Claiming His Brother's Baby Page 3

  Cassie ignored the fluttering in her belly. Being around Tanner had always done it to her. It didn’t mean anything. Just a silly awareness of his good looks. Even a rock would notice.

  She started on breakfast and listened as he talked softly to Oliver. He had a nice voice, softly accented and a mix of his Australian roots combined with a quiet, Midwestern drawl. Oliver seemed mesmerized and she had just slid some bread into the toaster when Tanner spoke to her.

  “Can I hold him?”

  She looked up. “Sure. Do you know how?”

  Cassie was sure one brow came up. “I know how. My best friend has three kids,” Tanner explained. “He lost his wife in a car wreck when the youngest was a couple of months old.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “Yeah, that was two years ago. I help out if I can. Grady owns a place up the road from mine so I’m on hand if he needs a sitter. With three daughters under six he has his hands full.”

  Cassie watched as he carefully extracted the baby from the rocker. His movements seemed natural and effortless, as if he’d done it a hundred times before. She remembered her own first stumbling weeks when she’d come home from the hospital with a newborn. There were days when she’d never felt more overwhelmed or alone in her life.

  Oliver gurgled delightfully and her heart tightened. Tanner cradled the baby in one arm and easily supported his head with a strong hand. “He’s a big boy,” he said and came toward the countertop. “Clearly a hearty eater?”

  Cassie smiled. “He does love his food. He also likes to puke, so watch out.”

  Tanner laughed and the rumbling sound made her belly flip over. For a reason she couldn’t quite define Cassie wished he would stop being so likable. Doug had always been the charming one. So many times he’d said his younger brother was moody and serious with little time for anyone or anything other than his horses and his ranch. The two occasions they’d met she’d had no reason to question that description. He’d hardly spoken to her. Oh, he’d been polite, but there had been almost a cool reserve in his manner. She hadn’t taken it personally because Doug had warned her that Tanner wasn’t exactly warm and friendly. It had also made the unexpected spark of awareness she’d experienced easier to ignore. But now, watching him hold Oliver with such open affection suddenly seemed at odds with Doug’s depiction.

  “You’re good with him,” she said, surprising herself as she buttered the toast.

  “Thanks,” he replied and tucked the baby into the crook of his arm.

  Cassie grabbed a couple of plates and took the food to the table. “He hasn’t had a lot of interaction with men. Well, except for Gabe.”

  His expression narrowed fractionally. “Gabe?”

  “My best friend’s fiancé. Lauren and Gabe got engaged some months back. They’re good friends and very supportive. And Lauren’s parents insist I take him to see them once a fortnight. They said he’s their honorary grandson, which is nice.”

  “It’s hard when you don’t have family.”

  It didn’t sound like a question. And she was quick to remember what he’d said about Oliver being the only real family he had. “Sometimes.” She smiled “On the good side there are less birthdays to remember.”

  He didn’t smile back straightaway. “How’s your grandfather?”

  She was surprised to think he remembered she had any relatives and Cassie quickly explained her grandfather’s slide into dementia as she brought fruit and then coffee to the table.

  “He doesn’t know you at all?”

  “Not really,” she replied. “Sometimes he calls me by my mother’s name. I’ve taken Oliver to see him a few times but he just sits and looks at us. He’s always friendly but I miss the man he used to be. He was all I had after my parents died. He’s on dialysis now and has numerous other health issues, including a weak heart.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She shrugged and tried not to let her sudden emotion show. It was difficult talking about her only remaining grandparent. “Don’t be. I still like to see him even if he doesn’t know me. But I know he’s ill and probably not going to be around much longer.” She motioned to the food on the table. “You can put Oliver back in the rocker if you like.”

  “I can manage,” he assured her as he pulled out a chair and sat down, positioning her delighted son in the curve of his elbow so he could see her from across the table. He rocked Oliver a little. “I like getting to know my nephew.”

  “I’d like him to know you, too.”

  It wasn’t the truth. Not really. Because she was confused by her feelings for Tanner. And it was difficult imagining her son could have some kind of worthwhile relationship with a man she hardly knew. A man she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

  And that, she realized, was at the core of her reticence.

  It wasn’t about Oliver.

  It was the lingering awareness and unwanted attraction she had for Tanner that made her reluctant and suspicious. They’re my own secret demons. And she had to get over them. For Oliver’s sake.

  “And your ranch?” she asked, changing the subject. “That’s going well?”

  He nodded. “Sure. I’ve mostly been working with injured or traumatized horses for the last couple of years.” He managed a wry smile and glanced down at his leg. “Kind of ironic I guess.”

  She relaxed fractionally. “Doug said you were some kind of horse whisperer.”

  He laughed and the sound hit her directly between the ribs. “My brother always did like to make me sound like a crackpot.”

  “I don’t think it sounds like that. And you know what they say—working with kids or animals is one of the hardest jobs in the world.”

  “I think that’s in the movies, Cassie,” he said and smiled. “I just train horses to trust people again.”

  She nodded, thinking that he’d probably managed to accomplish that as easily as he breathed. “And you’re happy there?”

  He stilled and looked at her. “Yes, very happy.”

  Cassie swallowed hard. “So you wouldn’t...you wouldn’t consider...”

  “Consider what?” he asked and rubbed a gentle hand over the back of Oliver’s head.

  She shrugged. “Moving back... Moving here...”

  His brows shot up. “To Crystal Point? No. My life isn’t here anymore.”

  She knew that. But unease still rippled through her veins. Because she knew what it meant. “Are you going to sell the house?”

  He stared at her with blistering intensity. “Unfortunately, I’ll have to.”

  Her blood stilled. “I could try and raise the money to...” Cassie stopped and thought about what she was suggesting. She’d never be able to commit to such a large debt. Her minimum wage job and the cost of child care put that option out of reach. She shrugged again. “I thought perhaps the insurance might have covered the mortgage.”

  “No,” he said quietly. “There was some other debt and—”

  “The Ducati,” she said and sighed. “Doug bought it the last time he was home.”

  “Yes,” he said, still quiet. “I’m sorry about the house, Cassie. I know it was your grandfather’s home and means a lot to you.”

  Heat pinged behind her eyes and she blinked quickly. She didn’t want his sympathy. Or his pity. If the house needed to be sold, then she had no option but to go along with his plans. She wanted to ask him about the “other debt,” but didn’t. What difference did it make now? Her home was going to be sold and there was nothing she could do about it.

  “I’ll need some time to arrange things,” she said and concentrated her gaze on her smiling son. “Perhaps a month to sort through my—”

  “There’s no rush.”

  *

  Tanner saw the emotion in her stare. He didn’t want to alarm her or make her life complicated. In fact he wanted the opposite. He’d come to Crystal Point to right a wrong. To forgive and find a kind of peace so he could get on with the rest of life.

  She stared at him over
the rim of her mug. She really does have the most amazing colored eyes. Eyes easy to get lost in. Eyes that made it even easier to forget that Doug had loved her. And that she had loved his brother.

  “I guess that depends on how long it takes to sell,” she murmured.

  “I have an appointment with Doug’s lawyer on Wednesday,” he explained. “We’ll know more after that.”

  “We?” She looked skeptical. “The house belongs to you, Tanner. It’s your decision. Your call. I’ve got nothing to do with it.”

  You’ve got everything to do with it...

  Guilt pressed between his shoulders. And rage toward his brother that he quickly pushed back down. “On paper, perhaps. However,” he said and touched Oliver’s cheek, “there’s more to this situation than an out-of-date last will and testament. And there’s little point in imagining the worse outcome before we have all the facts.”

  “But the mortgage—”

  “We’ll see what happens. And any money left from the insurance will go into trust for Oliver.”

  “But that’s not what Doug wanted,” she replied quickly. “He left everything to you.”

  Tanner knew it had hurt her. How could it not? She was in a relationship with his brother and Doug had failed to provide for her and her child when she needed it the most.

  In typical Doug fashion.

  It wasn’t the first time his brother had betrayed a woman he’d professed to love.

  “He would have changed things,” Tanner said, lying through his teeth as he looked down at the baby. “If he’d had the opportunity and the time. But he was in a war zone and on a covert mission, Cassie...and probably not thinking clearly.”

  She sighed heavily. “I know that. He was...surprised... I mean, when I told him about the baby.”

  Surprised? Tanner knew that wasn’t the half of it. Doug had called him at three in the morning in a rage, ranting about how Cassie had deliberately gotten pregnant and probably planned to trap him into a marriage he didn’t want. He played devil’s advocate as best he could, insisting that Cassie wouldn’t be so manipulative. But Doug was unswayed. He didn’t want marriage. Or children. And Tanner knew his brother intended telling Cassie as much, had he lived. He had the proof via several emails Doug had sent before he was killed.

  The baby gurgled and he grabbed on to the distraction. He couldn’t tell her the truth. He wouldn’t. It was better she believed Doug wanted to do the right thing by her and his son.

  “This little guy is my nephew and I promised Doug I’d look out for him,” he said softly and touched Oliver’s head. “And you.”

  She visibly stiffened. “I don’t need looking out for, Tanner. I can take care of myself and Oliver.”

  The air crackled and Tanner didn’t miss the edge of resentment in her voice. Not that he really blamed her. Cassie Duncan had no real reason to trust him. But he didn’t want to be at war with her, either.

  “Can you at least meet me halfway, Cassie?” he asked. “I know you’ve been through a lot these past few months, but I’m not your enemy.”

  “Then what exactly are you, Tanner? My knight in shining armor?”

  “How about your friend?” he suggested and the moment the words came out, he felt like a complete fraud. He could never be friends with Cassie. He’d do what he’d returned to Crystal Point to do and then hightail it back home.

  She stared at him. “Friends? Sure...”

  But she looked as unconvinced about the idea as he was.

  He placed Oliver back in the rocker. “I’ve got a few errands to run. But I’ll come back a little later to see this little guy again and get my bags, if that’s okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  Then he left her alone.

  His leg ached, and Tanner pressed down heavily on his heel to help ease the pain as he walked from the house and headed for his rental car. He needed to clear his thoughts for a while. And knew just where to do that.

  Five minutes later he turned the car into a familiar driveway. The old farmhouse looked much the same, as did the seventy-five-year-old woman who stood on the porch, waving at him to come inside. Tanner waved back and got out of the rental car.

  Ruthie Nevelson had lived just out of Crystal Point for over sixty years. A widow for more than a quarter century, she’d been a friend and neighbor when his folks were alive and a much needed friend to him once they were gone. From her front gate, in the distance Tanner could see the rooftop of the home he’d lived in as a young boy. It was still a working sugarcane farm and he breathed in a heavy, nostalgic breath. If his parents had lived he would have taken over the farm and been the fourth generation McCord to do so. Instead, the place had been sold to another neighboring farmer three months after their deaths and Tanner was shipped off to boarding school a couple of weeks later. After that, he spent the holidays with Ruthie. Doug was in the army by then and returned whenever he could. But there were times when Tanner didn’t see his brother for six or more months.

  It was Ruthie who showed him kindness and offered comfort and understanding while he grieved the loss of his parents. Not really a grandmother, but as close to one as Tanner had known. It was she who’d pushed him to pursue his talent with horses and arranged the opportunity for him to work with her brother-in-law, a horse breaker and rancher, in South Dakota. After traveling through Europe for a couple of years, Tanner settled in Cedar Creek ten years ago and finally found a place he could call his own.

  He locked the car and headed up the path.

  “’Bout time you got here,” Ruthie said with a wide grin as he took the narrow steps in two strides and landed on the porch. “I’ve had the coffee ready for half an hour.”

  Tanner hugged her close. He hadn’t seen Ruthie for two years and she still looked as vibrant and healthy as she did back then. Her hair was still dyed an impossibly bright red, and she still wore moleskins, her favorite cowboy boots, and moved with that straight-backed confidence he’d recognize anywhere. Ruthie Nevelson was the best person he’d ever known, and he’d missed her like crazy.

  “Hello, Ruthie,” he said, smiling broadly. “It’s good to see you, too.”

  She set herself back to get a better look at him. “That leg still ailing you?”

  He nodded. “A little. The long flight didn’t help. It’ll ease up in a couple of days.”

  “Good,” she said and grabbed his arm. “Now, come inside and eat the cake I made for you.”

  There had always been something about Ruthie’s cooking that could cheer him up, and she knew it well. He followed her inside the house and down the narrow hall. Two small dogs came scurrying to greet them and bounced around his feet for attention.

  “Ignore them,” she said as she dropped her hat on the cluttered counter and pointed to a seat at the table. “They’ll lose interest soon enough.”

  “They’re new,” he said and pulled out a chair. “What happened to Bluey?” he asked about her old sheepdog.

  “Got sick and died last spring,” she replied. “Inherited these two when Stan Jarvis passed away a few months ago.”

  Stan had been Ruthie’s on-again, off-again suitor for over twenty years. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  She shrugged and grabbed two mugs. “Everybody dies,” she said and gave him a wide smile. “Even this old girl will one day.”

  “Impossible,” Tanner said with a grin, then more seriously. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “You, too.” Ruthie poured coffee and brought the mugs to the table. “I was expecting you yesterday. Where’d you stay last night?”

  “Cassie’s,” Tanner said as he sat down and spotted a large frosted cake in the center of the table. He reached out to steal a fingerful of frosting, giving an approving “Mmm” at the delicious flavor.

  Ruthie stared at him. “I see.”

  “It was late when I got there,” he explained. “And since I wanted to see the baby anyway, she offered—”

  “You told her about the house?”
Ruthie asked in her usual straight-to-the-point way.

  Tanner shrugged. “We discussed things.”

  She shook her head. “Messy situation. Typical of that no-good brother of yours.”

  Ruthie had never pulled punches when it came to Doug. But Tanner respected her too much to disagree. “I’ll have to sell the place.”

  “I thought as much.” Ruthie’s expression narrowed. “It’s not your fault. Some things even you can’t fix.”

  Tanner took the mug she offered. “I can try.”

  She tutted. “And get your heart broke all over again? I dunno if that makes you a fool or a saint.”

  “I’m no saint,” he said with a half grin. “You know that better than anyone.”

  “What I know is that you can’t keep cleaning up his chaos,” Ruthie said, her voice harder than usual. “That girl should be told the truth about him.”

  The truth about Doug? To the outside world he was charming and likable and there was no doubt he’d been a fine soldier. But he’d had troubles, too. In civilian life he’d been unreliable. The army had sorted him out eventually. But it wasn’t a truth that Cassie needed to know.

  “I’ll tell her enough,” he said quietly.

  Ruthie looked unconvinced. “And will you tell her that Doug McCord got your eighteen-year-old girlfriend pregnant and then dumped her right before he stole your inheritance?”

  Chapter Three

  No. Tanner had decided. He wouldn’t be telling Cassie anything about the girl who’d cheated on him with his brother and when she’d gotten pregnant how Doug had bailed on his responsibility. Or that his brother had taken the money put in trust for Tanner when he reached twenty-one, and used it to fund his partying and gambling. It had ended badly. For him. For Doug. For everyone. But telling tales wasn’t his style. And it had been twelve years ago. There was no point in rehashing old betrayals.

  “Still protecting him?”

  Ruthie’s voice got his attention again. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt unnecessarily.”

  “Anyone?” Her silvery brows came up. “You mean Cassie Duncan?”

  “I mean anyone,” he emphasized.