Grabbing his keys, he locked up the house and walked out to his truck. It could use a wash, but he didn’t have the time. He used his hand to clean off the passenger seat before walking around to the driver’s side and sliding in behind the wheel.
On the way to Thunder Mountain, he had the same feeling in the pit of his stomach that he always got right before he stepped into the arena for a performance. So he followed the same technique and, several deep breaths later, he was calmer.
The academy kids were busy down at the barn taking care of morning chores when he pulled up in front of the house. He saw Cade and Herb with them, supervising. Cade looked up and waved. By now he probably knew the score. Herb would have filled him in.
Zeke lifted a hand in acknowledgment before mounting the steps to the porch. He rapped on the screen door and opened it while calling out a greeting. For anyone who’d lived at the ranch, that was all Rosie and Herb required. The door was nearly always open for their family.
Zeke had never let himself fully accept being a part of Herb and Rosie’s family. Counting on something to stay the same was a recipe for disappointment. While the other guys called Rosie and Herb “Mom and Dad,” he didn’t. They referred to the ranch as “home” but he hadn’t made the mistake of labeling it that way. Even so, he enjoyed the privilege of walking into the house whenever he wanted.
“In the kitchen!” Rosie responded.
He found her predictable breakfast routine a comfort, but he’d never taken that for granted, either. He could tell some of the other guys did.
When he walked into the kitchen, it was just Rosie and Sharon, the cook they’d hired to help fix meals for the academy students. She was a middle-aged lady with short brown hair and a great laugh. No Tess.
“Hey, Zeke.” Rosie turned from the stove to look at him. “Where’s your beard?”
“Shaved it off.” He glanced over at Sharon and touched the brim of his hat. “Howdy, ma’am.”
“Howdy, Zeke. I was growing partial to that beard.”
“It was starting to itch. Can I help you two with anything?”
Rosie handed him a bowl and a whisk. “You can scramble these eggs. Sharon and I have already delivered the food to the rec hall, so she’s ready to leave. Herb will be back from the barn shortly.”
“See you two later.” The cook grabbed her tote bag out of the storeroom.
“Bye, Sharon,” Rosie said. “Thanks!”
Zeke waited until she went out the front door. “Tess isn’t up yet?”
“Not yet.” Rosie eyed him. “You can start scrambling those eggs anytime now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He set the bowl on the counter and started in on them. “She told you, right?”
“She did. And you’d better give me those eggs before you beat them to death.”
He handed over the bowl and Rosie poured the mixture into the frying pan. Bacon sizzled in another pan and country fries were cooking away in a third. Normally he’d be salivating for one of Rosie’s famous breakfasts, but he wasn’t even slightly hungry.
“Zeke, please don’t pace.”
“Sorry.” He hadn’t realized he was doing it.
“Would you like some coffee?”
“No, thank you, ma’am.”
“Well, I would, so please pour me a cup and sit down at the table. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He got her coffee, carried it to the table and took a seat.
She turned down the heat under each of the pans and covered them with lids. As she approached the table, Zeke stood and held her chair for her.
“Thank you.” She settled herself and wrapped both hands around her coffee mug. “I take it you have a plan.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Judging from how spiffy you look, I can guess what it is, but I should probably warn you that—”
“Good morning.” Tess walked into the room wearing a soft blue button-up shirt and jeans.
Zeke leaped to his feet again and knocked over his chair. “Good morning.” He righted the chair and gazed at her. She looked incredible. Her hair shone like gold and her cheeks were flushed as if she might be as nervous about their situation as he was.
She stared at him. “What happened to your beard?”
“It itched, so I shaved it off.”
“Oh.”
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.” Herb walked into the kitchen. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m starving.” He took plates from a cupboard. “I vote we serve ourselves from the stove.”
Rosie stood. “That works. I’ll make us some toast. Zeke, you can get out the silverware and napkins. Tess, coffee mugs are in the cabinet nearest the window, first shelf. I have mine but we’ll need three more.”
Zeke had thought about lying and saying he’d had breakfast before he’d come over, but he was a lousy liar and Rosie wouldn’t believe him anyway. Nobody in his right mind ate breakfast beforehand if he had a chance to enjoy Rosie’s cooking. He filled his plate and sat with everyone else.
Herb picked up his coffee mug and paused with it halfway to his mouth. “Why did you shave off your beard, Zeke?”
“He said it itched.” Rosie gave Herb a glance that said plainly he shouldn’t pursue the matter.
Zeke appreciated the intervention on his behalf. He didn’t want his beard removal to become the main topic of conversation.
Herb shrugged. “I can see that could be an issue. So, Tess, the kids have cleared out of the pasture area if you’d like to head down there with me or Zeke and take a look at the horses.”
That would delay Zeke’s plan and the longer he delayed, the more likely he’d lose his nerve. “Actually, I—”
“I’d love to,” Tess said. “I wanted one so bad when I was a kid but my parents weren’t into horses. Since then I’ve taken lessons, although I can’t claim to be a seasoned rider.”
Zeke looked at her in surprise. “I didn’t know you ride.”
“A little. I’m taking a break from it until the baby’s born, just to be on the safe side.”
“Good.” He sighed in relief. “That’s good.” He’d been around horses all his life and loved them, but he didn’t like the idea of Tess riding one and chancing a fall.
“The advice on riding while pregnant is conflicting,” Herb said, “but since it’s not something you do on a daily basis, I think you’re smart to stop for the next few months.”
Tess nodded. “Thanks. But I’d love to visit your horses. How many do you have?”
“Six at the moment.” Herb ticked them off on his fingers. “Technically, Lucy and Linus, a palomino mare and her son, don’t belong to us. We’re boarding them.”
Tess smiled. “Love the names.”
“Then we have Cade’s big black horse, Hematite, and his fiancée Lexi’s mare, Serendipity, Serra for short. Finally there’s Navarre and Isabeau, my gelding and Rosie’s mare.”
“You named them after the characters in Ladyhawke?”
Now if only he could get Tess to respond with that kind of delight when he had his chance to talk to her. They were burning daylight and his special place looked its best in the morning before that rock heated up.
“Rosie named them,” Herb said “She made me watch the movie and, after I did, I agreed to the names. I don’t admit this to everyone, but we’re all friends here. I’m a sucker for a great romance.”
“And that’s why I married him.” Rosie gazed fondly at her husband. “He’s a stand-up guy, but underneath he’s a sentimental sweetie who doesn’t mind naming our horses after characters in a love story.”
Zeke noticed that Tess was a little misty-eyed. Maybe that was his cue. “Look, I know how much Tess is interested in seeing the horses, but I also wanted to show her the view from Li
on’s Rest Rock. It’s at its best when the sun’s at an angle instead of beating straight down.”
“Lion’s Rest?” Tess gazed at him, her expression difficult to read. “Are you talking about mountain lions?”
“Technically, yes, but if we take the trail up there, I guarantee we won’t find one lounging on that flat rock. They’d hear us coming long before we arrived and vamoose.”
“But they do hang out there?”
“Sure, when no people are around.”
“That’s too bad. I’d love to catch a glimpse of one. I never have.”
All righty, then. He was quickly learning things about the mother of his child, information that could be valuable in the future. “Well, you never can tell. If we get a move on and walk very quietly up that trail, we might see one disappearing through the underbrush.”
He ignored Rosie when she lifted her eyes to the ceiling. So he was exaggerating a little. No one he knew had actually spotted a cougar on that rock. Rumor had it that they perched on it when no people were around because the rock gave them an excellent vantage point for spotting prey. It could be true.
But Lion’s Rest Rock was a famous make-out spot because the granite slab was the size of a king mattress, besides being smooth as a well-worn saddle. Zeke couldn’t speak for other guys, but he’d never made a conquest up there. His conscience was clear about sharing it with Tess.
Tess finished her coffee and picked up her empty plate. “I’m ready to go see this Lion’s Rest Rock, right after we clean up.”
“Leave the dishes,” Rosie said.
Zeke had never heard more beautiful words in his life. In another forty minutes that rock could be hot as a branding iron. He could get there in ten and lead Tess up the path in another ten. That gave him twenty minutes to execute his plan. It should be enough.
With anticipation vying with anxiety, he ushered Tess out the front door of the ranch house and handed her into the passenger seat of his truck. So far, so good.
“I can’t help thinking you have an ulterior motive,” she said as he put the truck in gear.
“Why’s that?” He didn’t dare look at her as he drove. She might see something in his eyes.
“Number one, you shaved off your beard. That had to take a couple of weeks to grow, so why shave it now unless it has something to do with me?”
“My beard grows really fast. It only took about nine days.”
“All right, but the timing is still suspicious. Yesterday afternoon you had a bushy beard. Then I tell you I’m pregnant and the next morning you appear with a close shave. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”
“I got the impression you didn’t like it.” They reached the paved road and he accelerated.
“I didn’t dislike it. I just... What difference does it make, anyway? There’s no reason for you to try to please me. We’re ships who passed in the night.”
“We didn’t just pass. We moored in the same spot and produced a dingy.”
That gave her the giggles. “I shouldn’t have introduced a nautical reference. It makes no sense in Wyoming. We’re landlocked.”
“Okay, let’s compare ourselves to a couple of Conestoga wagons that ended up gathered around the same campfire and produced a little buckboard.”
Her laughter was now out of control. “Stop! Don’t be funny! This is a very serious situation we’re in.” But she couldn’t seem to keep a straight face.
And it was catching. Soon he was laughing right along with her. When he pulled over onto the side of the road next to the trail leading up to Lion’s Rest Rock, he was out of breath. Shutting off the engine, he glanced at her and grinned. “Enough. You’ll need both energy and lung power to walk up this trail.”
“Is it really that steep?”
“Not too bad, but I can guarantee you one thing. It’s more of a challenge while you’re laughing.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best to forget I’m having a little buckboard.”
He gazed at her. All that laughter had made her eyes sparkle like sapphires under a high-intensity lamp.
“I assume people hike this trail hoping to spot wildlife.”
“Some do, but that’s not really what the rock is known for.”
Understanding flashed in her eyes and her cheeks turned pink. “Zeke Rafferty, if you think you’re going to get me alone up there so we can do that, you have another think coming!”
“I don’t, I swear! That’s the furthest thing from my mind.” Not exactly true, but it was down the list a ways. It didn’t rank higher than number three and, considering how pretty she looked, he thought that was damned noble of him.
“So what is on your mind, then?”
“We need to talk, figure stuff out. The view from there is real nice. You can watch the morning shadows move down the mountains as the sun gets higher.”
“You seem to know this spot pretty well.”
“I do, but not for the reason you’re imagining. I used to come up here in the early morning so I could think about things when nobody else was around.”
“Come on, Zeke. A guy who looks like you must have had plenty of girlfriends in high school. I can’t believe you didn’t bring them here to make out.”
“You don’t have to believe me, but the fact is, I didn’t.” He opened his door. “It was too special.” He hopped down and walked around to her side, but she was already out.
She gazed up at him, her expression tender. “I do believe you. And you’re right about the beard. I like you better without it. Lead the way.”
He took off before he did something stupid and kissed her. As he climbed, he monitored his pace so he wouldn’t wear her out getting to the top.
“You can go faster. I’m in shape. I go for a run every morning.”
He turned around so abruptly they almost slammed into each other. “You run? Is that okay?”
“My doctor says it’s fine unless I notice any problems after a run. She’s in favor of women exercising throughout their pregnancy. It’s just the horseback riding she cautioned me about. And the bungee jumping.”
His stomach lurched. “Bungee jumping?” The mischievous twinkle in her eyes clued him in. “You’ve never bungee jumped in your life, have you?”
“Nope. Just teasing you.”
No kidding. Standing inches away from her, he was teased by a whole bunch of things—the scent of her shampoo, the curve of her cheek and the sound of her breath. He knew the pleasure her kiss could bring and he craved that pleasure again. But he’d promised that wasn’t why he’d brought her up there.
“We’d better get a move on.” He turned around and started back up the trail. “We want to get there before the sun hits that rock.”
Fortunately it was still shaded when they reached the end of the trail. He should have thought to bring a blanket for her to sit on, but then she might have questioned his honorable intentions.
She walked out onto the rock and sucked in a breath. “Gorgeous. Thank you for bringing me up here. Now I wish I’d brought a camera, or at least my phone.”
“We can come back another time.”
She turned toward him. “No, we can’t, Zeke. It’ll be better for all three of us if we make a clean break.”
“I don’t want a clean break.” He dropped to one knee. “I don’t have a ring to give you, but I’ll get one today. Tess Irwin, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Chapter Four
“Are you crazy?” Tess stared at Zeke in dismay while a voice in her head screeched, This isn’t happening! Dear God, this isn’t happening! “We barely know each other.”
His jaw tightened. “We know each other well enough to make a baby. That’s a little more intimate than a handshake, Tess. You knew me well enough to get naked with me. Marriages have b
een built on a lot less.”
“But I don’t want to be married. I’ve been there and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun. And I thought we were in love! You and I don’t even have that going for us.”
He rose. “What if that’s for the best? What’s wrong with getting married for the sake of the kid?”
“Everything. In eighteen years or so this baby will be ready to create a life of his own. What then? Will we stay married after he goes off to college or a job in another state? Will we stare at each other across the breakfast table and wonder what the heck we’ve done to ourselves for the sake of the kid?”
He glanced down at his boots. She noticed they had a light layer of dust on them, though they’d started the walk dust-free. When he looked up again, his gaze was bleak. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“But we have to.” She should have figured out what he was planning when he appeared this morning in clothes that looked almost new, recently polished boots and a clean-shaved jaw. Yet she’d never dreamed he’d do a complete one-eighty and propose after announcing in April that he’d never marry or have kids. He’d blindsided her because she didn’t know him at all.
“Okay, you make a good point about the marriage thing, but I still want to be part of my son’s life.”
“Why?” She gazed up at him.
“He’s my son.”
“Look, if you’re feeling an obligation because society has conditioned you that way, please try to adjust your thinking. Obligation and duty have no place in this scenario. I won’t have someone around this baby who resents him.”
“I didn’t say I resented him.”
“Maybe not yet. He isn’t even born. But kids take time away from other things you might want to do and they can be frustrating to deal with sometimes. Considering all you’ve said about protecting your independent lifestyle, why would you let yourself in for that?”
“Because I want to make sure he’ll be okay.”
“I promise you that he’ll be well taken care of.” And that was the crux of the situation. He didn’t trust her to do that. And why should he? He didn’t know her, either.
Say Yes to the Cowboy Page 3