Lone Star Valentine (McCabe Multiples)

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Lily noted he didn’t look surprised. She rummaged around for her underwear. “I used you.”

  He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “The last thing you need to be worrying about right now is me, sweetheart.”

  His gruff, sexy voice made her quiver all over again. Lily trembled as she slipped on her bra and reached around behind her to fasten it. “What are you saying? That you can take care of yourself?”

  He strode to her side and deftly engaged the hook-and-eye closure for her. “And then some.”

  Still naked, he stepped back to admire the sight of her in her pale pink bra and bikini panties.

  The depth of his smile and the knowledge she wasn’t the only one getting aroused again sent another whisper of shame rushing through her.

  She hunted around for her dress. “This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t had such a horrible day.”

  “Uh-huh.” Lazily, he reached for his boxer briefs and tugged them on.

  Lily slipped her dress over her head, then shimmied it down the length of her body. “Or if I’d done what we both knew I should have done and headed for my hotel—instead of come here with you.”

  Once again, Gannon stepped behind her—this time to work the zipper. He peered around her shoulder. “You trying to insinuate I’m a bad chef?”

  Lily found one flat but not the other. “You know you’re not,” she huffed.

  He pulled on his jeans but left the fly open. “Lazy about getting the dishes, then...”

  She reddened as he gave her a sexy once-over, and tried not to notice just how big and hard and strong he was. All over.

  She hunted around until she found her other shoe. “Under the circumstances, I can’t hold that against you.” She sat down on the edge of the bed to put it on.

  He came closer, her discarded cardigan in hand. She took it back, then realized it was inside out. “Then...?” Chivalrous as always, he helped her reverse the fabric and slip it on.

  Struggling against the need to make love with him again, even more thoroughly this time, Lily stopped abruptly, listened. “Is that my cell phone?”

  Gannon nodded.

  Noting it was past midnight, Lily raced to answer.

  Chapter Six

  Traffic was light at one o’clock in the morning. But it still took Gannon and Lily a good half hour to get to Bode’s estate.

  This time the security guard opened the gates on approach and waved them through.

  They’d barely stopped the car when the front doors of the mansion flew open and Bode walked out, a tearful Lucas, plus Blue Blankie and his stuffed horse in his arms.

  Bode was no more happy to see Gannon than Gannon was to see him, Lily noted.

  Not that Gannon—with his devotion to family—would have ever put her and her son in a situation like this in the first place.

  “Mommy!” Lucas sobbed.

  Lily held out her arms. Lucas vaulted into them and broke into a fresh wave of hiccups.

  The nanny hired to care for Lucas stepped out onto the porch, overnight bag in her hand. She handed it over to Gannon, who remained ready to assist Lily—and her son—in any way he could.

  “How long has Lucas been like this?” Lily asked, holding her son close and brushing a hand through his hair. She’d known this was a mistake. It didn’t help to have her private prediction come true, though.

  “Since midnight.”

  Lily lifted a brow in surprise. Beside her, Gannon seemed equally nonplussed.

  Bode tucked his hands beneath his arms. “He and I were having such a good time playing, so I let him stay up late.” He paused. “He’s really smart, you know?”

  Glad his hiccups were subsiding, Lily stroked her son’s hair. “I do.” Although it was good to hear his biological father recognize that.

  Bode inhaled. “Anyway, he started to go to bed okay. He said I needed to read him a story and tuck him in with Blue Blankie and Horse. So I did all that, and then when I went to turn out the light, he suddenly said he wanted to go home to you.” There was a long pause. “I said you wouldn’t be here to get him until lunchtime tomorrow. He burst into tears. And nothing any of us did or said could comfort him.” Bode swallowed, regret sparking briefly on his face. “So I called you,” he concluded tersely, then looked her in the eye. “Thanks for coming, by the way.”

  “Anytime,” Lily returned softly, and she meant it. It didn’t matter how or why he’d gotten in this situation. If her little boy needed her, she would be there.

  Bode gently touched Lucas’s shoulder. “Maybe next time you can spend the night, okay, buddy?”

  Lucas burst into tears again.

  “Or you could do the right thing. Take things slow and give him more of a chance to adjust,” Gannon said quietly.

  This event had set the father-son relationship back a notch. They all knew that, Lily thought.

  Even Bode.

  Although, as expected, her ex did not admit to making a mistake.

  Instead, Bode gave their son another pat on the shoulder, said goodbye again and then backed up.

  Lily looked at Gannon, who seemed more than ready to depart—as was she.

  Lily looked in Gannon’s eyes. “I’m going to sit in the back with him.”

  He nodded, understanding. “Absolutely.”

  Together, they got Lucas into the car booster seat and all buckled in. Lily climbed in after him and put her arm around her little boy. He continued to cry softly, so overtired now he was practically incoherent. As the three of them headed away from Bode’s mansion, it was all Lily could do not to burst into tears, too.

  * * *

  GANNON GLANCED AT the mother and son in the backseat of his car via his rearview mirror. “Sure you want to try to check in to a hotel now?” he asked with concern. “You’re both welcome to stay at my place in the guest room.”

  A small silence. Then Lily, the expression on her face sad and defeated, said, “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Prefer it.” It seemed the better option since Lucas was still so upset. This way he could help if needed, and he wouldn’t have to wonder and worry if they were okay.

  Lily heaved a big sigh of relief. “Thanks, then.”

  Gannon continued driving. He found an easy-listening station on the satellite radio that was playing soothing music. By the time they reached the parking garage beneath his building, Lucas was sleeping, his head on his mother’s shoulder. It was Lily, Gannon noted, who was now in tears.

  Since it was evident she was embarrassed about it, he pretended not to notice as he helped her get Lucas out of the car. She wanted to carry her son herself, so he got their bags from the trunk. Together, they took the elevator up to his loft and brought Lucas into the guest room. Tucked him into bed. Lily stayed with him long enough to make sure he was still asleep, then came out into the living room. She looked at Gannon. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to hit the sack, too.”

  Gannon pressed a hand to her cheek, a kiss to her brow. “You know where to find me if you need anything.”

  And for that night, anyway, that was that.

  * * *

  IT WAS, AS Lily had expected, one long night. Every forty-five minutes or so, Lucas woke up crying. Never coming all the way to consciousness.

  Never entirely letting go of his anguish and confusion.

  Lily took him into her arms and cuddled him close. “Hush now, baby, hush...Mommy’s here...” she soothed, over and over, until he went back to sleep.

  And then, just as she was about to drift off herself, he would wake again and the whole process would start all over.

  Until finally, eventually, both of them slept.

  Lily woke with the smell of pancakes and fresh-brewed coffee teasing her nose, the sound of male laughter fillin
g her ears.

  She sat up with a start, for a moment confused about where she was and how she’d gotten there.

  Then she recalled. Everything.

  Tossing back the covers, she padded in the direction of the laughter. Gannon and Lucas were cuddled together on his leather sofa, eating pancakes and watching the antics of Big Bird and Cookie Monster on Gannon’s big-screen TV.

  Lucas grinned when he saw her. “Look, Mommy!” He pointed at the television. “Sesame Street!”

  Gannon grinned. In a T-shirt, jeans and moccasins, hair rumpled, his face unshaven, he looked incredibly sexy. Remembering how they had made love the night before, Lily felt a thrill sweep through her. She wanted to say she regretted it. She didn’t—although she did regret using Gannon the way she had. He was too good a man for that. Not that he looked as though he minded.

  Smiling, he let his eyes drift over her, too, before meeting her gaze. “Hungry?”

  She hadn’t been. Until now. Lily glanced at the breakfast the two of them were systematically devouring. “You cooked?”

  “The deli downstairs did. I asked them to deliver pancakes, bacon, fresh fruit, juice and milk.” He inclined his head modestly. “The coffee I did make myself.”

  It all smelled incredible. She walked over to the kitchen. On the other side of the counter, the offerings were displayed. “Nice.”

  “Plates are in the cupboard. Silverware in the drawer. Mugs on the counter next to the coffeepot.”

  She liked that he could be casual about it. So kind and hospitable.

  Lily shook her head as she watched Lucas and Gannon burst into another torrent of laughter over the antics on screen. She joined them on the sofa, plate in hand, Lucas between the adults.

  She had a knife and fork. Lucas and Gannon were both eating their hotcakes the guy way, by hand dipping the golden discs into the syrup on their plates.

  Funny how much her life had changed in just a few days.

  After years of neglect, Bode wanted back into Lucas’s life. If only until he got what he wanted, career-wise.

  Gannon was back in hers. A heck of a lot more intimately than she had ever expected. And though she had told him the evening before that their lovemaking had been a one-time thing, born out of emotional despair and stress, now she was wondering if that was really true.

  One thing was for certain.

  She didn’t know what she would have done the past few days without him.

  * * *

  “ARE YOU STILL okay with me stopping by the law firm before we leave town?” Gannon asked Lily several hours later, after they’d both showered and dressed. “It’s only going to take a few minutes. But if you want to wait here...”

  Lily looked at Lucas. He seemed fine now, sitting on the floor, building a pyramid out of a stack of plastic souvenir beverage cups from various athletic events. She could certainly vouch for her own behavior. But her sleep-deprived son’s—after all he’d been through last night—was a different question entirely. It might not take a lot to set him off. On the other hand, because he was with her and Gannon, whom he seemed to like immensely, he might be fine.

  “Is anyone else going to be in?”

  Gannon shrugged. “Sunday afternoon? Hard to say. Definitely some junior associates. Maybe a few paralegals. Everyone who is there will likely be in jeans.”

  Sounded casual enough. Still...Lily had to ask. “Is there a lobby we can wait in?”

  Gannon grinned, as proudly as he had when he’d shown her his loft. “Actually, I’d like to show you around, if you’re up for it.”

  Lily looked at Lucas with mom-like candor. “Can you behave like a big boy and use your inside voice and your good manners if we go and see where Gannon works?”

  Lucas puffed out his chest, suddenly looking important. “Yes,” he said.

  Lily took her son at his word. The three of them loaded up their belongings in Gannon’s car, and headed for downtown. The law firm was located in a skyscraper on West 10th Street. Gannon’s firm occupied the entire seventeenth and eighteenth floors. His office was on the eighteenth.

  It was, Lily noted, as luxurious as one would expect a big-time Texas law firm to be. With plush carpeting and elegant glass-walled offices. Lots of original art and upscale furnishings. And, as Gannon had predicted, there were a number of junior partners behind their computers, slaving away.

  He led the way to his office. It was bigger than a lot of them they had seen thus far, decorated in masculine tones of brown and beige. He gestured affably. “Make yourself at home.”

  Lily settled Lucas on the sofa and handed him her computer tablet. She cued up a matching game for him to keep him occupied. To her relief, he got quickly into it. Which gave her a chance to look around at the diplomas, bar licenses—Gannon seemed to have passed the bar exam in New York and California, too—and various awards on his walls.

  Aware he was watching her, she turned to face him. “You’ve done well for yourself.”

  He grinned with satisfaction. “I have.”

  A group filed out from the elevator into the vast reception area. An older man, a much younger, incredibly beautiful woman and two others, who, judging by their demeanor, were all firm employees. As they approached, Gannon paused, almost in shock. They nodded officiously at him, a couple of them giving him an almost pitying look, then went down the hall.

  Gannon continued looking after them, his body very still.

  “Something wrong?” she murmured.

  His mouth tightened. He turned to her, his face an inscrutable mask. “Excuse me a minute?” he asked pleasantly.

  “Sure.” Lily sat down next to Lucas.

  Eventually, Gannon returned. He took a stack of mail and a few files, then put them in his briefcase. “Ready?”

  Lily nodded.

  Gannon said nothing else until they had left downtown and were headed west, out of Fort Worth. But she could tell from his body language that he was still on edge.

  “Lunch now or later?” he asked.

  Lily cast a glance behind her. Lucas, who rarely took naps these days, was fast asleep in his safety seat. “Later, if it’s okay with you.”

  “Just say when.”

  Lily nodded. “You know, you don’t have to talk to me...”

  “I don’t?” he asked, raising his brows.

  She ignored his attempt to distract her with a joke. “But I can tell something’s on your mind.”

  His expression darkened. “Yeah.”

  “Something to do with work?”

  Emotions still carefully hidden, he slanted her a glance. “You’re not going to let it go.”

  Lily couldn’t be sure if that was a good thing in his view or a bad thing. She only knew he needed to talk to somebody about whatever it was that had happened back there.

  She shrugged as if it wouldn’t matter one way or another, when the truth was, she’d be hurt if he didn’t trust her enough to talk to her, at least in generalities. “I’ve confided in you.” She studied his strong, masculine profile, saw him relax ever so slightly. Impulsively she reached over and briefly touched his biceps. “It seems only fair I serve as your sounding board, too.”

  Gannon caught her hand and lifted it briefly to his lips, then he kissed the inside of her wrist before letting her go once again.

  “The group of employees we saw back at the office was there to work on a specific case.” He sped up to merge onto the freeway. “The client—who wasn’t there today—is about to enter into his fifth marriage. I was tasked with drawing up the happy couple’s prenuptial agreement. I balked. And it seems they went ahead without me.”

  And apparently hadn’t told him, either. “Why?”

  Gannon’s jaw clenched. “Let’s just say I didn’t feel good about the way the groom wanted
it done.”

  With effort, Lily resisted the urge to touch him again. To physically comfort him just like he’d done for her. “Fast and dirty?”

  His disappointment fading, he flashed her a rueful smile. “How did you know?”

  The traffic thinned as they headed away from the city. Lily relaxed back in her seat. “So what was the scheme?”

  “There was to be only one legal team of his lawyers.”

  “Why didn’t she have representation?”

  Gannon exhaled. “Our client said if she needed her own lawyers, she didn’t need to be married to him.”

  That sounded like a man more attached to his money than the woman he was about to marry. “What does the prenup stipulate?”

  Gannon’s gaze narrowed. “That she will get nothing if and when they do divorce.”

  “And they likely will.”

  A brief nod of his head. “Experience says before she’s thirty, if not sooner.” His voice dropped another disgruntled notch. “His brides tend to have an expiration date.”

  “Maybe you lucked out, then, not having to draft the prenup.” Lily studied the tense set of his broad shoulders. “But clearly you don’t see it that way.”

  His expression didn’t change in the slightest. Yet there was something in his eyes. Some small glimmer of frustration. “It’s a black mark against me. And the hell of it is, the managing partners are right.” He shook his head in grim self-reproach. “I’m paid to do a job, and that’s represent my client, protect his or her interests—not worry about everyone or anyone else.”

  “But you do.” And she loved that about him, whether he saw it as an asset or not.

  He sighed heavily. “The bane of being brought up in a small town, I guess. Everyone looks out after everyone else.”

  Maybe they didn’t live in such different universes after all. Lily smiled, feeling in sync with him yet again. “It’s all about neighbor helping neighbor,” she agreed. “Not about how many billable hours you can accrue. Or how many clients you can bring in.”

  He passed a slow-moving truck, then got back into the right lane. “Which brings me to my next question. Why aren’t you practicing law?”