The Cowgirl's Forever Family

by Helen Lacey

  “But you said your parents are good people.”

  “They are,” he replied, very aware that she had somehow flipped the conversation toward him.

  “But they’re what...hippies?”

  He chuckled. “They’re what you’d call non-conformists, I guess. They are part of a shared living community where the residents are all about getting back to nature, meditating, growing their own food, being self-sustainable...that kind of thing.”

  She met his gaze. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “It’s not,” he said, sensing her disapproval. “It’s just not for everyone.”

  “Not for you, you mean?” she asked, digging deeper.

  “Exactly.”

  Her mouth twisted a little and she looked at him. “Have you met your birth parents?”

  Tyler’s gut twitched. He hated questions. He never spoke about his past or his upbringing. But Brooke Laughton wouldn’t let up. Tyler intended telling her to mind her own business, but once he met her gaze, he couldn’t.

  “No,” he said quietly. “I haven’t. And before you go any further with that, no, I never tried to look for them.”

  Her mouth twisted a little, like she was giving the idea her total consideration. “I think I’d have to know...or at least try to find out why they gave me up.”

  She was unashamedly candid and it was both refreshing and—disconcerting. He never talked about his past. Only Ralph knew the whole story. “I was left on a church doorstep when I was a day old, without a note or explanation,” he said and shrugged loosely. “So, I’m pretty sure that means they don’t want to be found.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh... I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to pry and—”

  “Sure you did,” he quipped. “You’re one of those naturally nosy people, right?”

  She laughed and the sound echoed around the room. Her eyes were brighter than usual and her cheeks were spotted with color and suddenly he was inexplicably drawn even further into her vortex. There was no other way to describe it. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had had such a profound effect on him. Maybe never. And right then all he could think was how much he wanted to kiss her.

  Idiot.

  Tyler knew he had to get his head on straight. Kissing Brooke Laughton—even thinking about kissing her!—was out of the question. He had one thing to do. To make sure Cara was settled with her father. Or take the baby back to New York if it didn’t work out.

  Not this.

  “I’ve always thought I was something of a private person,” she said and grinned.

  Tyler shrugged. “Doesn’t mean you can’t have an inquisitive streak, too.”

  “I suppose. Although I’m sure my friends think I’m something of a hermit and spend way too much time alone.”

  He looked at the baby in her arms, again thinking how naturally she’d taken to being around Cara. “And do you?” he asked quietly.

  “Do I spend time alone?” She shrugged. “I suppose I do. The last couple of years have been challenging. After my parents died I moved back here so I could run this place. But then Doyle left and I—”

  “Doyle?” Tyler’s back straightened instantly.

  “My ex-fiancé,” she explained flatly, like she had no emotion about it one way or another.

  But Tyler wasn’t fooled. There was a hollowness in her gaze that spoke volumes. “What happened?”

  “We broke up,” she replied.

  He dug a little deeper. “Was it a mutual breakup?”

  She shrugged a little. “Not exactly. Although I can’t say I’m unhappy about it now.”

  “He walked out?”

  “More like sprinted out,” she said and gave a brittle laugh.

  “Why?” he asked quietly, sensing her pain and somehow feeling it through to his blood and bones.

  She sighed heavily. “An ex-girlfriend arrived in town with a six-year-old in tow who had eyes just like Doyle’s. His son,” she said flatly.

  “And he left to be with them?” Tyler asked.

  “Yes,” she replied. “After initially telling me nothing had changed, of course. But three days later he was on his way to Texas.”

  “Then he wasn’t worth having, right?”

  “I guess not,” she said and pressed a kiss to Cara’s forehead. “Anyway, that’s all ancient history. Right now, all I want to think about is this little angel.”

  Tyler drank some coffee and looked at her over the rim of the mug. “You know, I wouldn’t have pegged you for a girl who falls in love so quickly.”

  Her gaze met his instantly. “I defy anyone not to love Cara the moment she smiles,” she said and touched the baby’s head gently. “Even someone as obviously jaded as you.”

  Tyler bit back a grin. “Jaded? I don’t think anyone has ever called me that before.”

  “No?” Her brows rose. “You’ve just been called other things, right?” She paused for effect. “Cold, calculating, ruthless. My friend Kayla found out about you on the internet.”

  He smiled. “And was it interesting reading?”

  “Some of it,” she replied. “You’re obviously successful at what you do.”

  “Yes,” he said without modesty. “I am.”

  “Do you enjoy it?”

  “Being a lawyer?” he queried and then shrugged. “I like winning. I’m not sure I’d call it enjoyment. I’d rather leave the enjoyment thing to other, more, shall we say, personal parts of my life.”

  She knew exactly what he meant and regarded him with a new kind of awareness. He wasn’t sure how she could do that. It had been a long time since any woman had invaded his thoughts the way Brooke Laughton did. But there was something unavoidable about the effect she had on him.

  “Are you flirting with me?” she asked bluntly.

  Tyler grinned, thinking how he’d told himself he needed to stop doing that only minutes earlier. “I’m not exactly sure. If I was, would it be working?”

  “Not one bit,” she replied and focused her attention on the baby for a moment. When she looked up again her eyes were darker. “That would be a little foolish on my part, don’t you think?”

  “Probably,” he said and drained his coffee mug and looked at the baby. “And mine. Considering the circumstances.”

  “Yes,” she said quietly. “Cara is all that matters.”

  He nodded. “But, for the record, I’m not your enemy. I want what is best for Cara, just like you do.”

  “I know,” she said and switched the baby onto her other knee. “That’s all we really have in common.”

  His mouth twisted. “Well, except for the fact we’re both single, straight and are going to be living together for the next week.”

  * * *

  Put like that, it sounded impossibly intimate and Brooke’s nerves were suddenly on high alert.

  This is only about Cara...

  And not Tyler Madden’s sexy green eyes and broad shoulders. But Brooke quickly realized she was not immune to him. In fact, she was quite the opposite.

  Stupid. Foolish. And absolutely out of the question.

  But he was flirting with her. She was sure of it. Even if it made no sense at all. They were from different worlds. As opposite as two people could be. He was pure city boy and she was as country as a girl could get.

  Brooke ignored the tight band of tension now squeezing at her temples and got to her feet. She passed Cara to him and took a few steps back. “I’ll make her some dinner.”

  He nodded. “She’ll go down in her crib with a bottle afterward.”

  Brooke managed a smile and spent the next twenty minutes busying herself with the food preparation and ignoring the man sitting at her dining table. He didn’t seem to mind, though. He simply occupied himself by talking so
ftly to the baby. His deep voice was oddly hypnotic and by the time she had Cara’s meal prepared she was much more relaxed.

  “Oh,” she said as she came around the counter with Cara’s dinner. “I’ve left a hat and a jacket for you hanging in the mudroom. They belonged to my ex. You’re bigger than him, but the jacket should fit. That woolen coat of yours is a bit flashy for roughing it out on the range,” she said and grinned übersweetly.

  He nodded and turned Cara around as Brooke pulled a chair closer and sat down. She waited while he adjusted Cara’s bib, watching the way he easily and naturally handled the baby. It uncurled something inside her and made her even more aware of him.

  “She can hold the spoon and feed herself. Although we might need to consider protective clothing,” he said as he looked up and smiled.

  Brooke held the spoon in midair, conscious of how close she was to him. Their knees were almost touching and she pushed back the heat climbing through her limbs. “Huh?”

  “Sometimes she likes to throw her food off the spoon.”

  Brooke’s brows rose sharply and she looked at Cara’s angelic expression. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

  He chuckled lightly. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Fifteen minutes later Brooke realized she should have heeded his cautioning. She had mashed pumpkin and peas splattered down the front of her clothes. As did Tyler. He also had it in his hair, over his arms and smeared across one cheek.

  “So,” she said and placed the bowl on the table. “I guess I should have listened.”

  He smiled, stood and held Cara against his chest. “I’ll just get her cleaned up and put her down for the night—hopefully.” He grinned, then stared down briefly at his T-shirt. “And then take a shower.”

  Brooke nodded and waited until he’d left the room before she took another breath. Being around Tyler was becoming increasingly difficult. There was so much energy between them.

  Hah...it’s not energy.

  A silent, but outspoken voice taunted her.

  It wasn’t energy. It was heat. It was attraction. Sex.

  Everything she’d avoided for the past two years.

  She shook the idea off and cleaned up the kitchen, then hurried to her bedroom, ignoring the sound of Tyler’s deep voice carrying up the hallway as he gently spoke to Cara, and shut herself inside her room. She quickly stripped off and headed for the small master bathroom, where she showered, dried herself as swiftly as she could and then changed into fresh jeans, tank top and then covered up with a long-sleeved chambray shirt that buttoned up to her throat.

  When she left her room and made her way down the hall she heard the hiss of the shower in the main bathroom and quickly checked on Cara. The baby was already asleep, and looking at her made Brooke’s heart roll over.

  Please come home, Matt... Please come home so that Tyler doesn’t take her away.

  The idea of losing Cara made her ache inside. And with that thought she headed back to the kitchen, grabbed her cell phone and called her brother. It went to his voice mail and she left a message, this one more urgent than the last. Once she ended the call, Brooke sent a text for extra effect. This one telling Matt he had to come home. Now.

  “Everything alright?”

  She looked up. Tyler stood in the doorway, dressed in dark jeans and a pale gray sweater that highlighted every inch of his broad-shouldered torso, and Brooke swallowed back the sudden dryness in her throat. His hair was damp, his jaw clean shaven and he looked ridiculously handsome.

  “Just calling my brother again,” she said, figuring there was little point in denying it.

  His brows narrowed fractionally. “Still no response?”

  She shrugged. “Not yet. He probably hasn’t checked his cell. I’ll try again in the morning.”

  He stepped into the room, came around the counter and placed both hands on the countertop. “Brooke,” Tyler said quietly. “Have you considered that perhaps your brother has received every one of your messages and is choosing to ignore them?”

  She shook her head. “No. I know my brother. I’m sure he’ll be in touch soon.”

  “I hope so. For Cara’s sake. And yours.”

  Brooke’s expression tightened. “You think I’m getting too attached to her. You want to take her away from me. Even though you know I would care for her, here...where she belongs.”

  He drew in a long breath. “You can’t raise a child on good intentions. Cara needs—”

  “Love,” she said, cutting him off. “That’s all a child really needs. Look,” she said impatiently, “I understand that you think you need to stay all business about this whole thing. But this isn’t some kind of corporate merger. This is about people. About family. It’s about blood ties and DNA and...”

  Brooke’s words trailed off when she realized what she’d said. He looked at her oddly. Was he annoyed? Hurt? Angry? She couldn’t tell...there was such impassive indifference in his expression. She didn’t know him, couldn’t gauge his moods.

  “I’m sorry... I didn’t mean that those things are all that matter in being a family,” she said quickly, swallowing the discomfiture clawing at the throat. “I just... I just think...”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said and pushed himself off the counter.

  “I’ve offended you?”

  He stilled, crossed his arms and met her gaze. “No. As we’ve agreed, the only thing that’s important is Cara’s well-being. And your brother proving he is able to be the parent she deserves. That’s if he shows up, of course. Which I’m seriously doubting he is going to do.”

  Panic etched across her skin. “You said you’d give him a week.”

  “I know what I said. And I will keep my word. But if Matt doesn’t show, once the week is up I’ll be taking Cara back to New York.”

  There was finality in his voice and it chilled her through to her bones. Brooke squared her shoulders and managed a tight smile. “I thought I’d make dinner. Any food allergies I should know about?”

  “No. Except I don’t like asparagus.”

  She grinned a little. “Me, either. Slimy little green sticks.”

  He pulled out a chair and sat down. “What else don’t you like?”

  “Champagne,” she said and wrinkled her nose. “And because I can be a klutz, roller skates.” She paused for effect. “But, I like imported beer and salted caramel popcorn and slow dancing.”

  “And horses?” he offered with a smile that was so sexy her knees weakened.

  Brooke nodded. “They’ve been a big part of my life.”

  “You were very successful for a lot of years. Do you miss competing?”

  “Yes,” she admitted and sighed. “But I had to leave the competitive circuit when my parents died. It’s a job that required a lot of traveling and I couldn’t do both. This ranch has been in my family for five generations... I had to do what I could to keep it going.”

  His expression narrowed. “You said that you were having some troubles keeping the place afloat?”

  Brooke’s back straightened instantly. The last thing she wanted to do was get into her tale of woe about the ranch with Tyler. The less he knew, the better. “I said that?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “You inferred it.”

  Her suspicions rose. He was a lawyer. And a resourceful one, by all accounts. He had a file on her brother and no doubt she was a part of that. Of course he knew how things were. It was naive to think otherwise.

  “I’m pretty sure you know exactly how things stand.”

  “I know some,” he replied. “I know you’ve been fighting a rezoning issue.”

  “That’s right. Up until a few months ago, Cedar River was actually two towns, separated by a river and a truckload of bureaucratic red tape. The town merged after a decade of nego
tiation.”

  “And?” he prompted.

  “And that meant land rezoning for some people. I lost forty acres of my best grazing pasture.”

  “Is that all?”

  She shrugged loosely. “I have a mortgage and creditors...and a long and complicated story you don’t need to hear.”

  “Or you don’t want to tell?”

  “I’d like to keep my problems to myself...unless they affect my ability to adequately care for Cara,” she said firmly, making sure he knew she wasn’t about to back down in her determination to keep Cara at the ranch where she belonged, and long after he’d gone. “Which they don’t.”

  One brow cocked up. “And the bank?”

  “I’ll keep them at bay,” she replied coolly. “As I’ve done for the past few months.”

  His expression narrowed. “Could you actually lose the ranch?”

  A familiar pain hit her squarely between the shoulders. Losing the ranch was the worst outcome imaginable. But it remained a very real possibility. She mustered every ounce of bravado she could. “I won’t let that happen.”

  He watched her with such blistering intensity that Brooke could barely draw breath. There was an elemental strength about him, a kind of confidence she’d rarely encountered. Sure, when she’d been on the show circuit there had been plenty of cowboys who oozed charm and walked with a self-assured swagger...but Tyler Madden was different. There was nothing overt or obvious about him. He spoke quietly and didn’t appear to waste words on pointless conversation. And he seemed kind and considerate, especially the way he interacted with Cara. It was an attractive quality and Brooke was becoming more and more drawn to him.

  Which was foolhardy and completely out of the question, of course.

  Right now, she had her ailing ranch, her orphaned niece and her AWOL brother to think about...and not a hot lawyer with a dimple to die for and broad shoulders that were way too tempting for her peace of mind. Especially since he held Cara’s future in his hands.

  “And my brother will come back,” she said with more belief than she felt, but Brooke wasn’t about to let him see otherwise. “I know Matt and I know he’ll want to do what is right by his daughter once he knows about her.”