but she would give it every last soul-nurturing ounce of what she had wanted all her life.
Love.
THUMP! NAN ASHLEY HIT Cord’s office window with a flying newspaper, dead on, the way she did every morning at this time to announce herself, but still he nearly shot out of his boots. His ears, straining for the slightest suspicious sound, screamed danger! with the heavy thud of noise against the pane. He cursed under his breath. Not at Nan, who tried so hard to unobtrusively care for him, but at the situation that had him so edgy.
He got up to open the half glass-paned, half wood door, letting in a burst of frigid air. “Howdy, neighbor.”
She stamped her snow boots on the raffia doormat outside his office. “Scared ya, didn’t I?” Her round, wrinkled face was rosy with delighted mischief.
“Yes, ma’am. This time. One day, I’m going to scare you. You’ll be surprised when a newspaper gets fired right back at you.”
“Ha.” She shrugged off his facetious retort and handed him the plastic-wrapped newspaper she always brought him although he rarely had time to read it. It was her excuse, her way of checking up on him. She glanced at him from head to toe. “Didn’t see your truck leave this a.m.”
“I…” He glanced guiltily at the doorway. “I overslept.”
“Hmm. Not like you. You ailing?”
“No, ma’am. Not in the least.”
“You ought to be eating a good breakfast every morning, Cord. At least a milk shake.” She sniffed the air warily. “What’s that smell?”
“Ah…”
Tessa walked in, not noticing Nan standing behind him, and extended the plate. “Cord, here’s your burned toast.”
Nan peered around his shoulder at Tessa—and then her offering. “Damn right,” she said laconically. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to toast bread, child?”
“Hello, Mrs. Ashley.” Startled, Tessa glanced at Cord, who shrugged. “I don’t suppose I’ve got much talent in the kitchen.”
“I’d say. On the other hand, it takes a special kind of woman to burn bread.” Nan’s gaze went from the plate to Tessa, to Cord and back to Tessa.
“Special?” Tessa repeated.
“Yep. Your attention was specially focused on something else.” She eyed Cord shrewdly. “Heard from Hunt?”
He didn’t dare glance at Tessa. “Hoping to soon.”
“Well.” Her alert gaze moved over each uncomfortable captive again. “Let me know if you do. I’m going to be working half days at the beauty salon starting today, so I can whip up a meal or two should you be needing it.” Her tone held nothing but kindness, no intended slight to Tessa.
“I’m sure we’d enjoy that. Why are you slowing down your work schedule?” He wanted her to focus on anything except Tessa, and right now, Nan’s gaze wasn’t missing a thing.
“My knees are bothering me, Cord. And I’ve got more money than I know what to do with anyway. I keep the shop just so the gals’ll have a place to work and the customers’ll have a place to gab.”
“I could pick up your extra half day,” Tessa said eagerly, shocking the hell out of Cord.
“No!” he automatically vetoed, his tone stern.
Both women stared at him as if he’d taken leave of his senses.
“I mean,” he began again, intensely aware that he was between two women and had sounded way too male, “I mean…perhaps that isn’t the best idea, Tessa.”
She blushed, clearly misunderstanding his concern to be about the baby. “Cord, it’ll be fine.”
Nan’s brows rose over cherry-dark eyes not quite hidden enough beneath wrinkled eyelids as she awaited his response with great interest.
He cleared his throat. “I’d rather you didn’t work right now, Tessa.”
The elderly woman’s eyes fairly bugged with mischievous glee. She slapped Cord on the shoulder with a hefty whack that made his arm burn almost as hot as the skin on the back of his neck. “Why, you old son of a gun! Aren’t you taking your brotherly duties a bit too seriously, Cord? Tessa’s her own woman, aren’t you, honey? And I’d love to have ya, but I need me a chauffeur more than anything. It would save my knees tremendously ’cause driving’s what’s really killing me. You can drive me to the salon and then back after we put in the morning hours. What do you say?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“No!” Cord insisted. “Tessa—”
Nan elbowed him and flashed a genuine, teasing smile. “It’s okay, big brother. I won’t let her do anything that might harm the baby. You can rest easy on that account. There’s no heavy lifting at a beauty parlor, Cord. Just a lot of gals having some fun and talking too much over curlers and coffee.”
Thunderstruck, Cord and Tessa stared at the gnome of a woman.
“How did you know?” Tessa’s hand instantly went to her stomach.
Nan peered at the mound not quite disguised by the faded jeans and baggy sweater. “You’re not exactly incognito, though I can tell you’ve tried hard to be. And Cord’s macho routine is a dead giveaway.”
“I’m not being macho!” He merely wanted to make certain there were no bad guys waiting to chase Tessa down. She seemed to have forgotten all about his nighttime visitors.
“Your mama know you’re staying here, honey?” Nan stared pointedly at both of them.
“Actually, I’m not really staying here—”
“Yes, you are,” Cord said firmly. “Until the situation is resolved.”
“It’ll take a couple of months just to resolve the situation, I reckon,” Nan put in. “Hester’s gonna have a fit if she finds out you’re here.”
At the mention of her mother’s name, he saw Tessa’s face take on unhappiness like a sinking ship takes on water. “Hester doesn’t have to know.”
“Nope. She won’t know from me.” She patted Cord’s shoulder conspiratorially. “You’ll make a fine uncle, Cord. You’ve always had that family instinct. It’s the Irish in you, I suppose. Herding the flock together. Keeping the clan secure.” She shuffled out the door, pulling a plastic rain bonnet from her coat pocket. “It’s misting, and that might make the roads a little slick if it gets any colder. It’ll sure as shooting make the ladies’ hair fall, so I’ll probably get a ton of cancellations this a.m. Come over in fifteen, Tessa. Cord, we’ll probably just start easy today with two hours, and if the roads get bad, I’ll get the little pre-bundle of joy right back here.”
She never even looked back for his confirmation. Together, Tessa and Cord watched the elderly woman make her way across the gravel driveway to the open field that lay between the two houses.
