The Cowboy and His Baby

by Jessica Clare

  And Dustin . . . gosh.

  Dustin was wonderful. Every day with him was better than the last. He made Annie feel special every day, and he showered her with constant affection now that he knew it was welcome. He pulled her into his lap, ignoring her protests, and held her while the others talked around the dinner table. He made sure to spend private time with her every night, away from the others, even if it was just quietly watching TV or reading a book together in his room. On the weekend, she’d complained that his sheets were old and worn, so he’d patiently driven her all over Casper while she shopped for new bedding, and then took her out to dinner. He held her hand everywhere they went, carried her bag when her back hurt, and turned the heads of every woman they passed by. It made Annie feel good to know that everyone appreciated how sexy her cowboy was, strangely enough. She wanted others to recognize how beautiful a man he was . . . while at the same time acknowledging he was hers.

  Hormones, she supposed. She was full of them right now. Most of them manifested in weird crying fits, strange food cravings . . . and sex. She wanted sex all the time, even to the point that she’d wake up Dustin in the middle of the night. He was all too happy to oblige and never needed encouragement, and he always, always made sure she came at least once before he finished.

  He was thoughtful, and sweet, and funny. He was so kind it made her heart ache. He was such a ridiculous flirt that she found it adorable and ridiculous at the same time.

  She was crazy in love with him.

  With every day that passed, she was also worried it wouldn’t last. Maybe it was because her father had never been in the picture, or that they’d “broken up” for eight months. Whatever it was, every time Dustin smiled at her, Annie’s heart squeezed a little more, and she tried to memorize his face.

  Just in case all she would have at some point were memories.

  * * *

  • • •

  You’re sure he has no idea?” Annie asked as Old Clyde parked his ancient truck on Main Street. It was a crisp, clear Thursday morning and Jordy was leaving on Sunday to visit family before joining the navy. They’d decided to throw him a party and had worked out almost all the details with Wade at the bar. The celebration would be held Saturday night, and Annie needed to check with Wade to see what he needed to ensure that everything was in place, and to put down a deposit to hold their tables.

  “Jordy? Know about the party? Boy’s got all the intuition of a sack of rocks,” Old Clyde told her, opening his door and slapping his leg. “C’mon Gable. C’mon Leigh. You too, Spidey.”

  Annie watched with amusement as the trio of dogs headed after the elderly cowboy. She didn’t know if she should feel jealous that Spidey seemed to love everyone (and every dog) at the ranch so much that he didn’t shadow her nearly as much anymore as he used to. Still, she was happy to see that he was having so much fun. Clyde loved him, too. She often found him sitting in his favorite chair at the ranch, Spidey sitting on his lap with his round head being scratched, grunting in bliss.

  “Before we head to the bar, I gotta make a pit stop at the souvenir shop,” Clyde told her. “Be right back.”

  “Okay,” Annie said, bewildered. She remained bewildered when he appeared a moment later with a bundle of fresh flowers.

  “Hetty gets a shipment every Thursday,” was all Clyde said in explanation. “You need to run errands before we head to the bar to talk to Gus?”

  “Oh.” Annie hesitated at the pointed look he gave her. “I thought, uh, I’d stop by the library?” It was more like Painted Barrel’s “library” was two shelves of donated books in the city hall-slash-post-office, but she thought she’d see if they had books on anything of interest, like gardening. She’d been thinking about starting one in the spring, just to see what she could grow, and Clyde had told her she’d need to run errands before he’d be ready to go to the bar. She had no idea why he was so adamant about it, but when he crossed the street, the three dogs trotting at his heels, she watched as he headed to the front desk of the Painted Barrel Hotel and offered the flowers to the elderly woman behind the counter.

  Aw. Did Clyde have a girlfriend? That was sweet. Annie made a mental note to tell Cass that they needed to make sure she was invited to the party on Saturday. How stinking adorable. She found herself smiling at the pair of them through the window, and then when Old Clyde glanced out on the street and scowled in her direction, she quickly turned away, heading for the city hall. Clyde wasn’t much for “sappy stuff” as he liked to put it, and he wouldn’t appreciate her knowing. That was all right; she’d tell Dustin all about it when she got home.

  Home.

  Funny how the ranch had become “home” so very quickly. How she’d settled in so fast. How being with Dustin could make her feel so very complete, down to her bones. Just one slow, flirty smile from him made her feel like the sexiest, most attractive woman on earth. One word from him could leave her smiling for hours, and one touch of his hand could make her feel so safe. So content.

  Yeah, she had it bad.

  Smiling to herself, Annie walked (well, waddled) down Main Street, a hand at her lower back. Everything seemed to be spreading a bit more lately, which meant she was less graceful each day. But the baby flipped and turned and danced in her belly, and so she figured there were worse things than being a bit ungainly. She headed slowly down Main, heading toward the city hall . . . and then paused.

  There was the pharmacy.

  Theresa might be inside.

  Annie’s stomach clenched and she stared at the little sign, wondering if she should go in.

  She’d been avoiding her for days now, though, and at some point she was going to have to confront her and settle things, if only so Annie could move forward. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door to the pharmacy and stepped inside.

  The buxom blonde was behind the counter, dressed in a tight golden sheath dress that looked completely appropriate for fall and completely inappropriate for working a cash register. She leaned against the counter, talking to a gray-haired man holding a cowboy hat, smiling up at him with a flirty look, her bright red lips in a welcoming smile. Theresa was beautiful, Annie realized again, and it made her ache. Her figure was a perfect hourglass, her breasts perky and prominent, and her hips were something that would make Marilyn Monroe jealous. That should have been enough for any one woman, but she was also gorgeous to boot. Annie felt frumpy and bloated as she stood in the pharmacy in her maternity pants with the gathered waist and oversize green poncho sweater.

  Both of them turned to look at Annie, and the look on Theresa’s face changed from welcoming to sour, her eyes narrowing.

  The gray-haired cowboy beamed at her, though. “Well, well! You must be Annie. Dustin’s told me so much about you.” He extended his hand in a warm welcome.

  “He has?” Annie echoed, surprised and pleased.

  “Of course. I ran into him chasing down a few cattle on the border of our ranches and he told me all about his Annie and baby Morgan.” He gave her stomach a happy smile. “I’m Doc Parsons from Swinging C.”

  “Oh! You’re going to help Cass with her baby,” Annie remembered, a smile coming to her face. “We haven’t had a chance to meet! I’m Annie.” Then she blushed, realizing he already knew that.

  But Doc only winked at her. “Pleased to meet you. I’m just up on the side of the mountain, so if you ever need anything and that man of yours isn’t around, give me a call. Happy to help out.”

  “Thank you,” she told him, touched by his offer. How long had she lived in LA less than a hundred feet from her closest neighbor and never met them? This man lived a fair drive away—a ranch “neighbor” might be miles and miles up the road—but was offering freely to help out. “I really appreciate it.”

  “I was just telling Doc there must be something in the water up there at Price Ranch,” Theresa said, her tone sweet but her smile catty.
“So many babies.”

  “Two isn’t exactly a baby boom,” Doc said, and squeezed Annie’s hand in either sympathy or support. “I’ll be at the party for Jordy on Saturday. You’ll be there?” When she nodded, he gave her another wink. “See you then. And call me anytime. Pleasure to meet you.”

  “You too,” she murmured, forcing herself to keep smiling politely even though she wanted to move over to the pharmacy counter and snatch that bright blonde hair off of Theresa’s gorgeous head.

  Hormones, she told herself. It was hormones making her violent.

  Doc left the pharmacy a moment later, and the two women stared at each other in silence. Finally, Theresa broke the tension with a tight smile. “I have to give you credit for being clever. Wish I’d thought of getting knocked up. Then maybe I’d be standing there instead of here.”

  “No one planned this,” Annie blurted, then could have kicked herself. There was no point in explaining anything to Theresa. She wouldn’t listen. “You and I need to talk.”

  “I have nothing to say to you.” She grabbed a magazine from the counter, sat down on the stool, and crossed her legs, angrily flipping through the fashion pictures. “You can leave at any time now.”

  “Are you this unpleasant to everyone or am I just lucky?” My goodness, where did that come from? Hormones. Had to be hormones. She was going to blame everything on hormones for the next two months. “Because if anyone should be mad at anyone, I should be mad at you for lying to me.”

  Theresa gave the magazine another angry flip and glanced up at her. “What about? I didn’t lie to you. I barely talked to you, bitch. In fact, I’d prefer to keep it that way.” And she pointed at the door.

  This woman was like a cartoon villain. Good lord. “You told me that you were Dustin’s girlfriend!”

  “I am!”

  Delusional, too. “No, you’re not. He told me he only went out with you twice. In fact, everyone I’ve talked to says that you two aren’t dating.”

  Theresa rolled her eyes. “It’s called the ‘long game,’ honeybun. I’m letting him realize how much he needs me before I make my move. When he’s ready to settle down, I’ll be right here.”

  “You . . . do realize I’m with him, right?”

  “Temporarily,” Theresa acknowledged with a sniff. “Only because you’re apparently fertile as hell.” She shrugged. “He’ll get tired of you squashing his dreams and come back to me. I can wait.”

  For a cartoon villain, Theresa certainly knew where to hit. Annie clenched her hands. “Squashing his dreams?”

  “Oh. Did you not know?” Her smile was pretty . . . and petty. “About his boat and his dreams of sailing around the coast? Doc and I were just talking about that.” She gave her head a little shake. “Poor Dustin, trapped by his good heart. He had plans to leave in the spring and travel, you know. He told me all about it. I guess dreams don’t matter when you have a baby on the way, though.” She shrugged one slim shoulder. “I just wonder how long you’ll be enough for him, you know? I’d never make him give up his dreams.” Her smile turned bitter. “I understand having something so close to your reach only to have it snatched away.”

  Her hand on her stomach, Annie sucked in a breath and left the pharmacy without saying another word. What an awful, bitter woman. Outside, she took deep, gusty lungfuls of air and tried not to panic. Normally she cried at the drop of a hat, but today, there were no tears. She just felt oddly numb inside.

  Theresa had said everything that Annie herself was worried about. Dustin had dreams and plans before she’d come back. He’d had goals and apparently he’d told everyone in town about them.

  And he was giving it all up for her and baby Morgan. Annie caressed the growing bulge of her belly and tried not to feel guilty. She’d never implied that he had to stay or that he had to give up his dreams . . . so why did she feel like she was going to ruin his life by having his baby?

  * * *

  • • •

  Dustin drove the fence post into the ground and then paused to wipe his brow as Eli pushed his boot into the earth around it, locking it temporarily in place. He glanced up at the skies, sunny and bright blue despite the fall, and it was almost unseasonably warm. He liked it, though. “Nice day.”

  Eli gave him an odd look. “Same day as any other.”

  “Yeah, but today just seems . . . I don’t know. Nice.” Dustin grinned at him. “I’m turning into a lovesick fool, aren’t I?”

  “Just a hair,” the other cowboy said drily. “But I guess I can’t hold that much against you. Imagine I was the same around Cass when she first moved in.”

  “Only then?” Dustin joked, and then moved out of the way when Eli kicked a clod of dirt in his direction. He chuckled, picking up his post pounder and then moving along to the next one. The cattle had leaned on this end of the fence—damn things loved a good lean in the sunlight—and knocked out every post for a good stretch. They’d rounded up the runners this morning and while Clyde was driving them into the nearest pasture, Eli and Dustin fixed the fence. It was an inconvenience, sure, but ranching meant doing whatever chores came up that day, and a lot of the time, it was just fixing fence.

  For some reason, it didn’t bother him at all. It might have a few months ago, but now he looked at it as an opportunity to spend time in the sunlight, to get sweaty with a day’s work, and of course, he had Annie to go home to.

  Way he saw it, things were pretty damn perfect.

  Eli straightened, wiped his brow, and glanced at the distant herd. “Gonna be a busy spring,” he said, voice deceptively mild. “What with Jordy taking off and all.”

  “He’s still a kid,” Dustin agreed. “Still has wild oats to sow. He wants to see the world. It’ll be good for him.”

  “He ain’t the only one that wanted to see the world,” Eli said pointedly.

  “Mmm,” was all Dustin said.

  Eli grunted, shrugging his shoulders. “Well, talked to Doc Parsons the other day. They sold off a bunch of their cattle in the last roundup and haven’t seen fit to replace just yet. Money flow problems, I imagine.”

  “Happens.” Dustin waited.

  “He was supposed to get a guy there in the spring to help out with calving, but won’t have the work for him. Reckon we could offer him a spot here. Doc’s nephew. Says he’s a good guy, was a little wild when he was younger but he’s settled in well. Did some ranching for a summer in Montana. Looking to settle in.”

  “Well, he’ll need some training, most like, but they all do,” Dustin said agreeably. “Another pair of hands will be useful given we’ve got a hundred more cattle than last spring, and that one was a doozy.”

  “Another set of hands would be good,” Eli echoed, and then shot Dustin a look. “Curious what your plans are. Friend to friend and all.”

  “For the spring?”

  Eli shrugged. “Spring. Fall. Winter. Everything. You talked about moving on. Said you had restless feet. Talked about the boat until I wanted to shove your head underwater at the nearest pier in Florida.” When Dustin just laughed, Eli continued. “Thought I was gonna lose two ranch hands instead of just one, but you clammed up the moment Annie showed up. I’m wondering if anything’s changed with your plans or if your boat’s just gonna seat three instead of one.” He put his hands on his hips and studied Dustin. “I’m not telling you to go or to stay. I just need to know so I can make plans for the spring. I’m gonna have a new baby on the way, too. Won’t be good for my wife if I’m out twenty-three hours a day. She’ll need help with the kid.”

  Dustin nodded. It made sense. More than any of them, Eli felt a sense of obligation to the Price Ranch. He’d been here a long time. Not as long as Old Clyde, but as time went on, Clyde was content to let Eli run things. Dustin knew Eli was stressing over Cass and the upcoming baby, and the plans for the spring. He’d never show it, but then again, Eli never talk
ed all that much, and he was just chatting up a storm this morning, which meant he was fishing for answers from Dustin. He needed to know where the other man stood, and Dustin understood that. If he was in Eli’s spot, he’d be wondering the same thing. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “I never ‘worry’ about you,” Eli replied, voice dry. “I’m just a mite curious is all.”

  Dustin glanced at the distant mountains, the sky, the rolling grasses, the herd as it was carefully led off to the nearest pasture. It was quiet and peaceful right now, the weather nice and just lightly frosty with a hint of snow on the horizon. There’d be more snow in the upcoming months, so much that he’d get sick of it before it was gone. He’d thought he wouldn’t stick around for another Wyoming winter . . . or if he did, it’d be his last one. Now, well . . . now he found himself looking forward to what Annie would think of the snow. The smile on her face when the dogs played in it.

  The smile on her face when she welcomed him home, Morgan in her arms.

  He found he was smiling, too. “It’s funny,” he began. “Never pictured myself as a family man, but now when I think about being happy, they’re the first thing I think of. Not Florida. Not a boat.” He shrugged. “Just home and my girl and my kid.” He glanced over at Eli. “The restlessness is gone. It wasn’t that I wanted to go to Florida or wanted to spend my time boating, really. I just wanted a new adventure.”

  “And now?”

  “Adventure sounds good and all, but it’s not the right time for it. I’m more interested in family and coming home to them every night. Putting in a good day’s worth of work and then spending my evening with them.” Dreams changed, he was realizing. Before, he thought there was nothing better than meeting new faces, seeing new people and places every time he opened his door. Now, when he thought about happiness, it involved the same people. The same places.