He wastheirson.
And Ty was entranced with him.
Heâd never really watched a babyâs antics before, and he was mesmerizedâwith more than Jordan. There was such a look of devotion on Marissaâs face. Her eyes sparkling with the joys of motherhood, she was absolutely beautiful. Beautiful in a way he hadnât recognized before.
âIâve never held a baby,â he admitted to her.
Her lips quirked up. âTheyâre just as squiggly as a baby calf.â
That analogy brought an unexpected chuckle from him. âOkay.â Heâd held on to baby calves before.
Marissa was close enough that he caught the scent of her. Oh, how he remembered that scent. That night heâd made love to her, her hair had smelled like flowers, and thatâs the scent he caught now. It triggered a response in his body that was totally inappropriate. He willed himself to block off any attraction to her. To focus on Jordan.
He slid his large hands under Jordanâs tiny arms and lifted him from Marissaâs hold. His little boy was solid and warm.
His little boy.
Tyâs chest constricted and his throat tightened. Just what in the blue blazes was happening to him?
* * *
The Mommy Club Itâs about caring, family⦠and love
Chapter One
Marissa Lopezâs heart began beating faster. Her stomach seemed to turn upside down. Oh, no. That couldnât be Ty Conroy over there, could it?
Sheâd stopped in at the physical therapy center to talk to her friend, Sara Cramer. On her lunch hour, she didnât have a whole lot of time. But she needed Saraâs advice.
However, nowâ
âWhatâs wrong?â Sara asked. âYou suddenly went pale.â
Marissa pointed her chin toward the other side of the room, where one of the physical therapists was sitting in a chair across from Ty.
Ty.
The father of her baby. Ty. The father of her baby who didnât know he was the father of her baby.
Sara looked in the direction Marissa had indicated. âDo you know him?â she asked.
Sara wasnât from Fawn Grove. She didnât recognize the boy who had made good in the rodeo riding circuit. She didnât know the bull rider who Marissa had spent a night with. A mistaken, foolish night.
Although she could never even think about her life without her son, Jordan. Not for a moment.
Sara was one of the few people who knew the name of her babyâs father.
âThatâs Ty Conroy,â Marissa answered in a shaky voice.
Saraâs eyes went wide. âAre you serious? What are you going to do?â She knew Marissa had never expected Ty Conroy to return to Fawn Grove, California.
âDo you know why heâs here?â Marissa asked, edging toward the door.
Sara shook her head. âI donât work with him. Even if I did, I couldnât tell youâpatient privacy and all that.â
Marissa couldnât help but take another glance at Ty, who was now minus his cowboy hat and boots. His hand was on his knee and she spotted a cane leaning against the table. Just what had happened?
She was definitely out of that bull riding loop. Her job at Jase Cramerâs winery, Jordan and her volunteer work with The Mommy Club, an organization that helped parents in need, captured all of her attention and energy. She rarely even watched the news or any TV for that matter, except for SpongeBob and The Disney Channel. Sara was the same. They were both busy women.
Her glance at Ty lingered a little bit too long. The physical therapist moved away from him and Tyâs gaze zeroed right in on hers.
Oh, no! she thought again.
Though she told herself to look away, her eyes took him in. Two years hadnât made much difference in her appearance, nor had they made much difference in his, though there were more lines around his eyes now.
Where before his expression had been pensive, now he broke into a grin and motioned her over.
She groaned.
âHow are you going to play this?â Sara asked, clearly worried for her.
âI donât know,â Marissa murmured. âI need some time to think about it.â
âYou can run out of here,â Sara suggested.
âRunning never helped anything. Iâll just have to figure this out as I go.â
Ty motioned to her again. She walked across the room, every step filling her with anxiety, every inch closer to him making her pulse race faster. Theyâd definitely had chemistry that night, and she could feel it now, even this far away from him.