Daddy Wore Spurs

The contents of the bottle had lowered to the point where Finn was forced to tilt it higher so Harry would ingest formula rather than air. She watched him make the adjustment, then seemingly satisfied that he knew how to feed a baby, she took a seat on the stool next to his.

Using his free hand, Finn reached for the mug of coffee, then carefully leaned his head away from Harry to take a sip. The brew was stronger than what he was normally used to, but it tasted good. The long drive up here, coupled with the stress of meeting Mariah and the baby, had worn him down.

After downing several sips of the coffee, he asked, “Do you have any other relatives living close by?”

“No. Our parents divorced when Aimee and I were small, and ever since, our mother has lived in Florida near her parents.”

“Do any of them ever come to visit?”

A bitterness twisted her features. “Not hardly. Aimee and I were lucky to get a birthday or Christmas card from any of them. Now that I’m the only one left, it’ll be easy for them to forget they have family back here on a dusty ranch.”

So Mariah clearly wouldn’t be getting any emotional support from that branch of the family. The idea bothered him greatly. Mariah was so young. She needed someone to embrace and encourage her through the loss of her sister and the transition it was making on her life. She needed a loving family surrounding her. But she had none.

He said, “I guess you can tell that Aimee didn’t share much about her family life with me. But to be fair I didn’t ask her a lot of personal questions. We mostly talked about horses and the things we had in common. I thought we’d have plenty of time for family talk later. I never believed...well, that things would end up like this.”

Over the rim of her mug, she regarded him solemnly. “After you left Reno did you ever try to contact her?”

“Sure. I called several times. But the phone signal would break or she’d never answer. I even left messages on her voice mail, but she never returned them. I finally decided she wanted to put our weekend behind her. So I did the same.”

She turned her head away and Finn could hear a heavy sigh swoosh out of her.

“I should apologize to you, too, Finn. You were right. I wanted to think of you as a cad. I’d made up my mind even before you arrived that you were the one who’d left Aimee in the lurch. That was easier than thinking my sister was...callous or indifferent or—” Her head swung back and forth. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Aimee’s true intentions toward Finn or her baby had died with her. And none of it could change the future now, Finn thought—unless the DNA test proved some other man had fathered Harry. But already his mind was balking at that idea. Something deep within him recognized that Harry was his child.

He glanced down to see that the baby was sound asleep, his lips slack around the nipple. Carefully, he eased the bottle from the boy’s mouth and placed it on the bar.

“You don’t need to apologize,” he told Mariah. “We’re both in the dark about each other and Aimee and how Harry came to be.

“So you don’t have any other relatives around who could help you with the ranch? What about your dad’s parents?” he asked.

She shook her head. “They died a few years ago within a few months of each other. Both had struggled with serious health problems.”

“Sorry to hear that,” he said gently.

Her sigh was wistful. “Aimee and I adored them both. After our parents divorced we lived with them for a while, then Dad purchased this ranch and the three of us moved up here. Having Stallion Canyon was his dream come true.”

Finn glanced thoughtfully around the warm kitchen and tried to imagine what it had been like when her father and sister had been living. Had the three of them gathered at the dinner table and talked about their dreams and plans? Had there been jokes and laughter or arguments and worries?

“So this house—this ranch has been your home for many years,” he stated the obvious.

Rising from the bar stool, she walked over to the cabinet and poured more coffee into her mug. “Since I was eight. And I’m twenty-eight now. So yes, this has been home for all my adult life. But not much longer,” she added dully.

“So you’re planning on moving?” he asked.

She said, “As soon as the real estate agent can sell the ranch.”

There was a hollow sound to her voice, as though moving from this home had no effect on her. Finn didn’t understand why the notion should bother him, but it did. A family ranch with a long history represented pride and hard work. It meant passing a home and legacy from one generation to the next. Had Mariah stopped to think of that, or was getting away from here more important? After twenty years she was bound to have deep roots and sentimental ties to the place. Could she be putting up a front? Pretending to him and even herself that it didn’t matter where she lived?

“You’re going to sell it? Damn, that’s pretty final, isn’t it?”

Glancing over her shoulder, she frowned at him. “I’m a teacher. Dad and Aimee are gone and I have no use for the land, the barns or the equipment. I’ve already gotten rid of all but ten of the horses. And I only have those because I can’t find buyers. One of them is a prize stallion and I was holding out for a better price, but I’m almost to the point of giving him and the rest away. Cutting out the feed bill would help stop the ranch from sinking into deeper debt.”

One thing he’d learned about Aimee during their brief time together was that Stallion Canyon and its horses had meant everything to her. But apparently Mariah didn’t feel any such pull. Had it always been that way? he wondered. Or had hard times embittered her?

“My mistake,” he said. “When I drove up earlier, I thought I saw a man at one of the barns. I assumed the ranch was doing business.”

“That was Ringo,” she explained. “He comes by twice a week to haul in feed and generally check on things. To save money I take care of the daily feeding.”

Harry was the only reason Finn had traveled up here to Stallion Canyon. The ranch’s financial condition, or its lone proprietor, was none of his business. But little by little Mariah was somehow drawing him into this place and her plight.

“Am I understanding you right, Mariah? You’re selling the ranch because it’s going under?”

She returned to her seat at the bar. “You’re asking some very personal questions,” she said.

Their gazes connected, and as he studied her gray eyes, he felt something stir in him. The sensation had nothing to do with the baby in his arms and everything to do with the moist gleam on her dusky lips and the subtle scent of flowers drifting to his nostrils.

Hellfire, what’s wrong with you, Finn? One Montgomery sister has already had your baby. Now you’re looking at this one as though you’d like to try for a second!

Trying to shake away the accusing voice in his head, he countered, “You’ve been telling me some very personal things.”

She drew in a deep breath and his gaze instinctively fell to the rise and fall of her breasts. The gentle curves beneath the red checked blouse were just enough to fill a man’s hands, he mentally gauged, or comfort a crying baby.

She said, “Normally I keep such things to myself. But if you are really Harry’s father, then you need to hear about his mother’s side of the family. As for me selling the ranch, I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

Finn’s gaze roamed over her delicate features and crow-black hair. She was hardly the glamorous sort, but there was a sweet sort of sexiness about her that he found very hard to resist.

“Aimee told me your father died suddenly of a heart attack. There are five of us Calhoun brothers and we lost our mother about nine years ago to an accident. It’s hell to lose someone you love.”

She stared at the liquid inside her cup, and Finn got the impression she was purposely trying to keep from connecting with him in a personal way. Maybe the sight of him reminded her of Aimee. Or maybe she saw him as the villain, here to take Harry away from her. The idea made him feel like a jerk.

“At least you had a big family to support you. But I’m surviving. And I’m determined to move on with my life.”

Over the years Finn and his family had dealt with troubles and sorrows, but they’d always had one another to lean on. Mariah had been facing everything on her own. He couldn’t imagine how that felt, or what it would do to his spirit.

“I guess losing your father threw the ranch into upheaval,” he spoke his thoughts out loud.

Her expression rueful, she said, “That was the beginning of the downfall. After we buried Dad, Aimee promised she could keep Stallion Canyon profitable. And in the beginning I trusted her. She was a very good trainer. As good as Dad.”

“At Reno I could see how competent Aimee was with her mustang. Your horses should’ve been bringing in top dollars. What happened?”

Mariah released a heavy sigh. “At first she worked very hard. And back then she had capable assistants to help her. But something caused her to change. She started spending money on frivolous things and ignoring her work. I tried to be patient, because I knew how much she was hurting over Dad’s death. Each morning she walked out to the barns, she had to deal with working without him. On top of that, her relationship with Bryce was going nowhere. Then she got pregnant. After that the ranch quickly went downhill.”

Listening to Mariah now, it sounded as though Aimee had been a troubled soul long before he’d met her. Yet he hadn’t glimpsed that side of her. All he’d seen was her laughter and smiles. The realization proved that he’d misjudged her badly. Did that mean any woman could fool him? Even this one?

“I suppose you’re thinking I’m partly to blame for your problems,” he said ruefully.

“I can’t blame you for the choices Aimee made. And anyway, you might not be the man who got Aimee pregnant.”