Custody For Two (Baby Bonds #1)

by Karen Rose Smith

  “I just spoke to Lily, and you, my boy, are practically sold out. Those blue dots on each photograph mean money in your pocket. We’ll have to talk about which ones you want to make into prints.”

  Instead of commenting on what the man had said, Dylan introduced him to Shaye. “Shaye, this is my agent, Dan Ortez. Dan, this is Shaye Bartholomew.”

  The agent pumped Shaye’s hand vigorously. “I was hoping I’d meet you. Dylan’s told me how good you are with Timmy.” He nodded to the display. “Those pictures are the talk of the night. You could sell each and every one of them,” he said to Dylan and added, “for a couple of reasons. Because of your name and your talent, but also because they’re so damn appealing.”

  “Not for sale.”

  “You know, if all my clients were as stubborn as you, I’d quit representing them. I have another African deal for you…and one in Antarctica later in the year. We can talk about them tomorrow over breakfast before I leave. Wildlife Review needs an answer by the end of the week and the African photos by September first.”

  “I didn’t have plans to leave Wild Horse this summer.”

  When he shot a glance at Shaye, she had no idea what he was thinking. Did he not want to leave to spend time with Timmy? To spend time with her? To make sure she didn’t start adoption proceedings?

  “We’ll talk about it in the morning,” Ortez assured Dylan, and clapped him on the back. “Congratulations again. You really should have some of that champagne the waiter is circulating. It’s first-rate, and so is Lily Reynolds. I think you’ve made a good choice in having her distribute your work.”

  As Ortez moved away, silence settled between them. Finally, Dylan said, “I’d like to take Timmy tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Take him?”

  “Yes. I’d like to take him to my place, let him get used to it, spend some guy-time with him.”

  She’d known this day was coming…Dylan had hinted at it before. She also knew if she said no, Dylan would go to court.

  “I start work Monday morning. I’d like to be with him tomorrow evening.”

  “That’s fine. Why don’t I pick him up after my breakfast with Dan? I’ll keep him until around five. You can have the afternoon to do whatever you want.”

  Dylan was making it sound as if she should be grateful for the break. In reality, Timmy had become such a part of her that whenever she was away from him or whenever he was away from her, she missed him.

  “You’re just going to keep him at your apartment?” she asked.

  “If I were going to take him anywhere else, I’d tell you.”

  Dylan’s jaw had tightened and as she looked at his mouth, she remembered his kisses, remembered his touches, remembered everything that had made her fall in love with him.

  “There you are,” boomed a voice she recognized immediately.

  As she turned, she saw her father coming toward her, Nicole Taylor beside him.

  “Your brother told me you’d be here and I thought it would be a good place to introduce you to Nicole. Nicole, this is my daughter, Shaye.” Then, waving to all of Dylan’s pictures, he pronounced, “Good stuff, Malloy. Nicole, this is the photographer.”

  Nicole Taylor was a pretty woman. She had blond curly hair that was fixed on top of her head. Wearing a red halter-top dress, she’d stand out in a crowd.

  With a friendly smile, Nicole extended her hand to Shaye. “Hi, it’s good to finally meet you. You, too, Mr. Malloy.”

  Carson said, “Why don’t you ask Mr. Malloy about that picture you want to buy? It hasn’t been sold yet but it will be soon if you don’t claim it.”

  “Which one are you interested in?” Dylan asked politely.

  “The kangaroos touching noses. That is just too cute.”

  As Dylan and Nicole moved away, Dylan glanced at Shaye, relaying the message that their conversation wasn’t finished. She knew that. She also knew that if Dylan left for that shoot in Africa, he’d probably take the one in Antarctica, too, then another after that. Just how important had Timmy become to him? How important was she to him?

  She had more pride than to fall into an affair whenever he returned home.

  “Randall told me you saw me and Nicole together at Horse and Buggy Days,” her father began.

  “Yes, I did. Why didn’t you tell me you were dating someone?”

  He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure I was. We went for coffee a few times. I want you to get to know her.”

  Her father’s voice had taken on that authoritarian tone he’d always used with her. “Is that an order?”

  Carson looked taken aback. “You can’t tell me you don’t like her. You’ve just met her!”

  “I didn’t say I don’t like her, but you think ordering me to get to know her will establish a friendship between us?”

  “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Shaye. You used to be so—”

  “Obedient? That’s when I was a child. I always did what you asked, when you asked it. But if you want me to get to know Nicole, you can’t just demand it. You have to help facilitate it. You have to be around for more than two minutes. I’ve got to ask again. Why didn’t you tell me you were dating her? It’s obvious Randall and John knew, but not me.”

  Although her father looked chagrined, he replied honestly, “I didn’t know how you’d react.”

  “So, you didn’t bother to tell me. But now that I’ve caught up with your life, everything’s supposed to be all right?”

  “See? I knew you’d be upset.”

  “I’m not upset you’re dating a woman twenty-five years younger than you. I’m not upset you’re dating. I am upset that you’ve never tried to foster a relationship between us.”

  This was not the place to have this conversation, either, she realized, but she never seemed to see her father anymore. It wasn’t as if she could drop in on him at home. He was never there.

  “Of course, we have a relationship. I’m your father.”

  “We have DNA in common, Dad. I’m not sure about anything else. Do you know anything about my life? You’ve never even held Timmy. Are you going to ignore the fact that he’s your grandson?”

  “He’s not my grandson. If you get attached to that baby, you’re going to get hurt. Dylan Malloy has money and influence, too. He’s the boy’s uncle. If he wants the baby, he won’t let you keep him. If you get too attached—”

  “I’m already attached. I love him as if I gave birth to him, and I’m the one with legal custody.” She sighed and tried as she’d tried many times before. “Maybe you and I should have dinner sometime and we can talk about it.”

  “You know my schedule,” he snapped.

  “Yes, I do. You’ve always had that kind of schedule and that’s why we’ve never gotten to know each other.”

  Carson Bartholomew looked speechless, which was a first for him. Before either of them could take a step to bridge the gap between them, Nicole was beside Carson again, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm.

  “I bought it. I now own a Dylan Malloy original.”

  “Wonderful,” Carson exclaimed, all of his attention on his date, as if he’d forgotten the conversation he and Shaye had just had. “Now, why don’t we go have some of that champagne and a few hors d’oeuvres? Then we can go over to Clementine’s and dance for a while.”

  Clementine’s had a live band every Saturday night. Shaye didn’t think her father had ever set foot in the place, but now his life was changing and she wondered if he was one of those men who would consider starting a second family. If he did, maybe he’d find the happiness and contentment that had always seemed to elude him…that he’d never stopped and tried to find.

  To Shaye he said, “When we were at Clementine’s last weekend, Nicole taught me a new dance. That’s great exercise.” As her father moved away, he said, “I’ll give you a call.”

  How many times had her father promised that, but the phone had never rung? If he didn’t call her, she’d try to call him. She didn’t
want the distance between them to grow any greater. Every time she reached out to him, she hoped he’d reach back. Usually she got hurt hoping.

  After her father and Nicole walked away, Dylan strode to her. However, someone across the room called to him.

  “How long are you going to stay?” he asked.

  “I’ve got to get back home.”

  “I probably won’t get out of here before midnight.”

  She hated this awkwardness between them that nothing they could say or do seemed to dispel. Maybe the problem was that they’d done too much and had become intimate when they should have simply remained coparents.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said quietly.

  He nodded, then walked away to join Lily, who was speaking with a few of his admirers. Shaye felt as if she had one foot in Dylan’s life and one foot out of it. She felt as if he had one foot in her life and one foot out of it.

  Tomorrow afternoon she’d have to keep busy.

  Very busy.

  When Shaye arrived at Saddle Ridge Ranch on Sunday afternoon, she knew something was wrong. Call it a sixth sense…or just being observant…or just knowing Kylie. Trying to forget about Dylan taking Timmy to his apartment, she studied her surroundings. Sunday was always a quieter day on the ranch, not that chores still didn’t have to be done. Dix usually spent the morning doing a few chores but then left. Kylie, on the other hand, used Sunday as her catch-up day. That meant working horses she hadn’t had time to work during the week. It often meant riding to the north ridge to check cattle or just cleaning tack. But whatever Kylie chose to do, she usually did it around the barn. Today, however, all was quiet…much too quiet. The big barn door was shut and so was the side door. There weren’t any horses turned out in the pasture.

  Something was definitely wrong.

  After Shaye parked, she walked to the house and climbed the steps. On this beautiful early July day, the heavy wood door was closed. That wasn’t like Kylie, either. Shaye might think the place was deserted, but she’d parked beside Kylie’s small blue pickup.

  Opening the screen door, she knocked hard. After a few silent moments, she knocked again.

  When Kylie came to the door, Shaye knew immediately something had happened. Her friend’s eyes were red and Shaye could see she’d been crying.

  “What’s happened? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

  Slowly, Kylie opened the door wider. “Alex left.”

  Following Kylie inside, Shaye went with her to the living room. “What do you mean, he left?”

  “There’s a rodeo in Las Vegas. He wasn’t supposed to leave until Tuesday.”

  Sitting beside her friend on the sofa, Shaye asked, “Why did he leave early?”

  Kylie looked stricken. “Because he didn’t want to hear what I had to say. He doesn’t want to face everything that has to be done around here. He believes Dix and I can handle it, and we can’t. Not now.”

  “Did you tell him about the baby?”

  Now spots of color dotted Kylie’s cheeks. “Oh, yes. And you know what he said? He thinks I got pregnant to hold him here more. He won’t go to counseling with me. All he wants to do is ride bulls, and that’s just not good enough any longer.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking about ever since Alex left this morning. I feel I have a responsibility to Saddle Ridge, to Dix, to the animals here, even to Alex’s dad’s memory. But I have an even bigger responsibility now to our baby.” She protectively laid her hand over her tummy.

  “Maybe Alex will come around. Maybe this child will make him realize the responsibility he has.”

  “I think we both know Alex runs from responsibility rather than accepts it. I have to accept that fact now. But I can’t give up without giving him a chance. He’ll be gone about two weeks. Mr. Tompkins offered me the job in his agency and I’m going to take it. I need money coming in for all the things this baby will need.”

  “Do you have health insurance?”

  Sadly, Kylie shook her head. “It’s just too expensive. So I have to save money in the next few months for that, too. I’m going to have a talk with Dix when he gets back tonight. He doesn’t know I’m pregnant yet. If, by the time Alex gets home, his attitude hasn’t changed, then I’m going to have to leave.”

  Shaye dropped her arm around her friend’s shoulders. It was about time Alex Warner faced up to the mess he’d gotten himself into. It was about time he faced the fact that Kylie couldn’t handle Saddle Ridge and a baby on her own.

  “Where will you go if you leave?”

  “I checked in town and Madge Branson still rents rooms above the Silver Dollar. She said she’d give me a monthly rate and if I help her with her books, she’ll discount that.”

  “You could stay with me and save the money you’d spend on a room.”

  “Thank you,” Kylie said. “You know I appreciate the offer. But I have to get myself together and stand on my own two feet.”

  “Maybe so, but the offer still stands.”

  Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, her friend gave her a half-smile. “If you want a roommate, maybe you should ask Dylan Malloy.”

  “That would solve nothing,” Shaye murmured.

  “In the matter of custody with Timmy, or between the two of you?”

  “How did you know—”

  “That you’re involved? Oh, Shaye. It’s so obvious when the two of you are together.”

  “Exactly what’s obvious?”

  “That you’ve been together.”

  Shaye’s expression must have been so amazed that Kylie laughed. “Well, haven’t you been together?”

  Finally, Shaye answered. “Yes.”

  Picking up a throw pillow on the sofa, Kylie hugged it to her. “A man and woman are different around each other once they’ve been intimate. Everything changes. It’s in the way Dylan looks at you and you look at him.”

  “I didn’t come here to talk about Dylan.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  “No. There’s an offer on the table for him to go back to Africa. If he does, I can stop worrying about him suing for custody and adopting Timmy. I can go ahead with the adoption myself.”

  “Do you want him to leave?”

  That was the irony. If Dylan left, she’d be free to mother her son. But if Dylan left, her heart would go with him.

  “Actually, I came out here this afternoon to forget about Dylan Malloy. Have you had lunch yet?”

  “No.”

  “Let’s raid the refrigerator then go for a walk. It will do us both a lot of good.” When Kylie looked doubtful, Shaye stood. “I’ll tell you all about seeing the mustangs in the canyons.”

  “You went to the Big Horns?”

  “Yep.”

  “With Dylan?”

  “With Dylan. But we’re going to talk about the horses, not Dylan.”

  A smile played on Kylie’s lips again. “Whatever you say.”

  “I only wish,” Shaye muttered as Kylie rose to her feet, too, and Shaye accompanied her to the kitchen.

  At five o’clock on the dot, Dylan returned Timmy to Shaye. When she opened her door, there he was, smiling, holding the baby and his diaper bag in which she’d packed all his paraphernalia.

  Starting inside, Dylan explained, “He took about a half hour nap around one. He’s been awake since then but he hasn’t been fussy. Before we left, I diapered and fed him, so he might go down for a nap now.”

  As she lifted Timmy from Dylan, Shaye brought him close, nuzzled her nose in his hair and kissed his baby cheek. He waved his arms and gooed at her, and her heart felt a hundred times lighter. Dylan had taken good care of him and she had to accept the fact that he was a great hands-on dad.

  “Did you do anything exciting?” she asked lightly.

  Her casual use of the word brought a more-than-casual look into Dylan’s eyes. He knew excitement and so did she when they were in each other’s arms. “I can keep a journal
when I have Timmy,” he joked. Yet she could tell he was trying to keep everything easy between them, too.

  “That’s not necessary.”

  “I showed him a picture of a cougar, a cheetah and a jaguar, and tried to teach him the difference.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Sure did. I might as well start now.”

  At her shoulder, Timmy looked sleepy. “I’m going to take him upstairs to his crib. He’s almost outgrowing this portable one in the living room.” She needed to catch her breath and get a little distance from Dylan.

  Fifteen minutes later, she was so engrossed in talking to Timmy, asking him about his afternoon, playing with his fingers and settling him in his crib that she didn’t hear Dylan come up the steps.

  She saw him when she started the music box on Timmy’s mobile.

  Standing in the doorway, looking relaxed and sexy in a red shirt, jeans and sneakers, he wasn’t a man to be ignored. “I bought a couple of those videotapes for babies. He seemed to watch one of them for a while.”

  “I’ve heard about them but I haven’t gotten any yet,” Shaye admitted, crossing to him slowly.

  He didn’t move from the doorway. “There’s something we need to get straight.”

  “What?” she asked softly.

  “I didn’t take you camping to seduce you. Once we were lying side by side, I couldn’t resist the fire between us and neither could you. What happened had nothing to do with Timmy, nothing to do with whether you have custody or I have custody. I wanted to be with you, Shaye. I think you want to be with me, too, but you’re fighting it for all you’re worth.”

  Slowly she shook her head. “I’m not very good at living in the moment.”

  “Maybe you just need practice. Maybe you just need to trust your instincts and trust mine.”

  “Dylan, I—”

  “And you’ve got to stop thinking,” he admonished her, slipping his hand to the ribbon in her hair, untying it, letting her hair fall to her shoulders.

  “I don’t think when you’re touching me. That’s the problem.”