Page 13 of Cougar Chronicles

“If you’d had that drink with me last night, so we could get to know each other, I would’ve told you all about Sam.”

“And his mother?”

“Was a mistake I made seven years ago. No, I take that back. She wasn’t a mistake, or I wouldn’t have Sam. She came to me a year later. He was only a few months old. Said she couldn’t take care of him, that he was mine. So I took him.”

Holly stomach was churning. Jack was not who she thought he was. He wasn’t a player, wasn’t just after sex. “Did it occur to you to have a paternity test?”

“Yep. I had it. He’s mine.”

“Whatever happened to your…his mother?”

“Never heard another word from her.”

“Is your name on the birth certificate?”

“Yes.”

“Then there shouldn’t be any problem. The mother clearly abandoned him. If you haven’t heard from her in six years, why are you worried about it now?”

“It’s something I’ve put off long enough. I need to tie up some loose ends.”

“Good enough. I have to tell you though, this really isn’t my area. If you had Googled me, you’d have found that I’m an estate planning lawyer. I write wills and trusts. I don’t dabble in family law.”

“I want you to handle it.”

“I’m not qualified. I have a rolodex full of great family attorneys who will be more than happy to help you.”

“I want you.”

She let out a sigh. “You’re not hearing me, Jack.”

“Correction, sugar. You’re not hearingme.” He stood, walked around the desk, and turned her chair to face him. One long finger gently nudged her chin upward. “I’ll take the referral to a qualified attorney. I want this done right. But I’m still going to be here every morning until you agree to have coffee with me. Just coffee. No alcohol. No dinner. No kisses, no sex. Just one hour, Holly. That’s all I’m asking. One hour to get to know a little about me, and I’ll get to know a little about you. If you still want to say goodbye after that, I’ll walk away.”

“But I’m too old for you.”

“Bullshit.” He glided his fingers over her jawline to cup her cheek. With the calloused pad of his thumb, he lightly stroked her bottom lip.

She closed her eyes. His touch felt so wonderful, so perfect.

Would it really hurt to have coffee with the guy? They had no future, but heck, some caffeine and a heavy dose of cowboy drawl sounded pretty good right about now.

Oh, she’d regret it. Spending time with him would make it all that much harder to say goodbye. God knew, though, she’d been through worse.

“All right.” She placed her hand over his, still holding her cheek. It was firm, warm, and masculine and made her heart flutter.

Okay, that was a mistake.She brushed his hand away from her face and dropped her own to her side and stood. “Let’s go.”

They ended up at the coffee shop across the street, a little mom and pop shop called Mocha Dreams that had, so far, stood up to Starbucks. Jack bought Holly a vanilla latte and he had black coffee.

“I’m a purist,” he said.

She couldn’t help but smile.

“So,” he said, handing her the latte and pulling out a chair for her at one of the little round tables. “Tell me about Holly Taylor.”

“There’s a loaded question.” Holly tried to sound nonchalant. There was both nothing and everything to tell. Her life hadn’t been that exciting. “I’m from here originally. Where are you from?”

His grin split his face. “Texas.”

---