asked Mommy for a daddy, but she said she couldn’t order one out of a catalog,” the little boy said with a giggle.
“Didn’t your mommy ever talk to you about your daddy?”
“No, I don’t have one. Mommy always says, ‘It’s just you and me, Robbie.’” He giggled again.
And again Nick felt the anger build inside him. Abby could’ve told the boy something about—Well, maybe not. At least she hadn’t said that Nick hadn’t wanted his son.
When they emerged from the rest room, Abby was anxiously watching for her child. She immediately checked his face. “Did you wash the syrup off?”
“Yeah. Nick helped me. Mommy, it’s different from your bathroom. They have uri-uri—”
As he stumbled over the word, Abby steered him out. “We’ll talk about that in the car, sweetie.”
Nick couldn’t help but grin as he watched the boy walk away. He wanted to tell Robbie that he was his daddy, but he didn’t want to upset the kid.
His kid.
For the first time he thought about what was going to happen when they reached the Logan ranch. His mother didn’t handle surprises well. And Patricia?
Damn, things weren’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped.
Robbie fell asleep after only a few minutes on the road.
Good. Abby needed to think. She’d spent so much time guarding her speech and screwing up her courage to face Nick that she was tired. Now she had to deal with what she would be facing in a few hours.
Not what, necessarily. Who.
Mrs. Logan.
All during the time that Abby dated Nick, she’d never felt welcome in his family home. His mother, in particular, had made it clear that Abby wasn’t good enough for her son.
Abby understood that. She’d been raised on a small farm in the ranching community of Sydney Creek. Though her parents had worked hard, they’d never had much. During high school Abby had worked at the town café so she could buy her own clothes. On the contrary, the Logans, owners of one of the largest ranches in the area, lived a life of privilege and comfort. Nick and his family had things Abby didn’t, like the new truck Nick had gotten when he’d turned sixteen.
Abby hadn’t owned a car until she left for Cheyenne. It had been secondhand. And she still drove it. That wasn’t likely to change anytime soon, she figured, now that she’d lost her job.
Actually Abby had been longing to go back to Sydney Creek, where she called home. But the thought of having to face Nick always kept her in Cheyenne.
Now that she was returning, her first priority was finding a job. Not an easy task in Sydney Creek, where only a few businesses thrived. For Abby, though, employment was essential; not only did she have Robbie, but she also helped support her mother, who had moved to Florida.
When her dad had died only a year after Abby finished college, her mother had moved to Cheyenne to live with her and Robbie. Susan Stafford had taken care of Robbie for his first two years, but when a friend of hers was moving to the Florida sunshine, Abby had to let her go.
Robbie went into day care, a clean, pleasant center only a few blocks from her job. He’d thrived there, made friends, some of whom went up to preschool with him.
Would she be able to find a pre-K in Sydney Creek? For that matter, would Nick allow Robbie to live with her in town? Or did he expect the boy to live with him at the ranch? Would he want her there, too?
Amidst the barrage of questions that assailed her, one stood out.
Did he still have feelings for her?
Abby had been shocked by how much she’d responded just to the sight of him. Seeing him at her doorstep yesterday brought back each and every memory of their time together—especially their graduation night. After years of denial and restraint, they were finally able to make love, to share the passion they’d held in check.
It had been five years ago, but seeing Nick made it feel like yesterday. She’d wanted to touch him so badly. But his attention had been all on Robbie. Not that she could blame him. After all, Robbie was the center of her world, too. She knew she was prejudiced, but he truly was such a good boy. He behaved himself, and he tried to take care of her whenever she got down and cried. That hadn’t happened often, but when it did, he would come pat her shoulder and ask her what was wrong.
Never in this world would she let her son down. Nor would she abandon him, no matter what Nick promised.
She’d find a way to make it work. She had to, for Robbie’s sake.
When they reached the ranch, Abby sat in the car, drawing a deep breath. The rambling single-story ranch house with its wraparound porch looked the same, as did the mountains in the background. She felt the same trepidation as she did the last time she’d seen it.
But she couldn’t sit in the car for the rest of her life, so she let out the breath she was holding and woke her son.
“Robbie? We’re here, sweetie. Wake up.”
The little boy struggled awake. “Where are we, Mommy?”
“We’re at Nick’s ranch.”
Instantly alert, Robbie strained in his car seat to look out the window. “Can you see horses and dogs?”
“Well, I hear some dogs—” She stopped when Nick suddenly jerked her door open.
He loomed over her, his hands on the roof of her small car. “Aren’t you going to get out?” Without awaiting her reply, he leaned in and asked Robbie, “Ready, champ?”
“Yeah!” He clicked open his car seat and exited the car.
As Nick started to move away, Abby reached out and touched his hand.
“Nick, what are we going to—to say to your mother?” She didn’t have to explain; Nick knew what she meant.
“We won’t have to say anything,” Nick whispered fiercely. “She remembers what I looked like at this age. That’s why I didn’t have to question you about his age. I knew I was his daddy as soon as I saw him.”
“But your mom might say something—”
“Don’t you think it’s about time someone did?”
Abby’s heart seemed to stop. “I don’t want Robbie upset!”
Nick left her standing by the car door. “It’s too late to worry about that.” Then he walked off with Robbie’s hand in his.
She scrambled to follow him. Regardless of what Nick said, she didn’t want Robbie to learn the truth without her there to help him understand.
Despite
