Page 33 of Texas-Sized Secrets

“But you won’t find a better woman to work for in all of the panhandle.” The young Latino tied his horse to a post and faced Reed. “She’s fair and she cares about her people and the land.”

“I noticed.”

“She misses her father very much. With so much heartache, I’d hate to see her hurt more.”

“Who would hurt her?” Reed scooped up a shovel of manure and tossed it into the wheelbarrow beside the stall.

Jesse lifted the saddle off his horse and slung it onto a saddletree. “The father of her child must have hurt her for her to keep him a secret. But I’m more concerned about you.” He faced Reed. “Don’t break her heart, Señor Bryson. She’s a good woman.”

After a couple more shovelsful of manure, he set the shovel to the side and lifted the handles of the wheelbarrow, heading toward the barn door. “I’ve no intention of breaking her heart. I’m only here to help bring in the rustlers. After that, I’ll be on my way.” He stepped out into the barnyard, away from the lecturing ranch hand, but not before he heard Jesse’s parting comment.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

Once the chores were complete, Reed entered the ranch house.

“I’ll have something semi-edible on the table for you as soon as you’ve showered,” Mona called out from the kitchen.

The scent of grilled onion drifted through the house, reminding Reed how hungry he was. He hurried through the shower and slipped into clean jeans and a black T-shirt. When he padded into the kitchen in bare feet, he wasn’t prepared for the sight of Mona wearing a white dress. Tied just beneath her breasts, the soft fabric effectively hid the gentle swell of her belly. The flowing material draped down to just below her knees, displaying the tight lines of her calves and her bare feet. The stark white gave her dark skin a healthy glow.

With her hair piled high on her head in a loose ponytail, she looked young and fresh and…beautiful.

Reed’s breath caught in his throat with a sense of longing so strong it made him take a step back, hitting his bare heel against the doorjamb. “Ouch!”

Mona turned, a smile on her face. “There you are. Just in time.” Her smile turned lopsided. “I’m not a cook, so you’ll have to bear with me. I’m only good for breakfast. We’re havingmigas.” She scraped the contents of the skillet into a serving bowl and handed it to him. “If you’ll set that on the table, I’ll grab the orange juice.”

While Reed lived in Chicago, he’d missed the Tex-Mex food he could only find in Texas. After seating Mona, Reed pulled up a chair at the small kitchen table and scooped fluffy yellow eggs, mixed with bell pepper, onion, tomatoes and tortilla chips onto his plate.

Mona tucked into the food, loading her plate as full as his. When she was halfway through the meal, she sat back and sighed. “I guess my eyes were much bigger than my stomach.” She ran her hand over her belly. “I’ll clean up. Why don’t you bring up the Web site so we can check on the cattle.”

“Let me help and we can get to it faster.”

Mona washed and Reed dried the dishes. The entire process felt as intimate as the kiss he’d shared with Mona the previous night. With her by his side, he had to stop from reaching out and pulling her into his arms and stealing another kiss. He couldn’t lead her on. She deserved a better man than him. One with a better understanding of fathering than he’d been brought up on.

Reed didn’t linger. As soon as the dishes were dried and put away, he sat at the computer and followed the directions that came with the tracking devices. Soon he had the first cattle number loaded into the program and a satellite view came up with a red dot indicating where the animal was. Pretty much where they’d left them.

Mona stood behind him, bent over his shoulder staring at the screen.

He plugged in several more numbers, each indicating the cattle were still exactly where they were expected to be. “Think you can handle it?”

“No problem.” She gave him a narrowed glance. “Why?”

“I want to go back to Leon’s and see if I can find our man with the cut on his head.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, her lips forming that stubborn line Reed recognized as her pigheaded look. “I’m going with you.”

“What about the herd?” He stood, towering over her five-foot-three-inch frame. “You need to stay.”

“We can leave Jesse here to monitor the GPS tracking system. If anything moves, he can call us.”

“You don’t need to be out so late. What about the baby?”

“I can do anything I did before I was pregnant.” Her lips twisted a little. “Only a bit slower.”

“Exactly. You should be resting. You put in a long day.” He reached out, brushing his thumb beneath her eyes. “You have circles under your eyes.”

“I’ll be fine.” Those whiskey-colored eyes stared back at him, knocking the breath out of his lungs. She squared her shoulders and looked toward the doorway. “Now, are we leaving or are you going to argue some more?”

“Are you sure you weren’t a drill sergeant in your former life?” Reed returned to his room for socks and boots and met her outside by her pickup.

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