have run the instant she’d pulled out the picture of her nephew.
“I’m parked over here.” She pointed to the very last row in the dirt parking lot.
He’d just gotten off the phone with one of his brothers, letting them know he’d be, as he put it, hitching a ride back to Dallas with her. That was all he’d told them, and the message had been delivered through clenched teeth.
She didn’t blame him. It was a lot to take in. She hadn’t expected him to leap with joy when she sprang the news on him. His willingness to discuss her nephew was actually more than she’d anticipated. Though talk was cheap, as Mariana well knew.
“I apologize for ambushing you at the rodeo and in front of your family,” she said. “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was visiting a client here in Shreveport. When I found out you were competing today, I decided to try and find you.”
“Did you think I’d refuse to meet you somewhere else?”
“The thought did occur to me,” she admitted. “Or that you wouldn’t come alone.” He was a member of a powerful and influential family, one that employed an army of attorneys and advisers.
“I’m not agreeing to anything without DNA testing.”
“Of course.”
Mariana had taken her sister’s word that Jacob Baron was Cody’s father. While unlikely, it was possible Leah had slept with more than one man. As Mariana only recently learned, her sister had been insistent on getting pregnant. Jacob required proof, and she understood that. Were he her client, she’d advise the exact same thing.
Reaching into the side pocket of her purse for her keys, she stumbled when her heel caught in a small hole. These shoes were definitely not made for traipsing across rodeo grounds. Not that she owned a single pair of boots.
Feeling a steadying hand on her elbow, she turned and muttered, “Thank you.”
Jacob let his hand linger. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Really.” Her ankle did twinge a bit. The sensation was overshadowed by the tingle his touch evoked and the look of appreciation in his eyes. That had startled her more than the stumble.
Withdrawing her arm, she attempted a smile. He was simply being a gentleman, right? Cowboys were like that. Old-fashioned and mannerly. At least, most of the ones who’d traveled in and out of her sister’s life were. The same could be said for their father. That was part of his charm and why the ladies loved him.
All the ladies. Even the ones he took up with while he was still married to Mariana’s mother.
She depressed the button on her key fob, and her headlights flashed in greeting as the door locks popped open. The Infiniti was a recent purchase. She’d decided if she wanted to make junior partner, she needed to look like a junior partner.
Jacob opened the driver’s side door for her. It was on the tip of her tongue to object. This wasn’t a date. She refrained, however. He was surely just being polite. Cowboys, she thought with a sigh.
As they bumped and bounced out of the dirt parking lot, Mariana worried about the paint on her car. What had she been thinking, coming here at the last second? The signs in town advertising the rodeo had been too tempting to resist. More so when a quick phone call confirmed Jacob was competing.
“You mentioned visiting a client. What is it you do?” He didn’t appear to mind the rocky ride. Neither did he wince with each scraping sound.
“I’m an attorney with Hasbrough and Colletti.”
“Ah.” He instantly closed down, as if a steel door slammed shut between them.
“I assure you, I’m not after your money. This is no scam or blackmail scheme. I’m concerned only for my nephew and what’s best for him.”
“Right.”
Mariana took his reaction in stride. She was an attorney, after all, and used to it. Those in her profession were frequently the answer to someone’s prayers or their worst nightmare.
They approached the main road, and she released a pent-up breath. Without thinking, she reached out and gave the dash a there-there pat. Jacob raised one eyebrow but said nothing. Once they were on the main road and traffic eased, she was able to concentrate.
“Perhaps I should start at the beginning,” she said.
“Please do.”
“I didn’t know who Cody’s father was until right before the doctors put Leah on life support. She never told anyone that I know of. I think she believed she could beat the cancer. She did once before, four years ago, and our mother’s a survivor.”
“I didn’t realize.”
A small, painful lump formed in Mariana’s throat. She swallowed before speaking. “Leah gave me your name but begged me not to tell you until Cody was eighteen. She didn’t want your money, Mr. Baron. Only to be a mother.”
“Call me Jacob. And why are you telling me rather than respecting her wishes?”
“That’s a very long story.” And Mariana wasn’t about to delve into her daddy issues with a complete stranger. “In a nutshell, I believe it’s the right thing. Legally and morally. You have a son and should be allowed a role in his life. He deserves all the benefits a father can provide.”
“A role?”
“However great or small a role you choose.”
With his schedule, she doubted he’d want more than every other weekend, if that. Didn’t rodeo cowboys like him want their freedom? That was what her father told her mother right before he walked out on them.
“Noble of you.” Jacob’s voice rang with suspicion.
“We’ve just met. You have no reason to trust me. Especially with the bombshell I’ve just dropped.”
“Bombshell, yeah,” he said drily.
“But you will see soon enough that my intentions are indeed noble.”
“I’m guessing Leah named you as his guardian or something.”
“She did. She also put your name as father on Cody’s birth certificate. You’re his legal father. DNA testing will reveal if you’re his biological father, as well.”
“You say she told you right before she was put on life support?”
“Yes. The circumstances were grave. I don’t think she was lying.”
Jacob leaned his head back and rubbed a spot on his forehead as if it throbbed.
Mariana was momentarily struck by his ruggedly handsome profile, which was not at all like her. Broad shoulders didn’t sway her. Neither did dark, penetrating eyes and a mouth that could only be described as sexy.
Had she really just thought that? Yes, she had, and she needed to stop right this second. It wasn’t easy. Jacob
