Colorado Cowboy

She’d blushed and pulled her hand away. “We’d better get back. They’ll be wondering what’s happened to us.”

Luke nodded. There’d been something in her eyes, something strange and unreadable. He planned to get answers when they were alone at the ranch—starting with why she’d kept Cody’s existence a secret.

He’d quickly paid for the rings and, as they didn’t need wrapping, headed outside to find Matt and Cody still waiting, only now Cody was wearing headphones attached to a handheld gaming device he was absorbed in playing.

“Cody! Where did you get that?” Megan cried, as though fearing he’d stolen them.

“Relax.” Matt placed a restraining hand on her arm before she pulled the headphones off and repeated her question. “Cody suggested we pop back into the store. Somehow I got talked into buying him that.”

“I’m so sorry, Matt,” Megan said. “I…I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

“Megan, he’s my nephew and I owe him a bunch of birthday and Christmas presents. Besides, it’s a long trip back to Denver and this is a small price to pay for some peace and quiet. He hasn’t uttered a single curse since he put them on.”

“Really?” Megan’s frown turned into a smile, lighting up her face. Luke liked the effect.

Luke hailed a cab, which whisked them to the airport. Since it was a Friday, the flight was full, but fortunately there were seats available in first class. Luke purchased them without batting an eye.

Cody had seemed impressed and set about devouring every item of food offered to him. He’d then downed a couple of sodas and fallen asleep.

Luke glanced across the aisle at his sleeping son and felt a pull of recognition. He was an O’Malley all right. In spite of the hair and the piercing, he resembled the O’Malley males. He was already pushing six feet and would no doubt end up at least as tall as Matt, who at six-four was the tallest of the five brothers and two inches taller than Luke. Matt, too, was sleeping. How alike his son and his brother looked. Cody had the square, sometimes stubbornly set jaw and straight nose that characterized the O’Malleys.

It was so strange to discover he had another child. A son. He wondered how the girls were going to take it. Twelve-year-old Sasha would probably hate him on sight—and not hesitate to say so! She was at that difficult age—no longer a girl, not yet a woman—with a mass of confused hormonal behavior to back it up. Nine-year-old Daisy, in spite of her feminine name, would challenge him to an arm wrestling or calf-tying contest. She was a real tomboy and loved ranch life. Sweet four-year-old Celeste would have him wrapped around her little finger in minutes.

A pang of conscience gripped him. Was he taking a huge risk by exposing his very innocent, country-raised daughters to his tough, streetwise son? He hoped not and then wondered what Cody would make of his half sisters.

He looked at Megan, dozing beside him, her seat reclined. With her face relaxed in sleep, he could see the beauty that had first attracted him fifteen years ago.

Whoa there, fella! Megan Montgomery might be his wife of a couple of hours, but he hadn’t thought about her that way in a very long time. She’d been a holiday fling that had turned into something deeper—or so he’d believed until she’d run out on him. He’d had a lot of flings while working as a ski instructor. The job had provided an income over the winter months while his father tended the ranch. Luke was well aware when he started dating Tory that she’d had several lovers. But so had he. She was a willing bed-partner and he didn’t think beyond that because he didn’t intend to make their relationship permanent. When Luke married Tory a month after Megan left town, he’d hung up his instructor’s jacket and given up the carefree bachelor life for good.

Megan stirred and shifted, moving her head closer to him. She breathed in deeply, then exhaled a tiny sigh and buried her head against his arm.

Luke sat stiffly, waiting for her to settle, fighting his reaction to the sound of that tiny, innocent sigh and the feel of her nose pressing against his arm.

This wasn’t what he’d planned. He’d assumed he could remain cool and aloof, treat Megan with the respect due the mother of his child and not get involved.

He stood and made his way to the bathroom.

MEGAN FELT LUKE LEAVE his seat, felt the warmth leave her body where her face had nestled against him. She’d woken herself up with that sigh of contentment. Woken up after having a wonderful, slightly erotic dream that even smelled good. And then she’d opened her eyes and realized where she was—on an airplane with her face right up against Luke’s arm. He was wearing a polo shirt so she’d been burrowed against his bare, muscled flesh. She hadn’t dared move, in case he saw she was awake.

“Would you care for a drink?” the flight attendant asked.

Startled, she sat up. “What? Um, I guess so.” Unaccustomed to the luxury of flying first class, Megan was a little intimidated by the attentive service. Once, a lifetime ago, such treatment was what she’d been raised to expect.

“We’ll have a bottle of your best champagne,” she heard Luke saying as he returned to his seat.

The flight attendant turned toward Luke and stepped a little too close for Megan’s liking. “Celebrating something?”

“We just got married today.”

“Oh, that’s lovely,” she said, although it sounded to Megan like she didn’t really think that was lovely at all. “Congratulations.” She encompassed Megan in her already faded smile. “I’ll get a bottle and two flutes immediately, sir,” she assured Luke.

Luke stretched and then sat down. “I hope you don’t mind. It seemed appropriate. We haven’t had a chance to toast each other and our future together.”

Our future. She wondered how long that future could possibly last. Luke wouldn’t be satisfied with hanging around home and hearth indefinitely. He’d soon be out seeking the company of other women. Willing women like the young flight attendant. Sadness engulfed her. Sadness and confusion. She could never hope to compete for Luke’s affections with such a smorgasbord on offer. But was that what she actually wanted? Luke’s affections? A real marriage—to him? Too much had happened in too short a time; her life had changed in a matter of hours and she hadn’t caught up to it yet.

“Is everything okay?” Luke asked.

“What? Oh, yes. Fine. Why?”

“You look a little peaked. I hope you’re not having regrets already.”

Not yet, but I know I soon will, she thought.

“You’re afraid of heights. Are you also afraid of flying?” he asked, reminding them of their first date.

Luke had packed a picnic and driven them to Inspiration Point, a local beauty spot above the town of Spruce Lake. The location would’ve been ideal—if it didn’t plunge nearly a thousand feet to the valley floor. As soon as she’d stepped from his vehicle and noticed how high they were and just how close the cliff face was, she’d suffered an attack of vertigo and nearly passed out.

Interesting that he’d remembered that date…and how afraid of heights she was.

To purge the memory of Inspiration Point from her mind, she said, “Tell me about your daughters, Luke, and the rest of your family. I remember you’re the oldest of five boys and that you were all raised on a ranch, but I guess in the few weeks we…knew each other, that’s all I ever found out about you.”

The champagne arrived, and Luke allowed the flight attendant to pour the sparkling liquid into two chilled flutes.

He turned toward Megan and touched his glass to hers. “To us.”

She lifted the glass to her lips, took a sip, then crinkled her nose and sneezed. “Oh! The bubbles got to me,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spoil your toast.”

He touched his glass to hers a second time and said, “Let’s try that again.”

They did, and Megan managed to keep her ticklish nose under control.

She settled back against the seat and listened while Luke filled her in on his family, loving the sound of his voice, deep and sure. She’d done the right thing letting the judge get in contact with Luke. Who was she kidding? She hadn’t had any choice. Judge Benson had practically blackmailed her into it! Either she gave her Luke’s details, or Cody would be sent to juvenile detention that very night.

It’d been easy to get Luke’s number. He’d been at the ranch his family had lived on for four generations. Megan had asked to leave before the judge spoke to him. She didn’t want to be in the room and hear Judge Benson going through a long explanation of who Megan was and hearing him deny that he knew her, hearing him insist he couldn’t possibly have fathered her child. The denial would’ve hurt too much.

When Judge Benson called Megan that night, she’d told her Luke was arriving the next day and they’d be meeting in her chambers. Stunned by the swiftness of his response, she’d asked, “Did he remember me?” and instantly cursed herself for sounding so desperate, so adolescent.

It gave her a tiny thrill when the judge said, “Of course he does, Megan. He seems like a very pleasant man, if a little dazed at the news that he has a son. He’ll be in my chambers tomorrow at noon. Please be there with Cody.”

“Of course I will. And, Judge Benson, thank you so much for taking the time to care about Cody.”

“It’s my pleasure, Megan,” the judge had told her. “At this point, as I explained to you earlier, I think the best thing for him is to meet his father. I’ll take it from there.”

“H-how do you know that’s the best thing. You haven’t met Luke. He could be an ax murderer or…or—”

The judge had laughed heartily. “An ax murderer with a voice like that and a glowing character reference from both the local sheriff and a county judge? I don’t think so. See you at noon tomorrow.”

The judge had hung up before Megan got a chance to question her further. Megan hadn’t slept a wink.

“…then there’s Matt. He’s married to Beth.”

Megan was brought back to the present, wondering how much she’d missed of what Luke had said.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Luke asked. “You were looking at me, but I don’t think you were taking much in.”

“I…I guess I’m just tired.” She shrugged. “Jet lag.”

“It’s only 6:00 p.m. New York time. You can’t be that tired.”

Luke held his hand to her forehead. She told herself not to think anything of it. His apparent concern probably meant as much now as it had back then. Nothing.

Luke took the champagne glass out of her hand and pressed the flight attendant call button. When the woman appeared, he handed her the glass and said, “My wife isn’t feeling well. Could you get her a cool compress.”

My wife. The words had Megan’s heart pounding. They sounded so good. So…possessive. Normally, she would’ve backed away from such a notion. But those words—coming from Luke—had sounded…like something she very much needed to hear.

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’m just a little tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.” Megan wished she could take that statement back, not wanting Luke to know she’d been terrified about today’s meeting.

But if she was honest with herself, she’d liked his take-charge attitude. She’d especially appreciated it when he’d dealt with her boss at the supermarket where she stocked shelves each evening. When Luke had asked for the phone numbers of her workplaces, she’d had to explain, embarrassed to the core, that she’d been fired from her job at a call center that morning. Her boss there had been unwilling to give her time off so she could attend the meeting at Judge Benson’s chambers, claiming he’d cut her too much slack already over her son. Furthermore, her boss at the supermarket had told her that if she was late for work one more time, she’d be looking for another job.

This morning, she’d been frantic, worrying how she’d pay the rent if she lost not just one job, but two. She’d been mortified as she told Luke, watching his face crease—with disgust.

She’d thought the disgust was aimed at her until he’d pulled out his cell phone, dialed the number she gave him and told Jerry at the supermarket that his wife, Megan O’Malley, was moving to Colorado that day and therefore wouldn’t be reporting for work that evening. She could hear Jerry sputtering on the other end of the phone. Luke had cut him off with a sharp, “You threatened to fire Megan if she got to work late this evening. This is a courtesy call to let you know she won’t be in tonight—or any night.” Luke had then given him a post office box number to send her paycheck to and impressed on her ex-boss that he expected the check to arrive within the week; otherwise, he’d be taking action. After repeating virtually the same threat to Pat Reagan at the call center, Luke closed his phone and smiled at her. “I hope you don’t mind, but I won’t have you fired from two jobs in one day.”

“Better for me to quit at least one of them?” she’d asked, still a little stunned by what Luke had done.

“Exactly. I have a feeling your self-esteem has taken quite a battering over the past months. I’m going to help change that.”

At that promise, Megan started to fall a little in love with him all over again. Although she’d fought her own battles over the years, it was heaven to have someone in her corner for a change. And Luke was right about her self-esteem. It had never been particularly high, but having to work menial, minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet, while pursuing her studies, had caused her sense of worth to plummet. To further realize that all her sacrifices to provide a better life for her and her son were amounting to nothing made her feel as if she was on a nosedive to nowhere.

The flight attendant reappeared, handed the compress to Luke. He placed it on Megan’s forehead. “This should help,” he said. “Now, close your eyes and get some sleep.”

She forced herself to breathe deeply and slowly, allowing each part of her body to relax. She succumbed to sleep, her last conscious thought: What happens tonight?

LUKE WATCHED MEGAN SLEEP, feeling a protectiveness toward her he’d never felt for Tory.

Even when Tory had supposedly miscarried months after they married, he hadn’t felt anything for her. He should have ended the marriage then, when she’d claimed to lose the baby, but Tory had threatened suicide, so he’d stayed, feeling responsible for her.

It wasn’t until many years later that he discovered Tory hadn’t been pregnant. He’d been such a fool, allowing Tory to dupe him into marrying her.

Luke turned his attention to Megan, determined to purge any thoughts or regrets about Tory from his mind.

She sure was different from the girl he’d known nearly fifteen years ago. Back then, if the bubbles had gotten up Megan’s nose, she would’ve giggled and asked for more. She wouldn’t have apologized for anything. What had made her change? She seemed so unsure of herself. She’d been an economics undergrad back then. He’d been under the impression that she came from a wealthy family, since she was attending Wellesley College, wore a Rolex and her ski suit, boots and skis were top-of-the-line. She and her friends were staying at Spruce Lake’s most expensive hotel, where the rooms went for more than a thousand dollars a night.

Luke sighed with disgust at himself. He’d chosen the Victorian Inn for the dinner where he’d intended to propose, because it was the most expensive in the county. He’d expected her to be impressed. Never mind that the bill would cost him at least two weeks’ pay. Megan was worth it.

So, what had happened to all the wealth? he wondered. Had her parents lost everything in a stock market or property crash? He wanted to ask, but it seemed too intrusive a question.

The only thing that really mattered was that she was back in his life. Sure, he was angry, wanted answers as to why she’d kept Cody a secret, but there was time enough to deal with that. Luke was confident that once she’d settled in at the ranch, he and Megan could take up where they left off. Become lovers again. But first, they had to become friends.

“WE’RE HERE.” LUKE’S DEEP voice broke into Megan’s dreams.

Megan opened her eyes to find Luke leaning over her and thought she wouldn’t mind waking up like that every day for the rest of her life.

“We’re coming into Denver. You’ll have to put your seat upright,” he said, pressing the button on her armrest. “You’ve had a long sleep.”

Megan was having trouble separating fantasy from reality. She felt drugged and shook her head to clear it. It couldn’t be the champagne; she’d only taken a few sips.

The plane touched down and the pilot made his announcement about local time. Megan turned her watched back two hours, to just after 6:30 p.m. Then she looked across to check on Cody. It was the first time he’d been on a plane, but he hadn’t displayed a second’s concern about it. In fact, he was talking animatedly to Matt and pointing out the window at the huge airport terminal they were taxiing toward. He’d even removed his ear-plugs from his ears. Usually Cody wouldn’t give an adult the time of day and would’ve ignored all attempts to engage in conversation, but Matt seemed to have the magic touch.

She smiled and said, “I can see an improvement in Cody already.”

“Matt’s got a way with kids.” His mouth turned down in a slight grimace. “I wish I had his easy way of dealing with them. Especially my son.”

Megan couldn’t begin to imagine the regrets Luke must be having. He’d not only taken on a wife and a recalcitrant son but also a stepmother to his daughters and a half brother to them, as well. She wondered how the little girls would react to the changed family structure. Would they accept it? Or would they rebel? Megan shuddered. She knew exactly what her son’s reaction would be in those circumstances.

“Relax. Everything’ll be fine,” Luke said, correctly guessing her thoughts.

Megan bit her lip. “I wish I had your confidence.”

When the plane stopped at its gate, Luke removed their carry-on luggage from the overhead bins. An overnight bag for him and a couple of department-store shopping bags for Megan. He stood back to let her exit the plane ahead of him.

Since Cody had several department-store bags stuffed full of clothes Luke had bought him, they’d purchased an overnight bag at the airport, to save any problems with security. He watched as Cody drew out his bag and stuffed in the toiletry wet packs, usually reserved for overseas segments, that he’d talked the flight attendant into giving him.

Luke ignored the transgression. He figured he’d paid enough for the four seats to warrant a few souvenirs. He smiled down at Megan, warning her with a shake of his head not to protest. “At least we won’t be held up at the baggage carousel,” he said. Their cabin luggage was all they had to take with them.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, they were all loaded into Luke’s big SUV and headed toward Denver and the mountains beyond the Mile-High City. Megan sat up front with Luke, while Cody was in back with Matt.

“Oh! I’d forgotten how majestic they are,” Megan remarked at the sight of the Rockies rising abruptly behind the city. She turned to Luke. “How long till we get home?”

Home. She couldn’t believe she’d let that slip. A word so personal, so possessive, so intimate. Luke must think she was a gold digger for agreeing to marrying him so readily. For even agreeing to it at all! Luke’s home wasn’t her home. It was just where she and Cody would live for a while, until Cody was back on the straight and narrow.

“About two hours. Matt’s wife, Beth, will have everything ready for us. She’s been looking after Celeste today and doing the school run with Daisy and Sash.”

Megan had overheard part of Luke’s cell phone conversation in the jewelry store, and to her ears, it hadn’t seemed to go so well. “How do you think the girls will react to two complete strangers suddenly becoming part of the family?”

Luke glanced over at her, frowning. “I know I probably made a mess of things in my phone call, but rest assured, Beth would’ve found the right way to tell them.”

Megan twisted her hands in her lap. “Still… Maybe Cody and I should stay somewhere else for a while, until they can come to terms with everything. It must’ve been a big shock for them to be told they’ve got a new brother and a new mother.”

“Relax. They’re good kids. They’ll accept you quickly. I’m sure of it.”

Megan wasn’t so sure, but she guessed Luke knew his daughters better than she did. She relaxed against the seat back and closed her eyes, unable to believe how tired she was.

“WE’RE HOME.” LUKE’S VOICE woke Megan. Surprised that she’d dozed off again, she opened her eyes to find they’d pulled up outside a long, ranch-style house, its lights blazing brightly in the summer evening. The sound of dogs barking and children squealing filled her ears.

Luke had climbed out of the vehicle and was opening her door. A woman came out onto the veranda and stood silhouetted in the light spilling out of the house. She ran toward the car and then Matt’s huge bulk was blocking the way as he picked her up and kissed her.

“Where is she? Where is she?” Megan heard a little girl demanding and looked down to see two big blue eyes staring up at her from between Luke’s legs.

Megan climbed down from the SUV. Luke stepped back a little and the child squeezed between his legs and popped up between him and Megan.

“Are you my new mommy?” she asked.

Megan was touched by both the beauty of the little girl and the sweet innocence of her inquiry. The child reached out and stroked Megan’s hand as though to check if she was for real. Megan squatted down so she could be at eye level with the child and smiled warmly. “Hi. You must be Celeste.”

Celeste grinned broadly, then turned shy and twisted sideways as though seeking the protection of her father.

Megan held out her hand to Celeste and said, “I’m Megan and I’m very pleased to meet you, Celeste.”

“Are you going to be my mommy?” Celeste asked again.

“Would you like that?” she asked cautiously, unsure how to approach the subject diplomatically.

“Oh, yes!” Celeste cried, and threw her arms around Megan’s neck with such force it nearly knocked her backward.

Megan breathed in the sweet scent of the little girl, fresh from her bath, and felt a longing deep within her. She’d loved being a mother to Cody, but he’d stopped hugging her like that a long time ago. Megan laughed and lifted Celeste as she stood; she noticed Luke’s grimace changing to a smile of relief.

“One down, two to go,” he whispered to her.

She glanced around for Cody to introduce him to the girls. He was standing some distance from the group, studying another girl who was appraising him openly. She guessed that must be Sasha.

Megan took the initiative. “Celeste, I’d like you to meet my son, Cody. He’s also your half brother.”

“Does that mean he’s only half a boy?” Celeste asked, wide-eyed.

Luke guffawed and everyone else joined in, but Megan saw the embarrassment on the little girl’s face. After all, she’d drawn what was to her a logical conclusion. She held Celeste against her and nuzzled her soft cheek. “No, sweetie, although it does sound a bit like that, doesn’t it?” She waited while Celeste nodded slowly. “It means that you and Cody have the same daddy, so Cody is half a brother to you.”

“Who’s his other half, brother to?”

Megan couldn’t help smiling. Celeste’s naiveté was delightfully refreshing. “You’re just too gorgeous, did you know that? And smart, too.”

“Am I?”

“Uh-huh.”

Celeste hugged Megan. “I love you already.”

Megan kissed Celeste’s cheek. Maybe meeting Luke’s daughters wasn’t going to be so difficult. “I love you, too,” she said.

When Megan felt Luke’s hand at the small of her back, urging her toward the rest of the group, she stepped away from the SUV to where another child stood waiting and watching and occasionally telling one or other of the barking dogs to, “Shut up, you idiot!”