Colton's Secret Son

Cody deserved to know his dad. She could only hope and pray that Knox took far better care of Cody’s heart than he had of hers.

With the day stretching out in front of her, she moved from her chair at the table to the one at the small kitchen desk. She opened the laptop and powered it on.

Every couple of days, it was usual for her to check out Everything’s Blogger in Texas, a wildly popular site that served up the gossip of the area. It was a guilty pleasure, just like watching the Real Housewives franchise once a week.

Today the cover story was of a Dallas socialite who had been arrested for drunk driving after leading the police on a dangerous chase.

The headline on the second lead story was Femme Fatale Still on the Loose. Allison clicked to read the article. It was a rehash of Livia Colton’s escape from prison with nothing new added to the story since her disappearance.

A slight chill ran across her skin as she thought of Knox’s mother. The last thing she had wanted was for Livia Colton to find out she had a grandchild. Allison had always known the woman was a hateful witch, but she hadn’t known how truly dangerous she was until her arrest and subsequent trial. Fear of Livia Colton had been part of what had made her lie to Knox about Cody’s paternity.

Was that why Knox was back here? Was it possible he was not really on a vacation at all, but rather was on duty here in case his mother showed up?

And if that was the case, then once his mother was back behind bars, would he once again leave Shadow Creek to return to El Paso and not look back?

She had to believe that he intended to be more than a hit-and-miss father in Cody’s life. She also had to believe he’d protect Cody at all costs. At the very least she had to give him the benefit of the doubt until he proved differently.

The hours of the day crept by achingly slowly. She took a long bubble bath and painted her nails a pearly pink and tried not to wonder about what Knox and Cody were doing. She dusted the living room and ran the vacuum cleaner in an effort to keep herself busy.

After that she headed back to the kitchen, made herself a salad for a late lunch and then whipped up some of Cody’s favorite double chocolate chip cookies.

While they baked she sat at the table and found her brain working through a hundred questions in her mind. Was Knox married? Was Cody his only child or did he have a family in El Paso?

She should have asked him more questions yesterday at Jade’s place, but the shock of seeing him, the horror of realizing he knew about Cody, had made her half-brain-dead.

She told herself that her curiosity had nothing to do with how the very sight of him had stirred old memories, of how the scent of him...a familiar clean, woodsy scent, had evoked a pool of heat inside her stomach.

The only reason why she was curious about his life was that she needed to know how Cody might fit into it. What would a custody agreement look like between them? Would she now be sending her son to stay for a month in the summer with Knox and a stepmother? Would she now have Christmases without her son? Or Easters? Or Thanksgivings?

And what about his mother, who was now on the run from the law? Dear God, she didn’t even want to think about Livia getting anywhere near her son.

She needed to find out tonight exactly what Knox wanted. She had always kept a controlling hand on her life. She’d had to be in control to wear the many hats she wore.

At the moment, everything felt wildly out of control and she still had three hours before they’d be home. One thing was certain: she wasn’t going to let Knox Colton leave her house tonight until he’d answered some important questions.

Chapter 3 (#uc29413b9-04c4-53af-b9f9-1470ff13d4f7)

It had been a day of wonder for Knox. If he had imagined the kind of son he would want, it would have been a boy just like Cody.

Cody was bright and curious and extremely well mannered. No matter what he thought of Allison, Knox had to give her credit for doing a stellar job in raising the boy.

Knox found Cody’s laughter intoxicating. He even liked the way Cody’s forehead crinkled just a bit when he was thinking hard. He was easygoing and a real pleasure to be around.

“I had so much fun today,” Cody said as Knox pulled into Allison’s driveway.

“Me, too,” Knox agreed. “I’d like to spend more time with you. Would that be all right with you?”

“Sure, that would be cool as long as it’s okay with my mom,” Cody agreed.

“Oh, I think it will be fine with your mother,” he replied.

They got out of the car and Knox placed a hand on Cody’s shoulder as they approached the front door. His chest swelled on contact with the slender shoulder beneath his hand. His son. He just couldn’t get over it.

He dropped his hand back to his side as Cody went through the front door. “Mom, we’re home,” he called out. He glanced back at Knox with one of his wide grins. “Hmm, she must have made cookies.”

Knox followed Cody inside. The house smelled of baked chocolate and lemon polish. It smelled the way a home should.

She stepped from the kitchen and into the living room and for a moment Knox’s breath caught in his throat. She looked exquisitely feminine, clad in a casual, soft pink maxi dress that hugged her slender curves on its way down to her ankles. The scoop neck exposed a delicate collarbone, and the color emphasized her warm, peachy complexion. Her hair was loose and fell to her shoulders in soft waves.

She looked even more beautiful when her face lit up and she leaned down to give Cody a hug. “I can tell by the look on your face that you had fun today,” she said and then looked up at Knox.

He’d always told her that her eyes were the window to her emotions, that he could always tell what she was thinking, what she was feeling by gazing into them. But those hazel depths told him nothing now. They were shuttered against him and revealed nothing whatsoever.

“Mom, we went to Mac’s house and he has pictures of Knox and his brother and sisters on the wall, and then we went fishing in the pond and I caught two big crappies and Mac fried them for dinner and...” Cody paused for breath.

She laughed. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen and have some cookies and you can tell me all about it.” Once again she looked at Knox. “I made a fresh pot of coffee just a few minutes ago.”

“Cookies and fresh coffee? I’m in,” he replied. He followed her and their son into the kitchen where he and Cody sat at the table. Allison got a platter of cookies, a glass of milk and two cups of coffee before she joined them.

“Now tell me all about the fish.”

Knox leaned back in the chair and watched mother and son interact. She was so patient, and gave him her sole attention as he relayed the activities of the afternoon between bites of cookie.

“Sounds like you had a full day of fun,” she said when Cody was finished telling her everything he’d experienced from the time Knox had picked him up until they’d walked through the door. “And now it’s bath and bedtime.” Cody had eaten two cookies, drank his milk and finished his stories.

“Before that, can Knox come up and see my room?” he asked.

“Okay, but only if it doesn’t take too long. A growing boy needs his sleep,” Allison replied.

Cody looked at Knox with a grin. “She always tells me that.” He scrambled off his chair. “Come on, you’ll like my room. I’ve got bunk beds and a horse collection.”

“Then I’d definitely better take a look,” Knox replied. He gazed at Allison. “Are you coming up, too?”

She shook her head with a small smile. “I’ll just sit here and eat a cookie. Besides, I’ve seen his room before.”

Knox followed Cody up the stairs and at the top the air smelled of apples and spices; the scent instantly tightened his gut with an unwelcome heat.

They passed one doorway and Knox glanced in. It had to be Allison’s bedroom. A double bed was covered with a lavender-colored floral spread and white gauzy curtains danced in the evening breeze.

It was far too easy to imagine himself in that bed with her, her naked body in his arms and her eyes simmering a deep gold with sparkling green shards as he took possession of her. What was wrong with him? How was it possible to desire a woman he didn’t even want to like?

Cody’s room was definitely that of a horse lover. Navy curtains hung at the window with rearing stallions riding the lower borders. The bunk beds were covered with matching navy spreads and a bookcase held miniature figurines of horses in all kinds of poses. One shelf also held a row of books about horses. Glow-in-the-dark star stickers glistened on the ceiling above the top bunk.

“Isn’t my room cool?” Cody asked as he sat on the edge of the bottom bunk.

“Totally,” Knox replied. “Do you sleep on the bottom bunk or on the top?”

“On the top. Last year I slept on the bottom, but Mom finally let me move to the top and then we got the stars to put on the ceiling.”