He laughed. “I’m an expert, remember? I have the degree hangin’ on my wall to prove it.”
She sighed. She hated to admit it, but Marcus was probably right. Might as well get it over with now. She couldn’t avoid Cole and his family forever.
Even so, she hesitated a beat at the entrance to the café.
“Bandage,” Marcus reminded her, using his palm to press her forward from the small of her back.
The inside of Cup O’ Jo’s was a stark contrast to the outside. Filled with the delicious scents of home-style cooking and fresh pastries, the whole place had the look and feel of a modern coffee shop. There were even computers lining the back wall so folks could access the internet.
It was immediately obvious where Cole and his family were located. Practically everyone in the café hovered around one of the middle tables, their exclamations ranging from “Ooh” and “Aww” to “What a little cutie-pie” and “Sweet darlin’.”
Jo Spencer, the owner of the café, looked up and waved Tessa and Marcus over. Her red curls bobbed as she placed a hand over her heart and bounced on her toes.
“Cole’s back in town,” she said, her voice rising with excitement. “And my stars. Have you seen Baby Grayson?”
Tessa nodded to acknowledge the fact that she knew Cole was back in town and then shook her head. “I haven’t met Grayson yet.”
“Come, come,” Jo insisted, dragging Tessa by the hand. Tessa shot a flustered glance over her shoulder, but Marcus just shrugged and grinned, mouthing the word bandage.
Insensitive jerk. He was going to be no help at all.
Now that she was under Jo’s guidance, Tessa knew she had no hope whatsoever of backing out of the situation. There was no arguing with the woman once the vivacious old lady got something into her head.
Besides, what would Tessa say? That she didn’t want to see the baby?
How would that sound? Everyone loved babies.
She did, too, of course. It was this particular baby at this exact time she was struggling with. Her emotions were screaming for her to flee. She didn’t think her heart could stand glimpsing the infant who was bound to carry at least some of Cole’s strong features. And was the child’s mother present? That would cause Tessa even more heartache.
Marcus was wrong. She wasn’t ready yet, and getting caught in a situation where she might break down emotionally wasn’t ripping off the bandage. It was creating a whole new wound.
Panic welled in her chest, and her pulse pounded in her temple.
Not yet. Not yet. Not yet, it echoed.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea in front of Moses as she approached, probably half out of deference to Jo and half due to the distinct possibility of drama between Cole and Tessa. Serendipity townsfolk liked nothing quite so much as a scene that might as well have been taken right out of a soap opera.
She took a deep breath and plunged forward. If they were waiting for drama, they were going to have to wait a good long time.
She got her first look at Cole, who held his loosely swaddled son in the crook of one arm. The baby’s tiny fist was wrapped around one of Cole’s thumbs. He looked to be only a few weeks old, incredibly small against Cole’s large chest and muscular biceps, and yet the big man was holding the baby with such infinite tenderness, it brought a hitch to Tessa’s throat. Cole was beaming with pride as he showed off his boy. He was meant to be a father.
Tessa gasped for air and coached herself to breathe normally. If she hyperventilated and passed out, that would really be a show for the neighbors. She plastered her best smile on her face and stepped into the center of the circle. It seemed as if her whole relationship with Cole had been in the public eye, from their quite literally dramatic start on the theatrical stage in high school to the dreadful finish on yet another stage, when she’d painfully but unavoidably ruined any future between them. She would not and could not break down now, not with so many of her neighbors and friends looking on.
Cole’s eyes widened when he saw her. His brow lowered and the smile dropped from his lips—until the infant moved in his arms. The stiffness to Cole’s shoulders remained, but when his gaze dropped back to his son, there was only love and awe in his expression.
Cole was a daddy. A proud papa to his little bundle of joy. How right he looked filling that role.
He cleared his throat, his jaw tightening with strain once again. He appeared to be considering his thoughts, weighing his options. After a long pause, he spoke softly so as not to disturb the baby. Tessa was keenly aware that his voice lost its angry edge in deference to the child.
“Everyone else here has already had a turn. You want to hold him?”
She sat down in the nearest chair and swallowed her shock as Cole held his son out to her, gently settling the infant in her arms, his fingers brushing hers as he rearranged her hand to cradle the child better.
Grayson had been noisily sucking on his two middle fingers, but when he looked up at Tessa, he popped his fingers out of his mouth and smiled and cooed at her. As Edward had said, the baby didn’t have a lick of hair, but his eyes were the exact color of Cole’s, and he had his nose and the twin crescents of dimples in his cheeks.
Tessa’s heart welled until she thought it might burst. It was the worst and most awful concoction of pleasure and pain she’d ever experienced. Why was Cole doing this, letting her hold his precious baby?
Because others were watching? Did he really have no idea how badly this would hurt her, this stark, physical reminder of what might have been if she hadn’t rejected his marriage proposal? Or was that exactly what he was trying to do?
She searched his gaze but found nothing to condemn him, and the upward curve of his lips suggested little other than the satisfaction he’d found in becoming a dad. But his voice was low and gravelly when he finally spoke, the only indication his emotions were stronger than he was feigning.
“Tessa, I’d like you to meet my son, Grayson.”
* * *
It just figured that Tessa would show up at Cup O’ Jo’s right as Cole was out giving the community their first glimpse of Grayson. He’d gone out with his son this morning before the staff meeting on purpose, believing Tessa would be otherwise engaged, back at the ranch getting ready for her teenagers to arrive.
As if that in itself wasn’t complicated enough, old friends and neighbors crowded around him, taking up his breathing space and giving rise to all kinds of questions and speculations. Like what had happened to Grayson’s mother, and how was he coping with being a single dad.
That was enough stress. More than enough. The last thing he needed was for Tessa to walk in the door with some strange cowboy Cole didn’t recognize. Serendipity had remained remarkably unchanged throughout the years he’d been gone, but it had definitely changed some.
Even so, he was confident he could rely on the community. They would have a keen interest in the details, but they also had open hearts with which to embrace him and his son. It wasn’t surprising that everyone would want to know the story of how he’d happened back into town with a baby in tow and no wife to speak of. Most, like Jo, wouldn’t allow him to skim through an explanation. He’d rather not delve back into his shameful past.
He was a single father. He’d stepped up, and that was all that really mattered. End of story.
After that first burst of surprise and panic when Tessa walked in the door, his mind had fled him completely. He hadn’t been thinking—which was the only possible explanation for why he’d passed Grayson into Tessa’s arms. Moving back to Serendipity, he had no intention for Tessa to interact with his son, but his pride and ego had flared up at the sight of her, and the offer had come barreling out of his mouth without his say-so.