“I’ll find you.”
She had no doubt of it.
With a fluttery feeling in her chest, she clicked off before racing back to the bathroom to fix her freshly washed hair and change into a cotton shirt.
Cole’s first thought when he walked into her cozy living room was that she was even more beautiful than he remembered from the night before. The dusky rose of her top, pulled down over white pants covering womanly hips, blended with the blush of her complexion.
Like a gossamer curtain, she’d allowed her hair to fall loose from a side part. It swished against her shoulders with each step she took.
Following the long line of her shapely legs to sandaled feet, he could find no flaw in the way she was put together, let alone her color scheme.
“Won’t you sit down?” She indicated the couch opposite the chair she’d claimed, ensuring some distance between them. Cole had the distinct feeling the awareness between them was growing stronger for her too.
Though she presented a poised, professional attitude, he sensed a barely sup pressed anxiety coming from her, apart from her eagerness to get straight to the point.
She couldn’t afford to get this involved with every case, otherwise she’d burn out from the intensity. If she’d spent a lot of time in the premie nursery with the baby, it would explain why she’d become so emotionally attached.
It was a situation beyond the norm-an occasional hazard in her line of work, he surmised. She’d said her visit to the ranch was unofficial.
Who would have imagined his brother being at the core of Terrie Cloward’s heartbreak and ultimate demise?
“Buck’s the father, isn’t he?” The question brought him back to the source of his bone-deep sorrow with a jolt.
“Yes. His paternity’s not in question.”
She sat forward. “Did he fly here with you?”
Cole detected a distinct throb in her voice. Her behavior was all the more intriguing in spite of his pain. “No. His DNA results were faxed from the hospital in Elko.”
She stood up, evidently too restless to stay seated. “Does that mean he didn’t want anything to do with Bonnie, even when he discovered he had a daughter?” she cried.
Something earth shaking was going on inside her to lose control like that. Join the club. Dear God.
How in the hell would Buck have responded upon learning he was a father? Poor Lucy… Still in the honeymoon stage, who could say how she would have handled the shock? With news of that nature even the strongest marriage would be tested to the ultimate degree.
The questions bombarded him, bringing him to his feet. “Since I can’t speak for him,” he began solemnly, “I can’t honestly answer you.”
Catherine faced him with an incredulous look. “What do you mean, can’t? Surely when you told him he needed to go to the hospital to have the DNA test done, he knew exactly why?”
He massaged the tight cords at the back of his neck. There was something he needed to do before this went any further.
“I’d like to see the baby, then I’ll answer all your questions.”
She searched his eyes in bewilderment before shaking her head. “My hands are legally tied. Only the father can have access, or, in the unlikely case of his death, his next of kin.”
Cole inhaled sharply. “You’re looking at him.”
A myriad of emotions chased over her face until comprehension dawned. Then she gasped softly. “The funeral-”
He gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head. “My youngest brother, Patrick Farraday. Killed in a riding accident out on the range last week. Our father called him Buck at an early age and it stuck.”
She clung to the back of the chair. “But you said it was the owner of the Bonnibelle who-”
He wasn’t destined to hear more, because a moan had escaped her throat, preventing the rest from coming out. She’d finally put the pieces together.
“Until his recent reformation, my little brother didn’t always do the right thing-as you’ve already discovered. But for all his faults and virtues, he was my brother and I loved him.”
Her eyes grew suspiciously bright. “Naturally you wanted to protect him. You did a superb job of it, Mr. Farraday.”
“So did you,” he riposted. “Another person in your official capacity might have taken it into her head to expose some of the family secrets last evening, damaging Buck’s fragile widow.”
She searched his eyes. “They’d only been married two months?”
“That’s right. After working on a relative’s stud farm outside Reno part of last summer, I told him he was needed at home. To my surprise he actually showed up without an argument. When he arrived he declared his partying days were over. Evidently something had happened to make him realize he’d been going in the wrong direction.”
His eyes caught hers. “Now we know what it was. In one of his sober moments, he must have realized his mistake in getting involved with someone as young as Terrie. At least I’d like to think so. A couple of months later he announced his engagement to Lucy, the girl who’d been crazy about him for years.”
Catherine rubbed her arms. “How old was Buck?”
“Thirty last birthday.”
“It’s too tragic,” she whispered.
He nodded. “A double tragedy considering Terrie died so recently. I’d like to see Bonnie tonight.”
His request seemed to startle her. “It’s too late to make arrangements with her foster family. But, more to the point, it’s my professional opinion it wouldn’t be a good idea.”
Cole shifted his weight. “Good idea be damned. She’s a Farraday. She has a birth right she shares with uncles, aunts and cousins.”
Catherine studied him through veiled eyes. “Nevertheless, you’re grieving the loss of your brother. You don’t need this to compound it, not when she’s going to be adopted. It would be better not to put yourself in a position where you could form an attachment.”
His teeth ground together. “Simply knowing I have a niece, I already feel attached to her. You gave me pictures of her I’m not likely to forget, remember?” he challenged.
She stiffened. “At the time I didn’t realize you were her uncle.”
He stifled an oath. “Without proof from the DNA, neither did I.”
“Look, Mr. Farraday-” She spread her hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Let’s not make this any harder than it is. Terrie asked me to find Buck. I’ve honored her wishes, and my heart goes out to you and your family. But the reality is, Bonnie’s a ward of the court. A judge will decide her new home.”
He had to tamp down his temper. “It will never take the place of that spot of earth her ancestors settled and gave their life’s blood for.”
“But would it be her home if Terrie hadn’t died?” She held her ground with surprising tenacity. “Do you honestly believe your married brother would have wanted visitation rights?”
From the first Cole had been asking himself that question. “The reformed Buck would have,” he theorized. “But since both parents are gone the point is moot. It’s a new playing field.”
“You’re right. And that playing field has to serve Bonnie’s best interests. Do you have any idea how many people in capable of having children are dying for a baby like her to love and raise?” Her voice trembled. “Some have been preparing years for the privilege.”
From the raw emotion she exuded, he could almost believe she was talking about herself. If she’d been at Girls’ Haven three years, she undoubtedly grew close to the teens who found themselves in trouble. It wasn’t that different from him getting to know the stockmen who worked for him. At times their problems became his.