Having the Rancher's Baby (5 page)

Together, the three of them devised a plan. Cole would rope the cow. Hopefully, she'd come willingly—she already appeared to be losing interest in the calf. Just to be sure, they'd brought along a bucket of grain as added incentive. As soon as Joey left with the cow, Cole and Josh would take care of the calf.

Cole reached behind the seat for his lariat. He seldom went anywhere without it, a habit he'd formed years ago. Automatically adjusting the size of the loop, he slowly approached the cow, who stared at him with trepidation. About twenty feet away, he stopped. Josh and Joey watched from the truck.

“Come on, old girl.” Cole raised the lariat over his head. “There's a bucket of grain waiting for you when this is all over.”

It took only one try for Cole to lasso the cow. She resisted at first, shaking her head and bellowing angrily. Then she resigned herself to her fate and followed the tug on the rope to the feed bucket Josh held out.

Once Joey and the cow were on their way, Cole and Josh gathered up the premature calf, wrapped it in the tarp and placed it in the truck bed. The vet might want to inspect the remains in order to determine what, if anything, had caused the cow to abort.

Because he was in a hurry, Cole took the same bumpy shortcut home. Josh pressed a hand to the crown of his hat, holding it in place.

“You must like living dangerously.”

“I'd rather get this handled before Vi returns for her afternoon shift,” Cole said. This week, she'd been working two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, with a trip home in between.

“How's she doing?”

“Still sick, but the baby seems fine. She's being very careful.”

“That's good. She must be relieved.”

“I don't think she'll stop worrying until the baby's born.”

“Have you two decided on anything yet?”

“We haven't had much time to talk. I did call that attorney, though.” Their future sister-in-law, Reese, had recommended him. “The guy sounds knowledgeable enough, and what he said made sense.”

“I hear a but.”

“He's abrupt. This is a baby we're talking about, not a piece of property Vi and I are sharing.”

Josh chuckled. “And so it begins.”

“What?”

“Step one to being a father.”

Cole didn't know how to respond. Was he really starting to see himself in the role of a father? Sometimes he felt as if he was simply doing what was expected of him. The baby had yet to become real. Eventually that would change, right?

“I still think she could do a lot better than me,” he said.

“Don't underestimate yourself, buddy. My kids love you.”

“Just goes to show, humans under the age of three aren't very good judges of character.”

Josh laughed again, only to curse when he banged his elbow on the passenger door. “Hey, watch it—slow down!”

“Sorry. I just want to get there.”

“Maybe you should take the main trail.”

Cole steered down an incline toward a shallow ravine, brush and branches scraping the windows. The truck rocked as they climbed over and drove around obstacles. As they reached the bottom of the gulch, the right front tire got caught in a rut, causing them to lurch violently. A loud bang sounded.

Cole swore and hit the brakes, sending them into a skid.

“What did we run over?” Josh was already rolling down his window and sticking his head out.

“Not sure.”

Frustrated with himself, Cole shoved open his door and stepped out. The truck was sitting at an angle that boded no good, and his frustration escalated when he saw the dent in the front bumper and the flattened front tire.

Josh came around to join him, took one look and let out a low whistle. “Got a spare? Going to be hard, changing a tire with the truck bottomed out.”

“We're not changing the tire.” He had seen this type of accident before, when a friend ran his vehicle into a ditch. Cole would bet money there was damage to the suspension system, and changing the tire could potentially cause more. He swore again, louder this time.

“A tow?”

“Yes, dammit.” He could already imagine the cost. Getting a tow truck all the way out here wouldn't be cheap.

“Maybe Gabe can help.”

Cole called him, and lucky for them, he did help. Reese worked at the local bank as assistant manager and had a customer with an auto-repair shop. They were only too glad to send their tow truck and offer a “friend discount.” Cole thanked Reese profusely when she phoned him with the news.

“Sorry, but you'll have to wait a couple hours,” she said. “They're on a call right now.”

“No problem.”

“I can send Joey back with food and water.”

“You hungry?” Cole asked Josh, already knowing the answer. It was pushing one o'clock, and they'd missed lunch. Cole was still too mad at himself to eat.

“Starving,” Josh said, wiping sweat from his brow. By now, they were both covered in grime.

“Thanks, Reese.” Cole disconnected after saying goodbye.

Twenty minutes later, an ATV appeared in the distance. As it drew nearer, Cole recognized the driver and groaned. Vi, not Joey, was at the wheel. Reese must have called her.

Cole kicked at a rock. This day was going from bad to worse.

“You're a sight for sore eyes,” Josh said when she pulled up and cut the engine. “What did you bring?” He was already heading for the ice chest strapped to the rack behind the seat.

“Sandwiches and soda.”

“You're a lifesaver.”

“Looks like you had quite a mishap.” Vi climbed off the ATV and went over to examine Cole's truck.

Rather than reply, Cole dug inside the ice chest for a soda, popped the lid and guzzled the contents. The cool liquid soothed his parched throat but not his annoyance. He'd driven recklessly solely to avoid Vi's seeing the calf, and it had made no difference. She was here, anyway.

“Keep her away from the truck bed,” he told Josh under his breath, hoping Joey hadn't screwed up and told her. “She'll just get upset.”

“Gotcha.”

Vi came toward them, wearing a wry smile. “Can I ask why you decided to drive through the ravine?”

“A shortcut,” Cole said.

“I don't think it worked.”

“You're enjoying this, aren't you?”

She shrugged. “A little.”

“How are you feeling? Are you sure it's okay to drive an ATV?”

Josh had meandered off to lean against the other side of the truck while he ate. Either he was trying to avoid the sun or was giving Cole and Vi some privacy.

“Not bad today. And, yes, it's okay, as long as I don't go off-road. I checked with Dr. Medina.” Vi reached for the ice chest, struggling to lift the lid.

“Here, let me get that.” Cole lifted it with ease, and she grabbed a bottled water.

“Thanks.” Twisting off the lid, she asked, “Aren't you hungry?”

“I'll eat later.”

Her gaze returned to the truck. “I hope you have good insurance.”

“I can't believe I was that stupid.”

She sat on the ATV's seat. “You must have been in a hurry.”

“Isn't that how most accidents occur? Someone's in a rush.”

“What's wrapped in the tarp?”

Cole was quick to respond. “Nothing.”

“Really?” She craned her neck. “Because it looks like something. And with the way you were apparently hauling ass back to the ranch, I'd say it was something significant.”

“Vi, it's nothing,” he repeated, afraid that if he made a big deal, she'd become even more curious.

“Fine.” She pushed herself off the seat. “I'll just take a look for myself.”

“No.” He grabbed her hand. “Trust me, you don't want to see. It's...” He decided a response close to the truth might dissuade her. “It's an animal carcass.”

“Oh.”

“We didn't want the coyotes to come after it.”

Just when he thought she'd bought his story, suspicion flared in her eyes. “Does this have anything to do with Joey bringing back one of the cows? I saw him on the way here but I didn't stop to ask.”

Cole attempted to distract her with teasing. “You were eager to see me?”

To his surprise, she answered seriously. “I was concerned.”

“Really? I'm glad.”

“That I was concerned?”

“Yes.” He tugged on a stray lock of her silky hair.

“Don't make more of it than it is.” She brushed his hand away. “Have a sandwich, Cole.”

He did. But when he turned around, still holding the sandwich, he saw Vi at the side of the truck, lifting the tarp.

“No! Wait.”

He rushed over, reaching her as she dropped the tarp and averted her head. An instant later, she stumbled away from him, bent over and heaved.

Chapter Five

“Why didn't you tell me?” Violet stared angrily at Cole.

“I was afraid you'd be upset. Which you were. Are,” he amended.

She didn't relent. “I need to know when things like this happen. It's my job.”

“I planned on telling you.”

“When? After you and Josh disposed of the calf's remains?”

“Is that so bad?”

She supposed not, but she remained silent. Turning her truck onto the ranch grounds, she drove straight to her usual parking spot in the shade behind the horse stables.

They'd played a game of musical vehicles earlier. The tow truck arrived sooner than expected, just as Cole finished telling her about finding the cow and its baby. Joey had driven her pickup ahead of the tow truck in order to lead the way.

Once Cole's damaged pickup had been loaded onto the tow truck—Violet still couldn't believe he'd driven into the ravine like that; the guy didn't have a lick of sense—and the calf remains transferred to Violet's truck, they'd all driven home in a single, long caravan, with Josh on the ATV, Joey in the tow truck with the driver and Violet and Cole bringing up the rear.

No one had asked if the two of them were riding together. It had been assumed. She wasn't sure what to make of that or how she felt. Had news of her pregnancy leaked? She'd specifically asked the brothers not to say anything until she gave the okay.

“I already called the vet,” Cole said.

“Good.”

“Do you think this is the only incident?” Cole knew, as she did, that some bovine viruses caused spontaneous abortions in cows.

He was trying to distract her, keep her talking so she wouldn't dwell on the image of the calf. Little did he know he had only to smile and she'd forget her own name.

“We'll know for sure by the end of the week. Once we inspect the entire herd and search for stillborn calves.”

There were literally hundreds of pregnant cows spread across hundreds of acres. The job would be a big one and require days.

“I'll handle it,” Cole said.

“With my help.”

“Under your direction, Vi. Leave the actual work to me.”

She swung into her parking space, letting the motor idle and the air-conditioning run full blast. “You don't have the time. Not with doing half my job on top of yours.”

“Josh and Gabe will pitch in.”

“Do you even know what signs to look for?”

“I will.” He grinned. “After you tell me. We can start tomorrow when Joey and I get back from the pond.”

“Fine. Let me check the cow, then we'll decide on our next step. There's a map of the ranch in the supply shed with the different sections outlined. Might come in handy.”

The shed also housed a battered old desk in the corner that she and the hands used when they needed a place to work, along with a cot, where more than one tired body had crashed when no other place was available.

“Tell me about the pond and what's causing the level to drop.”

They walked to the corral where Joey had left the cow. The same corral where Vi had come upon Cole roping the steer the day he'd figured out she was pregnant.

Hard to believe nearly two weeks had passed since then. She was almost ten weeks pregnant. Ten weeks! Far enough along to start hoping, but not far enough to stop worrying. Every little cramp, every twinge, had her rushing to the bathroom to see if she'd started spotting. Thankfully, so far, she hadn't.

She'd been tempted to blurt the news last night when her mother called. Then, as usual, the complaining had begun. It seemed Violet's father wanted to sell their house and split the proceeds rather than give it to her mother in the divorce settlement.

Violet had only half listened. She'd heard enough bickering from her parents over the years to fill every room in the house. They were equally to blame for their unhappiness and their bitter divorce.

She'd let her mother dominate the conversation for another ten minutes before making up an excuse and ending the call. Next time, she'd tell her about the baby. If nothing bad happened between now and then.

“Joey seems to think a leak is responsible,” Cole said.

Violet nodded, focusing on the present rather than the past. “That makes sense.”

“You've heard of ponds leaking before?”

“They're manmade, which means they can, for lack of a better word, break.”

He grunted, then went on to explain Joey's suggestion of using borax. Violet hadn't heard of that before, but thought the idea had merit.

“I was planning on running to the hardware store in town this afternoon to buy some,” Cole said. “I'll go tonight instead.”

“I can pick up a box on my way home.”

“No, I'll do it. I have to stop by the repair shop and go over the estimate on my truck with them before they'll start.”

He looked tired. Was she working him too hard? “You okay?” she asked.

“I'm sorry about the calf. I wanted to spare you. It was a pretty grisly sight.”

He was right, but that hadn't excused her emotional display in front of Cole and Josh—her stomach revolting, followed by a few moments of tears. This was hardly the first time she'd seen a deceased calf. They might think her too tenderhearted, or incapable of handling her job.

At the corral, she and Cole stopped in front of the fence. The cow stood beneath the metal shade, staring into space and wearing—Violet was convinced—a forlorn expression on her pretty brown-and-white face. Some might accuse Violet of projecting her own feelings onto the cow. They wouldn't be far off.

“She doesn't appear to be sick,” Violet said.

“No,” Cole agreed. “Maybe there's no explanation.”

She'd heard that often enough from her own doctor when her babies hadn't thrived. It didn't help, then or now.

“Thank you.” She turned to Cole. “For thinking of me.”

“I think of you a lot. And the baby.”

Her curiosity got the best of her. “Do you?”

“In fact, I think about that night a lot.”

As if it wasn't hot enough outside already, her cheeks instantly heated beneath his intense scrutiny.

“Hmm. The sex.”

“Not the sex.” He dipped his head. “Though it was good. Mighty good.”

“Cole, we can't.” She moved away, putting some much needed distance between them.

He stopped her with a gentle tug on her elbow. “What I think about is the talking. The holding. The sleeping in each other's arms and waking up with you beside me. The smell of your hair and the softness of your skin.”

She could feel her resistance slowly melting. He'd had that effect on her practically from the moment they'd met. It had required all her willpower to keep her intense attraction to him a secret those first few months.

Then he'd appeared in the crowd one night at the Poco Dinero Bar. A night when her defenses had been particularly low after a call from her parents. He'd squeezed in next to her at the booth, then asked her to dance. He'd made her laugh. Forget her troubles. Kissed her senseless in the parking lot. The attraction she'd fiercely kept at bay had burst free.

Today, like then, it hovered precariously close to the surface, barely contained. Cole was the temptation she craved and couldn't resist, made all the more difficult by his fingertips caressing her arm.

“This can't happen,” she insisted. “It won't lead to anything good.”

“What's happening, Vi?” He inched closer. “Tell me.”

“You know.”

“I do. I just want to hear you say it.”

Her body yielded in response to his coaxing, and the desire to flee vanished. She could, quite easily, let herself sink into his embrace. She would, too, if he kissed her. History had proved how susceptible she was to him. His touch. His caring.

“We're forgetting what's important,” she said. “The baby. Our future. The decisions we need to make.”

“I'm not forgetting. Far from it.” His hand slid up her arm. Tingles erupted in the wake of his fingertips.

She lifted her chin and stared, captivated by his striking blue eyes. A man didn't deserve eyes that gorgeous.

A smile tugged at his mouth. A mouth she knew firsthand was skilled at many wonderful things, kissing being only one of them.

She closed her eyes, drawing on the last of her slim reserve. “What if someone sees us?”

“You're making excuses. No one's around.”

Where were Josh and Joey when she needed them?

“I might be making excuses,” she said, “but they're valid ones.”

“Don't you ever just go with the flow? Seize the moment?”

“Seizing the moment is what got me pregnant.”

He chuckled. Before she quite knew it, he'd wrapped a strong arm around her waist and lifted her flush against him. She was forced to hold on to his shoulders or risk losing her balance.

He waited till she met his gaze. “Last chance.”

No, no, no.

Her silent protest was useless. The next instant, his lips covered hers and parted them. His tongue met no resistance and slid into her mouth, tangling with hers.

Yes, yes, yes
, she thought and willingly took the lead.

This was much better than in the parking lot. Better than when they'd arrived at her house and he'd walked her to the door. Better than when she'd invited him inside, then into her bedroom, where he'd made incredible, delicious love to her. Better than her imagination, and she'd been imagining all sorts of scenarios recently, each of them involving her and Cole and endless expanses of naked skin.

She was a terrible person. To let him do this to her. To be doing this to him. To be wanting more.

Her arms went around his neck and she hung on, needing him to keep her anchored lest she float away. Sounds filled her ears. Her breathing. His heart pounding. Her name on his lips right before he took the kiss to the next level. Then, neither of them were making a sound as she gave herself over to him completely.

When she would have gone on indefinitely, let him take any and every advantage, he suddenly stopped.

“What's wrong?”

Had she really just asked that? Of course they should stop. They were crazy to have started in the first place. At least he'd come to his senses. She'd been ready to jump once again off the deep end.

This time, she did pull away, and he let her go.

“Vi. Please.” He paused. “I was thinking of you. A kiss is one thing, but this isn't the right time or place to...”

He was right, of course. She, as much as him, had gotten carried away.

Acutely embarrassed, she averted her head. “I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened.”

“Hey, come on, now. Let's not have any of that.”

“Any of what?”

He bent his head close to her. “Feeling bad. Regrets. We kissed because there's something undeniable between us.”

“Yeah, a baby.”

“Feelings, Vi. Strong ones.”

He was right, and that was what scared her. She could have this baby with him, walk the delicate line between personal and business, as long as they kept their relationship casual.

Violet wanted to believe in the institution of marriage and that happy families weren't a myth or the basis of a TV sitcom. But she'd grown up in a dysfunctional household and become the unwilling collateral damage of two parents determined to foist their misery on everyone else. She honestly didn't know if she was capable of sustaining a healthy relationship with a man. Hadn't her and Denny's marriage gone down in flames?

Even scarier, what if she let Cole into her heart, made a commitment to him, only to lose the baby? What then? Would guilt cause him to stay with her despite his desire to return to the rodeo circuit? And if he did stay, he might very well grow to resent her.

Arm's length. That was where she needed to keep him. For both their sakes.

“Come on,” she said. “Let's look at the map.”

* * *

“I'
LL
TAKE
A
couple of those.”

Cole returned the serving spoon to the bowl of refried beans and stared pointedly at Gabe. “Your hand broken?”

Gabe dropped into a chair at the kitchen table. “Figured if you were already making yourself lunch, you could fix me some, too. Not like it's work.”

Bean burritos. Raquel, not Cole, had prepared the fixings earlier in the day before taking Josh's two kids with her to visit her friend in Mesa. They'd be gone until late afternoon. While the family usually ate breakfast and dinner together, lunch was a fend-for-yourself affair, depending on what each of them had scheduled for the day.

“One or two?” Cole asked.

He was in too good a mood to let anything or anyone spoil it, and had been that way since yesterday. His kiss with Vi was the reason. She may have tried afterward to pretend nothing happened, but something
had
happened. Something he was convinced she'd enjoyed as much as he had.

“Two.” Gabe poured himself a glass of ice water.

Cole took two more tortillas from the warmer, slapped them on a plate and passed it to Gabe. He could add his own beans and condiments.

Josh entered the kitchen from outside. “Hey, that looks good. Count me in.”

“Since when did I become the cook?” Cole grumbled.

“It's refried beans on a tortilla.” Josh pulled out the chair between his two brothers and sat. “How hard can it be?”

Cole was sure Raquel had spent hours preparing the homemade tortillas and beans and assembling the fixings—shredded cheese, salsa, jalapeños and diced onions.

He went to the pantry and found an open bag of corn chips, which he set in the middle of the table. His brothers attacked the food like starving animals, whereas he tried to show at least a modicum of decorum.

It wasn't often the three of them were alone in the house. At one time that would have created an awkward and unbearable situation. These days, they might not always agree, but they handled their disputes like adults rather than bickering children.