Page 22 of A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

Ava’s eyes opened wider. “This I have to hear.”

Daisy wrapped her hands around her mug of tea, gazing at the pale green liquid. “Well, there are companies that offer online classes in all kinds of things. Business, science, design, food, music. It’s all recorded videos, so you can go at your own pace. I thought maybe a subscription. He could browse through the class offerings and maybe he’d see something that would interest him.”

“Now that’s an idea. Xander went to college for a year, but it wasn’t a good fit. He didn’t like being so far from his family and the animals. And he was younger than most of the students, since he graduated high school early. We talked about it, Xander and his father and me, and decided he didn’t need a college degree. He’d figured out all the accounting practices already, and he’s really good at learning what he needs on his own. As long as he had a job here, or had skills he could take to another ranch, a degree didn’t mean much.”

Ava gave a rueful smile. “Besides, he knew all about our finances, so he knew we hadn’t quite recovered from the expenses of Josh and TC’s college days, and then my husband died. Xander was only seventeen, but we would’ve been lost without him. Josh and TC handled most of the ranch work, but Xander was the only one of us who really understood the accounts.”

“This online class thing wouldn’t be for a degree.” Daisy hoped Ava wasn’t getting carried away, thinking Xander should go back to college. It was hard to imagine him enjoying an in-person college experience any more now than he had before. Now he’d be a little older than most of the undergrads, and infinitely more mature. Maybe that wouldn’t be a big deal, but he was also famous as a “billionaire bachelor brother,” and he didn’t enjoy the attention.

“I just thought he might like to explore some new areas,” Daisy explained. “It seems to me the rest of you have found ways to use the lottery money to do new things, to make your lives better. But Xander...”

“He hasn’t figured out what he wants to be when he grows up. Or else he figured it out a long time ago, and he hasn’t found any ways he wants to change, now that he can.” Ava gave Daisy’s hand another squeeze. “I think that’s a lovely idea. Maybe he’ll find a new hobby. Maybe he’ll find an entirely new path in life. If nothing else, surely he’ll have some fun. I wish you’d let me pay for it though. It can still be a gift from you.”

“Thank you, but I can manage.” Her modest salary was fairly generous considering she didn’t have to pay for housing or food, and she didn’t even have health expenses with the pregnancy. The Tomlinsons said she was included in the family health plan as an employee. The doctors and doula insisted everything was covered. No co-pays even. Daisy had a sneaking suspicion that meant extra costs were being paid by the Tomlinsons, but she didn’t ask. She was afraid to find out the answer and maybe feel like she ought to pay back the money.

She didn’t want to be trapped again, with no job, minimal savings, and few places to go. William had paid her just enough that she could survive month to month. Since she’d been young and didn’t have a degree or much job experience, she’d been grateful for the opportunity. Besides, she had little idea of what other administrative assistants made. Now she wondered if her low salary was part of William’s plan to keep her dependent on him.

She shook away the thought. She didn’t want to give William any more rent-free space in her head.

If she got Xander an unlimited subscription to the site she wanted, it would take a chunk out of her savings, but it was worth it if it helped him figure out what he wanted or how to enjoy life more. Or even if it simply made him smile.

“I’ll do that,” she said. “Thanks for the advice.”

A loud rat-a-tat-tat knock came at the front door.

“Goodness.” Ava pushed her chair back. “That sounds like Rhonda.”

Daisy jolted. She wasn’t expecting her great-aunt, and it didn’t sound like Ava was either. She hoped it wasn’t bad news. The problem with blocking all calls from her family was that Daisy wouldn’t know if anything happened to them, unless Rhonda found out and told her.

On the other hand, it seemed much more likely Auntie Rhonda had heard about how Daisy had become a minor celebrity due to her foolishness in thinking it would be nice to have a kind, intelligent friend accompany her to the doctor’s office.

Daisy stood as Ava answered the door, torn between wanting to flee to the office so she didn’t have to deal with her great-aunt, and needing to know what had brought Rhonda here unexpectedly.

Rhonda swept in. “There you are, girl!” Rhonda pulled her into a hug that almost knocked Daisy off-balance. “Now I want you to tell me all about it.”

Daisy extricated herself. “About what?”

“Yesterday, of course! The doctor’s office. Half of Last Stand must have seen you there with Xander.”

Daisy felt a sharp pain in her belly. Could she claim it was a contraction and she had to rush to the hospital?

No. That would merely send Auntie Rhonda and Ava into a panic. Daisy had a couple of weeks left, and the doctor had said everything was on schedule. In any case, with the doula, she was hoping not to need the hospital.

She tried to act casual. “I’m sure that’s an exaggeration. We didn’t see more than a dozen people in the waiting room. Although clearly some of them were expert gossips. And you knew Xander was going to take me to the appointment. I told you.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know he was going to leave there holding your hand! I tell y’all, I’m cooking on a front burner today.” She grinned.

Daisy avoided looking at Ava. “Don’t read anything into that. This strange woman was waiting for us when we came out. She asked awkward questions, and we wanted to get out of there fast. He was merely trying to help me, since I’m so slow these days.”

“Yes, I saw the video,” Rhonda said.

Of course she had. Probably all of Last Stand, most of the state, and a good portion of the country had. Probably people in China and Egypt were speculating about the youngest billionaire bachelor’s pregnant girlfriend. Daisy wished she had a cold drink to counteract the heat washing over her. Or simply a bucket of ice water she could dump over herself.

“It’s a shame people don’t have better things to do with their time than gossip,” Ava said.

Rhonda ignored the hint. “Well, maybe it got Xander thinking along those lines. The boy needs a nudge, if you ask me.”

“That’s why one asks you,” Daisy muttered, glancing toward the back door to make sure Xander hadn’t come into the mudroom.

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