“He’s pretty mangled up. Not a young man either and his family isn’t well-off. They’re looking at some steep medical expenses.” Probably remembering his own accident, and rehab, Dallas caught her gaze. “Looks like we may have found our charity.”
“Oh, that’s perfect, Dallas. Yes, let’s do that.”
“I think it’ll draw in a lot of folks who want to help.” His gaze fell, and just when she’d thought he wasn’t holding a grudge after all, he said, “That’s not the only reason I came up to the house. I stepped over another boundary yesterday. Are we okay here?”
The uncertain look in his eyes took Elizabeth by surprise. He seemed always so sure of himself, confident, as she’d said. It wasn’t the kiss, then, but she could still feel the pressure of his mouth on hers, his touch on her shoulders, the warm nape of his neck when she’d wound her arms around him. They did like each other. She knew he thought of her as Lizzie, a looser version of herself. Maybe she was a bit too rigid. But at the moment he was worried about Dusty Malone, and telling him about her pregnancy wouldn’t happen now either.
She held his gaze. “We’re okay as long as yesterday doesn’t repeat itself.” Like that first afternoon at her house.
“Right,” he said, studying his boots again.
Elizabeth went down the steps. “Dallas, that may have been as much my fault as yours. You caught me in a weak moment yesterday, and I can’t deny you’re an attractive man. But this has to remain business, and a casual friendship, until you leave Barren, nothing more.” She recapped her talk with Clara as a new part of the team. “She could see the tension between us,” Elizabeth finished.
“I can keep my hands to myself,” he said. “I don’t need another lecture. Takes two people to be friends...but two for a relationship as well, which you know I’m not looking for,” he added. Had he thought their kiss over, seen her view? Or was he saving his pride? He turned on his heel and stalked off toward the barn, his last words hanging in the hot summer air. “Which should mean no problem on either side.”
Except for one. Thank goodness, it was early yet. She’d tell him about the baby...but later. When she was farther along, and the risk of miscarriage wasn’t as great.
She still had time.
CHAPTER TWELVE
DALLAS STALKED INTO the barn and found Calvin sitting on a bale of hay, staring at his phone. Dallas tried to pull his mind from the words he’d just had with Lizzie. He was seething, not in anger but frustration. Had he been too harsh with her? As Hadley had said, she was different from the sort of women Dallas usually met. Disgusted with himself, he studied Calvin.
“You’re supposed to be grooming horses.”
Calvin looked up. “I’m on my morning break. Taking care of a few things.” He held up the cell. “My—uh—truck payment was due.”
“Hadley doesn’t pay us to manage our finances during work hours, Cal. He’s been lenient with you, but don’t let him catch you.”
Calvin slowly got to his feet as if the effort was too much. He started down the aisle toward the first stall. When the kid was obviously troubled, Dallas had taken his mood out on him. He called in a friendlier tone, “Something bothering you?”
Calvin pulled a lead rope off the hook beside the stall door. “My girl,” he admitted. “Told you we have our differences and she’s not easy to read. I sure got this message, though.” He raised his head, his eyes bleak. “Becca says she’s pregnant.”
That news surprised Dallas. “Wow. What are you going to do?”
A look of horror crossed Calvin’s face. “I never said I’d marry her.”
Dallas held up a hand. “Whoa, too fast. I didn’t mean to make things worse. How do you feel about the baby?”
Calvin shrugged. “I never know what to say about stuff like that, not that I’ve ever been in this position before. When she told me, I couldn’t think how to react except to pack my gear and take off for parts unknown.” He gave Dallas a weak smile. Not serious, then. Calvin was basically a good guy. He’d likely do the right thing by her. Western men were the protective type. Dallas’s first instinct was to shelter Lizzie, not that she was his. She didn’t want to be, and considering his temporary status here, his chosen career, she was right.
“Is Becca sure she’s actually having a baby? Has she taken a test, seen a doctor?”
“That’s what I asked her. Not yet, but she’s pretty certain.”
“She must feel panicked, then, too, Calvin. You intend to stick by her?”
“Don’t know. I just found out, but what kind of father would I make? My mom didn’t know who my dad was. I had a bunch of ‘uncles’ growing up, and she had two other kids but never married. Half the time I was raising myself—guess I didn’t do that good a job, but then neither did she.”
Dallas could relate to that. He’d had a bad experience in a different way. He could be a confidant for Calvin—he empathized with him. “You had a rough deal. If it makes you feel better, so did I early on. My adoptive parents are great, so sometimes I forget that our birth family was all my brother and I had before a bunch of foster homes. Too many of them were bad news.” Locked doors and all that. He told Calvin instead about his real mom and dad, the addicts who’d left him and Hadley to fend for themselves. “Because of the Maguires, I was lucky to finally get out of foster care. My brother didn’t till he was eighteen and struck out on his own.”
“That may explain why he can be such a hardnose.”
Dallas had to smile. “Yeah, I guess, but Jenna’s fixed most of that. She’s good for him and so are the twins. Now, about you and
