The Cowboy's Family Plan. Judy Duarte

and change into her street clothes.

      Before she could get ten steps—or tear her gaze from Alex and the female trainer—he glanced across the room and noticed her. He waved, then moments later, he left the blonde’s side and made his way to Selena.

      “Hey, fancy meeting you here,” he said.

      She could say the same thing. Instead, she smiled. “It’s my day off, and I thought I’d get a little exercise in.”

      “Do you like it here?” he asked.

      “Yes, I do. It’s a great facility.” Her curiosity mounted until she asked, “Are you thinking about joining?”

      “I would if I lived in town.”

      Where did he live? And why was he here?

      She couldn’t very well come out and pummel him with all of her questions, so she tossed out an easy one, hoping to get a little more information.

      “So why are you dressed as if you’re thinking about joining?” she asked, prodding him again.

      “I’m here for a couple of other reasons, one of which is business.”

      At that, she couldn’t help but cock a brow. And he chuckled.

      “Jim Ragsdale, who’s on the wellness center board of directors, wanted to meet with me today. They’re interested in providing hippotherapy for adults and children with physical and emotional difficulties, and he wanted to run a couple of ideas past me.”

      She didn’t know all that much about the program that used horseback riding as therapy for the disabled, other than those who’d taken part often showed improved balance, coordination, speech and mobility.

      “It’s interesting that they’re thinking of adding that to their wellness program,” she said.

      He nodded. “I was intrigued when Jim first mentioned it, too, so I agreed to meet with him while I was in town today.”

      “Why the gym clothes?” she finally asked, unable to avoid a more direct approach.

      “Yeah, well...” He sighed and gave a little shrug. “I messed up my knee a while back, and my orthopedic surgeon sent me to physical therapy, which I get here.”

      “How did you get hurt?” she asked.

      “I...uh... Well, it was pretty stupid.”

      “Most accidents are.”

      Alex chuffed. “I thought I was immune to that sort of thing, but that’s what I get for taking shortcuts and not keeping my mind on my work.”

      He still hadn’t told her what he’d done, but she refrained from pushing any further. After all, his injury really wasn’t any of her business.

      “So what are you doing now?” he asked.

      “I’m going to head home and get a bite to eat.”

      “Oh, yeah? Me, too. Why don’t you let me buy you dinner? There’s a little café a couple of blocks from here.”

      She wondered if he had more questions this time around—or if he just wanted to spend some quiet time with her. As appealing as the latter seemed to be, she shook off the feminine thoughts. “You don’t need to buy my dinner.”

      “All right. Then we’ll ask for separate checks.”

      As she pondered the invitation, shaking off the urge to agree too quickly, he added, “You probably spend way too much time around the hospital and this place anyway.”

      He was right. And she had made up her mind to spend a little more time getting out into the world... So she said, “Sounds good to me. Do you mind if I take a quick shower and put on my street clothes? I won’t take long.”

      “I’ll wait for you in the lobby area.”

      “All right.”

      True to her word, she returned within ten minutes. “Sorry I took so long.”

      “You didn’t.” He got to his feet, and they made their way to the entrance. He opened the door and waited for her to exit first.

      How about that? The handsome cowboy was well-mannered as well. She’d have to make a note of that.

      Oh, for Pete’s sake. Alex Connor wasn’t the kind of man she’d ever allow herself to crush on—and for several reasons, the biggest of which was the fact that he still seemed to be in love with his late-wife.

      In college, Selena had fallen for a graduate student in the biotech program. They’d had something special, or so Selena had thought. She’d even started daydreaming about June weddings.

      Then, when he went home for Christmas break, he met up with his first love, and their high school romance had blossomed again.

      Selena, of course, had been heartbroken and had vowed never to get involved with a man who still pined over a lost lover—and that would certainly include late wives.

      Of course, sharing a cup of coffee and killing an hour or so before bedtime wasn’t even close to having a date or “getting involved.”

      “It’s a nice evening for walking,” Alex said, as they made their way across the parking lot and to the street.

      Selena looked up at a nearly full moon and an array of bright, twinkling stars. “You’re right.”

      When was the last time she’d taken time to gaze at the evening sky, let alone noticed the natural beauty in nature?

      She couldn’t remember. She’d been so caught up in her practice that she’d spent her days and nights either holed up at the medical center or at home. But she was trying to change that—first with the membership at the wellness center and maybe even with her agreement to walk to the coffee shop this evening with Alex Connor.

      As they stepped onto the sidewalk and turned to the right on a side street that ran along the busier county road, she realized that Alex walked with a limp.

      “Maybe we should have driven,” she said.

      “It’s only a couple of blocks.”

      They continued in silence until Alex asked, “What made you want to be a doctor?”

      “I don’t know. I’ve always had an interest in medicine. And science and math were my favorite subjects when I was in high school, so it seemed like a natural career choice to make.”

      Her efforts had also pleased her parents, something that was important to a girl who was the middle child in a family with seven siblings. And those same efforts had proven to be invaluable because she’d been offered a full-ride scholarship at almost every college to which she’d applied.

      “Why did you choose obstetrics?” Alex asked.

      Because she’d loved babies ever since the time her mother had first laid her newborn brother in her chubby little arms. But because she’d always thought her reason for choosing obstetrics wasn’t all that impressive, she gave him her standard response when people asked the same question. “I found the birth process fascinating.”

      At least she’d found it fascinating when she’d envisioned experiencing it herself once or twice.

      But enough about her. The conversation and the questions were getting way too personal for comfort, and she was ready for a change in subject.

      She was tempted to start by turning his original question right back on him and ask, What made you want to be a cowboy?

      But maybe she’d been wrong about him. Maybe there was more to Alex than a Stetson and boots.

      The Aggie T-shirt he was wearing suggested he might have attended college. And he hadn’t blinked about the cost of having a woman carry those embryos for him.

      Maybe she’d been right. Maybe he was a rancher. After all, he’d