Cowboy for Keeps (3 page)

Her mother nodded thoughtfully. “Try living together instead of
rushing into marriage.”

“We were engaged over a year without ever setting a date. Our
instincts were telling us we didn’t have what it takes for a successful
marriage. A baby doesn’t change that.”

Dallas was feeling ganged up on. Her mother was fond of Richard
and Hank thought there wasn’t a better guy out there.

“But Richard is thrilled about becoming a father,” Marina
gushed. “It would be nice for his sake if you could work things out.”

Dallas sighed. It was past time to level with her mother and
stepfather.

“I hate to break it to you, but Richard isn’t thrilled.”

“What?” Her mother gasped. “But he... You said—”

“I didn’t want to upset you.” Dallas buttered a piece of bread,
but she’d lost her appetite. “He wants to marry me because he believes it’s the
right thing to do.”

“He loves you.”

“He did. Once.” Not for a while.

“I’ll talk to him,” Hank interjected.

“You will not! I mean it, Hank.”

“Someone needs to set him straight.”

“That’s not your job.”

He looked hurt, and Dallas instantly regretted the harsh tone
she’d used.

“Are you sure he just doesn’t need more time to adjust?” Marina
asked, always the mediator.

“I’m asking for you and Hank to respect my wishes and let me
handle Richard my own way. Now, please, can we change the subject?”

Awkward silence followed, until Marina chimed in with “How’s
the book coming?”

“Great. I got some nice pictures of a mustang family at the
sanctuary yesterday. Conner took me.”

“Conner Durham?” Her mother visibly perked up. She and Hank had
met Conner before, during various cookouts and holiday gatherings. “Richard’s
friend who was laid off?”

“Yeah. He’s working for the Powells and the Duvalls, splitting
his time between the two places, from what he told me.”

“They need a systems analyst?” Hank’s brows furrowed.

“Hardly.” Dallas laughed. “He’s teaching riding classes,
supervising trail rides, overseeing the rodeo livestock and managing the mustang
sanctuary.”

“Such a shame he lost his job,” her mother commiserated.

“Richard felt terrible. It ended their friendship.”

“Not Richard’s fault the economy tanked,” Hank muttered.
“Sometimes management has to make tough decisions.”

“It’s not Conner’s fault, either. But he’s the one out of a job
and living in an apartment on Powell Ranch.”

“Apartment?” Marina looked perplexed. “What happened to his
house?”

“He still owns it. From what Sage Powell told me, he’s renting
it out to cover the mortgage payment, except the monthly rent isn’t enough, and
he has to make up the difference.”

“That’s terrible. It’s such a beautiful house.”

Dallas remembered visiting it. Five bedrooms, three bathrooms,
game room, three-car garage, a pool and a beautifully landscaped backyard.
Living in the apartment must be a huge adjustment for Conner.

“He’ll move back into the house as soon as he finds a new
job.”

“Positions like the one he had are few and far between,” Hank
said. “And the competition is ruthless these days.”

Inspiration sprang suddenly to Dallas’s mind. “Maybe one of
your clients has a job opening.”

“Possibly. Let me make some calls on Monday.”

“That’s really nice of you.”

“When are you seeing him next?”

“Tomorrow. We’re taking a trip into the mountains to view some
of Prince’s old stomping grounds.”

“Honey, is that wise?”

“Don’t worry, Mom. We’re taking the wagon, which is much safer
than riding horses. I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know....”

“Trust me. Conner has seen to every precaution.”

Marina marginally relaxed. “There’s a reason I always liked
him. Be sure and tell him I said hello. And call me the second you come down off
the mountain. I’ll worry.”

Dallas smiled. “I love you, too.”

She was convinced the trip would be uneventful, other than her
getting a lot of shots for the book.

Dinner progressed comfortably and was soon over. “Let me help
you clean the kitchen, Mom. I can’t stay long. I have an early morning.”

“You sound excited.”

“I am. Great weather, fantastic scenery, fresh air. It’ll be
fun.”

“Having Conner for company all day will be fun, too.” Her
mother winked, another nonverbal communication that Dallas pretended to
miss.

She didn’t like admitting she’d been entertaining the exact
same thought.

Chapter Three

“Easy does it, girls.” Conner walked behind the pair of
fully harnessed draft horses, the long reins gripped firmly in his hands.
Because the team was well broke and used to being hitched to a wagon, he was
able to accomplish alone what might normally require two men. “Come on,” he
coaxed. “Almost there.”

Molly, the older of the pair, eased into position on the left
side of the wagon tongue. Her partner, Dolly, suddenly started veering the wrong
way.

“Haw, haw,” Conner hollered, using the command to go left.

Dolly obeyed and promptly changed direction, the chains on her
harness rattling like the ghost of Christmas past’s.

Molly watched, head bobbing and tail swishing. When both horses
were lined up, Conner called out, “Whoa,” and let up on the reins.

“Need a hand?”

He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of Gavin’s approach.
“You can help me hitch them to the wagon.”

While Conner attached the neck yoke to the collars, Gavin
hooked the trace chains to the doubletree.

“You seen Ethan this morning?”

“Earlier,” Conner answered. “He called to say he was heading
over to the rodeo arena. Clay’s new bull is arriving.”

Like Conner, Gavin’s younger brother worked for their friend
Clay. And like Gavin, Ethan had recently added to his family, when his wife,
Caitlin, gave birth to a baby girl.

Conner thought about Dallas being pregnant. Just about all of
his married friends seemed to be having babies lately.

Except Dallas wasn’t married to Richard, and he and Conner were
no longer friends.

Checking the britchens and back straps one last time, he tied
the mares to the hitching post. Eager to get started, Dolly pawed the ground
with her heavy hoof.

Gavin came around the wagon to Conner’s side, stopping briefly
to unlatch and lower the tailgate. “Maybe you should wait for Ethan to get back
before you and Dallas leave.”

“What for?”

“He’s the expert and could go with you in case there’s a
problem.”

“I know enough about wagons and driving a team to manage.”

“Just a suggestion.” Gavin shrugged. “Or I can take her.”

“
I’m
taking Dallas.” Conner dropped
the ice chest he’d packed into the wagon bed, shoving it beneath the seat. “My
job, as I recall.”

“No need to get riled.”

“I’m not.” He tossed the rain ponchos and rope behind the ice
chest.

“You’re throwing things around for the heck of it?”

Okay, so maybe he was a little riled at the prospect of Ethan
or Gavin replacing him.

“Ask her out,” Gavin said.

That halted Conner in his tracks. “On a date?”

“Yeah, on a date.”

“You can’t be serious.”

Together Conner and Gavin loaded several bales of hay into the
rear of the wagon. The extra weight would provide needed balance on the steep
hills.

“Why not? You’re both single. You like each other. If you
hadn’t let her slip through your fingers when you did, you two might still be
together.”

Would they? It was possible. Conner did like her. More than he
should. As good of pals as he and Richard were, he’d always been a little
jealous of his friend and mad at himself for letting Richard steal her.

“No.” Conner all but barked out the word and wiped his damp
brow with the sleeve of his jacket. “Not happening.”

“Because she’s pregnant?” Dallas had told Gavin about her
condition and, after checking with his wife and sister-in-law, he’d reluctantly
agreed to let her go on the ride into the mountains.

“I don’t care that she’s pregnant.”

“Didn’t think so, because your old girlfriend had a little girl
and that didn’t bother you.”

It hadn’t bothered Conner. He’d gotten along well with the
child and missed her. More than he did her mother, who’d dumped him when his
severance pay ran out and he could no longer afford her expensive tastes.

“Be a big step, getting involved with a woman carrying another
man’s baby.” Gavin’s voice was absent of judgment.

Conner paused and rested his arm on the side of the wagon.
“It’s not her pregnancy stopping me.”

“Her ex-fiancé? Kind of awkward with him still in the
picture.”

“No fooling.”

Gavin scratched behind his ear. “I’d be wondering if she was
comparing me to him.”

Conner’s stomach clenched. He hadn’t considered that unpleasant
possibility.

“’Course, there would be a certain satisfaction in dating her.
Paybacks are hell.”

Conner rarely got mad, but his temper abruptly flared. “If I
was to ever go out with Dallas, and I’m not, it wouldn’t be to get back at
Richard. She’s too good for that.”

Gavin chuckled and retreated a step. “Hey, relax. I wasn’t
serious.”

Conner reached for the canvas satchel containing the snacks
he’d packed, shoving it next to the ice chest.

Gavin watched him closely. “What’s the real reason you won’t
ask her out?”

“Richard being her baby’s father isn’t enough of one?”

“I know you, buddy, and you’ve got a hankering for Dallas. Did
from the first time you laid eyes on her.”

Conner wished his friend was less astute.

He had always been drawn to her. She was pretty and genuinely
nice, with a heart of gold. Her small, curvy body enticed him more than his
model-thin ex-girlfriend’s ever did.

What really appealed to him, however, was her gumption. Her
adventurous nature and love of life. Her many passions and her dedication to
them. The fearless way she pursued her ambitions.

Conner had been the same once. Passionate and fearless, with an
endless supply of gumption.

Then he’d lost his job and a large chunk of his self-esteem in
the face of countless thanks-but-no-thankses.

“Richard was a fool to let her go.”

“Here’s your chance, buddy,” Gavin continued. “You don’t ask
her out, I guarantee you someone else will, pregnant or not.”

“I’m not asking her out,” Conner repeated.

“She doesn’t care that you aren’t bringing home six figures a
year.”

He jerked at the reminder of his former circumstances. “I
care.”

“Money’s not important to her.”

“Easy to say.” Conner’s ex-girlfriend used to profess a similar
sentiment. Funny how people change.

A horn beeped, causing both men to turn. Dallas waved from her
Prius, then headed behind the barn, where the parking area was located.

“You’re wrong.” Conner returned to loading the wagon. “A
husband who can provide for her and her child is what’s important to her.”

“She tell you that?” Gavin asked.

“It’s what she deserves.” And what, at the moment, Conner
couldn’t give her.

“She’s planning on raising her child alone. If money was
important to her, she’d have stayed with Richard.”

“He’s paying child support, or will. On his salary, it ought to
be plenty generous.”

“Ah,” Gavin said knowingly.

“What does that mean?”

“If your ego was any bigger, it’d swallow you whole.”

Conner glanced at Dallas, who was quickly approaching and
almost within earshot. “This has nothing to do with my ego.”

“Right.” Gavin let loose another chuckle.

Connor cursed under his breath. Once again, his friend’s
insightfulness was right on the mark.

* * *

T
HEY
ENTERED
the mountains at one of the trailheads behind Powell Ranch.
For the first twenty minutes, Dallas could hardly sit still. Head swiveling, she
took in the view from her elevated vantage point on the wagon seat.

“Nice.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

They reached the first hill and began their ascent. Conner
clucked to the horses, which leaned into the harness as they pulled their heavy
load.

Dallas swallowed. “This is steeper than I thought it would
be.”

“You want to turn back?”

She dug her fingers into the seat. “Absolutely not!”

The trail, barely wide enough to accommodate the wagon, curved
sharply. Conner guided the team of horses, talking to them in a calming
tone.

Dallas told herself he’d promised they’d take the easy routes,
and she trusted him.

That was until she looked down.

No one had warned her how different riding in a wagon was from
sitting astride a horse. How much higher it was.

Large boulders flanked the trail, close enough to clip a wheel.
If that happened, they’d careen over the edge. And what an edge it was. On the
other side of the boulders, the ground gave way, ending far below in an
overgrown gully.

Perhaps she should have given more consideration to this day
trip.

“Pretty, huh?” Conner asked.

“Very.” When she didn’t look down.

“You’ll appreciate the view even more when we get to the
top.”

“How, um, reliable is this brake?” She ran her hand over the
smooth handle, finding comfort in its nearness.

Conner’s hardy chuckle allayed some of Dallas’s worries

“You don’t have anything to worry about. Once we crest the top,
it’s all downhill from there.”

“Until the next one.”

“True. But the second half of the trip is mostly flat,” he
added.

She let out a sigh of relief.

“And here I always figured you for having nerves of steel.”

“I do have nerves of steel.” She lifted her chin. “If I didn’t,
I wouldn’t be here. I’m just more comfortable when I’m in the driver’s
seat.”

“You want to take over for a while?” He started to pass her the
reins.

She shook her head. “You’re doing great.”

“Seriously, if you want to try driving awhile, you can. When we
reach flat ground and the girls are tired out. Less chance of a runaway
then.”

Her fingers clenched the wagon seat tighter. “What exactly are
our chances of a runaway?”

“Almost none.” He turned to face her. “Do you think Gavin and
Ethan would have given all those people rides around the park during the Holly
Daze Festival last Christmas if they thought for one second they’d have a
runaway?”

“I guess not.”

Conner stared at her. At her mouth. Then his gaze traveled to
her eyes, where it stayed...and stayed. “I wouldn’t do anything to put you in
danger.”

She melted, inside and out, and let go of the wagon seat.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asked.

“No.” She could, she thought, go anywhere with him. “What was
it like?” she asked after a moment. “Capturing Prince.”

“Not easy, I can tell you that. He’s a wily one and gave us a
run for our money. Took six of us to herd him into a corner and get a rope
around his neck.”

“What did you think when you first saw him?”

“That I’d met my match. I’d never worked with a wild horse
before, much less rounded one up and brought him in.”

“And now you work with wild horses every day.” Too late, Dallas
realized her slip. He hadn’t worked with horses every day, wild or otherwise,
until he’d lost his job. Before then, it had been restricted to weekends.

If her remark bothered him, he hid it well. “Only until they’re
trained. Which doesn’t usually take long.”

“You are good at it. You could train horses for a living if you
wanted.” Shoot, another stupid slip. Would she ever learn? “Not that you aren’t
a great systems analyst.”

Ugh! That sounded worse.

“Ethan’s the resident horse trainer on Powell Ranch. I wouldn’t
want to take his job away from him.”

Like Richard had taken Conner’s job.

“I, um, was just—”

“It’s okay, Dallas. You don’t have to walk on eggshells. I got
laid off. Now I’m training horses and leading trail rides, and glad to have a
job. Plenty of the people I worked with at Triad Energy still don’t.”

“Something’s going to break for you soon. I have faith.”

“Glad one of us does.”

“It’s all about networking,” she said enthusiastically.

“So I’ve heard.” His grin strived for teasing—and fell
short.

Had she overstepped?

Dallas kept quiet rather than commit another blunder.

Conner broke the silence first. “Do you mind if I ask a
personal question? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Why did you break up with Richard?”

She took a moment to collect her thoughts. “Technically, it was
mutual.”

“It still must have hurt.”

“Not really. Which says a lot. I took it in stride. Sure, I was
a little lost at first. But by the end of the following week, I was ready to
move on. Which says even more.”

“What happened? Between you.”

“Nothing happened, which was the problem. Whatever we had, it
wasn’t head-over-heels, can’t-live-without-you love.”

“When did you find out you were pregnant?”

“A week later.”

Conner nodded, watched the trail ahead as it grew steeper and
steeper.

Her curiosity got the best of her. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m surprised you didn’t change your mind and decide to get
married, after all. Richard has his faults, but he’s a responsible guy.”

“If you must know, he did ask me.”

“Hmm.”

“I said no. Nothing’s changed.”

“Except you’re having his baby.”

“Which hasn’t affected my feelings for him. I care for him, I
really do. And I imagine I always will. But not enough to marry him.”

“You could do worse.”

Dallas stiffened. Now Conner sounded like Hank.

“My mother spent five years married to a man she didn’t love.
He wound up walking out on her and my brother and me. It sucked, and it’s the
last thing I’d want for my child. Given a choice, I’d rather call off the
wedding than go through with it, only to wind up divorced a few years
later.”

“Sounds like you’re justifying the breakup.”

She scowled at him. “I am not.”

“A father has a duty to fulfill.”

“My father? Or are you referring to Richard? Forget it,” she
said, before Conner could answer. “Richard will do his duty. We just won’t be
married.”