The Cowboy's Accidental Baby. Marin Thomas

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СКАЧАТЬ used her fingertip to draw on the screen. “Making notes.”

      “What is it you do for a living that qualifies you for this project?”

      “I’m an interior designer.”

      “Did you go to college?” he asked.

      “Yes. Didn’t you?”

      He shook his head. “College is for people who can’t get a real job.”

      “Well, you can’t ride Wisconsin cows—you can only milk them. So I guess it’s a good thing you live in Texas and I went to college.”

      The corner of his mouth quivered, but he kept a straight face. “This way.” He grabbed a golf club leaning against the wall and walked through the doorway behind the checkout desk. She followed him down the short hallway and out the back door.

      The lot behind the motel consisted of gravel, dirt, weeds and a small grassy field where Red stood in the shade beneath the lean-to. Lydia made a note on her laptop to ask her aunt if there was enough money in the budget to put in a patio and a children’s playground. A family-friendly motel might encourage Maybelle and Hector to find another place to rendezvous.

      She eyed the Dumpster filled to the top with garbage, broken furniture and an old tire. “When do you have the trash picked up?”

      “When it overflows.” He walked over to a patch of weeds and swung the club, taking the tops off the dandelions.

      She clicked on a new tab and drew a space for an entertainment area. Absorbed in adding details to the sketch, she wasn’t aware that Gunner had inched closer until his breath hit the back of her neck. She inhaled sharply and his scent—a combination of woodsy cologne and pure cowboy—shot up her nose. She attempted to move away, but little suction cups had sprouted on the bottoms of her shoes, keeping her rooted in place.

      “Hey, that’s pretty cool that you can draw like that. What about putting in a barbecue so guests can cook out.” He touched his finger against the corner of the screen. “Right here.”

      “That’s a great idea.”

      “Buy one of those grills with a built-in smoker.”

      Of course he’d want that. If her aunt’s plan failed to bring tourists to Stampede, Gunner and his rodeo buddies would use the patio to barbecue and party.

      His masculine finger moved to the opposite corner of the screen and whatever he said next failed to register with her because she was wondering how that calloused finger would feel trailing over her lips or across her cheek or along her... Never mind.

      Shocked by the path her thoughts were taking, Lydia closed the laptop. “I’m ready to look at a room.”

      She followed him back to the office, where he grabbed the key to room 3 from the pegboard behind the check-in desk. She held out her hand. “You don’t have to come with me.”

      He stared into her eyes as if he could read her thoughts and knew he made her nervous. “You sure?”

      “Very.” Key in hand, she left the office, sucking in a deep breath of dusty air, hoping the gritty particles would clear Gunner’s scent from her head. She didn’t condone his lackadaisical management style, but at least when he was off rodeoing, his sexy pheromones wouldn’t interfere with her work.

      Good grief. Not in a millions years would she have thought she’d be attracted to a slacker.

      * * *

      A LOUD CHUGGING noise woke Gunner and he popped out of the chair in the motel office, where he’d fallen asleep after Lydia had gone off to explore room 3. He peered out the window. What the heck was his grandfather doing here?

      He stepped outside and waited for the old 1970 Ford to pull into a parking spot. “I thought you were helping Logan feed the cattle this morning,” he said when the driver-side door opened.

      “Too hot.” His grandfather took the pack of Marlboro from his shirt pocket and lit up. “Thanks for the birthday smokes.”

      Gunner had left a happy-birthday note on the kitchen table along with the cigarettes and the snake, which he’d wrapped in newspaper. “You weren’t supposed to open your gifts until supper.”

      “You wasted your money on that stupid snake. Should have bought another pack of cigarettes.”

      “The snake was cheaper.”

      His grandfather’s mouth twitched.

      “Since it’s your birthday, you should go fishing at the lake.”

      “I might later.” He tilted his head toward the office. “I wasn’t sure you’d show up today.”

      “I got your message loud and clear. I’m at Lydia’s beck ’n’ call until this place sparkles and shines.”

      His grandfather fussed with his belt, then smoothed a hand over his head. Gunner couldn’t remember the last time the old man had taken a comb to his hair, but this morning he’d slicked it down with enough Brylcreem to suffocate a beehive. “Is that a new shirt you’re wearing?”

      “No.” His grandfather’s gaze slid sideways.

      The creases from the package were still visible. And was that Hai Karate cologne he smelled?

      “Did Amelia come with Lydia?”

      Before Gunner answered the question, the self-appointed matriarch of Stampede drove her white 1958 Thunderbird convertible into the parking lot. For an instant he envisioned Lydia behind the wheel of the sexy piece of machinery, her blond hair flying in the wind.

      His grandfather dropped his cigarette on the ground and stomped it out with his boot heel—a boot that had been spit-shined and polished. Well, well, well. That explained the Brylcreem and the cologne. Why his grandfather wanted to impress Amelia Rinehart was a mystery when all they ever did was spar with each other.

      Amelia parked next to Emmett’s pickup and Gunner rushed over to open the door and help her out of the front seat. “’Morning, Ms. Amelia.”

      “Hello, Gunner.” She peeked around his shoulder. “Emmett.”

      “Amelia.”

      Gunner shut the door, his gaze shifting between the older couple. “Happy birthday,” Amelia said.

      “I don’t much care for birthdays anymore.”

      She smiled. “Who does at our age?”

      His grandfather’s gaze rolled over Amelia like a teenage boy and Gunner looked away, embarrassed by his grandfather’s gawking.

      “Where’s Lydia?” Amelia asked.

      “Inspecting room 3,” Gunner said.

      His grandfather elbowed him in the ribs. “You should be showing her around in case she has questions.”

      “Why would she have any questions? Everything СКАЧАТЬ