“I’m going home to iron,” Melissa said, sticking to that absurd story she’d told him earlier in a blatant attempt to get rid of him. “Unless, of course, you’d like to do it for me?”
He frowned at her. “What about Sharon Lynn?”
“She’s with Mother.”
“I’ll drop you off and go get her,” he suggested eagerly.
“She’s probably still taking her nap,” Melissa said.
She said it in such a rush he had the feeling she thought he intended to kidnap the baby and take off with her. As much as he resented the implication, he kept his tone perfectly even. “She won’t sleep forever,” he countered reasonably. “I’ll bring her straight home. I promise.”
“You don’t have a car seat,” she noted pointedly.
Damn, but there was a lot to remember. “We’ll stop now and get one.”
“All of that ice cream will melt.”
He frowned at the obstacles she kept throwing in his path. “Not in this weather. It’s freezing out. And if it does, I’ll buy more.”
“Couldn’t you just drop me off at home?”
“No, you need to come with me. You can show me the best kind of car seat.”
Melissa sighed heavily. “Cody, what’s the point? They’re expensive and you probably won’t…”
He guessed where she was going. “Won’t what? Won’t be here long enough to use it? You can get that idea right out of your head.”
He tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to face him. “I’ve quit my job in Wyoming. I am home to stay, Melissa. Get used to it.”
She held up her hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything. I was just trying to keep you from wasting money.”
“If it’s for my daughter, it is not a waste of money,” he said curtly. “Now, can I find the kind of car seat I need at the discount superstore out on the highway?”
She nodded.
He turned the truck around on a dime, spewing gravel. He drove ten miles before his temper had cooled enough to speak again. He’d set out today to woo Melissa into changing her mind about marrying him. His first overtures, however, appeared to have gone awry. He’d lost his sense of humor, right along with his temper. It was no way for the two of them to start over. He sucked in a deep breath and made up his mind to mend fences.
“Truce?” he suggested, glancing over at her. She was huddled against the door, looking miserable. She shrugged.
“I’m not an ogre,” he stated. “I’m just trying to fit into Sharon Lynn’s life.” Her gaze lifted to meet his. “And yours.”
She sighed. “We don’t need you,” she repeated stubbornly. “We were doing just fine before you came back.”
He ignored the tide of hurt that washed through him at the dismissive comment. “Maybe I need you.”
Melissa frowned. “Yeah, right,” she said sarcastically. “As if Cody Adams ever needed anybody. Didn’t you pride yourself on staying footloose and fancy free?”
He saw no point in denying something she knew better than anyone. “I did,” he agreed. He thought about the agonizing loneliness of that cabin he’d sentenced himself to in Wyoming. “Maybe being alone for the past eighteen months has changed me. Maybe I’m not the selfish, carefree, independent cuss who stormed away from Texas.”
“And maybe pigs can fly,” she countered.
He grinned at her. “Maybe they can,” he said quietly. “If you believe in magic.”
“I don’t,” she said succinctly.
Cody heard the terrible pain in her voice, even if her expression remained absolutely stoic. Dear heaven, what had he done to her by running off and leaving her to face being pregnant all alone? He saw now what he hadn’t observed before. Not only was Melissa stronger and more self-sufficient, she also had an edge of cynicism and bitterness that hadn’t been there before. The blame for that was his, no one else’s.
At the discount store, when Melissa would have grabbed the first car seat they came across, Cody stopped her, deliberately taking the time to read the package for every last detail on safety. If nothing else, he intended to impress on Melissa that he took his parenting responsibilities seriously. Nothing was too trivial, too expensive, or too complicated to tackle if it had to do with his daughter.
Nearly an hour later they finally loaded the new car seat into the truck.
“I think that salesclerk despaired of ever getting you to make a choice,” Melissa said, the beginnings of a smile tugging at her lips.
“It wasn’t for her kid,” he retorted.
“Okay, forget the salesclerk. Should I point out that the one you ended up taking is exactly the same one I tried to get you to buy when we walked in?”
He scowled at her. “What’s your point?”
“That I had already done the exact same research, reached the exact same conclusion. You insisted I come along because you claimed to want my advice. When it came right down to it, though, you didn’t trust me.”
Cody carefully considered the accusation before turning to meet her gaze. “You’re right. I should have listened to you. It’s just that this is new to me. I’m trying to get it right. I don’t want to mess up with something this important.”
Her expression softened. “Cody, I can understand that. Really, I can. I was just as obsessive when I first brought Sharon Lynn home from the hospital. Mother and Daddy thought I was a lunatic. I didn’t trust a piece of advice they offered. I was convinced it was probably outdated. I had to do it all for myself. Talk about reinventing the wheel.” She shook her head. “I wasted more time, only to find myself doing exactly what they’d suggested in the first place.”
He grinned. “You’re just trying to save me traveling over the same learning curve, is that it?”
“Exactly,” she said. She reached over and patted his hand. “I’m not trying to keep you out of Sharon Lynn’s life, or control your input, or anything like that. I promise.”
The impulsive touch didn’t last nearly long enough. Cody grabbed her hand and pulled it to his
