Aidan: Loyal Cowboy: Aidan: Loyal CowboyThe Family Plan

by Cathy McDavid

  Ace couldn’t talk, his throat had gone dry.

  He helped Flynn into the truck. She’d changed her clothes and carried a canvas tote which he stowed behind the seat.

  “I brought some snacks along,” she said when they were underway.

  “Me, too,” he mumbled.

  “Then I guess we won’t starve.”

  He tried to laugh but couldn’t muster more than a weak chuckle. “Your dad was pretty happy.”

  “About what?”

  “The ranch selling.”

  “I’m not going to celebrate until everyone’s signed on the dotted line.”

  Maybe not, but her eyes glinted with undeniable optimism.

  A stilted silence descended on them for the remainder of the drive.

  Ace mentally kicked himself for not kissing her at lunch. No way in hell would he let a second opportunity pass without taking advantage of it.

  At the creek, they unloaded the food and fishing gear. Ace insisted on carrying everything except the tackle box and blanket. Even then, he held Flynn’s arm as they descended the slope to the bank.

  She stayed behind and laid out the blanket on the only relatively flat spot in the area while he made two more trips back and forth to the truck.

  She was stripping off her shirt when he returned with the lawn chairs. Beneath the shirt, she wore a bikini top.

  Ace froze. “What’s going on?” he croaked.

  She bent and rolled up the legs of her denim Capri pants. “It’s so warm out, I thought I’d get a little sun while we fished.”

  Fished? He blinked. For a moment, he’d forgotten where they were and what they were doing.

  She promptly reminded him. “Come on, slowpoke.”

  It wasn’t the sight of her skimpy top that immobilized him, but the gentle curve of her belly poking out above the waistband of her pants.

  Flynn was noticeably pregnant and she’d never looked sexier.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Fishing pole in hand, Flynn stepped gingerly off the bank and into the brisk water. Her toes curled inside her sneakers, which sank into the soft creek bed.

  “Where you going?” Ace asked, his voice unsteady.

  Was it the creek or Flynn unbalancing him?

  “The pool.”

  Unless flooding this past spring had drastically altered the topography of the creek bank, there was a large pool just around the bend and several boulders providing perfect seating.

  “Wait for me.”

  Ace’s gaze on her bare back sent a series of tiny tremors racing along her spine.

  She waded deeper into the creek, using the cool water to extinguish her burning thoughts.

  He’d seen her in a bathing suit before. Countless times. Seen her entirely naked more than once. Here, in fact, when they’d gone skinny-dipping. Why today did the sight of a little skin cause him to stare at her with hungry eyes?

  Flynn wasn’t the siren type. She didn’t attempt to charm men with her feminine wiles. She might have given it a try if they panted after her like Ace was apparently doing.

  It was so unlike him, so unlike her, she almost burst into laughter.

  “Don’t dawdle.” She glanced behind her, and the laugh she’d been holding back died.

  Ace had removed his shirt, too.

  His muscled chest and arms gleamed in the bright sunlight, as did his dark brown hair. The contrast was quite…appealing.

  A memory surfaced, almost painful in its intensity. She’d run her hands along those same muscles, felt them bunch beneath her fingertips as he’d hovered over her, nibbled her neck, slid a knee between her legs to part them.

  Her sneaker abruptly slipped on a moss-covered rock, and she teetered for a moment before regaining her balance.

  “Be careful,” he warned. “The current’s pretty strong.”

  He entered the creek, creating a small splash. Along with his fishing pole, he carried the tackle box.

  She eyed it pointedly. “You think I’m going to lose my hook?”

  “It’s happened before.” Ace had nearly drowned once trying to unsnag her hook that had become caught in an underwater trap. “Today I’m cutting the line.”

  This was much better, thought Flynn. She hadn’t liked the somber mood on the drive over.

  He was going to have to get used to the idea of her father selling the ranch. Possibly soon if the potential buyers today made an offer.

  She was going to have to get used to the idea, too.

  A month ago she wouldn’t have been torn. She’d have left Roundup without a second’s hesitation.

  Since then, her relationship with Ace had changed. The question was, into what?

  She loved him. The miserable, hopeless kind of love. Not head over heels. That had been back in college, before Ace broke her heart. He wasn’t now and never had been anywhere approaching the edge of that mysterious and magical realm she resided in, much less crossed over into it.

  And she was tired of being stuck in there alone.

  Appreciative glances and tiny tremors were all well and good, but Flynn wanted spontaneous declarations, can’t-wait-until-he-calls flutters and secretive glances across the dinner table that no one else understood.

  She wanted him to love her. Love her beyond reason.

  The farther along the creek they traveled, the faster the water rushed by them. Flynn shivered as it swirled past her knees.

  “Cold?”

  “No.” She turned, her eyes instantly drawn to Ace’s wet jeans clinging to his thighs. “Maybe a little.”

  What a lie! Chilled was the last thing she felt.

  “We can go back,” he said.

  “Wimp,” she teased, hoping to distract herself as much as him. “The bend is right there.”

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I promised your dad I’d watch out for you.”

  The genuine anxiety in his voice caused her to look at herself through his eyes, a pregnant woman traipsing along a creek. She conceded his concern wasn’t overblown.

  She also conceded she might be trying to prove something—to Ace and herself. Exert her independence.

  Suddenly, her interest in fishing diminished.

  Not enough for her to suggest returning, however.

  The creek abruptly widened, the water becoming warmer and more sluggish as they entered the pool.

  “If there are any fish in here,” Ace commented, “we’ve scared them away.”

  “They’ll come back.”

  The boulders were where they’d always been since Flynn and Ace started coming here, jutting up from the ground like giant mushrooms. She parked herself on the first one, pulling her sodden sneakers out of the water.

  Ace sat down so quickly, he wobbled. “Whoa!”

  “You’d think a man as good as you are at riding broncs could sit a boulder.”

  “Different skill set required.” He set the tackle box down on a wide, flat rock. “Need me to bait your hook?”

  “Sir, you insult me.” Truthfully, Flynn had always been the better and more avid fisherman.

  Soon their bobbers were dancing merrily on the water’s glittering surface and conversation flowed easily.

  “Did you see today when that mama cow butted Harlan right in the…” Flynn cut her gaze to her lap. “I never heard a grown man yelp so loud.”

  “Or so high,” Ace added with a grin.

  “And your poor cousin Beau. I swear, he stepped in every cow patty there was.”

  “It was like his boots had built-in homing devices.”

  They shared a few more chuckles. After a while, the sun’s soothing rays gave Flynn a case of the lazies.
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br />   “I guess the fish aren’t biting today,” Ace murmured.

  “There’s no rush.”

  Sometimes doing nothing together could be just as enjoyable as doing something.

  “Tell me a secret.” She flashed him a mischievous grin.

  “Forget it.”

  “Come on. I’ll go first.”

  It was a game they’d played in their dating days. Sharing secrets. Mostly funny ones. Occasionally sad. Now and then a little shocking.

  As far as Flynn knew, neither of them had revealed their secrets to a single soul.

  They’d trusted each other in those days.

  She needed to trust him again.

  Without waiting for him to answer, she blurted, “I cheated on an advanced calculus midterm. Bought the answers from some kid.”

  Ace’s jaw went slack. “You’re kidding!”

  “I was sick the week before the test. Bronchitis. I studied. Tried to. My brain was mush. Math was always hard for me. I couldn’t afford less than a C in the class.”

  “Miss Goody Two-shoes Flynn cheated on a test.” He shook his head in dismay, but one corner of his mouth tilted in a grin.

  “Only that one time. I was desperate. I worked my tail off the rest of the semester to make up for it.”

  After a moment, Ace admitted, “I got drunk after my dad’s funeral.”

  “Sorry, Ace, but that’s no secret. We could tell.”

  “I was drunk for two straight days.”

  She sat back. “Really?”

  “And hungover for four.”

  “Ow!”

  “The worst part is, I repeated it after you and I broke up.”

  Now, that was a secret.

  “I still thought about you every day,” she confessed. And every night. “Even when I was married.”

  “I’ve only dated three women since you.”

  “That’s no secret, either.” She swung her fishing pole back and forth, watching the line slice through the water. “Dinah told me.”

  “They all dumped me. For the same reason.”

  “Which was?”

  “I think the exact quote went, ‘I’m tired of being with a guy who’s hung up on his old girlfriend.’”

  Flynn’s hand froze. “Is it true?”

  “You know it is.”

  That was the problem, she knew no such thing. “Why did you leave me that morning?”

  He stared at the distant mountains, his reply, if he was even going to give her one, trapped in his throat.

  Don’t shut me out now. Not like before.

  “The simple answer is I got scared.” He spoke slowly. Reservedly. “The complicated answer is…more complicated.”

  “Let’s stick to simple, then,” she gently urged. “Scared of what?”

  He turned his head to look at her. “You.”

  “What did I do that was scary?” Flynn hadn’t been clingy or needy or demanding. Not anything that typically scared off men. Now or then.

  “You took my breath away.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “That’s the complicated part. Us, being together, it was unexpected. I wasn’t ready.”

  “For what?”

  “The feelings I had for you. Have for you. It’s different this time.”

  Flynn noticed she was gripping the fishing pole like a lifeline and relaxed her grip. “Different how?”

  “Stronger.”

  “Doesn’t sound like a reason to rush off. Sounds more like a reason to stay.”

  “The timing sucked. My mom and I were signing the loan documents that morning, finalizing our expansion plans. I’d just taken on another new client the Andersons recommended. We were entering contract negotiations with two new rodeo promoters. It wasn’t fair to start something I couldn’t finish.”

  “You seriously thought rushing off and not so much as sending me a one-line text wouldn’t hurt?” Flynn’s eyes stung with unshed tears. She blinked them away before Ace saw.

  “Not as much.”

  “As what? Dating for a few weeks and then dumping me?” She reeled in her line.

  “Yes.”

  “Because you did it before?”

  “Breaking up with you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

  “Hmm. So, by leaving that morning you were sparing yourself difficulty. Not me.”

  “You’re twisting this around.” He reeled in his line, too. Yanked it in was a better description.

  “I think I’m calling it exactly right.”

  Fishing, playing secrets, both had been bad ideas. She slid off the boulder and into the creek, the cool water giving her a jolt.

  “Flynn, wait.”

  “What are we doing? What’s changed that you’re suddenly not too busy to have me in your life? Ah, yes, the baby.” She cut him off before he could answer. “You have time for him or her but not me.”

  Pole in hand, she trudged forward, the current impeding her progress.

  “Don’t go,” he said.

  “Why is it okay for you to always take off and not me?”

  He came after her, water sloshing, tackle box swinging. “I was wrong.”

  “Which time?”

  “I should have called you. Explained.”

  “News flash, Ace.” Anger propelled her forward. “That would have made it only infinitesimally better.”

  They reached the bank where they’d left the blanket and their gear. The slope looked higher than Flynn remembered, and she hesitated.

  “Let me go first.”

  “I can do it.” She raised a foot, teetered unsteadily.

  Ace grabbed her by the arm. “Quit being so stubborn.”

  “Fine.” She moved to the side and watched as he effortlessly scaled the bank. “Show off,” she grumbled under her breath.

  Situated on solid ground, he reached out a hand to her.

  She accepted it grudgingly. The next second, she was hoisted onto the bank. Ace circled her waist with one strong arm, though it was completely unnecessary.

  “You can let go.”

  He didn’t and instead increased his hold on her.

  “Ace—”

  “Here’s another secret.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers. “I left that morning because I realized how easy it would be to fall for you. That I probably already had years ago and kept denying it.”

  Quite a line for a man who typically held his cards close to his chest.

  Flynn’s resolve melted. He may not love her to distraction, but he obviously had genuine feelings for her. Or, perhaps he did love her and simply refused to admit it.

  Either way, he was making it hard to resist him.

  He pressed his hand to her belly, splayed his fingers wide. “We’re going to be a family. Nothing or no one will come between me and you and our child.”

  In that moment, Flynn let herself believe him. He was here, with her, taking time away from work. Fishing, of all things, because that was what she’d wanted.

  He kissed her then, vanquishing all coherent thoughts and leaving only sensation. A thrumming pulse. A quickening in her middle. Tingling nerve endings.

  She ceased fighting it and gave in to her body’s electric response.

  * * *

  BEFORE FLYNN QUITE REALIZED what was happening, Ace swooped her up in his arms and carried her to the blanket. Setting her on her feet, he resumed kissing her, his tongue demanding and receiving an eager and willing response from her.

  It had been like this before when they made love. She’d lost her head, surrendered to the wildly sensual feelings he aroused in her with just a kiss. A caress. A murmured word. A low groan.

>   She’d made a mistake.

  Not the baby. Heavens, no. That was wonderful. Incredible. But the hurt in the wake of his leaving… She couldn’t cope a third time. Despite his recent efforts, nothing about his work and commitments had changed. Ace’s ability to devote himself to her depended entirely on his job demands, which were numerous.

  He must have sensed her reservations, for he tore his mouth away from hers and gazed intently at her. “We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”

  Seemed kind of silly for her to refuse him when she was carrying his child.

  “I’m not going to run out on you afterward,” he said, a rough edge to his voice. “I swear.”

  She didn’t think he would. Not today. Not if he wanted to see her again before the baby was born.

  Nonetheless, doubts lingered.

  “I slept with you before because I thought there was a chance for us,” she said. “A possible future.”

  “There is. More than ever.”

  “You left me. Twice. It isn’t easy for me to lay open my heart to you a third time.”

  “I want to marry you, Flynn. Be the kind of husband you deserve.”

  Do you love me? She almost blurted the question out loud.

  What would his response be if she did?

  “I’m afraid.”

  “Of what?” He stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

  They had stood there before, in the same spot, Ace kissing her senseless. He was very hard to resist, and Flynn was no longer sure she wanted to.

  “This, us…matters to me,” she said.

  “Me, too.”

  “I wouldn’t be here with you, wouldn’t have invited you into my bed, if I didn’t care greatly for you.”

  It was the closest she’d come to admitting she loved him.

  He gathered her into his arms. “I won’t hurt you.”

  “You can’t make that promise. Who knows what will happen?”

  “I won’t hurt you intentionally.”

  People seldom did. Tell that to the pain when she was curled on her bed, crying herself sick.

  Here was Flynn’s chance to say no. To tell Ace his track record stank and she refused to set herself up for another big disappointment.

  But then he pressed those incredible hands into the small of her bare back, and what came out of her mouth was a tiny moan of acquiescence.