The Brands Who Came For Christmas

  Chapter 7

  “Nothing yet?” Mel asked, occasionally rubbing her knuckles as the five of them sat down around the dinner table. Four sat in ordinary ladderback chairs. One had been prodded into the giant recliner someone had hauled in from the living room. Maya sat there, feet up, tray positioned to one side. It would have been in her lap, she supposed, if she still had a lap.

  “No,” Maya said with a scowl. “Nothing yet.”

  “That’s okay, hon. Christmas is coming.” Kara grinned, and there was a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Things are bound to get better.”

  “How are you feeling, Maya?” Selene asked.

  “Like a beached whale. Why do you ask?”

  Selene shrugged and smiled a secretive smile. “You’ll feel better soon.”

  “I’ll feel better when I have these babies,” she snapped.

  “Oh, come on, don’t be so grouchy,” Kara said. “This should be a cheerful time for you.”

  “She can be grouchy if she’s of a mind to,” Vidalia put in. “It’s allowed the first few weeks and the last few weeks. And you have to admit, she’s been a real trooper in between.” Her mother smiled indulgently at her.

  “You all just try carrying a couple bags of feed tied around your middle for a few months and tell me how cheerful you are.”

  Everyone went silent, and for a moment they just ate while the tension built. Maya’s three sisters kept looking at their mother sort of…expectantly. Finally Maya picked up on those looks, and, narrowing her eyes, she said, “What’s going on that I don’t know about?”

  Vidalia licked her lips. “Well, I don’t suppose there’s any point in waiting for you to be in a better mood to tell you this, is there?”

  “Not unless it can wait until these kids are tucked in their cradles, there isn’t,” Maya said.

  Vidalia lifted her dark, perfectly shaped brows. “Fine. Then I’ll just tell you flat out. That man is back in town.”

  Her sizable stomach clenched—no small task. “What man?”

  Her mother let her gaze slide down to Maya’s belly and with a nod said, “That man. Ida-May Peabody called. She said he showed up this afternoon, got himself a room at her boarding house.”

  “Holy Chri—.”

  “Watch your mouth, young lady,” Vidalia scolded.

  “Mother, really,” Selene said. “You say more off-color things than anyone.”

  “But I do not take the Lord’s name in vain, nor will I tolerate anyone else doing so.”

  Maya was pushing her tray away and struggling uselessly to get out of the chair. And Selene, the silver sister said, “Hon, it was inevitable, him coming back here. And besides, it’s for the best. He has a right to know that he’s going to be a father, don’t you think?”

  “Right? What right? Geez, Selene, he didn’t even give me his real name!” She pulled herself partway up, then fell back again. “Will someone get me the hell out of this chair!”

  “Your language, Maya,” Vidalia scolded.

  Kara shot to her feet and hurried to her sister’s aid, gripping her arms and tugging. She was really leaning into it, too, Maya thought.

  “Well, I couldn’t care less about his rights,” Mel put in, rubbing her knuckles again. “But he does have some responsibilities here, and if you’re smart, you’ll make sure he lives up to them. You’ll feel much better with someone else shouldering part of the financial burden, if nothing else.”

  Kara tugged harder.

  “I don’t need any help from any man. You leave him alone, Mel!” The moment she said it there was a knock at the front door, about ten feet away from the dining room.

  Kara gave one last yank, and the chair sort of thudded into its upright position, launching Maya out of it like a rocket. Kara screamed bloody murder, falling backward to the floor. Maya landed right on top of her like a sack of feed, and poor Kara’s scream turned into a burst of air, driven from her lungs by the impact. The others flew to their feet and swarmed, and whoever had been at the front door flung it open and ran inside, no doubt alarmed by Kara’s bloodcurdling scream.

  “Good God, are you all right?” a man’s voice said.

  “Watch your mouth, young man,” Vidalia scolded.

  But Maya barely heard her mother’s disapproving tone. Not when that voice had sounded so familiar. Not when she focused her vision to see those scuffed up and battered boots a foot away. And certainly not when two very strong hands closed on her shoulders and gently eased her off her sister, rolling her carefully until she was sitting on the floor, bent knees up and in front of her as if she was getting ready to give birth. Then he crouched in front of her, gripped her underneath her arms and easily got her up to her feet.

  She looked up—right into those blue eyes that had melted her resolve nine months ago, minus a couple of weeks. And in spite of herself, the blood rushed to her cheeks and heated them.

  “Hello again, Maya Brand,” he said.

  “Um…hi.” Self-consciously, she reached up to straighten her hair. Then she realized what a wasted effort that was. He was not going to notice what her hair looked like.

  “You okay?”

  Her lips thinned. “Fine.” She glanced down at Kara. “The more pertinent concern here is, have I flattened my poor sister?”

  Kara was already picking her gangly self up off the floor. “It’s my fault,” she said. “I’m such a klutz.”

  “I’m sure that’s an exaggeration,” Caleb said, finally letting go of Maya long enough to reach out, giving Kara a hand up. “A pretty girl like you could never be referred to as a klutz. You look more like a swan.”

  Kara smiled and lowered her head, blushing furiously.

  Selene launched into her “your body believes what your mind thinks” speech. But Maya ignored her. Because Caleb was turning back to her now, and his hands were curling around her shoulders, and his eyes were staring into hers. For a few seconds, anyway. But then they moved, skimming down her body, reaching her belly and widening just slightly. He didn’t say “Holy cow,” but she heard it anyway.

  “Guess I’ve put on a little weight since you saw me last,” she said.

  “Uh…yeah, a little bit.” He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her belly. So she put a finger under his chin and tipped his head upward until he met her eyes again, at which point he said, “We’ve got some talking to do, don’t you think?”

  Drawing a breath, she sighed and looked away. “You don’t need to look like that, Caleb. I don’t want anything from you.”

  He lifted his brows even as Mel’s hand came down on his shoulder from behind. He turned at her tug, facing her. “Well, hello again,” he said. “Mel, isn’t it? Sorry we didn’t get more time to talk this morning.”

  “This morning?” Maya asked. She saw Caleb rub his jaw, saw the slightly bruised skin there, saw Mel’s knuckles all red, and said, “Mel, what did you do to him?”

  Mel ignored her, her narrowed eyes on Caleb. “Maya may not want any help with this, mister, but you can bet your—”

  “Melusine,” Vidalia said, cutting her off. “This is between your sister and this fellow! You stay out of it until I tell you otherwise.” Then she moved forward, walked up to Caleb, who turned again, facing her this time. And she smiled and said, “But believe me, mister, if I think you’re not treating my daughter right, I will tell her otherwise.”

  Kara cleared her throat. “You really don’t want to mess with Mom and Mel,” she said.

  “You all sound like a gang of thugs,” Selene said, getting to her feet. “Whatever is meant to happen between these two is going to happen, no matter what you all do or say or threaten. So why don’t you just get out of the way and let it?”

  Blinking, giving his head a shake, Caleb drew a breath as if about to respond to one or all of them. Then, instead, he just closed his mouth, turned and faced Maya. “Can we please talk? Alone?”

  She nodded. “We can go—”

  “To dinner,” he said. “I,
um…made reservations.”

  Lowering her head, Maya said, “I’d really just as soon not be seen with you in public, Caleb. You have no idea how efficiently the rumor mill works around here.”

  He nodded. “I can guess. That’s why I made the reservation in Tucker Lake.”

  Tucker Lake, the next town over. He had thought this through, then, hadn’t he? Maya licked her lips. “Haggerty House?”

  “How’d you know?”

  She shrugged. “It’s the best restaurant around, and one of the few in Tucker Lake that takes reservations.” Then she shrugged. “Okay. Sure. I never touched a bite of dinner, and the food it incredible there.”

  “Are you sure you should be riding that far, hon? You’re carrying—”

  “I’ll be fine, Mom.”

  Her mother frowned, but nodded. “Guess you know best, not having ever given birth before. I wouldn’t presume to advise you, just because I’ve been through it five times over.”

  Selene met Kara’s eyes, and they both shook their heads. Mel stood beside her mother as if in full support of her opinion on the matter.

  Maya glanced down at her clothes. She wore a pair of pseudo-jeans, big enough for all four of her sisters, held up with a drawstring, and a smock top that looked, in her opinion, like a Christmas tree skirt.

  “I was going to say I’d change first, but I basically look the same in any of the assortment of tents in my closet, so it would be pretty much useless. Let’s just go, shall we?”

  “I’ll get your coat,” Selene said with a wink. “It’s cold outside.” She did so, not handing the heavy woolen coat to Maya, but to Caleb.

  “Gee, you’re so subtle it’s scary,” Maya said.

  Selene sent her an innocent, wide-eyed look, while Caleb held her coat for her. She slid her arms in and didn’t bother trying to button it. She could, but even this super-sized coat was getting snug around the middle.

  Taking her arm, Caleb drew her outside, down the steps. She glanced up at his pickup truck, made a face and said, “Listen, I don’t know how much you know about pregnant women but—”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Nothing at all.”

  She nodded. “Bumpy rides have been known to induce labor. And your truck there doesn’t look all that…gentle.” Turning, she looked up at him. “I don’t want to offend you here, but would you mind terribly if we took my van instead?”

  “Hey, no offense taken.”

  She nodded and led him across to the old barn, some fifty yards away from the house, which served as a garage. He held her arm the whole way. She reached for the sliding door, but he stopped her with a shake of his head, opened it himself and stood looking at the three Brand family vehicles.

  “It looks excessive, to someone like you, us having three vehicles.” She watched him as she spoke, knowing to him three junkers like this probably seemed like living at poverty level and waiting for him to admit it. He didn’t, damn him. So she just went on. “But even now, we’re often short a vehicle. The pickup there is essential out here. And the Bronco is for rough terrain. Mom traded in her old station wagon for it over the summer. And then there’s the minivan. I just bought it. Used, of course, but it’s not in bad shape for what I paid. Figured I’d need a reliable vehicle of my own with these…er…with the baby coming.”

  He nodded. “Good thinking.’’ He escorted her to the passenger door and held out a hand. “Keys?”

  “Oh, it’s not locked. And the keys are in the ignition.”

  He lifted his brows but made no comment as he helped her into the van, then went around and got in behind the wheel. He adjusted the seat and mirror, started the engine and drove it out, then got out and went back to close the barn door.

  As he drove out the driveway, he said, “You may have to help me find this place. I made the reservations over the phone and got the recommendation from Ida-May at the boarding house. Do you know the way?”

  She lifted her brows and looked at him. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather just stop at a diner? I mean—looking at you, I would hardly think you could afford a highbrow place as nice as Haggerty House. There’s Polly’s Kitchen just off the highway. You can get a whole chicken dinner there for six ninety-five.”

  He watched her face carefully as she spoke, so much so that she wondered what he was looking for. Had he detected the edge of sarcasm in her tone? But then he sighed, almost in relief. “I’ve been working pretty steadily since we…I mean, well, you know. I’ve got some money set aside.”

  So he was still lying to her. Still willing to let her believe he was some poor drifter, rather than one of the wealthiest men in the state. Why? To protect his millions from his own children?

  Drawing a breath, she sighed. It had been stupid to let that hopeful little light flare up in her heart at the sight of him. Served her right.

  So she still thought he was a penniless drifter.

  Either that or she was a very good actress. Good. He would let her think it a bit longer. That way he could be sure her reactions to him were based on him, and nothing else.

  He was pleasantly surprised when they got to the restaurant, a giant-sized Victorian place with twelve foot ceilings and full-length windows. The place was beatifully decorated and staffed by beautiful women who looked related.

  God, Maya looked so different. So…big. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a pregnant woman this large before. But the changes went further than that. Her eyes looked tired. Not as sparkling or full of life as they had been before. Her face seemed drawn and tight, and he imagined her goal of trying to become accepted by the good folk of Big Falls had blown up in her face, as well. The conservative residents of small towns were not known for being big on unwed mothers.

  A waitress greeted them, wearing a tiny black dress with a white apron. “Oh!” she exclaimed upon seeing Maya’s condition. “Your first?”

  Maya nodded. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” She was relieved it wasn’t one of the Haggerty sisters, because she knew them all, and didn’t feel like explaining who Caleb was. She hadn’t seen them since her infamous one-night stand, but she was sure they would have heard about it by now.

  The pretty thing nodded hard. “Just helping out during the holiday rush.” She smiled ear to ear and glanced up at Caleb. “You must be so excited! And you,” she said, looking at Maya again. “You look as if you’re due any day now.”

  “Yes,” Maya said, at the same time that Caleb said, “Almost three more weeks.”

  Maya looked at him and frowned. The waitress only laughed. “Sure, I understand! I’ve had three myself, and I always spent the last few weeks wishing it would happen and get over with.”

  Maya slowly drew her suddenly suspicious gaze away from Caleb’s to look at the waitress. “You’ve had three? And you got your figure back?”

  “Oh, honey, sure I did. You will, too, don’t you worry. Now, come on, let’s get you off your feet.” She led them to a nice table with plenty of room on either side, in a rear corner, with huge windows on both walls.

  Caleb took Maya’s coat, held her chair, braced her arm as she eased herself into it. God, it must be hard carrying so much extra weight around. She wasn’t a big woman to begin with.

  “My goodness, he’s good,” the waitress said. “Does he give you backrubs at night, too, hon?” She sent Caleb a wink. “Believe me, her back has to be screaming by now.”

  “I believe it.”

  She took their drink orders at last and promised to hurry back with their menus. But the second she left the table, Maya speared him with those gem green eyes of hers, and said, “How did you know my due date? I didn’t even think you knew I was pregnant.”

  He blinked, searched his mind. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you just told that waitress I was due in just under three weeks.”

  “You told her any day now.” He leaned forward on his elbows. “So which is it, Maya?”

  She narrowed her eyes on him. “Both. Full term would
be January sixth—just under three weeks from now. However, my doctor has no doubt I’m going to go early.”

  He blinked and felt a little bolt of alarm. “You mean…the baby’s going to be premature? Isn’t that dangerous?”

  The waitress came back with their drinks. Milk for Maya. Mineral water for Caleb. She handed them their menus, smiled brightly and hurried on her way.

  Maya was still staring at him. “It’s not early enough to be any cause for alarm, Caleb. Actually, early deliveries are common in cases like mine.”

  He frowned at her. “And what kind of cases are those?”

  “We’re getting off the subject here. You knew my due date right to the day. Now how did you find that out?”

  He lowered his eyes. “Forty weeks…from the night we spent together. I was just guessing.” Lifting his gaze to hers again, he stared hard at her, watched her face. “It is my child you’re carrying. Isn’t it, Maya?”

  It was her turn to look away. “No.”

  “No?” Shock washed through him like a splash of ice water in the face.

  “No,” she said. “It’s my child I’m carrying. Not yours. Not anyone’s. Just mine. Do you understand that, Caleb?”

  He felt that ice water come to a slow simmer. “Hell, no, I don’t understand that.”

  “Well then, let me see if I can explain it. You were a stranger, passing through town. We were a one-night stand. There was no relationship. No commitment. I got pregnant, Caleb. My problem. My situation. Not yours. You’re still just a drifter passing through. There’s nothing for you here.”

  There was, he thought slowly, one hell of a lot more going on with this woman than met the eye. He resisted the urge to lose his temper. Not only because she was in a tender state, but because he sensed it would do him no good. “Maybe I need to rephrase my question?”

  She shrugged.

  “You were a virgin the night we made love,” he said, keeping his voice low, leaning over the table.

  Her cheeks went pinker, and she looked away from him, focused on the view outside. Rolling meadows, lined now in dying grasses, and woodlands beyond.

  “And according to the town gossips, you haven’t so much as had lunch with a man since. Most of them are going out of their minds trying to figure out how you got pregnant, according to the very talkative Ida-May at the boarding house. Even though a few may have seen us that night, the idea of the untouchable Maya Brand indulging in a one-night stand with a stranger seems to be beyond the realm of possibility.”

  “It’s really none of their damned business, though, is it?”

  He let his smile come, even though he sensed she wouldn’t like it. He liked her spunk. “One busybody I met in the general store even put forth the theory that you visited a sperm bank and were artificially inseminated.”

  “Oh, for the love of—”

  He covered one of her hands with his own. “Please tell me the truth, Maya. Did I father this child you’re carrying?”

  Staring down at his hand on top of hers, she said, “Yes.” Then, lifting her head slowly, “Now you tell me the truth about something. For once.”

  He frowned, wondering what the hell that implied. But he said only, “Okay.”

  “Why did you come back here?”

  Ouch. That was not one he wanted to answer. But he’d promised her the truth, and she was damned well going to hear it. “I received a photograph of you taken just a couple of days ago. On the back there was one word. ‘Congratulations.’”

  She only stared at him steadily. No expression on her face. As if she was waiting for him to finish the story, or to deliver the punchline or something. But when he said nothing, she lifted her brows. “But…who? How…?” Then she drew a breath, and her eyes widened even further. “You thought I sent it, didn’t you?”

  He sighed deeply. “Hell, I didn’t know what to think. But yeah, it did enter my mind that you might have sent it.”

  “Well. I guess we know where we stand, then, don’t we?”

  “No, frankly, I don’t have a clue where we stand, Maya.”

  “Caleb, if I’d had any idea how to find you to tell you I was pregnant, I would have called or shown up in person. I wouldn’t have sent some cryptic photo with a note on the back. God, what would be the point?”

  Good question, he thought. What was the point?

  “Listen…it doesn’t matter who sent the photo—”

  “Oh, it matters. Believe me, it matters. And I have my theories on that. But the point is, I didn’t know how to find you. I tried, but there was no such person as Caleb Cain in Tulsa.”

  He licked his lips. “I…move around a lot.”

  “You lie a lot.”

  “Regardless, I’m here now.”

  “So what?”

  He licked his lips. “Well, hell, Maya, I don’t know. You’re going to be the mother of my child. I guess I’d like to get to know you a little bit. And if you think I’m the kind of man who’s going to let you take full responsibility for this all alone, you’d better think again. I’m going to take an equal share of the financial responsibility for this baby.”

  She leaned a bit forward—not a lot, because there wasn’t room between her belly and the table for a lot—and she said, “In exchange for what? Partial custody? Or the whole enchilada? What do you want, Caleb?”

  He held up both hands. “Hey, hey, hold on now. Is that why you’re so hostile? You think I came out here to try to take your baby away from you? To fight you for custody or something?”

  She blinked rapidly. “You’d have to kill me to do that, Caleb. Just so you know in advance. You’d have to kill me. And I don’t care who your father is, or how many millions you have.” Tears pooled in her eyes.

  He was stunned into silence for a long moment. And then he drew a breath, sighed deeply. “So you do know who I am.”

  She nodded. “I found out yesterday, when I saw your picture in the paper.”

  Twenty-four hours before that photo arrived on my doorstep, he thought.

  He shook himself. A tear managed to escape her glittering eye, and it rolled down her cheek. And all of the sudden, not only did he doubt she would try to blackmail him—he didn’t care. Moreover, if she did, he wouldn’t blame her. “Dammit, I didn’t come out here to upset you.” Reaching across the table, he covered both her hands with his. “Please don’t cry.”

  Too late. The tears were streaming. She snatched up a napkin and wiped angrily at them, even as the waitress came back to take their orders. He hoped to God this entire discussion hadn’t ruined Maya’s appetite.

  Slamming the napkin down on the table, Maya sniffled and said, “I want the T-bone. The big one. Rare.”

  “Mashed or fries?” the waitress asked.

  “Both.”

  Smiling, the waitress scribbled and said, “Gravy or sour cream, hon?”

  “Both.”

  “Anything on the side?”

  “Yeah. The fried chicken.” She closed her menu with a snap and handed it back to the waitress, who turned to Caleb, pen poised.

  “Um…the salmon?” he ventured.

  “Sure thing.” She scribbled and turned to leave; then, turning back, she eyed Maya’s half-empty glass. “More milk?”

  Maya nodded. Her tears were gone now, and as soon as the waitress was gone, she faced Caleb squarely. “I did not send you that photograph.”

  “That is becoming painfully obvious,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t even care who sent me the photo, Maya. If this baby is mine, I want to take responsibility. That’s all.”

  “Then why did you lie about who you were?”

  He lowered his head, shook it. “I…had my reasons. What difference does it make, Maya? You know the truth now.”

  She pressed her lips together. “Not that I trust anything that comes out of your mouth at this point, Caleb, but if you want to spend one more minute with me, I want you to swear you won’t try to take my babies away from me. Swear on all you hold dear,
Caleb, or leave right now.”

  “I swear. I’ll put it in writing if you want me to. I can have my…wait a minute.” He frowned then. “Wait just a minute. What did you just say?’’

  She bit her lower lip, averted her face.

  “Maya, did you just say ‘babies’?”

  Slowly, she faced him. Then she drew a breath, blew it out again. “Hell, Caleb, you might as well know. I’m carrying two babies, not one.”

  “Two? Twins?”

  She nodded. “That’s why the doctor expects me to go early. Twins hardly ever go to term.”

  He just sat there, stunned to the bone. A deep tremor worked through him, and his gaze fell to her swollen belly. “Are they both…all right?” he said softly.

  “If the way they kick is any indication, they’re fine.”

  Those words only made his stomach clench up tighter as his father’s words replayed in his mind. The strong survive, the weak don’t. It’s our legacy, Caleb. And it’s a reminder….

  “What…what does your doctor say? Do they have any way of knowing for sure that they’re both…?”

  He saw her face then, clouding with worry. And he decided to shut up. She was going through enough without him saying things that would scare her to death. There was no reason to think…. Hell, twins were born healthy every day. They were!

  “I go in every week for a checkup,” she told him. “They listen to the heartbeats, and we’ve done ultra-sounds. These kids are huge, for twins. Over five pounds each already. And they’re fine. They’re Brands. They can’t be anything less than fine.”

  “They’re not just Brands, they’re Montgomerys, too.”

  She shrugged. “So I suppose they’ll have politics in their DNA?”

  He smiled at her, liking her slightly lighter tone. “Maybe we should ask them to check for it when they do the blood tests.”

  Her expression changed. Lightness fled. Her eyes became…thunderous. He’d never used that term to describe a facial expression before. But it described hers now.

  “A blood test? You…mean a paternity test, don’t you? You want my babies to have a paternity test.”

  He blinked fast. “Well…isn’t that pretty standard…I mean, in cases where the parents aren’t married?”

  “It’s standard, all right. In cases where the mother is being called a liar.” She glared at him. “Help me up.”

  “Oh, come on, Maya. I wasn’t calling you a liar. I…you’re…I…”

  “Help me up now.” She gripped the table and started to rise.

  He jumped to her aid but found himself awkwardly unsure where to put his hands. He finally settled on gripping her forearms and pulling, even as he tried to fast-talk his way out of the slam he’d inadvertently delivered. “Please don’t leave. Have dinner, come on. You’re overreacting to everything I say here.”

  “I’m not overreacting. And I’m not leaving,” she said, once she was upright.

  He frowned. “Then…where are you going?”

  Tilting her head to one side, she said, “Caleb, there are two hefty babies writhing around on top of my bladder right now. Where do you think I’m going?”

  “Oh. Uh. Sorry.”

  She tossed her head and headed across the restaurant to the rest room in the rear. And despite her proud stance, she sort of…waddled when she walked away, which took all the indignant outrage out of her exit.

  He sat back down, feeling like he’d just been through Round One of a fight with no rules and no reason. The woman was obviously an emotional basket case right now.

  And no wonder. Twins. And she was alone.

  But why the hell did she seem so determined to see him as the enemy?

  The waitress brought the food—Maya’s order took up two plates—and a whole pitcher of milk. He waited for Maya to return, and then got up and met her halfway to escort her back to the table. She sat down, looking a bit calmer.

  “I did some thinking,” she said, “and I’ve decided that you should go home.”

  “I should?”

  “Uh-huh. First thing in the morning. Leave an address, phone number, something like that. I’ll call you when the kids arrive. We’ll work out a time for you to come visit them. And I promise I’ll be generous about that, so long as you don’t try to take them away from me.” She shrugged. “And if you want to pitch in on expenses, fine. I won’t fight it.” She spoke as if it was all decided.

  “I see.”

  She dug into her food as if she was starved. And as Caleb watched her, he thought she looked very smug and superior. As if she made the rules and he had no choice but to obey. He was a freaking Montgomery, for crying out loud. He was the third richest man in the country, a former mayor, and the predicted winner of the senatorial race even though he had yet to declare himself a candidate. And her attitude chafed, big time.

  He picked at his food, while she finished hers. Finally she looked up at him, dabbing her face with a napkin. She’d barely left a crumb on her plate.

  “So, are we agreed?” she asked him.

  He pursed his lips, crossed his arms over his chest, looked her in the eye and shook his head. “Not on your life.”

  Blinking in surprise, she stared at him. “Why not?”

  “Because you’re acting like a little dictator, and I don’t like it. So, no, Maya. I think maybe I’d better look into things just a bit more thoroughly before I agree to anything regarding our children.”

  Her brows rose. “Jumping the gun, aren’t you? You don’t have your precious paternity tests yet.”

  “No. But I will.”

  “Oooh, yes. You never know, I might be conspiring to take you for everything you have. Now that I’ve figured out that would amount to slightly more than a pair of scuffed boots and a rusted-out pickup truck, that is.”

  “Why are you so determined to treat me like the enemy here?”

  “As far as I’m concerned, you are the enemy!”

  “Fine,” he said, and he got to his feet. “Then this conversation is over.”

  “It is not over,” she retorted in a calm tone, “until after dessert.”

  His anger seemed to wash away, and something warm and fuzzy rose up to take its place. Only for a moment. But it was there. He lowered his head to hide his amusement from her and tried very hard to regain his anger and indignation. He kept trying, right through the cheesecake and coffee. But the way she tasted the chocolate syrup on the tip of her finger weakened his resolve. And the whipped cream that stuck to her upper lip annihilated it altogether.

  She was angry. Okay, he figured she had a right to be angry. He’d lied to her. And now he was back, and she was afraid. Protecting her babies the way a mother bear might protect her cubs from anything she perceived to be a threat to them. That wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, if anything, he ought to appreciate it. It meant she cared deeply about her babies. His babies. It meant she would be a great mother to them, protect them with everything in her.

  He just wished she didn’t feel they needed protecting from him.