Page 3 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
“Yeah.” He pushed his hands into his rear pockets. Time to go, but he wasn’t quite ready. The change in Hayley was intriguing. Gone was the girl who rarely met your gaze and in her place was a confident woman.
“Have you been home long?” he asked.
She gave him a curious look and once again he felt as if he’d put his foot in it. They were neighbors, with a narrow strip of federal land separating the two ranches, but he’d left home at eighteen, returning only for holidays and family emergencies, while Hayley had...
He didn’t have a clue what she’d done.
“I don’t spend much time here,” he said. “Work keeps me on the move, so I’m not up on community news.”
She gave a faint shrug. “After I finished college, I moved back home, and Dad and I ran the ranch together until he passed away.”
“Did you get a degree in Ag?”
Her smile twisted in a self-deprecating way and again he was struck by the way she met his gaze instead of glancing down. “Nothing as useful as that. I majored in English Lit with a minor in education.”
“But you’re not teaching?” It was a Wednesday in early May. A workday.
“A lot of ranch work to be done,” she said simply.
“You have help, right?”
“I do.” She left it at that. Looking around, Spence had to assume she had competent help because the place was immaculate. New roofs on the buildings. Late spring flowers bordering the two-rail fence bordering the front yard. The only project he could see in progress was the half-finished corral near the barn. A pile of pipe lay in front of the completed section, rusty from the weather, making him wonder how long the construction hiatus had been going on.
But rusty pipe aside, Hayley Parker appeared to have a handle on life... as did he. It wasn’t your normal existence, taking welding contracts all over the west, having no real home base, drifting here and there, but it suited him. And for the life of him, he didn’t know why. He just liked being able to pick up and go whenever he wanted or needed to. He had a feeling it was a latent gene from his wild man father; however, his mom’s dad had also been born under the proverbial wandering star. Maybe he had no choice. He was wired to roam.
“It was good seeing you, Spence.” Hayley hugged the dog to her shoulder as she stepped away from the truck, clearing the way for him to get into the driver’s seat. Spence took the hint.
He got into the truck, then leaned an arm on the window frame. “I don’t think I properly thanked you for saving me that night in high school.” He wanted her to know that he still appreciated all she’d done for him.
“You didn’t.” She shrugged. “Unless you call steering clear of me a gesture of thanks.”
Spence’s eyebrows drew together at the candid reply. “I thought you wanted it that way.” She’d certainly been no friendlier after their adventure. If anything, she appeared to avoid looking at him. He’d honestly assumed that she wanted little to do with him after being shocked when she’d walked by him the following day in the hall without more than a quick glance.
She considered, then said, “I can’t fault you for that. I wasn’t good at putting myself out there back then.” She put a slight emphasis on the last words. “I needed... I don’t know... help?”
“Which I didn’t give,” he admitted. “Sorry about that, because I owed you.” The entire varsity basketball team owed her. He’d been top scorer that night, and Lucas Barstow, whom he was certain had locked him in the equipment shed, fouled out early on. Lucas had planned to be the big hero, and he wasn’t, thanks to Hayley.
“You did owe me,” she agreed with no hint of blame. “The important thing is that I got you to the game.”
“I was having some doubts about whether we’d make it when the cop pulled us over.”
Hayley made a small dismissive hand gesture, as if talking a cop out of a ticket was all in a day’s work. She’d done a helluva job of it too. Spence, who’d thought life as he knew it was over when the reds and blues had shown in the rear window, had been beyond stunned when Hayley managed to get them back on the road in a matter of minutes.
“Never doubt me.” She met his eyes and smiled while idly stroking the dog’s ears. Now he felt like dropping his gaze.
“You’ve changed,” he said.
As soon as he said the words, he knew he was wrong. She hadn’t changed. She’d tapped into whatever had given her the moxie to sweet-talk the cop that night. And to break the hasp on the equipment shed to let him out.
“We all grow up, Spence.”
He wasn’t certain how to take the statement and was debating a reply when a small Jeep came into sight on the far side of the big pasture where Hayley’s Angus grazed.
“Vince, my foreman. I need to get this little girl situated and get back to work. Thanks again, Spence. I’m glad you found her.”
“No problem.” The words came out gruffly. Nothing like being reminded that you were a self-centered teen to brighten the day.
He lifted a hand, then wheeled the truck around onto the driveway. He glanced in the rearview mirror, saw that Hayley was watching him go, and let his gaze linger longer than he should have. A split second later he jerked the steering wheel hard to the left to avoid hitting the gatepost.
