for a moment. He supposed he could understand her wariness. Before last night the only times she had seen him were under less than favorable circumstances. He had been returning her errant stallion—the one who had covered his mares and ruined his breeding program for more than a year—and hadn’t really cared to be overly polite.
“I think before we go any further, I need to explain something,” he said seriously. “All those times I had to bring your horse back to you, I was angry that he’d covered several of my mares. I raise and train reining horses and having them bred by a rogue stallion set my breeding program back by at least a year.” He shook his head. “But I could have been more civil when I asked you to keep him confined, instead of making demands and threatening to get the law involved.”
She stared at him for several long moments and just when he thought she was going to reject his apology and explanation, she nodded. “I can understand your frustration and I’m sorry about him causing a delay in your breeding program. I did try to keep him on the Circle W, but I think Magic tries to live up to his name. He can be a regular Houdini when it comes to getting out of his stall or around a fence.”
“Some horses are like that,” T.J. admitted. “Especially studs when there’s a harem of mares waiting for them.”
They were both silent for several long seconds before she spoke again. “As long as we’re clearing the air, I owe you another apology. You’ve been very accommodating and I really do appreciate all of your help. Earlier I was frustrated that Seth and I weren’t going to be able to go home, but that’s no excuse for taking it out on you. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll accept your apology if you’ll accept mine,” he said, meaning it. “I should have been more understanding about your horse getting out.”
A hint of a smile appeared as she led her little boy over to the opposite side of the kitchen island, where T.J. stood. “And just to put your mind at ease, if I had fallen down the stairs, I wouldn’t have sued you, Malloy.”
He couldn’t help but grin as he opened one of the cabinets above the counter and reached for a couple of sandwich plates. “The name’s T.J. and I’m glad I won’t have to be calling my lawyer.” As he started making their sandwiches, he added, “So what do you say we start over and try being a little more neighborly with each other from now on?”
When he noticed the twinkle in her blue eyes and the dimples on either side of her mouth as she smiled at him, he felt like he’d taken a sucker punch to the gut. He had to have been as blind as a damned bat not to have noticed how pretty she was before.
“I suppose being more congenial is better than wanting to shoot you on sight,” she said, oblivious to his thoughts.
T.J. laughed, releasing some of the tension suddenly gripping him. “Yeah, being friendly is preferable to dodging lead.” He pointed to the slices of meat and cheese in front of him. “My housekeeper is up in Dallas with her family until after the first of the year and I’m not very good at cooking. I hope you don’t mind sandwiches for supper.”
“A sandwich is fine for me.” She shook her head. “I still don’t have much of an appetite anyway. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to find something else for Seth. I try to make sure he gets his veggies every day.”
“When I sent Dan and his wife to Stephenville, Jane Ann got a few frozen dinners she said were especially for little kids.” T.J. nodded toward the refrigerator. “She said they weren’t her first choice for feeding toddlers, but they would be better for Seth than some of the things I’d probably try to feed him.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I zapped one of them in the microwave for lunch and I can honestly say, he really enjoyed flinging the macaroni and mini meatballs at me.”
“He behaves pretty well for being almost two, but he still has his moments,” she said, laughing as she and the kid walked over to open the freezer door on the side-by-side refrigerator.
The sound of Heather’s laughter caused a warm feeling to spread throughout his chest. He didn’t have a clue why, but for some reason it felt good to make her laugh.
T.J. frowned as he finished the sandwiches and set them on the table. He and Heather were little more than strangers and he still wasn’t convinced they could be friends. Why did he care one way or the other that he had made her laugh?
He wasn’t sure what his problem was, but he decided that some things were better left unexplored. He was already having enough trouble with the fact that Heather and her son hadn’t been on the Dusty Diamond a full twenty-four hours and he’d noticed—even when she was at her worst with the flu and wearing a baggy set of sweats—that she was sexy as sin. If that wasn’t proof enough that he was one extremely disturbed hombre, he didn’t know what was.
* * *
“This is a very interesting family room,” Heather said when T.J. showed her and Seth around his house after they finished dinner. “But I think this would come closer to qualifying as a man cave than a place where a family gathers.”
He chuckled. “That’s what I usually call it, but I thought it might sound a little more inviting if I referred to it as the family room.”
One wall of the huge space was dominated by an antique bar that looked as if it had come straight from a saloon in an old Western movie. Made of dark mahogany, the intricate carvings on the front were complemented by the marble inlayed top and the highly polished brass boot rail attached along the bottom a few inches above the floor. A large mirror in an ornate gold frame hung on the wall behind the bar Shelves on both sides were filled with expensive-looking whiskey, rum and tequila bottles. Several feet from the end of the bar an old-fashioned billiard table with hand-tied leather strip pockets stood, waiting for someone to send the racked, brightly colored balls rolling across its green felt top. All that was missing from that side of the room was a saloon girl with rosy red rouge on her cheeks and a come-hither look in her eyes.
“Would you like to watch a movie?” he asked, motioning toward the biggest flat-screen television she had ever seen. It graced the wall at the far end of the room. It wasn’t surprising to see that speakers had been hung on the walls surrounding the area, guaranteeing the viewer an audio experience that was sure to make him or her feel as if they were part of the action.
“I’ve got all the satellite movie channels, as well as pay-per-view,” he added. “I’m sure we could find something to watch that you’d like.”
The huge, comfortable-looking, brown leather sectional sofa in front of the television looked extremely inviting and Heather was tempted. “Maybe another time,” she said, hiding a yawn behind her hand. “I’m afraid I’m still pretty tired and it won’t be long before I’ll have to get Seth in bed for the night.”
“It’s understandable that you’re tired. You haven’t regained all of your strength.” When Seth walked past him toward a basket of toys beside the sofa, T.J. grinned. “And before you ask if those are mine, I keep them around for my niece and nephew.”
“Do you babysit often?” she asked. He certainly seemed to know more about watching children than most bachelors.
He shook his head. “I don’t get to watch them all that much because of the rotation. But once in a while one of my brothers and sisters-in-law will ask me to keep one of them when they want to go catch a movie or have a kid-free dinner.”
She frowned. “The rotation?”
“I have five brothers,” he
