Kathie DeNosky - Expecting the Rancher's Heir / Taming Her Billionaire Boss - Expecting the Rancher's Heir

“Don’t you miss watching the seasons change, angel?”

“They do change,” she admitted. “But it’s subtle and not nearly as big of a change as here. It’s beautiful here in the fall.” She grinned. “And I do love Aspen in the winter. There’s nothing like flying down the mountain on a pair of skis after a new snow.”

“You like the fresh powder?”

“Absolutely.” She tilted her head. “What about you? Do you like to ski?”

He gave her a mischievous grin. “I have been known to tear it up on a few of the slopes around here. I’ve also done a little cross-country skiing.”

Yawning, she leaned her head back against the couch. “I’ve missed being able to participate in the winter activities we have in the mountains.”

“They have some nice skiing in California,” he reminded her.

“Yes, but I would have to drive several hours to get there.” She smiled. “I like having a ski slope practically in my backyard.”

“Then why did you go to college in California in the first place?” he asked before he could stop himself.

Shane had a feeling it had something to do with her getting away from home and the control of Donald Jarrod. But she’d shied away from discussing her relationship with her father, and from her expression, she wasn’t interested in discussing it now.

She hesitated as if choosing a suitable answer. “I was young and wanted to spread my wings a bit.” Hiding another yawn behind her hand, she gave him a sheepish grin. “I think I need to go up to bed before I fall asleep right here.”

He knew she was making an excuse to escape before he had the opportunity to ask any more questions. “You’re probably right.” Turning off the television, he rose to his feet, then helped her to hers. “What do you say we go upstairs and see just how good I am at giving a massage?”

“But I don’t have a problem with tightness in my shoulders or neck,” she said as he led her toward the stairs.

“Angel, I wasn’t talking about massaging your back.” He couldn’t stop his wicked grin. “The areas I had in mind are on the front side of your body and a whole lot more interesting.”

Shane lay staring at the ceiling long after the woman in his arms drifted off to sleep. The evening had been perfect and given him a glimpse of what life could be like once he and Lissa were married.

Married . The word alone should have had him running for the hills, and he still couldn’t quite believe that he was actually going to take the plunge.

Two days ago, the idea of marriage and having a child never crossed his mind. It was simply something he had never allowed himself to contemplate. He had witnessed the hell his father went through when his mother left and that was more than enough to convince Shane he wanted no part of the institution.

He could remember the nights he had lain in bed as a small boy listening to his mother and father argue about how unhappy she was living out in the middle of nowhere. Eventually her pleading for his father to sell the ranch and move them all to a metropolitan area had turned to threats of her leaving.

Then, one day when he was nine, Shane came home from school to find his mother gone and his father passed out with an empty whiskey bottle at his feet. Cactus had stepped in to watch over him and when his father finally sobered up after a two-month bender, Shane asked several times where his mother was. “Gone” was all he could get out of his father each time he asked. Shane finally gave up and stopped asking.

But Hank McDermott was never the same after that. Other than being there to raise his son and instill a strong set of values in him, it was as if his dad had quit caring about everything else and reminded Shane of a horse that had its spirit broken. Once full of life, his father rarely left the ranch and removed everything in the house that hinted a woman had ever inhabited the place.

Shane had never wanted to give that kind of power over him to any woman. Never wanted a child of his to lie awake at night wondering where his mother was and why he never heard from her again. But with Lissa’s announcement that she was pregnant, he suddenly found himself determined to do the very thing he had vowed never to do—get married.

Glancing at her head resting on his shoulder, he took a deep breath and tried to relax. As long as he kept everything in perspective and his feelings for her under control, everything should be fine.

He would be a good provider, a faithful husband to her and a loving father to their child. That’s all any woman could ask of a man and all Shane was ready or willing to give.

“It’s about time you hauled your sorry butt out of bed.”

At the sound of the elderly gentleman’s comment, Melissa stopped abruptly just inside the kitchen doorway. Standing at the stove, wearing nothing but a pair of long underwear and boots that had seen better days, the man had his back to her and apparently only heard her approach. She assumed he was Shane’s housekeeper, Cactus, and he obviously thought that Shane had come downstairs for breakfast.

How could she let him know that she wasn’t who he thought she was without startling him?

When he suddenly turned around, they both jumped. “God’s nightgown! Where in the name of Sam Hill did you come from?”

“You must be Cactus,” she said, unsure of what else to say. “Shane’s told me a lot about you.”

“Well, he never told me a damn … danged thing about you,” he stammered. “If he had, I sure wouldn’t be standin’ here in nothin’ but my long johns.” His wrinkled cheeks turned fiery red above his grizzled beard. “Excuse me, ma’am. I’ll go get myself decent.”

The man disappeared into a room off the kitchen as quickly as his arthritic legs would allow. A moment later, Shane walked up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist.

“How did you manage to get breakfast started so fast?” he asked, kissing her nape.

Her skin tingled from the contact. “I didn’t. It appears that your housekeeper, Cactus, has arrived home a little earlier than expected.”

He sighed as he rested his chin on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Lissa. I should have known this would happen. Whenever he goes to see his sister they always get into an argument and he ends up coming home early about half the time.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She turned within the circle of his arms to smile up at him. “Cactus probably doesn’t know anyone affiliated with the resort. Besides, I seriously doubt that he would tell them I was here, even if he did.”

Shane kissed the tip of her nose. “Why is that, angel?”

“Because he knows I could tell them I caught him cooking breakfast in his long underwear,” she said, laughing. “If his blush was any indication, I think I embarrassed him all the way to the roots of his snow-white hair.”

Rolling his eyes, Shane shook his head. “He definitely marches to the beat of his own drum. But don’t worry. He’ll get over it.”

“Boy, I got a bone to pick with you,” Cactus groused as he limped back into the room. “Why didn’t you tell me you were gonna have a lady friend comin’ for a visit this weekend?”

“I didn’t figure it would matter, since you weren’t supposed to be here,” Shane answered, unaffected by the older man’s irritation. Releasing her, he walked over to the coffeemaker. “Have a seat at the table, Lissa, while I pour us a cup of coffee. Lissa, this is Cactus Parsons, my housekeeper and the orneriest old cuss you’d ever care to meet.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Cactus,” she said, smiling.

He nodded. “Ma’am.”

Remembering something one of her friends had mentioned about not drinking caffeinated beverages while pregnant, Lissa shook her head. “Thank you, but I think I’ll pass on the coffee.”