Free Dashing Druid (Texas Druids) by Lyn Horner

and strode back into the house, heading for the liquor cabinet in the parlor. Within moments, he returned carrying two glasses half-filled with amber liquid. He offered one to David.
    “Whiskey. Drink it.”
    David eyed the glass undecidedly, then took it and swallowed the contents in two hefty gulps. “Thanks,” he gasped.
    Another round, and Tye convinced him to sit for a while. By then Reece had joined them, finally having gotten Nora to sleep. Tye brought another glass from the parlor and they engaged in sporadic conversation, trying to keep David calm while the night air turned chill.
    Not much later, they heard Jessie cry out. David uttered a strangled oath and sprang to his feet. A newborn’s plaintive wail reached their ears. Standing near the railing, Tye sighed in relief and sagged against the roof support at his back while David collapsed in his chair again.
    “By golly, I’ve got another grandchild,” Reece crowed, slapping his good leg.
    They went inside to wait, and Maria finally walked into the parlor holding a small, blue-swaddled bundle and smiling broadly.
    “A boy, Señor ,” she announced as she laid the infant in David’s arms.
    Tye recalled Jessie proclaiming she would have a boy this time. Had she foreseen it in one of her visions? Quite possibly.
    “Jessie was right,” David said hoarsely, gazing at his son, who stared back at him with wide, baby-blue eyes. “He’s a big boy.”
    “ Sí , like his padre and his abuelo ,” Maria said, drawing proud grins from both men.
    “He has his mother’s hair color,” Tye remarked. “I wonder if he’ll have her temper.”
    David shot Maria an urgent look. “The Señora , is she all right?”
    She nodded in reassurance. “She is fine, only tired. She waits for you, Señor David.”
    That was all he needed to hear. Watching him dash from the room with the baby, eager to be with Jessie, Tye wistfully thought of Lil again. Good Lord, the woman truly was driving him mad!
    * * *
    Lil learned the results of the blessed event the next day, along with everyone involved in the roundup. David was proud as punch over his son, who he and Jessie had named Reece Devlin Taylor. Granddaddy Reece must be mighty pleased about that.
    To Lil’s surprise, the envy she had long experienced toward David and Jessie was absent. In fact, she actually felt happy for them. It occurred to her that Jessie’s brother might have something to do with this change in her attitude.
    Nonsense! She didn’t even like Tye Devlin, and she wasn’t about to forgive him for grabbing her and kissing her. Not to mention what he’d said to her. He’d shown he was no gentleman.
    Huh! He was a rude, no-account Irish Yankee! She was glad her father had ordered him to stop pestering her, glad the handsome devil had quit trying to win her over. He might claim he was waiting for her to change her mind and show she wanted his attentions, but she didn’t believe that for a minute. He’d been toying with her, plain and simple. Now he’d tired of his cruel game, just as she’d expected.
    She wasn’t dumb enough to think she could really attract such a man. Sure he’d kissed her, but like he said himself, it was only a kiss. It meant nothing. The same as those kisses David had given her so many years ago, when she was too young to know he was only playing with her. God help her, she mustn’t start mooning over Tye Devlin the way she had over David. She knew where that road led. To heartbreak, that’s where.
    The trouble was, she couldn’t forget the feel of Tye’s body pressed against hers, the strength of his arms around her, the warmth of his lips as he coaxed her into returning his kiss. Thinking of all that as she chased after an unbranded yearling, she was flooded by a desperate longing to be in Tye’s arms again. Furious with herself, she spurred Major onward, determined to rope the tricky longhorn and drive the blasted Irishman from her