A Baby Between Friends. Kathie DeNosky

he was.

      With dark brown hair, forest-green eyes and a nice, effortless smile, he would be considered extremely handsome by any standards. But combined with his impressive physical presence and laid-back personality, Ryder McClain was the type of man most women fantasized about. His wide shoulders and broad chest would be the perfect place for a woman to lay her head when the world dealt her more than she felt she could handle. And the latent strength in his muscular arms as he held her to him would keep her safe and secure from all harm.

      “Summer, are you all right?” he asked, startling her.

      Slightly embarrassed and more than a little disconcerted with her train of thought, she nodded. “I was just thinking about the evening and what a nice time I had,” she lied, unsure of how to start the conversation that would either help her dream come true—or send her in search of someone else to assist her.

      “I can’t think of any of our get-togethers when we haven’t had a lot of fun,” Ryder said, beaming.

      “Even when your brothers irritate you like they did tonight?” she teased.

      His rich laughter made her feel warm all over. “Yeah, even when we’re giving each other a wagonload of grief, we still enjoy being together.”

      “From what you said earlier, I take it you were the one in the hot seat this evening?”

      She was pretty sure she knew the reason they had been teasing him. Due to the demands of both of their jobs there had been very few occasions she and Ryder had been seen together anywhere but at one of the many rodeos they both worked. It was only natural that his brothers would speculate about their relationship, the same as their coworkers had done when she and Ryder started hanging out regularly at the rodeos they were working.

      He shrugged. “As long as they’re bugging me, they’re leaving each other alone.” Grinning, he added, “A few months back, we were all on Sam’s case about what a stubborn, prideful fool he can be.”

      “Was that when he and Bria were having a rough patch in their marriage?”

      “Yup.”

      “Do you always know that much about each other?” If he agreed to help her, she wasn’t certain she would be overly comfortable with his family knowing about it.

      “It’s hard to hide things from the people who know you better than you sometimes know yourself,” he acknowledged.

      “So you don’t keep any secrets from each other? Ever?”

      “There are some things that we don’t tell each other, but not very many.” Turning his head to look at her, he furrowed his brow. “Why do you ask?”

      She had purposely waited until they were alone in his truck and it was dark so she wouldn’t have to meet his gaze. But the time had come to make her case and ask for his assistance. Considering the state of her nerves and the gravity of her request, she only hoped that she would be able to convey how important it was to her and how much she wanted him to help her.

      “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately…” she began, wishing she had rehearsed what she was about to say a bit more. “Although I’ve never had a sibling, I miss being part of a family.”

      “I know, darlin’.” He reached across the console to reassuringly cover her hand with his much larger one. “But one day, I’m sure you’ll find someone and settle down, then you’ll not only be part of his family, you can start one of your own.”

      “That’s not going to happen,” she said, shaking her head. “I have absolutely no interest in getting married, or having a man in my life other than as a friend.” Ryder looked taken aback by the finality in her tone. They had never discussed what they thought their futures might hold and she was sure her adamant statement surprised him. Making sure her words were less vehement, she added, “I’m going to choose another route to become part of the family I want. These days, it’s quite common for a woman to choose single motherhood.”

      “Well, there are a lot of kids of all ages who need a good home,” he concurred, his tone filled with understanding. “A single woman adopting a little kid nowadays doesn’t have the kind of obstacles they used to have.”

      “I’m not talking about adopting a child,” Summer said, staring out the windshield at the dark Texas landscape. “At least not yet. I’d really like to experience all aspects of motherhood if I can, and that includes being pregnant.”

      “The last I heard, being pregnant is kind of difficult without the benefit of a man being involved,” he said with a wry smile.

      “To a certain degree, a man would need to be involved.” They were quickly approaching the moment of truth. “But there are other ways besides having sex to become pregnant.”

      “Oh, so you’re going to visit a sperm bank?” He didn’t sound judgmental and she took that as a positive sign.

      “No.” She shook her head. “I’d rather know my baby’s father than to have him be a number on a vial and a list of physical characteristics.”

      Ryder looked confused. “Then how do you figure on making this happen if you’re unwilling to wait until you meet someone and you don’t want to visit a sperm bank?”

      Her pulse sped up. “I have a donor in mind.”

      “Well, I guess if the guy’s agreeable that would work,” he said thoughtfully. “Anybody I know?”

      “Yes.” She paused for a moment to shore up her courage. Then, before she lost her nerve, she blurted, “I want you to be the father of my baby, Ryder.”

      Two

      Never at a loss for words, Ryder could only remember a couple of times in all of his thirty-three years that he had been struck completely speechless. At the moment, he couldn’t have managed to string two words together if his life depended on it. Summer asking him to help her have a baby was the last thing he’d expected.

      To keep from driving off into a ditch, he steered the truck to the side of the road, shifted it into Park, then turned to gape at the woman seated in the truck beside him. How in the world was he supposed to respond to a request like that? And why the hell was his lower body suddenly indicating that it was up for the challenge?

      Shocked, as well as bewildered, his first inclination had been to laugh and ask her who it was she was really considering. But as he searched her pretty face, Ryder’s heart began to thump against his ribs like a bass drum in a high school marching band. He could tell from the worry lines creasing her forehead that she wasn’t joking. She was dead serious and waiting for him to tell her he would father her child.

      “I know this comes as a bit of a surprise,” she said, nervously twisting her hands into a knot in her lap. “But—”

      “No, Summer,” he said, finally finding his voice. “An unexpected gift or winning a few bucks in the lottery is a surprise. This is a shock that rivals standing in ankle-deep water and grabbing hold of a wire with a few thousand volts of electricity running through it.”

      She slowly nodded. “I’m sure it was the last thing you expected.”

      “You got that right, darlin’.”

      Ryder took a deep breath as he tried to figure out how to proceed. He knew he should ask some questions, but he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to know first. What made her think that she wouldn’t one day meet the right guy to change her mind about getting married and having the family she wanted? Why had she decided that he was the man she wanted to help her? And how did she figure she was going to get him to go along with such a cockamamy scheme?

      “We’re going to have to talk about this,” he said, deciding that he needed time to think. Starting the truck’s engine, he steered it back onto the road. “We’ll stop by the hotel long enough for you to get your things and check out of your room. Then we’ll drive on down to the Blue