The Rancher's Baby Proposal Read online

  While he changed the baby, she moved around the room, checking out the trophies. “Baseball,” she said. “Football. Softball. Track. No wonder you were named all-around athlete the year you graduated.”

  When he glanced up, he found her looking at him. He turned his attention back to Sean. “You remember that?”

  “I was there in the stadium the day they gave out the awards. Along with three-quarters of Cowboy Creek.”

  He remembered that day, too, and not because of the standing ovation.

  “Is there any sport you don’t play?” she asked.

  “Not really,” he said, grateful for the question and the chance to change the subject. “How about you? What’s your favorite sport?”

  “Telephone tag.”

  He laughed. She did, too, a low, sexy laugh very different from the high-pitched giggles he remembered hearing from her and her friends.

  Sean let out another squawk.

  “I guess he gets the joke, too,” she said. “Smart baby.”

  “Yeah.” Blinking, he focused again on his son.

  An attraction to his boy’s babysitter was something he hadn’t expected. Something he sure didn’t need, considering he planned to have her help him out as often as she could in the next week or two.

  “I’d better get back to the job.” Suddenly it seemed even more important to make progress. The sooner he finished up everything he needed to do here at the ranch, the better. “I spent most of this afternoon working in the barn and want to keep at it while the light’s still good.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Yeah.” Luckily, she didn’t comment on what would have made the most sense, tackling the house first so he could get it ready to sell. But if his bedroom held so many dusty memories, he hated to think what he would discover once he went through the rest of the rooms, the closets, the cubbyholes. “My dad has a lot stored out in the barn—tack and farm tools and all the other equipment you need to run a ranch.”

  “Like everything we sell at the store,” she said. “He was a regular.”

  “Yeah. Of course you know all about farming and ranching equipment.” She also probably knew more about both his parents’ later years than he did.

  He lifted Sean from the bed and rested him against his shoulder again.

  She stood inspecting a couple of faded photographs tacked to a bulletin board above his student desk. He looked at the photos and couldn’t help shaking his head. His mom had stuck them there just before graduation. Since he’d come home, he hadn’t had the heart to take them down.

  Ally turned and flashed him a brilliant smile. “Prom king. That was another pretty impressive announcement.”

  “Old times,” he said shortly. “Things change.”

  “So I see.” She gestured to the other photo, the one he’d looked at more times in the past couple of days than he could count. “This is you and your parents when you were a kid, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. One of my mom’s favorite pictures, from a vacation we took to California.”

  “I guessed that from the big black mouse ears you’re wearing. Maybe someday, you’ll get Sean a pair of those.”

  “Maybe.” Memories crowded his mind. Ally’s light perfume stirred his senses. Suddenly feeling closed in, he said abruptly, “I’ll show you where everything’s at downstairs before I head back to the barn.”

  Then, until it was time for her to leave, he would stay there, working by the exposed overhead lights. Heck, by kerosene lamp, if he had to.

  * * *

  IN THE QUIET of Reagan’s kitchen, it didn’t take Ally long to grow bored.

  While the baby slept in his crib, she kept the television volume turned low. She watched more than she wanted to of late-afternoon comedies and early-evening news. The television stations were beginning their prime-time shows before she realized how late it was. At the same time, Sean woke up.

  She moved him into his carrier on the kitchen table.

  “I’m getting pretty good at these straps and buckles, aren’t I, baby?”

  He looked up, his mouth pursed tightly, as if he were giving serious thought to what she had said.

  “Oh, everybody’s a critic,” she told him. “I’m not expecting anything less from you than two thumbs-up.”

  A peek through the window over the sink showed her the light streaming through the open doors of the barn. She turned to the baby again. “Your daddy’s still out there, and you know what? I don’t believe he’s ever coming back inside.”

  It was her turn to purse her lips for a moment. “He wasn’t happy about those pictures in his bedroom, was he? Or maybe he wasn’t happy about the fact that I saw them. I guess I can’t argue about that. It has to be so hard for him, losing both his mama and daddy. Like you...” She peered down at the baby and asked softly, “Where’s your mama, little one?”

  Naturally, he didn’t reply.

  “Well, maybe you’ll tell me someday.” She smiled. “Your daddy said he’s an only child, like me. But he has you, and that’s a very good thing. I’ll bet he misses you, too, while he’s in the barn working all by himself. Let’s go see.” She picked up the carrier.

  Outside, the night was still warm from the day’s heat. It wasn’t pitch-dark yet, but the moon already cast a faint glow against the dimness of the sky. “There’s a man in that moon up there,” she told Sean, “and one day, your daddy will show him to you.”

  As they approached the barn, she heard a noise she recognized from the store, the familiar sound of wooden planks thudding against one another. Through the doorway, she could see Reagan piling lumber in one corner near the stalls. He was so intent on his work, he didn’t hear her enter, not even when she cleared her throat to get his attention.

  Oh, well. She had done what she could, hadn’t she? It wouldn’t be fair to call out his name and startle him.

  Instead, she stood there getting a good look. She took in the sight of his threadbare jeans, his sweat-dampened back, his muscles bunching and flexing as he shifted one load after another of scrap lumber.

  It wasn’t until she stood admiring his pecs and abs that she realized he had turned and stood looking at her.

  Oops.

  Recovering quickly, she gave a wolf whistle. “You need to apply for a job at the store. Think what having you on the payroll will do for our profits. After one look at you, all the women in Cowboy Creek will instantly become do-it-yourselfers.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, but I do. Keep in mind I’m comfortable making the suggestion because I get paid by the hour. You wouldn’t have to worry about cutting into my commissions.”

  “With all the wranglers who must stop in just to see you, I’d probably have to worry more about you cutting into mine.”

  “A compliment, Reagan Chase?” she said archly, batting her lashes like one of the actresses from her mama’s favorite late-night movies. “How unexpected. But I’m flattered.”

  He looked as if he had had second thoughts about what he had said. Maybe she’d overdone it on the exaggerated flirting attempt.

  “Yeah. Well.” His smile seemed forced. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

  “Oh, I won’t.” No chance of that. His words had gone straight to her heart. Obviously, she had been foolish to think he had meant them.

  Afraid he might read the truth behind her teasing, she looked down at the baby for just a moment. “Sean and I were wondering if you were planning to eat tonight.”

  “Eat?” His gaze went to the open doorway behind her. “What time is it?”

  “Sevenish.”

  “Dang.” He ran his hand through his hair, giving her another look at flexing muscle. “I lost track of time. And I showed you the baby’s formula, but I didn’t tell you what food I’d
stocked in the kitchen for grown-ups, did I?”

  “No.”

  “Sorry. I stopped at the L-G this morning after I dropped Sean at Mrs. B’s.” The Local-General Store in the heart of town served most of Cowboy Creek. “I didn’t pick up a full order yet, but there’re sandwich fixings in the refrigerator and a loaf of bread in the box near the toaster. Help yourself.”

  “You’re not planning to eat?”

  His gaze sliding away from her, he shook his head. “I’ve still got a lot to do out here.”

  “Won’t you wear yourself out if you don’t pace yourself?”

  “Who, me? I’m an all-around athlete, remember?”

  “I’ll never forget.” She had attempted her arch tone again, but the words rang embarrassingly true, at least to her.

  Judging by Reagan’s suddenly blank stare, he noticed her mistake, too.

  As she had told Sean, his daddy either didn’t want to resurrect memories or didn’t like the idea of sharing them with her. A shame, really.

  She shifted the baby carrier on her arm, making an effort to remember she wasn’t here for fun and games, reminding herself Reagan wasn’t interested in flirting.

  An even bigger shame, because that was what she did best. She didn’t intend to give it up at this crucial point—though, of course, she’d cut back on the fake vampiness from now on.

  Experience had taught her flirting was guaranteed to get a man’s attention. And she definitely wanted to capture Reagan’s.

  Chapter Four

  As he finished piling the lumber into stacks off to one side of the barn, Reagan shook his head at himself. His plan to stay out of the house until it was time for Ally to leave for home hadn’t been very well thought out. And it hadn’t been very bright.

  With plenty of work and then some to keep him busy, he could have kept going for hours. But he could hardly hang out in the barn all night. His son had to be changed and settled into his portable crib upstairs. He didn’t expect Ally to handle that. In fact, he hadn’t expected her to stay this late. If not for him, she wouldn’t have.

  He knew it was too little effort, too late, but he made his way quickly toward the house.

  Clouds covered the moon, and he had only the back porch light that Ally must have put on, plus the square of light from the kitchen window, to guide his footsteps through the dark. It reminded him of all the nights when he was growing up and had come in from working in the barn or, as he got older, out on the land with his dad. In the earliest days, they were two tough ranchers—one of them still in diapers and short pants.

  At the sudden memories of later days, his stomach knotted.

  When he entered the kitchen, Ally looked up. She sat near the darkened television in the corner, thumbing through one of the outdated magazines he had left in a pile on the counter. She had tuned his mom’s old radio to a station now playing music with a fast beat, but she had left the sound turned low.

  The baby lay sleeping in the playpen.

  “So you finally decided to quit for the night,” she said.

  “Yeah.” He glanced across the room and noted the napkin-covered plate sitting on one side of the table. “You didn’t eat yet?”

  “I did, since I had no idea what time you’d be coming in. I made an extra sandwich in case you walked in feeling ravenous.” She gave him a bright smile.

  Suddenly, he did have a huge appetite, but not one connected to food.

  “I’m good, thanks.” He looked away, checking in on the baby again from a distance. “I’m too covered in dirt to go near Sean, but I can see he’s sleeping soundly.”

  “He hasn’t moved for a long time,” she confirmed.

  “Good. He’s usually tucked in bed by now.” Great. He’d as good as told her he had stayed outside long past the time he’d normally have taken care of his son. “Since this is your first day with the baby, I’ll give you both a break. You can skip the bedtime routine with him this time.”

  “Okay.” She began straightening the stack of magazines.

  He shucked his boots and left them near the outside door. While he was still out in the barn, he had thought briefly of the no-frills shower stall off in one corner. But he’d only scrubbed his hands at the sink. It didn’t make sense to clean up out there, as his clothes were filthy and he’d be carrying dirt from them into the house, anyhow.

  If Ally hadn’t been there, he could have left his jeans and T-shirt outside on the porch. He envisioned stripping off his clothes in front of her. “I need a cold shower,” he said abruptly.

  For a moment, she looked as rattled as he felt. Her glance went from his socks to his jeans to his sweaty T-shirt, where it lingered a moment before finally rising to his face. Here he was having hot thoughts about her, and she seemed worried about dirt in the house. If so, she’d best not hope to become a rancher’s wife.

  “Sean will sleep for a while now,” he told her. “I’ll let him carry on while I go get cleaned up. I can take over from here. We didn’t discuss how you want to be paid. Daily or at the end of the week?”

  Again, she looked upset. He frowned. “Did I forget to say I’d want the help for at least a week, if not two?”

  “You mentioned it when we talked at SugarPie’s. You weren’t very specific.”

  “That’s because I’m not sure. It depends on how long it takes me to get the house in shape.” A heckuva long time if he didn’t do more than what he’d done already, which meant clean the minimum of rooms so he and Sean could stay here comfortably. And temporarily. “If you expect to run into a problem, let me know now. I’ll talk to Mrs. B and maybe Sugar, have them start spreading the word to see if I can find someone else.”

  “No,” she blurted.

  Obviously, her distress about the dirt on his clothes was nothing compared with the thought of losing her short-term job. She must need the extra money more than she had let on.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I won’t have any trouble working for you for a couple of weeks or...or even longer. I told you, once I’m done at the store, my time is my own. And speaking of stores, you weren’t kidding when you said you didn’t pick up much at the L-G. If you want to give me a list, I could swing by there tomorrow before I get the baby at Mrs. Browley’s.”

  “You’re here for Sean. I don’t expect you to do the shopping.”

  “The store is on my route. And you said yourself it’s a big hassle to stop working to run into town.”

  He hesitated, then nodded. “It is. And I drop Sean off at Mrs. B’s before the L-G’s open. It would be a help if you’d grab a few things for me on your way out here. I could be that much closer to getting done, and you could make some extra money for your time.”

  Judging by her fallen expression, that comment didn’t go over well with her, either. Funny. He’d thought for sure she would have been happy about the additional pay.

  Women. He’d never figure them out.

  But then, considering he and Sean had been deserted by one, hadn’t he realized that already?

  * * *

  “I’M SURPRISED YOU’RE HERE,” Tina said to Ally as they settled into the comfy overstuffed chairs in the Hitching Post’s sitting room. “You told me Reagan has you bringing the baby out to his place after work.”

  “We’re on the way. But trust me, Reagan won’t notice what time we get there.”

  Yesterday, when she had arrived at the ranch with Sean and the groceries, Reagan had been nowhere to be found. She had given up on the television altogether and spent the hours with the radio and the stack of magazines again. She was already bored and lonely with no one to talk to but a sleeping baby. By the time Reagan came into the house, she had begun wishing she had stopped by the Hitching Post to occupy her time.

  And Reagan certainly didn’t hang around to chat.
/>   Once he’d taken off his boots, checked on the baby and said good-night to her, he disappeared even more quickly than he had the night before.

  Outside, she had stood for a moment beside her car, looking up at the light in the second-floor window and longing to be a fly on the wall in his shower—or at least to have the pleasure of seeing his silhouette in the window. Then, blushing at her own thoughts, she had gotten into the car and driven away.

  Her gaze hadn’t strayed to the rearview mirror more than a half-dozen times.

  “Well,” Tina said, “I’m glad you made the detour here. We’re so glad to see you—both of you.”

  “You don’t need to sound so excited about it,” Ally told her. “Does she?” she asked the baby as she took off the light blanket she had used to shield him from the midafternoon sun.

  “Why not?” Tina asked. “Sean doesn’t look traumatized by having you near him, the way you said all babies do. Aren’t things going well with Reagan?”

  “That’s your daddy,” Ally explained to the child. Somehow it seemed easier to admit the truth aloud to him than to her own best friend. That’s what frustration did to you. Or maybe humiliation. “You know your daddy, right? So do I. But he doesn’t seem to have a clue who I am.”

  “Have I missed something?” Tina’s cousin Andi entered the room holding her daughter, who, Ally thought, was just over a year old.

  With all the kids around the Hitching Post and all the newborns in town, it was hard to keep track. Only a few months ago, one of their friends from school had even had a set of triplets. Ally gave thanks Reagan had come to town with a single infant. As cooperative as Sean had been so far, one baby at a time was still more than enough for her.

  “I don’t know,” Tina said to her cousin. “I’ve been here for the entire conversation, but I’m not sure what we’re talking about, either.”

  Andi laughed and set her daughter into the playpen in the corner.

  Jed Garland had helped match up quite a few couples over the past year or two, including all three of his granddaughters. Andi, the middle one, was a slim, gorgeous blonde. This should have put three strikes against her in Ally’s book except the woman was so darned nice. And after all the sadness she had faced in her life not long ago, Ally was glad she had found new love with an old flame—which is what they would call Andi’s romance in one of her mama’s daytime television shows. And which was exactly what Ally was trying to do with Reagan.