It Had to Be Him

by Tamra Baumann

  “What kind of man is that?”

  Years of pent-up anger made her voice rise three decibels. “A man who puts me and Haley before his work. A man who pays attention enough to know what my favorite color is and who wants to be home with me at night, not taking mysterious phone calls and then disappearing, citing some work emergency. And most of all, a man who I can trust to stick around when things get rough. I was sicker than a dog every morning, exhausted after work every night, and after Haley was born, I had no idea how to take care of a baby!”

  The last thing her heart could take was having to see him every single day and be reminded of how he’d devastated her. He had to go.

  With his thumb, Josh swiped away a tear she hadn’t realized had fallen on her cheek. “I’m sorry I let you down. But I paid more attention to you than you realize, Meg. I’ve done some deep reflecting and I’ve dealt with what was wrong with me, that I couldn’t commit to you.”

  He didn’t deserve any more than a grunt for that lame explanation.

  Josh said, “What? Don’t you believe people can change?”

  She’d changed since becoming a mother, not that anyone believed her. But people only changed if they had a good reason and made the painful effort to follow through. She didn’t want to risk giving him a second chance and possibly having Haley’s heart broken too.

  “So some deep thinking taught you all that, huh? Well, maybe you should go try out those new skills on someone else. Because I’m not interested.”

  When Josh closed his eyes and ran a hand through his thick blond hair in frustration, just like her father always did, it suddenly occurred to her that she’d ended up loving a man as emotionally remote as her dad.

  Way to go, Meg!

  “I don’t want to go the legal route. I want you to want me around. How about we make a deal?”

  Legal route? Her stomach dropped. Maybe she’d have to talk to Casey’s divorce lawyer. But how would she pay for that? Josh could afford the best lawyers and keep them in court a lot longer than she could afford to fight. And what if Josh’s high-powered attorney found a way for him to share custody with her? Haley might have to spend half of her life with a man not capable of being a committed parent.

  That wasn’t acceptable.

  She slowly turned and met his challenging gaze, daring to hope she had a chance to win whatever bargain he’d propose and be rid of him. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Understand that I’m going to be a father to Haley no matter where I end up living. How about I promise to leave town at the end of the summer if you still want me to, but in return, you have to give me a fair chance to make things up to you and Haley?”

  “Haley is not going to be part of any negotiation. Ever!”

  “Fine. You give me a chance and then I get to see Haley when you think she’s ready.”

  Because she’d been stupid enough to hope Josh would change his mind and come back after she’d had Haley, she’d put his name on the birth certificate and sent him a copy. Legally, he probably had every right to see their daughter.

  Mucked that one up good.

  His proposal might be her only option to get him to leave and keep Haley where she belonged. With Meg, a parent Haley could rely on. Even better, maybe once he figured out it wasn’t so easy being a parent, he’d bolt again. It’d just be a few months, then he’d probably leave anyway. He wasn’t the sticking kind.

  She held her hand out. “Deal.”

  He sent her that smile that used to make her knees go weak, then curled his big hand around hers. “Thank you. I guarantee you’ll see a different man from the one you knew before.”

  “Doubt it.” She yanked her hand from his, ignoring the familiar tingle his touch always sent up her spine as she prepared to make their descent behind the clinic.

  After they touched down and she killed the engine, she slowly pulled her headphones off and hung them up, spent.

  She’d have to keep her guard up and ignore Josh’s soulful eyes.

  Just as she reached for the door handle, Josh placed his rough hands along the sides of her face and pulled her close. “I do know what your favorite color is, Meg. It’s blue. And your favorite pie is chocolate mousse. Your favorite food group is anything chocolate.”

  Then he kissed her.

  Overwhelming desire that had been hibernating for three long years roared to life.

  She’d kissed a few guys goodnight after dates since Josh, but it was as if the beast had been lying in wait and only he could awaken it. No one kissed like he did.

  She placed her hands on his hard chest, intending to push him away. Instead, her hands fisted in his soft shirt and pulled him closer. A moan escaped as his tongue moved in a sensual, familiar dance with hers, immersing her completely under the Josh spell. But when the cockpit door swung open and a big hand slipped around Josh’s arm, tugging him out and into the parking lot, reality came crashing back.

  Her father.

  And he was furious.

  She jumped from the copter and raced around to the other side. “Dad, stop!”

  Dad’s fist hovered in front of Josh’s face. “Is this the little pissant who doesn’t support his own child?”

  She maneuvered between Josh and her father. Placing her hands on her hips, she wished for another foot or two of height. “This is Josh Granger, Haley’s father. But—”

  Dad nudged her aside and then punched Josh in the face. “No one takes advantage of an Anderson without paying the price!”

  Of course that’s all her dad cared about. That an Anderson was made to look bad. Not that Josh had hurt his daughter and granddaughter.

  Josh staggered back a step but remained standing.

  Her dad assumed a boxer’s pose. “Come on, boy. Let’s see what you do with someone closer to your own size.”

  Josh left his arms at his sides as blood trickled from his nose. “I’m not going to fight with someone your age, sir. I might hurt you.”

  That had to be about the worst thing anyone could say to her father. Meg moved in front of Josh again and held her palms up. “Stop! No more hitting. Let’s discuss this like—”

  Because she didn’t even come up to Josh’s shoulder, she didn’t have to duck when her father’s fist connected with Josh’s eye this time. Josh held his ground. Now blood gushed from his nose, and his eye was going to be sporting a whopper of a bruise in the morning.

  Her father, red-faced and breathing hard, spat out, “What are you? Some kind of pansy-ass who doesn’t know how to defend himself? Hit me back!”

  Meg spotted Ryan approaching. After he joined them, he crossed his arms. “Hit him back, Granger, so we can be done with this.”

  Josh shook his head. “I’m not hitting Megan’s father.”

  Meg whirled on Ryan. “What kind of sheriff are you? You’re supposed to be breaking this up. Not egging it on!”

  Ryan shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  This wasn’t going to end well, so she grabbed the gun from Ryan’s holster, flipped the safety, and shot a round into a nearby trash can. The loud explosion stopped the fighting and had all the men staring at her like she’d lost her mind.

  She turned to her dad and Ryan. “You both told me I needed to handle my own problems, so back off. I don’t need your help!”

  Josh sighed, then wiped blood from his chin with the back of his hand. “Let’s go, Meg.”

  She must’ve said something right, because her father and Ryan stood with crossed arms and scowls on their faces as they let Josh tug her toward his truck.

  Ryan called out, “I need the gun, Muck!”

  Josh beeped the locks open on his truck, then said, “Flip the safety, Meg.”

  “It’s already on.”

  He yanked the gun from her, then laid it on the pavement before he handed her up into the front seat of his truck and followed behind. “None of you Anderson Butte crazies should be allowed to own guns.” He slammed the door and started the eng
ine. “Did your brother call you Muck?”

  Ignoring the question, she found some napkins in the glove box, then scooted over to dab at his bloody face. “I wasn’t going to shoot anyone any more than you were going to hit my father, and everyone knew it. It was just the easiest way to cut through all the testosterone back there.”

  She wouldn’t tell him, but she was grateful Josh hadn’t stooped to her father’s level and hit him back. “Where’s your BMW?”

  Josh took the napkins from her and pressed them harder against his nose to stop the bleeding. “Traded it in for this. Will you have dinner with me?”

  “No! And no more kissing.” She moved back to her side and crossed her arms.

  “I liked the kissing. So did you.”

  Yeah, she’d liked the kissing, but that was the last thing she needed. It was so not happening again. “That wasn’t part of our deal.”

  He parked in front of the hotel. They both got out and headed toward the lobby doors. Josh’s hand slipped around her shoulder, pulling her close. “Could we make kissing part of our deal?”

  Before she could tell him no, Casey looked up from the front desk. When her eyes took in Josh’s hand on Meg’s shoulder, her right brow arched. “What happened to you, Granger?”

  “He finally met Dad.” Megan slipped out of Josh’s embrace and led the way toward the kitchen to find him an ice pack.

  She poked at the swinging door and then pointed at a stool by the granite island for Josh to sit on. Digging through the freezer, she found a bag of peas. “Most guys would have been long gone after being shot. Now we can add being punched in the face too. My dad will make your life here a living hell. You should just leave now, Josh.”

  He smiled at her as she ran her hand through his soft hair, sweeping it back from his forehead before she placed the bag across his swollen eye and nose.

  “Nope. I’m sticking this time. Made the ‘running’ mistake once before.”

  As she held the bag against his battered face, his hands moved to her hips and he pulled her so close the peas cooled her cheek as his breath heated her lips. Was he going to kiss her again? Her former bad-girl self hoped so.

  Her new sensible self told her to run.

  He whispered, “Here’s another fun Megan fact: your favorite football team is not the Denver Broncos like it should be, but the Green Bay Packers because you think their quarterback is hot.”

  “Actually, my favorite team really is the Broncos. And if you want to survive another day here, yours better be too. I just said that back then to see if you were paying attention, workaholic.”

  “I haven’t been able to stomach a Packers game since. And no matter what the insane people in this town come up with, I’m not leaving, Meg.”

  Yeah. That was what she was afraid of. Because Josh was like a vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate on a hot summer’s day.

  Hard to resist.

  After he finished his morning shave, Josh poked at the puffy skin around his eye. The color palette varied in shades from toad green to puke yellow and his nose was still swollen. It might be a good thing he wasn’t meeting Haley today. He’d probably scare her.

  He’d wanted to tag along with Megan for the day, spend some time with her, but she’d shut that idea down quick enough. But after reminding her of their deal, she’d reluctantly agreed to meet him for a drink to discuss their terms more fully at a place called Brewster’s after Haley went to bed.

  Maybe he’d even dance with her. Dancing sucked, but it’d give him an excuse to put his hands on her.

  He pulled the door closed behind him and headed down to the lobby for breakfast. When the elevator doors opened, he spotted a woman herding a bunch of kids toward the dining room. After reasoning with a cranky child, she looked up at him. When she noticed his battered face her eyes widened.

  His probably did too. It was Angelina Jolie.

  A sudden sharp pain in his left arm nearly brought him to his knees. Casey squeezed a hand around his bandaged arm as she led him into the kitchen. “I’ll serve you breakfast in here today.”

  “Take it easy, will you?”

  Casey released her death grip. “Your face looks so bad, I forgot all about your arm. Have a seat at the island.”

  Megan’s Rottweiler sister had probably chosen his bad arm on purpose.

  He pulled out a stool, hoping Casey wouldn’t resort to sprinkling rat poison on his food next. “So, why are all these celebrities here? Some special event?”

  She crossed her arms. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I’ve seen them all—”

  “Our chef will make whatever you like. What’ll it be?”

  Another brick wall. Must be where Megan got her stubbornness from.

  “Anything?” What the heck. “How about a cheese omelet, bacon, hash browns, toast, a side of pancakes, orange juice, and milk?”

  “Fine, just stay here in the kitchen, Granger.” She frowned at him and leaned closer. “What are your plans for today?”

  “Not sure yet. Why am I banished to the kitchen?”

  “So I can keep an eye on you.”

  More like so he wouldn’t scare off the celebrities with his face.

  Casey scurried to the other side of the room and talked to Dax, their chef. What kind of name that was he didn’t know, but the guy was the first sane person in Anderson Butte he’d met. He’d stayed and shared a sandwich and a few beers with Dax last night after the kitchen had closed down.

  As Josh waited among the sizzle of bacon and the grinding of fresh coffee beans, he spotted a muted flat-screen on the wall with the words to some fluffy women’s show scrolling across the bottom. Just when his brains threatened to leak out of his ears, Dax slid plates of steaming hot food in front of him. “Enjoy, bud.”

  “Thanks.”

  He picked up a slice of smoky, crispy bacon, something he hadn’t allowed himself in years in his attempt to keep his body mission ready, and dug in. He’d just started on his second piece when Megan busted through the double doors in spitting-mad mode.

  She was damned cute when she was all worked up like that.

  “There you are! What’s with the money in my account, Josh?”

  “You’ll have to ask your brothers and sister about that.”

  “I told you I don’t want anything from you!”

  Casey appeared by Megan’s side. “Can you two please bring it down a notch? We have paying guests.”

  “Meg has just figured out I’m one of your paying customers too, Casey. You deal with it.” He started in on his omelet.

  Casey dragged Megan to the other side of the big kitchen. After a few minutes of eye rolls, gritted teeth, crossed arms, and huffed breaths, Meg made her way back and sat beside him.

  “They thought you’d leave rather than pay their overblown fees. They obviously didn’t realize how stubborn you are.” She stole his last piece of bacon and popped it into her mouth. “Since when do you eat bacon and eggs?”

  “Since I’m on vacation. Isn’t that what people are supposed to do?”

  “That’s what normal people do, not health-conscious workaholics. I’ll transfer the money back this afternoon.”

  Not if he could help it.

  She took the fork from his hand. “I should probably save you from your bad self.” Meg stole a big bite of his hash browns.

  Next she started in on his pancakes, deliberately provoking him. She had to remember how much it annoyed him when she used to eat off his plate, but strangely, he kind of missed her little bad habit.

  He slid the jam closer. “It’s strawberry. Your favorite.”

  She met his gaze for a moment before she picked up his knife and dug into the jam. “That could’ve been just a really good guess. Strawberry is most everyone’s favorite. What’s my overall favorite thing for breakfast?”

  “Coffee. Best not to talk to you in the morning until you’ve had at least one cup.”

  “True.” She
smiled and stuffed the last of his omelet into her mouth. “You have no idea what you’re missing by not drinking coffee.”

  “Orange juice is better for you.”

  He gave up all hope of getting any more of the best hash browns he’d ever had and slid his plate in front of her. How someone as small as Megan could eat as much as she did always amazed him.

  Megan eyed his juice glass, so he handed that over too. Before she got any more big ideas, he chugged his milk. “Why not keep the money and buy a more reliable car?”

  “My car’s fine.”

  “But I owe you years of child support.”

  “How about you leave right now and keep your money?”

  “I’d rather you take the money, Meg.”

  She wiped the plate clean with his toast and shook her head. “You abandoned us, so as of now, Casey’s lawyer thinks it’s best not to take anything from you until we work everything out.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to do the lawyer thing.”

  “Casey called him, not me. But maybe we won’t have to get lawyers involved. Maybe you’ll see what life in Anderson Butte can be like and decide to leave on your own.”

  She banged the empty glass down and sent him a cocky grin. “Seriously, after seeing your colorful face in the mirror this morning, you must be having second thoughts about staying here.”

  “Nope.” He’d been beaten and left for dead on some of his worse missions. A few punches from Megan’s father were child’s play.

  She stood to leave, leaning her mouth so close to his ear her warm breath sent a jolt straight to his lap. “We’ll see. Thanks for sharing your breakfast.” She gave his shoulder a pat. “Do we still need to have that drink tonight, or did we just cover it?”

  “We still need to talk about Haley.”

  She let out a long sigh. “Fine.”

  Meg turned to leave, but he hooked a finger in the back of the waistband of her shorts and pulled her against him. Leaning over her shoulder, trying to ignore how nice her hair smelled, he said, “Maybe two-stepping will even be involved tonight.”

  She turned her head and cocked a brow. “You stomping on my feet isn’t my idea of fun.”