The Rancher's Baby Proposal Read online

  He settled in his chair across from the pair of them. “You’re starting that little one off with late hours, are you?”

  She laughed. “She’s the one setting her own schedule, Abuelo. This baby likes to eat and sleep as she pleases. I just follow along to do her bidding.”

  “Well, that’s the way it should be when they’re that young.” He kicked back and laced his fingers together on the tabletop. “I see Ally’s finally showing some maternal instincts.” The girl had come out to the hotel and stayed for supper, then spent the evening in the sitting room with his granddaughters and their kids.

  “I don’t know about maternal instincts,” she said doubtfully. “Ally always claims she and babies don’t get along. And of course she won’t admit she remembers all the time she’s spent with Robbie, including when he was an infant. Anyhow, Andi and I need to give her a crash course in infant care. She’s going to be babysitting Reagan’s little boy.”

  “So that’s why Reagan wanted to talk with her at Sugar’s.”

  “You heard about that already?” She shook her head. “There’s no doubt about it, is there? News really does travel fast in Cowboy Creek.”

  “I happened to be at the hardware store when Ally and Reagan ran into each other.”

  “Oh, is that so?” She stared him down. He looked back at her, keeping his gaze level. “Funny. I thought Ally said Reagan invited her at the end of their conversation, after you had left.”

  “He did. It so happens I had to pick up some supplies in the next aisle, and I overheard what they were saying.”

  Both women laughed at that, as he had known they would.

  “I’ll bet you did,” Tina said. “I’ll also bet Sugar called you right after they left the shop, didn’t she?”

  Now it was his turn to laugh. His youngest granddaughter usually had the knack of seeing right through him. “You won’t let me get away with anything, will you? Yes, Sugar did call. So, Reagan has a child. And a wife?”

  “Ally said he told her no on that.”

  “Good.” He beamed.

  Tina’s eyes narrowed. “Why? You’re scheming again, aren’t you?”

  “Do you blame me?”

  She shot a quick smile at her grandmother, then reached across the table and squeezed Jed’s laced fingers. “You wouldn’t be you, Abuelo, if you didn’t care so much about everyone. This is between you, me and Abuela only, but...Ally has always had a crush on Reagan.”

  “Well, then, all the more reason for me to get up to some scheming, as you called it. Surely, you can’t object if I want to help her.”

  Now she looked down and touched her baby’s cheek. “No, I can’t say I really object. Ally’s my best friend. I want her to be as happy as I am.”

  “Good. First, we’ll have to find out exactly what Reagan’s status is. If he’s unattached...”

  “Any free man is fair game?”

  “Exactly right.”

  “Ally would never speak to me again if she knew I was encouraging you to play matchmaker for her.”

  “And that’s exactly right, too,” he said with a grin. “If she knew. But there’s no need for her or Reagan to find out.”

  “And how will you manage that, Jed?” Paz asked. She dried her hands on a towel and took a seat at the table. The fine silver threads in her dark hair winked in the overhead light.

  “I haven’t quite figured that out yet. But don’t you worry, I’m ready and willing to face the challenge. I’ll come up with something.”

  “You won’t have much time,” Tina told him. “Ally said Reagan is leaving again as soon as he has the house cleared out and ready to go on the market.”

  “Then I’ll have to work quickly, won’t I?” He smiled. “Fortunately, as you both know, I do my best work under pressure.”

  * * *

  ALLY TOOK A deep breath and climbed the porch to Mrs. Browley’s front door. It sure wasn’t the idea of seeing her mama’s friend that made her need the reassurance. Taking another deep breath, she rang the doorbell and filled her mind with positive thoughts.

  Piece of cake. Sopaipilla cheesecake. I can do this.

  A few moments later, the door opened and she was greeted with a friendly welcome and a big hug. The older woman who stood beaming at her wore her white hair pulled back into her usual bun and eyed Ally over a pair of wire-rimmed glasses.

  “Hi, Mrs. Browley. I’m here to pick up the special delivery package you’re holding for me.”

  Mrs. Browley laughed. “Ally. Come in, dear. That little package of yours is waiting happily to make your acquaintance.”

  That wouldn’t last long.

  Slowly, she followed the woman down the hallway to the kitchen. She glanced at the padded diaper bag sitting on the small table. She looked at the baby carrier resting beside it. And finally, she stared at the baby inside the carrier.

  He was tiny, not much bigger than Tina’s newborn. A few wispy curls lay against his scalp. “His hair’s so much lighter than Reagan’s,” she blurted.

  “It is,” Mrs. Browley agreed. “That may darken as he gets older. Or he may take after his mother.”

  She shot a glance at the older woman. Could Reagan have told Mrs. Browley the “long story” he didn’t want to share with her about why he wasn’t married? But the other woman just looked down at the baby.

  Ally did, too. The baby stared up at her, his eyes only half open.

  “Those eyes, though,” Mrs. Browley said, “are just like the blue of his daddy’s. Aren’t they, Sean?” The baby’s eyelids drifted closed, then fluttered open. She laughed softly. “He just finished eating, and now he’s fighting sleep. You should have a nice, quiet ride out to Reagan’s ranch.”

  “I hope so.” And with one feeding out of the way, she might get a reprieve from having to give the baby his bottle today. Two afternoons’ worth of lessons with Tina and Andi had left her feeling a tiny bit more comfortable but nowhere near competent. And to her relief, at least neither Tina’s infant nor Andi’s little girl had protested when Ally held them. She had no guarantee of the same result with Reagan’s baby.

  Mrs. Browley gave a heavy sigh.

  Ally tensed. “Is there something wrong?”

  The other woman shook her head sadly. “Just thinking about yesterday. I saw Jed Garland at Sugar’s, and we were discussing Reagan.”

  “You were?” Ally eyed her from under her lashes. This didn’t sound promising. Everyone in town knew anytime Jed or Sugar involved a third party in one of their conversations, at least two of those three were up to something.

  “We all knew both Reagan’s parents, of course,” Mrs. Browley said. “And we think that boy is going to have a hard time out at the ranch. Sandra was a wonderful wife and mother, and an excellent housekeeper, too. But she liked her crafts just as much as any of us in the women’s circle do. And she was a fabulous cook. Their place was filled with so many of her handmade decorations, and lots of material and yarn and cookbooks and all kinds of kitchen equipment.”

  Ally tried not to grimace. At home, Mama often rolled her eyes and moaned that Ally would never learn to cook. She would reply she did know how—she did just fine with a box and a microwave, didn’t she? “Wouldn’t his father have gotten rid of some of those things, or given them away?”

  “No. It was hard on Larry when Sandra got so sick. I know for a fact he couldn’t bring himself to touch any of her things once she passed on.” She rested her hand on Ally’s arm. “Having your help with the baby will give Reagan more time to focus on what needs to be done.”

  And give her more time to waver between wanting to run from the ranch and longing to be with him.

  “Well.” She looked at the baby, whose eyes were now fully closed. “I guess it’s time to get moving with Sleepy Beauty here.”

>   “Sleeping Beauty, I think you mean, dear. Although she was a girl, not a boy.” Mrs. Browley’s eyebrows dipped in a concerned frown.

  “Don’t worry.” She laughed. “I do know the difference. You know I always joke when I’m feeling uptight.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought that applied here. There’s nothing to be nervous about. This little angel won’t give you a bit of worry.”

  Ally nodded. She only wished she could feel as confident.

  Chapter Three

  No wonder Reagan didn’t want to make the trip into town and back again twice in one day.

  Ally had visited his family’s ranch once and knew it was small compared with most of the properties around Cowboy Creek. The narrow rectangular piece of land lay tucked between two larger spreads. But the ride had been longer than she remembered.

  As she pulled the car up to the ranch house, she peeked into her rearview mirror at the car seat Reagan had left for her at Mrs. Browley’s house. Luckily, she had gotten instructions from Tina on the right way to install the seat in the car and then how to fasten the baby safely inside.

  Another mirror suction-cupped to the back window reflected the infant’s image. In the frequent quick peeks she had taken on the drive to the ranch, she hadn’t seen him stir. Now, his eyes were open, blinking in the light, staring up at the mirror.

  “Hey, baby,” she said softly. “So, you’re awake. Listen, the two of us are going to get along great. No tricks, no temper tantrums on your part. And only first-class care on mine. I promise you that. After all, I’ve been trained by the best. There’s nothing like learning your trade from a brand-new mama.”

  She winced. As far as she knew, the baby didn’t have a mama. Had he ever heard the word before? How would he react at hearing it from her?

  But he lay still in his seat, blinking lazily.

  She took a deep breath and let it out again. Now or never. She would rather never, but that hadn’t been the agreement she had made with Reagan.

  She went to the rear passenger door and knelt on the back seat to unhook the safety harness. “This is only your first time out here at the ranch, isn’t it?” Her hands shook just a tiny bit. So did her voice.

  The baby looked up at her. He had slept through the entire ride, as if the bouncing of her car on the frequently uneven road had soothed him. Maybe the wobbly sound of her voice had the same effect. If that was the case, she would let her nerves take over and talk to him all day long.

  She transferred him to his baby seat and strapped him in. “I’ve only been out to the ranch once before. My mama and the other ladies of the women’s circle sometimes have special Saturday meetings. And one Saturday a long time ago, when Mrs. Chase, your abuela—your grandma—had the meeting here, she invited all of the ladies to bring their kids along.”

  After hoisting her purse and the diaper bag onto one shoulder, she picked up the baby in his carrier.

  So far, so good. Keep talking.

  “This was when I was in junior high school. You’ll find out all about school someday. Anyway, that Saturday, I got to see your daddy.” The memory made her voice suddenly rise. She looked at the baby in alarm, but he simply stared up at her. “He was grooming his horse outside the barn. And would you believe, I got hit with an attack of shyness. Me, Ally Martinez, The Girl Most Likely to Make You Laugh. Crazy, isn’t it? Well. I sat on the darned corral fence for almost an hour, never even saying hello, just watching him work.”

  As she went up the steps to the house, she shot a fond glance toward the corral. Then she looked down at the baby. Sean seemed transfixed by her story. Maybe there wouldn’t be much to this babysitting, after all.

  Reagan had told her the kitchen door at the back of the house would be open. She went inside and took the baby over to the table.

  She hadn’t gotten her fill of Reagan that day long ago, but it was the first time she had ever been able to sit and stare at him unnoticed by anyone. Including him, unfortunately.

  “Your daddy’s a couple of years older than I am,” she explained. “Well...probably closer to three, and I guess he thought I was just a little kid. He never did pay much attention to me.” Leaning closer to the baby, she whispered, “But let me tell you, things are going to change now. What do you think of that?”

  The baby looked up and instantly gave her his answer. He stiffened his arms and legs, scrunched up his face and let out a screech.

  “Hush,” she said hurriedly, rocking the seat slightly. The movement did no good and even seemed to upset the baby more. “Shh-h-h. Shh-h-h. Don’t cry, baby. Your daddy will hear you and fire me on the spot.”

  “I already hear him.”

  She jumped and let out a screech even louder than Sean’s.

  Reagan’s voice had come from the other side of the kitchen. Reluctant to turn and face him, she stared down at the baby, whose face was getting redder by the minute. So was hers, judging by the heat flooding her cheeks. Reagan had heard the baby crying. But had he also heard anything she had said to the baby?

  Suddenly, Reagan was standing beside her. He had sturdy hands with long fingers, and in seconds he had unfastened the straps around the baby. “When a kid’s this wrought-up,” he said, “rocking the seat’s not going to help. He needs out of here.” He lifted Sean and placed him against his shoulder.

  She noted he cupped his hand around the back of the baby’s head just the way Tina had taught her.

  “Let me guess,” he said. “Mrs. B fed him not long before you went to pick him up.”

  She nodded. “That’s what she said. But he was fine in the car. He didn’t let out a peep the entire trip.”

  “He’s making up for it now.” He patted the infant’s back. “He’s probably battling some gas from his formula.”

  Again, she nodded. In the past, she had heard both Tina and Andi say something similar about one of their babies. Obviously, it was common with little ones. Why hadn’t she thought of that herself now?

  She hadn’t been in the house two minutes yet, and already she had given Reagan reason to think she couldn’t handle the job he needed her to do.

  * * *

  SEAN SQUAWKED IN Reagan’s ear. “Shh-h-h,” he said, the way Ally had done. The baby quieted, but only a daddy with zero experience would expect that to last.

  “Come on,” he said, “while we can hear ourselves talk, let me take you up and show you where to find all the baby’s things.” Leading the way, he left the kitchen and went to the stairs.

  He was having trouble getting an image out of his mind, the sight of Ally leaning over the baby seat and whispering to his son. He had overheard the tail end of her one-sided conversation, and he was having trouble forgetting what she had said right before she had lowered her voice.

  I guess he thought I was just a little kid. He never did pay much attention to me.

  She meant him. And she was right. He hadn’t paid her much mind years ago. Three years’ difference, give or take, made a big gap between a grade-school girl and a kid in junior high. The division between junior high and high school had caused a greater divide. Then, it had seemed like a big reason to avoid her. Not that he’d had any interest in her, anyway. He had thought of her as just a kid.

  But as he looked at her now—

  Sean let out another squawk.

  Good boy, trying to get his daddy’s attention back where it belonged.

  He cleared his throat and deliberately faced forward as they went along the upstairs hall. “Ignore the mess downstairs. When I was out here the other day, I got as far as cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, and that’s it. You might’ve seen the baby’s playpen in the corner of the kitchen.”

  “I did.”

  “I moved a portable television into that area, too, and a stack of magazines. You should avoid the other ro
oms downstairs until I have a chance to give them a good going-over. Upstairs, I’ve only tackled one bedroom and the bathroom. So this little guy and I are bunking together in my old room. The memories might remain, but at least the dust is gone.”

  A dumb statement. He hadn’t meant it to come out sounding so pathetic. It was too late to take the words back and too late to stop Ally from following him into the room. He turned as she stopped short just inside the doorway and looked around.

  He let his glance rove over what she was seeing. The baby’s portable crib. The pine bedroom set. The shelves still filled with memorabilia from his childhood interests and high school days.

  “Is this the way the room looked when you were a kid?” she asked. “With the football and baseball pennants and the autographed balls, the 4-H ribbons and all the trophies?”

  “Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “When I left for school, my mom wanted to leave everything the way it was. I think she believed I’d want to come back and relive the memories of all my school years.”

  “Those were the days,” she said drily.

  Was she thinking again about the times he hadn’t paid attention to her?

  Blinking, she gave him a small smile. “I’m sure she missed you a lot while you were gone.”

  “Yeah,” he said gruffly. “You know...only child, and all that.”

  “Me, too. But unlike you, I never left my mama.”

  Again, he wished he could go back and change the past. If not for his fight with his dad, he might have gotten to see his parents a lot more in those years after he left for college. By the time he had earned his degree, he had lost any chance to see his mom at all. Then, a year ago, he had learned he’d never have the opportunity to mend fences with his dad.

  He yanked a diaper from the sack in the top dresser drawer and laid a towel on the bed. It took him only a minute to show Ally where he had stored Sean’s clothes and blankets.