The Cowgirl's Little Secret(26)

Jolie hissed like a cat dunked in a bucket of cold water. "I have more than enough assets to take care of CJ. And Dad set up a trust when he was born."                       
       
           



       

"He's still my son, Jolie. I want us to be a family."

"No." She looked around in a panic. "I'm not ready for this, Cord."

Cord concentrated on remaining calm. "Please don't fight me, Jolie. I don't want to go to court. For CJ's sake."

"If you really cared about CJ, you'd drop this. You can hang around with him. That's fine. But you aren't his father. No matter how many papers you file. You never will be."

"Never? That's not a threat you want to make."





Sixteen

Cord watched Cassie and Miz Beth maneuver around each other in the kitchen. Big John sprawled on one of the oversize stools pulled up to the breakfast bar, begging for tastes with big puppy-dog eyes. The women laughed and teased him as they sailed by, intent on chores only they could accomplish. Cash and Chase played pool in the game room, volleying good-natured, if loud, bets with each stroke of the pool cue. Chance and CJ were flipping through TV channels waiting for the football games to start.

The only Barron brother missing was Clay. He was in the house, but holed up in the study with his speechwriter, Georgie. Politics were afoot and Cord suspected his US Senator brother was looking into a run at the presidency. This was a working vacation for Clay. Georgie had no family as far as Cord knew, so she'd been welcomed into the impromptu family group for Thanksgiving.

He had only one regret. Jolie had refused to come. The fight they'd had three weeks ago still stank up the atmosphere. He hadn't meant to push things, but he was tired of waiting. He wanted her to agree that he had a legal-and emotional-right to CJ. And her. He wanted to marry her, wanted them to be a family. He glanced around again. She'd fit right in with Miz Beth and Cassie. His brothers would come to love her, too.

He'd cajoled, Jolie had haggled and finally they had compromised. He'd proved Cyrus would not make an appearance and she'd reluctantly relented, allowing CJ to come for Thanksgiving. He'd asked her to come again when he'd picked up CJ that morning. She'd refused, tight-lipped and still angry, muttering about his father's shortcomings. She was right. Cyrus wasn't prone to family occasions. He'd left that up to the mothers who'd provided his sons. After Helen, the second Mrs. Barron's death, each wife du jour got younger and younger, and they usually wanted to travel to exotic places rather than deal with a pack of rowdy boys. Miz Beth and Big John had organized the holidays. Birthday parties. Thanksgiving with all the trimmings. Christmas. They'd provided chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts, Fourth of July watermelons and Halloween trick-or-treating.

Feeling melancholy, Cord wandered into the great room and sank into one of the massive leather chairs. Sprawling his legs out, he pasted a smile on his face as CJ started jabbering about football teams and who he wanted to win. Chance caught Cord's eye above the boy's head and winked. He grinned at his brother, surprised by the feelings of contentment stealing over him. They hadn't gathered as a family since Chance's wedding. They'd paused in their busy lives to celebrate, and then scattered almost as soon as the reception ended. Cord's near-death experience didn't count because his brothers had visited in shifts. Today was different-laid-back, Clay's work notwithstanding.

The ranch house had evolved through the years, and it now rivaled the house they'd occupied in Nichols Hills when it came to size and amenities. The mansion had never felt like home. This place did. Pictures of all of them as kids lined the rough-hewn fireplace mantel. Colorful Southwest-patterned rugs and blankets added cheer to the great room. The homey scents of roasting turkey, pumpkin pie and baking rolls perfumed the air. Cord wanted this feeling. Wanted this sense of family with his heart and soul. All he needed to do was win Jolie back.

Before he could focus on what he should do to ensure his success, Cassie called them to the table. CJ happily dashed through the house to get "Uncle Clay and the pretty lady." When they were seated, more feelings of family swamped Cord. The massive oak table had come down through the family. Scarred, sanded and refinished countless times through the generations, it was one of the few stable things in their lives. Miz Beth sat at the end nearest the kitchen. Georgie, Clay's assistant, sat on Miz Beth's right, Clay beside her, then Cord and CJ. Big John sat at the other end. On his right down the opposite side sat Cassie, Chance, Chase and Cash. There was room for even more chairs.                       
       
           



       

Big John said grace, and then food was passed around the table, the Barron brothers fighting over drumsticks, white meat, olives and rolls. CJ had pitted black olives stuck on all the fingers of his left hand and was eating them one by one. No one told him that was rude. This was Thanksgiving.

Dinner ended with pumpkin, pecan, rhubarb, apple and chocolate meringue pies, and CJ winning the wishbone break with Cash-a family tradition for the two youngest Barron males. CJ chortled and bounced on his toes beside the table.

"I win. I win, Uncle Cash. What do I win?"

Rolling his eyes, Cash pushed back from the table and stood. "Ask your father." He turned on his heel and strode away, angry for a reason Cord couldn't fathom. CJ's exuberance captured his attention.

"Daddy, Daddy, what do I win?"

"You get a wish, CJ. And since you won, your wish is supposed to come true."

Cassie slipped her hand into Chance's, smiling at the little boy as she asked, "What do you wish for, CJ?"

A look that Cord almost thought sly slid across his son's face before he spoke. "I want a dog. An' a horse. And Mommy and Daddy."

Cord grabbed CJ and hugged him tightly. "Good wish, bubba."

An hour later, dishes were done and the football game was playing on the massive plasma-screen television. CJ was all but asleep on the floor in front of the TV. Cassie and Georgie visited quietly in a small sitting area off the great room. Big John snored in his chair and Miz Beth had disappeared with a picnic basket. Cord suspected she'd headed to Kaden's house. He'd been surprised the foreman wasn't present. Miz Beth would only say that he'd been invited, but had declined. His brothers had disappeared, but Cord didn't care.

Full and happy, he sprawled in the chair, legs propped on the matching ottoman. His eyes drifted shut as the commentators droned on the TV. Family. His might be dysfunctional, but he truly believed they were finally getting their lives in order and their loyalties on track. Then his phone dinged. A text message.

Cord sat up and rubbed his eyes. The women were visiting in the kitchen while Big John and CJ napped through the football game on TV. He checked the message.

COME TO OLD MANS CONF RM 4 MEETING

Cash had sent it. Cord heaved out of the chair and headed toward the hallway that led deeper into the private areas of the house. The room next to the study had been set up as a conference room. Chance sat on the near side of the table. Looking more like twins than ever, Chase and Cash sat opposite him. Clay sat at one end, and the old man himself occupied the chair at the head. What the hell was Cyrus doing back? Cord's first thought centered on Jolie, and he was glad she hadn't come. His second took a moment to catch up. This wasn't a meeting. This was a Barron family intervention.

When had his father arrived? And why hadn't Chance warned him? Too late now. He stared at each of his brothers. Chase and Clay had the good graces not to meet his gaze. Cash smirked and arched a brow. Chance offered a slight nod-the only sign of solidarity he'd get in this group. Now knowing how Chance had felt last spring when they'd all ganged up on him over Cassie, Cord braced his shoulder against the doorjamb.

"Took you long enough." His father's glare went nuclear when Cord simply lifted a shoulder in acknowledgment. "Sit down." Cyrus gritted out the order.

"Thanks, but I'm comfortable right here." Oh, yeah. He had the height advantage standing up and wasn't about to relinquish it.

Cyrus grimaced and turned his baleful stare on Clay, who had to swivel uncomfortably around in his chair to speak directly to Cord. The glance was his older brother's cue to deliver the coup de grâce. Cord waited, more curious than worried.

Clay cleared his throat, unusual for the brother raised to be first and foremost in the public eye. "Cord, please come in and sit down."

"I can't stay long, Clay. I have to get CJ home. Spit out whatever words the old man is putting in your mouth so we can all get back to our lives."

Cash snorted and leaned back in his chair, the picture of negligent disdain. "I'll spit it out. You need to sign the papers Chance drew up to get your son away from that bi-"