A Gift For Baby

Moving quickly, he searched through the crowd, glancing at each feminine face. Where the heck was she? And, for that matter, what was he going to do when he found her? Bundle her up and carry her back to the ranch?

Hardly that. He didn’t want to come face-to-face with her, in fact. If he did, it would blow his cover. No, he had to think of some way to keep her out of Pauly’s clutches without revealing himself. This was going to be tricky.

He scanned the length of the bar, but she wasn’t there. Looking back, he saw Pauly coming in behind him, and he melted into the crowd. He’d never spoken to the man and he didn’t think he would be recognized, but he couldn’t be too careful.

Making his way among the dancers, he gazed at each face but didn’t find what he was looking for. He saw Jen, but Hailey wasn’t with her. Where had she gone? The rest room was a possibility, but he couldn’t follow her in there. Still he could get close.

He turned down the hall to the telephones, and suddenly there she was, coming toward him. Adrenaline pumped as he turned, looking for an escape, but a crowd of laughing women had come into the hallway behind him and were about to carry him along in their wave of raucous celebration. He glanced back down the hall. Hailey was headed straight at him. No time to duck out. Her eyes met his and widened.

Yes, he thought to himself, resignedly. We have recognition. Now what? She’d seen him. They were going to have to speak. He was going to have to think fast, find a cover story, something….

Working on pure instinct, he stopped, looked down at her and smiled as the laughing women swarmed around them and moved on. Meanwhile, he was thinking to himself, Here goes nothing—playboy act number one, sticking to basics.

“Hi,” he said aloud, letting his eyes do his flirting for him, as though she were the cutest thing he’d ever seen, and what’s more, someone he’d never seen before. This had to have all the earmarks of a spontaneous pick up. And it had to be very convincing. He tilted his chin and gave her a rakish look from beneath the brim of his hat. “Where’ve you been all my life?”

Her mouth dropped open and she merely stared. She’d seen him too late to make her own getaway, and her heart had fallen. Her first thought was that she’d been caught, and not only was she going to be in big trouble, so was Jen. But now he was acting as though he didn’t realize who she was. Could it be? No. She couldn’t be that lucky. “Uh…” She could manage no more on such short notice.

“You from around here?” he asked, still in flirt mode, his blue eyes holding her gaze. “Because if you are, and we haven’t met before, something is definitely wrong with the system.”

Her pretty brows drew together and she searched his eyes. Was it possible that he really didn’t recognize her? And if so, how could she make sure she didn’t do anything to set him off?

“Uh…” she murmured again, afraid to speak for fear of giving herself away. She blinked at him, feeling like a halfwit, and then looked down at where her fingers were twisting together painfully. He knew who she was, surely. How could he not? They’d just been talking together that afternoon. Though as she remembered it, he hadn’t smiled at her once. Now he was all smiles. She swallowed hard. He was waiting for an answer.

“I…I’m just visiting,” she said softly, then stared at his eyes, waiting for awareness to light a spark there.

But it didn’t seem to happen.

“That’s a shame,” he said with a wicked grin. “Then we’ll have to work fast. We have so little time to get to know each other.”

Now she was amused. He really didn’t know who she was. He was giving her what she could only assume was his standard come-on line of bull. And that was interesting—the cowboy she’d met this afternoon hadn’t been interested in striking up a relationship. The wig made all the difference, it seemed. Her hand rose involuntarily and she touched it lightly. It made her look different. It made her act differently. Why wouldn’t it make her talk differently? Yes.

She took a deep breath, wondering if she could really pull this off. Determinedly she squared her shoulders and thought country.

“I’m afraid you’re wrong there,” she told him pertly, managing to change her voice into something that seemed to fit the mood of the place. She made it a little higher and put on a bit of a country drawl. That was the key. She would put on an accent. “We don’t have any time at all. Sorry, mister, but I don’t know you from Adam.”

She waited, breathless, to see how he would react to that, but he merely grinned again.

“Of course not,” he said smoothly, though he thought, Whoa, the old voice trick, as he looked down at her. “You’re just visiting. Remember?” he said aloud. “How could you know me?” His gaze took on a significant slant. “But we’re going to have to remedy that situation right away.”

She blinked up at him and took another deep breath. It was okay. Even the voice hadn’t tipped him off. She just might get away with this after all. Looking past him, she began to edge away.

“No thanks,” she said crisply. “I’m afraid I’m busy.”

He shifted his weight just enough to block her escape route. Glancing back into the dance club, he didn’t catch sight of Pauly, but he knew the detective had to be out there somewhere. It was very likely Pauly would be fooled by the wig, but he didn’t want to take chances. Much as he hated to admit it, he was going to have to stick with her for a while. And that meant he was going to have to take her out on the dance floor. Not his favorite thing to do, but he didn’t have much choice. He looked back down at her with a shadowed gaze.

“Let’s put it this way. Would you like to dance?”

She gazed up at him blankly. “Dance?” she echoed. Dance with the cowboy who’d treated her with sarcasm and scorn just hours before? He had to be joking.

He shrugged and gestured toward the large open room behind him. “Isn’t that what you came for?”

She had to admit, he had her there. “I can’t,” she said, unable to come up with a good excuse on the spur of the moment, though what she wanted most of all was to find a way to lose this man and not see him again tonight. “I mean, I really shouldn’t….”

Mitch’s habit was to cut to the chase. “Do you have a date waiting for you?” he asked, not sure at that point what her answer would be. For all he knew, this entire escapade was set up for her to meet someone. For all he knew, she’d done it before.

She hesitated, biting her lip. “What if I do?” she asked.

He shrugged and let a warm, comical look fill his eyes. “Then point him out and I’ll ask his permission.”

Despite everything, she had to laugh. “My, aren’t you old-fashioned.”

It was his turn to drawl. “It’s just the old cowboy code.” He tipped his hat with his forefinger to the brim. “We all have our standards.”

“Right. Like honor among thieves.”

He gave her a pained look. “Such cynicism from such a pretty lady. And all I did was ask her to dance.”

She was losing ground and she knew it. It didn’t look as if she were going to be able to get away without a turn around the dance floor. The thought of it made her heart beat a little faster. It would be dangerous to be so close for so long. Suppose he noticed something? Suppose the truth finally dawned on him? But at the same time, to keep turning him down would be odd in itself. After all, he was right. She’d come to dance. Why not with him? She was going to have to bite the bullet.

“Well, all right,” she said grudgingly, remembering to give her voice a country twang. “Just one dance.”

He turned and gestured with a flourish for her to precede him. As they entered the larger room, he managed to look casual as he quickly surveyed the landscape. He caught a glimpse of Pauly heading for the back of the building where a space had been set aside for pool tables and video games and he breathed a sigh of relief. Pauly was going to check out the area and then maybe he would give up and leave.

Well, that did change things. Maybe he could get out of this dancing stuff after all. He’d never been much for dancing, and now that he was facing the music, he began to search about for an excuse to avoid it.

“You know, it’s kind of hot in here,” he began as a new idea occurred to him. Maybe he could get her to go out and walk in the courtyard with him instead of dancing. “I thought maybe…”

But he was too late. Now that they were out in the main room, the lively music was infecting her with the mood of the moment.

“The music is starting,” she said, lifting her chin. “Let’s go.” She hooked her arm through his and smiled at him, anticipation dancing in her green eyes.

He was stuck. Looking around at the dancers, he began to realize there was no way he was going to get away with slow-dancing here. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I know this dance.”

“Oh, it’s just line dancing.” She tugged on his arm. “Anybody can do it. Here. I’ll show you.”

The next thing he knew, he was two-stepping across the floor, his thumbs hooked into his wide belt, and she was laughing up into his face. It felt awkward at first. He wasn’t much of a dancer. But she was right—it was easy. And she looked good in her flouncy skirt, whirling in front of him. In a few moments, he was having almost as much fun as she seemed to be having.

The tempo changed and she slid into his arms as naturally as though they were old friends.

“‘Cowboys Never Fall in Love,’” she murmured, naming the song that was playing. “Do you believe that?”

He grinned. “I live it,” he said lightly.

She laughed, but at that moment he saw Pauly come back into the room and he pulled Hailey closer to him. She swayed with him, her head nestling into the hollow of his shoulder, while he maneuvered her around so that she was always with her back to the detective. But Pauly kept moving, and it was hard to keep up.

“What are you so nervous about?” Hailey asked suddenly, pulling her head back so she could look into his face.

“Me? I’m not nervous.” He gave her a smile that was all innocence.