Lori grabbed her stomach.
The bastard. What she had gone through was unimaginable. “That’s when they took you to the lake.”
“Yes. I knew they were going to kill me.” She turned to him, her eyes wide with remembering the fright of that day. “I just knew it. At that moment I hated Donald and I hated myself for being so stupid. For a moment I thought I was getting what I deserved.”
Coop almost strangled. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. I should have left him years ago. At first I thought he’d change if I did everything he wanted, like he wanted. But he didn’t. He got worse.”
“Yet you loved him.”
“I never loved him. When I met him I was infatuated with his wealth, his words of love, and devotion.” She choked back a laugh. “It was a façade. Underneath he was deceitful and hateful. His so-called friends thought I was the luckiest woman in the world. But they didn’t know the real Donald Shafer.”
“What happened on the way to the lake?”
“First, I took off my wedding rings and slid them between the seats. If I had to die, I didn’t want to be branded. I tried to talk the bodyguards out of it. Zane Malin was the biggest and meanest. Julian Vincent, the other guy, wasn’t enthused over taking a life. Malin pulled the trigger.”
“The FBI found the rings. Do you want them?”
She looked at him as if he were nuts. “What do you think?”
“Matt found out quite a bit about Shafer. Do you want to know?”
“Of course. He never spoke of his past—never admitted to family. I should have known something wasn’t right.”
Dropping her head, she hid her face in her hands.
“Donald Shafer never finished high school.”
Lori’s head jerked up.
“He was a street thug and a pimp. He was arrested when he was twenty-five and put behind bars for beating up one of his girls. That’s where Mallory found him. Somehow he got his record scrubbed. Matt said the FBI dug deep, but never found it. If not for the folder in Mallory’s safe no one would have known. Shafer disappeared after that for over two years. No trace. When he emerged he was a different person: smooth, sophisticated, in charge. Two years after that he moved into his house. Only it wasn’t his. It belonged to the corporation. Actually, only the vehicles registered in his name and of course, clothes and jewelry were his. Everything else, including furnishings, belonged to Natane.”
“What did he do for Mallory to earn his riches?”
“I think you know. He was in charge of Natane’s child sex-slavery operation in Houston. It was quite lucrative.”
Coop thought Lori might pass out. Her face went white, her eyes wide. “Didn’t you suspect?”
“Not for a minute. I would have turned him in.” She looked as if she were fighting tears. Finally, she said, “It explains why he was so secretive.”
“He thought he had it made. He was living the good life. It was quite a change from his small-time-criminal beginnings.”
She laughed hysterically. “And he called me stupid. But Donald wasn’t satisfied. He wanted more.”
“Though paid a more than generous salary, plus a large bonus, he stole from Mallory. That’s why he was killed.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Why didn’t your mom or your friend report you missing?”
“Donald was smart enough to send them a text from my phone every so often to tell them how busy I was. I’m sorry they believed him.” She gave Coop a glance. “I want to be alone.”
Lori jumped from the bench and headed away from the plaza.
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.” She turned to him, her face paler than ever, eyes terrified. “How did I not know? Was I blind?”
“Houston’s society didn’t know. How could you? Shafer kept you in the dark on everything pertaining to your life and was even more protective of his.”
She took a shuddering breath. “My husband would rather have killed me than give me a divorce.”
“I thought you were dead when Thor found you.”
“I would give anything to change my past, but I can’t. Though I don’t feel like Lanie, my mother reminds me daily that I am. I fell for you, Coop. But you deserve someone better. I plan to stay in Lindale, live with my mom until I get on my feet, and work at Quinlin Motors until I find something better. The job is a good one and Rob has been good to me. I’ll be fine. I’ll miss all of you something fierce. Even Thor. Would you tell them?”
She started back to his pickup.
Like hell!
****
She should tell him she was carrying his baby. Lori opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. Cooper Browning was a SEAL. He was a decent, hard-working man who would do the right thing no matter what.
That wasn’t what she wanted.
She didn’t want Coop because of his sense of responsibility; she wanted him only if he loved her.
Her heart breaking, she hurried away. She didn’t want to see his perfect face, those wide shoulders, or sky-blue eyes that saw too much. She wanted to go back to her job. Not that she loved it: she needed it. What she didn’t need was Rob’s constant flirting. That would end as soon as she started showing.
She heard Coop behind her, his boots heavy on the sidewalk. What was he thinking? That she was stupid for staying in a horrible marriage years too long?
She loved him so much. Being close to him, even for this short time, was bliss for a moment, but the next, a sense of emptiness would overwhelm her.
He wouldn’t be in her life. How could she bear it? Fighting tears, she tossed her head in defiance. She’d make it. Her mother had raised a child on her own. So could she.
You should tell Coop.
Later, maybe. Not now.
Two female joggers passed her in a flurry of laughter and panting breaths. Had she ever been as carefree? Could she ever forget the last five years? The life she yearned for was only a dream.
Back at the truck, Coop took her arm and swung her around. Her heart caught in her throat.
“You’re going to walk away as if nothing happened between us?”
“It shouldn’t have.”
“But it did. I fell in love with you when I had no right to touch you. I didn’t know you were so young. It threw me. I reasoned you had money from your clothes and jewelry. It’s what you’re accustomed to. The homestead is plain and simple. Our lifestyle isn’t right for you. I’m not.”
How could he think that? She felt the blood drain from her face and stiffened. “ I hated my life. Every part of it. The expensive jewelry was meant to impress others; it meant nothing to me. Or do you mean a closet full of designer clothes that stifled? How about having someone telling you a new Mercedes is yours, but you’re never allowed to drive it? Not enough? There’s more if you want to hear it.”
She pushed him back, poked a finger into his hard chest. “I may be poor again, Cooper Browning, but I have my life back. My life. I don’t have a man telling me every day I do nothing right.” She poked his chest again. “I don’t have a man telling me where I can go, who I can see, and who I can’t. So don’t even think you know me. It’s obvious you haven’t a clue who Lanie Woodson is.”
“Lanie Woodson, huh!”
“Yes. Lanie. Not Lori. Even when I didn’t know my identity, I wanted to be Lori. But Lori isn’t real. I am.”
“Indeed you are.”
He took her in his arms and held her close. She struggled to get away, but he held her tight. “I may be too old for you, Lanie Woodson, but I love you.”
“How could you?”
He shrugged. “It’s a mystery to me. But I do.”
She pulled away. “What does that mean?”
“It means I never expected to find a woman I couldn’t get out of my head. Or a woman I wanted to be with all the time. One who is smart and beautiful and has a heart as big as Texas. I’m lucky to have found you, Lanie and if you can love this
broken-down old Navy SEAL, I want you in my life.”
Lanie went weak. This wasn’t what she expected. She’d thought Coop would run, put her out of his life and forget her.
“You’re not old, Coop. You’re just right.”
She melted into his arms, into that safe place where everything had a rosy tint.
Pulling away, she held him at arm’s length. “I won’t be controlled and I’ll not get caught up in a stupid fairy tale again.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.” His mouth twitched. How she loved that mouth. Unable to resist, she reached up and kissed it.
He held her closer, deepened the kiss until he had to hold her up or she would fall.
“I’ll never be rich, Lanie.”
“You are wealthy beyond words, Coop. You have a loving family. Friends. Real friends. You have those wonderful dogs and a thriving business…or two. You’re a wealthy man and don’t know it.”
“Lanie Woodson, will you marry this wealthy man?”
Words she never thought she’d hear. “I have something to tell you first.”
He opened the truck door and helped her inside. “It’s cold out here.” Getting in on the driver’s side, he turned toward her. “Now. What do you want to tell me?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Coop’s face turned ashen.
Silence.
She watched his throat as he swallowed.
“Surprised me, too.”
“You told me you couldn’t get pregnant. You were so sure.”
She shut her eyes. Yes, she had been. Donald was that good. “I told you I had never made love before either, and it’s the truth. Yes, I had sex with my husband. But that’s all it was. There was no love involved. Ever. I wanted babies. He wouldn’t hear of it. I blamed a physical problem with one of us since I wasn’t getting pregnant, but obviously it wasn’t my problem. Before I left the house the day he was shot, I found birth control pills. I’m sure the cook served them up as prescribed.”
Coop pulled her close, put her head on his shoulder. “How do you feel about this?”
“Our child was conceived in love. Whether we marry or not, I’ll have this baby and raise him or her with love.”
“Our love,” he corrected.
He kissed her deeply.
Lanie’s head whirled with the thought of living with this man for the rest of her life.
“You never answered my question.”
She pulled away. What question was that?”
“Will you marry me?”
The bells chimed the quarter hour. Her heart soared higher than the music. “Of course I will. Now take me back to Quinlin Motors. I want to give them my notice and pick up my car. Then you have to meet my mother.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Eight months later
Lanie was between pains. Coop didn’t think he could handle another. Seeing her like this when he couldn’t help was pure misery.
“I love you, Lanie.”
Another pain grabbed her. “Breathe,” Doc ordered.
Lanie did as told, looked up at Coop when the pain passed. “I love you, too. But I hurt all over.”
“I’m sorry.”
She gave a strangled cry and struggled to sit up, but the effort was evidently too much. Another pain hit her. She clamped onto Coop’s hand and breathed through it.
How could she survive this kind of pain? She was soaking wet with sweat. Her eyes were glazed. She wouldn’t let him touch her anywhere except her hands because every touch hurt.
“Can I help?” His gaze sought Doc, but she was too busy to give him so much as a glance.
Lanie moaned as another pain hit her, this one bigger than the last. Coop fought the desire to get the hell out of there. He’d faced worse. He and Dirk left Afghanistan with major injuries, yet he hadn’t felt the helplessness he felt now. Then, he had the urge to fight, to kill the bastards. Now he wanted to take Lanie’s pain and suffer for her.
The room was cool, but he was sweating bullets. He had shed his jacket long ago, yet his shirt and hospital gown were drenching wet. How long did it take to have a baby? “Shouldn’t the baby be here by now?” he asked when another pain sent Lanie into sharp cries of pain. “Do something,” he shouted.
The nurse shot him a stern look.
“I’m going to send you out of the room if you don’t calm down, Coop.” Doc spoke calmly, didn’t raise her head, just issued orders.
It wasn’t an idle threat. She was a tough Navy doc.
But how the hell could he calm down when the woman he loved was in pain and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it?
Another pain hit. He could tell this was harder than the others. Coop thought he might die. “Pant, honey.”
“Push,” Doc ordered.
“Doc says push. C’mon. Let’s get this over with and go home.”
Did she hear him? He doubted it. Right now her concentration was intense as she alternately pushed and cried out in pain.
“Here she comes,” Doc exclaimed. “One more push.” Grunting with the effort, Lanie did as she was told, then fell back exhausted.
“It’s a girl?” Coop said in awe. They hadn’t known for sure, had wanted the sex to be a surprise, but Lanie had dreamed of a baby girl more than once.
“She’s a beauty,” Doc told him as she wrapped the baby in a large towel and brought her to the bed.
Coop’s head whirled. Was he going to pass out? Ex-Navy SEAL Cooper Browning was tougher than that, he told himself. But no amount of chastising could change the fact that right now he might end up on the floor. It was worse than a ten-mile hike in the mountains of Afghanistan. Worse than the firefight that almost cost him and his brothers their lives.
When his vision cleared, Lanie was holding their baby, a big smile on her face. Where had the pain gone? How could it disappear so fast? “Look, Coop. She’s so tiny.”
“She’s perfect. Just like her mother.” He bent over, kissed Lanie on the top of her head, kissed the baby on the top of hers. The baby was tiny. Could he hold her without hurting her? Would he be a good dad? Did all first-time dads feel this way?
“She’s beautiful.” He was a nervous wreck, yet Lanie was as calm as a satisfied kitten.
“Thank you, Coop.”
“For?”
“For our baby girl.”
“Thank you. Without you and this baby in my life I couldn’t make it.”
Tears streamed down Lanie’s cheeks. “You’re a wonderful man, Cooper Browning. You’ll be a wonderful dad.”
He wiped her tears with his finger. “I hope those are tears of joy.”
She laughed.
“Does our daughter have a name?” They’d discussed names for months, but never agreed. Finally, he’d told Lanie she could name the girls, he would name the boys.
“She does. Margaret Olivia Browning: Margaret after Shorty, and Olivia after my mom. We’ll call her Maggie.”
“I’m going to tell the family.”
When he opened the door, everyone jumped up and ran to him. Shorty, Lanie’s mom Olivia, Matt, Dirk, Mel and her fiancé, surrounded him. “It’s a girl,” he shouted. “And her name is Margaret Olivia Browning.”
Shorty grabbed her chest. “You named her after me?”
“Lanie did.”
“And me?” Lanie’s mom asked.
He turned to Mel. “I think you’re the designated godmother.”
Mel’s grin said it all.
“We’re going to call her Maggie.”
“I think it’s great.” Dirk slapped Coop on the back. “You did good, bro. Congratulations.”
Matt slapped Coop on the back, grinned, and let out his Tarzan yell. One Lanie had to hear in her room. One that brought nurses, orderlies, and doctors to the waiting room.
Coop laughed. It was the first time he’d heard Matt let loose since they were under fire in Afghanistan.
It was a good sign.
He went back to the room. Lanie was sitting
up, baby Maggie in her arms. They looked wonderful. It looked as if every vestige of pain had left Lanie. A miracle.
“I heard that. Was it Matt?”
“It was. Everyone is over the moon. Including me.”
“She’s so perfect, Coop. How did I ever deserve the two of you?”
“I’m glad we added on two rooms with a Jack-and-Jill bathroom. One for Maggie, the other for the boys.”
“You’re optimistic, aren’t you?”
“You bet.”
“Do you think Thor will like her?”
“Like her! Are you kidding? Thor will protect our Maggie for the rest of his life.”
“He’s such a good and brave dog. He’s part of the family. Now we have Maggie.”
“Yes we do. Tell me how you feel? Though you look great, you just went through hell.”
“To tell the truth, I feel as if I’ve come out of a five-year period of learning. And though the learning wasn’t easy, I know so much more about myself and what I want out of life.” She looked into Coop’s eyes and his heart turned over. “All I’ll ever want is right here in this room. I couldn’t be happier.”
Coop went to her, wrapped both her and the baby in his arms. “I love you both so much.”
Turquoise eyes met his. “Not as much as I love you.”
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