The Texan's Christmas. Tanya Michaels

behind the wheel.” Thank God Jacob couldn’t hear him now. He’d never let Daniel live down such a lame excuse.

      “Plus, GPS isn’t always reliable out in rural areas,” he continued, powering through the embarrassment. Rodeo taught a man to hang on tight and keep going. “If you ride with me, there’s no chance of getting lost, with the added bonus that you know there’ll be a friendly face as soon as you arrive.”

      “I’d like that.” She met his eyes, and color tinged her cheeks. “I’d like that a lot.”

      They exchanged phone numbers and she typed the address where she was staying into his contact list. Daniel climbed into his truck, whistling under his breath and unable to remember the last time he’d been so eager for one of the weekly family gatherings.

      * * *

      “YOU ARE A bad influence,” Nicole chided, leaning back in her chair. “We should be at the office.”

      Adele grinned. “I notice you didn’t let guilt stop you from enjoying that giant cinnamon roll.” It had been Adele’s idea to sneak away from work early and window-shop at the extravagant Galleria. They’d covered much of the first two floors before Adele’s energy began to flag. Nicole had suggested they get a snack and watch the ice skaters on the rink below. Amateurs wobbled around the edge of the oval while a few standouts in sparkly leotards and skirts executed athletic spins in the center.

      Truthfully, Nicole probably should feel guiltier about leaving the office. She’d already missed an hour that morning when she’d interviewed the new OB. Thinking about how Adele had gotten a second medical opinion here in Dallas, Nicole had realized she should probably get a backup obstetrician. Since traveling wasn’t generally prohibited until the last trimester, she might spend a good chunk of her pregnancy here. It would be smart to have someone local who knew her history. She’d liked Dr. Davis and had scheduled an ultrasound with him for next week. She couldn’t wait to see the first sonogram photograph, even though she knew the earliest pictures weren’t discernible as babies.

      “Thinking about the baby?” Adele asked.

      “How’d you know?”

      Adele looked pointedly at Nicole’s stomach, where her hand rested. “A lot of pregnant women fall into the unconscious habit of doing that. As if we need some way to commune with the babies before we can feel them moving, as if it makes them more real somehow.”

      Even knowing Adele’s history, it was still difficult to remember sometimes that she’d gone through four pregnancies.

      “So everything went all right at the doctor’s?” Adele asked.

      “Fine. He didn’t examine me today. This was more of a quick meet and greet to fill out all the paperwork and make sure I was comfortable with him. You’ll never believe who I ran into—Daniel Baron.”

      Adele blinked. “At the OB-GYN’s?”

      “No. Outside. It’s the same health-care complex where he has physical therapy. He mentioned you, confirmed that the Barons know you’re their mother.”

      Adele nodded, unsurprised. After Nicole’s suspicions earlier in the week, Adele had discovered her children had definitely been searching for her. She’d even touched base with an old friend, Genevieve Lewis in Lubbock, who said Carly Baron came to visit, asking questions about her long-lost mother.

      Swirling her straw around in what was left of her lemonade, Nicole recalled the unexpectedly protective tone in Daniel’s voice. I don’t want you to be caught in the middle. She was touched that he cared. Since Nicole had learned young that people in her life were temporary, she’d spent a lot of years looking out for herself. She wasn’t used to feeling as if someone had her back—especially someone she hardly knew.

      In fact, she wasn’t sure which she found more charming, that he’d gone out of his way to prepare her for a meeting with his family or how he’d stumbled over asking if she wanted to ride with him. Daniel was very tall, with a chiseled jawline and natural swagger. The man routinely dealt with two-thousand-pound bulls, yet she had the power to fluster him? Heady thought. It made her feel as if they were even for that moment when they’d first shook hands last spring and she’d barely been able to remember the word hi.

      Adele stared across the table, her expression shrewd. “Maybe you should tell me more about this Daniel.”

      “With the way you’ve tried to keep up with the Barons over the years? You probably know more about him than I do.” Even though Daniel wasn’t related to the others by blood, Nicole was sure her employer would have wanted at least some data on the guy who’d grown up with her children. “I’ve only seen him on a handful of occasions.”

      “Still, I’ve always respected your instincts. First impression?”

      He has incredible green eyes. “I think he has a strong sense of justice, a desire for things to be fair. When Lizzie invited me to the ranch, he objected that they were ganging up on me.” Integrity was a good quality, but she wondered how he coped when life was so often unfair. She knew his mother had died when he was still relatively young. And now his rodeo career may be ending right when he was in his prime.

      She also knew, from the way he talked about the Barons as “they,” that he felt a little like an outsider, but she kept that observation to herself. It was a feeling she’d experienced far too often in her own life. Her first real sense of belonging had come from her promotions at AB Windpower and the connection that had grown between her and Adele.

      “I so appreciate the chances you’ve given me,” she said. “Obviously we still have tons of time before I’ll need maternity leave, but I want you to know I plan to come back as dedicated as ever.”

      “First of all, I never gave you anything you didn’t earn. As for as the other part... Your job’s not going anywhere, and I hope you stay on in a full-time position for years to come. But having a child changes you.” Adele glanced out across the skaters, as if she were trying to hide the sadness in her expression. She couldn’t disguise the regret in her voice. “Sometimes in ways you never could have predicted or would have believed of yourself.”

      * * *

      THE LONGHORN SALOON was doing a thriving business on Friday night. Daniel stepped inside with his brother, wondering if they’d be able to find seats. Jacob waved to someone in the crowd then turned to tell Daniel, “Jet’s got us a table already.”

      Daniel tried not to let his surprise show on his face. He hadn’t realized Jet would be joining them.

      Jacob paused midstride. “You don’t mind that I invited him along, do you?”

      Mind? No. But it was a sign of how things were changing, of Jacob’s growing ease with their stepsiblings. Good for him. Jacob was a hell of a big brother, and he’d fought hard to reach his current state of acceptance and happiness.

      “I mentioned it to him before we left the exhibition,” Jacob said. They’d passed Jet at the rodeo fund-raiser earlier in the evening.

      “It makes sense to get Jet’s input,” Daniel said casually. “Luke will be his brother-in-law, too.”

      As the best man for Luke and Carly’s fast-approaching wedding, Jacob was supposed to plan the bachelor party. Carly had made laughing threats about what she would do to them if there were strippers involved. Jacob had been thinking in terms of an upscale gambling night with pretty card dealers at the poker and blackjack tables. They were here tonight to brainstorm specifics.

      They passed the long bar, with its mirrored wall reflecting the usual crowd on the dance floor and people gathered around the mechanical bull in the corner. One of George Strait’s slower songs played on the jukebox, and Daniel found himself randomly wondering if Nicole Bennett liked to dance. It wasn’t the first time she’d drifted through his mind since their encounter yesterday.

      In fact, he was finding it difficult not to think about her. The executive was beautiful in