One Man and a Baby Read online

  Ashley opened the door. The senator followed her inside and Rick was right behind him. “The office is back this way,” she said, leading the way, but Rick grabbed her arm.

  “Sorry, Ash.”

  He caught her gaze and Ashley’s heart stopped. He didn’t want her in the room with him. Either he didn’t trust her or he didn’t consider her as big a part of his life as she considered him part of hers. Still, she nodded slightly and even managed something of a smile.

  Rick hated that he couldn’t ask Ashley into the meeting with him, but he knew he couldn’t. He had no idea why the senator had come and he couldn’t risk what he would say. He walked back the long corridor and directed Senator Martin to take a seat on the brown leather sofa. But rather than sit on the corresponding chair, Rick walked behind the desk and fell into the office chair. If there was one thing Senator Martin understood it was a position of power. For once, Rick had one. And he intended to use it.

  “So you work here?”

  Rick inclined his head.

  “As…”

  “Right now, I’m training Ashley to run Seven Hills. Her dad will be home in February and knowing Gene Meljac the way I do he’ll test her. If he feels she’s ready to run the place, she’ll take over as farm manager.”

  “Then you’ll be out of a job.”

  “As handy as that would be for you, no. I won’t be out of a job. Ashley doesn’t want to run the place herself. She wants to handle the breeding end.”

  “Isn’t that nearly everything?”

  Rick laughed. “Hardly. There will be plenty of work for me to do.”

  “At a decent salary?”

  “Yes.”

  “And probably romancing Ms. Meljac?”

  Rick stiffened, very glad he hadn’t slept with Ashley on election night because now they were getting down to the nitty-gritty. If Senator Martin was looking for dirt, Rick wasn’t going to provide it.

  Ashley threw a pot of coffee together, then paced her kitchen waiting for it to brew. Though she had intended to fulfill Rick’s wishes and stay out of his private conversation, she couldn’t do it. She loved him and that meant anything that concerned him concerned her. But even more than that, his feelings for her were so fragile she couldn’t let that windbag senator say or do anything that might ruin all the progress she’d made since Rick’s arrival at Seven Hills.

  Finally the coffeemaker groaned, indicating that it had sucked the last drops of water from the reservoir and Ashley raced to grab her good china cups and saucers and pour the coffee into a pretty silver pot. She arranged the tray, and hurried back to her dad’s den.

  To her surprise the senator was gone when she entered. Rick sat staring out the wall of windows behind the desk. Ashley licked her suddenly dry lips, then said, “Are you okay?”

  He swiveled the chair toward her. “Yeah.”

  She set the tray on the desk and walked around to where he sat. “No matter what he said, Rick. We can fight him.”

  Rick caught her hand and before Ashley knew what was happening she found herself on his lap.

  “We don’t need to fight him.”

  This close to him, Ashley felt dizzy. Disoriented. She damned near tossed decorum out the window and demanded he tell her what was going on so they could get the discussion out of the way and she could enjoy this.

  Instead she caught his gaze. Bad idea. The dizzy feeling intensified.

  “He doesn’t want Ruthie.”

  She swallowed. “He doesn’t?”

  “Nope. He’s also got a contingency plan in case Jen tries to use Ruthie as a way to embarrass him. He wants nothing to do with this situation. All he wants is for it to stay quiet.”

  “So he’s set?”

  “The only thing he didn’t have was my promise that I wouldn’t extort money from him.”

  Ashley nearly bounded off his lap with fury, but Rick wouldn’t let her. So she settled for yelling, “How dare he!”

  To her surprise Rick laughed. “Luckily I didn’t react that way,” he said, then smoothed his hand across her hair. “Your hair is very soft.”

  She slapped his shoulder. “Damn it! Tell me how this ends!”

  “I gave him my promise. He wanted me to sign a paper. I told him there was no need. My word was good.”

  Ashley’s breath caught. “And what did he say?”

  “He stood up, said, your word had better be good because I’m telling you, Mr. Capriotti, I won’t hesitate to use every ounce of power at my disposal to destroy you if you try to destroy me.”

  “And…” Ashley yelped so frustrated she could have slapped him again.

  “And I said, ‘then we’ll be okay because I don’t want you in my life or Ruthie’s life. So you go back to being a senator and let me raise my daughter.’ He nodded, said, ‘Fine,’ and left.”

  Ashley felt her mouth fall open in surprise. “So that’s it?”

  Rick said, “It appears.” Then he pulled her to him and kissed her.

  Ashley’s breath froze in her lungs.

  Rick broke the kiss and for a few seconds they simply stared at each other. This was it. Every roadblock was now out of their way. The could be friends, lovers, anything they wanted to be.

  Finally Rick said, “You know we have to get back to work.”

  She nodded.

  “But I’m coming back tonight.”

  She swallowed. It was a promise and a warning. She knew what he wanted and if she wasn’t ready, he was telling her to let him know now.

  Holding the gaze of his liquid blue eyes, Ashley smiled and said, “I’ll make dinner.”

  Standing on the front porch of Ashley’s massive home, Rick experienced a horrible case of second thoughts. He had flowers because they’d never really dated and he’d certainly never courted her. He’d convinced himself he’d thought everything through, but standing on the wide front porch of the enormous house that belonged to a two-thousand-acre farm, Rick knew he hadn’t. He’d forgotten the most important thing of all.

  Ashley was rich.

  If they were really falling in love, he would want to marry her and if he married her he would eventually be half owner of Seven Hills. Of course, he could force her to sign a prenuptial agreement that precluded him from actually owning the farm because he didn’t want her possessions. He only wanted her. And it was as important that she know that as it was for him to demonstrate it.

  The prenuptial agreement made so much sense that Rick nearly relaxed, until he realized that no matter how many agreements they signed, if they married he would still be responsible for this farm. For his share of the work, for Ashley being able to do her part.

  Of course, he’d already assumed that burden by agreeing to work for her. So, technically, that was handled too.

  So why the hell did he feel so damned nervous?

  She opened the door and Rick quickly turned. Just as quickly his breath caught. Wearing a sparkly green dress with thin straps that made her green eyes sharp and sexy, with a winking diamond at her throat and her hair tumbling around her in sexy disarray, she was without a doubt the most beautiful woman in the world.

  That was why he was nervous.

  She smiled. “I made you dinner.”

  Dinner. He’d forgotten all about dinner. He’d been so nervous about coming over here tonight as a gentleman caller rather than the other half of the team they were creating to run the farm that he’d forgotten she was cooking for them.

  She caught his hand and tugged. “Come in.”

  He shook his head. “Sorry. This is a little new to me.”

  He stepped inside and she closed the door behind him.

  “It’s a little new to me, too.”

  He handed her the flowers and she smiled. “Nobody has ever brought me flowers.”

  “Really?”

  “I was a party girl. I met guys in dance clubs or when I was out with friends.” She shrugged. “It’s not a very structured love life.”

  “I know.” />
  Their eyes met. In another life, she had been Jen. In another life, he had been Thad.

  She turned and marched down the corridor toward the kitchen to get a vase. “Things are different now. We’re different now.”

  “You’re so sure?”

  She laughed. “You have a child and I have a farm. If nothing else, we’re different out of necessity.”

  He leaned on the counter, enjoying watching her putter around the pretty southwest-theme kitchen. “Yeah.”

  “Why don’t you pour us some wine?”

  “Good idea,” he said, seeing the bottle and glasses on the counter.

  “Better yet, take the bottle and glasses into the dining room and I’ll be right behind you with the chicken. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m a mashed potatoes and gravy girl.”

  He smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

  They ate their dinner in a room lit with candles and smelling faintly of her cologne. Because they worked together and shared the same love of horses, conversation never even lagged. With every second that passed, Rick became more comfortable. They stacked dishes in the dishwasher, took a second bottle of wine to the living room and sat on the lush auburn sofa talking until the room suddenly got quiet. Rick realized he’d long ago set his wineglass on the low table in front of them and Ashley’s glass now sat beside his.

  He turned and smiled at her. She returned his smile, then said, “This is nice.”

  “Yeah. Very normal.”

  She laughed lightly, but Rick didn’t see anything funny about the situation. He caught her by the shoulders and leaned to her as he pulled her to him, so he could kiss her.

  The second his lips met hers he felt the surge of desire he always felt but this time it was seasoned with a sense of rightness so strong he wondered how he could have missed it before this. He brushed his lips over hers testing the feeling only to realize that he was face-to-face with his destiny. He was about to be everything he’d ever dreamed he would be. Successful. Happy. Totally committed to somebody who was perfect for him.

  A landslide of mistakes he had made in his youth poured into his brain, even as the rest of his body became totally obsessed with loving her. He kissed her frantically. She kissed him back with the same energy. He smoothed his hands over her back. She ran her hands down his. With a slight nudge he sent her sliding down on the sofa, but the barrage of mistakes burst in his brain again and he stopped and pulled her up again.

  “We can’t do this.”

  She stared at him. “Are you kidding? I think we most certainly can do this, and do it damned well.”

  He laughed, caught her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I don’t mean we can’t. I mean we shouldn’t. Once my dad absolved me of all my past sins, I could look at them more objectively and I realized I made damned near every mistake I made because I rushed.” He caught her gaze. “This time, I don’t want to rush.”

  She whispered, “Okay.”

  He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her mouth. “So I’m going to go now before I lose all this good common sense I have.”

  He rose from the sofa and she rose with him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He left her standing in her foyer looking totally mesmerized, and walking out to his pickup he squeezed his eyes shut. She was beautiful and perfect for him and he was walking away because for some reason or another he wasn’t ready. The worst of it was his excuse of not wanting to rush into this was only half true. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure why he was holding back and until he figured out what was going on he couldn’t make any kind of commitment.

  He just hoped he wasn’t making a big mistake by forcing them to wait.

  Chapter Ten

  Rick woke the next morning to the sound of Ruthie crying and his cell phone ringing. He rolled out of bed, grabbed the phone and answered on his way across the hall to Ruthie’s bedroom.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Rick. It’s Toby. I know it’s your day off but it’s the day off for lots of people, which means I don’t have anybody to send to town for a part for the tractor.”

  “Not a problem,” Rick said, angling the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could lift crying Ruthie out of the crib.

  On the other end of the phone, Toby cursed. “Sorry. I forgot about the babe.”

  “Again, Toby, not a problem.” Whether he and Ashley married or not, this was his life. He had a child and he needed a job. Sometimes they would overlap. “Besides, now that everybody knows about Ruthie, I can just take her with me.”

  Toby laughed. “That you can.”

  “Have you called Bert?”

  “Yep. He’s got the part. It’s probably in a bag by now and Seven Hills’s account has already been charged.”

  Rick laughed. “Call him back and tell him I’ll be by to pick it up in half an hour. I know he likes to close early on Saturdays.”

  “Will do.”

  They disconnected the call and Rick quickly bathed Ruthie, fed her some cereal and dressed her in a warm one-piece outfit that looked like pajamas. He put a sweater on over the pajamalike thing and a hat over her wisp of black hair because, though the sun was shining, it was a cold November day.

  After jumping into jeans, a T-shirt and boots, he bundled Ruthie in her travel seat and ran out to his truck. As he’d promised, he was at the hardware store in thirty minutes.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Bert said as Rick entered the store, Ruthie at his side in her baby carrier. “I had heard a rumor that you had a little girl.”

  “I didn’t think it would take long for the news to get out.”

  Rick set the baby carrier on the counter and Bert chuckled. “Yeah, it’s out, but the rumor does not do her justice. She’s adorable!”

  “Thanks.”

  Bert reached below the counter and pulled out a bag, then he grimaced. “This is a little heavy. How about if I carry it to the truck for you?”

  “It’s already charged to the account?”

  Bert grinned. “Easiest part of my transactions is to put your purchases onto your bill.”

  “Great,” Rick said, lifting Ruthie from the counter and turning to walk toward the door. “Then let’s go.”

  Bert scrambled behind him. “Yeah, that baby’s a cutie all right and I also heard she’s Senator Martin’s granddaughter.”

  Rick stopped. “What?”

  “I heard she’s Senator Paul Martin’s granddaughter.”

  “How did you hear that?”

  Bert batted a hand. “Rick, don’t be such a spoilsport! Gossip is gossip. Things get around.”

  Rick took a breath. “Right.” He’d never promised Senator Martin that Ruthie’s parentage wouldn’t get out, only that he himself wouldn’t use it. Still, it made him nervous, antsy, to realize he wasn’t going to be able to control this situation as neatly as he believed.

  “And it isn’t like you haven’t been through this before.”

  No. It wasn’t. And here was the attitude Rick had been expecting all along. He knew eventually people would connect Ruthie to his misspent youth. He was ready for anything Bert could dish out.

  “In fact, this looks like one of your better plans to me. Not only did you get to sleep with a hot babe but also you got your meal ticket.” He tickled Ruthie under the chin.

  Because calling Ruthie a meal ticket went about eight steps beyond connecting Ruthie to his misspent youth, Rick stiffened. “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, come on,” Bert said, aghast, as if he thought Rick was playing stupid. “You might not have exactly planned to get Jen Martin pregnant, but once you did you had to realize her granddaddy would pay big bucks to keep this little girl a secret.”

  Anger surged through Rick. “We’re not keeping her a secret.” They weren’t keeping Ruthie a secret. They were trying to downplay her mother’s identity, but thanks to people like Bert that particular strategy would have to be amended to Senator Martin’s contingency plan.

  “Right. And you’re no
t going to hit the senator up for money…at the very least child support.”

  The anger that Rick had controlled came back about six times stronger. Still, he calmed himself before he said, “I don’t want his money.”

  Bert laughed. “Oh, Rick. You’re a con artist. You’ve always been a con artist. You can play good daddy to Senator Martin if you want, but the people in Calhoun Corners know your games. You can’t pretend with us.”

  Rick set Ruthie’s baby carrier on the counter behind him, swung around and hit Bert so fast, even he didn’t realize what he was going to do.

  “You son of a…” Bert sputtered, blood spurting from his nose.

  “Don’t ever accuse me of that again.”

  “Oh, yeah. Tough guy. I remember that now, too.” He pivoted and ran behind the desk. “We’ll see how tough you are,” he said as he dialed 9-1-1. “This is Bert at the hardware. I’ve been assaulted by Rick Capriotti. I need the police and an ambulance.”

  It took about an hour for the news to get back to the farm that Rick had been arrested. With Toby on her heels, Ashley ran to the house and back to the den for privacy when she called. But Rick wasn’t permitted to come to the phone and when Ashley sweet-talked old Chief Nelson into letting Rick take just one call, Rick refused to speak to her. She was on her way out the door but Toby stopped her.

  “No man wants a woman to rescue him.”

  She turned from the front door with a sigh. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. And I’m going to warn you of something else. He’s gonna be angry when he gets back.”

  “And I should do what? Let him rant and rave?”

  Toby shrugged. “I don’t know. Rick hasn’t been around in years. He came back changed. I would have never guessed he’d resort to his old tricks of punching somebody, but Bert’s a pain in a butt and he also lost a girlfriend to Rick. I’d say this had been brewing for Bert for a while.”

  “And I should just shrug it off?”

  “I don’t know. I just know it’s not a good idea for you to go to that jail. Give the guy his pride.”

  So Ashley stayed at the farm. She didn’t make any more calls. She didn’t drive into town—not even when she realized she didn’t have a potato to make herself a baked potato for dinner. Tia called to let her know that the mayor and his wife had gone into town to rescue Ruthie and get Rick out of jail. The sun went down. The moon came up. And Ashley lost patience.