A Baby on the Ranch

“Aw, Seth, don’t go making me feel awful. ’Cause we both know I could never repay you for all you’ve done for me.”

“You don’t owe me for anything,” Seth countered.

No, Lonnie thought, just a job that had given him a measure of prestige and a large enough salary to buy himself a little ranch of his own. Not to mention all the times Seth had helped him behind the scenes on criminal cases. He would be eternally grateful to Seth for all those things.

“So now that we have that out of the way, when are you going to see Katherine again?” Seth went on.

Lonnie rolled his eyes. He couldn’t picture himself going back to face Katherine McBride. Not after the adamant farewell she’d given him. Yet just the thought of seeing her again made his heart beat fast. Which was a sure sign something was wrong with him. He didn’t let women affect him that way. He’d learned better.

“It will be a miracle if she let’s me in the door again. But, all right, I’ll go back tonight, after she gets home from work. I’ll try to let you know something later.”

“Thanks, Lon. While you’re trying to persuade Katherine, I’ll let the rest of the family know that you’ve found her.”

Lonnie grimaced. “Yeah, well, somehow I get the feeling that finding her was the easy part.”

The Tarrant County Courthouse had been Katherine’s workplace for the past four years. When she’d first gotten a job as a file clerk in the tax assessor’s office, she’d been thrilled. At twenty-one, with a fresh associates degree in business, she’d not expected a cushy job to cross her path. Especially when she had no real connections in Fort Worth to give her that extra push that was often needed to land a good job.

Since that time, her hard work and dedication had gradually inched her upward in the ranks. A little more than six months ago, she’d become the secretary for the tax assessor himself, a job that was hardly ever easy, but one that definitely had much better pay and benefits.

With the increase in salary, her friend Althea, who worked down the hall in tags and licenses, often urged Katherine to move out of her modest little apartment. After all, she could afford something better now. But Katherine wasn’t interested in moving to plush living quarters. She was comfortable where she was. And, anyway, she was putting her money in the bank where it would do her the most good once the baby arrived.

As the two women shared a short, afternoon break together in a private snack room situated behind Katherine’s office, Althea exclaimed, “That is the most incredible story I’ve ever heard! Are you sure this man was legitimate?”

Katherine glanced across the small table at the other woman. The tall, curvy, brunette always managed to look sexy in any piece of clothing she put on and, in the process, made Katherine feel like a frumpy, middle-aged librarian. Older than Katherine by two years, Althea was married and the mother of a small daughter. Since Katherine had moved to Fort Worth and found this job, the woman had become her only special friend. Even though she was close to Althea, she’d not set out today to tell her what had occurred last night. But the whole meeting with Sheriff Corteen had simply been too much for Katherine to bear alone and she’d finally ended up relating the whole incident to her friend.

“Well, I didn’t call Deaf Smith County to verify that he was the sheriff there, if that’s what you mean,” Katherine replied.

The sassy brunette raised her brows. “Katherine! Why not? He could have had that ID forged or something!”

Katherine shook her head. “I didn’t call because I didn’t need to. If you’d met the man, Althea, you’d clearly see that there’s nothing phony about him. I’m dead certain he is the sheriff there.”

“Okay. So he’s the sheriff,” Althea reluctantly agreed. “But does that mean you believe this story about your parents?”

Katherine shrugged one shoulder as she jabbed a spoon at the ice floating in her tea glass. Their fifteen-minute break was nearly over. She couldn’t begin to tell Althea everything that had gone through her mind last night, much less everything she’d felt when Lonnie Corteen had turned her world upside down. Even now, nearly a whole day later, she was dazed and struggling to keep her mind on her work.

“I don’t know what to believe, Althea. It sounds—well, it sounds like it’s something that might be easily proved. But I’m not so sure I want proof. I’m not so sure I want things to change. You know what I mean?”

Althea looked at her with thoughtful confusion. “Sort of. I think you’re trying to say you’re afraid to know the truth about your parents because you might not like it.”

Katherine nodded slowly. “Yes. That’s sort of how I’m feeling. I mean, Celia, my mother, loved me. I have no doubt about that. She was the one who was there to care for me day in and day out. I’m not so sure what I could think about a woman who would give her daughter away. I don’t believe I could ever have warm feelings toward her and that would only cause friction with all her other relatives.” She stopped and gave her head a sudden shake. “No. I don’t think it would be a good thing for me to pursue this.”

Althea crinkled up a candy-bar wrapper and tossed it in a nearby wastebasket, then popped the last of the chocolate into her mouth. “Hmm. Well, what about this man—Noah? Suppose he really is your father? Wouldn’t you like to know more about him and his family? If I were you, I believe I would.”

These were questions Katherine had rolled over and over in her mind last night. But she’d not gotten any answers. Not with that sheriff popping into her head every few minutes, Katherine thought with a measure of self-disgust. She really didn’t know what was happening to her. All the extra hormones bombarding her body must be making her act out of character, she decided. She couldn’t figure any other reason for the physical reaction she’d felt toward the man. For heaven’s sake, she was pregnant! She wasn’t supposed to be feeling those sorts of things…was she?

“Katherine? Yoo-hoo. Are you still with me?”

The sound of Althea’s voice penetrated her straying thoughts, and she quickly focused back on her friend’s face. “Forgive me, Althea. My mind, it’s spinning about a mile a minute. And I’m very much afraid that Sheriff Corteen is going to show up at my apartment again this evening. He pretty much implied that I was going to see him again.” With a slight shiver, she pushed the tea glass away and shoved her hands through her loose hair. “I don’t know what to do, Althea! He says the family wants to see me. And I told him I didn’t want anything to do with them. But I have a bad feeling that he isn’t going to give up.”

Seeing the anguished expression on her friend’s face, Althea reached across the table and squeezed Katherine’s fingers. “Katherine, honey, you’ve got to calm down. All this turmoil can’t be good for the baby. You’ve probably run your blood pressure up with all this worrying.”

Closing her eyes, Katherine breathed deeply and tried to relax. “I know. You’re right. This isn’t something that’s going to resolve itself in a matter of days. I need time to think.”

Leaning forward over the tabletop, Althea looked at her brightly. “Maybe you should take some time off—go away for a week or so,” she suggested. “You have some sick leave coming, don’t you?”

“Yes—but I was saving it for when the baby comes. And anyway, work at least keeps my mind—” Pausing, she shook her head. “Who am I kidding? The work I’ve done today hasn’t helped to get anything off my mind. In fact, I think I’d better go back and reproof the letters I typed this morning. They’re probably a mess.”

Althea gave her a perceptive nod. “That’s what I figured. You’re not in any shape to be working. Besides, it’s almost time for your maternity leave. Why don’t you tell Richard that you need to start it early? You know he wouldn’t give you any problem about it. My Lord, the man’s crazy about you. He’s not about to make things hard for you.”

Katherine stared glumly at the tabletop. Having the Tarrant County tax assessor crazy about her was not what she really wanted. Richard Marek was a very nice guy and he’d been a wonderful boss to her, but she’d not once given him any indication that she was interested in him personally. Still, she knew that Althea was right. He did like Katherine, a lot. In fact, he’d asked her out on more than one occasion. A woman who was clearly pregnant with another man’s child! She’d declined each time of course, but his interest in her had clearly forced her to be much more guarded around her boss.

“I’m not going to exploit the feelings he has for me, Althea. It wouldn’t be right. Especially when I have no interest in him.”

Althea rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Katherine, you are so prim that sometimes I wonder how you ever got pregnant! And why aren’t you interested in Richard? He’s good-looking and nice. He has social prestige, not to mention the fact that he could give you financial security.”

Frowning, Katherine looked up at her friend. “You make him sound like the perfect man.”

“Well, he’s certainly at the top of the list of eligible bachelors around here. And you could have him if you wanted him. Your baby would have a daddy. A real daddy.”

Maybe she was crazy, Katherine thought, for not liking Richard more, for not giving him the opportunity to have a lasting relationship with her. But he wasn’t the sort of man she wanted to live the rest of her life with.

“I don’t want a perfect man, Althea. I don’t want money or social prestige or an impressive house. I just want a man to love me. Really love me.” A man like Lonnie Corteen, she thought. A big, tough man that made her feel like a woman by just looking at her, a man who would fight to the death to protect her and never ever desert her or their child.

Althea laughed mockingly. “And you think Richard doesn’t? You won’t know until you give him the chance.”

Glancing at her wristwatch, Katherine rose to her feet. “I gave Walt a chance and he let me down—big-time. I’m not ready to give anybody a chance again. I’m not sure I ever will be,” she muttered bitterly.

Clicking her tongue with disapproval, Althea rose from her chair, also. “I’m sorry, honey. We shouldn’t have gotten off on that subject. You’ve got enough on your mind already.”

Yeah, like who were her real parents? Amelia Tucker and Noah Rider? If that was true, then why had they deserted her? And why did the thought of seeing Lonnie Corteen again make her break out in a nervous sweat?

Chapter Three

That evening Katherine was naked when she heard the knock on the door. With her heart jumping into her throat, she tossed away the towel she’d been drying herself with and reached for a robe lying near the tub. The garment was not exactly what she’d choose for anyone to see her in, much less Lonnie Corteen. The sunny-yellow chenille had long ago faded to the color of dead grass, and in some spots there were clusters of pinholes where the chenille had fallen out. But since she’d just stepped out of the tub and he was already at the door, she didn’t have much choice.

And it had to be him, she thought, as she hastily knotted the belt above the mound of her stomach. Other than Althea, she didn’t have visitors. Sometimes annoying sales people knocked on the door, but it was already after dark, and she didn’t think a salesman would be out in such cold weather at this time of the evening.

The knock sounded again.

Muttering under her breath, she wiped strands of wet hair from her face. “I’m coming,” she called out. “Just hold on!”

Her hurried exertion to get to the door caused her breath to quicken and she was sure there were two scarlet circles to stain her cheeks, but the moment she opened the door and spotted Lonnie Corteen on the other side, she felt most of the color in her face drain away.

Even though she’d expected it to be him, she’d still not been prepared for the sight of his tall, massive body filling the doorway or the rugged face smiling back at her.

“Hello, Katherine.”

She swallowed and unconsciously pushed at the tangled hair on her shoulders. “Hello,” she replied.