LITMIR.BIZ

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Again Chance’s voice, brimming with unspoken legal advice, intruded. “We need to step back from the emotions here, talk about this someplace else.”

      “Like your office?”

      “Or home.” Chance sounded diplomatic.

      Cord focused on CJ. “Have you ever met your dad?”

      The kid shook his head, a little smile beginning to tweak the corner of his mouth. Then he glanced around at the serious faces of the adults, and his budding smile wilted when he fixed his attention on Jolie. “Mommy? Are you cryin’?” He squirmed to get off Cord’s lap.

      “Don’t do this, Cord. Please. Not like this.”

      Cord swallowed around the fist-size lump in his throat and ignored the tears shining on Jolie’s cheeks and the plea in her voice. Her anger had leached out, leaving only sadness. “There’s something you should know, CJ. I’m your—”

      “Cord, no!” Jolie’s anger was back, and it prickled his skin like dozens of needle pricks.

      “Dammit, Jolie—”

      “Uh-oh. You aren’t s’posed to say that word.”

      Cord absently rubbed CJ’s back as he controlled his own anger. “Yeah. I know, bubba. I’ll have to start a swear jar for when I forget and say words like that in front of you.”

      “A swear jar?”

      “Yup. Whenever you or I say a bad word, we’ll have to put money in the jar. To remind us not to say them.”

      CJ cut his eyes to his mom and lowered his voice to a loud whisper. “Am I gonna see you again?”

      “We have to go, CJ.”

      Jolie stood rooted about four feet away, as if afraid to approach. Probably a good idea. Not that Cord would physically harm her. He didn’t hit women. But damn if he didn’t want to hurt her as badly as she’d hurt him. She’d eviscerated him, spilling his heart and guts right there on the sidewalk for everyone to see.

      “No.”

      She blinked at his cold command and opened her mouth to argue.

      “I’m his father. CJ’s coming with us.”

      CJ whipped his head around to stare, his brow crinkled. He mouthed the word father but Cord mostly ignored the boy, his gaze fixed on Jolie.

      “The hell you say.” She bore down on him now, a tiger mama ready to rip his head off.

      “Bad mommy. You aren’t s’posed to say those words, either!” CJ chortled and clapped his hands, oblivious to the tension among the adults. “She has to put money in the swear jar, too, right?” He blinked, long dark lashes shadowing brown eyes so reminiscent of Cord’s own. Looking shy, he gazed up. “Right? Uh...” He patted Cord’s cheek again to get his attention. “Are you my daddy?”

      Cord felt the word deep in his chest as CJ uttered it and something shifted—something both fierce and tender.

      “Absolutely, pardner.” He glared at Jolie, daring her to continue the fight.

      She wasn’t about to back down. “C’mon, CJ.”

      “But, Mommy,” he whined, digging in his heels by wrapping his legs around one of Cord’s legs and pulling against her grip. “I want strawberry shortcake.”

      “Not today. We’re going home.”

      “You’re not going anywhere, Jolie. Not until this is settled.”

      Her gaze whipped to meet Cord’s, and then skittered away from the seething anger in his expression.

      “Cord, let them go. Cassie can drop me at the office and take you home. I’ll get a writ of habeas corpus drawn up along with a request for a paternity test and file them this afternoon.”

      “You wouldn’t dare!” Jolie barely managed to utter her outraged words.

      Chance’s mouth thinned into a disapproving grimace. “Damn straight I would.” He ruffled CJ’s hair after Cassie glared and elbowed him. “And I’ll put my dollar in the swear jar, too, bubba.”

      “Everyone should step back a little and take a deep breath,” Cassie urged. “And Chance is right. We need to take this someplace more private.” Her hands lifted in a fluttery gesture to indicate the curious stares from people passing by.

      Cord didn’t care if they were being filmed for a segment on the ten o’clock news, but his sister-in-law had a point. “Yeah, good idea, Cass.”

      Chance glanced at Cassie. “Darlin’, would you get them to pack up a strawberry shortcake to go?” He winked at CJ as Cass ducked back inside the restaurant. “Are you sure we can’t move this to my office?”

      Jolie bowed up like a half-broke mustang, and Cord worked to school his expression. She always did run toward hot tempered.

      “And give you Barrons home court advantage? I don’t think so. I’ll tell ya what. Let’s go to my dad’s office. We can talk there.” She folded her arms just under her breasts, plumping them under the misshapen scrubs she wore.

      Cord sucked in a breath. This woman had always had power over him. From the first moment he’d laid eyes on her standing at the top of the stairs in high school.

      “I don’t care where the he—” He glanced down at CJ and bit off the word. “The heck we go. I want this settled, and settled now.”

      “Now? After all these years you’re in an all-fired hurry to settle it now?”

      “Since I just learned I had a son less than ten minutes ago, yeah, Jolie. I’m in a big hurry to settle it now.”

      Jolie jammed her fists against her hips. Cord had to remember to breathe. Her cheeks were flushed and her green eyes sparked. The best sex they’d had was makeup sex after their fights. There’d been many. He’d forgotten that. The passage of time had smoothed over those memories so only the good ones stood out. But man, those particular bad times were so good!

      Gesturing down the street toward the bank on the next corner, Chance suggested adjourning to the conference room there. Cord had to stifle a laugh. His brother was being such a sneaky lawyer; the bank belonged to Barron Enterprises. Not exactly neutral territory. He could live with that. He needed every advantage, especially since he felt as if his world had tilted on its axis. At Jolie’s nod, Chance pulled out his cell and made a call.

      Cassie appeared with a foam box and winked at CJ. “So what’s the plan?”

      “We’re going to the bank to use the conference room.” Chance gripped the handles of Cord’s wheelchair and started pushing.

      Giggling, CJ squirmed so he was sitting facing forward. “Make it go fast?”

      “No,” all four adults answered simultaneously.

      Once they were inside the bank, Cassie disappeared into the break room with CJ in tow. When Jolie followed, ready to argue, Cassie showed some of her own temper.

      “Good grief. The kid is going to eat his strawberry shortcake in here. Do you seriously want him listening to the two of you slinging mud at each other? Really?”

      There was a reason Cord loved his sister-in-law. She didn’t take crap from anyone. Not his brothers, not Chance and definitely not his father. As he watched, some of the starch wilted out of Jolie, especially when Cass reached over to touch her arm.

      “Look, Jolie, I get why you’re nervous. I promise I’m just going to sit with him. We’ll both be here when y’all get through talking. Okay?”

      Jolie blinked several times, inhaled deeply and relaxed. “Okay.”

      And that was that. Jolie pivoted and marched toward the conference room door, where Chance and Cord were

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