A Baby by Chance (17 page)

Madison heard the
but
in his voice and tensed, unable to contain her hurt. He wanted her, but only on his terms. Not hers.

“Nor am I ruling it out permanently,” he continued, “’Cause heaven knows I still want you.” He gently rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb, then dropped his head to hers and kissed her gently, evocatively. “More than I would ever have believed possible.”

Then we have something in common,
Madison thought determinedly as she wreathed her arms about him and responded to the sweet and tender kiss,
because I want you, too, more than I ever would have thought possible.
Just thinking about being with him again made her feel all hot and bothered inside. And she’d been thinking about it a lot, alone in her bed at night.

Regret colored his low tone as he lifted his lips from hers and dropped his hand from her face. “But we shouldn’t jump into bed again without at least establishing friendship first.”

Sensing the hot-blooded argument on the tip of her tongue, he cut her off firmly. “I’ve been this route before, Madison. I’ve learned the hard way that sex without love eventually leads you down a road you don’t want to be on.”

Like this one? Madison thought bitterly, her insides still tingling from the tantalizingly brief contact. What was he trying to do to her? Show her how hard it would be to leave him when her time in Wyoming was up? Because if so, it was working.

“That might not be a problem if it weren’t for the baby you’re carrying,” Chance continued soberly, “but we have to do what’s right in the long run for all three of us. And that means getting to know each other a lot better before we decide we want to pick up where we left off.”

His words made sense. They were even chivalrous to a fault. They just weren’t what she wanted to hear.

“You’re right, of course,” Madison said stiffly, unable to help but feel rejected by his considerate concern for her well-being and that of their baby. “We should be friends,” she said hoarsely. A wave of despair crashed through her as she realized how completely her efforts to protect herself and their baby had failed. “Making love again would just get in the way of that,” she agreed numbly. No matter how pleasurable it was. How comforting.

Chance touched her shoulder. His restraint didn’t seem to be costing him as much as it was costing her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings—”

“You haven’t.” Madison forced a bright smile completely at odds with her inner turmoil. She’d put her pride on the line, her entire heart, by unburdening herself to him, and he hadn’t understood a thing! He’d thought—erroneously—that her proposal was all about sex, from beginning to end, when it was really about so much more. It had been about hope and their future and finding a way to build something that would last by first and foremost using what they already had going for them—a mutual concern for their baby and physical passion. She’d been hoping the rest would follow as long as they promised to keep other potential sexual partners or romantic rivals out of their lives and were faithful to each other. But Chance hadn’t gotten it. Nor had he understood what it had done to her pride just making such an offer! She wasn’t sure he ever would, she realized miserably, given the fact she was the only one in the room who secretly suspected she had already been hit with the lightning bolt called love.

“Madison—”

At the entreaty in his low voice, it was all Madison could do not to groan. Now he was going to be polite. She couldn’t bear it if he was polite and chivalrous, too. It would have been a lot easier on her if he had been mean or rude as he turned her down. Her heart aching, Madison shook her head at Chance and turned away. They’d discussed enough for one day. Much more and she’d be totally destroyed.

Giving him no chance to stop her, she grabbed her cell phone and headed for the stairs. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, mocking his politeness to a T, “I’ve got some phone calls to make.”

This relationship b.s. was for the birds.

Business, she could handle.

* * *

A
S PROMISED
, R
ONA
returned first thing the next morning. She had with her a certified check for Chance, her producer boyfriend and a groom, who would be helping transport her new horse to her California ranch. After the financial transaction was complete, the necessary papers signed, the two men went off with Chance to back the pickup truck to the barn and load the beautiful palomino into the trailer Rona had brought along.

Madison was still stinging from Chance’s velvet-glove rejection but also felt bad about the way she had initially misjudged Rona. She stepped outside to talk to Rona, who was standing in the yard watching the men.

“Chance showed us his new Ranchero,” Rona said, inclining her head at the truck Chance had received as a sweetener from AMV and had not yet bothered to drive, at least not that Madison had seen.

“It’s a great pickup truck.” Rona sighed admiringly. “I’d like to have one.” She turned to Madison. “When will they be coming out?”

“They’ll be at trade shows late this fall, and then introduced to the open market sometime early next year, probably during the football playoffs or on Super Bowl Sunday,” Madison said with a smile, more relaxed now that she’d decided to concentrate on business instead of Chance. To aid that endeavor she’d decided to look the part and had put on a smart linen pantsuit that morning instead of the jeans and cotton shirts she had been wearing since arriving at the ranch.

Rona opened the driver’s door and slipped behind the wheel. “Does that mean the commercials Chance is going to be in will run during the big games?”

Thinking the interior might be a little warm because the vehicle had been sitting in the sun, Madison went around and opened the door on the other side, too. “Most likely the commercials will run during the big football games since most pickups are bought by men.”

Rona grinned as she smoothed her delicate-looking hands over the steering wheel. “That could change if and when women see someone like Chance behind the wheel, you know. They may want a little of the fantasy for themselves, if you get my drift.”

Given how charismatically handsome Chance was, Madison knew that was true. Just as she knew she was no longer in the running for his mate on any level.

“His sex appeal is precisely why we wanted him for the commercial,” Madison said, glad she could think about Chance as a commodity again, instead of a potential love interest. “If anyone can sell a new environmentally friendly pickup truck to the families of America, it’s a gotta-do-right guy like Chance.”

Rona glanced down, checking the position of the accelerator and brake. “I’m surprised you were able to talk him into doing the ads even if his remuneration is going to charity.” Still gripping the wheel, Rona sat all the way back against the seat and sent Madison a knowing look. “He doesn’t even like having his picture taken for fun.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Madison said dryly, watching as Rona checked out her own appearance—which was letter-perfect—in the rearview mirror. The only time Madison could photograph him well was when he didn’t know she was snapping his picture. “But I think he’ll live through it,” she predicted optimistically. “The actual filming of the commercial is only going to take a couple of weeks, depending on how much the weather cooperates and how long it takes our director to get what he wants when it comes to the cinematography. Unfortunately, Vince is very, um...”

“Temperamental?” Rona guessed.

Unable to help herself, Madison grimaced. Vince had already been a handful, and he hadn’t even arrived yet. She could only imagine how demanding he would be when he started the filming. Worse, Chance was not the kind of guy to put up with any prima donna antics from anyone.

“I’m sure it will all work out fabulously in the end,” Rona predicted.

“I hope so,” Madison murmured. She was beginning to get a little nervous about it, and the two very different men hadn’t even met.

“Trust me.” Rona shut the glove compartment with a snap and turned her attention to the adjustable seat, moving it up, forward and back. “There isn’t an artist of any kind on this earth who isn’t just a little driven and protective of their work,” she continued knowledgeably. “And that goes for Chance and his horses, too. You just have to know how to meet them on their terms, understand what they want from you and then give it to them as best you can. It doesn’t mean you can’t have any input into the process—you just have to allow them theirs. I tried to explain all that to Chance yesterday when we were out riding and he was complaining about having to go through this.”

“He’s looking forward to it that much, hmm?” Madison was happy for Rona’s input, but stung to discover Chance had confided his private frustrations and fears about the work ahead of them to Rona and not her. Rona wasn’t even involved in this!

“Not to worry.” Rona reassured her brightly. Finally having the driver’s seat the way she wanted it, she smiled and looked forward, once again gripping the wheel. “I told him it’d all be over before he knew it. Now me,” Rona continued, pretending for a moment she was actually driving as she smoothly worked the conversation around to her favorite subject. “I love doing commercials....”

* * *

“S
O WHAT’S GOING ON
between you and Madison Burnes?” Lindsay Duncan asked Chance several days later. She had brought a couple of the younger boys from Lost Springs over to ride two of Chance’s premium horses. It was an honor bestowed on the younger boys only after lots of hard work and good behavior, and one the kids really looked forward to. She and Chance followed on the trail behind them.

More interested in his supervisory duties than discussing his personal life, which appeared to be in one hell of a mess at the moment, Chance lifted one hand from the reins and cupped it around his mouth. “Tucker! Randy! Don’t get so far ahead! Not more than fifty yards. And stick to the trail!”

The two boys swung around in the saddle and waved giddy acknowledgment at Chance, signaling they intended to follow his instructions.

Lindsay spurred her horse—a spirited Appaloosa—to keep up with Chance. “You’re not answering my question, pal.”

Chance shot Lindsay a look from beneath the brim of his hat. “That’s ’cause I don’t know what you mean.”

Lindsay squinted against the early morning sun. “Then let me refresh your memory. Your charity auction date with her ended two months ago, and now here she is living with you at your ranch, getting ready to film you in your first ever commercial endorsement. Don’t tell me there’s nothing going on, cowboy. Particularly when she looks at you that way.”

Knowing exactly what his friend meant but deciding to play dumb anyway, Chance asked, “What way?”

Not about to let him off the hook easily, Lindsay quirked a brow. “Like she loves you and despises you all at once.”

Chance tugged the brim of his hat even lower, letting it shadow his face from his old friend’s probing gaze. He hadn’t bothered to shave for a couple days, and the stubble on his face itched like the devil. “Getting a little carried away with the romantic imaginings, aren’t you?”

“I don’t think so. But if you don’t want to talk about it—”

“I don’t.”

“Okay. I’ll change the subject.”

“Much obliged, ma’am, if you would.”

“How’s Shiloh coming along?”

“We’re getting there. Making progress day by day. But we’re still a long way from being able to trust each other completely.”

Lindsay clicked her heels and urged her horse to pick up the pace. “That’s not surprising, is it? Given what a hard start Shiloh had in this life.” She shook her head. “I can’t tell you how upset everyone at the ranch was when we saw how Shiloh had been mistreated. If you hadn’t come along to rescue him—well, we all know he wouldn’t have had a chance in this world to end up in a good home. You really are to be commended for taking him on.”

“It’s not that big a deal, Lindsay,” Chance said, beginning to get embarrassed.

“Yeah, it is,” Lindsay persisted, as proudly as if she really were his sister, instead of a self-appointed one. “You’ve got a way with horses—especially the damaged ones—that is par to none. I wish I had half your skill when it comes to training horses.”

Chance shrugged and transferred his reins to his other hand. He wished he had half that skill in his relationship with Madison. “What I do here isn’t all that different from what you do over at the ranch. The kids there know you’re not going to give up on them, no matter what. It’s the same here with my horses. Sometimes you go back a step, skip around, try different things, see what works and what doesn’t. But you never give up on them.”

Chance rode ahead and cut Tucker and Randy off at the next pass, directing them to an easier trail. Groaning their disappointment, the ten-year-olds did as he said, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

Noting the kids were safe, Chance looked at Lindsay and continued, “Bottom line, the horse has to know you’ll stay, even when sorely tested. He’s got to know your love and gentleness can be depended upon, that you won’t ever hurt him or betray him. The horse has got to know you’re there to love and protect him, come what may. Once he does, once he believes it in his heart, then the horse is yours for life.”

Lindsay grinned. “Now if you could use those same principles on women,” she teased as the boys rode ahead, turning from the craggy peaks of the mountains and into a field dotted with dazzling wildflowers.

Heaven knew he was trying, Chance thought. Unfortunately his plan to try to get closer to Madison before they hopped back into bed was not turning out the way he had hoped. Every new nugget of factual information he was able to coax out of Madison left him feeling more frustrated and no closer to her than he’d been when they’d started their quest to become friends. It was as if Madison were telling him all the basic facts about herself—where she went to college, how she got her start at the agency—while still maintaining a wall around her heart.

Chance knew he couldn’t give up—that was what he and his dad had done, and they had never broken through the barriers that separated them, never been really close. He didn’t want the same thing to happen with him and Madison. He wanted them to be as close as two people could be, and not just for the sake of the baby. They had found something special in each other, something unique. And one day he’d get her to admit that, too. He just had to keep plugging away, trying different things. Go back a step, if necessary. Go forward. Skip around.