The Cowboy's Triple Surprise

by Barbara White Daille

  He needed to act normally around her, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Which he didn’t. Hoping for a casual approach, he headed toward their table. From across the room he saw Jane start their way, too.

  He came to a stop beside Shay, not too near, but close enough to see the long sweep of her lashes as she kept her eyes down, her gaze focused on her work. Close enough to smell the same flowery perfume she had worn last summer when he’d danced with her at the wedding and, a few nights later, when he had slept with her in her bed.

  He gulped another mouthful of sweet tea and nearly choked on it.

  Shay never looked his way. The chances she would even throw a glance at him seemed less likely by the second. That only made him more determined to get her attention. He gestured toward the vases lined up on the table. “Looks like this is going to be one big wedding.”

  He stood facing Shay, but Tina answered instead. “The biggest we’ve had here yet,” she said emphatically.

  He knew she was the financial genius in the family. “The thought of all that income must make your accountant’s heart beat faster.”

  She laughed. “You must have heard that phrase from Cole.”

  “I did.” He looked at Shay. Another, more intimate memory of them together flashed into his mind. “What makes your heart speed up?” he blurted.

  “Heartburn,” she said flatly.

  He blinked. Maybe that was a symptom of pregnancy. Or maybe she was just pulling his leg.

  “This worker is due for a break, too,” she said, bracing her hands on the table. She seemed to have trouble pushing herself to her feet. Afraid she might overbalance and fall over the chair, he held it steady for her just as he’d done in the dining room after lunch. And just like then, she gave him a curt, dismissive nod. “Tina, I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Good idea,” he said. “I feel the need to stretch my legs, too.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not—”

  “—thinking of leaving us, are you?” Tina finished. “Tyler, I’m surprised at you. We’ve still got so many tables to set up.”

  “We certainly do,” Jane said. “And we’ve run into a little problem over there.” She pointed to the far side of the room. She raised her brows.

  Tina smiled.

  Shay turned and left the room.

  Shrugging, he followed Jane across the banquet hall. He’d been roped into helping again, and danged if he could think of a single good excuse that would cut him loose.

  Somehow, he managed to carry on a conversation with Jane and the rest of the women while his brain focused on the topic of Shay’s baby. The first chance he had to find her alone, he wanted an answer to the question that continued to nag at him:

  Just how far along is she?

  * * *

  FOR THE REST of the afternoon, Jane kept him hopping. The closest Tyler got to Shay was when he set up chairs at the tables in the area near where she was working.

  He had just come within yards of her when she pulled a cell phone from the bag she had hooked over the back of her chair. After checking the display, she turned to Tina. “I need another break. And I missed a call from my grandmother.”

  “Give Mo our regards,” Tina said.

  Shay nodded. This time she appeared to have less trouble getting up. She also seemed to be in a hurry, as if she wanted to get out of her seat before he could lend his help.

  He watched her walk off.

  A few minutes later, Tina left the ballroom, too.

  Time ticked away, and neither of the women returned.

  Eventually, Jed and Paz stopped in the doorway and surveyed the setup. Tyler tucked the final two chairs beneath a table, then sauntered in their direction.

  “Looking good,” Jed said.

  Tyler eyed the room and tried to see it from the older man’s perspective. All the tables had been covered with long white cloths and shorter pale blue ones, but only half the sets of silverware wrapped in white napkins had been put in place. And there were no decorations around the room yet.

  He gestured to the folding table at which Shay and Tina had been sitting. “Looks like two of your helpers have deserted you.”

  “Tina had to go back to work in her office,” Paz said.

  “And Shay left,” Jed put in, answering Tyler’s unspoken question.

  “Left?” he asked, startled. Then he backpedaled, trying to downplay his interest. “I mean, I thought she was in charge of table decorations.”

  “She is. But she got a call from her grandma and said she had to go home.”

  Jed made the statement so calmly, Tyler couldn’t jump to the conclusion that anything was wrong. He also couldn’t keep from wondering whether Shay had wanted to avoid him. At that thought, the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. She had no reason to stay away from him now. He’d assured her he wouldn’t bring up their past.

  He thought back to Cole and Tina’s wedding and what had happened a couple of days after, and couldn’t help rechecking his math. But even if the dates tallied, that didn’t have to mean a thing. They’d seen each other less than a handful of times. They’d slept together once. What were the chances she’d gotten pregnant from what amounted to a one-night stand? A heck of a lot slimmer than her waist right now, that was sure.

  He focused on his surroundings again and found Paz looking his way. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear he saw sympathy in her gaze.

  “Shay told me to tell Jed she was sorry,” she explained. “Her grandmother is fine. I think it was Shay who wasn’t feeling well. Tina will call her in a little while to make sure she arrived home.”

  “Good idea.” Jed nodded.

  “If she felt that sick,” Tyler said, “you’d think she’d have called her husband to pick her up.”

  “Doesn’t have a husband,” Jed returned.

  “No novio—boyfriend—either,” Paz added.

  Exactly the question Tyler’s mental mathematics had caused him to consider all afternoon. But asking Jed or Paz about Shay’s pregnancy would only bring more unwanted attention to his interest in a woman he should only barely know.

  * * *

  SHAY STRETCHED OUT on her friend’s couch, putting her tired feet up in hopes of easing the swelling. She pulled the afghan from the back of the couch and spread it over her, but even the weight of the knitted wool couldn’t banish the chill she felt.

  Layne came from the apartment’s small kitchen carrying a tray with a couple of mugs and a plate of cookies. When she held out one of the steaming mugs, Shay took it gratefully.

  Though she hadn’t eaten much of her lunch at the Hitching Post, she couldn’t even look at the cookies. When she got home, she would have to have something. Not now. The way her stomach felt at the moment, she almost didn’t want to risk a sip of tea, either. But she needed the warmth. Needed the mug to hold on to.

  She sighed again and glanced at Layne, the only person who knew the truth about her pregnancy. “Tyler’s going to figure out the timing, if he hasn’t already. Even if he’s not the type to keep track of dates—” or to keep track of his conquests “—he’ll remember the month of the wedding. So many brides get married in June.”

  As if to challenge that tradition, Layne and her ex-husband had remarried at the Hitching Post just this past weekend.

  Shortly before that, Jed’s widowed granddaughter, Andi, had gotten married, too. Those newlyweds were still away on their honeymoon.

  Like Tina, Shay had always dreamed of a June wedding and lots of children. Her dreams never included having those children first or raising a family on her own.

  But she wouldn’t be alone. She had Grandma and Layne and the Garlands, and the rest of her friends. They were all she needed. All her babies needed, too.

  “He’ll figure it out,”
she said again. “Or maybe someone at the Hitching Post already told him my due date.”

  “Is that so bad?” Layne asked quietly. “You’re going to tell him, anyway, aren’t you?”

  “No, I’m not.” A flash of anger left her breathless. But it was fury at her own actions that caused tears to rise beneath her hurt. What a fool she had been to fall for Tyler’s dark good looks, his great pickup lines and his pretense of genuine interest. Well, he had truly been interested in something, anyhow. In getting her into bed. And she had made it all too easy for him. She tightened her fingers around the mug. “He slept with me—once—and never looked back. Why would I chase after him to tell him the news?”

  “Because he’s the father.”

  “No, he’s not.”

  Layne’s eyes opened so wide, Shay couldn’t help but laugh. Then, sobering, she slumped against the couch cushion. “Of course he’s the father. I don’t...”

  I don’t sleep around. But she had. One single time.

  She glanced across the living room to where Layne’s little girl lay sleeping in her playpen. Layne’s new husband had left a few minutes ago, taking their son into the kids’ room to read him a story.

  “Don’t worry,” Layne said, “they’ll be good for an hour or more.”

  Shay nodded. Still, she lowered her voice, as much out of reluctance to confess the truth as from the worry she would be overheard. “I only meant that Tyler wouldn’t be a real father. How could he be? And why would I want him to be, when he didn’t care enough about me to come back again, or even to call or send me a text?”

  “You don’t know what happened after he left.”

  “I don’t want to know,” she said flatly. “I don’t want to know anything more than I do already—that he was so hot and such a sweet-talker. And I was such easy pickings.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “Why not? You know it. I know it. And worst of all, he knows it, too.”

  “I know you, Shay. You wouldn’t have slept with him if you didn’t care about him.”

  “I can’t believe this.” She stared down at her tea. “At the wedding, the two of us just clicked.”

  “I know you did.”

  As the groom’s sister, Layne had attended the wedding last summer, too. At the reception, she had witnessed Shay’s first meeting with Tyler. So had almost everyone else in Cowboy Creek. “The day after the wedding,” Shay said slowly, “he came to the Big Dipper with Jane and Pete and the kids. He came back every day. He borrowed a truck from Jed.”

  She had already told Layne all that, but not the rest. “The night before he planned to leave, he showed up again. It was so beautiful out, and after I closed up the shop we went for a walk. We wound up at my house and...and Grandma was out at her bridge club. And I guess you can figure out the rest.” She blinked. “I didn’t plan it.”

  “But you wanted it to happen,” Layne said softly.

  Shay nodded.

  “Because you cared. And because you thought he cared about you.”

  “Yes.” She shrugged. “What difference does it make what I thought? Obviously, I was wrong.” At least, on one of those counts. “And how can I ever face him again?”

  “He’s not just passing through?”

  She shook her head. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be leaving soon enough. But...”

  “But he came to see Cole,” Layne guessed. “And Cole’s gone to Denver to check out that new stallion for Jed.”

  “Right. Tyler’s staying until he gets back. And I’ve got to go to work at the Hitching Post again. We’ve got the wedding tomorrow night.” She winced, filled with guilt about the way she had sent along an apology with Paz earlier, and then escaped from the hotel.

  Still, she couldn’t regret leaving. The Hitching Post was not the place for a reunion with Tyler. She’d needed to get away. Needed to get some space while she figured out how to do what she knew she had to do. Tell him the truth about her pregnancy.

  She had to tell him about the children she would soon be having. Not one child. Not two. But three small, unexpected babies, already growing and thriving inside her. Already very much loved.

  Not his babies.

  Hers.

  “How did you get away from the hotel today without having to talk to Tyler?” Layne asked.

  Shay explained about the missed phone call, which she had noticed on her cell phone at the best possible time. “Grandma just wanted to remind me not to hurry home, since she had plans to be out for supper at SugarPie’s.” The sandwich shop in town was one of Mo’s favorite hangouts, and Sugar Conway, the owner, was one of her best friends. “It gave me a reason to leave the banquet room. Once I was away from everyone,” she confessed, “I used the call as an excuse to run. Which is going to make going back tomorrow even more awkward.”

  “Couldn’t you just call in sick?” Layne asked.

  She almost choked on a laugh. “I wish. But I can’t let Jed and everyone else down. Besides, I need the money. Neither of my part-time jobs comes with insurance.”

  “I thought you told me you had money from your parents.”

  “I do. From their life insurance policies. So at least I won’t have to worry about the hospital bills.”

  She didn’t want to think about those policies and what they represented—the mom and dad she had lost years ago. Money couldn’t take their place in her life. But in reality, she had lost them both long before the accident that had taken them away. Her dad had chased the rodeo and her mom had chased her dad, and as a result, she had never really had them in her life to begin with. All the more reason for staying away from Tyler.

  How could she have let herself...

  How could she have slept with a rodeo cowboy?

  “Grandma practically raised me,” she said in a low voice. “I know how much she loves me, and I know she’ll help me out. But I’m trying to save up as much as I can for everything else the babies will need. I have to report to the Hitching Post tomorrow.”

  She looked at Layne. “But I’m just dreading having to walk back into that hotel and see Tyler again. Or having to face any of the Garlands. Everyone else in Cowboy Creek must know the situation, too. What did I think?” she added, rolling her eyes. “That I could hide my head in the sand like an ostrich, and they wouldn’t figure out the timing as soon as they saw my stomach getting bigger?”

  Layne smothered a laugh. “Sorry. That’s some visual. But if hiding the truth was your goal, I’m afraid you can forget it. Take it from a mom twice over. Nobody around here messes up the math on a pregnancy.” Sobering, she added, “I know you don’t want to tell Tyler the news, Shay. But you should think about it. Before someone else does.”

  “People ought to respect my right to privacy,” she snapped.

  “In this town? No. Someone, sometime, is bound to tell him—out of the goodness of their heart, though. You know that.”

  “Oh, I do know. They’ll have the best of motives, thinking they’re making things easier and doing me a favor.”

  “Exactly. The longer you wait, the more you run that risk. And worse, the more gossip and speculation will fly.”

  “I know that, too,” she mumbled. Her eyes blurring, she stroked her stomach and sighed.

  Chapter Four

  Tyler patted the stallion’s flank, then left the stall.

  In the corral outside the barn, a few of the hotel guests were saddled up, looking stiff and serious as they took instruction from some of the cowhands.

  He headed across the yard to the Hitching Post.

  The wind had picked up a bit, but the midafternoon sun had gotten stronger. Together, they kept the temperature at a comfortable level. Too bad they couldn’t do anything about his temperature. Since yesterday, he had jumped from hot to cold and back again every time he thought of Shay.

  As he re
ached the hotel, the back door opened. Pete, Jed’s ranch manager and Jane’s husband, came out of the hotel and down the porch steps. “In for the day?” he asked.

  Tyler nodded.

  “Whenever you’re needing another ride, you’re welcome to any of the mounts here.”

  “Needing?” Tyler echoed.

  Pete shrugged. “The way you tore out of here after lunch, I’d have said you were looking for more than just time in the saddle.”

  “Yeah.” All morning, he had helped Tina and Jane in the ballroom again. Shay hadn’t been around, and no one had mentioned her name.

  They had released him from duty just before lunch, and afterward he and Freedom had done some hard riding on Garland Ranch. The long trek had been designed to help him outrun his thoughts. Instead, it had only given him more time alone, ample time to envision what he’d seen yesterday.

  Shay, with her belly so big she looked like she might give birth at any moment. Not that he was an expert on pregnancy. But he could count. And he still didn’t like the numbers he’d come up with.

  “The ride doesn’t seem to have done you much good,” Pete said. “Or else that expression of yours is saying you hit a cactus patch somewhere out on the ranch.”

  “I hit something thorny,” he agreed, wondering just how much the other man could help him. Pete had two kids of his own. He certainly ought to know something about the stages of pregnancy. He might also know when Shay was due to have her baby.

  But he didn’t intend to stand there gossiping about her with Jed’s ranch manager. Or even to discuss her with Jed. He had to talk to Shay. All day, he’d replayed their conversation in his mind. Her lack of reaction when he had said he would keep her secret told him he couldn’t be the daddy. But he needed her to tell him herself.

  “See you later.” Tyler made his way into the Hitching Post. A short walk down the hall took him to the wide doorway of the hotel’s kitchen.

  Paz stood near a counter, where light glinted off a knife resting on a cutting board filled with raw vegetables. She broke off from what she was saying to gesture toward a large coffeemaker on one counter. “Coffee is brewed there.”