what to expect with a ton of pissed-off beef. But that cat is a whole different breed of misery. He’s attitude with a screech and sharp claws. Sometimes he likes to lurk in high places and then, making a sound that will raise the hair on the head of a bald man, he drops down on top of you as you walk by.” Ryder rotated his shoulders as he thought about the last time Lucifer had launched himself at him through the balusters from the top of the stairs. “He’s sunk his claws into me enough times that I’m leery of walking past anything that’s taller than I am without looking up first.”
“Then why do you allow your housekeeper to keep him?” she asked when they reached the top of the stairs.
He’d asked himself that same question about a hundred times over the past several years—usually right after the cat had pounced on him. “Betty Lou thinks the sun rises and sets in that gray devil. She adopted him from an animal shelter after her husband died and when she took the job as my housekeeper, I didn’t think it would be a big deal for her to bring him along with her. I like animals and besides, I’m gone a lot of the time anyway, so I don’t have to be around him a lot.”
“That’s very nice of you,” she said, sounding sincere. “But it’s your house. You shouldn’t have to worry about being mauled by a cat.”
Ryder shrugged. “I don’t see any reason to be a jerk about it when Lucifer means that much to her. I just try to steer clear of him as much as possible when I do make it home for a few days.” Stopping at one of the guest bedrooms, he opened the door, turned on the light for her, then set her luggage beside the dresser. “Will this be all right? If not, there are five other bedrooms you can choose from.”
He watched her look around the spacious room a moment before she turned to face him. “This is very nice, Ryder. Did you decorate it?”
Her teasing smile indicated that she was awaiting a reaction to her pointed question. He didn’t disappoint her.
“Yeah, right. I just look like the kind of guy who knows all about stuff like pillows and curtains.” Shaking his head, he added, “No, I hired a lady from Waco after I bought the ranch to come down here and redecorate the house.”
“She did a wonderful job.” Summer touched the patchwork quilt covering the bed. “This is very warm and welcoming.”
“Thanks.” He wasn’t sure why it mattered so much, but it pleased him that she liked his home. “I bought it right after I sold my interest in a start-up company my college roommate launched while we were still in school.”
“It must have been quite successful,” she said as she continued to look around.
He grinned. “Ever heard of The Virtual Ledger computer programs?”
“Of course. They have a program for just about every kind of record-keeping anyone could want.” Her eyes widened. “You helped found that?”
He laughed out loud. “Not hardly. I know just enough about a computer to screw it up and make it completely useless. But my roommate had the idea and I had some money saved back from working rodeos during the summers. I gave it to him and he gave me 50 percent of the company. Once it really took off, I sold him my interest in the company and we both got what we wanted out of the deal.” He took a breath. “He has total control of The Virtual Ledger and I have this ranch and enough money to do whatever I want, whenever I want, for the rest of my life.”
“Then why do you put yourself in danger fighting rodeo bulls?” she asked, frowning.
“Everybody has to have something that gives them a sense of purpose and makes them feel useful. Besides, I have to watch out for boneheads like Nate and Jaron.” When she yawned, he turned to leave. “Get a good night’s sleep and if you need anything, my room is at the far end of the hall.”
Her smile caused a warm feeling to spread throughout his chest. “Thank you, Ryder, but I’ll be fine.”
Nodding, he quickly stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him. What the hell was wrong with him? Summer had smiled at him hundreds of times over the past few years and he had never given it so much as a second thought. So why now did it feel like his temperature had spiked several degrees?
He shook his head as he strode toward the master suite. Hell, he still hadn’t figured out why his arms had tingled where she rested her hands when they danced at the party. And why did the thought of her wanting him to be her baby daddy make him feel twitchy in places that had absolutely no business twitching?
When Summer opened her eyes to the shaft of sunlight peeking through the pale yellow curtains, she looked around the beautifully decorated room and for a brief moment wondered where she was. She was used to awakening in a generic hotel room where shades of beige and tan reigned supreme and the headboard of the bed was bolted to the wall. But instead of spending the night in a hotel as she’d planned, she had agreed to accompany Ryder to his ranch.
Her breath caught as she remembered why he had insisted she come home with him. After weeks of trying to find a way to bring up the subject and ask him to be the donor for her pregnancy, she had worked up her courage and made her request. And his answer hadn’t been “no.” At least, not outright.
He thought they needed to talk it over and although his insistence that they stay at his ranch had made her extremely nervous, she had agreed. She needed to reassure him that she would sign whatever document was needed to ensure that she would be solely responsible for the baby and that he would be under no obligation. She was sure that once he understood that, he would be more inclined to help her.
As she threw back the covers and got out of bed to take a shower, she thought about what Ryder would want to discuss first. He would probably start off with wanting to know why she didn’t feel she would ever meet a man she wanted to marry. Or he might try to convince her that, at the youthful age of twenty-five, she had plenty of time and should wait to make such a life-changing decision.
Standing beneath the refreshing spray of warm water, she smiled. She might not have practiced the way she worded her request as much as she should have, but she was armed and ready with her answers for their upcoming discussion about it. She knew Ryder well enough to know he would try to talk her out of her plans, and she had painstakingly gone over the way she would explain her reasoning and how she would frame the responses she intended to give him. Once he realized that she was completely serious, along with the promise of a legal document relieving him of any commitment to support or help raise the child, surely he would agree.
Anxious to start their conversation, she toweled herself dry, quickly got dressed and started downstairs. Halfway to the bottom of the staircase, she stopped when she came face-to-face with one of the largest gray tabby cats she had ever seen.
“You must be Lucifer,” she said tentatively. From Ryder’s description of the cat, she wasn’t sure how he would react to encountering a stranger in his domain.
She hoped he didn’t attack her as she walked past. But instead of pouncing on her as she expected he might, the cat gazed up at her for a moment, then letting out a heartfelt meow, rubbed his body along the side of her leg.
Reaching down, she cautiously stroked his soft coat. Lucifer rewarded her with a loud, albeit contented purr. “You don’t seem nearly as ferocious as Ryder claimed you were,” she said when he burrowed his head into her palm, then licked her fingers with a swipe of his sand-papery rough tongue.
When Summer continued on down the stairs, Lucifer trotted behind her as she followed the delicious smell of fried bacon and
