Page 3 of A Baby for the Billionaire Cowboy

But she’d spent enough time beating herself up over all of that, second-guessing her decision, grieving and panicking and crying until her throat hurt.

“I do like dancing,” she said, for something to say, “but not in these shoes.” She nudged one of them with her bare foot.

He studied her gravely. “The grass is soft over there. We could dance. If you want. While we wait for your aunt.”

She stared up at him. For some reason, her eyes filled with tears, and she blinked rapidly.

He offered his hand and she took it. His hand was warm and callused. The first touch startled her so much she wanted to jerk away, but then her fingers tightened. She wanted to cling to that warm hand like a lifeline. Why did it feel like no one had touched her in years? That obviously wasn’t true.

The sidewalk was rough under her feet, but in a few steps, they were on a soft patch of grass. He started an easy two-step, and she followed along, concentrating on the warmth of his hand and the scent of Texas lilacs and the prickly grass under her feet. She was here, now, in this moment. That was all that mattered.

After a minute, she took a deep breath—maybe the first deep breath in hours—and let it out in a sigh.

He led her into a lazy spin, and at the other side of it she found herself tucked alongside him. She must be too tired for fear, because instead of jerking away, she wanted to lean against him. In any case, he kept his right hand gently on her mid back. His left hand held her hand firmly enough to guide but loosely enough for her to shift her grip or even pull away if she chose. She inhaled his scent, no expensive cologne but something more ordinary and oddly comforting that brought back the memory of attending the county fair.

He spun her again and shifted so they were facing each other. Daisy felt like she was floating. The music, the soft night air, the semidarkness, the cicadas singing—they all combined to turn the moment into a dream. Maybe she was dreaming—she’d fallen asleep and she would awake to find—

“Daisy Mae!” The voice boomed from the building entrance.

Daisy flinched. She’d never gotten Auntie Rhonda to remember that she no longer went by DaisyMae. Oh well, it was a small price to pay.

She smiled at the man, even though he might not be able to see her expression in the darkness. “Thank you for the dance.”

He gave a small jerk of a bow and headed back inside. Rhonda watched him go with a considering look as Daisy gingerly walked toward her great-aunt.

Rhonda turned the considering look on Daisy. “Oh, honey, you look like chewed twine. Here now, child.” She held out her arms.

Daisy fell into them with a shudder of relief.

Her aunt patted her back. “It’s okay now. I’m sorry I missed your messages. Had my phone in my purse, and it’s noisy in that room. Let’s go home and get comfortable, and you can tell me all about it.”

*

Xander sat athis assigned banquet table with a group of men and women trying to sell him on business ideas. He put on a thoughtful expression, but in truth, his thoughts were far away. It wasn’t as if he would give someone a big grant or invest in a business based on a conversation at a banquet. All he had to do was be polite and direct people to apply to the Tomlinson family fund. The accountant and business advisor and financial planner and lawyers would make decisions. The family made that perfectly clear, but still, people seemed to think if they could only speak to one of the family in person, it would get them through a side door so they could avoid all the hoops the family had in place precisely to keep con artists and fools from wasting their time.

Why was that girl wearing a long white dress if she wasn’t here for the party? She looked like a beautiful princess, but she seemed sad. Xander usually felt awkward meeting new people, but he hadn’t wanted to escape from her. Maybe it was because she seemed to be in trouble. He’d wanted to help.

His more cynical brothers would probably tell him it was all some kind of ploy to get at the lottery money. Xander knew he wasn’t the best at reading people or guessing their motives. But she hadn’t asked for his help. She’d called on Rhonda Gillespie, who was a tough woman, older than his mama. Rhonda had gotten mad at Mama when Mama bought the winning lottery ticket and shared it with her family instead of her knitting circle. It wasn’t like Mama had known that particular ticket would be a winner when she saved it for the family. It was a matter of astronomical luck. Xander had calculated the odds and still had a hard time believing it.

Rhonda had gotten over her mad eventually, but she was kind of a bully. Xander wouldn’t pick her to help someone in trouble.

What had Rhonda called the girl? Desiree? He hadn’t quite caught the name.

Oh well. He’d probably never see her again. She was likely just passing through, on her way to more important things, the beautiful girl with the beautiful dress and sad eyes.

Chapter Two

After several monthsstaying with her auntie Rhonda, Daisy was “showing,” to put it mildly. How was it even possible to go from a little baby bump to feeling like a hippopotamus in only a few months? Auntie Rhonda had told her to “look nice” for their guest coming to tea that day, so Daisy made an effort. She patted her puffy face with cool water and pulled her hair back in a low bun. She didn’t have “nice” clothes, but she wore a flowered dress that only sort of looked like a flour sack.

She studied her reflection in the mirror. Well, she wasn’t much, but at least she was presentable. She tried to please Auntie Rhonda. Any of her other family members would have driven her right back to William, or else to her father so he could rebuke her and then deliver her to William. Auntie Rhonda had never approved of her sister marrying Daisy’s father and joining his fire and brimstone church.

Daisy had felt so fragile and helpless when she arrived that she might’ve given in to the pressure to go back and get married. She’d refused to answer her phone, but the texts were bad enough. Rhonda had advised her to answer only that she was safe and then block everyone. They couldn’t drag her back home if they didn’t even know where she was. Rhonda was like a fire-breathing dragon guarding Daisy, even if she didn’t feel much like a princess. It was no wonder Rhonda hadn’t cared for Daisy’s father, a man who believed the father ruled the family, since Rhonda clearly gave orders and did not take them.

“How are you feeling, dear?” Auntie Rhonda asked. “Maybe you should have another cup of antinausea tea. We don’t want you running to the bathroom to throw up when Ava is here.”

“Oh, I hardly ever get morning sickness anymore,” Daisy said. The antinausea tea Rhonda bought from the farmer’s market was nasty. The worst part was, it actually worked, if she could choke it down. But she had to feel pretty sick before it was worth trying. She still felt queasy sometimes, but not to the point of vomiting, and the queasiness was hardly even noticeable once it blended with the aching back and feet and joints. Growing a human was hard work. At least lately she’d been feeling more energetic instead of wanting to sleep twenty hours a day.

“Who’s coming today?” she asked.

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