The Texan's Christmas. Tanya Michaels

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      “What about you? Do you plan to get back in the saddle?”

      “I haven’t made up my mind, but...probably not.” It was easier to admit that to a virtual stranger than his rodeo-centric family. “I enjoyed competing. I love winning. But I’m ready for something new. I’ve been thinking a lot about my future lately, trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up,” he joked. “Sometimes you reach a point when it’s time to take the next step in your life, you know?”

      “I do.” Something flickered in her eyes, and she took a deep breath, as if trying to steady herself.

      “Are you okay?” He wouldn’t be surprised if the idea of facing all the Barons this weekend was giving the poor woman an ulcer.

      “Absolutely. But I should be getting back to my office.”

      “Right. See you Sunday.” He lifted his hand in a brief wave, but it quickly became apparent that, although they’d been coming from opposite directions, they were both headed to the same section of the parking lot. The silence between them as they fell in step frayed his nerves.

      He couldn’t help feeling as if Nicole was headed into the lion’s den on Sunday. Growing up on the ranch, he’d had Jacob as an ally. He wanted Nicole to feel she had someone in her corner, too.

      “I realize it’s not my place to say this,” he began, “but there’s some history between your employer and the Barons. I don’t want you to be caught in the middle. Adele Black, she...” Now what, genius? The rest of his unfinished sentence was a Pandora’s box he shouldn’t open.

      “Adele is their mother,” Nicole said quietly.

      His shoulders slumped in relief. “You know.” If it was information she already possessed, then he hadn’t crossed any lines by addressing the subject.

      She nodded. “And now you’ve answered my question about whether or not Lizzie and the others know. I was already planning on having a very candid conversation with them, but it’s nice to have an idea of what I’m walking into.” She was back to studying him—this time, searching his gaze with naked curiosity. “I’m surprised you brought it up, though.”

      So am I. He’d made it a policy to stay out of discussions about Brock’s first wife. But he hadn’t wanted Nicole to show up at the ranch unprepared. Did that make him disloyal to his stepsiblings? “Well, the Barons can be intense. They—”

      “They? Not ‘we’?” She gave him a teasing smile. “Aren’t you a Baron, too?”

      “On paper.” Daniel had wondered more than once if his mom had asked Brock to adopt her boys to provide another layer of insulation between them and convicted felon Oscar Burke. No one at their new school would dare bully a Baron. “I mean, my brother, Jacob, and I are technically Barons, but we weren’t born into it. Lizzie and Carly and the others are great. But as kids, with immature sibling rivalry and the awkwardness of meshing two households...”

      “I get it. I was a foster kid and lived with some nice families through the years. But even with the ones I felt closest to, they weren’t really my family.”

      Hearing about her upbringing made him feel ungrateful. At least he and Jacob had always had a home, always had each other. Who did Nicole Bennett have?

      She stopped next to a compact car that sported a decal logo for a well-known rental company. “This is mine, temporarily anyway. Thank you for looking out for me.” She surprised him by reaching out, squeezing his forearm gently. At her touch, a rush of endorphins replaced his earlier soreness. He didn’t know which he was enjoying more—the contact between them or the way she was looking at him. Her admiring expression did more to make him feel like a badass than any rodeo buckle he’d ever won. “I’m glad you’ll be there this weekend, Daniel.”

      Something shorted in his brain when she said his name, and he heard himself ask, “Would you like a ride? Sunday, obviously. Not now.” What are you doing? He lived five miles from the ranch and had been trying to stay out of his siblings’ investigation of their mom. So why was he volunteering to go completely out of his way to pick up Adele’s second-in-command?

      She chuckled. “Is this because you feel sorry for me?”

      “No, ma’am.” If she thought pity was the only reason a man would want to spend time with her, she clearly didn’t own a mirror. “I, uh, wasn’t supposed to drive much after my fall, so I’ve been having to rely on volunteer chauffeurs. It feels so good to be in the driver’s seat again, I’m looking for excuses to get behind the wheel.” Thank God Jacob couldn’t hear him now. He’d never let Daniel live down such a lame excuse.

      “Plus, GPS isn’t always reliable out in rural areas,” he continued, powering through the embarrassment. Rodeo taught a man to hang on tight and keep going. “If you ride with me, there’s no chance of getting lost, with the added bonus that you know there’ll be a friendly face as soon as you arrive.”

      “I’d like that.” She met his eyes, and color tinged her cheeks. “I’d like that a lot.”

      They exchanged phone numbers and she typed the address where she was staying into his contact list. Daniel climbed into his truck, whistling under his breath and unable to remember the last time he’d been so eager for one of the weekly family gatherings.

      * * *

      “YOU ARE A bad influence,” Nicole chided, leaning back in her chair. “We should be at the office.”

      Adele grinned. “I notice you didn’t let guilt stop you from enjoying that giant cinnamon roll.” It had been Adele’s idea to sneak away from work early and window-shop at the extravagant Galleria. They’d covered much of the first two floors before Adele’s energy began to flag. Nicole had suggested they get a snack and watch the ice skaters on the rink below. Amateurs wobbled around the edge of the oval while a few standouts in sparkly leotards and skirts executed athletic spins in the center.

      Truthfully, Nicole probably should feel guiltier about leaving the office. She’d already missed an hour that morning when she’d interviewed the new OB. Thinking about how Adele had gotten a second medical opinion here in Dallas, Nicole had realized she should probably get a backup obstetrician. Since traveling wasn’t generally prohibited until the last trimester, she might spend a good chunk of her pregnancy here. It would be smart to have someone local who knew her history. She’d liked Dr. Davis and had scheduled an ultrasound with him for next week. She couldn’t wait to see the first sonogram photograph, even though she knew the earliest pictures weren’t discernible as babies.

      “Thinking about the baby?” Adele asked.

      “How’d you know?”

      Adele looked pointedly at Nicole’s stomach, where her hand rested. “A lot of pregnant women fall into the unconscious habit of doing that. As if we need some way to commune with the babies before we can feel them moving, as if it makes them more real somehow.”

      Even knowing Adele’s history, it was still difficult to remember sometimes that she’d gone through four pregnancies.

      “So everything went all right at the doctor’s?” Adele asked.

      “Fine. He didn’t examine me today. This was more of a quick meet and greet to fill out СКАЧАТЬ