Trusting Sydney: The Temptation Saga: Book Six (7 page)

Sam sighed heavily. Dallas was right. “What then? What are my options?”

“Your best option right now is to talk to Sydney. If she won’t talk to you, talk to her parents. Most likely they’re the legal parents and will make the decisions. Tell them you want to know the child, be a part of his life.”

“They’ll tell me to fuck off.”

“What makes you say that?”

“They damn near already did.”

“They were reacting, just as you were. They were scared you were going to take away the child they love.”

“But—”

Dallas stopped him. “Trust me. If I felt there was the tiniest chance someone might take away one of my children, I’d react with all the anger in me to make sure it did not happen. That’s how much a parent loves a child.”

“I love him.”

“You may. I don’t know. But Sam, you didn’t even know he existed yesterday. These two have raised him since he was an infant. They’ve fed him, housed him, clothed him, watched him grow. You represent a huge threat.”

“I just want my son.”

“You need to take yourself out of the equation right now. Yes, you were wronged. What Sydney did to you was wrong. But right now you have to think about the boy.”

“Yes, I know.” He pounded the table again. “Damnit.”

Annie entered the kitchen. “Everything all right in here?”

“Yeah, Dr. Annie. I was just leaving.” Sam stood.

“You don’t have to go,” Dallas said. “You want another drink?”

Sam looked down. He’d hardly touched his Scotch. He downed it and let the peaty alcohol burn his throat. Good stuff.

He thanked Dallas and Annie, told them he’d be touch, and drove back to his house near Zach and Dusty’s.

Why hadn’t Sydney told her parents he was the father?

He didn’t know, but he was damn well going to find out.

T
wo days later
, Sam still hadn’t contacted Sydney or his son. He wasn’t sure what the right course of action was. All he knew was that his heart had been broken, and he’d never let another woman in again.

What he would give to have his stale life back…

Why had he decided he needed to shake things up? Life in Montana was good. He was alone, but he wasn’t lonely. He had his housekeeper and his hands, his dogs, cats, and livestock.

He’d missed his first bronc busting competition. His heart just wasn’t in it. He no longer needed the cash. He was only doing it for fun.

Right now, Sam didn’t really feel like having fun. He’d been doing ranch work for Zach, helping out where needed
.
Might as well get used to the place. He’d taken his meals alone in his little guest house, but he knew Dusty wouldn’t put up with that much longer. If it weren’t for the rodeo keeping her busy, she’d have rooted him out before now.

Speak of the devil. Dusty peeked through the window and a knock sounded on the door.

“Hey, stranger. Where’ve you been the last few days?”

“Just hangin’ out.”

“Why didn’t you compete?”

“Didn’t much feel like it.”

“Oh.” She didn’t press it.
Thank God.
Then, “What’s going on, Sam?”

He sighed. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“Nope.”

“Sit on down,” he said. “It’s a long story.”

They sat together at the small table in the kitchen while Sam poured out the saga. After Dusty got over the shock, she gave him a hug.

“So Duke is Seanie’s cousin.”

“Pretty much.”

“Why didn’t Sydney tell you?”

“I have no clue. She didn’t even tell her parents who the father was.”

“Have you talked to them?”

“No. Not in a few days. I got some legal advice from Dallas, but I just haven’t had the stamina to deal with it. It’s going to be confrontational and ugly. It’s not fair. I just want to see my son. To know him.”

“I want you to come to dinner tonight.”

“Why?”

“We’re having a guest you need to talk to.”

“Trust me, unless it’s little Duke Buchanan, I’m not interested.”

“Oh, I think you’ll be interested in this person.”

He sighed. “Who is it?”

“Thunder Morgan.”

Ha.
Any other time he’d jump at that chance, but not right now. “I’m not in the mood to discuss bronc busting, even with one of the greats.”

“That’s not why you need to talk to him.”

“What the heck are you talking about, Dust?”

She winked. “Come to dinner and find out.”

S
am had missed
his first bronc busting event, and Sydney was worried.

How she missed him! Rod had been by twice, flashing more papers in her face about Duke and his birth and adoption. So now everyone knew. So what? It didn’t matter. She’d already lost Sam. Her priority now was Duke. She had to protect him. He was a happy little boy, and she intended to make sure he stayed that way.

They’d spent a morning at the rodeo, eaten there, and Duke was exhausted and cranky. Carrie thought his forehead was slightly warm, so he was in his room with his mother now, napping. Roy sat across from Sydney at the table in her hotel room.

“Time to start talking, baby girl,” Roy said. “I need to know why you wouldn’t tell us who the father was. Sam O’Donovan is a good man from a good family. He would not have done wrong by you or Duke.”

“It wasn’t easy telling you the baby was a result of a one-night stand. No girl wants to tell her daddy that.”

“No daddy wants to hear it, trust me. But at least now I know he was a good man. An upstanding man. Not some fly-by-night loser.”

“You thought that?”

“Sydney, we didn’t know what to think.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess I can understand that.”

“So start talking now, baby girl.”

“Oh, Daddy.” She took a drink of the iced tea in front of her. “It’s not a long story or a particularly interesting one. It’s actually really sad.”

“I’m listening.”

“How much do you know about the O’Donovans?”

“The girl married the middle McCray boy. They have a son. That’s about it. We haven’t been back here in a while. We certainly weren’t welcome to visit Blake while he lived here.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So what’s the story?”

“I didn’t know this at the time, of course. Sam and I did talk that first night, but not about anything really personal. Mostly about the rodeo and stuff. We seemed to have a lot in common, and I liked him a lot.”

“So?”

“When I found out I was pregnant, I did some research on the O’Donovans.”

“Yes?”

“I found out they had a sad history. Their daddy was a ranch hand for Jason McCray when they were little. Their mama died of leukemia when Sam was only ten. They moved to Montana to their grandparents’ ranch so she could die there.”

Roy nodded. “That
is
sad.”

“It gets worse. When Dusty was eighteen, she got the same kind of leukemia. Her dad mortgaged the place to the hilt to pay for her treatment. Luckily she survived, and obviously she’s fine now. But their dad committed suicide after nearly bankrupting their ranch. I didn’t know till later that Dusty had married Zach McCray and she was fine. At the time, I thought Sam had to take care of her and the ranch. I just couldn’t saddle him with another responsibility.”

“But baby, that was not your choice to make.”

“I knew enough about Sam to know he’d sacrifice everything to do the right thing, even if he didn’t love me and didn’t want a child. I thought I could spare him that. And I knew you and Mama had tried to have another child a few years before without any luck.”

“How did you know that?”

“Mama told me.”

“Yes, we did want another baby. Since we married so young, we were still young enough. But it didn’t happen.”

“I could make that happen for you. You’ve been great parents to Duke.”

“He’s a blessing, that’s for sure. We won’t give him up without a fight.”

“I know that.” She fiddled with strands of her hair. “I never thought I’d see Sam again. And I certainly never thought he’d find out about Duke.”

“Sydney, you had to consider the possibility.”

“He says he tried to look me up after that first night.”

“It’s not surprising that he didn’t find you, especially if he didn’t look too hard. You were on bed rest for a lot of the pregnancy and you got off the rodeo circuit for over a year after that.”

“I know.” She shook her head. “I had no idea he’d want to see me again. I mean, I figured it was just a one night thing for him.”

“Was it that for you?”

She shook her head again. “No. Please believe me, Daddy, it was my first and last one-night stand.”

“So you thought he was special, then?”

“Yes, I did, and I was right. He
is
special. And I’ve blown it for eternity.”

“I won’t sugar coat it, baby girl. You have made a mess of things. Not only for yourself and your mama and me, but mostly importantly for your innocent baby brother.”

“I know. And I know we can’t tell him what’s going on. He won’t understand.”

“No, he won’t.”

“Oh, Daddy, what am I going to do?”

“I think you need to talk to Sam. Tell him the truth, exactly what you just told me.”

“Will you come with me?”

Roy shook his head. “You’re a grown-up, Sydney. You need to do this yourself. Clean up your own mess. Once we see how he reacts, I will certainly get involved, but for now, he deserves to hear the truth from you.”

Sydney nodded. Her father was right, of course. “I will call him.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You will drive over to the McCray ranch and see him face-to-face, Sydney. That’s the only way. He deserves that much.”

“Okay.”

There was only one problem.

Sam would not want to see her, let alone listen to her. But she’d cross that bridge when she got there. She looked around for her purse as her father opened the door to leave.

Standing in the doorway was Carrie, holding a listless Duke.

“Roy, there’s something very wrong.” Tears welled in her eyes. “He’s burning up, and look at him! He’s hardly moving.”

“Now, Carrie, don’t fret. He’s probably just tired.”

“Feel his forehead, damnit.”

Sydney ran toward them while her father kissed the little boy’s forehead.

“Hmm, he is pretty hot,” Roy said. “Did you bring a thermometer with you?”

“No, I didn’t. I don’t usually travel with one. My God, what kind of mother am I?”

“You’re a great mother, Mama,” Sydney said. “We’ll just go on down to the pharmacy and get a thermometer and some children’s ibuprofen, okay? He’ll be fine.”

“You two don’t understand. This isn’t a normal fever. He’s had fevers before. A mother knows her child.”

Sydney’s heart jumped.
She
should be the one knowing when Duke was sick. She was his mother.

No. She was his sister. The woman holding him, crying over him, was his mother.

What was she going to do? If her parents lost Duke to Sam, they’d be devastated. It would be all her fault. Either her parents would hate her or Sam would.

No matter. Duke was the important thing right now.

“Okay, Mama. There’s a doctor’s office on Main Street. Let’s just go on over there and see if he can take a look.”

Carrie nodded. “I’d feel much better if we could have a doc look at him, Roy.”

“All righty then, let’s do it. Here, give him to me.” Roy took the floppy little boy and the three of them drove the five blocks to Main Street.

They went in. “It’s nearly six o’clock,” the nurse said. “We’re closing soon.”

“Please,” Carrie begged, “could he look at my son? He’s burning up, and he’s not acting right.”

The nurse smiled. “Of course. Doc Larson never turns away a child in need. Wait here and I’ll let him know you’re here.”

In a few moments, a bespectacled gray-haired man appeared. “Hello there. Bring the tyke on back and let’s have a look.”

“You stay here, Syd,” Roy said.

“Please, let me,” she begged. “He’s—”

“All right. I understand.” The three of them accompanied the doctor to an examining room.

“Hello, little fella,” Doc said. “What’s your name?”

“He’s not very responsive,” Carrie said.

“Can you tell the doc your name, son?” Roy asked.

“Duke,” he said softly, his little boy treble stabbing Sydney’s heart. How had she given up her baby?

“Duke, I’m going to have your daddy put you on the table here, okay?”

“’Kay.”

Roy laid the little boy on the examining table, and Doc Larson inserted a thermometer in his ear. When it dinged, he looked at it and frowned.

“What?” Carrie asked frantically.

“Nearly 105. Is he prone to high fevers?”

“Not usually.” Carrie’s voice shook. “He usually never goes above 103, and that’s only when he’s really sick.

“Well, that alone isn’t a huge worry,” Doc said. “It’s probably just a virus. I’ve seen some nasty ones going around. Let’s get his shirt off and take a look and a listen.”

Carrie pulled Duke’s T-shirt over his head.

Doc put his stethoscope in his ears and placed the bell on Duke’s chest. Then he turned. “How did he get this bruise?”

“What bruise?” Carrie asked.

“This one.” Doc indicated a quarter-size bruise on Duke’s side.

“I’m not sure. We were at the rodeo all morning, till about two.”

“How was he at the rodeo?”

“A little cranky. And he didn’t seem to sleep well last night. Tossed and turned a lot.”

“Can we get the rest of his clothes off? I want to take a look.”

“Of course.”

Duke whimpered as Carrie undressed him. Doc Larson took a look.

“Here’s another bruise on his thigh, but I don’t see any more. Has he fallen in the last day or so?”

“Not that I recall,” Carrie said.

“Is he an unusually rowdy and rambunctious little boy?”

Roy wiped his forehead with a bandana. “He’s a little boy, Doc. Of course he’s rowdy and rambunctious. But he’s been a little under the weather the past few days. We thought he was just catching a cold, but this fever’s got us worried.”

“Duke,” Doc said, “see this bruise on your leg here?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you remember how you got it? Did you fall down? Did something hit you in the leg?”

“I don’t know.”

“You can’t remember anything that would have made you get a bruise?”

“No.”

“It’s okay, precious,” Carrie said, rubbing his back. “So what do you think, Doc?”

Doc Larson’s face was stern. “Honestly, it’s probably nothing. As I said, there’s some nasty crud going around right now. Viruses that cause fever and aches. I’ve seen a lot of kids with it. But Duke’s fever is darned high.”

“So what do we need to do?”

“I’m going to give him a little something to get the fever down, that’s for sure, but I gotta say, I don’t like those bruises.”

“Little boys get bruises.”

“You’re traveling, though, and he’s been in your sight at all times since you’ve been here, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then you or he should know how he got those bruises.”

“It’s only two bruises,” Carrie said, her voice still shaking.

Sydney’s heart dropped to her belly.

Fever. Bruising.

Leukemia
.

“I think we can let it go for twenty-four hours,” Doc said. “I want to see him again tomorrow. The ibuprofen should get the fever down. Repeat the dosage every six hours. Keep liquids in him and make sure he gets lots of rest.”

“Doc?” Sydney stepped forward.

“Yes, young lady?”

“I think you should know something.”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Both his paternal grandmother and aunt had—oh God—leukemia.”

Carrie’s hands whipped to her mouth. “Sydney, what are you talking about?”

Doc Larson’s expression went grave.

“Carrie, take Duke out of here,” Roy said.

“Roy—”

“Just do it, please. I’ll explain everything as soon as I can.”

Carrie dressed Duke quickly and left the room.