to say what my intentions are regarding your daughter.” Which wasn’t what he’d meant to say, but those words had somehow come out anyway.
“What?” This had come from a very shocked, very red-faced Eleanor. “But you … you didn’t …” Her voice trailed off, not verbalizing that Ty hadn’t kissed her when they’d said goodbye.
Ty’s gaze remained locked with her father’s.
“I’m very protective of my daughters.”
Ty bit back a grin. “I imagine so.”
Eleanor’s father leaned back in his chair, eyeing Ty as if he were sizing up an opponent. He took a sip of his coffee and calmly announced, “I want you to accompany Eleanor to my fund-raiser ball next week.”
That surprised him, but Ty only shrugged. He wouldn’t be bullied by this man. “I’m busy.”
“Get unbusy,” the senator ordered, as if whatever Ty’s plans were they couldn’t possibly be more important than his.
“Eleanor may have other plans.”
“She doesn’t.” Had there been humor in the man’s tone? “This is important to my career and the perfect opportunity for me to get to know what type of man my daughter is spending her time with.”
Ty wasn’t sure how he felt about going to the fund-raiser. He liked Eleanor, but hadn’t he already decided that he needed to stay away from her? That she would expect more from him than he’d ever give? But there was something about the way her father was discussing her as if she weren’t in the room that got Ty’s hackles up, made him want to puff out his chest and stand in challenge.
What was it about the woman that gave him all these protective, testosterone-filled urges?
“I prefer to arrange my own dates.”
The senator sat his coffee cup down on the table and eyed Ty intently. “Fine. Arrange one. Now is as good a time as any. I’m sure Eleanor is available the night of my fund-raiser.”
“Daddy.” Eleanor’s voice sounded so humiliated Ty wanted to whisk her out of the room. Hell, he knew exactly how she felt. Hadn’t his own father loved to put him in his place every opportunity he got?
His father. His family. Which only served to remind him of his own family issues and the fact that his mother wasn’t letting up on him coming home to attend Swallow Creek’s annual rodeo, which his father was hosting. Just the thought of going home, seeing the shame in his father’s eyes as he expounded on what a disappointment Ty had turned out to be, turned his stomach. It would be the first time he’d be face-to-face with dear ole Dad since their big row about Ty moving to New York.
He’d be damned if he was going to face it solo when presented with such a golden opportunity.
“Fine,” he agreed to the senator’s suggestion, liking the idea that had struck him. “I’ll go to the fund-raiser.” Just as the pompous man started to smile, Ty added, “On one condition. I want Eleanor to go to Texas with me six weeks from now to attend a rodeo my family is hosting.”
With her by his side, his family would be on their best behavior, would be distracted by him bringing a woman with him, and maybe, just maybe, his father wouldn’t launch into how he’d screwed up his whole life and let the entire family down by following his own dreams rather than to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“Done.” Smiling again, the senator stuck his hand out for Ty to shake.
“What?” Eleanor’s chair flew back from the table, almost toppling she stood so quickly. “Th-this is crazy. You’re talking like I’m not even here.” She glanced back and forth between them. “You’re both crazy. I’m not going to Texas.”
Wondering what the hell he was doing, Ty shook Eleanor’s father’s hand before any of them could come to their senses.
CHAPTER FOUR
ELEANOR AUSCULTATED ROCHELLE’S tiny chest, distinguishing each sound and praying the baby’s lungs remained clear of fluid or pneumonia despite her many risk factors.
“Hey, you.”
Eleanor jumped, startling the baby. Talking softly to Rochelle and stroking her finger over the baby’s tiny hand, she mentally gathered her wits. What she needed was someone to talk softly to her and calm her nerves before she acknowledged who’d surprised her.
“Don’t do that,” she ordered, spinning to face the man she wasn’t quite sure what to think of. Not that she hadn’t thought of him. She’d thought of little else since yesterday morning when she hadn’t been able to take any more of her father bargaining a date for her.
That she understood.
What she couldn’t understand was why Ty had agreed, why he’d even suggested her going to Texas with him.
That made absolutely no sense at all to her. No matter how many times she’d tried to work out his reasons, she kept coming up blank.
Looking as gorgeous as ever, Ty grinned that sexy Southern grin that, along with his Texan drawl, had all the NICU nurses swooning over him. Eleanor’s body did a little swooning of its own, too.
“Sorry, darlin’.” His eyes twinkled. “Didn’t mean to startle you or the babe. How’s our girl doing?”
At his “our girl” Eleanor’s throat clogged shut. Why, she didn’t know because it was the silliest of phrases and she knew he meant their patient and … Oh, what was she prattling on in her mind for? Just answer the man and be done with it.
“She’s holding her own.” A complete sentence and no stutter—yeah! If nothing else, spending time with him at the ribbon-cutting and reception seemed to have cured her of that habit around him.
He nodded his understanding. “A babe’s fighting spirit makes all the difference.”
“Speaking of fighting spirit, why did you agree to my father’s crazy suggestion that you go to his fund-raiser ball?” She tried to keep her voice light, as if his answer was no big deal. “They aren’t that much fun.”
He shrugged. “Maybe good ole country boy me just wanted to see what it’s like to hang with the big city-slicker politicians.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “You can cut the good-ole-country-boy act. The big city-slicker politician ran a background check and obviously liked what he found. He could probably tell me what type of baby formula you were raised on.”
“I wasn’t.”
She stared at him in confusion. “You weren’t what?”
“Raised on formula.” He puffed his chest out. “My momma breast-fed me and my brother.”
“I didn’t need to know that.” Actually, she had a hard time envisioning Ty as a baby, as anything other than the gorgeous man he was.
“Sure you do,” he countered. “Can’t have you showing up in Texas as my date and not knowing a thing about me.”
As
