“That makes two of us,” he whispered behind her. “I see my brother in her, and it kills me.”
The pathos in his voice reached down to the core of her being. Catherine had no more desire to fight him.
She sniffed before wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. “I-if you plan to fight for her, I’ll help any way I can. The judge needs to hear how much Terrie loved your brother, and how much you loved him. Just promise me that if you win you’ll let me see her once in a while?” her voice throbbed.
“Oh, I plan to win,” he finally said in a low, husky tone. “I have an ace up my sleeve guaranteed to produce results.”
The hairs prickled on the back of her neck. Catherine turned to him, staring at him through blurry eyes. “What is it?”
“I’ve decided to get married.”
She received the news like a physical blow, but by some miracle she remained standing.
“Th-that ought to do it,” she stammered helplessly. “With or without my help.”
“I’ll need that too, but we’ll talk about it this evening over dinner. I’ll be by at six.”
“I’m afraid I can’t tonight. A new case is coming in. I probably won’t be leaving the office until nine or nine-thirty.” For once she was grateful she had to work late. The bombshell he’d just dropped had disturbed her in ways she didn’t dare examine.
“You can ask someone else to cover for you.”
“It would have to be an emergency.”
“What if I told you it is?”
He sounded deadly serious.
“I don’t under stand.”
“How could you when you don’t know all the facts?”
Cole seemed to be talking in riddles.
“Have you arranged to meet with your attorney? Is that why you need me there? So I can give him the relevant details?”
“We’ll do that too. But first I’ve made an appointment with a justice of the peace.”
She blinked. “Surely you don’t need me to witness your marriage-”
A strange smile broke out on his arresting features. “No. I need you to marry me tonight.”
She let out a caustic laugh. “Oh, please-”
“My word exactly,” he came back in a frighteningly sober tone. “Following that we’ll fill out adoption papers on Bonnie that my attorney will present to the judge. You were the one who warned me time was of the essence.”
The world tilted for a moment.
Catherine lost cognizance of time and place, because she knew Cole never said anything he didn’t mean, or wasn’t prepared to carry out.
“It’s the only solution,” he added, taking advantage of her silence. “We’re both free and we both want to be a parent to Bonnie. As Buck’s brother and Terrie’s choice of woman to raise her daughter, we can offer something no one else can. There’s one caveat, however,” he added, sounding mysterious.
She was still too deep in shock to respond, and he knew it.
“When I take you and Bonnie home to the ranch, I’ll be introducing you as the woman I fell in love with a year ago. We found out we were expecting a baby, but you refused to marry me because you were afraid I was still too in love with the memory of my deceased wife.”
“Are you?” she fired hotly.
“I’ll always love Jenny, but she belongs to my past. Unfortunately there are people who for reasons of their own insist on believing otherwise.”
“Meaning your ex-girl friends?”
An amused gleam entered his eyes. “After our daughter was born you realized I really did love you. Hoping it wasn’t too late for us, you came to the ranch on the day of Buck’s funeral and asked me to marry you. Naturally I was overjoyed and insisted we get married immediately.”
Catherine shook her head, finally managing to find her voice. “In the first place, two strangers don’t meet one day and get married the next-and even if by the remotest possibility we did, I couldn’t live around your family with a lie like that-”
His features hardened. “Then we’ll tell the truth in front of everyone, which will include Lucy. She’ll learn that Buck got involved with a teenager and the baby is his. That we had to get married in order to adopt her. Lucy will put two and two together, figuring out Bonnie was conceived just weeks before Buck returned to the ranch and asked her to marry him.”
“No-” Catherine cried. “That would be too awful, too cruel to her. It could destroy her faith in love. She’d grieve forever.”
“Then which is it?” he inserted suavely. “You can’t have it both ways if you want to be a mother to Bonnie.”
Catherine wanted it more than anything in the world. She’d promised Terrie. But to get married to a man she’d only met two days ago…
What did she really know about him except that he was the owner of the famous Bonnibelle Ranch?
He wants Bonnie as much as you do, her heart reminded her. He wants you to help him raise his brother’s baby. That’s what you know about him, deep down in your soul.
Her body trembled. Was that enough reason to do something so drastic it would change her whole life and his?
“Do you know the odds against a marriage like that working?” she cried.
“Probably as good as the odds of any marriage making it,” he countered, with a cynicism she vaguely shared.
“Where would we live?”
“In my house.”
“You mean the ranch house?”
“No. My brother and sister and their families live there. Buck lived there with Lucy, but I suspect that one of these days she’ll move back to Elko to be near her family. My house is on the other side of the lake.”
“Is it where you lived with your wife?”
“No. Like everyone else, Jenny and I began our married life in the ranch house.”
Though she hated asking the next question, she had to know. “How did she die?”
“A drunk teenager ploughed into her car one night as she was driving back to the ranch. She died instantly.”
Catherine’s face crumpled in pain. “I’m so sorry.”
She felt his eyes studying her. “After she was gone, I built a place of my own to get away from the memories. My sister Penny jokingly calls it the bachelor pad, but with your help we can make it family-friendly. I dare you to come and live in it with Bonnie and me.” He flashed her a rare white smile that turned her heart over.
Shaken by his proposal, she drew in an unsteady breath, attempting to keep her wits. “Supposing I were to say yes to this ludicrous idea of yours, and we get married only to learn that the judge turns down our petition?”
He gave an elegant shrug of those masculine shoulders. “Then we get an annulment. I’ll have my attorney put it in writing. But if we win Bonnie, our marriage is forever.”
Forever.
She reeled in place.
He paused at the door. “I’ll be by at six for your answer. If you’re not here, then I’ll know she isn’t your raison d’être after all.”
CHAPTER SIX
AT FIVE to six Cole pulled up in front of Catherine’s condo. He’d come early because, frankly, there was nowhere else he wanted to be.
Throughout his life he’d relied on gut instinct to get him through some rough moments. By asking him if he would let her visit Bonnie some times, she’d admitted defeat. It was the pain he’d heard in Catherine’s voice that had made up his mind for him.
Now it was a waiting game to see if she had the courage to do this outrageous thing and marry him.
“Coletrane-” he could hear his father “-whether you like it or not, you’re a natural-born leader. I’m depending on you to hold this family together after I’m gone someday. Buck bears watching, and Penny and John will always look to you, whether in good times or bad.”
Cole ground his teeth.
Watching Buck self-destruct despite many unsuccessful interventions on Cole’s part had turned him inside out. But he could do something for his brother now. He wanted to do it.
Already he thought of the baby as his little Bonnibelle. She was a fighter to have gotten through those first difficult five weeks. Nothing in life seemed more important than being a father to her. With Catherine helping him, they could be the family Cole ached for and Bonnie deserved.
He checked his watch. Five after six.
His chest grew tight. If he was wrong about Catherine and she couldn’t bring herself to marry him, not even for the baby’s sake, then he’d call out every favor to influence the judge to let him adopt Bonnie alone.
It might entail an all-out battle with the court. That was okay. He was ready for the fight, even if it meant pretending he’d been Terrie’s lover. A white lie God would under stand. His and Buck’s DNA would be a close enough match.
But he much preferred the thought of being Catherine’s husband.
Since the idea had come to him, it was all he’d been able to think about. She was a beautiful woman. Her haunting image had played havoc with his sleep. He couldn’t forget how careful she’d been to protect Buck, or how brave she’d been to stand up to Cole no matter what he threw at her.
They would have something going for them most newlyweds didn’t have-a ready-made child they both loved. In that regard he and Catherine shared an unassailable bond. It was what had brought them together. Who knew what the future might hold for them?
In two days she’d become so important to him he felt a stunning sense of loss at the thought of never seeing her again. Nothing close to this had happened to him before, except for the way he’d felt about Jenny when they’d first been introduced.
He knew for a fact that, having met Catherine, he would pursue her under any cir cum stances. But with the minutes ticking away, and no sign of her, he had to conclude she couldn’t bring herself to say yes to him, not even with Bonnie as the prize.
Cole unconsciously pounded the flat of his hand against the steering wheel. He could swear she was aware of the instant chemistry between them. Hell, he knew she could feel it. The tension between them was palpable.
But he had to remember Catherine had been deprived of her family from birth. She’d obviously struggled through her teens. Clearly she’d been let down by the man who’d impregnated her.
After the miscarriage she would have been devastated, yet she’d gone on to make a total success of her life. She couldn’t have achieved her goals without using her native intelligence to make unimpulsive decisions.
By proposing marriage, he’d asked something of her that meant she not only had to let go of old fears, she had to trust him and herself enough to face the unknown. Hopefully the possibility of raising Bonnie was reason enough for her to make that leap of faith.
Going on the hunch that she needed more time to make up her mind, he started the car and drove three blocks to a convenience mart he’d passed on the way.
Alighting from the seat, he went inside for a cup of coffee. Once back behind the wheel, he decided it was time to make the phone call he’d been putting off. Whether she was at work or home, he could reach her on her cell.
She picked up on the second ring and said hello.
“Brenda? It’s Cole.”
“At last- I know how much you’re hurting. I guess I was beginning to wonder if I’d hear from you before the weekend.”
This was the last time.
“Buck’s death has set me back, no doubt about it. But I’m dealing with another issue right now.” He paused. “I’m afraid it’s going to prevent me from seeing you again.”
“You don’t need to lie to me,” she said in a brittle tone. “I know I don’t measure up to Jenny. No woman does.”
Her comment didn’t faze him. Like a glorious rainbow over the Rubies following the most violent of storms, Catherine’s unexpected appearance had changed the entire landscape of his life.
But Brenda didn’t need to know that. He expelled a controlled sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I. It’s been ten years. You should have gotten over her by now, Cole.”
The sound of the click came as a relief.
He finished his coffee, then backed away from the curb and headed for Catherine’s once more.
Bringing another colleague up to speed on the case coming into Girls’ Haven had taken longer than Catherine had realized. It was six-twenty before she turned the corner of her street so fast her rear wheels squealed.
She strained to discover if Cole’s rental car was parked out in front. When she couldn’t see it, her heart pounded sickeningly. He’d said six o’clock and it appeared he’d meant it!
Suddenly any misgivings she might still have been entertaining about the wisdom of marrying him vanished. She wanted Bonnie, and so help her she wanted Cole too, but it looked like she was too late!
He would have come for an answer. Not finding her here, he’d gone. For all she knew he was halfway to the airport and she’d never see him again-
Like a drowning victim her life flashed before her, giving her glimpses of the three of them living in that glorious piece of heaven. But the thrill of it only lasted a moment, because it was a dream she hadn’t reached for in time.
Too many old demons about trust issues had clouded her thinking. She’d taken too long to make up her mind. Now all could be lost.
Shattered by the realization, she doubled over the steering wheel in pain. She might not have known Cole for more than a few days, but she knew enough to under stand he was a man of action.
Once he made up his mind about something, he didn’t deviate from it. Those who couldn’t meet that high standard were left in the dust. One way or another he would claim his brother’s child, only Catherine wouldn’t be a part of it, and it was her fault.
Maybe it wasn’t too late to catch up to him, wherever he was-
Unfortunately he’d never given her his cell number. If she wanted to get in touch with him she would have to phone the ranch and leave a message.
But she didn’t dare do that. Cole had done everything to ensure this matter remained ultra-private. Too much was at risk for her to make a call that might alert his family and raise unwanted questions.
Barring another visit to the ranch, which would be a disaster, she didn’t know how to contact him without letting anyone else know.
Unable to stem the tears gushing down her hot cheeks, she opened the car door with every intention of making it inside her condo before someone saw her. But as she swung her legs out into the heat, she found her way blocked by a powerful male body.
“Cole-” she cried, on a little sob of joy he couldn’t have helped but hear.
He stared down at her, studying her moist face with an intensity she could feel travel the whole length of her body.
“How am I supposed to interpret those tears?” he asked in a thick-toned voice.
The time for truth had come. She would never get another chance.
“I was late b-because I had a lot of thinking to do.”
Like the sun penetrating a dark cloud, his eyes filled with light. “But the point is, you came.”
She moistened her lips nervously. “I had to. I love Bonnie too much to let her go without a fight. If I become your wife, we’ll have the optimum chance to win custody.”
Beneath the expensive brown silk sport shirt he was wearing, his chest rose and fell visibly, a sign of vulnerability she wouldn’t have guessed at considering he kept such a tight control on his emotions.
“We’ll be taking solemn vows in a little while. There’ll be no going back,” he declared with a refined savagery, reminding her he was a cattle king with an iron hand and those exceptional gifts. The idea that he was about to become her husband sent another shiver through her body.
“No.”
“If the judge grants our petition, our marriage is for real.” His eyes trapped hers. “You do under stand that?”
She knew what he was asking. Her breath got trapped in her lungs. “Yes.”
He straightened away from the door. “Good. Le
t’s get you inside so you can pack.”
“Pack?”
“After the ceremony we’ll be staying at the Atlantis Reno to enjoy our honeymoon. Only you and I will know what goes on behind closed doors at the hotel. Hopefully Bonnie will be ours in a matter of days.”
She froze. “I thought the whole point was to do all this in secret. If we check in there, you’re bound to be recognized.”
One corner of his mouth curved, almost knocking the breath out of her. “It could happen. More to the point, you and I have to make this look as romantic as possible. That’s why I booked a luxury suite in the Concierge Tower there. It will help carry off the myth that we’ve been secret lovers over the past twelve months. Our family and friends will expect that we celebrated our marriage in the open like any besotted newlyweds.”
Her legs almost buckled. “Since you live so far away from Reno, is anyone going to believe we ever had a relationship?”
“I’ve been flying here on personal business to see my uncle three to four times a month for years,” he confided. “Finally the family will under stand why I was willing to console myself away from the ranch as often as I did. My brother John and his wife Rosemary will be de lighted with our news.”
Not so the women who would like to be Cole’s exclusive love interest, Catherine surmised.
“Bonnie’s going to come as a huge surprise.”
His eyes softened. “She’s going to breathe new life into the Farraday clan at a very critical period. So will you,” he added silkily. “As for my sister Penny and her husband Rich, they’ll be overjoyed I’ve found love again after all this time. She’ll tell you she’s been worried I’d end up wifeless and child less.”
“Is she one of those sisters who never leaves you alone?”
A chuckle escaped, giving her the answer. Its deep male timbre excited her. “You’re lucky.”
He stared down at her through narrowed eyes. “Right now I know I am.” When he said things like that her insides melted.
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