“Nanette belongs here, on the ranch that is her birthright,” Mason said. “With her father.”
“You ass,” Last said under his breath. “You have no concept of how to woo a woman.”
“I don’t want to woo Mimi. I want to kick Mimi’s little tail.”
“Sure.” Last nodded. “And you were saying that the whole time she was going down the aisle with Brian—after you’d made love to her? I seem to remember sitting near you, and you looked pretty stone-faced, very determined to be Your Royal Hardheadedness.”
Mimi stood, after making sure a sheet was tucked around Nanette. She placed Nanette’s favorite small pink giraffe next to her, then Mimi walked to Mason and Last. “You’re going to have to find a better way to handle this,” she said. “You can’t have everything your way. I know you’re angry, but you’re going to have to eventually calm down and think through what’s best for Nanette.”
She left, her sandals moving smartly down the stairs and out the door, which she closed quietly.
“She has a point, you know,” Last said. “This could get weary for everyone if you don’t chill out a bit.” Last clapped him on the back. “Whoever would have thought you had it in you, you ol’ sourpuss? After all the years you sang the Condom Song for us, specifically for me, it turns out you had a shower without your raincoat.” Last grinned hugely, not about to be denied his crowing.
Mason sighed, knowing he full well had it coming—from all his brothers. “One time,” he muttered. “One time.”
“One shot’s all it takes, bro,” Last said gleefully. “If your rifle’s straight and well-oiled. And it appears you’d been taking good care of your equipment.”
“Last,” Mason said, his tone warning.
“Well,” Last said, “I never thought I’d say this, but congratulations, Mason. You’re a dad.”
Mason was about to grunt a reply when Last continued. “A bachelor dad, of course. A single father. An unwedded man who will one day pay for prom gowns and wedding dresses.”
Mason jutted out his chin. “Thank you, Last. You can go now.”
Last turned serious. “Mason, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Just be good to Mimi, okay? It’s your future lying in there next to the little pink giraffe. You don’t want to goof up the thing that means the most to you.”
Last thundered down the stairs and went out the front door. Mason sighed, taking one last lingering look at his daughter, then headed toward his own room.
Last was right about one thing: Nanette was his future. And she was staying right here with him, where she belonged.
He would be generous and allow Mimi to visit whenever she wanted, though. Underneath his anger, he really didn’t intend to keep her away from her child.
As long as everything went his way.
Chapter Three
Mimi knew one thing: Mason could not have his way, at least not the way he was trying to have it. She opened the door to his house early the next morning and set her own suitcase down. “Good morning, Helga,” she said to the housekeeper, who was cleaning up after a very early breakfast. Two plates. One for Mason, one for Nanette. “Tomorrow, you can make breakfast for three.”
Helga laughed. “Good. I wondered how long you’d stay away.”
“Where are they?”
“In the fields. Nanette is going to learn how to ride fence this morning.”
Mimi picked up her suitcase. “I’m going to hide this upstairs for now. At least until I spring some changes on Mason.”
“Mr. Mason doesn’t handle change very well,” Helga said with a smile.
“He’d better learn to adapt. He’s about to meet the even more stubborn side of Nanette’s family tree.” She went upstairs, trying to decide on the best place to sleep. There were several empty bedrooms that had been occupied by the Jefferson brothers over the years, and Nanette had been sleeping in the guest room.
Mason slept up here, too. A slight chill traveled over her skin as she gently swung open his bedroom door. His bed was made, and his dresser was tidy. A pair of jeans lay on the bed, as if he’d changed his mind about what he wanted to wear today. On the dresser was a picture of Mason and Nanette, posing beside Olivia’s horse, Gypsy.
She knew she should be grateful that Mason was so crazy about their child.
“You can sleep in here,” Helga said, her grin broad. “We can move Nanette here, too, and put Mason down the hall.”
“I don’t think so.” Mimi backed away from Mason’s room.
“A mother needs to be with her daughter,” Helga commented. “Always I had Kelly with me.”
Helga’s daughter, Kelly, had married Fannin, one of Mason’s younger brothers. Mimi needed no reminder of how important the mother and child bond was. But moving into Mason’s room was bound to start a fire of some kind. “Maybe we could push a small bed into the guest room Nanette is using.”
“Hmm.” The German housekeeper nodded. “We could. Mason is planning to decorate for Nanette. You might not like to stay in a room that is decorated with angels and bows.”
Mimi smiled. “I really don’t care about that.” She crooked an eyebrow. “Angels and bows? Did Mason pick the decor?”
“Yes. In a catalog from England.” Helga took a catalog from Mason’s side table. “This is Daddy’s idea of what his little girl should have.”
Mimi was stunned. “It’s breathtaking. And it costs a fortune!”
Helga grinned. “She’s his only child.”
Mimi blinked. “But such extravagance! That’s not like Mason at all!”
“It’s good for him. Let him spend. He is celebrating.”
“I guess so,” Mimi murmured. He was crazy. “I don’t suppose he ordered the matching pink three-story dollhouse, as well?”
What sounded suspiciously like a giggle escaped the stoutly built woman. “Of course. Nothing less than heaven for his little girl.”
Mimi’s heart curled tightly inside her. A very sad part of her was saying that they’d messed this whole thing up very badly. She and Mason would have been a good team: friends, lovers, excellent parents. Why had he not loved her enough to ask her to marry him?
Now it was really too late. She knew that by the way he was making plans without her. What father selected his little girl’s room decor on his own? “What did he say when he told you?” Mimi asked, her heart so tight she could barely stand it.
“He told me that Nanette was his child. Which I had already known.” Helga shrugged.
“You couldn’t have,” Mimi said. “I didn’t tell anyone except Bandera, whom I swore to secrecy.”
“Pfft. You and Brian were never together long enough to make anything happen.”
“Neither were Mason and I, really,” Mimi said.
“But it happened. And she looks just like him, anyway.” Helga folded her arms with satisfaction. “I was making dinner when he called all his brothers, and I can tell you that he was quite proud. He bragged, actually, about his little daughter.”
“He can be so odd,” Mimi said with a reluctant smile. “I want to be so angry with him for taking Nanette out of my house like a caveman, but part of me admires the side of him fatherhood has brought out.”
“Very