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“Yes, well, Nick, I’m sure you’re curious as to why I wanted to see you...and there’s no need to wait. I want your help about something belonging to you.”
He leaned in closer, resting his hands on his knees as he looked at her intently.
“I’ve had a neighbor whose niece, Madeline Prentiss, inherited her house and Madeline and I became friends. Neither of us have any family, so we were drawn together. She had a degree and internship in landscape architecture. She worked for a landscape company and took a night art class I taught because she drew landscape plans for clients. We rode to class together that year and became even closer friends.”
She related the facts, the history that he needed to know, but the whole time she spoke, all she wanted to do was leave. She didn’t want to ask his help or ask him to do anything. She took a deep breath, looking into those curious green-gold eyes that made her heart beat faster, and suddenly she couldn’t go on. They stared at each other.
“I had this all rehearsed,” she said finally as she rose abruptly, “but it isn’t easy. Just give me a minute.”
“Sure. Take your time. Let me get you a glass of water,” he said, getting up and leaving the room. She suspected he did it to give her a moment to get herself composed. She knew what she had to do. When he returned, he held a tray with a pitcher and two glasses of ice and water. He handed her one, and when their fingers brushed, for just an instant, she felt another flash of intense awareness of him as an appealing man. While she sipped the icy water, her gaze locked with his. The look in his eyes made her heartbeat quicken.
“Want to have a seat?” he said, setting the tray on a table. As they sat down again, she noticed his gaze on her as she crossed her legs. She placed her glass on a coaster on a small table beside her chair and adjusted her skirt.
“This is hard for me, Mr. Dunc—er, Nick—but it is definitely overdue. I was telling you about a friend of mine, Madeline Prentiss.”
He nodded. “Is there a reason you’re telling me all this about this particular person?”
“Yes. I’m here because of Madeline. You see, almost two years ago when Madeline was at a party in Austin, she had a romantic night with a man she met there but she never saw him again.”
“I take it Madeline thinks I’m that man?”
“Yes. You were that man. That’s definite, and in the past, she told me about the night you two had.” She leaned in and had no choice but to gather her courage and blurt it out. “And there’s a baby from that encounter.”
* * *
Stunned, Nick felt as if ice water had been poured over him.
“You’re saying that I fathered a baby with this woman? And I’ve never heard a word from her about it? Why did she wait until now and why send you? Where is Madeline now?” He couldn’t stop the questions that spilled from his lips. Though part of him was in shock, the other part was in overdrive, and he wanted—no, needed—answers.
“Madeline didn’t want to inform you of her pregnancy because that night, you spent a long time telling her how much you loved your wife. You told her about losing your little two-month-old son and your wife in a plane crash. You also convinced her that you missed your wife and you weren’t ready to go out with anyone else. She told me you actually cried over your loss. Besides, she knew that you weren’t in love with her and probably never would be.”
“You’re using the past tense.” A chill skittered up his spine.
“That’s right,” Talia acknowledged. But she didn’t elaborate. Instead she said, “Madeline had a talent. She could sing and she had gotten auditions and began to get bookings that paid more than the landscape business.”
He suddenly remembered Madeline, because she had sung at the party the night he met her. Talia was right: she had talent.
“You remember her,” Talia said, startling him that she guessed his thoughts so easily.
“It’s a little blurry, but I do. I don’t go out much, so there aren’t many occasions to even try to recall, but I remember her because she was beautiful and talented. She sang for everyone that night.”
“Madeline was on the way to a successful singing career, until several months ago when she was killed in a car wreck. She was young and she didn’t leave a will. Since her death I’ve been caring for her baby, and now I’m in a fight with the state, which wants to take her precious baby away. I’ve pulled every string I can, but I’m not a relative nor the legal guardian of Madeline’s baby. Madeline left no directive, nothing to indicate that she would want to appoint me guardian of her baby. She had no family, either. You, on the other hand, are her baby’s blood father.”
He barely heard what she went on to say to him. His mind was stuck on one phrase. ...baby’s blood father...
He was the father of a baby.
A baby he didn’t know with a deceased mother he barely remembered.
“Sorry, give me a second. This is a shock.” He reached for his water and took a gulp. What he really needed was something far stronger. “When you said you needed to see me, I didn’t dream it would be about a baby. My baby. A baby that’s an orphan.”
“Not really an orphan,” Talia said, looking intently at him. “She has a living blood relative—her father. You. I’ve checked you out and you have high recommendations as to your character.” She paused a second. Then her gaze seemed to deepen as she continued. “I need your help, Nick.”
“How’s that?” he asked, trying to pay attention and listen to what she was saying, but the shock of learning he had a baby still dominated his attention.
“You can keep the state from taking her.”
“Her? A little girl?” he asked, his shock increasing. “I don’t know one thing about little girls.”
“There was a time you didn’t know anything about running a ranch or about baby boys, either.”
They stared at each other and he could feel an invisible ripple of conflict. He ignored it.
He had a baby girl whom he’d never seen. That was the only thought that dominated his mind. “How old is she?” he asked her.
“Fourteen months.”
“I had a baby boy for two months. He would be two years, nine months old now.” Trying to push aside a familiar dull ache at the thought of Regina and Artie, Nick took a deep breath. “Beyond the two months with Artie, I have no experience being a father. It was different when I had a wife and we wanted a family, but... I don’t know anything about babies. I don’t know anything about little girls...”
His hand practically shook as he put his glass down on the table. The next thought struck him like a raging bull. “You’re sure this is my baby?”
Talia showed no reaction. She maintained her composure as she replied. “Yes, Madeline was sure. You can get a DNA test if you’d like. Hattie is her name.”
“Hattie’s her name?” He liked the way it sounded.
She nodded. “I don’t have any doubt about the outcome, but no doubt you’ll be reassured when the DNA results prove that Hattie is your little girl.”
For a moment they sat in silence as he gazed out the window at his land spreading off in the distance. Was this true? Was he a father again? Even though he had been a father for two months, he couldn’t see himself as a dad to a little girl who was over one year old.
He looked back at Talia and met a cool, blue-eyed stare. She impressed him because in her quiet way, even when she didn’t want to break the news, she had taken charge of this meeting, something that didn’t happen to him with women, except for his grandmother.
“You’ve been caring for this baby?”
“Yes, I’ve been keeping Hattie since Madeline’s death. I watched Hattie often before Madeline died. As I said, she had no family and I was like a second mama for Hattie. Hattie has been in day care and I pick her up when I leave school. In a few weeks, the spring session will be over and I’m not teaching this summer. I’ll take her out of day care and be home with her.”
He sat quietly, mulling over all he had learned. How was he going to deal with this? He was a parent who didn’t know anything about babies or little girls and he wanted solid proof that this was actually his child.
“I want the DNA test,” he said. “Until I have proof, I don’t want to do anything.”
“I can understand that and I expected you to want confirmation. But you must understand, time is an issue here. However, if I tell the state agents that you’re looking into gaining custody of your child, they’ll probably back off for a while, especially long enough for you to get a DNA test.”
“If they don’t, I’ll talk to my attorney and we’ll deal with them.”
She opened her purse, pulled out an envelope and handed it to him. “Here’s the name, a number to call and the address for the DNA test. It takes time, but it will prove Hattie is your baby girl. My number is there also.”
Nick took the envelope, turning it over in his hand.
“In the meantime,” Talia added, “so we don’t waste time, I think you should meet Hattie.”
Maybe she was right.
He looked up at her. “You sound certain about my parentage. If I get this little child, if she is mine and the state backs off, where do you come in? You’ve been caring for her.”
She shook her head and looked away, and to his shock it looked as if her eyes filled with tears. “I love Hattie like she’s my own, but I know I have to give her up. She’s your baby. You’re young and you’ll marry again. I’m realistic enough to know there won’t be a place in her life for me once I turn her over to you.”
She ran her fingers over her eyes and he knew she wiped away tears. He thought about his own loss. He only knew his son two months, but he had loved him beyond measure, so he could understand her feelings. She’d loved this baby for fourteen months and a lot of that time she had been the sole parent with only the help of the day care. He was sorry that she hurt and he knew the hurt would only grow.
“It’s amazing how babies can wrap around your heart and steal it away,” he said gently and she gave him a startled glance. “If you live in the area, perhaps we can work something out where you can see her. We’ll talk about it after the DNA result is in,” he added.
“Thank you. That’s nice if it works out,” she said, still staring at him as if reassessing her opinion about him. She brushed her fingers over her eyes again and took a deep breath before she spoke. “You’re very doubtful this is your baby. I can understand that but—”
“You’re certain that Madeline gave you the straight story?” he interrupted to ask her. “I mean, if I am the father, she had almost two years to tell me about the baby.”
“I encouraged her to, but in the beginning, she worried that you might try to take Hattie from her. When her music career was beginning to take off she expected to leave Texas and move to New York or California or maybe Nashville, and she figured you’d never cross paths again.”
And if that had come to pass, he’d never have known about Hattie. If she was indeed his.
Talia must have read his thoughts because she said, “You get your DNA test and we’ll talk.” As she stood, he came to his feet immediately. “Unless you have some questions, I think we’re finished for now.”
“You don’t have a doubt, do you?” he asked and looked into her big blue eyes that made him draw a deep breath again and almost forget his question.
“No, I don’t. I do want you to know the truth and the DNA should convince you. That and Hattie’s looks.”
Startled, he stopped thinking about Talia’s blue eyes and stared at her. “You think Hattie looks like me?”
“You can decide when you see her,” she said, smiling faintly.
Her smile couldn’t hide the hurt that he saw in her eyes. She didn’t want to give up the baby she’d come to love. He could see that. He also saw the toll this meeting was taking on her. It was time to end it.
“I’ll get the DNA test and we’ll get back together,” he said as he led her out of the study. “I just can’t fully accept this until I have some proof. I’m glad you understand that.”
“Yes, I do.” She stopped at the front door and turned to him. “You have my name, address and phone number in that envelope. I’ll expect to hear from you.”
There was authority in her tone that reminded him of his grandmother and he almost felt he should promptly answer, “Yes, ma’am.” Instead, as he caught the scent of her perfume and looked into the depths of her eyes, he wanted to ask her out. The idea surprised him, and as fast as it came, he dismissed it. This woman had already complicated his life, and whatever happened, he needed to keep his wits about him and not get emotionally—or physically—involved with her. He wasn’t going to consider dealing with Talia if Hattie turned out not to be his baby, either. Too bad, really. He suspected she was as strong-willed as he was, and under other circumstances he would have liked to get to know her.
Talia reached for the doorknob the instant he did, and instead of the cold metal handle, his hand touched the warm softness of her wrist. Instantly, his heartbeat sped up and he was aware that mere inches separated them. Her skin was smooth and flawless; her rosy mouth was as captivating as her gorgeous blue eyes. When he couldn’t get his breath, the reaction she caused in him astonished him. Seconds after he’d lectured himself to resist her appeal, he reacted to it.
His eyes left her lips and traveled to her eyes when her voice broke the silence. “Nick,” she said, “I may not have the right to ask you but...” He saw her throat tighten as she swallowed back tears. “If she is your baby and you don’t want her, please don’t abandon her and let her become a ward of the state. Surely there’s room in your life and your heart for a child you’ve fathered.”
“If this is my child, I’ll take responsibility,” Nick said. He couldn’t help wondering if he was making a colossal mistake in committing himself, yet he wouldn’t abandon a baby that was his own.
“I’ll count on that. You won’t regret it. She is an adorable, happy baby,” she said, and he heard the wistful note in her voice.
Something hurt deep inside him as he once again thought of his own little boy, who came into his life and then went out too fast. Even though it was approaching three years since he last held Artie, he still hurt badly. “I’ll get the DNA and contact you whatever the answer.”
She nodded. “I’ll be waiting and we can go from there. Thank you for telling me that Hattie can rely on you.”
He opened the door and Talia stepped away, but he saw tears in her eyes again. “I’ll wait to hear from you.”
He watched her walk to her car, her hips swaying slightly with a poised, purposeful walk. She was one good-looking woman, but she had come into his life with potential news that would change it forever. So why the physical reaction to her? Maybe he was coming back to life and would have that reaction with any other attractive woman.
As fast as that thought came, he rejected it. He saw attractive women almost daily and had no such reaction. Not only attractive women, but friends, women who should stir the kind of response that this one had, but they didn’t.
He headed to his kitchen to get a cold beer and get Talia Barton’s big blue eyes and million-dollar legs out of his thoughts.
He opened his refrigerator and looked at all the casseroles, desserts and salads the local bachelorettes had brought. He wasn’t aware he even knew this many women. With a sigh he retrieved a beer, sat at the table and opened the envelope Talia had given him. He read the notes she’d jotted in her neat teacher’s handwriting. Then he called to make an appointment for tomorrow with the DNA people.
He took a long pull on his beer and stared into space, thinking about Regina and little Arthur. He wondered if he would ever stop hurting, ever stop missing them. How was he going to love a little girl he didn’t know when longing for Artie and Regina filled his heart?
Artie had been so tiny. Nick had rocked him, talked to him, sang to him, bathed and dressed him and carried him around when he cried. Occasionally, he gave him a bottle, but he hadn’t been fully responsible for his son’s care, and he never worried about what to do because if he had a question, Regina was there to answer it.
A fourteen-month-old baby girl would be another matter. She needed a mother who would shower her with love. The thought worried him until he shrugged it away. There was no reason to worry until he knew without any doubt that this little child was his.
And if Hattie was his child—how much would that bring Talia into his life?
Two (#uc326afac-62c1-547b-a7ac-f9c46086a279)
Talia Barton drove away from Nick Duncan’s ranch house. She could barely see for her tears, so she pulled over and tried to get a grip on her emotions. She loved Hattie and felt as if she was a second mother to the little girl. It had hurt terribly to try to get Nick to realize he had a responsibility to take Hattie. She had lived with a chilling panic since people from the state agency had stepped in and said Hattie should be a ward of the state because there was nothing official to indicate the mother had wanted Talia to raise Hattie.
Madeline’s life had been filled with joy, excitement and the promise of a glittering future in the music world. She had talked about seeing an attorney and getting papers drawn up to make Talia Hattie’s guardian, but hadn’t gotten around to it. Madeline had been so busy with her career, so filled with a love of life and her baby, that she hadn’t considered anything happening to take that life away. It hadn’t occurred to Talia to worry about the possibility, either. The accident had been a painful, numbing shock that still was a raw hurt.
Thinking about parting with Hattie hurt and Talia cried quietly. Finally she dried her eyes. She prayed Nick would want his baby and would come forward to claim her. Talia knew that, whatever happened, she would not get to keep Hattie as her own. She had to accept that. If she couldn’t raise Hattie herself, then she wanted the best possible outcome and right now there were only two solutions: Nick Duncan would claim his baby or the state would take Hattie. Talia didn’t want the latter to happen.
Thinking about Hattie and wanting to get home to see her, Talia gripped the steering wheel tightly and pulled onto the road.
Her thoughts shifted to Nick and the moment she had first met him. The first time they had touched, the mere handshake had sent tingles radiating through her and made breathing difficult. What shocked her was that he had felt the electricity, too. She’d seen it in the look he gave her, felt it as he took her hand lightly, a slight, impersonal touch, yet it hadn’t been impersonal. She had tingled to her toes, and she knew he reacted, as well. Another twist she couldn’t worry about. Right now she was focused on getting him to become the dad for Hattie that he truly was, and as soon as possible. Hopefully, Nick would let her stay part of Hattie’s life. Was that asking so much?
Yet she didn’t know Nick and he didn’t know her. What if someday he married again and his wife didn’t want Talia in their lives? Would Nick keep Hattie from her?
She didn’t want to think what would happen if Nick wouldn’t claim Hattie. First he needed proof that he was her dad. The minute she’d seen him, Talia had noticed the family resemblance. Hattie had Nick’s green eyes with little flecks of gold, his tangled brown hair and the same facial structure.
Talia shook her head. How was she going to go about work and keep focused on what she needed to do? All she could think about was Hattie every minute. She pulled into the day-care parking lot, climbed out of the car and went inside to find her little charge.
Hattie saw her coming and held out her arms. Talia picked her up, smiling at her and kissing her cheek as she squeezed her close. “Hi, sweetie,” she said, smiling at the baby, feeling warmth and love pour over her. She loved this child with all her heart. If only Nick would love Hattie, too. She told herself he would, once he was certain she was his. Surely he wouldn’t want the state to take her.
“How’s my girl?” she asked, snuggling close and inhaling the sweet scent of baby powder. Then she leaned back to look at Hattie, who smiled and patted Talia’s cheek. “I love you,” Talia said.
“Wuv you,” Hattie replied softly in her childish voice, but the words thrilled Talia even when it was wuv instead of love.
“I’m taking you home now,” Talia said, getting Hattie’s bag, gathering up her other things. She talked to two of the women who ran the day care and then signed out and left with Hattie.
“Once he sees you, I don’t see how your daddy can resist you,” Talia said as she buckled the child into the car seat.
“Da,” Hattie repeated.
“That’s right,” Talia said, brightening. “Daddy. We’ll work on that one. Da-dee,” she said, drawing out the word. Hattie giggled.
“I hope he makes you laugh. Da-dee,” Talia repeated, hoping Hattie would pick up the sounds and learn the word.
