Ali Olson - The Cowboy's Surprise Baby

Still, the ranch had to run. It was their mom’s home—it was Jack’s future. Tom didn’t want the ranch, never had, but Jack always dreamed of turning it into a rodeo school when he retired with a good chunk of cash from his roping career.

If they could somehow last that long. Something would need to change, but what and how?

Jack pulled himself out of his reverie. It wasn’t helping anything, and he’d gone over it all so many times, but it always led to nothing. Now was the time to work, not think, so he grabbed a couple more of their gentlest horses and brought them out to the paddock where Tom was standing with the others.

They looped the leads over a fence post and both went back for saddles. “Have a good drive?” Tom asked.

Jack could tell Tom wanted to ask what had happened, knew Tom saw a change in him. And even though there was no reason to hide his reunion with Amy, that their date couldn’t possibly be a secret, he still felt a momentary desire to hide it, as if talking about it might make it all go away like a birthday wish or something.

Tom was watching him, though, and he knew he had to come clean. “I went to see Amy. We talked and decided to go out tonight.”

“Like on a date?” Tom asked, sounding a little surprised.

“I guess so,” Jack answered, not ready to clarify more.

He loved his brother, but talking had never been their strong suit, and it seemed strange to open up to him about the real history of his relationship with Amy and what this date could or could not mean. Heck, he wasn’t even really ready to think about all that, let alone talk about it.

Tom seemed to understand, because he didn’t ask anything more, and soon they were guiding little kids around the paddock, each one practicing squeezing their legs to make their horse go and pulling on the reins to stop. The two youngest children, identical twins, could hardly manage enough force to get the horse’s attention, but the docile creatures listened to them with the patience of loving parents.

Jack watched the twins with interest. Zach and Carter, Brock’s soon-to-be sons, had settled into Spring Valley comfortably and seemed more than ready to add Brock to their family. He’d seen the way their faces lit up around Amy’s brother. They loved him and from what Jack had seen, Brock clearly doted on them. Jack had always wanted a family, and it made his heart swell to think that a child didn’t need to be yours biologically in order to be family.

Like the McNeal clan. All four children were adopted, and their parents loved every one of them as much as any parent could. If a couple were unable to have children for some reason...

His mind balked as Jack realized he had drifted into territory he wasn’t remotely ready for. He had only seen Amy for a few minutes after ten years of complete silence from her—there was no way he should be thinking about them starting a family together. Heck, part of him was still dead sure dinner was a bad idea. The part that had never healed when she left the first time.

He wasn’t ready to get hurt like that again, and thoughts like those would only make it worse.

Still, he couldn’t help but watch the time tick by oh so slowly toward seven, and he did everything he could think of to speed it along.

He hadn’t been this antsy for a date in a very long time. About ten years, in fact.

Chapter Three

Amy sat with Cassie, the two women shading their eyes against the afternoon light as they watched Brock play tag with the young twins, while the new cows lowed happily in the pen Brock had built over the past two months. If Amy hadn’t been so preoccupied with thoughts of her date in just a few hours, the antics of the three males would have been hilarious. As it was, though, she was hardly able to even hold a basic conversation with Cassie, let alone anything else.

After the third time Amy had to apologize for not hearing what Cassie had said, Cassie gave her an intense clinical stare. “Is everything okay, Amy? You’re almost as difficult to talk to as Brock was when he had a concussion. Did you hit your head recently? Who was the first President of the United States?”

Amy chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t have a concussion, Cassie. I’m just...preoccupied.”

“With what?” Cassie asked, her demeanor shifting from doctor to sister instantaneously.

Amy didn’t have any sisters—well, didn’t grow up with any, at least, she amended—so it felt odd to confide in Cassie like this, but she needed to talk to someone. Pop was a good listener but not one for advice and long conversations, and Ma would end up trying to play the ultimate matchmaker if she even got a whiff of an opportunity. Amy took a breath and spilled her thoughts to her soon-to-be sister-in-law.

“Do you know Jack Stuart?” she asked, knowing the answer.

“Sure,” Cassie said. “He was at the riding school with Tom today for the boys’ lesson. Zach said he is, and I quote, ‘a really cool rodeo cowboy.’”

Amy agreed with Zach’s assessment, but it didn’t even scratch the surface of everything there was to say about Jack.

“He’s also my high school sweetheart, my first boyfriend,” Amy added. “He’s taking me out tonight and I’m just a bit nervous. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other and so much has changed and Jack—” Amy cut off the torrent of words, not sure what she wanted to say.

Jack was special.

Jack could be a chance to start over.

Jack didn’t know who she was and what she’d done, and she wasn’t sure he’d still like her when he found out.

Cassie seemed to have filled in the blank her own way, because she hopped up and grabbed Amy’s hand, pulling her inside. “If you’ve got a date, we have much more important things to do than sit here watching three guys tumbling around the yard. Do you even have any nice clothes in that backpack of yours?”

Amy smiled as Cassie’s enthusiasm calmed some of her worries. “Nothing but travel clothes, jeans and a few summer dresses. Jack won’t care what I’m wearing but—”

“But you do, of course,” Cassie said before Amy could finish the sentence. “I’m a bit shorter than you, but I bet a few of my things will fit. Want to go shopping in my closet?”

Amy nodded, relieved she would have something to wear that hadn’t been tainted by her recent past. Amy cut that thought off before it could gain any more traction and followed Cassie. In a few minutes they were ankle-deep in discarded dresses. Each one had been pronounced too something for this date. Too conservative. Too risqué. Too formal. Too short.

Finally, Cassie clapped her hands in delight, and Amy had to agree. She was holding a knee-length dress in a shimmery navy blue with little cap sleeves that Amy loved. “Go try it on,” Cassie urged, and Amy took the dress into the bathroom.

When she stepped back out, Cassie’s squeal of happiness confirmed her thoughts: it was a beautiful dress.

“He’s going to fall in love with you the moment he sees you,” Cassie said dreamily.

The thought made her heart stutter. Did she want him to fall in love with her again? The thought sent a wave of fear through her, and she knew she wasn’t ready to talk about anything resembling love.

“What’s wrong, Amy? This isn’t about the dress, is it?” Cassie asked, putting her hand on Amy’s arm.

Amy sat on the bed, feeling sudden tears spring into her eyes. Cassie sat beside her. “You can tell me anything, Amy. Doctor-patient confidentiality,” she added with a smile.

“Are you a therapist?” Amy asked with a little laugh as she brushed a tear away.

“Not technically, but I can sure try, if that’s what you need.”

Amy sighed. “In Morocco, I met a man. Armand. He was—”