Warrior's Baby

Colt gazed intently at her. The half smile on his lips turned into a straight, serious line. “Melanie, we need to talk.” He glanced over at his daughter’s picture. “Let’s go to the living room.”

Moments later the door to Meagan’s room was closed and Colt and Melanie were seated side by side on the cowhide sofa, the same one they had briefly shared thirteen years prior. The room was as she remembered it. Two brown leather recliners faced a stone hearth. An oak gun rack, timber wolf pelts and a bison head instilled the spirit of the west.

Colt’s handsome features looked harsh, even in the dim light. The tiny lines around his eyes were almost white against his bronze skin, his lips still set in a tight frown. The shape of his lips fascinated her. The upper was perfectly formed and the fullness of the lower created a natural, sensuous pout. The last time they had sat on the sofa together, she had studied that rakish pout. It had looked friendlier then.

Her stomach quivered. Had he decided she wasn’t the right surrogate? Had her excitement over the nursery given her away? “What’s the matter?” she asked, fearing the answer.

He pulled a hand through his unbound hair. “Maybe I jumped the gun about decorating the baby’s room so soon. The kid hasn’t even been conceived yet. And there are still a lot of issues that haven’t been discussed—legal documents, financial and medical arrangements.” He winced, as though his next words were forming a bitter taste in his mouth. “I hate to bring this up, but truthfully, it still bothers me that you’re not what I expected.”

Her professional side took over, the one that marketed concepts, drawings and ideas. It was too late to become the surrogate he had envisioned, but it wasn’t too late to promote the qualities she had. “How we imagine things is rarely how they really are. You want a woman who’s willing to give up a child, but you think she should be the stereotype of a fifties TV mom. That’s unrealistic, Colt.”

Below the pout, a muscle ticked. “I know.”

“What is it about me that concerns you?”

He kicked a booted foot onto the knotty-pine coffee table. “You’re successful, talented and beautiful.”

She sputtered a laugh. “Such terrible qualities. Your son or daughter might inherit them.”

“It’s not the kid I’m worried about,” he admitted with his usual candor. “It’s me. I had expected to feel a little more...clinical toward the woman I’m considering.”

Melanie withheld a satisfied smile. Apparently Colt found himself attracted to her. “You’re successful, talented and good-looking, too,” she said, eyeing him appreciatively. “It’s okay for us to admire each other. We’re human beings. This shouldn’t be ‘clinical.’ I don’t want to be thought of as just a hired womb. From my understanding, the most successful surrogate relationships are the ones that stern from friendship.”

Colt’s features relaxed, frown lines fading. “Friends I can handle.” His gaze dropped to the floor. “Did you bring a pair of sensible boots with you, California girl?”

She lifted her ostrich covered feet. “Sensible?”

“Plain old leather. Something to ride in.”

“Are we riding?”

“Tomorrow at dawn. I supply the horses.”

“Does that offer include scrambled eggs and coffee?”

“Sure.” Colt smiled. “We’ll talk babies over breakfast.”

Melanie studied the delicious curve of his lip. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Montana man.”

The following morning Colt smiled at the lady seasoning the hash browns. He liked her, this classy California girl, even though he had never been around her “type.” Maybe she’d grown up in his hometown, but he envisioned her sunning on the beach, working out in an upscale gym and shopping in Beverly Hills. Who would have guessed she was surrogate-mother material?

She sprinkled bits of freshly-chopped garlic over the potatoes. Good thing they weren’t going to kiss, he thought, surprising himself by the spontaneous notion. Melanie was the first woman in a long time he actually wanted to kiss.

Make love to.

Colt shook his head, trying to expel the unwelcome desire. Lovemaking and babies. The two, of course, were meant to go hand in hand. Just not in this case. If he made her pregnant it would be done in a doctor’s office by way of a syringe. He did not want an emotional involvement in his life, and even though sex didn’t always lead to one, an affair with his surrogate was asking for trouble. With a capital T.

“Where exactly in California do you live?” he asked.

She had already begun setting the table. From the moment she’d arrived, she’d rolled up her designer sleeves and pitched right in, chopping potatoes and squeezing oranges. Colt allowed his gaze to roam over her backside. Her jeans were a little too tight for proper ranch wear, but he didn’t mind.

Melanie turned and smiled, silverware in hand. She had a genuine smile. A nice feature his child might inherit.

“Santa Monica. As close to the ocean as I could get.”

He tried not to widen his eyes. Ostrich cowboy boots and the beach. “Isn’t that expensive?”

“Not as expensive as Malibu. And I live in a condo, a leased one.”

He cracked another egg into a mixing bowl, then tried to fish out a renegade shell that had settled with it. “But still...even a rental next to the ocean must cost a small fortune.”

“It’s worth it.” She watched him chase the eggshell around with a tablespoon. “Colt, do you need some help?”

“Actually, yes, I do.” He grinned. “I’m not too macho to admit when I need a woman.” Immediately he bit back his grin, wishing he could bite back his words. “In the kitchen, I mean,” he added, much too late.

Melanie handled his blunder like the true lady she was, ignoring it, much to his relief. “Here.” She took the spoon and scooped out the shell on her first try. He stood nearby while she finished his original task. The eggs were cracked with one hand, shells discarded quickly.

Colt liked having her in such close proximity so he didn’t move away. Instead he made a point of watching her scramble the eggs as though her culinary skills fascinated him. Her deft movements reminded him of his grandmother in the kitchen, of happier times and his favorite meals.

Colt took pleasure in having a woman cook for him. Of course, not enough to welcome one back into his life, but what harm was there in allowing her to fix breakfast? “I’m great on an outdoor grill or over a campfire, but I never liked to fuss in the kitchen much.”

Melanie poured the eggs into a pan, immediately stirring them with a rubber spatula. “Well then, we ought to get along just fine. I can never get the charcoal lit, and I don’t know the first thing about campfires.”

Ten minutes later they shared breakfast in the dining room, at the table his grandmother used to dust religiously with lemon oil. Colt noticed Melanie ate sparingly and avoided the bacon all together. He thought about teasing her about being a “cheap date,” but decided it would probably be in bad taste. There was nothing cheap about their impending relationship.

Colt gobbled up the bacon she had rejected. “So, when are you going back to California?”

“I have to head back by the end of next week for a couple of business meetings. If and when I come back to Montana depends on—” a bright blue gaze met his “—what you decide.”

Colt bit the inside of his lip, an irritating if not painful habit. Once he divulged the skeleton in his closet, would Melanie Richards want to bear his child?

“If we decide on this arrangement,” he said, “I was wondering where you plan on living, because a long-distance pregnancy isn’t what I had in mind. I want to be involved the way a father should be, attending doctor visits.”

Melanie had a quick response. “The lease is almost up on my condo, so moving back to Montana isn’t a problem. I can pretty much work from anywhere, as long as I meet my deadlines. And since the situation would be temporary, Gloria said I could stay with her.” She sipped her juice. “But I’d rather get my own place. She already has eight kids underfoot. They don’t need me and my art supplies taking up space.”

He smiled. She always managed to say all the right things, put him at ease. “This house used to be a lodge. I’ve got an empty cabin out back. Maybe you could take up residence there.”

“A cabin?” Her eyes sparkled. “That might be just what I need. I have to admit I miss Montana. The rat race in L.A. gets to me sometimes. And the rent has to be more reasonable than a beachfront condo, right?”

Colt realized they were both acting as though she were already his surrogate. “If you become my surrogate, there’s no way I’d expect you to pay rent. I intend to cover your housing and medical expenses in addition to the fee we talked about.” He couldn’t resist a wink. “I’ll even buy your groceries. You need to eat more, put some meat on those tiny bones of yours.”

She laughed. “Oh, I think pregnancy might take care of that.” Colt finished his coffee. “How would you feel about me being present at the birth?”

A soft blush rose in her cheeks. “I don’t know...I hadn’t thought about—Were you there when Meagan was born?”

He nodded. “Most incredible experience of my life.”

The pink stain on her cheeks remained. “Maybe we could start with those birthing classes and work up to the actual event.”