Cowboy Baby Daddy

by Claire Adams

  But courtesy is what almost lost me the company in the courtroom, and if I wanted Stella, I was going to have to abandon courtesy.

  I was going to have to grow a pair.

  “Stella and I have been seeing each other,” I said. “It started off as a work dinner to get her mind off all that shit with Greyson, but it ended with us in bed together. She left before I woke up that morning, and I thought that was that, but I couldn’t get her off my mind. We were helping each other with the company and flirting back and forth, but when it came down to business it was all professional shit. Then, we had to fly out to New York City for some asinine meeting Charles had set up before he passed, and the meeting got pushed. We spent the entire weekend together in New York City, and I just couldn’t get enough of her. We ate lunches and tangled up our bodies in the sheets. I got to see a different side of her and wake up to her in my arms every morning. I opened up to her emotionally in ways I’ve never done with anyone, and I get that it’s weird to most people, but I don’t see her as my sister. Not really. We never had that type of relationship growing up.”

  “Dude,” Todd said.

  “Look. I know you don’t approve, and I know you think it’s fucking weird or whatever, but I enjoy Stella. I enjoy being around her. Going through all this company mess with her, then seeing her when she walked into that courtroom, I was ready to flip tables trying to get to her. She was hurt and depressed, and she was neglecting herself. I was ready to burn down the entire damn courthouse if that meant seeing her smile or somehow getting her back. I’ve missed having her around, and I don’t know what the fuck to do.”

  I looked over, and Todd was staring at me with wide eyes. I felt myself cringe inside as I held his gaze, but then a small smile began to spread across his face. His stunned eyes slowly started to crinkle before they closed, and his smile was so big his cheeks began to turn red.

  “The fuck’s wrong with you?” I asked.

  “Holy hell, dude. I’ve never seen you in love before. This is some new shit right here!”

  “What?” I asked.

  “I knew something was going on the moment you started being all wishy-washy about the company, but that question in the ocean solidified it. Is it weird? Yeah. Does my opinion matter? Not a damn bit. Dude, you’re in love. It’s obvious. And from the sounds of it, Stella’s a wreck. If she feels even remotely the same way, then it’s probably because of guilt. Her guilt over this whole piece of bullshit’s probably eating her alive.”

  “The fuck do I do now?” I asked. “I won the company. It’s mine. I’ll never hurt for money or a job again so long as I do this one well. But, for some reason, I still feel like I fucking lost.”

  “Why didn’t you go after her, then?” he asked.

  “I did. I was on her heels until my lawyer stopped me to congratulate me.”

  “Then, why are you sitting here?” he asked.

  “Because I need the advice of my best friend,” I said.

  “My advice? Go after her like you did your company. Sink your teeth into her jugular and don’t let go,” he said, smirking.

  “The company wasn’t what I was after, though,” I said. “Not really. It was her. I wanted to get her back.”

  “Then go after her and don’t stop until you’ve got her back. You’ll lose all of her sitting here, but if you go after her you’ve got a chance,” he said.

  He was right. I did me no good to sit here and simply talk about wanting her back. I handed Todd his bullshit cup of coffee back before he got out of the car, but I grabbed his wrist before he could shut the door.

  “Open your own damn coffee shop, please. That swill shouldn’t be on the streets. If you need an investor, let me know,” I said.

  “Go get her,” Todd said. “You get what you want, come back here, and I’ll make you a decent cup of coffee.”

  “You better, because that’s nasty,” I said.

  He shut the door, and I flew out of the parking lot. I knew I could eventually corner Stella in her home, but I didn’t want to do it right now. If I was going to approach her with how I felt, if I had any chance of her opening up to me again, I had to do this right. It had to be romantic, it had to be thoughtful, and it had to be private.

  I knew exactly what I was going to do, but it would require an evening of preparation before I could execute it.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Stella

  I woke up the next morning and headed straight for the nursing home. I didn’t have the stomach to go anywhere after the courthouse appearance, but I knew Daisy would want to know what happened. She had called me three separate times while I was sleeping on and off all day, and I knew if I didn’t talk with her soon she’d probably send the police to my house just to make sure I was alright.

  I got up and showered for the first time in days before I threw on some clothes and headed out the door. I grabbed a cup of coffee from a place up the road before I headed to the nursing home. I probably should’ve brought Daisy a cup, but I knew she would just turn it down.

  Especially if she had to switch out bedpans during her shift. Caffeine made her hands tremble, and the last thing she wanted was to spill contents of bedpans all down her scrubs.

  I walked into the nursing home just as Daisy was walking out to take her break. She squealed and threw her arms around me, and all I could do was hold her close.

  “I was about to call the police,” she said.

  “I know. That’s why I decided to just come see you. It’s nice to get out anyway,” I said.

  “How did things go yesterday?” she asked.

  “About as good as they could,” I said, sighing. “Christian came with a really convincing argument that swayed the judge before I even spoke. But, I was glad I got to because that meant he had to sit and listen to what I had to say.”

  Daisy led me to a bench before we started sharing the coffee.

  “No bedpans today?” I asked.

  “All desk work for me today. It’ll be a nice change. A trembling pen is better than a trembling bedpan. Now, spill. What happened in court?” she asked.

  “Did I tell you how this all spiraled out of control like it did?” I asked.

  “Not really. Something about stocks and reallocation before you were sobbing uncontrollably,” she said.

  “There was about 10 percent worth of stocks in my father’s company that were still in his name. But, he didn’t designate who they needed to go to. There wasn’t anything in his will nor was there any paperwork on it, so it hung up his entire estate in court. By the time I figured that out, it was out of my hands legally.”

  “Holy hell, seriously? What were the stocks for?” she asked.

  “That’s what Christian found out. Apparently, that’s how my father partially financed all his donations. I’m still not completely sure how it all works, but the stocks weren’t for his personal use. They were bought in his name, but used for company purposes,” I said.

  “So, your dad technically did allocate it to someone,” she said.

  “Yep. The catch in court was that we thought they were personally allocated. And they weren’t. He bought them in order to use it for a company purpose. It’s mind-boggling, and I have no idea why the hell my father would do something like that, but we got it figured out. So, the judge executed my father’s will and gave the company back to Christian,” I said, smiling.

  “You seem happy about it,” she said.

  “I am. Christian’s incredibly intelligent. He grew that company in just two weeks in ways I hadn’t seen my father do in years. And I realized I started this entire process because I thought, somehow, by keeping his company with me I could keep a part of him alive. Like, if I ran his company I wouldn’t have to cope with his death.”

  “Oh, Stella,” she said.

  “Preserving my father’s legacy isn’t what that company needs, and my father knew me well enough to know that’s what I’d try to do. Even when he was alive, he was always encouraging me
to make my own way. Find my own path. Daisy, I don’t think my father ever planned on giving me that company. I think he always planned to give it to Christian.”

  “How do you feel about that? Does this mean you’re not going back to the company?” she asked.

  “I honestly don’t know. I… I’m still a little boggled. All I know is that Christian is perfect for that company, and I just didn’t see it until our weekend in New York City.”

  “Wait, you spent a weekend in the city with Christian?” she asked.

  “It was a work thing, but the meeting got pushed out. We didn’t know until we got there, so we had an entire weekend together,” I said.

  “And how did that go?” she asked.

  “Daisy, it was perfect. We spent time together and talked. I got him to open up about his mother and how he was feeling about her death. We got to comfort each other and be lazy together in bed. I got to wake up to his beautiful smile and sparkling eyes every single morning. Honestly, I didn’t want it to end. Then, we walked into that meeting Monday morning and just nailed it to the wall.”

  “Sounds like the perfect power couple,” Daisy said, grinning.

  “But, after that, things jumped out of control. I missed a meeting with my lawyer Monday, who was doing all this digging, and he took that as a sign that I wanted him to proceed without my approval. He called me Tuesday morning right before we boarded the plane to let me know what he had found, and it was now out of my hands. I was so sick about it on the flight back I couldn’t talk. Every time I opened my mouth, I almost threw up, Daisy.”

  “Shit, Stella. Are you alright?” she asked.

  “We got back to the office, and the lawyer was standing there with papers. Papers that told Christian he didn’t own the company any longer. He walked out without even looking at me, and he hasn’t been back since. Everything is so royally screwed up, and I have no idea how to fix it. Daisy, I don’t even know if I can.”

  “How did he look in court?” she asked.

  “Incredible,” I said, taking the coffee from her hand. “He was wearing this new suit, and he looked like a million bucks. Had it been any other point in time in the evolution of us, I would’ve ripped him out of it and taken him on the desk.”

  “Stella!” Daisy squealed. “You’re insane.”

  “I care for him so much, Daisy.”

  “I know you do, sweetheart,” she said.

  “I screwed things up so bad and didn’t come clean with him soon enough. And I think I’ve ruined things so much that he wouldn’t ever take me back. I mean, I wouldn’t take me back.”

  “I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. People do crazy things when they’re in love,” she said.

  “I don’t think I’m in love with him, Daisy. But, I do care for him.”

  “You’re in love. It might be too soon for you to feel comfortable admitting it, and you have been through a lot lately. But, I know when someone’s in love. I see it whenever you talk about him. I saw the look in your eye when that elderly woman was talking about true love, and I see remnants of it now, even with the topic of conversation. You love Christian, and I’m so happy for you.”

  “What do I do, Daisy?” I asked. “I don’t know where to go from here.”

  “The first question is this: do you want to continue working at the company?”

  “Of course,” I said.

  “Then, one of the things you do is you get back to work. Go into the office tomorrow, and get caught up on things, and continue with your work. If Christian hasn’t fired you, then assume you still have a job and get to it. But if you don’t intend on going back to the company, you still have to go in and communicate that intention,” she said.

  “What do I do about Christian, though? If I do that, then we’ll have to work together and talk with one another eventually.”

  “That’s why it’s imperative for you to get back to work. It provides those avenues. My advice to you is to let him initiate it. Eventually he’ll come knocking on your door to talk. Whether it’s about meetings or about the two of you, it’ll happen,” she said.

  “What if he never wants to talk about us?” I asked.

  “Then, there’s nothing you can do about it. You said you talked to him in court, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you said everything you wanted to say?” she asked.

  “Pretty much.”

  “Then trust he heard you. He was sitting right there. Was he looking at you?” she asked.

  “He didn’t take his eyes off me, I don’t think.”

  “Then, he was listening. Let that be enough for now,” she said.

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I hugged her neck before giving her the rest of the coffee. I’d talked through her entire break, and she had to get back to work, and I suddenly felt that tug to do the same thing. I knew I probably needed to take one more day to myself, but I also knew I had a ton of work stacking up that couldn’t wait until Monday.

  So, I decided to go back to my house and get my things before I headed to the office.

  I drove down the road turning over everything Daisy had said to me. I knew she was right, but the hard part was going to be for me to take a back seat. I’d never been good at sitting back and letting things come to me. That’s never how my life worked. I didn’t get to lounge back and have everything fall into my lap, but it was that same personality trait that put me in the situation I was in now.

  Even if it killed me, I knew I had to take her advice.

  I pulled up into my driveway and turned off my car. I started for the porch, running down the things I wanted to get accomplished before dinnertime rolled around, and I figured I could slip a note underneath Christian’s office door. Not a romantic note, but an update telling him the things I was getting done so he didn’t have to talk to me until he was ready.

  I was serious about letting him come to me.

  But, when I got to my walkway I noticed a bunch of red petals on the ground. I bent over to pick one up and felt the soft, velvety texture rolling over my fingertips. I brought it to my nose and sniffed deep before I furrowed my brow and looked up at my front door.

  My front door that was wide open.

  Why the hell were there rose petals in front of my house?

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Christian

  I heard Stella’s car pull up while I was cooking her favorite meal. I tossed the last of the stir-fry in the wok before I set it off to the side to let it cool, then I popped open a bottle of red wine. I could hear her footsteps approaching the porch before they stopped, and I knew she had to be confused as to why red rose petals were lining her sidewalk. My hands shook in anticipation while I poured the glasses, and as I set them on the table, I heard her walk in the front door.

  “Hello?” she called out.

  I had rose petals trailing throughout the main level of her home. When I got here, things were an absolute wreck: her pain pills were spilled everywhere, her doctor’s orders were crumpled and on the floor, her dirty clothes were everywhere. It broke my heart. I wanted her to see I’d cleaned up so she wouldn’t have to worry about it. I wanted her to know I had her, that I was going to take care of her.

  I wanted her to know how much I’d missed her, and I’d be here to take care of her while she continued to grieve and recuperate.

  I heard her gasp walking around her house while I set everything on the table for dinner. I put the rest of the bottle of wine between the two place settings just before I turned around, and when I did, Stella was standing in the doorway.

  With tears in her eyes.

  “Christian?” she asked.

  “Hey, Stella,” I said.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Cooking. I thought you could use a decent meal. Figured you probably weren’t eating much with everything going on.”

  She looked down at feet while her tears dripped to the floor. I wanted to rush over and take
her in my arms. To hold her close, so she knew she was protected and loved. I wanted her to know how sorry I was.

  I wanted her to know that I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Stella.”

  “Yeah?” she asked breathlessly.

  “What happened to you?”

  She slowly raised her gaze before her eyes fell on dinner, and a slight smile crossed her cheeks. Just seeing her smile because of something I put together made my heart soar. It felt like forever since I’d seen that genuine smile cross her cheeks. But, when her eyes got back to me, I saw the shame from the courtroom roll back over them.

  “Stella, please talk to me,” I said.

  “When everything happened.”

  She swallowed hard, and I took a step toward her to see what she would do. Her gaze whipped up, but she didn’t step back. I took another step forward. A small one, so I didn’t scare her. The last thing I wanted to see was her turning and running for another room. I’d seen enough of her backside. Enough of both of us walking away from one another.

  I wanted to run toward her. For us to run toward each other.

  “When everything happened,” I said.

  “I came by your house. To try and, you know, find you,” she said.

  “Uh huh,” I said.

  “And I ran up onto the porch and just started knocking on your door. But, you didn’t answer, so I started banging. I banged over and over, and I just wanted you to open up. I just wanted you to open the door, so I could beg and cry for your forgiveness. I wanted you to open up so I could drag you out here and take you back home with me so I could show you how much you meant to me after the weekend we spent together. And when you didn’t answer I just… lost all hope. I’m so sorry, Christian, please. I never meant for all this to get so out of hand. That weekend we spent together in New York was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced. Ever.”