Free Expecting...in Texas by Marie Ferrarella Page A

know.”
    He felt like a dog chasing his own tail. “But if she doesn’t want me to know, then there isn’t anything I can do about it. I can’t force the answer out of her. Savannah even said it was for the best if the baby’s father wasn’t told.”
    “And you need more proof than that?”
    Cruz shook his head. His father didn’t understand. “She was talking about this college man of hers, this man she was to marry before he broke it off.”
    “And you felt she was telling the truth?”
    Savannah was right. It was best just to leave this whole thing alone. Better for him, and maybe, for reasons he didn’t quite understand, better for her, as well.
    Taking the lariat, he threw the loop over the stallion’s head again. The horse didn’t flinch this time.
    “As you pointed out, Dad, I have dreams. I’m not going to go buying trouble.”
    Ruben laughed softly as he got down from the railing. “Perhaps you have already made a down payment on it.” He thought of the years that had gone into forming the man who stood before him now. Years Ruben never once regretted spending.“Besides, I have never thought of a child as trouble.”
    Cruz appreciated what was being said, appreciated the love and guidance he’d received over the years. But he knew his limitations. “I’m not you, Dad.”
    “No,” Ruben agreed, “you are not.” They were different, he and Cruz, in so many ways. But in others, in matters that counted, they were the same. He knew that even if Cruz didn’t yet. “But you are an honorable man, same as me, even if you try to behave like some wild, untamable mustang. You cannot hide from your true nature forever.”
    With that, Ruben turned away from the corral and walked away.
    Cruz looked after him thoughtfully. He felt the horse nudge him from behind and then laughed. “All right, I know you like attention and I’ve ignored you long enough. Let’s get to work.”
    Cruz did what made him happiest, and purged his mind of all other thoughts.

Seven
    D allas shook his head in amazement as he looked over the neatly bound report that Savannah had just handed him. Though he’d said words to the contrary, part of him had felt that perhaps Savannah had been given the bookkeeping job out of sympathy. Now he realized just how fortunate they were to have her working for them.
    The woman gave a hundred fifty percent in every capacity, anticipating requests before they were even made, compiling statistics still warm from being formed. In six short weeks, she had gone from bookkeeper to treasure.
    Setting the report down on her desk, he grinned broadly at her. “Savannah, I don’t know what we ever did without you.”
    Savannah smiled and placed the report into the “to file” stack. “Relied on your other bookkeeper would be my guess.”
    That’s what he liked about her. The fact that she didn’t have so much as a hint of an inflated ego. The woman was as unassuming as they came.
    As he picked up his hat, he glanced at his watch. He had a plane to catch in less than two hours, and there was still the trip to the airport to face. But he lingered a moment, determined to exchange a few words with Savannah. In the ever-hurried pace that surrounded the ranch, there never seemed to be enough time for amenities.
    “Nathan was never as efficient as you, Savannah. Thank God, Vanessa had the presence of mind to offer you the position when she did.”
    Savannah thought of how the job had been a godsend to her; it had put an end to the soul-wearying task of trying to find a job, while debating just what to say about her “condition.” This might be the tail end of the nineties, but some things resisted change. Such as an employer’s desire not to waste money on a woman who might not return to her position once her baby was born.
    She was the one who was grateful to them for helping her out of her dilemma, at least the financial end of it. “Thank you.”
    Their eyes met, and work and plane schedules were