Branded by a Callahan. Tina Leonard

I guarantee satisfaction.”

      She finished undoing him and his hands came free. He grabbed her, pulling her lips to his, cradling her head in his hands so that he could kiss her as thoroughly as he’d ever wanted to. “Consider that a down payment.”

      “I do. I promise to make your life miserable if you try to back out of our deal. Remember, I could have taken your boots and left you here.”

      “I’d hate for you to live with those regrets. One day you’ll thank your lucky stars I kept you, despite the fact that you’ll be a drag on the mission.” He pulled on his boots, watching her. She was a spicy girl for sure, and one day, he was going to dive in and enjoy the fire. “Now hang on, this is where it gets rough, gorgeous.”

      He wrapped his arms around her, held her tight.

      “What are you doing?”

      “Watch and learn. Focus,” he whispered in her ear. “The truck has slowed. We’re no longer on the main road, we’re obviously getting closer to the destination. They’ve slowed, looking for a meeting point. The road isn’t hard and rocky anymore, feels more like sand. Perfect.”

      “Perfect for what?”

      “Finding out what little girls are made of. I always heard it was sugar and spice, but let’s hope you’re more spice than sugar.”

      He flipped her over the edge of the truck, still holding her tight. They landed with a thud in a not-so-soft patch of dried sand liberally laced with grit. To Ana’s credit she didn’t make a peep, and Dante held his breath, praying that the truck kept on its slow way to its destination.

      It did. “Let’s go. We have about five minutes, maybe less, before they discover we flew the coop.”

      “Head away from the road,” Ana said, and Dante thought, Yeah, I had a feeling she was spice, and they ran until they crossed a smaller road that was more of a dirt-bike path.

      They stopped, and Dante plotted his bearings. “Due north,” he said, pointing. “Heading to the west gets us back home.”

      “How do you know they didn’t take us west?”

      “I was watching the sky. The North star always guides us.”

      “I must have missed that lesson.” Ana took off her shirt, tore it in half, bound up her feet for protection. “What are you staring at? It’s a sports bra.”

      He was staring because being this close to heaven might just kill him. Sports bra or not, she was a tantalizing twist and slope of delicate curves and just-right softness. Tiny little waist. Athletic body. He swallowed, tore his eyes away with effort. A huge effort.

      Dante cleared his throat even though it felt as if it was suddenly made of industrial rubber. “You ran pretty dang fast for a girl who was barefoot. I’m sorry.” There’d probably been burrs or sticker grass in the sand loam road.

      “Sorry for what?” Ana glared at him. “I can take care of myself. I can take care of you, too.”

      He smiled. “You are the most precious little thing I’ve ever come across.”

      “And you may be the biggest donkey I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Her glare deepened. “Has it ever occurred to you that not every female is just waiting for you to bring your big muscles and your annoying chauvinism to rescue her?”

      A grin split his face. “You like my big muscles?”

      “Yes, I do. Can we discuss your manliness another time?”

      “It’s never a bad time to discuss that,” Dante said, and they began walking toward the west, staying well out of sight of the main road. “Because I was thinking,” Dante said, “if you like the muscles you can see, I’ve got some others that may—”

      “Save it for later,” Ana said. “I don’t want you to blow a fuse.”

      “Pretty sure my fuses are fine.” He was enormously pleased with the turn of events. Ana was awesome, just like he’d always suspected, and the best part was that the woman of his dreams wanted to have his baby.

      It couldn’t be denied that he was catnip to the sweet thing. “I’m going to take good care of you, Ana.”

      “Keep talking, and you’ll probably find yourself in trouble,” she said sweetly, and he said, “I like trouble. Trouble is a good friend of mine,” before taking her hand in his as they hurried to make their escape.

      * * *

      THEY FOUND A SMALL, run-down motel in a one-horse town that didn’t look as if it ever had much traffic. They were still in Texas, but hundreds of miles east of Hell’s Colony. The owner was friendly and offered them breakfast in the morning if they were willing to get up early. “I like to start my knitting at eight, and once I start, I don’t like to stop,” she said with a genuinely friendly smile. “If I’m on my quilting, I definitely don’t quit.”

      Ana looked at Dante, figuring he’d go for the breakfast over sleep. He shrugged at her, so she said, “I think we’ll be gone by eight, Mrs. Adams. But thank you.”

      “I’ll put together a couple of sack breakfasts, then.” She waved them to a room upstairs and told them to sleep comfortably and not to mind any rattling they might hear. “It’s just the air conditioner,” she said helpfully, and Ana closed their bedroom door with a little relief.

      “I thought she was going to say she had a ghost,” Ana said. “These small towns always have a ghost, don’t they?”

      She pulled off the new moccasins Dante had bought her in a small outpost trading store. They were soft and comfortable, but they weren’t as cute as her cork sandals.

      “What have you got against ghosts?” Dante asked, lounging on the bed, hands behind his head. “Rancho Diablo’s got ghosts.”

      “So I hear.” She didn’t believe it. Every once in a while Fiona got wound up about the ghosts and spirits that hung around the ranch, and Ana just listened to the tales, not about to give credence to one thing Fiona said. “I’m going to shower.”

      “Ladies first.” He grinned, a sexy devil, and Ana wondered why he didn’t seem more concerned about the fact that she had her eyes on him for a baby.

      “While I’m in here, you can ask that nice Mrs. Adams if you could use the phone,” she suggested.

      “For what?”

      “To call home, E.T.” She sighed. “Dante, we don’t want to walk all the way back to Hell’s Colony.”

      “Oh. That.” He shrugged. “I’ve got my mobile in my pocket.”

      She blinked. “Is there a reason we’ve been walking for miles and you haven’t called for a pickup?”

      “I like your company, sugar.”

      He was so aggravating that Ana wondered for a split second if she’d chosen the right man to give her a child.

      Lord, yes. She had no second thoughts about that. She’d waited over a year to cross her professional boundaries and finally succumb to the die-hard attraction she had for this man. “I like yours, too, Dante,” she said, trying to hang on to her temper. “But I think we’d like each other’s company so much better if we weren’t running from goons.”

      “Safer this way.” He shrugged. “We’ll wait another day before we call. I’ve got my mobile when we’re ready, got my wallet, got you, doll.” He grinned. “What else does a man need?”

      “Okay.” She went into the bathroom, turned on the shower. Callahans were known to be wired differently, so she couldn’t say she was surprised that he’d choose walking across the state of Texas in dirty clothes preferable to calling for family pickup. She opened the door again. “Do you think you ought to let your family know we’re fine?”

      “They