Having the Cowboy's Baby

“Good things come to those who go after them.” He leaned toward her and lowered his voice to a whisper. “And just so you know, right now that good thing isn’t the ice cream.”

“What is?”

His eyes took on a wicked gleam, the kind of wicked that tempted you to do things you’d never normally consider, not outside of your imagination, anyway. “I think you know.”

Her breath caught trying to escape her lungs. He was going to kiss her again, and oh how she wanted him to do exactly that. Only he didn’t. Instead, he slid his fingers through hers and started leading her down the sidewalk.

She searched frantically for something to say but came up empty. Was she being totally nuts, walking off into the night with a stranger without telling anyone where she was going? But it was as if a part of her that never revealed itself was in charge, telling her to enjoy the moment, the feel of his strong hand wrapped around hers, the high of having a good-looking man showing interest in her.

Sure, she went out from time to time, less than Elissa but more than India ever had, but this felt different. Electric and breathless and exciting. She had a good life, one she enjoyed, but this type of excitement never made an appearance in her safe, ordered life. She’d never known she yearned for it. Part of her still believed none of this could be real, that she had to be dreaming.

When they reached the Ice Cream Hut, Logan led her to the window. “Get whatever you want.”

Mari Brewer, the teenage daughter of Larena Brewer, the inn’s head chef, saw Skyler first. Then her eyes widened when she spotted Logan. It seemed to take a good bit of effort for her to shift her gaze back to Skyler.

“Hey, happy birthday. Sorry I couldn’t make it to the party.”

“Thanks, and don’t worry about it. I just made a quick getaway.”

“Don’t blame you.” The way Mari looked at Logan, it was obvious she would have chosen time alone with the hot guy over a building full of people, too.

“Blue Falls is growing on me.” Logan placed one hand along the lower part of Skyler’s back but propped the other forearm along the ledge outside the serving window. “Seems every woman I meet here is pretty.”

Mari smiled and laughed a little.

“Cut it out,” Skyler said, and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “We’re here for ice cream, not for you to hone your flirting skills.”

Instead of behaving, Logan leaned closer to the window and Mari. “Sorry, beautiful, but I think she wants me all for herself.”

Skyler rolled her eyes. “You are impossible. Mari, can I get a scoop of blueberry, please?”

“Sure.” Mari looked at Logan. “And for you?”

“Vanilla.”

When Mari turned to scoop the ice cream, Skyler faced Logan. “Vanilla, really? You don’t seem like a plain vanilla sort of guy.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I’m sweet enough without all the fancy flavors.”

Skyler snorted. “Sweet is not the word that comes to mind.”

“Then what word does?”

Skyler accepted her ice-cream cone. “You can just keep wondering about that one.”

A stream of words scrolled through her mind, but three stood out brighter and bolder and truer than all the rest. Sexy...as...sin.

But he knew that, so she wasn’t about to pad his ego by admitting her thoughts out loud. Instead, she left him waiting for his ice cream and headed toward one of the benches that sat next to the lake. The moon was rising, its reflection glittering on the surface of the water.

When Logan joined her, he sat close enough to put his arm around her. Part of her told her to shift away, but that was the part that was always so careful. Though she couldn’t explain it, tonight she wanted to pretend she was someone else, someone who wasn’t so wrapped up in the “right” way to do everything.

“This is nice,” he said after several moments went by.

She took a deep breath of the cooler night air. “Yes, it is.”

“More your speed than jumping out of airplanes?”

She smiled and glanced at him. “Understatement of the century.”

“Bet you never expected to enjoy it.”

She refocused on the water and really thought about it. Skydiving wasn’t something she would have done on her own, too many things that could go wrong, but was she glad she’d been forced into it?

“No. I still get nauseated when I think about actually doing it, but the view was incredible.”

He bumped his shoulder into hers. “See, not so bad living a little.”

“I live just fine, thank you.” She took another bite of her ice cream, hurrying to keep it from melting down the sides of the cone and all over her hand.

“That right? So what do you do on days when you’re not jumping out of planes?”

She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I own the Wildflower Inn.” She pointed across the lake at the lights of the inn.

“That right? How many beds there?”

Skyler looked up at Logan just as he licked his ice cream. Good grief, that action made her sizzle all over. “Um...” What was she trying to remember? Oh, yeah, number of beds at the inn. She imagined Logan lying on one of those soft fluffy beds.

The lights on the Ice Cream Hut went out, cloaking Skyler and Logan in darkness. It was enough to jerk her out of her careening thoughts, ones so unlike her it was as if she’d suddenly discovered another personality inside herself.

“Thirty,” she finally remembered to say. “Well, thirty rooms. Some are singles, some doubles, a mixture.”

Logan chuckled. “I do make you nervous.”

“Yes.” Way to go, admit it again, give him even more ammunition. Make yourself look like more of a ninny.

Unable to sit still, she jumped to her feet and walked toward the garbage can to toss her trash.

“What, you don’t like cones?” Logan asked.

“No. I like to eat ice cream out of them but don’t like the cones themselves. I know, weird quirk.”

“We all have them.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s your quirk?”

He took the crunchy last bite of his cone, chewed slowly, making her nervous as he watched her without answering, then swallowed. “I like redheads.”

She laughed. “And blondes, and brunettes.”