A Baby on the Ranch

by Stella Bagwell

  She shot him an apologetic look. “I don’t have a vase. I did. But I accidentally broke it. I have a big Mason jar in the cabinet where I store the glasses. You might use that,” she suggested.

  “Fine. That’ll be dandy. You go on now and get dressed. I’ll take care of these.”

  Nodding, she turned on her bare feet and hurried out of the room. Lonnie went to the tiny kitchen and found the Mason jar. As he filled it with water and plopped in the roses, he figured he’d made a mistake at the grocery store where he’d picked these up. He should have gotten a poinsettia. Thanksgiving was only a couple of weeks away. The seasonal flower would have been more fitting. But the roses had looked more romantic to him. Not that he had romantic designs on Katherine McBride. No, sir. He wasn’t about to let himself get that starry-eyed sickness that turned men into fools. But heck, all women liked roses, didn’t they? And he needed her in a soft mood if he was ever going to get her to listen to the Ketchums’ side of things.

  Who are you kidding, Lonnie? You got her the roses because you wanted to see her face light up. You wanted to do something special just for her.

  Ignoring the mocking little voice, Lonnie went to sit on the couch. His hat was resting on his knee and the toe of his boot was tapping the air when Katherine finally returned to the living room wearing a pair of black slacks and a pink turtleneck sweater. Her damp hair was fastened at the nape of her neck with a tortoiseshell clip, but she hadn’t bothered to put on any shoes. Her pearly red toenails peeped out at him from beneath the hem of her slacks.

  Rising to his feet, he clutched his black felt hat between both hands. “Thank you for agreeing to see me, Katherine. I really wasn’t sure you’d let me in.”

  Katherine’s gaze swiveled over to the jar of roses he’d placed in the center of the small wooden dining table. The blossoms were so pretty, like a ray of bright sunshine on a cold, dark day.

  Suddenly Katherine felt more awkward than she could ever remember feeling and the baby must have sensed her unease because he was kicking like an acrobat. She smoothed a hand over the rolling movement beneath her belly. “I’m sorry I was so hateful to you last night. That’s not normally my nature, Mr. Corteen. I guess—”

  “It’s not Mr. Corteen,” he interrupted.

  She pulled her eyes back to his lean face. “Okay. Sheriff.”

  He stepped forward and she watched his big fingers slowly move the hat round and round between his hands. “It’s not Sheriff, either. Call me Lonnie. Everybody else does.”

  She doubted his subordinates called him Lonnie, but she wasn’t going to bring that to his attention. She already felt as if she was getting too personal with this man. Or maybe it was just her thoughts that were getting too personal. Either way, she could hardly keep her eyes off him. His presence was just too strong, too sexy for a woman to ignore.

  “Okay, Lonnie. As long as you’ll accept my apology.”

  A slow smile spread across his face, and Katherine felt something inside her begin to melt like butter on a hot biscuit.

  “Let’s forget all that and start over,” he suggested. “Have you eaten supper?”

  She shook her head. “Not yet. I haven’t had time to get any sort of meal together.”

  “Then let’s go out and eat,” he suggested. “My treat. Anything you’d like.”

  Tilting her head to one side, she took a moment to contemplate his invitation. “Hmm. Flowers and dinner. Sounds like you’re trying to charm me. I wonder why.”

  He let out a casual chuckle, but inside he was wondering if Katherine was right. Was he trying to charm this woman? If he was, then he needed to quit it and fast. He and women didn’t mix. Not romantically. They liked him as a friend, not a lover. And there wasn’t any reason to think that Katherine would be any different.

  “There’s no charm about it,” Lonnie said. “I’m hungry and I hate to eat alone. We could both sit here and talk with our stomachs growling. But that really wouldn’t make much sense, now would it?”

  Put like that, it wouldn’t make much sense. And it would be nice to eat something other than what she scrounged up in her own little kitchen, she decided.

  “Not much,” she agreed with a tentative smile. “Just give me a few moments to put on my shoes.”

  “What about your hair?” he asked, his eyes traveling over the curling tendrils framing her face. “Maybe you should dry it a little before you go out. You wouldn’t want to get a cold. Especially in your condition.”

  Once again her lips parted with surprise. The men she’d known had never been thoughtful about such little things, and it took her aback that this big lawman would consider her welfare in such a nice way.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want you to have to wait,” she said.

  He gave her a lopsided smile. “Take your time. While you’re gone, I’ll see if I can make friends with your cats.”

  Katherine hurried to the bedroom and pulled on a pair of ankle boots, then rushed to the bathroom and plugged in the hair dryer. With it blowing on high speed, she hastily brushed through her hair, while asking herself what on earth she was doing agreeing to go out with a virtual stranger.

  Because he knows things about your family that might be important.

  Snorting under her breath at the little voice in her head, she yanked the brush through a mass of tangles. There was no secret surrounding her family. It was Celia. That’s all the family she’d ever had.

  Well, he is nice.

  So were a lot of other men, she mentally argued. That didn’t necessarily make it wise for her to go out to dinner with any of them.

  He brought you roses. Roses! No man has ever done that just for you!

  Snap out of it, Katherine, she silently commanded. A flower is just a flower. You can buy them on most any street corner. Besides, deep down you know he only brought them to you because he wants something from you. That was the way with all men. And this one was no different.

  But for some reason she wanted to think Lonnie Corteen was different. She wanted to think he really was concerned about her emotional and physical well-being. Yeah, she thought dismally, just like she’d wanted to believe that Walt had really loved her.

  Of the two cats, the yellow tabby was the most sociable. By the time Katherine had returned to the living room, the animal was purring and rubbing his arched body against Lonnie’s leg.

  “Where’s Sophie?” Katherine asked.

  Lonnie glanced up and was instantly surprised at the difference in her appearance. Her hair fell in gentle waves around her face and down onto her shoulders. A dab of pink color glistened on her lips and cheeks to give her skin an even more luminescent glow. She was a darn pretty woman, Lonnie decided. Way too pretty for the likes of him.

  “If you mean the black cat,” he answered, “she shot under the couch and hasn’t resurfaced. But this one seems to like me.”

  An indulgent smile twisted Katherine’s lips. “Nigel likes most everybody.”

  Lonnie chuckled under his breath. “I should have known. And here I thought I’d become a special friend.” He rose to his feet and looked at her questioningly. “Ready to go?”

  “Yes. Just let me get my coat.”

  She went to a small closet near the front door and pulled out a tan suede coat lined with sheepskin. Before she could shove her arms into the sleeves, Lonnie came up behind her and helped her on with the heavy garment.

  The masculine scent of him surrounded her and all sorts of thoughts zinged through her head as his warm fingers inadvertently brushed against her neck.

  “It’s mighty cold out there,” he said softly. “You really should pull up your hood.”

  “All right,” she murmured in agreement.

  He adjusted the hood of her coat onto her head and tied the leather laces beneath her chin. She held her breath as his big hands came close to her face.

  “There, now,” he said with a satisfied grin. “That ought to keep you toasty.”

  Katherine considere
d telling him she was a pregnant woman, not a fragile egg that might break at the slightest jar. But she didn’t. It was nice—oh, so nice—to be fussed over. She wanted him to know she appreciated his thoughtfulness.

  “Thank you, Lonnie.”

  He gave her a faint smile and reached for the door. After turning out the overhead light, Katherine followed him onto the landing, and he quickly took her by the arm.

  “These steps are dangerous for a woman in your condition. One little misstep and you’d go toppling down. And God only knows what that would do to you.”

  The strong band of his fingers could be felt even through the thickness of her coat. She felt herself shiver and knew it wasn’t from the cold wind whistling across the courtyard.

  “I’m very careful. I’ve lived in this apartment building ever since I came to Fort Worth. So I’m used to the stairs. And the noise,” she added jokingly.

  He glanced at her. “You like living here? In Fort Worth, I mean.”

  She shrugged. “It’s okay. Sometimes I don’t like the bigness of it, but I do have a good job.”

  “You work in the county appraisal office,” he stated.

  Her brows lifted in brief surprise and then she seemed to accept that he’d already learned things about her that she’d not expected him to know.

  “Yes. I’m secretary to the tax assessor.”

  Lonnie hadn’t known that. Only where and what department of the county courthouse she worked in. The news worried him. Not that any of this should be his concern. But if he’d ever had a chance of persuading her to travel to West Texas with him, it had just sunk to the bottom of the lake. The woman obviously wasn’t about to leave a choice job to go off to investigate some wild story about a mother who was already dead anyway.

  “That’s good. It must be a relief to know you have a secure job. What with the baby coming and all,” he reasoned.

  They reached the bottom steps, and he kept his hand firmly around her arm as he guided her toward a white, club cab, pickup truck. Katherine allowed him to help her into the passenger seat and then he shut the door and skirted the hood to take his place behind the wheel.

  While they both buckled their seat belts and he motored the truck out of the parking lot, Katherine thought about her job and the conversation she’d had with Althea this afternoon. There was no doubt she’d been fortunate to land her secretarial position. And when she’d first taken on the job, she’d been living on a cloud. But little by little she’d felt Richard getting close to her. Closer than he should. Not physically. No, he’d always been the perfect gentleman. Yet he didn’t try to hide the fact that he wanted to involve himself with her day-today life, and that made it hard to keep a brisk business manner between them. The whole situation made her job awkward and uncomfortable. She didn’t want any man in her life now. Period.

  “Well,” she said in an absent voice. “I don’t think there’s any perfect job.”

  He glanced her way, and she frowned at the almost hopeful look on his face.

  “You don’t like your job?” he questioned.

  Frowning deeper, she shook her head. “I didn’t say that.”

  “Oh. I guess I must have mistakenly gotten that impression.”

  He was too intuitive, Katherine thought. No telling what else the man might be picking up from her. Dear Lord, it would be highly embarrassing if he ever realized she found him physically attractive.

  “Look, it’s a good job. I’m not getting rich by any means. But it’s more money than I’ve been accustomed to having,” she said, her voice just the teeniest bit cross. “I just wish there were a few things different about it, that’s all. But like you said, a person’s fortunate not to have to worry about their financial security.”

  The vents in the dash were blowing lukewarm air. She held her cold hands toward one and worked her stiff fingers.

  “It’s grown even colder since this afternoon,” she said. “I hope we’re not in for a long spell of this.”

  “The truck should get warmer in a minute or two.” He merged into busy traffic on a four-lane street and reached up to adjust his rearview mirror. “Do you have a special place you like to eat?”

  Katherine almost wanted to laugh. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out to eat. It just wasn’t the same when a person dined alone.

  “No. You choose,” she told him. “I like most anything. Fast food will be fine, if that’s what you like.”

  “I don’t like fast anything. Especially my food.”

  She surveyed his profile for a few seconds, then cleared her throat and settled back in her seat. She wasn’t about to comment on that remark. Besides, she needed to figure out how she was going to get through this evening without making a fool of herself, and moreover, how she was going to end Sheriff Lonnie Corteen’s pursuit.

  A few minutes later he parked at a Mexican restaurant, and they were ushered to a small round table in a corner flanked by a plate glass window on one side and a collection of huge tropical plants on the other. In the middle of the table, a fat red candle flickered inside a glass holder.

  Lonnie seated her on the side of the table next to the plants, then took the chair directly opposite her. A waiter appeared almost immediately with fresh guacamole, tortilla chips and tall glasses of ice water. Once he left to give them a few moments to study the menu, Katherine looked around her.

  The restaurant was old. The floors were bare, scrubbed wood and the Formica tables and chairs were all different colors and dated back to the fifties, at least. Numerous photos adorned the walls, most of them shots of Fort Worth during its early days as a dusty cattle town. From somewhere in the direction of the kitchen, Tex-Mex music was playing quietly on the radio. At the moment the restaurant was quiet, with only a few other couples scattered across the small room. But Katherine wasn’t surprised at the lack of diners. The bitter weather was keeping most Texans indoors.

  “You already know what you want?” he asked as he noticed her closing the menu and laying it to one side of the table.

  She nodded. “Carne Guisada. This is just the weather for it.”

  He liked the stewed beef she was talking about, but he wasn’t in the mood for it tonight. He wanted something hot and spicy that would burn his tongue and keep his mind off the beautiful woman sitting across from him.

  Lonnie scooped up a hefty amount of guacamole on a chip. “I guess I should tell you that I spoke to Seth this morning. He was delighted that I’d managed to locate you. But he was also worried.”

  Katherine watched him pop the appetizer into his mouth and chew. Like last night, she was once again overwhelmed by the sheer size of his body and the craggy masculinity of his face. As soon as he’d taken his seat, he’d pulled off his black Stetson and placed it under his chair. Now her eyes glided over deep-auburn hair that waved loosely back from his face and curled slightly against his neck. Candlelight flickered amber highlights over the thick strands and along the rough angles and planes of his features.

  Her covert study of him sent her mind off on a totally different tangent, and for a few moments she forgot what he’d been saying. Something about the Ranger and his being worried.

  Katherine glanced away from him as embarrassed heat flooded her face, and she quickly reached for a chip and scooped it into the guacamole.

  “I still don’t know why he should be worried about me,” she finally said. “I don’t have any problems.” At least she didn’t have, until the sheriff of Deaf Smith County had shown up on her doorstep, she thought.

  “You’re pregnant.”

  She looked at him, her ire suddenly rising. “You told him that?”

  Lonnie shrugged. “Why not? It’s not a secret, is it?”

  More hot color swept into her cheeks. “No. But it’s none of his business!”

  He reached for more chips from the basket in the center of the table. “I beg to differ. The baby is his little niece or nephew. Of course he’s concerned. He knows you’re singl
e and could use some help.”

  Katherine sputtered, but was unable to come up with one word before a waiter came to take their order. Once he was gone, however, she said, “Look, Mr. Corteen—”

  “Lonnie,” he interrupted. “You sure do have a time remembering instructions.”

  She released a long, impatient breath. “Okay. Lonnie. Just so you understand, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I don’t need anyone to take care of me or my baby. Got it?”

  Leaning back in his seat, he bestowed her with an indulgent smile that came across as more sexy than anything. As Katherine looked at him, she wondered how she could have been so stupid as to let herself be lured into spending more time with this man. He was dangerous to her peace of mind. Somehow she’d known that from the very first moment she’d laid eyes on him.

  “Boy, you’re a touchy little thing, aren’t you? I wasn’t trying to imply that you can’t take care of yourself. It’s just that when a woman is in…a delicate condition, I think it’s nice and proper for her to have support.”

  “From a man?” she asked with sarcasm.

  His gaze swept up and down the part of her that wasn’t covered by the table. “Well, where I come from that’s the normal procedure.”

  She wanted to be indignant. She wanted to point out to him that women of today were independent. They didn’t need a man to make them happy or keep them safe. Yet his old-fashioned philosophy touched a spot deep inside her, a place that had always yearned to have a family, a whole family, and to be loved by a special man.

  She breathed deeply and cursed as a ball of emotion burned her throat. Damn hormones. They were making her a nutcase. And the man sitting across from her certainly wasn’t helping matters.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I guess I’ve been sounding like a regular witch of the west. I just don’t know what to think about all of this stuff you’ve been throwing at me. To tell you the truth, I haven’t had time to absorb it all.”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “I can sure understand that, Katherine. It’s not a simple story.”