A Daddy for Dillon

by Stella Bagwell

  “Boots! Mommy, look! I got boots!”

  Leyla stepped toward her son and the little cowboy boot he was holding up for her to see. Made of black leather, the tall shaft had intricate inlays of red and white that shaped the form of a thunderbird. “Oh, my. Those are—” Her words trailed away as she glanced over her shoulder at Laramie. “The boots are too much.”

  Laramie chuckled. “Pretty bright, aren’t they? But we cowboys like to show off—just a bit.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” She shook her head with dismay. “The cost. I—”

  “I wanna wear them, Mommy. Can I?”

  Before she could answer, Dillon plopped down on the chair and jerked off his tennis shoes.

  Laramie chuckled. “I think he likes them, Mommy. Let’s just hope they fit. I snuck a look at his tennis shoes for the size. Boots fit differently, though, so I tried to make a close guess.”

  Impatient with the adults, Dillon began to kick his feet. With a hopeless smile, Leyla kneeled to help him. Once they had the boots in place, the boy immediately jumped down from the chair and awkwardly clomped across the kitchen tile.

  “Looks like you made a perfect guess on the size,” she told Laramie.

  The grin on his face deepened as he watched Dillon strutting around the room. “Cute, aren’t they?”

  She turned slightly toward him and the tender smile on her face made him feel ten feet tall. “Very cute. Thank you, Laramie. For giving him something so special.”

  The desperate urge to touch her had him curling his arm around the back of her shoulders. The soft warmth of her body filled him with the need to be closer. “Believe me, Leyla, it’s just as much fun for me to give to Dillon. And I want—” His words halted as he took his gaze off Dillon’s boot hopping to gaze down at her face. “I want things to be different for Dillon than they were for me.”

  A curious frown pulled her brows together. “I got the impression that you had a happy childhood with Diego.”

  To Laramie’s amazement, he felt his throat tighten with emotions. “I did. I guess seeing you raising Dillon alone has reminded me of all the things I missed. He cared for me but never let me forget he wasn’t my real father.” He let out a long breath. “Back then I didn’t know I was missing anything. The naïveté of a child is a blessing, I guess.”

  Her dark eyes softened as they swept over his face and Laramie wondered if she’d been thinking about him these past few days, if she’d come to the realization that he wasn’t going to hurt her.

  “Yes. I suppose you’re right,” she murmured.

  His gaze lingered on hers until the need to kiss her became so strong it was too uncomfortable to bear. Turning his attention to Dillon, he watched the child jump and stomp his way across the kitchen floor.

  “Leyla, do you think Sassy would watch Dillon for a couple of hours tomorrow afternoon? I’d like to take you somewhere away from the ranch.”

  “Dillon can’t come with us?” she asked with a heavy dose of skepticism.

  “He could. But I’d rather it just be the two of us. There’s something I want to show you.” He turned his gaze back to her and spotted all sorts of doubts dancing across her face. “It’s important to me or I wouldn’t ask, Leyla.”

  Her expression thoughtful, she glanced over at Dillon. “If it’s important to you, then I suppose I can go. After all you’ve done for Dillon I owe you that much.”

  With both hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face him. “You don’t owe me anything. If you agree to go with me, I’d like for it to be because you want to. Not because you feel obligated.”

  He watched her closely as all sorts of questions and doubts flickered in her eyes. “Leyla,” he said softly. “I promise this is not some sort of hidden agenda to get you alone. After we talked the other night I…well, I think you need to know some things about me. That’s all.”

  A faint smile slowly appeared on her face. “All right. If Sassy doesn’t mind watching Dillon, I’ll be happy to go.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Great. If everything is going smoothly here on the ranch, let’s plan to leave about one. That way we’ll get back by Sassy’s quitting time.”

  “That sounds good.”

  Feeling like a grinning fool, he jerked his head back toward the package on the table that was still unopened. “I think Dillon’s so taken with the boots he’s forgotten he has another gift to open.”

  “I expect he’ll want to wear the boots to bed. I’m almost afraid to see what’s in this next box,” she teased, then called to her son.

  The cowboy hat that Laramie had purchased to go along with the boots was also black. The brim was laced around the edge with leather and was equipped with a stampede string to keep the cowboy gear firmly attached to Dillon’s head.

  The child was just as excited with the second gift as he was with the first. While Laramie and Leyla sat at the kitchen table with coffee and dessert, Dillon was content to race an imaginary steed around the kitchen and through the long adjoining hallway.

  But it wasn’t long until all the excitement wore him down and he climbed onto Laramie’s lap. With his little head nestled comfortably against Laramie’s chest, he was on the verge of falling asleep when Laramie’s cell phone went off and startled the drowsy child.

  Leyla quickly pulled her son over to her lap so that Laramie could get to the phone. As soon as he spotted the number on the ID, he knew he couldn’t let the call go to voice mail.

  After a brief exchange of words with Seth, the manager of the calving operation, he reluctantly rose to his feet. “I’ve got to go. There’s been some trouble with a fence up on the north range. Some Chaparral calves have gotten over on Tyler Pickens’s land. It’s the last thing we need to happen around here.”

  Leyla looked at him with concern. “Oh. You say that like the man might cause trouble.”

  Laramie screwed his hat down low on his forehead. “He’s a bit of a hothead. I’m not expecting to have trouble out of him, but I have to go tend to all of this.” At the door, he cast her a look of regret. “Good night, Leyla.”

  “Good night, Laramie,” she returned. “And please be careful.”

  “I plan to,” he said wryly, then hurriedly stepped through the door.

  *

  The next day, after helping Sassy in the garden, Leyla was dressed and waiting on the back patio when Laramie finally returned to the ranch house. She’d not seen him since he’d left last night, and she was about to think he’d forgotten their date.

  It’s not a date, Leyla. The man simply wants to show you something that is important to him. It’s not like he’s taking you out to a candlelit dinner.

  She knew the voice in her head was right, but the thought of being totally alone with Laramie filled her with all kinds of anticipation.

  “Is that a couple of kittens I see peeping out of that little dog house?” Laramie asked, as he approached her. “Dillon was telling me about them last night.”

  He was dressed in all denim and from the saddle stains she spotted on the legs of his jeans, he looked as though he’d been working on horseback.

  “It is. Laurel helped us pick them out and I let Dillon name them. The girl is Cookie and the boy is Stripes.”

  “Very original for a boy his age,” Laramie said with a grin.

  “I gave him a few suggestions,” she confessed. “When they get old enough Russ is going to spay and neuter them for us. That way when we leave the ranch and take them with us, we won’t have to worry about them reproducing.”

  The smile fell from his face. “So you still have leaving on your mind?”

  “It’s not something I’m dwelling on,” she lied. “It’s just a reality.” A fact that she had to face, she told herself. If she was ever going to get her nursing degree and that home for herself and Dillon, she would have to leave the Chaparral.

  Ever since the night of the chuck wagon supper she’d been trying to convince herself that when it was time for her
to leave the ranch it wouldn’t be painful to walk away from Laramie and move on with her life. But she knew she was lying to herself. That night in the atrium when he’d held her so gently and she’d confessed her fears of being intimate with him, something had changed in her. Sharing that part of herself with Laramie had been like stripping off her clothes and allowing him to see her completely naked. In an odd way she felt closer to him now than ever. And she was also realizing more and more just how much her body and her heart hungered for him.

  Standing a step or two away from her, he said, “That’s one of the reasons I want to take you on this little trip today.”

  His remark intrigued her, but she decided not to press him to explain. She didn’t like talking about the future. Not now. Now that he’d come into her life and clouded all her bright plans with uncertainty.

  Glancing at him, she offered, “I’m ready to go if you are. I’ve already said goodbye to Dillon. Sassy is playing a game with him. She’ll keep him happy while we’re gone.”

  He glanced down at himself. “I should probably change clothes—I smell like a horse—but I don’t want to take the time.”

  Smiling faintly, she reached for her handbag lying in the seat of a lawn chair. “I like the smell of horses.”

  A chuckle rumbled in his throat as he reached for her arm. “Why, Leyla Chee, I didn’t know you could flirt.”

  Her cheeks felt more than warm as he began to lead her across the yard to his waiting truck.

  “That wasn’t flirting,” she corrected. “Just stating a fact.”

  “Well, either way, it’s good to know the smell of me won’t bother you,” he said.

  Oh, it would bother her all right, she thought. Everything about him bothered her, stirred her up in ways she was trying not to think about. For nearly four years now she hadn’t allowed a man to even touch her. Now she was willingly going off with Laramie to some place she didn’t even know.

  You’re forgetting every hard lesson you learned, Leyla. You’re letting yourself forget every heartache that Heath ever caused you. That’s what you’re doing.

  Leyla’s troubled thoughts must have shown on her face. As they drove away from the ranch house, Laramie asked, “Is something wrong?”

  Realizing she was gripping the armrest, she moved her hand to her lap and tried to make herself relax. “No. Why do you ask?”

  “Because you look like I’m driving you to an execution or something.”

  Shrugging, she did her best to smile. “Sorry. It’s just that ever since I’ve come to work here at the ranch, I’ve not had to leave Dillon for any reason.”

  “It will be good for him to be away from his mother for a little while. Good for you, too,” he added.

  “You’re right. Eventually I’ll have to get used to him going back to a daycare facility.”

  His pointed glance made Leyla shift uncomfortably in the seat.

  “Dillon is your whole life, isn’t he?”

  “He’s everything to me,” she conceded.

  He reached across the console for her hand and as his fingers wrapped around hers, Leyla’s heart beat hard and fast.

  “I’d like to think you have a little room in your life for me, too,” he said lowly. “Or is that asking too much?”

  Sighing, she looked away from him and out the window. “I don’t know, Laramie. When I first came to the ranch, I wasn’t planning on meeting someone like you.”

  “I never thought I’d meet anyone like you,” he gently countered.

  She turned her head to see a faint smile carving a dimple in the side of his cheek and his dark, sexy profile pulled at every womanly cell in her body.

  He went on, “It’s awful that Jim had to break his leg in order for us to meet.”

  She smiled. “I worked at the Blue Mesa for nearly a year before coming here. Several of the Donovans eat there regularly and Mr. Cantrell sometimes. But I don’t recall ever seeing you while I was on duty.”

  His hand left hers to return to the steering wheel, and Leyla felt a pent-up breath ease from her lungs.

  “I don’t go into town unless it’s necessary. And while I’m there I usually don’t have time to sit and linger over lunch. Something on the ranch is always needing my attention.”

  Smiling now, she said, “The ranch is your whole life, isn’t it?”

  He looked at her and grinned. “It always has been. But believe me, Leyla, I can make room for you and Dillon, too.”

  Afraid to reply to that, she turned her gaze back to the passing landscape. By now they’d reached the long wooden bridge that crossed a narrow portion of the Rio Bonito. Beyond it they would pass through several more miles of Cantrell land before reaching the main highway. The drive through the river bottom was exceptionally pretty, with willows and aspens interspersed with rugged piñon pine. Wildflowers dotted the meadows, while sagebrush bloomed along the edges of the dirt road. Here and there black Angus could be seen grazing on the summer grass. The idea that everything before her eyes belonged to one family was difficult for her to imagine.

  It was the sort of wealth she’d never aspire to have. All she’d ever wanted was a decent home with sturdy walls, a solid roof and dependable plumbing. A house where she and her son would be warm and sheltered and never have to worry about being pushed out by the owners.

  Suddenly aware of the long moments of silence ticking between them, she asked, “Will you tell me where we’re going now?”

  “To my place.”

  His place? That night in the atrium he’d mentioned having a house and land, but that was all. He’d certainly not said anything to imply the property was that important to him. She looked at him with confusion. “I don’t understand. I thought—”

  “I’ll explain when we get there,” he interrupted.

  Seeing he didn’t want to discuss the subject now, she turned her gaze back to the countryside and tried to assure herself that agreeing to be alone with Laramie for the next couple of hours wasn’t a mistake. After all, she was a grown woman now. Not a teenager who could be seduced by the first man to give her a second glance or a line of lies. And Laramie was far, far from Heath’s sort. She had to remember that and hope that she wasn’t making a fool of herself a second time.

  Chapter Nine

  Once they were on the highway, they traveled at least ten more miles before Laramie steered the truck onto a graveled road. Leyla looked around with interest as they passed through low rolling hills covered with blooming sagebrush and snags of twisted juniper trees. Green grass and pastel-colored wildflowers nodded in the bright afternoon sun.

  “This is very pretty,” Leyla remarked. “Is this your land we’re going over now?”

  He pointed to a section of sturdy H braces and strands of barbed wire stretched tight against fat cedar posts. “My land starts right up there at the next cross fence.”

  “How much acreage do you own?”

  “Two hundred acres. It’s enough to carry a few mama cows and their calves.”

  She looked at him with surprise. “Oh. I didn’t realize you had cattle of your own.”

  “The subject never came up,” he said, then gave her a brief smile. “Besides, I don’t want to bore you with too much cattle talk.”

  “You’re so busy on the Chaparral. When do you have time to take care of these cattle?” she asked.

  “Right now while the grazing is plentiful, the herd doesn’t need much attention. But I have a man hired to keep a close watch to make sure all is well—especially when they’re calving. During the winter he takes care of the everyday feeding, too.”

  Laramie slowed the truck, then turned left onto a steep, graveled driveway. At the bottom of the hill sat a small stucco house with wooden shingles on the roof and thick board shutters on the windows. Though small, the structure appeared to be freshly painted and in perfect condition.

  As they drew closer, Leyla leaned forward for a better look. “This house belongs to you, too?”

  “It
does. The remainder of the property runs eastward, behind the house.” He cut the engine and unsnapped his seat belt. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”

  He came around to her side of the truck and helped her down to the ground. As his hand lingered on her elbow, she lifted her gaze to his and suddenly she felt as though she’d just been shaken awake from a long sleep. Everything around her looked different. Especially him. After Heath had turned her world upside down, she’d done her best to keep herself and Dillon shuttered away from the world. And in doing so she’d not really opened her eyes to the lives of people around her, to the joys and pains they were going through.

  “Laramie, before you show me around, I—I want to apologize.”

  Surprise arched his brows. “For what?”

  Her expression rueful, she glanced past his arm to the huge cottonwood shading one end of the house. “For assuming that you only wanted to work for the Chaparral instead of wanting a place of your own. You should have told me about this piece of land—that you raised cattle for yourself.”

  His eyes narrowed. “That makes a difference in how you feel about me?”

  Seeing that he’d misconstrued her, she frowned at him. “Not the way you’re thinking.”

  “How am I thinking?”

  Glancing away from him, she swallowed. “That I’m all about acquiring things and wealth. That I believe everyone should have those same ambitions. Including you. But that’s not right. All I’ve ever wanted is a measure of security. To have somewhere to belong.”

  His eyes suddenly softened and her heart melted as he touched his fingertips to her cheek. “When I had to leave this place, that was all I wanted, too. Just to know I would be in a place where I’d always be safe and warm and fed.”

  A long breath eased from her. At least he understand that much, she thought with relief. “Yes, that’s exactly how I feel.”

  Placing a hand on her shoulder, he urged her toward the small yard surrounding the house. A mixture of grass and weeds covered the loamy soil; a few patches of prickly pear popped up here and there. Other than the massive cottonwood that shaded the north side of the structure, there were three aspens behind the house. As the two of them strolled along in silence, Leyla couldn’t help but wonder if there’d ever been a woman on this homestead. One who planted flowers and vegetables, raised children and dreamed of growing old with the man she loved.