Should've Been A Cowboy & Cowboy Up: Should've Been a Cowboy / Cowboy Up. Vicki Thompson Lewis

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СКАЧАТЬ okay.” Standing, too, Tyler wrapped an arm around Morgan’s shoulders and gave her a quick hug. “No point in lugging baby whosit up those stairs.”

      Sarah’s eyebrows arched. “So she hasn’t told you whether it’s a boy or girl, either? I thought she might have let it slip to her little sis, and then we could pry it out of you before you leave.”

      “I haven’t told anybody.” Morgan sat down again. “Gabe and I are the only ones who know, and it’ll stay that way until July when the little kid makes an appearance.”

      “How about a name?” Mary Lou asked. “Have you picked one?”

      Morgan nodded. “Yes, and I promise that you’ll know immediately from the baby’s name whether I had a boy or a girl.”

      Tyler sighed with obvious relief. “Thank God. As you noticed when some of us were here last summer, our parents conspired to give all of us unisex names.”

      “And I have to admit I had trouble keeping everyone straight during the wedding last year,” Sarah said. “I’m sure I called you by your twin brother Regan’s name at least twice.”

      “Don’t feel bad about it. Regan and I had our names switched so many times in school it wasn’t funny.”

      “I agree it was a nightmare while we were growing up,” Morgan said. “But now, as a real-estate agent, my name works because it’s easily recognizable. Still, I’m not doing that to my child.”

      “I’m glad.” Tyler picked up her empty beer bottle and the napkin she’d used for her chips. “Anyway, let me scoot upstairs and get changed.”

      Mary Lou made a flapping motion with her hand. “Leave the bottle and napkin, sweetie. I’ll take care of it.”

      “And I’ll carry your suitcase upstairs.” Alex pushed back his chair and stood.

      “I can manage,” Tyler said.

      Alex gave her a smile. “It’s the gentlemanly thing to do, and I’m the gentleman who’s available.” Hell, he probably shouldn’t have said that. He’d blame all those years of being a glib DJ.

      “Thank you, but it’s a small suitcase, and I really can—”

      “You don’t know which room.” He was determined to grab this chance to talk with her. “Where should I put her, Sarah?”

      “Let me think.” Sarah tapped her chin. “Maybe we should stick with the wing you’re in, because we’re having some problems with the pipes on the other side. I need to call a plumber, but I haven’t done it yet. Gabe’s room should be in decent shape.”

      “It was the last time we were up there packing his high school trophies,” Morgan said. “I don’t think the bed’s made up, though.”

      Sarah started to rise. “Maybe I should come up there with you.”

      “Sit still.” Alex wasn’t giving up this opportunity to have a conversation with Tyler. “I know where the linen closet is. Tyler and I can handle it.”

      “Absolutely,” Tyler said. “I’m perfectly capable of making a bed.”

      And lying in it? Alex was trying so hard to play it cool, but thinking of Tyler smoothing sheets over the bed she’d sleep in for several nights, a bed that would be in a room right across the hall from his, didn’t help at all. He’d never shared a bed with her, but he had no trouble imagining how wonderful that would be. The hayloft had been earthy and exotic, but a good mattress had advantages, too.

      At this point, he needed to decide how he felt about the possibility. Obviously, considering her career plans, it couldn’t be more than a short-term experience. Was that a mistake? Maybe, but not a huge one unless they slipped up on birth control, and he wouldn’t let that happen.

      Still, an affair could be a small mistake in that both of them could get more involved than they wanted to be. He didn’t know if he could jump into a temporary affair with her and jump back out with ease. And even if he could, what would be the point? When he was totally honest with himself, he had to admit that he craved what all three Chance men had found—a solid marriage that showed all the signs of lasting a lifetime.

      He’d always wanted that, but he’d chosen the wrong woman the first time around. He didn’t like making mistakes, and he wasn’t about to make another one. That meant being careful with his heart. He wasn’t convinced that Tyler didn’t already own a piece of it.

      She had a zest for life he’d admired from the moment she’d stepped onto the dance floor last summer. She’d been the one to suggest the romp in the hay, which had told him she wasn’t some finicky city girl and she had self-confidence, besides. That night he’d also learned that she was an unselfish lover with a great sense of humor.

      Being wanted by someone like Tyler had soothed his divorce-battered ego. But he wasn’t feeling battered anymore, and she still had the power to make him ache with longing. He wasn’t positive he could satisfy that longing without taking an emotional risk.

      “We’d better get with the program,” Tyler said.

      What program? Alex made a mental U-turn so he could figure out what she was talking about. Oh, yeah. He was supposed to get her settled upstairs so she could go outside with him and make suggestions for the open house. His concentration was already whacked.

      “I left my suitcase and purse out in the front hallway.” Tyler looked at Sarah. “Thank you so much for putting me up for a few nights.”

      Sarah laughed. “I’m afraid Alex plans to make you earn your keep. Don’t let him work you too hard.”

      “Actually you should worry about me working Alex too hard. He may regret asking for my help. I’m a slave driver when I get going.”

      Alex shook his head. “No worries. I admire dedication.”

      “Good. Me, too. We should make a good team.”

      And maybe that’s all she had in mind. He could tell by her matter-of-fact tone that she wasn’t flirting, not even a tiny bit. He should be relieved if she wasn’t interested in getting chummy. Instead he felt the sting of disappointment.

      He followed her out of the kitchen and through the empty dining room. Her hair bounced when she walked and her heels clicked on the hardwood floor. Her shoes were the kind that didn’t make an appearance very often at the Last Chance, where boots were the norm.

      Tyler’s shoes consisted of an arrangement of black straps that left most of her foot bare. Her toes were shiny, as if they had clear polish on them, but the white part was brighter than a natural nail would be. Crystal used to get that kind of pedicure, and he vaguely remembered it was connected with a nationality. Maybe French.

      He’d never thought of himself as having a thing about toes, but Tyler’s French pedicure generated a definite response from his libido. He could imagine himself kissing his way down to her slender toes and running his tongue between each one. During the night they’d shared, they’d been too busy with some very satisfying basics and hadn’t detoured into embellishments like sucking on toes.

      Her shoes stirred his СКАЧАТЬ