by Sara Orwig
“Before you go, Connor, will you wait up a minute? I’d like to talk to you.”
“Yes, I will,” Connor said in such clipped words that Gavin turned to look at both of them.
As soon as the two men were alone, Tom turned to Connor. “Something’s bothering you.”
“Yeah, it is, but a promise is a promise and I’m not at liberty to say what.”
“I know it involves Rose.”
“I’ve already said too much. I made a promise to Nita. Just guard Rose damned well and call me at the least hint of trouble. You’ll do that, won’t you?”
“Yes, I will,” Tom answered solemnly. Connor brushed past him and strode out the door. Mystified, Tom trailed after him. What was the deep secret that made Connor adamantly opposed to setting Rose up as a decoy? She would have round-the-clock protection.
As Tom left the clubhouse, questions tormented him. Puzzled, he crossed the leaf-covered asphalt lot to his red pickup that was parked beneath an ancient mulberry tree. Broad shiny yellow leaves fluttered in the sunlight, but Tom didn’t see the tree, the lot or the car.
He drove through downtown, his thoughts poring over what each man had said. Why would Connor volunteer Nita and argue so strongly that they couldn’t use Rose? What was it about Rose that Connor was trying to shield?
Puzzled, Tom thought about Rose, her sleek body, her tummy that was rounded—something it hadn’t been when he’d been with her before, five months earlier.
He turned to ice, freezing in the warm car. Stunned, Tom drove up on a curb, and it jolted him enough to pay attention to his driving. He pulled over to the curb. Was Rose pregnant with his child?
“I’ll be damned!” he exclaimed aloud. It fit. If she was pregnant and she had shared the secret with her family, that would explain Connor’s reluctance for Rose to be a decoy. Shocked, Tom thought about the possibility.
He remembered how she had refused his offer of a glass of wine at dinner last night. In Houston that first night, she’d had wine. Now that he thought more about it, her figure had definitely changed.
Rose could be pregnant with his child. If she was, she hadn’t told anyone the father’s identity—or at least Connor hadn’t known, Tom was sure. Rose—pregnant! And her family knew. It fit everything that had happened in the past hour. He thought about Rose telling him she didn’t want to see him again for a while.
Tom stared ahead without really seeing what was in front of him. He was awestruck with the knowledge that he was going to be a father. He had always wanted his own kids. Now he was going to have a baby with Rose. So far, everything he knew about Rose was good—she was intelligent, personable and capable or she wouldn’t have her own successful business. She was deeply into family ties in spite of moving to Dallas, because when trouble had struck, she had moved her business home so she could help her family. From what he knew about Rose, she would be a good, caring mother. A baby with Rose. He guessed that had to be the reason for Connor’s reluctance to place Rose at risk.
Tom thought again about Rose saying she didn’t want to go out with him anymore. She was trying to get him out of her life. That hurt and angered him, yet at the same time he hadn’t made any commitment to her. He had to face the truth that he hadn’t given Rose any reason to trust that he would want to be in a child’s life.
This wasn’t what he had dreamed about—far from it. He had always thought that someday he would find one special woman who he could love and trust. They would have a family and he would try to be the best father he could possibly be.
Yet anger slowly mushroomed in him that she hadn’t shared the news with him now that he was here in Royal. How long had she intended to withhold the truth? Had she thought she could keep it from him and go back to Dallas before he discovered she was carrying his child?
She wasn’t going to tell him about their baby. His baby.
How could she keep that from him even one day? He condemned himself, but he hurt and blamed her, as well.
He backed up and swung the truck out, moving into traffic and now driving by rote. His mind was still on Rose. Questions, doubts, fears, anger and awe, contrasting emotions churned his insides. He clamped his jaw closed so tightly that it hurt.
They weren’t in love—he knew that, but he had wanted to continue seeing her. He thought they had been good together, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to share their baby with him.
What if he had stayed in California and never learned the truth? Would he have ever known his own child?
His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. He eased his foot off the gas pedal, realizing he had left Royal and was almost at the vehicle’s top speed.
He couldn’t get his breath. Taking deep gulps of air, he changed lanes and pulled off the road onto a shoulder, hearing the grass swish against his tires. When he parked by the bar ditch, silence descended.
Every second of the past few minutes would be etched in his mind forever: the clear blue sky, the flat land covered with feathery mesquite, the rumble of traffic speeding along the highway, the crisp fall day.
He pulled out his cellular phone to call Rose.
The moment she answered, he was tongue-tied. He might be completely wrong.
“Rose, this is Tom. I need to see you as soon as possible.” He finally got out the words.
“Sure. I can take a break anytime. Where are you now?”
“Driving back to the ranch. I’ll go to the horse farm instead. I want to talk to you.”
“Fine. I’ll be waiting,” she said and hung up.
Rose replaced the phone. Tom was coming to talk to her, and whatever he wanted to discuss must be some kind of emergency or something the Club members had decided. Nita had mentioned they’d planned a meeting for noon, and Rose knew Connor was increasingly worried that they hadn’t caught the killer.
Rose hurried to her room to brush her hair. She shouldn’t care that she was going to see Tom again, but she was unable to stop her pulse from accelerating. She straightened the house, shut down her computer and when she heard his truck, she hurried to the door.
As soon as he stepped from his vehicle, her pulse took another leap while she watched his long-legged stride cover the ground. Wind blew locks of his black hair away from his face. Her baby would have the most handsome man for a father.
When Tom crossed the porch, his searching gaze stabbed into her. She sucked in her breath in surprise because he looked upset.
“What’s wrong? Has something else happened?” she asked.
“Let’s go inside,” he said. His words were clipped, his fists were clenched and his gray eyes had darkened.
Mystified, she entered the house. In the family room she faced him. He placed his fists on his hips while his gaze raked over her in a blatant study that lingered on her stomach.
“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” he asked bluntly.
Six
While Rose’s heart thudded, she raised her chin and pulled herself together.
“Yes, I am, but that doesn’t concern you,” she said coolly.
“The hell with that! Why didn’t you tell me?” Tom asked.
“You’re not a part of my pregnancy. What I do doesn’t pertain to you,” she said, trying to maintain control, sound calm and hide the total panic that had seized her.
“I want to be involved. I know I haven’t made any commitment or given you any reason to trust that I would want to be in our child’s life, but that’s because I didn’t know you’re having my baby. Well, I’m here to right that and to make a commitment.”
She blinked, taken aback. “You’re acting impulsively. You haven’t talked about committing to anything.”
“I’m ready to now. I know what I want. And you didn’t answer my question. Why didn’t you tell me? You can’t hide a pregnancy.” His clean-shaven jaw jutted out and his expression was as formidable as his question.
“You didn’t know when you left here this morning. How did you find out?” sh
e asked, her sense of panic rising over her inability to control what was happening.
“For one reason, your body doesn’t look exactly the same,” he said.
She flushed and wound her fingers together. She couldn’t argue with that answer.
“How could you do this?” he asked. “If I had stayed in California, you wouldn’t have let me know, would you?”
“Eventually,” she said, taking a deep breath. “All right, so you’re going to be a father,” she said tightly, hating that he had discovered the truth before she was ready to tell him herself. She’d wanted to tell him at a time that suited her best. She would have to deal with him immediately and make decisions she had intended to postpone.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
She closed her eyes and rocked back on her heels. “I was certain that the minute you knew the truth, you would propose,” she said, opening her eyes to meet his piercing gaze. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you. You’re proposing when you know there’s no love between us.”
“Look, there can be caring and love and now there’s reason to commit to each other. I want to help raise my child. I want a say in what happens. And, Rose, you and I need to give ourselves a chance. I’m willing to make a commitment.”
“You’re doing that for all the wrong reasons. You didn’t feel this way last night.”
He winced but shook his head. “I’m willing to have a long-term relationship.”
“Just like that?” she exclaimed, snapping her fingers. “We’re not in love. My answer to your proposal is no.” She hated the way things were going between them and wished she had done this differently.
“You can’t mean that,” he said, all color draining from his face. He paled to the extent that she thought he might faint.
“Look, sit down before you fall down,” she said, now worried about him and his reaction, yet feeling more strongly than ever that she didn’t want to be pressured into a loveless marriage. “Hot sex isn’t a basis for marriage.”
“A baby is,” he said, and his voice was cold steel that plunged her into a chill.
“I want to marry for love,” she stated emphatically.
“Maybe that will come,” he said. “I’m willing to give it a chance.” He raked his fingers through his hair. Black locks sprang back, strands falling over his forehead. “I know I haven’t made a commitment to you, but as far as I was concerned, we were headed toward seeing more of each other.”
“Most men would be glad to shirk this responsibility. They would happily disappear.”
“I’m not most men, and you’re not going to ignore me or get rid of me. I won’t let you walk away. I have rights.”
“You’re going to make this difficult,” she said with a sigh.
“It doesn’t have to be, but I will if it means getting to be a father to my baby.” He moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders. Even though he didn’t hold her tightly, she was annoyed by his demands and spur-of-the-moment proposal.
“Take your hands off me!” she snapped, and he dropped his arms to his sides.
“I can take you to court and try to get joint custody,” he reminded her.
She felt chilled and wondered if a big court battle with him might loom in her future. “I’m marrying for love and no other reason,” she said flatly.
“You think about depriving our baby of a full-time loving father. You consider it long and hard, Rose, because if push comes to shove, I will take you to court and fight for joint custody,” he said, his voice turning cold.
She blinked, certain this was no empty threat. He had the money to get a battery of high-powered lawyers, and there would be publicity because of his wealth. Sympathy would not be with her.
“You want to push us into a loveless marriage.”
“Just give us a chance. And I’ll guarantee you I’m going to love this baby and shower it with affection. I don’t ever want my child to be deprived of a caring family. You might as well face the fact that we’ll have to come to some agreements.”
“You’re already threatening to take my baby from me.”
“I said joint custody. That’s different. It’s a legal process. You tried to keep your pregnancy from me, so don’t even start about my taking your baby.”
With her heart still pounding, she inhaled and gazed up at Tom. She always fought for control and hated when she didn’t have command of a situation. This one had spiraled out of hand from the first moment she had discovered her pregnancy. At least he recognized the fact that he had never made a commitment to her. He couldn’t expect her to come running to him with news of her pregnancy under those circumstances, and she was glad to know he was willing to admit his lack of responsibility.
“I wish you’d told me,” he said quietly, and in that moment she hurt because she faced the truth in her heart—he had a right to know about his baby and she should have told him the first time she’d seen him at the farm.
“I was going to tell you soon.”
“Oh, right,” he said in a cynical tone that rekindled her anger.
“You said yourself that you hadn’t made any commitment and now that you know, you’re already trying to take charge,” she retorted. “You’re a strong man and accustomed to dominating situations. Well, I’m accustomed to being in command, too. I don’t want to change that.”
“You’ll have to yield some of your control. I realize that I’ll have to. And I’d say you’ve already lost some of it.”
Remaining silent, she hated to acknowledge that he was right.
“Connor knows about your pregnancy, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, but I asked my family to keep my secret until I had a chance to tell the father—you.”
When Tom’s face flushed, she knew his anger had returned, but he clamped his jaw closed and didn’t say anything for a moment. He gave her another long, speculative appraisal. “Do you know what you’re having?”
“A girl.”
“A baby girl!” he exclaimed. “Wow,” he said, his tone filling with so much awe, Rose was slightly taken aback. “A little girl,” he repeated, all anger leaving his voice. “Rose, you have to let me into your life.”
“I do not have to do any such thing,” she said, but the wonder in his voice laid siege to her determination to make all decisions herself.
“Marry me and give love a chance,” he urged quietly.
“You’re asking out of a sense of obligation. And you’ve already told me that you’ve bought a ranch and that’s where you want to settle. Well, no, thanks. I’ve spent my whole life trying to get off the horse farm. I’m not turning around and moving right back to a ranch. And there’s a big difference between letting you into my life and marrying you.”
As they stared at each other, she could see fire snapping in the depths of his eyes. A muscle worked in his jaw and his fists were clenched. He took a deep breath. “I’m not giving up my baby,” he declared.
“And I’m not giving up my life as I want to live it.” She could feel the clash of wills and she hurt. This really wasn’t the way she’d wanted him to discover the truth.
He looked as if he were making an effort to calm down. “There’s something else I have to tell you, so we might as well sit,” he said.
“All right,” she replied, wondering what else they had to discuss. She scooted back into a corner of the sofa and Tom sat close, turning to face her. He seemed to be mulling over what he intended to say.
“I don’t even want to pass this on to you, but I’m obligated and if I don’t, someone else will. The Texas Cattleman’s Club members have a plan that involves you. I’ll tell you right now that I oppose it completely.”
Her curiosity rose. “Tell me what it is. It’ll be my decision.”
He frowned at her and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “We’re asking you to be a decoy to draw out the killer.”
“How on earth can I lure a murderer?” she exclaimed, surprised by his announce
ment.
“We let it be known that you’ve found the treasure.”
“Of course!” she exclaimed, seeing at once how the strategy could work. “How would you get that rumor started?”
“Since I know you’re pregnant, there’s no way in hell I want you to put yourself at risk,” he said, avoiding answering her question.
“Don’t you think I’m in peril right now? Even without that rumor?”
He knotted his fists. “Dammit, yes, you are. That was the only reason I listened and considered letting you do this.”
“There’s no ‘letting’ me do it.” If I want to do it, you can’t stop me,” she snapped and felt the tension increase between them. “Go ahead. Tell me the details.”
He glared at her in silence. “I don’t want you to do it,” he insisted.
“So you said. But I want to hear what all of you have worked out.”
Tom sighed. “The plan is for us to eat at the Royal Diner soon and make sure someone overhears us talking about you knowing the whereabouts of the treasure. You know how word travels and anything that happens in the diner goes all over town within hours.”
“Maybe minutes,” she remarked drily.
He thought a moment and nodded. “I’ll stay with you to protect you, but we need to see to it that people don’t know I’m here. And that means I’m with you around the clock. The others will come at the slightest notice, and Connor will be close.”
“If you’re with me, I’ll have more protection than I do now.”
“That’s the reason Connor and I have given the scheme the slightest consideration.”
“I want to do it because maybe the ruse will get this situation over and done with and everyone will be safe again. We might as well try. I know you’ll be with me constantly, so I don’t see how I can be in as much jeopardy as I am now.”
“Common sense tells me you’re right, but my gut feeling is bad. I don’t want you in danger.”
“I’d say it’s settled about the plan.”
“Now who’s acting on impulse?” he snapped. “Think this over.”
