The Mommy Mystery (8 page)

Gabrielle jumped right on that. “And you think that was an accident?”

“Of course.” He opened his mouth, closed it, and then
his eyes widened. “You don’t believe we gave you the wrong embryo on purpose?”

“You tell me,” she countered.

“It was a simple mistake,” Salvador insisted. He repeated that, turning his gaze first to Houston and then the sheriff. “There was no malice involved.”

“Maybe not malice,” Houston stated, “but there was a cover-up.”

“No,” the man insisted. He gave his tie an adjustment it didn’t need. “Not on my part, anyway. Nor on the part of the clinic. When I realized that Ms. Markham had been given the wrong embryo, I called you immediately. I explained what had happened.”

“But you didn’t talk to me,” Houston clarified. “You talked to my father.”

“Only because he claimed to be you. He lied, pure and simple. And he continued to lie when he came to the clinic.”

“And you didn’t notice that a man claiming to be me was more than twenty years older than I am?” Houston pressed.

Salvador shook his head. “I didn’t even notice the birth year on the original records. By then, I was more concerned about getting a signature for the embryo’s use.”

Salvador reached into his briefcase and took out a piece of paper. It was some kind of form. “That’s the agreement your father signed.”

“What kind of agreement?” Houston wanted to know.

“Postdated approval for use of the embryo. It absolves
us of any legal action. Or it should. We had no idea your father was pretending to be you.”

Gabrielle took the paper and saw that it did indeed have Houston’s signature. The signature his father had no doubt forged. But it wasn’t the signature that concerned her. It was Mack’s actions afterward.

“When you realized I’d been given the wrong embryo, did it occur to you to tell me? Or, by then, had Mack Sadler agreed to pay you to keep this from me?”

“No.” But he didn’t seem nearly as assured as he had been just seconds earlier. He gave his tie another wiggle, pinching it to his throat. “Mr. Sadler and I discussed the possibility of telling you, but we decided there was no reason. You’d asked for a donor embryo. In fact, it would have been a violation of the clinic rules to provide you with the identities of the donors. We keep that confidential, unless all parties have agreed in advance.”

“But I was given an embryo that didn’t have the proper approval to be donated,” Gabrielle pointed out.

“True. But there was no reason for you to know that. I did an internal investigation and reprimanded the intake counselor for the mistake. There are no more of your embryos, so I assure you this can’t happen again. And with the new security measures I’ve put in place, it won’t happen to anyone else, either.”

Houston moved to the edge of the sofa so he could meet the man eye to eye. “Did my father bribe you, or did he pressure you to use that specific embryo?”

Salvador got to his feet again, and he reached out and took the authorization form from her. “No.”

That didn’t seem like a lie, exactly, but Gabrielle had no doubt that Mack had pressured this man into staying
quiet. And then Mack had followed her with the intention of trying to buy Lucas from her. Still, she wasn’t sure an actual crime had been committed, other than Mack impersonating his son and forging his name.

At a minimum, Mack had committed fraud and forgery, and there were possibly some other charges dealing with impersonation. But she would leave that for Houston to deal with. Right now she had her own issues to sort out with her brother, and she was too bone tired to think straight.

She stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on my son.” She turned to the sheriff. “Thank you for bringing Mr. Franks out here to talk with us.”

Houston stood, as well, added his thanks to hers and began to escort Salvador and the sheriff toward the door. However, they didn’t get far before the sheriff’s phone buzzed. Gabrielle didn’t wait; she started for her room. She really just needed to hold Lucas and make sure he was okay. The events of the day were starting to close in on her.

“Harlan Cordell,” she heard the sheriff say to the caller.

That stopped her in her tracks, and Gabrielle quickly made her way back to the others so she could find out what had prompted Sheriff Whitley to mention the man’s name. The man who was perhaps an accomplice of the gunmen who’d held the maternity hostages.

Houston had stopped, as well, even though Salvador was already on his way out the door. Gabrielle was actually thankful for that because, judging from the sheriff’s suddenly alarmed expression, this was not going to be good news, and they didn’t need an audience for it.

“What’s wrong?” Houston asked the moment the sheriff ended the call.

“One of the deputies spotted Harlan Cordell at a convenience store about ten minutes ago, and he tried to stop him so he could bring him in for questioning. Cordell jumped in his car and sped away.”

Houston cursed. “Is the deputy in pursuit?”

The sheriff shook his head. “No, he lost him. He thinks maybe Cordell turned onto one of the side roads and parked out of sight.”

Sheriff Whitley glanced at Gabrielle before staring at Houston. “My advice? Lock up tight for the night, because according to the deputy, the last he saw of Cordell, he was heading in this direction.”

Houston gave the breakfast tray an adjustment so he could knock on Gabrielle’s door. He kept the knock light, just in case she and Lucas were still sleeping. Part of him hoped they were, but that hope went south when Gabrielle threw open the door almost immediately.

She was dressed in dark jeans and a blue top, and since her hair was wet, he figured she hadn’t just gotten out of bed but rather the shower. Her eyes were sleep starved, and there were dark circles beneath. Still, she managed to look incredible.

Something he tried not to notice.

And failed.

And he stood there, probably looking dumb-founded.

“Anything from the sheriff on Cordell?” she whispered.

“No. I’ve been getting updates from him all night, and as of about an hour ago, the deputies were still combing the area looking for him.”

She made a soft, frustrated-sounding sigh. Something Houston totally understood. This whole situation with
Cordell and her brother, Jay, wasn’t just frustrating, it was potentially dangerous.

“I thought you might be hungry,” Houston said.

He tipped his head to the tray that the cook had assembled. There were scrambled eggs, bacon and toast beneath a glass dome cover, and she’d also added a cup of coffee and some orange juice.

She stepped to the side so that Houston could bring the food inside. He set it on the table in the sitting area and then peeked over at a sleeping Lucas. Houston felt the punch again. The love. And he wondered if he would feel that way every time he looked at his son.

“I can’t drink coffee,” Gabrielle said softly. “Caffeine and breast feeding don’t mix, but everything else looks delicious. Thank you.”

She helped herself to a piece of a toast, but Houston didn’t think it was his imagination that she was eating out of necessity, and not because she was actually hungry.

“I heard Lucas wake up around 1:00 a.m.,” Houston commented. He sank down onto the love seat next to her. “And again at five.” It had taken every ounce of his willpower not to come into the room and join Gabrielle and the baby, but Houston had known she’d be nursing Lucas and that she wouldn’t have wanted an audience for it.

“Yes. Sorry he woke you.”

“No need to apologize. It was…” He gave a nervous, low laugh. “Maybe because this is all still so new to me, I’d hoped he would wake up more often. I like to hear him, even if he’s fussing.”

She didn’t refute that, and the corner of her mouth lifted just slightly. “Then you’re in luck. You’ll hear a
lot of waking and fussing. He usually wants to nurse about every four hours.” Gabrielle looked at the clock. It was just past eight, which meant he would be waking up again in about an hour. “Lily Rose came over and watched him while I showered, but then I sent her back to bed. She didn’t sleep well.”

Houston figured that was true for all them. Well, except for Lucas. Thank God the baby was too young to understand what was happening.

She finished the toast and had several bites of the scrambled eggs while Houston drank the coffee. Both of them continued to glance back at the crib—probably to avoid looking at each other.

But it happened anyway. Their gazes collided and froze.

“I had some time to think last night,” Gabrielle said. “And it isn’t a good idea for us to be here.”

“Us? As in Lucas and you?”

She nodded, looked away again. Gabrielle set the orange juice back on the tray. “I’ll hire a bodyguard to keep us safe, but I can’t stay here.”

Houston leaned forward and set the coffee cup next to her juice. “Because of what Jay said about my father?”

“That’s part of it.” She slipped her fingers through her damp, blond hair to push it away from her forehead. It was such a simple gesture, but one that struck him as completely feminine.

Houston silently groaned and got his mind back on the conversation.

“Jay insinuated that your father might have been the one to tell Cordell that I was at the ranch. I don’t believe
that,” she quickly added, “but I do believe your father doesn’t have my best interest at heart.”

“He doesn’t,” Houston readily agreed. “And that’s why he’s not here. I own this ranch, Gabrielle. I bought out my father’s part in it three years ago, when he wanted to make other investments.”

“But he’s your father. This is his home,” she pointed out. “He’ll want to return.”

“That won’t happen, unless I’m certain he won’t make trouble for you.”

Now her gaze came back to his. “
You
could make trouble for me.”

So they were on the subject of custody. He hoped. Better than talking about the attraction. “I could. You could make trouble for me, too. Or we could try to work out something together that doesn’t involve making trouble.”

“What do you mean? Are you talking about split custody?” A flash of anger went through her eyes. “Because I don’t want that for my son. The reason I used what I thought was a donor embryo, was so I wouldn’t have these custody questions. I didn’t want to share him with anyone.”

“I know. I can’t go back and undo what happened at the clinic. And even if could, I wouldn’t. Because the result of that mix-up is Lucas.”

She blinked hard, as if fighting tears, and she probably was. Her emotions had to be running sky-high. His certainly were.

Houston considered trying to reassure her that he would be fair when it came to a custody arrangement,
but in Gabrielle’s mind, the only fair thing would be for his father and him to disappear from Lucas’s life.

That wasn’t going to happen.

For him to be part of Lucas’s future, he would have to encroach on the future that Gabrielle had so carefully planned for herself.

“I’m sorry,” Houston settled for saying.

She blinked back more tears, and even though Houston knew this would be a massive mistake, he pulled her into his arms.

Yeah, it was a mistake, all right.

Gabrielle seemed to melt right into him.

He felt a punch of a different kind, but still a familiar one. That damn attraction reared its head, and it didn’t take much of the embrace for his stupid body to start making all kinds of stupid suggestions.

Like a kiss, for instance. What harm could it do?

Houston was trying hard to talk himself out of doing just that, but then he felt his head lower anyway. Gabrielle looked up at him, probably to scold him for thinking such a thing.

But Houston kissed her anyway.

She smelled like strawberry shampoo and tasted like oranges, but that wasn’t the first thing about her that registered in Houston’s mind. The first thing he noticed was that the taste of her went straight through him, heating his entire body with just the touch of her mouth.

Of course, he didn’t keep it a touch.

When Gabrielle didn’t resist, Houston pulled her even closer to him, angled her head and deepened what he had started.

So, what harm could it do?

Plenty.

Kissing Gabrielle was a mistake, but French kissing her pushed him into the dumb-as-dirt arena.

He gathered his wherewithal so he could end this, but then Gabrielle played dirty. She made a sound of sweet feminine pleasure, and she lifted her arms. First one. Then, the other. And she eased them around his neck.

Oh, man.
This wasn’t stopping.

Since the mistake was already out there, Houston decided to make it worth it. He slid his hand down her back, inching even closer, until they were pressed right against each other. It was a good fit, with her breasts against his chest. He could feel her hardened and puckered nipples, and her fingers, as they trailed lightly down his neck.

The fire went white-hot.

He wanted her. Not just for this kiss, either. Houston wanted all of her, and even though his brain was telling him why that couldn’t happen, the kiss was overriding anything left of his common sense.

Gabrielle finally broke the mouth-to-mouth contact, and gasping for air, stared at him—for just a couple of seconds—before she dove back in for what was apparently about to be round two.

This time, she kissed him.

Not that Houston needed it, but that was confirmation that this attraction was far from one-sided. It also confirmed that it wasn’t cooling anytime soon.

He slid his hand lower, just to the top of her butt, and he shifted his position so that he could bring them even closer. Yet another stupid idea. They were already too close, but with some maneuvering, he pulled her onto his lap.

She gasped, and he caught the surprised sound in his own mouth, and looked between them. There was no space. They were pressed against each other as if they were mere seconds away from hot, sweaty sex.

“I can’t,” she said.

Yeah. He’d been expecting the red light. But then he considered that, maybe Gabrielle meant she couldn’t because it’d only been six weeks since she’d delivered Lucas. Great. He’d somehow managed to forget all about that.

“I’m sorry,” Houston apologized. “Your body isn’t ready for this.”

Still staring at him, she shook her head. “No. I mean I can’t because, well, because of you. Because of
us,
” Gabrielle said. “Physically, I’m more than ready for you.” Wincing, she shook her head. “And I have no idea why I just told you that.”

Houston was glad she had. Partly anyway. It didn’t make it any easier to move away from her, but it did give him hope that one day he’d have her in his bed. Or on this love seat. Location was unimportant.

He didn’t want to think of the complication that would cause. Yeah.
What harm could it do?
was racing through his head and mocking him.

They sat there staring at each other, with their breathing too heavy and their gazes too locked. Both of them were obviously primed and ready, but Gabrielle was right. Physically, all the pieces were in place, but the timing was far from right.

She groaned, stood up and squeezed her eyes shut. “Why this? Why now?”

He shook his head and shrugged at the obvious answer he was about to give her. “You’re an attractive woman, and I want you. It’s as simple as that.”

“It’s never as simple as that.”

Houston begged to differ, mainly because he didn’t want to look beyond this as a simple attraction. Since she’d given birth to Lucas, that might be playing into it. But for now, the attraction was strong enough to justify this burning need. And he’d leave it at that.

His phone buzzed, indicating he had a call. After waking up Lucas the day before, Houston had changed the ring tone to something much softer. He glanced down at the caller ID and saw that it was a call he’d been waiting for.

“Sheriff Whitley,” Houston said, greeting the caller.

Gabrielle was obviously interested in what the sheriff had to say, because she sat back down next to Houston. He switched the call to speaker.

“My deputy just found Harlan Cordell,” the sheriff explained.

“Where?” Houston immediately wanted to know. The house was locked down, and the security system was on, but those things weren’t foolproof. That’s why Houston had slept with a gun next to his bed.

“Cordell was at a hotel over on Miller’s Creek. We got him, Houston. He’s in custody and on the way here to my office.”

“I’m on my way there, too,” Houston said, standing.

“Good. Because the first thing Cordell said was that he wanted to talk to you and Gabrielle Markham.”

“Gabrielle?” he questioned. “Why?”

“Cordell says he’s got some news about who’s after her, and he wants to tell Gabrielle that news to her face.”

G
ABRIELLE’S FIRST IMPRESSION
of Harlan Cordell was that he was slimy. Her second impression, he was dangerous.

Her stomach knotted just looking at him, even though the sheriff and his deputy were standing between Cordell and her. There wasn’t much of a chance that Cordell would come after her right there in the Willow Ridge sheriff’s office, but Houston apparently thought that was a strong possibility.

He caught on to her arm and anchored her in the doorway of the lone interrogation room. That put her a good fifteen feet from Cordell, who was seated at a gray metal table, but she had no trouble seeing every detail of his expression.

Cordell smiled at her.

It was creepy, and it went with the rest of his appearance and demeanor. He was in his early forties, bulky at the shoulders and had signs of a double chin. His five-o’clock shadow was scruffy and well past the fashionable stage. So was he. His white shirt was wrinkled, and he looked as if he’d combed his copper-brown hair with his hand.

But then, according to the deputy, Cordell had spent most of the day before, and part of the night, trying to get to Houston and her.

Why?
was the question Gabrielle wanted to ask him. But she wasn’t certain she would get a straight answer from him.

“I wish you hadn’t come,” Houston whispered to her.

It wasn’t his first objection. Gabrielle had lost count of exactly how many there had been on the twenty-five-minute drive from the ranch to the sheriff’s office. But his protests had started almost immediately after Houston ended the call with the sheriff, and they had continued while she nursed Lucas so the baby wouldn’t be hungry while she went into town to confront Cordell.

Houston had wanted to attend this meeting without her. He’d wanted to get the answers himself from Cordell. But this was her fight, and even though Gabrielle was exhausted and frightened for her baby’s safety, she wouldn’t let a goon like Harlan Cordell run all over her. She had to stop whatever he was planning to do to her. And maybe, if there was some evidence, she could do that by having him arrested.

Then she could figure out what to do about Houston.

In addition to everything else going on in her life, she had to get better control of her involvement with him, and that didn’t include any more kissing sessions. That didn’t mean she didn’t
want
to kiss him… No, she wanted that, and more, from him.

It just meant it was best to keep this attraction at bay until they put an end to the danger and dealt with the issue of Lucas’s custody.

“The sheriff’s got no proof of my doing anything wrong,” Cordell said. “I’m here out of the goodness of my heart, to do my civic duty.”