Expecting The Rancher's Baby?. Kristi Gold

drink ads featuring your smiling face that I keep seeing everywhere.”

      Hell, he didn’t like thinking about those, much less talking about them. “They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

      She opened the menu and turned her attention to the limited offerings. “I’m sure it helps pay the bills, like all the expenses involved in owning a private plane.”

      At least she’d said it with a smile. “Yeah. That, and horses and entry fees.”

      After setting the menu aside, she finally focused on him. “Those entry fees are pricey, especially for the cowboys just starting out. I don’t know how they manage the rodeo life and a family, like many of them do.”

      He leaned back and sighed. “I learned a long time ago that a wife and kids and rodeos aren’t a good mix. I’ve seen a lot of relationship casualties over the past fifteen years.”

      “I’m sure you have, and I assume that’s why you haven’t gone down that path.”

      “You’d be right about that.” At least partially. Truth was, he’d never met anyone he’d wanted to settle down with, or anyone he’d be willing to give up the life for.

      A young woman with a lopsided blond ponytail arrived at the table, set two glasses of water before them and hid a yawn behind her hand. “I’m so sorry. It’s been a long night. Someone didn’t show up for their shift so I pulled a double, which wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have class in four hours.”

      “I remember those days,” Jill said. “I use to wait tables in college to avoid student loans.”

      “You do what you have to do to make ends meet without borrowing money,” the sleepy young woman replied. “But times like these have me reconsidering.”

      Jill sent her a sympathetic smile. “I hear you. But rest assured it will be worth it when you don’t have any debt after you get your degree.”

      “I hope so. Are you folks ready to order?”

      “I’ll just have some wheat toast and a glass of milk,” Jill answered. “And some honey if you have it.”

      Houston frowned. “That’s it? Remember, I’m buying.”

      “I’m a cheap date.” A faint blush colored Jill’s cheeks as she handed the menu to the waitress. “Not that we’re on a date. And I’m not cheap. I’m just not hungry.”

      He chuckled. “Glad you clarified that,” he said as he regarded the now smiling server. “I’ll take the Western omelet with a side of pancakes and bacon. And if it’s not too much trouble—” he glanced at her name tag “—Ashley, just bring me a whole pot of coffee. I’m going to need it.”

      The coed grinned. “No problem at all. I’ll have that out shortly.”

      Jill took a sip of water and shifted slightly in the seat. “I hope I’m not boring you so badly that you need a whole pot of high-octane caffeine to stay awake.”

      Not hardly. He didn’t find anything boring about her mouth or her eyes or the way she rimmed the top of her glass with one fingertip. He sure as heck didn’t see anything boring about the slightly dirty thoughts that little gesture brought about. “You’re not boring me at all. I’ve learned a lot about you in a short amount time.”

      She rested her elbow on the table and supported her cheek with her palm. “Such as?”

      “You don’t like nicknames. You don’t eat enough to feed a parakeet. And you worked your way through college waiting tables, although I have a hard time picturing you slinging hash in a greasy spoon.”

      She straightened and smiled. “Who said I worked in a diner?”

      “I just assumed—”

      “Assumptions aren’t always accurate. Actually, I was a cocktail waitress in a casino.”

      He wouldn’t have guessed that in a million years. “Where?”

      “Vegas, where else? That’s where I discovered rodeo in relation to athletic training. I interned with my current company and that landed me a job after I received my master’s degree.”

      And he thought nothing about her would surprise him. “Let me get this straight. You worked your way through undergraduate and graduate school by working in a casino and managed to get by without financial aid.”

      “I did. The money was very good. Being objectified on a nightly basis was not. But I did what I had to do to survive.”

      The idea of some drunk groping Jill didn’t set well with Houston. He started to ask why her parents didn’t help her pay for her education, but he decided that wasn’t any of his business. “I admire your guts, Jill. I had no idea you could make that much serving booze. Exactly how much did you make?”

      She frowned. “If you must know, on average, fifty grand a year. Some of my fellow servers made twice that much working full-time.”

      Damn. “I can only imagine what you went through, particularly during the rodeo finals.”

      Finally her features relaxed. “Nothing a good pair of glasses didn’t cure.”

      That wouldn’t have deterred him, or most of the guys he knew. “Congratulations on being resourceful, and thanks for allowing me to get to know you better.”

      “I know you a bit better, too.”

      “Oh, yeah?”

      “Yeah. You want people to know you’re not just a bull rider. You like the finer things in life but you downplay your wealth. You eat like a field hand and, most important, you’re an incorrigible flirt.”

      She definitely had him dead to rights. “Am not.”

      “Are, too. I saw you trying your best to charm that poor, exhausted waitress with a wink and a grin.”

      He immediately jumped into defensive mode. “I didn’t wink. I only smiled at her. In my book, that doesn’t qualify as flirting. I was being polite, like my mama taught me.”

      She held up her hands, palms forward. “Hey, don’t get your chaps in a twist. I didn’t say it was a horrible trait. It’s just part of your personality. Something that is second nature to you. And it’s obvious you know how to contain it. You’ve not once ever attempted to flirt with me to get your way.”

      Did she want him to flirt with her? “Would it have worked?”

      “Absolutely not.”

      Figured. “If you think about it, you’ve only seen me at my worst. Banged up and pissed off.”

      “And cranky.”

      He grinned. “Cranky Calloway. That’s the best one so far.”

      They shared in a laugh until Ashley came back with the tray filled with his food and the requested pot of coffee. For the next few minutes, Jill picked at her honey-covered toast while he shoveled his food down like it might disappear. He looked up from the last bite of pancakes to find one pretty amused athletic trainer staring at him.

      Houston pushed his plate away and sat back against the booth. “That hit the spot.”

      “I can tell, and you weren’t kidding when you said you would eat fast.”

      The way she wet her lips brought about all kinds of questionable thoughts. “I guess you’re going to tell me it’s not good for digestion.”

      “No. I was going to say I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

      Her mouth held his fascination, and man, oh, man, he liked a woman with a great mouth. He also liked her slightly upturned nose and the dimples creasing her cheek, one more prominent than the other. He liked the way her slender hands moved when she spoke, and the intensity in those green eyes peering at him from behind the glasses. “Good food and