The Cowboy and His Wayward Bride. Sherryl Woods
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her hair up into a careless ponytail, just as she had as a girl when the heat of a Texas summer afternoon got to be too much. His fingers itched to pull away the band holding it, allowing it to fall free again, the way he liked it.
Finally, though, he thought, she looked like his Laurie, approachable and unassuming, the girl next door. In some ways that was more dangerous than the sexy woman whoâd walked into the dressing room a half hour before. Heâd fallen in love with the girl from his old hometown, not the superstar image. Heâd convinced himself that that Laurie, wide-eyed with wonder, had gotten lost.
Of course, the change was superficial, all about appearances. Try as he might, he couldnât tell yet how deep the changes ran, if there was anything of the old Laurie in her heart.
He stood up and took her small suitcase. It weighed a ton. He grinned. âStill donât have a clue how to pack light, do you? Whatâs in here? Rocks?â
âIf youâre going to complain all the way back to the hotel, Iâll carry it,â she said, reaching for it. âIâve been on my own a long time, Harlan Patrick. I donât need you.â
He grinned at the quick flare of temper. âYou must be out of sorts if you canât take a joke.â
âI lost my sense of humor when I found you in my dressing room.â
He laughed at her disgruntled expression. âCareful, darlinâ, or youâll hurt my feelings.â
âNot with your thick hide,â she muttered under her breath as she sashayed past him.
âI heard that.â
She ignored him and gave the guard a quick hug. âThanks for everything, Chester.â
The red-faced guard gave her a smile and Harlan Patrick a suspicious look, clearly wondering how heâd turned up in her dressing room. âIs everything okay, Laurie?â
âEverythingâs fine, Chester. This is an oldâ¦â She hesitated as if she couldnât quite decide how to describe Harlan Patrick. âFriend,â she said finally. âMr. Adams is an old friend from Texas.â
The guard accepted the explanation readily enough and beamed at him. âWell, then, itâs a pleasure to meet you, sir. Iâll bet youâre proud of our Miss Laurie.â
âI am indeed,â Harlan Patrick said.
After theyâd left the building, Laurie glanced up at him. âYou almost sounded as if you meant that.â
âI did,â he said simply, then sighed. âEven though your career came between us, Iâm glad you made it because itâs all that ever mattered to you. Iâd hate to think you gave up all we had and had found nothing to replace it.â
âIt didnât replace it,â she countered. âYou mattered to me, Harlan Patrick. You still do.â
âJust not enough,â he said bitterly.
âPlease, it wasnât like that. If thereâd been another wayâ¦â
âYou mean like me giving up White Pines.â
âNo,â she retorted, then she was the one who sighed. âYes, I suppose that was the only other alternative, at least at the beginning. Can you see now why I said it would have been impossible for us to find a solution when I got pregnant? We live in two different worlds, Harlan Patrick, literally.â
âTwo different cities,â he corrected as if the distinction made a difference, knowing it didnât.
âWhatever. You have to admit it was an impossible situation.â
âNo. What I see is that our baby wasnât important enough for you to even try.â
Her hand connected with his cheek before he even realized what she intended. âDonât you ever say something like that, Harlan Patrick Adams. Not ever. Our baby is the most important thing in my life.â
Harlan Patrick rubbed his cheek, but he didnât back down. âWhat would happen if it came to a choice between her and your music, Laurie? What then? What happens when itâs time for her to go to school? Will she lose then the same way I did? Will you shuffle her off to some boarding school?â
He let those words hang in the air as he opened the rental-car trunk and tossed her suitcase inside. He noticed that she was very subdued as she joined him. She got into the car without a word and, aside from giving him directions, she remained silent all the way to the hotel.
It was an old hotel, three stories high with a creaky elevator and a half-asleep clerk behind the desk. In the lobby Laurie paused. âPlease wait until morning to see the baby,â she pleaded for the second time that night.
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