The Texan's Baby (Texas Rodeo Barons)

“Are you trying to rile me up, Daddy? Because Mark Baker is a big old pain in my ass. He’s the worst of the bunch.”

“Why, because you asked him out and he refused?”

Her mouth opened and closed several times. “What?” she sputtered. “Who told you that?”

“Mark did, when he first came on at Baron. Thought it might be a problem. I didn’t think it was, until now.”

The rat bastard. Lizzie forgot about not rising to the bait and her temper heated. “That little weasel is a bald-faced liar. Truth is he asked me out when we were in college and I refused. He’s so full of himself that he called me an icy bitch. You hired him the year before I finished school and he’s been smug about it ever since I started in the HR department.”

Brock smirked a little, somehow satisfied with her response. “I could use some of that water. The painkillers make my mouth dry.”

She reached for the cup on the rolling table and handed it over. Brock adjusted the straw and took a long pull. “Ahhh,” he said, handing the cup back. “So you gave him the brush-off. Interesting. Still, he’s very good at his job.”

“And so am I. And I’m family.”

Brock pondered for a few moments. “It’s a big responsibility, Liz,” he finally said, serious once more. “And I’m not going to be out that long. Things will be fine.”

“No, they won’t,” she argued. “Not to mention investor confidence. This needs to be decided and handled in the right way. Ask Julieta. She’ll tell you the same thing—someone needs to be visible as leading the company. She can draft up a press release in no time.”

“Then I can work from home.”

Lizzie pressed her hands to her suddenly aching temples. “Dad, I know you’ll have your laptop and video conferencing is a great thing, and we can definitely use those tools. But you won’t be able to come to meetings for a while, and you’re going to have physiotherapy appointments as well as tiring a little more easily. I’m asking you to trust me with this.”

Brock looked away.

Lizzie’s heart softened. “Look, I know you hate this. We all do. I also know you like to be in the thick of things. You’re Brock Baron, right? Large and in charge. But you have to trust someone sometime.” She pulled out the final weapon in her arsenal. “Can’t you trust your own daughter?”

“I know you don’t understand why I want Jet in the business,” Brock said, his voice quieter now. “That has nothing to do with my confidence in you. You’ve never let me down, Lizzie. I know that.”

Except she had. Because he was on the cusp of putting his faith in her and then she was going to have to tell him, one day soon, that she was accidentally pregnant and about to become a single mom. For Brock Baron, family was everything. He’d stepped in and raised them alone after Delia left. Then he’d adopted Peggy’s boys and they were family even now that Peggy was gone. Same with Julieta and Alex. Brock was definitely all about the family unit and the two-parent home. Something that her baby wouldn’t have.

She touched her lips, remembering Chris’s kiss from this morning. If only things weren’t quite so complicated where he was concerned.

“If I put you in the driver’s seat, I don’t want to be left in the dark or have any surprises. I want daily updates on what’s happening and the status with projects.”

What he wanted was his finger in every pie, but Lizzie hadn’t really expected it to be any other way.

“Of course.” Considering the loss of the recent contract, it wasn’t an unreasonable request.

“And I’ll be included in any board meetings and votes. If I can’t make it to the office, I’ll video from the ranch.”

“That’s fine, too.”

He met her gaze. “Then consider yourself the interim president of Baron Energies.”

The title and everything. Lizzie hadn’t expected that. “Dad...”

“If the board’s going to support you, they need to know I’m behind you 100 percent.”

Oh, God. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? So why was she suddenly so terrified?

“I’ll take care of it for you, I promise.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

“I’m not worried. I’m going to be with you every step of the way. And this isn’t for very long. A few weeks, that’s all.”

That was the time frame Brock wanted, but Lizzie already

knew the recovery could take longer than he expected. He thought he was invincible. That the rules didn’t apply, but they did. Already their conversation had tired him. She could see it around his eyes and mouth, a look of strain and exhaustion.