The Doctor's Texas Baby

But more than that, when she stopped to truly examine her feelings, she knew in her heart that she couldn’t leave without allowing Wyatt to get to know his son. Merely thinking about staying was more frightening than anything else she’d ever experienced—even reluctantly coming to the decision to leave town alone and pregnant three years ago.

She would have to own up to her choices. All of them, both good and bad.

She’d realized as soon as she’d seen the brokenhearted look on Wyatt’s face that she’d been wrong to keep Matty’s existence a secret from him. Matty was as much his son as he was hers.

He deserved to know his child. And now he would.

In a way God had made the decision for her, which was probably good, because her record in the decision-making department was deplorable of late.

She had to stay. So she would give Wyatt these two months to get to know Matty, to spend time with him and possibly build a bond as father and son. After that, only the Lord knew what would happen.

She came out of her thoughts to realize the others in Bea’s office were still waiting for her answer. She took a deep, cleansing breath and dived in without knowing just how deep the water was.

“Okay. I’ll stay.”

Chapter Two (#ulink_c2c7bde1-eb8d-53ee-8d5f-37315f3fa9af)

Wyatt let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. Relief rushed over him like a crisp, cool waterfall.

Carolina was going to stay.

Well—at least she was going to stay for a little while. And although her reasons might have nothing to do with him, he was determined to make it be about him and Matty. Which meant he had exactly two months to convince her she ought to make her permanent home in Haven, so he could be near his son for always. He knew it wouldn’t be easy for him to see Carolina on a regular basis, but he would do anything for Matty.

That his initial encounter with Carolina hadn’t gone over particularly well was hardly the point. What could she possibly have expected his reaction to be? Even after having an hour to get used to the idea of her arriving in town with their son—a boy he hadn’t even known existed—in tow, he still felt like he’d been run over by a freight train, but with effort he’d taken that tornado of emotions and tucked it deep into his heart and out of sight. He was still angry and frustrated, and probably would be for a long time to come, but displaying how he felt wasn’t going to help anyone, least of all Matty.

Wyatt had only been half listening to the conversation going on around him. His mind kept wandering to the dark-haired little boy who was probably even now exclaiming in delight over the horses.

Despite Wyatt’s hurting heart, he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his son and being a daddy now. He could teach Matty how to ride a horse and buy him his own mount as soon as he learned to balance in the saddle. He would show his precious child everything about the world, introduce him to all the different kinds of farm and domestic animals he vetted and teach him all about life in the country.

One day, when he was all grown up, Matty even might want to become a veterinarian like his father. Wyatt would be proud to pass on his business to his son.

His son. That one word made his chest expand until he thought he might burst.

But he was getting a little ahead of himself. Oh, who was he kidding? He was shooting off way ahead of himself.

First, he needed to get to know Matty, not to mention give the boy time to get comfortable with him. At some point—hopefully soon—he and Carolina would be able to explain to Matty that Wyatt was his daddy in a way a two-year-old could understand.

He was troubled by one thing. He had no idea how to go about being a good father. As a kid, he hadn’t had a real male role model in his life. His parents had worked in a foreign aid office, and Wyatt had been raised solely by Gran.

He realized that while he had all of these idealistic notions about what a father should be, he didn’t have a clue what was realistic and practical in everyday life.

It was unnerving to say the least, but no matter how much apprehension he felt inside, nothing would deter Wyatt from knowing his little boy and being part of Matty’s life.

A big part.

He only hoped Carolina felt the same way. He was going to move forward with this either way, but it would certainly be easier if she wasn’t fighting him at every turn. Did he dare assume that part of her reason for returning to Haven was that she had finally recognized that Wyatt had both the right and the responsibility to be in Matty’s life? He knew she’d ostensibly come back to Haven to personally deliver the news of Morton Mason’s death, but she could just as easily—actually, even more so—have sent an email to Bea. She hadn’t had to come in person.

So maybe there was another reason she’d come back to town. Maybe it was for his sake—and Matty’s.

Although that didn’t explain why she had appeared so startled when she’d first seen him. Was that because he’d caught her off guard?

There were so many questions, and the only way to find the answers was to try to get along with Carolina—and cross his fingers that she would try to get along with him. At this point all he could do was hope for the best and step up for his role in this drama.

“I’m glad we got that all settled up,” said the attorney, closing his briefcase with a snap that pulled Wyatt back to the present. “Thank you, Carolina, for agreeing to stay on here in Haven. I expect I speak for the Lone Star Cowboy League and the boys ranch when I say we appreciate your willingness to represent your family legacy at the seventieth-anniversary party. It may make all the difference to us and all the boys who call this place their home.”

Carolina nodded. “Of course. I’m happy to do it.”

Wyatt didn’t think she sounded happy. He thought he still knew her well enough to distinguish the sadness in her voice. The grief.

And the stress.

Well, that made two of them.

Anyway, he really wasn’t positive he knew Carolina all that well, if at all. Three years ago, he certainly hadn’t anticipated that not only did she not reciprocate his feelings, but she’d run away from them, and while she was pregnant, no less.

No. He sighed inwardly. Three long years had passed between them. The truth was he probably didn’t know the real Carolina Mason at all.

“We’ve still got one problem,” Gabe said, cutting into Wyatt’s thoughts about Carolina and their personal issues. “Even after searching extensively, I haven’t been able to find my grandfather. At this point I’m not sure it’s going to happen before the anniversary party.”

Harold nodded gravely. “That is a problem.”

Gabe planted his hat on his head and frowned. “I don’t suppose you’ve got any enlightening letters for me in one of those file folders of yours.”

“Actually, now that you mention it, there is a letter.”

Gabe’s eyes lit up with hope, but Harold’s next words quickly doused that flame.

“It’s not what you’re hoping for. But it is based upon another contingency, and one that you all should know about. Especially you, Gabe. If, upon the morning of the seventieth-anniversary party, all of the men—and ladies,” he said, tipping his Stetson to Carolina, “are not present and accounted for, I am to open the letter and read Cyrus’s instructions on how to proceed with parceling out the land. I must caution you, it does not look promising. Obviously Cyrus had one thing and one thing only in mind when he wrote his will. So I encourage you to continue doing all you can to try to locate your grandfather before time runs out.”

“Believe me, I am,” Gabe said, his voice lowering in frustration. “So you’re pretty much saying that the land will revert to the developer and half our boys will lose their places at the ranch.”

Wyatt cringed in sympathy for his friend. Talk about a tough position to be in. He wouldn’t want to be in Gabe’s shoes right now, with the entire future of the boys ranch now dependent on his ability to find a man who had disappeared off the planet years ago.

Harold’s steady gaze met Gabe’s. “I’m not saying ’tis or ’tisn’t. We won’t know until I open the letter on the day of the party.”

“At which point it will be too late for us to try to change things,” Bea said with a groan, swiping a tired hand down her face.

“And that is exactly why we can’t let that happen,” Gabe said determinedly. “We’ve come too far to see this endeavor fall apart now. Somehow, I’ve got to find my grandfather and make this right.”

“I know I’m new to all of this,” Carolina said hesitantly, “but please feel free to call upon me if I can be of any assistance. I don’t know what, if anything, I can do to help you, Gabe, but you’ve got my support any way you need it.”

“Yeah,” added Wyatt. “Same goes for me.”

Wyatt’s eyes met Carolina’s and their eyes locked. They had their own set of problems to wade through, and the water was deep and murky.

Bea knocked her fist twice on the desk and stood, effectively ending the meeting. Folks started shuffling out of the office. Wyatt lingered so he could walk out directly after Carolina.

“I want to get to know my son,” he said as soon as they cleared the building. “Spend some quality time with him.”