by Judy Duarte
By the time Sunday morning rolled around and he’d had his first cup of coffee, he was no closer to a solution than he’d been before going to bed. So he decided to go to the stable and saddle Big Red. A long trail ride on his favorite horse usually helped clear his mind.
After pouring the remainder of his second cup of coffee into an insulated mug, he stepped out of one of the side doors into the yard, only to run into Dillon.
The minute his brother noticed him, a crooked grin broke across Dillon’s face, and he crossed the yard, obviously wanting to talk. But Steven wasn’t in the mood.
“So...?” Dillon asked. “How’d it go?”
“Fine.”
Dillon’s grin created a single dimple in his cheek. “Crashed and burned, huh?”
Steven wanted to smack what looked more like a smirk than a smile off his brother’s face, which wasn’t cool. Nor was it fair. Dillon had crashed and burned a few times himself.
Letting it go, Steven continued toward the stable. He had to get moving before everything began to close in on him.
“You going to saddle up Big Red?” Dillon asked.
“Yeah.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“Nope. Ellie and I had a nice dinner. Then she went home.”
“As simple as that?”
Steven shot him a frown. “Don’t worry about it. Okay?”
Dillon lifted both hands as if in surrender, then took a dramatic step back, giving him a wide berth.
Good. He needed to have some time alone. He’d think about apologizing later.
The long trail ride seemed to help Big Red more than Steven. By the time he’d cooled down the horse and returned to the yard, Callum and Becky were climbing out of their car after their trip to Austin. The couple looked happy but exhausted.
Becky waved at Steven, then pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet right before she retrieved one sleeping twin from the car seat and Callum got the other.
Steven didn’t mind being silenced. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now anyway, especially about babies and outings to the zoo.
After Becky carried Luna into the house, Callum lingered, a sleeping Sasha in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.
“How’s it going?” Callum asked, his voice soft and low.
“Okay,” Steven whispered.
“Don’t worry about waking this one.” Callum grinned. “Once Sasha’s asleep, she’s out.”
“Did you guys have a good trip?” Steven asked, doing his best to appear remotely interested. “You look worn-out.”
“I’m beat. But we had a lot of fun. It was a great trip. The kids slept all the way home.”
“Good.” Steven turned toward the house, eager to slip into his private living quarters.
“Hey,” Callum called to his back.
Steven looked over his shoulder. “What?”
“Something’s bothering you. What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
Callum furrowed his brow. “Like hell. Is there something going on I ought to know about?”
“Nope.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Steven never had kept too many secrets from his brothers, especially Callum, who was good at reading him. “I’ve got stuff on my mind, but it’s not business related, if that’s what you’re thinking. And it’s no big deal. I spent some time riding Big Red, and now I’ve got it figured out.”
Callum nodded as if he believed him.
Steven wished it were true. But he was a far cry from figuring anything out, and his foul mood continued to dog him all night long.
On Monday morning, it followed him to the Paz construction site, where they’d moved their modular office. Even his employees noticed, but most of them knew better than to approach him.
Fortunately, by the time he got home and turned in for the night, he’d finally realized what was actually bothering him, which led to a partial solution.
He couldn’t stay away from Ellie any longer. Hell, he didn’t want to. They were friends, even if that’s as far as it would go. And she deserved more from him than he’d given her. Once he wrapped his mind around that, his mood lightened.
First thing tomorrow morning, he’d stop by the mayor’s office bearing gifts and an apology that was long overdue.
Chapter Six
Ellie, who almost never cried, had bawled her eyes out all the way home from the Fame and Fortune Ranch.
“I can’t believe how stupid I was,” she’d told Daria when she got home. “I actually thought I could practice on Steven before telling my parents.”
“How’d that work?” Daria asked.
Ellie pointed to her watery eyes, puffy from tears. “I couldn’t walk into their house looking like this. They’d never believe that I have things under control.”
“And what about the attraction? Did telling Steven stifle it?”
“You can say that again.” Ellie rolled her eyes and plopped down on the recliner. “It certainly dashed Steven’s feelings for me.”
“But not yours for him?”
“Oh snap, Daria. I have no idea how I feel.” She raked a hand through her hair. “I take that back. I feel stupid. It’s got to be the pregnancy hormones. They’ve completely chased off my common sense.”
“Did you kiss him?”
“Not really. I mean, he sort of kissed me. Briefly. It was sweet and tentative, but it wasn’t a real one.” Ellie let out whoosh of air and sat back in the chair.
“Ellie,” Daria said, “if his lips lingered on yours for a couple of heartbeats, it was a kiss. Maybe not a let’s-get-naked one. But he kissed you. And no matter how long it lasted, you liked it.”
Yes, that was true. It would have been an amazing kiss—if she hadn’t bolted. But she had. And she’d blasted him with the news of her pregnancy, shocking him senseless and chasing any and all lingering pheromones completely out of his breathing range.
And then she’d left in a rush, nearly tripping over her own feet.
For the rest of the weekend, guilt and embarrassment had hovered over her like a dark cloud ready to release a flood of rain on her at any moment.
Could she have botched things any worse?
Finally, on Monday, a bell-ringing thought struck. What about Steven? It’s not like he was a victim in all of this. Ellie’s revelation might have shocked him, but for a man who always had a charming smile and a ready response, he’d been dumbstruck. And when he did speak, he could have been a little more understanding and a lot kinder.
Even after shifting the blame onto Steven, she slept like crap again, and on Tuesday morning, she woke up tired and out of sorts. So she put off a visit to her mom and dad yet again. She’d made a mistake by dating Mike in the first place and would own up to it. But she wanted to assure her parents that she was happy about the baby and that she had a game plan for the future.
After she showered and blow-dried her hair, she used a little extra makeup, especially concealer under her eyes to hide the darkened, puffy bags. Then she dressed in a pair of black slacks, pulling the zipper up but leaving the top button undone. She chose a loose-fitting blouse and topped it off with a colorful scarf that would draw the eye to her face instead of her waistline.
She’d no more than entered the city hall lobby, her flats clicking against the Spanish tile flooring, when she spotted Steven standing near the water fountain holding a bouquet of yellow roses in one hand and a large pink box in the other. And wouldn’t you know it? He looked just as gorgeous as ever.
What was he doing here?
His sheepish gaze, which seemed to look into the heart of her, suggested he’d come to see her. As he crossed the floor to approach her, any doubt faded.
“I brought you something,” he said, handing her the flower
s.
She raised the palm of her hand to stop him. “I’m not allowed to accept gifts from anyone.”
“Even flowers?”
“I don’t want anyone to think I’m taking a bribe.”
Steven’s lips quirked into a playful grin. “Do you always play that strictly by the rules?”
“Yes, I do. And apparently, you’re in the habit of bending them.”
“If I was trying to bribe you, I’d use more than flowers and sweets.” He lifted the lid on the pink box, revealing a variety of doughnuts—glazed, chocolate, twists and a pink cake one with colorful sprinkles.
“They look yummy,” she said, “but I take my job seriously. I also took an oath to uphold the law.”
Still, she peered into the box. She’d only had a light breakfast, and as she got a whiff of the sweet sugary smell, she was tempted.
She reached into her purse and pulled out one of the dollar bills she kept tucked in a small pouch inside. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll buy that one with the pink frosting and candy sprinkles.”
“Are you serious?” Steven laughed. “You think I’m a doughnut vendor now?”
“That’s the only way I’ll agree to take one.”
For a moment, she thought he might lower the lid, but he took the dollar and waited for her to snatch the one she wanted.
She didn’t wait to take a bite. “Hmm.”
“You realize this never was meant to be a bribe.”
“Then what is it?” she asked.
“A peace offering. I handled things badly on Saturday night, and I’m sorry.”
She scanned the nearly empty lobby. “I’d rather not talk about that here.”
“I realize that. Can we go for a walk?”
She lifted her arm to glance at her wristwatch, a college graduation gift from her parents. She had a meeting scheduled at ten, but she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to take a few minutes to talk to him.
Steven nodded toward the glass door that led to the rose garden, a memorial for one of the beloved town founders, the first of many mayors who’d preceded her in office.
As they strolled toward a cement bench, Steven said, “I’m sorry for being a jerk the other night. You opened your heart to me, and I was so taken by surprise that I didn’t offer you the support you deserved.”
“I should have said something earlier, before...” She glanced at him, and when he nodded, she knew finishing her sentence wasn’t necessary.
“Have you told anyone else yet?” he asked.
“I was going to talk to my parents, but I...haven’t gotten around to it.” Again, she glanced at Steven, and he nodded.
“Would you mind telling me more about the baby’s father?” he asked.
“Why? I told you he’s completely out of the picture.”
“Yes, I know. But I’d like to be a better friend, a better listener.”
So he wasn’t going to run for the hills? They’d still be friends?
Ellie took a quick scan of the garden to assure herself no one was lurking nearby, that she was free to speak. “Mike and I had been dating for a while, and things got serious. But we’d been on different paths for months. He was doing a lot of traveling for work, and I was involved with local politics. We might have stuck it out, more as a habit. But...” She shook her head and continued. “One night, he told he me didn’t want kids—ever. And that was a game changer for me. I mean, it’s not like motherhood was at the top of my priority list, but eventually I would have wanted to have at least one child. So we broke up.”
“When was that?”
“Four months ago. And I didn’t even shed a tear. He flew to South America for an extended photo shoot, and I focused on Rambling Rose, as usual. But before long, I began counting the days and realized I’d gotten pregnant. He’d been downright adamant about not wanting a kid to screw up his life, so I knew he wouldn’t be happy about it, but I figured I’d better tell him.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me to get rid of it. I refused, and he said he was out, that I couldn’t expect anything from him.”
“Wow. What an ass.”
“I realize that now. And I’m embarrassed by it. I mean, I should have picked up on his character flaws sooner than I did.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Steven said. “We’ve all misjudged people. It happens.”
“I know. I guess you could call it a lesson learned.”
“Are you happy?” he asked. “I mean, about the baby?”
“Actually, I am. Some days I still can’t believe it. By the middle of August, I’ll be a mother.”
“And a good one.” Steven blessed her with a wink. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
At times, she had a few doubts herself, even though her adoptive mom had set an amazing example, the best ever. Yet in spite of the outward sign of confidence Ellie had mastered years ago, she always felt as if she struggled between the past and the present.
It didn’t happen very often these days, but occasionally a memory, a conversation, a voice would creep up on her and cause her to remember that her biological mom was a druggie who hadn’t been married to her dad. And not just because he was serving a life sentence.
Thankfully, she’d been rescued from that dark world, but every now and then her adoptive father’s question would come back to haunt her, to make her wonder if she’d ever be able to put it all behind her.
Honey, Ellie’s a sweet kid. But do you think she inherited any bad genes from her biological parents?
From day one, Ellie had done her best to prove that she hadn’t. Instead, she’d tried to be a reflection of the loving couple who’d adopted her—George Hernandez, a hardworking mechanic, and his wife, Alma, a devoted schoolteacher.
“Earth to Ellie.”
She turned to Steven, who’d called her back to reality with a teasing grin.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked. “I hope you’re not struggling about whether you should forgive me or not.”
“I’m sorry. My mind drifted off, but don’t worry. You’re forgiven.”
“Good.” He studied her for a moment with eyes the color of the Texas sky. “Do you know whether it’s a boy or a girl?”
Warmth filled her heart, and she placed her hand on her baby bump. “It’s a boy.”
“That’s cool. Does he have a name?”
“Not yet. Daria, my friend, and I have been calling him Peanut ever since my first ultrasound, because that’s what he looked like on the screen. But I’ll probably name him George, after my dad.”
“I’m sure that would make him proud.”
“That’s the plan.” Her parents were pretty conservative. Still, she suspected their shock and disappointment wouldn’t last very long. Daria was right. They’d be good grandparents.
“By the way,” Steven said, “I gave away all but two of the tickets to the talent show at the high school on Thursday night. I thought you might want one.”
“Actually, I would. Thanks.”
“We could go together,” he said.
Like a date? Probably not, but she’d better make it clear that she hadn’t made that jump. “Can I meet you there?”
He seemed to ponder the question a little too long, then shrugged and said, “Sure. Why not?”
She glanced at her wristwatch, then at the glass door that led inside city hall. She needed to check in with Iris, the newly hired receptionist, and make sure that her ten o’clock meeting was still on.
“I’ll let you go,” Steven said. “Take the doughnuts. They’re not what you’d call a personal gift. They’re for you to share with the office staff. You can do whatever you want with the roses, although I hope you’ll keep them for yourself.”
She glanced at the bouquet she still held, lifted them to her nose and took a sniff,
relishing the strong fragrance. “They’re beautiful. And they smell amazingly good.”
They were also yellow, the color that signified friendship. A peace offering, he’d called them. She supposed she could live with that.
She and Steven were still friends. But for some reason, knowing that’s all they’d ever be left her a little uneasy. And a wee bit sad.
* * *
At a quarter to seven on Thursday night, Steven waited for Ellie in front of the high school auditorium. He’d been tempted to ask her to get a bite to eat with him before the talent show started, but that would have made the evening seem more like a date. And it wasn’t.
It did kind of feel like one, though. As he stood outside the open double doors, scanning the families and friends who were arriving to support the kids, his pulse kicked up a notch in anticipation. And the minute he spotted her approach, his heart damn near battered his chest.
As she hurried toward him, her cheeks flushed, he couldn’t help but grin. She certainly had a thing about being on time, if not early. She also had a way of lighting up a room, no matter what she wore, be it a business suit or something more casual, like the black jeans and the long-sleeved pink blouse she had on tonight.
She might be pregnant, but he still found her attractive as hell. And while they weren’t actually dating, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends. Right?
“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said.
“You’re ten minutes early,” he argued, but he knew it was pointless.
“Daria’s car wouldn’t start. Her boss scheduled an unexpected meeting, so I had to drop her off first.”
“No problem.” Did that mean Ellie would have to cut their evening short to pick up her friend? “How’s she going to get home?”
“She told me she’d catch a ride.”
“Then let’s go inside.” Steven placed his hand on the small of Ellie’s back to guide her toward the entrance. But touching her seemed a little too date-like, a little too intimate. So as she moved ahead of him, he let his fingers trail away.