The Maverick's Ready-Made Family

by Brenda Harlen

  He raised his eyebrows when he saw what she was eating, but didn’t comment, gesturing instead to the half-full coffeepot. “Mind if I steal a cup?”

  She swallowed quickly, then winced at the ice cream headache which burned across her forehead. “Help yourself.”

  He found a mug in the cupboard and filled it with French roast.

  “Sugar’s on the counter beside the pot, cream’s in the fridge.”

  “Black is fine.”

  He settled across from her at the table, and her heart started beating double-time. Damn hormones.

  “Sorry we missed your pancakes, but my parents insisted on taking Bennett and me to the Mountain Bluebell Bakery for breakfast this morning.”

  “There’s no need to apologize,” Antonia assured him. “If someone offered to take me there for breakfast, I’d go, too. Lizzie’s pastries are to die for.”

  “Then I should take you sometime, if only to make sure you aren’t eating ice cream for your morning meal.”

  “I had breakfast,” she told him. “This is a snack.” She scooped up another spoonful. “What did you have?”

  “A breakfast sandwich—and then a sticky bun,” he admitted. “And somehow Bennett ended up stickier than me.”

  She smiled at that. “Where is the little guy?”

  “Still with my parents. My mom has been suffering from serious baby withdrawal since we came to Thunder Canyon, so she asked if she could keep him for the afternoon.”

  “Lucky you.”

  “Except that I’m so used to organizing my time around Bennett, I don’t have the first clue what to do without him,” he admitted.

  “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

  “Well, when we were at the bakery this morning, someone mentioned there’s a movie theater in New Town.”

  She nodded. “New Town Cinema, behind the mall. There are some pretty good movies playing now, too.”

  “Anything you’d be interested in seeing?”

  “Sure,” she said, scraping the bottom of the bowl. “But I rarely find the time—”

  “Toni,” he interrupted.

  She looked up.

  “I’m asking you to go see a movie with me this afternoon.”

  “Oh.” She honestly didn’t know what else to say. It was as if her mind had gone completely blank.

  Amusement glinted in his deep brown eyes. “Is that a yes or a no?”

  “Um...yes?”

  He reached for The Thunder Canyon Nugget that was on the table, found the Arts & Entertainment page of the newspaper and offered it to her. “Check the listings and let me know what you want to see.”

  Screen number one was showing a new romantic comedy that had been getting good reviews, but Antonia didn’t want to send Clay the wrong message by immediately choosing that one. Unfortunately, the only other option was a horror movie that she had less than zero interest in seeing.

  She wrinkled her nose. “I really hate slasher films.”

  “Then we’ll see something else,” he said agreeably.

  “There’s nothing with car chases or nuclear explosions,” she warned.

  “I’ll chance it if you will. Are you in?”

  There was just a hint of a challenge in his voice. Just enough to entice her to throw caution to the wind.

  “I’m in.”

  * * *

  There were a lot of things Clay could have done with a free afternoon. He could have saddled up one of the horses and gone for a ride, or he could have curled up in his bed and indulged in a long uninterrupted nap, and both of those options held a certain amount of appeal. But when he sat down and tried to figure out what he wanted to do, only one thing was clear—he wanted to see Toni.

  Maybe the answer had surprised him, but he didn’t let it worry him. He didn’t think there was any need to overanalyze the impulse. He liked Toni. She was smart and funny; she had her own opinions and wasn’t afraid to share them. She was also beautiful and sexy—so beautiful and sexy that he frequently forgot that she was seven months pregnant.

  But he wasn’t going to forget that anymore. He wasn’t going to make the mistake of thinking that today was about anything more than two adults spending a few hours together because they both had time on their hands.

  They chatted easily on the drive into New Town, moving from one topic of conversation to the next without any awkward silences between them. Clay thought it was interesting that he’d seen this woman every day for the past month and a half and they still hadn’t run out of things to talk about.

  Of course, a lot of their discussion centered on Bennett, with Clay sharing anecdotes of his son’s adventures and Toni marveling over his talents. And throughout their conversation, neither one pressed for information that the other wasn’t willing to confide. It was as if, by unspoken agreement, they each respected the other’s established boundaries, for which he was extremely grateful.

  Toni pulled out her wallet at the ticket window, but he shook his head. “I invited you to come, so this is my treat.”

  “Then I’ll get the popcorn,” she told him. “Right after I make a quick trip to the ladies’ room.”

  He didn’t know if her determination to pay her share was a way of proving her independence or intended to assert—loudly and clearly—that this was not a date. Just in case he might have any illusions to the contrary.

  And he was just perverse enough to want to make an issue of it, which he did by purchasing their snacks while he was waiting for her to return.

  Toni scowled when she saw the armload of boxes and cups he carried. “I said I was going to get the popcorn.”

  “Go ahead,” he said. “This is for me.”

  She stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out if he was serious. Then she shrugged and started toward the counter.

  He stepped in front of her. “I was kidding.”

  “Oh.”

  He handed her a cup. “I figured you’re probably trying to limit your caffeine intake so I got you an uncola.”

  “I am. Thanks.”

  “But I went for butter on the popcorn,” he confessed. “Because it was actual butter and not that fake topping stuff you get in some of the chain movie theaters.”

  “Did you get extra napkins, too?”

  “I did,” he concurred. “And Milk Duds.”

  Her eyes actually lit up. “Milk Duds?”

  Clay chuckled. “I guessed that you’d want some sweet to balance the salty.”

  “Good guess,” she said.

  They’d started toward the doors for screen number one when a female voice called out, “Antonia?”

  The easy smile on Toni’s face slipped, just a little, before she secured it back in place and turned to face the speaker.

  “Hello, Vanessa.”

  “I almost didn’t recognize you. Oh, my god, you look like you’re about ready to burst.”

  Toni shrugged casually, unfazed by the insensitive remark. “Not quite. I’ve still got several weeks to go.”

  “Really? Wow. I couldn’t imagine letting my body expand like that for a baby.”

  “No, I don’t imagine you could,” Toni replied.

  It was a subtle zing, and Clay had to fight a smile as he watched the comment fly right over Vanessa’s shallow head.

  “So,” the other woman said, her cool, blue gaze giving Clay a leisurely once-over, “who’s your friend?”

  “Clayton Traub,” Toni said, making the introductions with obvious reluctance. “Clay, this is Vanessa Wallace, a...friend from high school.”

  Vanessa blinded him with a smile. “Hel-lo, Clay-ton.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said with cool politeness.

  She inched a little closer.
“Are you one of the Texas Traubs?”

  “No, I’m from Rust Creek Falls,” he told her.

  “Have you been in Thunder Canyon very long?”

  “Since September.”

  His terse responses did nothing to dim the wattage of her smile. “Well, there’s not a heck of a lot to see in our little town, but if you want a tour guide, feel free to look me up.”

  He couldn’t believe the nerve of the woman. Even if he and Toni weren’t together, she couldn’t know that, and yet she was hitting on him—with absolutely no hint of subtlety—right in front of Toni.

  In an effort to extricate them all from the increasingly awkward situation, Clay said, “If you’ll excuse us, Toni and I should find seats before the theater fills up.”

  Vanessa giggled as if he’d made an outrageously funny joke. “I don’t think you need to worry about the theater filling up. But yes, you and Toni should go find your seats.” Then she touched a hand to his arm. “But don’t forget to call me about the tour. I’m in the book.”

  He didn’t even bother to respond to that.

  Toni was silent as they walked into the theater.

  “I said something wrong, didn’t I?”

  She shook her head. “No, not really.”

  “Come on,” he said. “I can’t fix my mistakes if I don’t know what they are.”

  She followed him up the stairs to the middle row in the stadium-style seating area.

  “It’s just that ‘Toni’ was something of a childhood nickname I’d hoped I’d outgrown,” she reluctantly admitted.

  He took a seat in the center and she settled beside him.

  “Your real name’s Antonia?”

  She nodded.

  “But your brothers all call you Toni,” he felt compelled to point out in his defense.

  “Because they came up with it first. I was always trying to keep up with them, to do whatever they were doing. It was Ace, my oldest brother, who decided that if I wanted to be one of the boys so badly, I needed a boy’s name. That’s when I became Toni.

  “But most of my friends knew me as Antonia. At least until I started high school.”

  He was almost afraid to ask. “What happened then?”

  “I was something of a late bloomer,” she admitted. “Tall and skinny, with a chest as flat as that of a ten-year-old boy, and when Jonah used my nickname at school, it spread through the halls like...well, I can’t actually think of anything that spreads like derision in a high school.”

  He winced in sympathy.

  “But it didn’t last long,” she continued. “By the beginning of my junior year, I’d caught up with most of the girls, and the boys started to notice. For the most part, I was Antonia again, but the way they said it and the way they looked at me—it was just a different kind of awkward.”

  “Kids can be cruel,” he admitted. “And adolescent boys can be pretty brainless when confronted with breasts.”

  “Yeah, I figured that out pretty quickly.”

  “I like the name Toni,” he told her. “It’s sassy and unique, like you. But now that I think about it, Antonia suits you, too. It’s feminine but also strong and distinguished.”

  “That’s quite a detailed analysis, off-the-cuff.”

  “I’m not an adolescent anymore,” he pointed out. “Which means that I can usually manage to put together a coherent sentence even in the company of a beautiful female.”

  “Well, I know you’ve never had any trouble making conversation with me.”

  Although that wasn’t entirely true, he was grateful for this confirmation that she was oblivious to the effect she had on him. “But now when we make conversation, I will remember to address you as Antonia.”

  “It really isn’t a big deal.”

  “It is, and I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner.”

  She tilted her head to look up at him. “You really want to make it up to me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She held out her hand, palm up. “Give me the Milk Duds.”

  He laughed and did as she requested.

  The dimming of the lights forestalled any further conversation, but as the curtains opened, Clay found himself thinking about Antonia rather than the coming attractions advertised on the screen. She’d given him a tiny glimpse into her life, but it wasn’t enough.

  He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know about her friends (he knew that Catherine Overton was one; he was pretty sure Vanessa Wallace was not) and her family, how and when she started working with horses, and who taught her to make such fabulous trail mix cookies.

  Mostly he wanted to know if her lips would taste as soft as they looked, and he wanted to know how she’d respond if he took her in his arms. Would she press herself against him—or pull away?

  He didn’t know—but he hoped he would have a chance to find out.

  Chapter Four

  It wasn’t a date.

  Even as Antonia sat beside Clay in the darkened theater, she knew it wasn’t a date. It was just two people hanging out at an afternoon movie together because they both had time on their hands.

  Actually, there were lots of other things Antonia should be doing back at the ranch, but when Clay had mentioned seeing a movie, she realized there wasn’t anything she wanted to do more. Partly because it had been a long time since she’d been to the theater and she was looking forward to a couple of hours of escapism, and partly because she would be with Clay.

  She enjoyed spending time with him, sharing conversation. And she appreciated that he didn’t ask a lot of questions about her personal situation. In fact, he’d never even commented on the fact that she was an unmarried woman in the final stages of pregnancy.

  Of course, the fact that he was a single dad himself might have something to do with his reticence to pry. And aside from the one comment he’d made about Bennett’s mother walking out on both of them when the baby was only two weeks old, Antonia knew nothing about the woman who’d given birth to his child. Was she still in contact with Clay? Did she regret leaving her baby? Was she still in love with the father of her child?

  Assuming, of course, that she had been in love with Clay at some point in time. Because while Antonia had never gone to bed with a man she didn’t love, she knew that some women weren’t as particular. And while she’d always believed that she could never be physically intimate with a man without first sharing some kind of an emotional connection, her purely visceral response to Clay suggested otherwise.

  In any event, Clay’s relationship with Bennett’s mother really wasn’t any of her business. Because as much as she enjoyed being with Clay, she had no inclination toward romance at this point in her life.

  Okay, maybe the occasional romantic thought had snuck into her head in recent weeks. But who could blame her for that? After all, Clay was one very sexy cowboy with long, lean legs and breathtaking brown eyes, and she was a woman in her sexual prime with pregnancy hormones running rampant through her veins. Which was why, although she might indulge in a harmless fantasy every now and again, she had no illusions about this outing. Because she knew that there was no way a man like Clay would ever be interested in dating a woman nearing her eighth month of pregnancy.

  Yes, she knew it wasn’t a date, but as she reached into the tub of popcorn and her fingers brushed against his, she couldn’t deny that her heart gave a little flutter and her blood pulsed in her veins.

  * * *

  Clay noticed that Antonia had saved the Milk Duds until the movie was almost over. She did try to share, but he’d gorged himself on popcorn and shook his head when she offered the box to him.

  She seemed to savor the chocolate-covered caramels, popping one at a time into her mouth, then letting the chocolate melt on her tongue for a moment before she began
to chew the sweet confection.

  The lights came up as the credits rolled, and he saw Toni touch a hand to her belly as a little smile curved her lips, almost as if she was enjoying some kind of silent communication with her unborn child.

  Because Delia had never bothered to tell him that she was pregnant, he’d missed out on every step of his baby’s development. She’d tried to justify her lack of disclosure, claiming that he wouldn’t have been pleased by the revelation of her pregnancy, and there was some truth in that. Because he hadn’t been ready to be a father—at least, he hadn’t thought he was ready.

  But once he’d recovered from the shock and the panic, he’d stepped up. And if he’d had any time to plan or prepare for fatherhood, he felt confident that he would have done whatever needed to be done—doctor’s appointments, prenatal classes, midnight runs to the grocery store to satisfy the expectant mother’s cravings.

  He wondered if Toni—Antonia, he mentally amended—had anyone to do those things for her. He didn’t think so, because in all the time that he’d been staying at the ranch, he’d never seen her with anyone.

  It was rumored around town that she’d wanted a baby so much that she’d gone to a clinic in Bozeman. But he had to think that, even if she had chosen to have this baby on her own, there were probably moments when she wished that she had someone with whom to share the joys and fears of impending parenthood.

  She popped another Milk Dud in her mouth and rubbed her belly again. His gaze dropped, and he actually saw a ripple of movement.

  She caught his eye and shrugged. “The baby likes Milk Duds.”

  “Is that—” He glanced at her belly again. “Is he—she—kicking?”

  Toni—Antonia—nodded.

  His hand instinctively moved toward her baby bump, hovering above it. “Can I—”

  She took his hand and placed it on her belly. Within a few seconds, he felt a subtle but distinct little kick. “Oh. Wow.” The baby kicked again, then twice more. “That is so...amazing.”

  She smiled at the wonder in his tone. “Bennett wasn’t an active baby?”