Hired By The Cowboy. DONNA ALWARD

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СКАЧАТЬ he twisted, angling himself toward her and bending a knee.

      “Alex for Graham Bell and MacKenzie for the prime minister, you know? You planning on using it for the paramedics later? In case I faint again?”

      He chuckled and shook his head. “You look much better, thank goodness. But you spilled your juice. Can I get you something else cool to drink?” His eyes wandered to the convenience store behind them.

      Her stomach rolled at the thought of a sugary sweet, slushy drink. Every teenager in a ten-block radius had been buying them today. The very idea of them had Alex’s tummy performing a slow, sickening lurch. She pressed her lips together.

      “Or are you hungry? There’s a hot dog cart down the street.”

      She stood, desperately trying to get some fresh air while exorcising the thought of greasy hot dogs from her mind. But she rose too quickly, her blood pressure dipped, and she saw grey and black shapes behind her eyes once again.

      His arms were there to steady her, but she dropped her paper bag to the ground, the contents falling out as they hit the concrete.

      His fingers were firm on her wrist as he helped her sit back down. “Put your head between your legs,” he demanded quietly, and for some reason she obeyed.

      Alex avoided his eyes as she sat up moments later. “Sorry about that,” she mumbled, completely mortified at the awkward silence that fell between them like a ton weight. This had to be an all-time low. Blacking out not once, but twice, in front of her own personal Knight in Shining Armor. And wasn’t he annoying, this Mr. Perfect Chivalry, sitting there calm as you please?

      She expected him to mumble his apologies and hurry away. Instead he knelt and began picking up what she’d dumped on the ground in her haste.

      Oh, God. Her humiliation was complete as he paused, his hand on the plastic bottle of pre-natal vitamins. His eyes darted up, caught hers. In them she saw sudden understanding. Now, of course, it all made sense. At least it made sense to him. She was still trying to assimilate everything.

      “Congratulations.”

      Her smile was weak. He couldn’t know. Couldn’t know how her life had been turned completely upside down with a three-minute test only a few short weeks ago.

      “Thank you.”

      He watched her carefully as he sat again on the bench. “You don’t sound happy. Unplanned?”

      She should end this conversation right here and now. He was, after all, a complete stranger.

      “That’s none of your business.”

      He had no cause to know her personal troubles. It was her problem. And she’d solve it. Somehow.

      “I beg your pardon. I was only trying to help.”

      She grabbed the vitamins and shoved them into her purse. “I didn’t ask for your help.”

      The pause was so long her scalp tingled under his scrutiny.

      “No, you didn’t. But I offer it anyway.”

      And who else was going to step up and give her a hand? She was alone, nearly destitute, and pregnant. She had no one waiting for her at home. Home, she thought sardonically. Now, there was an idea. She hadn’t had a real home in a long time…too long. Five years, to be exact. Five years was a long time to be at loose ends.

      At present she was sleeping on the floor of a friend of a friend. Her back protested every morning, but it was the best she could do for now. She’d find a way, though, she thought with a small smile. She always did, and had done since being left alone and without a penny to her name at eighteen.

      Connor was a friendly face, and also the first person who actually seemed to care. Perhaps that was why she made the conscious choice to answer his question.

      “Yes, this baby is unplanned. Very.”

      “And the father?”

      She looked out over the bustling street. “Not in the picture.”

      He studied her for a few moments before replying, “So you’re alone?”

      “Utterly and completely.” Despair trickled through in her voice and she shored herself up. No sense dwelling on what couldn’t be changed. Her voice was again strong and sure as she continued, “But I’ll manage. I always do.”

      Connor leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Surely your family will help you?”

      “I have no family,” she replied flatly, discouraging any further discussion of that topic. She had no one. Loneliness crept in, cold and heavy. Not one soul. Anyone she’d truly cared about in the world was gone. Sometimes she almost forgot, but now, faced with a pregnancy and no prospects, she’d never felt more isolated.

      After a long silence, he spoke again. “Are you feeling better? Would you like some tea or something?” He smiled at her, friendly, and her heart gave a little foreign twist at this complete stranger’s obvious caring and generosity.

      “You needn’t feel obligated. I’m fine now.”

      “Humor me. You’re still a bit pale, and it would make me feel better.”

      It was a lifeline to hold on to. It wasn’t like her life was a revolving door of social invitations. “Tea might be nice, I guess.”

      She looped her purse over her shoulder. “So where are we off to, Connor Madsen?”

      “There’s a little place around the next corner.”

      She chuckled a little. “You use that line often?”

      “I don’t believe I’ve ever used it before, as a matter of fact.” He adjusted his long stride to her much shorter one.

      “I wouldn’t recommend using it again,” she remarked dryly.

      “You’re coming with me, aren’t you?” Connor shrugged out of his suit coat and draped it over an arm. “To be truthful, I don’t spend much time in the city, picking up women. Or for any other reason, for that matter.”

      He was wearing a white dress shirt that fit snugly over wide shoulders, then tapered, tucked into slim-waisted trousers. Alex hadn’t believed men that good-looking actually existed, and here she was going for tea with one. One who had already seen her faint. She shook her head with amazement.

      “So, if you’re not from the city, where are you from?” Small talk. Small talk was safe and not too revealing. She could handle niceties.

      “I run a ranch about two hours northwest of here.”

      “Ah.” Well, she certainly wouldn’t have to worry about seeing him again after today. She’d be able to look back on it as a bizarre, fantastical dream. A Knight in Shining Chaps, it would seem.

      She giggled, then clamped her mouth shut at his raised eyebrow. “Is this the place?” she asked, changing the subject.

      “It is.” He held СКАЧАТЬ