Page 21 of The Christmas Cowboy

This wasn’t the time or place. He let her go and said, “Do you want to hike some more?”

“Hike?” She stared at him for a long moment. “I guess so.”

“If you’re tired, we can go back to the cabin.”

“I’m not tired. I live on a ranch. I raise horses. You know the type of work I do every day. Thishikeis nothing.”

He started to mention her pregnancy but one look at her face had him rethinking that. “Okay.” He turned and started back up the trail. About a half hour later they stopped again, both of them pulling water bottles out of their packs.

“What?” he said, noticing Val staring at him.

“You’ve never been around any pregnant women, have you?”

“No. I told you, I know animals and pregnancy, not women.”

“But the animals do pretty much the same thing they’ve been doing for their entire pregnancy, don’t they?”

“Yes, but we’ve already discussed the fact that you’re not a horse or a dog.”

“No, but I’m young, strong, and I’m having a perfectly normal pregnancy. If I’m tired or don’t want to do something, I’ll tell you. I need you to stop treating me like an invalid.”

“Asking if you’re tired is treating you like an invalid?”

“Yes. So don’t.”

“Got it.” Oh, he got it all right. But he sure as hell didn’t understand it.

Chapter Nine

As she puttogether something for their dinner, Val thought about the hike. And the kiss. The very hot kiss. Could Liam actually be attracted to her? Oh, she knew she didn’t disgust him. He’d hardly have asked her to marry him if that were the case. Still, he might be making the best of the situation. He didn’t want to spend however long they were married without sex. And he wasn’t the cheating type. Even if his wife was pregnant by another man. But he’d known that and chose to marry her anyway.

She wondered what he really felt about Cici. What if he was still in love with her and had stepped aside for his brother? What if marrying Val was, at least partly, a rebound decision? He couldn’t have Cici so he made do with her.

The thought made her sick. But she’d seen him at Logan and Cici’s wedding and he hadn’t looked devastated by any means. He’d looked happy. Happy for his brother.

So he wasn’t in love with Cici. Probably.

Liam hadn’t pushed her about sex. Anything but. He’d told her he understood and she should take all the time she needed. Nice, but hardly a man who couldn’t wait to have sex with her. She wanted him towanther. She was an idiot. Now how was she supposed to know if he really wantedheror he was only scratching an itch?

She should have already gone to bed with him. Then she wouldn’t be agonizing, at least, not about sex. How could she broach the subject now?Gee, Liam, let’s get it on.No. She could put on a sexy nightie—which she did not have—and say,Surprise, I’m ready!

Yeah, no.

The problem was, Liam wasn’t in love with her. And she’d been in love with him since she was thirteen years old. She could remember it as if it was yesterday. She’d been in seventh grade. She’d ridden the bus home from school. It dropped her off at the dirt road that led to the Fletcher ranch. As the bus drove off she heard a dog yelp and saw two boys with it. At first she’d thought they were helping it but then she realized they were tormenting it. Poking the poor thing with sticks and laughing when it whimpered. Furious, she’d launched herself at them, screaming at them to stop.

They didn’t. They laughed at her, and one held her off while the other kept hurting the dog. She couldn’t reach him to kick him like Riley had taught her to do in self-defense. So she bit him. Hard.

He yelled and let her go but instead of running away she attacked the one with the poor dog. The one she’d bitten grabbed her and started to hit her but magically, he stopped.

It wasn’t magic. It was Liam. He’d grabbed the boy’s arm and twisted it behind his back, saying, “I wouldn’t.” He looked at Val. “What’s going on, Val?”

“He was hurting that dog. Him and his friend.” But the other boy had disappeared.

“She bit me!”

“Looks like you deserved it. Get lost, before I call the cops. Abusing animals is a crime, you know.”

He ran off the instant Liam released him. Liam watched him go, muttered something she couldn’t really hear.

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