Awestruck, he moved closer to the crib. Melissa stayed a few steps behind him. Her mother never budged from the doorway. He studied the tiny, balled-up fists. Her skin looked soft as down and her light curls feathered around her face like wispy strands of silk. Her mouth curved like a miniature bow of pink. She was perfect. Adorable.
An overwhelming surge of protectiveness spread through him. This was his daughter. His! He’d seen Luke with the newborn Angela. He had watched Jordan hold J.J., but he had never guessed the depth of emotions that his brothers must have been feeling. He’d never experienced anything like it before in his life.
“She’s so beautiful,” he whispered, his voice choked.
“She has your eyes, your hair,” Melissa said quietly.
“And your mouth,” he noted. “I had no idea.”
“No idea about what?”
“That it was possible to create anything so perfect.”
Melissa laughed softly. “You haven’t seen her throw a tantrum yet.”
He turned toward her and grinned. “Ah, so she has your temper, too?”
“Oh, no,” Melissa protested. “You’re not blaming me for that. Every ounce of stubbornness she possesses she got from you.”
Gazing directly into her eyes, he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Thank you.”
“For?”
He wasn’t certain how to explain all that he was grateful to her for. For having the baby, even without him in her life. For keeping her healthy and safe. For loving her. So many things.
“For our daughter,” he said simply.
“Oh, Cody,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks.
“Shh, darlin’, don’t cry,” he said, pulling her close. “You’re not alone anymore.”
To his astonishment, he realized that after the loneliest year and a half of his life, he was no longer alone, either. He was just a visit to the preacher away from having a family of his own. And nothing or no one was going to stand in his way.
Chapter Six
Still awestruck, Cody was knee-deep in mental wedding plans before he and Melissa walked out the front door of her parents’ house. He was so caught up in thinking ahead to the day when Melissa and Sharon Lynn would move into his old house out at White Pines, that he almost forgot to ask Melissa to have dinner with him that night so he could officially propose and go over the details.
“Both of you,” he told her as they stood in front of the drugstore a few minutes later. “You and Sharon Lynn. We’ll go to DiPasquali’s. I’ll pick you up at your folks’ place after you get off work.”
Her lips set in a stubborn expression he knew only too well.
“Was there an invitation in there somewhere or did you mean it to sound like an order?” she asked.
He supposed they could quibble all morning over the difference, but he didn’t see much point to it. They had far bigger issues to worry about, like setting a wedding date in the next week or so. Now that he’d seen his daughter, nothing was going to keep him from her. The prospect of instant parenthood scared the daylights out of him, but he was eager to get started, anxious to make up for lost time. He considered Melissa part of the package, of course.
“An invitation, of course,” he said, wise enough to pacify Melissa. He wanted her in a receptive frame of mind tonight. He didn’t want her stubborn streak kicking in. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight at DiPasquali’s?”
“I think your daughter is a little young for pizza.”
Based on the spark of amusement in her eyes, she might have been teasing, but Cody took her comment seriously. He hadn’t thought of that. In fact, what he really knew about babies would fit on the head of a pin. That was easily corrected. He would buy a book on parenting at the first opportunity. He was going to be the best-prepared father on the face of the planet, even if he was getting a late start.
“There must be something on the menu there she can eat,” he said. “Or is there someplace that would be better?”
“DiPasquali’s is fine,” Melissa soothed. “I’ll feed her first. She can chew on a slice of bread while we eat. She’ll be perfectly content. She loves to eat out. She gets a lot of attention.”
“Fine, whatever,” he murmured distractedly, already thinking ahead to what he needed to accomplish between now and dinnertime.
He wanted to buy an engagement ring. And that book on parenting, of course. If he couldn’t find one in town, maybe Luke or Jordan would have one he could borrow. He needed to call Lance Treethorn and tell him he wouldn’t be returning to Wyoming. And he should sit down with his father and work out an arrangement for taking over his old duties at White Pines. Harlan would probably be relieved to be sharing the workload again.
“Cody?”
“Hmm?” He glanced up and caught Melissa’s serious expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just glad you want to be part of your daughter’s life.”
He stared at her, uncertain what would have made her ever suspect he’d do otherwise. “Well, of course, I do.”
Melissa shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how you were going to feel. And Mother, well, she had this crazy idea you were going to fight me for custody.”
Cody couldn’t imagine why he would have to fight for custody. He was going to claim his daughter and Melissa. If he’d known about the baby eighteen months ago, he would never have left for Wyoming in the first place. The incident with Brian might never have happened. He and Melissa would have been married. Custody arrangements would never have become an issue. At least, he finally understood Velma’s reaction to him.
“That explains why she’s been looking
