure, does that mean that you’ve never been married or had a significant other who influenced him?”

“No, there’s been no one. No one important,” she clarified. “I’m careful about the men I date and whom I let Cody get close to.”

Kade figured as much, being that he’d also been left out of the loop. Nonetheless, he was glad that there wasn’t an ex-husband or some other dude who’d once mattered. He didn’t want to be compared with anyone else. It was scary enough that Cody was already putting him on a pedestal.

She said, “I’ll email you those pictures, and once you work out your schedule, you can let me know for certain what day you’ll be here.”

“Sure. Okay.” Curious about her appearance and how much she might’ve changed, he wanted to ask her to send a picture of herself, too, but he thought that might seem weird. He would be seeing her in person soon enough. “Tell Cody I said hello, and I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

“I will. Bye for now.”

“Bye.” He pushed the end button and stared into space, unsure of what to do next. Should he call his brother in California and tell him the news? Yes, he should. But he decided he would do that after he saw Cody’s pictures.

For now, he opted for checking his emails on his phone, hoping Bridget had hurried and sent them.

She hadn’t, at least not yet.

He kept checking, and about ten minutes later, the email arrived with a subject line that read “Cody Colton Wells.”

So that was his son’s full name? He liked the sound of it, but he would have preferred that the boy’s surname was Quinn instead of Wells. At least that would’ve made Kade feel more like Cody’s father, not left out of everything.

He opened the attached files, and talk about being knocked off his feet. The first image appeared to be a school picture, where Cody was looking straight at the camera with a posed expression. Kade saw himself in the boy: his deep-set eyes, his naturally tanned complexion, even the cowlick in the front of his short dark hair. Kade’s was in a different spot and not quite as pronounced, but he still had one.

The next picture was much more casual, with Cody sitting on the porch of a little blue-and-white house that was positioned on a dirt road and surrounded by trees.

Was that Bridget’s house? The place where she was raising Cody? When Kade and Bridget were together, she’d stayed with him at the motel room he’d rented for the week. He hadn’t gone home with her because she’d still lived with her family then. It would have been awkward for her to bring him there or introduce him to anyone.

But this time would be different. Kade would be going straight to her door—nearly eleven years later—to meet the child they’d created.

Before he panicked from the sheer craziness of it, he opened the third and final photo, which showed Cody by a Christmas tree in the midst of holiday hoopla, wrapping paper everywhere. Again, Cody looked just like Kade when he got dressed up, with a crisp Western shirt and bolo tie.

Should he reply to Bridget’s email? Should he tell her what a handsome kid they had? Or would that sound arrogant, given Cody’s resemblance to him? He smiled, feeling ridiculously proud that his genes were so strong.

Even if he still didn’t know a damned thing about being a father.

* * *

Bridget was a nervous wreck, her pulse pounding beneath her skin. Kade was scheduled to arrive today.

For now, Cody was at school. She and Kade had agreed to see each other first, to talk, to get the past out of the way before their son got home.

Their son. Hers and Kade’s.

The week they’d spent together had been the most beautiful, romantic time of her life. She’d relived every passionate moment after he was gone, waiting by the phone for him to call, just as Bridget’s mom had routinely done with Bridget’s dad. Two women, generations apart, infatuated with the same type of men. Lessons, she thought, learned the hard way.

Struggling to clear her mind, to temper her regret over her family history, she glanced at the kitchen clock. Since Kade would be there during lunchtime, she’d made a beef stew that was simmering in a slow cooker, just in case he was hungry.

Fool that she was, Bridget went into her room to check her appearance for the gazillionth time. Normally she wasn’t the fussy sort. But today she was wearing her best jeans and nicest blouse. Her hair was long and loose, instead of pulled back in a ponytail or plaited into a single braid. She’d even resorted to a little mascara and lip gloss. Cody had told her that she looked “purty” this morning, and for her that went a long way.

He was so darned excited when he’d gone off to school, chattering about the anticipation of meeting his dad. He’d even printed Kade’s bio from his website and stuck it in his notebook so he could study it again at recess.

Her baby boy had a serious case of idol worship. Once upon a time, Bridget had felt that way about her father, too.

Trying to get a grip on her emotions, she returned to the kitchen and waited for Kade to show up. At least she’d seen pictures of him on the internet so she knew what to expect in that regard. As far as she could tell, he was still as hot as sin, with the same piercing brown eyes, granite-cut jaw and striking cheekbones.

The instant the doorbell rang, she dashed off to answer it. She opened the door, and there he was. All man. All six foot four inches of solid muscle. His hair was combed straight back, the ends skimming his collar, and his clothes consisted of timeworn denim. Seeing him in person was far more breathtaking than viewing a picture could ever be. He’d aged, of course, going from his midtwenties to midthirties, but it looked incredibly fine on him.

Bridget was in her thirties, too. Thirty-one, in fact, with a birthday that had just passed.

“Hello,” he said, shooting her a smile she remembered from long ago.

“Hi,” she replied, warning her heart to be still. A dizzying moment later, he leaned in for a hug.

Dang, he moved fast. She would have preferred a less intimate greeting. But she put her arms around him and buried her face against his shirt. He was more than a foot taller than she was, and as she stood on the very tips of her toes to reach him, it almost seemed as if he was sweeping her off her feet.

She ended the embrace and regained her footing, refusing to let him see the ache that being near him caused.

“Come in,” she told him.

He thanked her and crossed the threshold, his boots sounding on the hardwood floor. He had a rugged way about him, the kind of cowboy confidence that appealed to her. Having him around wasn’t going to be easy.

“Something in here smells good,” he said.

“It’s beef stew. Would you like some?”

“Yeah, sure. That sounds great.”

Well, there you go, she thought. He’d reacted quickly once again, accepting a meal without hesitation. She didn’t doubt he was going to want their conversation to happen fast, too.

She offered him a seat at the kitchen table. Her house was neat and cozy, with simple furnishings she’d purchased at flea markets and yard sales. Her favorite items to decorate with were crocheted doilies and antique mason jars. She routinely filled the jars with wildflowers, picking them herself nearly every day, since they grew freely on her property.

“I’ve got some coleslaw in the fridge,” she said as she removed flatware from the drawer. “Would you like some of that, as well?”

He watched her move about the kitchen. “I’ll take whatever you’ve got.”

“Then, I’ll warm up some bread, too.” She tried to keep from getting self-conscious. He was looking at her as if he was remembering how it felt to kiss her and touch her and put his naked body next to hers. “I baked it yesterday.”

He continued to watch her, much too closely. “You bake your own bread? That’s cool.”

“I bake pies, cakes and cookies, too.”

His smile returned, only it was slightly crooked this time, giving him a strangely boyish edge, especially for a man so big and broad. “I think I’m going to enjoy hanging out with you again, Bridget.”

He wasn’t here to hang out with her. He was here to meet their son. But she didn’t correct him, because they both knew darn well why he’d come back to Flower River.

She prepared their plates and put a basket of the warmed bread on the table, along with a stick of butter.

As she poured two glasses of water, she fought to keep her hands steady. He was still keeping a dark and masculine eye on her. Finally, she sat down across from him, trying to look more composed than she felt.

He reached for his fork. “I can’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal. Not that you made this specifically for me. But it’s still nice.”

“I did make it with you in mind.” She wasn’t going to pretend otherwise. “I took a few days off from work, too, so I’d be around when you and Cody are getting acquainted.”

“Do you still work at your family’s farm equipment store?”

“Yes. And we sell more than farm equipment now. We carry feed and pet supplies, too.”

“Well, I’m glad you took a few days off. It’ll be easier having you around when I’m talking to Cody. I’m uncertain about what to say to him.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. He’s a chatterbox, so I’m sure he’ll get the conversation going. He’ll probably ask you tons of questions. He wants to know everything about you.”

Kade buttered a slice of bread and dipped it into the stew. “I want to know all about him, too. But I haven’t decided how long I’m going to stay. I’m just going to play it by ear. For now, I checked into the motel where I stayed last time. That old place is still there.”

The place where they’d spent that glorious week together. She reached for her water. “It’s the only motel in town.”

“I know. But it doesn’t look as if it’s changed a bit. You have, though. Not so much in the way you look, but the way you carry yourself. Motherhood suits you.”

She felt her lonely heart go bump. “I love being a mom.” Being a single parent, however, wouldn’t have been her first choice. It wasn’t what she’d envisioned for herself.

“I’m sorry that I never called you, Bridget. If I’d known how important it was, I would have.”

“I took you at your word. But I should have known better.”

A frown furrowed his brow. “You still should have called me when you found out you were expecting. I had the right to know that you were having my baby.”

She took a jittery breath, preparing to relay the explanation he was waiting to hear. “I really liked you, Kade. I was smitten from the moment I met you. But I hadn’t intended to sleep with you. I’d never done anything like that before.”

“Had a fling?”

“Had sex at all. You were my first.”

He flinched, good and hard. “Damn, Bridget. You’re full of surprises. It never even occurred to me. I had no idea.”

“It’s not always that obvious.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on either of us beforehand. And after it was over, I didn’t need to explain since there was no real evidence of it.”

He scrunched up his face. “I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

“It was a little uncomfortable at first. But after that...” She let her words drift, recalling how wild and sexy and dreamy it had been.

“So I wasn’t too rough or anything?”

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just didn’t want to point out that I was a twenty-year-old virgin.”

“Even if that’s what you were?”

“I’d done other things. I’d just never gone all the way with anyone.”

“Then, why did you do it with me?”

“Because being with you was exciting. You weren’t like any of the boys I’d dated around here. Plus, when you told me that you didn’t pick up women like that, it made me feel special.”

“You were special. I have fond memories of you, more than anyone else I’ve ever been with.”

“That’s nice to know, but it doesn’t change anything. You still drifted off the way my dad did. He was always on the road, too. A tractor salesman who blew into town and started romancing my mom. He didn’t disappear right away, though. He used to come and go, even after I was born.”

“So he knew about you from the start?”

“Yes. My mother told him, but he didn’t offer to marry her or get too domestic. He just breezed in and out of our lives, charming us with his tales of being on the road. He used to bring me gifts from all of the places he’d been, little trinkets from his sales routes.”

“Where did he live?”

“Nowhere in particular. He had a travel trailer that he hauled around. He used to say that having a home on wheels was the best way to live.”

Kade squinted, as if he was listening intently to her story. “So what happened? Did he just stop coming around?”

Bridget nodded. “I was seven the last time I saw him, and I remember clinging to him and not wanting to let go. By then, his visits were becoming less frequent and he was hardly bringing any gifts anymore, so I was already starting to feel a sense of neglect. His disinterest in my mom was showing, too. It was foolish of her to wait around for him all those years, hoping that he’d want to marry her someday and turn us into a real family.”

Kade squinted again. “That was a terrible thing for him to do, to disappear like that.”

“He didn’t disappear completely. He called one final time from the road and told my mom that he wasn’t coming back. That it was too much pressure, and he couldn’t handle it.”

“Is that what you thought I would do to Cody? Is that why you didn’t tell me about him?”

“I would have told you if you’d called me. But when you broke your promise and never got back in touch with me, I figured it was better to just keep you out of my child’s life. To me, you were already showing signs of being like my dad. He never made good on his word, either. Even when he was active in our lives, we could never quite count on him. If he said he was coming for Christmas, he would show up on New Year’s instead.”

“I understand why your experiences with your dad triggered concerns about me. But you never even gave me a chance when you found out about the baby. I still don’t think that was fair.”

“Maybe not. But you have your chance now. Only whatever you do, please don’t make promises to Cody that you don’t intend to keep. I couldn’t bear for him go through what I went through.”

“I have no idea what type of relationship Cody and I are going to establish, but I’m not your dad, Bridget. I’m not going to leave without ever coming back.”

“I hope not,” she said, praying with all her might that Kade turned out to be a far better man than she’d given him credit for.

Chapter Two

Kade wanted to prove himself. He wanted to do everything right. But the pressure Bridget was putting on him wasn’t helping. He could tell from her expression that she had doubts.

“Were you scared when you first found out you were pregnant?” he asked.

“Are you kidding? I was terrified.”

“I’m terrified, too. Except that I’m becoming a parent to a fifth-grader, instead of a newborn.”

Kade was immersed in all sorts of emotions. Not only would he be meeting his son for the first time, he also had to contend with the fact that he’d been Bridget’s first lover. He’d never been anyone’s first. If he’d known, he might’ve ended it before it had begun. Then again, maybe he would’ve forged ahead anyway. Either way, it altered the experience when the details were clearly different from the way he’d been remembering them.

He said, “I’m trying to make up for lost time, Bridget. But I would’ve been here all along if I’d known that Cody existed.”

“Been here how?” Her blue eyes locked onto his. “Would you have moved to Montana or offered to marry me? Somehow, I don’t see it as having gone in that direction.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have done either of those things. But I would have come around to see my son. I would have been his dad, regardless of my loner lifestyle.”

“Like my dad did with me?” she asked, and then winced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring him up again.”

Troubled by her response, he studied her. Scattered beams of sunlight slipped in from the window, enhancing the blondness of her hair and the fairness of her skin, making her look far too touchable.

Instead of caving in to the silence bouncing between them, he played devil’s advocate, asking her a hypothetical question. “Just for argument’s sake, if I would’ve offered to marry you, would you have even accepted my proposal?”

She frowned. “What kind of question is that, especially when you said it wouldn’t have happened?”

“I just want to know how you would have reacted if I’d done it.”

“Truthfully?” She answered him head-on. “I probably would have accepted.”

He shifted in his seat, realizing the blunder he’d made. He’d expected her to say that she wouldn’t have become his wife, not in any shape or form. “What about your distrustful opinion of me? How would that have factored into it?”

“If you’d offered to marry me, that would have made you seem more trustworthy.”

He tried another tactic. “Even though you barely knew me?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.” She glanced away. “It wouldn’t have worked anyway. Besides, our focus is supposed to be on you getting to know Cody, not on how idealistic I would have been to marry someone who was practically a stranger.”

“Lots of people get married because of babies.” It was the reason his parents had ended up in their disastrous situation, with Kade being the kid they’d conceived. Of course, they’d gone on to have more children before they’d gotten divorced. “It happens all the time, even if it shouldn’t.”

“I know, but what’s the point of talking about it? It’s water under the bridge now.”

“I shouldn’t have brought it up. I have the tendency to speak my mind, even when I should keep quiet. I used to get in trouble for it when I was young. I spent half of my adolescent life in detention. But I acted out purposely because I didn’t want to go home after school, especially when my dad was around.”

“Was your father mean?”

“Yeah. He was demanding as hell, and a lot of his anger was directed at me. I used to stand up to him, and that made him even madder. But I don’t have anything to do with him anymore. None of us kids do now that we’re older.”

“I didn’t even know there were other kids. You didn’t mention them last time you and I were together. Other than saying that you were originally from LA and that you get your Native American blood from your mom’s side, you didn’t tell me about your family.”

“I have a younger brother and sister.” He would’ve preferred to leave his sister out of it, but he couldn’t evade the truth. “Tanner is thirty-three, and Meagan is twenty-five. Both of them are still in California. But it’s not all sunshine and roses out there, not for my sister anyway. She got into some trouble with the law and is serving time.”

Bridget’s eyes grew wide. “She’s in prison?”

He nodded. “She embezzled from the place where she worked. It’s just so hard for me grasp. She was such a sweet and spunky kid, and now she’s a criminal.” He heaved a thick sigh. “I had another baby sister, too, who came along about eight years after Meagan. But she died of SIDS.”

“Oh, Kade, I’m sorry.”

“Our mom is also gone now. She had a heart attack a couple of years ago. Thankfully it was before Meagan got arrested. That would have destroyed Mom.”

“Grandpa is the only person close to me who ever died, and his passing still hurts.”

“Losing someone you love is painful.” He still mourned his mom. He still said prayers for his infant sister, too. “You never really get over it.”

“You’re right,” she said somberly, and they finished eating. When they were done, he helped her clear the table. While she was rinsing the dishes, he stood off to the side, wishing their conversation hadn’t been so serious.

Finally she cut into the quiet and said, “I’d show you Cody’s room, but he wants to bring you in there himself. He worked really hard to clean it up. Normally it’s a mess.”

“Then, I certainly won’t sneak a peek.” He wouldn’t spoil it for the boy.

“I can take you outside if you’d like.” She dried her hands on a plain white towel. “Cody won’t mind if I give you a tour of the barn and the yard.”

“Are you sure?”

“I already checked with him.” She laughed a little. “We had a big discussion about what I was permitted to do.”

Kade laughed, too, amused by their son’s rules. “That’s quite a bossy kid we’ve got.”

“That’s for sure.” She turned to look at him and suddenly their gazes locked, their humor quickly fading.

He held his breath, feeling as if he was getting sucked into a vacuum. He wasn’t sure how he was going to sleep at the motel tonight and not think about her. If he could kiss her, he would, just for the much-needed pleasure it would provide. But he couldn’t let something like that happen, so he followed her outside, fighting the feeling.

* * *

Bridget led Kade through the back door, wondering how they could talk and laugh one minute, then stare longingly at each other the next. It was like being in one of those carnival fun houses, where you couldn’t find your way out of the mazes and mirrors. Between his penchant for speaking his mind and her desperate admission that she might’ve actually agreed to marry him, the past was coming back to haunt her in ways she’d never imagined.

But she didn’t want to think about that, not while they were standing in her yard, surrounded by her favorite wildflowers.

Determined to stay centered, to draw strength from the environment, she said, “When I was a kid, this neighborhood was part of a planned community, so most of the houses were built on one-and two-acre lots, rather than being too spread out. They never did get around to paving all the roads, though. Or maybe they never really meant to.” She pointed to the side of her property. “That road leads to where my mom and grandma live. They’re on the same street, just a few houses apart.”

“It’s convenient that you live so close to them.”

“When Mom and I are at work, Grandma keeps an eye on Cody. But it’s different now that Grandpa is gone. He and Cody spent a lot of time at the river. I love it there, too. It’s the area this town is known for, where the farms and ranches and recreational spots are.”

Kade shifted his stance. Behind him, the sky stretched like a big blue canvas. “That’s why I came here all those years ago and gave that clinic. I wanted to establish a presence with the horse breeders out that way. I never really did, though.”

“I’ll bet you’d impress the heck out of them now.”

“Yeah, I probably would. I might’ve back then, too, if I’d returned to do more clinics, letting them get to know me a little better.”

She searched his gaze. “Then, why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was because you were here and it might’ve started something that I wouldn’t have known how to finish. Maybe in some unconscious way, avoiding you was deliberate on my part.”

“And now you’re back with the prospect of being a father to the son I deliberately didn’t tell you about.”

He reached out as if he meant to tame a strand of her hair that was blowing across her face, but he lowered his hand without making the connection. “We’re quite a pair, you and me.”

A mixed-up pair, she thought, wishing he would have touched her yet glad that he hadn’t. She batted the errant hair away herself. Before things got too awkward, she asked, “Does your family know about Cody?”

“Yes, and my brother is excited that he has a ten-year-old nephew. Shocked, but excited. I think you’d like Tanner. Cody probably would, too. Tanner just settled down with his fiancée and a baby girl he’s helping raise.”

“Whose baby? His fiancée’s?”

“No. It’s Meagan’s kid.”

She started. “Your sister has a baby?”

He nodded. “Meagan discovered that she was pregnant soon after she was incarcerated. Her old boyfriend, the baby’s father, is part of the reason she stole the money to begin with, and now he wants nothing to do with her or their child. So she asked Tanner to be her daughter’s legal guardian.”

“It’s admirable that your brother took responsibility. But it’s sad that your sister is locked up like that.” And the fact that her boyfriend abandoned her and the baby was equally disturbing. “When will she be released?”

“In about two years. I haven’t seen her since she’s been in prison. I haven’t met my niece yet, either. But I plan to. The baby is about five months old now. Tanner sends me pictures to keep me up to date, and he says she’s growing like a weed. Her name is Ivy, so it seems fitting.”

“That’s cute.” Bridget thought about how quickly Cody had grown. “Are you angry at Meagan? Is that why you haven’t visited her?”

“I’m not angry, just disappointed. Meagan and I were close when she was little, but as time went on, we drifted apart. I think it’s because I’ve been gone for so much of her life. With the age difference between us, she was just a kid when I went off to college. And after that, I started traveling the way I do.”

To Bridget, that was just more proof of how his lifestyle might affect Cody in the same way. But she didn’t call him out on it. Instead, she questioned him about his sister. “Are you ever going to try to get close to Meagan again?”

“I don’t know. Now that she’s in prison, I’m not sure how to do that. It’s weird how both of us are on the fringes of our children’s lives. I never thought I’d have that in common with her.”

As they passed the arena and headed to the barn, she thought about her own family ties. “My grandmother thinks I should have told you about Cody from the beginning.”

“Really?” Kade reacted with immediate interest. “And what about your mom? How does she feel about all of this?”

“She’s concerned about your character and whether you’ll be worthy of Cody. But after what she went through with my dad, she’s bound to be cautious.”

Kade turned pensive, stopping just short of the barn. “During the years he was around, did he provide any kind of support?”

“You mean financially? No. Mom never asked for anything from him. She just clung to the quiet dream of marrying him someday.”

“I want to help with Cody. I want to arrange for child support.”

“That isn’t necessary.” She didn’t want this to be about money. “I can give my son what he needs. I’ve been taking care of him since he was born.” And she wasn’t keen on changing the rules.

“If you won’t accept support from me, then I’ll set up a trust for him. At least that way, I can put something aside for his future.”

“If that’s the way you want to handle it, that’s fine. I appreciate that you want to provide a nest egg for him. But I don’t want you making payments to me.” She wished he wasn’t towering over her with that big broad body of his, intensifying her awareness of him. “I’m more comfortable keeping things as they’ve been.”

“I’m just trying to do what a dad is supposed to do. Besides, I have a sound portfolio. I’ve been making investments for years.” He made a grand gesture. “I could buy myself a big ole ranch.” He lowered his hands to his sides. “But being boxed in would probably make me panic.”

“Most people wouldn’t think of owning a large spread as being boxed in.”

“It’s not the size of the place. It’s the act of putting down roots. Even when I was a kid, I felt stifled every time I walked into the house, and I promised myself that I when I grew up, I would go wherever the wind took me.”

And now the wind was blowing him in this direction. But for how long, she couldn’t be sure. She wanted to trust him, to believe that he would be as responsible with Cody as he claimed he would be, but it was too soon to take him at his word.

“We need to lighten things up,” he said.

Bridget blinked. “What?”

“All of this heavy conversation. We didn’t do that last time.”

Did he expect it to be the same? “The circumstances were different.”

“I know, but what’s wrong with being upbeat, like we were before?” He flashed a cheesy smile, showing way too many teeth.

She went ahead and laughed. “You look like Dudley Do-Right.”

He laughed, too. “The dimwitted Mountie with the horse named Horse? I saw that movie. I think it got just about the worst reviews ever.”

“I know, but I thought Dudley was cute.”

He upped his hundred-watt smile. “So you had a thing for him?”

“I was a teenager when I had that crush.” She batted her lashes, being as silly as he was. “But a girl likes what she likes, I guess.”

“Big dumb guys with rockin’ bodies?” he teased her, flexing like a brainless stud.

His Dudley Do-Right smile was pretty near blinding her now. And damn if he didn’t live up to the rockin’-body part. She almost grabbed his arm by the biceps, but thought better of it. Instead, she simply said, “Come on. Let’s go see the horses.”

They entered the barn, and the equines came forward and poked their heads over the stalls, interested, no doubt, as to who Kade was.

“Well, hello you two,” he said, approaching them like newfound friends. “I take it neither of you is named Horse?”

“Sorry, no.” Bridget introduced the gray. “That’s Misty. She’s a gentle old girl, but when the mood strikes, she can get barn sour.” She turned to the red dun. “And that’s Minnie P. She’s a bit of a nut so we named her after Minnie Pearl, the country comedienne who used to wear the sales tag on her hat. My grandfather loved the Grand Ole Opry, and he thought Minnie Pearl was the best.”

Kade chuckled and gave the horse an affectionate pat. “That’s quite a handle to live up to. Almost as bad as Horse.” He shifted his attention to Misty, patting her, too. “As for this old gal, I can help you with her. I’ve got plenty of remedies for barn sour horses.”

“That would be great. We’ve only had her for about six months, so she’s still fairly new to us. I got her at an auction, and I’m the one who rides her. She’ll be fine for a while, then she starts getting stubborn again.”

“No problem. Maybe we can have a training session later this week?”

“Okay. That sounds good.” Just for the heck of it, she showed him the rest of the barn, even if there wasn’t much to see, other than the tack room and hayloft.

After the tour, they went back outside, and he removed his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “It’s almost two,” he said. “What time does Cody get home?”

“Around three. We can meet him at the bus stop.”

“What should we do between now and then?”

She considered his question. The next hour was going to seem like forever if she didn’t think of something to keep them occupied. “I can make a pot of coffee if you need a boost.”

“Sounds good. I can always use a shot of caffeine.”

“Do you still take it with tons of sugar?”

He looked surprised. “You remember how I take my coffee? That’s a hell of memory you’ve got there.”

She wasn’t likely to forget. “I take mine supersweet, too, and every time we went to the diner next to the motel, we had to ask for more of those little packets. There was never enough on the table.”

His lips curved into an instant smile. “Ah, yes, my sugar partner in crime. Now that you mention it, it’s coming back to me, too. It’s funny because when I checked into the motel, I noticed that the diner is still there, and from what I saw, it looks pretty much the same.”

“Cheap motels and greasy spoons never die.”

He put away his phone. “And neither do sexy memories.”

“There’s nothing sexy about that diner.”

“I was talking about the motel.”

Before she got weak-kneed and shivery, she started walking toward the house. No way was she going to add fuel to the fire by saying anything else.

Once they were in the kitchen, she stood at the counter, preparing to make the coffee. He leaned over her shoulder, watching the process. She wanted to tell him to give her some space, but she liked his nearness, too.

For now, her mind was filled with images of the motel and how they’d conceived Cody. They’d used protection, except for when they were in the shower. It hadn’t been very responsible of them, but they’d both been of the same mindset, wanting to feel that kind of physical closeness without a barrier between them.

Were those the sexy memories he was referring to? She remembered it well: the water pouring down over them, their mouths fused in blind need, her pulling him closer, him withdrawing at the moment of completion in an attempt to minimize the risk.

“What are you thinking about, Bridget?”

She nearly spilled the roasted grounds she was scooping into the machine but forced herself to finish making the coffee. “I was just zoning out.”

He was still leaning over her shoulder. “I’ve been doing that, too, getting caught up in all kinds of thoughts. Mostly I’ve been thinking about Cody, hoping he likes me as much as he thinks he will.”

Warmed by his admission, Bridget turned to look at him, and they gazed gently at each other.

She broke eye contact and poured the coffee, which was already filling the room with a homey aroma.

She handed him the sugar bowl, but he gave it back to her, letting her go first. She didn’t know how something as mundane as adding sweetener to her drink could elevate her already heightened emotions. But God help her, it did.

He took his turn and they remained quiet, sipping the sugar-laden brew and waiting for the moment to arrive for him to meet their son.

Chapter Three

Cody’s bus stop was located on the corner of a paved street, just blocks from Bridget’s house. Kade struggled to stand still, but it wasn’t the coffee he’d drunk that was affecting him. It was his nerves.

“Are more parents going to be showing up?” he asked Bridget. For now, they were the only people there, but they were also about ten minutes early.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll be it,” she replied. “The kids who get off at this stop are old enough to walk home by themselves.”

“Then, maybe we shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe Cody will feel stupid about us being here.”

“Are you kidding? He’s going to feel like a million bucks when he sees you. It will be the surprise of his young life.”

“Yeah, but he already knows I was coming today. Maybe he would prefer to meet me at the house.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s going to be ecstatic to see you standing here. So just try to relax, okay?”

Easier said than done. Kade was as anxious as an expectant father in a maternity ward. Bridget, however, didn’t have the look of woman who was about to give birth, not with those sexy curves of hers or all that soft blond hair shining in the sun.

Curious about the day his son had come wailing into the world, he asked, “Who was with you when Cody was born?”

She smoothed the front of her blouse, and then placed a hand against her stomach in what seemed like a gesture of remembrance. “My whole family was there. Mom, Grandma, Grandpa.”

“Did any of them go into the delivery room with you?”

“My mom did. She stayed by my side the entire time, coaching me to breathe and push and all of that.”

Kade had gone to the hospital after his youngest sister was born and peered at her tiny face through the glass, but he hadn’t been directly involved in the birthing process. He’d helped plenty of mares during foaling, though, and loved the beauty of new life. “Was your labor difficult?”

“It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t especially difficult, either. Mostly it just seemed surreal. Me having a baby at the same hospital where I was born. An unwed mother just as my mom had been. In her day, that carried a bit of stigma. But her friends didn’t treat her badly because of it. They wanted my dad to settle down and offer to marry her.” Bridget continued to hold her hand against her stomach. “But after he quit coming around, they just felt sorry for us.”

He couldn’t help from asking, “How much do your friends know about me?”

“My close friends know the truth. But I’ve never confided in any casual acquaintances. Of course, the way Cody has been bragging about you lately, I’m sure that people are getting curious.”

“Yeah, and once they see me, their tongues are really going to start wagging. A tall drink of water like me is hard to miss.”

She shot him an amused look. “Did you just refer to yourself as a tall drink of water?”

He shrugged, but he smiled, too. He liked making this kind of banter with her. “That’s what women call me.”

“Really?” Her blue eyes all but sparkled. “What women?”

“The kind who check me out.” He motioned to the house behind them. “I’ll bet there’s a hottie at that window right now, eyeing my butt.”

“I know the hottie who lives there and she’s about eighty years old and plays bingo with my grandmother.”

He laughed and bumped her shoulder. “I play a mean bingo myself.”

She nudged him right back. “Don’t tell Grandma that. She’ll be dragging you to the senior center with her.”

He contemplated what she’d told him earlier, about her grandmother thinking he should have been notified about Cody from the start. “At least Granny is on my side.”

“She’s definitely going to like you.”

“I appreciate that.” He needed an ally. “By the way, I have a gift for Cody in my truck. I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.” He quickly clarified, “And this doesn’t make me like your dad, Bridget. I don’t think giving gifts means that I can neglect my responsibilities as a father. It’s just something I want Cody to have.”

“Okay. I understand. But what is it?”

He decided to keep the details of the gift a mystery. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” As far as he was concerned, he was invoking some of the rights he’d lost and taking his first step toward being a parent. “I shouldn’t have to get your approval every time I give him something.”

“Yes, you should. We should discuss everything that concerns our son.”

“We are discussing it.”

She rolled her eyes, but she let it pass, giving him a taste of freedom. While he was basking in his victory, she redirected his attention.

“Look,” she said. “There’s Cody’s bus.”

Kade spun around and saw the yellow vehicle rolling down the street, and within the beat of his heart, his big, bad confidence flew by the wayside. The man he’d always been, the loner who panicked at the sight of commitment, was as scared as a rabbit on the run. Only he wasn’t running. He was standing there, boots firmly planted, where the bus was preparing to stop.

The first to disembark was a girl, a brunette he guessed to be about Cody’s age. She crossed the street and headed off by herself. The next two kids were also girls, redheads who appeared to be twins. He almost did a double take when he saw them. He figured them for around twelve. They acknowledged Bridget as they passed and gave Kade nosy glances.

Cody appeared at the top of the bus steps, looking exactly like his pictures. His cowlick was misbehaving, causing pieces of his hair to spring in different directions, and as soon as he saw Kade, his mouth fell open.

Another boy, a freckled redhead who resembled the girls who’d just gone by, was behind him saying, “Oh, man. Is that your dad?” and giving him an excited little shove. The driver, a middle-aged woman, reprimanded the ginger-haired boy, who Kade figured was probably the younger brother of the nosy twins.

It was like watching a movie and being part of it at the same time. Cody finally exited the vehicle and walked up to Kade. For a kid who was supposed to be chatty, he was being awfully quiet.

The other boy gawked at them as he made his way down the steps, nearly tripping on the road as his feet hit the ground.

“That’s my friend,” Cody said. “His name is Jason.”

“Hi, Jason.” Kade gave him a quick wave. He’d never expected Cody’s first words to him to be about someone else.

“Hi,” Jason replied with a toothy grin. As he walked off, his smile still in place, he said, “See ya, Cody.”

“Bye.” Cody grinned, too.

And what a smile. Kade could hardly breathe. Should he shake his son’s hand? Lean down to hug him? Smooth his hair?

“You surprised me,” Cody said, staring at him in what could only be described as wonder. By now, more kids were getting off the bus and looking their way.

Kade couldn’t take credit for the surprise. “It was your mom’s idea.”

Cody glanced over at her. “My dad’s really here, and at my bus stop, too, where everyone can see him.”

“Yes, he’s really here.” Bridget came forward. “Why don’t we all go back to the house and I’ll make you guys a snack.”

“Are you hungry?” Cody asked Kade.

Food was the furthest thing from his mind. He was still having trouble breathing. But he didn’t want to put a damper on the mood so he said, “Your mom already fed me earlier, but I can always eat.”

“Me, too.” Cody shifted his backpack. “What’s your favorite food?”

And that was how the Q&A session began. The ten-year-old interviewed him on the walk home, relentless in his pursuit to know his father. Kade could barely keep up with the rapid succession of questions, so he merely spouted whatever came to mind off the top of his head.

“Jeez, kiddo,” his mom said as they entered the front door. “Give the man a chance to think.”

“Am I bugging you?” Cody asked, gazing up at him with soulful eyes.

“No, not at all.” He finally took a chance and touched his son’s hair, smoothing the strands in front, which didn’t do a bit of good. They popped right back up. “You could never bug me.”

“See, Mom?” the youngster said. “He likes me asking him questions.”

Kade looked over at Bridget, feeling beautifully overwhelmed by the child they’d made. Cody Colton Wells was sweet and funny and spirited. She returned his gaze, and they stared at each other over the top of their son’s head.

“I’m going to show Dad my room,” Cody said to her.

Kade’s heart punched his chest. He’d just officially been called Dad.

“Go ahead.” If Bridget noticed, she didn’t let on. But she did give both father and son a wobbly smile. “I’ll cut up some apples and cheese and bring it to you.”

By now, Kade’s appetite was coming back, so the food was starting to sound good. Or maybe it was just the idea of sharing a snack with his kid. Either way, he was up for it.

“Bring us some cookies, too,” Cody said as he tugged Kade down the hall.

“You know better than that,” his mother called back. “You can’t come home and load up on sweets.”

Cody huffed out a breath. “She’s the one who bakes all that stuff, then she gets mad at me if I eat too much of it. She’s kind of strict about other things, too. Maybe you can loosen her up.”

Kade almost laughed. Cody certainly had a way about him. “I don’t know about that, but I wouldn’t mind a few cookies.”

“Dad wants some cookies!” the kid shouted loud enough to rock the house. Then he lowered his voice and gave Kade a lopsided grin. “She can’t refuse now ’cause you’re a guest.”

At that mischief-making moment, Cody reminded him of Meagan when she was the same age. Kade’s sister had been full of spit and vinegar, too. Of course, that wasn’t a good comparison, not now that Meagan was a convict.

Cody’s room consisted of a platform-style bed draped with a brown quilt, a rugged dresser, a student desk, lots of cluttered shelves and a bank of windows with a view of the backyard.

“This is probably the cleanest it’s ever been,” Cody said, repeating what Bridget had mentioned earlier. “Usually I just leave my dirty clothes on the floor instead of putting them in the hamper. Sometimes I leave other stuff on the floor, too, and it drives Mom crazy when she trips over things. You should hear her go off. Grandpa used to say that Mom can curse like a sailor when she thinks no one is listening.” He plopped down on the bed. “But I put everything away since you were coming.”

Kade couldn’t have been more amused. “I appreciate you cleaning up for me. Now your mom doesn’t have to break her neck.”

“Or curse like a sailor,” Cody reminded him.

“That, too.” Kade sat in the chair at the desk, turning it around to face the bed.

Cody leaned forward and asked, “Do you like to draw?”

“Actually, I do.” Of all the questions so far, it was one of the easiest to answer. “I majored in equine science in college. But I also took some art classes, just for my own enjoyment.”

“Wow. That’s so cool. I love to draw. Mostly comic book–type stuff. I even make my own comic books. What kind of art do you do?”

“I like to sketch landscapes and wildlife and things like that. Horses, too, of course.” Kade quickly asked, “Do you think I could see some of your work?”

“Sure.” Cody bobbed up and riffled through the shelves, producing a stack of comic books he’d made.

As Kade paged through them, he was more than impressed. Cody was a fine little artist. The superheroes he created were down-home guys, fishermen and horsemen who got their powers from taking secret trips to Mars. There was even a farmer who glowed in the dark and flew around on a bullet-shaped tractor.

“These are excellent,” Kade said.

“Thanks.” The kid beamed. “I won an art contest at my school last year.”

“I’m not surprised. You could make a living at this someday.” Kade noticed that one of the comic books featured superhero Natives who lived on a space-aged reservation. “Did you know that I’m part Cheyenne?”

“Yep. Mom told me. She always wanted me to know who I was and where I came from. She was just worried that you traveled too much and wouldn’t be around like a dad should be.”

Kade supposed that this was a conversation that needed to happen, especially since Cody was a no-holds-barred type of kid. “I like being on the road and traveling for my work, but it’s not going to stop me from being your father. You’re my priority now that I know about you.”

“Mom’s dad just went away one day and never came back.”

“I know. She told me about him. But I’m never going to do that to you.”

“You better not, or Mom will kill you.”

Cody’s warning sounded quite serious. But Kade already knew it was no joking matter. “I won’t do anything to hurt either of you.”

“I trust you.” The boy drew his knees up. “But Mom isn’t going to be so easy on you. I heard girls are like that, though.”

“They can be. Or so I’ve heard, as well.” Kade wasn’t an authority on the opposite sex. “Is there a girl you like at school?”

“No.” Cody said it with disgust or embarrassment or whatever it was that was going on in his young mind. Then he asked, “Do you still like my mom?”

Now, that was a loaded question if there ever was one, but he did his best to supply a ready answer. “I still think she’s sweet and pretty. And I’m hoping that she and I will become friends again.”

“It’s taking her a long time to get our snack. But she’s probably being slow on purpose to give us time to talk.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” And talking they were. Important subjects were being bandied about. “I brought a gift for you. It’s out in my truck, but I’d rather give it to you while your mom is here, so we’ll wait for her.”

“Really? You got something for me? I can hurry Mom up. I can tell her to get cracking.”

“No, that’s okay. Let’s just—”

Too late. Cody was already at the doorway yelling, “Mom! Hurry up! Dad has a present for me!”

Kade had a lot to learn, apparently. Such as not mentioning a gift before you planned on giving it.

Bridget appeared soon enough, carrying a tray with diced apples, cheddar cheese, chocolate-chip cookies and two frosty glasses of milk. “So you told him that you brought him something?”

“Yep. And he doesn’t want to wait.”

She placed the tray on the dresser. “You should see him on Christmas morning.”

“I can only imagine.”

“Come on, you guys,” Cody said. “Let’s get this done. Otherwise I’ll be too anxious to eat the snack.”

Kade looked to Bridget for guidance, and she nodded her acquiescence. Cody had won both the cookie and the get-me-my-present battle, even with his supposedly strict mother.

“I’ll go out to my truck now,” Kade said. As he left the room, he felt Bridget and their son watching him, knowing darn well they were going to talk about him after he was gone.

* * *

Bridget sat next to Cody on the bed, and he sent her an excited smile.

“Dad is so awesome, Mom. He likes to draw and everything. He even took art classes in college. He thinks I could make a living with my comic books someday. Oh, and he promised he’d never go away and not come back. You were wrong about him. He’s not the same as your dad.”

“I’m glad you like him.” But she’d expected as much. Cody already had been building a preconceived notion of his father as a hero, and all Bridget could do was keep hoping and praying that Kade didn’t let him down.

“Did he tell you what my present is?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Do you think he’ll bring me something every time he visits?”

“I have no idea. But this isn’t about getting gifts.”

“I know. I was just asking what you thought. I asked him if he still likes you, and he said he still thinks you’re sweet and pretty. He wants to be friends with you again.”

She wished Cody hadn’t brought her into it. She was already feeling the heat of being near Kade, of being far too attracted to him. Thinking of him as a friend wasn’t on her radar, but she knew it should be that way, especially for Cody’s sake.

Kade returned with a medium-size box. He hadn’t wrapped it, though, not like Bridget’s dad used to do with her gifts.

He placed it on the bed next to Cody. “Here you go.”

Their son clutched it with glee. “Can I shake it first?”

“Sure. Go ahead.” Kade smiled as he stood beside the dresser, looking tall and dark and cowboy delicious.

Bridget warned herself not to gaze at him with stars in her eyes. She wasn’t a twenty-year-old girl anymore. She’d grown up since then.

Cody shook the heck out of the box, but nothing rattled. He got up and went to his desk and grabbed a pair of scissors.

“Be careful,” Bridget said as he attacked the tape on the box.

“I know, Mom, I know.” He glanced at Kade as if to say women, making her wonder if the temperament of females had been part of their father/son discussion.

Cody got the box open and tore away the packing material. The gift itself was another box, only it was made of aluminum.

“It’s a time capsule,” Kade said. “You’re supposed to put things in that are important to you. Artifacts from your life that you’d want historians to uncover years and years from now. Then you bury it someplace safe. You can even register it online with the company I bought it from so you never forget where you buried it.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you so much.” Cody was over the moon. “Check this out, Mom. A time capsule.”

Bridget figured that Cody would be excited regardless of what it was, simply because it had come from his dad. But she was impressed by what an unusual gift it was. “That was a very clever idea, Kade.”

He replied, “I made one myself when I was about Cody’s age. It was just a coffee can with a plastic lid, so there was no way it was going to stand the test of time. But I didn’t know that then.”

Cody was all ears, listening to his dad’s tale, and so was Bridget, caught in the fascination of it all.

He continued the story. “I got my brother, Tanner, involved. He would have been about seven at the time. I told him to gather up some things so we could put everything in the time capsule together.”

“What type of stuff did you choose?” Cody asked.

“Tanner had a truck-and-trailer toy set that he favored, but he wasn’t willing to part with it. Instead, he contributed one of the little plastic horses that came with it. He tossed in a tiny snap-on saddle, too. I put in a drawing of a palomino I’d done. It was the horse our mom was leasing for us to ride, and its name was Brandy. I signed and dated the picture to make it official. I also put in one of my report cards to provide more information about who I was. I grabbed one of Tanner’s report cards, too, to identify him.”

Cody opened the top of his time capsule and peered inside. Then he glanced up and asked, “Where’d you bury it after you were done filling it?”

“We went to the rental stables where Brandy was being boarded. It was within walking distance from our house. We brought a backpack filled with gardening tools and then found a spot where no one was around and buried it.”

“What do you think happened to it?”

“It probably got destroyed by groundwater. But it was a great memory, and I thought you might enjoy doing something like that, too, except with a time capsule that will last. This one won’t get corroded. It’s a professional model.”

“I totally want to do it.” Cody was bouncing on his heels. “Do you want to do it with me? We could both put stuff in here. It’s plenty big enough.”

“Sure,” Kade told him. “I’d love to participate. I already bought you a preservation kit to go with it. That’s still out in my truck. It comes with packets and pouches and envelopes so you can separate items. There’s a fade-proof pencil for labeling everything, too.”

Cody looked at Bridget. “How about you, Mom? Will you do it with us? It could be like a family project.”

A family project. To her, that was far more complicated than it sounded, making her and Kade seem like a couple. But she couldn’t refuse, not with the anticipation and excitement in her son’s eyes.

“Of course I will,” she said. “It’ll be fun. I’d have to think about what to put in it, though.”

Kade sought her gaze, and she felt a wave of attraction, which was particularly unwelcome because she was sitting on Cody’s bed. But at least it wasn’t her bed. She didn’t want Kade anywhere near her bedroom.

“I’m going to make a comic book to put in it,” Cody said. “A brand-new one. And it’s going to be about a mom, a dad and a kid who put stuff in a time capsule, like we’re going to do. But instead of historians finding it, I’m going to make it so aliens dig it up centuries later.”

“That sounds like a great comic,” Kade said.

Cody went silent, as if he was plotting the rest of the story. A few quick-thinking beats later, he said, “The aliens are here on earth because their planet was seized by intergalactic rebels. But what the aliens don’t know at first is that the mom and dad and kid are actually superheroes who are still alive, and they’re going to help the aliens save their planet.”

Kade replied, “That’s a perfect representation of your work, especially to go into a time capsule. I can’t imagine anything better.”

“I know, right? I’m going to start on it tonight.”

Bridget hated to be the bearer of bad news, but she said, “Cody, don’t you have homework to do tonight?”

“Yeah, but that can wait. This new comic book is way more important.”

She blew out her breath. “I’m sorry, sport, but homework comes first.”

“But this is a big occasion for me. Meeting my dad and preparing for our time capsule. We still have to decide where to bury to it.”

Kade interjected, “Your mom’s right about your homework. That should come first. We still have time to figure out the rest of it.”

“How much time?” Cody asked. “How long are you going to be in town?”

“I don’t know.” Kade repeated what he’d told Bridget earlier. “I was just going to play it by ear.” He then added, “Maybe it’s something we can decide together.”

Cody jumped right on it. “I get out of school in two weeks, so you should stay longer than that. Otherwise we’ll hardly see each other.”

“How much longer do you think I should stay?”

Cody went full bore. “How about if you hang out for the whole summer? Then we could do lots of stuff together.”

The entire summer? Bridget wasn’t prepared for that. She glanced at Kade, hoping he wasn’t available.

Thankfully, he wasn’t. He said, “I’ve already got plans to go to California in mid-July, so how about if I stay here until then? Of course, if I’m going to be around for that long, then I’ll need to find another place to stay. Maybe I’ll look into renting a fishing cabin or hunting lodge or something. I don’t want to live out of a motel.”

Cody took what he could get, and Bridget breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, it was still a long time for Kade to be around, but not as bad as the entire summer.

Cody asked her, “If I do my homework first, can I work on the comic afterward? ’Cause I’m going to need to get it done if Dad is only going to be here till July.”

“That’s fine,” she told him, letting him enjoy the moment.

While she sat quietly on the sidelines, father and son continued to talk about the time capsule. They also ate the snack, both of them going after the cookies before getting to the apples and cheese.

Finally, the visit ended, with Kade saying that he needed to go back to the motel and get settled in. He hugged Cody goodbye, and the transfixed ten-year-old smiled up at him.

Cody asked Bridget if Kade could come back for dinner tomorrow, and she agreed that he could. He accepted the invitation and thanked her. Before she could save her sanity and stop him from embracing her the way he’d done when he’d first arrived, he reached out and wrapped her in the dizzying warmth of his arms all over again.

Chapter Four

The following morning Bridget’s mom stopped by, but she didn’t come inside. Since she was on her way to work, she preferred to stand in the graveled driveway and have a quick talk.

Still, Bridget took a moment to study her. If she wanted to see herself twenty-five years from now, all she had to do was look at the woman who’d given her life. Mom was a little heavier than she used to be, with tiny lines around her eyes and threads of gray sneaking into her natural blond hair, but the overall resemblance between them wasn’t hard to miss.

“What do you think of Kade now that you’ve seen him again?” Mom asked, getting right to the point.

Bridget answered cautiously, not wanting to include anything too personal. “Cody certainly liked him. They clicked right away.”

Her mother’s face had a pinched expression. “That’s what Cody told your grandmother. He called her last night before he went to bed, singing his daddy’s praises. But he already idolized the man before he met him, so he’s been enamored from the start. If something goes wrong, he’s going to be crushed. It gives me a knot in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it.”

“I know. Me, too.” Bridget couldn’t just wash away her fears. “But Kade keeps saying that his interest in Cody won’t fade. That he’ll keep coming back to visit. So I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I promised him that much.”

“I suppose it’s the right thing to do. But it still worries me.”

“I know,” Bridget said again. If anyone understood, it was her mom. “But at least they seem to have a lot in common. I didn’t know that Kade took art classes in college. It never occurred to me that was where Cody might’ve gotten his talent. I just thought it was a random gene.”

“How could you know everything about Kade? You only spent a week with him. And as much as I hate to say this, I can tell that you’re still attracted to him.”

So much for keeping her feelings hidden. “How can you tell? I’m just standing here.”

“It’s written all over your face, honey. But I suspected that it might happen. You had a strong crush on him the first time around, and now he’s back, stirring your senses again.”

“I’m trying to compartmentalize my feelings.” And manage the temptation of being near him. “But I think it’s going to take some time for me to get a handle on it.”

“I wish Cody would’ve never taken an interest in him.” Mom swigged from the plastic water bottle she’d brought with her. “Now that your grandmother knows how pleased Cody is with Kade, she’s ready to go full steam ahead. She wants to host a barbecue this Saturday, so she and I can meet Kade. But she wants to invite other people, too.”

“What other people?” Everything was moving at such a breakneck pace, Bridget could hardly keep up.

“Our friends. Yours, hers, mine, Cody’s. The more the merrier, according to her.”

“Did she say anything to Cody about it?”

“Not yet. She wanted me to run it by you first. But she’s certain that he’ll be thrilled.”

“She’s right. He’s going to love the idea of showing his dad off to everyone. I think Kade will be fine about it, too. He already knows that Grandma is on his side, so he’ll probably appreciate that this was her brainstorm.”

“How do you feel about introducing Kade to your friends?”

Bridget was a bit nervous about it, but she tried to keep it in perspective. “They’ve just start asking about him anyway, wondering what he’s like and how it’s going. I’ll have to deal with it sooner or later. So it might as well be sooner. He’s coming for dinner tonight, so I can tell him and Cody about the barbecue then.”

Mom capped her water. “I hope this isn’t going to seem like a twisted question, considering that I never had the courage to ask you before. But have you ever secretly wanted to search for your dad? Has it ever been a thought in your head?”

“Honestly?” Bridget made a pattern in the gravel, moving the tiny stones with the tip of her boot. “I used to fantasize about it. I’d picture myself striding up to him somewhere, and when I was close enough for him to figure out that I was the daughter he’d ditched, I would tell him in no uncertain terms how much I hated him. But even in my tough-girl fantasies, I was afraid that I might break down and cry and look like a fool. I even feared that I might discover that he was dead. Then I wouldn’t be able to do anything, except feel even emptier inside.”

“He could be gone by now, I suppose.” Mom leaned against her truck, looking a bit empty herself. “Or he could be out there, the same as always.”

Bridget turned the twisted question around. “Have you ever considered looking for him?”

“Yes, but just to learn what became of him. In the long run, though, I knew it wouldn’t be worth it. With the way I loved your dad, I was afraid I would get sucked back into those feelings again.”

“I always wondered about Kade, too, but I never even typed his name into the computer. That would have made it too real.”

“And now here you are, with reality nipping at your heels. But I want you to know that however difficult this gets or however it unfolds, you can come to me.”

“Thank you.” Her heart tugged in her chest. “But I already know that I can count on you.” She’d gotten shortchanged with her dad. But her mom had always been her soft place to fall.

* * *

While Bridget was immersed in making a spaghetti dinner, she glanced at Cody. He sat at the kitchen table, working on his time capsule comic and waiting for Kade to arrive. He’d already rushed through his homework, just as he’d done last night, so that he could make the comic a priority.

As soon as the doorbell rang, he dropped what he was doing and leaped up like a frog. “I’ll get it!”

Bridget stayed where she was, at the stove, stirring the sauce. Within seconds, father and son entered the room.

“Hi,” Kade said to her, his presence creating electric energy.

“Hi,” she replied, and kept stirring. One simple exchange, one greeting, and he made her feel like an anxious virgin all over again.

“Check out what I’ve done so far,” Cody said to his dad. “I still have lots more to do to finish it, but I’m going to keep working on it whenever I can.”

Kade took a seat, openly admiring the pages that had been completed. “Oh, wow. This is amazing.” He glanced up. “Have you seen it, Bridget? His drawings are of the three of us. We’re the stars of his adventure.”

She summoned a smile. She’d seen it, all right. Cody had turned them into a crime-fighting trio. “That’s quite a costume I have on.”

Cody chimed in. “I wasn’t sure how to draw you, Mom. So I used other comic books with superhero girls in them as my guide, and they were all wearing these types of outfits. Only I made yours more Western.”

“I think it’s a wonderful likeness,” Kade said to Bridget. “Like Dale Evans with a spark of Marilyn Monroe.”

“Who are they?” Cody asked as Bridget narrowed her eyes at her son’s dad.

“They’re old-time actresses,” she told him. “And really, Kade, Dale Evans?”

He chuckled. “I couldn’t think of another country girl.”

She made a face at him, simply to stop him from staring at her the way he was. And it could have been worse, she supposed. Cody could have drawn her to look way more momish, instead of putting her in a catsuit with fringe and country boots.

“It kind of looks like Veronica Lake, too,” Kade said to Cody. “She’s another old-time actress. She had long blond hair like your mom’s, only she sometimes wore it covering one of her eyes. That helped make her famous.”

When Cody shrugged and went back to his work, Bridget asked Kade, “So what’s the deal? Are you an old-movie buff?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. But I’m also an old-pinup buff. When I was a teenager, I used to go into a poster shop that had tons of classic pinups lining the walls, and I got fascinated with them. The interesting thing about Veronica Lake is most of her pinups were from the shoulders up because her hair was such a hot commodity. She was small, too, like you. I don’t even think she stood five feet.”

“I’m five-three.” Bridget defended her stature, even though he wasn’t criticizing her. If anything, he was looking at her with far too much attraction in his eyes.

He said, “When I go home to visit my family, I think I’ll go see Veronica’s star in Hollywood. And Marilyn’s.” He teased her with a wink and a smile. “I probably better check out Dale’s, too, just so her feelings don’t get hurt.”

She shook her head, caught in his flirtation and trying not to let it show. “What about Roy and Trigger?”

“Trigger doesn’t have a star. Lassie and Rin Tin Tin do, though.”

Cody glanced up. “What are you guys talking about?”

Kade replied, “The Walk of Fame. The sidewalks in Hollywood that have pink-and-gold stars with famous people’s names written on them. There are some famous animals’ names on them, too. Even some of the Muppets have stars. Come to think of it, Godzilla has one, but as far as I know, he’s the only monster so far.”

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