Page 1 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
Chapter One
“Ican’t doit.” Spence Keller shifted his phone as he slowed his ’98 Chevy Silverado pickup and turned onto the road leading to the family ranch. The wheels bounced over the cattle guard with a familiar rattle as he drove under the old log archway.
“Are you sure?” Millie Carney, never one to take the first “no” seriously, proceeded to list all the reasons that Spence couldn’t afford to pass up the welding contract Carney Construction was offering.
“Millie, I appreciate the offer,” Spence said when she paused for breath, “and I may be available in the fall, but for now, I have a commitment.” With his dad looking at a second back surgery, Spence was needed on the ranch, and that was where he was going to be.
He and his brother Reed would keep the home fires burning, and hopefully, keep their dad out of commission long enough for him to heal. Daniel Keller had a reputation for pushing the envelope, and it would probably take both Spence and Reed to keep him contained during the busy time on the ranch.
Millie’s sigh was loud and long. “You’re my best guy.”
Spence smiled a little. “I bet you say that to all the welders.” He turned his head as a flash of red in the undergrowth near the creek caught his eye. He automatically slowed down, and a second later, he caught another flash of red. “Thanks for the offer, Millie. I’ll let you know when I’m done here. I’ve got to go.”
“Stay in touch,” Millie said rather than goodbye.
She barely got the last word out before Spence ended the call and pulled his truck to the side of the road. He rolled down the window and studied the area where he saw the color that didn’t belong. It could be a scrap of trash blowing through the brush, or... a small dog wearing a red neoprene vest.
Huh.
Spence opened his door as the little dog sank into the tall grass, watching him from between the blades with wide brown eyes. Lost and afraid, it lowered its head uncertainly as he stepped to the ground.
“Hey, little one. You lost?”
The dog crouched lower.
Spence crossed the road, hoping that the pup didn’t jet back into the underbrush. As he got closer, the dog hunched its shoulders, as if trying to make itself invisible. Spence gently scooped it up with one hand.
“Hey there. Where do you belong?”
The neoprene vest was nearly new, with the loop of white plastic that had held the price tag still in place. It was odd that someone would spend the money for a pricey vest, but not bother with a name tag.
Spence held the dog against his shoulder and scanned the country around him. The Keller Ranch was bordered on the far side by the Hunt Ranch, nearly two miles away, and on the side where he now stood by the Lone Tree Ranch. Everything else was federal land. The little dog could have gotten lost from a campsite, or she could have crossed the Keller Ranch from the Hunt Ranch, or she had strayed from the Lone Tree Ranch. The Parker family, who owned the Lone Tree, were not the kind of people who put dogs in expensive neoprene vests. But they might know someone who did.
Spence carried the dog back to the truck and, after closing the door to make certain she didn’t try to bolt at the last minute, he gently set the quivering terrier on the seat beside him. She inched closer and set her chin on his thigh, officially melting his heart.
“We’ll find your folks,” he promised her. He put the truck in gear and drove to the nearest wide spot, executed a three-point turn, then headed back in the direction from which he’d come. The Lone Tree Ranch turnoff from another mile up the county road. Spence made the turn, then drove east for another mile before pulling into the property.
Hank Parker had died almost two years ago, and his daughter Hayley had taken over. From the looks of things, she’d poured a lot of energy into property maintenance. The buildings were old, but freshly painted, the driveway newly graveled. A large, neatly laid out garden was protected by a deer fence, and the flower beds bordering the front of the house were immaculate.
Hayley always had been an overachiever, noted for both her academic prowess and her shyness. Spence’s friends had joked about her being so quiet that no one realized she was there while they were talking, thus allowing her to know a lot of deep, dark secrets. Spence didn’t know if that had been true, but he did know from firsthand experience that quiet Hayley Parker had a backbone of steel.
The little dog jumped to her feet as soon as they’d passed the main ranch gate and now stood with her hind feet on the seat and her front paws on the passenger-side window ledge, her nose pressed to the glass. Maybe the Parkers did believe in dog clothes.
He stopped the truck and got out, leaving it idling. The little dog now had her nose pressed against the driver’s window. If she wasn’t home, then she was in a place she liked.
He started for the house, but a clattering noise in the barn on the opposite side of the driveway caused him to change direction.
“Hello?” he called as he approached the open bay doors.
“Vince?” A muffled feminine voice sounded from the backside of the tractor. “You’re late.”
“Not Vince,” Spence said.
A wrench clattered to the ground, followed by a muffled curse, then Hayley Parker walked around the back of the tractor, coming to a stop near the wide rear tire. It appeared to take her a second to recognize him, although Spence would have known her anywhere. Her auburn hair fell around her shoulders instead of being caught up in the low ponytails she’d favored when they’d gone to school together, and the glasses were gone, but other than that, she’d barely changed.
Had he?
He didn’t think so, so maybe it was the shock of seeing one of the nomad Kellers in the vicinity that put that surprised look on her face.
