Wildflower Ridge

by Sherryl Woods

  After Dani had gone, Cord drew in a deep breath, then forced himself to walk into the bedroom to check on Sharon Lynn. She was standing beside the portable crib, gazing down at the sleeping baby with tears tracking down her cheeks. He moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him with a sigh.

  There was no need for words. They were both thinking the same thing, terrified by the same fear. When the knock came on the front door, she trembled violently, then turned to gaze at him with wide, vulnerable eyes.

  “It’ll be Justin,” she said.

  He paused and brushed away her tears, fought against the sting of his own, then took her hand. “Then let’s go see what he has to say.”

  The knocking turned into a pounding before they could move.

  “I suppose there’s no choice,” she said ruefully. “He’s not going to go away, not with lights blazing all over the house to tell him I’m here.”

  When they reached the living room, Cord suggested she go and make a pot of coffee while he got the door. “Something tells me it’s going to be a long night.”

  As if he’d given her a much-wanted reprieve, she fled toward the kitchen. He opened the door and faced Justin’s scowling expression.

  “What the hell took so long?” he demanded, brushing past Cord. “Where’s Sharon Lynn?”

  His attitude was every bit as suspicious now as it had been on Sunday. Harlan Adams, Dani and a few others might be willing to trust Cord’s motives, but Justin was a sheriff through and through. He obviously wanted a lot more information before he fully trusted Cord.

  Cord gave him a wry smile. “I haven’t locked her away in the attic. She’s in the kitchen making coffee. I wanted a minute alone with you.” He searched the other man’s expression. “Is it bad news?”

  Justin’s temper seemed to ease at the question. “Depends on your point of view.”

  “Dammit, man, don’t play games with something like this. A baby’s life is at stake.”

  Justin brushed his hand over his short-cropped hair, then sighed. “I’m not here to take her away,” he said at last. “That’s all I can promise for now.”

  Cord saw that Justin was every bit as tormented by the circumstances as they were. “Then we’ll have to be grateful for that for the moment.”

  Sharon Lynn stepped to the kitchen doorway. “Justin?”

  “I’m here, sweetie. I hear you’ve got coffee brewing. I could sure use a cup. It’s been a long day.”

  Cord followed him through the dining room and into the kitchen. Sharon Lynn cast a quick look at him, searching for answers. He gave her what he hoped was a quick, reassuring nod. That sent her gaze straight back to her cousin.

  “Justin?”

  “Have a seat,” he said as he grabbed a mug from the cupboard and filled it with coffee. “Cord, can I pour you a cup?”

  “Sure.”

  “Sharon Lynn?”

  “Justin, please,” she pleaded. “I don’t care about the blasted coffee. I need to know what you found out.”

  Justin still took his own sweet time getting to it. He handed Cord his coffee, then sat down opposite Sharon Lynn. Cord stood just behind him, his back braced against the counter where he could keep a close watch on Sharon Lynn’s face.

  “Where have you been?” Sharon Lynn demanded. “Did you find the mother?”

  “Okay, now, hear me out before you get too upset.”

  “Oh, sweet heaven,” she murmured. “You’ve found her, haven’t you?”

  “We’re pretty sure we know her name,” Justin said. “She’s an eighteen-year-old from Garden City. Vicki Murdock. Her friends say she was pregnant, that the baby was due a few weeks ago, but that she suddenly dropped out of sight. Her friends said her boyfriend was a real creep, that he didn’t want the baby, wouldn’t let her see a doctor. She was totally under his spell. None of them would be surprised if she had the baby, abandoned her, then went off with the boyfriend. I’d like it better if there were hospital records, but I had Lizzy check. Vicki Murdock didn’t give birth there. Even so, everything points to this being the woman we’re looking for.”

  Sharon Lynn struggled visibly to keep her composure. “You said she’d gone off with the boyfriend. Were you able to find her?”

  Justin slowly shook his head. “The two of them have just vanished. They’ve dropped out of sight.”

  Hope flared in Sharon Lynn’s eyes. “They’re gone? What does that mean? Can the baby stay here?”

  Justin nodded. “For now.”

  “Oh, God,” she murmured, covering her face with her hands as sobs shook her shoulders. “Thank you. Thank you.”

  Cord studied Justin’s grim expression and guessed there was more. He crossed the room and put his hands on Sharon Lynn’s shoulders, waited until her sobs ended.

  “That’s not the end of it, is it?” he asked eventually.

  Justin drew in a deep breath, closed his eyes, then shook his head. “No. There’s more.”

  Sharon Lynn stilled beneath his touch. “What?” she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

  “In the process of identifying the mother, we talked to a woman who may be the baby’s grandmother. We’d have to do blood work to confirm all this, but, like I said, all the pieces seem to fit.”

  “But you could be wrong,” Sharon Lynn insisted. “It might be a mistake.”

  “Let him finish, darlin’,” Cord said, stroking a soothing hand over her hair.

  “The grandmother, what was she like?” Sharon Lynn asked. “Was she kind?”

  Justin shot a very revealing look toward Cord. “Far from it,” he said tersely.

  “Tell me,” Sharon Lynn demanded. “What kind of a woman was she?”

  “Naturally she was taken aback when I showed up to talk to her. She confirmed everything the friends had said about the pregnancy and the boyfriend. She said she’d thrown her out of the house when she’d found out. She said she hadn’t seen her daughter in months, that the girl was a tramp and a troublemaker and if she was gone, good riddance.”

  Sharon Lynn looked shocked. Even Cord was stunned by the woman’s reaction. Was it any wonder that an eighteen-year-old had abandoned her child after being raised by a judgmental, unforgiving mother like that?

  “She cursed a blue streak when I told her we were looking for her daughter because we thought she’d abandoned the baby. Then she said by God, she’d do her duty by the child, if no one else would.”

  “But I will,” Sharon Lynn protested.

  Justin patted her hand. “I know you would, sweetie. That’s why I told her the baby was in good hands for now, that she had nothing to worry about. I assured her that as soon as we could verify that the baby indeed belonged to her daughter, we’d be back in touch. I’ve stalled her for now. She let us call in a doctor to get blood tests done, so we’ll see if they’re genetically compatible. She was quite a martyr about it, said she would do what was right, take on this burden, even if no one ever thanked her for it.”

  Cord tried to envision turning little Ashley over to a woman like that. Could Sharon Lynn do it? Could he? Could they fight her right to become the child’s legal guardian? Should they? Or would that only delay the inevitable heartache?

  “Don’t panic, you two. Let’s just wait and see what happens,” Justin said, clearly intending to soothe Sharon Lynn, but settling Cord’s temper as well. “Something tells me this woman’s not all that anxious to take on a brand-new baby, despite what she said. Once she’s thought it over, she may decide the baby’s better off right where she is. After what I’ve seen, that would certainly be my opinion, not that it counts for much.”

  “But she may decide to fight for her granddaughter,” Sharon Lynn said bleakly. “That’s certainly what I would do.”

  She gazed up at Cord and the expression in her eyes wou
ld haunt him for days. “What do we do if she doesn’t change her mind?”

  “Justin’s right, darlin’. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “For now, let’s just be grateful that Ashley’s still right here with us where we can keep her safe.” He glanced at Justin. “How long are we talking about on those blood tests?”

  “We’ll have to get Lizzy over here to draw some blood tomorrow for a comparison. As I understand it, if the blood types are a clear mismatch, that’ll be the end of it and we’ll be back to square one. If the typing matches, then they’ll run DNA tests. Allow a week or two for that. Could be longer.”

  “No court would turn the baby over to her without clear evidence of a match, though?” he asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Justin agreed. “We’ll take our time on this one and make absolutely sure we get it right. Social services will want to do a whole slew of checks as well. Believe me, Hazel Murdock’s life will be put under a microscope before she gets the baby. It might be different if the natural mother were trying to get custody, but so far we’ve had no luck at all locating her. As long as it’s the grandmother we’re dealing with, I’d say the baby could wind up right here.” He regarded Sharon Lynn intently. “If that’s the way you really want it.”

  “It is,” she said emphatically.

  Cord couldn’t have asked for anything more, but one look at Sharon Lynn’s still-shattered expression made him question how she would survive the delay, especially if the result was losing Ashley.

  “Thanks, Justin. We appreciate your help,” Cord said. “I know it was above and beyond the call of duty.”

  Justin’s worried gaze never left Sharon Lynn. “This isn’t about duty. It’s about family.”

  “I’m going in to be with the baby,” Sharon Lynn murmured and slipped past them.

  Justin watched her go, his expression uneasy. “You planning to stay here with her tonight?”

  Cord nodded. He was surprised when Justin nodded his approval.

  “Good. She’s taking this hard.”

  “Does that surprise you?”

  “Of course not. Sharon Lynn’s always had a tender heart. That’s why she was so accepting when Kyle came up with a million and one excuses for delaying their wedding. She always understood. She always waited. That’s why it rocked her so badly when she lost him on their wedding night. It wasn’t just feeling guilty about being the driver. It was all those regrets for the years they lost.”

  Justin sighed. “Despite that hope I held out about the baby staying here in the end, I can’t help wondering if it wouldn’t be easier on Sharon Lynn if we just made other arrangements for foster care now.”

  “The same thought crossed my mind a minute ago,” Cord admitted. “But we can’t. For one thing, she’d never hear of it. For another, something in my gut tells me this is going to turn out all right in the end.”

  Justin clasped his hand. “I hope you’re right. I really do. I’ll see to it that Lizzy gets by here in the morning to get the blood for the lab and I’ll call the minute I know anything.”

  “Thanks.”

  At the door Justin hesitated again. Cord grinned at his obvious reluctance to go. “It’s okay, you know. I won’t take advantage of the situation.”

  Justin gave him a rueful grin. “Was I that obvious?”

  “Let’s just say you’re not a man who should try bluffing at poker.”

  Justin laughed. “No wonder I keep losing in those games out at White Pines.” His expression sobered. “I’m counting on the fact that you’re being straight with me. I’m trusting you with my cousin.”

  “I won’t do anything to make you regret it. I swear it.”

  Justin nodded. “Then that’s good enough for me. I’ll be in touch.”

  After he’d gone, Cord remained standing where he was, trying to work up the courage to join Sharon Lynn in the bedroom. Seeing her there, with that big old brass bed of hers dominating the space, was going to make keeping his promise to Justin downright maddening.

  But keep it, he would. For a man known for his impatience, Sharon Lynn surely was becoming the test of a lifetime.

  * * *

  Sharon Lynn couldn’t seem to draw her gaze away from the baby, not even when she heard Cord walk into the bedroom. Her grip on the edge of the crib was white-knuckle tight.

  “You doing okay, darlin’?”

  “Sure.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You don’t have to stay. I know you need to be back at White Pines tomorrow.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  She was relieved by the refusal. She wasn’t entirely sure she could bear to get through the night alone. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me.” He reached around her and loosened her fingers from the crib, then slowly turned her to face him. He tucked a knuckle under her chin. “You need to get some sleep.”

  Sharon Lynn folded her arms around her middle and shivered. “I don’t think I can.”

  Cord drew her against him and held her. “You have to,” he repeated, rubbing her back gently. “Take another one of those bubble baths, if that’ll relax you.”

  He grinned at her. “Then I’ll come back and tuck you in.”

  “Will you stay with me?”

  “I’ve already said I would.”

  “I mean in here. Will you sleep beside me?” She searched his expression. “I know it’s asking a lot.”

  “Do you really think you’ll sleep better if I’m next to you?”

  She almost grinned at his doubtful tone. “I will.”

  “Then that’s the way it will be,” he said.

  He said it so grimly that this time she did grin. “If it’ll be too hard on you...”

  “Hush. I’ll manage. Get ready for bed. I’ll go turn out the lights and be back in a flash.”

  As soon as he left the room, she pulled out a long T-shirt and slipped into it. She had a feeling the sexy nightie she might have preferred was a very bad idea under the circumstances. There was no mistaking the fact that she was already asking too much of Cord’s restraint.

  She had slipped under the covers by the time he returned. He flipped off the bedroom light, then sank down on the side of the bed and removed his boots. She found herself holding her breath, waiting for him to shed the rest of his clothes.

  Instead, with a heavy sigh, he stretched out beside her, on top of the bedspread.

  “Cord?”

  “Yes, darlin’?”

  “You don’t have to sleep in your clothes.”

  “Oh, yes, I do,” he said fervently.

  She had no difficulty at all interpreting his meaning. That made her next request all the more dangerous.

  “Cord?”

  “Yes?”

  “Would you mind very much holding me?”

  She thought she heard him groan softly, but he dutifully rolled toward her and gathered her close. She sighed with pleasure at the reassuring feel of his arms around her. Then, surrounded by his warmth and his strength, she finally closed her eyes and slept.

  Chapter Nine

  After taking one last, longing look at the woman beside him, Cord slipped out of bed at dawn, grateful that he’d made it through the night without violating Sharon Lynn’s trust. Holding her had been sheer torture. He’d wanted to make love to her, to make her forget all about the heartache that might lay ahead of them, to give her hope in the future. Their hope.

  But there’d been a million and one reasons why he couldn’t, why his arms had curved loosely around her, why his hands had remained still, why his lips hadn’t brushed hers. The baby had been right there in the same room, for one thing. For another, he would have been taking advantage of her vulnerability. His promise to Justin, his own sense of honor prevented that.

  Still, he thought
with some regret, it would have been so easy to seduce her. She was scared and needy. She had turned to him for reassurance, for comfort, maybe even for a distraction, which he could have provided with pleasure. But she wasn’t prepared for the consequences of reaching out to him, not for those consequences, anyway.

  So, he’d done the honorable thing. He’d counted sheep. He’d focused on anything and everything but the woman in his arms. Even so, he was pretty sure he’d never get the light, flowery scent of her out of his head, never forget the silkiness of her skin or the curve of her hip. He wanted the tenderness and warmth she gave so readily to their abandoned baby directed his way. He needed her to want him as desperately as he was beginning to want her.

  Since that was out of the question for now, he moved quietly to the bathroom across the hall, cleaned up, then went back to check on the baby. She was wide-awake and about ready to cry. He plucked her out of the crib, made soothing little noises as he carried her into the living room, then changed her.

  “You hungry, angel?”

  She gave him a beaming smile that convinced him she understood exactly what he was saying. For an infant who’d endured what she had, she was astonishingly happy. Cord felt a silly grin spreading across his own face in response.

  “You were a good girl last night,” he praised. “You didn’t wake up once. Sharon Lynn’s gonna be real grateful that you’re starting to sleep through the night.”

  With Ashley tucked into the crook of his arm, he popped a cup of last night’s coffee into the microwave, then heated her bottle. When both were ready, he sat at the kitchen table and fed her, while sipping the coffee.

  A glance at the clock told him he’d better make a call to White Pines. Work would be getting underway and Cody was bound to wonder where he was. He reached for the phone and dialed.

  “White Pines,” Cody growled.

  Obviously not a good morning, Cord concluded.