And Baby Makes Three

male with a superior intellect who probably demanded more discipline from himself than those around him.

How she knew that she couldn’t explain, but she recognized that the owner of the ranch had known what he was doing when he’d hired Cole Farraday. She was left with little choice but to reveal what he’d immediately perceived was her secret motive for coming here.

“All right,” she exclaimed with a resigned sigh, feeling more vulnerable than ever with the door still open so he could view every inch of her body, which he’d been doing. But in case someone came outside to get in their car, she didn’t want to attract attention by standing next to hers in the presence of the security guard.

At least sitting here in the driver’s seat, people would think they were simply chatting. Heavens-there was no acceptable way out of this except to get it over with as quickly as possible.

“The truth is, I’m searching for someone.”

He kept a hand on top of the open door, perpetuating the fiction that they were acquaintances brought together by the death of a friend. She noted in consequentially he wore no rings, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t married. Not that it mattered. She was here for Bonnie’s sake, and ultimately for her own.

“That’s a start. Man or woman?”

Without looking at him she said, “I’ve been given reason to believe he might be working on this ranch, or maybe he used to work here.”

“Your lover?” he insinuated. “A disgruntled fiance, perhaps?”

“Neither one,” she said, refusing to rise to the bait. But on second thought-considering the cir cum stances-he’d posed some logical questions. She decided it was his blunt way of speaking that led her to believe he was goading her. After all, the man was only doing his job.

She heard his intake of breath, harsh and distinct. He was growing impatient. “Why do you want to find him?”

The operative question.

Catherine could be blunt too. “To let this man know the teenager he got pregnant gave birth to his baby.”

“Ah. That’s a very sad story,” he answered, with an element of sincerity she didn’t doubt, “but, cruel as this will sound, he probably doesn’t want to be found.”

“You’re right,” she agreed in a less than steady voice now. “They never do. The story gets even sadder. The mother, Terrie, died from complications, leaving the baby without a mother or father.”

In the periphery she could see the rise and fall of his broad chest. After a tension-filled pause, “This teenager wouldn’t be your sister by any chance?”

After her emotional gaffe, he’d made another logical assumption, one that happened to strike too close to home. He couldn’t know that despite the difference in their ages, she and Terrie had bonded much like two siblings because of similar life experiences growing up.

Summoning her resolve to hold on to some vestige of control, she said, “No. She’s no relation.”

“A friend, then?”

She grasped on that. “Yes-” It was the truth, after all, but she was already growing too emotional and he sensed it.

“I noticed from the rim of your license plate you bought this car in Reno. Is that where you live?”

The man’s radar didn’t miss anything. Whether she chose to tell him or not, he’d be able to find out the pertinent details about her with one simple phone call to the authorities. Considering the nature of his job on such a renowned ranch, the man probably had an inside track. Since he would have friends in high places, she’d save him the trouble.

“Yes.”

“Did the teenager in question give birth there too?”

“Yes.”

He shifted his weight, an ominous sign which could mean any number of unpleasant things. “Does this cowboy have a name?”

She craned her head in order to look at his brooding features.

“I think he probably made it up so Terrie would never know who he really was for fear she’d try to trace him.”

“Out with it, Ms. Arnold.” He’d come to the end of his tolerance for what had turned out to be a fencing match. In truth she was tired of dancing around the subject too.

“If I tell you, and you recognize it, you have to promise me you won’t reveal it to anyone else-” she cried, then moaned inwardly, wishing she hadn’t sounded like she was begging.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to protect him? ” came the silky question.

Her jaw clenched. “I have no love for this man, believe me. But even he has rights I have to honor.”

He studied her as if she were a paradox. “In that case, why bother to look him up at all?”

“Because I promised Terrie I would. All she wanted was for him to know he had a daughter. What he does with that information is up to him.” Catherine had no doubts he’d do nothing with it. That was what she was counting on. “It’s no one else’s business.”

“What about you?” he questioned.

“I don’t under stand,” she dissembled, vying for time, though she didn’t know why because no one was going to come and rescue her from this precarious dilemma.

“Let’s not play games.” His lips broke into a for bid ding curl. “In my gut I know there’s a lot more at stake here than your being the simple bearer of this kind of news.”

Catherine couldn’t afford to lose her cool now. Not in front of this all- seeing, all-knowing watchdog who was sounding much more like a chief prosecutor. She needed to stay calm and collected, like the professional she purported to be.

Filling her lungs with air, she said, “I’m here because of Bonnie.”

Though his expression didn’t change, a silver flash coming from those suspicious gray eyes indicated she’d hit some kind of nerve. “Bonnie…” he repeated quietly. For want of a more precise word, he sounded haunted.

“Yes. That’s the name Terrie gave her baby.”

After an almost eerie interim of silence his deep voice spoke again, this time in a gravelly tone. “And the father’s name?”

“I-it’s one of those nicknames that could belong to any number of men or their horses, especially those living in this part of the country.”

“I’m still waiting.” He was about to take the action he’d threatened. A small shiver ran down her spine. She was going to have to trust him.

“Terrie said he called himself…Buck.”

The second the name left her lips a daunting stillness pervaded the atmosphere. While she could feel the adrenaline driving the speed of her heart, her interrogator carefully shut the door, as if he’d come to some monumental decision.

But when he finally spoke through the open window, the last thing she’d expected to hear was, “Start your car, Ms. Arnold. You’re going back to Elko. I’ll be right behind you. When we reach the first exit, follow me into town.”

So he did know Buck and had decided to take her to him.

Catherine experienced a moment of triumph to realize she’d be able to