Page 18 of Winter Vows

When Kelly had gone off to finish getting dinner ready, Trish settled back against the chair’s soft cushions and let her eyes drift shut. She had to think about the future, had to plan her next move, but just for now she felt more at home and at ease than she had in months.

“So, how was dinner last night?” Harlan Patrick asked when Hardy joined him to ride out in the morning.

“I picked up a couple of burgers in town,” Hardy replied, keeping his gaze averted. He could just imagine the shocked expression on his friend’s face.

“I thought you were going to eat over at Kelly’s,” he said, clearly puzzled.

“Plans changed,” Hardy said succinctly.

“Why is that?”

“It seems the whole thing was a bit of a mix-up. The horse was fine. I took off. End of subject.” He climbed into the saddle and spurred his horse to a canter.

Harlan Patrick scrambled to catch up. “What about...?” His voice trailed off.

Hardy turned and regarded him with exaggerated curiosity. “What about what?”

Harlan Patrick scowled. “You know perfectly well what I’m asking about.”

“Do I?”

“Trish and the baby, blast it. Did you see them?”

“Hard to miss them. Little Laura was howling like a banshee when I got there. Funny how nobody thought to mention before I went over there that she and her mama were staying at your uncle’s.”

“I figured you knew,” Harlan Patrick said defensively, then grinned. “Seeing how tight you two are.”

“We are not tight,” Hardy said. “I barely even know the woman.”

He just knew that her skin was soft, that her eyes flooded with tears at the drop of a hat, that she smelled like something exotic and spicy. He also knew that she rattled him more than any woman he’d ever met. Under the circumstances, those were more than enough reasons to give her a wide berth. “Any plans to see her again?” Harlan Patrick inquired innocently.

“Not on your life.”

Harlan Patrick chuckled at the fierce response. “Oh, really?” he said doubtfully. “I’ve never known you to protest so loudly about spending time with a beautiful woman.”

“A beautiful woman with a brand-new baby,” Hardy reminded him. “I’m not in the market for a ready-made family. I’m the love ’em and leave ’em type, remember?”

“Funny thing about types,” Harlan Patrick mused. “Love comes along, and things change faster than lightning.”

Hardy scowled at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You were a lousy bachelor. You never had eyes for anyone except Laurie. Even when she dumped you, it was like pulling teeth to get you to go out with another woman.”

“True enough, but I’ve seen enough confirmed bachelors bite the dust to know that all it takes is the right woman, the right timing and a little nudge.”

“Well, you can keep any ideas you have about nudging to yourself,” Hardy declared, then added, “You might pass that along to anyone else who might be getting ideas, including your grandfather. Last night had to be his sneaky idea, though your aunt Kelly was clearly in on it, too. I’d hate to have to flee to Montana just to get away from all the scheming that goes on around here.”

Harlan Patrick shook his head. “Oh, brother, are you in trouble. Any time a man has to skip town just to steer clear of a woman he claims to have absolutely no interest in, he’s in so deep, it’d take a tow truck to extricate him.”

Hardy faced him squarely. “I am not interested in Trish Delacourt. I am not interested in a serious, long-term relationship with any woman. I don’t know how I can say it any plainer than that.”

He rode off, leaving Harlan Patrick howling with laughter. The sound followed him, setting his nerves on edge and stiffening his resolve. No one was going to trap him into marriage. No one was going to turn him into a daddy for a kid who wasn’t his own. No one was going to...

An image of Trish flashed in his head, as if to stubbornly remind him that he might be able to control his actions, but not his thoughts. Obviously, she was going to plague him whether he liked it or not. “Terrific,” he muttered, digging his spurs into his horse until they were flying and all he could think about was staying in the saddle.

That night when his temper had cooled and his nerves had calmed, he concluded that what he desperately needed was a hot date, someone who could get his mind off of a smart-mouthed, blond beauty with vulnerable eyes.

He dug out his little black book, settled beside the phone in the bunkhouse and began leafing through pages. Normally the process didn’t take more than a minute. He could decide on which female suited his mood faster than most men selected a steak from the menu.

Not tonight, though. He seemed stuck on finding faults. Fran’s laugh was a little too loud. Paula hadn’t had a real thought in all of her twenty-five years. Renata painted her fingernails blue, for Pete’s sake. Ursula—now there was a beauty, he thought appreciatively—unfortunately chattered incessantly. Mindy annoyingly hung on his every word. Jan argued over everything.

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