Ann Roth - A Rancher's Honor

“You—” he said at the same time, then paused. “Go ahead,” Sly insisted.

“I want you to know that I usually don’t spend the night with a man I just met. You were the first and the last.”

“I’m honored that you picked me. I enjoyed our night together.”

Her warm eyes flashed that she had, too. She had a mouth made for loving. Plump, soft lips that were naturally pink. They parted a fraction, just as they had seconds before he’d kissed her on the night they’d spent together.

Sly definitely wanted to explore that heat, unleash her fiery passion and enjoy a repeat of their memorable night together. He moved closer and tucked her hair behind her ears with hands that shook.

He wanted her that much. Too much.

The strength of his need scared him. If he was smart, he’d turn around and leave. But his legs refused to budge.

Finally Lana swallowed and backed up a step. “Is there anything else you wanted?”

Besides kissing her and more? At the moment Sly couldn’t think of a thing. He was debating whether to ask her out or walk away while he still could when she spoke.

“Okay, then,” she said. “It’s chilly out here and I left my coat inside. I also need to get ready for tomorrow. Thanks again for the article.”

She left him standing in the parking lot, feeling both relieved and confused.

Clearly he’d misread her. She wasn’t so happy to see him after all.

Actually, that made sense. He wasn’t supposed to think about her and he sure wasn’t supposed seek her out. They’d agreed on that.

Yet here he was standing in the parking lot of the business she owned, aching for her, even though getting involved with her could be dangerous.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Chapter Three

Lana made a practice of responding to TLD emails by the end of the same day she received them. She usually took care of that chore before leaving work, but thanks to Sly, today she’d been too rattled.

If that wasn’t enough, her father had called to say that Cousin Tim was being sued by his neighbor. No one in the family had ever been sued, and they all were upset and banding around Cousin Tim. They offered to be character witnesses, lend him money for an attorney and whatever else he needed. Cousin Tim was too proud to accept their money, but said he’d let them know if character witnesses would help.

Still a little flummoxed, Lana stood in the kitchen, waiting for the kettle to whistle so that she could make a cup of herbal tea. For days now, she’d tried to push the night with Sly from her mind, without much success. She assured herself that she’d eventually forget the handsome cowboy who dominated her waking thoughts. She certainly hadn’t expected to see him again, and had been both surprised and elated when he’d shown up at the day care.

But her feelings had quickly turned to disappointment. Sly hadn’t asked for her phone number or a date. He hadn’t asked her a single question or said more than a sentence or two. In fact, he hadn’t seemed interested in getting to know her at all, or wanting her to know anything about him. Instead, his heavy-lidded expression had told her exactly what he wanted.

More of what they’d shared on that wild night.

Against Lana’s better judgment, she’d wanted that, too. The attraction between them was more potent than anything she’d ever experienced, even during her honeymoon days with Brent. To the point that when Sly had moved close to her, her mind had all but emptied.

She frowned. How could she feel so strongly about a man she’d just met? She had no idea what his last name was or whether he really was a rancher, where he worked or anything about his family. Although she had a hunch that Amy would fill her in tomorrow when she picked up Courtney after work.

At last the kettle whistled, and Lana pushed Sly from her mind. Tonight she had better things to do than fantasize about the sexy cowboy. She carried her steaming mug to her home office, which doubled as the den.

The only positive thing about his visit this afternoon was that he’d distracted her from dwelling on the lack of interest her profile had generated at AdoptionOption.com. With input from the social worker, Lana had carefully created the online profile with her photo and other information. Although many girls had contacted her, nothing had stuck.

Lana wished she could figure out why. Was it because she was single, or something else? The lack of any serious interest was discouraging, and she wished she’d waited to share her decision with her family until she’d formed a promising relationship with an expectant mother.

Not about to give up, she decided tonight she’d check the website after she checked her email. She sat down and scrolled through her inbox. There were ten—ten!—inquiries from parents who’d read the profile in the paper and wanted to visit TLD. Her friend Kate had also emailed, whining about an upcoming blind date her mother had orchestrated. Several other friends had sent the usual jokes and gossip.

But one email stood out. “Baby,” the subject line read, from Sophie@AdoptionOption.com. Hardly daring to breathe, Lana opened the email.

I got your name from the AdoptionOption website. I’m Sophie and I’m four months pregnant. I’m looking for the right person to adopt my baby. When I saw the article about you in the paper today and read your online profile at the website, I couldn’t believe it. You seem to really care about kids, and I would like to meet you. Text me at 406-555-2223.

This was the chance Lana had waited, hoped and prayed for. Sucking in an excited breath, she jotted down the number with shaky hands.

Yet as badly as she longed for a baby, she had to admit that she was also a little scared. Raising a child without a partner was going to be a huge job.

Too antsy to sit, she paced to the window and looked out. Despite the lights from the other town houses and the shade tree in her yard, she could see the crescent moon and the stars studding the sky like diamonds. Tonight they seemed especially bright. Lana took that as a good omen.

Regardless of the challenges ahead, she wanted a child with all her heart. She wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass by. She grabbed her cell phone and texted the girl.

Hi, I would love to get together. How about Big Mama’s—my treat. Tell me when and I’ll be there. Looking forward to meeting you,

Lana

She’d chosen Big Mama’s Café because everyone loved the restaurant’s food. Less than a minute later, Sophie texted back. Saturday @ 10?

Gleeful, Lana replied. Sounds perfect. I’m 5’6” and have longish blond hair.

Sophie texted. I know what u look like from yr profile and the pic in the paper. CU.

A baby of her own!

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Lana cautioned out loud.

Sophie might decide she wasn’t the right person to raise her child, and allowing herself to imagine otherwise would only set her up for heartache.

Still, she was too excited to worry about that now, or to read the other emails. She logged in to AdoptionOption.com and checked Sophie’s profile. The girl was sixteen and a junior at Jupiter High School on the far side of town. She had short hair, dyed white-blond with neon-pink streaks and bangs that fell into big, soulful eyes lined in thick eye pencil. Despite the alternative look, she was very pretty, and Lana guessed that the baby would be beautiful.

“She’s not the mother of my child yet,” she reminded herself.

Not that it calmed her down. Laughing, she danced around the room while she speed-dialed Kate. After three rings, her friend answered.

“It’s happened,” Lana said, skipping the usual pleasantries.

“You have a blind date, too? Ugh. You know that sewing circle my mom belongs to? That’s where it happened. I cannot believe she went behind my back and fixed me up with her friend’s sister’s son. That sounds like a really bad joke, doesn’t it? Too bad it’s real. Save me, please.”