A Baby by Chance Read online

Chance shot her an odd look, as if he were still trying to figure her out. “Then what is it?”

  Madison tried to decide how much to tell him. Generally she made it a rule not to discuss this with anyone. Finally, she answered, “My father is a vice president in a multinational public-relations firm. For the last five years he’s been running their London office, so he and my mother have been living over there.”

  Once again, Chance seemed acutely aware of all she hadn’t said. “How do they like it?”

  Madison trained her eyes on the granite-topped mountains to the west, rising majestically over the plain. It was disturbing to realize how easily Chance read her thoughts and feelings. No one had ever been able to do that before. She was used to being a closed book to all the men she dated. “They’re as happy as they can be anywhere, I suppose,” Madison replied, her irritation growing by leaps and bounds.

  “Not exactly a ringing endorsement.” Chance turned the truck onto Double Diamond property. It bumped as it went from pavement to gravel.

  “You’re right,” Madison bristled. “It isn’t.” She glanced in the passenger-side mirror and caught sight of the clouds of dust kicked up behind the truck.

  Chance shut off the air conditioner abruptly and opened the window. The scent of new-mown grass filled the air. “That must be tough on you,” he said compassionately.

  Madison nodded and looked away from the understanding in his blue eyes. She didn’t want to think about how the unhappiness of her childhood had colored her views of marriage or the potential for lasting happiness in any man-woman relationship. “It is and it has been.” She drew a deep breath, aware that it was making her feel a lot better to unburden herself to Chance, even just a little bit. “In any case, dealing with my folks is one stress I’m better off without just now.”

  Determined to push the unhappy thoughts from her mind, Madison looked at her surroundings. “Oh, Chance.” She caught her breath as she spotted the collection of pink, lavender and red clouds gathering on the horizon just above the snow-topped peaks of the granite mountains. The vibrant green of the cottonwood trees, the thick groves of blue spruce and pastures strewn with wildflowers stood out in stark relief, gilded by the fading light of an absolutely gorgeous sunset. “This is so beautiful,” Madison breathed. “Would you mind stopping the truck and letting me get out and take a few pictures?”

  Grinning, Chance watched as she grabbed her handbag and took out her camera.

  “I can imagine it all now,” Madison rushed on enthusiastically. “And it’s going to be so wonderful. We’ll have a tailgate picnic. You’ll be in black tie, of course—”

  “You never stop,” Chance observed. The way he said it, it didn’t sound like a compliment.

  “And you’ll be accompanied by a beautiful woman.” Ignoring him, Madison pushed open the door and scrambled from the truck. Chance joined her as she began snapping photos. “We’ll get a model, someone who looks good with you.”

  Legs braced apart, hands on his hips, Chance turned away. “Let me know when you’re ready to go.” Demonstrating little interest, he strode off.

  Ignoring his surly mood, Madison took pictures until she ran out of film. It wasn’t her fault he was bored. But it was her fault that she could readily imagine the two of them sharing a kiss or having a romantic moonlight picnic on this very spot. Which was ridiculous, she scolded herself firmly, because it wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t going to let it happen. Not while she was working on the commercial, and not afterward, either. One erroneous bout of lovemaking was enough. They couldn’t keep falling in and out of bed with each other. They had to decide what their relationship was and then stick to it. Anything else would be too confusing.

  When she had finished, Madison returned to the truck.

  “So, what else will you be having me do besides frolic with a picnic basket?” Chance asked dryly as he drove the short distance to the ranch house.

  Madison shrugged. “A lot of whatever it is you normally do on the ranch with the pickup truck. We’ll have to sit down and figure that out.” She caught the flare of male interest in Chance’s eyes.

  Determined to waste no time proving to Chance that her six weeks there would be all business, Madison whipped out a notepad and pen. “For instance, what time do you normally get up and get going around here?” she asked briskly.

  Chance’s shoulders stiffened as the talk turned to her business once again. “Five o’clock.”

  She jotted it down, then looked at it. “You’re kidding. Right?” More a night person than a morning person, Madison couldn’t imagine having to get up at the crack of dawn every day.

  “No.” His voice flowed over her like the warm Wyoming breeze coming in through the open windows of the truck. He slanted her a teasing glance and seemed to be imagining her lazing around in bed well after dawn’s first light. “What time do you normally start your day?” he asked.

  “I’m in the office around nine or ten. And I usually knock off around nine at night.”

  Chance nodded. Obviously, Madison thought, that wasn’t his timetable. Another big difference between them. Good. She needed to hang on to those. They would serve as reminders why they could never be more than friends, no matter how much chemistry remained between them.

  “What time do you usually call it quits for the day?” Madison asked curiously, wondering how difficult it would be to get the two of them in sync.

  “Depends. Sundown or a little earlier,” Chance said mildly. Which left a lot of time in the evenings for... Madison brought herself up short. She didn’t like where her thoughts were leading.

  As they entered the ranch house, Madison noted it seemed smaller and cozier than she recalled it. Chance carted her bags upstairs, deposited them in the guest room, then headed downstairs.

  Madison followed him to the kitchen. Noting it was a little warm inside the house, she took off the jacket of her linen pantsuit and hung it over the back of a chair. She watched as Chance moved about the kitchen, getting out ingredients for his dinner—a thick sirloin steak, a loaf of crusty sourdough bread, a prepackaged green salad. “Do you ever get lonely out here?” she asked as he opened the bag and deposited the salad in a bowl.

  Chance poured ranch dressing over the greens and mixed it in with a fork. “After living in the dormitory environment of the boys’ ranch, the privacy here is heaven.”

  He opened the oven door and set the dial to broil. “And before that?” Madison asked, watching him move about the kitchen comfortably.

  “I grew up in a small apartment with my dad.”

  “What did he do?” Madison asked, accepting the glass of lemonade Chance gave her.

  “He worked at a lumber yard.” Chance frowned and twisted the top off a bottle of beer. “I never had so much as a tiny yard to call my own, so to have all this land now—” He shrugged and left the thought hanging.

  “It means everything to you.”

  Chance nodded, the pride at what he’d accomplished evident in his blue eyes.

  “As it should,” Madison said, admiring what he had built for himself. “It’s beautiful out here, Chance,” she said softly. “Truly beautiful.” Not only was the commercial they filmed here going to be great, but their child would love it here, too, Madison thought.

  A comfortable silence fell between them as Chance put the steak on to broil. Madison yawned. For the first time, she noticed how tired she was.

  Chance lounged against the counter and inclined his head at her. “You look sleepy.”

  “I am,” Madison admitted, noting there was nothing she’d rather do at the moment than settle somewhere cozy—the sofa or the bed—and snuggle up with him. But that wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t let it happen. She and the baby both needed their sleep, even if it was only seven o’clock.

  “I’m sorry.” Her actions brisk and businesslike, Madison shut her notebook and capped her pen. “I had hoped to do a little work with you tonight and get started on the storyboard
s for the ad campaign, but I’m so tired after all the traveling, I’m going to have to hit the sack. But I’ll tell you what,” she continued, trying not to notice how disappointed he looked. “I’ll set my alarm for five tomorrow. I’ll get up, and if it’s okay with you, I’ll sort of follow you through your day. Take notes and tons more photos. And then I’ll develop the storyboards for the commercial from that.”

  Chance nodded, letting her know her agenda was okay with him. “What’s the slogan for the commercials going to be?” He turned the steak to the other side.

  “Ranchero trucks—they work as hard as you do.”

  The smile lines on either side of Chance’s mouth deepened. “You think that up?”

  Madison nodded, a little surprised at how much his approval meant to her. A cozy silence fell between them as the aroma of sizzling steak filled the air. “Sure you don’t want some dinner before you go up?” Chance asked, searching her eyes.

  Madison, sensing this was more than a dinner invitation, shook her head. “Thanks, anyway.” Trying not to see the flare of disappointment in his eyes, she draped her jacket over her arm.

  Chance walked her as far as the stairs, caught her hand at the foot of them. “If you get hungry later—”

  “I’ll come down and get something,” Madison promised. She paused again. This was where a good-night kiss should happen between two people who were having a baby together. “See you in the morning,” she said, turning away.

  Chance gave her hand a final squeeze, then lingered and watched her head up the stairs. “See you then.”

  * * *

  CHANCE WOKE AT four-thirty. He got up, showered, shaved and dressed and put the coffee on. At five, he heard Madison’s alarm go off. It rang. And rang. And rang. Fifteen seconds passed. Then thirty. Forty-five. And still not a sound, not a movement from her bedroom upstairs. Heart pounding, he took the steps two at a time.

  “Madison?” He rapped on the door.

  Again, there was no answer, only the monotonous, jarring ring of her alarm. Why wasn’t she waking up? Feeling something was wrong, he shoved open the door. And stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  TRY AS HE MIGHT, Chance couldn’t tear his eyes from the sleeping Madison. Clad only in a white V-neck T-shirt and panties, she was tangled sexily in the covers. Beside her, the alarm went on and on, as shrill and commanding as a civil defense siren in the early morning silence of the ranch.

  Chance didn’t see how anyone could sleep through that noise, no matter how tired they were. Unless... His stomach tightened as the unthinkable occurred to him. Cursing himself for a fool all the while, he rushed forward. Turned on the bedside lamp with one hand and grabbed her wrist with the other. To his relief, her pulse was strong.

  Madison’s eyes opened slowly. Spying him standing beside her bed, she smiled dreamily. Rolling onto her side, she cuddled closer and pressed her cheek against the back of his hand. Sighed blissfully. And promptly fell right back asleep.

  By now, Chance’s lower half was on full alert and aching with the need to possess her. But that was not, he reminded himself firmly, part of their deal. She was here so they could work out an arrangement to share their baby. That was all.

  Aware the alarm was still shrieking and that she must truly be exhausted if she could sleep through that and his presence in her bedroom, he leaned over the double bed and reached across her. To his chagrin, his fingers fell just short of the shut-off switch.

  Her cheek still resting slumberously on his hand, he pressed his knees against the side of the bed and leaned a little farther. Almost there. Beginning to perspire, so great was his effort not to disturb the sweetly slumbering woman, he pressed his knees even harder into the mattress and gave one last try.

  He grinned as his fingers came in contact with the switch. There was a click, then blissful silence. Letting out a short exhalation of relief, Chance began to draw back carefully. And it was then that her eyes opened again and she saw him, arm stretched out over top of her.

  She blinked. Blinked again. Fiery temper flashed in her eyes.

  “I can explain,” Chance said hurriedly.

  “I’ll just bet you can!” Madison thrust his hand away from her and struggled to a sitting position.

  Chance tried not to notice how great she looked in the man’s T-shirt and bikini panties, her long bare legs drawn up in front of her, arms clasped around them. Forcing himself to tear his eyes from the tousled silky blond hair and her sleep-flushed face, he explained evenly, “Your alarm went off.”

  Madison shoved her hand through her hair, pushing it off her face. She glanced at the clock radio beside her bed, then at him. Her lower lip slid out in a pretty pout. “I didn’t hear it.”

  Chance shrugged and crossed his arms in front of him as he continued to reason with her. “I don’t know how,” he told her dryly. “It was louder than a civil defense siren.”

  She paused, wet her lips. Recognition came into her eyes. Finally, she seemed to notice he was already up, showered, shaved and ready to take on the day. She was the one still lazing around in bed, despite her claims that she would get up and join him at five. Madison glanced at the clock. It was 5:06. Blushing, she grabbed for the end of the sheet and tugged it nearly to her waist. He could tell she wanted to believe he was not just trying out some new, inventive way to get them in a compromising situation, but she still wasn’t completely convinced. He watched her inhale deeply the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Noticed the fact her bedside lamp was on, illuminating the dawn-gray room. She let out a soft sigh. “How long did it go off?” she asked finally.

  “Three or four minutes.” Chance repressed the urge to take her in his arms and hold her close. “And, given how loud it was, I worried something might be wrong.” He grinned, unable to resist teasing her a little. “I came in to check. I thought you might be unconscious. Either that or suddenly deaf.”

  Madison wrinkled her nose at him. “Hardly.”

  Unable to take his eyes from her, Chance moved his shoulders in an exaggerated show of modesty. “So I checked for a pulse, and that’s when you grabbed me.”

  Madison’s eyes widened. “I grabbed you!” she echoed breathlessly.

  “Yes. And put your cheek on my hand.” Her temper appealed to him as much as her passion. “I didn’t want to wake you. The alarm was still going off. I reached across you, doing my best not to disturb you, and finally shut the damn thing off. I was just trying to get out of here when you woke up.”

  Apparently realizing he was telling the truth, Madison scowled. “Must have been the absence of sound that disturbed me.”

  “I guess.” Chance paused. More than anything, he wanted her to know she could trust him. Not just to behave, but with her life. “Anyway, I’m sorry,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

  Having recovered from the shock of finding him next to her, she sent him an amused look. “Just don’t do it again.”

  “I won’t,” Chance promised, trying not to notice the growing voluptuousness of her breasts, “as long as you shut off the alarm, or better yet, don’t set it at all.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Madison took a deep breath that lifted the soft curves of her breasts all the more. “How else will I get up?”

  Needing to think about something besides the imprint of her nipples against the soft cotton of her T-shirt, Chance studied the fatigue on her face and thought about the baby—their baby. “You could just sleep till you wake up.”

  She arched her silky blond brows in subtle warning, tossed back the covers and, ignoring her sexy dishabille and its effect on him, shot to her feet. “Then I’d never get up.”

  Aware how happy he was she was carrying his baby, even if the pregnancy had been unplanned, Chance countered with a matter-of-fact tone bound to irk. “You would if you were rested.”

  “Are you trying to tell me what to do?” Madison stalked past him, seemingly unaware her T-shirt was twisted up in b
ack to reveal her panties and several inches of creamy backside.

  Wishing he could do what he felt like doing—which was take her in his arms and kiss her long and hard—Chance shifted position to ease the increasing tightness at the front of his jeans. “Doesn’t appear to me to be doing any good if I am,” he observed.

  Madison tossed her head. Silky blond hair flew in every direction. “You’ve got that right.” She tugged on a thigh-length kimono and belted it around her. She regarded him with a questioning look. “Hope that coffee I smell is decaf.”

  Chance frowned at his obvious oversight. “Sorry,” he reluctantly told her. “But I’ll get some.”

  “Thanks.” Madison ran a brush through her hair, then pivoting gracefully, headed for the bathroom they shared. “I’d appreciate it. I’ll be down shortly.” She tossed the words cavalierly over her shoulder before disappearing behind the door and closing it softly. “And you can show me how your days usually begin on the ranch.”

  * * *

  CHANCE WAS AMAZED to find how much he liked having her on his ranch. Generally, he wasn’t much for company in the form of overnight guests—never mind ones that planned to stay for days on end, constantly disrupting and interfering with his routine. But he enjoyed preparing breakfast for someone other than himself and had orange juice, cereal, milk and toast waiting for Madison when she strode into the kitchen a few minutes later.

  He was pleased to see she had put on a long-sleeved red denim shirt, jeans and boots instead of a business suit. He was less pleased to see she was carrying a steno pad and pen in her hand. Didn’t she ever quit, even for a minute? Her hair had been tied at the nape of her neck with a ribbon. She wore no makeup. Without it, she looked surprisingly youthful and innocent in a freshly scrubbed sort of way. He liked that, too, although whether she’d done it because she thought it made her less attractive or because she was starting to let her guard down with him a little bit, he didn’t know. In any case, it didn’t matter. With clothes, without, makeup on or off, she was as attractive to him as ever. He wondered what she would think if she knew that, but knew better than to tell her.