Stockyard Snatching

by Barb Han

  “What’s your actual connection to Safe Haven?” Her eyes studied him.

  “I already told you that I was investigating them.” Not a total lie, but not the truth, either. Dallas drummed his fingers on the counter. “I was in a relationship with someone.”

  “Susan.” Kate’s gaze didn’t falter. “And you had a baby?”

  “There’s where everything gets dicey.” He paused long enough to see the confusion on her face. “She had a baby. Said it was mine. I’m not so sure.”

  “You didn’t get along with her?” Kate asked, with more of that shock in her voice.

  “It’s more complicated than that, but the answer would be no.”

  “What happened?” Those blue eyes stared at him and he wanted to be honest with her.

  “I thought she was seeing someone else, and it would have been next to impossible for me to have fathered a child with her,” he said. This was awkward, but not as strange as talking to Tommy or the thought of opening up about this to one of his brothers. Why was that? Dallas had known Tommy since they were three years old. And he and his brothers couldn’t be closer.

  Being the oldest, Dallas had always felt a certain responsibility for taking care of the others. Was he afraid he’d somehow be letting them down by admitting his mistakes?

  “Why did she go to Safe Haven?” Kate asked.

  “That’s a good question. I don’t have the answer to it. I had others, so I hired a PI to investigate,” Dallas said.

  “Wayne Morton,” she said.

  “That’s right. He started digging around. Told me that she’d had a baby and there’s a tie to Safe Haven, but I have no idea if the baby was put up for adoption or not.”

  “I can’t even imagine,” Kate said, and there was agony in her voice. “That must be the worst feeling in the world.”

  “Hell can’t possibly be worse,” he admitted. “Even though I know there’s barely a chance I could have a son out there, I can’t sleep at night.”

  “It was a boy?” Kate said, glancing at Jackson’s blanket on the couch. “Do you have any idea how old the baby would be now?”

  “Maybe three months old,” Dallas said, eyeing her reaction.

  She glanced at the blanket again and then her gaze fixed on him with a look of sheer panic.

  Yeah, he’d noticed the slight resemblance between him and Jackson, but that didn’t mean… Did it?

  That look of determination came back as Kate squared her shoulders and took a sip of coffee.

  “He’s not mine,” Dallas said, trying to convince both of them. “All we have to do is swab us both if you want proof.”

  “I don’t need it. Jackson is my son until someone proves otherwise,” she said defensively. She hopped off the counter and then walked to the sliding glass door.

  It was dark outside, so she wouldn’t be able to see a thing. “Don’t do that, Kate,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Close up like that.” He should know that was what she was doing. He was the king of shutting people out.

  She whirled around and there was fire in her glare. “Is that why you’ve been so nice to us? Because you think Jackson is your son?”

  “Hell, no,” Dallas said, closing the distance between them in a couple of strides. “And for the record, I don’t think he’s mine. I have more questions than answers, and to say my relationship with Susan was brief puts it lightly.”

  Kate was too stubborn or too daring to look away, even with him standing toe to toe with her.

  And Dallas noticed the second her anger turned to awareness. He could see her pulse beating at the base of her throat, her uneven breathing.

  If she planned to walk away, then she needed to do it soon, because he’d made an enormous mistake in getting so close. Close enough that her scent filled his senses and he couldn’t think straight anymore.

  Before he could overanalyze it, he dipped his head and kissed her.

  Her flat palms moved down his chest until her hands stopped at his waist. She gripped the hem of his T-shirt and he helped her pull it up, over his head and onto the floor.

  Dallas spread his feet in an athletic stance, preparing himself to call on all his strength and tell her that this would be a very bad idea. One look in those hungry blue eyes and he faltered.

  That was all it took? Seriously, O’Brien? Way to be strong.

  He brought his lips down on hers with bruising need and delved his tongue inside.

  She tasted like a mix of the peppermint toothpaste he kept in the guest room and coffee.

  Dallas stopped long enough to close the blinds behind them.

  Kate wound her arms around his neck and he caught her legs as she wrapped them around his midsection, their bodies perfectly flush, and then he carried her to the kitchen island.

  There wasn’t a whole lot of cloth between them as he positioned her on the granite, and he could feel her heartbeat against his bare chest.

  Need overtook logic when her fingers dug into his shoulders, pressing him against her full breasts.

  Dallas took one in his palm and his erection strained when she arched her back.

  He groaned, which came out more like a growl, and felt himself surrender to the moment. He’d never felt so out of control and yet so in the right place in his life. Sex with Kate was going to blow his mind.

  An annoying little voice asked if this was a good idea under the circumstances. And he’d be damned if that unwelcome little voice didn’t make a second round, louder this time.

  Nothing inside him wanted to stop this runaway train, so he needed Kate to.

  He pulled back enough to press his forehead to hers and force his hands on the countertop beside her thighs.

  “Tell me this is a good idea,” he said, and his breathing was ragged.

  Her fingers trailed down his back, stopping at the waistband of his jeans.

  “I want it, too,” she said, breathless. “But it’s a terrible idea.”

  He sucked in a breath and made a halfhearted attempt to step back.

  Sure, he could back off if he wanted to, but the problem was he didn’t. He wanted to nestle himself between those silky thighs of hers, free his straining erection and bury himself inside her.

  Dallas trailed his finger along the collar of her cotton shirt and down the V. So far, he was the only one with any clothes off. That was about to change. He undid the first pair of buttons on her nightshirt.

  Her chest moved up and down rapidly, matching the pace of his own breathing, as he reached up and freed her right shoulder.

  Dallas bent low enough to brush a kiss there and then one on her collarbone.

  Kate was perfection.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, drawing his lips across the base of her neck, pausing long enough to kiss her there, too.

  She made a move to touch him, but he caught her hands in his. He kissed the fingertips of both before placing them on either side of her.

  “No. I get to touch you first.”

  Her breath caught.

  He slicked his tongue in a line down to her breast and gently captured her nipple between his teeth.

  “Dallas,” she started, her body rigid with tension.

  He stopped long enough to catch her eye. “You can tell me to stop at any time and I will. It won’t be easy but I won’t force this.”

  “Oh, no. I want you to move faster.”

  “I can’t do that, either,” he said. “I move too fast and this will be over before it gets good. And I’m a hell of a lot better than that in bed.”

  He ran his tongue across her nipple one more time before taking her fully into his mouth, his own body humming with need.

  * * *

  KATE DIDN’T GIVE up control to anyone. Ever. Except for reasons she couldn’t explain, she felt completely safe with Dallas O’Brien.

  His hot breath on her skin sent shivers up and down her body and caused desire to engulf her. Maybe that was what she needed to clear her
head…a night of hot sex with a handsome cowboy.

  In some strange way, it felt like she’d known Dallas for more than just a day. But she didn’t. He was practically a stranger.

  That thought put the brakes on.

  She froze and he reacted immediately by pulling back.

  “I want to do this, believe me, but I can’t.” She buttoned the top buttons of her shirt, still trying to convince herself that stopping was a good idea. She had never felt such a strong pull toward someone she didn’t know or allowed a situation to get out of control so fast. “I’m sorry.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Tommy just called,” Dallas said to Kate as he walked into the living room, thoughts of last night and their almost tryst still a little too fresh in his mind. He figured their emotions were heightened from one seriously crazy day and that was half the reason their hormones got the best of them.

  “What did he say?” She was on the couch feeding her son a bottle.

  Dallas knew she didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night because Jackson had cried at 10:00 p.m. and then again this morning at three. It was just before eight and he was eating again. Three feedings in ten hours?

  For someone who didn’t sleep a lot, Kate looked damn good.

  “He was able to reach your lawyer,” Dallas said.

  “What did Seaver say?”

  “He made an appointment to drop by Tommy’s office today at noon.” Dallas crossed the room into the open-concept kitchen.

  “I’d like to be there to hear what he has to say.”

  Dallas nodded. “You want a cup of coffee?”

  “That sounds like heaven right now,” she said, trying to suppress a yawn. “I usually don’t sleep this late.”

  “This is late for you?” Dallas asked from the kitchen, where he’d started making a fresh pot. Eight in the morning was late for him, too. Work on the ranch began at five in the morning. He hadn’t wanted to make noise, so he’d spent the morning recapping the prior day’s events.

  “I’ve always been a morning person,” she said. “And since Jackson has me up anyway, I’m usually the first one at the soup kitchen. That reminds me. I need to check in at work. I’m sure yesterday has everyone on edge and I still feel horrible about what happened to Allen.”

  Dallas poured two mugs and brought one to Kate. “You need to keep an eye on his relationship with you.”

  She thanked him and immediately took a sip. Based on her expression, she wasn’t ready to have that conversation.

  “Do you really want to work with someone who is fixated on you?” Dallas continued. Knowing he should leave the topic alone didn’t stop him from pressing the issue. He was man enough to admit to himself that he was jealous.

  “Honestly, work is the last thing on my mind right now,” she said, and she sounded defeated.

  “You want me to finish that?” he asked, gesturing to Jackson and his bottle.

  A moment of hesitation was followed by “No, thanks.”

  Did she still think he believed Jackson might be his son?

  “Last night, about him…” Dallas said. “Well, I just want to reiterate that the probability he’s mine is low. I’m offering to help right now so you can have a cup of coffee, not so I can see if there’s some parental-child bond between us. Truth is, I’m more than a little uneasy at the thought of holding something that tiny.”

  The tension in her shoulders relaxed a little as she smiled. “I thought about it all night and maybe we should have a DNA test done today. If your—” she glanced at him “—Susan’s child was adopted out through Safe Haven, then we can’t ignore the possibility that Jackson could be yours.”

  “It’s not impossible but that would be a huge coincidence.” Dallas took a sip, enjoying the burn on his throat and the strong taste on his tongue. He thought about the way Kate’s kisses had tasted last night. She was temptation he didn’t need to focus on.

  “Questions are bound to come up and we’ll have the answer ready this way.”

  True. She put up a good argument.

  “Chances are strong that I don’t have a child at all,” he said. “I’m almost certain that Susan was close to someone else at the time we were going out. He may have been the real reason she’d relocated to New Mexico and not to be close to me.”

  “You didn’t confront her about it?” Kate asked.

  “Honestly, no. I probably should have but I figured she could see whoever she wanted, given that we weren’t exclusive.”

  “Your girlfriend seeing another man while the two of you were dating was okay with you?” Kate balked.

  Dallas couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction. “We weren’t serious at the time,” he said. “She wanted more and I couldn’t give it, at least not then. I thought we could take it slow. Apparently, she had other ideas.”

  “You didn’t break it off?”

  “I did,” he said. “And then she called a few months later saying she was pregnant and that we should get married.”

  “Wow. That seems awfully presumptuous. If she was seeing another man, there was no way you could’ve known for sure the baby was yours.” Kate set the empty bottle down and then placed the baby over her shoulder in a fluid motion. She might not have been a mother for long, but she seemed to have the hang of it.

  “I’m not making excuses, but when I asked to slow things down until we could get a paternity test, she disappeared,” he said.

  “Sounds suspicious if you ask me,” Kate muttered, bouncing Jackson gently.

  “Either way, I need to know.” Even if Susan had lied, she sure didn’t deserve to be killed, and he hoped that wasn’t the case.

  “Did you know the guy?” Kate asked.

  “No. Didn’t want to.”

  “I can understand that. What about her friends? Think they might know?”

  “We don’t run in the same circles.” She was onto something. If Susan’s friends knew who else she’d been dating then they might be able to give them a name, except that his PI had been killed digging around. Maybe he shouldn’t involve anyone else.

  The baby hiccuped and then burped.

  “He’s a hearty eater.” Dallas changed the subject, eyeing the little boy.

  “That’s what his doctor says.” Kate beamed.

  Motherhood looked good on her.

  “I called the hospital this morning to check on Stacy, by the way,” Dallas said. “She had to have surgery on her shoulder yesterday to remove the bullet. All went well and the doctor is expecting a full recovery.”

  “That’s great news,” Kate exclaimed. “And such a relief.”

  “I had flowers sent over and I thought we could stop by and check on her later.”

  “I’d like that very much.” Kate held Jackson in her arms, looking like she never wanted to let go of him.

  Dallas filed that away. There was no way they could bring the baby with them today. It was too dangerous. When he really thought about it, it was too dangerous for Kate, too. She’d been adamant about going yesterday, but after that close call she might change her mind. If Dallas had anything to say about it then she’d stay right where she was. But knowing her, she wouldn’t dream of being left out.

  “Maybe we could make a detour on the way to the sheriff’s office,” he said.

  “Great.”

  “Hungry?” Dallas asked.

  “Breakfast would be nice.”

  “I’m not much of a cook, so I had one of my brothers bring over some of Janis’s homemade muffins this morning,” he said, setting his mug on the side table and moving toward the kitchen.

  “Is that what smells so amazing?” she asked, propping Jackson up on a pillow next to her.

  Dallas brought in the basket filled with blueberry and banana nut muffins.

  “Janis makes them fresh every morning.”

  “She could run her own bakery, based on the smell alone,” Kate said between bites.

  “Don’t tell her that or we might lose her,” Dall
as teased.

  “Must be hard to find good help,” Kate said with a smile.

  “My brothers and I kicked in and gave her a share of the ranch. She’s worked just as hard as the rest of us in making the place a success.” They had figured that she deserved a cut far more than their aunt and uncle, who hadn’t put in an honest day’s work in their lives.

  “That was really nice of you guys.” Kate looked impressed.

  “It was the right thing to do.”

  Unfamiliar ringtones sounded, breaking the morning quiet. Dallas quickly realized they were coming from her diaper bag.

  She looked around, panicked, and Dallas realized she was trying to figure out how to get to her phone across the room without leaving Jackson alone on a pillow.

  “You want me to get that for you?” Dallas asked.

  “Would you mind?”

  He retrieved her cell and handed it to her. The ringtones were pulsing loudly, but he felt more than their vibration shoot through him when their fingers grazed.

  “It’s my brother.” She looked up at Dallas. “What should I do?”

  “Answer it.”

  * * *

  KATE TOOK A deep breath and answered.

  “What’s going on with you?” Carter was frantic. “I’ve been trying to call and you haven’t been answering. A deputy showed up at my house and at Mom’s, asking questions.”

  “We had an incident yesterday morning, but the baby and I are fine.”

  “Why didn’t you call me immediately?” he asked, and she hated the worry in his voice. She still felt like she’d let him down by leaving the business they’d created, and this didn’t help.

  “I’m sorry, Carter. Yesterday was a whirlwind and I was exhausted.” It was partially true. That wasn’t the reason she hadn’t called, but she didn’t want to say that the sheriff had asked her not to.

  “Mom is a wreck,” Carter said.

  “You talked to her?”

  “What choice did I have when a deputy knocked on both of our doors? You could’ve given me a heads-up, Kate.” Carter still sounded concerned, but there was something else in his voice she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Anger? Frustration? Hurt?

  “What did they say?”

  “No one told us a thing. They just started asking all these questions about you and Jackson,” he said.