One Tiny Miracle: Branded with his Baby / The Baby Bump / An Accidental Family

“You think I’m going to do something to hurt your grandfather?” she asked.

He wasn’t expecting such a direct question from her, but then he probably should have. She had a blunt way of getting things out in the open.

“Not necessarily. Sometimes Gramps just expects too much out of people. And when they fall short he gets disappointed.”

She leveled her green gaze on him and Quint felt his heart pause, then jerk into a rapid thud.

“Have you ever disappointed anyone, Quint?”

What was the matter with him? Why did just watching her speak feel like an erotic adventure? Sexual starvation, he thought. And that was a fixable problem.

“Hell, yeah,” he answered. “Haven’t you?”

Something flickered in the depths of her eyes before they dropped away from his.

“Oh, yes. More than I’d like to think.”

She drew in a deep breath, then looked up at him one more time. “Whatever you’re thinking, Quint, I’m here to help your grandfather. Not hurt him. As long as you understand that, I think you and I can be friends.”

He wanted to be more than Maura’s friend. When he’d come to that realization, he wasn’t sure. Maybe just a few seconds ago when he’d looked at her moist lips. Or had it been minutes ago when he’d first looked up and saw her standing in the doorway, that dress hugging her breasts like the hands of a lover? Yes, he wanted to be more than Maura Donovan’s friend and the idea was shaking the fire right out of him. She wasn’t a casual sort of woman. But his body didn’t seem to care one whit about that fact.

“I believe you’re here to help Gramps. So let’s not rehash the issue, okay?”

A slow smile spread across her face and Quint stifled a groan. If he could just kiss those luscious lips once, maybe twice, then he could hopefully put these crazy urges behind him.

“I’m perfectly agreeable to that,” she said, then picked up the tray and offered it to him. “We’d better get back to Abe before he thinks we’ve deserted him.”

Smiling to himself, Quint took the tray and followed her out of the room.

Much later, as the three of them finished coffee around the dinner table, Maura quietly listened while Quint and his grandfather discussed the pros and cons of allowing Red Bluff Mining Company to reopen the Golden Spur. Maura’s knowledge about mining or taking gold from raw ore was practically nil, but from listening to their debate she could see that each man had good, solid reasons to back up his stand on the subject.

Throughout the meal, Maura had been a bit surprised to see that Quint wasn’t a yes-man to Abe on any subject, even though the elder Cantrell was the patriarch of the family and held the strings to a fortune in land and money. Clearly Quint respected his grandfather, but he wasn’t shy about speaking up when he didn’t agree with the old man.

Maura admired Quint’s spunk, but she was touched even more by the closeness and love she felt flowing between the two men. Gilbert had never shown much respect for his parents or tried to be a part of her family. She’d often voiced her disapproval about his lack of family connection and tried to make him see the joys he was missing, but her pleas had gone unheeded. One thing she knew for certain about Quint, he’d always be around for anyone he cared about.

“All right, Gramps, I’ll call them. Maybe not in the next few days. But soon. And I’ll get a rough estimate as to the initial cost to start things up. But that’s all I’m going to promise. I’m not interested in gold,” Quint was saying toAbe.

Maura smiled to herself as she saw Abe’s eyes begin to twinkle. Clearly he believed he was the winner tonight.

“Maybe not. But the gold will make it easier for you to be a rancher. And it sure as heck might be nice to leave to your young’ns.”

The muscles around Quint’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t make any sort of reply to his grandfather’s suggestion. Maura wasn’t surprised. When she’d brought up the idea of him raising children, he’d turned as cool as a frosty morning. Which could only mean he wasn’t interested in acquiring a wife, much less kids.

Putting down his coffee cup, Abe stretched his arms over his head, then pushed back his chair. “Well, I’m gonna go watch a little news,” he said. “Quint, why don’t you take Maura down to the stables and show her the new stud. She’s not seen him yet.”

Fully expecting Quint to come up with an excuse to leave, Maura got to her feet and began gathering the dirty dishes. “That’s all right, Abe,” she said, not bothering to glance Quint’s way. “I can walk down to the stables another time. It’s almost dark anyway.”

“It’s at least another half hour until dark,” Quint spoke up. “We have plenty of time.”

Maura’s gaze jerked to the end of the table just in time to see him rising from his seat. Instead of a look of boredom, she was surprised to see a smile on his face.

“Are you game?” he asked.

“Uh—sure.” She glanced down at the plates she was holding. “Just let me put these away.”

“I’ll help you clear the table.”

Flustered by this turn of events, Maura hardly noticed Abe quietly leaving the kitchen.

“There’s no need,” she told him. “I’ll gather everything up later. We’d better not waste daylight.”

She put the plates in the sink, then turned to see he was waiting for her by the door. As she joined him, her heart began to pitter-patter like a rain shower threatening to turn into an all-out storm.

“The evening might get cool before we get back,” he suggested, his eyes sliding slowly over her bare shoulders. “Do you think you might need something to cover your arms?”

“You’re probably right. Hold on,” she told him, then hurried out of the room. By the time she fetched a shawl from her bedroom closet, she was breathless and silently berating herself for behaving like some besotted teenager. Quint Cantrell was merely being polite and friendly, she told herself. This was only a walk. Not a date.

Once the two of them were off the back porch and walking down the middle of the dirt road that led to the ranch yard, Maura breathed deeply and tried to relax.

“I really didn’t expect you to go through with this,” she said honestly. “I mean—Abe can be so obvious sometimes. And he doesn’t stop to think that you might have more important things to do than show me a horse.”

Except for the crunch of gravel beneath their feet, the night was quiet. When Quint chuckled softly, the sound wrapped around her like the warm night air.

“I think showing you a horse is far more important than talking about that damned old mine. I was glad for an excuse to get away.”

Smiling, she glanced at him. “Well, I understand you’re not keen on inviting that sort of mining hubbub onto your ranch, but I think you’re wonderful for listening to your grandfather’s dreams and taking them seriously.”

He shrugged as though he didn’t warrant her compliment. “He’s always listened to mine. And in spite of him being so cantankerous, he’s a very wise man. I’d be a fool not to listen to him.”

Too bad Gilbert had been so full of himself that he’d not looked to his family or anyone for advice, Maura thought. He’d believed himself to be smarter, slicker and savvier than anyone around him. And to a point, he had been, she thought grimly. He’d certainly fooled her for years. Was that what love did to a woman? Blinded her ability to see the truth, twisted her judgment? Until her love for him had begun to crumble, she’d not seen the real man.

“So how is your arm doing?” she asked after a moment. “I don’t suppose you went to the doctor and got stitches.”

“No. But it’s healing.”

It seemed the farther they walked, the closer he was drawing to her side. Maura tried not to notice, but that was fairly impossible to do when her heart was hammering in her chest.

“One of the best things I like about working for your grandfather is having time to be outdoors,” she said. “Before, putting in long hours at the hospital didn’t leave me much time or energy for walks outside.”

“Did you do hospital work before you moved back to Hondo Valley?” he asked.

Before her divorce, she thought ruefully. Clearing her throat, she gazed ahead at a stand of tall pines and the long, dark shadows slipping across the road. Beyond the distant mountains, the sinking sun painted a bank of clouds pink and gold and as she admired the beauty, she realized she was just now coming awake after a long, long sleep.

“No. I worked at a large health clinic. Which was hectic, but rewarding.”

“Forgive me if this sounds tacky, Maura, but we both know that you don’t have to work at anything. I mean—your family has made millions and you’re obviously wealthy. You could travel the world and be a lady of leisure.”

She looked at him, then burst out laughing. “Oh, Quint. That’s so funny. Me, a lady of leisure? I’d be bored out of my mind. And everyone has a reason for being, don’t you think? I like to be doing—to make a difference for others. Don’t you?”

He smiled and then his expression turned sober. “I guess I’ve never thought about it that much. I suppose from the time I was a boy I’ve been on a mission to keep the ranches going. As for making a difference for others—I must be selfish. I do what I do, because in the end, it pleases me.”

Her eyes softened as she studied his face. “That’s not entirely true, Quint. I don’t know you all that well, but I can see that you want to make a difference for your grandfather, your mother. That’s not a self-centered man.”

One corner of his lips tilted to a wicked little grin. “You’re wrong, Maura. I am selfish.” One hand reached out and wrapped itself around her shoulder. “Because right now all I’m thinking about is what I want.”

She shivered as heat rushed from the spot where he was touching her and shot to every particle of her body.

“And what is that?” she asked in a strained voice.

“To kiss you.”

He watched her lips part with shock, but he didn’t give her the chance to utter a word or move away. Placing a finger beneath her chin, he bent his head and settled his lips firmly over hers.

Soft. Incredibly soft. And oh, so sweet. Those thoughts tumbled through Quint’s brain as his lips began to move against hers, to search for even more of her honeyed goodness. Mindlessly, his arms slipped around her waist and drew her ever closer.

Between them, he felt her hands flatten against his chest, then reach upward to his shoulders. The warmth of her spread through him like a white-hot sun baking his skin, heat seeping right down to his bones.

How long had it been since he’d kissed a woman? Since he’d wanted to kiss a woman? He couldn’t remember. Couldn’t think. While his mind turned to mush, the rest of his body burst to life, buzzed as though her lips were liquid spirit, intoxicating, luring, begging him to surrender to the moment. To her.

Fired by a hunger that threatened to consume him, his hands pressed into her back and crushed her body up against his. Beneath his lips, hers opened like an exotic flower, tempting him to taste the center. When his tongue delved inside, she moaned low in her throat.

The feral sound matched the urgency inside him and it was all he could do to keep his hands anchored at her back instead of allowing them to cup her breasts, the swell of her bottom, to drag her hips forward and grind them against his aching arousal.

He wasn’t sure how much time had ticked by when she finally pulled her mouth from beneath his and stepped back. For all he knew, it could have been long minutes or even hours since he’d first tugged her into his arms.

No matter, he thought, as he sucked in a harsh breath and tried to collect his senses. However long their kiss had lasted, it hadn’t gone on long enough to suit him. Even though she was looking at him with stunned dismay, everything inside him was screeching for him to hang on to her, to capture her lips all over again.

So much for kissing Maura and getting her out of your system, Quint.

“I…think we’d better forget about walking on to the stables,” she said in a breathless rush. Then before he could say anything, she turned on her heel and took off in long strides toward the house.

Before she could take three steps, Quint caught her by the shoulder and spun her back to him.

“Wait, Maura! We can’t go back to the house now!”

Her breasts moved up and down as she struggled to regain her breath and Quint was amazed to find himself just as winded and shaken as she. As he watched her lips form a perfect O, he had to fight the urge to sear them back together with another kiss.

“We can’t?” she murmured. “Why?”

“Because—” Heaving out another heavy breath, he shook his head. “After what just happened we—”

“Need to come to our senses and get back to safety,” she finished for him.

His hands wrapped around her upper arms and held them tightly as though he wanted to make sure she couldn’t escape.

“Safety? You think I… That we—our attraction is something to run from?”

She needed to run from herself more than him. But she couldn’t admit such a thing. It would be like telling him she wasn’t capable of controlling herself or her sexual urges whenever she was near him. Oh, God, how embarrassing.

“I think—” Twisting her head aside, she closed her eyes and tried not to think about the heavenly way he’d made her feel. So alive. So sexy. So wanted. “Things were about to get carried away, Quint. And I—I’m not ready for something like that.”

There was a long pause, and while she waited for his reply, she tried to calm her racing heart, tried to tell herself that the kiss was no big deal. Even though it was the biggest thing she could ever remember happening to her.

“I never meant for the kiss to go so far, Maura,” he said lowly. “That just seemed to happen.”

Turning her face back to his, she opened her eyes and felt a jolt to her senses as she gazed into his blue ones. He was probably the most sexual, sensual man she’d ever met and to say that his kiss had been potent would be an understatement. Her knees were still quivering.

Mortified, she said, “I was in on it, too, Quint. It’s just as much as my fault for letting it go on.” And on and on, she mentally added.

“Why should it be anyone’s fault? Why are you so bothered about this? It’s not like we committed a crime—or hurt anyone.”

She looked down at the ground while inside her emotions were tumbling, falling, rolling away at a speed too fast to allow her to catch up.

“That’s true.”

“And you did like it. As much as I liked it,” he pointed out.

“I can’t deny that,” she admitted.

“So? Why are you trying to race back to the house? To end our walk?”

He called this a walk? She shivered to think what a deliberate rendezvous would be.

Her gaze dropped to the toes of his brown boots. “I shouldn’t have to explain. But it looks as though I must.” Her eyes fluttered back up to his. “I’m not the type to—well, just be a diversion for a man. And we both know that’s all you want. A kiss, maybe two. Maybe you even want to have sex with me.”

“The thought did occur to me.”

Her nostrils flared at his flippant reply. “Well, it isn’t going to happen.”

Amusement dimpled his cheek long before a chuckle passed his lips. “That’s what you think.”

A mixture of annoyance and excitement rushed through her, pushing her heartbeat to an even higher rate. “And why? Why would you want a woman like me?”

Before he could answer, she twisted away from his grasp and began walking. By now it was growing dark and she could only think how easy it would be to fall into Quint’s arms, to let him show her, remind her that she was still a woman. A woman who’d not been made love to in a long, long time.

He snaked an arm around her waist and once again forced her to stop in her tracks and face him.

“What does that mean? A woman like you?”

He brought his palms up to her face and Maura felt her knees threaten to buckle as he rubbed his thumbs against her cheeks. She was getting glimpses of what he would be like as a lover and those indications were far too tempting for a wounded woman like her.

“Oh, Quint,” she said in a strained voice, “surely you can see what I’m talking about. For starters I’m six years older than you.”

He frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Maura rolled her eyes. “There’s a gap between us.”

“We can fix that,” he drawled, then jerked her forward until the front of her body was brushing his. “See? No gap at all. In fact, I can tighten it even more.”

He was being a hopeless flirt. Almost playful. Something she didn’t think him capable of. Before this evening, the only Quint Cantrell she’d seen was a serious, work-driven man. She couldn’t imagine what had brought about this change in him. Surely not her.

“There are other kinds of gaps, Quint. You’re young and single.” She didn’t bother to add “rich, attractive and considered one of the biggest catches in Lincoln County.”

“You are, too.”

“I’m divorced,” she said thickly.

“That doesn’t make you contaminated.”

She couldn’t do anything but laugh and when a smile suddenly spread across his face, it made her feel good, better than she’d felt in a long, long while.

“See,” he said, “you were taking one little kiss way too seriously.”

The embrace that had gone on between them had been more than one little kiss. But he was right. The best thing she could do for both of them was to treat this whole thing in a casual way. The last thing he needed to know was that he’d shaken the very earth beneath her feet.

“You’re right. I suppose I have been making too much of it.”

The grin on his face deepened. “We still have a little twilight left. Let’s walk on to the stables,” he urged. “You don’t want to have to tell Gramps you couldn’t make it that far.”

That wouldn’t be nearly as embarrassing as returning to the house with red cheeks and swollen lips, she thought wryly. “All right. Let’s go on. But—”

When she broke off with uncertainty, he quickly finished, “Don’t worry, you’ve made it clear you’ve had enough kissing for tonight.”

He slipped his arm across the back of her waist and as he urged her on toward the ranch yard, Maura could only think she might have Quint completely fooled, but not herself. She’d not had nearly enough of his kisses. Or his company. And with each step she took by his side, she wondered if she was headed toward a very special place or the hell of another heartache.

Chapter Five

A few days later, as the weekend approached, Maura was considering driving over to the Diamond D on Saturday. Her mother was still hounding her about having supper with her family and Maura knew that Fiona wouldn’t let up with her nagging until her eldest daughter showed up.

But on Friday evening Abe came in early from the ranch yard and spent the last waning hours of sunlight in his easy chair. The behavior was out of character and, though he insisted he felt fine, Maura suspected the man was dizzy but just didn’t want to admit it to her.

Deciding she needed to stay close, Maura crossed the family meal off her plans and promised herself to go another time, when Abe wasn’t behaving so peculiarly. But by Saturday afternoon, he appeared to be back to his normal self and raring to get back with the ranch hands.

Late that evening, sometime after dark, Abe was still out when she answered the phone and was vaguely surprised to hear Quint’s voice. Since Abe carried his own cell phone, his relatives usually called him directly on it rather than over the landline.

“Hi,” he said. “I was about to think you weren’t in the house.”

Just the sound of his voice caused her heart to trip over itself and she realized no man had ever made her feel so giddy and young.

“I was in the laundry room,” she explained. “Abe is still down at the ranch yard. Did you try his cell?”

“I’m not calling to talk to Gramps,” he answered. “I wanted to speak with you.”

A warm flush swept up her torso and over her face. Since the night of their little kissing spree, she’d not seen or heard from him and she’d tried to write the whole thing off as a frivolous impulse on his part. There’d not been any other way to explain his behavior.

“Oh. Well, if you’ve been concerned about Abe, don’t be. He appears to be back to normal.”

“Concerned? I didn’t realize anything had been amiss with Gramps. I talked to him this morning. He sounded fine. Has anything been wrong?”

“Not exactly. Yesterday he stayed indoors more than usual. That’s all. But that appears to be over with now.”

“Good. Then you wouldn’t feel anxious about leaving the ranch for a few hours?”

Maura’s mind raced ahead. What could he be getting at? “No. I wouldn’t worry. Why?”

There was a long pause and then he spoke in a low voice that skittered lazily down Maura’s backbone.

“Because I wanted to see if you’d like to come over to the Golden Spur tomorrow. I’ve finally gotten a few of my good horses moved over here and I thought the two of us might take a ride. Maybe have a little picnic.”

It was a good thing Maura had sat on the edge of the armchair when she’d picked up the phone, otherwise she would probably be collapsing with shock.

“You’re inviting me on an outing?” she asked bluntly.

He chuckled. “Why not? I can’t think of anybody else I’d rather ask.”

What about asking no one and going on the ride alone, she silently asked. What about the guy who was so swamped with work he didn’t socialize? The guy who wasn’t that interested in women?

Her hands began to tremble ever so slightly and she gripped them tightly around each end of the telephone receiver in order to steady them.

“I don’t know, Quint. It’s been ages since I’ve been on a horse.”

“More reason for you to accept my invitation. So you can get back in the saddle.”

The heat in her cheeks grew hotter and she was very relieved he couldn’t see her. “I thought you had lots of work to do,” she countered. “That’s what Abe is always telling me.”

“He’s right. My kind of work never gets caught up. But tomorrow is Sunday. After church, I don’t work.”

She’d not expected him to be a man who kept the Sabbath. But then she didn’t really know everything there was to know about Abe’s grandson. Other than he was as sexy as all get-out and the perfect picture of walking, talking danger.

Releasing a long breath, she passed the tip of her tongue over her lips. The other night, after they’d walked on to the horse stables, he’d remained a perfect gentleman. She couldn’t believe the man was going to this much trouble just for a chance to kiss her again. Maybe he actually wanted her company? Liked her company? The idea thrilled her even more than the memory of their torrid kiss.

“Oh. Well, you make it sound like I shouldn’t refuse.”

“I’m not going to let you. Can you be here by twelve?”

If she went on this outing with Quint, what would Abe think? What would her own family think?

You’re a grown woman, Maura. This is nobody’s business but yours. And it’s high time you started acting like a woman instead of a fraidy cat.

Bolstered by that idea, she blurted, “Sure. I can be there by noon. What do I need to bring?”

“Nothing, except yourself. Just be sure to wear heavy jeans and cowboy boots. Just in case you get too close to a jumping cactus.”

She assured him that she’d be there at twelve and wearing appropriate riding gear, then they exchanged goodbyes. As Maura slipped the receiver back on its hook, she stared dazedly around the small kitchen, while a part of her wanted to dance and shout, laugh and run about the room like a wild thing that had just been let loose from a cage.

But she stopped herself short of expressing such exuberance. This wasn’t the first date she’d been asked on since her divorce with Gilbert, she grimly reminded herself. One of the main reasons she was here on Apache Wells was because Dr. Weston had made a daily habit of asking her to go out with him. So why had she continually turned him down and jumped at the first chance she’d gotten to be with Quint?