Page 18 of The Rancher's Secret Son

Nick stood up to leave, but stopped. “Claire, he’s wonderful. He has to be the cutest kid on the whole Earth.”

“Thanks. I think so too. And I can tell he’s very happy to have a dad,” she said. Despite her fleeting smile, she looked as if there was something worrying her and he wondered if she was unhappy that Cody knew about him. On the other hand, Nick was so overwhelmed with gratitude he wanted to cross the room, hug and reassure her so she wouldn’t worry. But she had thrown up a wall between them, which was what he should also do. They were both in a vulnerable state right now and they had to be careful. With Claire, a simple kiss might lead to falling in love. And that could end in more hurt.

He left her, and when he joined his son in the kitchen, even though she had warned him, it startled him how much Cody had done by himself. He’d followed the diagrams and was working away with success.

As Nick pulled a chair beside him, Cody tossed him a smile and returned to fitting the next block into place.

Nick helped, talking with Cody, finding him easy to be with and as happy as Claire had indicated. She had done a great job raising him. What an incredible woman she was, a woman who—

He pulled the plug on that thought as he felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn’t keep thinking about her as a desirable woman, wanting to touch her, to kiss her. He had to listen to common sense. It warned him to avoid falling in love again because it would be futile, another giant heartbreak he had to avoid.

After almost half an hour, Cody showed Nick his room and other creations he had built. Claire appeared, standing in the doorway. “I hate to interrupt, but before you know it, bedtime will come for Cody. We should go to dinner unless you’d like to eat here.”

“No,” Nick answered. “Cody, let’s go to dinner. We’ll look at this later or next time,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” Cody said as Nick’s phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket to look at it and walked away from them to take a business call.

“You wash your hands before we go,” Claire said to Cody, and he ran out of the room. Nick finished his call, returning to join Claire in the family room. She stood at the window with her back to him and his gaze ran over her again, causing desire to flare. He couldn’t stop his response to her any more than he could stop breathing. She heard him and turned, her dark eyes riveting, making him draw a deep breath. He had to fight the urge to take her into his arms, stopping himself within a few feet of her.

“He’s the happiest kid ever. You’ve done a wonderful job, Claire,” Nick said, feeling another rush of gratitude to her for having Cody, for raising him to be such a polite, happy little boy, for telling him about Cody. It frightened Nick to think that she could have gone home without telling him and he might not have known about his son for years longer, if ever.

“Thank you, but I don’t think I can take credit for his disposition. I think he may have inherited it.” She winked at him. “But who knows?”

When Cody returned, they donned their coats, and as they walked to the front door, Nick picked up Cody, carrying him easily. “Have you ever ridden in a limousine?”

“No, sir,” he said, his eyes widening as he glanced toward the front door.

“Well, you’re going to now.”

Cody turned quickly to grin at Claire who had to laugh. “I think that grin means he’s enthused.”

“Good. Let’s go see,” Nick said, opening the front door and swinging Cody down to stand him on his feet.

“Wow,” Cody said, standing stock-still and staring agape at the limo.

Nick was delighted with Cody’s reaction and they took time, before they left Claire’s house, for Cody to look at everything in the interior of the limo. Nick showed him the phone and the bar, the sliding glass divider, and all the hidden gadgets. He introduced the chauffeur and finally they buckled up and left.

From that moment until they reached the restaurant, Cody didn’t say a word. He spent the whole time looking intently at everything Nick had shown him, causing Nick to chuckle. “I’m not sure he knows we’re riding with him,” he told Claire. “I had no idea this would be so fascinating to him.”

“My guess is you’ve been in limos so much of your life, you don’t remember the first time you rode in one.”

“You’re right and if it was with my dad, I wasn’t investigating everything in sight. I promise you that.”

As they smiled at each other, he recalled old times with her when they had shared so much laughter. Nick remembered when he had taken her to the family ranch after his parents had moved to Dallas. He and Claire had gone horseback riding at sunrise and the morning had been one of his happiest memories. They had ridden to one of his favorite places, where he had gone as a boy when he wanted to be alone. When they rode into the small clearing near the creek, a skunk had been stretched on a boulder, enjoying the morning. Nick had laughed with Claire as they rode away and left the skunk to enjoy the hideaway.

* * *

As the limo slowed to a stop at the restaurant and the valet opened their door, Nick’s attention returned to the present.

They entered the restaurant that had a jungle ambience, thunder rumbling and lightning flashing, the staged animals roaring. Cody seemed lost in his own world through dinner.

As soon as they finished, they returned to the limo, and an overexcited Cody snuggled up to Claire and in minutes he crashed, falling into a deep sleep.

When the limo wound up her drive, Nick took a moment to look at the large home that he hadn’t really noticed when he’d arrived earlier. The rambling two-story house was set back on a perfectly landscaped lawn with tall trees that now twinkled with Christmas lights. “You have a beautiful home, Claire. You’ve done well.”

“Thanks. I’ve had a lot of luck in business, I guess. I started as a kid helping at Grandpa’s office so when I finished college and came into the business, I had all sorts of wonderful contacts through him.”

“You had to do a lot yourself. Wonderful contacts from your grandfather are a fine background, but you’ve gone way beyond what success he had.”

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