The Cowboy's Way

T.J. wondered where her significant other was and why he wasn’t with her. Any man worth a damn wouldn’t have let his woman go out alone on a night like this. In T.J.’s opinion, there was no excuse for the man not being on the cell phone at that very moment checking to see that she and their little boy were safe and going to be all right.

Climbing the steps, she shook her head. “No. There’s no one. It’s just me and Seth.”

When T.J. stopped and opened the door to the first bedroom on the second floor, he stepped back for her to enter. “Ladies first.” Following her into the room, he added, “If this isn’t to your liking, I’ve got five more bedrooms to choose from.”

“This is fine, thank you,” she said, reaching for her purse and the diaper bag as if she would like for him to leave.

When her hand brushed his, he felt a tingling sensation along his skin and quickly reasoned that it was probably a charge of static electricity. But he couldn’t dismiss the heat he felt radiating from her quite so easily.

Frowning, he asked, “Are you feeling all right?”

“I’ve felt better,” she admitted as she set the two bags on the bench at the end of the bed.

Without a second thought about the invasion of her space, T.J. walked over and placed his palm on her forehead. “You’ve got a fever.” Lifting the edge of the blanket, he noticed the sleeping baby’s flushed cheeks. “Both of you are sick.”

“We’ll be fine,” she said, placing the little boy on the bed. “I had to take my son to the emergency room. I was on my way back home when you stopped to see if we needed help.”

“What was the diagnosis?” T.J. asked, hoping the little guy was going to be okay.

“He has an ear infection.” She reached for the diaper bag. “They gave me an antibiotic for him, as well as something to give him if his fever spikes.”

“What about you?” he asked. “Did you see a doctor while you were there?”

She shook her head. “I’ll be all right. I’m just getting over the flu.”

“You should have seen a doctor as well,” he said, unable to keep the disapproval from his voice.

“Well, I didn’t,” she retorted as if she resented his observation. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

“While you get him settled in bed, I’ll go get something for you to sleep in,” he interrupted, leaving the room before she could protest.

When he entered the master suite, T.J. walked straight to the medicine cabinet in his adjoining bathroom. Taking a bottle of Tylenol from one of the shelves, he went back into his bedroom and looked around. What could he give her to wear to bed? He preferred sleeping in the buff and didn’t even own a pair of pajamas. Deciding that one of his flannel shirts would have to do, he took one from the walk-in closet and headed back to the room Heather and her son would be using.

“Will this be okay?” he asked, holding up the soft shirt for her inspection. “I’m sorry I don’t have something more comfortable.”

“I could have just slept in my clothes,” she said, covering the baby with the comforter. Turning to face him, she took the garment he offered. “But thank you for...everything.”

“Here’s something to take for your fever,” he said, handing her the bottle of Tylenol. He went into the adjoining bathroom for a glass of water, then handed it to her as he pointed to the bottle. “Take a couple of these and if you need anything else, my room is down at the other end of the hall.”

“We’ll be fine,” she said, removing two of the tablets from the bottle.

He stared at her for a moment, wondering for the second time since finding her stranded on the road how he could have missed how beautiful she was all those times he took her horse back to her. Even with dark smudges under her eyes, she was striking and the kind of woman a man couldn’t help but wonder—

“Was there something else?” she asked, snapping him back to reality.

Deciding the rain must have washed away some of his good sense, he shook his head. “Good night.”

When he left the room and closed the door, he heard the quiet snick of the lock being set behind him as he started down the hall to his bedroom. Under the circumstances, he could understand her caution. A woman alone couldn’t be too careful these days. She didn’t know him and until tonight, he hadn’t given her a reason to think she might want to change that fact.

“You’re one sorry excuse for a man,” he muttered to himself.

He’d had his mind made up that she was just a defiant, uncaring female who arrogantly ignored his pleas to keep her horse at home. It had never occurred to him that she was every bit as vulnerable and overworked as any other single mother. Of course, he hadn’t known about the kid until tonight. But that was no excuse for jumping to conclusions about her the way he had.

As T.J. took off his damp clothes and headed for the shower to wash away the uncomfortable chill of the cold rain, he couldn’t stop thinking about his guests down the hall. He didn’t know what the story was with Heather and her little boy, but it really didn’t matter. Whether she wanted to accept his help or not, right now she needed it. She and her kid were both sick, and since there didn’t seem to be anyone else to see to their welfare, T.J. was going to have to step up to the plate.

One of the first things Hank Calvert had taught him and his brothers was that when they saw someone in need, it was only right to pitch in and lend a hand. He had told them that life could be an obstacle and sometimes it took teamwork to get through it. And if anyone ever needed a helping hand it was Heather Wilson.

Of course, T.J. didn’t think Hank had ever run into anyone with as much stubborn pride as Heather. The woman wore that pride like a suit of armor and was a little too independent for her own good. He toweled himself dry, walked into the bedroom and got into bed. He lay there for several long minutes, staring up at the ceiling as he listened to the rain pelt the roof. Heather’s situation was a lot like his own mother’s.

Delia Malloy had been a single mother with all the responsibilities that entailed. She had done a great job of holding down a job and providing for their family of two while she raised him. T.J. would always be grateful for the sacrifices she had made. But when he was ten years old, they both came down with the flu. That was when his life changed forever.

His mother had taken good care of him and made sure he recovered with no problems, but what she hadn’t done was take care of herself. Physically run-down, she developed a case of pneumonia and hadn’t been able to fight off the infection. She died a week later and T.J. had been sent to live with his elderly great-grandmother.

That’s when all hell broke loose and started him on a downward spiral that ended up sending him to the Last Chance Ranch. His great-grandmother had really been too old to oversee what he was up to and who he was with. And he had been too hurt and angry about losing his mother to listen to her anyway. Looking back, he had been ripe for falling in with the wrong crowd and by the time he was thirteen, he had been arrested five times for vandalism and criminal mischief. Shortly after that his great-grandmother passed away and his case worker had decided that placing him with a set of normal foster parents would be more of the same, so he had been placed under the care of Hank Calvert. And even though it had been the luckiest break of his life, he was determined to see that Heather’s little boy didn’t go down the same path he had taken.

Her little boy was counting on his mother to be there for him throughout the rest of his childhood, and for the kid’s sake, T.J. would try to make sure that happened—at least this time. Whether she liked it or not, he was going to take care of Heather and her son while they were sick and flooded out of returning to their home. In the bargain, he’d make sure that her little boy didn’t suffer the same motherless childhood that T.J. had.

* * *

Around dawn the morning after she followed T. J. Malloy home, Heather lay in bed, feeling as if she had been run over by a truck. Assessing her symptoms, she realized that although her muscles weren’t as achy as they had been for the past couple of days, they were extremely weak. Just lifting her head from the pillow took monumental effort. Thankfully her headache was gone, but one minute she was hot and the next she was shivering—indicating that her temperature was still elevated. Thank heavens she had been able to scrape up the money to get Seth to the doctor a couple of months earlier for a flu shot. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about him catching the illness from her.

“Mom-mom,” Seth said, sitting up to pat her arm.

She could tell from the tremor in his voice that he was about to cry and she knew why. For an almost two-year-old, he was a sound sleeper and had slept through the night since he was three months old. But he wasn’t used to sleeping anywhere but his own bed, in his own room, and he was probably disoriented by the strange surroundings.

“It’s all right, sweetie.”

Rubbing his back, she hoped he would settle back down and sleep for a little while longer before he insisted they get up for breakfast. Since coming down with the flu, it had been a real struggle to take care of a toddler, as well as a barn full of horses by herself, and she couldn’t help but want to get a little more sleep while she could. Fortunately, it had been a mild case of the illness or she would have never been able to manage on her own. But without being able to get enough rest, it was taking her twice as long to get over it.

Just as Seth closed his eyes and seemed to be drifting back to sleep, a tap on the door caused him to jerk awake and start to cry.

Shivering from the chills and feeling as if her legs were made of lead, Heather picked up her crying son and got out of bed. Without thinking about the fact that she was wearing nothing more than Malloy’s flannel shirt and her panties, she walked over to unlock and open the door. “What?”

“I thought you and your little boy might like something to eat,” Malloy said, holding out a tray of food.

If she had felt better, she might have tried not to sound so impatient. She might have acknowledged his thoughtfulness. At the moment, just the thought of food made her stomach queasy and she wished he hadn’t disturbed her son.

“Th-thank you, but...” Her voice trailed off when she noticed his expression. “Is s-something wrong?”

“Let me help you back to bed,” he said, brushing past her to set the tray on the dresser. “I’d ask if you still have a fever, but I already know the answer.”

“H-how?” She wished her teeth would stop chattering like a cheap pair of castanets.

Turning back, he took Seth from her, then put his arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the bed. “Just a hunch,” he answered, smiling.

Once she was back in bed, she noticed that Seth had stopped crying and was staring at the tray of food Malloy had set on the dresser. “Mom-mom, eat.”

Groaning, she started to get up, but Malloy stopped her. “I’m assuming that means he’s hungry?” When she nodded, he pointed to the tray. “I’ve got toast and scrambled eggs. Do you think he’ll let me feed him while you rest?”

She barely managed to nod before she pulled the comforter around herself and closed her eyes. If she felt better, she would have asked why he was being so nice to her, instead of thinking about how handsome he was. Her breath caught. Where had that come from?

If she was thinking T. J. Malloy was good-looking, her fever had to have made her delirious. That was the only explanation. If she could just rest for a moment, she’d be able to get up and take over feeding her son, as well as return to her senses.

Two

When Heather opened her eyes again, she noticed that the sun was shining through a part in the curtain and Seth was sound asleep on the bed beside her. Looking a little closer, she noticed he was wearing a pair of pajamas she had never seen before and his copper-red hair had been neatly combed to the side.

How long had she been asleep and where had the clothes her son was wearing come from?

Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, Heather couldn’t believe that it was already midafternoon. She had slept for eight straight hours. She couldn’t remember getting that much sleep at one stretch since before Seth was born.

Her heart stalled. Had T. J. Malloy taken care of her son?

She vaguely remembered a knock waking Seth and her opening the door to find Malloy standing on the other side with a tray of food. Had she dreamed that he had helped her back to bed?

When she realized that all she had on was his shirt and her panties, Heather closed her eyes and hoped when she opened them she would somehow be transported to her own bed in the Circle W ranch house and that the past twenty-four hours would prove to be nothing more than a dream. But aside from her embarrassment over a stranger seeing her wearing so little, she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the fact that Malloy had taken care of Seth. She didn’t really know her neighbor and from the previous run-ins she’d had with him, she wasn’t sure he was someone she wanted around her son. When Malloy had brought her stallion back the few times Magic Dancer had jumped the fence between their properties, the man had been the biggest grouch she had ever met.

“The horses,” she murmured suddenly, remembering that she had livestock to feed. Hopefully the water blocking the road had receded. She needed to get home to tend to the horses, as well as make sure the buckets she had left in the utility room to catch the drips from the leaking roof hadn’t overflowed.

As she sat up, Heather realized she felt a lot better than she had that morning. Her fever was gone. Maybe she had turned the corner and was over the worst of the flu. Sleeping all night and most of the day had probably been a tremendous help. It was a shame she hadn’t had the opportunity when she’d first come down with the illness. Her recovery time would have been a lot shorter.

But she hadn’t had that luxury in so long, it was hard to remember what it was like to have help with anything. After she had Seth, she’d had no choice but to let go of the men who had worked for her late father because she couldn’t afford to pay them. It was the only way she had been able to make ends meet on the Circle W. That meant she had to take care of feeding the horses, mucking out stalls and trying to keep up the endless other chores on a working horse ranch, as well as take care of a baby.

Careful not to wake Seth, she started to get up, then immediately sat back down on the side of the bed when her knees began to shake. She might be feeling better, but she was still extremely weak. It was going to be a real test of her fortitude to lift heavy buckets of water and bales of hay while she was in this state.

She tried again, and had just managed to walk over to the rocking chair where she had draped her clothes the night before, when the door opened.

“You shouldn’t be up yet,” Malloy said, entering the room and walking over to her.

She supposed he had the right to just waltz right in without asking if she minded. After all, he did own the place. But she wasn’t happy about it.

She grabbed her jeans and sweatshirt and held them in front of her. “Don’t you believe in knocking?”

“I was just checking on your little boy and didn’t expect you to be awake yet.” He shrugged as if he wasn’t the least bit concerned about it. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m much better and as soon as I get dressed, Seth and I will go home and leave you alone.” She wished he would leave the room so she could take a quick shower before Seth woke up.

“Don’t worry about getting back home,” he said, his deep voice wrapping around her like a comforting cloak. “You really should stay until there’s no danger of a setback.”

Heather shook her head as much to stop the lulling effect of his voice as in refusal. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, but I don’t want to impose.” Feeling her knees start to shake again, she sat down on the rocking chair. “Besides, I need to get my livestock fed.”

“All you have to do is rest and get better,” he said, smiling. “I had one of my crew go over to your place when the water receded around noon to let your men know you and the little guy were okay. Since no one was around, my man took care of feeding your horses for you.”

She looked up at him and was hit with an unexpected observation. T. J. Malloy wasn’t just handsome, he was knock-your-socks-off good-looking. Her breath caught.

The few times that he had brought her horse home, she hadn’t noticed anything beyond his dark scowl and formidable stance as he threatened to take legal action against her if she didn’t keep her horse on her side of the fence. But without his wide-brimmed, black Resistol pulled down low on his brow, she could see a kindness in his striking hazel eyes that she would never have expected. And for some reason she found his brown hair, which curled around his ears and over the nape of his neck, sexy and rather endearing.

She frowned. Where had that come from? And why did she find anything about the man attractive?

It had to be some kind of residual effect of the fever. It was causing her to see Malloy in a different light. Surely as soon as she recovered her strength, she would come to her senses, regain her perspective and see that T. J. Malloy was just as unpleasant and unappealing as ever.

“Are you feeling all right?” he asked, looking concerned.

“Uh, yes,” she said, nodding. “I’m just a little weak.” As an afterthought, she added, “Thank you for having one of your hired hands tend to my horses.”

“No problem.” He gave her the same smile that had caused the illusion of him being amiable. “I assume you gave your men the rest of the holiday weekend off?”

“Since you sent one of yours over to take care of my horses, I assume you didn’t?” she asked instead of answering his question.

She didn’t want to tell him that she’d had to lay off the two men. For one thing, it was a matter of pride. She didn’t want Malloy realizing that the Circle W had fallen on such hard times. And for another, she didn’t like anyone knowing that she and her child lived alone on the ranch. Not that it made a lot of difference, but she felt a little safer with people thinking the hired men were still in residence.

“I did offer to let them off, but they preferred me paying them double time for working this weekend,” he said, unaware of her thoughts. “So don’t worry about the horses until your men get back on Monday. I’ll have one of mine go over there again tomorrow and Sunday to take care of them.”

“That isn’t necessary,” she insisted. “I’ll do it.”

He stubbornly folded his arms across his broad chest and shook his head. “You need to take it easy for a couple more days and make sure you’re completely over the flu before you start doing anything too strenuous. You won’t be doing yourself or your little boy any favors if you’re in the hospital with pneumonia.” Something in his tone, as well as his body language, told her than he was determined to have his way in the matter.

Just as determined to have her own way, she shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“That’s what you said last night and this morning,” he remarked. “I wouldn’t consider barely having enough strength to stand doing all that great.”

He probably had a point, but she hated to admit that he was right, almost as much as she hated that she found him so darned good-looking.

“Why do you care?” she asked bluntly. Apparently the flu had removed some kind of filter in her brain. She was unable to keep from blurting out whatever she was thinking.

His easy expression changed to the dark scowl she was more used to seeing from him. “Having the flu isn’t something you should take lightly. It can have serious complications. I’m just trying to make sure you’re around to raise your little boy, lady.”

She knew he was only doing what he thought was right, but it had been a very long time since anyone had cared to lend her their assistance or show they were concerned for her well-being. Even her late fiancé’s parents had severed all ties with her when their son died. And they hadn’t bothered contacting her since, even knowing she had been pregnant with their grandchild. That’s when she had decided she didn’t need them or anyone else. She was a strong, capable woman and could do whatever had to be done on her own.

Shrugging, she stared down at the clothes in her lap. “I’m sorry if I sound ungrateful,” she said, meaning it. “There’s no excuse for my being rude. I do appreciate your help. But I’ve taken care of Seth since I came down with the flu and I’m doing a lot better now. I know I’ll be fine.” She looked up into his hazel eyes. “Really.”

“I respect your need for independence,” he said, his tone less harsh. “All I’m trying to do is help you out for a couple more days. Rest up here, at least until tomorrow. I’ll have one of my men go over to your place, then all you’ll have to do when you get home is take care of yourself and your little boy.”

It was obvious he wasn’t going to give up and she wasn’t up to a full-scale verbal battle. And honestly, it would be nice to not have to take on everything all by herself for once.

“All right,” she finally conceded. “One of your men can take care of the horses for me tomorrow, but now that the road is clear there’s no reason for us to stay here and inconvenience you any longer.” She pointed toward the bathroom door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take a shower and get dressed so we can go on home. Seth and I have taken up enough of your time and generosity. Besides, we’ll both rest better in our own beds.”

She could tell Malloy wanted to say something about her insistence on going home, but Seth chose that moment to rouse up and start crying. Normally a sound sleeper, he could snooze through just about anything at home. But now that he was unfamiliar with the surroundings, their arguing had obviously disturbed him.

“It’s all right, sweetie,” she said, getting out of the chair. When she walked over to the bed to pick him up, she discovered that it took more effort than usual.

“Here, let me help,” Malloy said, stepping forward to pick up her son.

To her surprise when Seth recognized who held him, the little traitor laid his head on the man’s shoulder and smiled at her.

“Did you give him his medication?” she asked, feeling like a complete failure as a mother. She had slept while a total stranger fed, changed and apparently bonded with her child.

Malloy nodded. “I read the dosage on the bottle’s label and gave the antibiotic to him right after breakfast and then again after lunch.”

“You seem to know a lot about taking care of a child,” she commented, wondering if he might have one of his own. She felt a little let down that he might have a significant other somewhere, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why.

“I have a ten-month-old nephew and a six-month-old niece,” he answered, as if reading her mind. “But other than watching their parents take care of them, I’m a trial-and-error kind of guy. That’s why I had to change this little guy’s sleeper and my shirt after lunch.” Malloy grinned. “I tried to let him feed himself and quickly learned that was an error.”

Heather smiled at the visual image as an unfamiliar emotion spread throughout her chest. There was something about a man being unafraid to hold and nurture a child that was heartwarming.

Not at all comfortable with the fact that the man drawing that emotion from her was T. J. Malloy, she asked, “Would you mind watching him for a few minutes while I take a quick shower?”

“Not at all,” he said, shaking his head. “Take your time. You’ll probably feel a lot better.”

“I’ll feel better when we get home.” She stared down at the jeans and sweatshirt she still held. “Seth is going to need diapers and we both need clean clothes.”