Free The Cowboy and the New Year's Baby by Sherryl Woods

snapped the book shut. Funny how none of those traits had ever bothered him before. Maybe what he needed was a new woman. Of course, single females he didn’t already know were in short supply in Los Piños. The selection wasn’t much better if he expanded the search to Garden City. Flying to Dallas just to find a date that would banish thoughts of Trish Delacourt fromhis head seemed a little extreme. Some might view it as a sign that he was in over his head with the pretty new mama in town.
    Finally he settled for taking a drive back to the End of the Road Saloon in Garden City, the last place he’d spent a peaceful, albeit lonely, evening. Maybe Rita would be around and would have another indecent suggestion that would get his juices flowing.
    Of course, on the way he would have to drive past Jordan and Kelly’s without giving in to the sudden temptation to stop by and check on Trish and Laura. He might have made it, too, if he hadn’t spotted Trish, all bundled up for the cold weather, at the end of the lane looking as if she were about to collapse. She was clinging to the gate just to stay upright. He swerved into the driveway and leaped from the truck.
    “What are you doing out here?” he demanded irritably. “Trying to get yourself killed the other night wasn’t enough? You had to try it again.”
    “I just went for a walk,” she said. “I’ll catch my breath and be fine in a minute. Then I’ll walk back. No need to trouble yourself on my behalf.”
    “You will not walk back,” he argued. “Get in the truck.”
    “I will not get in the truck,” she said, that stubborn little chin of hers shooting into the air.
    Hardy scowled at her. “Would you rather collapse out here than accept a ride back with me?”
    “Yes,” she insisted.
    He regarded her with bemusement. “Why?”
    “Because it is too humiliating. Because you will throw it in my face. Shall I go on?”
    “Try a reason that makes sense,” he suggested, swallowing the urge to smile. She was clearly in no mood to discover that she was providing him with the best entertainment he’d had all day.
    “Okay,” he said at last. “We’ll compromise. Are you familiar with the concept?”
    She frowned at his teasing.
    He nodded as if she’d actually responded. “Good. Then here’s the plan. I will walk back to the house with you. That way if you collapse en route, I will be there to catch you. Deal?”
    “It will still be humiliating,” she grumbled. “You will still throw it in my face.”
    “Probably,” he agreed. “But it’s the best deal you’re going to get. I walk with you or I toss you over my shoulder and put you in the truck. What’s it going to be?”
    She set off on foot without bothering to respond. Hardy couldn’t control the laughter that bubbled up this time. Her scowl deepened and she kept her gaze averted as she plodded along. He had a tough time slowing his pace to her hobbling gait. He had to control the urge to save her from her stubborn pride and toss her over his shoulder. He figured she might protest that so loudly that half the Adamses would come flying. The resulting explanations would only complicate his life. He could just imagine the twist Kelly and the others would put on his concern.
    They walked in silence for a hundred yards or sobefore he asked, “Have you always had such an independent streak?”
    “Always.”
    “Get you in much trouble?”
    She finally slid a glance his way and grinned. “More than you can imagine. The other night pretty much tops the list, though. I guess you’ve been unlucky enough to catch me at my worst.”
    If this was her worst, he had a feeling he was extremely fortunate not to have been around to sample her best. He would probably have found her irresistible. As it was, he found her pluck annoying and ill-advised, but admirable just the same. And that was without adding in the hormonal punch she packed.
    “What exactly do you do when you’re not running away from