“You know how your momma feels about you riding rodeo again. One cripple on this ranch is enough.”
Fire spit through Stoney. He straightened his spine and towered over his father in the wheelchair. Before the accident, they used to meet eye to eye. “You’re not a cripple, Pop,” Stoney said, softer than the fire in him would have allowed if he hadn’t taken control of it. Despite his obvious position over his father, Stoney felt like a little kid defending his hero. And his father had been--still was--his hero for all of his twenty-eight years. Being confined to a wheelchair had wounded his father’s heart, but not his spirit. Wally Buxton still had the power of an ox.
They stared at each other for a long while, not needing words to hear their thoughts. That’s the way it had been with them for as long as Stoney could remember. Wally was the one to break through the silence. “Come on. Your momma made some cherry pie and I’m sure Ms. Summers isn’t going to touch it, so we might as well have at it.”
He didn’t have time for another break today. He’d already wasted too much time warding off Melanie Summers and her wild ideas. His work load had doubled since Mitch Broader, their only ranch hand, left to take care of family business back east. With his father out of commission, that left the brunt of the ranch’s workload on Stoney’s shoulders.
He blew out a resigned breath, knowing it was important to his father. “Sure, Pop.”
He walked alongside the motorized wheelchair. He was getting accustomed to slowing his wide strides to keep in step with his father as the chair moved against the gravel. He stayed at his father’s side out of respect the man deserved. His father rolled into the house before him.
He found Melanie sitting at the dining room table, one long leg draped over the other, a smile that seemed curiously triumphant written on her face. His mother wore an uplifted expression he hadn’t seen in her for the better part of a year.
What the hell was going on?
Adele pushed the dining room chair aside so Wally could position his wheelchair at the head of the oak table. “Melanie and I were just having a lovely chat about her plans while she’s in Wyoming.”
Stoney eyed Melanie, a nagging suspicion floating up his spine. “Oh? And what would they be?”
Melanie averted her gaze for just a moment before lifting her soft brown eyes to him, shining a Cheshire cat grin, and giving fuel to that eerie feeling taking hold of his gut. One bat of her dark eyelashes and he knew he’d been had.
* * *
“Didn’t you hear a damn thing I told you by the corral?” Stoney said, storming out the door after Melanie. He’d held his anger in place long enough to make it out the screened door, slamming it in his wake. “You’ve got no business coming here, filling my family full of dreams that aren’t going to come true.”
Melanie spun on her boot heels, propped her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose, and looked at Stoney over the wire rim. “I have every intention of fulfilling my end of the bargain.”
“No one in their right mind would throw around that kind of money. My family has been through enough to-”
“Which is why I think this business arrangement will work out well for both of us.”
“Now how do you figure on that? Who’s gonna do all the work around here for the next month while I’m out there traipsing through the wilderness, keeping your pretty little hide alive. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re a little short of hand right now.”
“With the money I’m prepared to pay, you’ll be able to hire someone to take your place. As for keeping me alive, I don’t want any special treatment. I can hold my own.”
Stoney sputtered. “That one is still open for debate. Do you even know what it costs to hire a ranch hand to work sun up to sun down for a whole month?”
“Fifteen thousand dollars is not all that much for what I’m asking,” she said. It was much higher than she’d originally intended on paying, but a lot lower than she’d consider if Stoney could do for her what Gerald Hammond said he could.
Stoney’s face hardened. “Money like that may be nothing to you, but it keeps bread on the table for working folks.”
“I didn’t mean to imply-”
“I know what you meant to do. You think you can buy me like a piece of stock at a cattle auction. I’m not for sale. And I’d appreciate kindly if you’d leave my family out of whatever death wish you have.”
She stifled a retort about the death wish and kept to the pressing issue. I can’t do that. This is much too important to me.” He shook his head and stared at her like he was looking right through her.
She was struck by his strength once again as he fought to keep his control in check. The tight set of his jaw belied his control and she got the feeling he could lift her without any effort and toss her over the fence if she pushed him.
And she’d push him, all right. It meant that much to her to prove to her father and herself that she could last a whole month in the wilderness without the aid of medical intervention. Only then would her father agree to keep the funding for the Kenya project. But she knew her father. He was determined to keep her from going at all cost. And he had a lot more money than she could combat with which to do it.
“Adele told me about the hard times the ranch has had. This money could help you and your family. I’m glad to be able to do that for them. The only thing I ask is that no one knows we’ve gone.”
“What’s this all about? Why is this so important?”
“My reasons are my business.”
He crossed his muscled arms across the expanse of his chest and studied her for a moment. “You wanted for something?”
She giggled at the sidelong look of suspicion he gave her. Not only because of the absurdity of it, but because he just looked too damned cute. “You’ve got an imagination to go along with all that muscle. No, I’m not on the run for any crimes.” Only from my father and his control. But that was none of Stoney Buxton’s business, and she was determined to keep it quiet.
He eyed her, the tick in his jaw twitching, telling her he didn’t find any of this amusing.
She coughed out the rest of her laughter, knowing she wasn’t going to get very far irritating him. He was a business man. She knew how to handle business men, although most of them wore designer suits and smelled of expensive cologne, unlike the sweat and dirt she smelled on Stoney. Still, she turned on her best charm. “Look, I don’t know you.”
“True enough.”
“And I don’t know what kind of struggles you and your family have gone through. That’s really none of my business.”
“Right.”
“But it doesn’t take much more than 20/20 vision to look around here and figure out you could use a little help.”
He rolled his eyes and stepped off the porch stairs. “I’m not looking for charity.”
“You need money,” she said to his back.
Stoney swung around to face her again, tossing her a cool look. “And you’re just the person to open the check book.”
She cocked her head. “Don’t be foolish. This could help both of us. You don’t look like the type of man to shy away from honest money.”
He drew in a deep breath and could hardly look her in the eye. She knew he wouldn’t step anywhere near her request if it held the stench of a handout. Men like Stoney were as complicated as the earth was old and the ground ran deep. For him, it had to be honest and earned. Nothing less would do.
“I’m not looking for you to carry my bags or draw the bath water,” she said when he didn’t respond.
His laugh was rich and hard and he dipped his gaze beneath his dusty leather hat, shaking his head. When he lifted his head again, she saw them. He had dimples. Deep, and completely adorable. Her heart betrayed her confidence and fluttered wildly.
“Good, because you’d be sadly disappointed.”
She forced air into her lungs and placed her hand on her chest to steady her rampant heartbeat. “I’ve checked out the prices the other out
fitters are charging for extended trailing. It’s only right that I pay a little more since I’m asking for a personal guide. This isn’t a handout, just a fair business arrangement. I’m prepared to make the same offer to one of the other outfitters, too. That is if you’re stubborn enough to decline.”
He took a long appraising look at her, much like a man does when he finds a woman attractive, as if he was weighing the option to pass her by or dip his head and kiss her waiting lips. It filled her with a strange sense of longing she couldn’t define.
“I may be stubborn, lady, but I’m far from dumb.”
Her eyes widened, almost afraid to believe her good fortune. “So what are you saying? Will you help me?”
He rolled his dark eyes, kicked his dusty cowboy boot in the hard, dry dirt, and said almost under his breath, “I’m gonna live to regret this.” Then looking at her straight on with sapphire eyes as dark as a moonless night, he said, “You’ve got yourself a guide.”
# # #
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THE KNIGHT AND MAGGIE’S BABY
Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Mondello
License Notes
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* * * * *
Sometimes fate needs a little help…
Jonah Wallace knows what it’s like to grow up without love. Despite having more money than the Queen of England, his childhood was cold and stale as he grew up in boarding schools. He’s dedicated his life to helping homeless and displaced children find the love and support they need by creating the Haven House Foundation, work that resulted in him being knighted by the Queen.
Now that he’s living in America, his work is going along just fine…until his grandfather gives fate a little nudge by insisting he take a wife before he can inherit.
Coffee shop owner, Maggie Bonelli, is pregnant and the baby’s dad has gone AWOL. She knows too well the pain of growing up without a daddy. So when Jonah Wallace comes into her shop proposing marriage for a year, she takes him up on his offer, even if it’s only for a year. Live in a mansion and give her baby a name and a daddy to call his/her own. But can they keep their perfect arraignment strictly business…or will fate’s helping hand bring them love at last?
* * * * *
Ebooks by Lisa Mondello
Texas Hearts Series (Contemporary Western Romance)
Her Heart for the Asking - book 1
His Heart for the Trusting - book 2
The More I See - book 3
Gypsy Hearts - book 4
Leaving Liberty – book 5 (To be released in 2013)
Texas Hearts Box Set (Books 1-3)
Fate with a Helping Hand Series (Contemporary Romance)
All I Want for Christmas is You - book 1
The Marriage Contract – book 2
The Knight and Maggie’s Baby – book 3
The Knight and the Cowgirl – book 4 (Soon to be released in 2013)
Tempting Fate Box Set (books 1-3)
Heroes of Providence Series (Romantic Suspense)
Material Witness - book 1 (**Named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2012)
Safe Haven – book 2 (Soon to be released in 2013)
Nothing But Trouble (Contemporary Western Romance)
Unsuitably Perfect (Box Set – 3 books in 1)
Love Me Some Cowboy (Box Set – 5 books in 1)
## Fate with a Help Hand (Massachusetts) Series
** Cradle Series
* * * * *
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Excerpt for The Marriage Contract
Excerpt for Nothing But Trouble
* * * * *
THE KNIGHT AND MAGGIE’S BABY
Contents
THE KNIGHT AND MAGGIE’S BABY
THE KNIGHT AND MAGGIE’S BABY
Sometimes fate needs a little help…
Ebooks by Lisa Mondello
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Dear Reader:
Ebooks by Lisa Mondello
Excerpt for The Marriage Contract
Excerpt for Nothing But Trouble
The Knight and Maggie's Baby Page 22