Page 13 of Cowboy Wolf's Secret Baby

Beth smiled and said, “She comes by her talents naturally.”

“I’m Conner, by the way,” he said holding his hand out for her to shake it.

She hesitated for a moment and then grasped it. “Beth.”

Instantly, a bolt of electricity raced through his hand to every cell in his body. The feeling was so intense that he groaned in the back of his throat.

Beth looked at him funny.

He wasn’t sure what to say, so he sat there for a few minutes. Then, he said, “It was nice to meet you. I’m sure that I’ll see you later.”

The next morning after he made sure that Zephyr was taken care of, Conner called his best friend, Micah, who was a member of the same Nightshade Wolf Shifter Pack.

“How are things?” Conner asked.

“Great. Lucy is fantastic, and the twins are growing like weeds.”

Micah had met Lucy, a bear shifter, through a surrogacy agency when Micah had decided he wanted kids and didn’t want to wait until he found a suitable mate. She got pregnant with twins and they ended up falling in love. They had twins. One was a bear shifter and the other was a wolf shifter.

“Have they started challenging each other yet to decide who is more ferocious?”

“Shshsh, don’t give them any ideas,” Micah said. “How are things with you?”

“I’m good. Had a great night last night. I ran into a woman who looked very familiar, but I’m sure that I’ve never met her before. She has that incredible girl next door beauty with long, red hair.”

“You might have seen her at the events the last time you were there. You might not have had a formal introduction. Some people’s faces just stick in the back of your mind.”

“Maybe,” Conner said slowly. “But it really feels as though there’s more to it.”

“What are you going to do?” Micah asked.

“If she comes back to the rodeo tonight, which I think she will since her daughter is competing, then I’ll try to figure out where I know her from. If she doesn’t, then I will forget her. Short of playing private investigator or worse, creepy stalker, I would have no way of finding her.”

“That sounds like a great plan,” Micah said.

They talked for a few more minutes and then they got off the phone. Conner stretched and looked at his watch. He still had a few hours before he needed to be at the rodeo grounds. He remembered where the road to the nearest mountain was and pointed his truck in that direction. There were no other vehicles parked in the vicinity, which was a good sign.

He headed up the trail for a while, and when he thought it was safe, he took a detour.

“This tree looks good,” he said.

Conner quickly undressed and folded his clothes neatly before putting them into a plastic bag and putting them in the crook of the tree. The bag kept the bugs out of his clothes. Putting everything in a tree kept other animals – two-legged and four-legged – from finding them.

He shifted into a magnificent gray wolf and trotted off into the thicket. The sweet air filled his lungs, and his muscles screamed with joy. Conner always found peace, beauty, and grace in the process of shifting and running, becoming one with nature. For a while, he was able to enjoy life and push the thoughts of the enticing redhead out of his mind.

5

Beth

Beth’s heart stopped when Conner sauntered over to her and asked if they had met before.

What in the world am I supposed to say? I’myour long-lost love and the mother of a child you don’t even know exists?

She didn’t want to lie eithersoshe decided to deflect. Itseemed to mollifyhimfor the moment, at least. However, she had the idea that she would be seeing more of him.

I wish, more than anything, that I could tell him the truth.

He had that same sexy grinandhe was hot. Connerseemed to still have that easy charm, too.

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