The Daddy Search

“Hi. I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before.” He reached out and tugged at her sunglasses until he had removed them to reveal her entire face. “That’s much better. Now I’m sure I haven’t seen you around here.” He handed the sunglasses back to her. “You really shouldn’t hide those beautiful eyes behind these dark glasses.”

“Oh?” She tried to fall in line with his open, easy manner. “You mean you don’t think they lend an air of mystery?”

He ignored her question. “I hope you realize you’re responsible for that horse tossing me to the ground.”

She felt her eyes widen in shock at his accusatory words. “Me? What did I do?”

“You appeared from out of nowhere and stood there looking like the most intriguing woman I’d ever seen—hair of spun gold and half your face covered by these large dark glasses. By the time I got my mind back on the fact that the horse and I had different goals, it was too late. I was on my backside in the dirt wondering what happened.” He flashed a sexy yet nonthreatening smile. “So you now owe me something to make up for this terrible inconvenience.”

“Oh?” She couldn’t help the little grin that tugged at the corners of her mouth. “And just what might that be?”

“I’ll have to think about that one.” He gave her a sly wink. “I don’t want to make any hasty decisions.”

She saw the sparkle in his eyes and a heated look that said a lot more than just hello—a look that sent a surge of earthy desire rushing through her body. He cocked his head and stared at her for a moment, a very unnerving experience that quickly brought her back to earth. She was no good at flirting and playing teasing little games, and knew she was way out of her league. She never should have tried it with him.

“Was mystery what you were trying for?”

She furrowed her brow in confusion and tilted her head to one side. “What?”

“You asked me if I thought the sunglasses gave you an air of mystery. Is that what you were trying for?”

She glanced at the ground as the embarrassment tried to take control and felt the heat spread across her cheeks. “No, it wasn’t.” She looked up at him again. Rather than making fun of her, he seemed more interested in what her answer might be. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound flippant. I guess I’m just not very good at this type of conversation.”

He reached out and touched his fingertips to her cheek, allowing his hand to linger for a moment before withdrawing it. His voice dropped to a soft level that wrapped her in a cloak of intimacy. “What type of conversation are you good at?”

Little trails of heat followed in the wake of his touch. She had to force the words that came out as not much more than a whisper. “I only meant that I don’t do very well with casual, flirty conversations. I never know what to say and usually end up feeling foolish.” Her own words shocked her. She could not imagine what had prompted her to say something so personal to this complete stranger.

“I guess that brings us back full circle to my original observation that I haven’t seen you around here before.” He blatantly looked her up and down, sending a second tremor of excitement coursing through her veins. He reestablished eye contact, which included another quick wink. “And believe me, I would have noticed you. Did you just arrive?”

“Uh . . . yes. I just got off the shuttle from the airport.” She waved her hand in the direction of the driveway, indicating the van parked in front of the registration lobby. She noticed the hint of confusion followed by the look of surprise that darted across his face as he shifted his attention in that direction.

His words were slightly distracted, as if he were thinking out loud rather than talking to her. “Looks like Herb made good time from the airport. He’s here a little sooner than I expected.” Then his gaze returned to her along with his devastatingly sexy smile. “As much as I’d love to stand here and talk to you for the rest of the morning, I’m afraid I need to get to work.”

“You mean riding that bucking horse and getting thrown to the ground wasn’t work? It sure looked like work to me.”

“That?” He gave a quick glance over his shoulder toward the horse being herded out of the corral. “No, that wasn’t work. I was handling a little problem. No big deal.” His gaze wandered toward the shuttle van again. “I really need to be on my way.” He climbed over the fence, then paused as he smoothed back his glossy hair and settled his hat firmly on his head. He smiled at her while touching his hand to his hat brim. “I’ll definitely see you later.” He had spoken the words as a statement of fact rather than a casual comment.

She returned his smile. “I’ll look forward to it.” Unsettled, she felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach as she watched him walk away, his stride purposeful and determined. Yes . . . she would like that very much in spite of the fact that he had left her feeling off balance. She knew she had just fallen instantly in lust with the sexiest man she had ever met, but there seemed to be more to it than that. He had literally rocked her senses to the core and knocked her for a loop. She toyed with the notion of love at first sight. Was there such a thing, and if so, how could someone clearly identify it? Whatever the answers, this cowboy had totally captivated her.

She turned her attention back to the shuttle van and to the reality of her objective. The driver had gotten a cart and loaded the baggage onto it. She hurried to rejoin the others, her insides still quivering from her encounter with the brash cowboy. A moment later, she spotted the same drop-dead gorgeous man headed toward the van. He smiled at her . . . at least it seemed that it had been directed solely for her benefit, rather than extended to the group. Or perhaps it was merely wishful thinking on her part.

He joined the new arrivals. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. If you’ll give me a moment or two, I’ll be right with you.” He turned toward the driver and held out his hand. “Do you have a copy of the guest list, Herb? You got here a little sooner than I expected and caught me unprepared. Then I got sidetracked—” he shot a quick sideways glance at Lexi along with a knowing grin “—and didn’t have a chance to grab the clipboard from the office.”

As if to confirm his statement he brushed some dirt from his shirt and took another swipe at his jeans. A sheepish grin appeared and a hint of embarrassment darted across his features, giving him the appearance of a mischievous little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“I obviously didn’t have an opportunity to get cleaned up, either.”

The driver handed him a sheet of paper, then returned to the task of wheeling the baggage cart into the building.

The cowboy turned toward the group with an engaging smile. “I’m Nick Clayton. On behalf of my mother, Gloria, and my brother, Danny, I’d like to officially welcome you to the Via Verde Dude Ranch. We hope to make your vacation a fun and memorable experience.”

A solid jab of alarm shot through Lexi, then it settled in the pit of her stomach where it continued to churn. A hard knot lodged in her throat as the shock jolted her senses She tried to swallow it away, but it almost choked her. Had she heard him correctly? This sexy cowboy who had totally grabbed her attention and triggered such sensual thoughts and desires in her imagination was Nick Clayton? This man whose mere presence had sent tingles of excitement through her body and turned her world upside down was the very man she had come to confront—the man who had ruined her sister’s life?

She tried to shove the contradictory clouds of confusion from her mind. On one hand, there was her steadfast belief in her need to do everything she could to secure her nephew’s future, but on the other hand was her knowledge of Mamie’s history of lies and deceit It was that nagging little doubt in the back of her mind that had prompted her plan to check out Nick Clayton in person without his knowing it before taking any further action.

She forced her attention back to what he was saying.

“. . . you have any questions or need any assistance, please feel free to contact me or any of the staff.” Nick glanced at the list in his hand. “And now, I’d like to attach some names to your faces.”

He quickly identified the other people who had arrived on the shuttle van with Lexi, offering each a warm handshake of welcome. Then he turned his attention toward her and held out his hand. His voice lowered to a timbre that mesmerized her senses, nearly obliterating her determination to ignore him:

“It seems the only name left on my list is Alexandra Parker from Chicago.” He grasped her hand firmly, a physical contact that lingered a couple of seconds longer than it should have as the warmth of his touch suffused her with a very real desire for more.

Again she forced away the totally inappropriate feelings caused by the nearness of this very enticing man. She attempted to dismiss them as being ridiculous. It was a purely physical attraction to a sexy man, nothing more. She was a mature adult who could put aside such unimportant nonsense and concentrate on what needed to be done.

She stared at him through narrowing eyes as she forced her mind beyond what she saw and felt to exactly who and what he was. She knew his type all too well. She had once been engaged to someone just like him—a man with a smooth technique, a fast line and not a sincere bone in his body. She had been fully prepared to hate Nick Clayton on sight.

His warm touch and the almost overwhelming pull on her senses again edged into her consciousness as she tried valiantly to get the upper hand in her internal battle. She made every effort to shove the unwelcome sensations away, but as the familiar poem said, “The best laid schemes o’ mice and men...”

The sound of his voice interrupted her thoughts and jolted her back to the fact that he was talking to her.

“Is that correct? You’re Alexandra Parker?”

She finally collected her wits and managed to stammer a few words. “Yes . . . Lexi for short...Lexi Parker.”

The unexpected excitement caused by the brief moment of physical contact when they shook hands and the flash of his dazzling smile sent a shiver of sweet anticipation through her body, followed by a sobering dash of trepidation. There was no question that he was the most handsome man she had ever met, a man who oozed sex appeal by the bucketful and could probably charm a snake out of its skin—or a woman out of her good intentions, not to mention her clothes. It was easy to see how her sister could have fallen under the spell of this far too sexy cowboy even though he was not at all what Lexi had expected to find.

She felt a twinge of anger, which she immediately attributed to the fact that reality had refused to coincide with her preconceived notions. She had spent a lot of time, energy and effort planning this. She knew what she wanted to feel and what she had expected to find, but that was not what had happened when she came face-to-face with Nick Clayton. She again extended a hard glance toward him as she tried to figure out what her next step should be.

He flashed his best smile at her, covering whatever thoughts may have been running through his mind in the process. He made a notation on the list of names. “Then Lexi it is.”

When he had first spotted her at the corral fence, all he could see was long blond hair and a great pair of tanned legs extending from cutoff jeans. As he got closer, he saw a woman with delectable curves in all the right places. When he finally came face-to-face with her and had removed her sunglasses, he discovered a beautiful woman with large hazel eyes surrounded by long, dark lashes. Her flawless skin had the appearance of smooth silk—what his mother would have referred to as a peaches-and-cream complexion.

A tightness pulled across his chest, a physical indication of just how swiftly she had reached out to him and grabbed hold of his senses. In fact, he had never had a woman make his pulse jump and his blood race that hard at first glance. He took in a deep, slow breath in an attempt to quell the feeling. This was one woman he wanted to get to know better... a whole lot better.

Then suddenly, her entire demeanor changed. She stared at him through narrowing eyes. A frown wrinkled her forehead. It was almost as if she were issuing a challenge of some sort, perhaps daring him to remember where they might have encountered each other in the past. Could she have been a guest at the ranch at some previous time? He didn’t think so. He was sure he wouldn’t have forgotten such a beautiful woman, but there was one way to find out.

Nick looked over the group. “Do we have any repeat guests with us today?” He again scanned the people surrounding him, his gaze settling on Lexi as she spoke up.

“My sister was a guest here a little over six years ago. Her name is Mamie Adams. Do you remember her?” She cocked her head and leveled a steady gaze at him as if she had issued a challenge and was waiting for his response.

Nick paused for a moment of concentration as he tried to recall the name, then slowly shook his head. “No . . . I’m sorry. The name doesn’t ring a bell. You said about six years ago?” He continued to shake his head as he tried again to force some sort of recognition of the name.

“Well, it was quite a while ago. I suppose it’s understandable that you wouldn’t remember her.”

He caught the hint of a hard edge to her voice that conveyed something quite different from her words. In direct contrast to his earlier conversation with her at the corral, she now didn’t seem to fit in with the other guests. They were all happy, laughing and looking forward to their vacations. She behaved more like someone with an entirely separate agenda rather than someone anticipating a fun-filled time. And the way she looked at him—almost as if he were supposed to know who she was. A perplexing situation, but it didn’t stop him from finding her to be a very intriguing and incredibly desirable woman—a thought reinforced by the tightness that continued to pull across his chest and the heat that settled low in his body.

He hadn’t noticed any antagonism when they were talking at the corral, so why now? He decided to dismiss the puzzling situation as just one of those things. Perhaps she was tired from her trip or maybe he had read something into it that wasn’t there. Either way, there was nothing to be gained by giving it any additional thought when there were so many more appetizing things about this woman to occupy his attention. He turned back to the business at hand.