pizza and watching a movie with the little man in her life.
She parked and turned off the car engine, then got out of the car. At the same time a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing a black cowboy hat stepped out of the stables and into her view.
Knox.
Her breath hitched in her throat and she froze in her tracks. For a long moment her brain refused to function as she stared at him, and then a million questions fired off in her head.
Knox Colton... What on earth was he doing there? Oh, God, she didn’t want him there. Why wasn’t he in El Paso doing whatever he did as a Texas Ranger?
“Hello, Allison.” His eyes beneath the rim of his hat were icy blue.
He knows.
The two dreadful words echoed in her head as her heart began to beat an unsteady rhythm. “Knox, what a surprise,” she said and took several slow steps forward.
“It’s been a day full of surprises,” he replied with a pointed glance at Cody.
“Cody, why don’t you come inside with me and let Knox and your mother visit for a few minutes,” Jade said. “I think I’ve got some of those chocolate cookies that you like in the pantry.”
Cody looked at Allison for permission and she nodded her head, still stunned by Knox’s presence. She watched as Jade and Cody headed to the house and a million old memories fluttered through her mind.
Knox, dressed in a navy tuxedo to take her to the high school prom... Knox, naked and beautiful as he made love to her in the pool house at La Bonne Vie, his family home.
He had been her first love, her only love and the man she believed would be her forever love. They’d dated all through high school and after that whenever she could get back to Shadow Creek from the college she’d attended in Massachusetts.
They’d drifted apart during the last of those days, but when she’d had to quit college and return to Shadow Creek to take over her father’s construction company, she and Knox had resumed their love affair. The memories of loving and being loved by him warmed her.
She watched until Jade and Cody disappeared into the house and then she turned her gaze back to Knox. Any warmth her memories had generated instantly cooled beneath the chill of his arctic gaze. She raised her chin and waited for him to speak, her heart beating even more frantically.
“You’ve kept him from me for nine years.”
She wanted to protest. She wanted to reiterate the falsehood she’d told him years ago when she’d been pregnant and he’d called to see if the baby was his. But it was one thing to utter a lie over a phone line, quite another to stare into somebody’s eyes and lie.
“You left town,” she replied. He’d left her utterly brokenhearted and not knowing if she would ever have a future with him. That had been one of the reasons she’d lied to him, because he’d distanced himself from her, indicating that he didn’t want to be with her anymore. There had also been the fact that she hadn’t wanted her newborn son in any way associated with the Coltons, considering that Livia had just gone to jail for her heinous crimes.
“And then you had your new life with the Rangers. I didn’t think you’d care,” she said.
“You thought wrong. I had a right to know that he is my son, and he has a right to know that I’m his father.” His words were short...clipped, and he took a step toward her.
Anger and fear leaped into her chest. “You haven’t told him, have you?” How long had he been there with Cody today? What might he have already said to her son?
“I haven’t told him anything yet.” His tone was cold, dispassionate, and reminded her that his reputation was that of a heartless, emotionless man.
“Please don’t tell him,” she replied hurriedly. “What are you doing here in Shadow Creek? Last I heard, you were in El Paso protecting the border.”
For the first time a flicker of something dark shadowed his eyes. “I decided it was time for a vacation, and don’t try to change the subject. You’ve had nine years with Cody and now it’s my turn to have time with him.”
Everything inside of her stilled. Her heart stopped beating and her lungs quit drawing breath as she stared at him wordlessly. She’d always wondered in the back of her mind if this day would come, but over the years she’d convinced herself it wouldn’t. But here it was and she was so ill-prepared for it.
“How long is your vacation?” she finally asked.
“I don’t know yet.” He shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “I have a right to spend time with him.”
She didn’t care what was right in this situation; all she cared about was the best interest of her son, and she didn’t believe him spending any time with Knox was in Cody’s best interest.
“We’ve done fine without you. I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” she replied. “Especially now that your mother has escaped from jail.”
His shoulders stiffened. “My mother has nothing to do with this. I have rights, Allison, and if I have to get a lawyer and fight for them, I will.” The resolve in his eyes let her know he wasn’t playing. He was dead serious.
“I don’t want you to hurt him, Knox.”
His jaw tightened. “That’s the last thing I intend to do.”
She sighed. “If you promise that you won’t tell him you’re his father until I think he’s ready to hear it, and if the two of us can remain civil with each other, then I guess we can work something out so that you can spend some time with him.”
Worry fluttered through her. She didn’t want to do this, but Knox did have a right to get to know his son. The last thing she wanted was a custody battle. She had to do this right for Cody’s sake.
“I promise.” He pulled his hands from his pockets and took another step closer to her. “I don’t want to screw up his life, Allison. I don’t want to screw up your life.” His eyes narrowed. “But you should have told me.”
A flush of warmth filled her cheeks. “I did what I thought was best for everyone at the time.”
“You thought wrong.”
His anger was controlled, but she saw it in the tense set of his broad shoulders, in the thin line of his lips and in the depths of his beautiful blue eyes. “When?”
Next year...the year after, or maybe when he turns eighteen, she wanted to reply. “Next week?”
“Not good enough,” he replied.
She forced herself to breathe. “You can see him tomorrow after church. We’re usually home around noon.”
“Then I’ll pick him up at twelve thirty.”
A new panic leaped into her throat. “Pick him up? Where are you going to take him?”
“I thought I’d take him to Mac’s ranch. I haven’t had a chance to stop in there and say hello since
