His Callahan Bride's Baby. Tina Leonard

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СКАЧАТЬ brooded about that—until he saw shadows swirling in the evening light washing the distant mesas. “Look,” he told his brothers and sister, and they came to stand beside him. They watched as the mystical Diablos, a sure portent of things to come, thundered through the painted canyons.

      Yes, he would make the very same decision his parents had made. It was all about protecting the family—and right now, his mission was guarding his parents, Callahan cousins, Rancho Diablo, and the Diablos from the danger stalking them.

      * * *

      J ILLIAN LOOKED AT T AYLOR as she finished tidying up the diner’s mahogany counter. “You don’t want him to know, do you?”

      Taylor didn’t look at her old friend and employer. “Falcon isn’t serious about marrying me. He doesn’t need to know anything about my private life.”

      “He sounded pretty serious to me.” Jillian cocked her red mop of hair, thinking. “Callahan men usually stick to that ‘strong, silent type’ way of thinking, but say what’s really on their mind.” She nodded. “Maybe you should tell him the truth.”

      “Falcon doesn’t need to know that I received another marriage proposal. It’s none of his business.” At the moment, Taylor didn’t want anyone in Diablo to know more about her than necessary. She’d grown up here. People talked, and talked a lot. And she hadn’t quite accepted the astonishing proposal of Storm Cash. She’d said she’d think about it.

      Falcon’s proposal was the second she’d received in a month. “I’m in shock, to be honest.”

      “I am, too.” Jillian walked over, took the dishrag from her. “Go home. Think about all this. Talk to your mom about everything. It’s not often a woman gets proposals from two men almost at the same time.”

      “They’re enemies,” Taylor murmured.

      “True enough.” Jillian nodded. “Falcon’s going to hear about it eventually.”

      A chill teased at Taylor. “Do you think he knew that Storm proposed?”

      “I feel certain that Falcon isn’t the kind of man to do things out of a sense of competition for a female. There’s too many pretty ladies around who would give anything to go out with him, or any of the Callahan boys.” She shrugged. “Tell me again why Mr. Cash offered to marry you?”

      “He said he needed a wife,” Taylor said. “He said he’d heard that Mama was ill, and he didn’t want to take me away from her when he knew she needed help, so he would wait for me. But he also wanted to help Mama out. I told him we were fine, that we didn’t need his assistance. To be honest, I thought his proposal was more sincere than Falcon’s.”

      “Never underestimate a Callahan. They don’t do anything half-baked. It just seems like they’re half-baked, all of them.” Jillian laughed. “They are wild men, for sure—both sides of the Callahan family tree. And Ash follows in her brothers’ and cousins’ footsteps. In fact, I do believe Ash taught those boys a thing or two about staying crazy and free, at least according to what Fiona has shared.” She smiled, enjoying telling the yarn. “No, Callahans are fully baked, like clay fired in a kiln. Falcon was serious.”

      Taylor realized she’d completely dismissed Storm’s proposal, kind as it might have been. Yet her heart had leaped at Falcon’s words—first in surprise, then with what she could only identify as happiness, even as she knew he couldn’t truly love her. He was too wild.

      How long had she carried a secret torch for the handsome, long-haired cowboy? Months. Maybe ever since he’d ridden into Diablo. She heard the tales of wildness surrounding him and his family, and every time he’d come into the diner and ordered a meal, his dark navy eyes staring into hers, her heart had sung.

      “You better straighten it out, honey, if you’ve got a yen for that man.” Jillian turned the lights low and switched on the small neon closed sign in the window. “I can only warn you that if you have any feelings at all for Falcon, any idea at all that you might want to consider dating him, you want to turn down Storm Cash as quickly and quietly as possible. If Storm should tell anyone in Diablo that he offered to marry you, Falcon will run in the opposite direction. Those two are natural enemies, like an alpha wolf crossing into another alpha’s territory. You have to decide if you want either of those gentlemen, or neither, before they catch wind of each other. Some men compete over a girl, but I think Falcon’s got too much baggage and too many girls after him to expend the effort. He did say he was looking for an easy thing.” Jillian gently smiled. “I wish I was still young enough to have two sexy hunks vying for my hand in marriage.”

      Taylor picked up her purse and followed Jillian from the diner. It was hot now in New Mexico. There were fires burning in different parts of the state, feeding on the parched land. Soon, hopefully, the heat would break, and more temperate conditions would settle over Diablo.

      Christmas wasn’t that far away.

      “You could get him if you play your cards right,” Jillian said cheerfully. “And if you want to know about playing man cards, you might consider asking his aunt for information. Goodness knows no one loves a wedding like Fiona Callahan.”

      Once again, Taylor felt that leap in her heart.

      And guarded herself against it.

      Chapter Two

      “Don’t know if you’ve heard,” Ash whispered in Falcon’s ear as they crouched around the white stone circle near the canyons that night, “your sweetie’s in town agitating.”

      He couldn’t help a smile at the thought of Taylor “agitating.” She was a firecracker, and he was dying to light her on sexy fire. “What’s up?”

      Ash seated herself cross-legged on the ground and grinned. “First, it seems she has a problem with the way one of her neighbors is treating his horses. Taylor’s been making noise about someone needing to take the animals from their owner. Then,” Ash continued, as if that wasn’t enough for one woman to tackle, “Taylor’s decided the town elders need to do something about the panty raid the high school kids had on Friday night. Some people thought it was harmless fun, but some people thought the kids ought to get suspended, since all the panties ended up on the lawn of Miss Lyda’s old folks home south of town.” His sister laughed, delighted.

      Truthfully, he didn’t care much about the shenanigans of the high schoolers, and preferred to spend some time thinking about the type of panties Taylor might wear. “What’s Taylor agitating for?”

      Ash grinned. “She thinks the high schoolers involved need to be commissioned for a sing-in on the porch of Miss Lyda’s, to entertain the live-in residents. And she wants them to spend an afternoon painting Miss Lyda’s fence and porch to freshen it up a bit. Miss Lydia does her best, but everybody’s wallets are a little thinner these days. She could use the help. Taylor believes the kids need to spend a little time around their elders, who could teach them a thing or two about life. Panty raids are fun, she told the town council, but life lessons are important, too.”

      And that’s why Diablo loved her. Falcon grunted. “If she gets it arranged, I’ll put up the paint.”

      “You will?” Ash stared at him.

      “Yeah.” He shrugged. “The town’s wallet isn’t so full these days, either. And I’ll go check out the farmer whose horses Taylor СКАЧАТЬ