Of course, if he could find the softer side of Megan Maitland, he might be able to get the woman to use her influence and settle things for him, then there’d be no need to continue the engagement charade.
The thought of using his aunt’s influence didn’t sit well with him, even though he wasn’t planning to use it for any personal monetary gain.
Because it raised issues he just didn’t have time to sort through, Rafe put the whole thing out of his mind for now.
“Sometimes ‘easy’ isn’t the best way. I gave my word and I intend to stick by it.”
Rafe didn’t add that giving Bethany up would create a giant-size hole in his heart. The little girl had created a space for herself that he’d never expected to be there. He wasn’t given to attachments or bonding. But he had bonded with the little lady in his arms and he intended to do right by her. No matter what it took or what it cost him.
This wasn’t making any sense to Greer. “And you honestly think that by lying to the court, you’ll get to retain custody?”
He didn’t like being judged. Especially not by a stranger who had no idea what was involved. His eyes grew flinty as he looked at her. “Call it a stopgap maneuver. Until I can come up with something better.”
Her breath caught in her throat. There was no reason to feel as though she’d just been put in her place, and yet she did.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Greer said, backpedaling in case Mrs. Maitland’s long lost nephew thought she was criticizing him. She didn’t want to take a chance on losing him after she’d gotten him to agree to come, albeit with an unusual addendum. “But why didn’t you ask Alyssa to pretend to be your fiancée?” In Greer’s estimation, the fiery-looking woman would have been far more believable in the role. Rafe and Alyssa looked as if they belonged together.
Quite simply, the answer was that he’d only just now thought of the ruse. And asking Alyssa to pose as his fiancée might get sticky. He knew she had more than a passing liking for him, and while he was flattered, he didn’t want to get his life tangled up with anyone else’s at present. Bethany was the only female he could safely handle for the time being.
Rafe took the easy way out. “Because she’s not asking me to go off to Austin and pretend to be happy about some reunion.”
They seemed doomed to continue getting off on the wrong foot. “I’m not asking you to pretend to be happy about it—”
“Good, one less thing to do.” Bethany began fussing against him. He’d gotten good at telling the different noises apart. This one meant she was sleepy.
“I think you’re going about this all wrong.”
Didn’t this woman every stop flapping her gums? “And ‘this’ would be…?”
“The Christmas reunion.” She was beginning to think he was deliberately being difficult. “It’s supposed to be fun.”
“I’ll put on my happy face,” he promised her, sarcasm tingeing his words. And then he thought of something. They couldn’t just say they were engaged and expect the judge to believe them. He needed something to serve as outward proof that he was serious.
“Here, hold her for a minute.”
Not waiting for Greer to say anything, he thrust the baby toward her.
Surprised, Greer had no choice but to take the fussing baby into arms that were far more adept at holding on to stacks of tightly bound quarterly financial reports.
Then, to her further dismay, Rafe walked away from her.
“Where are you going?” she called after him. The baby squirmed in her arms.
“To get something” was all he said.
As Greer tried to hold on to Bethany without dropping her, her dismay deepened. This time it was a pint-size fiery womanette who was making her feel that she was decidedly out of her element. Large or small, the end result was the same.
With a sigh, Greer looked toward the room that Rafe had disappeared into. Now what?
Chapter 3
Once in his bedroom, it took Rafe only a few seconds to locate what he was looking for. The item was just where he’d left it, tucked in the back of the top drawer of the lone nightstand that stood by his bed. He’d never thought he’d have any use for it.
Taking it out, he rubbed his thumb over the top of the black velvet box. Strange the way some things worked out. When he’d won this from Albert Hackett that long weekend he, Albert and a couple of the other hands had played poker until dawn, he’d had every intention of going into town and selling it at the pawnshop the first chance he got. At the time, he’d had no more use for an engagement ring than Albert had. But he’d never gotten around to selling it and now, it looked as if that was a good thing. The ring was going to come in handy.
Closing the drawer, he walked back out into the living room and then stopped dead. If he’d ever seen anyone who looked more awkward than this woman as she tried to hold Bethany, he certainly couldn’t recall it. He didn’t think that even he’d been this ungainly the first time Lil had had him hold the baby. Weren’t women supposed to have some kind of a natural instinct when it came to babies? If so, someone must have forgotten to tell the Lawford woman that.
He shook his head as he crossed to Greer. It was a wonder she hadn’t dropped Bethany.
“You’re holding her like she was a sack of solidified sugar.” She looked as if his comment embarrassed her. That hadn’t been his intention and it chafed his conscience a little, which made him all the more short-tempered. “Haven’t you ever held a baby before?”
Greer turned toward him, relieved that he’d returned. Afraid of dropping Bethany, she’d begun to wonder if he was ever coming back. She had no idea that babies wiggled so much. The shrug was careless and self-conscious.
“No. It was never part of my job description.”
He held off taking Bethany for a minute, amused at the way Greer was holding the baby out to him, as if she were a wriggling snake that could at any moment turn and bite her. “Only child?” he guessed.
Something within her darkened. She wasn’t here to discuss her background, or the lack of it.
“Something like that.” Why was he just looking at her? Why wasn’t he taking the baby? “Would you like to take your daughter-to-be back?”
“Sure, I’ll trade you.”
It was then that she saw he was holding a small black velvet box in his hand. The kind rings were found in. But that was silly. It seemed odd that Rafe had an engagement ring just lying around. It wasn’t as if it was a spare tire or an extra pair of jeans to be kept around in case of emergencies. The kind of rings that were housed in velvet boxes were expensive.
“All right.” Gingerly, she began to negotiate the transfer. Just then, Bethany grabbed a strand of her hair and wound her fingers around it tightly. As the baby pulled hard, tears of pain sprang to Greer’s eyes. “Ow!”
“Hold it,” he warned. “I think we’ve got a snag here.”
Think? “What was your first clue?” Greer all but yelped.
Rafe laughed under his breath in response. Holding Bethany in the crook of his arm, the velvet box in the same hand, he used his free one to extricate Greer’s hair from Bethany’s grasp. For a baby, Bethany had a pretty strong grip. Like her dad, Rafe thought, sadness spearing him.
He took a step back in case Bethany tried to make another grab for Greer. The hair she’d clutched remained all stuck together.
He grinned. “I think you might want to wash that. Looks like Alyssa gave her something sticky to play with just before she brought her over.”
“Terrific,”