Cowboy Secret (The Dalton Boys Book 4) (6 page)

“Yes, and I have no idea why.”

“Don’t you, dear? He probably woke up wondering if he’d dreamed yesterday.”

Sabrina started. She’d never considered such a thing, only that he’d been awake and thought everyone else should be. Maggie’s theory was a bloom of tenderness in Sabrina’s heart.

If it is really the case. He was probably just being a pain in the ass.

Owen gulped the last drops of milk and reclined in her arms, eyes closed. Maggie bobbed her head in satisfaction. “The chamomile makes some children sleep. My boys always did too. Now why don’t you take him back upstairs and steal a couple more hours yourself?”

“Only if you do.”

“I fully intend to, dear. See you at second breakfast.”

* * * * *

Beck strode into the paddock with purpose—and a shit-eating grin on his face. He’d really disgruntled Sabrina. Somehow knowing he could still get under her skin amused the hell out of him.

Usually their disagreements ended with their clothing strewn around them and their mouths on bare skin.

Even knowing they wouldn’t end up sleeping together didn’t cramp his good mood.

He clapped the dust off his gloves and a small cloud rose before him, hanging in the stagnant, pre-rain air. By midmorning he’d be up to his ankles in mud, but then he could go inside and see them.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Kade asked as he unclipped a length of rope from his belt. He drew up, set his sights on a horse and tossed the rope. The circlet landed squarely on Kade’s choice.

Beck snorted. “I don’t know why you bother to rope it. You could hold out a lump of sugar and it would come right to you. That horse is broken.”

Kade threw him a look. “That’s because I know how to break a horse in a coupla days. You wanna take lessons from me?”

“Pfff.” Beck eyed the horse he wanted. After working it all day yesterday, it had kicked him. But that wasn’t stopping him from another go-round. They needed these horses broken and the best way to do that was ride them.

Gripping his rope, he slowly approached the horse. From the fence, he heard the laughter of his other three brothers, who tended to show up together now that they had marriage in common.

“Mornin’, boys,” Hank drawled.

“Maybe we should call Beck a man now. We know his sperm is mature.”

Several chuckles. Beck turned his head away.

“What’s really going on with your lady, Beck?”

He tightened his lips and reached for the horse. When it shied away—no, bucked away—several hoots came from the peanut gallery outside the fence.

“She ain’t my lady.”

“But she once was.”

Keeping his gaze on the horse, Beck said, “It’s obvious that child is mine. But I didn’t know about him until yesterday.”

“What the…” Cash’s words were low but Beck heard them well enough.

Damn, he’d better get this discussion out of the way before bothering with the horse. He walked to the fence and propped his arms on it. “Gather ‘round, y’all. I’ll only say this once.”

Feeling free from Beck’s rule, the horse trotted by, near enough that Beck felt the brush of hide against his sleeve.

Witt guffawed. “That beast thinks he’s boss, brother.”

“Yeah, I’m about to show him otherwise. But listen. About Sabrina—”

“Wait. She’s the reason you were left nekkid in the middle of nowhere and I had to pick you up?” Cash asked.

Witt whooped. “There’s a family secret we don’t know about?”

Cash fell to the telling and his other brothers to laughing at Beck, so he walked away. There was no point in listening. He knew the story firsthand. Besides, he had a horse to break.

Beck should have an easier time with the animal now that it’d been saddled, but this one was letting Beck know he wasn’t up for day two in the rain and muck.

What they needed to establish was trust. The edgy horse needed to know what Beck expected and he needed to know the horse’s boundaries. Apparently one day in the fields was the horse’s limit.

He walked toward the animal slowly, using body language to move it the way he wanted. The horse watched Beck very carefully but remained calm and curious. Since the horse hadn’t been worked much, Beck had to be careful not to injure it. But a second day with a rider for a strapping horse like this should be easy.

Extending one arm sent the horse in the direction Beck wanted. As he trotted away, Beck drank in the beauty and let it calm his riled nerves. A running horse was the best sight in the world.

But this morning when Beck had spotted his son’s sleeping face, an utter joy had lifted in him. Then Sabrina had come in with red cheeks and tousled hair, wearing a nightgown barely skimming her knees and overly tight in her breasts…

Damn. There goes the calm.

“Beck! Come back and tell us all about this woman who’d leave you stranded with nothing but a guitar in the middle of nowhere!” Kade called.

He grunted and continued his work. Ignoring them, he talked to the horse. “You need a name. I can’t keep calling you Horse.”

It trotted, dark brown mane streaming and its head canted proudly. Beck positioned himself to stop the flow of energy. They faced each other, and he saw a challenge worth taking.

“You’re a pain in my ass, fo’ sure. Maybe that’s your name.”

The beast stamped a foot, irritated that Beck was blocking his run. When Beck stepped to the side and opened his arms, the horse took off again.

“You’re nothing but trouble, but I know just how to break you.” The word stuck out in his mind. “Trouble. That’s what I’ll call you.”

His brothers, chafed at not getting the dirty details about Beck and Sabrina, moved off to the barn. Beck remained in the round pen for a long time, exercising Trouble and giving him simple commands.

Trust. This was all a game of trust.

“Beck.”

He jerked his head at the feminine voice. When had the last remnants of night faded? It was still overcast and gloomy with that choking feel to the air just before it stormed, but he’d obviously been out here for several hours.

He twisted to see Sabrina standing at the fence, a blue bundle in her arms. His heart gave a wild dance and he abandoned his work to meet her.

Grin spreading, he spotted the blue and green striped hat covering Owen’s round head. He plucked it off and dropped his nose to the soft, dark hair.

“Beck,” she started to protest, but her eyes went all sparkly and soft. Her hair frizzed from the humidity and she was wearing his favorite red color.

He couldn’t stop himself if he tried.

He cupped the back of her neck and claimed her lips. The first taste of pure woman slammed him in the gut. For a split second, he forgot their differences and how she’d hurt him by keeping Owen from him.

At this moment, all he wanted was a taste of Sabrina.

With a groan, he angled his head and plunged his tongue between her honeyed lips.

* * * * *

Sabrina sagged against the fence and clung to the only thing solid she could—Owen. As Beck swirled his tongue through her mouth, she almost forgot what an uncaring and callous jackass he could be.

She tore away, breathing hard, head spinning. She didn’t want to think about the state of her hormones. A hot throb between her legs and the heaviness in her breasts demanded she move into Beck’s arms—and bed.

I have stretch marks and wobbly skin on my stomach now, though. He won’t like that—even if he’s the reason for it.

Shaking herself, she backed away from the fence. “I didn’t come here for a kiss, Beck Dalton.”

Damn him to hell. He looked amused. And aroused. Through the metal bars separating them, his bulge was evident. Not to mention that bad-boy smile, the crinkles around his freaking sapphire eyes and the way he tasted like mint and grass.

“Why
did
you come out here, honey bun?”

She stomped a foot. “Stop calling me that.”

He sobered. “Sabrina. Why did you come out here?”

She realized he was still holding the baby’s hat and snatched it from his hand. “You can’t just take his hat off. He’s teething and your mom said sometimes a baby’s immune system is lowered by it. He could get sick.”

“In this hot air? Not likely.”

Ugh, she really needed to hurry and find a teaching position ASAP. The sooner she got some distance between her and this hot cowboy, the happier she’d be.

She took another step back. “You missed second breakfast. Your family told me where to find you.”

“Oh.” He pivoted to watch the horse.

It was circling the pen with such grace and rhythm, Sabrina’s throat tightened. Then she turned her attention to Beck and sucked in a gasp.

The man stood silhouetted against gray sky, hands fisted, throat working as he watched the animal he’d been training. Pride was evident in the set of his shoulders and lifted jaw.

For a dizzying moment she believed she and Beck could make this work—make a family. Her stupid emotions stole her sanity. Owen squirmed and she faced him forward.

Beck swung around, the moment with the horse broken, only to be replaced by a new moment involving his son. Beck’s faced split with a grin, and Owen waved his arms and kicked his legs.

“Can I take him?” Beck asked.

Sabrina felt a sense a relief at being able to rely on someone besides herself. But even handing Owen to family was hard. She reluctantly nodded.

With a nod, Beck strutted toward the gate. A second later he stood at her side. Owen practically jumped at him, and Sabrina relinquished him with a happy heart.

Beck kissed the baby’s head and took a right hook to the jaw. “He’s a little bruiser. Already picking a fight with a bigger adversary.”

It was impossible to keep from smiling. Being out here surrounded by beautiful country and the two people who meant the most to her in the world—

No, she couldn’t think that way anymore. She’d made her decision to leave Beck. And no matter what he said, if she’d stayed, he would have married her because it was the right thing to do. After spending just a few hours with the Daltons, she understood their moral code.

Beck was such a free spirit, though. He had left her with no question that he wasn’t interested in a real relationship. Forcing him to settle down would have resulted in resentment and she would have been tormented and trapped.

He was staring at her, a pensive look on his rugged features. “You know, I don’t agree with what you did—running off to have Owen on your own. But I was dumb and I can’t say I would have handled things the way you needed me to back then.”

She hauled a deep breath of heavy, grass-scented air into her lungs until she felt they’d burst. Energy throbbed between their gazes. She released the air in a rush. “How did you know I was thinking about that?”

Surprise widened his eyes. “Maybe I can still read you pretty damn well, honey bun.” He snagged her around the waist and hauled her onto tiptoe against his very hard body. When he dipped his head, she surged upward to meet him.

Their mouths collided. He thrust his tongue between her lips as she opened to him. His rumbled groan vibrated through layers of clothing, igniting a need she wished she could forget.

Passion flared. She wrapped her arms around his neck, yanking him down for more. He tasted so damn good. So clean and male and oh God, how was she ever going to stop these feelings racing through her again?

Owen gave a squeak of protest. Beck’s tongue swept against hers, then she realized what she was doing.

She pushed away from Beck, and he dropped his gaze to his boots. “I’m sorry, Sabrina. I know you didn’t come here for this. I guess old habits are hard to break.”

An inner tremor made her words shaky too. “Come inside for breakfast. Your momma saved you a plate.”

The next half hour she tried like crazy to feel normal. But Beck’s flavors swirled in her mind and whenever she ran her tongue over her lips, his gaze would latch onto them. Her nipples ached from being puckered for so long, and she was distracted beyond reason.

Beck snapped his fingers in front of her face. She looked up. “What can I feed this boy?”

Owen was seated on his father’s knee, smacking his lips and mouthing his hands.

“He can’t be hungry again. He just had a big bowl of banana and oatmeal.”

“He’s a rancher now. We’ve got big appetites.”

The way he said that left her mouth feeling dry and a deep hum in her core.

He looked at her closer. “You okay?”

“I never realized how committed you are to the ranch.”

“Keeping Paradise Valley Ranch going and putting beef on people’s dinner plates is what I do, honey bun.”

She didn’t even correct him when the endearment rolled off his tongue. It felt too right, sitting here with him.

“I think Momma keeps some teething biscuits in that cookie jar. Why don’t you get one for Owen?” Beck stuffed a huge bite of sausage in his mouth.

Sabrina found a hard biscuit and handed it to Owen. He snatched it with both hands and shoved it in his mouth with a gurgled, “Mmmm.”