The Cowboy and the New Year's Baby (5 page)

When he pulled to a stop in front, he debated whether he should just go around to the corral, but finally decided on trying the front door first. As he
stood on the porch waiting for someone to answer his knock, he thought he heard crying. Something about the sound reminded him of the wails of another baby, a baby he had held in his arms just the day before.

“Why that sneaky old coot,” he muttered under his breath just as the door opened.

“Hardy, you’re here,” Kelly said just a shade too cheerfully. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you had time to stop by tonight. Come on in.”

He stayed right where he was, still stunned by the baby’s cries. “Why don’t I just go on around back and take a look at the horse. No need to go tromping through the house. Sounds as if you have enough commotion in there.”

Kelly sighed. “I was afraid you’d hear that. Laura doesn’t waste any time letting us know when she’s ready for a meal.”

“Laura,” he echoed, his worst suspicions confirmed. “Trish’s baby?”

Guilty patches of color flared in Kelly’s cheeks. Then her chin went up a defiant notch. She might be an Adams by marriage, but she was as brazen as the rest of them. “Yes. They’re staying with us for a bit.”

“Funny, no one mentioned that to me.”

The color in her cheeks faded, and she actually managed to look totally innocent as she said, “Really? It was hardly a secret.”

“Just tell me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you really have a sick horse?”

“Well, of course I do,” she declared with a touch of indignation. “Surely you don’t think I’d lie about a thing like that.”

“Lie? Maybe not. Shade the truth a little? Now that’s a whole different kettle of fish. As for your father-in-law, it seems to me he might flat-out fib if it suited his purposes.”

“Yes, Harlan does have a way of shaping the world around him to his own ends,” she admitted. “The rest of us prefer subtlety.”

She met his gaze directly, “Are you coming in? Or are you going to go away mad?”

He wanted very badly to turn around and stalk away in a huff, but listening to Laura bellowing had reminded him of just how many times he’d thought of her in the past 24 hours. As for her mama, she’d been on his mind a lot, too. What could it hurt to stop in and make sure the two of them were doing okay? A quick little visit didn’t mean anything.

“I’ll stay,” he said finally. “Just long enough to say hello to Trish and take a look at that horse. No dinner, okay?”

“Whatever you say,” she agreed with a beaming smile. “Whatever makes you comfortable. Can I get you something to drink? Some coffee maybe? It’s downright frigid out there and I know you’ve been outside all day.”

“Coffee would be fine.”

Kelly nodded. “Go on in the living room and say hello, then. I’ll bring that coffee right in.” She gave him a little shove as if she weren’t entirely certain that he’d go in on his own.

Hardy stood just outside the living room and watched as Trish tried to soothe the baby, whose howls were showing no signs of letting up. Trish’s hair was a tangled mess, as if she’d been combing her fingers frantically through it. Her complexion was pale. He wondered just how long she’d been pacing with the irritable baby.

“Sweetie, I don’t know what else to do,” she whispered, her voice filled with frustration. She looked as if she might burst into tears. “You’ve had your dinner. Your diaper’s been changed.”

“Mind if I give it a try?” Hardy asked, taking pity on her. He wasn’t much of an expert, but at least he could give Trish a break so she could get herself together before she fainted from pure exhaustion.

She shot a startled gaze in his direction. “Hardy! I had no idea you were here.”

“Then we’re even,” he said dryly.

“What?”

“Never mind.” He held out his arms. “Hand her over.”

She hesitated for an instant, then placed Laura in his outstretched hands. “I can’t imagine what’s wrong with her.”

He held the baby in front his face for an instant. “Hey, there, missy. What’s all the fuss about?” he inquired. “You’re giving your mama a tough time.”

The cries died down. The baby’s gaze wandered as if trying to search out the source of this unfamiliar voice.

“Better,” he soothed. “But let’s try to stop altogether, okay, sweet thing?”

He put the baby on his shoulder and rubbed her back. Before long, a huge belch filled the air. He grinned.

“Oh, my,” Trish murmured. “That’s all it was? She needed to be burped?”

“Could be.”

Trish sank into a chair and stared at him miserably. “I’m lousy at this. What on earth ever made me think I could be a mother?”

“For starters, you’re a female,” Hardy reminded her. “Even though you got yourself into a pickle the other night out on that road, you strike me as being smart enough. You’ve only been at this a couple of days now. Give it a month. If mothering is still eluding you then, we’ll talk again.”

“What will you do? Take over?”

He chuckled. “You never know. I might have a knack for it.”

“Look at her,” Trish said. “She’s sound asleep. I’d say you definitely have a knack for it. Come on, I’ll take her and put her down.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Hardy said, reluctant to give up the baby. She felt right in his arms, as if she were something he’d been missing without even knowing it. “I did the hard work. Now I get the payoff.”

She regarded him with amazement. “You want to hold her.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I just figured you might want to get on with whatever you came here to do.”

Hardy remembered the horse. He also remembered the coffee that Kelly had never brought. He had a hunch he was already doing exactly what he’d been lured here to do.

“How did you end up here, anyway?” he asked Trish.

“I think Lizzy had a hand in it. I’m pretty sure she talked to Kelly and Jordan. He and my father are business associates. I think they’re pretty uncomfortable with the fact that I don’t want my father to know I’m here, but they invited me to stay a while anyway. It’ll just be for a few days.”

He settled into a chair with the baby, then asked, “And then what?”

“I’ll move on.”

“To?”

“I’m not sure.”

“But you won’t be going home?”

“No, that’s one thing I know for sure. I won’t be going home.”

“Why not?”

“If you knew my father, you wouldn’t have to ask that. He’s the ultimate control freak. Add in my mother, who is horrified by my decision to have the baby on my own, and it seems like home is the last place for me to be.”

Hardy thought over what she’d said, then recalled something he’d heard on the news earlier about some Dallas bigwig’s missing daughter. “Delacourt? Your father wouldn’t be Bryce Delacourt, would he? The oilman?”

She returned his gaze ruefully. “Afraid so.”

“Oh, boy.”

She immediately looked alarmed. “What?”

“He’s got the whole blasted country looking for you. This may be a tiny place, but you’ve made a big impression. It won’t be long before word leaks out that you’re here. Don’t you think it would be better to call him, so he knows you’re okay? He might call off his dogs then. It also might be easier on Kelly and Jordan. I suspect he won’t like the fact that his friends kept your whereabouts from him.”

“No, he won’t,” she admitted with a sigh. Then she regarded him intently. “But I can’t tell him. You can’t, either. Promise me, please.”

“Look, darlin’, I’m not in the habit of ratting out my friends, but not everybody’s going to feel that way, especially if that reward he’s offering gets much bigger.”

Trish looked horrified. “He’s offering a reward? As if I’m a common criminal or something?”

“More like he’s a desperate father,” he replied reasonably.

“Oh, no. You don’t know Bryce Delacourt. This isn’t about desperation. This is about him being ticked off because I slipped out and he can’t find me. It’s about him not being able to control me.”

She took four agitated strides across the room and grabbed up the phone. She punched in the numbers with enough force to have the phone bouncing on the table.

“Miriam, it’s me. Is my father around?” Her foot tapped impatiently as she waited. Her eyes flashed sparks of pure fury.

Even from halfway across the room, Hardy could hear a man he assumed to be her father bellowing out a string of questions. Trish waited until he fell silent.

“Are you through?” she asked quietly. “Good. Because I am only going to say this once. Call off the detectives. Tell the media that I’ve been found and that I am perfectly fine, that it was all a huge misunderstanding and that you’re terribly sorry for having sent everyone on such a wild-goose chase.”

She listened for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I am not coming home. No, I am not going to tell you where I am. I am fine. So is your granddaughter, in case you’re interested. We’re both doing just great. If you ever hope to see either of us again, you will give me some space now. Are we clear?”

Whatever her father said to that was too softly spoken for Hardy to hear, but her expression softened finally. She sighed.

“Yes, Daddy, I love you, too,” she whispered. “I’ll be in touch. I promise.”

When she turned around, there were tears streaming down her cheeks. Hardy stood up, put the baby into the nearby carrier, then went to her. He touched a finger to her cheek, brushed away the dampness.

“You okay?”

She managed a watery smile. “Better now,” she said.

“Remind me not to tick you off.”

She gave him a full-fledged grin. “Oh, that.
Sometimes yelling is the only way to get through to him. Delacourts tend to be stubborn.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I got that part.”

“Thank you for warning me about what was going on, so I could stop him from turning Los Piños into a circus.”

“Do you honestly think he’ll give up the search?”

“If he wants to see his granddaughter he will. And he knows I meant that, too. He may be difficult, but he’s not stupid. Now that he’s certain I’m okay, he’ll give me some space.”

“For how long?”

“Until he thinks it’s time to come charging after me,” she admitted. “I figure I’ve got a month tops to find a place to settle down and get my new life on track. I have to have every little piece in place or he’ll run roughshod over me until he gets his way.”

“What exactly does he want?”

“He wants me to come home and marry Laura’s father.”

Hardy was surprised by just how deeply he detested that idea himself. “And you disagree?”

“Oh, yes,” she said fervently. “It won’t happen. Not now. Not ever.”

Because relief flooded through him at her response, Hardy knew it was time to go.

“You going to be okay?” he asked, grabbing his jacket off a chair.

“Sure.”

He nodded. “Keep your chin up, darlin’. Some
thing tells me everything is going to work out just the way you want it to.”

“Do you carry a crystal ball around in your pocket?”

“Nope, but anybody hearing you stand up for yourself just now would put their money on you.”

She seemed startled by the comment, but a smile began tugging at her lips. “Thanks, I think.”

“Oh, it was a compliment, sweetheart. Make no mistake about that.” He winked at her. “Tell Kelly if she checks, I suspect that horse of hers is just fine now.”

Trish stared at him blankly. “What horse?”

“Just tell her. She’ll understand.”

He took off then, before the yearning to stay became so powerful that he forgot all the million and one reasons he had for getting out before he landed squarely in the middle of emotional quicksand.

H
ardy had actually paid her a compliment, Trish thought, staring after him with what was probably a ridiculously silly grin. She’d finally been exposed to a sampling of that famed charm of his, albeit little more than a couple of softly spoken endearments. She could see how it might be totally devastating if fully unleashed.

There were the dimples, for one thing. For another, his eyes shot off sparks like a live wire, turning the amber color to something closer to an unusual glittering bronze. And there were the occasional glimpses of his wit. She could see how the combination could be wickedly seductive.

Of course, she was immune to all of it. She’d been down that path all too recently. She’d sworn off men
with good looks and glib tongues. Since that was the case, why did she feel as if she’d finally passed some sort of a test?

She was still standing where he’d left her when Kelly walked in, a cup of coffee in hand.

“Where’s Hardy?” she asked.

She glanced around as if expecting to find him still lurking in the shadows. Her behavior might have been more believable if her timing hadn’t been so obvious. She’d shooed him into the room nearly an hour before, promising coffee as she’d breezed off into the kitchen. Even if she’d had to grind the beans and brew enough for an army, it would have been ready before now. She’d deliberately waited to give Trish plenty of time alone with him.

“He had to go,” Trish explained, playing along with whatever game her hostess was up to. “He said to tell you he thought the horse was fine.”

Kelly looked vaguely guilty. “Great. Did he go out to check her?”

“Actually, no. I thought that was a little odd myself.” She peered intently at Kelly. “Any idea what he meant?”

“Just a mix-up,” Kelly said blithely. “Crossed signals. You know, one of those things.”

Trish’s gaze narrowed. She might not know Kelly all that well, but she recognized a schemer when she saw one. She’d lived with the type most of her life. She’d been warned about Harlan Adams. She’d even guessed that Lizzy came from the same matchmaking gene pool. Now it appeared she was going to have to stay on her toes around Kelly Adams, too.

“One of what things?” she inquired in a silky tone that belied her agitation. “Something tells me you’d better explain.”

Kelly patted her hand. “Never mind. It’s not important. Did you two have a good visit?”

“After he managed to do what I couldn’t, calm Laura down,” she conceded. “Apparently his skills with the ladies even extends to those only a couple of days old.”

“That’s Hardy, all right. The kids around here tend to gravitate toward him. He’s extraordinarily patient with them,” she enthused. “Underneath that devil-may-care attitude, he’s a good, solid man.”

Trish smiled at her. “You don’t have to sell him to me. He saved my life, more than likely, and brought Laura safely into the world. I’ll always be in his debt.” Her expression sobered. “But that’s all.”

“Oh, of course,” Kelly said hurriedly, but without real conviction. “You just met. What more could there be?”

“Exactly.”

“So,” she began with obviously undeterred fascination, “what else did you two talk about?”

Trish sighed as she recalled the primary topic of conversation. “He told me my father’s reported me missing.”

Kelly’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear. I hadn’t heard that.”

“Hardy said he heard it on the news. Don’t worry. I called my father and warned him to call off the bloodhounds. I’m pretty sure he will.”

“Did you tell him where you were?”

“And have him come charging over here tonight? Not a chance.”

“Trish…”

“Don’t even try. It has to be this way, at least for now. If that’s going to be a problem for you or Jordan, I can move on,” she said, reiterating her earlier offer to go, rather than involve them in a sticky situation. “I don’t want to put you in the middle of my battle.”

“Believe me, we’re used to being caught up in squabbles around here. We can take it,” Kelly reassured her. “But we also believe, in the end, that family counts more than anything.”

“I know. I doubt there’s anyone in Texas who doesn’t know just how tight-knit the Adamses are. My brothers and I are extremely close, too. I’d contact them if it wouldn’t just put them in the position of having to lie to our parents. I’m not going to get into everything, but I will say that the senior Delacourts are cut from very different cloth.”

Kelly regarded her somberly. “If that’s true, then it’s a pity.”

“Oh, it’s true enough.”

“Then for the time being, just think of us as family. We’ll be right here for you until you’re completely back on your feet again.”

“Thank you,” Trish said. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

“It’s our privilege to have you here,” Kelly assured her with absolute sincerity, then grinned. “It doesn’t mean I’ll stop nagging you about opening
the lines of communication with your own family, though.”

Trish laughed at the openly declared warning. “Fair enough.”

When Kelly had gone off to finish getting dinner ready, Trish settled back against the chair’s soft cushions and let her eyes drift shut. She had to think about the future, had to plan her next move, but just for now she felt more at home and at ease than she had in months.

“So, how was dinner last night?” Harlan Patrick asked when Hardy joined him to ride out in the morning.

“I picked up a couple of burgers in town,” Hardy replied, keeping his gaze averted. He could just imagine the shocked expression on his friend’s face.

“I thought you were going to eat over at Kelly’s,” he said, clearly puzzled.

“Plans changed,” Hardy said succinctly.

“Why is that?”

“It seems the whole thing was a bit of a mix-up. The horse was fine. I took off. End of subject.” He climbed into the saddle and spurred his horse to a canter.

Harlan Patrick scrambled to catch up. “What about…?” His voice trailed off.

Hardy turned and regarded him with exaggerated curiosity. “What about what?”

Harlan Patrick scowled. “You know perfectly well what I’m asking about.”

“Do I?”

“Trish and the baby, blast it. Did you see them?”

“Hard to miss them. Little Laura was howling like a banshee when I got there. Funny how nobody thought to mention before I went over there that she and her mama were staying at your uncle’s.”

“I figured you knew,” Harlan Patrick said defensively, then grinned. “Seeing how tight you two are.”

“We are not tight,” Hardy said. “I barely even know the woman.”

He just knew that her skin was soft, that her eyes flooded with tears at the drop of a hat, that she smelled like something exotic and spicy. He also knew that she rattled him more than any woman he’d ever met. Under the circumstances, those were more than enough reasons to give her a wide berth.

“Any plans to see her again?” Harlan Patrick inquired innocently.

“Not on your life.”

Harlan Patrick chuckled at the fierce response. “Oh, really?” he said doubtfully. “I’ve never known you to protest so loudly about spending time with a beautiful woman.”

“A beautiful woman with a brand-new baby,” Hardy reminded him. “I’m not in the market for a ready-made family. I’m the love ’em and leave ’em type, remember?”

“Funny thing about types,” Harlan Patrick mused. “Love comes along, and things change faster than lightning.”

Hardy scowled at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You were a lousy bachelor.
You never had eyes for anyone except Laurie. Even when she dumped you, it was like pulling teeth to get you to go out with another woman.”

“True enough, but I’ve seen enough confirmed bachelors bite the dust to know that all it takes is the right woman, the right timing and a little nudge.”

“Well, you can keep any ideas you have about nudging to yourself,” Hardy declared, then added, “You might pass that along to anyone else who might be getting ideas, including your grandfather. Last night had to be his sneaky idea, though your aunt Kelly was clearly in on it, too. I’d hate to have to flee to Montana just to get away from all the scheming that goes on around here.”

Harlan Patrick shook his head. “Oh, brother, are you in trouble. Any time a man has to skip town just to steer clear of a woman he claims to have absolutely no interest in, he’s in so deep, it’d take a tow truck to extricate him.”

Hardy faced him squarely. “I am not interested in Trish Delacourt. I am not interested in a serious, long-term relationship with any woman. I don’t know how I can say it any plainer than that.”

He rode off, leaving Harlan Patrick howling with laughter. The sound followed him, setting his nerves on edge and stiffening his resolve. No one was going to trap him into marriage. No one was going to turn him into a daddy for a kid who wasn’t his own. No one was going to…

An image of Trish flashed in his head, as if to stubbornly remind him that he might be able to con
trol his actions, but not his thoughts. Obviously, she was going to plague him whether he liked it or not.

“Terrific,” he muttered, digging his spurs into his horse until they were flying and all he could think about was staying in the saddle.

That night when his temper had cooled and his nerves had calmed, he concluded that what he desperately needed was a hot date, someone who could get his mind off of a smart-mouthed, blond beauty with vulnerable eyes.

He dug out his little black book, settled beside the phone in the bunkhouse and began leafing through pages. Normally the process didn’t take more than a minute. He could decide on which female suited his mood faster than most men selected a steak from the menu.

Not tonight, though. He seemed stuck on finding faults. Fran’s laugh was a little too loud. Paula hadn’t had a real thought in all of her twenty-five years. Renata painted her fingernails blue, for Pete’s sake. Ursula—now there was a beauty, he thought appreciatively—unfortunately chattered incessantly. Mindy annoyingly hung on his every word. Jan argued over everything.

He sighed heavily and snapped the book shut. Funny how none of those traits had ever bothered him before. Maybe what he needed was a new woman. Of course, single females he didn’t already know were in short supply in Los Piños. The selection wasn’t much better if he expanded the search to Garden City. Flying to Dallas just to find a date that would banish thoughts of Trish Delacourt from
his head seemed a little extreme. Some might view it as a sign that he was in over his head with the pretty new mama in town.

Finally he settled for taking a drive back to the End of the Road Saloon in Garden City, the last place he’d spent a peaceful, albeit lonely, evening. Maybe Rita would be around and would have another indecent suggestion that would get his juices flowing.

Of course, on the way he would have to drive past Jordan and Kelly’s without giving in to the sudden temptation to stop by and check on Trish and Laura. He might have made it, too, if he hadn’t spotted Trish, all bundled up for the cold weather, at the end of the lane looking as if she were about to collapse. She was clinging to the gate just to stay upright. He swerved into the driveway and leaped from the truck.

“What are you doing out here?” he demanded irritably. “Trying to get yourself killed the other night wasn’t enough? You had to try it again.”

“I just went for a walk,” she said. “I’ll catch my breath and be fine in a minute. Then I’ll walk back. No need to trouble yourself on my behalf.”

“You will not walk back,” he argued. “Get in the truck.”

“I will not get in the truck,” she said, that stubborn little chin of hers shooting into the air.

Hardy scowled at her. “Would you rather collapse out here than accept a ride back with me?”

“Yes,” she insisted.

He regarded her with bemusement. “Why?”

“Because it is too humiliating. Because you will throw it in my face. Shall I go on?”

“Try a reason that makes sense,” he suggested, swallowing the urge to smile. She was clearly in no mood to discover that she was providing him with the best entertainment he’d had all day.

“Okay,” he said at last. “We’ll compromise. Are you familiar with the concept?”

She frowned at his teasing.

He nodded as if she’d actually responded. “Good. Then here’s the plan. I will walk back to the house with you. That way if you collapse en route, I will be there to catch you. Deal?”

“It will still be humiliating,” she grumbled. “You will still throw it in my face.”

“Probably,” he agreed. “But it’s the best deal you’re going to get. I walk with you or I toss you over my shoulder and put you in the truck. What’s it going to be?”

She set off on foot without bothering to respond. Hardy couldn’t control the laughter that bubbled up this time. Her scowl deepened and she kept her gaze averted as she plodded along. He had a tough time slowing his pace to her hobbling gait. He had to control the urge to save her from her stubborn pride and toss her over his shoulder. He figured she might protest that so loudly that half the Adamses would come flying. The resulting explanations would only complicate his life. He could just imagine the twist Kelly and the others would put on his concern.

They walked in silence for a hundred yards or so
before he asked, “Have you always had such an independent streak?”

“Always.”

“Get you in much trouble?”

She finally slid a glance his way and grinned. “More than you can imagine. The other night pretty much tops the list, though. I guess you’ve been unlucky enough to catch me at my worst.”

If this was her worst, he had a feeling he was extremely fortunate not to have been around to sample her best. He would probably have found her irresistible. As it was, he found her pluck annoying and ill-advised, but admirable just the same. And that was without adding in the hormonal punch she packed.

“What exactly do you do when you’re not running away from home, having babies by the side of the road and taking a hike when you should be in bed?” he asked. He had a feeling she could command a small army, if she was of a mind to.

“Nothing right now,” she admitted. “I sold my business before I left Houston.”