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long time. As a matter of fact, I thought I’d hang around here for a while, if that’s okay with you.”
    “I have to ask Mama before I invite guests to stay.” He was leaning back against Lanie’s legs. “Who’s he?” He pointed at Duncan, who had come around the Jeep.
    “This is a good friend of mine. His name is Duncan.”
    Duncan held out his hand for Zack to shake. “Hi, Zack. How’s it going?”
    “Okay.” Zack released his hand and stuck one finger in his mouth before suddenly remembering his earlier mission. He looked back at Quinn. “I’ve got puppies. Want to go see them?”
    Lanie cupped his cheek. “Not right now, sweetie. I need to talk to…your father…first. Why don’t you take Duncan to see them?”
    The little boy looked up at Duncan. “You want to see my puppies?”
    “You bet I do. Puppies are my favorite things in the whole world.” He shot a quick glance at Quinn. “Are you going to be okay?” he murmured softly. “You’re white as a sheet.”
    Quinn merely nodded, his gaze still on his son.
    Zack took Duncan’s hand, then turned back to Quinn. “Are you going to leave again?”
    “No, Zack. I’m not going to leave.”
    Apparently satisfied, Zack headed around the house, dragging Duncan with him.
    “Quinn? What’s going on? Why are you here?”
    “He’s beautiful, Lanie.”
    “He always has been.” Her tone could have frozen salt water. “If you’d ever bothered to come see him, you would have known that.”

2Chapter Four
    Feeling as though he’d aged twenty years, Quinn sank back onto the edge of the passenger seat. “And how the hell was I supposed to come see him when you didn’t bother to let me know we had a child?” Tiredly, he rubbed his face. The shock and turmoil of the last two days was finally starting to hit home. “I didn’t think even you could do something like keep my son’s existence from me.”
    Her eyes narrowed, anger turning the gray to a flashing steel color. “Right, Quinn.
    You expect me to believe you didn’t know about him when you’ve been sending him presents every Christmas and on his birthday?” Indignation rang in her voice.
    Slowly, he shook his head. “I don’t even know when his birthday is. Edward must have sent the gifts.”
    “If this is supposed to be some kind of joke, I don’t think it’s funny. Or is this your way of finding an excuse for ignoring him all this time?”
    “I wasn’t ignoring him. What I said is the truth. And if you hadn’t shown up with that letter from the court, Edward would have never told me.”
    “But— He promised— You signed the custody papers!” She took a shaky step forward and gripped the Jeep’s door as if it were the only thing keeping her on her feet.
    “Oh, God. I don’t know why this surprises me, but it does. I didn’t believe even Edward could be that cruel.” Her gaze searched his face. “You honestly didn’t know?”
    “If I’d known, nothing could have kept me away, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have given up custody of my child.” He pulled himself to his feet. “Can we go inside?
    There’s a lot we have to talk about.”
    “I think we’d better.”
    When she turned toward the house, Quinn fell into step beside her. His gaze swept the ranch, noting the white fences, the horses grazing here and there. “It still looks the same,” he murmured.
    “I had a new stable built last year,” she answered absently. They climbed the steps onto the porch and Lanie opened the front door. “Let’s go into the office. We’ll have more privacy there.”
    Before they reached the office there was a flurry of footsteps at the end of the hall, and Quinn suddenly found himself enveloped in the arms of a sobbing woman.
    “Mr. Quinn! Land sakes, I can’t believe it’s you. I didn’t think you was ever coming back.”
    He returned the hug, nearly lifting the stout woman off her feet. “Martha, my love, you should have known I could never stay away from your