Carrying the Rancher's Heir / Secret Son, Convenient Wife: Carrying the Rancher's Heir / Secret Son, Convenient Wife

Callie held her breath and on to the hope that surrounded her.

“You have?”

He wrestled with his words. “I’m … sorry. About Reno. Shouldn’t have happened.”

She deflated faster than a birthday-party balloon. Her stomach clenched tight and a slow burn began inside her belly. She’d been bold with Tagg that night. She’d never be sorry for taking what she wanted. For giving Tagg all she had to give. She’d relinquished more than her body in Reno. And now he was apologizing? Telling her it shouldn’t have happened?

Pride and anger replaced her disappointment.

“I don’t walk out on women like that, usually.”

How many women? How many one-night stands? She wished they’d woken up in each other’s arms that morning and declared undying love for each other. But she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that would happen between them.

“You left a note,” she reminded him in a tone that made him wince.

His look of deep, honest regret overpowered her. He regretted everything while she held close to her heart those wonderful memories.

“I should have stayed and explained.”

“Nothing to explain, Tagg. We both got what we wanted.”

Tagg shook his head. He didn’t believe it.

Unable to stomach his remorse another second, Callie looked away, glancing at the mare. “Are you going to comb her down? She’s breathing hard.”

Before he could answer, Callie took the reins and walked the horse inside the barn. “Come on, girl,” she cooed. “Let’s get you out of the hot sun.” The familiar musky scent of straw, feed and dank earth wafted in the air. She’d grown up around those barn smells.

Tagg stood there a moment watching her, his expression tight, giving nothing away. Then he strode into the barn behind her. Callie had never felt so raw inside. So unnerved. But she came here to tell Tagg something and she wouldn’t leave until she did.

She took off the mare’s bridle while Tagg began removing the saddle.

“You don’t have to do that,” he snapped.

She’d annoyed him. Good. “It’s second nature with me. I grew up on a ranch, too.” She shot him a smile.

“Kind of hard to forget our biggest competitor.”

She set the bridle on a hook and grabbed a grooming brush. “Is that the problem? I’m The Hawk’s daughter?”

Tagg’s mouth twisted. “No.”

She handed him the brush and their fingers touched. Briefly. For a split second. It was electric, a jolt that tingled down to her toes. She saw a flicker in Tagg’s eyes, a gleam that lit up before fading into his unreadable expression once again.

“I wasn’t expecting flowers and candy,” she said quietly.

“You got less than you deserved.” He set the brush on the mare and began grooming her with long sweeping strokes.

“I knew what I was doing, Tagg. It was … pretty amazing. Are you going to deny that?”

Tagg stopped brushing the mare and turned to her, his eyes dark and hard. “No, I won’t deny that, but it can’t happen again.”

“I don’t want it to,” she said quickly, her pride taking hold. “Just so you can get your ego through that barn door, I’d better say what I came here to say. I thought you’d care to hear this from me rather than from your brother. You’re going to see me around Worth Ranch from now on. I’m volunteering at Penny’s Song. It’s a worthy cause that I’m fully behind and I can’t wait to get started working with the children.”

“You?” Tagg silently cursed. Callie Sullivan was the last person he wanted to see on Worth land day in and day out. He couldn’t believe she’d shown up here today. He’d been thinking about that night in Reno for weeks now. Remembering how good it was with her. His blood pressure escalated the second he’d spotted her on his property. And in that instant when they’d touched, memories of hot sweaty mind-numbing sex had rattled his brain.

“Yes, me.”

“Why?”

“I told you. I want to work with children. I’ve got a degree in psychology and I know I can be an asset at the facility. Clay thought I’d be perfect, since I’m good with horses, too.”

Clay? He was going to have to talk to his brother. Never mind that Callie Sullivan was Hawkins Sullivan’s daughter and they’d already beat Worth Ranch out of one big cattle deal this year, Tagg didn’t need the temptation Callie posed to him.

He resumed brushing down the mare. Clay had no clue about Tagg’s one-night stand with Callie and he wasn’t going to bring it up. If word got out, the family would try their hand at matchmaking. Lord knows, they’d tried before. But Tagg wasn’t shopping for a relationship and he’d made himself very clear. “Well, thanks for telling me.”

“It’s a pretty wonderful charity. Your brother is a good man for doing this.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I told him to forget I’m The Hawk’s daughter while I’m on the ranch. My focus will only be on helping to get Penny’s Song off the ground.”

“I’m sure he appreciates that.” He patted the mare’s rump then turned to fill a steel bucket half-full of oats. He’d ridden the horse hard while on the range.

Before he could get the oats to the mare, Callie stepped up, bumping him slightly. He caught a whiff of her perfume—flowery but earthy, as if she’d stamped her own unique scent on it. Memories flooded back instantly. That sultry dance in the bar. Her long black hair flowing wild and free. The way her moist skin tasted when he’d kissed her.

“I bet she’ll like this more.” Callie reached into her front pocket, coming up with half a dozen sugar cubes. She opened her palm to the mare. A pink tongue came out to lap up Callie’s treat. She slid her hand along the mare’s mane. “Are we friends now, girl?” Her tone was soft and soothing, as if they’d just shared something intimate. “Yeah, I think we are.” She turned to Tagg, her eyes bright. “What’s her name?”

Tagg set the bucket down in front of the horse and moved to the wall to hang up the brush, leaving Callie and her tempting scent behind. “Russet.”

Callie smiled wide. “That’s perfect.”

Tagg nodded, watching Callie interact with his horse. She wore jeans and a soft cotton shirt, nothing daring, nothing that would raise a man’s temperature. Except that he knew what was underneath her clothes: soft creamy skin, hips that flared slightly and perfect breasts that when freed of constraints could bring a man to tears.

She knew horses. Knew how to talk to them, how to treat them. That didn’t surprise him as much as please him. He leaned back against the wall watching her until Callie realized what he was doing.

Her brows lifted, a question in her expression as she looked at him.

“Why’d you do it, Callie? We barely knew each other. Why me?”

Deep in thought, she studied him, and Tagg wondered if she would tell him the truth. A moment ticked by and then she tilted her head slightly. “When I saw you sitting on that bar stool … you looked how I felt.” She stood with set shoulders near his mare. “Lonely. Disappointed. Wishing things in your life were different. I thought we needed each other. That maybe we could help each other.”

Tagg hadn’t expected that much honesty. Callie had looked into his soul and really seen him. He never spoke of Heather to anyone. It was as though if he didn’t say the words aloud, they wouldn’t be true. They wouldn’t hurt as much. Except now, with Callie, he felt a need to explain, if only this one time. “It was the anniversary of my wife’s death. She was everything to me. I went to Reno on the pretense of business, to forget.”

Callie cast him a sympathetic look, her eyes filled with under standing. “I’m sorry.”

“No sorrier than I am.” He looked away, gazing out the barn doors to the land that had belonged to the Worths for generations, not really seeing any of it. He pushed images of that fiery split-in-two plane on the tarmac out of his mind. He’d seen it enough in his nightmares. He turned to her then, looking deep into her pretty brown eyes. “When I said that night shouldn’t have happened, I meant it. Nothing’s gonna come of it, Callie. It’d be best if we put it out of our heads.”

“Agreed,” she said instantly, her eyes firm on his. “Like I said, I’m here to break the ice. In case we should bump into each other at Penny’s Song. I’m not good with awkward.”