Jonas paused at the open door of the truck as he watched Alexa buckle the seat belt and adjust the strap beneath the mound of a baby.
âI guess weâll head home,â he said.
Nodding, she smiled. âYes. That has a nice sound, doesnât it? Home. I hope youâre beginning to think of the Chaparral as your home, Jonas.â
âOf course I am. Youâre making it easy to do that, Alexa.â
As her eyes connected with his, the smile fell from her face. For a split second he forgot that they were parked along a busy street. Something about the look on her face made him want to lean his head in, made him want to kiss her plush lips.
She was far from the woman heâd first imagined her to be. She was warmer, sweeter, stronger.
And he was far too charmed for his own good.
Available in June 2010
from Mills & Boon® Special Momentsâ¢
The Tycoonâs Perfect Match by Christine Wenger & Their Second-Chance Child by Karen Sandler
A Marriage-Minded Man by Karen Templeton & From Friend to Father by Tracy Wolff
An Imperfect Match by Kimberly Van Meter & Next Comes Love by Helen Brenna
A Bravoâs Honour by Christine Rimmer
Lone Star Daddy by Stella Bagwell
Claiming the Rancherâs Heart by Cindy Kirk
To Save a Family by Anna DeStefano
Stella Bagwell has written close to seventy novels. She credits her longevity in the business to her loyal readers and hopes her stories have brightened their lives in some small way.
A cowgirl through and through, she loves to watch old westerns and has recently learned how to rope a steer by the horns and the feet. Her days begin and end helping her husband care for a beloved herd of horses on their little ranch located on the South Texas coast. When sheâs not ropinâ and ridinâ, youâll find her at her desk, creating her next tale of love.
The couple have a son, who is a high-school maths teacher and athletic coach.
The woman was definitely pregnant, Jonas Redman decided, and from the looks of her she could go into labor any day! Quint had told him that his sister, Alexa, was a young, single woman and that she was expecting. But the man hadnât mentioned that the baby would be arriving so soon.
Jonasâs initial reaction was to turn tail and head straight back to Texas. Unfortunately, he wasnât in a position to leave the Chaparral. The desert mountain ranch was going to be his home for as long as it took to complete the job. A job that had nothing to do with raising cattle and horses.
In a steady gait, he walked across the lawn to intercept her. âMs. Cantrell?â he called out as she neared the front steps of the huge hacienda-style house. âCould I speak with you for a minute?â
Pausing on the neatly clipped grass, Alexa Cantrell turned toward the voice and watched with faint surprise as a tall man, wearing faded denim and a black cowboy hat, approached her. Normally, the working hands on the Chaparral Ranch didnât need to come by the house. But then, sheâd not been living here for the past five years, so maybe things had changed.
Or maybe this wasnât an ordinary ranch hand, Alexa thought, as he came to a stop a few steps away. He certainly didnât look ordinary. He was tall and lean, with sunbrowned skin, wide, strong shoulders and authority stamped all over his rugged features. The brim of his hat shaded his eyes, but she could see a pair of thick brown brows and sun lines fanning from the corners. Sandy-brown hair lay in unruly waves about his ears and the back of his neck.
âYes. May I help you with something?â she asked politely.
Moving forward, he extended his hand to her. âIâm Jonas Redman, the ranchâs new general manager. I happened to see you waving your mother off a moment ago and thought Iâd take the opportunity to introduce myself.â
So this was the man taking her brotherâs place, Alexa thought. She clasped her hand around his and was instantly aware of rough, callused skin and warmth that radiated right through her palm.
âItâs nice to meet you, Mr. Redman. Quint has spoken of you. He warned me that youâd be coming around if you ran into trouble.â
His eyes, which she could now see were a hazel green, narrowed a fraction more.
âWarned you? Sounds like heâs already expecting me to fall short.â
Alexa laughed softly. âIâm sorry. I guess I chose the wrong word. He only told me that youâd be coming to me if there was a decision you werenât comfortable making on your own. Does that sound better?â
A corner of his chiseled mouth turned slightly upward, and Alexa was shocked to find herself mesmerized by his features. Somewhere between thirty-five and forty, he was not a pretty boy. In fact, his appearance couldnât have been more opposite to that of the father of the baby growing inside her. Jonas Redman was the epitome of toughness. A man with muscles honed from working with his back and hands, a man who often lifted his face to the sun and wiped sweat from his brow.