A Child for Cade. Patricia Thayer

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СКАЧАТЬ from her face. All these years, she’d never stopped loving Cade Randell. But there had never been a chance for them, not then, and certainly not now.

      Not after he discovered her lies. Not after he discovered he had a son.

      Chapter Two

      The next morning Cade woke up groggy. He told himself it had been the excitement of the party, of returning home after all these years. He was staying in his old room. Things hadn’t changed much, maybe a fresh coat of paint. The truth was, it had been Abby that robbed him of sleep.

      By the time he showered and went downstairs, the family was already in the bright yellow kitchen eating breakfast. Hank sat at the head of the large trestle table, Cade’s brothers, Chance and Travis, in the same places they had occupied years ago.

      “Good morning.” Cade took his seat.

      “Well, it’s about time you showed your face,” Ella said, giving him a stern look, but her hazel eyes were smiling. The gray-haired woman was still housekeeper at the Circle B.

      “Love you, too, Ella,” Cade teased. He took a swallow of coffee from the mug she put in front of him. He sighed, waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

      “Gotta get you accustomed to ranch life again,” Hank said.

      “In Chicago I’m usually up early because of the stock market.”

      “Must be Ella’s cooking you’re trying to avoid,” Hank teased.

      “Stop it, old man,” Ella said. “Joy’s been teaching me.”

      Cade chuckled, recalling that the Circle B’s housekeeper had never been famous for her cooking. If she didn’t burn the food, it was a good day. “As long as I don’t have to eat my own cooking, it tastes good to me.” He winked at Ella. “It was just a late night.”

      “Yeah, quite a party,” Travis said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He quickly looked away to check the pager attached to his belt, then pulled out a cellular phone. He began punching the buttons as he got up from the table and walked into the pantry.

      Cade watched his younger brother. There were only a few years’ difference in their ages, but Travis had been in college when he’d left. Now, eight years later, his kid brother was nearly as big he was. And he ran his own company in Houston. Something to do with computer security. Funny, he didn’t really know much about the business his brother had started. It must have been doing well. Travis’s nice clothes and the Rolex on his wrist left little doubt. He had even brought Hank expensive gifts.

      So it seemed all three of the Randells had made their way in the world. Too bad their worlds had to be so far apart.

      “How was your ride last night?” Chance asked from across the table.

      “Good,” Cade said. “And there was plenty of moonlight to find my way back.”

      “Wish I’d known,” Hank mumbled. “I would have gone with you. There were way too many people here to suit me. All that fuss over a silly birthday.”

      Ella set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. “If you’d left, Hank Barrett, I’d have skinned you alive.”

      “So would I.”

      They turned as Joy Randell walked into the kitchen, carrying her two-month-old daughter, Katie. The petite blonde crossed to Chance and gave him a lingering kiss, then handed him the baby. “She’s been fed and changed.”

      “Hi, princess,” Chance crooned to the child, and was rewarded with a smile.

      Cade watched the loving exchange with envy. He was still amazed at their story. How Chance had met the widowed Joy Spencer in the abandoned barn of a neighbor. She’d been in labor, and he’d ended up delivering her baby. Not two weeks later, Chance had married her to keep the child from her in-laws. “Who would have thought it? My brother a family man.”

      Chance cocked an eyebrow at him. “Don’t knock it, Cade. These two ladies are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

      “I didn’t get a bad deal, either,” Joy said as she sat down next to her husband, her bright blue eyes full of love.

      Cade had thought that way once, too. His attention turned back to Abby and how beautiful she’d looked last night. She could still make his pulse race. But he knew better than to pursue it. She’d made a fool out of him once, and he wasn’t going to play that game again. No, he’d stay away from Abby Garson.

      Travis returned to the table, his expression even more troubled than before. “I need to get back to Houston. There’s a problem…with one of our accounts.”

      “Can’t your partner handle it?” Hank asked.

      “No.” Travis shook his head. “It’s something I’ve got to do myself.” He checked his watch. “I’ve got to get to the airport as soon as possible.”

      “I’ll give you a ride, Trav,” Cade volunteered. “At least we can visit awhile.”

      Travis nodded. “Thanks, Cade.” He turned to Hank. “I’m sorry I have to cut this short. I promise to be back soon. Next time maybe I can stay longer.”

      Hank’s eyes misted as he stood. “I’m gonna hold you to it, son.” He hugged Travis.

      Travis said his goodbyes to the rest of the family, then went upstairs to retrieve his bag. Cade headed outside and waited by the ranch truck. A few minutes later Travis came rushing out the door, along with Ella carrying a straw cowboy hat. “Cade, on your way back would you stop by the Moreau ranch and drop off this hat? Brandon left it here last night.”

      No way was he going near that place. Tom Moreau would probably shoot him on sight. “The kid probably has a lot of hats. He’ll never miss it.”

      “He’ll miss this one, though. His granddad gave it to him on his birthday—right before he died. Brandon never goes anywhere without it.”

      “Tom Moreau died?”

      Ella nodded. “About six months ago. Cancer. It’s been rough on Abby and that boy.” She shoved the hat at him. “Now there’s nothing there to scare you off. Or is there?”

      Before Cade could answer, Ella hurried back into the house. “She’s got something up her sleeve, and I don’t like it,” he muttered as he and Travis climbed into the cab.

      Cade started the engine and took off down the road toward the highway. He glanced across the cab. “I hope there aren’t any problems,” he said, trying to get his brother talking.

      His brother jerked his head around. “What?”

      “I said, I hope there aren’t any problems with your company.”

      Travis shrugged. “There’re always problems.”

      Cade didn’t like the sound of that. “Want to talk about it?”

      Travis glared at him as he rested one booted foot across the other knee. “I’m not a kid anymore, Cade,” he grumbled.

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