Winding River Reunion

by Sherryl Woods

  She sounded resigned.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d stick around.”

  “Running would have been pointless,” she said, all but admitting she’d considered it. “Besides, my mother and Karen need me here.”

  “And that’s the only reason you stayed?”

  She remained silent so long he thought she might not answer.

  “No,” she said at last. “We have to deal with this for Jake’s sake.”

  “I’m glad you realize that.”

  “I’ve always had my son’s best interests at heart.”

  Cole barely bit back a sharp retort. “Now’s not the time to debate that,” he said. “I’ll be home in a few days. We’ll talk then.”

  He hung up without waiting for her reply. He’d discovered two things by making that call—one reassuring, one disconcerting. He now knew that Cassie would be waiting when he returned to Winding River. And, God help him, he also knew just how much that mattered to him.

  * * *

  When Cole drove into Winding River a few days later, his mind was made up at last. He’d lost the first nine years of his son’s life. He didn’t intend to lose the next nine or any thereafter. This wasn’t about revenge or even justice. It was about a father forming a bond with his son, a bond he’d been denied up until now.

  He arrived on Cassie’s doorstep prepared to start the custody fight to end all custody fights.

  She greeted him with pale cheeks and frightened eyes, then stepped onto the porch and closed the door securely behind her. He couldn’t help noticing that she had lost weight she could hardly spare in the month he’d been gone. Even so, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known, and his heart lurched into the familiar rhythm of desire.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked straight-out, not even trying to mask her fear.

  One look into her eyes and his determination faltered. He knew he couldn’t do what he’d planned. He couldn’t take her son—their son—away from her. Whatever else he thought of her, she’d been a good mother and Jake loved her. Separating them would be a hollow victory.

  Besides, there was no denying that even after all that had happened, he wanted her. Bitterness wasn’t quite enough to bury lust. The heat of anger felt awfully damn close to the heat of passion.

  “Marry me,” he said before he could stop himself.

  Clearly taken by surprise, she blinked hard, then shook her head. “No, not if this is just some way for you to claim your son.”

  “You don’t have a choice,” he said mildly.

  “Of course I do.”

  “If you don’t marry me, I’ll fight you for Jake—and I guarantee you, I’ll win. There are some perks to being a Davis in this state, and that’s one of them.”

  “You would use your father’s power?” she asked in a whisper, then shook her head. “What was I thinking? Of course you would. And I imagine you have a fair share of power yourself these days. Everyone warned me, but I wanted to believe you were better than that.”

  “Once upon a time I thought so, too,” he said wearily. “Not anymore. Just remember, darlin’, you started this when you kept Jake from me. I’m just playing by the winner-take-all rules you set.”

  “But marriage?” she said. “It would be a mockery. Surely there has to be another way. We could make an arrangement of some kind.”

  “So that I can spend a few hours each week with my son?” He shook his head. “Not nearly good enough. Marriage is my best offer. Take it or leave it. Otherwise I sue for custody.”

  She stared at him with such a look of despair that he almost wavered, but not quite. He knew he was bullying her, but at the moment he didn’t really give a damn. He told himself that she would like the alternative even less.

  “I need some time,” she whispered finally.

  “Time for what? To think it over? To run?”

  Her chin came up at that. “I’ve already told you, I’m not running.”

  “Good. I’m glad you see the futility in that. Okay,” he said, relenting, “you can have a few days to think it over. Go to Emma if you want to and ask her legal opinion about whether I can force you to do this.”

  When she winced, he knew he had been dead on about her intention.

  “She’ll only tell you that my case for custody is very strong, whether I use my influence in this state or not.”

  “You’ve already consulted an attorney, then,” she said, her voice flat.

  “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t?”

  “I was hoping we could work this out between the two of us without getting a bunch of lawyers involved.”

  “We can,” he said. “All you have to do is marry me. Then you and I will raise Jake together. We’ll be a family.”

  “Will we?” she asked, regarding him with skepticism. “Exactly what kind of family can we have if the only reason we’re together is your determination to be a real father to Jake?”

  “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I don’t have a whole lot of experience with picture-book family life. I grew up with a manipulative father who has done his utmost to control me. I fell in love with a woman who kept my own son a secret. Obviously, I’ve missed a few lessons on what it takes to make a family.”

  He leveled a look straight into her eyes. “By the same token, I can tell you a whole lot about lies and deceit.”

  She weathered the attack without flinching. “Cole, this will be a disaster,” she said, a pleading note in her voice. “Can’t you see that?”

  “Then we’ll just be living up to those low expectations everyone had for us years ago,” he said without emotion. “Seems to me like a fitting end to our so-called love story, don’t you think?”

  Her complexion went even paler at his mocking remark, but to her credit she didn’t shed a single tear.

  “I’ll give you my answer on Sunday,” she said at last. And then, as if to get in a mocking blow of her own, she added, “Right after church.”

  Unfortunately, Cole was relatively certain that no matter how many prayers were uttered, there were no heavenly answers for the two of them. Their sorry fate had been decided a long time ago by people right here on earth.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Cassie felt sick to her stomach. Marrying Cole—once her most powerful fantasy—was now nothing more than a way to keep her son. How could she go through with such a travesty? How could Cole?

  But, judging from his cold, distant demeanor, he had no intention of backing down. He saw this as a generous gesture…and maybe, under the circumstances, it was. She couldn’t help thinking, though, that it was little better than blackmail.

  Maybe she didn’t deserve any better after what she’d done, Cassie thought, but she couldn’t seem to stop the regrets from adding up until she felt smothered by them.

  “Oh, God, how can I do it?” she murmured, hands over her face. And suddenly the tears she had refused to give in to in front of Cole cascaded down her cheeks.

  That was how her mother found her, still leaning against the door, sobbing as if her heart would break.

  “What on earth?” Edna said, hurrying to her daughter’s side. “Cassie, what happened? Is it Jake? Is he hurt?”

  Only the very real panic in her mother’s voice snapped her out of her desolation. “No, no, Mom. Jake is fine. Mildred is baking cookies, and he’s over there hoping for samples.”

  Her mother pressed a hand to her chest. “Thank goodness. You had me scared for a minute. Now come on over here and sit down and tell me what has you so upset. I woke up from my nap and heard you in here crying.”

  Cassie followed her mother to the sofa, but when she was seated she couldn’t seem to make herself explain what had happened. Her mother would blame herself that it had come to this, and she didn’t need the stress.

  “Cassie?”

  “I just saw Cole,” she said finally.

  “He’s back, then. How is he?”

  “Still furious.”

  “That
was to be expected. He’ll calm down soon enough, and then you two can deal with this rationally.”

  “I think it’s too late for that,” Cassie said ruefully.

  Her mother’s gaze narrowed. “Oh?”

  “He expects me to marry him.”

  Even her mother gasped at that. “Now? After all that’s happened?” Her expression brightened just a little. “Has he forgiven you, then?”

  “Hardly. He says it’s that or a custody fight.” She sighed. “Not exactly the proposal of a lifetime, is it?”

  “What is he thinking? That’s absurd. He can’t make you do that.”

  “Can’t he?”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That I would give him an answer on Sunday.”

  “You’re not seriously considering this, are you? I know you still have feelings for him, and I honestly believe he has feelings for you, but the timing couldn’t be worse. You need to work through your differences before you even consider getting married.”

  “I don’t think Cole is interested in working through anything,” Cassie said honestly. “He wants his son. This is his way of getting him. I just happen to be part of the package. He’s willing to put up with me.”

  “I don’t believe that. The man loves you. He can’t admit it to himself right now, but he will forgive you. He just needs some time.”

  “If I believed that, then it wouldn’t be so hard to say yes, but, Mom, what if you’re wrong? What if he really does hate me? What if he can’t forgive me? How can we possibly live under the same roof?”

  “You can’t and that’s that,” her mother said grimly. “You’ll just have to stall him until you can figure out how he really feels.”

  “I don’t think Cole is in any mood for my stalling tactics. He pretty much said I either do this his way or I take my chances in court.”

  “Have you talked to Emma? She’s in town, isn’t she?”

  Cassie nodded. Emma had come back to take a controversial case that no lawyer in town would touch. Just last week Cassie had gotten the impression that no matter how that case went, Emma might be back to stay.

  “I’ll call her first thing in the morning,” she said.

  “Call her now,” her mother urged. “It’s not that late, and you won’t sleep a wink if you don’t get some answers tonight.”

  “You’re right,” she agreed, and went into the kitchen to call.

  Emma sounded wide awake when she answered. “Cassie? What’s wrong? You sound like you’ve been crying.”

  “It’s been a difficult evening,” she said, putting it mildly. “Do you have a few minutes?”

  “For you? Of course. What’s this about?”

  “Custody of Jake.”

  “I’m coming over,” Emma said at once.

  “You don’t have to…” Cassie began, but she was wasting her breath.

  “I’m on my way,” Emma said, then hung up before Cassie could argue.

  Cassie looked up to meet her mother’s worried frown. “She’s on her way.”

  “Good. I’m sure she’ll have sensible advice.”

  “I don’t need sensible,” Cassie said. “I need the advice of a legal shark who takes no prisoners.”

  Her mother managed a faint grin. “Then you’ve called the right person. Our Emma didn’t earn her reputation in Denver by being anybody’s patsy.”

  Cassie was startled by the observation. “How do you know so much about her reputation in Denver?”

  “Ever since she took that case here, the paper’s been running stories about how tough she is. I have to admit I was surprised. When you were girls, you gave her an awful lot of grief, and she took it without so much as a whimper.”

  “Maybe that’s what toughened her up,” Cassie said.

  She was beginning to feel the first little hint of optimism by the time the doorbell rang. Emma swept in with eyes blazing and a determined jut to her jaw. She gave Cassie a fierce hug, then plunked her briefcase on the dining room table and pulled out a chair.

  “Start at the beginning. I want to know everything Cole said to you.”

  As Cassie talked, Emma took notes, never once flinching, not even when Cassie summed up that night’s conversation and the proposal that was Cole’s alternative to a custody battle. When Cassie had concluded, Emma sighed and rubbed her eyes.

  “We can give him a fight, if that’s what he wants,” she said, then clasped Cassie’s hand. “But I won’t lie to you, he has a good case. I don’t think he could get sole custody of Jake, but he could certainly get visitation rights and perhaps even some form of joint custody. You have absolutely no grounds for accusing him of being unfit, especially since he never had a chance to demonstrate his parenting skills.”

  Cassie drew in a deep breath. “Then I have no choice. I have to marry him.”

  “That’s up to you, of course.” She touched Cassie’s cheek. “It doesn’t have to be a fate worse than death, you know. You do love him.”

  “A lot of good that does.”

  Emma smiled. “Not that you could prove it by me, but I’ve heard that love can perform miracles.”

  “Well, I’m certainly about to put it to the test, aren’t I?”

  * * *

  Cole took a room in a hotel while he awaited Cassie’s decision. When news of his return reached his father, Frank Davis came striding into the hotel lobby demanding to see him. At the commotion just outside the door to the hotel coffee shop, Cole glanced up from behind his newspaper and sighed.

  “Over here, Dad,” he said.

  His father crossed the small lobby and headed straight for his table. He sank down opposite Cole. “It’s about time you got back here. Why aren’t you at the ranch?”

  “Do you even have to ask?”

  “Are you planning on staying in this place?” his father asked, glancing around at the shabby furnishings, the tiny coffee shop that had only a handful of scarred tables.

  “That depends.”

  “On?”

  “What happens this Sunday.”

  His father regarded him with exasperation. “Stop talking in riddles. Are you back here to stay or not?”

  “I’ll keep you posted.”

  For just an instant his father looked older than his years. He looked defeated. “I suppose I might as well put the ranch on the market. I can’t manage it anymore on my own.”

  Cole scowled at him. “Don’t pull that with me. You recovered from that heart attack years ago. You could run the whole state if you were of a mind to, never mind one little cattle ranch.”

  “Fifty thousand acres isn’t little,” his father said heatedly. “It’s a demanding job, and I just don’t have the heart for it anymore. Not if there’s no one to leave it to.”

  “Leave it to your grandson.”

  “How am I supposed to do that? The boy doesn’t even know we’re related. If it’s left up to his mother, he never will.”

  “That will change,” Cole said grimly. One way or another.

  “Oh?” His father’s expression brightened. “You going after custody?”

  “No. Not the way you mean, anyway.”

  “What then?”

  “I’ll tell you on Sunday.” He would know how this was going to play out by then.

  His father struggled to his feet, looking disgusted. “You’re wasting time, Son. I would have had this settled long ago.”

  “Probably so,” Cole agreed. “But for once I’m doing things my way.”

  And they’d better work out, he thought, or he’d never hear the end of it.

  * * *

  For once Cassie wished the preacher’s sermon would go on and on. Instead, Pastor Kirkland spoke for only a few minutes, citing the late-August heat and lack of air-conditioning as the reason for his brevity.

  “No point in talking if no one can hear me over the fluttering of those fans you’re waving,” he said. “You can all give thanks to the Lord for that and we’ll call it a day.”

&nbs
p; The congregation laughed appreciatively, sang one final, rousing hymn, then began to file out. Cassie was one of the last to go. When she reached the church steps, she spotted Cole at once, leaning against the fender of his car, his eyes shaded by sunglasses and the brim of his Stetson.

  “You’ve made up your mind, then?” her mother asked, clinging to her hand. “There’s nothing I can say to change it?”

  “Nothing,” Cassie said grimly. “This is what I have to do.”

  As she crossed the street, she wished she could feel one tiny little surge of joy, one little spark of hope, but Cole’s somber expression wasn’t encouraging. He was there to make a deal, not a love match.

  He opened the car door for her without speaking, then got into the driver’s side and started the engine. He glanced her way once, then focused on the road. Not until they were parked in a secluded spot along the river did he face her.

  “Well?”

  “I’ll do it,” she said. “I’ll marry you.”

  He responded with little more than a nod of satisfaction. “Will next weekend suit you?”

  Cassie bit back a cry of dismay. What had she thought, that he would allow her time to plan something lavish? Had she honestly expected him to let her carry out the charade that this was the wedding of her dreams, the start of a happy life for two people deeply in love?

  “Fine,” she said tersely.

  “At the church or at town hall?”

  Cassie didn’t think she could bear either one. “At home, in the garden,” she said, ready to fight for that much at least. “I’ll speak to Pastor Kirkland about it.”

  “What time?”

  She had always dreamed of a wedding at sunset with color splashed across the western sky. “Seven-thirty,” she said, allowing herself this one romantic touch, even if it would mean nothing at all to the man beside her. She hesitated, then asked, “Will you be inviting your father?”

  Cole nodded. “I can’t see any way around it.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll want my friends there.”

  “Whatever,” he said, looking completely uninterested in the details now that the decision had been made.

  It seemed as if there was nothing else to discuss, not about the ceremony itself, anyway. But there was one thing—the most important thing—that couldn’t be ignored.