Page 18 of A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

“No!” Xander didn’t think he’d been on the prowl in his entire life. “I’m not—not looking for anyone.” He grabbed Daisy’s hand and scurried for the exit. He glanced back at the door to see the woman leaning over the bench where she’d originally been sitting. Good, she wasn’t following them. Or maybe she’d left a purse or something and had to grab it. That would give them time to escape, if Daisy could squeeze into the car quickly enough.

He shuffled from foot to foot, holding the door while she lowered herself and got settled. When she had her seat belt on, he checked that no stray fingers or hair were near the doorframe and closed the door. He got around to his side and slid in as the woman came out of the medical offices.

Daisy frowned, looking back toward the woman as they drove away. “That was weird. It was like she was waiting for you.”

“How would she know I was going to be there? You only asked me yesterday.”

“I didn’t tell anyone. I mean, except Auntie Rhonda, and I don’t know why she’d tell anyone, let alone a stranger. I guess you’ve gotten a lot of attention since the lottery. Carly and Mallory told me some stories.”

“Yeah.” When they paused at a stop sign, Xander wiped sweat off his forehead. “My brothers had it worse. TC and Cody are more outgoing. They did the public stuff as much as possible, when we had to do it at all. We didn’t realize winning the lottery would make us famous. Not that we ever thought we’d win in the first place. But people expected us to act completely different, like we’d want to sell the ranch and spend all our time partying or something.”

Daisy’s eyes danced with amusement. “Sure, I can imagine you flashing your money around to get the babes.”

He gave a weak chuckle. “Sorry about all that back there. I should’ve set her straight, but she took me off guard. I didn’t mean to imply that we’re dating.”

“Did you?” She frowned over that for a moment. “It all happened so fast. But I guess she did see us holding hands.”

“Yeah.” His hand tightened on the steering wheel. He still felt the echo of Daisy’s grip. “Cody and Mallory pretended to be dating for a while, so women would leave him alone. I can see why they did it.”

Daisy actually laughed. “And now you’ve one upped them, pretending you not only have a girlfriend but she’s pregnant! I’m sure she looked at me and wondered how I was ever pretty enough to get abillionaire bachelor brother, what with the acne and stringy hair and body of a bear ready for hibernation.”

He glanced over at her. “You look beautiful.”

She chuckled some more. “You’ve learned one lesson well. Be nice to the pregnant girl or face the wrath of her hormones. Don’t worry about that woman assuming whatever she assumed. I’m pretty sure I got the better end of the deal, if she thought we were a couple. And if it keeps her from bothering you...” She shrugged. “No harm done.”

“I guess so.” He hoped so. He had a nagging feeling that he’d missed something important. Maybe it was just his guilt over fibbing. But even Mama had admitted it might be permissible to tell some little white lies to protect the privacy and safety of the family. But Daisy was the one he should be protecting. Would it help her or hurt her if people thought she had joined the Tomlinson family?

His mind caught up with what else Daisy had said. “And that other stuff is nonsense. Any man would be proud to be seen with you.”

“Aw!” She sniffled. “Careful or now you’re going to get my pregnancy hormones crying all over you.”

“I’ve had a lot worse than tears all over me,” he said without thinking.

“Oh, right, I saw what y’all do for that pregnancy checking of the cows.” She grimaced theatrically. “I’m sure glad it’s not like that for people!”

He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or hide his face. He kept his gaze on the road as they headed out of town. Some ten minutes later, the ranch house appeared in the distance.

“It looks like work is going well on that little guesthouse,” Daisy said. “At first I thought y’all were building a big storage shed, but now it looks like an actual house.”

Mama had taken Xander’s renovation suggestion a huge step further. They were building a cottage next to their own house. They hadn’t told Daisy yet that it would be for her and the baby. They were keeping that as a surprise.

“Yeah, I think it will be nice. Has Mama asked you to help pick out the paint colors and stuff for the inside?”

“We’ve talked about it some, and we’re going to spend an afternoon later this week nailing down the details. It’s going to be adorable! Your guests are lucky.” She gave a brief touch to his arm. “Of course, I know that.”

“You’re not a guest. You’re an employee.” Whoops, did that sound like he was trying to put her in her place? He just didn’t want her to figure out their plans for the little cottage yet. “More than an employee. You’re like family.”

She gave a long, slow sigh. He studied her face for a second. She looked happy, so maybe it was a good sigh.

“Family.” Her hand stroked her belly. “I’m looking forward to building my own family. Me and the kid and all of you, I hope, for as long as I’m useful.”

“You don’t have to be useful.”

She shot him a look. “I am an employee. I’m never going to give y’all a reason to regret giving me the job. I don’t want to only pretend I’m working, because you did a favor for Auntie Rhonda or wanted to help someone in need.”

“I guess I understand that. Nobody wants to be a burden.” Not that she could be, ever, but she seemed to get satisfaction from work.

“Is that why you keep working, even though you’re rich enough you don’t have to?”

---