An Honorable Texan. Victoria Chancellor

Won’t your friends and neighbors jump to conclusions?”

      He shrugged. “I suppose they will. After all, we have a child together.”

      “You’re going to tell everyone that Peter is your son?”

      “Of course!” What, did she think he was ashamed of having a son? He wasn’t, but she should have named the baby after him, in the tradition of the Crawford firstborn sons. Maybe it wasn’t too late to change the baby’s name….

      “I didn’t tell anyone. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to the news, so I tried to be careful.”

      “I’ve found it’s better to be up-front about things my friends and neighbors are going to discover anyway. They can be nosy and sometimes they’ll interfere. That’s just the way things are in a small town.”

      Twila came and cleared away their dishes after chatting a bit. Peter began to fuss, then cry. Christie efficiently unlatched the seat belt on the high chair while Cal watched, feeling completely out of his element. He knew nothing about babies. He could shove a bottle in an orphaned calf’s mouth, dose him with antibiotics, vaccinate him and do a half dozen other procedures, but he’d never been around a baby. Maybe if he’d had a chance to get used to the baby when Peter was a newborn, he’d feel more confident, but right now, the baby’s needs were a complete mystery.

      All the more reason to spend time with his son, no matter how scary the idea.

      “I think we’ll go. I’ve got to stop by Toni’s office, then Peter needs a nap. Besides, I need to consider your offer.”

      He stood up. “For how long?”

      She looked up at him, looking a little frazzled. By the crying baby or by him? “I…I’m not sure. Maybe until tomorrow.”

      “I’ll help you to your car.”

      “You don’t have to,” she answered, but he was already picking up the diaper bag. That and the baby carrier were a lot for one woman to carry.

      She preceded him out of the Dewey’s, Peter held high on her left side, facing backward. The baby watched him as he followed. Cal resisted the urge to make a silly face at the fussing baby. Would that make the little guy laugh or cry? Cal wished he knew. He wished he felt comfortable enough with his child to find out. Of course, they’d just met.

      At the front, Christie paused for him to open the door.

      Cal stood there, feeling as if he was being watched. He slowly turned and looked around.

      Everyone seated in the restaurant section of Dewey’s had focused their attention on him. He felt a blush creep up his neck. Damn, what a ridiculous reaction. “Hey,” he said to no one in particular.

      “Welcome home, Cal,” Police Chief Montoya said from a nearby table.

      “Cute baby,” fellow rancher Rodney Bell said with a knowing smile.

      “Yeah, he is, isn’t he?” Cal answered. Then he smiled and added, “He’s mine.”

      PETER WENT TO SLEEP as Christie drove to Toni Casale’s office just down Main Street past the grocery store Toni’s parents owned. The redbrick and black-trimmed two-story building adjoined others and sat right on the wide sidewalk.

      A timeline for the renovations needed to be set now. Toni had said she’d check with the subcontractors for availability of work crews for the aggressive opening Christie wanted.

      But in truth, she’d do almost anything to keep from thinking about moving into Cal’s house, on his ranch. Just her, her baby and her baby’s daddy.

      She’d never thought of moving in with Cal. She’d envisioned renting a place, if the initial meeting with him went well, and letting father and son get to know each other. Slowly. Then, if she decided to stay in Brody’s Crossing, they could maybe make other arrangements. She liked Cal, she was still attracted to him, but she didn’t want to rush into a relationship.

      Spending the weekend with Cal had been exciting, wonderful and…temporary. A weekend didn’t make a lifetime. Even when you thought you’d have a lifetime, sometimes you didn’t.

      A feeling of panic threatened, as it sometimes did when she thought about being a single mother, and she took several deep breaths as she pulled into a parking space in front of the office. Today she felt very much alone. No one else could give her advice, not really, although there were several friends she could ask back in Fort Worth. But she had to make the decision about Cal herself rather than rely on the advice of other people. After all, it wouldn’t be them out there, isolated. Especially at night.

      She realized she’d been stopped for too long, her SRX in Park and her son asleep in the back. With a shake of her head, she turned off the engine and opened the door. From the backseat she grabbed the diaper bag and unlatched Peter’s car seat. Careful not to slam the door, which would wake him for sure, she looped the car seat handle over her arm and walked toward the office.

      A nice-looking man exited at the same time she reached for the door, so he held it open for her and Peter. “Thank you,” she said softly.

      “You’re very welcome,” he said with a killer grin. Why couldn’t Cal be so easygoing? She didn’t remember him being as serious and opinionated as he was now. Maybe the military service had changed him, or perhaps he was really upset about Peter.

      “Are you here to see Toni?” the man asked, pulling Christie back into the present. “I’m her big brother.”

      “Yes, I am here to see her. I’m Christie Simmons. I’d shake hands, but I need both to hold the baby.”

      “Leo Casale. And I completely understand. I’d offer to help, but I don’t know anything about babies.”

      “Thank you, but I’m fine. It’s nice to meet you, Leo. Toni mentioned that you own the hardware store.”

      He smiled again, showing a dimple in his left cheek. Leo was very attractive, looking more like a Nordic god than an Italian entrepreneur. “Makes it convenient for a sister in the renovation business.”

      Christie chuckled. “I imagine she’s a good customer.”

      “She drives a hard bargain.”

      “I’m glad to hear that. I’m renovating the Sweet Dreams Motel.”

      “Really? Wow, that’s great. We need a motel in town.”

      “That’s what I’ve heard…although not everyone feels the same way,” she said, thinking again of Cal’s negative reaction.

      “Who?”

      “Oh, never mind,” she said with a smile. “I should get inside.”

      “Of course. He looks like he’s really asleep, so maybe I could carry him without waking him up or dropping him.”

      “No, that’s okay. I’m getting used to carrying a nearly twenty-pound baby, a ten-pound car seat and about the same in the diaper bag. It’s like taking a workout with me, wherever I go.”

      He chuckled as he held the door open. She saw him eye the empty ring finger on her left hand. “Nice meeting you, Christie. I’ll be seeing you around town.”

      “I suppose so.” If she wasn’t mistaken, Toni’s big brother had just flirted with her! She’d never piqued a man’s interest while holding her baby. “Nice to meet you, too, Leo.”

      He grinned again and waved as he took off with a long stride down the street.

      Toni was in her office, talking on the phone when Christie entered. Peter was still sleeping, so she took a moment to look around. The small office was more functional than decorative, and Christie admired the exposed red brick, wide crown moldings and copper-colored pressed-tin ceiling. There were very few indications that this was a woman’s business. Christie mostly speculated that Toni had planned it that way, to succeed in a