Page 32 of Cowboy Wolf's Secret Baby

“Sort of. I talk to animals, and I can calm them and heal them. That’s why I want to be a vet. I can take care of them without needles or blood.”

“Nice. That explains why Zephyr acted the way he did around you and why you and Pegasus are so connected.”

“Yup,” she said, grinning.

“Do you shift a lot?”

Taryn nodded. “Mom takes me to the mountain. She doesn’t like me to shift and run by myself because she’s afraid that I might get hurt, but she still lets me.”

“Why doesn’t she fly over you on her broom to keep an eye on you?” Conner asked.

Taryn laughed and clapped her hands in delight. “I asked her the exact same question. She just grunted at me.”

“Great minds think alike,” Conner said.

They both looked at Beth, who smirked.

“Are you part of a pack?” Taryn asked.

“I am. We are. My brother, Zac, your uncle, is the alpha of the Nightshade Wolf Shifter Pack in Angel’s Creek. You have three cousins from your Uncle Zac and Aunt Olivia. My best friend, who would likely call himself Uncle Micah and his wife, Lucy, have twins. They have a boy and a girl. One is a wolf shifter and the other is a bear shifter.”

“I have a lot of family?” she asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes. Your grandparents are going to be so excited to meet you. You have a ton of other friends and pack members who will adore you.”

“Wow. Here it’s just my grandmother, who hates me; an aunt, who doesn’t care about me and doesn’t really know that I exist; and Aunt Savvy, who is Mom’s best friend.”

As they chatted, Conner’s heart melted. He was already falling in love with his daughter who he never knew existed until now. He was sad that he had missed out on the first ten years of her life and would happily strangle the evil witch who made him forget about Beth.

Taryn continued to pepper him about her family and life in New Mexico and then told him more about school, her friends, and about herself. He laughed at some of her stories about getting into mischief and was sad for her when she talked about things that upset her. The only time she stopped talking was when she ate her breakfast.

Conner and Beth exchanged glances across the table.

This is a woman I loved so much that I was going to ask her to be my wife. I know that there is something special about her, and she does kick up some emotions inside of me. Is it residual love? Is there even such a thing? Will I fall in love with her again?

He wished that he had time to shift and run just to sort things out. Conner had to figure out what he was going to do about Taryn. He wasn’t about to walk out on her. However, could he just stay in Wyoming and be a dad?

11

Beth

“Taryn, it’s time to get ready to go to the rodeo grounds. Why don’t you get ready? Unless, of course, you are planning on competing in your Eeyore jammies.”

“I don’t think that would look very cowgirl, would it?” She grinned. Taryn slid out of her chair and took her dishes to the dishwasher.

“She is taking all of this extremely well,” Conner said. “She’s not shy at all. Instead, she is more like, ‘Hello. You’re my dad and this is my life.’”

“Taryn is very mature and processes information quickly. She overheard the argument between Mother and me about the situation. She saw us at the restaurant and warned me to stay away from you. I told her that the only reason you hurt me before was because she put a forget spell on you. Taryn demanded to know what was going on. She knows what kind of person Mother is.”

Conner clenched his jaw and his face turned bright red. “I’d love to have five minutes with her. She stole ten years of life with my daughter and you.”

Beth put her hand on his arm. “She’d kill you without blinking an eye. Mother is not a good witch or a good person. I think that her soul withered away a long time ago. Please, just avoid her at all costs.”

He put his hand on top of hers and nodded. “I’ve got a lot of thinking to do. I have to figure everything out. My world just got turned upside down with a quickness. I need to get to the rodeo grounds. I’ll see you there.”

Conner brushed a kiss across her lips and left. Beth sank down in the chair, trying to process everything. This was what she had dreamed about for the last eleven years. Never, in a million years, did she really believe that Conner would suddenly regain his memory and come back to her. Breathing a sigh of relief, Beth felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of her chest.

She buried her face in her hands and a dam broke. Her shoulders shook as the tears poured down her face. The stress from these years of loving a man who didn’t know she existed, knowing that she would never let another man touch her, and not being able to tell him that he had an incredible daughter poured out.

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