Harlequin American Romance May 2014 Bundle: One Night in TexasThe Cowboy's DestinyA Baby for the DoctorThe Bull Rider's Family

by Linda Warren

She wanted to curse the voice in her head and tell it to get lost, but that very voice had helped her survive in an environment no child should ever have to endure. And that same voice had left the truck stop with her, guiding her through close calls and sketchy experiences.

  Maybe she was making a bigger deal out of this than she needed to. Buck was a big boy. She wasn’t his first rodeo and he wasn’t hers, although he was by far the best ride she’d ever had—that said a lot to a girl who owned a Wide Glide hog.

  She snuggled against him, wondering why it was him and not some other guy who had to make her feel safe. Destiny had learned long ago to rely only on herself. If not for her toughness she’d be turning tricks in truck stops alongside her mother right now.

  She wasn’t sure why the Fates had brought Buck into her life after she’d become pregnant—when it would be impossible for them to be together. At least she’d have his memory to hold close to her heart the rest of her life. And because she didn’t have many good memories, his would be all the more special.

  He shifted on the mattress, sliding his thigh between her legs. His hand smoothed across her stomach, and she hoped he wouldn’t wake up. After the first time they’d made love, she’d panicked when she’d felt his hand on her tummy, fearing he’d guess she was pregnant. She didn’t want Buck to leave, knowing she was carrying another man’s child—that’s not how she wanted him to remember her.

  And she didn’t want him to think badly of her—being intimate so soon after being left pregnant at the altar. The truth was she’d never have slept with Daryl if he hadn’t caught her on a bad day—the one-year anniversary of Simon Carter’s death. She’d been in a funk all day when Daryl had stopped by the garage and suggested a night of dancing and drinking at the bars in Kingman. She’d woken the next morning in Daryl’s bed with little memory of what had taken place in it.

  Not long after that night the stick had turned blue, and she’d broken the news to Daryl that she was pregnant. He didn’t offer to marry her. She’d asked him—for their baby’s sake. Daryl had reluctantly agreed, and from that day on their friendship had cooled and they’d only had sporadic contact with each other—mostly texts and a couple of phone calls.

  When Daryl had stopped in Lizard Gulch a few days ago, he’d apologized for ditching her at the altar but said he’d changed his mind and didn’t want to get married because he didn’t want the responsibility that went along with being a father. He did say he’d try to help her out financially whenever he could, but she didn’t hold out much hope of receiving regular child-support checks from him.

  Destiny wasn’t angry with Daryl—she was glad he’d been honest with her. Now that she knew she couldn’t count on him, she’d make different choices for her and the baby. The only demand she’d made of him was that he make an effort to visit their child. Daryl had agreed to try and had promised to keep Destiny informed of his whereabouts. It wasn’t what she’d hoped for her child, but it was more than she’d had—at least the baby would know who his or her father was.

  If only Buck had come into her life before that fateful night with Daryl—who knows, maybe she’d be carrying Buck’s baby right now. No sense looking back—the only path was the one in front of her. Daryl was the least of her worries. If she wanted her child to grow up in one place, surrounded by people who cared, she had to find a way to save Lizard Gulch from the evil clutches of Custer.

  “What’s the matter? Why are you so tense?” Buck whispered, his lips moving against her arm.

  Startled, Destiny stiffened. How long had Buck been awake? “I’m not tense.”

  “Then how come it feels like I’m cuddling a two-by-four?”

  Destiny squirmed until she faced Buck. She brushed her hand over his heart and said, “I’m not used to sharing my bed.”

  “I’m glad.” He peppered her face with kisses then captured her mouth in a bone-melting kiss that went on forever.

  When Buck ended the kiss he tweaked her side and she giggled. “Stop, I’m ticklish.”

  “Really?” His fingers tormented her and Destiny begged for mercy. They made a mess of the bed, and in a desperate attempt to shield herself from his roving fingers, she snatched the blanket from the foot of the bed and covered herself.

  “That won’t stop me.” He tickled the bottom of her foot and she shrieked.

  “What the hell?”

  Destiny and Buck froze then glanced in unison toward the doorway. Daryl stood bug-eyed with his mouth hanging open. The blanket protected her body from view but Buck wasn’t so fortunate.

  He reached for the sheet and flipped it across his waist. “Do you always enter a woman’s apartment without knocking?”

  Daryl didn’t answer—probably because his mouth hung open.

  “Get out, Daryl,” she said.

  Her command jarred Daryl out of his trance. “We need to talk.” After he left the bedroom, she heard the door open and close.

  “I thought it was over between you two.” Buck watched her intently as if he believed he could read the truth in her eyes.

  She sprang off the mattress then rummaged in the dresser drawer for a pair of panties. Buck remained in bed while she slipped on her underwear and a bra.

  “Daryl and I are finished,” she said. Shoot, they’d never even started.

  “Then why is he at your apartment at the crack of dawn?”

  “I don’t know.” She walked past the bed, but Buck snagged her wrist and tumbled her on top of him.

  “If you have feelings for him, I want to know right now. I don’t make a habit of sleeping with another guy’s lady.”

  “We’re not together—not in the way you’re implying.”

  “Okay.” He released her and made a grab for his jeans. “I’ll go out there and set good ol’ Daryl straight.”

  “No.” At his startled look she said, “I’ll handle this.” Buck put on his jeans then sat on the edge of the bed while she looked through the closet. After she dressed in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, she fled the room.

  “What do you want, Daryl?” she asked after she stepped outside.

  “Sure didn’t take you long to move on,” he said.

  “Skip the fake outrage. What do you want?”

  “I came to tell you I got a new job.”

  “Where?”

  “Sacramento.”

  “That’s in California.” He wouldn’t see their child very often if he lived in another state.

  “A friend’s cousin got me a job as a bouncer at the bar out there. I’ll make twice what I’m making in Kingman, so I can send you more money for the baby.”

  The thought was nice and she didn’t doubt Daryl was sincere, but the old adage...out of sight out of mind, was probably closer to the truth, and eventually he’d forget about her and the baby.

  Daryl’s gaze cut to the door. “Does he know you’re pregnant?”

  “No, and it doesn’t matter, because he’s leaving town and I’ll never see him again.”

  “Then it’s not serious between you two?”

  “This is just...” She waved a hand in the air. “Never mind.”

  Daryl’s shoe hovered over the stairs. “I’m not leaving for another month.”

  “What’s the name of the bar where you’ll be working?”

  “The Corner...I can’t recall off the top of my head. Once I get there, I’ll text you a phone number.”

  Daryl was lying—there was no new job. He was on the run.

  At least he told you he was leaving. She wouldn’t have to wonder what happened to him after months went by and he didn’t call. “Do you want to know when the baby’s born?”

  “When’s your due date?” he asked.

  She’d told him a dozen times. “March.”

  “I’ll call you.”

  “What about your mother? Do you want me to contact her about the baby?” If he did, she’d need his mother’s number.

  “I’ll tell her,” Daryl said.

  There went the po
ssibility of her child having a grandparent.

  Your baby will have plenty of grandparents in Lizard Gulch.

  Daryl peered past her shoulder and stiffened.

  Great. Buck must be standing on the other side of the screen door. If she had any doubt, Buck put it to rest when he spoke.

  “Everything okay out there?”

  “Daryl got a new job in California.”

  “I’ll be in touch.” Daryl couldn’t leave fast enough. As soon as his feet hit the gravel below, he hopped into his beater and took off, spewing dust in the air.

  The door opened and Buck stepped outside. “You okay?”

  “Of course.” She didn’t have any other choice, did she?

  Chapter Ten

  “Destiny, can I have a word with you, please?”

  “I’ll be right with you, Hank.”

  For the tenth time that morning, another resident of Lizard Gulch walked into the garage with a complaint about the Dockers. Buck was content to eavesdrop beneath Bernie’s car while he worked on the undercarriage. The one time he’d pushed the creeper into the open, Harriet Wilson had unloaded on him, and he was just a guest in town.

  Admit it. You like the idea that the old coots view you as one of their own now.

  He did appreciate being treated as if he were a native son, but it irked him that Destiny was taking flack for something she had no control over. The townspeople should be turning their anger on Mitchell.

  “I want Bernie to make the Dockers leave town, but he insists that he needs your permission,” Hank said.

  “What have the Dockers done?” Destiny asked.

  “They won’t pay their tab. I told them that I don’t take credit cards. Now they’re telling me they don’t travel with cash and I need to get with the times and either install an ATM machine in the bar or accept credit cards.”

  “But you do take credit cards,” Destiny said.

  “Only from people I trust. I don’t trust the Dockers.”

  Hank had taken Buck’s debit card without blinking an eye. Obviously the bar owner trusted him.

  “Have you mentioned this to the former mayor?” Destiny asked.

  “Mitchell said it wasn’t his problem.”

  “Don’t serve the Dockers unless they pay cash up-front,” Destiny said.

  “I don’t want them in my bar, period,” Hank said. “If they get wind that Bernie’s coming after them, maybe they’ll take off.”

  “Bernie doesn’t have the legal authority to make anyone do anything.” Destiny’s steel-toed boot tapped against the cement floor.

  “What about keeping them under house arrest?” Hank asked. “Bernie could sit outside the motel and make sure they don’t try to leave.”

  Buck shoved the creeper out from beneath the car and stood. “How’s it going, Hank?”

  “Could be better.” The older man scowled.

  Buck looked at Destiny. “I agree with Hank.”

  “About what?” she asked.

  “The only reason Mitchell brought the Dockers here is to stir up trouble,” Buck said. “Tell them if they don’t pay their tab in cash they won’t be welcome in town. Worst-case scenario...they take off in the middle of the night and you never see them again.”

  “Amen,” Hank said.

  “I’ll speak to the Dockers about their bar tab.” Destiny held up a finger in warning. “But we’re not barricading them in their room.”

  “What about Bernie?” Hank said. “If he makes a nuisance of himself, maybe the Dockers will get sick of him and pay me.”

  Destiny’s shoulders slumped. “Tell Bernie he can keep an eye on the Dockers, but no verbal threats.”

  “Got it.” Hank left Buck and Destiny alone in the garage.

  An awkward silence settled between them. The day had begun on an uncomfortable note and hadn’t improved since. It seemed like days ago, not hours, that good ol’ Daryl had interrupted their morning after. Buck wanted to talk about last night—in his mind the experience had been incredible. And he’d sworn Destiny had enjoyed making love to him, but he’d learned a long time ago that the worst mistake a guy could make was assuming he knew what a woman was thinking—it always backfired on him.

  You’re feeling insecure.

  What if he was?

  “You okay?” His gaze dropped from her face to her outfit—a black formfitting tank top and cutoff jean shorts. His fingers itched to slide the strap off her shoulder and kiss the tan skin.

  “I’m not worried about the Dockers.”

  He brushed at a loose strand of hair, peeking from beneath her ball cap. “I was referring to last night.”

  A pink tinge spread across her cheeks. “Oh.” She pretended to straighten the tools on the workbench.

  “You’ve been quiet.” He worried her silence had nothing to do with their lovemaking and everything to do with Daryl.

  “I’m tired.”

  He didn’t doubt that. Neither of them had gotten much sleep last night. He didn’t want to push her if she wasn’t ready to talk, but he feared she was having second thoughts about Daryl after he announced he was moving to California. “If you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure.”

  He’d taken a chance when he’d slept with Destiny so soon after she’d been left at the altar, and he knew he might be the rebound guy. He was okay with that, because he was certain that with time she’d realize that he was a better catch than Daryl. But Daryl dropping the bomb that he was leaving the area had definitely affected Destiny. Some guys didn’t want to be in a committed relationship, but they also didn’t want the woman they left to move on and be happy with someone else. Buck couldn’t figure out if Daryl fell into that category or not, and Destiny wasn’t making it easy for him to guess how she felt about the situation.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He grinned.

  “What?”

  “I’ve never had a woman ask me that before.”

  She shrugged. “Let’s not make it into anything more than it is.”

  A sharp pain gripped his gut. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “What do you think it was?” As soon as he asked the question, he regretted it. Now she’d assume he needed reassurance.

  Her gaze locked on the Peg-Board above the bench, and her silence hurt.

  “I’m cool with leaving it as it is...if that’s what you want.” He wanted more. He wasn’t sure what more constituted—he just knew that he didn’t want his time with Destiny to be a series of one-night stands.

  He tugged on the brim of her cap until she made eye contact with him. “I’m not trying to pressure you.” He rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “But I want you to know that I don’t fall into bed with every woman I meet. I like you, Destiny.” He swallowed hard and went out on a limb. “I like you a lot.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes, and Buck’s heart slammed against his rib cage. Usually when he told a girl that he liked her, she’d smile or kiss him. She sure as heck didn’t cry.

  “Destiny? Where are you?”

  They both jumped at the question that preceded Mitchell into the garage.

  “What do you want?” The scam artist annoyed Buck to no end.

  “A word with Destiny.”

  Destiny turned her back to Mitchell and discreetly rubbed her eyes. “I’m listening.”

  “What’s this I hear about you siccing Bernie on the Dockers until they pay their bar tab?”

  “I didn’t sic Bernie on anyone,” she said.

  “Then why did the Dockers find him sitting outside their motel room a few minutes ago?”

  “Maybe Bernie’s being friendly,” Buck said.

  Mitchell glared. “I didn’t ask you.”

  “Hank said the Dockers refused to pay their tab with cash. Is that true?” Destiny asked.

  “Hank has a credit-card machine. There’s no reason he can’t take the Dockers’ card.”

  “You know he doesn’t accept credit cards from strangers. You should have warned yo
ur friends.” Destiny crossed her arms over her chest. “But you didn’t. I wonder why?”

  Mitchell pointed his finger. “I don’t like what you’re accusing me of.”

  “And what’s that?” Buck wasn’t about to be left out of the conversation.

  “The Dockers have every right to be in Lizard Gulch. This is America. People can come and go where they want.”

  “Sure seems suspicious that a wealthy couple from Philadelphia would build a second home in a run-down desert town with few amenities.” Buck quirked an eyebrow. “Unless they were getting paid to hang out in Lizard Gulch and pretend they wanted to move here.”

  “They haven’t been bribed.” Mitchell’s gaze swung between Buck and Destiny. “Isn’t it about time Buck Owens Cash went back to wherever it is country-and-western impersonators live?”

  Reining in his temper, Buck said, “Destiny, give us a minute.”

  “Sure.”

  Buck waited until she crossed the street then faced off with Mitchell. “Don’t underestimate these people. They’re not stupid. They know what you’re trying to do.”

  “I never said they were stupid, just helpless. They’re finding out that the world is ruled by money and power.”

  “What about morality?” Buck said. “Got any of that in your world?”

  “Don’t act all sanctimonious. This town was destined to die eventually. At least I’ve negotiated a payout with Custer so they don’t walk away with nothing.”

  Astonished, Buck said, “You really believe you’re the good guy in all this?”

  “Hell, yes. You don’t see Destiny fighting to get the old people more money, do you?”

  “You mean Melba, Hank, Enrick and Frank. They’re the only ones getting paid if Custer takes this town. The rest will be left in the dust—literally.”

  “That’s not my problem,” Mitchell said.

  “How long have you been doing this?”

  “Doing what?”

  “Destroying peoples’ lives.”

  “My job is to make the wealthy wealthier. You can’t accomplish that without some collateral damage.” Mitchell walked off, ending the conversation.

  If there was one thing Buck hated, it was a bully, and the only way to fight Mitchell and Custer was with a lawyer—one as cunning and cutthroat as the two businessmen. But there was a problem—the town couldn’t afford a lawyer. What about a fund-raiser?