Jacob opened the driver’s side door for her. It was on the tip of her tongue to object. This wasn’t a date. She refrained, however. He was surely just being polite. Cowboys, she thought with a sigh.
As they bumped and bounced out of the dirt parking lot, Mariana worried about the paint on her car. What had she been thinking, coming here at the last second? The signs in town advertising the rodeo had been too tempting to resist. More so when a quick phone call confirmed Jacob was competing.
“You mentioned visiting a client. What is it you do?” He didn’t appear to mind the rocky ride. Neither did he wince with each scraping sound.
“I’m an attorney with Hasbrough and Colletti.”
“Ah.” He instantly closed down, as if a steel door slammed shut between them.
“I assure you, I’m not after your money. This is no scam or blackmail scheme. I’m concerned only for my nephew and what’s best for him.”
“Right.”
Mariana took his reaction in stride. She was an attorney, after all, and used to it. Those in her profession were frequently the answer to someone’s prayers or their worst nightmare.
They approached the main road, and she released a pent-up breath. Without thinking, she reached out and gave the dash a there-there pat. Jacob raised one eyebrow but said nothing. Once they were on the main road and traffic eased, she was able to concentrate.
“Perhaps I should start at the beginning,” she said.
“Please do.”
“I didn’t know who Cody’s father was until right before the doctors put Leah on life support. She never told anyone that I know of. I think she believed she could beat the cancer. She did once before, four years ago, and our mother’s a survivor.”
“I didn’t realize.”
A small, painful lump formed in Mariana’s throat. She swallowed before speaking. “Leah gave me your name but begged me not to tell you until Cody was eighteen. She didn’t want your money, Mr. Baron. Only to be a mother.”
“Call me Jacob. And why are you telling me rather than respecting her wishes?”
“That’s a very long story.” And Mariana wasn’t about to delve into her daddy issues with a complete stranger. “In a nutshell, I believe it’s the right thing. Legally and morally. You have a son and should be allowed a role in his life. He deserves all the benefits a father can provide.”
“A role?”
“However great or small a role you choose.”
With his schedule, she doubted he’d want more than every other weekend, if that. Didn’t rodeo cowboys like him want their freedom? That was what her father told her mother right before he walked out on them.
“Noble of you.” Jacob’s voice rang with suspicion.
“We’ve just met. You have no reason to trust me. Especially with the bombshell I’ve just dropped.”
“Bombshell, yeah,” he said drily.
“But you will see soon enough that my intentions are indeed noble.”
“I’m guessing Leah named you as his guardian or something.”
“She did. She also put your name as father on Cody’s birth certificate. You’re his legal father. DNA testing will reveal if you’re his biological father, as well.”
“You say she told you right before she was put on life support?”
“Yes. The circumstances were grave. I don’t think she was lying.”
Jacob leaned his head back and rubbed a spot on his forehead as if it throbbed.
Mariana was momentarily struck by his ruggedly handsome profile, which was not at all like her. Broad shoulders didn’t sway her. Neither did dark, penetrating eyes and a mouth that could only be described as sexy.
Had she really just thought that? Yes, she had, and she needed to stop right this second. It wasn’t easy. Jacob drew her glance like a magnet.
He’d been smiling when she first spotted him at the rodeo, and to her chagrin, her heart had given a small leap. He was staring out the windshield now, and his intense expression was nearly as captivating as his smile. No wonder Leah had chosen Jacob to father her child.
Probably best not to bring up that little tidbit. Hard enough learning he was a father. Finding out Leah had used him merely as a sperm donor...well, it wasn’t necessary and was too risky. She didn’t want to give him a reason to abandon Cody entirely. Her conscience wouldn’t let her.
Running a background check on Jacob wasn’t something Mariana had immediately done once Leah revealed his name. Rather, she and her mother had stayed by Leah’s side as the machines kept her alive. They’d said their goodbyes, made their peace and let her hold Cody in the crook of her frail arm. Her eventual passing was poignant and gut-wrenching.
With it also came a certain amount of relief. Leah was no longer in pain. After a small but moving memorial service, Mariana became the mother figure in Cody’s life. It was a role she’d gladly fulfill indefinitely.
Depending on what Jacob wanted to do, it was also a role she might be forced to give up. Mariana had wrestled over telling him for weeks.
She and her sister had never agreed on a father’s responsibility toward his children. Leah believed as their mother did: a man was unnecessary and would ultimately break your heart. Mariana felt the complete opposite. Fathers had a moral responsibility to their children as well as a fiscal one. Her profession only reinforced that in her mind.
Shortly after the memorial service, she began accumulating information on Jacob. No way would she allow him visitation, much less share custody of her nephew, should he be unfit.
Jacob certainly had the means to support a son. He was from a wealthy family, was college educated, held a good position as senior safety manager at Baron Energies’ largest drill site—though she was surprised he wasn’t further up the food chain—owned his own home and was, by all accounts, an upstanding citizen.
He had only one fault in her opinion, and it was a doozy. Rodeoing. Besides the frequent nomadic lifestyle, there were also buckle bunnies. A man with Jacob’s good looks was bound to have a vast following, though from Mariana’s research, he didn’t avail himself.
Except, apparently, for her sister. Though by her own admission, Leah had misled him.
Mariana’s sense of right and wrong had eventually prevailed, and she decided to approach Jacob. She just hadn’t planned on it being today. Maybe she should have curbed her impulses when those signs for the rodeo appeared.
“Please don’t feel that I’m pressuring you into anything,” she said to him. “We’ll take this one step at a time at whatever speed you’re comfortable.”
“If he is my son, I’ll do the right thing.”
“Good. We’re in agreement on that.”
Mariana didn’t jump for joy. She’d heard fathers make similar statements before, then go back on their word. If that happened, she was prepared to raise Cody herself. More than prepared, she was happy to. She loved her nephew.
She turned from the road onto the freeway. It had grown dark since they left the rodeo grounds. Jacob’s face was cast in shadows. Mariana allowed herself to relax. She wouldn’t be distracted by him for the remainder of the trip home.
“What’s the first step?” he asked, the edge in his voice unmistakable. “Meeting him?”
“We start with the DNA testing. I