His Baby Bargain. Cathy Thacker Gillen

      There were several problems with that. First, he’d already gone down that route before—and learned the hard way that any relationship based on rebound emotions was a huge mistake.

      And second, she was so damn pretty and accomplished these days, he knew he’d never be able to leave it at that. Holding Sara close would make him want things he couldn’t have and had no business wanting.

      Because, thanks to the mistakes he’d made and the guilt he still harbored, having a wife or a family of his own was no longer in the cards for him.

      Clearly misunderstanding the reason behind his long pause, Sara pleated her brow. She looked at him more closely, then queried cautiously, “Really, Matt? You seriously doubt my inner strength?”

      “No,” he conceded honestly. “You’re as feisty as they come.”

      “Feisty,” she said, repeating the term distastefully. “Really.”

      He grinned, thrilled to be getting under her skin.

      It was that friction that would help keep them apart.

      Watching the color come into her high, sculpted cheeks, he removed his hat and let it fall idly against his thigh. “Don’t like the term?”

      Her pretty green eyes narrowing, she watched him run his fingers through his hair. “It’s condescending!”

      He settled his Resistol squarely back on his head. “Yeah?” he retorted sardonically. “In what way?” Because she was feisty and then some. Always had been.

      Oblivious to how much he liked her spirit, Sara let out a lengthy sigh. “In the sense that feisty is an adjective usually attached to a female or small animal one would not expect to defend itself.”

      He rolled his eyes at her deliberately haughty tone. “Spoken like a veterinarian,” he said. Then seeing a way to needle her further, added, “A woman veterinarian.”

      Now she was spitting mad. She planted her hands on her hips again. “You just keep digging yourself in deeper, don’t you, cowboy?”

      He shrugged in a way designed to rankle her even more. “Hey. If it annoys you, maybe you should leave.” He went back to pull up some more aging fence posts.

      “Not until you at least agree to come to my ranch and see the puppy.”

      He turned so suddenly she nearly slammed into him. He inhaled another whiff of her lilac perfume. “Why me?” he asked as his gaze drifted over her fitted suede jacket and dark, figure-hugging jeans. “Instead of someone else a hell of a lot more amenable?”

      Sara sighed and folded her arms beneath her breasts, her action plumping them up all the more. “Because we need more veterans actively involved in helping other returning military personnel,” she stated softly, her breasts rising and falling with each agitated breath.

      He rocked back on the heels of his worn leather work boots. “Isn’t that the mission of the West Texas Warriors Association?” Of which, he knew, there were hundreds of members.

      Her expression turned even more serious. “We need everyone, Matt.”

      He rejected her attempt to make him feel guilty for not wanting to dive back into the world of his nightmares. “I don’t think so.”

      She glowered at him. “Why not?”

      “I like my solitude.”

      She made a face and then, to his mounting frustration, tried again. “Listen to me, Matt,” she beseeched, hands outstretched. Her gentle eyes filled with compassion. “I know how hard it was for Anthony to really reconnect after he came back to civilian life...”

       So, the rumors about her late husband’s unhappiness...and maybe hers, too...were true.

      He scowled, not sure why the comparison bothered him so much. “I’m not your late husband, Sara.”

      She acknowledged that with a nod, then pushed on despite his gruff, unwelcoming tone. “Working with dogs can help alleviate PTSD-related depression and anxiety.”

      Now what is she trying to infer? “Do tell,” he prodded.

      She tilted her head to one side and offered a tantalizing smile. “Who knows?” Another shrug. “It might help right your temperamental attitude, too.”

      Not sure whether he wanted to haul her close and kiss her, or demand she leave now, he sent her a censuring look. “Thanks, but I’ve got my bad moods covered, Sara.”

      She huffed, her eyes narrowing all the more. “Spending all your time alone?”

      “Making the Silver Creek Ranch a cash-generating enterprise,” he corrected.

      Sara seemed unimpressed. “By tearing down tons of trees and ripping down sections of old fence?”

      He went back to snipping barbed wire. “First of all, the fence is so old it’s a hazard. Second, Texas barbecue restaurants need either oak or mesquite. And I’ve got plenty of both.”

      Sara tapped one boot-clad foot impatiently. “And then what? When you clear-cut all this land?”

      She sounded like his folks. Constantly complaining that whatever he was doing wasn’t enough.

      He yanked out a rusting metal post and added it to the pile on the ground. “I’m going to plow the weeds and sow some grass. Put up new pasture fence and lease out the land to my brother Cullen so he can run some of his cattle here.”

      Giving him room to work, she took a moment to consider that. Probably finally realizing he did indeed have a business plan.

      “Not planning to buy any of your own?” she asked eventually.

      He shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for another living thing—person or animal. “Did enough cattle herding growing up.”

      That, she did seem to understand. It didn’t mean she let up. Her gorgeous honey-blond hair blowing in the spring breeze, she followed him down the fence line. “You know, you could do all this a lot faster if you hired some help. Or even enlisted some of your family members and friends.”

      Her unsolicited advice irked him. He turned and studied the guileless look in her eyes. “Don’t want me to be alone, huh, darlin’?”

      She pursed her lips in a worried frown. “I don’t think it’s healthy and neither does your family, Matt.”

      So now they were finally getting down to it, he thought wearily.

      She stepped closer, once again invading his space.

      Her soft, feminine voice took on a persuasive lilt. “Your mom came to see me. She thought maybe I could talk you into rejoining the community again.”

      Matt shook his head at Sara’s naïveté. His mom hoped for a lot more than occasionally getting him off the Silver Creek spread. “She only did that because...”

      Sara beamed, turning on the full wattage of her neighborly charm. “What?”

      He edged closer. “She knows I’m attracted to you.”

      She laughed in disbelief, the ambivalent sound filling the air between them. Her lower lip took on a kissable pout. “You’re just saying that to get me to leave.”

      He surveyed her indignant expression. Leaned in closer. “Is it working?”

      The look in her eyes grew turbulent. “No.”

      He dropped his head. “Then how about this?” he taunted softly, taking her in his arms.

      Rather than step away, she put her hand on the center of his chest, and gave him a small, purposeful shove.

      That sent him exactly nowhere.

      “No.” She glared