The Cowboy's Baby Surprise. Linda Conrad

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СКАЧАТЬ stuck a hand in Carley’s direction, but her sun-spotted face never crinkled into a smile. “Call me Luisa. Did Houston say your first name was Carley?”

      Carley nodded and took Luisa’s hand, but Houston noted that her solemn face held no welcome, either.

      Their terse exchange might have made the women uncomfortable, but whatever bothered them didn’t seem to include him. Their problem broke the clutch of tension that had gripped Houston since the baby’s first appearance in the kitchen. Luisa’s steady presence always calmed him when things became oppressive.

      Luisa wrapped her arm around Houston’s and spoke to him with twinkling eyes. “You taking the afternoon off?”

      Houston grimaced. Trust Luisa to cut to the practical. Every move she’d made since she’d found him, unconscious and bleeding alongside the deserted levee road, had been logical and utilitarian.

      He had no memory of Luisa finding him. In fact, no memory of anything before he awoke in her guest bedroom ten days later. It was two more weeks after that before he could think through the haze of pain long enough to question what had befallen him and why.

      Doc Luisa had made the decision to bring him to her little home clinic instead of the nearby hospital. When he’d finally asked, she’d explained about his gunshot wounds and the empty ankle holster she’d found. This close to the border, her first assumption had been that he was some kind of drug runner or smuggler and wanted by the sheriff. But with his life hanging in the balance, she hadn’t been able to face turning him over to the authorities. She’d figured if he were to die, there would be plenty of time for all the questions and forms.

      Luisa told Houston that by the time it was clear he would live it was also clear he had no memory of his life before the incident—and she’d grown fond of him. Fond enough to persuade him not to seek information about his obviously dubious past—and to help him get on the road to a new life.

      Houston was grateful as hell to Doc Luisa. With her gentle probing, he’d managed some snatches of memories about a childhood on a ranch. He remembered enough of a background working with animals so she could find him this job at the children’s home—starting over, fresh and clean.

      Luisa convinced Gabe Diaz, the old man who ran this foster home, to hire him without references. Gabe was the only other person alive who knew Houston couldn’t remember a thing, and it was Gabe who’d managed the phony paperwork for his new identity. Good thing the man had a soft heart.

      At this point Gabe and Luisa were all Houston had. They’d saved him, protected him and befriended him. And he’d do the same for them.

      For a few seconds Houston narrowed his gaze on the woman holding her child. Should he be wary of Carley? Could she be a threat to Gabe or Luisa—or him?

      “Well, son? Is today a holiday I missed?”

      He could feel his face flush as he grinned at the kindly but stern doctor. “No, ma’am. I’ll be getting on back to work now.” Houston turned from Luisa and addressed Carley as he touched a hand to the brim of his work hat. “Glad you’re going to be around the ranch for a while, ma’am. But from now on, I’d stay out of the sun on hot afternoons if I were you.”

      Houston slammed through the screen door and out into that bright sun, all the while wondering how long the two strong-headed females he’d left standing in the kitchen would be civil to one another. And whether Carley Mills would be as much of a danger to his emotional and physical well-being as she’d already been to his hormones.

      Man was she a looker! With all that mahogany-red hair, the olive complexion and those exotic green eyes, he was positive she must be the most luscious thing he’d ever encountered. She even smelled good enough to eat. The fragrance that seemed to belong to her alone was familiar, like over-ripe strawberries, but with a silken muskiness that captured his attention and made her special.

      He headed back to work puzzling over the strong impression that he’d met her before. His mouth seemed to know the feel of her lips when they’d never touched them, his hands the feel of her skin in places he’d never even seen. But were those real memories…or just wishful thinking?

      Carley stared through the screen door as the long, lanky cowboy strode across the yard, his boots kicking up little dust devils with every stride. She had to fight off the violent need to run after him. Her heart had wanted to beg him to stay and talk to her…for only a few minutes longer.

      The sight of the dimple in his cheek when he grinned, the lock of sandy-blond hair that fell over one eyebrow even with his hat on and those pale-blue eyes that darkened to gray when he was disturbed thrilled her. The vulnerability she found in him made her want to gather him up and hold him close until he had no choice but to remember her.

      “Our Houston’s a special fellow, don’t you think?”

      The doctor’s question disrupted Carley’s daydream. She turned to face the older woman. “Special?” Carley bit her lip. “Yes, I do. Definitely.”

      Cami picked that minute to raise her head and rub an eye with her fist.

      Doc Luisa squinted at the baby’s face. “That a new enrollee at the ranch? I don’t recognize her.”

      “This is my daughter, Cami. She’ll be living here with me.”

      “Hmm. Doesn’t resemble you much, does she?”

      Carley felt a bead of sweat forming above her lip. “She has my eyes.”

      The older woman’s deep-set, dark eyes held hers for a few seconds, then her face broke into a thousand creases as she bestowed a smile on the baby and her mother. The angle of her head told Carley that she’d come to some decision about them. But Carley didn’t care to discuss anything with Doc Luisa or anybody else just yet. First she needed to get to a phone.

      “I’d better put Cami down for a nap. We’ve both had a long day.”

      “You came in this morning? Where’d you come from?”

      Carley moved Cami from one hip to the other. “Houston. It’s a longer drive than I thought.”

      The doctor chuckled. “A long drive full of mesquite and cactus…and not much else. You from the city?”

      “I’ve been living there for a few years, but I was born in South Carolina, raised in New Orleans.”

      Luisa’s eyes sparkled with intelligence and a secret mirth all their own. “Born in Charleston, I’d wager.”

      “Well, yes.” Carley wanted to be away from this woman who was too quick—too smart. “I really need to get Cami upstairs. If you’ll excuse me?” All Carley wanted right this minute was that phone.

      Doc Luisa laid a staying hand on Carley’s arm. “Go on for now. But we will talk, young woman. I think you have quite a few things to explain.” Luisa glanced over to Cami who was about to screw her face up for a good tantrum. “I’m here at the ranch every morning to check on the kids. Only reason I’m so late today is I stopped to look in on a child with a lingering case of measles.”

      Cami’s pout turned into a whine, but the doctor still held on to Carley’s arm. “That young man means the world to me. I wouldn’t take kindly to anyone who thought to hurt СКАЧАТЬ