Cowboy for Keeps

by Cathy McDavid

  “And no reason to take foolish chances—which riding a horse when you’re pregnant is.”

  “You said yourself we can take the easy trails.”

  “Not happening.” He could be as stubborn as Dallas. “And don’t think you can find someone else. I’ll put the word out. Most cowboys in these parts are my friends.”

  Dallas startled him by reaching across the table for his hand, slipping her fingers easily, naturally, into his. “I appreciate your concern.”

  Conner stared at their joined hands, unable to tear his gaze away. The rest of what she said dissolved into a jumble of unintelligible words.

  Her fingers, with their pink-tipped nails, were delicate and soft as silk. He could imagine them stroking his cheek or caressing his arm. Imagine lifting her hand to his mouth and brushing his lips across her warm, smooth skin.

  He suddenly straightened, reason prevailing.

  She was pregnant. With Richard’s baby.

  He should not, under any circumstances, be having these kinds of thoughts about her.

  “Please, Conner.” Her index finger drew tiny circles on the back of his knuckles. “There isn’t anyone else I want to work with on this assignment.”

  So much for reason prevailing.

  Instead of telling her to stop, he prayed she would go on indefinitely.

  “Does, um, Gavin know about the baby?” he managed to ask in a hoarse voice.

  “No.” The tracing of circles abruptly stopped. “I haven’t told him.”

  “Because you’re afraid he wouldn’t give you the job?”

  “I’m only ten weeks along.” She withdrew her hand and squared her shoulders. “I can do this. My pregnancy will not interfere. And if you’re considering telling Gavin—”

  “I’m not telling him.” Conner picked up his coffee mug. It didn’t feel anywhere near as nice as Dallas’s fingers. The haze surrounding his brain, however, had dissipated. “You are.”

  “What?”

  “Seriously, Dallas. He has a right to know.”

  “Are you making that a stipulation of working with me?”

  “No. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.” He’d also do whatever was necessary to protect her.

  “Except into the mountains.”

  “Not until you tell Gavin and he agrees.”

  “You’ll let me ride a horse?”

  “Hell, no!” His loud response had several heads swiveling in their direction.

  “You just said—”

  “We’ll take the wagon. Less jarring than on horseback.”

  Her eyes lit up. “I’ve never ridden in a wagon before.”

  “We can’t go everywhere we could on horseback.”

  “What about the canyon where you captured Prince?”

  “I’ll check the maps, verify the trails. We might have to take a longer route, but we’ll get there.”

  She sat back, a satisfied and most appealing grin on her face. “Thank you, Conner.”

  “Promise you’ll let me know if the going gets too rough.”

  “I will.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “Taskmaster.” Her brown eyes sparked with delight.

  “You have no idea.”

  “Right.”

  Clearly, she saw straight though him. The last thing Conner would do was push her, physically or emotionally.

  “We’ll find Gavin when we get back to Powell Ranch.”

  Dallas made a face. “I have to tell him today?”

  “It will take me a while to ready the wagon and the team of horses. I’m not starting until he gives me the okay. The ranch is liable, after all.”

  “You going to make me get a note from my doctor, too?”

  “That’s not a bad idea.”

  Dallas grumbled, then dived into her remaining salad, polishing it off in a few bites, along with the rest of her meal.

  Conner watched, forgetting about his coffee. Did all pregnant women inhale their food? He hadn’t paid much attention to Sage and Caitlin’s eating habits during their pregnancies.

  “I’m not keeping you from your work?” Dallas asked when the last bit of sandwich had disappeared.

  “You heard Gavin. You are my work for the next few weeks.”

  “Good.” Rising from the table, she smiled seductively.

  Conner waited a moment before snatching the tab and following her to the front of the restaurant, his legs alarmingly unsteady.

  Had she just flirted with him?

  No, he must be mistaken. Dallas was always that way, friendly and outgoing, with a thousand-watt personality. It was the reason men found her so attractive, Conner included.

  Only his interest in her went well beyond casual.

  He reminded himself yet again of her current condition and the man responsible for it. Acting on his attraction would surely result in trouble. And until Conner’s life was back on track, trouble was the last thing he needed.

  * * *

  THE FRONT DOOR OPENED even before Dallas came to a complete stop in the driveway. Her mother stepped onto the porch and raised a slender arm in greeting, the folds of her vibrantly colored peasant skirt hugging her legs. Gold bangles on her wrists and neck glinted, catching the last rays of a disappearing sun.

  The bohemian style of dress was much like the woman herself, free-spirited and uninhibited.

  Dallas grabbed the casserole dish off the passenger seat, fussing with the loose foil covering it. Purse in tow and dinner contribution secure, she climbed out of her Prius Hybrid and headed toward the house.

  “You’re early.” Marina Camponella stood waiting with open arms.

  Dallas leaned in and let her mother hug her, the most she could manage with the load she carried. “Mom, you look great.”

  “Thank you, dear.” Marina accepted the compliment as she did most things in life: graciously and humbly. “How are you feeling? Any morning sickness?”

  “It comes and goes, generally without me having to run to the nearest bathroom. For which I’m grateful.”

  “Be happy. Morning sickness is the sign of a healthy baby.” She gave Dallas’s stomach a quick pat and relieved her of the casserole dish.

  They went through the tastefully appointed living room on their way to the kitchen. Many of the exquisite pieces on display had been crafted by her mother. A talented sculptress, she’d abandoned a promising artistic career to marry Dallas’s stepfather, Hank, and raise her two children.

  She still sculpted for personal enjoyment, completing only two or three pieces a year. Teaching at the Horizon School of Art in Tempe took up most of her time.

  Glimpsing her newest piece reminded Dallas that her mother wasn’t enjoying the fulfilling life she might have if Hank had encouraged rather than discouraged her dreams.

  Speaking of which...

  “Where’s Hank?” Dallas asked, draping her jacket over a kitchen chair and stowing her purse on the counter.

  “In the den. Watching the presidential address on TV.”

  “Ah.” Dallas rolled her eyes. “I should have guessed.”

  “You know Hank and his politics.” Her mother opened the oven, and the aroma of baking chicken immediately filled the air.

  Curry chicken, Dallas could tell. So could her stomach, which roiled at the prospect of any spicy food.

  “I do know Hank,” she mused aloud.

  How could she not? She’d spent twelve years living under the same roof
with him. Arguing with him, disobeying him, rebelling against him and finally just tolerating him until the day she could move out. It wasn’t that she hated Hank. Not at all. They were simply polar opposites.

  Dallas took after her unconventional mother, something her conservative financial-advisor stepfather didn’t understand. If he had, he wouldn’t have established such strict rules for two teenagers simply eager to get their feet wet in a big, wide world.

  Real-life blended families, Dallas had concluded, weren’t like the ones portrayed on TV. They didn’t always, well, blend. Dallas’s younger brother held a similar opinion and had left home the year after she did.

  “Heard from Liam recently?” she asked.

  “He’s in Colorado. Mapping a remote part of the national forest.”

  “Sounds exciting.”

  Liam had also inherited their mother’s free-spiritedness. Dallas wasn’t sure he’d ever trade his job as a surveyor for a permanent address.

  Like her brother, Dallas valued her independence, but she also longed for stability. A husband and children. She believed all things were possible with the right person.

  For the last two years, she had assumed that person was Richard. Except then they’d called it quits.

  Dallas’s mother handed her a stack of plates from the cupboard. “You mind setting the table?”

  “Of course not.”

  She didn’t wait for the next item, fetching glasses and flatware while her mom sliced a loaf of freshly baked bread.

  “Hank,” Marina called, then sighed with exasperation. “He can’t hear me over the TV.”

  “I’ll get him.” Dallas made her way to the den, following the sound of what had to be a news commentator recapping the address. “Hi, Hank,” she said, stepping into the decidedly masculine room, the only one not decorated by her mother. “Mom sent me to tell you dinner’s ready.”

  “Hey.” He pushed himself up from the recliner, turned off the TV with the remote control. “I didn’t hear the doorbell ring.”

  “Mom met me outside.”

  “She loves it when you come to dinner.”

  Dallas detected a hint of reproach in his voice. As if she didn’t already know her visits were too infrequent.

  “Work’s piled up lately.”

  “You need your rest.” Hank placed a large hand on her shoulder, the gesture more stilted than affectionate.

  It was, Dallas had long ago accepted, the best he could manage.

  “Have you heard from Richard lately?” Hank asked as they entered the kitchen.

  He was fit and tall, and the gray at his temples gave him a distinguished appearance. Dallas could see how her mother had become enamored with him.

  “He called Tuesday.”

  “Today’s Friday.”

  “And?”

  “I just thought he might check on you more often.”

  Dallas automatically tensed. “Why would he?”

  Her mother sent Hank a let-it-go warning.

  He didn’t heed it. “You’re pregnant.”

  Dallas poured iced herbal tea from a pitcher. “I’m only in my first trimester. It’s not like there’s much change day to day.”

  “I’d think, as the father, he’d be more concerned.”

  “Richard’s plenty concerned,”

  Dallas sat across from her mother, who gave her a he’ll-run-out-of-steam-soon head bobble in reply. Marina could conduct entire conversations without speaking a single word.

  “He is.” Hank harrumphed in agreement. “Concerned enough to make an honest woman of you and give his child his name.”

  “We’re not getting married.”

  The moment Richard had learned about Dallas’s pregnancy, he’d proposed. Or reproposed, in this case. She’d declined. Her parents had married solely because Marina was pregnant with Dallas—not for love.

  “You could do worse than Richard.”

  Dallas bit down, swallowed her retort. She’d come here for dinner, not to argue with her stepfather.

  “Hank cares about you, honey,” Dallas’s mother said in an attempt to smooth things over. “After all, your pregnancy is nothing short of a minor miracle.”

  “I was supposed to have trouble conceiving, Mom, not carrying.”

  “And yet you did conceive. Without any trouble.” Her face radiated joy. “When you first told us you had PID, I was so sure you were in for a tough road. And then so grateful Richard was willing to brave it with you.”

  “He was willing because it meant postponing starting a family. His job came first with him.”

  “He wanted to wait until he was financially secure.” Hank helped himself to a serving of chicken. “I think that shows responsibility.”

  “And you had your budding photography business to consider,” her mother added.

  A bout with appendicitis in college had left Dallas with pelvic inflammatory disease. Because of scarring on her fallopian tubes, she was told she’d likely require the assistance of a fertility doctor in order to conceive. Finding out she was pregnant couldn’t have come as a bigger shock, to her, her family and Richard.

  Terminating her pregnancy or giving her child up for adoption weren’t options. Dallas was having the family she wanted, simply a little ahead of schedule. And without a husband. Or a house. Or having become a successful documentary photographer.

  A knot formed in her middle.

  “You should give him another chance,” Hank said.

  Her mother nodded thoughtfully. “Try living together instead of rushing into marriage.”

  “We were engaged over a year without ever setting a date. Our instincts were telling us we didn’t have what it takes for a successful marriage. A baby doesn’t change that.”

  Dallas was feeling ganged up on. Her mother was fond of Richard and Hank thought there wasn’t a better guy out there.

  “But Richard is thrilled about becoming a father,” Marina gushed. “It would be nice for his sake if you could work things out.”

  Dallas sighed. It was past time to level with her mother and stepfather.

  “I hate to break it to you, but Richard isn’t thrilled.”

  “What?” Her mother gasped. “But he... You said—”

  “I didn’t want to upset you.” Dallas buttered a piece of bread, but she’d lost her appetite. “He wants to marry me because he believes it’s the right thing to do.”

  “He loves you.”

  “He did. Once.” Not for a while.

  “I’ll talk to him,” Hank interjected.

  “You will not! I mean it, Hank.”

  “Someone needs to set him straight.”

  “That’s not your job.”

  He looked hurt, and Dallas instantly regretted the harsh tone she’d used.

  “Are you sure he just doesn’t need more time to adjust?” Marina asked, always the mediator.

  “I’m asking for you and Hank to respect my wishes and let me handle Richard my own way. Now, please, can we change the subject?”

  Awkward silence followed, until Marina chimed in with “How’s the book coming?”

  “Great. I got some nice pictures of a mustang family at the sanctuary yesterday. Conner took me.”

  “Conner Durham?” Her mother visibly perked up. She and Hank had met Conner before, during various cookouts and holiday gatherings. “Richard’s friend who was laid off?”

  “Yeah. He’s working for the Powells and the Duvalls, splitting
his time between the two places, from what he told me.”

  “They need a systems analyst?” Hank’s brows furrowed.

  “Hardly.” Dallas laughed. “He’s teaching riding classes, supervising trail rides, overseeing the rodeo livestock and managing the mustang sanctuary.”

  “Such a shame he lost his job,” her mother commiserated.

  “Richard felt terrible. It ended their friendship.”

  “Not Richard’s fault the economy tanked,” Hank muttered. “Sometimes management has to make tough decisions.”

  “It’s not Conner’s fault, either. But he’s the one out of a job and living in an apartment on Powell Ranch.”

  “Apartment?” Marina looked perplexed. “What happened to his house?”

  “He still owns it. From what Sage Powell told me, he’s renting it out to cover the mortgage payment, except the monthly rent isn’t enough, and he has to make up the difference.”

  “That’s terrible. It’s such a beautiful house.”

  Dallas remembered visiting it. Five bedrooms, three bathrooms, game room, three-car garage, a pool and a beautifully landscaped backyard. Living in the apartment must be a huge adjustment for Conner.

  “He’ll move back into the house as soon as he finds a new job.”

  “Positions like the one he had are few and far between,” Hank said. “And the competition is ruthless these days.”

  Inspiration sprang suddenly to Dallas’s mind. “Maybe one of your clients has a job opening.”

  “Possibly. Let me make some calls on Monday.”

  “That’s really nice of you.”

  “When are you seeing him next?”

  “Tomorrow. We’re taking a trip into the mountains to view some of Prince’s old stomping grounds.”

  “Honey, is that wise?”

  “Don’t worry, Mom. We’re taking the wagon, which is much safer than riding horses. I’ll be fine.”

  “I don’t know....”

  “Trust me. Conner has seen to every precaution.”

  Marina marginally relaxed. “There’s a reason I always liked him. Be sure and tell him I said hello. And call me the second you come down off the mountain. I’ll worry.”