Texas Bride

A faint whiff of flowers and woman alerted him to her closeness. Then his rescuer’s hands were gentle as they smoothed over his limbs and fingered a lump on his temple.

Her heart, however, was as hard as surgical steel. Her next words proved it. “You’re soaked,” the woman barked. “And this is the desert—with night comin’ on fast. You ever heard of hypothermia, mister? Get up!”

Damn the woman! Okay, he owed her his life, but—

Josh pulled himself to his knees. And threw up. “Sorry,” he croaked after his stomach stopped cartwheeling.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, amusement now warming her tone. “I’ve sure done my share of that.”

Josh didn’t get the joke. It didn’t matter; a second later, Ms. Stormtrooper dragged him to his feet Made him slosh a hundred miles or so through a snarling stream. Forced him to stagger uphill for a couple of centuries....

He threw up again. Conquered a tall step. Crossed a creaking floor. Wondered why heaven smelled like corn bread, then remembered he was still in Texas.

The gentle hands touched him again and his clothes went away....

Then he was warm and dry and lying on something soft. In the distance he heard his rescuer tell him not to go to sleep. Every time he opened his eyes, though, the room started spinning. Darkness like thick, black cotton pressed in around him.

But he was alive. He’d been given a second chance. Josh felt a smile curve his mouth. Okay, he’d admit it. His life had seemed empty lately. But that could change. Would change. Because now he had time to fill the emptiness.

“Thanks,” he whispered. “Thanks again.”

With a slow sigh, Josh let the blackness claim him....

Chapter Two

Dani’s elbow slipped off the armrest—her eyes flew open. Darn, she’d drifted off again. Sunlight streamed through the window over the sink. Oh, no... It had still been dark outside the last time she’d checked on her unexpected guest.

With a soft grunt, Dani maneuvered herself out of the battered armchair, then quietly crossed the narrow cabin floor to look at the man in her bed.

That ribbon of heat coiled through her again.

It was ridiculous, but with the heavy beard shadowing his hard jaw, he was even more attractive this morning than he’d been last night. When I undressed him.

The heat got hotter; the ribbon coiled tighter.

She could still feel his sleek, hard muscles and the smooth, taut skin she’d encountered when she’d peeled off his wet clothes. Still see the broad expanse of his shoulders, his flat stomach, his narrow hips. Her fingertips still tingled from the crisp hair on his chest and legs and around—

Dani stopped the tantalizing recital with a wry grimace. She’d undressed Jimmy plenty of times after he’d started coming in drunk every night, she reminded herself. It was no big deal.

Well, actually, this man’s was....

Oh, just make sure he’s not in a coma, Dani told herself, and carefully lifted one eyelid, then the other. With a sigh of relief, she noted that the pupils, unequal when she’d begun checking last night, were now the same size and reacted to the morning light.

Gently, Dani let the second lid drop. It hardly seemed fair. This man with the magnificent body and boldly masculine features—and a car that, even wrecked, was worth more than her truck running—this man also had the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. They were a rich, vibrant turquoise—the color of the Caribbean sea on travel posters.

Jimmy’s eyes had been brown. Just brown. Like his hair. And he’d never had a chance to outgrow the gangly adolescent stage; his low-life friends had seen to that.

Dani allowed herself one short sigh for what-might-have-been. Even though her romantic illusions had been crushed by reality long before Jimmy died, she would have made a satisfactory life out of raising her children and providing her husband with a warm, welcoming home. If she’d had the chance.

But Jimmy had chosen booze and self-pity instead of her. And all her love, concern and caring hadn’t helped him grow up. Or kept him home.

And it still hurt....

Well, at least she knew better than to ever get involved again. Romance was just a liability now, a distraction she couldn’t afford.

Still... Yielding to temptation, Dani smoothed back a strand of thick, honey-gold hair. The heartbreaker in her bed simply oozed raw male power and sensuality—even while he was asleep! He must have women throwing themselves at him from all directions.

And how many have you caught, Mr. Joshua Michael Walker? Dani recalled the Virginia driver’s license she’d found in his wallet when she’d looked for an information card listing next of kin—just in case.

Michael... She’d been considering that name for a boy. Emily, if it was a girl... Plenty of time to decide once it’s here, she told herself, absently massaging a dull ache low in her back as she turned and headed for the cabin’s tiny bathroom. She’d get cleaned up and start breakfast, she decided, before waking her guest.

As usual, the lack of hot water speeded Dani through her morning routine, but as she changed into clean clothes and tugged the shirt over her rounded abdomen, she frowned. The baby was awfully quiet this morning.

At least her backache was gone. Maybe the rest of her problems would disappear that easily, too.

After quietly liberating a saucepan from the small stack of dishes on the drainboard, she measured water into it and set it on the stove. Then, while the water heated, she tried to figure out how to send her visitor on his way before he asked any awkward questions.

Dani smoothed her hand over her precious cargo, but inspiration still didn’t come. The Queen of Coping’s drawing a blank today.

The lid on the saucepan started to jitter. Grateful for the distraction, Dani shook oats into the boiling water and began stirring. With her other hand, she rubbed the ache that had returned to her lower back.

By the time the oatmeal was ready for the last of her brown sugar and raisins, the pain had faded again. But the baby still hadn’t kicked. Dani bit her lip as she added the flavorings to the hot cereal. If something was wrong... If anything happened to her baby...

Dani stirred harder, trying to dissolve the fear suddenly choking her.

Even before the soft sounds and oddly familiar smell opened his eyes, Josh remembered... everything. The flash flood. Being banged around like the tennis ball in a championship match. The angel who’d ordered him out of his sinking car. Being cold and wet, then warm and dry.

He’d been lucky, that was for damned sure. But... Now what?

One part of him wanted to forget the whole near-death experience and just slide back into his old routine.

But another part insisted he remember what he’d discovered: something was missing from his life. Okay, but—Josh grimaced at the rough ceiling overhead.

But nothing, he told himself. Only fools waste second chances. And any fool could tell you how to fill that emptiness inside.

“Hell,” he whispered to the lumber overhead. He still wanted a baby, but the biology hadn’t changed in the past six years: fatherhood still required a woman’s participation. And after Carrie, he could never trust a woman enough to share such an intimate bond.

Which meant no babies for Josh Walker.

Well, there were other meaningful things in life.

Find someone... help them. His sister-in-law’s advice floated through his brain again. Okay, when he got home, he’d see about signing up to tutor poor kids or something.

“Oh, good. You’re awake.”

His lips quirking at the unintentional irony, Josh glanced up. And rational thought disappeared, buried in an explosive, visceral male reaction he’d never before experienced.

Yesterday’s angel stood over him, her soft, full lips curved in a sweet smile that made him long to trace her mouth with his finger, then with his own lips, then plunder the moist, warm depths with his tongue....

Shocked by the intensity of his desire, Josh blinked, then blinked again as her thick braid slid forward over her shoulder to dangle an inch from his nose. The rope of hair glowed like polished maple; his hand itched to take its silky weight.

“How do you feel?” she asked, her green eyes clouded with concern.

Very alive. Very male. Very ready to prove it.

Trying to slow his pounding pulse, Josh took a deep breath and caught her scent: sweetness and soap and... woman. It made him ache, then turn on his side to hide his body’s instant response.

“Fine, Ms.—I’m sorry I don’t know your name,” he mumbled, fighting desperately to regain control. This didn’t happen to him.

But it was.

“Dani Caldwell,” the woman said, then bit her lip. “Please—forget you heard that.”

“Whatever you want, Dani,” he agreed. “You saved my life. Words seem pretty inadequate, but—thanks.” I wonder if her skin feels as soft as it looks. As he propped himself up on one elbow, Josh’s free hand moved toward his rescuer.

The woman stepped back. Good. Maybe he could think straight if she wasn’t close enough to caress.

Josh tore his gaze from his rescuer’s angelic face. Looked downward. “You’re pregnant!”

“I believe you’re right.” Her grin invited him to share her joy.

Like hell. “What in damnation were you thinking of, lady?” he demanded, sitting up and wadding the blanket with clenched fists to keep from shaking the little idiot. “You could have harmed your baby! Where the hell’s your husband? What kind of knucklehead lets his wife risk his unborn child by charging headlong into raging floodwaters? He ought to—” “He’s dead.”

“He can’t,” Dani interrupted. “He’s dead.”

Josh stared at her, shocked speechless. He’d spent years grieving beneath his icy outer layer because—thanks to Carrie’s betrayat—he would never hold his baby. This woman carried a child who would never know its father’s protective embrace. “Oh, God, Dani,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

She stood looking at him for a moment, her eyes dark and distant, one hand slowly rubbing her back. “Well, ‘sorry’ never changed facts,” she said at last, “but...thanks.

“They should be dry now, so here. Get dressed.” Scooping up a pile of clothes draped over the foot of the bed, she dumped them on his lap. Which was a tad sensitive—since he was still more than a tad aroused.

Josh grabbed the clothes in self-defense. “Th-thank you.”

As he sorted through the apparel, Dani turned toward the stove. Her braid hung almost to her waist, he noticed. Then had to clamp a lid on heated images of her above him with it loose, streaming over her breasts, brushing his—She’s a grieving widow, Josh reminded himself as he shoved his legs into stiff jeans. Carrying proof of her love.

“Breakfast is ready. I hope you like oatmeal.”

She didn’t act grief-stricken, but she had a right to handle her sorrow her own way. Josh knew from his own bitter experience that talking never changed anything, anyway. And he was starving, but—“Oatmeal? I’d rather have eggs and bacon. Biscuits and honey.”

“Me, too.” At Dani’s low laugh, Josh’s thoughts of food were replaced by another sort of hunger.

Facts were the best weapon against dangerous feelings. He knew that from experience, too. “How old are you?” he blurted, desperate to control his inappropriate response to this woman.

“Twenty-three,” she answered, spreading her fingers over her beach ball stomach and frowning.

She looked younger. Made him feel ancient. “How long ago did your—”

“Six months. Now, about breakfast, Mr. Walker...”

“Call me Josh.” He wanted his name on those lush lips. Instead of painful memories. “But how did you—”

“I looked in your wallet.” She turned so quickly, her braid went flying. “Everything’s still there.”

“I’m sure it is,” he agreed as he climbed out of bed, buttoned his fly—with difficulty—then pulled on his shirt.

Hell, for saving his life, she could have every gold, platinum or purple card she found, all the cash, whatever. He told her so.

“I didn’t save your life, Josh! I—” She gestured impatiently. “I broke your windshield. Please—just eat your breakfast and go.”

Fat chance. Josh Walker always paid his debts and he owed Dani Caldwell. But he reserved arguing for the courtroom. “Okay,” he said mildly.

As he headed toward the table, Dani retreated. As if... “You’re not afraid of me, are you?” Josh asked. “I swear—I’d never hurt a woman!”

Dani’s eyes looked into a distance he couldn’t see. “I’m sure you mean that,” she said, “but...well, intentions make good paving material.” Her voice was too old, too resigned for someone so young. Someone with a baby coming and no father for it.

“You can trust me, Dani.” Josh’s low voice stroked over her skin like rich, dark velvet. He seemed to fill the room with his large, lean frame, with his hard masculinity. “Are you in trouble? Let me help you.”

Dani fought an urge to accept his offer. “I don’t need any help,” she insisted, mostly to remind herself. Didn’t marriage teach me anything? Leaning on someone just means you fall over when they leave.

Josh did something with his jaw that brought granite to mind. “Then I’ll get out of your way,” he said stiffly. “May I use your phone to call a tow truck?”

“Sorry.” She shook her head. “No telephone.”

“Can you give me a lift to town, then?” Icicles dripped from every word.

“No wheels, either,” Dani confessed, flashing a rueful smile.

“You mean, you’re stranded out here? In your condition?” Josh looked as if he didn’t know whether to sit there stupefied or jump up, furious. “Are you crazy, woman?”

“Just a little unlucky, that’s all.” Dani willed herself to believe it. But that darned backache kept coming back and the baby still hadn’t moved. What if something was seriously wrong?

“Unlucky?” Josh croaked, those beautiful eyes wide with disbelief.

He was still sputtering when heavy knuckles made contact with the door. Dani seized the interruption. “Who’s there?” she called.

“County sheriff,” came the answer in a deep West Texas twang.

Terror-stricken, Dani turned to Josh. “Please,” she whispered. “Please. Tell the sheriff I’m with you. Tell him—anything. Except my name.”

For one long moment, Josh gazed at her, his eyes narrow slivers of glacial ice. Then a corner of his mouth quirked and he shook his head derisively. “I never did learn to ask the right questions at the right time,” he said softly.

Dani closed her eyes to gather her strength. She was going to need it. The visitor knocked again.

“Just a minute!” Josh shouted, then lowered his voice. “I owe you my life, Dani,” he said, “but I’m an attorney. Aiding a felon is grounds for disbarment.”

“I haven’t committed any crime,” she snapped, rubbing her back.

“Then tell me why you’re hiding.”

Dani chewed her lip but she had no choice. She knew whose side the sheriff would take if he discovered her identity. This stranger was her only chance; she had to trust him. Simple but scary. She hadn’t trusted anyone since...Jimmy, who’d proven himself untrustworthy in the end.

Taking a deep breath, Dani said, “My husband was killed by a stray bullet when a fight broke out at the bar that had become his second home. His parents blamed me for his lack of ambition, his choice of friends, and his death. And now they want custody of their grandchild. I’ve refused, of course, but they’re wealthy and have contacts all over the state. Obviously I can’t even hold a job right now....”

Josh suddenly towered over her, his hands on his hips. “Sounds as if they can offer the child more than you can.”

“I’m not giving up my baby,” Dani retorted, balling her hands into fists. “I don’t care what things they can give it, this baby is mine!”

Those turquoise eyes flared into blue fire, then Josh touched her cheek gently with one fingertip. She could feel it all the way to her toes, even through the backache gripping her now like a bulldog on a bone.

“Okay, sweetheart, okay.” Josh jerked his hand away. “I guess I can perjure myself this once.” He crossed the cabin in one stride.

Pulling open the door, Josh leaned a broad shoulder against the door frame and greeted the beefy, leatherskinned man standing on the porch. “Morning, Sheriff.”

“B’lieve it is,” the man drawled, hooking his thumbs in the service belt of his khaki uniform. He looked sleepy and slow, but Dani doubted it. Law enforcement in rural counties only meant dealing with fewer people, not less complex ones.

“Name’s Lopez,” the sheriff announced, removing his wire-rimmed sunglasses and hanging them by one earpiece from his starched shirt pocket. “And you are?”

“Josh Walker...and wife.”

After a brief, searching look, Lopez said, “Quite a storm last night. Been out since dawn, checking on damage. That your car down in the creek?”

“Yes. My wife and I barely got out in time. We took refuge here last night.” Josh did his granite-jaw exhibition again. “Hope that isn’t a problem, Officer.”

The sheriff shrugged. “Real problem’s gonna be gettin’ yore vee-hicle outta that arroyo,” he drawled. “Don’t know if Vern can get his tow truck close enough to—”

Dani didn’t hear the rest. A fresh fist of pain hit her, then—a gush of warm wetness between her legs. Her knees threatened to go on strike and she blindly clutched at Josh for support.

His arm instantly wrapped around her. “Wh-what is it, Dani? What happened?”

Before she could answer, Lopez chuckled. “As the father of five, I’d say the lady’s water broke.” Pushing the brim of his Stetson up with his thumb, he addressed Dani. “You havin’ pains yet, ma’am?”

She managed to nod. “I—I guess I’ve been having them since I woke up this morning, b-but...” She bit her lip.

“But what?” Josh demanded.

His arm still crushed her against his side. Dani didn’t resist; she needed his strength right now. She wanted this baby so much, but—“Th-the pains aren’t right!”

The sheriff whipped his sunglasses out of his pocket, snapped them open with a flick of his wrist and slid them on his face, his sleepy demeanor instantly replaced by cool efficiency. “They got a clinic in No Lake. I’ll hustle on down to the car and radio the doc. You bring yore wife.”

As the sheriff spun on his heel and disappeared down the trail, Josh turned to Dani. “What do you mean, not right?” he demanded, his hands wrapped around her upper arms, his azure eyes hot and intense.

“They’re in my back, not here.” Dani’s hand covered her abdomen.

Josh’s grip eased. “My sister-in-law had back labor,” he said. “Twice. And both babies were perfect.”

This is normal. Relief dissolved the fear washing through her, and without thinking, Dani aimed a thank-you kiss at Josh’s cheek.

As her lips neared the beard-roughened surface, she caught a faint whiff of pine and a unique male scent she instinctively recognized as his. Then Josh turned his head and mouth met mouth—one warm and soft, one cool and firm. A momentary hesitation...then someone deepened the kiss. Stars exploded. Volcanoes blew apart. The earth shifted on its axis—and babies and back pains were forgotten for one eternal second while heat and passion consumed her. Someone moaned, the sound deep and throaty. Dani thrust her fingers into Josh’s thick, silky hair. He wrapped her braid around his wrist—

Reality finally intruded. I’m having a baby. Jimmy’s baby. “I—I’m sorry,” she whispered as she pulled back. “I just... Thank you for telling me about your sister-in-law.”

“Any time, lady.” Josh gave a ragged laugh as he raked shaking fingers through his hair and let out a deep breath. “Except now, that is. We’ve got places to go.”

His briskness told Dani that the errant kiss hadn’t affected him. A tendril of pain helped her ignore the desire still racing through her veins. “I n-need to get the b-baby’s things,” she said.

Josh growled. “Where?”

She pointed to a yellow quilted bag; he snatched it up. Then the darned man scooped her up, too. He carried her out of the cabin and down the path with long, swift strides, placing her in the sheriff’s car as if she were fine Austrian crystal.

He balked, however, when the sheriff ordered him into the back seat, too. “Look, I’m not—Just take her to the doctor, okay? I’ll, er, wait here.”

“You’re the reason she’s in this condition, son,” the sheriff snapped. “Seems to me, you oughta finish what you start.”

Josh scowled. Dani wasn’t his woman; her “condition” wasn’t his fault. And Carrie had never given him the chance to finish what he’d accidentally started.

Dani groaned.

Instantly, Josh was beside her in the car. “Another pain?”

She nodded, her face pinched and tight, those sensual lips pressed into a thin line.

Which left nothing to do but—“Shh,” he murmured, pulling her onto his lap. “I’m here, Dani. I won’t leave you.” He wrapped his arms around her, held her tightly against his chest. It feels right. As right as that spine-tingling kiss a minute ago.

All of which was completely wrong. Dammit, he didn’t respond like this to a woman, any woman—especially one having another man’s baby!

“Thank you for not giving me away,” Dani whispered as the sheriff eased the patrol car onto the road. “I owe you.”

Josh just snorted at that nonsense. Of their own accord, his arms tightened around her.

“I don’t mean to tell you your business, Lopez,” he snarled, “but floor it, will you? The woman’s having a baby!”

“I ain’t licensed to fly, son. We’ll get there. Don’t worry.” The damned fool slowed down then, just to go through a blind curve.

At last, they reached a town. The sheriff spun the steering wheel, then stood on the brakes and screeched to a halt in front of a metal prefab building.

“Here y’are,” he announced. “No Lake Medical Clinic. Told ya we’d get here in time.”

“Thanks, Sheriff.” Josh jerked open the car door. “I, uh, I—”

Even Lopez’s laugh had a Texas twang. “’Pology accepted, son. Best get yore wife inside now. The doc’ll take it from here. And good luck to ya.”

Josh kept his hands steady and gentle as he eased Dani out of the car, and carried her carefully up the clinic steps.

The place was deserted—except for one small, mahogany-skinned, too-damned-young man wearing a white knit shirt, nylon shorts and striped kneesocks. “Good Sunday morning to you,” he said as he directed Josh to an examining room and helped him settle Dani on the table there. “I am Dr. Ravjani, playing soccer only moments ago.”

“Josh Walker. This is Dani.” Josh watched her anxiously. Her eyes were closed again as she rode out another contraction, breathing deeply.

“Very happy to be meeting you.” Ravjani grinned as he began taking Dani’s blood pressure. “I am guessing first baby. Right?”

“Yes,” she exhorted. “But my due date isn’t for two more weeks.”

“Oh, first babies are notorious for not heeding the calendar,” the doctor said cheerfully.

When Dani offered a tentative smile in response, Josh turned to leave.

“Good idea!” Ravjani crowed, grabbing Josh’s arm. “I will help Mrs. Dani into a sterile gown while you are washing up to your elbows.” For a small man, Ravjani had a tenacious grip. Josh found himself being hustled from the room and down a hallway. “Then I will examine your wife while you are comforting her.”

Josh shook his head. Tried to free his arm. The little man’s grip tightened.

“This was not a question, Josh Walker. My nurse is barbecuing her boyfriend today, so I am needing your help.” The doctor shoved him into a tiny bathroom. “Mrs. Dani is already afraid of what she isn’t knowing. Now I am an excellent doctor, you understand, but my English—I may not be saying the comforting clichés correctly to keep her focus off the pain. I tell you—thinking about it will only make this delivery harder.” The little man shook a finger under Josh’s nose. “For the baby’s sake, you must be helping me.”