Page 38 of A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

No. Xander didn’t care about the law or even logic. He didn’t want this man anywhere near Daisy or Avery.

“I just think if y’all are going to steal away my wife and child, I deserve something in return,” William said. “It’s not like y’all can’t afford it, right?”

Xander sagged. “You want money.” On one level, he was madder than ever, that this jerk didn’t even really want Daisy and the baby. That he thought money was a good substitute. But the larger part of Xander could only feel relief that William wasn’t sincere about reclaiming Daisy and their child.

“That’s right. And hey, what do you care? You get Daisy for whatever use you’re making of her.” William glanced at Xander’s clenched fists and took a step back. “She’s a good worker. I know that. I trained her myself. Now you can thank me. I deserve something in return for the work I put into her.”

“I know what you deserve,” Xander growled.

He’d be happy to pay to make the guy go away, but what would keep him from coming back? They needed a solid contract.

“Let me call my lawyer.” Xander pulled out his phone and texted Carly to come right away. She was probably on the property somewhere.

William looked around, his gaze lingering on the forty-year-old ranch house. “I have to say, this wasn’t what I was expecting for billionaires. How about you give me a tour while we wait for the lawyer?”

“No. It won’t be long.” He didn’t care if he was breaking every rule of hospitality. He wasn’t inviting this guy into his home.

William frowned and opened his mouth but closed it again without speaking. He walked toward his car. Maybe he was going to lean against it, since Xander hadn’t offered a chair, or get something out of it. Maybe he’d simply get in and drive away.

William walked past his car and along the house. Was he actually looking in the windows? Well, he wouldn’t see Daisy there.

But if he went around the house, he might see her cottage. Xander hurried to get around William, but they reached the corner about the same time. Xander grabbed William’s arm. “We’ll wait on the porch.”

For a moment Xander wondered if William was going to fight him, and he thought William wondered the same thing.

Then the dogs, Buddy and Lucky, bounded over to them. They started to give William a curious sniff, but at Xander’s quick command, they came to heel and helped Xander escort William back to the porch. The dogs sat at his feet as he glared at William. They weren’t really much in the way of guard dogs, being far too friendly, but he could make sure they knew William wasn’t welcome here.

Carly and Josh arrived a few minutes later. “What’s up?” Carly glanced from Xander to William and then gave the man a closer study, her gaze narrowed.

“William Vane.” He smiled and offered his hand, which Carly ignored.

“He says he’s Daisy’s ex,” Xander said. “He thinks we should pay him, because—what was your logic again?”

“I lost something valuable when she left,” William said. “A good worker who should have made me a good wife, except she apparently thought she could do better for herself here.”

“I see,” Carly said coolly. “You think Daisy was a valuable commodity, and we should compensate you for the loss.”

“That’s right.” William looked pleased with her. “It isn’t too much to ask. A couple million will cover my losses.” He smirked at Xander. “She’s worth it, right?”

Darn it, he shouldn’t have made his feelings obvious. Yes, of course Daisy was worth it, but the idea of this man thinking of her as something to be bought and sold made him want to rip that smirk right off his face.

“There’s one problem with your logic,” Carly said. “Slavery is illegal.”

“What? I’m not—”

Carly spoke over him. “A person is not a commodity. You have no rights to your employees, regardless of how much you put into training them.”

William scowled. “Fine. Forget that part. It’s still—she’s still—”

Carly stalked closer, like a mountain lion targeting its prey, stopping inches from his face. “And you weren’t here during her pregnancy. You weren’t with her when she gave birth. You haven’t offered any money to pay for her medical expenses or to support the baby. And you waited until two weeks after the birth to show up. I think that shows exactly how interested you are in the baby.”

“I just—I didn’t—I thought she needed some time to recover, maybe.”

“You didn’t want to have to deal with her when she was struggling. You don’t want to deal with her now. You just want money.”

“Well, I, no. I mean...” William took a couple of deep breaths and seemed to get himself back on track. “Look, I tried to contact her. She blocked my calls and messages. I didn’t even know where she was. She had my baby. That proves she cared about me once. Maybe I can’t compete with a billionaire, but I can sue for alienation of affection.”

“Not in Texas, you can’t,” Carly said. “Even if a man lured her away from you, which isn’t what happened, there’s no law against it in this state.”

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