Daddy Wore Spurs. Stella Bagwell

he eased the bottle from the boy’s mouth and placed it on the bar.

      “You don’t need to apologize,” he told Mariah. “We’re both in the dark about each other and Aimee and how Harry came to be.

      “So you don’t have any other relatives around who could help you with the ranch? What about your dad’s parents?” he asked.

      She shook her head. “They died a few years ago within a few months of each other. Both had struggled with serious health problems.”

      “Sorry to hear that,” he said gently.

      Her sigh was wistful. “Aimee and I adored them both. After our parents divorced we lived with them for a while, then Dad purchased this ranch and the three of us moved up here. Having Stallion Canyon was his dream come true.”

      Finn glanced thoughtfully around the warm kitchen and tried to imagine what it had been like when her father and sister had been living. Had the three of them gathered at the dinner table and talked about their dreams and plans? Had there been jokes and laughter or arguments and worries?

      “So this house—this ranch has been your home for many years,” he stated the obvious.

      Rising from the bar stool, she walked over to the cabinet and poured more coffee into her mug. “Since I was eight. And I’m twenty-eight now. So yes, this has been home for all my adult life. But not much longer,” she added dully.

      “So you’re planning on moving?” he asked.

      She said, “As soon as the real estate agent can sell the ranch.”

      There was a hollow sound to her voice, as though moving from this home had no effect on her. Finn didn’t understand why the notion should bother him, but it did. A family ranch with a long history represented pride and hard work. It meant passing a home and legacy from one generation to the next. Had Mariah stopped to think of that, or was getting away from here more important? After twenty years she was bound to have deep roots and sentimental ties to the place. Could she be putting up a front? Pretending to him and even herself that it didn’t matter where she lived?

      “You’re going to sell it? Damn, that’s pretty final, isn’t it?”

      Glancing over her shoulder, she frowned at him. “I’m a teacher. Dad and Aimee are gone and I have no use for the land, the barns or the equipment. I’ve already gotten rid of all but ten of the horses. And I only have those because I can’t find buyers. One of them is a prize stallion and I was holding out for a better price, but I’m almost to the point of giving him and the rest away. Cutting out the feed bill would help stop the ranch from sinking into deeper debt.”

      One thing he’d learned about Aimee during their brief time together was that Stallion Canyon and its horses had meant everything to her. But apparently Mariah didn’t feel any such pull. Had it always been that way? he wondered. Or had hard times embittered her?

      “My mistake,” he said. “When I drove up earlier, I thought I saw a man at one of the barns. I assumed the ranch was doing business.”

      “That was Ringo,” she explained. “He comes by twice a week to haul in feed and generally check on things. To save money I take care of the daily feeding.”

      Harry was the only reason Finn had traveled up here to Stallion Canyon. The ranch’s financial condition, or its lone proprietor, was none of his business. But little by little Mariah was somehow drawing him into this place and her plight.

      “Am I understanding you right, Mariah? You’re selling the ranch because it’s going under?”

      She returned to her seat at the bar. “You’re asking some very personal questions,” she said.

      Their gazes connected, and as he studied her gray eyes, he felt something stir in him. The sensation had nothing to do with the baby in his arms and everything to do with the moist gleam on her dusky lips and the subtle scent of flowers drifting to his nostrils.

       Hellfire, what’s wrong with you, Finn? One Montgomery sister has already had your baby. Now you’re looking at this one as though you’d like to try for a second!

      Trying to shake away the accusing voice in his head, he countered, “You’ve been telling me some very personal things.”

      She drew in a deep breath and his gaze instinctively fell to the rise and fall of her breasts. The gentle curves beneath the red checked blouse were just enough to fill a man’s hands, he mentally gauged, or comfort a crying baby.

      She said, “Normally I keep such things to myself. But if you are really Harry’s father, then you need to hear about his mother’s side of the family. As for me selling the ranch, I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

      Finn’s gaze roamed over her delicate features and crow-black hair. She was hardly the glamorous sort, but there was a sweet sort of sexiness about her that he found very hard to resist.

      “Aimee told me your father died suddenly of a heart attack. There are five of us Calhoun brothers and we lost our mother about nine years ago to an accident. It’s hell to lose someone you love.”

      She stared at the liquid inside her cup, and Finn got the impression she was purposely trying to keep from connecting with him in a personal way. Maybe the sight of him reminded her of Aimee. Or maybe she saw him as the villain, here to take Harry away from her. The idea made him feel like a jerk.

      “At least you had a big family to support you. But I’m surviving. And I’m determined to move on with my life.”

      Over the years Finn and his family had dealt with troubles and sorrows, but they’d always had one another to lean on. Mariah had been facing everything on her own. He couldn’t imagine how that felt, or what it would do to his spirit.

      “I guess losing your father threw the ranch into upheaval,” he spoke his thoughts out loud.

      Her expression rueful, she said, “That was the beginning of the downfall. After we buried Dad, Aimee promised she could keep Stallion Canyon profitable. And in the beginning I trusted her. She was a very good trainer. As good as Dad.”

      “At Reno I could see how competent Aimee was with her mustang. Your horses should’ve been bringing in top dollars. What happened?”

      Mariah released a heavy sigh. “At first she worked very hard. And back then she had capable assistants to help her. But something caused her to change. She started spending money on frivolous things and ignoring her work. I tried to be patient, because I knew how much she was hurting over Dad’s death. Each morning she walked out to the barns, she had to deal with working without him. On top of that, her relationship with Bryce was going nowhere. Then she got pregnant. After that the ranch quickly went downhill.”

      Listening to Mariah now, it sounded as though Aimee had been a troubled soul long before he’d met her. Yet he hadn’t glimpsed that side of her. All he’d seen was her laughter and smiles. The realization proved that he’d misjudged her badly. Did that mean any woman could fool him? Even this one?

      “I suppose you’re thinking I’m partly to blame for your problems,” he said ruefully.

      “I can’t blame you for the choices Aimee made. And anyway, you might not be the man who got Aimee pregnant.”

      So she was going to hold on to that notion, he thought grimly. Well, he supposed she had that right. Just as much as he had the right to believe Harry was his son.

      The thought had him looking down at the boy in his arms. The child was so tiny and vulnerable, so precious. He wanted to hold the sleeping baby’s face next to his own, to breathe in his sweet scent and let the wonder of being a father settle deep inside him. He might have been gullible with Aimee, but he wasn’t about to let Mariah dupe him. Especially when it came to Harry’s parentage.

       But what if Harry’s DNA doesn’t match yours, Finn? You’ll have no argument to keep the boy. Maybe you ought to ask yourself if you’re playing a fool’s game.