The Cowboy’s Baby

by Patricia Thayer

  His mouth found hers in the dark as if a magnet drew them together. The kiss grew intense along with their need, a need that hadn’t diminished in their long months apart.

  “Oh, Trace,” she breathed as he broke off the kiss. She tried to come up with more resistance, but she was weak.

  “Trust me, Kira.” He tugged on her arm and together they walked to the bed. Slowly he began taking off her clothes, but she soon grew impatient and helped the process along, then did the same for him.

  As she lay down on the mattress Trace leaned over her, his hands working their magic on her body, stealing her breath away, along with any doubts.

  “We’ll make this work, Kira.”

  Hope sprang inside Kira. Was this really going to happen? Was she finally getting her wish? A family.

  A blissful three days and nights had passed, and Kira woke every morning, smiling. Trace had been a wonderful, attentive, considerate lover since the night they…renegotiated their marriage. Of course they had to steal their time together around their houseguest. But that was good practice for when their own child was here.

  She walked into the kitchen to find Jody at the stove, cooking bacon. She glanced at the clock to see it was only seven o’clock. She told Jody repeatedly she didn’t need to fix breakfast, but the girl kept doing it anyway.

  “Jody, you should sleep in since you worked late last night.”

  The girl turned around. “Oh, Mrs. McKane. It’s okay, I usually get up early.”

  Kira went to the coffeepot and poured a cup. “But you need your sleep, too.”

  The teenager’s coloring had looked better this past week. “I’ll rest later. I want to help out.” The girl studied her for a while. “I don’t want you to worry that I’ll still be around when your baby comes. Cal is helping me figure some things out.”

  Jonas had been helping her? “Have you heard from your mother?”

  Jody shook her head. “I don’t expect to.”

  It was sad that her mother couldn’t be there for her. But the baby’s father needed to take responsibility, too. “Jody, have you told Ben you’re pregnant?”

  The girl took the bacon out of the skillet. “No. I tried at the party, and I’ve called, but he won’t talk to me.”

  “He needs to know about the baby.”

  Jody turned around, tears in her eyes. “That’s what Jonas says. But Ben will hate me.”

  Kira understood that feeling; she’d been there herself. “Ben has no cause to hate you. He helped make this baby.”

  “And he needs to take responsibility.”

  They both turned to see Trace and Cal standing at the doorway. They walked in and Trace came to Kira and kissed her, then turned to Jody. “If Ben won’t listen to you, I think I should talk to him.”

  The girl blinked in surprise. “You don’t have to do that, Mr. McKane.”

  “Someone has to. It’s time for him to man up,” Cal spoke up. “When does he go off to the Army?”

  “In a few weeks.”

  “Then there’s time,” Trace said. “We’ll drive you into town today.” He rubbed his hands together. “Now, how about some breakfast? I’m starved.”

  “Me, too,” Cal added.

  Jody beamed. “I just need to cook the eggs. Is scrambled okay?”

  The two men nodded. “That’s our very favorite,” Cal answered.

  The teenager went to work, Cal went to get coffee, and Trace sat down at the table. He winked at Kira as she joined him.

  She smiled in return. “Thank you for standing up for Jody. I don’t think many people have.”

  “I’m just practicing for when we have our daughter.”

  It had been getting easier for Kira to believe. That she and Trace were going to be parents. A child together. “So you don’t mind that the baby’s a girl?”

  “Mind having two beautiful women in my life? I don’t think so.”

  She gripped his hand. Things were getting better every day. “I think we’re pretty lucky, too.”

  After chores Trace and Kira drove Jody into town to see Ben. He glanced in the rearview mirror of the SUV and saw the nervous teenager in the back seat. A strange protectiveness came over him.

  “Jody, it’s going to be all right. Ben just may surprise you.”

  Jody nodded. “I think he suspects already. I think that’s why he’s been avoiding me.”

  Trace looked at Kira, then turned onto Ben’s street. After finding the right house, he parked in front. “Well, that’s going to end now.”

  “Do you want us to go with you?” Kira asked.

  Jody shook her head. “No. I need to tell him by myself.” She climbed out of the car and walked to the door.

  “Are you sure we should let her go on her own?” Trace said, watching Jody.

  “I think she wants to hear what he has to say.” Kira sighed. “I hope she doesn’t have any delusions that they’re going to get married and raise this baby.”

  Trace glanced at Kira. “This has to bring back bad memories for you.”

  She shrugged. “Teenage girls at that age want love.”

  “And teenage boys are only after sex.”

  Kira kept her gaze on the house as she swallowed. “In the end everyone gets hurt.”

  Just then Jody came running out the front door. She climbed into the back seat and wiped at the tears streaming down her face. “Please, just go.”

  “What happened?”

  “Ben doesn’t want anything to do with the baby. He said it wasn’t even his, and just to get rid of it.” She sobbed. “It is his, Mrs. McKane. I loved Ben. There’s never been anyone else.”

  Trace fought his anger as he climbed out of the car and marched up to the house. He rang the bell, but got no answer. So he began pounding until finally Ben came to the door.

  The teenager stood eye to eye with Trace in height, but was about twenty pounds lighter. He looked shocked and a little frightened to see who was on the porch. “Mr. McKane.”

  “That’s right, Ben. Let’s see how you handle what I have to say.”

  His gaze went to the car, then back at Trace. “If it’s about Jody—”

  “You’re damn right it’s about Jody. And your child. The girl didn’t get pregnant on her own. She came to ask you to help, and you humiliated her by saying the baby wasn’t yours.”

  “Well, how would I know, she could have been with someone else.”

  “Do you honestly believe Jody would lie to you?”

  The boy glanced away as he shook his head. “No. But I can’t have a kid. I’m going into the Army.”

  “What about Jody? She applied to college. Instead she’s going to be raising a baby.”

  The boy didn’t say anything.

  “As least think about what Jody is going through. Help her decide what to do. If she does decide to keep it, are you going to be a part of the baby’s life? I guess what I’m trying to say is act like a man. If you’re man enough to join the Army, you should be man enough to accept your responsibilities.” He turned, stormed off the porch and back to the car, knowing he’d taken on the job of Jody’s protector for the long haul.

  All he could think about was no one had been there for Kira.

  Two days later, Trace rode out to the land that was soon—if he couldn’t find any money—going to be Jarrett’s. He pulled up on the rein, and just sat back in the saddle. He’d always loved this area covered in rows of birch trees. It was prime property that Jarrett had initially wanted for himself. But at the time, his brother had wanted the money for another project and the home he wanted to build. That had been when they’d struck the deal.

  Trace had agreed to a five-year plan to pay Jarrett for the property. The land he’d thought to use for raising a herd of free-range beef. He needed a few years to prepare the grazing land, and to put up fencing to keep the cattle in the allotted area. There would be a lot of up-front expenses, but in the long run the payoff would be worth it.

  Ranchers these days
had to have numerous business ventures to keep afloat. He’d thought about following his neighbors and opening some land to hunters, maybe building some cabins to rent. That, too, took capital. And he didn’t have any right now.

  So maybe what he had to do now was make sure that the McKane Ranch would be around for future generations. That meant selling this prime section back to his brother.

  There were other priorities now. Kira, and the baby that would arrive in just weeks. Oh, boy. He sucked in a long breath. Getting used to the idea took some doing.

  A girl. Would she like to ranch? Maybe not. It was a hard life. But who was to say they couldn’t adopt more children? Whoa! Slow down, man. She wasn’t even born yet.

  His thoughts turned to Kira. They’d come a long way in the last few weeks. He’d been welcomed back into their marriage bed. More importantly, he’d managed to convince her he wanted to be a part of her and the baby’s future.

  He smiled, thinking about Kira back at the house already adding pink paint to the walls in the nursery. And maybe he should help her.

  Trace pulled on Thunder’s reins to turn and started back to the house when through the trees he spotted a vehicle. He rode toward the property line that separated his and Jarrett’s land and saw what looked like a survey crew marking off areas.

  They stopped when he rode up. “Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?”

  “Hello, Mr. McKane, I presume. Trace McKane?”

  “That’s me.

  The man walked closer. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. McKane. I’m Frank Rhodes and this is John Thompson. We’re from EnRockies and we’re doing a survey.”

  There was that name again. What was Jarrett up to? It was still his property. “You do know that this is my land. I never agreed to any survey.”

  Frank Rhodes frowned as he exchanged a glance with John Thompson. “Mr. McKane, I was assured that you’d already okayed us having access to this section.”

  “By who? I hold the deed to this land.” At least he did until he couldn’t make the balloon payment.

  “Jarrett McKane. He said he’d talked to you.”

  Trace felt the anger building. “About what?”

  “About leasing the mineral rights under your land.”

  “What the hell?”

  Rhodes hurried on to say, “It’s directional drilling, Mr. McKane. There won’t be a drilling tower on your land at all. EnRockies has always followed the strict guidelines of the Bureau of Land Management to protect the environment. If there are any more concerns, I assure you we will answer any questions.”

  “I have one big one. My brother. He never told me about any lease.” Trace thought back to Jarrett’s eagerness to buy back this land. That wasn’t going to happen now. “Do you think you could come by the house in a few hours? I’d like to discuss this at length.”

  “We would be happy to. I’ll give Jarrett a call, too. I want to get this settled.”

  Thunder shifted away. “Believe me, it’s going to be settled once and for all.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  TWO hours later, Kira stood in the nursery and eyed her handiwork. The light pink vertical stripes below the white wainscoting looked great. This was definitely a little girl’s room.

  She also had her eye on a white Daisy Garden crib she’d spotted in the shops. The bedding had pink and yellow colors with a floral design. It was an extravagant purchase, but Trace was fine with her using the money in the credit union, so she didn’t mind borrowing a little from it.

  Excitement raced through her. She was going to be a mother. All these years of dreaming, praying for a baby and now it was going to happen.

  As much as she wanted the experience again of a baby growing inside her, she was already in love with this little baby. She planned to do everything possible to bond with this child, to welcome Jenna Margaret into the McKane family.

  The door slammed downstairs, bringing Kira out of her reverie. So Trace had come home to help her with the painting. She smiled and headed down to the kitchen, thinking how nice it would be to have her husband around once again. She reached the kitchen, but no Trace. She tracked him down in the office, bent over the desk going through files.

  “Trace, is something wrong?”

  He didn’t even look up at her. “There’s plenty wrong. I found a survey crew in the south section. The land I was going to sell back to Jarrett.”

  “Who was doing the survey?”

  “EnRockies,” he said, then filled her in on the rest of the story.

  “No, Jarrett wouldn’t do that to you.” She’d always believed there was good in her bother-in-law.

  “You’re defending him?”

  “I’m not, but why would he do this behind your back?”

  “Money. It’s not enough he’s leasing them his own land, he wants more. Mine.” He slammed a drawer. “Forget that, he has no regard for my feelings about drilling on McKane land.”

  Kira had only known what she’d heard in town, from students who had parents employed by this company. There seemed to be more positive than negative about EnRockies.

  “I think you should listen to what they have to say.”

  Trace stared at Kira. She didn’t understand, this was a bond he’d shared with his dad. Their love of the land. “Dad trusted us to protect the ranch. And by the looks of it with Jarrett, I’m going to have to do it on my own.”

  “Trace, I want to help you, too. All I ask is that you calm down and find out more information.”

  How could he stay calm when he could lose everything? “Why? It’s not going to change my mind, Kira.” He frowned. “And since when have you cared about the ranch? You’ve been wrapped up in other things.”

  His words hurt her. “I’ve always cared, you just chose to exclude me.”

  An hour later, Mr. Rhodes arrived at the house. Kira came into the room and introduced herself. She refused to be shut out of the meeting. If they were going to make their marriage work, she needed to be a part of everything, and that included the ranch operation. She listened to the lease offer and bit back a gasp when Mr. Rhodes quoted the amount of money that would be paid out monthly.

  She tried to read the map of the area, telling them where they had drilling towers located. How the Bureau of Land Management and the state of Colorado had approved the project.

  “Like I stated earlier, Mr. McKane,” Rhodes began, “there won’t be any tower on your property.”

  “But close,” Trace challenged. “Close enough to the Roan Plateau.”

  “It’s no secret you and your brother’s properties are prime locations, but the drilling can be done by one tower, which Jarrett has already agreed to place on his property.”

  Kira watched her husband struggle to remain calm. So she came up with a question. “How long is your company’s lease for, Mr. Rhodes?”

  “It varies, Mrs. McKane, but when we leave, the land is left just like it was before we began drilling. We plan to do everything possible to protect the environment and that includes the wildlife. So that means we have to proceed slowly and cautiously in selecting locations around the plateau’s base.”

  Suddenly there was a knock on the back door and Jarrett walked into the kitchen. He glanced around the table. “Looks like you started without me.”

  “You got that wrong, brother. You started a long time ago and left me out altogether.”

  Mr. Rhodes stood. “I’ll leave you all to hash this over. We’ll talk again. Here’s my card. You can reach me anytime.” He nodded to Kira. “Mrs. McKane.”

  Kira let their guest walk out on his own. She wasn’t about to leave the brothers alone.

  Trace spoke first. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

  “Why? You’d just reject the idea.”

  “So instead you tried to take away my land and go ahead when you know how Dad would have felt about this?”

  “The ranch will still be here, Trace. Besides, Dad gave us the ranch.”

&nbs
p; “But you never wanted to work it.”

  “Is it so hard to believe that I don’t want to work eighteen hour days and never know if you’ll make enough to live on?”

  Kira was steamed by her brother-in-law’s arrogance. She wouldn’t blame Trace if he threw Jarrett out of the house.

  “I do just fine,” Trace argued. “Making money isn’t all that makes a person happy.”

  “That may be all right for you. I want a better life and the lease will guarantee that.”

  “It also doesn’t mean I have to go along with it.”

  “Fine. But you’re going to lose the land anyway. Word is you don’t have the money to pay off the loan, Trace. That means it comes back to me. I’d say I win either way.” He grinned. “Once again I’ll come out on top, little brother.”

  Kira could only watch the scene unfold like a bad movie. She wanted to help her husband, but knew he wouldn’t appreciate it. Trace had to handle this his own way.

  “I have other ways to get my hands on the money.”

  Jarrett smiled. “It’s just a matter of time before you can’t keep up the ranch. You’ll be borrowing until there’s nothing left.”

  “Get out of my house, Jarrett. And don’t come back.”

  Jarrett looked at Kira. “Call if you need anything.”

  She couldn’t believe the nerve of the man. “You’d be the last person I’d call.” She moved closer to her husband. Jarrett finally turned and left.

  “I’m sorry, Trace.”

  Trace stiffened when Kira touched him. He pulled away and walked to the back door. “I need to get out of here.”

  “Trace, wait,” she called to him. “Let me help.”

  He glared at her. “You can’t, Kira. I’m about to lose everything.”

  Kira felt a pain deep in her chest, making it hard to breathe. He said “I” not “We.” Like so many times before when it came to the ranch, she’d been excluded from his life.

  Trace couldn’t think clearly so he stalked out to the barn. A long, hard ride on Thunder was safer than getting behind the wheel of his truck.