The Cowboy's Baby: A BWWM Billionaire Cowboy Pregnancy Romance (14 page)

And she did it all just by being herself.

When Daniel was honest with
him
self, he wasn’t quite sure what to think of her. He desired her -that much was certain. And he was more grateful for her carrying his child than she could ever possibly know. Everything else, however, was mired in confusion. He cared for her.Even if it weren’t for the baby in her belly, he’d still feel remiss if anything were to happen to her.

Then again, if it weren’t for the baby, they would never have met.

The child – the sex of which they’d decided to keep a secret until its birth – was, of course, the inexorable connection between them, and after its birth…he had no idea where they would stand. Esme would most probably want to get on with her life - and the kitchen career she’d always dreamed of.

He only hoped that he could somehow dissuade her from walking away completely. He knew she wasn’t ready for children, and he wouldn’t be so selfish as to expect her to take on his…but to be finished with him? To walk away abruptly as soon as their biological partnership was over? He didn’t know if he could fathom it.

And somehow, he doubted Esme could be so callous.

“He looks funny.” He was drawn back to the present by her soft statement as she turned the ultrasound image she held back and forth in an effort to clarify it. She continued to refer to the baby as a he – convinced that it was, indeed, a boy. He himself would play no favorites, and from the time he’d begun, hesitantly, to call in a decorator to work on the nursery upstairs, he had insisted that everything be gender neutral.

While he’d never take for granted the money that his business made him, when it came to organizing the baby’s room, he was glad he could afford the best money could buy. It would make things a lot easier for him in the long run – and ensure the child’s room had the right feminine touch.

A touch that would, no doubt, be absent for the rest of its life.

“What do you mean ‘he looks funny’?” Daniel hid his heart’s heaviness with a smirk, shaking his head in amusement. “He’ll be handsome and charming. Just like his father.”

“He or she.” Esme shot back with a clever smile, her almond eyes gleaming with mischief. “As you have still yet to be convinced.”

They sat on the front porch of the house, watching the sun sink below the horizon as herds of cattle grazed their way across the land. It was a picturesque sight – one Daniel had always loved – and as he took in Esme rocking back and forth, one hand curled protectively over her abdomen, he knew she appreciated it too.

“Little bean is going to love it here.” She mused, using her bare toes to rock her chair back and forth slowly. “There’s so much space. And you can teach him to ride horses and wrangle cattle,” she cut her eyes at him quickly, “Though maybe wait until he’s about eighteen for the latter.”

Daniel had once come back from a full day out among the animals with a cut lip and a blacked eye from where a cow had gotten the jump on him. Esme had been somewhat shocked at his injury, asking how often such things happened, and he’d been forced to tell her he faced injuries a few times a year. One of the perils of the profession.

Since then, she often looked over him with worry when he left in the mornings, and he did his best to avoid further injury that might further incite her concern. For him, it was commonplace – nothing an icepack and a beer couldn’t fix. Of course, it might be a little harder convincing her of that

“What I could do,” He mused, taking a sip of his Budweiser, “Is teach him or her the business. See if they have a good head for it. Administration has never been my strong suit. A necessity, yes, but to have someone I trust at the helm…that could work wonders. This would, of course, also be after eighteen.” He winked at Esme before setting the bottle aside. “What do you think?”

The young woman closed her eyes with a thoughtful smile. “I think if he’s anything like his father, he’ll be more content on the back of a horse than in a board room, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

For a moment, Daniel was struck absolutely dumb by her statement. He didn’t think he’d ever directly mentioned to her exactly why he didn’t often visit his offices. Which meant that, simply by watching him, she’d discovered the reason herself. And instead of railing at him for getting others to do what he wasn’t comfortable with, she accepted it without a single qualm.

He stared at her gently rocking form, and then at the divine curve of her belly – and in that instant, he envied any man who might come after him. When all was said and done – when he had his child to contend with and Esme walked out of his life, he would have to live knowing that some other man touched her…loved her, and perhaps even slept beside her.

The notion twisted his gut, making him swallow thickly.

He needed to see her again – after all of this. Even if it was just once or twice, in the most casual of environments.

Which was why he needed to speak with her about an offer he’d pondered for the past few weeks.

“Esme?” His voice was quiet as he watched her rocking slow. “Are you asleep?”

“Mm-mm.” She shook her head serenely, deep brown eyes opening to slits. “Just resting.”

He took a deep breath. Of all business decisions he’d made in his career – all the billion dollar mergers and risks he’d endeavored upon, this one made him the most nervous. It would decide whether Esme would remain within his grasp or if he never saw her again.

“Esme, I’d like to talk to you about something important.”

Almost instantly, the young woman was completely awake, straightening with a wince at the soreness in her back. “Sorry, I’m awake. Is it something about the baby? Did the doctor call?”

Like a protective mother hen.

“No.” His lips curved ever so slightly. “The baby’s perfectly fine, I’m sure. Nowhere safer for him.” His expression sobered as he steeled his nerves. “What I want to talk to you about is a job offer.”

Esme arched a brow in surprise before a soft laugh escaped her and she relaxed back into her chair. “Hate to break it to you, Daniel, but my talents don’t particularly lie in cattle breeding and business dealing.”

“Well, I’m sure you could do anything you put your mind to. You’re smart enough, that’s for certain.” He drawled in true admiration, before continuing more carefully. “But seriously…I know where your talents lie. And I know what you love to do. And it just so happens that a restaurant I frequent up in Kinnit is in need of a new head chef.”

Esme froze in her seat, her eyes widening as she stared at him in disbelief. “The company provides nearly all their beef, and I’m a large shareholder in the conglomerate. If you’d like…I could arrange an interview for you.”

“You’d do that…for me?” The tone of her voice suggested that she was truly surprised and Daniel leaned forward in his chair to fix her with the intensity of his blue gaze.

“Why wouldn’t I, Esme? Anything between us aside, no one could possibly dispute your talent in the kitchen. Your food is absolutely amazing. You deserve a shot at running your own kitchen.”

For a moment, the young woman’s eyes filled with a hope so poignant he felt his own heart seize, before they darkened and she looked away. ”I…I don’t know if I’m ready.”

Didn’t know if she was ready? This was what she had waited for – had worked towards her entire life, and now she didn’t know if she was ready? He could hardly believe such a thing.

“Why wouldn’t you be ready, Esme? You’re an amazing chef who has years of experience. You’re capable of five star work.”

“I…” She appeared to take a deep breath before hauling herself from her chair to begin to pace up and down the long length of the porch. “I just...you’re the only person to ever say that to me, Daniel.” The light evening breeze picked up tendrils of her hair, making them dance around her face. “And it’s not as if I don’t believe you, I swear. It’s just…this is a lot. And all so suddenly.”

“I would think it’s no more difficult than carrying a stranger’s baby.”

The quip made her pause and stare at him for a brief moment before a small smile graced her features. Exhaling slowly, she made her way over to the railing of the porch, leaning against it with one hand on her lower back as she rubbed it gently. “When would this hypothetical interview be?”

Daniel’s heart leapt. She was interested.

There had been no doubt she would be – but being interested and showing up for the interview were two totally different things.

“We could go as early as tomorrow.” He tried not to sound too eager, leaning back nonchalantly in his chair. “We’d drive up to Kinnit, you could have your interview – we do a bit of shopping, have dinner…make a day of it, really.”

As her eyes clouded over, he felt her consternation. For the past few months, the two of them had barely left the ranch for privacy purposes. When they did, they went directly to the clinic and back, in a private car with tinted windows. In the years since his name had become known over the world, Daniel had quickly learned how relentless the media and tabloids could be.

So far, he’d managed to keep all news of Alyssa and his break up relatively quiet, but he knew that if they went out together, any chance of that would go up in smoke – and it was obvious that Esme wasn’t oblivious to the fact either.

They would be as discreet as possible, but a few nasty tabloids would, no doubt, have a field day. Nonetheless, there was a part of him that wanted to take her out- to pamper her. To give her everything she wanted for the short time they had together. It wasn’t an urge he normally indulged; women, he found, usually wheedled enough out of him that it wasn’t necessary for him to go out of his way to pamper them.

But Esme…she deserved more.

“I…I want to go, Daniel. But I don’t want this…us…my parents don’t know. And I want to keep it secret as much for our sake as for the baby’s.” She clutched her stomach protectively. “He doesn’t need this kind of drama in his life.”

“Esme.” The rancher stood to his full height, towering over her as he came to her side to slide his hand under hers, the opposite fingers pressing into the small of her back to massage the kink there firmly. His heart swelled as he observed the fierce protectiveness in her eyes. “I assure you, the baby will be perfectly fine. Nothing will touch him…or her. That much I can guarantee. This offer is for you…you, who’ve been cooped up on this damn ranch for five months with nothing to occupy you except me.” She flushed slightly at the innuendo of his words, looking away. “Not that I’m against that, but an outing would do you good – and a position that allows you the freedom you want in the kitchen even better. Am I right?”

He couldn’t possibly be wrong. The formerly independent woman had given up her freedom to give him the child he’d always wanted.

The least he could do was take her out for a single afternoon.

“…I suppose if it’s alright for the baby…”

She couldn’t have hidden the glint of excitement in her eyes if she’d tried. His mouth curving into a triumphant grin, Daniel pulled her into his arms to slant his mouth against hers, banishing any further protests she might have had.

She would have the job she needed – the position she deserved – and he would know there was always a place he could catch a glimpse of her when he needed it.

***

Chapter Eight: Contentment

It had been the most amazing day she’d had in recent memory.

Esme had never had reason to complain about being on the ranch. There was so much space on the immense estate that she never really had the opportunity to feel shut in or sequestered. Any time she wanted to go out, she could walk to the stables to pay apple a visit or lay out by the pool. When she got bored, she would putt around the kitchen for hours, working on recipes that had been knocking around her head for months and perfecting them.

She would admit, there were some times she wanted to hit the nearest mall for a few amenities, or to drive her car like she was used to, but the constant threat of relentless paparazzi was enough to prevent her from leaving Hartford Ranch. She had no desire to deal with that kind of publicity, and God knew it could do nothing for her pregnancy.

It took very little coaxing at all, however, for Daniel to get her off the ranch with the promise that they wouldn’t be bothered. And while Esme had been skeptical at first of his power to prevent such things, she’d been pleasantly surprised. When they’d arrived at Kinnit, a large town about an hour and a half north of the ranch, there wasn’t a reporter in sight.

The rancher declined several offers of additional security from a man in dark glasses who Esme assumed must be the very purveyor of such things and led her out on the city by himself. Though she knew he was a Texas native, he knew the town well, and after a fantastic lunch at an elegantly decorated seafood place, he took her
Pierre’s
– the restaurant at which she’d been promised an interview.

Almost immediately, the young woman was intimidated by the sheer size of the place. It was a two hundred seat restaurant, impeccably run by the very knowledgeable and very French Pierre. The European management made her nervous at first; she’d encountered it so much in the restaurant business, with disastrous results, that her first impulse was to run the other way. However, unlike the other Frenchmen she’d met, Pierre was unerringly nice to her.