by Sara Orwig
“We’re both better off if you don’t,” she said as she left.
* * *
Nick stayed the afternoon and the three played games. He was enjoying his time with them so much that it was five o’clock by the time he had his things in the limo and turned to tell them goodbye. He picked up Cody.
“You’re a wonderful boy. I love you.”
“I love you, Dad,” Cody said as Nick hugged him.
Claire saw the look that crossed Nick’s face when the boy told him he loved him and called him “dad,” and her heart felt squeezed. Nick was going to pour out his love on his son. She hoped whatever she and Nick decided, it would be a good solution for Cody.
She saw Nick give her a quick glance and then look down, but she had seen the tears in his eyes and for just an instant felt a bond with him over the love they shared for their son.
After a moment he turned to Claire. “I can’t wait until the two of you get to Dallas. This has been a wonderful weekend. Thank you.”
“We’ll see you Tuesday,” she said, thinking that if he had kept in touch with her or even told her he was getting engaged, she would have told him about her pregnancy. For a moment the old anger she sometimes felt surfaced and she stepped away from him. She didn’t want to kiss him goodbye. Now that Nick wanted her in his life again, he was pouring on the charm, but she had to remember that this was the same man who had so easily dropped her for another woman and become engaged without even letting her know. There were flashes when she regretted telling him about Cody at all and wished she had just come home to Houston without Nick knowing about his son.
As quickly as those thoughts came, she tried to shut off her resentment. Nick had lost his baby. He’d gone through hell. She wasn’t heartless; she’d needed to tell him about Cody, and she knew he was going to be a wonderful dad for their son. And she couldn’t deprive Cody of the right to know his father. If the Milans didn’t try to take Cody or monopolize him, then they could work together. She hoped Nick’s dad stayed out of it and let them work things out in their own way. Meanwhile, she had to keep her heart intact. The only way to do that was to stay out of Nick’s arms...and out of his bed.
* * *
Nick settled in the limo and looked at Claire and Cody standing on the curving front walk. Claire held Cody with one hand and with the other she pushed back her hair, which swirled across her cheek in the wind.
Cody waved and Nick’s heart lurched as he waved back. Cody’s declaration of love, his simple, I love you, Dad, had wrapped around his heart and he would never forget the moment. Cody was so small, his thin arms had been around Nick’s neck. He loved his son beyond measure.
I love you, Dad. Those plain words had been the greatest gift. Briefly, he thought about Claire, wishing they didn’t have all the problems between them because they both loved Cody. She had given him a wonderful son. Nick tried to stop wishful thinking. The limo pulled away, driving slowly down her street. He couldn’t look continually at what might have been, but it was a struggle to avoid doing so. For an instant he questioned his future. Was a political career worth losing Claire’s love and missing out on becoming a husband with a loving, caring family?
He gave his head a shake, as if trying to get rid of such thoughts. Being with Claire again, he’d been caught up in desire for her that muddled his thinking.
He already missed being with both of them. Could he keep from falling in love with her and demolishing all his future plans? Could he risk another broken heart? Their problems were bigger now and chances of working them out far less likely than before.
Everything was different now. Because of Cody.
He had never dreamed how much he would love his son. Cody was a wonderful child. A lot of credit for that went to Claire and her family. He felt another big rush of gratitude and made a mental note to order flowers for her when he got home.
He couldn’t wait to take Cody to the ranch on Tuesday. In the meantime, when he got home, he had to break the news to his parents first and then let his siblings know. He had to tell Karen’s family at some point, too, and they weren’t going to be overjoyed to learn that he had a son who was born months after he had married their late daughter.
He sent his dad a text, asking about stopping by to see him. In minutes he received an answer to come by as soon as he returned home to Dallas. Better to face the lion in his den right away, he told himself.
* * *
Nick walked into the study, greeted his mother with a hug and crossed the room to shake hands with his dad. With their small dog jumping around his feet, Nick sat and chatted with them, talking about the weather, the basketball season.
“Evelyn,” his dad said, “I need to talk to Nick for a short time. A legal matter.”
She held up her hand and smiled. “No need for me to sit through a tedious discussion. I’m gone. Peter, call me when you finish,” she told her husband as she walked out with the dog trotting behind her.
As soon as they were alone and the doors were closed, Nick turned to his dad. “I have something to discuss with you when you’re finished.”
“I don’t have anything. That was just an excuse to get your mother to leave. I guessed that you came by for a reason.”
“You know me pretty well,” Nick said, dreading the next few minutes, knowing he and his father had different views on a lot of basic things and this was going to be one of the biggest.
Nick stood, walking to the mantel to turn and face his dad. “Dad, you remember before I got engaged to Karen, I proposed to Claire Prentiss from Houston, but she turned me down.”
“I remember. Mr. Prentiss, the grandfather, had a thriving real estate business in Houston. They handled many big homes. The young woman helped her grandfather in the business.”
“That’s right.” Nick’s dread increased. He wondered how he’d find the words to tell his father what he knew would start a fight. Then again, he told himself that once his father knew about Cody, he’d accept him.
He took a deep breath and continued. “Let’s jump ahead to last week when a client asked me to go to a real estate closing with him. The seller was hospitalized and unable to attend, but they had the real estate agent fill in for her. It was Claire Prentiss. She runs her grandfather’s agency now.”
“I don’t think you came to tell me you’re dating her again.”
“No, I didn’t. She didn’t know I had lost Karen and our baby.” He could see he had his dad’s full attention now. “If you recall, I broke up with Claire because we couldn’t work out how we would live. She had family responsibilities and I had started a new career. Then I began dating Karen, and you and mom pushed me to marry her.”
“Which I still think was good. We just couldn’t foresee the drunk driver.”
“I didn’t tell Claire that I was engaged, but she learned about it.”
His father shrugged. “Well, we’re in local magazines and papers, and so is Karen’s family.”
“I have something I bought for you and Mom. Let me get it.”
“Nick, just tell me what it is. I don’t need to see it.”
“You’ll want to see this. Trust me.” Nick crossed the room to his briefcase and removed two iPads. He remembered how all his anger had vanished when he’d seen Cody’s picture. He was counting on Cody’s picture having the same effect on his father.
“This iPad is for you.” He put it on a table. “But for now I want to show you something on mine.” He carried the tablet back to his dad, pulled a chair close and sat. “Get ready for a shock,” he said, gazing into his father’s eyes.
“Well, now I am curious,” he said as he pushed his bifocals up.
Nick held the iPad out and his dad grasped it. “Dad, this is Cody Nicholas Prentiss. When I married Karen, Claire was pregnant with my son.”
“Oh, damn,
Nick.” For a moment his father looked stricken and all color left his face. “You got her pregnant and then you got engaged to Karen? She didn’t tell you?” he asked, looking at Nick.
“No, sir. Remember, I didn’t tell her I was engaged and marrying another woman,” Nick said, as his father looked down at the iPad in his hands.
He pulled the tablet and stared intently. “Damn, Nick, this child is the image of you. He’s you all over again,” he said in an awestruck voice. Nick let out his breath because he had a feeling that Cody had just been accepted into his father’s world.
Judge Milan looked at his son. “Are you going to marry Claire?”
Nick shook his head. “I just learned about Cody last week and I just spent the weekend with her in Houston getting to know him. This family is going to love him. He is smart, happy, a great kid. He’s three years old and yes, he does look like my pictures when I was that age. He’s a Milan, there’s no mistaking it.”
His father barely looked up, still studying Cody’s picture.
“Dad, I have more pictures.” Nick swiped the screen and scrolled through other pictures of Cody laughing at the camera.
“Nick, we’ve got to break this gently to your mother, but she is going to want this little boy in her life in the worst way.” His dad looked up. “This is our first and only grandchild, Nick. And he couldn’t look more like a Milan.”
Nick was so relieved, but at the same time, he knew his dad’s acceptance meant his parents were going to fight to get Cody into the family. Nick glanced around the room, remembering being in the same room while his dad had argued and pressured him to marry Karen and forget Claire. Nick made a silent vow to himself that when Cody was grown, he’d never interfere in his life the way his dad had interfered in his own.
“I’ve invited Claire to bring Cody to Dallas this week. She’ll be here Tuesday and I’m taking them out to my ranch. One night while they’re here I thought I’d have the family over to meet him.”
“You’ve got to marry her, Nick. The sooner the better.”
“At this point she isn’t interested in marrying me. Her grandfather isn’t well. Her mother has passed away and her grandmother is getting older. Claire has control of the real estate business totally and she’s been very successful and built it up. She has three offices and seventy employees in Houston, and she doesn’t want to leave there. She’s built a big, fine mansion in an exclusive area, and Cody and her grandmother live with her. Her grandfather is in assisted living, but she hopes to bring him home. She told me there have been no other men in her life because she hasn’t had time for a social life, and I can see that.” The words rushed out, like an eruption. But he wanted to lay everything out on the table right away.
He wondered whether his father even heard him; he was still going through the pictures. He reminded himself that his dad could do two things at once and not miss a word of conversation around him.
Finally his father looked up. “Go get your mother. You can tell her when you get in here where she can see his picture. I know why you showed it to me first. Nick, can you print a couple of these out for us, so we can keep some?”
“I asked Claire to print a few out, so I have some for you. But, Dad, that’s why I’m giving you an iPad. I’ve already loaded all those pictures on it for you and Mom to look at.”
“That’s dandy, Nick. That’s just fine. Thank you,” his father said, his gaze returning to Cody’s picture. “Our first grandchild,” he said with awe in his voice. “Three years—damn, if only we had known.”
“You know why we didn’t.” Nick couldn’t keep from saying and his father waved his hand at him without looking up. “Go get your mother. She is going to be so happy over this. Nick, we’ve never even met Claire.”
“No, Dad, you haven’t, but you will this week.” Clinging to his patience he bit back pointing out that they hadn’t wanted to meet Claire. “I’ll get Mom.”
His mother looked puzzled when she returned and Judge Milan motioned her to come sit beside him. He took her hand. “Nick has some good news that will surprise you as well as shock you.”
Nick went through telling her in the same way he had told his father.
“Oh, my word, you fathered a child out of wedlock!” his mother said, frowning and sounding devastated. Then, before he could respond, her eyes grew soft. “We have a grandchild.” Then she stared at the iPad.
He gave her a moment to digest it all.
“Oh, my word, Nick. This is a picture of you.”
“No, it’s my son and Claire is his mother,” Nick said. “His name is Cody Nicholas.”
“She gave him your name.” Evelyn didn’t look up from the pictures as she spoke. “He’s definitely your son. We’re grandparents and we get to meet him this week?” His mother’s voice filled with excitement. She looked up at Nick. “I’m a grandmother. Oh, Nick, I’m so thrilled.”
“I’m glad, Mom,” he said.
It was another hour before he was ready to leave. He left the iPad with pictures of Cody with them and said he would arrange for a family dinner on whatever night they could get the most members of the family together. As he kissed his mother’s cheek and started out of the room, his dad got up.
“I’ll walk you to the car, Nick,” he said, catching up with Nick.
Nick wasn’t surprised. He knew his father had a purpose in walking him to the car.
As soon as they were out of the house, his dad cleared his throat. “Nick, think about asking Claire to marry you. She may be wealthy, comfortable, successful, but she doesn’t have the wealth our family does. You can give her a sum that would win the cooperation of most any woman and you can set up a trust fund for Cody, plus give him the Milan name. That will be difficult for her to turn down.”
“Dad, I hurt her badly once. I don’t want to do it again. If I’d done what I should have in the first place, I would have known about Cody. But that’s in the past now. I’m not going to coerce her into marriage.”
“It isn’t coercion to offer what I’m talking about. It’s a fabulous, life-altering gift. Be smart about this, Nick. You have the highest political ambitions and we’re getting a lot of powerful people lined up to support you. Don’t blow this now. That little boy is a Milan, our grandchild. I can’t tell you how thrilled your mother and I both are.”
“I’m glad for that. You’re going to be more thrilled when you meet him. He’s adorable.”
“Nick, if she would marry you, it would kill any breath of scandal attached to Cody. Think about it,” his dad urged, giving him one of his patented looks.
“Sure. I will,” Nick answered. “I’ll let my siblings know about him as soon as I get home. I’m going to let Karen’s parents know too. Mom is probably already on the phone talking to Madison.”
“She won’t talk to any of the family until she’s talked to me again.” They stopped beside Nick’s car and his father looked up at him. “Just think about what I said. It would help your political chances to be married with a family.”
“I will.” Nick climbed behind the wheel. “Night, Dad. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks for the iPad. This is an exciting night in our lives. We have a grandson. That’s marvelous, Nick. I’m looking forward to meeting him and his mother.”
Nodding, Nick felt a pang. He had gotten his life into a muddle, cutting Claire out of it, then losing Karen and the baby. And now it was even more mixed-up.
He drove to his Dallas home and went inside. He called Wyatt first, telling him about Cody and sending a picture. He did the same with Madison and then Tony.
Feeling Karen’s parents should know, he called and talked to her dad briefly. To his relief, her father seemed happy for Nick to have a child. He realized a lot of despair over his loss was fading.
Then he called Claire. She was putting Cody to
bed, but Nick got to talk to him for ten minutes. Just hearing his voice nearly brought tears to his eyes; he missed his son so much already. He could hardly wait till Tuesday. Claire promised to call Nick after she was finished with Cody.
He wondered what she thought. She kept everything bottled up and put a barrier between them. He understood why she did, and he knew he should, too, for the same reasons.
Was the career he had planned really better than having Claire’s love and Cody in his life?
Somehow over the weekend, politics had lost a bit of its luster.
Giving up political office was a thought that had never crossed his mind before, and he couldn’t imagine changing his whole way of life and giving up his ranch to move to Houston. He would never be happy. That thought was followed by memories of this weekend, which had been one of the happiest times of his life. How much would becoming a father change his life? And change his feelings for Claire?
He got out his iPad and looked at all of Cody’s pictures again. He’d already received text messages from his siblings, congratulating him and telling him how much Cody looked like Nick and like the Milans, and responding to his invitation to meet Claire and Cody.
By consensus it’d be Saturday night when he’d host the party at his Dallas home. He could hardly wait.
* * *
Tuesday Nick went to the airport to meet Claire and Cody. He had taken little time off for two years and his office was accustomed to being able to get in contact with him during all hours. That was going to have to change and it would be a big adjustment in his life.
He was eager to see them, surprised how the anticipation had kept him awake all night. They’d been in his thoughts constantly from yesterday until now. His life had not been empty—or, at least, he hadn’t thought it was—but excitement gripped him now as he watched the plane land. It was an excitement he hadn’t ever felt. Not even with his late wife. In his own way, he’d loved Karen, but he realized now that what they’d had was more like a marriage of convenience. She had done what she wanted and he had been free to pursue his career for hours on end. Setting those thoughts aside to be examined at a later time, he focused on Claire and their son.