Though he’d never asked his parents if they had continued to see her, he had suspected Melissa wouldn’t feel that same sense of belonging after he’d gone. He knew from his father’s comment just now that she had indeed stayed away and that her absence had hurt them all, costing them a relationship they held dear. The severing of ties had been as complete as if he and Melissa had been married and then divorced in an incredibly acrimonious manner that had forced everyone to choose sides.
“Thank you, Harlan,” she said, stepping closer to be enveloped in a fierce hug that included Sharon Lynn. “I’ve missed you, too. And I’m so terribly, terribly sorry about Mary.”
“I know you are. Mary thought a lot of you, girl. She always hoped…” At a warning glance from Cody, he allowed his voice to trail off, the thought left unspoken.
It hardly mattered, though. The damage had already been done. Melissa’s cheeks turned bright pink. Cody could feel the blood climbing up the back of his neck, as well. His father surveyed them both, then gave a brief nod of satisfaction as if he’d learned something he’d hoped for.
“Come on, then,” Harlan said, his voice laced with a telltale trace of huskiness. “Let’s go have some breakfast, before we all turn maudlin and start bawling.”
To Cody’s relief, his father left the subject of the past untouched beyond that single, oblique reference. Either he was far too fascinated by the child he held or he recognized that it was not a conversation to be held in the baby’s presence.
There was no mistaking, though, that more questions lingered in his eyes. Cody guessed they would be as much about the future as the past. He also knew there were no answers his father would like hearing, not yet anyway. Harlan had the same impatience as his sons. He liked things settled to his satisfaction. Between Cody and Melissa nothing was settled at all.
Sharon Lynn patted her grandfather’s face, then glanced to her mother for approval. “Da?” she questioned.
Cody scowled as he realized that he wasn’t unique in his daughter’s view. He caught Melissa’s grin and realized how pitiful it was to be jealous of his own father.
Unaware, as Cody had been, that it was Sharon Lynn’s universal name for any adult male, Harlan beamed at her. “Damn, but you’re a smart one,” he praised. “You and I need to have ourselves a little talk. What other words do you know?”
“Ma and bye-bye,” Melissa offered. “It limits the conversations tremendously.”
Cody noticed that his father didn’t seem to mind. He seemed perfectly content to carry on a one-sided conversation with his granddaughter. It was probably the first time in years someone hadn’t talked back to him.
The distraction also kept Harlan from touching the eggs and bacon he normally couldn’t wait to eat on the weekends. Possibly that was the most telling indication of all of Sharon Lynn’s power over this new male in her life.
“So, Sharon Lynn, have you ever seen a horse?” Harlan inquired.
Cody chuckled as his daughter tilted her head, a quizzical expression on her face as she appeared to give the question serious consideration.
“I’ll take that for a no,” Harlan said. “In that case, I think it’s about time to fix that. Can’t have a rancher’s baby who doesn’t know about horses. Maybe we’ll even go for a little ride.”
Cody glanced at Melissa to check her reaction to the instantaneous bonding between Sharon Lynn and his father. To his astonishment, the color had drained out of her face. Clearly the idea of Sharon Lynn going off with Harlan panicked her in some way. What he couldn’t figure was why.
“Harlan, I really don’t think—” she began.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Harlan reassured her, cutting off her words. “I had every one of my boys up on horseback when they were no bigger than this. She’ll fit right on the saddle in front of me. She’ll be just fine. I guarantee I won’t let her tumble off.”
Harlan and the baby were out the door before Melissa could offer the firmer protest that was clearly on the tip of her tongue. Cody knew better than to argue with Harlan. He also knew that Sharon Lynn would be perfectly safe with his father. However, he could see that Melissa wouldn’t believe it unless she witnessed their adventure on horseback with her own eyes. He put down his fork.
“Come on,” he said. “You’ll be worrying yourself sick, if you’re not right alongside them.”
“She’s too little to be riding a horse,” Melissa complained, her complexion still pale as she followed him outside. “She’ll be terrified.”
“I doubt that,” Cody said. “You’re projecting your feelings onto her. You never were much for horses. I guess you were more of a city girl than I realized.”
She shot him a wry look. “Hardly that.”
He grinned at her. “I don’t know. About the only time I could get you into the barn was when I wanted to tumble you into the haystack.”
“Cody Adams, that is not true,” she contradicted, patches of bright color flaring in her cheeks. “Besides, that has absolutely nothing to do with Sharon Lynn and this crazy idea Harlan has of getting onto a horse with her.”
“Stop fussing. She’s just the right age to be introduced to riding. Kids her age have no fear. It’s not like Daddy’s going to put her on the horse, hit its rump and send her galloping around the paddock. He’s going to be in the saddle, holding her.”
“I suppose,” Melissa said, but her gaze immediately sought out some sign of Sharon Lynn the minute the barn came into view.
The little cutie was hard to miss. She was squealing with delight from her perch atop the fence around the paddock. Misty, the oldest, smallest and gentlest of their mares, had come to investigate. Sharon Lynn’s eyes were wide with excitement as she patted the white blaze on Misty’s head.
“This is Misty,” Harlan was explaining quietly, his grip firm on
