Cowboy for Keeps

“You’re lucky to be so passionate about your job. Most of us head off to the office, put in our eight hours and head home.”

“Didn’t you have that kind of passion when you were at Triad?”

He nodded. “I figured on a promotion every few years and staying put till I retired. I never thought for one second it would end like it did.”

“Or that Richard would take over your job?”

“That, either.” He tamped down the anger that still hovered just beneath the surface.

“You must hate him,” she said sympathetically.

“Not hate.”

“Despise?”

“I held a grudge. Hold a grudge, don’t get me wrong. But I’m not angry at him. Not over the company-wide downsizing and his promotion.” Conner rubbed his closed fist on his thigh. “He’s also trying to do right by you and the baby, and I respect that.”

“You think I should marry him?”

“I think you should consider it. Seriously. He can take good care of both of you. Provide a financially stable life.”

Unlike Conner.

“What about love?”

“You said yourself you’ll always care for him. And you loved him once. Enough to get engaged.”

“I think I was enamored with the idea of being in love. And vulnerable at the time.”

Because of him? Conner was hesitant to ask, not sure how he’d respond if she answered yes.

“Richard was everything I thought I was looking for then.” She stared forlornly at the horizon.” I’ve been unfair to him, and I won’t compound it by marrying for the wrong reason.”

Conner saw her point. But he’d been raised by parents who instilled traditional values in him. “Richard’s trying to do the honorable thing. You might be happier than you think you’ll be.”

“We both know that a marriage license is no guarantee. My father left when I was a child. Yours when you were, what? Eighteen?”

“Twenty.”

“And I bet being older didn’t make it hurt any less.”

“My argument exactly. If Richard were to bail on you and the baby—”

“Then I’d go after him.” She finished Conner’s sentence for him. “I don’t need a marriage license for that. But he won’t bail, because he isn’t the kind of man to abandon his child. Like you said before, he’s responsible. Dependable. He’s paying for any medical expenses my insurance doesn’t cover. Agreed to buy baby furniture and clothes. List me and the baby on as beneficiaries on his life insurance.”

It was difficult for Conner to concentrate with their legs glued together, her chest rising and falling, and those laser sharp eyes fastened on him.

“What about visitation?”

“I’ll make sure Richard has every opportunity to play as large a role in our child’s life as he chooses.”

“It’s not the same as a kid living with his dad. Just look at your own childhood.”

She bristled. “This really is none of your business.”

“You’re right,” Conner admitted, chagrined.

“Would you marry someone you weren’t crazy about?”

“That’s just it.” Conner quit listening to the voice of reason and leaned in. Lowered his head. “Richard’s a damn idiot for not being crazy about you. Any man in his right mind would be.”

She stared at him wordlessly.

“Dallas, I...” He’d blown it. Said something he shouldn’t have. “I’m just...”

“Are you?” she whispered.

“What?”

“Crazy about me?”

“Yes.” Crazy about her and plain crazy. He had to be. If not, he wouldn’t be closing the small distance separating them and seeking her mouth with his.

Their lips grazed briefly. Before his could settle possessively on hers, one of the horses whinnied shrilly. The possibility that their rescuers had arrived was enough to give Conner a jolt and bring him to his senses. Was he insane?

He broke off their near kiss and listened for the ATVs, acutely aware of their incriminating proximity. “I didn’t mean to...”

“Really?” Dallas gazed deeply at him. “Because I did.”

His heart, already hammering, nearly exploded.

Dolly whinnied again.

“We should probably talk about this. Later.” Rising from the wagon seat, Conner craned his neck and peered up the hill, the direction from which he expected Gavin to appear.

“Do you see them?” Dallas pushed to her feet, as well.

“No.” And that was strange. What had alerted the horses?

It was then that he noticed Molly and Dolly staring in the opposite direction, toward the bottom of the hill, their eyes wide and ears pricked forward.

The skin on the back of Conner’s neck began to tingle. More than one kind of predator made these mountains their home. Bobcats, mountain lions and coyotes to name a few. He reached for Dallas’s hand.