A Baby In His Stocking (The Buckhorn Ranch Book 4)

by Laura Marie Altom

  “I didn’t think y’all were getting in till later. Nat’s making her special meat loaf for dinner.”

  “Already did,” Georgina said, braiding Mabel’s hair. “She left it in the fridge. Such a sweet girl. Too bad she can’t find a husband.”

  “She doesn’t want one,” Wyatt snapped.

  “Trust me, every girl wants one.” Putting a bow on the end of one braid, Georgina started on the other side.

  “No,” he fired back, “Nat told me that after Craig left, she’ll never trust another guy. She’s afraid of getting hurt.”

  “Hmph.” Georgina didn’t look convinced.

  Josie said, “Sounds like you two got to know each other fairly well.”

  Wyatt shrugged. “I s’pose. Anyway, where is she?”

  “Naturally,” Georgina said, “she went home.”

  “Just like that? She didn’t even say goodbye?”

  “Sure, she did.” Josie kissed her baby. “Just not to you.”

  For the life of him, Wyatt couldn’t figure why he cared, but Natalie taking off without so much as a backward glance in his direction incensed him. Had what they shared—whatever it happened to be—meant so little?

  “Wyatt, sweetie,” Josie said, “would you mind doing me a huge favor and changing Esther’s diaper? She smells suspicious.”

  Dallas asked, “Since when does my little brother change diapers?”

  “Natalie taught him.” Wyatt loved how Josie and his brother discussed him as though he was a trained circus pony.

  “Come here,” he said to a fussing Esther. Cradled to his chest, she quieted.

  “She likes you,” Josie noted. “I’m glad you two finally bonded.”

  “Hell,” Dallas said with a laugh, “we should send him a bill for all the parenting experience we gave him. By the time he has his own kids, he’ll already be a pro.”

  Wyatt wanted to hold in his frustration for a time when he and Dallas were alone, really, he did, but his temper got the best of him. “You know, Dallas, when it comes to you and your one-liners, I can’t take one more. For the record, I will never have kids. So each and every time you aim a dig at me for not being married with rug rats of my own, you twist the dagger deeper.”

  “Wh-what?” Georgina was instantly by his side. “Why are you saying this? How would you even know?”

  He gave them the abridged version, after which, though the ladies present coated him with sympathy and apologies for times they said things that they now realized were insensitive, Dallas remained stoic.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Wyatt finally spouted.

  “Only thing that comes to mind is sorry.” Dallas’s expression was solemn. “I’ve been so hard on you, because more than anything, for Dad’s memory, I wanted to be surrounded by so many Buckhorns I never missed Dad again, but I should’ve known something was up with you. You haven’t been yourself, have you? That why we spend more time bickering than getting along the way brothers should?”

  “I guess,” Wyatt said with a shrug. “You just have this way of saying things that cut to the core—especially on this issue. I’m tired of it. Even if I could have kids, would it be any of your business when I chose to bring them into the world?”

  “No, man. It wouldn’t. I’m sorry.” Dallas held out his arms for a hug, and, not sure where he might still be bruised, Wyatt gingerly accepted.

  Once Esther was changed, Wyatt carried her into Natalie’s room. Was it his imagination, or was the air flavored with her light floral perfume?

  He sat hard on the foot of the bed.

  Eyes closed, it was all too easy to relive New Year’s Eve. Beyond that, the hot kisses they’d shared in here.

  He, more than anyone, knew they’d never be more than friends, but didn’t even friends give each other a courtesy goodbye? Why did he feel as if she’d taken part of him with her? The best part.

  “Esther,” he whispered into the infant’s downy hair, “how did I let myself get in this deep? I really like Miss Nat. She’s smart and funny and sexy as sin. Why didn’t you warn me to stay away?”

  Unfortunately, Wyatt’s niece chose drooling over doling out advice.

  “STILL OVERWHELMED?” On a breather from the school’s usual morning rush of calls and parents barraging the front desk, Cami popped into Natalie’s office.

  “More like drowning.” Dropping her head to her desk, Natalie said, “The mail alone is too much. Throw in all the paperwork long past due and calls needing to be made and I might catch up by Easter.” She’d been back two days, but didn’t feel remotely in her groove.

  Her mornings spent around the big Buckhorn family table with Wyatt and the girls felt like a dream. She’d stopped by Bonnie and Betsy’s classroom for hugs from them, but what about Mabel and Esther? Did they miss her? What about Wyatt? Had she been nothing but a diversion to him?

  “I know that weepy look,” Cami said. “Please tell me the rumors I’ve heard about you and Wyatt hooking up aren’t true.”

  Natalie wanted to reassure her friend. Tell her no way would she be foolish enough to succumb to Wyatt’s charm. She wanted to do that, but how could she without lying?

  “Oh, no…” Sitting on the sofa, Cami asked, “How serious are you? Dating or just fooling around?”

  “Stop.” Focusing on the nearest pile of mail needing to be sorted, Natalie said, “What happened between us was no biggee. A few kisses and—”

  “Were they hot?”

  Natalie covered her flaming face with a supply catalog.

  “Yes?” Off the sofa, Cami snatched Natalie’s catalog. “Oh my gosh—details. Now.”

  Where to start? At first, yes, the kisses she’d shared with Wyatt had been plenty steamy. But the more time they spent together, the more experiences they’d shared, the more everything changed. She’d felt an inexplicable connection to him. At least she thought she had. Having not spoken to him since the morning she left, she now knew their kisses and lovemaking were no more real than Santa. But if that were true, why did she miss him so badly? Their late-night conversations? His laugh? The feeling she wasn’t alone?

  Cami whistled. “Judging by your silence, you’ve got it bad. What are you going to do?”

  “The only thing I can. For now, immerse myself in work. Then, once my baby comes, I’ll be so busy caring for him, I’ll forget Wyatt Buckhorn exists.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  By early February, Wyatt wished he could say he no longer thought about Nat, but the truth was he didn’t just miss her, he needed her so badly her absence in his life was like a physical ache. How selfish would he have been, though, to further immerse himself into her life, knowing full well he had nothing to offer?

  This explained why he was now freezing his ass off in Deadhorse, Alaska. A few days after his talk with his family, one of Wyatt’s best welders had walked off the site, and Wyatt had jumped at the chance to fill in for him until finding someone else.

  As a general rule, when life turned rocky, hard labor served as his lifeline. Up here, there was nothing to do other than work, eat and sleep. As the “boss,” his men didn’t understand his penchant for getting his hands dirty. Wyatt didn’t understand, either, but what could it hurt?

  Being back in Weed Gulch? Stuck behind his desk with only a stack of paperwork keeping him from Natalie and her huge belly? That would bring about true pain.

  After twelve-hour days working rig maintenance in temperatures of thirty-five below, sleep came easy. Forgetting his night with Natalie? Not so much.

  A WEEK BEFORE VALENTINE’S Day, Natalie knocked on Principal Moody’s office door.

  “If you’re over five feet tall,” the iron-haired woman shouted, “enter!”

  Natalie grinned. “I qualify, but barely.”

  “I presume Cami told you I need a favor?”

  Helping herself to one of the guest chairs, Natalie said, “As long as I can sit through the task, my swollen feet will be happy to help.”

 
“Good.” She opened a file folder, read a sticky note and tossed it in the trash. “Got a call this morning from the president of the high school’s PTA and they are desperate for chaperones for Saturday night’s dance. Think you can help?”

  The prospect wasn’t appealing, but so many of Natalie’s friends and coworkers had done favors for her when she’d taken leave to watch Josie’s girls, that it would’ve been bad for her karma to now turn someone down.

  Forcing a smile, Natalie said, “I’d love to.”

  “Excellent. Be at the high school gymnasium by six-thirty, dressed in formal attire. Or,” she added with a chuckle, “whatever you comfortably fit into.”

  “Was that a dig at my nonexistent waistline?”

  “Not at all, dear. Just keepin’ it real, as our students would say. Oh—and along those same lines, please feel free to bring a date. I’ve promised your mom I’d try to get you married.”

  The only thing saving the principal from getting a piece of Natalie’s mind was her ringing office phone.

  “HOW ABOUT THIS ONE?” It took a while, but Josie walked the entire length of her closet to show off a stretchy black gown, featuring white crystals around the collar and cuffs. “I wore it to one of Georgina’s parties nine months pregnant with Mabel.”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Natalie said, “but the sight of you walking without any help is even better.”

  “Aw, thanks.” Josie walked an extra five feet to give Natalie a hug.

  Natalie teased, “Now you’re just showing off.”

  She winced. “And I’m feeling it. Come lounge with me.”

  With Dallas out of his cast, the couples’ king-size bed was back. “When I picked up the girls from school yesterday, Cami asked if you’d found a date for the dance.”

  “Cami has a big mouth.”

  “Granted,” Josie said with a smile, “but for the record, Wyatt found a replacement welder sooner than he’d expected, and now he’s home.”

  Abruptly sitting up, Natalie asked, “What do you mean, home? Where’s he been?”

  “Doing whatever oil thing he does in Alaska.” She took a movie magazine from her nightstand. “Poor guy looks like hell. His skin is all chapped and windburned. He could use serious TLC.” Flashing a picture of a starlet in a crimson gown, she asked, “What do you think of this for me to wear for V-Day? Dallas hired a limo to drive us to a huge party at Southern Hills Country Club.”

  Natalie ignored her friend and muttered, “Who in his right mind goes to Alaska in February?”

  “Forget Wyatt.” Josie wagged her magazine. “If I’m going to get this dress in time, I’ll have to order it tonight.”

  “It’s amazing. But does Wyatt need help? Has he been eating right?”

  Eyes narrowed, Josie asked, “For a woman who claims to only be pals with my brother-in-law, what’s up with all the questions?”

  Trying to play it cool, Natalie shrugged. “I’m a counselor. I get paid to care.”

  “For children, Nat. Not Wyatt.”

  “Whatever.” Pulse racing, Natalie scooped up the dress Josie was loaning her. “I have a lot to do. You and Dallas have fun on your big night out.”

  By the time Natalie reached her car, she had to remind herself to breathe. The news that Wyatt had been off in the middle of nowhere rather than purposely ignoring her provided a tremendous boost to her mood.

  He’s just a friend, she told herself on the way down his drive. After a long absence, she’d be excited to see anyone she hadn’t visited in a while.

  Even so, she pressed harder on the gas. What if he wasn’t home? What if he was? Why the hurry to get to him when she didn’t know what to say?

  Her belly was huge. Skin blotchy. Hair a squirrel-tail mess. Knowing Wyatt, he’d attend the dance with her out of good, old-fashioned pity.

  Slamming on the brakes, she stopped the car in the center of the blacktop lane. What was she doing?

  Her logical side screamed for her to turn back now. She’d already worked past the roughest part of being without Wyatt. Meanwhile, her hormone-driven emotions dared her forward. The affection Wyatt had shown her New Year’s Eve hadn’t been imagined. He did care for her. But to what extent?

  “LOOK AT YOU!” FROM HIS home office, Wyatt had seen Natalie pull up. Ever since hitting town, he’d wanted to call, but hadn’t known what to say. Having thrown open the front door, he jogged down the few steps, wrapping her in a hug. “You don’t have a baby in there, but a water buffalo.”

  “A what?” she said with a hoarse laugh.

  “I don’t know. It was the only thing I could think of on the fly.” Taking her hands, he stepped back for a better view. “You’re stunning.”

  “You need glasses.” Flushed from his compliment, she bowed her head.

  There were so many things he wanted to ask. Why she’d left without saying goodbye. Whether or not she’d missed him. If she’d thought about their night together as many times as him.

  “Come in,” he said, ushering her through the door. “It’s cold. I’ll build a fire.”

  “Don’t go to any trouble.”

  “I’m not. Just making sure my friend is comfortable and warm.” Lord, he was acting like the biggest girl-crazy nerd in high school. Lately, Natalie had this affect on him, but no matter what, he wouldn’t let their reunion get out of control. When it came to mutual chemistry, there was no question they had it. But that didn’t give him the green light to kiss her, make love to her, wish himself whole to be worthy of her. “Look at your poor ankles.”

  “Don’t remind me. My feet have been replaced by bricks.”

  He guided her to the sofa, helped her lie down. He took off her shoes and raised her sock-covered feet. From his football-playing days he recalled elevating swollen limbs, so he took a pillow from the opposite couch and lifted her feet onto that. “Better?”

  “Heaven,” she said with what he remembered as her contented smile.

  “Want tea?” His brain told him to stop hovering. Runaway pulse said to do whatever it took to keep her happy in his home.

  “You’re spoiling me.”

  “That’s kind of the plan.” By the time the fire crackled, radiating heat, the water was boiling for her tea. He dunked the bag until the coloring was right. To satisfy her sweet tooth, he scooped in plenty of sugar.

  Once she cradled her steaming mug, she said, “Thanks. I didn’t come here to be waited on, but a girl could get used to this kind of service.”

  “Why are you here?” he blurted. “Not that I’m complaining, but no one even knows I’m in town.”

  “Josie told me.”

  “Good.” Was it wrong that he’d hoped his sister-in-law would have news about Natalie? Each time he’d brought up her friend, Josie had changed the subject. Maddening. He’d left the main house kicking himself for not having gone straight home. Had she known what she was doing all along?

  “I was over there to borrow a dress. My principal asked me to chaperone the high school dance, and since we’re guilty of practically every punishable offense the kids might try to pull, I wondered if you’d like to go with me—not as a date, or anything—just as friends.”

  Wyatt’s mood plummeted.

  The F word brought on a headache. Logic dictated friends were all they would ever be, but part of him craved more. And that made him sad. Resigned.

  “Sounds fun,” he said, forcing a carefree tone.

  “I think so.” Her exhale was exaggerated and slow. Had she feared he’d turn her down? “It’s formal. You have a tux, right?”

  “Sure.” Didn’t every dedicated bachelor?

  “What’s wrong?” Natalie asked. “You look upset.”

  “Tired.” Tired of missing her. Craving her. Wondering what it would feel like to cradle her newborn son.

  “LADIES,” NATALIE SAID to the group of teen girls dumping the contents of a flask of rum into the punch, “let’s have a chat with the principal.”

  After escorting the threes
ome to the equivalent of high school jail, Natalie rejoined Wyatt at their table. Techno music blaring, she didn’t know what she’d been thinking in hoping the night held romance. At this point, her feet and head throbbed and escape had become her top priority.

  “Gorgeous and powerful,” Wyatt teased, standing to draw out her chair. “Lethal combination.”

  “Watch it,” she warned, “I’ll toss you in detention, too.”

  He ate a few corn chips. “That’s all they get for booze?”

  “Actually, the boozers will get suspended. Detention’s reserved for dress code violations and folks trying to sneak in without tickets.”

  “At least I’ll be in good company.” He grinned, but Natalie wasn’t feeling it.

  The whole night had been off. Her hair refused to cooperate and her feet were so swollen the only one dancing was her baby—directly on top of her bladder. She’d spent more time in the bathroom than in the gym. “Tired?”

  She nodded.

  “How long do you have to stay?”

  “Until eleven.” Rubbing the back of her neck, she said, “Wonder if they’d mind me sneaking out early.”

  “You’re not having the baby, are you?” Concern marred his handsome features.

  “No. I’ve got a little over a month before he’s due.”

  Wyatt started in on the plastic bowl of M&M’s. “Guess I’m still scarred from when Wren had Robin midway through her and Cash’s wedding reception.”

  “I heard that was quite a night.” Techno was replaced by a country ballad.

  “Feel up to a dance?” He held out his hand. Part of her wanted to take him up on his offer, but gazing across the wood floor at a sea of couples reminded her how pointless welcoming Wyatt back into her life would be. He wasn’t marriage material and she wasn’t in any position to take emotional chances.

  “I hate to do this here,” she said, “but I made a mistake in asking you here tonight.”

  “Where is this coming from?” Leaning forward, he asked, “Did I do something to offend you?”

  Where did she start? Only how could she be offended by the core of who Wyatt was? He’d never misrepresented himself by claiming to be anyone other than the bachelor he’d chosen to be. In the same vein, how many times had she told him she was determined to be a single mom?