Angel Mine

by Sherryl Woods

  “And the one every woman wants, anyway?” Megan suggested, gaze narrowing. “Is that what this is about? Are you in love? I didn’t realize you were dating anyone seriously.”

  Now, there was a laugh. “Megan, the only women I’ve seen in the past year have been married, and I’m not about to tangle with the wife of some man who’s likely to own a shotgun.”

  “Then what is this about?”

  “It’s private.”

  Megan laughed. “‘Private’ never stopped you from meddling in my life.”

  “And now you intend to get even? I don’t think so. This is my problem. I’ll handle it.”

  She gestured toward the wadded-up papers he’d tossed on the floor, evidence of his inability to make one single rational list of solutions to the situation.

  “Is that your idea of handling it?”

  “Yes.”

  She reached for one of the scraps of paper, but he got to it first, crumpled it in his fist and kept it there.

  “Stay out of this, Megan. You can’t help.”

  “You don’t know that. Try me.”

  “No,” he said flatly, his gaze locked with hers. “Now go away and let me think.”

  She stood up with obvious reluctance. “Okay, I’ll go,” she told him. “But before I do, think about this. Not every problem can be solved by cold, hard logic. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.”

  True enough, Todd conceded as she left. Unfortunately right this second his gut was all but shouting for him to pack his bags and get out of Dodge—or in this case, Whispering Wind.

  A few months ago, he might have heeded that instinct eagerly. He would have seized any sign that encouraged him to head back to New York to a world he understood, a place he’d belonged. Ironically, he realized that going there would only put him right back in Heather’s path, make it even easier for her to pursue this quest she had to involve him in his daughter’s life.

  More important, to his amazement, he realized that Whispering Wind had started to feel like home. He wasn’t nearly as anxious as he once was to abandon not only his job, but his friends. Megan and Jake and Tess, Henrietta and Peggy, the people connected to Megan’s show—they were like family to him, closer than the parents he so rarely saw. He couldn’t see himself running out on them, not just because he was duty-bound to stay, but because he cared about them.

  It was ironic, really. Thanks to this makeshift family—to say nothing of his deeply ingrained code of honor—it appeared he was going to have to stay right where he was and figure out how to deal with a real family, which until yesterday he hadn’t even known he had.

  That didn’t mean he had to do it today, he thought as he grabbed a shirt and headed for his car. For once in his life he was going to be totally irresponsible and self-indulgent. He was going to run away—even if it was just for a day.

  “What happened when you saw Todd yesterday?” Jake asked when Heather arrived in his office promptly at eleven. “I saw the two of you talking on the sidewalk. I imagine you told him.”

  Heather sighed. “I didn’t see any way around it. He asked me point-blank what I was doing here. He’d already met Angel. I think he had a pretty good idea even before I said the words. You haven’t seen her up close, but she’s got her daddy’s coloring and her daddy’s eyes. Only a blind man would miss it. And believe me, Todd’s vision is twenty-twenty.”

  “How did he take the news?”

  “How do you think? He was stunned and angry. He didn’t believe me. He wants a paternity test. He didn’t come right out and ask for it, of course. He’s far too polite. But when I offered, he didn’t turn me down flat.”

  “You can’t blame him for that.”

  “No, I suppose not,” she conceded, though understanding that didn’t make it hurt any less.

  “There isn’t any question about how it will turn out, is there?”

  Heather stared at him, shocked that he even had to ask. “Absolutely not.”

  Jake nodded. “Okay, then. We’ll do it right away. That’ll be one less obstacle down the road. Have you given any more thought to what you want besides child support?”

  “Some sort of custody arrangement,” she told him. “Shared custody, joint custody, whatever you call it.”

  “Not just visitation?”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “In one, the time would be pretty much equally divided. With visitation, Angel would only spend a set amount of time with Todd each year. The latter’s more practical, if you intend to go on living in New York. Otherwise, you’ll be completely separated from your daughter for half the year. She’ll be dividing her time between schools, unless you put her in a boarding school. Even though that’s down the road a couple of years, it’s something to think about.”

  Heather shook her head. She didn’t want to spend that much time away from her daughter. Boarding school was out of the question for the same reason. She hadn’t even considered being separated from Angel when she’d started the process. She’d just wanted Todd to take over from time to time. If he’d been in New York still, this would have been simple, a matter of shuttling Angel from one part of the city to another.

  “How would visitation work?”

  “She’d fly out here at set times of the year. Summers, maybe. Certain holidays.”

  “I couldn’t put her on a plane all by herself. And I can’t afford to be flying back and forth with her.”

  “Then maybe Todd would come to New York to be with her. He makes fairly frequent trips there now. That wouldn’t be a hardship.”

  “Then Angel would stay with him at a hotel for the weekend or something?”

  “I think he still has his place there.”

  That could work, then, she concluded. If Todd would agree to it. After yesterday, she wasn’t at all sure that was likely.

  “What if he says no?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Is that what he said yesterday?”

  She nodded. “He was pretty adamant about it, too.”

  Jake muttered a curse. “I was afraid of that.”

  “I thought so. That was what you expected, wasn’t it? What I don’t understand is why you were so sure that would be his reaction.”

  “Never mind. Maybe he’ll change his mind once he adjusts to the news. After all, this had to be a big shock.”

  She thought of Todd’s bewildered expression, the panic in his eyes. “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “Give him time, Heather. Todd might be in denial right now, but we both know the kind of character he has. He’s an honorable man. It’ll be best if we can work all of this out amicably. You don’t want to back him into a corner. You don’t want him spending time with Angel just because he has to, do you?”

  “No,” she said at once, then added with a plaintive note, “I want him to love her.”

  “Then give him some time.”

  She thought of how vehement he’d been the day before. “How much time?”

  “As much as it takes. After all, what matters here is arranging what’s best for Angel, right? Or are you on a timetable I don’t know about?”

  “No, but I know how stubborn Todd can be. If he decides to dig in his heels, Angel could be in college before he changes his mind.”

  Jake grinned at her defeated tone. “I don’t think it’ll take quite that long, not once my wife gets wind of this. Have you thought of letting her in on the secret?”

  Heather figured that was just about the worst thing she could possibly do. Having Megan as an ally might have certain benefits, but the drawbacks were tremendous. Todd might never forgive her for dragging their personal business into the middle of his career, for one thing.

  “I can’t do that,” she told Jake. “And you have to promise not to say a word.”

  “You know I can’t. But I still think you ought to consider it.”

  “Ganging up on him won’t work,” Heather said. “You said it yourself. Forcing him into a corner isn’t a good id
ea.”

  “Then we’re back to time,” Jake said.

  Much as she hated to admit it, time was the one thing she had plenty of. It wasn’t as if there were Broadway producers clamoring for her quick return.

  “Okay, we’ll wait him out,” she said.

  “In the meantime, I’ll make the arrangements for the blood work and the DNA testing.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll work this out, Heather.”

  “I hope so.” She regarded him worriedly. “I hope you’re not too uncomfortable about keeping all this from your wife.”

  “It won’t be the first secret I’ve kept from Megan,” he said. “The last one pretty much turned her life upside down and she forgave me, anyway. I’m not worried. There’s no need for you to be, either.”

  Unfortunately that wasn’t quite true. On her way out of Jake’s office, Heather ran smack into Megan. They’d met only twice, both times right after Todd had first gone to work for her, but Megan had an astounding memory. It was why she was able to juggle so many details in her professional life. Head down, Heather murmured an apology for bumping into her and tried to move on, but Megan recognized her at once.

  “Heather? Aren’t you Todd’s friend, the actress?” she asked, a speculative gleam in her eyes.

  Heather paused, considered denying it, then finally nodded. “Hello, Megan, it’s nice to see you again.”

  “What brings you to Whispering Wind? Are you on vacation?” she asked as if she thought she already knew the answer. In fact, there was a glint in her eye that suggested she had spent the past few seconds putting two and two together.

  “Not exactly. I’m working here temporarily.”

  “An acting job? I wasn’t aware there were any films being shot around here just now.”

  “There aren’t. I’m working across the street.”

  Megan’s gaze shot toward the diner, then up and down the block as if there might be some other business there, maybe even a theater she hadn’t noticed before. “Where?”

  “At the Starlight Diner.”

  “You’re waitressing for Henrietta?” Her tone registered genuine shock.

  “For the time being.” Heather forced a smile. “Gotta run. It’s almost lunchtime and I’m due back.”

  “Wait,” Megan said, the single word a command that had Heather stopping against her will. “Have you seen Todd?”

  Again, Heather forced that fake smile. Denying the meeting would only make it look more significant when Megan eventually discovered the truth.

  “Yes,” she said cheerfully. “I ran into him unexpectedly last night at the diner. It was great to see him again.”

  “Uh-huh,” Megan said, her expression thoughtful. “You didn’t know he was here in town?”

  “I knew your show was being done somewhere in Wyoming and that he was wherever you were, but I didn’t expect to be bumping into him. It’s a big state.” Well, she hadn’t exactly lied. She really hadn’t expected to bump into Todd on her first day in town.

  “So, he didn’t know you were coming?”

  “Nope. Todd and I haven’t spoken in years,” she said honestly.

  “I see,” Megan said, as if those wheels in her brain were clicking away, trying to process this new tidbit of information.

  “Gotta run,” Heather repeated. She didn’t want Angel spotting her from the window of the café and running outside. For once Megan saw her daughter, she would leap to her own, probably very accurate conclusions. “Good to see you again.”

  “You, too,” Megan replied distractedly.

  She seemed so lost in thought Heather couldn’t help wondering if she wasn’t already engaging in some wild speculation. And since Heather had been leaving Jake’s office when they bumped into each other, she figured her attorney was in for a fierce cross-examination. She could only pray he was as tough as he claimed to be and could withstand it without cracking.

  When she glanced back one last time, she saw through the large, uncurtained window that Megan was now inside. Jake had pulled her into his arms and appeared to be kissing her passionately.

  Heather grinned. An interesting technique for stalling, but she had a hunch Megan O’Rourke wasn’t the kind of woman who could be put off for long.

  But as long as it gave Heather time to win Todd’s cooperation without interference, she certainly appreciated whatever sneaky skills Jake Landers used to keep his wife off the scent.

  5

  Todd spent two days in Laramie. He ate fast food, binged on movies, then lingered in a bookstore, immersed in scanning the bestsellers. For some reason he didn’t care to examine too closely, he was especially drawn to murderous thrillers.

  None of it, however, successfully pushed his situation with Heather from his head for more than minutes at a time. It was time to go back to Whispering Wind and face the music, he concluded on the afternoon of the second day. Postponing the inevitable wasn’t his style. Quick and decisive were two qualities on which he prided himself.

  Maybe he’d be lucky. Maybe Heather and Angel would be gone. Maybe it had all been some freakish dream that had seemed so real he could still feel the way Heather’s skin had burned beneath his touch, still smell her once-familiar flowery scent, still hear the clink of those annoying bracelets.

  And maybe there were no cattle in Wyoming, he thought with a resigned sigh.

  He could handle this, he told himself as he approached the diner. He’d handled worse dilemmas, if less personal ones. Some of the egocentric, temperamental people he dealt with on a daily basis were a whole lot worse than one little girl and a mother with a determined glint in her eye.

  Or maybe not, he thought, considering what Heather expected of him.

  Still, if he wanted his life back, wanted to return to his safe, familiar rut, this was something he had to do. He was not going to be scared off by a pint-size human being who might or might not be his daughter. Maybe if he reminded himself often enough that Angel was just an innocent little girl with a shy smile, it would stop terrifying him so. Of course, that was precisely the point and that was precisely what terrified him.

  He actually got out of his car in front of the diner, took several steps toward the door, then hesitated, his bravado vanishing. He glanced in the window. There was no sign of Angel, but Heather was talking to a customer, a wrangler from one of the nearby ranches, judging from the rugged, tanned looks of him. Her hand on his arm, she was leaning in close and laughing at something he said. What was she up to? If she was here to snag him as a daddy for Angel, what was she doing with another man? Looking for a substitute in case he held out? Jealousy streaked through Todd like a bolt of lightning.

  One good thing about jealousy, he concluded. It could motivate a man to ignore just about everything else. He was through the door of the Starlight Diner without giving it another second thought.

  As he passed by, he directed a scowl at Heather, then headed straight for his regular booth and grabbed a menu, even though he knew everything on it by heart. The specials were listed on a blackboard by the front door. He hadn’t even bothered to glance at those. He doubted he’d notice if he was served a platter of sawdust.

  Minutes later he heard the familiar, irksome tinkle of bangle bracelets and glanced up to find Heather regarding him with knowing amusement. He had to wonder then if she’d spotted him outside, then deliberately stood within view flirting with that cowboy. Such a tactic wouldn’t be beyond her. She’d always known exactly the effect she wanted to create—on stage or off—and exactly how to make him crazy.

  That was what made this current test of wills so dangerous. Heather had a way of sneaking past his defenses, of winning, despite whatever his intentions were. In the first year they’d dated, he’d told himself a million times to bail out because they were such an ill-suited match, but each and every time, she would sense his mood and find some clever way to change his mind.

  “Something wrong?” she asked, studying him curiously.

  “Nothing.
Why should anything be wrong?”

  “Just wondering,” she said, her expression innocent, but her lips curved into the beginnings of a smile. “You seemed upset, the way you came striding through the front door. Looked like a man on a mission.”

  “Sweetheart, you’ve never seen me upset. This isn’t it.”

  Her grin spread. “I’ll keep that in mind. What can I get for you?”

  After two days’ worth of tacos, hamburgers, fries, popcorn and milk shakes in Laramie, the last thing Todd actually wanted was food. He was here because he wanted his life to settle into its familiar routine, and by God, he intended to see that it did.

  “I’ll have the steak,” he said. He always had steak on Thursday night. “Medium rare. Baked potato. Salad.”

  “With ranch dressing,” Heather said before he could, confirming that she had a long memory and that he was entirely predictable. Boring.

  Just to prove she wasn’t as clever as she thought she was, he said, “No. French.”

  “But you hate—”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Okay,” she said mildly, scratching out the original order and correcting it. “Coffee with cream, or has that changed, too?”

  “Black,” he said. “I like it black.”

  She shook her head. “If you say so.”

  “That’s right. I say so. It’s been four years. You don’t know me, Heather. Not the way you think you do.”

  Suddenly serious, her gaze locked with his. “And what? If I did, I’d go screaming out of town, run back to New York, leave you alone?”

  He nodded, relieved that she’d finally grasped the point. “Exactly.”

  “Sorry. I’m not buying it. Maybe things between us have changed, but you, the kind of man you are? Not a chance. Honor and integrity are as ingrained in you as your DNA. I’ll be back with your coffee and salad in a sec.”

  After she’d gone, Todd felt his breath ease out of him, as if he’d been holding it the whole time they’d been talking. Somehow the purpose for coming here had gotten lost. His routine was still a shambles. He did hate French dressing and he liked cream in his coffee.