The Kentucky Cowboy's Baby

“Absolutely,” Pepper said. Acting confident—even when she wasn’t—convinced people that she knew what she was doing. “We can talk in my office.”

“No, darling,” Faye said. “You should take advantage of the energy of spring and the outdoors.” Her mother took the child and walked inside.

“I made some calls,” AJ said.

“Okay.” She would let him talk so she could figure out what he knew and wanted. She watched him pace around the patio. He definitely was handsome—she had to be honest.

“I spoke with Danny Leigh.”

Did he think being the mayor’s friend was a big deal? Like she should be impressed? Everybody knew the mayor. This was a small town.

“Telling a state agency you owned land you didn’t could end up getting you and the town—including Danny and others who signed the papers—into a lot of trouble.”

“Daddy Gene meant for Faye to have the ranch. Everyone in town knew that was his plan.” She plowed on, pushing back the tears. “Faye agreed with me about the garden because it would provide food and a chance to earn extra money for anyone who needs help in Angel Crossing. How can you take that from them?”

“This is about what’s legal and fair.”

“Fair? I’ll tell you what’s fair. Giving my patients a fighting chance to get healthy with fresh fruits and vegetables. Helping kids understand where what’s on their plate comes from and what real food is. What about the entrepreneurs? Liddy already has her name in for a loan to make soaps and salves from the herbs she’ll grow. With that money, she can go to the community college, get a degree and earn enough so she can rent a bigger place and be allowed to have her kids back.”

“It’s the law. The will is clear. The ranch goes to me.” He turned his back to her and his shoulders—his wide and muscled shoulders—lifted with a deep breath. “I have plans, too, and they all have to do with giving my little girl the best. Bobby Ames said that it will take months to settle the estate and that’s if there are no challenges or issues.” He turned and glared at her. “I was going to go to California but it seems that we have a place here. Plus, I need to make sure you don’t do anything else with the property that will make it less attractive to a buyer.”

She whispered, because that was all the air she had, “You’re selling the ranch?”

* * *

LOOKING AT PEPPER’S horrified face nearly made him take back the truth.

“I can fix this so you don’t have to sell. Or—” Her voice trailed off as her shoulders drooped.

He couldn’t weaken now. Not only did his future ride on this ranch but his daughter’s did, too. For the first time in his life, he had something to lose. “Promises won’t put food in me and my daughter’s bellies.” Good Lord, he heard his daddy in those hard words. He couldn’t stop now even if he really believed that he could make this work out for all of them...somehow. “And what will keep me out of trouble if the state doesn’t like that you lied on the grant, huh?”

Her gaze dropped. “I’ve already started withdrawing the application. You don’t need to worry.”

Good thing for him she’d given in. He’d had about another ten seconds of meanness before he’d have caved. “My original plan had been to stop to pay my respects before heading to California to work on a dude ranch for a buddy of mine. Since the estate might not be settled for months—and it looks like there are a few things to take care of in preparation for a sale and to make sure you don’t try anything else with the property—that means EllaJayne and I will need to stay on here, in what’s technically my house...or will be. I mean, Bobby Ames explained that until everything is settled, you and Faye don’t have to let me stay. But hotels get mighty expensive, and there’s the attorney to pay, as well as food and diapers and such for EllaJayne. Faye already agreed and you wouldn’t put out a little girl. Also, I’ll have to look for work, which leads to my next problem. I need someone to look after EllaJayne, from time to time. She likes your mama and since you’re a nurse—”

“Physician’s assistant,” she corrected.

He’d better hurry because she was recovering her spit and vinegar. “Physician’s assistant. Danny Leigh vouched for you, too. You and your mama could do in a pinch, but I need to have something steadier, more permanent. So, here’s the deal. In addition to staying here, I need your help in tracking down someone to care for my daughter. You’ve got to know who’s good at that sort of thing. Does Angel Crossing have a day care? Either way. I want good care at a reasonable price.”

“I’m sure I can give you care recommendations. But I’m a little confused as to why I should be helping you? What do I get out of the deal?”

He worked to not admire her backbone. Up against a wall and she wasn’t afraid to negotiate. “What’s your counteroffer?”

“Since Faye said you can stay, then you should care for Faye’s Beauties.”

“Her Beauties?”

“The llamas and alpacas. Faye does most of the work but she needs help.”

“Seems fair.”

Her face had relaxed into a smile. He liked that smile. It shouldn’t matter if he liked it or not. His only goal here was getting the ranch free and clear, selling it and moving on. He’d considered staying but he couldn’t do that and raise a daughter. Plus he’d never even worked on a ranch. He’d helped with animals at the rodeo but that wasn’t the same thing.

“I could write everything up in a contract,” he went on, “but I’d like to think we could do this on a shake of the hand?” Despite her hippie mama and using a ranch she didn’t own, Pepper was practical and trustworthy, he thought. He’d gotten that impression, anyway, from everything Danny and Bobby Ames had said to him.

Her stiff shoulders and etched-in-stone chin told him she wasn’t giving up or giving in without a little more fight. She might have been down, but she wasn’t out. “Since you already settled the housing with Faye, I don’t see that I can take issue with that. I’m sure I can find your daughter care. She’s a sweet baby. I need some assurance you won’t sell out from under me and I want a chance to buy Santa Faye Ranch before it goes on the market.”

“If that’s legal, sure, why not.” He didn’t care who bought the property. He just needed the money. “When everything’s settled and I’m ready to sell, I’ll let you know.”

“Wow. So kind of you to tell me when you plan to sell my home.”

He almost laughed at her snarky comment. He might appreciate her backbone and the way she filled out her scrubs... Jeez...what was his problem? “Promise.” Her gaze stayed on him. He couldn’t look away. “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” Now, what had made him say something that juvenile and stupid?

She laughed. “You know, Daddy Gene said that same thing.” Suddenly, she stopped smiling.

Her face settled into lines of pain, her eyes darkening. He knew that pain. He was feeling it, too. Missing Gene. The man who’d helped him become...a man, with his rough-and-tumble advice and affection. AJ reached out and dragged her into a hug, pulling her against him to stop the pain, for both of them. “I’m so sorry. I know how much Gene loved you and your mama.”

She didn’t move and he stared out over her head and into the expanse of scrubby desert and mountains around them. He’d never been in mountains with so little vegetation. In Kentucky, the only time a mountain looked this bad was after mining. Here it was the natural order of things. The lack of green wore on his eyes.

“I miss him. I miss him so much,” Pepper said in a hoarse whisper.

AJ wasn’t good at this sort of thing, never had been. But he couldn’t walk away from her sadness and tears. “I know, honey,” he said. He looked down at her, where she’d buried her face into his shoulder. Her hair was pulled back from a center part to a loose and messy bun at the back of her head. It had streaks of golden red in the light brown. The lush fullness surprised him. She appeared so tightly wound except for the softness of her hair, and her brightly colored toenails. No way should he be spending so much time determining the exact color of her hair or noticing that she had daisies painted on her toenails. He relaxed his hold a little, needing some space between them. She clutched at him.

“Not yet,” she whispered as a breath shuddered from her.

He brushed his cheek against her temple and he nearly kissed her, wanting to soothe her distress and let her know she wasn’t alone. Instead, he held her loosely against him. He could guess what her curves would feel like and what they might do to him if he pulled her closer. He wasn’t that much of a dog.

Her scent of spice and citrus filled his head, such a sweet fresh smell. It reminded him of the time between spring and summer, full of promise.

“Did Daddy Gene really talk about us when he was still riding bulls?” she asked, not moving her face from his shoulder.

“Sure.” This topic was much safer than where his mind had gone when his hand encountered the sexy deep curve of her waist. He’d just stopped himself from testing the swell of her hip. He kept his eye on a large cactus in the near distance. “He said that Faye loved turquoise and pepitas. Pumpkin seeds.” Pepper nodded so he went on. “He said you refused to let him get you another horse when yours died from colic.” Crap. Why had he brought up that story? He could feel the sadness course through her as she burrowed into his shoulder again, like she could hide there forever. Surprisingly, he would have let her if it would have helped.

“Toni,” she said, her voice muffled. “Her name was Antonia. I didn’t think I’d ever not be sad again. For a while, I wanted to be a vet, but then when Daddy Gene got sick the first time, I realized medicine—human medicine—was for me.” She relaxed against him.

He wrapped his arms more fully around her, wanting to...he wasn’t sure what, other than make her feel better, to lessen the sadness he felt in her every muscle and heard in her voice. She hadn’t asked for this any more than he had. They both needed to weather the situation as best they could. He could guess at her sorrow now. It was an echo of his own. He missed Gene. He’d been someone AJ knew he could count on if anything went wrong. He hadn’t kept in close touch during the years after Gene left the rodeo, but he’d known his cousin would be there if he needed him. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here earlier, before Gene passed, but...there was EllaJayne and her mama.”

Pepper stiffened and not from sorrow. Crap. His smooth tongue had deserted him. He usually wasn’t so clueless with women.

She pulled away and turned her head but he saw her wipe at her eyes. “I’m good now,” she said with taut determination. “What do we do? Shake hands?”

Chapter Four (#ulink_103456f2-7e0b-5304-a0ad-bd45ecb13f33)

Pepper thrust out her hand and stepped away from AJ’s heat. Shake hands and move on. That was what she needed to do. Forget she’d broken down in his arms and had liked—way too much—the warm strength of him. He took her hand in his and lingered for a second. She didn’t change her grip, making her gaze stay on him. How had she not seen the tiny white scar that stretched up from the corner of his upper lip and another on the outside of his dark brow? His face told her what she needed to know. A rodeo cowboy. They didn’t stick around.

“Okay?” he asked with soft gruffness.

She shifted her eyes to a place over his shoulder where she could see the mountains that surrounded Angel Crossing. “I’ll get you sitters’ names.” She could do this. She had to do this for herself, for Faye and for Angel Crossing. They were all counting on her.