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  “What do you mean, I left her in a fix?” he sputtered, his knees bent and his throbbing head cradled in his hands. Fortunately, the ringing in his ears had started to subside. “Dellie’s pregnant.”

  “She is?” Squinting, he looked up at Pop, an action that sent fresh waves of pain pulsing through him.

  “You’re going to be a father.”

  “I am?” The blows he’d taken must have dulled his thinking, for nothing made sense.

  “You all right?”

  Mike’s face appeared, and Ty had the impression of hands tenderly and expertly probing him all over for injuries. He was also aware of a growing audience.

  “I don’t know,” he slurred, trying not to move his sore mouth.

  “Sandy.” Mike pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket. “Put some ice from your drink in this.” She did and Mike pressed the ice pack to Ty’s jaw, while Dana hovered nearby.

  Garth knelt down beside Ty, his face splitting in a wide grin. “Congratulations, pal.”

  “She never said anything.” Ty looked around for Pop. “I swear, if she had, I wouldn’t have left her.”

  Suddenly, Garth, Dana, Mike and Sandy all stood and stepped away. Ty’s vision had cleared enough for him to see Adele emerging from the crowd and running toward him, her mother and a security guard not far behind.

  “What happened? Ty, are you okay?”

  Adele took Garth’s place, kneeling beside Ty. Mike went to talk to the security guard.

  “Did you fall?” she asked, her touch more tender and more welcome than Mike’s.

  “Your grandfather slugged me. Twice.”

  “Pop!” Adele turned and sent her grandfather an infuriated glare. “I apologize for him,” she said, returning her attention to Ty.

  “How come you didn’t tell me you’re pregnant?”

  “I—I…because I was afraid you’d quit rodeoing.”

  “Hell, yes, I will.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I’m not leaving my—”

  “You will not lose the championship again. You hear me? Too much is riding on it.”

  The side of his mouth that didn’t ache pulled up in a smile. “Kind of bossy, aren’t you?”

  “I was wrong, Ty.” She lowered her gaze. “I should have told you about the baby.”

  “Yes, you should have.”

  “It’s just that you’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and you deserve to win.”

  “You deserve to have the father of your baby there with you when you need him.” The fog around him had lifted. In fact, his head was clearer than it had been in weeks.

  “What are you—”

  “Shut up.” Cupping her face in his hands, he drew her to him for a kiss that would have lasted longer if his mouth didn’t hurt so much. “Help me up,” he demanded when they broke apart.

  “Are you sure you should? You could have broken something.”

  He beckoned to Garth to give him a boost. “I’m not going to propose to you sitting on my ass in the dirt.”

  “Propose!” Adele gasped. “We need to talk first.”

  “Plenty of time for that later.” Pop sidled over to them.

  “This is what you wanted.” Adele stared at him accusingly.

  “Damn straight,” he said with undisguised satisfaction.

  Sandy didn’t hide her tears as she squeezed Mike’s arm. “Isn’t this romantic?”

  Ty wasn’t sure how getting the tar beaten out of him was romantic.

  “Wait until Mom and Dad hear!” Dana exclaimed with glee, and whipped out her cell phone, taking pictures to commemorate the moment.

  Adele rose along with Ty as Garth pulled him to his feet. He wobbled only for as long as it took him to put an arm around her and nestle her against him.

  “I know there’s a lot we need to figure out.” Everything that had happened during his last visit to Seven Cedars suddenly made sense. And now that he understood her concerns, he would do everything in his power to lay them to rest. “We’ll do it one day, one problem at a time.”

  “I don’t want you marrying me because you feel obligated.”

  “I’m not. I love you, Adele. And I should have told you that weeks ago.” He could see a trace of uncertainty in her expression. “Would it help you to know I was planning on driving to Seven Cedars tonight after the rodeo?”

  “You were?”

  “And when I got there, I was going to demand you give us a second chance.”

  “Oh, Ty. I love you, too.”

  “I’m glad you said that.” He tugged her closer, threading his fingers in her hair. “So, how ’bout a September wedding?”

  “Not so fast, cowboy.” She leaned back, appraising him critically. “There’s a little matter of the World tie-down roping and team roping championships.”

  “I thought we agreed—”

  “We did no such thing. You’re going to finish out the season. The baby will wait until then.”

  “What if I can’t?” He felt his grin expand.

  “You can come home every couple of weeks. And I’ll fly out to see you. Once. Maybe twice.” She was grinning, too. “If you win the championship, and only if you win, then I’ll consider marrying you.”

  Her challenge was like the one she’d issued him at the Cowboy College jackpot. Then, it had been a dinner date at stake. Today, it was the rest of their lives.

  “You think I can’t?”

  “I know you can’t unless you qualify,” she answered smugly.

  Ty accepted his fallen hat from Garth, slapped it against his leg to knock off the dust and put in back on his head. “Seems I have an event to win.”

  “You sure you’re up to it?” Mike asked with doctorly concern.

  “I am.” Ty only had eyes for Adele. “And when I do win, then we’ll talk about my list of requirements.”

  She raised her brows in surprise. “Such as?”

  “If I’m going to retire after Nationals, we make some changes at Cowboy College. I want to expand the program to include professional ropers. With three experts in residence, we can attract an entirely new clientele.”

  “And one on the way,” Lani added. “With genes like theirs, how could the kid not be a roper?”

  “I like it.” Pop smiled approvingly and draped an arm around Lani.

  “Me, too.” Adele stood on tiptoes to give Ty’s cheek a tender kiss.

  “Hate to break up the party, buddy,” Garth said, “but we’d better get a move on.” He swung up into the saddle.

  “No taking it easy on me just because I’m injured and newly engaged,” Ty warned his friend.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  Much as Ty hated to, he left Adele to join Garth in the warm-up arena.

  An hour later, the announcer’s voice blared from the speakers, proclaiming Ty the tie-down roping winner. Amid the applause and cheers that followed, he shouted the news that Ty had set an arena record with his last run.

  Ty hardly heard the man. He was too busy kissing his wife-to-be and the mother of his child, and planning their future, one that included the realization of all their dreams, a display cabinet full of gold belt buckles and a three-generation legacy to pass on to their children.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-8842-7

  THE COMEBACK COWBOY

  Copyright © 2011 by Cathy McDavid

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  *Fatherhood