Heidi Hormel - The Convenient Cowboy

“I don’t need a birds-and-bees talk from my little brother,” Payson said with a slight edge as his smile disappeared.

Olympia felt Spence stiffen beside her. She dug her hand into his thigh as the increased tension went right to her now-unsettled stomach. How could she endure months of sickness?

Spence relaxed just a fraction and answered in his cowboy drawl, “Well, there, pardner, just wanted to make sure y’all know how it’s done.”

She scrambled to say something that would get the two of them off this path. “I heard Molly is getting her own YouTube channel? Pony Diva? Or is it Pony Princess ?” Payson finally relaxed and actually smiled.

“That pony already had a swelled head. The video of her at our wedding got ten thousand hits.” He shook his head. “The kids bring their phones and tablets, take videos of her, upload them and then show them to her. I swear she watches.”

“If she needs an agent, tell Jessie to give me a call,” Spence said just as the waitress came to the table with their order.

Olympia surveyed her meal. Soup and salad. Nothing spicy. Nothing with any flavor. She still wasn’t sure if she could eat it and keep it down. Her soda had stayed put, so she lifted a spoonful of the broth. At the same time, Spence raised an overflowing burrito to his mouth. She caught a whiff of chili and beef. Nausea rose, then his arm brushed the side of her breast, causing her nipple to tighten. Her body didn’t know whether to be sick or get ready to do the nasty. She jerked away and spilled a little soup.

Payson’s gaze zeroed in on her.

She put her head down. She had to stay calm in order to keep from racing to the bathroom. She wasn’t ready—and might never be ready—for Payson and Jessie to know about the baby. Which was totally stupid because unless she went somewhere far away, everyone would know she was pregnant eventually. She pushed her meal away. Spence gave her the stink eye, but she didn’t care.

“Something wrong with the food?” Payson asked, a forkful of tamales on the way to his mouth, dripping with guacamole and salsa verde. She averted her eyes from the green goo.

“I had a big lunch.”

He ate his bite and gave her another long stare. “So you’re boarding horses and rescues at the ranch...where my brother is currently living?”

“Ha-ha,” Spence said. “I know you and Jessie think it’s hilarious that I’m living on a ranch, but if it gets me Calvin, I’d even clean the stalls.”

“You think this’ll work?”

Spence nodded and talked about the custody. All she could think was, My baby will have a big brother. Olympia gulped down nausea. Spence turned to her, his hand going—without her permission—to her abdomen. Her head swiveled sharply. She caught Payson looking at them with speculation. Damn it. Now was not the time for this.

“I’ve got animals to take care of. We almost ready?” She knew how rude she sounded. She didn’t care. When she was outside, the hot dry air settled her down by short-circuiting the rush of fear that hit her when she imagined Payson asking what she and Spence were hiding. What would they tell him? Jessie? They knew the marriage was a sham.

* * *

TWO DAYS AFTER the near disaster of a dinner, Olympia visited Muffin, the rescue that Jessie had recently asked her to take on. The horse, true to form, backed away from her, teeth bared. The paint gelding had bad habits and a quick temper—probably abused in his past. He was wary of humans, and the feeling was mutual. He’d bitten Olympia three times and stomped her foot. Her ranch was home to him and three other horses, not enough to cover the bills since only two were paying customers.

“Seven months, Muffin. I can do this for seven months. Otherwise no feed for you.” In a little over half a year, she’d have the baby, and...she’d be free of Spence and ready to hit the rodeo circuit. No way would she feel sad about leaving her fake cowboy. Plus, Rickie would have the cash she needed for school. She smiled thinking about her sister, with her red hair and long legs—nothing like Olympia. Made sense for her and Rickie, since they only shared James DNA. Olympia vaguely remembered Rickie’s slow-talking dad, an Oklahoma cowboy who hadn’t stuck around for his daughter’s birth.

While she and Spence lived together, money should be a little less tight. Olympia might be able to figure out a way to trade for or get the funds to buy a barrel racer. Then she’d be ready to hit the circuit running—so to speak. Right, cowgirl, and exactly how are you going to practice with a big old belly?

Muffin shook his head, his mane going in six directions. Olympia smiled at the gelding’s goofiness and not just the fact that the less-than-pleasant animal had been given such a girlie handle. Jessie said that he’d been named for his unnatural love of muffins—butter-rum ones, in particular. She wasn’t ready to break down and bribe him with those treats...yet. She reached over the stall to put the bucket of feed in place. Muffin showed his teeth. “Silly horse,” Olympia said. “Biting the hand that feeds you is a bad idea.” She checked his water, then moved on to the boarders.

Now what? All the chores were done, and she might actually be hungry. She’d have to face the house sometime.

“Dinner, Olympia,” Spence said from the barn door.

She whipped around but could see only his silhouette against the setting sun, his hat cocked at an angle that gave her a shiver of recognition. He looked just like a cowboy who’d be the sort of stand-up guy she could rely on and fall in love with. But that had been the dream of a teenager. She didn’t want to feel that for Spence or the instant flash of heat. So she’d lie and tell him she wasn’t hungry. Then what? She couldn’t sleep in the barn. She’d agreed to marry him and live with him. Time to act like a civilized human being. “What are we having?”

“Chicken fingers and fries.”

She stared at him, trying to decide if he was making a joke.

He stared back. “It’s Calvin’s favorite. I’m missing him.”

She waited for him to say more, but when he didn’t, she replied, “As long as I don’t have to cook it, I’m good.”

“My cooking skills are limited, but I can make a meal. Are you ready?”

“I’m done, and I might even be hungry.”

“Are these your horses for racing?”

“No. I’m boarding those two.” She waved to the closest animals. “Pasquale there is a rescue that...well, he just never left. The one at the far end is another rescue Jessie talked me into taking. If I was a little more centrally located, it’d be simpler to board more animals. It’s just too far for most people.”

“It is way out. Family ranch?”

“You could say that.” She didn’t want to talk about the father who’d given her the property in apology for a lifetime of neglect.

“So your family is from Arizona?”

He was making polite conversation. She could return the favor. She might have grown up like trailer trash, but she’d learned a lot since then. “My sisters and I grew up over near Bisbee.”

“Sisters. You have more than Rickie, right?”

“Two others. They’re between me and Rickie.”

“What’d you tell them about the wedding?”

“Nothing. They’ll just assume I hitched my wagon to yours for the cash. That’s what we James women do. Find a sugar daddy.” Olympia tried to smile and make a joke of it. That wasn’t easy since her entire life she’d been telling herself that she’d never get stuck pregnant and relying on a man like her mama and grammy. She and Spence stood in the doorway, and even over the horses and hay, she could smell him—which would have been fine, except it made her warm and gooey inside. “I’m hungry,” she said, hoping that would encourage him to move on.