“Neal isn’t as bad as you make him out. He’s made mistakes, but he loves our mom. When she was in the hospital after the heart attack, I overheard him talking to the chaplain, promising to be a better husband. I believe he was sincere,” Holt said. “And don’t sell yourself short, big brother. You’re really good with my kid. Just saying.”
“Glad you think so.”
“I know so. You are and always were a great big brother, looking out for the rest of us. And, except for Amanda, I trust you with my son more than anyone.”
“Stop,” Morgan teased. “You’ll make me blush, or cry. Or both.”
Holt grinned. “Robby will cry if you guys are late and he’s waiting in front of the school all alone.”
“Let’s go get him, then.”
Holt kissed Amanda, then said, “I’m off to my meeting. Be home as soon as I can.”
They walked outside, and before getting in his truck, Holt kissed Amanda one more time as if he didn’t want to let her go. After he drove away, she and Morgan got into his truck and headed out to pick up his nephew.
When the boy was successfully retrieved from school and in the truck, Morgan thanked the good Lord for booster seats and seat belts that kept an active boy contained. It did not, however, put any limitations on the chatter. All the way there the kid talked about Bentley and Oliver, the dog and cat he’d brought home from the sanctuary.
He made the turn onto the road leading to the facility. There were two buildings—a barn and a squat structure for the smaller animals. In an enclosure, he could see goats, pigs and a variety of creatures milling around.
When Morgan parked the truck in the dirt lot, Amanda said so only he could hear, “I’m under strict orders not to let him get attached to an animal or under any circumstances bring another one home.”
“Okay.” Morgan scanned the open area and was disappointed when he spotted a few trucks and cars but no SUV with Colorado license plates.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“Hmm? What?” He met her gaze. “No. All good.”
“Yay, we’re here,” Robby shouted. “I’m going to see Tiny Tim.”
“That potbellied pig is his favorite,” Amanda said.
“No kidding. If we brought it home, do you think Holt would ever trust me with his son again?” he teased. Then he gave the area one more look for the familiar car.
“In a word? No.” She laughed, but it faded when she studied him. “Are you looking for someone?”
“No.” Yes, he thought. Until he didn’t see Erica, he realized just how very much he’d been looking forward to it. “Why do you ask?”
“You look like that potbellied pig just two-stepped all over your favorite Stetson.”
“No. I’m good.” The rear passenger door slammed shut, a clue Robby had freed himself and was off. “And we’re up.”
“Right.”
Morgan slid out of the truck and called after his nephew. “Stay where we can see you.”
“Okay, Uncle Morgan.” But he continued to race toward the animal enclosure as fast as those seven-year-old legs could go.
Amanda came around the truck and stood beside him, shading her eyes from the sun with her hand. “He’ll be fine. Daphne is out there with the animals. She’ll look out for him.”
Behind them there was the sound of a car driving up the road. Dust trailed behind it, but the SUV looked familiar. It was the same color as Erica’s, and he smiled. Although he didn’t realize he was until Amanda pointed it out.
“Someone you know?” It was the tone a woman used when she knew the answer to her own question and planned to make something of it.
“Yeah. Erica Abernathy.”
“And you know her—how?”
“Ran into her last night at DJ’s then again today at the building supply store.” With everything he had, he was trying to look indifferent.
“Well, you’re lighting up, Morgan.” She was definitely making this into something. “Did she know you were coming out here?”
“I might have mentioned we’d be here this afternoon.”
“Hmm.”
Morgan had no idea what that meant. Could be anything from “she’s way out of your league” to “I can tell you’re sweet on her.” Oddly, he wanted both of those things to be true.
The SUV parked next to them and two women exited. Erica had brought Melanie with her.
“Mel!” Amanda squealed with delight when she saw her friend and gave her a hug.
“Hi.” Erica walked around the front of her car and smiled at him, then the other two women. “I found her wandering around the Ambling A, and she had the day off. She volunteered to show me where she adopted her cat.”
“Where are my manners?” Mel said. “Erica, this is my friend Amanda Jenkins. We met when I rented an apartment in the same complex as Amanda and her roommate Brittany.” She looked at her friend. “This is Gabe’s sister. She just came in from Colorado.”
“Nice to meet you, Erica.” Amanda said to both women, “I guess you know Morgan Dalton.”
“Yes. He helped me out today,” Erica said. “Loaded some stuff in my car.”
“Aren’t you the gallant one.” Amanda had a shrewd expression on her face that implied she could read his mind and thought he was an idiot for trying to pretend indifference.
“Speaking of Brittany, I sure haven’t seen much of her lately,” Mel said. “I get short phone calls and texts. Reading between the lines, she couldn’t be happier.” She turned to Erica and explained, “Brittany’s married to Daniel Dubois, a local rancher who’s raising his orphaned niece.” Then she turned her attention back to Mel. “I hear she’s up to her ears in alligators what with handling Denim and Diamonds.”
“What’s Denim and Diamonds?” Erica asked.
“It’s a black tie fundraiser,” Amanda explained, then mentioned the early November date. “It’s going to be a real swanky affair at the Taylor Ranch. Everyone is going to be there. You should come, Erica.”
“Oh, I don’t know—”
“Your folks are probably going. Gabe is too, right, Mel?”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” she agreed.
Erica looked down at her gently rounded belly. “Only two problems. It’s the week before my due date. So...”
“I don’t see that as an issue if you haven’t had the baby yet.” Amanda shrugged.
“You said two problems,” Morgan reminded her. “What’s the second one?”
She looked up at him and tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear when it blew across her lips. After hesitating a fraction of a second, she said, “Remember I told you I dated Jordan Taylor a long time ago?”
“Yeah.” How could he forget? His reaction to it was way out of proportion. But the other two women looked pretty surprised at her revelation.
“Well,” Erica continued, “I met his father. Cornelius. Just a couple of times but he was always bossy and domineering. Going to any event on his ranch makes me a little uncomfortable.”
“There will be so many people there he probably won’t even see you,” Melanie said.
“I’ll be even bigger by then. No one will be able to miss me.”
“You are not that big,” Amanda assured her. “And we just met, so if this is out of line, don’t judge. But it looks as if pregnancy agrees with you. You’re radiant.”
Morgan couldn’t agree more, but kept that to himself. No way a guy should insert himself into this conversation. Although he could see a vulnerability in Erica that made him feel protective.
“Thanks.” Erica smiled a little shyly, a lot self-consciously. “I appreciate that. And just so you know, I wasn’t fishing for compliments.”
“I didn’t think you were.” Amanda waved it off. “And you really should think about coming. It will be the biggest social ev
ent of the year. From what Brittany says, the guest list is pretty extensive. You’re going, right, Morgan?”
His father mentioned an invitation and Neal Dalton had said it was a good chance to expand their ties to the community. He wanted the whole family to show up and their mother agreed with him. Morgan and his brothers would do anything for her, so that pretty much made it a command appearance.
“I wish I could say no, but...”
“So you’ll see some friendly faces, Erica,” Amanda persisted.
“Still,” she said hesitantly, “Jordan’s father can be intimidating. Facing him alone—”
“I’ll go with you.” Morgan was just as surprised as the three women when the words came out of his mouth.
Chapter Four
Erica held her breath, expecting any second for Morgan to grin at her and say Gotcha. Or Just kidding. She couldn’t believe he’d just volunteered to escort her to the biggest social event of the year. But he looked completely serious and possibly a little embarrassed. Mel and Amanda were staring at both of them, and she couldn’t imagine what they must be thinking. Actually she could see that her brother’s fiancée was a little shocked—maybe even a little skeptical.
“That’s awfully brave of you to offer,” Erica finally said.
“Why?” He shrugged. “I don’t mind running interference for you. And you’d be doing me a favor. If I have to go, the least you could do is go with me so I have someone to talk to.”
“But I’m pregnant.” Nothing like stating the obvious, but... Seriously?
“Really? I didn’t notice,” he teased.
“I’m not even sure I’ll go.” Erica looked at the two women who’d been glancing back and forth between them, like watching a tennis match.
“It’s over a month away,” Amanda said. “There’s time to decide.”
“That’s true,” Mel agreed a little too quickly. “Talk about it later. We came here to see the farm animals. I was going to show you around, remember?”
“And I have to go make sure Robby isn’t driving Daphne crazy.” Amanda headed for the farm buildings. “Mel, why don’t you come with me and say hi to Daphne. There might be another cat adoption in your future.”
“No more for me. But I love looking at the kittens.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Coming, Erica?”
“I’m right behind you. Moving a little slowly these days.”
“Okay.” Mel nodded and hurried after her friend.
When they were alone, Erica turned to Morgan. “Seriously? You asked me on a date?”
“I wasn’t thinking about that so much as offering moral support. And I wasn’t kidding about having someone to talk to.”
“I’m not all that sure I want to talk to anyone at a big posh party.”
They started slowly walking toward the two buildings. Robby had disappeared inside the smaller one, and she saw Mel and Amanda go in there, too. Chickens wandered everywhere, pecking at the dirt, while ducks waddled aimlessly. Goats moved around the enclosure and made bleating sounds.
“Why wouldn’t you? Want to talk to anyone, I mean?” Morgan asked. “You grew up around here. Aren’t there people you want to reconnect with?”
“Not right now. There’s no way to hide my belly, and everyone will be curious and it’s none of their business.” She looked up at the tall man strolling beside her. “I don’t feel like I belong here anymore. That’s why I’m not sure if I even want to go.”
“Okay, then. To be continued.”
His black Stetson shaded his eyes, hiding his expression so she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. But he must have questions. To his credit, he didn’t ask, and that added to his likability points.
As they strolled, their arms bumped and brushed together. He was wearing a fleece-lined jacket against the chill in the air. But every time their bodies connected, even in the slightest way, Erica swore she could see sparks. And there was a definite fluttering in her stomach, an I-really-like-this-guy feeling. And it didn’t hurt that he was helping look after his nephew and had brought him to see the animals.
“So, this is quite a place Daphne has here.” Erica felt the need to change the subject to something not about a date.
Morgan told her about the glassed-off cat room inside with hay bales where the animals could frolic freely. Across from it, he explained, there was an area for the dogs that had an outside door to a fenced-in area with runs where they could roam at will.
“Before Daphne opened the sanctuary, this property sat empty for a lot of years. There are rumors it’s haunted.”
“Really?” She felt a shiver, but it had nothing to do with awareness of him and everything to do with being just a little freaked out.
“You never heard that? You used to live here.”
“Maybe.” Funny how much a woman could forget in the twelve years she’d been away. “Wasn’t there a fire here?”
“That’s what I’ve been told.” Their shoulders bumped, and he looked down at her, hesitated a moment, then stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket. As if he needed to do something safe with them. “The story is that when the barn burned down, a cowboy died along with his girlfriend and some horses.” They strolled around the enclosure, and goats moved up to the fence, bleating piteously. “Story has it that the ghosts of the cowboy and the woman show up here and sometimes horses are neighing when none are around.”
“Nothing creepy about that.” She moved a little closer to him. “If your offer about running interference for me still stands, feel free to go for it if the ghosts show up.”
“You don’t believe in that kind of thing, do you?” He grinned and tipped his head enough to show the amusement in his eyes.
“I’m reserving judgment.” Although not on his smile. It rocked her world as surely as if she’d seen a ghost. She felt tingles in places that never tingled before. “Speaking of judgment, my father is not a fan of a farm animal sanctuary.”
“Oh?”
“Nope. He thinks farm animals should be able to pull their own weight. Work. Earn their keep and if they can’t... well, let nature take its course.”
“I’m a rancher, too. I can see his point.”
Maybe her father’s attitude about Morgan would be more favorable if he knew they shared an opinion. For some reason it mattered whether or not her dad liked the Daltons.
“So you think Daphne has too much time on her hands and should abandon the animals?” Erica asked him.
“I didn’t say that. This place is important to Daphne and a lot of other folks, too. She’s making it work. Live and let live, I say. But your father and mine are ranchers from a different generation.”
“True.” She hadn’t thought about it like that. And mentioning his father opened the door on their conversation just that morning. “Remember those rumors about your family I mentioned? There were more.”
“Such as?”
She wasn’t sure but thought he might be trying too hard to cover irritation with nonchalance. She stopped walking and looked at the animals in a cluster close by trying to get their attention. “It was something about your dad cheating on your mom.”
His mouth pulled tight for a moment as he stared at the mountains in the distance. “Although I have no clue how that became public knowledge, it’s a fact.”
“Are your parents still together?”
“Mom forgave him.” His tone said he didn’t approve. He shook his head. “He swears the women meant nothing. Just slipups when he was drinking and stressed about money.”
Erica was a little surprised he admitted that. But maybe he was in the mood to share. “Speaking of money... Where did your dad get the money to buy the ranch? Please tell me you’re not a reincarnation of the Dalton Gang from the Old West. They were brothers who specialized in train and bank robberies.”
His mouth curved up in
a reluctant smile. “Nothing illegal. He won it in Vegas. A three-buck bet on a million-dollar slot machine. On one pull he won a bundle. He sold his ranch and came here for a fresh start.”
“Wow.” She could feel her eyes widen. “Now you and your brothers are all here.”
“For our mom. We were scattered, working ranches all over. She wanted the family together.”
“I guess it’s a mom thing.” Without conscious thought, she put her hands on her baby bump. “It won’t be long until I know what that feels like. I have an appointment with a doctor the day after tomorrow.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. Because of being fired and having to move home, I had to find a new doctor.”
“A lot of change in a short period of time.” His rugged face was suddenly creased with concern.
“It is. I really liked my obstetrician. And to start with someone new so close to the end of this pregnancy is a little scary.” Erica didn’t know why she was confiding all this to Morgan. She liked him and was comfortable with him, had been from the moment they met. On top of that, she didn’t feel there was anyone else she could confide in. Lately, she blamed her hormones for everything, so why not blame them for spilling her guts to this man? “The thing is, I have no choice.”
“Are you going alone?”
“Yes.” She was doing this whole adventure alone. Nothing had changed just because she came home.
“I thought maybe your mom would go with you. Or Mel.”
She shrugged. “I don’t want to bother my mom. And Mel is busy working.”
He stared at her for a long moment and seemed as if he had another question. But what he said instead was a surprise. “I’ll go with you to the doctor, if you want.”
“Wow.” Her heart fluttered a little. “Why? More running interference for me? That’s getting to be a thing with you.”
“Just moral support.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t seem right for you to go alone.”
Her eyes suddenly grew moist at his sweet offer, proving her hormones were at it again. “That’s awfully considerate of you, but I’ll be fine by myself.”
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