The Cowboy's Little Surprise

At the table in the hotel kitchen after breakfast, he sat finishing up his coffee. Paz stood at the counter where she was making one of her fancy desserts for tonight’s supper. With Tina and Robbie at the breakfast table, they hadn’t had a moment to themselves till now.

She cracked an egg into the ceramic bowl in front of her. “I think,” she said, “by asking Cole to return to work here, you have stirred up more than the sugar in your coffee.”

Frowning, he looked at her. She had sounded tart and a few worry lines creased her forehead, but she gave him a faint smile.

He grinned back. “I have set some things in motion, haven’t I? For step one, anyhow.”

“Do you think everything will go as you want it to?”

“Of course. All according to plan. And once the other girls are here, we’ll move on to step two.”

She cracked another egg into the bowl and added a spoonful of vanilla. “Sugar called me this morning. Tina and Ally were at the shop last night.”

“To see Layne?”

“Yes. And asking about Cole.”

He chuckled. “What did I tell you? Nothing to worry about. Everything’s falling into place.” At the sound of light, familiar footsteps in the hallway, he added, “Hush. Here comes the girl now.” He got up to rinse his mug at the sink.

Tina entered the room and set a tray of dishes on the counter beside him. “Thank goodness for the Women’s Society and their monthly breakfast! Maria’s just clearing the last couple of tables. I’ll take care of loading the dishwasher for you, Abuela. I’ll take that, too.” She plucked the rinsed mug from Jed’s hand. “And then I’ve got to get to my office.”

“Already?” he asked.

“Yes, unfortunately. And I know the next part by heart, Abuelo.” She laughed. “‘You can’t work all day, every day.’”

“Well, it’s true. You need to relax once in a while, girl. Have some fun. You work too hard.”

“Somebody has to, while you brush up on being lord of the manor. You’ll want to make a good impression on Andi and Jane when they get here.”

“Oh, I’ll make an impression on them, all right. One of these days, I might even make you sit up and take notice, too.” Smiling, he left the room.

* * *

IN HER OFFICE behind the hotel registration desk, Tina entered items into the accounting software. Working with finances normally grabbed her attention, but for the past couple of days, she’d had trouble concentrating.

Again, her thoughts flew to the cause of her distraction—her brief reunion with the man who had fathered her child.

Cole had broken her heart years ago. That was nobody’s fault but her own. She was over that—and over him.

Still, his return had resurrected the old memories.

She had gotten close to him, yet he had walked away from her without looking back.

Apology or no apology, if she let him get close to Robbie, how could she believe he wouldn’t walk away from their son?

She pushed the thoughts of Cole from her thoughts and envisioned her little family—Robbie, Abuela and Jed. For their sakes she needed to focus on her work. On what was important to her. And that definitely didn’t include Cole.

She forced her attention back to the computer screen.

Though she made sure to double-check each entry, the numbers didn’t look good. Not because she hadn’t totaled them correctly, but because they didn’t add up to enough.

She had just finished her entries when she heard the familiar sound of Jed’s boots on the stairs. His steps grew louder as he approached the front desk in the hotel lobby.

“Tina, you in there?”

“Yes,” she called. “Give me a second.” She hurried to back up her file and close the program.

In the kitchen that morning, Jed had seemed more like his old self. But that couldn’t make her forget the past few weeks, when every time she’d tried to talk to him about her concerns, he’d brushed her off. Maybe now, he finally wanted to discuss what he had on his mind.

The office doorway led right to the lobby’s registration desk. There, Jed stood with his crossed arms on the counter and one boot planted on the brass foot rail. Tall and thin, he had neatly combed his sparse white hair and wore his usual boots, jeans and Western shirt with a string tie.

Though she often lovingly teased him about being lord of the manor, as she had done in the kitchen a while earlier, there was some truth behind her words. He now left the day-to-day working of the ranch to his manager, Pete, and his cowhands, but Jed kept tabs on everything. And he always took care to project just the right image for a man who owned both a ranch and a hotel.

“Hey, my handsome abuelo,” she said. “What’s up?”

“Not much. Just checking to see if you were in there. And where’s that little guy of ours?”

Her throat tightened at the thought of her son. How would she explain her years of silence about his daddy to Abuela and Jed? She swallowed hard and forced a smile. “He’s in the kitchen with Abuela.”

“You and Paz get all the shopping done this morning?”

“We did. She had quite a list.” Unlike their trip earlier in the week.

“We’ll use everything she bought. Things are gonna be a mite busier around here soon.”

“You mean with Jane and Andi coming to visit?”

“That. And more.” His grin made her heart fill with love—and additional concern. The low number of reservations continued to bother her. For years now, they hadn’t opened the small wedding chapel on the property or even catered a reception. They would manage, especially with the bookings she had taken for later this week and the next. But they had nothing on tap for the next few months to justify Jed’s level of excitement.

“Did you book a large group while we were gone?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“Did half of Cowboy Creek call to reserve tables for dinner?”

He shook his head.

“Then, what? Come on, tell me.”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Oh, really? And is this surprise the reason you’ve been so quiet lately?”

“Might be.” He winked. “No more questions. You’ll see soon enough. And I’m off to see your gran.”

Relieved to have him acting like himself again, she returned to her office with a smile.

Before she could take her seat, she heard a discreet buzz, the signal Jed had set up in the hotel’s office and kitchen to announce the opening of the front door. Again, she went out to the registration desk. This time, she froze behind it.

Cole Slater stood in the entryway, looking back at her.

His nephew, Scott, gave a little cry. He had seen the collection of horse figurines in the sitting room off the lobby. As if he visited the Hitching Post on a regular basis, the boy headed right toward the next room. She watched him go.

Better to focus on Scott than to stare at the man standing across the room from her. But even that didn’t help, when she knew the little boy she watched was just a few months younger than her own son.

“Looks like he made himself at home,” Cole said. He glanced around. “As I told Jed, this place never changes.”

“Like some people I know.” A pile of brochures sat on one side of the desk, the paper edges neatly aligned. She reached out to straighten them, anyhow.

“I wouldn’t make snap judgments,” he said.

“I don’t. As you might remember from school, I’m the one who analyzes everything.”

“Yeah, I do recall that.”

When he approached the counter, she hid her dismay behind a frozen smile. Any second now, Robbie might come down the hall.

The minute she had seen Cole in the lobby, she had thought of what Jed had said. Her abuelo had been on edge for weeks, but Cole’s arrival couldn’t be the surprise he had referred to.

She couldn’t forget what Cole had told her the other day. Jed had invited him to the ranch and then hired him again. It was odd Jed hadn’t said a word about that to her beforehand. As the bookkeeper, she should have been told about a new hire. Maybe he had intended to spring Cole’s return on her, after all.

Unfortunately, his secret would pale by comparison once he learned about hers.

She couldn’t let the impending disaster make her forget her obligations—no matter how eagerly she wanted to run to the kitchen, grab Robbie and head for the hills. She took a deep breath and said, “Welcome back to the Hitching Post.”

“Thanks. Are you managing the place now?”

“I’m the assistant manager. And bookkeeper for both the Hitching Post and the ranch.”

“Bookkeeper, huh? That fits. You always were good at math.”

“What can we do for you? I know you can’t be looking for a room.”

“Why not?”

Her fingers tightened, crumpling the long-forgotten brochure she still held. “You’re staying with Layne at her new apartment, aren’t you?”

“How did you know that?”

“It’s a small town.”

“Yeah.” For a moment, he looked irritated. “And speaking of small, that describes Layne’s couch. Now you mention it, the idea of taking a room here doesn’t sound bad at all. It would get me off the hook for minding Scott, too.” He laughed and shook his head. “And before you take me too seriously, I’m just kidding about that. But let me tell you, babysitting is not the gig for me. When I swore off marriage and kids, I should have added extended family to the list.”

The statement hit her like a fist to the chest. “You don’t mean that. And you wouldn’t say it if you’d never had a sister or brother.” Or if you already had a child.

Would learning about Robbie make any difference?

“In any case,” he said, “I’m not looking for a room. Jed wanted me to stop by to fill out some forms.”

“Why? New hires usually do that on their first day of work.”

He shrugged. “Beats me. He wanted me to come by. Since I had some time as well as the kid on my hands, I thought I’d take care of it today. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all.” With the rate of turnover of temporary wranglers, she always kept a blank set of employment forms on a clipboard in Jed’s credenza.

“You know where Jed is?”

“In his den.”

“I’ll just head down there, then. Keep an eye on Scott for me, will you?”

She nodded, willing to do anything to get some space from him.

Leaving the crumpled brochure on the desk, she crossed to the sitting room and smiled at Scott. He ducked his head shyly.

Sighing, she watched him play with Robbie’s favorite toys.

And she thought about Robbie’s daddy.

No matter how she felt about Cole, she had to tell him the truth. What he did once he heard the news would be up to him. She had no doubts about what she had to do. Her job was to protect Robbie.

She also had to tell Abuela and Jed. They loved her son, had helped her raise him from the moment he was born. She owed them so much, and she wanted them to hear the news first.

* * *

BY THE TIME Cole returned to the lobby, Tina stood behind the registration desk again, waiting. “All done?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“Good. Now you’ve taken care of your business with Jed, I’m sure you’ll want to head back to town. It’s getting late, and Scott’s hungry. He said you’re all going out to dinner tonight.”

“That’s right.”

“Scott,” she called. “Your uncle’s ready to go.” Turning to Cole again, she added, “I’ve got to go help Abuela in the kitchen.”

Almost sighing with relief, she began to move from behind the desk. The sound of sneakers slapping on the hallway floor froze her in place again.

“Mama?” Robbie entered the lobby and ran up to the desk. “I didn’t know where you was. Hey!” His blue eyes widened. He pointed across the reception area at Scott, who now stood in the doorway of the sitting room cradling a toy Appaloosa. “That’s mine.”

She couldn’t manage to force a word past her tight throat.

“It’s okay,” Cole said, sounding as though he had trouble speaking, too. “He’s not doing your horse any harm.”

She kept her gaze fastened on her son. Robbie stared up at Cole, then looked toward her. After a deep breath, she said quickly, “That’s right, Robbie. Scott’s just playing with the horse, the way all the kids who come here do.”

“He’s ’sposed to keep the ponies in there.” He pointed toward the sitting room. “That’s the rules.”

“He doesn’t know that,” Cole said. “Why don’t you and Scott go in there with the horses? You can explain the rules to him...while your mama explains a few things to me.”

“Okay.” Robbie headed toward the younger boy.

Tina reached for the crumpled brochure and began smoothing it on the desktop. She could feel Cole’s angry gaze on her, could feel the rush of her own anger and confusion spreading through her. Again, she fought an overwhelming desire to hurry over to Robbie, grab him by the hand and flee the hotel.

Running wasn’t the answer—not that she would choose that way out, anyhow. Neither was this light-headed, weak-kneed, schoolgirl-with-a-crush reaction. She squared her shoulders. If the time had come to tell Cole the truth, to make the explanations she’d spent five long years dreading, she’d stand straight and tall and look him in the eye.

And if it came down to a battle between them, she would give him the fight of her life—and Robbie’s.

For what seemed like forever, Cole stood staring at the boys in the sitting room.

Then he turned back to the desk, placed his palms flat on its surface and glared at her. “When were you planning on telling me?”

“About what?”

“About you-damned-well-know what.” To his credit, he kept his voice low and even. Unfortunately, he also leaned in closer, probably to make sure she wouldn’t miss a single word. “You didn’t think I’d take one look at that kid and make the connection?”

“That kid is my son,” she snapped.

“Mine, too, judging by the looks of him. He’s about a year older than Scott, isn’t he? Which means he’s four.”

The accuracy of his guess made her flinch.

“I knew it.” Though he gave her a smug smile, his face had paled. “You might’ve always been the math whiz in school, Tina, but I can danged sure add—”

“Stop,” she whispered.

Jed was approaching from the direction of his den.

Cole shot a look over his shoulder, then turned back to her. “We’re not finished,” he said harshly.

“You still here?” Jed asked. “Thought you’d be long gone by now.”

Cole pushed himself away from the desk. “On our way. Tina was just planning to walk us out to my truck so we could finish our conversation.”

“Fine,” Jed said, smiling.

“No,” she blurted. “I mean...I told Cole, I’ve got to go help Abuela in the kitchen.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Jed said. “Maria’s in there. They’ve got everything covered. But I’ll head on back and tell them you’ll be there in a bit. Robbie, you come along with me.”

She wanted to protest, but one look at Cole’s narrowed eyes and set jaw told her he wouldn’t leave the hotel without her—and if she refused to go, he would blurt out the truth right here.

* * *

OUTSIDE, COLE SQUINTED against the blinding sun hovering at eye level. The strong rays showed up every faded patch of paint on his road-worn truck.

“I’m over there.” He gestured to the lone vehicle.

“Come on, Scott,” she said. “Let’s get you into your seat so you can go and have your dinner.”

As they walked ahead of him, the sun highlighted the silky length of dark braid hanging almost to Tina’s waist. He’d always wanted to unravel that braid and run his fingers through her hair. She hadn’t allowed him that pleasure the one time they’d been together...

He ran his hand over his face, wanting to wipe away the memory. She wasn’t the only one to blame for what had happened that night. Or the only one responsible for what had come of it.

Why hadn’t she said something years ago?

At the truck, while Tina strapped his nephew into place, he turned away to plant his butt against the side of the pickup. He tugged his battered hat down, blocking the sun from his eyes.

He didn’t want that glare to keep him from getting a good look at Tina’s face while they talked. Didn’t want her finding a way to hide anything from him.

Anything else from him.

Irritation and resentment roiled inside, tightening his chest.

He looked over his shoulder. Tina must have caught the movement through the cab window. She looked up and stared right at him, her mouth closed in a firm, straight line, as if telling him she didn’t plan to say a word.

No problem. He had enough words for them both.

He turned his back on her again and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t going anywhere until he’d said what he had to say. Yet he couldn’t deny he had some pressing questions for her. For himself, too.

Most important, how was he going to handle this news that had finally sunk in, leaving him ready to keel over from the shock?

He had a son.

Memories slammed into him, bombarding him with parts of his past he’d thought long forgotten. Scenes from the rare occasions his dad bothered to notice he was alive. Times his dad would hurl nothing but scathing words his way...

You’re a disgrace as a son.

You’re no good.

You’re worthless.

He’d never bothered to dispute anything his father said. Fighting back would only make things worse for him. Or make his dad turn his anger on Layne.

For most of his life, he had struggled not to believe anything his old man had thrown at him. But one thing was true.

With a role model like that, he didn’t have a chance in hell of being a good dad.

Yet, he now had a son.

Chapter Four

Tina paused near the hood of Cole’s truck and took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for a conversation she didn’t want to have.

She walked around the truck and had barely come to a stop in front of Cole before he exploded.

“Does everyone in Cowboy Creek know what you never took the trouble to tell me?”

She forced herself not to recoil from the venom in his tone. “No. Nobody—” Thinking of the confidences she had always shared with her best friend, she choked off her automatic response.

“And what have you told your boy? My boy?”

“Don’t call him that.” Her heart thudded at his easy assumption. “Robbie’s my son.”

“And mine. But we covered that already. Let’s move on to something new. Why didn’t you contact me? You must have known you were pregnant before I left town. Hell, you probably knew before graduation.”

“What if I did? Why would I think you’d want to hear the result of our one-night stand?”

Her breath caught in her throat at what she had just inadvertently called her son.

She couldn’t let Cole reduce her to this.

All her life, she’d been the straitlaced, logical, rational Tina that Ally always teasingly encouraged to loosen up. All her life, except one time with Cole. A time she could never regret, since it had given her the greatest gift she had ever received.

But she needed to rely on the logical, rational Tina now. She couldn’t let her emotions get in the way. She had to protect her son.

The reminder allowed her to breathe deeply and evenly again. It helped her to stay calm. “After our weekend together, you made it clear you weren’t interested in me. Why would you care that I was going to have a baby?”

“Because it wasn’t just yours.” The muscles in his neck tightened as he swallowed hard. “Did you ever plan to tell me?”

His question vibrated with restrained emotion. The lines around his eyes deepened as if it had hurt him to ask the question. As if he were bracing himself for her reply.

An unwanted burst of compassion filled her.

She forced herself to look away and harden her heart. Where was his compassion when she’d needed it?

She glanced into the truck’s rear seat. Scott sat flipping the pages of a coloring book. “If you had stayed in town,” she murmured, measuring her words, “there might have been a chance you’d have found out then.”

He laughed harshly. “You’re in the wrong profession, Tina. You should’ve become a politician—except you’d have to practice maintaining eye contact. All right. Forget the double-talk. Forget I even asked. The point is, I know now. And you can just keep the news to yourself.”

“I need to tell my grandparents.”

“But nobody else.” He shifted his Stetson and ran his hand through his hair, then stared off into the distance. “I’ll need some time before we start telling other folks.”

“I didn’t plan to tell anyone else.”

“Yeah, that’s obvious,” he said, his tone cold. “But I sure do.” When she gasped, he narrowed his eyes. “What? Did you think I’d just walk away from this?”

This.

Forget watching what she said. Forget compassion. Now his words, tossed out so offhandedly, struck at her deepest fear.

“This what?” she demanded. “This confrontation? This situation? This child that’s my life—not yours? I’ll tell you the truth, flat-out straight, as Jed would say. Yes, I thought you would walk away. That’s always been your style, hasn’t it? And I want you to go. There’s no reason for you to come back.”

“Except that I’ve got a job here. And,” he added, his voice dangerously soft, “now I’ve got other obligations.”

A chill ran through her. She wrapped her arms around her middle. “You have no obligations. Not as far as I’m concerned.”

“And the boy?” he said. “What about where he’s concerned?”

“I’ll take care of Robbie.”

Yet, how could she do that completely on her own?

She had spent so much of her life with unanswered questions about her own parents...why they didn’t want her, why they didn’t love her, why they had left her behind for Abuela to raise.

Eventually, Robbie would have questions about his daddy, too. Questions only Cole could answer.

As if he sensed her uncertainty, as if he wanted to take advantage of her—again—he said flatly, “I couldn’t have fulfilled my obligations in the past, since I never knew about the child. But now I do, I’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

“I won’t let you—”

“‘Let?’” He shoved his hat back on his head and leaned so close she could almost count each and every dark lash rimming his eyes. “You’re not letting me do anything. And I’m not waiting for you to give your permission. Considering your track record, who knows how long that might take.” His voice was low, deepened by emotion again. “I’m going to get to know my son.”

* * *

ON HIS FIRST day of work, Cole parked outside the corral and walked toward Jed’s barn. He couldn’t keep from looking over toward the hotel. Not that he expected to see...anyone. At this early hour, the sun had barely begun to rise.

What he did see was a lighted window in the kitchen, where Paz was mostly likely getting things in order for her day. Jed and everyone else in the place ought to be sleeping.

He found the barn almost empty. Of humans, anyhow. The stalls were filled to capacity, as they always had been. Jed kept enough stock on hand to accommodate all his men and a hotel full of guests.

Half-inside one of the stalls, with his back to him, stood a man holding a shovel.

Cole paused in the doorway. Five years earlier, when he’d left the ranch without giving notice to Jed, he had walked away from Pete Brannigan and the other wranglers, too. No telling how any of them would take the news of his return to work here.

But when the man turned, Cole saw only a smile. He nodded at Pete. “Don’t tell me Jed makes his ranch manager muck out stalls.”

“Hey, Cole.” Pete set the shovel aside and crossed the space between them to offer his hand. “He told me you were back in town and starting work today.”

“That must’ve come as a surprise.”

“What? Jed hiring someone on and telling me after the fact? No surprise there. He might call himself retired, but he’s still got a strong hand on the reins.”