Despite her determination not to let the man get to her, Ca.s.sie felt faint for the second time in just a few minutes. This time she had to will herself not to lean against the wall for support.

"My mother told you?" Her mother had never said a single word to Ca.s.sie about her suspicions, but she had discussed them with Cole's father? What had she been thinking?

"She thought I had a right to know."

More likely her mother had been desperate for advice from the one person she'd a.s.sumed had as big a stake in keeping the secret as she did. Oh, Mom, what have you done? Ca.s.sie thought as she stared into that confident gaze. And why didn't you warn me?

"Does Cole know?"

"Not unless he's figured it out in the last half hour."

"Why haven't you told him?" Understanding dawned. "You haven't hold him because even now you don't think I'm good enough for him, because you don't want him to know that I had his child. You're afraid he'll insist on marrying me. That's why you came between us years ago, sending him back to school, then getting someone to write him a note saying I was breaking it off for good. That was you, wasn't it?"

Color rose in Frank's cheeks, but he didn't deny the accusation. "You two were way too young to get involved. Your mother and I did what we thought was best."

His words delivered yet another blow. The two of them had conspired, even before they had known about the pregnancy? She felt as if she were standing on a slippery slope and beginning to skid. Nothing seemed certain anymore.

"My mother?" she repeated, needing to understand, praying she was mistaken. "What did she have to do with it?"

"Who do you think wrote the note that Cole got? And who kept his note from you? No way I could keep Berta Smith from delivering it. She takes her duties at the post office real serious. But your mama got it out of the box and ripped it up."

"Oh, my G.o.d," she whispered, brokenhearted at the thought of the betrayal that had changed not just her life and Cole's but their son's, as well. Maybe they wouldn't have married if Cole had known about the pregnancy, but they'd never had a chance to decide things for themselves. Each had been convinced of the other's betrayal. As a result the choices had been taken out of their hands.

"Well, the lies are over now," Frank said, a complacent expression settling on his face. "Cole will know about his son soon enough, and if I know my boy, he'll be furious that you kept such a secret from him. He'll fight you for custody."

Ca.s.sie felt sick to her stomach as she realized that even now the man was scheming against her. "That's what you're counting on, isn't it? That he'll reject me but claim Jake?"

His eyes glittered with satisfaction. "That's exactly right. You won't stand a chance of keeping the boy, not in this state."

If she hadn't been filled with such white-hot fury, Ca.s.sie might have been chilled by his threat or by the triumphant expression on his face. Instead, poking him in the chest, she backed him up against the opposite wall, oblivious to the difference in their sizes, oblivious to anything beyond the outrage that his smug remark had stirred.

"You will never take my boy from me," she said in a low tone, praying it wouldn't carry down the hall. "Never. Not if I have to see you in h.e.l.l first."

She must not have gotten the right note of warning in her voice, because she could still hear Frank's chuckle echoing after her as she stormed into Cole's office to claim her son.

Chapter Eight.

Cole had heard Ca.s.sie's raised voice in the hall but couldn't imagine what she and his father had to fight about, especially since his father had been giving so much lip service lately to the prospect of Cole getting back together with her.

Then their voices had dropped, and he hadn't given the subject much thought since the boy sitting beside him was hurling questions at him so fast his head was spinning. The kid clearly had an insatiable curiosity when it came to computers, and he was smart, too. Cole didn't have to talk down to him. Given what Ca.s.sie had told him about the trouble Jake had gotten into on a computer, he probably shouldn't have been surprised, but he was.

When he finally glanced up from the screen and spotted Ca.s.sie, his pulse took another one of those wicked lurches. She was wearing a sundress that showed off the satiny skin of her shoulders and her long, shapely calves. Her cheeks were flushed with color and her eyes sparkled dangerously. Whatever she and Frank had been discussing, it had rankled.

"Jake Collins!" she said sternly, avoiding Cole's gaze altogether.

The boy glanced up at Cole, then gave a resigned shrug. "Yes, ma'am."

"Do you have any idea at all how much trouble you're in?"

"A lot?" he said hesitantly.

"Oh, yes," she said. "You know you are not supposed to be here, that you are not supposed to hitch rides with strangers and that you are always supposed to tell me where you're going."

"You wouldn't let me come," Jake said, as if that were excuse enough.

"I had my reasons," she said direly. "And that's all that matters. You disobeyed me, and I won't have it. Am I getting through to you yet?"

Cole saw Jake's shoulders slump and immediately felt sorry for the kid. He knew what the boy had done was wrong, but no harm had come out of it. Shouldn't Ca.s.sie be thankful for that, at least? Ignoring the temper flashing in her eyes, he decided he'd better intercede.

"He's already a.s.sured me that nothing like this will ever happen again," he said, gazing directly at the boy. "Right, Jake?"

Clearly sensing a powerful ally, Jake nodded eagerly. "I'll get permission next time."

"Not likely," Ca.s.sie muttered. She leveled a stern look at Jake. "There will not be a next time, period. End of discussion."

Cole stared at her, curious about what had infuriated her so much. Was it Jake's disobedience? Panic over what could have happened to a kid out hitchhiking, even in this relatively safe community?

Or did it specifically have to do with him? This was the second time he'd gotten the feeling she didn't want him spending time with her son.

There could be any number of reasons for that, of course. A lot of responsible single mothers tried to keep some distance between their children and the men in their lives, at least until they knew if the relationship was going to lead somewhere. That didn't seem to apply here, since he and Ca.s.sie weren't exactly having a relationship and she'd stated quite clearly that she didn't intend for that to change.

Maybe it was just a case of protecting the boy from being disappointed by a man who had disappointed her in the past.

Still trying to figure it out, Cole gave her a penetrating look, but her face was giving away nothing. Because he found that annoying, he deliberately set out to provoke an honest answer out of her.

"What was that you said, Ca.s.sie?" he taunted mildly. "Something about there not being a next time?"

She gave him a sweet, completely insincere smile. "That's right. Jake knows he shouldn't be bothering you."

"I don't mind."

"Well, I do," she said, her look meant as a warning that he wasn't to contradict her. "We have to leave now. Jake, go to the car. I'll be there in a minute. Cole and I have a few things we need to clear up."

Cole could hardly wait to hear what those were.

"But, Mom-"

"Go," she repeated in a way that had her son scrambling from the chair.

Jake skidded to a stop as he reached the door. "Bye, Cole. Thanks."

"Anytime," he said, deliberately defying Ca.s.sie, his gaze locked with hers.

There was no mistaking the storm brewing in her eyes. He felt a rare spark of antic.i.p.ation. He'd been itching to get into a good old-fashioned, rip-roaring fight with her for days now. It was the only time she let down those rock-solid defenses of hers. This seemed as good a battle as any, especially since she appeared as eager as he was to start it.

The minute Jake was out of sight, Ca.s.sie marched up to the desk, then leaned down until her face was just inches above his. The effect was ruined somewhat by the way her sundress gaped, but she was clearly oblivious to that. She would have been appalled had she known.

"I will not have my son out here, do you understand me?" she snapped. "Where he goes and what he does are my decisions."

"You are his mother," he agreed.

She scowled at him, then added, "He is my my son and son and my my responsibility." responsibility."

"No question about that," he said, then locked gazes with her. "Where's his father? How much say does he have in things?" He'd let that issue pa.s.s once before, but he'd concluded it was time to get it out in the open.

Dismay flickered briefly in her eyes, then vanished. "None of your business. All you need to know is that when it comes to Jake, I make the rules." She shook her head, regarding him with evident distaste. "I can't understand how I overlooked this years ago. You Davis men are all alike."

He stared at her, startled by the very real venom in her voice. Clearly he'd missed something. "What the h.e.l.l does that mean?" he demanded. "Does this have something to do with the argument you and my father were having out there in the hall?"

Something that might have been panic registered in her expression for just an instant, long enough to betray the fact that she wasn't nearly as calm as she pretended to be when she shrugged. Then that cool mask he'd come to hate slid back into place.

"Just a difference of opinion," she said mildly.

"About?"

"I don't want to get into it now."

"I do."

"Then this will be just one more instance in life when you don't get what you want. Get used to it," she said.

The woman had developed a lot of s.p.u.n.k over the years; he had to give her that. Back when they'd been dating, she had been all brash bravado. Few people had ever seen past it to the vulnerable girl inside. Cole had. Now, though, her feistiness ran deeper, carried more conviction and self-confidence.

Still, he couldn't seem to shake the memory of that tiny, fleeting glimpse of fear he'd caught earlier.

"I'm sorry if my father said something to upset you," he offered, treading carefully, still hoping to get an honest explanation.

"He didn't," she insisted. "Your father doesn't scare me. He never has."

"But he tried to," Cole guessed. What he couldn't understand was why his father would do such a thing. For days now he'd been doing everything in his power to bring the two of them together. Was he just trying a different tactic with Ca.s.sie? Maybe a little reverse psychology, since his blatant scheming obviously hadn't worked on Cole?

"I have to go," Ca.s.sie said, ignoring his question. "I need to get out there to Jake before he gets it into his head to hitchhike back home."

"I imagine my father's keeping him company."

The color drained out of her face at that. "All the more reason for me to go. I don't want him influencing Jake in any way."

"Are you suggesting he did a lousy job with me?" Cole said.

She shrugged. "If the shoe fits..." Her expression turned intense. "I meant what I said earlier, Cole, I don't want Jake out here. And I don't want you encouraging him to come. Are we clear about that?"

Her implication-that he and his father were somehow lousy role models for her son-grated. Added to the heat and tension that swirled in the air every time he and Ca.s.sie got together, it was more than Cole could take. He was overcome by a need to do something about it, to rattle her so badly she would lose that distant, disdainful expression.

Before he could consider the ramifications, he reached out and hauled her into his lap and settled his mouth over hers, m.u.f.fling her gasp of protest.

She tasted of cinnamon and maybe a lingering hint of mint. Her lips were as soft as he'd remembered, if not nearly as willing as they had been even the other day at the picnic. She struggled in his arms, bit down on his lower lip. He winced at the taste of blood, became more determined than ever to tame her, to remind her of the way she had once melted in his arms.

He framed her face with his hands, looked long and deep into her flashing eyes, waited for the anger to die, then slanted his mouth over hers once more.

This time she shuddered, then relaxed in his embrace before kissing him back. Temper gave way to pa.s.sion, chilly disdain turned to fiery acceptance.

They were both breathless and panting when he finally released her with a great deal of reluctance. She stared back at him with dazed eyes. Slowly her gaze cleared and the temper came roaring back. It was like watching water come to a boil, simmering slowly at first, then suddenly bubbling up and over.

"d.a.m.n you," she murmured, then shot to her feet. "I won't let you do this to me, not again."

She whirled around and stalked from the room without another word. A smile crept across Cole's face as he watched her go.

"When it comes to you, Ca.s.sie, and most of those rules you're so intent on reminding me of," he said softly, "they were made to be broken."

"And then he kissed me," Ca.s.sie told Gina, all but quivering with outrage. "Can you imagine?"

"The man's a cad," Gina agreed, barely containing a grin.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"Never," Gina denied, though her smile spread.

"You are are laughing at me." laughing at me."

"It's just that the whole time you're trying to sound so outraged, there's a very becoming blush on your cheeks."

"Because I'm furious."

"Why? Because he kissed you or because you liked it?"

"I did not like it," Ca.s.sie said emphatically.

Gina looked skeptical. "He's lost his touch?"

"I never said that. It's not important whether or not he's a good kisser. The point is that he had no business kissing me in the first place. We were fighting. It was a sneaky, low-down way to make me forget that."

"He wants you back," Gina said.

"Don't be crazy. He doesn't want me back any more than I want him."

"If you say so."

Ca.s.sie scowled. "I do," she said, even though her conviction was weakening.