“If I have to knock on every door in town, I’m going to talk to her tonight,” he swore.
“There’s nothing you have to say, nothing you need to know, that won’t be settled just as readily in the morning,” Horton repeated, still calm, still intractable.
Cody considered it as much as an admission that he and Melissa had serious issues to resolve, such as his relationship to that baby. He gathered from the warning look Horton shot at his now tearful wife that they didn’t entirely agree on whether Cody had the right to know the truth.
“Where can I find her in the morning?” he asked finally, resigned to the delay. They all knew he wouldn’t tear through town, creating yet another ruckus he’d never live down.
“She gets to work about nine,” her father told him.
“I’m not talking to her at Dolan’s,” he said. “I don’t want the whole town knowing our business.”
Horton seemed about to offer an alternative when Velma piped up. “That’ll just have to do,” she said. “We’re not telling you where she lives.”
He couldn’t decide if Velma was worried about him throttling Melissa or if she was simply being protective of her daughter’s secret. Because he wasn’t sure, he backed down.
“If you talk to her, let her know I’ll be by the minute the doors open. Tell her to arrange with Eli for someone to cover for her unless she wants her personal life broadcast to everyone in town.”
To his surprise, Ken Horton held out his hand. When Cody shook it, Melissa’s father said, “For whatever it’s worth, Cody, I think it’s about time you two got everything out in the open. The two of you had something special once. Melissa’s been punished enough for making one foolish mistake.”
He gave his wife a defiant look. “And a man has a right to claim his child.”
Velma Horton groaned and covered her face with her hands. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Cody wondered at the fear he’d seen in her eyes right before she placed her hands over them. She’d had the same terrified expression earlier in the day. He’d always thought Velma Horton liked him. Now she seemed to think he was some sort of a monster.
Was she blaming him for running out on her pregnant daughter? Or was it something more? He wondered what could possibly be behind the expression he’d read in her eyes.
Eventually, as he slowly walked back to his pickup, it came to him. She was actually afraid that he’d come home to take his baby away from Melissa.
Was that what he intended? He sat in his truck on the dark street in front of the Hortons’ house, his head resting on the steering wheel. He honestly hadn’t thought beyond discovering the truth and confronting Melissa with it.
Obviously, it was a good thing Ken Horton had prevented him from seeing Melissa tonight. He needed to get his thoughts in order. He needed to have a plan. For once in his life he couldn’t act on impulse. Too many lives were at stake, his own, Melissa’s, and that darling little girl’s.
His heart ached every time he thought about his daughter. His arms felt empty, just as they did when Dani climbed out of them or he had to turn Angela back over to Jessie or Luke. He wondered about that vacant place he’d thought would always be inside him and realized that there was someone who could fill it, a child of his own.
Tomorrow he would claim her. He realized he didn’t even know her name or how old she was or whether she could walk or talk. So many precious details. He sighed. Tomorrow he would fill in the gaps.
Tomorrow he would finally experience what it was like to feel like a father. Right now it was all too abstract, but in the morning he would hold his child in his arms. Whatever else happened between him and Melissa, he vowed that nothing would ever rip his baby away from him again.
Chapter Five
Her mother had warned her. In fact, the first thing out of Velma’s mouth when Melissa had dropped off her daughter for the day had been a detailed description of Cody’s late-night visit. Based on Velma’s panicked reaction, Melissa had been tempted to take Sharon Lynn and flee. She knew, though, that in his present mood Cody would only track her down.
Besides, hadn’t she resolved just last night to tell him herself about Sharon Lynn? The decision on the timing had just been taken out of her hands. Of course, that also meant that his anger had had all night to simmer. She walked to work, dreading the confrontation that was clearly only minutes away.
She meant to ask Eli for an hour or so off to deal with a personal matter. She meant to be outside, on the sidewalk, when Cody arrived. She meant to do everything possible to ensure their conversation took place in private, away from prying eyes and potential gossip. She meant to be calm, reasonable, even conciliatory.
Cody took any chance of that out of her hands.
Before the door to the drugstore fully closed behind her, Melissa heard the bell ring loudly as the door slammed open again. Without even turning around, she sensed it was Cody. The air practically crackled with tension. She pivoted reluctantly and found him so close she could almost feel his breath on her face. She surveyed him slowly from head to toe, trying to gauge exactly how furious he was.
He looked exhausted. His mouth was set in a grim line. His shoulders were stiff. His hands were balled into fists. He also looked as if he’d slept in his clothes, perhaps in his truck, right in front of the drugstore. That would explain why he’d appeared right on her heels.
Despite all that, her heart flipped over. Her pulse scrambled. She had the most absurd desire to fling herself straight into his arms.
But
