“Guilty.” She put her hand on his arm, a consoling gesture. “Don’t feel bad. I didn’t take it the wrong way. I understand where you’re coming from. People in this town don’t deal well with change. And my parents are no exception. They respect tradition, passing land down to their children.”
“Like I said. We’re new money.”
“Yeah. It kind of makes you an outsider.” She looked down at her stomach and sighed. “They also aren’t thrilled that their daughter is pregnant and not married. It’s been a long time since I lived here, and I feel a lot like an outsider, too.”
“What about the baby’s father?”
“Don’t you start judging me.” Her eyes flashed with anger. “It was bad enough coming from my parents and brother, but I barely know you.”
“I wasn’t judging,” he assured her. “And we just met, but we’ve shared a lot of information over potato skins and beer.”
“Technically, and for the record, I’m drinking club soda with lime.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that we’ve bonded over being outsiders.”
She thought about that for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. You win. We’ve bonded.”
It was nice to have a friendly conversation with someone. Morgan was just about to ask for her phone number when he saw her expression change. He hadn’t known her long but would swear her guard went up. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Gabe Abernathy and Melanie Driscoll walking toward them. Morgan had run into him in town, at events, and the man had been cordial but not overly friendly.
Looking wary, he stopped beside his sister. “Are you okay, Erica?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Mel and I didn’t mean to be gone so long. We ran into some friends and got to talking.” He gave Morgan another careful look. “I’m sorry we left you alone.”
“It’s okay. Morgan kept me company.” She looked back and forth between them. “Have you two met?”
“Yes,” Gabe said in his best “don’t get any ideas” tone.
Erica’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her brother’s fiancée. “Mel, you’re pretty new in town, aren’t you?”
“Yes. And I love it here,” she said, as chipper as could be. “People have been so friendly and welcoming.”
“I guess that happens when you’re engaged to an Abernathy.” Morgan maintained a friendly tone, but never looked away from the other man.
“It helps,” Gabe said. Then he looked at his sister. “We’re leaving. Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.” From her perch on the high bar stool, she looked hesitantly at the floor. “I just have to get down from here first.”
Instantly Morgan got up and took her arms to help her down. Touching her seemed to short-circuit his brain, because he couldn’t stop looking at her mouth. With an effort he pulled himself together and said, “Gracefully done.”
“Thanks to you.” She gave him a grateful look. “It was really nice to meet you, Morgan.”
“The pleasure was mine.” And he sincerely meant that.
“Good night,” Mel said. “I’ll see you around, Morgan.”
“You will.”
Then he watched the three of them walk away. Mostly he watched Erica. From this view it was impossible to tell she was pregnant. She had on leggings and cowboy boots with a sweater covering her hips and butt. What he could see was damn shapely, and her face and smile would steal a man’s heart and have him grateful for it.
That’s when he remembered he hadn’t gotten her phone number. Now that he could think straight again, he realized how idiotic the thought was. Why would he even consider it? But he knew the answer to that. He felt comfortable with her, and that hadn’t happened to him in a long time. Clearly she wasn’t looking for a relationship but that could be why he felt so comfortable with her. He wasn’t looking for a relationship either. He’d fallen half in love with Erica Abernathy before realizing she was going to have a baby. And that complicated things in a way that would keep him from making a romantic fool of himself.
* * *
The next morning Erica was in the best mood. A man had flirted with her! Granted, when he started, he didn’t know she was pregnant. What pleased and surprised her the most was that he didn’t seem to lose interest when he found out.
Another surprise was how nice it felt waking up in her old room. Her mom kept it the way it was when Erica left for college. She slept in her queen-size bed with the brass headboard. Across from it was a cherrywood dresser and matching dressing table where she did her makeup. Lace curtains crisscrossed the window that had a spectacular view of the mountains. The walls were painted a pale lavender, with white doors and trim. And the room came with an en suite bathroom. The whole effect was soothing.
Except for the part where she couldn’t get last night out of her mind. A man like that—those shoulders, that voice and face. His blue eyes twinkled with humor and he was tan, evidence of a rugged outdoor life. And he admitted flirting with her and wanting her phone number. In an alternate universe, where she wasn’t pregnant and as big as the Queen Mary, she’d have seriously flirted back.
So it was probably a good thing she had her own personal speed bump. After being dumped by the man she’d thought was The One, then watching him take up with another woman so soon after, her self-esteem had been pretty battered. Last night made her feel better.
After showering, then doing her hair and makeup, she slipped on a dress she hoped projected confident professionalism. Then she went downstairs.
Erica heard voices, which was unusual at this hour. She’d only expected to see her mother, as her father was almost always busy with ranch work by now. Not today. And she got a bonus surprise. Her brother, Gabe, was there, too. And Grandpa Alexander. She kissed his cheek and gave him a hug.
“It’s good to see you, Erica.” The silver-haired man smiled, but there were questions in his eyes.
“How come you guys aren’t out working?” She was practically positive the four of them had been talking about her, because they clammed up when she’d walked into the room. Now they all looked guilty. “What?”
“Good morning, sweetie.” Her mother set the spatula she’d been holding on the granite countertop beside the stainless steel stove. “Did you sleep well?”
“As well as can be expected, what with being as big as a house.” She made eye contact with each one of them. “Don’t let me interrupt. Feel free to continue talking about me.”
Gabe snorted. “What makes you think we were talking about you?”
“Oh please.” She put a hand on her hip. “Since when are you and Daddy and Grandpa not doing ranch chores at this time of day? I grew up hearing that there’s always something to be done around here. This looks very much like a family meeting. And it’s not a leap to figure out that I’m the topic of discussion, since my presence on the Ambling A is the only variable.”
“Why don’t you let me make you a plate of food?” her mother suggested. “You need to keep up your strength.”
“Thank you, Mama. Something smells wonderful. But first I’d like to know what’s going on.” She looked at her brother pointedly, and he squirmed under her gaze.
“You know I’ve always had your best interests at heart,” he started.
“That’s how you start when someone isn’t going to like what you’re about to say. Does this have anything to do with last night at DJ’s?”
He pressed his lips together and wouldn’t quite meet her gaze, confirming the theory. “Do you always chat up strangers at a bar, sis?”
“Obviously you’re talking about Morgan Dalton.” Just saying his name brought to mind a very appealing image of the man, and it made her tummy flutter. This was something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Or maybe ever. “He seemed to be a very nice man. I liked him a lot.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” her mother said.
“Do you have something against him?” Erica asked the question and looked at all of them for a response.
“The Daltons are new to Bronco Heights,” Grandpa Alexander said.
“No one knows much about them.” Her father planted his feet wide apart and folded his arms over his chest.
She remembered what Morgan had said about local folks being a little standoffish.
“Has anyone bothered to get to know them?” she demanded.
“There are rumors. You know how this town is.” Her mother didn’t actually answer the question. “Mel’s friend Amanda is engaged to his brother. I heard something about the father cheating on his wife. No one knows how they got the money to buy the ranch.”
“If it wasn’t legal, I’m sure someone would be in jail.” Erica wasn’t sure why, but she felt strongly about defending Morgan. She met her brother’s gaze. “Does Mel think her friend is making a mistake marrying Morgan’s brother?”
Gabe shifted his feet before meeting her gaze. “She said he’s a good man and a terrific father.”
“Well, what do you know?” Erica looked at each of them in turn. “Amanda found out that one of the Daltons is a stand-up guy because she got to know him.”
“People change,” Erica continued. “They mature. Let them screw up first before you put their picture on a Most Wanted poster at the post office.”
“But, sweetie, you’re pregnant,” her mother said.
“Not a news flash, Mama.”
“He’s after something,” her father declared.
“Not my money.” She was unemployed and her savings wouldn’t last long. “I don’t have any.”
“But your family does.” It seemed her father had already made up his mind.
“His ranch seems to be doing fine, no?” she asked them.
“No one knows for sure,” Gabe said. “The smart move would be to stay away from him.”
Erica looked from her brother to her father to her grandfather. “You know, I find this overprotective streak of yours equal parts adorable and annoying. You do realize that for the past twelve years I’ve been taking pretty good care of myself.”
“Except for the part where you’re having a baby without a husband.” Her mother didn’t pull any punches.
The zinger hit its mark, and Erica heard the message loud and clear. “Thank you all for your advice and I know it comes from a place of caring about me.” It was also worth what she’d paid for it, no matter their good intentions. Wasn’t the road to hell paved with them? “I’m not very hungry after all, Mama. And I have to run. I have an appointment in town with an attorney.”
“Could you do me a favor since you’re going into town?” her father asked. “I called in an order to the building supply store. It will fit in your SUV and you be sure to have one of the guys there load it up for you. That would save me a trip. Since I’m behind on work today...”
Because he’d felt an obligation to warn her away from Morgan. Defensiveness didn’t trump her sense of obligation to do as he’d asked. “Not a problem, Daddy.”
Erica walked away before anyone, including herself, could say another word. She’d grab something to eat before her appointment. More than one friend in Denver had suggested she might have a case to sue Barron Enterprises for wrongful termination, so she’d made the appointment before moving home.
After stopping for a fast-food breakfast sandwich, she was early for her ten o’clock slot at Randall & Randall, attorneys at law. It was a brother-sister firm located in the Bronco Heights business district. The receptionist was somewhere in her fifties, with stylishly cut short brown hair and brown eyes. The nameplate on her desk read Mrs. Frances Randall. All in the family, Erica thought.
She introduced herself and was politely asked to take a seat in the expensively furnished waiting area. Charlotte Randall would be with her shortly.
“Can I get you anything?” Mrs. Randall asked. “Water? Coffee?”
“Nothing, thanks.”
A few minutes later a pretty young woman with red hair and brown eyes opened the door to the back offices. “You must be Erica Abernathy. I’m Charlotte Randall. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Erica stood and shook hands.
“Let’s go to my office and you can tell me why you’re here.”
They walked down a hall, then turned right into a large room with a desk full of files and a laptop buried in the middle of it. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out on the gorgeous mountains while diplomas and certificates hanging on the wall proudly displayed her impressive credentials.
Charlotte sat behind the desk. “How can I help you?”
“I’m not sure you can, actually.” She took a deep breath. “Until recently I worked for Barron Enterprises in Denver.”
“I’ve heard of it. Big media company headquartered there. Powerful.”
“Yeah.” Erica fully expected to be told there was no point in wasting time because Barron had an army of lawyers. They would fight any settlement by every legal means necessary and drag out a lawsuit, making it too expensive to continue. “I was fired.”
The young woman nodded thoughtfully. “Colorado is an at-will state. That means either an employer or employee can terminate an employment situation at any time without consequences.”
“So, you’re saying I have no recourse?” Though it was expected, her heart fell. She could practically hear the thud.
“Not necessarily. Were you given a reason for the dismissal?”
“No.” She thought for a moment. “I was called in to see the company president. He told me I was being transferred to the Miami office.”
Erica went on from there, explaining everything. Dating the boss’s son. Their breakup. His relationship with another company employee. “I wanted to quit even before I was called on the carpet.”
“Why is that?”
“Peter and that employee’s sudden marriage and baby announcement. After that his wife became increasingly hostile as my pregnancy began to show.”
“It’s a good thing you toughed it out. If you’d quit, you would have lost any standing in the court to file a lawsuit.”
“The transfer came out of the blue and I’m in my third trimester. The job I had was traditionally done from the home office in Denver. I pushed back. My boss got angry and said I was fired.”
“I see.” Charlotte’s eyes narrowed a little dangerously. “So there was no misconduct on your part? No job performance issues like habitual tardiness?”
“No. I’d been with the company for eight years and had a spotless record. In fact, before the work environment turned hostile, I was promoted to chief administrative officer.”
Charlotte nodded, her expression reflecting respect for that higher management job. “So you want to sue Barron for wrongful termination.”
“I believe I was unfairly let go. And that I’m entitled to a severance package at the very least. But you should be aware that my resources are limited, especially because of my pregnancy.”
The lawyer smiled. “Frankly, that’s what gives you cause to bring suit.”
“How so?”
“Even in an at-will state there are exceptions to the rule and legal remedies that could help keep your job, if you still want it. Or go for a settlement because you were wrongfully terminated. One of those exceptions is discrimination for a number of reasons, one of them being pregnancy.”
“But I don’t think he fired me because I’m having a baby. Everyone knows it’s not his son’s. It’s all about the new wife not wanting to look at me every day and be reminded I dated her husband first.” What she kept to herself was that he hadn’t wanted to have a baby with Erica.
“It doesn’t matter what the motivation for termination was. You’re in a protec
ted class and that gives you a very good chance of winning a settlement. No matter how many lawyers the company has. And I don’t think they can drag it out. The optics for a powerful media company bullying a pregnant woman are really bad. They know it, and we can use that to pressure them.”
“Does that mean you’ll take my case?”
“Yes.” Charlotte explained that she would take it on contingency and how the attorney-client contract worked. She seemed really eager to get started. “There are laws against what they did to you, Erica. I’ll put the paperwork together and have them served as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Charlotte. You have no idea how relieved I am.”
Erica left the lawyer’s office feeling pretty darn positive. Kind of the way she’d left DJ’s last night after Morgan had said Where have you been all my life. The memory made her smile, but she also felt a little wistful. In her car behind the steering wheel, she looked down at the belly that prevented her from seeing her feet. She was officially a package deal, and no man in his right mind would want her.
She’d been resigned to that when she decided to take the journey to motherhood alone. But that was before she met Morgan.
It was a short drive to the building supply store. She got out of the car and walked into the cavernous interior guaranteed to make men quiver with excitement. But she was the one doing the quivering when she practically ran into Morgan Dalton standing just inside the door.
Chapter Three
Morgan had been thinking about Erica a lot since last night, but he hadn’t expected to see her again. On top of that, the building supply store in town was probably the last place he would have expected to bump into her. Yet here she was. And when she smiled her beautiful smile at him, his day got a whole lot brighter. Possibly because he felt that lightning bolt to the heart even stronger than he had the first time he saw her.
The Cowboy's Promise Page 3