“I saw it right off,” Jordan admitted. “She was the spitting image of your baby pictures. I confronted Melissa about it straight out.”

Cody felt an icy chill settle over him as Jordan’s earlier comment came back to him. He stood and leaned down to look his brother in the eye. “And that was when? About eight months ago, you said?”

“Yes,” Jordan replied softly.

“And Melissa confirmed your suspicions right then and there?” he demanded, the hurt and anger of yet another betrayal slamming through him.

“Yes.”

“Damn you, Jordan,” he snapped, backing up to prevent slamming a fist in his brother’s face. “How could you do that to me? How could you keep a secret like that? Didn’t you think I had a right to know? Or was this another one of those big-brother-knows-best decisions?”

“She pleaded with me not to tell you,” Jordan said simply.

Cody stared at him incredulously. “And your loyalty was with her and not me?”

“Why the hell do you think I’ve done everything in my power to get you back here? I didn’t want to lay this on you when you were in Wyoming. I wanted you here, so you could see for yourself. I didn’t want you to accuse me or her of making it up just to get you back here.”

Cody wasn’t buying it. “No, you were more concerned with keeping your promise to a woman who betrayed me than you were with doing what was right—giving me a chance to know my own child.” He turned on his heel and headed for the door, the box of kittens in tow. “I can’t believe you would do something like this. Maybe family loyalty doesn’t mean anything once you’re a big corporate executive. Is that it, big brother?”

“Cody, you have it all wrong,” Kelly protested when she came back into the kitchen. Obviously she had overheard the tail end of the argument.

“I don’t think so,” he snapped, shooting her a look of regret. “Don’t expect me at the baptism, after all. In fact, forget you even know me.”

Kelly called out after him. He heard the screen door slam behind her, then Jordan murmuring something he couldn’t quite make out. Whatever it was, though, it silenced her. When he looked back as he drove away, he saw them standing on the porch staring after him. He was sure it was only his imagination, but he thought he saw his brother wiping something that might have been tears from his cheeks.

He slowed the car momentarily and closed his eyes against the tide of anguish washing through him. Melissa had done it again. She had come between him and his family. He vowed then and there it would be the last time. This time he wouldn’t run. He wouldn’t let her control his destiny as he had before.