Melissa debated bailing out on her day at White Pines. Handling Cody was tricky enough without having to worry about Harlan’s sneaky tactics at the same time. Still, she couldn’t very well deny Harlan the chance to get to know the granddaughter he’d just officially discovered he had.

That was what ultimately decided her, or so she told herself as she dressed Sharon Lynn in bright blue corduroy pants, a blue and yellow shirt, and tiny sneakers. She brushed her hair into a halo of soft curls around her face.

“Ma? Bye-bye?”

Proud of Sharon Lynn’s expanding vocabulary, she nodded. “That’s right, my darling. We’re going to see your daddy and your granddaddy.”

Sharon Lynn’s face lit up. She reached for the new toy duck that was never far from sight. “Da?”

Melissa shook her head at the instant reaction. Obviously Cody had had an incredible impact on his daughter in just one visit. Did he have that effect on all women or just those in her family? She tickled Sharon Lynn until she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“Yes, Da,” she told her approvingly. “We’re going to see Da.” And she, for one, was nervous as the dickens about it. Sharon Lynn clearly had no such qualms.

When Melissa pulled her car to a stop in front of the house at White Pines, she drew in a deep, reassuring breath, trying to calm her jitters. It was going to be just fine, she told herself, even as she fought the overwhelming sense of déjà vu that assailed her.

How many times had she driven out here, filled with hope, anxious to spend time with the man she loved, only to leave bitterly disappointed by his refusal to commit to anything more than a carefree relationship? Everything had always seemed more intense out here, the air crisper and cleaner, the terrain more rugged, the colors brighter. Similarly, her emotions had always seemed sharper, too—the bitter sorrow as well as the blinding joy.

Once she had dreamed of this being her home, the place where she and Cody would raise a family. Now with the snap of her fingers and a couple of “I do’s,” her dream could come true. But Cody’s proposal, forced only by the existence of a child for whom he felt responsible, had tarnished the dream. She doubted it could ever recapture its original, innocent glow.

“Da, Da, Da!” Sharon Lynn screamed excitedly, bouncing in her car seat as Cody strode across the front lawn. He was wearing snug, faded jeans, a T-shirt that hugged his broad chest and worn cowboy boots. He looked sexier and more masculine than any male model ever had in GQ.

Before Melissa could fight her instinctive reaction just to the sight of him, he had thrown open the door and lifted his daughter high in the air, earning squeals of delight for his effort.