sick of my own company.” It was a painful admission. She’d always believed you had to be content with yourself before you could be content with anyone else, but tonight she didn’t want to be alone with her own thoughts. Her doubts. Her fears.
He ran a hand over his jaw. Immediately she recalled the raspy texture of his palm against her own cheek and wondered what it would feel like scraping against her belly, her breasts. The uneasy feeling in her stomach turned into something else all together. Warmth prickled from her thighs to her breasts.
“I promise not to attack you over the appetizers.” She hoped he didn’t notice the tremor in her voice.
“Yeah, sure. Why not?” His reluctance wasn’t flattering. “Best place for barbecue is about two miles north of town. We’ll have to drive. I’m parked near the courthouse, too. You can ride with me or follow.”
Despite her foolhardy decision to have dinner with a total stranger, she wasn’t stupid enough to get into a car with one. Besides, the restaurant was in the same direction as her motel. “I’ll follow you.”
He offered a large, tanned hand. “Name’s Caleb.”
She was so used to being recognized from her public appearances that it never occurred to her that she’d have to introduce herself—not even here in the middle of nowhere, Texas. “Brooke.”
No recognition flared in his eyes, but then she doubted cowboys read many goal-actualization books. His hand swallowed hers. During the brief formality her senses registered a multitude of things: strength, heat, rough calluses and gentleness. He handled her like she might be breakable instead of trying to prove his masculinity by crushing her hand the way some men did.
Her pulse kicked up a notch. Her breathing became shallow. A smile tugged her lips at the irony of being physically attracted to a man so wrong for her. Fate, it seemed, had a wicked sense of humor.
Maybe she’d fantasize about Caleb tomorrow while the doctor did his thing.
Caleb released her and turned toward their cars. She lengthened her stride and she could tell he shortened his. Pent-up energy marked his every step.
The man truly was a work of art. She was admiring the shadows cast beneath his cheekbones by the streetlights when he turned unexpectedly and caught her staring. “You in town for long?”
“No. Just passing through. Tomorrow I fly to…Dallas.” Her stomach tightened again. She told herself it was anticipation not nervousness or doubt. “And you?”
“I had business in town, but the deal fell through.” He stiffened his shoulders and looked away.
“I’m sorry. Perhaps you could reexamine the situation and approach again from a different angle?”
He cast her a sideways glance. She glimpsed his crooked smile before he faced forward again. “I’m talking like a self-help book again?”
“Yep.”
They came to a corner. He flung his arm in front of her when a car unexpectedly zipped out of a parallel parking space and sped past. The protective gesture sent a warmth through her and not just because his palm briefly touched her belly. Heat transferred through silk like nobody’s business.
“You’re a regular white knight, aren’t you?”
A flush climbed from his collar. “No, ma’am. You offered to buy my dinner. Not gonna let you renege on it by getting mowed down.”
She didn’t believe his blustering for a minute. “You’re full of hooey, Caleb.”
He thumbed the brim of his hat and winked. “And don’t you forget it.”
Brooke laughed. The sound surprised her. She’d been so driven and focused on building her career over the last few years she couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed. The realization sobered her.
“Hey, none of that. You start looking like your dog died again and it’ll put me off my food. I’d hate not to enjoy a free meal.”
They reached the parking lot and her rented Miata. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision—the likes of which she never gave into—to rent the tiny, red sports car. Running a hand over the black convertible top, she realized she hadn’t let herself examine the sudden need to be wild and free. It must have something to do with the commitment she’d made. If the insemination succeeded her solo days would be over, and she’d be buying a minivan.
She needed an antacid.
“Second thoughts?”
His deep voice jerked her out of her contemplation. “Of course not. I’ve thought it all out. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
His brows rose and she cringed in embarrassment. He’d meant dinner, not her decision to become pregnant by an anonymous donor with a perfect set of vital statistics. She scrambled to cover her faux pas. “I really do want to try Texas barbecue.”
Caleb looked skeptical, but didn’t argue. “Then follow me. If your taste buds will fit in that toy car, bring ’em along.”
His long athletic stride carried him toward a big, silver pickup. Brooke caught herself ogling his behind and yanked herself back in line. What was wrong with her tonight? It must be that she was nearing ovulation. It couldn’t be that she was considering getting wild and crazy with the cowboy.
Was she? Of course not. She’d never do something so foolhardy, so spontaneous. She wasn’t the type to take unnecessary risks—even if it would distract her from the clinical procedure she’d undergo tomorrow afternoon.
She opened her purse and dug out an antacid.
Two
Caleb checked the rearview mirror one more time. The little red car still tailed him.
How long would it take for Brooke—if that was her real name—to come to her senses. Ladies like her didn’t waste time on men like him. She was way out of his league. Everything about her—her walk, her talk, her clothes—reeked of culture, class and education. He, on the other hand had none of the above. His ex had made sure he knew it, and he doubted he’d acquired any in the decade since Amanda had left.
He wasn’t one to pick up a woman in a bar, but it sure beat the hell out of his original plan of drinking himself into oblivion.
He’d stopped by the courthouse this afternoon hoping whomever had outbid him on the other half of Crooked Creek ranch wouldn’t show up with the cash by the five o’clock deadline. As second highest bidder he’d then buy the property by default, and his debt to his family would finally be repaid. The clerk had told him he’d missed the new owner by minutes. The deed had been signed, sealed and delivered, killing his chance to regain his family’s land.
He’d already waited ten years. How in the hell long would it take to get this monkey off his back?
He hit his blinker, indicating the restaurant, and pulled into the well-lit gravel lot. The timber building didn’t look like much, but they served the best barbecue in all of McMullen County, Texas, behind those faded gray doors. He ate here whenever he had business in the county seat.
Climbing
