“I thought all of Arizona was desert,” Nikki said.

  Roslyn smiled. “Geography never was your best subject.”

  Her friend chuckled. “Funny, isn’t it? I barely know where to find Texas on the map and I end up working for a travel agency. Good thing all I have to do is make reservations.”

  “It’s a very good thing,” Roslyn joked, then asked, “So how are things going with you? Still dating Randy?”

  There was a long, pregnant pause before her friend finally answered. “No. He decided to enter the marines. He’ll be leaving for California in a few weeks.”

  “And he didn’t ask you to go along with him?”

  Nikki sighed and Roslyn could picture the other woman frowning and absently twining her long red hair around her finger. “He did. But I told him no.”

  Roslyn gasped. “But why, Nikki? You’re crazy about the guy? Why let him slip away?”

  Another sigh sounded in Roslyn’s ear. “I don’t want to leave Mom. Not in her present state of mind.”

  “My dear friend, it’s not your fault that your father decided to divorce your mother and go live on the east coast with another woman.”

  Nikki was silent for another long moment and then she said, “No. But if I left Mom, too, I’m not quite sure she could handle being totally alone. Maybe later when she’s had time to adjust to the loss.”

  Later would probably be too late for Nikki to make the life she’d wanted with Randy, but Roslyn was in no position to give her friend that sort of grim advice. Not when she’d already had a broken engagement and an unexpected pregnancy with a man who’d turned out to be a liar and a cheat.

  After visiting with Nikki a few more minutes, she ended the call and was about to walk back into the house, when she noticed a truck like Chandler’s coming up the long driveway. Pausing, she watched the dusty vehicle stop near the front gate and the busy doctor climb to the ground.

  This past week, she’d scarcely seen the man. Once in the early morning, he’d been exiting the house by way of the kitchen. On that occasion he’d paused long enough to tell her good-morning and that he had to hurry to the clinic to deal with an emergency. Then one night she’d gone to the kitchen for a glass of milk and found him eating his supper, while going through a stack of medical records. He’d looked very tired and though he’d invited her to take a seat and join him, she’d not wanted to hang around and make a nuisance of herself.

  But today was different. Today he looked full of energy as he trotted up the wide steps.

  “Well, hello, Roslyn,” he said with a broad smile. “How’s the little mother-to-be?”

  Blushing, she smiled at him and tried to ignore the way her heart was dancing a silly little jig in the middle of her chest. “I’m fine, thank you. You’re home very early, aren’t you? There’s still a few hours of daylight left,” she commented.

  He chuckled. “There’d better be. My receptionist crossed out this late afternoon so I could get away from the clinic. There are times I have to work for the ranch and this is one of them. Blake wants me to check on two different herds of cattle. Some of the hands have reported a few of the cows having pink eye.”

  “Are you talking about the same sort of pink eye that humans have?” she asked.

  “No. It’s different. Bovine pink eye isn’t contagious to humans. But if left untreated in cattle it can easily spread through the whole herd.” His gaze traveled up and down the length of her. “Say, you’re wearing jeans. And boots, too! Nice!”

  Her cheeks turned a deeper pink at his compliment. “Thank you. I got them yesterday when Katherine and I went to town.” She smoothed a hand over the loose blue gingham shirt covering her baby bump. “I thought the jeans would be practical for wearing here on the ranch. And she talked me into the boots to go with them.”

  “Boots are a necessary footwear on a ranch,” he said with a grin, then slanted her a thoughtful look. “Are you busy right now?”

  She laughed softly. “Busy? What would I be doing? Each time I offer to sweep or pick up, or help in the kitchen, I’m told to sit down. I’m beginning to feel like a sitting hen.”

  His grin turned sly. “Then how would you like to go with me? The road out to the grazing range is fairly smooth and you won’t have to get out of the truck unless you want to.”

  She had to stop herself from jumping up and down with excitement. “Oh, I would love to go. I’ve only walked down to the ranch yard twice since I’ve been here and that’s as much of the ranch that I’ve had a chance to see.”

  “Then it’s about time you saw more of it. Can you be ready to go in five minutes?”

  “Sure.”

  “Then meet me in the kitchen. The truck we’ll be taking is parked out back.”

  “I’ll be right there,” she promised.

  After a quick trip to the ladies’ room and grabbing a light jacket from the closet, Roslyn hurried down to the kitchen, where she found Reeva loading Chandler down with a thermos of coffee and a plastic bag filled with homemade cookies.

  “We’re not going on a picnic, Reeva,” Chandler told her. “Seeing a cow with pink eye doesn’t exactly give a man an appetite.”

  “I’m not worried about you, Chandler. This is mainly for Roslyn. She’s eating for two, you know. And this is her last month, the time when the baby is putting on weight. She needs plenty of calories. And I made the coffee decaffeinated just for her.”

  Chandler shared a knowing smile with Roslyn as he ushered her out the back door. “I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that Reeva mothers all of us.”

  “It’s pretty obvious,” Roslyn agreed. “Maureen told me that Reeva has a grown daughter and one grandchild in California, but that she rarely sees them.”

  “That’s right. Her daughter, Liz, is one of those people who wants everyone to believe she was born at the top of the social circle. It embarrasses her that Reeva works as a cook. In fact, Reeva says her daughter tells her friends that her mother works as a secretary.”

  “How sad. Sounds like this Liz has misguided priorities,” Roslyn replied. “Especially when Reeva is such a wonderful person. I honestly don’t know where she finds all her energy. She never quits working. But then, neither do you.”

  With a hand on her elbow he helped her down a set of short rock steps, and kept the steadying hold on her arm as they walked to a white truck with the 3R brand painted on the door.

  “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I wasn’t busy,” he said.

  “How about take a nap?” she suggested impishly.

  He laughed and she laughed with him and for the first time since Roslyn had left her home in Texas, she felt the heaviness in her heart lift and fly away with the warm desert breeze. It felt so wonderful to be with this man, she thought. His company made her almost forget that she would soon be a single mother and that the man who’d proposed to love her had not really loved her at all.

  “You’re very funny at times, Roslyn,” he said, as he helped her into the work truck. “I like that. As for the nap, I wouldn’t know how to do that, either.”

  He shut the door, then went to the back of the truck and let out a loud whistle. She turned just in time to see him lowering the tailgate and two yellow short-haired dogs leaping into the truck bed. After he’d closed the gate, he joined her in the cab.

  “I’ve seen several dogs around the barns. Some were this color and others were spotted with longer hair. Are they all pets? Or working dogs?”

  “I guess you could call them both. But mostly they’re working dogs. This pair that’s going with us today are Black Mouth Curs and very good at rounding up cattle. I don’t expect I’ll need them to work today, but they like to go with me. They’re very sweet and social, so you can pet them if you’d like. They won’t take off your hand. The spotted dogs you’ve seen around the ranch yard are Australian shepherds. I raise and train them to work cattle, also. That is, when I have the time.”

  He opened the console between the seats and dropped the thermos and cookies into the storage space. “I’ll put these in here so they won’t end up rolling under our feet. You can get them out whenever you’d like.”

  “I honestly don’t want to ruin my appetite,” she told him. “Reeva is cooking something special. Polish sausage and macaroni and cheese.”

  Laughing, he glanced in her direction. “That’s not special. That’s plain ol’ comfort food.”

  She chuckled. “Maybe that’s why I love it.”

  He started the truck and reversed out of the small parking area behind the house. As they drove past the ranch yard, she noticed a group of mounted cowboys, riding away from the ranch.

  “Where are they going? To round up cattle?”

  “Not at this time of day. They’re probably going to ride fence line to make sure there are no posts or wires down. It’s a never-ending job.”

  “Can’t they do that job in a vehicle?”

  “A few cross fences can be checked from a vehicle. Most of the ranges, however, are too rough for vehicles to travel over. And Mom has always kept Dad’s policy of not using ATVs or helicopters on the ranch.”

  “Why? Just to keep with the older tradition of doing everything on horseback?”

  “Well, the Hollisters are all about tradition. But the main reason is that loud machinery puts undue stress on the cattle and can even cause them to be injured. Ninety-five percent of the time, a cowboy can ride his horse quietly into a herd and the cattle will remain still and calm. Try doing that with an ATV and they’ll stampede in every direction.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t aware of that.” She looked at him and smiled. “I guess you can tell I’m very ignorant about ranching.”

  “Would you like to learn?”

  “I would like to learn,” she answered, then added, “This will probably sound silly to you, but before I came here to Three Rivers, I never really got acquainted with being outdoors and I’ve discovered that I like it. There’s something soothing about being surrounded by nature. It’s given me a different perspective about life.”

  “I think that’s very true.”

  He shoved the floor shift into a higher gear, but still maintained a slow pace. The narrow road they were traveling was dirt and wound randomly through clumps of blooming sage and tall saguaros. She’d never seen such wild and rugged countryside, yet its enchanting beauty couldn’t draw her attention completely away from Chandler.

  Beneath his gray Stetson, his black hair gleamed like a crow’s wing, while his blue eyes were as striking as the azure sky. The Western shirt hugging his shoulders and torso was fashioned of khaki material and looked as if it had been tailor-made to fit his muscular build. His presence was so big and masculine it seemed to fill up the entire cab of the truck.

  “Do you think you might look for an outdoor job once you get settled in Redding?” he asked.

  Reining in her wandering thoughts, she focused on his question—one that had been plaguing her ever since she’d learned she was going to be raising a child without the help of its father.

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. The main reason I was going to Redding was because Dad doesn’t know anything about the property I own. So he wouldn’t know to look for me there. The place was one secret my mother kept from him. Because she knew he’d find a way to take the place away from her, or me.”

  “I see.”

  Did he really? She doubted it. Because it was hard for anyone to understand that kind of behavior.

  “Well, I feel confident they’ll be some sort of job there for me,” she said as cheerfully as she could. “One thing for sure, I’m not trained to do any sort of outdoor job. My college degree is in business. Dad picked out the subject. He thought that was more fitting for a woman.”

  He glanced in her direction. “What would you have chosen for yourself, Roslyn?”

  She pondered his question for a moment and realized how cocooned her life had been until she’d started dating Erich. And even then, she probably wouldn’t have gotten engaged if it hadn’t been for her father pushing the issue.

  “I don’t know. That’s awful to admit, isn’t it?” She turned slightly toward him. “It’s hard to explain, Chandler, but when you grow up with someone else choosing everything for you, then your imagination and dreams never really have a chance to flourish. Each time I tried to plan something on my own, it was always interrupted or changed. I realize now just how spineless a person I’ve been. For years I did everything my father’s way. And then when Erich came along I did everything his way.”

  “And now?” he asked.

  Straightening her shoulders, she said, “Now I’m going to follow my own convictions. I’m going to think for myself and my baby.”

  “I’m glad to hear that, Roslyn.”

  Wondering if he was making fun of her, she glanced at his rugged profile. Yet there was no amusement to be found on his face and the fact filled her with simple joy. More than anything, she wanted this man to see her as smart and strong and capable.

  “You know, Chandler, it’s almost staggering to think there’s a whole new world out there and I can do and be what I want. I’m not sure what that is yet. Except that I want to be the best mother I can possibly be. And the love I give to my child won’t come with chains.”

  He reached over and gave her hand an encouraging squeeze and Roslyn was swamped with the urge to wrap her fingers around his and never let go.

  “I think you’re going to be a very good mother, Roslyn. And whatever else you want to be.”

  His words caused her throat to grow thick with emotion. “You’re a morale booster, Chandler.”

  Thank goodness he hadn’t seemed to notice the husky note in her voice. If he ever figured out just how attracted she was to him, he’d probably run for the hills and stay there until she left Three Rivers.

  Chuckling, he joked, “You need to come to the clinic and meet my staff. They all call me a tyrant. An exaggeration, in my opinion. Since I don’t ask them to do any more than I do during a fourteen-hour workday.”

  He was teasing, but she seriously wondered why he didn’t cut down his work hours.

  He’d said he didn’t have time for a family of his own. Yet every time she laid eyes on the man she felt certain he’d been born to love a woman, to nurture a brood of children.

  Chandler Hollister doesn’t want a family, Roslyn. When are you going to get that through your head? The man is thirty-six years old. There’s a reason he’s chosen to remain a bachelor for so long. And don’t go getting the idea that you could be the woman to change him.

  Blocking out the cynical voice in her head, she placed a hand on the side of her belly. The subtle movement beneath her fingers reassured her. It also reminded her that the baby would soon be born. Her entire focus would change to being a mother and providing a safe and loving home for her child. There wouldn’t be room in her thoughts for a man. Especially a man who had no romantic interest in her at all. And yet, he continued to live in her mind like a sweet, recurring dream.

  “You’ve gone quiet, Roslyn. Are you okay?”

  “I’m perfect.”

  As long as I’m with you.

  She didn’t know where that thought had come from, but she had a sneaky suspicion it had come straight from her heart.

  Chapter Six

  Chandler drove for another three miles before he finally stopped the truck next to a wide, shallow creek lined with willows and salt cedar. Off to their left, about a hundred yards away, a herd of black cattle grazed at tufts of grass growing among the chaparral.

  “Would you like to walk with me part of the way to see the cattle?” he asked. “Or would you rather remain here in the truck? The engine is diesel, so it’s perfectly safe to leave it idling with the air-conditioner going.”

  “I’m not that much of a softy.” She patted the top of her stomach. “I realize this big tummy makes me look off balance, but I’m pretty sure-footed. I’d like to walk with you.”

  He grinned. “Great. Just stay put and I’ll help you down from the truck.”

  After he’d carefully helped her to the ground, he opened the tailgate and the two dogs leaped out. Roslyn expected them to take off barking and chasing the cattle, but instead they remained obediently at Chandler’s side.

  “I’m impressed. The dogs aren’t running wild. You must be a good trainer,” she told him.

  He chuckled. “These two are no-nonsense. But a few others get it in their head that it’s more fun to play. The key is patience.”

  “I’m trying to store up all my patience, so I’ll have plenty when the baby arrives.”

  “Better store more for its teenage years. Mom said she couldn’t have made it through those years without Dad to keep us corralled.”

  But her child wouldn’t have a dad. Unless she found a man that she loved with all her heart. Some generous-hearted man who wouldn’t mind being a father to another man’s child.

  After a moment passed and she didn’t reply, he said, “I’m sorry, Roslyn. I wasn’t thinking—about the dad part. But I have a feeling that you’re going to have a husband long before that baby gets to be a teenager.”

  Only if I met someone like you.

  And her chances of meeting and marrying a man like Chandler were about the same as finding the end of a rainbow. That kind of stuff only happened in fairy tales. Not in Roslyn’s life.

  “I wouldn’t count on it. But that’s years away. Anything can happen.” She looked at him and forced a bright smile on her face. “Right?”

  He didn’t smile back. Instead, he studied her for a long thoughtful moment before he finally murmured, “Sure. Anything can happen.”

 

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