The Texan's Surprise Son. Cathy McDavid

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СКАЧАТЬ is Jacob,” he said when she answered. “I want to meet Cody. Tomorrow.”

      * * *

      “WE’RE HERE,” Mariana announced in a singsong voice as they neared Jacob’s house.

      She’d been driving down the street at ten miles an hour, peering at address numbers posted above garage doors or on wrought iron gates. It was a nice, middle-class neighborhood. Most of the attractive homes were on large lots with drought-resistant natural landscaping.

      “Daddy, Daddy!” Cody expressed his delight by tossing his stuffed pony in the air. It hit the back of Mariana’s seat and bounced off. “Wanna see Daddy.”

      “We will.” She maneuvered the SUV into the driveway and parked. The vehicle belonged to her mother. Much more appropriate for transporting a toddler than her Infiniti. “Cool your jets.”

      “Jets!” Cody kicked his sneakered feet wildly, and they banged into the console dividing the front seats.

      “Okay, Cody. That’s enough.” She kept her voice level but firm.

      Her nephew stopped. For an entire three seconds. “Wanna see Daddy,” he repeated and resumed kicking.

      She’d thought it best to wait for the test results to come in before telling Cody he had a father. Somehow, he’d gleaned enough while listening to Mariana and her mother talking about Jacob to realize he had one of those magical, mystical beings: a father.

      Served her right for having a supersmart nephew. Or, possibly, daddies were spoken of frequently at day care. He’d surely seen them picking up his playmates. That would explain his fascination. Wanting his and Jacob’s initial meeting to go well, Mariana had infused brightness into her voice when she talked about Jacob. As a result, Cody’s excitement soared.

      Jacob had phoned her yesterday and insisted on meeting Cody, to Mariana’s surprise. She’d tried to convince him to wait, without success. He’d been adamant, and she didn’t want to give him a reason to bring in his attorneys or, worse, flee.

      Errant fathers weren’t her specialty at the law firm where she worked. She did, however, have some experience with them. Her mother had spent years chasing down Mariana and Leah’s father, who never stayed in one place longer than a few months. When her mother did find him, there was a guaranteed battle over past due child support.

      Mariana was twenty-nine years old, and her mother had yet to receive all the money owed her. The SOB didn’t even have the decency to show up at Leah’s memorial service.

      She could understand her sister’s not wanting a man like that to be a part of her son’s life. But Jacob Baron wasn’t cut from the same cloth. Mariana knew; she’d done her homework on him and his family. He could, and hopefully would, do right by Cody.

      Leah had also done her homework before selecting Jacob. Still, despite his many worthy attributes, she’d insisted on raising her son alone, even after the cancer returned and progressed at a terrifying rate.

      Mariana stared at the pickup truck in the driveway, uncertainty gnawing away at her. If only he wasn’t a rodeo man like her father, she’d feel a whole lot better. At least he had a good, steady job and belonged to a family with deep roots in the Dallas area. That compensated for some of his less desirable cowboy traits.

      Her cell phone rang just as she turned off the ignition.

      “Yes, Helena,” she said after her secretary identified herself.

      “Sorry to bother you this late, but I thought you’d want to know now rather than in the morning.”

      Mariana braced herself. “What is it?”

      “Paulo Molinas’s attorney has filed a motion to suppress Medallion Investments’ phone records.”

      “Dammit,” she muttered, then glanced over her shoulder. Had Cody heard her curse? She didn’t think so. “All right. Pull the former case files we talked about and leave them on my desk for the morning.”

      “Will do.”

      They discussed a few more details before ending the call. Mariana tried to focus on Cody and his introduction to Jacob. It took all her effort. Her firm’s joint lawsuits had gained momentum in recent weeks. Ten-hour days made caring for Cody challenging. She was lucky to have gotten off early.

      That wasn’t the reason she wanted Jacob to have shared custody of Cody, she told herself for the hundredth time. Her workload and demanding schedule had nothing to do with it.

      Opening the rear passenger side door, she bent over Cody and unbuckled him from the car seat.

      “Daddy, Daddy! Where Daddy?”

      She winced at the loud voice inches from her ear. “Shhh. We’ll see him in a minute.”

      “I firsty.”

      “We’ll get you a drink inside.”

      This constant speaking in the plural amazed her. She couldn’t recall thinking about it, only doing it. Was that normal? Did every mother, or aunt or guardian, naturally fall into the habit?

      Lifting Cody from the car, she set him on his feet and grabbed the overstuffed diaper bag.

      “Wait a minute,” she said when he started squirming. Setting the diaper bag down, she adjusted his little denim jacket, re-fastening the buttons that had mysteriously come loose during the ride.

      She’d have preferred Cody wear something newer and without a hole in the left sleeve. But this particular jacket was his favorite, and he’d pitched a fit when she tried to put him in a hooded sweatshirt. Even his favorite cartoon character on the front hadn’t swayed him.

      He would have run ahead if not for her firm grip on his hand. As it was, he pulled her and the diaper bag along like a heavy anchor through water.

      “Slow down, honey,” Mariana admonished.

      The house, a newer one-story with tan stucco exterior and—this was good—a block fence enclosing the rear yard, sat on a corner lot. Hopefully, Jacob didn’t own a pool. Toddlers and water were a dangerous combination.

      Mariana thought it interesting that he didn’t live at the Roughneck, his family’s ranch. The place was certainly big enough. Then again, this house was closer to the drill site where he worked. Or maybe he simply liked his privacy.

      If he assumed any level of custody, he’d soon lose that luxury. There was no such thing as privacy with a two-year-old in the house. If presented with a closed door or locked cabinet, Cody felt compelled to holler until it opened or his lungs gave out.

      Her high heels wobbled as they walked along the slate rock path leading to the front door. Changing clothes beforehand would have been nice. There’d been no time, however. Mariana was barely able to rush from the office to day care, navigate traffic and still make it here—she glanced at her watch—twelve minutes late.

      Jacob opened the door seconds after she rang the bell. Had he been watching from the window?

      “Hello,” he said in a neutral voice, his СКАЧАТЬ