The Rancher's Secret Son

by Sara Orwig

  When she entered her house, she tiptoed into Cody’s room and stood beside his bed. She wanted to hold him, to get him as close to her heart as possible. Tears threatened when she thought about having to share him with Nick now. She pulled a light blanket higher over him carefully while love for him enveloped her.

  She didn’t know how long she stood beside his bed watching him sleep. Finally, she went to her suite to shower and dress for the day.

  By the time her gray-haired grandmother, Verna Prentiss, walked into the kitchen, Claire had made oatmeal, washed and sliced berries, and had everything set and ready. She gave her grandmother a light hug and kiss.

  “I’m glad you’re home and I’m glad it went well,” Verna said. “Can you take today off, or even the morning before you go to the office?”

  “I need to get to the office. I’ll take off early this afternoon.”

  “Good. I’m glad. I’ll see your grandfather today and take Cody with me. I’ll tell him you’ll see him tomorrow.”

  “Mom!” Cody exclaimed as he ran into the kitchen to hug her. She caught him, holding him lightly. Thin and wiry, he was still in pajamas. She kissed his cheek and then reluctantly let him go, fighting for control of her emotions.

  As they ate breakfast, she listened to Cody tell her about building a spaceship out of boxes his great-grandmother had given him. As Cody and Verna talked, part of Claire’s thoughts were on Nick and how he would see Cody. She was certain Nick would love his son wholeheartedly and want to be with him as much as possible.

  After breakfast she said she would clear, but Verna shook her head. “I know you want to spend some time with Cody. Go ahead. This will give me something to do.”

  Laughing, Claire turned to Cody who was waiting and smiling. “Thanks,” Claire said, and left with Cody who took her hand to show her his spaceship.

  She sat on the floor playing with him, praising his spaceship. It was patched and pasted, but she knew he thought it was grand.

  It was after nine when she told him she had to go to the office.

  Brushing his brown hair off his forehead, she smiled at him. “I’ll take this afternoon off and we’ll do something fun together. How’s that?”

  “Good,” he said. “Can we take my spaceship outside and paint it?”

  “That’s a good idea. Let’s go look in the garage and see what colors we have. If we don’t have any paint, I’ll get some while I’m out.”

  By the time she stood at the front door with Verna and Cody to tell them goodbye, it was approaching ten in the morning. “Kiss me goodbye.” When he kissed her cheek, she wrapped her arms around him. Cody stepped back and his great-grandmother placed her hand on his shoulder.

  “We’ll see you this afternoon,” her grandmother said, following her to the door to hold it open and wave goodbye as Claire hurried to her car. Before the front door closed, she had one last glimpse of Cody turning to run out of sight. Love for him swamped her again and she wished yesterday had never happened.

  * * *

  That night she read Cody his favorite bedtime story. Sitting beside him on his twin bed, which he’d dubbed his “big boy bed,” she cuddled him close as she read about the caterpillar that ate a hole in everything. Her son giggled as he turned the pages, eager for what he knew was coming. He loved bugs and she’d read him this story about a hundred times. Each time was like the first time he heard it.

  She cherished this time together. All day at work she looked forward to the hours they got to spend together each night. As she looked down at him now in the dim light, there was a part of her that wished she could keep him from Nick, that she could keep him to herself. But that was impossible. Now that Nick knew about his son, there was no going back.

  But first she had to tell her grandmother about Nick. She’d hold off on telling Cody until nearer to the time for Nick’s visit because Cody would be too excited to wait. When she finally kissed him good-night and tiptoed from the room, she returned to the family room to rejoin her grandmother.

  “Grandma, I want to tell you about the closing.”

  Pushing her bifocals higher on her nose, Verna looked up from her sewing. “Did everything go as you hoped?”

  “Yes, except for one surprise,” Claire replied, dreading breaking the news because it would forever change their lives, but putting off talking about it wouldn’t change anything. “Grandma, the buyer’s attorney was Nick Milan.”

  “Oh, my word,” Verna said, putting down her needle. “I’m sure that was a surprise. Does he have children now?”

  “No, he doesn’t. His pregnant wife was killed two years ago in a car crash.”

  “Oh, no,” Verna said, shaking her head. “He lost his wife and unborn baby? He’s single and doesn’t have any family?” Her empathy shone in her eyes.

  “That’s right.” Claire took a deep breath and let the words flow. “Grandma, I had to tell him about Cody.”

  “Claire,” she said, looking stricken. Tears filled her eyes and though she didn’t say anything for a moment, Claire could feel her grandmother’s concern wrap around her. Finally she gathered herself and added, “I’m sure he’ll be here soon to meet Cody.”

  “That’s right. He’s flying in Friday to meet his son and take us out to dinner. You’re invited for dinner too. He’ll be here for the weekend and leave Sunday.”

  “No, that should be just you and Cody. I’ll call my sister. Becky will pick me up.” She paused a moment, emotion choking off her words. “Claire, I—”

  She could see the tears in her grandmother’s eyes and knew exactly how she felt. She was worried for Claire, worried how things would fall once Nick met his son. Claire felt it, too. But she needed to reassure her grandmother, not bask in her self-pity. “We’ll work things out, so please don’t worry about it. Nick is a nice person.”

  “I’ll try not to, but I can’t keep from worrying and I know you’re worried. Go ahead and tell Grandpa tomorrow when you see him. It’ll give him something to think about and pray over.”

  “I’ll tell him if the opportunity arises. If he’s with his cronies, I’ll do it another day.”

  Her grandmother nodded. “I suppose Nick was terribly shocked. I know you felt you had to tell him. Was he angry you hadn’t told him earlier?”

  “Yes, he was at first, but it didn’t last,” Claire answered.

  “He may want Cody the majority of the time.”

  “I don’t think that will happen. We’ll just work out a way to share Cody. I think Nick will be a good dad.”

  Her grandmother started crying and Claire, hurting for her, crossed the room to hug her. “Don’t cry. We don’t know how much we’ll see of Nick and he has clearly said he will not take Cody from me.”

  “We can’t fight the Milans. They’re powerful people.”

  “We won’t have to,” Claire said, hoping her words proved true. “Please don’t cry,” Claire repeated, taking her grandmother in her arms again and noticing how much more frail and thin she was.

  Her grandmother wiped her eyes as she sat back. “I’m all right and don’t you worry. We’ll just take each day as it comes. I’ll pray for the best.”

  Claire nodded. “We all will. I wanted to tell you before I tell Cody. I expect him to be very happy about the news because he’ll never think of the downside to this. I know he’ll be eager and excited,” she said, hoping that’s what Cody would feel.

  * * *

  Claire took the day off Friday. Her grandmother had already gone for the weekend. During the afternoon Claire sat with Cody on her lap.

  “Cody, I want to tell you something.” His big blue eyes looked up at her and she smiled, hugging him lightly. He wore a superhero T-shirt, jeans and his tennis shoes, and she knew he wanted to run and play. “I saw your daddy this weekend. Here is a picture of me w
ith him. His name is Nicholas Milan.”

  “He’s my daddy?”

  “Yes. And he is coming to see you tonight.”

  “This is my daddy and he’s coming here?” Cody asked, grinning, his eyes sparkling and looking as if he had just been given a trip to Disneyland. From that moment on until it was time for Nick’s arrival, Cody was giddy with excitement.

  She gave Cody new Legos and left him building while she got dressed, thinking that one plus to Cody’s exhilaration was she didn’t have time to grow steadily more nervous about seeing Nick.

  Finally, she made one last check of herself, her gaze roaming over her black hair, which fell to her shoulders. She wore a dark red cotton dress with a V neckline, a straight skirt that ended at her knees and matching high-heeled shoes. In spite of butterflies in her stomach, icy hands and a sense of dread, she felt a streak of excitement to see Nick again. An excitement she tried to ignore.

  When the bell rang, she hurried to open the door, aware of Cody following her instructions and waiting in the family room. Her heartbeat spiked as she looked into Nick’s blue eyes. His smile quickened her breathing. In his navy suit and matching tie, he was handsome. Too handsome, too irresistible. Taking another deep breath, she opened the storm door. “Come in, Nick. Cody is excited and there’s no calming him.”

  “I’m excited, too,” Nick said, his gaze sweeping over her. “You look beautiful, Claire,” he said, his voice taking on a husky note. He glanced over her head. “Where’s your grandmother?”

  “She thought we should be alone for this momentous occasion, so she’s gone to her sister’s house for the weekend.”

  “That was perceptive of her,” he said. “It will be good to have just the three of us. I’ll thank her for understanding.”

  Claire glanced beyond him and noticed a white limo parked on the drive. “You came in a limo? Is the driver just going to sit in the car and wait until we go to dinner? I can drive to dinner and you can send him on his way now.”

  “I made arrangements for the limo through dinner and afterward, when we get back here, I’ll send him away for the night. He’s leaving now and I’ll call him to come get us when we’re ready to go. I thought Cody might like a limo ride. Has he ever ridden in one?”

  “No, he hasn’t and he will probably love it. He’s curious.”

  Nick set his things down inside the door. “I brought champagne for us later, to celebrate,” he said, handing her an insulated box. She was aware of the brush of his warm fingers as she took the box.

  “I have presents for Cody, too, but I’d like to leave those until after I’ve met him.”

  “You might as well, because right now he is more curious about you and he won’t pay attention to presents until he’s met you. I told him to wait in the family room and I’d bring you in.” She glanced toward the room where Cody awaited. “Let’s go meet your son,” she said.

  She linked her arm in Nick’s to take him inside, knowing that her life, as well as Nick’s, was about to change forever.

  Five

  Nick couldn’t recall a time he had felt so unprepared to meet someone, even though he wanted this more than anything else in life. He would love Cody on sight, but he didn’t know how to deal with meeting his son.

  Since telling Claire goodbye, he had spent the past couple of days getting ready for this moment. They entered the family room and all Nick’s qualms melted away as he looked at a small boy who bore enough Milan family resemblance that there could never be a doubt about his heritage. Cody’s blue eyes were large and he smiled as he watched Nick approach.

  “Cody, come here,” Claire said in a sweet voice. The boy ran to her. Setting the box with the champagne on a table, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I want to introduce you to somebody,” she said, “and then I’ll just go into the kitchen for a few minutes. Okay?”

  He looked up at her. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, his curious gaze returning to Nick.

  “Cody, this is your dad, Nick Milan. Nick, here’s your son, Cody,” she said. Then she stepped away and Nick didn’t see her pick up the champagne and leave because his attention was on the small boy staring at him.

  With a lump in his throat, Nick smiled and walked to Cody. He hunkered down in front of him to get closer to Cody’s level. “You’re my son, Cody, and I love you,” Nick said in a husky voice.

  “Yes, sir,” Cody said quietly.

  Nick’s insides clutched. “Cody, can I hug you?” he asked, thinking that was the first time in his life he could recall asking permission for a hug.

  Cody nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  With a pounding heart filled with joy and trepidation, Nick hugged him lightly. “You’re my son, Cody,” Nick repeated. “You’ll never know how wonderful that is for me.” He released the little boy. “You can think about what you want to call me—Dad or Daddy. I hope one of those will be what you’d like best. What do you think?”

  Cody stared at him a few minutes that made Nick tense. What if Cody didn’t want to call him either? He waited, feeling as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

  “Dad,” he said with a nod of his head. “Okay?”

  “It’s more than okay. It’s great. I can’t tell you how wonderful it will be to hear you call me that. It means you’re my little boy. Let’s find your mom and get her to join us. She doesn’t need to stay away. You want to go get her?”

  “Yes, sir,” Cody replied, nodding and running out of the room.

  As Nick watched Cody go, he was overwhelmed by emotion. He’d loved Cody the first moment he saw him. He felt he couldn’t get enough of seeing or being with him. Now that he knew of his existence, he wanted to be with Cody every day.

  He thought about what Claire had said the other day, how his father would push for a marriage of convenience. Claire had been cool on the subject, and Nick hadn’t given it much thought, but now he realized it would solve a lot of problems. Though, he had to admit, far more for him than for her. All the same problems faced them, plus more. If they married and it didn’t work out, a split would mean a divorce and even more bitterness than their previous breakup. If they had a marriage of convenience, could he keep from falling in love with her and getting hurt all over again? No, he couldn’t see a marriage of convenience working, or Claire ever agreeing.

  Nick walked to the front entry to pick up an armload of wrapped presents and returned to the family room. He had been so taken with Cody, he hadn’t really looked at the tall Christmas tree in a corner of the room. Decorations included a lot of children’s ornaments and a paper chain probably made by Cody. There were already presents scattered around the base. Usually Christmas was a painful, lonely time for Nick, but he looked forward to it this year, with Cody in it. That is, if he could work it out with Claire.

  In minutes Cody appeared, holding Claire’s hand. “Cody said you sent him to tell me to join you.”

  “You might as well. Getting to know each other will take time. Cody, I brought you some presents. They’re all in this sack. You can get them out and open them now.”

  “Nick, let’s have a seat while we watch him open his presents,” Claire said, sitting and crossing the long legs that he couldn’t keep from noticing. She had the best legs of any woman he had ever known.

  Cody sent him a questioning look and then turned to Claire, who nodded. “Go ahead and open your presents.”

  The first one was a book that Cody opened carefully, but when he saw what it was, he smiled and held it up for Claire to see. “Mama, look at this.”

  “One of your favorites that you’ve been wanting,” she said, smiling at Nick who was relieved that the first gift had been something Cody really wanted. Claire had sent him a list, but he still had felt uncertain.

  Cody turned to him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Cody.”


  Cody set aside the book and pulled another bigger package out of the sack and tore it open to show Claire a box of Legos. “I don’t have this one. Thank you,” he said to Nick, smiling at him and looking at the box. “Can I do this now, Mama?”

  “Open all your presents and then you may play with whatever you want,” Claire said. “Let’s see what else you have in the sack.”

  With each gift Cody ripped the paper away faster and with more enthusiasm. He pulled out one that had a stuffed monkey on a spring that he could send flying across the room. He put it on the spring and pulled the lever and the monkey shot into the air, startling Claire and sending the boy into peals of laughter.

  “Cody,” Claire said. “Not in the house.”

  “Yeah,” Nick agreed. “Maybe we should try that one in the backyard, Cody.”

  “Yes, sir,” Cody said, giggling and getting another present.

  “Is this more of the same?” Claire asked, eyeing the odd shape of the next gift.

  “Close, but it stays on the floor,” Nick replied, looking at Cody laugh with his blue eyes sparkling and thinking he had the most adorable son possible. Cody pulled a long furry toy with black eyes and a smiling mouth. When he pushed the switch the fuzzy toy rolled around on the floor while it growled, which made Cody laugh out loud. He flopped down on the floor beside it to watch.

  Charmed by Cody, Nick glanced at Claire and she looked back while she laughed and shook her head. For an instant he felt a bond with her. They had a son, and for the moment they seemed like a family. Gratitude to Claire filled him. Nick had felt grateful to her before, but it was magnified a thousandfold now that he was with both of them.

  Cody opened another present. “Mama, look,” he cried, jumping up to take a box to her.

  “A child’s computer just for you, Cody. You’ll have such fun with that,” she said, smiling at him as he tried to open the box. While she peeled away tape, he turned to Nick.