Carrying the Rancher's Heir / Secret Son, Convenient Wife: Carrying the Rancher's Heir / Secret Son, Convenient Wife

Damn anxious. To see Callie.

Finally the door slammed shut and he recognized the sound of his brother’s boots shuffling across the hardwood floor.

“Sorry, I’m late.” Clay marched into the room and tossed his hat onto the sofa.

Tagg grunted.

“Jackson’s not coming. He’s tied up in town. You want a drink?” Clay moved to the bar in the corner of the room and poured a glass of iced tea for himself, then turned to Tagg.

“Nothing for me.” He glanced at his watch again. It was almost eleven-twenty. “What time did you call the meeting for?”

“Eleven.”

Clay took a big swallow of his drink, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand the way he had as a boy. “Where’s Callie?”

Tagg shrugged. That’s what he wanted to know. He’d dropped her off at Big Hawk Ranch after they’d concluded their business with the Cosgroves and said he’d call her. A couple of days slipped by as Tagg struggled with just the right words to say to her. Once he figured it out yesterday and had his speech all set, he’d called and gotten no answer. He’d left her two messages that she didn’t return.

“Don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her since we got back from Vegas the other day.”

“How’d that go? I haven’t seen either one of you since you got back.”

“Just fine. The Cosgroves let us ride a few mares and pick out the ones we thought best for Penny’s Song. I’m arranging for their transport to the ranch. We should have them in time.”

“Thanks. That’s a big help.” Clay downed the rest of his drink. “So you and Callie worked okay together?”

Tagg nodded. What could he say? That he and Callie wore out the bedsheets in the Bellagio suite? That she’d given him another night of great sex? And that he’d deliberately stayed away from her since that day because nothing was going to come of it? “We did fine. She does know horses.”

Clay sat down on a wide wing chair and stretched his legs out. “I’m surprised she’s not here. This meeting was her idea. Seemed eager about it. You sure you didn’t do something to piss her off? I know you don’t like her.”

Tagg eyed his brother, his mouth tight. “Don’t go putting words in my mouth.”

“So, you do like her?”

“You hired her. I’ve got to work with her.” Tagg clammed up after that. Fact was, he did like Callie. But that didn’t change any thing.

“Surly this morning.”

“No more than usual,” Tagg said.

He glanced out the window again. There was no sign of Callie. Where the hell was she? He hated to admit it, but he’d been looking forward to seeing her. He’d gone home to an empty house and while that usually comforted and put him at ease, he’d found himself restless and tense. He’d thought about having a short-term affair with her and wondered if she’d want the same thing. He’d been ready to broach the subject on the flight home, but Callie had rested her head on his shoulder and fallen into a deep sleep. Tagg had draped an arm around her and closed his eyes to an unwelcome sense of peace with her in his arms. He’d attributed his softening emotions to another satisfying night of sex. Period. And thought better of getting more involved with her.

“It’s not like her to forget.” Clay scratched his chin, contemplating. “I’m a good judge of character and Callie impressed me as someone you can count on. Don’t suppose something happened to her father?”

“We couldn’t get that lucky.”

Clay grinned. “He’s really got your shorts in a knot.”

“He stole that Bender deal right out from under me. I still can’t figure out how he did it. I thought I had it all tied up.”

“That was a tough one to lose.” Clay glanced at the antique walnut grandfather clock sitting catty-corner to the far wall. Another ten minutes had passed. “Well, looks like she’s a no-show. Why don’t you give her a call? I’ll speak with Jed. See if we got our signals crossed. Maybe she’s waiting over at the site for us.”

Tagg got out his cell and punched in her number while Clay went into the other room with his phone. Callie’s phone went straight to voice mail and her sweet, sultry voice came on the phone. “You know I’d answer if I could. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for the call.”

“This is Tagg, Callie. We’re waiting for you over at the main house. We had a meeting at eleven. Clay wants to know if you’re coming.”

He’d spoken in his business voice, blunt and to the point. No sense getting Clay suspicious about the two of them. If his brothers got an inkling of what had gone on between Callie and him in Vegas, they’d be riding his case about it.

Clay walked back into the room. “Jed hasn’t seen her. She was supposed to stop by the site this morning and bring some children’s books to the bunkhouse, but she’s a no-show there, too.”

“Well, it’s clear she’s not coming.” Tagg let out a frustrated breath. “I’ve got work to do. No sense waiting any longer.”

“Yeah, so do I. I’ll let you know if she calls.”

Tagg strode to the front door and let himself out. A bad feeling churned in his gut and he didn’t know what to make of it. But if he couldn’t reach Callie by later today, he was going to get to the bottom of it.

One way or another.

By seven that evening after two more unanswered calls, Tagg stood on the doorstep of Big Hawk Ranch—this time without a limousine waiting, this time without anticipation of a weekend fling with his enemy’s daughter. Tagg hated to admit it, but he was genuinely concerned about her welfare.

The housekeeper answered his knock and Tagg felt a measure of disappointment not seeing Callie at the door. “I’m Taggart Worth. I’m looking for Callie. Is she here?”

“Callie is home, Mr. Worth, but she’s not—”

“I’ll take care of this, Antoinette” came a voice from behind her.

Immediately the woman stepped aside for her employer. “Yes, Mr. Sullivan.”

Tagg now found himself face-to-face with The Hawk in the doorway. He narrowed his eyes. “I’m looking for Callie.”

“So I heard.”

“I know she’s here. I’d like to see her.”

The big man shook his head, his gaze raking him over with fire in his dark eyes. “I oughta toss you off my land.”

“You gonna get your shotgun and chase me away?”

“After what you did to my daughter, I’m tempted to do more than chase you away.”

Tagg hesitated. He’d seen Sullivan in a state before, but his reaction went beyond anything he’d ever witnessed. What had Tagg done to Callie? She was an adult. She knew what she was doing when they took that overnight trip. If her daddy disapproved, he’d just have to get over it. “I’d like to speak with her.”

To find out why she won’t answer my calls.

“Well, you’re gonna speak with me first. I got something to say to you.”

Sullivan backed away from the door and Tagg took the opportunity to step inside. The place was massive with dark oak floors and rich wood paneling. As he followed The Hawk through the house, he took in the beautifully restored antique furniture in the anteroom, the parlor and the study. He kept an eye out for Callie, but he suspected she was in another part of the building. Maybe she was up the long winding staircase that led to other rooms.

Sullivan closed the double study doors and didn’t mince words as he sat down behind a rectangular mahogany desk. “You got my daughter pregnant.”

Tagg stared at the older man. Then blinked, speechless.

“That’s right. She’s upstairs right now, sick as a dog. Puking up her guts. Can’t keep anything down. I recognized the signs straightaway. Her mama reacted the same when she was with child.”

This was the last thing Tagg expected to hear. He let Sullivan’s words sink in. Callie was pregnant with his child? A dozen emotions rolled through his system. He wasn’t sure which one would take hold. Denial, anger and disbelief were at the forefront and battled for dominance as he went over the facts. She couldn’t have gotten pregnant in Las Vegas. Even he knew it was too soon for a woman to go through morning sickness after a couple of days. Which meant Callie got pregnant in Reno. Six, seven weeks ago.

Sullivan folded his hands together and set them on the desk as he leaned forward. A knowing smile creased his face. “You seem surprised. She didn’t tell you, did she?”

He shook his head an inch. The older man gloated. Tagg summoned his willpower to stand still and not put a fist in his face. He braced his hands on the edge of the desk and leaned forward, his mouth tight as he finally managed to speak. “How long has she known?”

The man shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah, it matters,” he gritted out.

“A month. Maybe more.”

“And why should I believe you?”

“Callie likes to have a glass of wine with dinner. She stopped drinking weeks ago. Asking for lemonade, claiming the wine’s been upsetting her stomach lately.”

“Maybe it’s true.” Tagg voiced his thoughts aloud.

“It’s bull. And you know it. Fact is, she ran off to Reno to see her cousin because I’d riled her. She was damn irritated at me for interfering with her love life with some low-life carpenter and what does she go and do? She takes you in her bed! A Worth. She did it out of spite. To get back at me. To show me that I couldn’t dictate her life anymore. She knows how I feel about you Worths.”

Tagg plagued his memory for accuracy. What had Callie said to him about that night? Then it came back to him with near haunting clarity. “When I saw you sitting on that bar stool, you looked how I felt. Lonely, disappointed, wishing things in your life were different.”

It all made sense now. Callie had thrown herself at him that night for a reason—to get back at her father. He’d meddled in her love life and she wanted retribution. She’d come on to Tagg like her life depended on it.

Any red-blooded male would have given in to temptation, especially when she’d looked at him with pure sin in her eyes and she’d fit her body into his like they were two halves of a whole. She’d seduced him, plain and simple.

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