For His Daughter's Sake

by Stella Bagwell

  “If you say so.” She moved further into the kitchen and peered around at the dining table. She’d expected to find Maeve strapped in her carrier, but the baby wasn’t to be seen. “Where’s Maeve? Please don’t tell me you left her with your mother.”

  He shook his head. “Mom and Maeve had a long visit this morning while my brothers and I vaccinated calves. Maeve is in your bedroom, asleep in her crib.”

  “Aw, and I didn’t get to feed her.”

  “Don’t worry. I expect she’ll wake up soon.” He left her side and walked to the electric range. Pulling a pair of aluminum pans from the oven, he said, “I put the oven on warm so our food wouldn’t get cold. I hope you don’t mind me making myself at home.”

  This evening he was dressed in blue jeans so faded they were nearly white and a blue-plaid shirt with a three-cornered tear near the hem. No matter what he wore, he always looked incredibly sexy. But seeing him like this in worn work clothes somehow drew Callie even closer to him. Maybe the fact that he was an Abernathy didn’t really put him on an unreachable pedestal, she decided.

  “Are you kidding? I want you to feel at home here.”

  He placed the pans on top of the stove, then walked over to slip his arms around her waist. “I do feel comfortable here in your apartment, Callie. But I’ve been wondering if—Have you thought about visiting my place on the ranch?”

  Callie was so stunned by his suggestion that, for a moment, all she could do was stare at him. “Your home?”

  He nodded. “I believe I told you that I have a separate house from my parents. In fact, it’s about a mile and half away from the big ranch house.”

  Joy was making her heart do a crazy jig against her ribs. “Yes, you mentioned it. But I, uh, didn’t think you wanted me to visit your place.”

  “You thought that?” His dark brows drew together. “Why?”

  “Well, you’ve never invited me. You’ve never even told me what your home is like.”

  Was that regret she saw in his twisted smile? Was he actually beginning to realize she needed and wanted to share in his personal life?

  His hands gently roamed her back. “You go change and wash, or whatever you need to do. I’ll fix the table and we’ll talk when you get back. Okay?”

  She wanted to grab his face with both hands and kiss him senseless. But seeing he had his mind on eating, she settled for pressing a quick kiss on his chin.

  “I’ll be right back,” she promised.

  After she made a quick visit to the bathroom and changed into shorts and a tank top, she hurried back to the kitchen and found the table set and Tyler filling iced glasses with sweet tea.

  The smell of Italian food wafted through the air. She peeked into the pans to see spaghetti and meatballs in one and beef raviolis coated with marinara sauce in the other.

  “Yum, yum, all of this smells incredible. And where in the world did you find this kind of Italian food in Bronco?” she asked.

  “At the back door of DJ’s Deluxe,” he said slyly.

  She laughed. “The back door? Sure, Tyler. In case you’ve forgotten, DJ’s is a barbecue restaurant. I didn’t see any Italian food on the menu.”

  He shot her a smug grin. “Okay, you’re right. There aren’t any Italian things on DJ’s menu. But back when Mel was managing the place she started purchasing this stuff from the food distributor because Gabe loves Italian food. Even though Mel has moved on from managing the restaurant, they still keep it around for him and his friends. Thankfully, I managed to talk the kitchen into preparing a meal for us.”

  With a wry shake of her head, Callie said, “There’s nothing like having friends in high places, I guess.”

  Chuckling, he took her by the arm and seated her at one of the place settings. “Eat and enjoy,” he said.

  He sat in the chair that was angled to her left and as they began to fill their plates, Callie said, “You were going to tell me about your place on the Flying A. I’m dying to hear about it. And don’t leave anything out.”

  “All the details, huh? Okay,” he said as he forked a mound of spaghetti onto his plate. “In the first place, it’s nothing fancy. Just a rambling ranch house built on a hill that overlooks a little creek. The house has four bedrooms and a big kitchen with an industrial-size stove. Gas. Not like the electric you have here in the apartment.”

  She laughed. “I wouldn’t know how to turn it on, much less how to cook on it.”

  “I could teach you.”

  His words warmed her heart and she reached over and placed a hand on his forearm. “That would be fun, Tyler.”

  He chuckled. “Dean says I have no patience when it comes to teaching.”

  “Oh what does he know?” she teased. “He’s only your brother.”

  Laughing, he said, “I’m afraid Dean is right. I do lose my patience. But I think you’d be an extra-good student.”

  “Thanks.” She tried a bite of ravioli and discovered it was so delicious she had to have another bite before she spoke again. “Tell me more about the house. Does it have a fireplace?”

  “It does. In the den. I don’t always have time to cut firewood, though, and because wood is limited, I only burn it when the temperature is really cold—like single-digit numbers.”

  She nodded that she understood, while imagining herself cuddled in Tyler’s arms in front of a crackling fire. “Oh my, that sounds warm and cozy. And you have a den along with four bedrooms. The house must be large.”

  “It is. Far too large for just Maeve and me. But initially I...well, wasn’t planning on it being just the two of us.”

  He’s never uttered her name to me.

  I find that rather odd, don’t you?

  Bits of the conversation she’d had with her mother over lunch suddenly came back to Callie. And, for a moment, it felt as though the ghost of Tyler’s ex-wife was sitting in the chair opposite her. The notion left her with a sad, creepy feeling, but she tried her best to brush it aside. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to give her a special dinner. She didn’t want to ruin it by thinking too much.

  “Do you keep horses and cattle at your place?” she asked.

  “I only have two small barns. The only animals I have is a pair of horses and a couple of cattle dogs. Otherwise, the rest of the horses and tack we use are kept at the big ranch yard.”

  She looked at him and smiled. “The image of looking down on a little creek sounds lovely. Does it usually have water?”

  “Most of the time. If we’re hit with long dry spells, parts of the creek will dry up. We also have several pasture ranges that have no water sources except for what the windmills pump. Checking those and making sure the tanks are full is something we’re always doing.”

  This was the first time he’d openly talked about his home and work. Everything about it and him intrigued her. “Do you do that chore on horseback?”

  His lips took on a wry slant. “A couple of the tanks can be reached on an ATV. But my family doesn’t use them.”

  “Because you like to do things the traditional cowboy way?” she asked.

  His smile turned full-blown. “The cowboy way is almost always the best way, Callie. Keeping the cattle quiet and content is a big part of preserving their health. Buzzing around or through a herd with a loud machine sends the cattle running and scattering in all directions. Calves get separated from their mothers and the bawling sets in. Whereas, if we ride up quietly on a horse, they simply look at us and go back to grazing.”

  “I see. Makes sense to me. But I’ve heard some ranches use helicopters. That sounds very intrusive.”

  “I suppose some huge operations need helicopters and ATVs to cover more ground. But I’ll tell you this, Callie, I’d never want the Flying A to be that huge. Just let me be a horse pilot.”

  She smiled at him. “Does anyone ever call you old-fashioned?”


  He let out a short laugh. “Sometimes. And I don’t deny it. I do still do most things the way my dad does them. And I don’t follow the latest fads in anything. Now you’re sitting there thinking you’re having dinner with a fuddy-duddy. Right?”

  Laughing softly, she said, “Wrong. Fuddy-duddies don’t ride horses, do they?”

  He chuckled as he forked a ravioli. “I’ve seen a few at the local rodeo. We call them tinhorns. They only dress the part.”

  “Well, I’d be the first to admit that I know very little about ranching and livestock. But I’m learning. And the way you’ve described the Flying A, it sounds beautiful and serene. I would love to see it and your home—whenever you’d like to show me.”

  “We’ll do that soon,” he said. Giving her a sultry little wink, he pushed the spaghetti and meatballs toward her. “Try this. You’ll want a whole plateful.”

  Callie wanted a plateful of him. Every day for the rest of her life. But that was a wish she couldn’t imagine coming true. Not with Luanne Abernathy’s ghost still haunting Tyler’s heart.

  * * *

  Once they’d finished their meal, Tyler kept his promise and helped Callie clean up the kitchen. By then, Maeve had woken up to let them know with a husky squall that she wanted her bottle.

  Callie was quick to offer to take care of the baby. After she’d changed Maeve’s diaper and fed her the majority of a bottle, Tyler suggested they go outside to the bench in the courtyard.

  During the past hour, clouds had moved in and the hot afternoon had turned into a pleasant evening. They sat for a few minutes on the bench, enjoying the falling twilight, until Maeve began to squirm and wanted down on the ground.

  Callie scooped the baby off his lap and then carefully stood her on her feet. “Okay, Maeve, show Daddy how you can walk like a big girl,” she said as she held on to both of Maeve’s hands to balance her.

  Maeve squealed and laughed as she took wobbly steps along the dirt-packed trail in front of the bench.

  “She’s getting closer to walking.” And Callie was getting deeper and deeper under his skin, Tyler thought, as he watched her gently assist his daughter.

  If you’re letting her believe your intentions are serious, then you’re treading on thin ice.

  Damn it, why did Dean’s words have to come back to haunt him now, Tyler asked himself. The evening was going too well to ruin it by flashing a danger sign in front of his face.

  And, anyway, Callie didn’t believe his intentions toward her were serious. Not like in-love-with-her serious. He could tell she’d been totally surprised when he’d mentioned showing her his home on the Flying A. She hadn’t been expecting anything like that from him. No more than she was expecting him to say he loved her and wanted to marry her. Why would she think something like that, anyway? They’d only been together a short while, he mentally argued.

  Callie might be thinking it, Tyler, because you can’t keep your hands off her. Spending night after night with her might be giving her the idea that you want to make being in her bed a permanent setup.

  “Hey, Callie, look at you! You’ve turned into a regular little mother!”

  The female voice had Tyler glancing around to see Vanessa approaching them from the direction of the parking lot. Seeing Callie trying to keep Maeve standing on her feet had put a wide grin on the woman’s face.

  “Hi, Van,” Tyler greeted. “Come over and watch the acrobatic show.”

  Laughing, she walked closer until she was standing a few steps away from the bench. “Since when did you decide that babies weren’t scary little monsters?” she asked Callie while giving Tyler a conspiring wink.

  Callie glanced up at her roommate. “Working with your brother has taught me not to be afraid of anything,” she joked, then added, “If you’re hungry, there are plenty of yummy leftovers in the fridge.”

  “Thanks. But Jameson and I are going out to dinner later on,” she said. “I just came by to get a few things from the apartment. So you two don’t need to worry that I’m going to stick around and intrude on your evening.”

  Tyler felt a blush crawling up his neck. He had no idea how much Vanessa knew about his relationship with Callie. But the woman wasn’t naive. She’d probably already decided that he and her roommate were sleeping together.

  “You wouldn’t be intruding,” Tyler told her. “This is your apartment, too.”

  “I can only stay for a little while longer,” Vanessa said then glanced at her watch. “I need to run or Jameson will be wondering why I’m late. See you two later.” She started off in the direction of the apartment then stopped to look back at them. “I almost forgot to tell you. I think I spotted Maggie. The runaway dog from the pet contest.”

  Tyler and Callie exchanged hopeful glances.

  “Where? Here in town?” Callie quickly asked.

  “In the alley behind the ghost tour building,” Vanessa answered. “I’m not certain it was the real missing Maggie. I only saw a flash of white and then he or she darted behind a trash dumpster and I lost sight of the animal. I told Evan about it so he could keep an eye out around the building. Maybe you and Saundra can watch for her, too.”

  “We will,” Callie told her. “Did you tell Daphne? She’s desperate to find that dog.”

  “I phoned her immediately. She was so excited; I think she was going to send David into town to drive the streets and look for her.”

  “Maybe he’ll get lucky and spot her,” Callie said.

  “It’s going to take some luck to catch that little Houdini,” Vanessa said, waving and hurrying on to the apartment.

  “I hope my being here isn’t pushing Van out of the apartment,” Tyler said. “I don’t want her to think she needs to make herself scarce just to give us privacy.”

  Callie slowly walked Maeve over to where Tyler was sitting and eased down beside him on the bench.

  As she situated Maeve to a comfortable position on her lap, she said, “Believe me, you’re not bothering Van. Little by little, she’s been moving her things to Jameson’s ranch. Like I said, it won’t be long before I won’t have a roommate at all.”

  Was Callie wondering why he hadn’t already asked her to move in with him at the ranch? Tyler wondered.

  Considering that he’d been spending every night here, the move would make things more convenient for him. He wouldn’t have to leave Callie’s bed long before daylight just to get back to the Flying A by five thirty in the morning. But there were far more serious things to consider besides convenience. For one thing, he didn’t want to give her the impression that he was moving them a step closer to getting married, or even engaged. And another, what would it do to him to have Callie in his home for a while and then, once she grew dissatisfied with him or the ranch life, watch her move out? No. Tyler had already gone through too much pain to turn around and ask for more.

  He was trying to decide how to reply when Maeve suddenly spotted a squirrel a few feet in front of them and began to squeal and shriek with delight.

  For the next fifteen minutes, they remained on the bench to let Maeve watch the squirrel and a pair of pesky blue jays that were squawking at the intrusive humans. But darkness soon forced them back inside the apartment.

  It wasn’t until Maeve had eaten a jar of baby food and fallen asleep that he finally had a chance to pull Callie down on the couch beside him.

  “I’m sorry I don’t have a TV,” Callie told him. “I can bring my laptop in here and stream a movie or something if you’d like.”

  He chuckled suggestively as his arm came around her shoulder. “You think I’m getting bored?”

  She turned her face toward his and Tyler thought about how looking into her warm brown eyes was far better than anything he could see on a screen.

  “I don’t know. What do you do when you come in from work on the ranch?” she asked.

  “A
fter taking care of Maeve’s needs, I shower and eat something, then I usually lie down with a book. And if I’m really tired, I don’t even pick up the book. I just go to sleep. Doesn’t sound very entertaining, does it?”

  “Depends on what you call entertainment,” she said with a sly smile. “If you ask me, just sitting here with you is a pretty nice form of it.”

  She was so warm and soft, and he’d grown so accustomed to her flowery scent that just a whiff of it filled him with erotic thoughts.

  “That’s sweet of you to say, Callie. But I’m sure you’d rather be out dancing or going to a movie or something fun. We can do that if you’d like.”

  Her head tilted slightly to one side as she regarded him. “I can’t see you out dancing. Not now. Maybe when you were very young.”

  His lips twisted. “You mean you can’t see me having fun. Isn’t that closer to what you were trying to say?”

  Her expression turned sober as she cupped her palm against the side of his face. “I imagine you were a very fun guy before...life got in the way.”

  It was obvious that she was talking about his life before he’d become a widower. And it suddenly struck him that, if he was a brave man, this would be the perfect time for him to open up and tell her all about his quick marriage to Luanne. About all the unhappiness during the years they’d been together. And most of all, how everything had ended because of his failure to be a decent father and husband.

  Fun? No. He was only twenty-eight, yet it had been years since Tyler had even thought about having any kind of fun in his life. That’s what jumping into a hasty marriage had done to him. Now he was going to be paying for his mistakes for the remainder of his life.

  He looked away from her and swallowed. He couldn’t tell her those things. He couldn’t bear to see the look of utter disgust on her face.

  Drawing in a deep breath, he said, “Years ago, I was different, Callie. But growing up changes a person.”

  “Growing up. Is that what you call it?” she asked softly.

  He turned his gaze back to hers. “What would you call it?”