Page 59 of Winter Vows

His head snapped up. “My family? Why would you bring them up?”

“Because you never talk about them. I know you must have one. You reacted pretty violently when I brought up your mother. You mentioned your grandmother when we named Laura, but beyond that you’ve never said a word. Where’s your father?”

“Dead,” he said tersely and with no obvious sign of regret.

“And your mother?”

He shrugged indifferently. “No idea.”

Trish stared at him. “You have no idea where your mother is?”

“She left when I was a kid. She took my sister with her. I haven’t heard from either of them since. End of story. Can we talk about something else?”

With a sudden flash of insight Trish began to see the pattern that had been established in his life at a very early age. She wanted to talk about this, wanted to make him see that that early abandonment was probably the reason he never dated the same woman for more than a few weeks. He always wanted to be the one to go, rather than start to care and face another desertion. Suddenly she understood as she never had before why he kept asking if she intended to move on, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Her heart broke for him.

She sat forward and impulsively reached for his hand. Only when his gaze finally locked with hers did she say softly, “I’m not going anywhere, cowboy. I’m here to stay.”

Rather than reassuring him, her words had him jerking away. “You can’t make a promise like that,” he retorted. “Things change.” He struggled visibly until his temper cooled. “Life goes on.”

Trish wanted to reassure him, almost pressed the point, but in the end she fell silent. Maybe she shouldn’t make promises she had no way of knowing if she’d keep in the long run. She’d made a commitment to staying in Los Piños, but beyond that? Would she allow a full-blown relationship to develop with Hardy, a man who embodied all the traits she’d come to distrust in a man? Or would she, too, abandon him as too great a risk? She couldn’t bear the thought of being one more in a string of women to hurt him so cruelly.

And so she stayed silent.

The only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire and the baby’s soft whimpers as she finally stirred. Hardy reached for Laura before she was fully awake, settling her in his arms as naturally as if she belonged there. Only then did some of the tension in his face finally fade.

It was ironic, Trish thought, watching the two of them. Her daughter might well be the only female on the face of the earth that Hardy truly trusted, the only one he allowed himself to love. Seeing them together, some of Trish’s reservations began to crack. How could she not fall a little bit in love with a man who was so obviously infatuated with her daughter, a man who’d put aside his own fears to bring her safely into this world?

“You’re so wonderful with her,” she said softly.

“Maybe it’s because she’s so beautiful, so completely innocent. It makes a man want to conquer the world just to make it safe for her. That must be what it feels like to be a real father, not the kind I had, but the kind a kid is supposed to grow up with.” He met Trish’s gaze. “Laura deserves a father like that.”

“I know.”

“Do you ever think about getting in touch with her biological father?”

“Absolutely not,” she insisted fiercely. “I guess that means you’ll just have to step into the role. You’ll have to be her surrogate dad and do all the things that a real dad would do.”

Stuck by a sudden inspiration, she added, “Her godfather. That’s what you can be. Would you, Hardy? I should have her baptized soon, and nothing would please me more than to have you be her godfather. Please.”

He looked tempted. His gaze, which was fastened on Laura’s face, was filled with tenderness.

“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s a big responsibility.”

“No bigger than delivering her in the middle of nowhere,” she reminded him.

“But this is something that lasts forever,” he protested. “What if I mess it up?”

“All you have to do is love her, be there to guide her when she needs it. Please, Hardy. I’ll ask Kelly to be her godmother, so you’ll have back-up. And one of my brothers, too. You won’t be in it alone.” He nodded at last. “I’d be honored,” he said finally. He grazed a knuckle lightly over Laura’s cheek, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “You and me, kid. We’re going to be a helluva team.”

In that instant Trish realized that she didn’t want Hardy merely as Laura’s godfather, as important as that role was. She wanted him as the baby’s father. She knew she would never find a better one.

And despite the nagging doubts about Hardy’s frequent-dating miles, she had a feeling she’d never find a better husband for herself. Because once a man like Hardy—who’d been on the receiving end of too many broken promises—finally made one himself, she suspected he would never, ever break it.

Hardy wasn’t sure when he finally admitted to himself that he might be falling in love with Trish.

It wasn’t the first time he kissed her. He’d kissed a hundred women at least, and none of them had made him think about forever.

It wasn’t when she stared at him so earnestly and apologized for the way people were throwing them together. In fact, at that precise moment he recalled being just a little insulted that she hadn’t seemed interested in pursuing a relationship with him.

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