small plates with slices of cinnamon coffee cake.
Henry introduced the older woman to Melissa. “Etta has been keeping the Randolf family well fed for the past twenty years.”
“And it’s been a pleasure,” Etta replied. Then with a friendly smile at Melissa she turned and left the dining room.
Melissa pulled a coffee cup before her and wrapped her fingers around it. As Henry watched her she felt ill at ease and wasn’t sure what to say, where to begin.
“This is awkward, isn’t it?” he finally said.
She flashed him a grateful smile. At least he felt it, too. “Terribly awkward,” she agreed. “I know you have no reason to believe me, but it’s important to me that you know that I don’t just fall into bed with strangers I meet.”
She couldn’t hold his gaze and instead looked down at her coffee as she continued. “That morning the man I’d been dating for two years, the man I thought I was going to marry, let me know that he had found a new girlfriend, somebody sexier than me.” She felt her cheeks warm with her confession. “That night I just … It all went more than a little crazy.”
He laughed, a low chuckle that was both pleasant and surprising. She looked up at him sharply, wondering if he were laughing at her.
“It seems fate had a hand in our meeting that night. I was coming home after ending a relationship with a woman I’d been dating for over a year. Maybe we were both a little reckless that night.”
“But that’s not who I am,” she replied. “I’m usually not reckless.”
He took a sip of his coffee, eyeing her over the rim of his cup. “And yet you took off with an address to an unknown place given to you by a woman you’ve never met before.”
“A calculated risk,” she replied. “If I didn’t like the looks of the place when I arrived, I wasn’t going to stop.” She tugged on a strand of her hair in frustration. “Okay, it wasn’t the brightest thing in the world to do,” she conceded.
She wasn’t about to tell him that it was an aching loneliness that had driven her to meet MysteryMom. Although she loved her boys more than anything else on the face of the earth, she’d been hungry for adult conversation. The idea of spending the holiday alone had depressed her.
She reached for one of the plates and a fork. Whenever she was nervous she wanted to eat and it was impossible to ignore the heavenly scent of the cinnamon that wafted from the coffee cake.
“Okay, let’s start with the basics,” he said. “Henry James Randolf, thirty-five years old, rancher and oilman. I’m a Taurus. I like my steak rare and sunrise rides on my horse. I’ve been told that I’m stubborn but I don’t necessarily see that as a fault. I’m not a big drinker but I do like a glass of scotch or brandy in the evenings. Now, your turn.”
“Melissa Sue Monroe, thirty years old. I’m a Libra and I like my steak well-done. Before I got pregnant I was working to build my own interior design business. I’ve never been on a horse and my drink of choice is an occasional glass of wine. Oh, and I’ve been told I have a bit of a stubborn streak, too.”
He smiled, although she noticed that the gesture didn’t quite warm the blue of his eyes. “What about family?” he asked.
She shook her head and paused to take a bite of the cake. “I don’t have any. My father left when I was five, told my mother he wasn’t cut out for family life. I never saw him again. My mother passed away two years ago and since then it’s just been me … and of course, the boys.”
“You have friends who give you emotional support?”
“My best friend lives in Oklahoma, so I don’t see her very often. As far as other friends, to be honest the birth of the twins has pretty much put an end to any social life for me.”
“How’s your interior design business?”
She considered lying. She thought about telling him that she was wildly successful, but he was obviously an intelligent man. He only had to take a glance at her car and note the worn condition of her clothing to know that the money wasn’t rolling into her household.
“Nonexistent,” she finally said. “The pregnancy was difficult and for the last three months of it, I couldn’t work. Since then it’s been just as difficult. The boys have required all my time and energy.” She raised her chin. “But after the holidays I’m going to try to get back to work.”
She took a sip of her coffee and wished he didn’t smell exactly like she remembered from that snowy night, a scent of clean male and wintry air and a faint whisper of spicy cologne. It was a fragrance that stirred her with memories of warm hands and hot kisses.
“How have you been supporting yourself?” he asked.
“I had a small inheritance from my mother.” She shifted positions beneath the intensity of his stare and took another bite of her coffee cake.
“You have a boyfriend? Somebody significant in your life?”
A small laugh burst from her. “Definitely not. The only males in my life wear diapers and drool.”
This time the smile that curved his lips warmed the blue of his eyes. “At least they’re cute when they drool.” His smile faded. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help through the pregnancy. I’m sorry you had to go through it all alone and I promise you won’t be doing it all alone now.”
She wasn’t sure why his words, rather than comforting her, filled her with a new burst of apprehension. Maybe if she really knew him, knew what kind of a man he was, she wouldn’t feel so worried about what he might have in mind for her and the boys.
“Having grown up without a father figure in my life, I understand how important the role of father is and will be to my boys. I want you to know that I’m open to a discussion about visitation for you,” she said.
“There will be time to discuss the particulars of that over the next couple of days,” he replied. He took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. “So, are you originally from Amarillo?”
She nodded. “Born and raised there.” This was the kind of talk they might have had if they’d been on a date, the kind they should have had that night instead of falling on each other like two sex-starved teenagers.
“Do you have somebody special in your life? A woman you’re seeing? I don’t want my presence here to make any problems for you,” she said.
“You don’t have to worry. There’s nobody special. I don’t intend for there ever to be anyone special.” There was a firm finality in his voice.
She took another sip of her coffee. God, the man was so good-looking she couldn’t imagine the women in the area leaving him alone. “Your mother mentioned that you were a confirmed bachelor.”
“I am. The only reason I might have entertained the idea of marriage would have been to have a son to pass the ranch to when I died. You’ve managed to give me two without the nuisance of a marriage.”
Nuisance of marriage? Funny how different they were, Melissa thought. She’d wanted to be married for a very long time, had always thought that by the time
