The Cowboy's Triple Surprise. Barbara Daille White

the difference in their heights. She had grown up as one of the tallest girls in school, and after meeting Tyler at the wedding, she had liked that he made her feel petite. She still liked it. His towering didn’t bother her.

      It was his nearness that left her feeling shaky. This close and at this stage in her pregnancy, her rounded stomach nearly brushed his flat abs. This close, she could see every darker fleck in his dark blue eyes, making her wonder if any of her babies would have eyes the same shade.

      She didn’t move. He didn’t, either. After a moment she realized she stood leaning back against the freezer door. The cool metal sent another shiver through her. The cold tub he held in one arm, so close to her, added to her chill.

      And still, they stood as frozen as two ice cream sandwiches.

      Finally, she tore her gaze away, breaking whatever spell had captured her, and pushed past him. It took effort for her not to run. “If you intend to help me, you can put that tub in the freezer case up front.”

      As he followed, she heard his boots on the tile floor behind her. She should have heard him in the ballroom yesterday and here in the workroom a few minutes ago. But, no, both times she had been so wrapped up in thoughts of him, she hadn’t noticed his approach. Not good at all when she needed to stay in control any time she was near him.

      She had lost control with him once, and look what had happened.

      At the freezer case, he slid the tub into the empty space. To her relief, he then walked back around to the front of the counter.

      Through the plate glass of the front window, she saw a family walking up to the shop. Her heart tripped a beat, whether from anxiety or elation, she wasn’t sure.

      “You can’t stay here,” she hissed.

      “Why not? It’s a store.”

      “But we can’t talk here. Or now.” Behind him, the door opened. She waved to the Walcotts and their two kids. The family went to their favorite table near the front of the store, and she glanced up at Tyler again. “Please go,” she murmured.

      “You’ll talk to me when you get off work.”

      He hadn’t made it a question. “Yes,” she said between clenched teeth.

      “What time do you finish up?”

      She could tell him a lie. Give him a later time. Or, if the shop stayed as quiet as it was at the moment, she could tell him the truth, then rush through closing and leave before he returned.

      Anything to avoid the conversation she didn’t want to have.

      He must feel as uneasy as she did about their impending talk, or why wouldn’t he just have blurted out the crucial question and been done with it?

      As wonderful as all her options for evading him sounded, she knew she couldn’t be that devious. She sighed and admitted, “I’ll be done in a couple of hours.” At least that would give her time to collect her thoughts and plan exactly what she would say.

      “All right, then,” he agreed.

      Relieved, she sagged against the counter.

      “I’ll just stick around,” he added.

      “But... I’m working.”

      “We covered that. And I’ve got nowhere to go except back to the Hitching Post. No sense in my driving all the way out there just to turn around and come back. Give me a triple dip of that butter pecan.”

      When she hesitated, he shot a glance toward the front table, where the Walcotts were still deciding on their own order.

      He faced her again and leaned across the counter, bending down so close she could feel his breath against her cheek as he spoke quietly into her ear. “The Garlands corralled you at the Hitching Post yesterday. Then you ran off from the banquet room and never came back. And now, thanks to your customers, you’ve been saved by the bell. In case you weren’t counting, that’s three strikes for me. Do you seriously think I’m going to walk off and let you make yet another escape?”

Chapter Five

      Three scoops of ice cream might have been more than he’d needed, but after witnessing Shay’s obvious desire to see him gone, Tyler had been doubly determined to find an excuse to stick around.

      He’d given her his exact reasons for his plan to stay. The question he’d thrown at her about her potential for an escape hadn’t been idle talk, either. If he’d left the Big Dipper and come back again, he wouldn’t have been a bit surprised to find the door locked and Shay long gone.

      From the booth he’d taken in one corner of the room, he could watch her as she worked behind the counter. He could also listen as she chatted with one customer after another while filling their orders. Now, she had gone to the back room for something, and it was all he could do not to get to his feet and follow her.

      The shop had stayed busy for the better part of an hour. It was as if everyone in Cowboy Creek was scheming to keep him from having things out with her.

      Of course, that was paranoia talking.

      Even as he had the thought, danged if the bell over the door didn’t ring yet again. This time, he recognized the customer who entered. The man took one look at him, grinned, and headed in his direction.

      Cole Slater slid into the seat opposite, and Tyler’s heart slid down to the vicinity of his knees. Was he never going to get to talk to Shay alone?

      Happy as he was to see his buddy, this wasn’t the time or place he’d have chosen for them to get together.

      Cole had no inkling of that, though. Still grinning, he reached for Tyler’s hand. They shook, and the other man said, “Tina told me you were here.”

      “How did she know?” Tyler frowned in confusion.

      “No, not here at the Dipper. I meant, in Cowboy Creek. We talked earlier today, but she was tied up getting ready for the wedding reception at the Hitching Post, and we didn’t have time to get into much detail.”

      “Then what brings you to the Big Dipper?”

      “Ice cream, what else? Hey, Shay!”

      She had returned from the back room and looked over at their booth. Reluctantly, it seemed to Tyler, she headed their way. “A pint of the usual?” she asked Cole.

      “You’ve got it. I’m surprising Tina. She gets cravings,” he said to Tyler, then turned back to Shay. “How about you? Working right here in an ice cream shop, you ought to be able to get your fill of any flavor you like.”

      She shook her head. “No, I see it so much every day, ice cream’s not on my list.”

      Tyler wondered what she did crave, but she didn’t say.

      “Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll get your order together.” She walked away to greet an elderly pair who had come in and taken seats near the counter. As she stood beside their table, chatting, her hand went to her lower back.

      Tyler frowned. With the weight she was carrying up front, she probably ought to be sitting once in a while, taking a break. Taking it easy.

      “She’s due even before Tina,” Cole said, as if he’d watched Tyler watching Shay.

      He nodded, but didn’t comment. Right now, he didn’t want to talk about due dates with anyone but Shay.

      He sure couldn’t escape the irony of this situation. All his life, his parents had nagged him about making something of himself. About acting like a responsible adult. Maybe they’d been right. Because, even unconfirmed, his suspicions regarding Shay had sent him on the run out at the ranch this afternoon.

      Only the knowledge that he had to find out the truth had kept him from leaving Cowboy Creek altogether and brought him here tonight.