Tyler shook his head. "Poor guy. It's been almost twelve years since Deborah died."
"Deborah was his wife?" Gillian asked.
"Yeah," Dallas answered her. "She died when she had Kelsey."
"He must have loved her very much," Gillian said softly.
"They were childhood sweethearts. He hasn't been the same since she passed away." Dallas stared at the baby through the glass window.
Gillian's heart clenched when she realized that Dallas understood Austin's pain. The big tough cowboy was proving extremely complicated and becoming exceedingly more attractive. Delivering Jessie's baby had thrown them together and made them work as a team. Which they had done very well.
When he had held the tiny infant in his arms, catching and holding her eyes in an intimate glance, her heart had swelled. She had tried hard to suppress the emotions, but all attempts proved futile. Gillian was afraid she was falling in love with Dallas McCade.
Except that was impossible, wasn't it? She didn't want to love anyone or get involved with a man again. That would mean becoming vulnerable and weak. This couldn't be happening to her.
Tyler interrupted her thoughts. "But, geez Louise," he said, continuing the conversation. "Deborah wouldn't have wanted Austin to become a monk. He's still young. He has his whole life in front of him."
"He doesn't date much, I take it?" Gillian asked.
"He doesn't date at all."
Gillian stepped away from the window. "Well, that explains a lot."
"What do you mean?" Dallas took her elbow and led her down the hall. Tyler followed.
"It explains why he wasn't too thrilled with having Miss Rogers for his partner this afternoon at the races," she said. "It seemed to me that Kelsey was throwing them together."
"Why would the little squirt do something like that?" Tyler asked.
Gillian shrugged. "I don't know. She's
your
niece."
Tyler shrugged back. "There's no telling with Kelsey."
"Let's go find Mom," Dallas said. "It's nearly eleven. Visiting hours were over a long time ago. I'm sure Jessie needs to rest."
"What he really means is that we need to rescue Jessie from Mom," Tyler said with a grin.
Gillian frowned at him. "What a terrible thing to say."
"Darlin', you don't know our mother very well." The youngest McCade brother draped a friendly arm over her shoulder.
"That's enough," Dallas said, pulling Gillian closely against him.
Tyler winked at Gillian, before walking ahead of them toward Jessie's room.
Gillian shot a glance at Dallas's profile. He was scowling at his brother. He tightened his grip. Could he be jealous of his brother's actions?
As they walked through the door, she felt the heat from his body. Tension radiated from him, communicating his hunger, his need for her. She trembled in anticipation. What would the night bring?
Ruth smiled at them when they stopped at the foot of Jessie's bed. "I'm so glad you were there to help," she said, hugging Gillian. "Jessie told me all about it. How you knew what to do. How you helped her through the contractions." Ruth sniffed, wiping her nose with a delicate embroidered handkerchief. "I can't thank you enough. And now I have a beautiful little grandson." She beamed through the tears in her eyes.
"He is beautiful," Gillian said. "I'm glad I could help."
"Hey, what about me?" Dallas walked to the head of the bed. "I had a part in all of this, too." He bent over and kissed Jessie on the cheek. "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine. A little tired, but fine. Thanks for everything, Dallas."
"No problem." He looked at Tyler sitting in the overstuffed vinyl chair, his boots propped on the bed rail. "Don't get too comfortable. We're leaving soon."
"Did anyone think to call Cameron?" Tyler asked, dropping his feet to the floor and standing. "He
is
the father, after all."
Jessie nodded and smiled. "He's extremely upset that he missed everything. He's catching the next flight out of Honolulu and should be here tomorrow night. Somebody needs to pick him up at the airport in Lubbock."
"Will do." Tyler handed Ruth her purse. "Come on, Ma. Let's go. Austin's waiting with the car. See you tomorrow, Jess." He waited while Ruth kissed Jessie.
"I want one more peek at the baby, before I go," said the doting grandmother as she hugged Gillian again.
Tyler rolled his eyes. "Sure thing, Ma," he said, following her out the door.
Dallas looked at Gillian. "We need to get going, too."
She nodded. Her tummy flip-flopped all the way down to her toes at the blatant promise in his eyes. Instinctively, she knew the time had come. He wanted her, and God help her, she wanted him, too. After all they had been through and shared today, it was time.
Jessie cleared her throat. "I want to thank you, Gillian. I don't think I could have done it without you. I don't think Dallas could have done as well without you, either."
Gillian forced a smile, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. "You did a good job, too. Your new son is beautiful. Have you decided on a name yet?"
"We're going to call him Daniel after Cameron's father and George after mine. I know it's breaking with tradition, but I think little Daniel will thank us for it some day."
"What tradition?" Gillian asked.
Jessie snuggled deeper under the covers on the bed. "You tell her, Dallas."
Gillian turned toward him. "What tradition?" she asked softly, wishing her heart wouldn't flutter so.
"Mom and Dad named each of us kids after one of their favorite places in Texas," he said with a wry smile. "Kind of corny, I guess."
"I think it's sweet," Jessie said with a yawn. "But since both Cameron and my favorite place in Texas is here . . . well, we couldn't name a child
Salt Fork,
could we?"
"No, you couldn't," Dallas said with a chuckle. "Naming him after his two grandfathers is much better." He took Gillian's hand and pulled her close beside him. "Good night, Jess. Get some rest."
"I will. Goodbye, Gillian. Thanks again." Jessie gave her the thumbs up sign as Dallas led her through the door.
CHAPTER NINE
Dallas hurried Gillian across the darkened parking lot toward his truck, wanting to get her alone. Needing to get her alone. Several times, he glanced at her face. Her brown eyes were huge, anticipation and something else shining in their depths.
It had been hours since they had kissed at the carnival. Hours since he'd tasted her, touched her. He wanted her now more than ever.
The day had been long, stressful, enjoyable, exciting. He had really liked the track and field games this year. Feeling Gillian's body bound to his in the three-legged race had nearly driven him insane with desire.
Delivering Jessie's baby together, seeing Gillian carefully clean the little fellow and wrap him in a towel, holding him for a minute, her eyes dreamy--Dallas felt like he'd been run over by a steamroller. He didn't know what had hit him, yet he did know one thing. Nothing else mattered anymore. He had to have Gillian. He couldn't wait any longer.
Tightening his hold on Gillian's hand, he drew her forward. The truck sat isolated beneath a lamp pole in the middle of the parking lot. Not another person was in sight. The hospital was closed to visitors for the night. Finally, they were alone.
He was breathing heavily, his body tense and hard. Before he unlocked the truck door, Dallas pulled Gillian against him and crushed her mouth beneath his own. Her response was instantaneous. She melted under the onslaught, wrapping her arms around his neck, melding her body against his length.
Dallas gripped her bottom, hauling her closer, nestling his shaft against her softness. She whimpered deep in her throat, wiggling to get closer. He plunged his tongue inside her mouth, savoring her taste, wishing he could plunge himself into her body right now. Right this minute.
He pulled back. Gillian's eyes were closed, her lips glistening from his kiss.
"Spend the night with me," he said, his voice low and rough.
Gillian's eyes flew open. Fear flashed across her face, quickly replaced with an eagerness that matched his own. Dallas wished he could pound her dead husband for what he had done to her. He didn't want Gillian scared of him.
"Where?" she asked. Her cheeks reddened slightly before continuing. "I don't entertain while I'm on site. If the men saw your truck parked outside my trailer, I'd never hear the end of it. Surely, you don't have women over with your mother in the house?"
"Hell no," he said. He kissed her forehead and helped her into the truck. "I don't
entertain
much either. But I know the perfect place where we can be alone."
They drove in silence, the miles flying by. Gillian sat next to him in the dark cab with her thigh and hip pressed to his. He draped his arm around her shoulders.
She leaned her head against him. "This is nice," she said, her voice hushed in the darkness. "A little strange, but nice. Especially since you didn't like me very much at first and I wasn't certain if I liked you. This afternoon was fun. I'm glad we called a truce."
"Me, too," he said, hugging her closer. "We're almost there."
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see. We still have about ten miles to go." Dallas stroked her hair, enjoying the silky texture. Soon, he would see it in all its glory, spread across his pillow. His body tightened at the thought.
Gillian snuggled against him, splaying her fingers on his chest. She played with the buttons on his shirt. Her elbow was inches from his hardened shaft. He could feel her weight on his stomach. He stepped on the accelerator.
Turning off the pavement, Dallas drove down a graded dirt road. It wasn't long before two long parallel lines of blue lights could be seen in the distance.
Gillian sat up. "Is this an airport? Where are we? Where are you taking me?"
"We're on the Diamondback Ranch," Dallas said. "This is Tyler's airstrip. He's a crop duster and keeps his planes here."
"Planes? How many does he have?"
"Four. He keeps them in those hangers over there." He pointed to two large buildings.
"Well, you certainly picked an isolated spot," she said. "What are we going to do? Park and neck like teenagers? I don't think I want to spend the night in your truck. I had something more comfortable in mind."
"Trust me, sweetheart. We'll be comfortable, I promise." He parked the truck near one of the buildings and cut the motor. They sat for a minute in the darkness. Gillian's face was pale and gleaming in the moonlight. Her scent filled his nostrils, that intriguing hint of vanilla and woman.
She cleared her throat. "Are we going to sit here all night?" Her voice sounded unsure, hesitant.
Dallas reached out and tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear, letting his finger trace the curve of her jaw. "We could neck for a little while. It might be fun."
Gillian chuckled, a deep throaty sound that rasped across Dallas's nerve endings. He wanted to crush her to him and take her now, with no holds barred. He needed to slow down. If he wasn't careful, he would lose control and embarrass himself. Silently, he started counting backwards from one hundred. He wanted to make this good for Gillian. For both of them.
Gillian leaned toward him and kissed him on the mouth, looping her arms loosely around his neck. "Necking would definitely be fun, but I think we're past that stage. I, for one, would not be comfortable on this bench-seat."
Dallas gripped the nape of her neck and pulled her to him. Her breath hitched as she stared at him with wide eyes. He bent to kiss the delicate skin beneath her earlobe. "Then let's go inside and get comfortable."
A shudder ran through Gillian's slim body as she nodded. Dallas felt himself harden in response.
The small apartment was attached to one of the hangers. With one arm around Gillian's waist, Dallas slid the key into the lock of the door and pushed it open. It was hot and musty inside.
Flipping on the lights, he left Gillian at the door. "I'll turn on the air conditioner."
Gillian set her purse on a table and looked around. The living room was small, cozily furnished with overstuffed chairs, a sofa, and a few choice antiques. A dining area and efficiency kitchen lay to the left, with a narrow hall leading to the right.
Sitting on the sofa, she found herself twisting her wedding band. She stared at it for a minute before tugging it off and slipping it into her pocket.
Gillian smiled a welcome when Dallas entered the room. "This is some setup you've got here. What exactly is this? A love nest?"
"Not exactly," he said. "Tyler lives here some of the time. When he gets tired of his own cooking, he sleeps at the big house. He's not staying here right now."