Aidan: Loyal Cowboy

The truth was he’d been running scared, that morning and every day since. Even before they’d gone to her house, before their first kiss outside the Number 1 Diner, something inside him had changed. He finally admitted to himself that Flynn was someone he could easily fall for, had, in all likelihood, fallen for years earlier and simply denied it.

“Some news about Flynn going to school to be a nurse.” Duke glanced at the side mirrors before changing lanes.

“Who told you?”

“Your mom. She’s worried.”

“About Flynn? Why?”

“No, about you. She said you took it pretty hard.”

“Why would I take it hard? I think it’s a great idea.” Ace shoved his fingers through his hair, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Want me to call your dad? The truck stop’s coming up soon.”

“Not for half an hour.”

Ace didn’t want to discuss Flynn. He hadn’t told anyone about the night they’d spent together and wouldn’t. Not even Duke. And they were more than cousins, they were good friends.

In some ways, Ace had a better relationship with Duke than he did with his own brothers. Colt was frequently off to some rodeo and Tuf had enlisted in the Marines. On the other hand, Ace and Dinah were close. She was the little sister he ordered around, doted on, protected, and whose secrets he safeguarded.

His gut clenched at the reminder. Flynn and Dinah talked on a regular basis. Had she confided in Dinah about her and Ace? It was possible.

“I don’t know why your mom’s worried,” Duke said thoughtfully. “For a while there we all thought you and Flynn were going to hook up.”

“That was years ago.” Duke was one of the few people who knew Ace and Flynn had dated.

“I’m talking last month.” Duke slanted Ace a bemused smile. “We saw you and her leaving the Number 1.”

Ace abruptly sat up, then slumped against the seat, afraid of giving himself away. “We?”

“Dad, Beau and I.”

Both his cousins and his uncle?

“Royce, Harlan and Gracie were there, too.”

Three of the Harts’ ranch hands? Great. Ace and Flynn might as well have taken an ad out in the Roundup Record Tribune.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Which was not the same as saying nothing happened, and Duke probably picked up on the subtle difference.

“Your business.”

Duke respected Ace’s wishes for the remainder of the drive to Thunder Ranch, avoiding the topic of Flynn and Ace even when his mother brought Flynn up over dinner at the truck stop.

Ace was never so glad to see the exit for home.

They drove the mile-long driveway into Thunder Ranch, past the main house with its rustic charm and fieldstone wall to the various outbuildings, one of them a newly constructed mare motel. Luckily they beat the snow, which started falling in earnest the minute they pulled up in front of the horse barn.

“It’s too late and too cold.” Ace reached behind the seat and retrieved his and Duke’s yellow all-weather ponchos. “Let’s just put the mares and geldings in the west paddock for tonight. We can move them tomorrow if there’s a break in the weather.”

“And Midnight?”

“The clinic.”

Ace had constructed a pair of shaded corrals behind the horse barn, which also contained a small office he used for his vet practice. The corrals were for quarantining sick or injured animals while he treated them. It wasn’t an ideal location for Midnight, but it would suffice until the construction of his stud quarters was completed.

Duke braked to a stop, letting Ace out long enough to dash through the snow and relay their plans to his uncle in the other truck.

“Meet you at the paddock with the rest of the horses once we’ve unloaded Midnight,” he told his uncle.

“You going to need some help?”

“We can handle it.”

Ace returned to the truck. Midnight, impatient to get out, had begun kicking the trailer wall. He was still creating a ruckus while Duke backed the trailer to the corral gate. If all went as intended, the horse would go right from the trailer to the corral without incident.

Turning on an overhead floodlight, Ace positioned himself at the trailer door. Duke reached through the open slats and unfastened Midnight’s lead rope from where it was tied.

The horse stood perfectly still.

Ace wasn’t fooled. When he sensed the moment was right, he opened the trailer door.

“Welcome home, boy.”

The horse flicked his ears and cranked his big head around, calmly assessing his new surroundings.

“I think he’ll be okay,” Ace told Duke confidently after several uneventful seconds. “Now that we’re away from the auction and that livestock foreman.”

“Yeah, okay. If you say so.”

Before Ace could reply, Midnight flung himself sideways out of the trailer, landing with a wet thud on the ground. Ace and Duke tripped over their feet attempting to escape danger. Midnight catapulted into the corral. Running and bucking—oh, man, could that horse buck—he circled the corral a few times before coming to a stop.

“Duke! Are you all right?” Ace slammed the corral gate shut, then ran to his cousin, who leaned awkwardly against the trailer wheel well.

“I’m fine.” He cradled his left elbow close to his body.

“Here.” Ace gripped his cousin’s forearm and gently manipulated the affected joint. “Does that hurt?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Hurt like you fractured it?”

“Naw. Nothing a little ice, aspirin and a cold beer won’t fix.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault. Is Midnight okay?”

“Him? That horse is made of solid steel. You going to be able to work tomorrow?”

“Shoot, I’m tougher than that.” Duke served part-time as one of Roundup’s deputies under the recently elected sheriff—none other than Ace’s sister, Dinah. “It’s you I’m worried about.”

“I didn’t get hurt.”

“I mean your investment.” He hitched his chin at the corral. “You and your mom have a lot on the line.”

They did. Ace believed in his mother’s vision, which was that a secure future lay in their bucking stock contracting operation. To that end, she’d taken out a three-hundred thousand dollar loan, which he’d cosigned.

If they didn’t succeed, Ace could potentially lose his vet practice.

He’d worked too hard, sacrificed too much, for that to happen.

“I’ll drive the mares to the paddock,” he said.

“Forget it. I’ll meet Dad with the mares. You stay here and settle Midnight in.”

“Are you positive?”

Duke’s response was to head for the cab of the truck.

Ace shut the trailer door. After his cousin drove off, he retrieved two flakes of hay from the small stack he kept by the corral and tossed them in the feeder. Midnight started eating immediately, happy as a pig with his slop.

“I should have counted on you doing something crazy,” Ace muttered, disappointed with himself. When it came to horses, his instincts were usually right on the mark.

Midnight stopped eating long enough to give Ace a you-just-met-your-match look.

Yeah, he had.

Most stallions were unpredictable to some degree, as were many bucking horses. Midnight, as Ace was quickly realizing, verged on unmanageable.

What had happened to this fine animal in the past two years to so dramatically alter his personality?

Duke wasn’t the only one worried. Ace couldn’t help wondering if he and his mother had made a mistake, paid a small fortune in a stud horse they couldn’t handle and didn’t dare put with their mares on the chance he’d injure them.

* * *

FLYNN STARED AT THE PREGNANCY test wand. Just how reliable were these things?

Pretty accurate, she knew from working at the emergency clinic.

She could always go to the clinic, have the doctor administer a second test in order to confirm, but why? Her body had been telling her for days what the test wand in her hand confirmed: Flynn was having a baby.

She’d become, she realized with a sigh, a statistic. One night of lovemaking, and she’d gotten pregnant. What were the odds?

Considerably greater than with a couple who actually practiced birth control.

Flynn was no idiot; heck, she worked in the medical profession and witnessed the results of unprotected sex on a weekly basis. She could offer excuses. More than once she’d forgotten to take her birth control pill and hadn’t gotten pregnant. Her night with Ace had been spontaneous and they were caught unprepared. According to her cycle, it was a safe time of the month.

She moaned softly.

The fact was they’d both acted irresponsibly, and Flynn held the consequences in her hand.

No, carried them inside her. Setting the wand on the bathroom sink, she pressed a palm to her belly.

A baby! The timing couldn’t be any worse and, my goodness, what would Ace say?

She slipped the wand into her robe pocket and inspected herself in the bathroom mirror, tilting her head to the side. She was going to be a mother in, she mentally counted, about eight months! Thanksgiving time.

Did she look any different?

What had her own mother thought when she realized she was carrying Flynn’s older sister, Nora?

That a baby was the last thing she wanted?

Flynn considered calling Dinah, asking her friend to meet her after work. Flynn could use an ear to bend, a shoulder to lean on. But Dinah was Ace’s sister and the two of them were thick as thieves. Flynn couldn’t chance Ace finding out about the baby until she was ready to tell him. Until she’d decided on a course of action.

She’d have the baby, there was no question of that. With the possible exception of Ace, she hadn’t wanted anything more. Ever. Her way of compensating for her mother’s abandonment, she supposed, and Paul’s. His refusal to even consider having children for years and years into the future had been the final, backbreaking straw in their shaky marriage, ending with him walking out on her.

A baby. She still couldn’t believe it! The prospect petrified her. Wanting children didn’t necessarily mean she was ready to be a mother. It also thrilled her. This was a dream come true.

Flynn stumbled from the bathroom, the news of her condition, more than the condition itself, making her light-headed. She usually awoke after her father, so it was no surprise to find him in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee, nibbling on a piece of toast and reviewing paperwork.

“Morning, sweetie pie.” His tone lacked his usual enthusiasm and his smile its usual luster.

Who was she kidding? Her father’s smile had been mostly lusterless for months.

How to tell him about the baby? She longed to share her news with someone who loved and understood her. Dinah was out of the question and Nora, the next logical choice, would be in the middle of dropping her sons off at day care on her way to work. Forget calling her mother. Flynn wasn’t in the mood for a lecture.

She reached for the pot of coffee on the counter, then stopped. Returning the mug to the cupboard, she grabbed a juice glass instead. Caffeine wasn’t good for the baby. Orange juice, however, very good.

“What are you looking at, Dad?”

“This is a listing agreement with the real estate agent I hired.”

“Really?” She sat at the table. “When did you talk to him?”

“Her. And it was yesterday. We met while you were at work.”

Well, he’d certainly moved quickly. He’d only just announced to the Harts on Saturday he was selling everything and getting out of the business. Today was Tuesday.

“Are you going to sign it?”

“Already did.” He held up the agreement for her to see. “Just reviewing it and making notes.”

“Wow.” Flynn’s throat inexplicably tightened. This wasn’t the first time she’d moved from Roundup. Why, then, were her emotions threatening to spill over?

Must be the baby and hormones.

“Sweetie pie, what’s wrong?”

Flynn glanced up to find her dad studying her. “Nothing. Actually, everything’s falling into place perfectly. You’re selling the ranch, we’re moving to Billings, I’m going to nursing school.”

“Then why are you crying?”

She touched her cheek, stunned to find it damp.

What a mess. Everything wasn’t perfect.

Having a baby was supposed to be exhilarating. Deeply satisfying. One of life’s greatest joys. Flynn felt those things. She was also still in shock and uncertain. At this moment, those feelings overwhelmed the others.

“Dad,” she blurted. “I have something to tell you. You’re going to be surprised. A good surprise, I hope.”

Please let him be happy for me.

He laid the listing agreement aside, his expression concerned. “You’re not going back to school?”

She could do both, right? Go to school and have a baby?

“No. I am.” She swallowed. This was much harder than she’d anticipated. “I’m… Wow.” She gathered her wildly racing thoughts. “I’m pregnant.”

He sat back, his eyes wide and unblinking. “That is a surprise.”

“I only found out myself a few minutes ago when I took the home pregnancy test.”

“How far along are you?” he stammered.

“A month or so.”

Flynn’s chest tightened, and her eyes stung. She wished her father would stop sitting there, staring at her. “You’re disappointed in me.”

“God, no, Flynn.” He sprang from his chair, hauled her to her feet and clasped her to him. “I love you, I could never be disappointed in you. It’s just like you say, a surprise.” He set her back from him, brushed her hair from her face in a familiar and tender gesture reminiscent of when she was a young girl. “I love being a grandfather. It’s one of the reasons I want to move to Billings. And I know how much you’ve always hankered for kids of your own. I just figured…”

“That I’d be married.”

“Something like that. I’m your old man.” He shrugged apologetically. “Can’t help wanting what I think is best for you.”

Flynn hugged him fiercely, laid her head on his chest.

“I’m happy for you, sweetie pie.”

“I’m happy, too. And a little nervous.”

“Kids are a big step.” He kissed the top of her head. “But you’ll do fine. And you’ll be a wonderful mother.” He grew suddenly serious. “You are keeping the baby.”

“Of course I am!”

“That’s good.” He patted her reassuringly. “Is Ace the dad?”

Now it was Flynn’s turn to stare at her father in confusion. “H-how did you—”

“Because, there really hasn’t been any other man for you.”

If her father knew, then chances were Sarah Hart did, too. All those months trying to hide her and Ace’s relationship from their parents had apparently been for nothing.

Flynn grimaced. What would Ace’s mother, his whole family, think of her when they found out about the baby?

“Do you love him?” her father asked.

Flynn involuntarily stiffened. Dinah Hart had been the only one to ask her that before. She’d noticed Flynn’s crush on her older brother, a crush that had developed into much more when she and Ace dated.

Except Flynn had kept those feelings hidden and always would, not even telling Dinah.

“I— I’m… It’s complicated.”

Thankfully her father didn’t pressure her for more. They returned to their chairs, and he clasped her hand across the table. “I take it you haven’t told Ace yet.”

“No.”

“Are you going to?”

Flynn pushed her half-empty juice glass away. It suddenly didn’t appeal to her anymore. “I wouldn’t hide the baby from him. But I’m going to wait until I visit the obstetrician. Make sure everything’s okay.”

“Well, you could have picked a worse guy.”

“Dad!”

“I meant that as a compliment. I’ve always liked Ace. It was John Hart I had a problem with. The man drank like a fish and practically ran his ranch into the ground before he died.”

“That’s harsh.”

“Well, he did. But I have nothing other than respect for Sarah and Ace. He’s ten times the man his father was. All them kids are, in their own way. But Ace most of all. He stepped up. Took over as head of the family. Runs the ranch with his mother. Hell of a vet, too. He’ll make a good dad.”

“I don’t think Ace would agree with you about his father. He and John may have butted heads, but Ace loved him. After John died, Ace took over because he thought it was what his father would have wanted.”

In her mind, Flynn could hear Ace telling her those exact words ten years ago when he ended their brief dating relationship.

“Like I said, he’s a better man than his father. He’s trying to make something of that ranch, and not just for himself. Nothing he wouldn’t sacrifice for his family. Nothing he wouldn’t sacrifice for you and your baby, too.”

“You’re probably right.”

“He’ll insist on doing the right thing.”

“I’m not getting married, if that’s what you’re implying.” Flynn shocked herself with her vehemence.

“Why not?”

“Come on, Dad. I already have one disastrous marriage under my belt.”

“You didn’t love Paul.”

Just how much had her father observed? She’d evidently underestimated him for years.

“I did love him.” Not like she had—did—Ace. “In the beginning. We…” She hesitated, her voice thickening. These emotional highs and lows simply had to stop. “We drifted apart.”

“He ignored you.”

“Not always.”

“Almost always.” Her father snorted. “More interested in his job than you.”

Paul’s ambition was a quality Flynn had liked and admired when they first met. She hadn’t foreseen that his ambition would one day consume him. After a few years, it became obvious he knew his coworkers more intimately than he did Flynn and shared more with them. She grew to resent that same ambition she’d once admired and the endless hours he put in at the office.

“He wasn’t the only one at fault. I made my share of mistakes. I let him walk all over me instead of putting my foot down.”

Her father snorted again, his way of saying his girls were perfect.

Flynn smiled despite her weepiness. He may think she had nothing to do with her failed marriage, but Flynn knew better. She’d made mistakes, the first one being rushing to the altar.

She’d met Paul in one of her classes at community college; they hit it off and got engaged shortly after graduating. Flynn had assumed their similar career goals—to advance, to climb the corporate ladder—would bind them. She hadn’t anticipated their differences when it came to starting a family.

Flynn had asked him for a separation, hoping the shock would shake up Paul and force him to admit how much he loved her and wanted to stay married.

Only, what he’d said was, “Why bother with a separation? Let’s just get a divorce.” He’d packed up his belongings and left the next day.

“I’m not going to make any rash decisions,” Flynn announced resolutely. “This baby is too important to me.”

“Too bad about nursing school,” her father said. “You’d have made a good nurse.”

Flynn straightened. “I can still go to school. I’ll start the enrollment process now. Take online classes until after the baby’s born.”

She was going to be a mother. A single mother. Now more than ever she needed a decent job with security and benefits and potential for advancement.

“That’s an awful lot to have going on at once. Especially if you’re working, too.”

She would need to keep working. She couldn’t afford to pay for school otherwise.

Her temples began to throb. There was so much to think about.

“I’ll start slow. One or two classes.”

“Hmm,” her father mumbled in a tone that implied maybe Flynn should reconsider. “What about Ace? He’s going to want to be a dad to your child.”

“And he can be. Visit as much as he wants. Billings is only an hour away from here.”

Her father chuckled and raised his coffee mug in a toast. “Good luck with that.”

“What?” Flynn made a face. “I’ll be generous.”

“We’re talking about Ace Hart. The man isn’t going to want you to go anywhere, not with his child. He’s going to fight you tooth and nail and we both know it.”

Flynn hated it when her father was right.

Chapter Four

Ace fished his keys from his jeans pocket as he headed out of the barn.

Flynn had called that morning requesting he meet her at the old fishing hole on Thunder Creek when they were both off work. He’d agreed without hesitation, assuming she was giving him the chance to make good on the apology he owed her.

Now that he was about to see her, doubts crept in.

There’d been an unusual nervous quality in her voice. He hadn’t heard anything like it in ten years, not since he’d asked to meet her at the same fishing hole. His father had recently died, and Ace had informed Flynn it was over between them.

His thoughts returned to the auction five days ago. She hadn’t been nervous then.

Could she have changed her mind about moving and going to nursing school?

Even if she had, she wouldn’t insist on a private meeting in a secluded spot to inform him. There had to be another reason.

Like giving him the chewing out he richly deserved without any prying ears nearby.

He was about to start the engine when Gracie came running from the barn to his truck, one hand securing her hat to her head, the other one clutching a piece of paper. The single mother and only female ranch hand had worked for the Harts two years this coming May. She took a lot of flack from the men and repaid them by dishing out an equal amount, which earned her their respect. Ace liked her, too.

He lowered the driver’s side window, letting in a blast of cold air. Thunder Creek probably wasn’t the best meeting place.

“What’s wrong?”

“The blood work on Midnight just came in from the lab,” Gracie said in a huff when she reached the truck. “I thought you’d want to see it before you left.”

Ace grabbed the sheet of paper and quickly scanned it, his heart hammering.

He hoped to discover a cause for Midnight’s unruly disposition and aversion to people. In an attempt to eliminate any underlying medical reason, he’d put the horse through a battery of health tests, which only made him distrust Ace even more.

“Bad news?” Gracie had assisted Ace during the exams and had taken an interest in Midnight.

“No, good news.” Actually, the results couldn’t be any better. Like every other test Ace had conducted. “Everything’s normal.”

Which meant the horse’s behavior problems were the result of his genetic makeup, social environment or handling.

His recent handling, Ace thought, distaste filling his mouth. Midnight had successfully competed in rodeos for years before Wally Dunlap became ill and turned over the management of his string to a hired foreman. The only reputation Midnight had earned before that was giving cowboys record-breaking rides and producing superior quality offspring.

What had happened to trigger such a dramatic change in him?

Ace was determined to find out.

“Thanks, Gracie.” He handed the paper back to her. “Can you put that on my desk for me? I’m going to—” He paused. Gracie had been one of the people to see him and Flynn at the diner last month. “I’ll be back later tonight.”

“Sure thing, boss. Oh, and I forgot. Colt gave me a message for you. He left for the PRCA Championship Rodeo in Fargo and will be home on Monday.”

Ace’s fingers choked the steering wheel. He stopped squeezing only when he noticed Gracie’s gaze cutting to his hands.

When was his brother going to grow up, quit playing and do something more around the ranch than the least amount of work he could get away with?

No, that would make things easier on Ace, and Colt was all about himself.

“See you in the morning.” Ace started the engine. “Call me if there’s a problem with Midnight.”

Grace hurried off in the direction of the barn and Ace’s office.

He drove away, his focus changing from his brother to Flynn and their meeting.

The road to the old fishing spot was bumpy and winding and overgrown. Piles of unmelted snow and soggy patches made the driving treacherous. Ace hoped Flynn had borrowed her father’s truck and not brought her compact car.