“If you talk to her, let her know I’ll be by the minute the doors open. Tell her to arrange with Eli for someone to cover for her unless she wants her personal life broadcast to everyone in town.”

To his surprise, Ken Horton held out his hand. When Cody shook it, Melissa’s father said, “For whatever it’s worth, Cody, I think it’s about time you two got everything out in the open. The two of you had something special once. Melissa’s been punished enough for making one foolish mistake.”

He gave his wife a defiant look. “And a man has a right to claim his child.”

Velma Horton groaned and covered her face with her hands. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Cody wondered at the fear he’d seen in her eyes right before she placed her hands over them. She’d had the same terrified expression earlier in the day. He’d always thought Velma Horton liked him. Now she seemed to think he was some sort of a monster.

Was she blaming him for running out on her pregnant daughter? Or was it something more? He wondered what could possibly be behind the expression he’d read in her eyes.

Eventually, as he slowly walked back to his pickup, it came to him. She was actually afraid that he’d come home to take his baby away from Melissa.

Was that what he intended? He sat in his truck on the dark street in front of the Hortons’ house, his head resting on the steering wheel. He honestly hadn’t thought beyond discovering the truth and confronting Melissa with it.

Obviously, it was a good thing Ken Horton had prevented him from seeing Melissa tonight. He needed to get his thoughts in order. He needed to have a plan. For once in his life he couldn’t act on impulse. Too many lives were at stake, his own, Melissa’s, and that darling little girl’s.

His heart ached every time he thought about his daughter. His arms felt empty, just as they did when Dani climbed out of them or he had to turn Angela back over to Jessie or Luke. He wondered about that vacant place he’d thought would always be inside him and realized that there was someone who could fill it, a child of his own.

Tomorrow he would claim her. He realized he didn’t even know her name or how old she was or whether she could walk or talk. So many precious details. He sighed. Tomorrow he would fill in the gaps.

Tomorrow he would finally experience what it was like to feel like a father. Right now it was all too abstract, but in the morning he would hold his child in his arms. Whatever else happened between him and Melissa, he vowed that nothing would ever rip his baby away from him again.

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