Free The Texan's Surprise Baby by Gina Wilkins Page A

the camper in the opposite direction from the family compound. The campgrounds had fallen quiet now; 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. served as the official “quiet time” in the resort. As he had before, Andrew thought about how much he enjoyed the resort after dark. Strings of multicolored plastic lanterns in whimsical shapes decorated many of the campsites. Families and friends gathered around campfires, conversing in carefully modulated volume, only the occasional bark of laughter straying into noisier territory. Moonlight glittered on the inky lake waters spotted between the campers and trees. Overhead, stars were scattered across the cloudless sky. A battered old pickup truck with a rough-running motor passed them, then turned into the tent-camping zone, leaving a trail of smoky exhaust behind it.
    He glanced at his brother, who was scanning the grounds as he drove. “Glad to see you remembered some of your training. Nice moves back there.”
    Aaron shrugged. “He was big, but more fat than muscle. And the booze didn’t exactly enhance his speed or balance.”
    “Not to mention his judgment.”
    “That, too. I’m just glad he gave up as easily as he did. I’d have hated to get into a full-out brawl my first week on the job.”
    “You handled it well.”
    “Thanks, bro.”
    “No second thoughts about working here?”
    “None. How could I get bored when there’s something different to deal with every day?”
    “You’re basing your future career on your relationship with Shelby in some ways,” Andrew felt obliged to point out. “It would be difficult for you to continue working here if you and Shelby split up.”
    “That’s not going to happen.”
    Andrew twisted in his seat, genuinely curious. “How can you possibly predict that after only a couple of weeks with her? How do you know?”
    Aaron’s laugh was a bit sheepish but no less confident. “I just know. I’ve known almost from the minute I met her. It was like a bell went off in my head, you know? Like I heard this voice saying, ‘Here she is, man. The one you’ve been looking for.’”
    Gazing out the windshield of the cart, Andrew thought of the other times he’d heard similar sentiments from members of his family, with their history of short courtships and long marriages. He’d always wondered if he would ever have that experience.
    He remembered the first time he’d seen Hannah, the powerful impression she had made on him even then. He remembered the first time he’d kissed her, how every cell in his body had vibrated in reaction. He thought of the way she had stayed in his head since he’d met her, how her image had popped into his head at random and inconvenient times. He recalled every minute of the one night they had spent together, every touch, every sensation. Just as he remembered how hurt he’d been when she’d sent him away afterward, making it very clear that she saw that night as a one-time fling and that there was no need for him to contact her in the future. Neither of them had known, of course, that there would be a very compelling need for them to stay in touch for the foreseeable future as a result of that night.
    Every time he saw her even now he responded dramatically. Was that love? Lust? Admiration? Shouldn’t he know?
    Sparks flew between them whenever they touched, but it was obvious that she was still wary of getting too closely involved with him. She’d told her sister that she didn’t need or want a man in her life. Would she be fighting the attraction between them so fiercely if she were “the one”?
    He knew now that his life and Hannah’s would be intertwined for the next eighteen years, minimum. He had every intention of being involved in his child’s life. As for the personal relationship between himself and Hannah—well, that remained to be seen. Unlike his brother, he had no confidence in his ability to predict his romantic future.
    They said little as Aaron drove past the cabins, slowing a bit