word went out the way heâd come in, slamming the door behind him, the tabloid crushed in his hand.
âOh, my God,â Sharon Lynn murmured. âDid you see his face?â
âI saw,â his mother said, racing out the door after him. âHarlan Patrick, get back here!â
He ignored the command and headed straight for his pickup. A half hour later he was at the airstrip with Uncle Jordanâs corporate jet fired up and waiting for him.
He was going after Laurie Jensen and his baby and when he found them, there was going to be hell to pay.
Chapter Two
Laurie had been heartsick ever since her manager had shown her the tabloid a week after that fateful night outside a Kansas concert hall. From that moment on she had prayed over and over that Harlan Patrick would never see it. Whether he recognized the baby as his or not, the picture was going to break his heart. Sheâd vowed the last time sheâd seen him not to ever do anything to hurt him again. As it was, sheâd broken his heart more times than she could count.
Sheâd tried to prepare for the possibility that her prayers wouldnât be heard. Sheâd warned everyone in her agentâs office that her schedule was not to be given to anyone, no matter what name they gave, no matter what ruse they used. She had described Harlan Patrick to Nickâs secretary from his thick, sun-streaked hair, to his laser blue eyes and angled cheekbones.
âAnd you donât want this man to find you?â the woman had said incredulously. âAre you nuts?â
âThere are those whoâd say I am,â she agreed. âAnd, Ruby, let me know the instant he shows up, okay? I need to know what kind of mood heâs in.â
âFit to be tied would be my guess,â Ruby said bluntly. âCanât say I blame him, either. Itâs a hell of a way to find out youâre a daddy.â
âRuby,â Laurie protested.
âOkay, okay, Iâm just the hired help around here. You donât want the man to find you, Iâll make sure the man doesnât find you, at least not with any help from me. Just donât forget, honey, youâre the kind of woman who tends to make news, especially in this business. Entertainment Tonightâs scheduled to shoot that club date in Montana. Itâs way too late to back out. Nick would have a cow. He worked like crazy to get it set up.â
âIt wonât matter. By the time it airs, Iâll be on the road again. With any sort of luck at all, Harlan Patrick will be one step behind me.â
âMaybe you ought to slow down and let him catch up,â Ruby suggested one more time. âHave it out and get it over with. Hidingâs no good, not in your profession. This was bound to happen sooner or later. And, forgive me for saying it, but that little girl of yours has a right to know her daddy. This plan of yours to keep âem apart seems a tad selfish to me.â
Laurie winced. Ruby was young, but she had terrific common sense and a mile-wide streak of decency. A part of Laurie wanted to follow her advice, but another part wasnât at all sure she could cope with one more battle with Harlan Patrick, not with the stakes as high as they were.
âI know,â Laurie conceded. âBut I canât deal with him yet. I just canât. Youâll see what I mean if he shows up there. Itâs like trying to talk sense with a bulldozer thatâs rattling toward you in first gear.â
Of course, she consoled herself, there was always the outside chance that Harlan Patrick had never even seen the tabloid. Maybe he hadnât been anywhere near a supermarket checkout stand. Maybe the entire shipment to Los Piños had been lost in transit. Maybe the delivery truck had caught fire. Maybeâ¦
Dammit, she had to know. She had to find out if heâd seen it and what his reaction had been. She had to be prepared, in case he was coming after her. For all of her attempts to cover her tracks, she knew Ruby was right. If Harlan Patrick wanted to find her badly enough, he could. Ruby and Nick could only stall him for so long. Any private eye worth his license could pinpoint her location quicker than that photographer had snapped her picture. The only real question was whether Harlan Patrick was furious enough to come chasing after her or so hurt heâd written her off once and for all. If heâd recognized that baby as his, she was pretty sure which it would be. Heâd be mowing down any obstacle in his path to get to her.
She could call her mother, but her mom almost never crossed paths with Harlan Patrickâs family. She could call Sharon Lynn, but after this last visit, Harlan Patrickâs protective older sister had all but written her off. Sharon Lynn had told her more than once that she was a selfish fool for running off and leaving the best man in the whole state of Texas pining after her. His parents had never echoed the same sentiments in so many words, but they clearly hadnât been her biggest fans. When sheâd come back this last time, theyâd regarded her with suspicion at worst, caution at best. The attitude had hurt, because once theyâd considered her another daughter.
That left his grandfather. Harlan Adams was a wise man, a fair man. Heâd protect his family with his dying breath, but he also had the ability to see that there was more than one side to most stories. Heâd always treated Laurie with kindness, and thereâd been no judgment in his eyes when sheâd left yet again, only sorrow. He would tell her what she needed to know and he wouldnât pull any punches.
It took her most of the day to work up the courage to call White Pines. She told herself it was because she wasnât likely to find Harlan Adams at home much before nightfall. Despite his age, he still worked the ranch as best he could. And when his aches kept him off a horse, he was busy meddling in everyoneâs lives.
The truth, though, was that she was scared to hear whatever he had to say, even more afraid that this time he wouldnât be so kind at all if he thought she had betrayed his grandson.
She shouldnât have worried. Either he didnât know about the baby or heâd taken it in stride. At any rate, he greeted her with his usual exuberance.
âLaurie, darlinâ girl, how are you? Pretty as ever, I know, because I see your picture in the paper and on TV all the time. You still singing up a storm?â
âIâm busier than ever,â she told him. âIâm right in the middle of a concert tour now. I wonât be back in Nashville for another month.â She figured it wouldnât hurt to reiterate that, in case the conversation was repeated to Harlan Patrick. Maybe heâd stay away from Nashville if he knew she wouldnât be there.
âAnd you enjoy all this wandering around, instead of taking the time to sit a spell in one place?â Harlan Adams asked.
âMost of the time,â she admitted. âItâs part of the job.â
âTell me about the next album. You finished it yet?â
âNo. I havenât even started. This oneâs only been out a couple of months now. I probably wonât get back into the studio until a few months after I get back to Nashville. Itâs a good thing, too. Iâve been scribbling down a few things, but I still havenât settled on the last two songs.â
âYou still writing them all yourself?â
âMost of them.â
âYou always had a way with words. I still remember that song you wrote and sang for me when I turned eighty. Not a dry eye in the place when you were done singing. I knew then you were going to be a superstar.â
âThatâs more than I knew then.â
Silence