âWould you want to do this the natural way?â
The look on his face when he asked that question was comical. Taylor started to laugh, even though Clint didnât join her. They both had something the other needed, so it truly could be a win-win if they played their hands correctly.
âIâd prefer â¦â She couldnât believe she was about to say this. âNatural.â
She was tired of shots and doctors and scheduling and waiting rooms. She just wanted a man to knock her up the old-fashioned way. Was that too much to ask for?
âWould you have any ⦠objection to that?â
âNo.â Clintâs response was direct. âI wanted to take you to bed the first time I saw you.â
Chapter One
Clint McAllister heard the familiar click of a bullet being chambered. Heâd slept just like a baby once heâd polished off a fifth of tequila, and heâd awakened with a well-deserved hangover. Groggy, irritated, with a massive headache, heâd stumbled over to the edge of the wooded area just beyond his campsite to relieve himself. The last thing heâd expected was to get caught with his pants unzipped, barefoot and without his revolver. Damn rotten luck.
âPut your hands up and turn around nice and slow.â Taylor Brand stood confident in the âreadyâ stance she had learned during concealed-weapon training. Like everything in her life, she had worked hard to be first in her class.
âJust calm down...â The cowboy lifted his left hand up but moved his right hand down to his zipper.
âKeep your hands where I can see them!â Taylor ordered, her voice clear, firm and calm. âTurn around...do it now!â
The stranger quickly lifted his right hand back up. âLook...unless you want a show, Iâve gotta zip it up before I face you. All right?â
âDo it quick.â Taylor told him. âThen turn around.â
The man tucked himself in and zipped up quickly, per the ladyâs orders. His belt buckle still undone, his button-down shirt still completely unbuttoned, the cowboy raised his hands above his head and turned around slowly.
âWhy are you following me?â Taylor demanded with her revolver aimed at the manâs chest.
âBossâs orders.â The man told her, keeping his eye on the flat black barrel of her gun. âYour uncle told me to follow you, make sure youâre safe, and thatâs what Iâm doinâ.â
Taylor stared hard at the unkempt cowboy with her hands steady on the gun. She was only one full day into her trek up to the Continental Divide. It was true that she had forgotten a lot about being in the wilderness over the years, but she had traveled all over the world for business and she had developed a heightened sense of awareness.
Once she was certain she was being followed, she had waited until the first light of morning, made a wide circle back and was able to sneak up on the cowboy much more easily than she had anticipated. The empty liquor bottle she had spotted near the cowboyâs gear most likely explained how simple it had been to ambush himâhe was a drinker.
âYou work at Bent Tree?â she asked him.
The cowboy gave a slight nod of his head. Now that she was getting a better look at him, he did look familiar. She remembered a cowboy who had tipped his hat to her the first day she had arrived at her uncleâs ranch. Heâd been wearing a sweat-soaked chambray shirt, a black cowboy hat and boots caked with mud and manure. But just because she could place him at Bent Tree didnât mean that he was following her on her uncleâs orders. Uncle Hank hadnât mentioned one word of this to her before she had headed out.
âIâm lowerinâ my arms, lady. You got that?â the cowboy asked. For a man staring down the barrel of a gun, he seemed to have the mistaken impression that he was in charge of this encounter.
The manâs collar-length dark hair was unruly from the night; his face had been unshaven for several days. She wasnât overly impressed with his height or the jailhouse tattoos on his exposed skin, but he was surprisingly fit from the look of his defined chest and shredded abs. His eyes were squinty and bloodshot, and he was obviously hungover. If he had been her employee, she would have fired him on the spot.