The Cowboy and His Wayward Bride. Sherryl Woods

word went out the way he’d come in, slamming the door behind him, the tabloid crushed in his hand.

      â€œOh, my God,” Sharon Lynn murmured. “Did you see his face?”

      â€œI saw,” his mother said, racing out the door after him. “Harlan Patrick, get back here!”

      He ignored the command and headed straight for his pickup. A half hour later he was at the airstrip with Uncle Jordan’s 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. She’d vowed the last time she’d seen him not to ever do anything to hurt him again. As it was, she’d broken his heart more times than she could count.

      She’d tried to prepare for the possibility that her prayers wouldn’t be heard. She’d warned everyone in her agent’s 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 Nick’s secretary from his thick, sun-streaked hair, to his laser blue eyes and angled cheekbones.

      â€œAnd you don’t want this man to find you?” the woman had said incredulously. “Are you nuts?”

      â€œThere are those who’d say I am,” she agreed. “And, Ruby, let me know the instant he shows up, okay? I need to know what kind of mood he’s in.”

      â€œFit to be tied would be my guess,” Ruby said bluntly. “Can’t say I blame him, either. It’s a hell of a way to find out you’re a daddy.”

      â€œRuby,” Laurie protested.

      â€œOkay, okay, I’m just the hired help around here. You don’t want the man to find you, I’ll make sure the man doesn’t find you, at least not with any help from me. Just don’t forget, honey, you’re the kind of woman who tends to make news, especially in this business. Entertainment Tonight’s scheduled to shoot that club date in Montana. It’s way too late to back out. Nick would have a cow. He worked like crazy to get it set up.”

      â€œIt won’t matter. By the time it airs, I’ll be on the road again. With any sort of luck at all, Harlan Patrick will be one step behind me.”

      â€œMaybe you ought to slow down and let him catch up,” Ruby suggested one more time. “Have it out and get it over with. Hiding’s 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 ’em apart seems a tad selfish to me.”

      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 wasn’t at all sure she could cope with one more battle with Harlan Patrick, not with the stakes as high as they were.

      â€œI know,” Laurie conceded. “But I can’t deal with him yet. I just can’t. You’ll see what I mean if he shows up there. It’s like trying to talk sense with a bulldozer that’s rattling toward you in first gear.”

      Of course, she consoled herself, there was always the outside chance that Harlan Patrick had never even seen the tabloid. Maybe he hadn’t 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. Maybe…

      Dammit, she had to know. She had to find out if he’d 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 he’d written her off once and for all. If he’d recognized that baby as his, she was pretty sure which it would be. He’d 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 Patrick’s family. She could call Sharon Lynn, but after this last visit, Harlan Patrick’s 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 hadn’t been her biggest fans. When she’d come back this last time, they’d regarded her with suspicion at worst, caution at best. The attitude had hurt, because once they’d considered her another daughter.

      That left his grandfather. Harlan Adams was a wise man, a fair man. He’d 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. He’d always treated Laurie with kindness, and there’d been no judgment in his eyes when she’d left yet again, only sorrow. He would tell her what she needed to know and he wouldn’t 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 wasn’t 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 everyone’s lives.

      The truth, though, was that she was scared to hear whatever he had to say, even more afraid that this time he wouldn’t be so kind at all if he thought she had betrayed his grandson.

      She shouldn’t have worried. Either he didn’t know about the baby or he’d taken it in stride. At any rate, he greeted her with his usual exuberance.

      â€œLaurie, darlin’ 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€œI’m busier than ever,” she told him. “I’m right in the middle of a concert tour now. I won’t be back in Nashville for another month.” She figured it wouldn’t hurt to reiterate that, in case the conversation was repeated to Harlan Patrick. Maybe he’d stay away from Nashville if he knew she wouldn’t be there.

      â€œAnd you enjoy all this wandering around, instead of taking the time to sit a spell in one place?” Harlan Adams asked.

      â€œMost of the time,” she admitted. “It’s part of the job.”

      â€œTell me about the next album. You finished it yet?”

      â€œNo. I haven’t even started. This one’s only been out a couple of months now. I probably won’t get back into the studio until a few months after I get back to Nashville. It’s a good thing, too. I’ve been scribbling down a few things, but I still haven’t settled on the last two songs.”

      â€œYou still writing them all yourself?”

      â€œMost of them.”

      â€œYou 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€œThat’s more than I knew then.”

      Silence