LITMIR.BIZ

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she didn’t get the chance to tell him anything because he left the kitchen and went out the front door.

      Riley still didn’t want her pity. He still had his pride. He’d rather be cold than sit in the kitchen with her.

      That thought tightened her throat.

       Chapter Three

      On Saturday morning Derek suckled as Brenna sat in the wooden rocker in her room. She rocked back and forth before the sun was up, wondering if there was any new mother in the world who wasn’t sleep deprived. Not that she minded. She knew these moments with her child in her arms were precious because he was already growing fast. After all, she’d read all the baby books. Before long he’d be rolling over, sitting up, standing, crawling. She didn’t want to think about all of that. She just wanted to enjoy Derek in her arms.

      However, rocking couldn’t prevent her from thinking about yesterday and the appointment with the pediatrician. She’d held Derek while the doctor swabbed the inside of his cheek and hers. Then she’d left the room with her son, knowing Riley was having his cheek swabbed, too.

      She hoped just having the DNA test done would convince Riley he could trust her. Whenever they were in the same room, they didn’t seem to know how to act!

      After the appointment she’d taken Derek to visit with her mom for a few hours but her father had been at the store. She wanted to find her way somehow to a new father-daughter relationship better than the one she’d had since she’d left home.

      Sounds suddenly broke the early morning quiet. Riley was up and about. Why? It was only 5:00 a.m. She heard the shower running and did her best not to imagine him under it. Then she heard drawers opening and closing. She’d been hoping to catch a few more hours of sleep. Instead, however, after she burped Derek and laid him back in his crib, she belted a robe tightly around her, opened her door wider and stepped out into the hall where shadows were thick and dark.

      When Riley’s door opened, he emerged, startling her. He took one look at her in her robe and frowned. “Problem?”

      “No problem,” she was quick to assure him. “I was feeding Derek and I heard you. What are you doing up?”

      “Clay’s coming by to pick up some gear. He’s taking over my tour this morning so I can stay with you.”

      “There’s no need for you to do that. I’m fine here with Derek on my own.”

      Riley took a step closer to her, maybe to see her better in the dim light that was glowing from his room into the hall. “This house is in the middle of nowhere. That’s fine for me. But for you and the baby, I’m not so sure. I was supposed to take a group on a trail ride this morning and a tour out to Feather Peak tomorrow. If I do that, I’ll be out of cell phone contact.”

      “You can’t hover, Riley.” She gave him a dark look and he knew exactly what that meant. Her parents had hovered all her life and she hadn’t liked it one bit. It was one of the reasons she’d left.

      His frown turned into a scowl. He looked as sexy as ever, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, all muscles and fitness and virility. So much for not thinking about the night they’d spent together. It would be so easy to fall for him all over again, and she couldn’t let that happen. She didn’t want her heart broken. She knew exactly how Riley felt about marriage and couldn’t forget the heartbreak from when she’d left before.

      He was looking at her as if he’d like to unbelt her robe. He was looking at her with protective instincts that made her feel safe, yet seemed to threaten her at the same time. She didn’t want to think about him as safe because nothing about Riley O’Rourke was secure.

      Her independence was a cloak she wore easily and she wrapped it around herself now and stood up to him. “I’m a capable woman, Riley. I know I have a new baby, and who knows what can happen? But my parents are only a short drive away if I need anybody. You can’t stop your life because of me and Derek. I wouldn’t want you to.”

      Eyeing her warily, maybe not sure she meant what she was saying, he took another step closer. Riley within kissing or touching distance was not a good thing. But she didn’t back away.

      “Did you get much sleep?” he asked, suddenly changing the subject.

      “Some,” she answered cautiously.

      “You know, if you’d let me give Derek a bottle you could get more sleep.”

      “And you’d get less.”

      “Fifty-fifty. Isn’t that what parenting is about?”

      She wasn’t sure how to answer that one. Yes, she wanted her son to know his father. But they had different lives, lived in different places, and she didn’t know how they were going to settle that.

      “I’ll start using a bottle with Derek some of the time. If you want to feed him, you can.”

      “I’d like that.” His voice had gone all low and husky and she heard the emotion in it, something Riley usually hid. Was it the idea of taking care of his son? Experiences he’d had that had shown him how precious life could be?

      As quickly as he’d taken a step toward her, he took a step back.

      “All right,” he said, going back to their earlier conversation. “I’ll call Clay and tell him I’m taking out the tours. But today I’ll be back by 1:00. I need to call my family and let the fallout begin.”

      She’d watched him pace at times yesterday, pick up his phone and then put it down. He had a lot more family than she did, so there would be many more judgments to combat. No wonder he’d waited until he knew what he wanted to say … and do.

      “I’ll be here,” she said softly. “While Derek sleeps, I need to work.”

      “Work as in—”

      “New sketches, new designs, phone calls. I have good people working for me, but they still need to consult with me.”

      He nodded as if he understood. Then as if he couldn’t help himself, he reached out and touched her cheek. “Go back to bed. You have blue smudges under your eyes.”

      Abruptly he turned away and headed for the kitchen.

      As Brenna returned to her room, she knew she was probably going to have blue smudges for the next few months. Who did Riley see when he looked at her? The girl he’d known? Or the woman she’d become?

      It really didn’t matter … because nothing had changed between them. On the other hand, everything had.

      Riley was supposed to meet the tourists he’d be leading on a trail ride at the Rocky D ranch. Zack Decker guided a few horses into the corral to choose from—a pretty gray-spotted appaloosa, a bay, a chestnut, and Riley’s favorite, Silver Star, a beautiful pewter-gray gelding who was as reliable as he was durable. He was Riley’s pick every time.

      Zack grinned at him as Riley strode up to the horse and gave him his hand to smell.

      Silver whinnied a greeting.

      Riley gave him a “hey, boy,” and stroked his neck.

      “What’s on for this morning?” Zack asked.

      “Three businessmen who decided to take a vacation together and come West.”

      “Do you think they know how to ride?” Zack asked with wry sarcasm.

      “They say they’ve had some experience. But trail riding in the foothills of Moonshadow Mountain is a heck of a lot different than riding on groomed lanes outside a big city. So we’ll see.”

      “Do you think you’ll be able to ride out and be back by lunch?”

      “It’ll be tight, but we should do okay. I really don’t want it to go long.”

      As Zack walked around Silver and checked the lead on another horse’s nose, he said,

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