Expecting...in Texas

by Ferrarella, Marie

  Savannah turned the mare toward the open country. “Where would you have gone if you hadn’t seen me?”

  “To a very lonely place. Now it won’t be so lonely.”

  Savannah shook her head. Heaven help her, but she was enjoying this, even when she knew it wasn’t real. “You don’t stop, do you?”

  Cruz was the picture of innocence. “Stop what?”

  She played along, though she knew that he knew exactly what she meant. “Flattering.”

  Solemnly, he shook his head. “Not when I’m inspired by an angel.”

  If she was an angel, she thought, it was of the fallen variety. “What we did that night wasn’t very angelic.”

  “No?” His brows rose so that they melted into the hair that fell into his eyes. “I could have sworn I heard heavenly music and angels singing at one point.” He saw her looking up at the sky as if she was searching for something. Or waiting. “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for lightning.” An impish smile curved her mouth, though she tried to sound serious. “It should be striking you at any minute.”

  He laughed, kicking his heels into the horse’s flanks to pick up a little speed. “Lightning never strikes down a man who speaks the truth.”

  Savannah slanted a knowing look in his direction. “Yes, I know.”

  Cruz laughed again.

  Maybe she shouldn’t have come.

  God knows she’d wanted to. The minute she’d turned around to see Cruz at the stables, she’d wanted to be alone with him like this. But it wouldn’t be right, not with this secret between them.

  And making love with him, the way she so desperately wanted to do, would only further entangle her heart. She had to concentrate on the future, not the immediate moment, no matter what sort of ecstasy it promised to bring.

  But all her logical thoughts kept flying away from her, just as they had that first night they’d been together. Cruz had that kind of effect on her. Just being near her, he drew every scrap of common sense out of her head and replaced it with a yearning so huge that it was almost unmanageable.

  They’d been in the meadow now for at least half an hour. Cruz had been nothing but gentlemanly in his advances, touching nothing more intimate than her arm or her neck. He still managed to reduce her to a mass of needs that were better off unsated.

  She’d had to fight herself more than she had him.

  Stepping away as he came closer to her, Savannah glanced down at her wrist. When she raised her eyes again, she saw that he was looking at her, bemused.

  “You keep looking at your watch. If you’re expecting someone, they won’t be coming here.” He stared deep into her eyes. “This place is special.”

  From up here, with the valley below, she had to admit that the view was spectacular. How many women had he brought here before her? She had to keep that foremost in mind.

  “Conjured it up just for me, did you?”

  Being out here had always been a humbling experience for Cruz. It put the world, and his ambitions, into perspective. He and his sister Maggie had discovered this place as kids. He came here mostly to be alone with his thoughts. Instinctively, he’d known Savannah would like it. Being here with her seemed right somehow.

  “If I could have, I would have. You belong in a place like this. It puts the beauty of nature up against a gauge.”

  Savannah rolled her eyes. He really knew how to take the most blatant of lies and make it sound like the truth. Or perhaps she just desperately wanted to believe that he meant at least a small part of what he was saying. And that he cared about her, even a little.

  If there was a seedling, it could be nurtured to grow….

  Oh, damn, what was she doing, trying to create hope in the middle of a hopeless situation?

  She ran the tip of her tongue along her lips. “I was looking at my watch because I don’t want you to be late, getting back.”

  Coming up behind her, he slid his hands over her arms. And felt her shiver involuntarily against him. A fire leaped through his veins. Far more demanding than what he’d felt when he thought Dallas had bedded her.

  “Let me worry about me,” Cruz said softly. His warm breath whispered along the sensitive flesh along her neck.

  Savannah could feel her stomach tightening.

  “Besides, I don’t punch a clock,” Cruz told her. “That’s not how horse training is done.”

  Keep him talking. If he talks, he can’t kiss. And if he can’t kiss, I can’t melt.

  “How is it done?” Her own voice sounded incredibly squeaky and thin to her ear.

  “With skill.” She could feel his mouth curving into a smile against her neck. “Just like making love with a woman.”

  He knew he could have her if he pressed the tiniest bit. But something held him back. So instead of stoking the fire he knew was already burning, Cruz laid his cheek against hers.

  “Look out there.”

  Below their feet, stretching out to eternity, was perhaps the most breathtaking valley she had ever seen. She sighed softly, letting the serenity soothe her. “It’s beautiful.”

  Cruz saw more than just beauty, he saw solitude. A place where a man’s place in life didn’t matter.

  “Nothing for miles.” Suddenly, he wanted her with an intensity he’d rarely felt. But he needed her to come to him on her own, not be seduced into doing it. It wouldn’t count unless she came to him.

  Slowly, he turned her around to face him. “No one would see us. It’s far more isolated than a stable.”

  Her heart lodged itself in her throat, taking up a position that was becoming increasingly familiar. “Did you bring me here just to make love with me?”

  His eyes held hers. What was it about her that drew him in like this?

  “I would bring you anywhere to make love with you, Savannah. And there is no ‘just’ about it.” He broke with tradition, and told her the truth, if only just this once. “I’ve had you on my mind ever since that night.”

  God, how she wished she could believe him…. But she knew she’d just be fooling herself. Men like Cruz Perez didn’t remember a single encounter like the one they’d shared. If she were being honest, it surprised her that he even remembered her name. Granted, he hadn’t left her abruptly after it was over, with some hurried, flimsy excuse. Instead, he’d held her in his arms, murmuring softly to her in Spanish. She’d been afraid to ask him what the words meant—afraid because they wouldn’t be what she’d wanted them to be: a promise.

  It was a silly notion, then and now. She knew his reputation. And her own inexperience. The two did not make for a memorable encounter for someone like Cruz.

  With effort, she left the shelter of his arms. “I flatter easily, Cruz, but don’t mistake that for stupidity.”

  He looked intrigued. “I would never think of you as stupid, querida.” Not to be outmaneuvered, Cruz slipped his arms around her waist. It struck him that something had changed since the last time they’d made love. “You feel thinner.” He glanced down at her waist. “Are you losing weight?”

  Savannah caught her lower lip between her teeth. Right now, thanks to morning sickness she was losing weight. But that would all change soon.

  Trying to be casual, she shrugged, her arms moving against his. “Nerves.”

  He studied her face carefully. The revelation further intrigued him. A ploy, or honesty? “What are you nervous about?”

  So many things. You. This reckless feeling inside me.

  Savannah caught herself before she blurted out more than she intended. Instead, she told him, “New jobs always make me nervous.”

  “I think it’s more than that.” He searched her face. Cruz narrowed his eyes. “Do I make you nervous?”

  Savannah took a deep breath. Lies were always hard on her. She’d never really managed to tell them with any sort of flair.

  “Maybe,” she admitted. “Just a little.”

  The confession caught him off guard. Women were rarely honest with him. He found it
a rather charming quality. And very disarming.

  Bending, he kissed her cheek instead of her lips. “Then I won’t give you anything to be nervous about.” This time, he added silently. Cruz looked into her eyes. “We have time.”

  Rather than quell her nerves, he’d made them jump even more. He was far too close for Savannah to think rationally. The only solution was distance.

  “Speaking of which—” She held up her wristwatch for his perusal.

  “Yes, I know.” Lowering her wrist, he took her hand in his and began walking back to where they’d tethered the horses. “Maybe we should be getting back. I’ve given her enough time to feel secure that I’m not returning to plague her. She’ll be surprised to find me nudging at her heels again.”

  Savannah wasn’t sure whether he was talking about the horse he was training, or about her. In either case, her sympathies were with the mare.

  Five

  Savannah returned to Dallas the following week to pack up her belongings and bring an end to that chapter of her life. She gave away some of her furniture to charitable organizations and had the rest shipped out to the Double Crown. Dallas had promised to help make room for her things in the suite she now occupied at the ranch.

  When her furniture finally arrived, Cruz was the one who insisted on bringing the pieces upstairs for her. Dallas was busy elsewhere.

  As they worked to find a suitable arrangement for the furniture, Savannah felt a little as if they were playing house. She tried not to let her imagination get the best of her, but had to admit that it was a nice feeling.

  Just the way being with Cruz was.

  She saw him often in the time that Vanessa and Devin were away on their honeymoon. And whenever she could, she would watch him work, fascinated by the way he seemed to be able to silently communicate with the magnificent animals he trained. She could see the small corral from the window of the first-floor room where an office had been set up for her. At times, Savannah would pause and stare at man and beast—stare and marvel as Cruz seemed to bond more with the horse with each passing day. It was a thing of beauty to watch as it developed.

  There was a whole other side to Cruz that Savannah hadn’t realized existed. A gentle, patient, intuitive side. With all her heart, she prayed that more than Cruz’s good looks, the baby whose heart beat beneath hers would inherit this special quality.

  “Claudia tells me that you and Cruz are seeing a lot of each other.”

  Engrossed in her work, Savannah didn’t register Vanessa’s voice until a second after she looked up. Vanessa was standing in the doorway, wearing a smile reminiscent of a cat that had just discovered a secret entrance to an aviary.

  “Vanessa!” Pushing her chair back, Savannah hurried to embrace the other woman. “When did you get back?”

  “Just now. Claudia waylaid me out front before I even walked in.” She stepped back to look at Savannah. “So, is it true?”

  Nothing, it seemed, was sacred—or secret—on the Double Crown. After four weeks, Savannah was acutely aware of that. Everyone had been wonderful to her. But everyone, apparently, took an avid interest in everyone else’s business. It was one big family, all right—forever intertwined.

  Savannah wanted to talk to Vanessa about her honeymoon, not about her own activities. “We’ve gone riding a few times.”

  Vanessa looked at her hopefully. “And?”

  Savannah shrugged. There was nothing to tell, really. At least, not in the way Vanessa wanted. She and Cruz had enjoyed each other’s company, and once or twice been on the cusp of making love, but something had always gotten in the way. Savannah felt both relieved and a little edgy about it.

  “And he’s been very nice.”

  “Nice doesn’t tell me anything. Oh, Savannah, I want you to be happy—as happy as Devin and me.” She smiled the bright, sentimental smile of a new bride. Then she seemed to grow a little more serious. “What about the baby?” She looked at Savannah hopefully. “Does he—?”

  Savannah anticipated her question. “No. And he’s never going to.”

  She could see what was going on in Vanessa’s mind as clearly as if it were written down on paper. Vanessa was dying to let Cruz know about this baby. But Savannah was adamant about not wanting to trap him. Nothing good could come of her telling him about the baby. If he offered to marry her, she’d have to turn him down. And if he didn’t propose, she would be heartbroken that he cared so little. It was best not to bring the matter up at all. Ever.

  “Promise?” Savannah pressed.

  “Promise,” Vanessa echoed, frustrated. “I can keep that part a secret, but we have to face the fact that pretty soon everyone is going to know there’s a baby coming.”

  “A baby?”

  Both women jumped at the sound of Cruz’s voice. Turning, they stared as he strode into the office. He’d heard that Vanessa was back, but it was Savannah who he’d wanted to see. Walking in on the two women, he’d heard enough to realize that the ranks of the Fortunes were swelling again.

  His face was lit with a huge smile. Savannah had never seen him look that way, not even when he was working with the horses. His smile was filled with filial affection. It wasn’t sexy, it wasn’t unsettling; rather, it was bright and heartfelt.

  He had a good heart, she thought. It would just never belong to her.

  Cruz went straight to Vanessa, caught her up in his arms and spun her around. He kissed her soundly on the cheek before setting her down again.

  “A baby.” His grin was wide enough to split his face. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations!”

  Savannah and Vanessa exchanged looks.

  “No, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I’ll keep your secret as long as you want, Vanessa. But I don’t see why you’d want to keep it quiet. You’ve told Devin, haven’t you? A man should know when he’s about to become a father.”

  Each word drove a sharp knife through Savannah’s heart. Everything, she knew, would change, if he knew that the child he was raving about so joyously was his, and not Devin’s.

  She looked at Vanessa, but her friend gave no indication that she was going to say anything to correct Cruz. Savannah knew that for the sake of their friendship, Vanessa wouldn’t set Cruz straight until she absolutely had to. In the meantime, there would be awkward repercussions. What about Devin? And Vanessa’s father? Or Dallas? If this went any further—and it would—they’d all think that Vanessa was pregnant.

  No, she wasn’t about to put Vanessa through any of that. Not on her account.

  Not quite knowing what she was about to say until the words were out, Savannah said, “Vanessa’s not the one who’s pregnant.”

  Confusion creased his brow. “But I heard the two of you talking. If she’s not pregnant, who is?”

  Savannah swallowed. The admission came out in a whisper. “I am.”

  The smile abruptly vanished from Cruz’s face as he looked at her in stunned silence.

  In a heartbeat, tension became a fourth entity in the room.

  Vanessa looked from Savannah to Cruz. “Maybe I should go.”

  Savannah didn’t want to be alone with Cruz. Not until she could think clearly and come up with something believable to answer the questions she dreaded were coming. Her eyes darted toward Vanessa. “No, that’s all right, there’s nothing going on here that you can’t stay for.” Savannah was surprised that she could even form words when her mouth felt so dry and her pulse was racing so fast that she actually heard it vibrating in her ears.

  Cruz’s eyes never left Savannah’s face, his expression too dark to read. “Yes, thank you, Vanessa. If you don’t mind, I would like to speak to Savannah alone.”

  Torn, Vanessa hesitated, not knowing who to accommodate. She was closer to Savannah, but she’d known Cruz all of her life.

  Savannah inclined her head, silently telling Vanessa that it was all right to go.

  “I’ll be close by,” she whispered to Savannah before closing the door behind her.

&nbs
p; The silence in the room was deafening. Tension grew another two feet in height and width.

  A thousand words rushed into Savannah’s head, and flew out again just as quickly. Unable to think clearly, she held her tongue and waited for Cruz to say something to her—praying that she wouldn’t lose her courage and blurt out the truth if he asked for it. There would be no winners then, only three losers.

  Cruz circled around her slowly, like a man searching for the hidden entrance to a sealed citadel. “You’re pregnant.”

  Hands clenched at her sides, Savannah refused to turn and look at him as he moved around her. “Yes.”

  How long had she known? Did she know she was pregnant when she rode with him to the meadow? Or danced so closely with him at the reception? Or smiled so invitingly at him these past weeks? Was everything just an act?

  Or—?

  His eyes narrowed. “You’re sure?”

  Savannah steeled herself. “Yes.”

  He was standing in front of her again, his eyes on hers. Looking for signs, for lies. For the truth. “Is it mine?”

  Yes!

  The word screamed inside her brain. Savannah could feel it vibrating within her body, begging for release. But she was still determined not to compound her mistake by making another, more grievous one. She had to make the best of a bad situation.

  The best meant never making the child feel the brunt of the guilt—even if the words were never spoken—for having forced its parents together. The way she had unwittingly forced her own parents together. A sense of guilt had pervaded her entire childhood as a result. It was no way to raise a child, no way to seal together a family. And she wasn’t about to commit that sin, no matter what she felt for Cruz.

  Because all he would feel, eventually, would be resentment toward her.

  She looked directly into his eyes, praying that he would forgive her for lying if he ever found out. “No, the baby isn’t yours.”

  Relief flowed over him. But it immediately dried up in the heat of the surprising anger that followed. Anger that flamed high, hiding the hurt that hovered just behind it.