Beauty and the Bull Rider (3 page)

“I know that . . . now,” she said.

She would like to have argued the point, but she could hardly disagree. Ty hadn't been ready for marriage and family. Maybe he never would be. If she was honest, it wasn't all Ty's fault either. She'd only set her sights on him to spite her controlling parents, but after they'd eloped she'd sworn to become the perfect little rancher's wife and raise the perfect little family, not realizing that Ty had no intention of giving up his freedom—married or not. When given the ultimatum, he'd walked. He hadn't even contested the divorce. In the end, the joke had been on her.

She looked away. “I don't blame you anymore, but it still hurts.”

“He didn't do it, you know.”

Her gaze flew back to Zac. She released a snort of disbelief. “So he claims.”

“It's true, Delaney. He was too drunk to know she was undressing him, and he passed out before anything happened.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” She choked out a dry laugh. “My husband didn't cheat because he drank too much to finish the job? Sorry. It doesn't matter if he actually did her or not. He shouldn't have been in that room with her in the first place.”

“We always shared traveling expenses.”

“Whores too, Zac? You're quite a friend.”

Her biggest concern back then had been the buckle bunnies that flocked to Zac and Ty whenever they traveled together. Deep down, she'd known it was just a matter of time before something bad happened.

He mumbled a stream of curses. “That's not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean? Why were there multiple women in the room? Is one at a time not enough for you, or are you sporting more than one dick?”

Zac's expression darkened. “I'm not going to apologize to you for my lifestyle. Maybe I did have a wild streak once, but that was years ago.” He signaled the waitress for another beer.

“Why did you invite me here?” she asked. “And don't give me that line about wanting for female company 'cause I don't buy it.” She took a sip of her wine. “You've always had your pick of women. All you horndog bull riders do.”

“Just 'cause the tree's full doesn't mean the fruit's any good.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“It means I've had my fill of that kind of woman. I don't want 'em anymore.”

“And I suppose now you're looking for the right one to settle down with?”

“Something like that.”

Delaney gave a snort of disbelief. “Does that line really work for you, Zac?”

He met her gaze, unsmiling. “I've never had to resort to pick-up lines, Delaney. If I want a woman, I just say so.”

“Really?” she scoffed. “It's that easy for you.”

“Yup. Pretty much.” He looked away as if embarrassed and drained his glass. “I don't deny there's been a lot of women, but I've never made it out to be more than it was with any of them.”

“So you never wanted to settle down?”

“Didn't say that, but even if I'd wanted to, I wouldn't even have tried. My lifestyle made it impossible. How can you be a husband and father if you're on the road nine months out of the year? ”

“Bull riding is why you didn't marry?” she asked.

“Partly.” His intense deep green gaze held hers for several heavy heartbeats. “The other reason is the only one I might have wanted was already taken.”

A long silence filled the space between them.

She ran a finger slowly around the rim of her glass. She looked up to find him watching her. “Why would you just give the heifer to me?” she asked, still suspicious. “What's in this for you?”

“I want to help you,” he said. “I don't want you to blame me anymore for your unhappiness.”

“Who says I'm unhappy?”

“I don't need to hear it from anyone when I have eyes in my head. When was the last time you went anywhere? Had any fun?” he asked.

“I went to Vegas just a few weeks ago,” she replied too defensively.

“That was business, wasn't it?”

“I don't have time for fun, Zac. I have a ranch to run.”

His brows drew together in a frown. “You shouldn't be running that ranch by yourself. You need some help.”

“I've been doing just fine on my own, thank you very much.”

“Damn it, Delaney! I'm not criticizing. I'm just saying you've taken on too much for a woman all alone. What are you trying to prove?”

“What am I trying to prove? How about that I actually have a brain in my head, that I can make my own decisions, that I can even run a business successfully.”

“All right.” He nodded. “Why bulls?”

“Why not bulls?” she countered. “When Ty and I first married, I always assumed I'd work behind the scenes in his stock contracting business. Although he'd sold most of the livestock before he left for Vegas, we still had a number of decent cows, so I saw no reason I shouldn't give breeding a go.”

“It just all seems out of character for a woman like you, unless you're just trying to spite Ty.”

“It that what he thinks?”

“Pretty much.”

“Ty's wrong,” she said. “Maybe it started out like that, but that's not how it is now. I'm not just fooling around here. My first two bull calves, Caesar and Romeo, are entered in the futurity and I have a dozen cows that I'm going to breed to champions. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I've learned a lot too. I'm serious about this business, Zac, and I intend to be taken seriously. If anyone takes issue with that, it's their problem, not mine.”

He slouched in his chair and pushed back his hat. The action revealed a small white scar just below his hairline. “Sweetheart”—his mouth curved in a subtle smile that made her go warm all over—“if anyone around here takes issue with that, their biggest problem is gonna be
me
.”

H
e'd thrown her off balance. He could see the confusion flickering in her baby blues. Good. He needed every advantage he could get. For weeks since his return to Oklahoma, he'd been trying to come up with some plausible excuse to “happen by” Delaney's place, only to get cold feet every time. Now here she was. He still couldn't believe his luck in running into her at the bucking stock sale. Better yet, he actually had something she wanted.

He'd spent double what he'd planned to on that heifer, but would likely have paid many times more for the bargaining chip if it had come down to it. He knew she had little reason to trust him and he was desperate to change that. He'd wanted Delaney from the moment he'd first laid eyes on her at the Houston Livestock Show when he and Ty had crashed a private party in one of the VIP pavilions. She'd been surrounded by people then, all decked out in a skin-tight sequined dress and wearing one of those rhinestone beauty-queen tiaras. When she smiled, she hadn't just lit up the tent, she'd set the damned thing ablaze. Looking at her now, he was pretty certain she hadn't had reason to flash that heart-skipping smile in quite a while.

She reached for her wineglass and took a sip, watching him intently over the rim. She set the glass down, looking like she had something more to say but didn't know how to say it.

So he waited. He'd already waited eight years for another chance with this woman. He wasn't about to blow it again.

“You've decided to appoint yourself my champion? Why, Zac? And what are you really doing here? Last I knew, you had your own place. What made you want to come here and run Ty's?”

“I had my reasons,” he said. “My place needed a lot of work. By the time I fixed everything that needed fixing, there wouldn't have been any money left to buy livestock. I need the livestock to make a living and don't want to get into debt, so I decided to sell out instead and invest what I have in something that'll make me money. Ty said he was looking to get back into stock contracting, so I asked if he'd take me on as a partner.”

“I guess that makes sense,” she said and went back to playing with her wineglass.

“There's another reason I wanted to come here,” he said. “A more personal one.”

“What's that?” she asked.

He'd been looking for a chance to broach the subject all night, and she'd finally given him his opening. “You, Delaney. You're the other reason I came here.”

Her brows drew together in a questioning look. “Me?”

“Yeah, you,” he said. He swallowed hard and took a breath. “I thought you could use some help with your . . . er . . . breeding.”

“I don't need any help. I have it all worked out.” She began ticking off on her fingers. “I have a dozen healthy cows and as many straws of frozen semen from some of the rankest bucking bulls the pro tour has ever seen. And now, thanks to you, I have my first bucking bred heifer. What more do I need?” She finished with a bright smile.

“That's not the breeding program I was talking about.”

Her smile disappeared. “What
exactly
are you talking about, Zac?”

“You want it straight? I heard you were looking for a stud of your own, and I'd like to offer my services.”

 

Delaney gaped in mortification and disbelief. “What did that treacherous son of a bitch tell you?”

Zac raised a staying hand. “Hold on now, Delaney. It's not like he broadcasted it to the world. He only told me.”

“Why? Why would he do that?” she demanded. “This was supposed to stay just between Ty and me. It doesn't concern anyone else.”

“He wasn't being malicious. I think he was just trying to solve your problem.”

“What problem?” she asked. “I don't have a
problem.
I just want a baby.”

“He doesn't want to do it,” Zac said. “And he doesn't need your money anymore. He and Monica have worked out a deal on the hotel. That's another reason I'm here, but I'm not free to discuss it.”

“But you're at perfect liberty to blurt my most guarded secrets?” she snapped.

“I haven't talked to anyone but you.”

She released an exasperated breath. “And we're done talking. Thanks for dinner. I'm leaving.” She snatched up her purse and slid out of the booth.

“Wait a minute, Delaney. We're not finished discussing this.”

“Yes. We. Are.” She spun to leave.

“You want that heifer or not?” he asked.

She halted in her tracks and speared him with a deadly look. “You'd hold that over my head? That's blackmail.”

He shrugged. “Call it what you like, but one way or another, you're gonna hear me out. Please sit down and finish your dinner,” he urged, eyeing her barely touched T-bone. “And maybe we can figure something out.”

She took a breath and blew it out in a long huff, then plopped unceremoniously back onto the bench on her side of the booth. Zac took it as a sign and signaled the server for two more drinks.

“I told you I don't want to talk about this,” she said sullenly.

“Have you changed your mind then?” he asked. “About wanting a kid?”

“No. I haven't changed my mind. I've wanted a family of my own as long as I can remember, but I don't see it happening any other way. Not anymore.”

“Why the hell would you think that? You're still young. Are you even thirty yet?”

“Twenty-eight.” She grimaced.

“There's forty-year-olds that have kids these days! So why would you just give up? I'm trying to understand.”

“Because I never want to marry again. I don't want or need a husband, Zac. I'm perfectly happy on my own.”

“No, you're not. You just said you want a family.”

“Yes. Family as in children. I don't need a husband for that.”

He gave her a slow smile. “But you do need a man.”

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “I haven't found a way to work around that part yet.”

“So you were putting all your eggs in Ty's basket? No pun intended,” he added with a hint of a smirk.

“I hadn't counted on him saying no,” Delaney said.

“But he did say no.”

“That's right. What more do you need to know that's none of your business?”

“Why Ty?” he asked.

“Maybe he wasn't a good husband,” she replied, “but that isn't all that relevant to his breeding potential. Ty has all the right traits for baby making. He's tall, athletic, good looking, reasonably intelligent, and has a great personality—when he's not in self-destruction mode.”

“That's only when he drinks,” Zac said slowly.

“Yeah. That was in his negative column,” Delaney said. “He may not be perfect, but I know all Ty's faults as well as his strengths. That's why I asked Ty”

“I've never had trouble with alcohol. I've never done drugs. Ty's two inches taller than me, but my IQ is five points higher. So I guess you'd have to decide if you'd rather have the extra brains over the inches. 'Course you could probably find yourself an Einstein or a Hawking if you go to a sperm bank, but I don't know 'bout those brainiac kinda guys. Most of 'em are pretty weird.”

“Is this your idea of a joke?” she asked. “If so, it's not very funny.”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “Just laying out the facts. Thought it would make this a whole lot easier if you looked at it objectively.”

“I am being objective. I already decided I don't want to go to a sperm bank. I don't want an anonymous donor. I want to know the person I'm going to create a child with.”

“You've known me a good while,” he said. “I'm not much of a people person, but then you already got that part in spades. I'm stubborn as hell, but that means I always finish what I start. I did all right in school, even got a scholarship, but dropped out to ride bulls. I have a bunch of scars and old broken bones, but other than injuries, I've never been sick a day in my life. As for looks, you more than make up for me in that department.”

“You may not be classically handsome, but you're no slouch in the looks department, Zac.”

His mouth twitched as if fighting a smile. “Glad to know it. Makes things a lot easier.”

“Easier how?” she asked.

“Attraction is a big part of the process, isn't it?”

“Not unless test tubes happen to turn you on.”

He stared with a look of disbelief. “What are you saying?”

“I'm going to use artificial insemination just like I do with my cows,” she replied matter-of-factly.

“Artificial insemination?” he repeated with a frown.

“Yes. It's a very simple procedure. I've already consulted a fertility clinic about it.” Her gaze narrowed. “Wait a minute. Is that what you're after? Was all of this just a ploy to sleep with me? Are you really that hard up?”

“No.” A slow grin stretched his mouth. “But I sure could be if you'd only say the word.”

“I can't believe this! Did you really expect that I'd up and jump into bed with you just because you offered?”

“Did I expect? No. I'd say ‘hoped' might be a better word.”

She released an exasperated breath. “Ain't gonna happen, Zac. I heard you out. Now I'm leaving.”

“You still want that heifer?” he said.

“Not if there's strings attached,” she snapped.

Zac glowered. “There's no strings. I told you I'd give her to you. I never renege on a deal.”

“I appreciate that, but I'll be paying you full price for her. I'm not comfortable with any other kind of arrangement.”

“Fine. If that's the way you want it.” He rose.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Walking you out.”

“I can manage to find my own truck, Zac,” she insisted.

“I never doubted that, but it's dark out there.”

“I'm not afraid of the dark.”

“Didn't imply you were.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“Walking you out,” he repeated matter-of-factly. He followed up the remark with a big, warm hand on her lower back. As before, she fought back a reflexive quiver. She didn't understand her reaction. Was she really that lonely, or was she sexually attracted to him? She shook off that dangerous thought.

“What if I don't want you to?” she asked.

“Then you'll just have to grit your teeth and bear it,” he said. “I brought you here, Delaney. I'm damn well going to see you safely to your truck. If you wanna fuss any more about it, I may decide to follow you all the way home.”

Her gaze narrowed. “I didn't invite you home.”

“Damn it, Delaney.” He shook his head and released a sigh. “I'm not trying to make a pass at you. I just want to know that you'll get home okay.”

She faced him, hands on hips. “You
aren't
making a pass? What the hell was that breeding stud remark you made?” Delaney spun around on her boot heel and strode out of the restaurant, not caring if he followed or not. She exhaled a huff as she approached her truck. What did he think he was doing, showing up out of the blue and nosing into her private affairs?

She was startled by Zac's hand on her shoulder as she fished for her keys. “Please, Delaney. Don't leave all pissed off at me.”

“What did you expect?” she snapped.

“All right. I know I was about as subtle as a bull in a china shop, but how else was I supposed to bring it up?”

“You shouldn't have brought it up at all!”

“I'd like to be able say I'm sorry about being so blunt tonight, but I can't, because I'm not,” he said. “I blew my first chance with you, so I figured I might as well just lay it out on the line.”

What did he just say?
She whirled around to face him. “What do you mean, you ‘blew your chance'?”

He slid his hand under her chin and tipped her head until her gaze met his. “I'm sayin' that Ty wasn't the only one who had his eye on you that night we met, but I didn't think either of us had a snowball's chance in hell. But while I stood back all chickenshit, Ty two-stepped you right out the door. After that, it was too late. You were with him.”

She stared speechless as his words sank in. Zac had a thing for her? Had it always been there, simmering deep beneath the surface all these years? How could she not have known? Then again, he was hardly a man to wear his heart on his sleeve.

“If it had been any other man, I might have still tried,” he answered her unspoken question, “but Ty was my best friend so I walked away. That was another mistake. I've never met any other woman that made me think about settling down.
You
made me think about it, and I'm still thinking.” His intense deep green gaze swept slowly upward to hold hers for several long and breathless heartbeats.

“I don't get it, Zac. Ty and I have been apart for
eight years
. Why
now
?”

“Because I never make promises I can't keep. But I'm done bull riding. I want to settle down. In life, as in bull riding, timing is everything and the timing was never right—until now. Eight years ago you were with Ty. Now you're not. I was riding bulls. Now I'm not. You want a baby and I'm willing to give you one, but frankly, I don't see how you can do it all alone. I also don't understand why you'd want to. A child is a huge responsibility, especially if you intend to keep running the ranch by yourself. I'd like to lighten your load if you let me.”