The Durango Affair

by Brenda Jackson

  “You okay, Savannah?”

  He had leaned in after seeing her tremble. Surprise held her still at just how close he was to her. “Yes, I’m fine. I just had a thought of you coming into contact with a bear.”

  He pulled back, smiled and chuckled. “Hey, that has happened plenty of times. But I’ve been fortunate to never tangle with one.”

  She nodded and glanced around, wondering when he would forgo the small talk and get down to what was really on his mind.

  “What do you need, Savannah?” he finally asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

  She met his gaze as emotions swirled within her. “I told you, Durango, that I don’t want or need anything from you. The only reason I’m here is because I felt you should know. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories of kids growing up not knowing who fathered them or men not knowing they fathered a child. I felt it would not have been fair to you or my child for that to happen.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Your child? You do mean our child, don’t you?”

  Savannah bit her lip. No, she meant her child. She had begun thinking of this baby as hers ever since she’d taken the at-home pregnancy test. She’d begun thinking of herself as a single mom even before her doctor had confirmed her condition. She had accepted Durango’s role in the creation of her child, but that was as far as it went.

  “Understand this, Savannah. I want to be a part in our child’s life.”

  She felt a thickness in her throat and felt slightly alarmed. “What kind of a part?”

  “Whatever part that belongs to me as its father.”

  “But you live here in Montana and I live in Philadelphia. We’re miles apart.”

  He nodded and studied her for a moment then said, “Then I guess it will be up to us to close the distance.”

  Savannah sighed. “I don’t see how that is possible.”

  Durango leaned back in his chair. “I do. There’s only one thing that we can do in this situation.”

  Savannah raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  Durango met her gaze, smiled confidently and said, “Get married.”

  Three

  S avannah blinked, thinking she had heard Durango wrong. After she was certain she hadn’t, she couldn’t help but chuckle. When she glanced over at him she saw that his expression wasn’t one of amusement. “You are joking, aren’t you?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Well, that’s too bad, because marriage is definitely not an option.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “And why not? Don’t you think I’m good enough for you?”

  Savannah glared at him, wondering where that had come from. “It’s not a matter of whether or not you’re good enough for me, and I have no idea why you would believe I’d think otherwise. The main reason I won’t marry you is that we don’t know each other.”

  He leaned in closer, clearly agitated. “Maybe not. But that didn’t stop us from sleeping together that night, did it?”

  Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “Only because we’d had too much to drink. I don’t make a habit out of indulging in one-night stands.”

  “But you did.”

  “Yes, everyone is entitled to at least one mistake. Besides, we just can’t get married. People don’t get married these days because of a baby.”

  His lips twitched in annoyance. “If you’re a Westmoreland you do. I don’t relish the idea of getting married any more than you, but the men in my family take our responsibilities seriously.” In Durango’s mind, it didn’t matter that he wasn’t the marrying kind; the situation dictated such action. Westmorelands didn’t have children out of wedlock and he was a Westmoreland.

  He thought about his cousin Dare, who’d found out about his son A.J. only after Shelly had returned to their hometown when the boy was ten years old. Dare had married Shelly. His uncle Corey, who hadn’t known he’d fathered triplets over thirty years ago, was an exception to the rule. Corey Westmoreland could not have married the mother of his children because he hadn’t known they existed. Durango’s situation was different. He knew about Savannah’s pregnancy. Knowing about it and not doing something about it was completely unacceptable.

  He had knocked her up and had to do what he knew was the right thing. Given the implications of their situation, getting married—even for only a short period of time—was the best course of action. He and Savannah were adults. Surely they could handle the intimacies of a brief marriage without wanting more. It wouldn’t be as if he was giving up being a bachelor forever.

  “Well, consider yourself off the hook,” Savannah said, reclaiming his attention. “The only person who knows you’re my baby’s father is Jessica, although I’m sure she’s shared the news with Chase by now. If we ask them not to say anything to anyone I’m sure they won’t.”

  “But I’ll know, Savannah, and there’s no way I’m going to walk away and not claim my child.”

  For a quick second she felt a softening around her heart and couldn’t help appreciating him for declaring her child as his. But she would not marry him just because she was pregnant.

  She gave him a brittle smile as she rose to her feet, clinging on to her carry-on bag and placing her camera pack on her shoulders. The sooner she left Montana and returned to Philadelphia, the better. “Thanks for the offer of marriage, Durango. It was sweet and I truly appreciate it, but I’m not marrying you or anyone just because I’m pregnant.”

  Durango stood, too. “Now, look, Savannah—”

  “No, you look,” she said, eyes narrowing, her back straight and stiff. “That’s what happened with my parents. My mother got pregnant with my brother. Although my father did what some considered the decent thing and married her, he was never happy and ended up being unfaithful to her. It was a marriage based on duty rather than love. He met another woman and lived a double life with her and the child they had together.”

  She inhaled deeply before continuing. “Dad was a traveling salesman and my mother didn’t know that he had another family, which included Jessica, on the West Coast. His actions were unforgivable and the people who suffered most, besides his children, were the two women who loved him and believed in him. In the end one of them, Jessica’s mother, committed suicide. And I watched the hurt and pain my mother went through when she found out the truth about him. So no matter what you say, I would never let a man use pregnancy as a reason to marry. I’m glad we had this little chat and I’ll keep in touch.”

  Chin tilted, she turned and quickly walked away.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, due to the snowstorm headed our way, all flights out have been canceled until further notice.”

  Savannah stared at the man behind the counter. “All of them?”

  “All of them. We have our hands full trying to find a place for everyone to stay so they won’t have to bunk here for the night. It seems that all the hotels in the area are full.”

  The last thing she wanted to do was sleep sitting up in a hard chair.

  “You’re coming with me, Savannah.”

  She turned around upon hearing the firm voice behind her. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  Durango took a step forward. “Yes, you are. You heard what the man said. All flights out have been canceled.”

  “Is this man bothering you, miss? Do you want me to call security?”

  Savannah smoothed the hair back from her face. This was just great. All she had to do was look at Durango’s angry expression to see he did not appreciate the man’s question. To avoid an unpleasant situation, she glanced over her shoulder at the ticket agent and smiled. “No, he isn’t bothering me, but thanks for asking. Excuse me for a moment.”

  She then took Durango’s arm and walked away from the counter. She was feeling frustrated and exhausted. “I think we need to get something straight.”

  Durango rubbed his neck, trying to work away the tension he felt building there. “What?”

  She leaned over and got all into his face. “Nobody, and I
mean nobody, bosses me around, Durango Westmoreland.”

  Durango stared at her for a long moment then forced back the thought that she was a cute spitfire. Okay, he would be the first to admit that for a moment he had been rather bossy, which was unlike him. He’d never bothered bossing a female around before. He then thought about his cousin Delaney, and remembered how overprotective the Westmoreland males had been before she’d gotten married, and figured she didn’t count. But this particular woman was carrying his baby and he’d be damned if she would spend the night at the airport when he had a guest room back at his ranch that she could use. He decided to use another approach. It was well-known within his family that he could switch from being an ass to an angel in the blink of an eye.

  He reached out and took her hand. “I do apologize if I came off rather bossy just now, Savannah. I was merely thinking of your and the baby’s welfare. I’m sure sleeping here in one of those chairs wouldn’t be comfortable. I have a perfectly good guest room at the ranch and you’re welcome to use it. I’m sure you’re tired. Will you come to the ranch with me?”

  His words, spoken in a soft plea, as well as his ensuing smile, only made Savannah’s blood boil even more. She recognized the words for what they were—smooth-talking crap. Her father had been a master at using such bull whenever he needed to unruffle her mother’s feathers. And she was close to telling Durango in an unladylike way to go to hell.

  And yet, spending the night here at the airport wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. She would love to go someplace, soak in a tub then crawl into a bed. Alone.

  She met his gaze, studied his features to see if perhaps there was some ulterior motive for getting her back to the ranch. She knew from her sister’s wedding that Durango Westmoreland was full of suave sophistication and he was an expert at seduction. And although the damage had been done, the last thing she wanted was to lose her head and sleep with him again.

  She pulled her hand from his. “You really have an extra guest room?”

  He grinned and her breath caught at his sexy dimples. Those dimples had been another one of her downfalls that night. “Yes, and like I said, you’re welcome to use it.”

  Savannah toyed with the strap on her camera pack as she considered his invitation. She then met his gaze again. “Okay, I’ll go with you if you promise not to bring up the subject of marriage again. That subject is closed.”

  She saw a flash of defiance in his eyes and then just as quickly it was gone. After a brief span of tense silence he finally said, “Okay, Savannah, I’ll adhere to your wishes.”

  Satisfied, Savannah nodded. “All right, then. I’ll go with you.”

  “Good.” He took the carry-on bag from her hand. “Come on, I’m parked right out front.”

  As Durango led her out of the terminal, he decided that what Savannah didn’t know was that before she left to return home to Philadelphia, he and she would be man and wife.

  “Here we are,” Durango said, leading Savannah into a guest room a half hour later. “I have a couple of other rooms but I think you’ll like this one the best.”

  Savannah nodded as she glanced around. The room was beautifully decorated with a king-size cherry-oak sleigh bed, with matching armoire, nightstands, mirror and dresser. Numerous paintings adorned the walls and several silk flower arrangements added a beautiful touch. It was basically a minisuite with a sitting area and large connecting bath.

  “My mom fixed things up in here. She says the other guest rooms looked too manly for her.”

  Savannah turned and looked into Durango’s eyes. Their gazes locked for the space of ten, maybe twelve heartbeats. “I like it and thank you. It’s beautiful,” she said, moments later breaking eye contact and glancing around the beautifully appointed room once again, attempting to get her control back intact.

  Out of the corner of her eyes she saw him move closer into the room. She turned slightly and watched as he walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. His concentration was on the view outside, but heaven help her, her concentration was on him. And what a view he was. How a man so tall, long-legged and muscular could move with such fluid grace was beyond her. But he managed to do so rather nicely.

  She had noticed that about him from the first. There was something inherently masculine about Durango Westmoreland and the single night they had made love, she had discovered that what you saw was what you got. He definitely could deliver. That night he had tilted her universe in such a way that she knew it would never be the same again. Even now, a warmth moved slowly through all parts of her body just thinking about all the things they had done that night. No second, minute or hour had been wasted.

  Durango suddenly turned and his gaze rested on her, longer than she deemed necessary, before he said, “It looks simply beautiful out of this window. Nothing but mountains all around. And this time of year when the snow falls, I think it’s the most gorgeous sight that you’d ever want to see.” He then turned back around and looked out the window again.

  Mildly interested and deciding not to pretend otherwise, Savannah crossed the room to stand beside him and her breath caught. He was absolutely right. The panoramic view outside the window was beautiful. She hoped she had the chance to capture a lot of it on film before she left. “Have you lived here long?” curiosity pushed her to ask.

  He met her gaze and smiled. “Almost five years now. After I finished college and got a job with the park ranger service, I lived with my uncle Corey on his mountain for a couple of years, until I saved enough money to buy this land. It was originally part of a homestead, but after the elderly couple who owned it passed on, their offspring split up the property and put individual parcels up for sale. My ranch sits on over a hundred acres.”

  “Wow! That’s a lot of land.”

  He smiled. “Yes, but most of it is mountains, which is one of the things that drew me to it. And a good portion of it is a natural hot springs. The first thing I did after building the ranch house was to erect my own private hot tub out back. If the weather wasn’t so bad, I’d let you try it out. A good soak it in would definitely guarantee you a good night’s sleep.”

  Savannah couldn’t help but smile at the thought of that. “A good night’s sleep sounds wonderful. The flight out here was awful.”

  Durango chuckled. “Unfortunately it usually is.” He then checked his watch. “How about I put dinner on the table? Earlier I smothered pieces of chicken in gravy, and made cabbage and mashed potatoes. You’re welcome to join me after you settle in.”

  Savannah felt her stomach growl at the mention of food. Dinner was her favorite mealtime since she could never keep any breakfast down for too long. The only thing she had risked eating that day had been saltines. “Thanks, and I’d like that. Do you need any help?”

  “No, I have everything under control.” He turned to leave the room then stopped before walking out the door. “You’re a city girl, but your name isn’t.”

  Savannah arched a brow. She remembered what Jessica had shared with her once regarding Durango’s aversion to city women. “It’s my mom’s favorite Southern city and she thought the name suited me.”

  He nodded, thinking the name suited her very feminine and genteel charm, as well.

  A short while later Savannah followed the aroma of food as she walked down the stairs to the kitchen. She stopped and glanced around, getting a good look at the wood-grain kitchen counters and the shiny stainless-steel appliances. The kitchen was a cook’s dream. From one side of the ceiling hung an assortment of copper pots. Unlike most men, Durango evidently enjoyed spending time in his kitchen.

  He must have heard her sigh of admiration because he then turned, looked at her and smiled. “All settled in?”

  Forcing her nervousness away, she nodded. “Yes. I didn’t bring much since I hadn’t planned on staying.”

  “You might as well get comfortable. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re stuck here for a couple of days.”

  Savannah frowned. “
Why would you think that?”

  Durango leaned back against the counter and gestured toward the window. “Take a look outside.”

  Savannah walked quickly over to the window. There was a full-scale blizzard going on. She could barely see anything. She turned around. “What happened?”

  Durango chuckled. “Welcome to Montana. Didn’t you know this was the worst time of year to come visiting?”

  No, she hadn’t known. The only thing that had been on her mind, once she’d made her decision, was to get to him and tell him about the baby as soon as she could.

  She glanced back out the window. “And you think this will last a couple of days?”

  “More than likely. The only thing we can do is to make the most of it.”

  Savannah turned and met his gaze, taking in what he’d just said. It was simply a play on words, she presumed. She hoped. Being cooped up in the house with Durango for a couple of days and making the most of it wasn’t what she’d planned on happening. It didn’t take much to recall just how quickly she had succumbed to his sexiness. All it had taken was a little eye contact and she’d been a goner.

  “Come on, Savannah. Let’s eat.”

  Savannah regarded him for a moment before crossing the room to the table where he’d placed the food. “Aren’t you concerned about losing power?”

  Durango shook his head. “Nope. I have my own generator. It’s capable of supplying all the energy I need to keep this place running awhile. Then there are the fireplaces. I had one built for every bedroom as well as the living room. No matter how cold or nasty the weather gets outside, you can believe we’ll stay warm and cozy inside.”

  Staying warm and cozy was another thing she was afraid of, Savannah thought, taking a seat at the table. There was no doubt in her mind that she and Durango could supply enough sensuous fire to actually torch the place.

  “Everything looks delicious. I didn’t know you could cook,” she said, helping herself to some of the food he had prepared, and trying not to lick her lips in the process. She was so hungry.