Only Justin made no pretense of being convinced. He’d been scowling since he’d walked through the door. He’d hauled Cord off to a corner for a few obviously intense moments. Whatever Cord had said in response hadn’t exactly reassured her cousin, but it had quieted him down. She could tell, though, that he was just biding his time until he could get a moment alone with her. She did everything in her power to preclude that from happening.
Unfortunately Justin was both patient and clever. He snared her coming out of the kitchen, whirled her around and half dragged her back inside. He all but pushed her into a chair and stood over her as if she were the chief suspect in a major crime and he were the bad-cop interrogator.
“Are you out of your mind?” he demanded.
She frowned at his tone and his attitude, but she knew better than to start a shouting match that would draw the whole family into the kitchen. “I don’t think so,” she said blandly.
Justin looked incredulous. “Are you telling me you’re in love with him?”
The point-blank question startled her. If she was at least half in love with Cord, it hadn’t had time to register yet. Still, she raised her eyes to level a look at her cousin. “Why else would I be marrying him, if I weren’t?”
“What about Kyle?”
She knew the question wasn’t asked out of any deep-seated loyalty to her late husband. But Justin knew how devastated she’d been by Kyle’s death. He’d been on the scene the night of the accident and there for her afterward. She supposed it was natural for him to wonder at her sudden leap into the arms of another man. Compared to Kyle’s courtship, Cord’s had set a stunning, record pace.
“Kyle is dead,” she reminded Justin quietly. “I can’t change that.”
“But that relationship built up over time. The two of you didn’t rush into marriage.”
“I’ll say,” she murmured. She forced a smile. “Justin, Kyle and I waited and waited and waited to get married. Look at all the time we wasted.”
“So that’s it? You’re rushing into this because you’ve suddenly concluded that life’s too short and you have to grab on to it while you can?”
“Something like that.”
“Bull. That’s not who you are.”
She regarded him with a touch of defiance. “Maybe it’s not who I was, but maybe it’s who I am now.”
“I don’t believe it,” he insisted stubbornly.
“Whether you choose to accept it or not, I am marrying Cord. The sooner the better.”
“There’s more to it. There has to be.”
“Such as?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out. I’m a cop and every instinct tells me this isn’t the stars-in-your-eyes love-match you two are pretending it is.” Suddenly he looked as if he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. “The baby. Of course. That’s it, isn’t it? This is about the baby.”
He searched her face, then moaned. “I knew it. Cord as much as asked me if you’d have a better chance at keeping her if you were married. Oh, sweetie, don’t do it.”
She saw no point in trying to deny it, not when the truth was likely written all over her face. She reached up and touched his cheek. “I have to, Justin. It’s the only way. In fact, you were the first one to mention that it would make a difference if I were married. Cord just picked up on that.”
“Dammit, Sharon Lynn. Use your head. It’s not the only way. Grandpa Harlan has influence around here. He’ll use it if he has to.”
She sighed heavily. “I know he would, but that’s not what I’m going to do. Cord and I are in this together. He loves that little girl as much as I do. This marriage is what we want to do, Justin. Leave it be, please. Don’t tell another soul. Promise me.”
He looked torn by her plea. “You’re certain? You’re absolutely, positively certain you’re willing to take such a drastic step?”
She was anything but. Still, she managed a smile. “Absolutely.”
She had no choice. She had to believe that this crazy, impulsive marriage plan could work. Whatever Cord’s motivations, it had to work. She couldn’t bear to think of losing the baby she had come to think of as her own. She didn’t allow herself to think about what marrying Cord and living with him would mean at all, because that would have stirred up too many things she wasn’t prepared to deal with.
After their talk Justin appeared somewhat reconciled to her engagement, but that left at least one more major hurdle to get past: her mother.
Even more so than Sharon Lynn’s father, Melissa Adams was capable of probing beneath the surface to get at the truth of things. Where her father blustered, ranted and raved, her mother was more subtle. But she was a more than even match for any Adams when it came to being stubborn. She’d resisted Sharon Lynn’s father for a very long time, even though Sharon Lynn had already been born and, in a thoroughly untimely twist, Harlan Patrick had been on the way.
Oh, yes, Melissa Adams was a tough cookie and she was still there when most of the others had left. How she’d gotten Sharon Lynn’s father to leave her behind was an enigma, but it was testament to her determination to get the answers she wanted from her only daughter.
“Sit,” her mother ordered, after all but hauling her into the kitchen. “Now, my darling girl, why don’t you tell me what this is all about?”
Sharon Lynn cast a look of longing toward the door, wishing Cord would appear, but she suspected her mother’s fierce warning look had been enough to keep him out. “I’m engaged to be married. What more can I tell you?”
Her mother reached across the table and gently brushed a wayward curl from Sharon Lynn’s face. “You could start with telling me why. Not that I don’t happen to think Cord is a hunk.”
“Mother!”
“Well, he is. He’s also a decent guy from all accounts.”
“Yes, he is.”
“And that’s why you’re marrying him,” her mother concluded.
Sharon Lynn heard the trap. There’d been no mention of love. Her mother was waiting to see if she’d add that into the mix.
“That and all the other usual reasons,” Sharon Lynn said carefully, avoiding her mother’s penetrating gaze. She couldn’t bring herself to lie outright, not to her mother.
“That’s utter nonsense,” her mother exclaimed impatiently. “This isn’t your father you’re talking to or even your brother, who seems to have turned into Cord Branson’s best buddy. This is me and I want the truth.”
“Cord asked me to marry him. I said yes. I don’t know what else there is to say,” Sharon Lynn said, clinging tenaciously to her story.
“Sweetheart, you can’t do something like this,” her mother said, clearly unconvinced. “It’s all wrong. You’re not an impulsive woman. You take your time and think things through.”
“I took my time with Kyle and look at how that turned out,” she shot back, refusing to explain that this had nothing to do with marrying Cord Branson and everything to do with keeping the baby. Her mother simply didn’t need to know that.
Though she still looked troubled, her mother said, “You’re happy then? Truly?”
“Very happy,” she insisted, keeping her gaze level and unblinking. It was the hardest deception she’d ever had to pull off and, she found, only a tiny white lie. She might not be deliriously happy, but she was far from miserable about the prospect of being Cord’s wife.
“This is exactly what I want,” she added for emphasis.
Her mother regarded her worriedly for several minutes, then finally nodded, her expression resigned. “Then we’ll get together tomorrow and start planning the wedding.”
Sharon Lynn shook her head. “We don’t want a big wedding. As soon as we get the paperwork out of the way, we’ll have a quiet ceremony with just the family there.”
“Absolutely not,” her mother said, sounding appalled. “If t
here’s going to be a wedding, it will be done right.”
Sharon Lynn laid a silencing hand on her mother’s arm. “Mom, I’ve had my fancy church wedding and a huge reception. I don’t want that again. It will be too painful.”
Nothing else she could have said would have been more effective. Tears sprang into her mother’s eyes. “Of course. I’m sorry. It’s just that you’re my girl. I want the day to be lovely, something you’ll remember.”
“Mom, I’m marrying Cord. How will it be anything but memorable?” Oddly, even as she said the words to reassure her mother, she knew somewhere deep inside that it was true. Marrying Cord, whatever the reasons for it, would be one of the most unforgettable moments of her life.
* * *
Sharon Lynn wasn’t one bit surprised when her grandfather came into Dolan’s the next morning. Since he hadn’t weighed in with his own opinion the night before, she’d been fairly certain it wouldn’t be long before he did. Because he had impeccable timing, he arrived just as the last of the breakfast customers left.
“Hand over that baby,” he said, peering behind the counter toward the portable crib. “I never got so much as a peek at her last night.”
Sharon Lynn lifted Ashley up and boosted her across the counter into her grandfather’s waiting arms. The baby beamed for him, just as she did for Cord. Obviously they had a little flirt on their hands.
“Do you want a cup of decaf or did you just come in to play with the baby?” Sharon Lynn inquired.
“I came to talk to you. Holding this cute little one is just a bonus.”
“I knew it was too good to be true,” Sharon Lynn murmured.
Her grandfather scowled. “Don’t you go getting sassy on me, young lady. You can pour me a cup of real coffee to make up for it.”
She grinned. “I don’t think so.”
He shrugged. “Oh, well, it was worth a try.” He bounced Ashley on his knee, then said casually, “This is a mighty big step you’re thinking of taking.”
“You’re not going to start on me, too, are you? Between Mama and Justin, I already feel as if I’ve gone ten rounds with a world-champion prosecutor.”
“No,” he said at once. “I happen to think Cord Branson is a fine man. He’ll be a good husband.” He gave her a sly look. “I also happen to think he’s in love with you.”
Her head shot up at that. “In love with me?” she repeated incredulously. “Don’t be ridiculous. He barely knows me.” Despite the denial, she couldn’t seem to help the little thrill that came over her at her grandfather’s claim.
Grandpa Harlan didn’t seem to be impressed by her vehement protest. “Sometimes it doesn’t take but a heartbeat for a man to recognize the one woman on earth who’s right for him. In Cord’s eyes, you’re that woman. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
“But...”
“Can you say the same about him?” he asked. “Or is this all about holding on to that precious baby?”
Sharon Lynn sighed.
Her grandfather nodded. “I thought so. I’m not telling you not to go through with it, darlin’ girl. I happen to think it’s a strong match.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“Maybe Cord loves enough for both of you, but I wanted you to go into this with your eyes wide-open. Whatever he may have told you, I’d stake my life that he’s not looking for a marriage in name only. You’ll owe it to him to make a real stab at making it work. Can you do that?”
Sharon Lynn fought her way through panic and an unexpected burst of anticipation to meet her grandfather’s gaze evenly. “I’ll have to, won’t I?”
“If you’ll listen to a few words of wisdom from an old man who loves you, what Cord is doing to protect you and that baby is a noble and decent gesture not many men would make. A man like that is worth holding on to.”
“I know that,” she told him quietly. It was a fact that had crept into her heart when she’d least expected it.
Chapter Sixteen
Cord figured Cody must approve of his relationship with Sharon Lynn. He gave him time off to get blood tests and paperwork done without so much as a grumbling comment. If he’d had to describe his boss’s mood, he would have called it resigned. Obviously Cody was a man who had given up fighting the inevitable, at least when it came to his willful daughter.
Their earlier dispute over the designs he suspected Cord had on Sharon Lynn’s property seemed to have been put behind them. Cord had a hunch he had Harlan Adams or Harlan Patrick to thank for that. Or maybe the fact that Kyle Mason’s ranch had been promised to someone else. Thank heaven, he’d talked Sharon Lynn out of giving him her share of White Pines. He could just imagine what Cody would think about that. Cord doubted he would live to walk down the aisle.
All in all, the wedding plans were moving along without a hitch and with them, Cord’s optimism was escalating. He was all but certain Sharon Lynn wouldn’t duck out on him at the last second, if only because she was clinging to this marriage as the only way to protect Ashley from Hazel Murdock.
He’d been stunned by the strength she’d demonstrated as she’d withstood her family’s doubts and skepticism. She’d almost had him believing by the end of their impromptu party that she was marrying him out of love. He promised himself that none of them would ever learn from him that nothing could be further from the truth, at least from her perspective.
Less than twenty-four hours from now, she would be Mrs. Cord Branson. Even though his confidence was strong, he couldn’t seem to keep himself from dropping by Dolan’s on his way to the bachelor party Harlan Patrick had insisted on planning. He wanted to make sure she hadn’t panicked and changed her mind. He wondered if there’d ever come a day when he could be as sure of her love for him as he was of his own for her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be hanging out with the guys tonight?” Sharon Lynn inquired when he settled into his usual place at the counter.
“In an hour.”
“So you thought you’d spend it in here checking up on me?”
“Now, darlin’, why would I need to check up on you?”
“To make sure I haven’t bolted.” She gave him a knowing look. “That is what you’re afraid of, isn’t it?”
“It’s true,” he conceded lightly. “I am afraid you might wake up and notice you’re not getting a great bargain.”
Her expression softened and she reached for his hand, one of the few times she had ever initiated any contact between them. Her touch was gentle, but it was enough to make his blood roar.
“You’re wrong about that,” she told him, her tone fierce. “I think I’m doing okay for myself. I just hope you won’t live to regret it.”
“Can’t happen,” he assured her. “Now tell me what your plans are for tonight. I understand all you ladies intend to go out and kick up your heels.”
She blushed slightly. “We’re not going out, but I am told that someone has hired a male stripper for the occasion.”
Cord stared. “Excuse me?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea.” A grin tugged at the corners of her lips. “Of course, it might be interesting in a purely educational sort of way.”
“Darlin’, any education you require along those lines, you can get from me.”
She tilted her head and regarded him impishly. “You almost sound jealous. Is that possible?”
“Not jealous,” he insisted, then searched for a different spin to put on the emotions choking him. He finally settled for describing them as protective.
She gave him a mocking, skeptical look. “I am a grown-up. This won’t be a complete shock to me.”
His gaze narrowed. “Exactly how many male bodies are you familiar with?” he asked testily.
“You mean in the intimate sense?”
“Yes, I mean in the intimate sense,” he snapped.
She chuckled. “You should see your expression.”
“What is wrong with my damned expression?”
“It’s so very...male,” she said finally.
Cord studied her intently. “You were teasing me, weren’t you?”
A full-fledged grin spread across her face. “It was more like a test.”
“To see how far you could push me?”
“To see if there was a double standard at work here.”
“Double standard?”
“Harlan Patrick says he hired a stripper for your bachelor party. It just seemed to me as if turnabout was fair play.”
“Couldn’t you have just asked how I’d feel about it?”
She shook her head. “This was definitely better. I got the pure, unvarnished truth.”
“Maybe we should just skip this whole prewedding ritual and go home and spend a quiet evening with Ashley,” he suggested. He wasn’t entirely kidding. Tonight was just something he had to get through before beginning what would be the rest of his life.
Sharon Lynn regarded him as if he’d suggested sunbathing nude at high noon on Main Street. “And disappoint the whole family? I don’t think so. Not when they’ve had to give in about the wedding. Mother is still seething over the fact that we’re having the ceremony in a judge’s chambers, instead of a church.”
“There wasn’t a choice, given the timetable.”
“I know that. I’m perfectly happy that we’re doing it this way. I’m not sure I could have coped with all the hoopla a second time.”
Cord went absolutely still at her words. He took them to mean that the first marriage had been a real one, that this one was only a mockery, that she didn’t want anyone confusing the two. He finally met her gaze and saw that she was regarding him with a perplexed frown.
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