The Cowboy's Christmas Baby Read online

  But Huck Bridwell had been wrong. Very wrong. It hadn’t taken long for Tanner to realize his dad had pushed his own personal agenda and Daniel’s. Tanner’s rodeo career, Jewel—his entire life had been expendable.

  “Easy to say now,” Jewel muttered, her tone dry.

  “Trust me, it wasn’t an easy decision.”

  She frowned as if he were one of those rude people who’d confronted her, not the man she’d once loved to distraction. “When is cheating ever an easy decision?”

  “The circumstances were extenuating.”

  Tanner still marveled at how he’d gotten away with taking the blame for Daniel. According to his brother, the bar where he’d approached the bull riding judge had been dark, the man four bourbons into a good drunk and Daniel hadn’t provided his first name. When Tanner had stepped forward and confessed, the judge had confirmed it was him. Tanner and Daniel looked enough alike that they were occasionally mistaken for each other.

  “There’s no reason to cheat.” Jewel stiffened. “Short of life or death.”

  Life or death. Memories of the night Daniel had revealed his grim prognosis a few weeks before the NFR flooded Tanner, along with feelings of helplessness and despair. Tanner had vowed in that moment to do anything for his brother. And then, he’d been asked. Forgiving himself if he hadn’t stepped up when Daniel most needed him would have been impossible. What if Daniel hadn’t survived the surgery? So Tanner had made the only choice he could with the information he had.

  “Tanner?” Jewel stared at him intently.

  Before he could respond, a loud knock sounded at the door. This disruption did wake Ava, and she began crying.

  “That must be the babysitter.” Jewel popped out of her chair. “I’ll get Ava. You mind answering the door?”

  Tanner did as she asked. A teenaged girl stood on the landing.

  “Hi, I’m Tracee. Is Jewel here?”

  He’d seen the girl before. She came with her friends to Powell Ranch for gymkhanas and horse shows.

  “Perfect timing.” Jewel appeared beside Tanner. “Come on in.”

  Tanner retreated a step so Tracee could enter. “Nice to meet you.” He shook her hand. “I’m Ava’s dad.”

  A flicker of surprise lit Tracee’s eyes, only to promptly disappear when she smiled broadly. “Emily didn’t tell me you’d be here.”

  “She didn’t know.”

  Tracee was a friendly, talkative kid, and Tanner liked her immediately. Ava was fascinated with her and stared fixedly when Tracee held her and made funny faces to match her silly voice.

  Before long, Jewel and Tracee came to an agreement about how often and when Tracee’s services would be required. Jewel appeared satisfied with Tracee as a babysitter, and Tanner had to agree. Tracee had even brought along a list of references for Jewel to contact.

  At the door, Jewel gave Tracee several phone numbers in case of an emergency, including her mother’s. Tracee was about to leave when Tanner stopped her.

  “Don’t forget my number.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Tracee entered the number he recited into her phone.

  Tanner ignored the stern look Jewel sent him. He was Ava’s father and should be one of the contacts. Second on the list after Jewel.

  Once the door was closed behind Tracee, Jewel returned Ava to the travel crib and activated a mobile attached to the side. Five butterflies of various colors rotated in a slow circle, accompanied by a tinkling version of “Rock-A-Bye Baby.”

  Tanner came up behind her. “You’re angry at me.”

  “Nope.”

  “I don’t want to fight with you, Jewel, but I refuse to be excluded.”

  She spun to face him, her arms folded over her middle. “What about when my job here is over and I go back to Oklahoma?”

  “Emily mentioned the job could be permanent.”

  “It could. Or I might start rodeoing again. I haven’t decided.”

  “In other words, I shouldn’t get too attached to Ava because she may not be around for long.”

  “Maybe.”

  A challenge? Possibly. They were both competitive people. But Tanner could dig in his heels as well as the next person, especially when the stakes were high.

  “What if I traveled with you?” he suggested. “Took care of Ava while you’re competing?”

  Jewel drew back is if doused with cold water. “Are you crazy?”

  “Or, I could have custody of her while you’re on the road.”

  “That. Isn’t. Happening.”

  Tanner retrieved his cowboy hat from the table and shoved it onto his head. The riders would be returning soon. He needed to get downstairs to meet them.

  “Guess we have a lot to discuss,” he said before heading toward the door.

  * * *

  THANK GOODNESS TEDDY BEAR knew what he was doing, thought Jewel as she and the gelding sailed through the arena gate. That made one of them. If that practice run she’d just completed was any indication, having a professional rodeo comeback was highly unlikely, if not impossible.

  Slowing Teddy Bear to a walk and heading back the way they’d come, she released a long, dismal breath. Her first lesson and practice session with Ronnie Hartman was officially a flop.

  The problem could be explained in a single sentence: Jewel’s mind wasn’t on the task. Instead, it remained fixated on the uninteresting-to-most-people scene playing out thirty yards away at the arena fence.

  Tracee watched Ava, who was enjoying being the center of the teenager’s attention. She’d bundled Ava snugly in the stroller and was constantly entertaining her with toys and squeaky-voiced games of peekaboo and short little trips back and forth along the fence line. That was good. Great. Precisely what Jewel wanted in a babysitter. She’d been reassured every time she’d glanced in their direction.

  And then about twenty minutes ago, Tanner had wandered over from the horse barn. He’d yet to leave. Every few minutes he’d dipped his head and interacted with Ava, a broad smile on his face. Tracee had welcomed him like an old friend, and the two of them chattered away nonstop.

  What was so darn riveting? Jewel couldn’t hear from this distance. She stared at them, biting down hard until her jaw ached.

  “Jewel!” Ronnie called from where she stood inside the arena right behind the finish line. “You’re up again. And this time, try not to tighten your grip. You’re pulling back on the bit and confusing the horse. Not to mention losing precious time.”

  Jewel had been gripping the reins too tight, the result of hearing Tanner and Tracee break into uproarious laughter.

  She waited while Ronnie’s other student finished her run. The young woman, somewhere in her early twenties, was a good rider. Jewel remembered her as a rookie on the circuit last year and noted how much the woman had improved since then. Today, she was kicking Jewel’s butt.

  Teddy Bear needed no prodding. The instant the rider sped past them, he took his place in the lane outside the gate, ready to fly when Jewel gave the signal.

  She studied the barrels, forcing her attention away from Tanner and Ava and Tracee. Normally, Jewel executed a right-handed pattern. Teddy Bear tended to cut tighter corners on his left side, and that allowed Jewel to make adjustments if they started out slow.

  Another burst of laughter reached her ears. A quick glimpse revealed Tanner’s boss, Ethan, had joined the little gathering. Tanner had removed Ava from the stroller and was showing her to Ethan, who patted Ava on her stocking-capped head.

  Jewel tensed, expecting Ava to cry. She didn’t. Big, ruggedly handsome men obviously appealed to her. Like mother like daughter, Jewel supposed.

  “Hey, Jewel!” Ronnie called. “You working on your Christmas shopping list or what?”

  “Just getting into the zone,” she called back and attempted to do precisely that.

  More la
ughter from the arena fence. Did these grown men have nothing better to do than dote on a baby?

  Jewel resumed studying the barrels. Yes. She was definitely trying a left-handed pattern.

  Closing her eyes, she visualized herself running the barrels, silently counted how many strides at a full gallop were required to reach the first one, and determined at what point she’d swing Teddy Bear around and head him home. Beneath her, the gelding tensed.

  “Go!” Jewel shouted and dug her heels into his sides.

  He was off in a flash, his hooves digging into the soft ground and sending dirt flying. They neared the first barrel in what Jewel knew was their best time today. Adrenaline surged in her veins. Her wildly beating heart drilled into her rib cage. A roar filled her ears. She and Teddy Bear rounded the first barrel, slipping into the pocket clean and neat and emerging like a Formula One race car firing on all pistons.

  And then, abruptly, total chaos. Teddy Bear veered right. Of course he did—he was used to a right-handed pattern. Jewel cued him to left. He obeyed, but only after a moment’s confusing hesitation. With their rhythm completely obliterated, they cut too close on the last barrel and Jewel clipped it hard with the side of her stirrup. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder to confirm the barrel had fallen over.

  Still, she pushed Teddy Bear hard to the finish line and through the gate. Her mistakes shouldn’t take away from his training.

  “What the heck just happened?” Ronnie hollered, marching across the arena.

  Jewel turned Teddy Bear and walked the gelding toward her instructor, making sure to give his neck a pat. “My bad. For a change I thought I’d try a left-handed pattern. Teddy Bear didn’t get the memo.”

  “You think?”

  “I’ll do better tomorrow.”

  Ronnie shook her head. “You can’t do much worse.”

  The criticism was harsh. It was also deserved. Ronnie’s job wasn’t to coddle Jewel but rather to demand she reach her full potential.

  “I did say you had your work cut out for you.”

  Ronnie studied her critically. “Are you just rusty or is there some other problem?”

  Yes, in fact, there is. Twenty-four hours ago, I had no idea where the father of my baby was or if I’d ever see him again. Then, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, has formed an instant and intense bond with our daughter and is talking about sharing custody. He lied to me and cheated, and I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. So, yeah, you could say I have a problem.

  “Everything’s fine,” Jewel said. “My head’ll be in the game tomorrow.”

  Teddy Bear blew out a lusty breath, almost as if mocking her. Fabricating an excuse, she turned the horse and left.

  By now, Ethan was nowhere in sight, having presumably returned to work. Not Tanner. He remained with Ava and Tracee. As if sensing her gaze on him, he offered Jewel a friendly wave. She didn’t respond and aimed Teddy Bear in the opposite direction. They’d walk in circles behind the horse barn to cool him off.

  “You’re being childish,” she scolded herself once she was out of sight.

  Tanner had done nothing wrong. Today, she amended. They’d agreed to meet after her barrel racing lesson, and he’d arrived a few minutes early. His boss stopping by to see Ava wasn’t all that unusual. Men did show off their children to their friends and coworkers. Jewel’s brother had, taking his newborn daughter and wife to the office and introducing them around.

  Jewel’s brother had been enormously proud. Was Tanner? He’d learned only yesterday he was a father. How long did it take for pride to develop?

  Thirty minutes later, she returned Teddy Bear to his stall, properly cooled off, unsaddled and well brushed. No, she hadn’t been able to resist checking on Tanner. Multiple times. He was still with Ava and Tracee, though all three had relocated to the covered porch outside the ranch office. Tracee sat in one of the wooden chairs while Tanner stood with his back propped against the railing, one boot crossed over the other and his hat tugged low on his brow.

  He looked good. Masculine and sexy and confident. Those were the qualities that had caused Jewel to notice him in the first place. His easygoing nature and sense of humor had ultimately won her over, even though she’d insisted she wasn’t ready for a committed relationship.

  The memory gave her pause. Other than when he was with Ava, Tanner had been serious and somber since their meeting yesterday in the horse barn. Quite a change from his previous self.

  A result of the cheating? His brother’s brain tumor? Both? Something else?

  “Thanks for watching Ava,” Jewel said to Tracee as she neared. “How was she?”

  “Super good. I hardly did anything except rock the stroller.”

  And talk up a storm with Tanner. “Glad to hear it. I see you had help.” Jewel forced a smile, which Tanner returned.

  “I finished the morning feeding early,” he said. “Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all.”

  Jewel did mind. Very much. She had no good reason to, and certainly no right, but she minded nonetheless. Until yesterday, she had been the one in complete charge of Ava and with final authority. Now, she had to tolerate an interloper into her close-knit mother-daughter relationship and would likely be required to make concessions and compromises.

  All right. Not an interloper. Tanner was Ava’s father. But he was obviously adapting more quickly than Jewel to his new role in their lives.

  “Well, I’d better get going.” Tracee extracted her car keys from her backpack. She’d met Jewel here rather than at Sweetheart Ranch and had driven her own car. “I have a ton of studying. Finals are next week, and then I’m off until January for Christmas break.”

  “See you tomorrow morning,” Jewel said.

  “Bye-bye, little Ava.” Tracee reached into the stroller and tweaked Ava’s sock-covered foot, which had somehow escaped the blanket.

  Ava offered Tracee a big gummy grin.

  Jewel watched as Tracee hurried toward the nearly empty parking area and her older-model compact car. Powell Ranch had been bustling with activity when Jewel had first arrived at seven o’clock, with horse owners squeezing in prework rides much like fitness enthusiasts squeezed in prework runs. Two hours later, the ranch was practically deserted.

  The lull would likely continue until the afternoon, when school let out and the students arrived. Weekends were probably a different story, with activities from sunup to sundown. She’d heard from Emily that tourists arrived in Mustang Valley by the hundreds during the holidays, what with the Holly Daze Festival and other local events like Sweetheart Ranch’s holiday hayride and square dance. She’d be spending a fair amount of time this weekend photographing the events per Emily’s request.

  The goings-on were also one of the many reasons her parents were looking forward to their visit—besides celebrating Christmas with their grandchild. Jewel’s parents were considering becoming “snowbirds” and wintering in Arizona when her dad retired this coming spring. Their plans included getting the lay of the land while they were here.

  Jewel’s mom had assured her yesterday when she’d called with the news about Tanner that nothing would change and advised her not to worry. The pep talk had done no good, and Jewel couldn’t shake the constant anxiety plaguing her.

  As if in response to her thoughts, the cause of her anxiety pushed off the fence and came to stand perilously close to her. Jewel caught a hint of spice-scented aftershave. That was different. Apparently, something he’d started using since he’d begun shaving regularly.

  “You have a chance to talk to Emily about your schedule?” he asked.

  “I did.” The wedding ranch owner had thoughtfully not inquired about Tanner when Jewel had gone to the main house yesterday after the suitcase malfunction. “How about if your folks visit late Monday morning, say elevenish?”

  “I’ll let
Mom know. She just needs to rearrange Dad’s appointments.”

  His mother obviously still worked as his dad’s administrative assistant. It had always been Tanner’s dream to become part of the family business. Unlike his brother, he’d gone to school for years in between rodeoing, eventually earning a marketing degree.

  And now he worked as a wrangler. He must be disappointed.

  “Where shall we meet?” She leaned into the stroller to pull the blanket over Ava’s exposed foot.

  “My bunkhouse? I’ll make lunch.”

  Jewel straightened. She remembered him as being utterly inept in the kitchen. “When did you learn to cook?”

  “One of my recently acquired skills since living alone.”

  “Really?”

  “People change, Jewel. Discover things about themselves.”

  A twinkle lit his eyes. The same kind that used to cause a fluttering in Jewel’s stomach. Judging by her reaction, it still did.

  “I have to get back to work,” she said.

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Confirm our plans for Monday.” Tanner reached a hand into the stroller and cupped Ava’s rosy cheek. She cooed and flailed her arms in response. “See you later, kiddo.”

  Touching. There was no other way to describe Tanner’s interaction with Ava. Well, there was. Endearing. Whatever he’d done in the past, he adored their daughter.

  One mistake, her mind whispered. That, technically, was thwarted before he carried it through to completion.

  But a big mistake, she silently answered back. With enormous repercussions. And not one easily forgotten.

  She watched him walk away, spine straight, shoulders squared, and a slight spring to his step. That was not the posture and gait of a guilty or beaten man. Did Tanner not regret what he’d done or feel bad about it? No, he’d been affected. She’d heard it in his voice and seen his expression change when they’d talked yesterday in her quarters.

  “Jewel! Got a sec?”

  She glanced up at the sound of her name to see Ronnie strolling toward her. “Hi. What’s up?”