The Cowboy's Baby: A BWWM Billionaire Cowboy Pregnancy Romance (6 page)

“See you tomorrow, then, Esme. Goodnight.” When she hung up with the phone with the man, Esme couldn’t help feeling somewhat unsettled. He had sounded off – as if the thought of their meeting caused him just as much apprehension as it did hers. Esme could only hope that Alyssa would be somewhat more cordial – if for no other reason than to take some of the pressure from Daniel. The man was tense around her – almost as if he expected the Hispanic beauty to explode at any moment.

Her discomfort followed her home and she slept fitfully, neglecting even a modest dinner although she was starving. When the next morning came, she made a quick smoothie, which she sipped at as she contemplated what to wear to breakfast.

Esme tried to tell herself to throw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She was pregnant now. Who was she trying to impress? According to Alyssa, her body was going to be ruined anyway, so why try? The thought made the young woman smirk as she shook her head.

In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to spite the woman who had disrespected her. She was well aware of how childish the impulse was, and how it would be better to just throw on whatever was clean and go. However…it wouldn’t hurt to make herself presentable. If she was going to be the surrogate of a billionaire, she might as well dress the part – even if it was just for a day.

Esme went through her closet critically. There wasn’t a whole lot to choose from that wasn’t chef’s coats and regulation black pants. She had a few pairs of jeans and tops for interviews, a lonely black pencil skirt, and the black sheath she’d been wearing when she met Daniel and Alyssa. She supposed she could wear it again, but she wanted something with a bit more oomph. Digging deeper, she managed to unearth a burgundy peplum number a friend had convinced her to splurge on years ago.

Upon trying it on, she was delighted to find the garment still fit, and for a moment, she contemplated the sweetheart neckline indecisively. She didn’t want to seem like she was trying too hard. What she did want was for Alyssa
not
to treat her like chopped liver – and perhaps to take advantage of her slimmer figure while she still had it.

If Daniel happened to silently appreciate, well, so much the better. Not that she thought he really would. If he was with Alyssa, Esme was sure he was the type of man to only have eyes for his woman.

After putting on the slightest bit of makeup and wrestling her hair into some semblance of order, Esme was on her way to the restaurant. She tried to ignore the butterflies winging their way to life in her stomach. She was just going to breakfast with the baby’s parents to discuss pregnancy matters. That was all She was more than well-equipped enough to handle this, and she would take their concerns very seriously into account. The meeting would go off without a hitch – and so would the doctor’s appointment Friday.

There was a valet at Reginald’s even at nine in the morning, and though Esme felt rather silly giving them the key to her beat up black Volvo, she did, tipping the young man who took charge of her car before heading inside. All it took was one inquiry of the hostess before the woman was tripping over herself to lead her to a secluded table in the back of the restaurant, away from the breakfast crowds.

For all the positive thinking Esme had done in the car, the sight of the beef baron sitting at the corner table stopped her in her tracks. His tall form was folded casually into the booth, wrapped in a crisp navy blue button-up and dark wash jeans. He was, again, wearing his beat up cowboy boots, but Esme liked the allure they gave him. The man’s Stetson sat on the white tablecloth before him, revealing still damp golden hair curling over his collar. The moment she appeared, Daniel shot to his feet, towering over her at his substantial height. “Esme.” His voice still held all of the tension from the previous night. “Thank you so much for coming.” Even as nervous as the man obviously was, his low, smooth tones were enough to make her shiver.

Esme wrestled with her hormones as she joined him at the table, trying not to salivate as the man’s sleeve stretched taut over prominent muscles when he reached to pour her a cup of coffee. “It’s no problem.” She gave him a smile as wide as she dared. “I know you guys must be really excited about your little bundle.” She glanced back towards where the restaurant washrooms were expectantly. “Did Alyssa just head to the ladies room?”

It was the only reason she could think of for why she wouldn’t be at Daniel’s side, guarding her man with her life.

Daniel cleared his throat as he poured his own cup of coffee. “Actually, that’s what I called you here to talk about, Esme.” The man exhaled hotly, before raising strikingly blue eyes to lock with hers. In the depths of those eyes, Esme caught an edge of desperation before the man continued. “Alyssa is gone. She left about four days ago after a…particularly bad argument. She hasn’t answered my calls and I’m not sure where she is.”

The blow couldn’t have hit Esme harder than if it had been physical. The breath was stolen from her lungs and her head spun as she tried to absorb the gravity of Daniel’s words. Alyssa was…gone? The woman had just walked out on her partner – on the unborn child she had planted in another woman’s belly not three weeks before? Where the hell had she gone? And what argument could have been so devastating as to cause her to storm out?

For a moment, Esme struggled to maintain her composure. What would this mean for her? Would she have to abort the baby? Terminate her contract? She’d hoped that a portion of the stipend she received for her surrogacy would help to keep her afloat while she sought out a permanent head chef position; the job she held now couldn’t last long – that she knew. If she had to find another couple…it would be harder. It wouldn’t be her first pregnancy, so that might be a black mark on her formerly pristine health record. She’d have to go through all the rigorous tests all over again.

Her panic must have shown on her face, for immediately, Daniel’s hand covered hers where it was clenched into the white tablecloth. “Esme, I still want the baby.”

The young woman’s gaze jerked to him in surprise. While she never would have doubted that Daniel
wanted
the child, wanting one and raising one alone were two completely different prospects. “I still want to go through with this.” He continued in a soft tone, his gaze earnest. “And there’s no reason that I think we can’t. Alyssa…she just needs some time. Hopefully she’ll come around.”

What a way to get cold feet though – leaving the man you love completely alone to deal with the coming birth of a baby by himself. Esme could think of few things crueler. In that moment, she looked down to where Daniel’s hand covered her own, the intimacy of the gesture making her flush slightly. The man’s palm was warm and rough – it was almost as if her knuckles could pick up every ridge and callous.

What would those hands feel like sliding over her skin…cupping her to the heat of his mouth? Heat slammed through the young woman, even as Daniel realized the forwardness of his gesture and removed his hand somewhat sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…I just want to reassure you that we’re still going to the doctor Friday, still taking on all of this…that is, if you’re still on board.”

There was a clause in Esme’s contract that stated that, if at any time she should feel that the baby was in danger of being placed in a potentially unstable household, she could report it to the clinic. It meant, of course, potentially removing the child from its’ biological parents’ care – but even though Esme wouldn’t be the child’s mother, she still felt enough responsibility towards the baby that she would blow that whistle without hesitation, if needed.

She didn’t think such measures were called for now.

In her heart, she knew Daniel would be devastated to lose his baby. He’d already potentially lost his partner. When Esme looked closely at his face, she could see the dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. Though the man looked far from his actual age, fatigue and stress were slowly taking their toll.

Far be it from her to add to the man’s list of issues.

There wasn’t a doubt in Esme’s mind that Daniel would be a good father – and she wanted nothing more than to reassure him that she was aware of the fact.

“I’m definitely still on board.” She sipped at her coffee, allowing the caffeine to seep into her senses as she calmed her nerves. This was just a minor setback. It was more than likely that Alyssa would be back in a few weeks, max, and everything would be back to normal. “As long as you are.”

Daniel’s brilliant smile was akin to the sun piercing the clouds after a rainstorm. His brow immediately cleared, his full mouth curving upward in a gesture that made Esme’s knees weak and her heart race. Her overly hormonal body immediately began to ache in almost painful longing and she had to take a deep breath to center herself. “Wonderful, Esme. Thank you so much. I know this can’t be the easiest for you and I don’t mean to make things harder. I just want to be honest. Honesty is important to me.” The man’s eyes suddenly darkened as he lost himself in a memory beyond Esme’s reckoning. “So I just want to make sure I maintain transparency.”

“It’s your baby.” Esme provided, her own lips curving slightly as she took a bite of one of the croissants from the basket provided to them. The flavor was absolutely heavenly, and she suppressed a moan of delight.

“It’s
your
body. Which is why I also have a few other things I’d like to discuss with you…involving certain matters over the course of your pregnancy.”

Esme arched a brow as Daniel signaled to the waiter. When he asked if he could order for her, she let him, impressed with his choices of crème brulee brioche French toast and Maryland crab cake eggs benedict. It was easy to forget that the man was filthy rich upon merely talking to him. He seemed incredibly down to earth. Once their breakfast was ordered, Daniel poured them another round of coffee before speaking once more. “Esme, you live on the east side of Enid, correct?”

She nodded, buttering another decadent croissant. “That’s about two hours away from my estate in the foothills, and almost an hour and a half away from the clinic for you?” The young woman repeated the gesture. It was the only downside to being involved in the surrogacy program so far. Every time she managed to make it out to the clinic and back home, it cost her an entire tank of gas. Of course, that was no problem now, with her stipend.

“You’ve also said you work now,” the beef baron continued, taking up a croissant of his own to spread with strawberry jelly before popping a bite into his sumptuous mouth. “May I ask where?”

Esme was immediately embarrassed. It was always difficult to talk to anyone about her attempts at a career. She was nowhere near the place she wanted to be, and until she was, she’d always feel like she’d fallen a little short.

“Oh…just a Brazilian restaurant downtown. The new place.”

“I see.” She tried not to create disapproval in the man’s gaze that wasn’t there, looking away as shame curdled in her gut. “Well, Esme, what I want to ask is: how you would feel about coming to live on the estate for the course of your pregnancy?”

Esme’s dark eyes widened as she gazed at the man in shock. Come to…live on his estate? Of course, everyone in town knew about the expansive Hartsford Ranch about a hundred miles outside the city, but few had ever visited it. The two-hundred acre rolling property was very private affair, completely closed off from the outside world. This was, press representatives stated, to ensure that the cattle lived in the greatest comfort and produced the highest quality beef.

Excitement filled her chest at the prospect of being allowed on the ranch, even as her rational mind protested against it. Hartsford was already giving her five thousand dollars month for her own expenses. Now, he wanted her to come live on his property free of charge? It all seemed like a bit much. Atop that, whenever Alyssa decided to stroll back onto the scene, Esme was sure the Hispanic beauty wouldn’t be too happy about another woman so close to her man.

Esme swallowed her excitement, forcing herself to remove her personal feelings from the equation. “That’s an amazing offer, Mr. Hartsford.”

“Call me Daniel.”

The interjection caught her off guard, sending warmth curling through her belly as his brilliant blue eyes pierced through her. “Daniel. But I’m afraid there’s no way I can accept. The stipend you’re giving me is already immense. It’s more than enough for me to make sure I have everything I need to keep your baby healthy.”

“In my opinion, it’s nowhere near enough.” Daniel added more coffee to his cup his expression completely sincere. “If I had my way, Esme, I’d make sure you had every comfort available. The ranch is closer to the surrogate center and we also have our own private doctor on for emergencies. You wouldn’t have to work…everything would be provided for you….and…” He hesitated, clearly fighting some inner battle with himself as he decided how to continue. Esme waited on his words with bated breath. “It would help my peace of mind. I’m…I’m not certain if Alyssa is coming back. Ever. If it’s at all feasible for you…I’d like to be close to my child.”

For a moment, Esme just stared at him, a storm of emotions churning inside her. Alyssa had walked out on the man
permanently
? They’d only just decided to have a child together? What kind of woman walked out on her own child? While it was evident to her that Daniel had the resources to handle himself and a baby, what he didn’t have was a mother’s touch; and all thanks to his half-cocked partner, whose sanity the young woman was very much beginning to doubt.