The Cowboy's Little Surprise. Barbara Daille White

matter how eagerly she wanted to run to the kitchen, grab Robbie and head for the hills. She took a deep breath and said, “Welcome back to the Hitching Post.”

      “Thanks. Are you managing the place now?”

      “I’m the assistant manager. And bookkeeper for both the Hitching Post and the ranch.”

      “Bookkeeper, huh? That fits. You always were good at math.”

      “What can we do for you? I know you can’t be looking for a room.”

      “Why not?”

      Her fingers tightened, crumpling the long-forgotten brochure she still held. “You’re staying with Layne at her new apartment, aren’t you?”

      “How did you know that?”

      “It’s a small town.”

      “Yeah.” For a moment, he looked irritated. “And speaking of small, that describes Layne’s couch. Now you mention it, the idea of taking a room here doesn’t sound bad at all. It would get me off the hook for minding Scott, too.” He laughed and shook his head. “And before you take me too seriously, I’m just kidding about that. But let me tell you, babysitting is not the gig for me. When I swore off marriage and kids, I should have added extended family to the list.”

      The statement hit her like a fist to the chest. “You don’t mean that. And you wouldn’t say it if you’d never had a sister or brother.” Or if you already had a child.

      Would learning about Robbie make any difference?

      “In any case,” he said, “I’m not looking for a room. Jed wanted me to stop by to fill out some forms.”

      “Why? New hires usually do that on their first day of work.”

      He shrugged. “Beats me. He wanted me to come by. Since I had some time as well as the kid on my hands, I thought I’d take care of it today. Is that a problem?”

      “Not at all.” With the rate of turnover of temporary wranglers, she always kept a blank set of employment forms on a clipboard in Jed’s credenza.

      “You know where Jed is?”

      “In his den.”

      “I’ll just head down there, then. Keep an eye on Scott for me, will you?”

      She nodded, willing to do anything to get some space from him.

      Leaving the crumpled brochure on the desk, she crossed to the sitting room and smiled at Scott. He ducked his head shyly.

      Sighing, she watched him play with Robbie’s favorite toys.

      And she thought about Robbie’s daddy.

      No matter how she felt about Cole, she had to tell him the truth. What he did once he heard the news would be up to him. She had no doubts about what she had to do. Her job was to protect Robbie.

      She also had to tell Abuela and Jed. They loved her son, had helped her raise him from the moment he was born. She owed them so much, and she wanted them to hear the news first.

      * * *

      BY THE TIME Cole returned to the lobby, Tina stood behind the registration desk again, waiting. “All done?” she asked.

      “Yep.”

      “Good. Now you’ve taken care of your business with Jed, I’m sure you’ll want to head back to town. It’s getting late, and Scott’s hungry. He said you’re all going out to dinner tonight.”

      “That’s right.”

      “Scott,” she called. “Your uncle’s ready to go.” Turning to Cole again, she added, “I’ve got to go help Abuela in the kitchen.”

      Almost sighing with relief, she began to move from behind the desk. The sound of sneakers slapping on the hallway floor froze her in place again.

      “Mama?” Robbie entered the lobby and ran up to the desk. “I didn’t know where you was. Hey!” His blue eyes widened. He pointed across the reception area at Scott, who now stood in the doorway of the sitting room cradling a toy Appaloosa. “That’s mine.”

      She couldn’t manage to force a word past her tight throat.

      “It’s okay,” Cole said, sounding as though he had trouble speaking, too. “He’s not doing your horse any harm.”

      She kept her gaze fastened on her son. Robbie stared up at Cole, then looked toward her. After a deep breath, she said quickly, “That’s right, Robbie. Scott’s just playing with the horse, the way all the kids who come here do.”

      “He’s ’sposed to keep the ponies in there.” He pointed toward the sitting room. “That’s the rules.”

      “He doesn’t know that,” Cole said. “Why don’t you and Scott go in there with the horses? You can explain the rules to him...while your mama explains a few things to me.”

      “Okay.” Robbie headed toward the younger boy.

      Tina reached for the crumpled brochure and began smoothing it on the desktop. She could feel Cole’s angry gaze on her, could feel the rush of her own anger and confusion spreading through her. Again, she fought an overwhelming desire to hurry over to Robbie, grab him by the hand and flee the hotel.

      Running wasn’t the answer—not that she would choose that way out, anyhow. Neither was this light-headed, weak-kneed, schoolgirl-with-a-crush reaction. She squared her shoulders. If the time had come to tell Cole the truth, to make the explanations she’d spent five long years dreading, she’d stand straight and tall and look him in the eye.

      And if it came down to a battle between them, she would give him the fight of her life—and Robbie’s.

      For what seemed like forever, Cole stood staring at the boys in the sitting room.

      Then he turned back to the desk, placed his palms flat on its surface and glared at her. “When were you planning on telling me?”

      “About what?”

      “About you-damned-well-know what.” To his credit, he kept his voice low and even. Unfortunately, he also leaned in closer, probably to make sure she wouldn’t miss a single word. “You didn’t think I’d take one look at that kid and make the connection?”

      “That kid is my son,” she snapped.

      “Mine, too, judging by the looks of him. He’s about a year older than Scott, isn’t he? Which means he’s four.”

      The accuracy of his guess made her flinch.

      “I knew it.” Though he gave her a smug smile, his face had paled. “You might’ve always been the math whiz in school, Tina, but I can danged sure add—”

      “Stop,” she whispered.

      Jed was approaching from the direction of his den.

      Cole shot a look over his shoulder, then turned back to her. “We’re not finished,” he said harshly.

      “You still here?” Jed asked. “Thought you’d be long gone by now.”

      Cole pushed himself away from the desk. “On our way. Tina was just planning to walk us out to my truck so we could finish our conversation.”

      “Fine,” Jed said, smiling.

      “No,” she blurted. “I mean...I told Cole, I’ve got to go help Abuela in the kitchen.”

      “Don’t worry about that,” Jed said. “Maria’s in there. They’ve got everything covered. But I’ll head on back and tell them you’ll be there in a bit. Robbie, you come along with me.”

      She wanted to protest, but one look at Cole’s narrowed eyes and set jaw told her he wouldn’t leave the hotel without her—and if she refused to go, he would blurt out the truth