The Curvy Astronomer and the Cowboy (He Wanted Me Pregnant!) (2 page)

“Do you want to talk about it?” I had time to register his voice, now. It was deep and thickly dark, warm molasses and crackling campfires. Oddly gentle, given his size. I had no doubt that he could roar or bellow if he wanted to, but right now he was speaking softly, and it seemed even softer because of all that restrained power.

My phone’s GPS voice was completely outclassed.

Of course I didn’t want to talk about it. I wanted to drive off somewhere quiet, maybe have another cry, and then figure out how the hell I was going to pay for my groceries now that this job was kaput. I certainly wasn’t going to invite some total stranger to—

I found myself nodding. And then glancing at the empty passenger seat.

He walked quickly around to the passenger side and, before I could properly ask myself
what the hell am I doing?
he was there. His muscled body made the station wagon’s suspension creak as he sat down. What was he: six-two, six-three? A lot bigger than my own curvy five-six, that was for sure. And there didn’t look to be an ounce of fat on him.

“Troy,” he said gently, offering me his hand. That deep voice, coupled with his full, sexy lower lip, did strange things to me. As he looked at me, I could feel a heat rolling down my body and settling between my thighs.

I hesitantly put my hand into his.
Okay, if he tries to kiss my hand then this whole quaint thing has gone too far,
I decided. “Emily,” I croaked.

He didn’t try to kiss my hand. He just closed it into his warm, firm grasp and shook it, while looking right into my eyes. I caught my breath. I swore there
was
something there, underneath the concern. I could feel it in his handshake, too, the way he seemed reluctant to let my hand go. It was as if his warmth was travelling up my arm and right into my heart, which was suddenly pounding.

I realized I didn't want him to let go, either. When he eventually did, I had to swallow before I could speak again. “Thank you,” I said. “For the handkerchief.”

“What’s got you so sad?” he asked. Again, I was surprised by how gentle he sounded. “Some guy?” And, for the first time, I heard just the hint of an edge to his voice. As if he’d like to do bad things to that guy.
He doesn’t even know me,
I thought, amazed.

“I’m in town to see Dr. Barker,” I said, my voice a little raspy from crying. “But they told me he died. And I just—I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

Troy nodded sadly. “I knew him. Nice old fella. You related?”

I shook my head. “I just knew him from the internet. I was going to work with him, out here.”

Troy blinked. “You’re a stargazer,” he said.

Stargazer?!
I hadn’t heard anyone call it that in a long time. And yet…when he said it, the term had a sort of magic to it.
Stargazer.
It sounded fun and light and almost…romantic. Not like the hard, sterile
astronomer.
It spoke of long nights looking up at the stars for the sheer joy of it, not desperately trying to make a living.
Stargazer….

What the hell has gotten into you, Emily?!
I coughed to cover my embarrassment. “I’m an astronomer, yes. Astronomic photographer, in fact. I take pictures of the stars and sell the images. Dr Barker was going to take me out to a really dark place and I was going to stay with him for a couple of nights while I shot some pictures and…” I sighed. “Now, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Troy looked at me with big, sad eyes. Eyes that it would be easy to lose yourself in. “I’d like to help,” he said gently. “If there’s anything I can do….”

For a moment, I felt a warm glow spread through me...and then I recognized it for what it was.

Pity.

I mean, he didn’t even know me, and a guy with
those
cheekbones and
those
eyes sure as hell wasn’t going to be interested in me, so what was left? Pity. Feeling sorry for the big girl with the tear-red eyes who’d just rolled into town.

Well, I didn’t need his pity.

My whole mood did a one-eighty, anger and embarrassment replacing my pain. I shook my head. “I’ll be fine,” I told him. “I’ll figure something out.” I reached across him--trying not to think about how close my arm was to his tight, muscled waist--and opened his door.

He looked shocked for a moment at the abruptness of the move. “You sure?” he asked. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

I nodded. Something in his tone was making it all well up inside me. It had been so long since someone was nice
to me that it had caught me unprepared. “Fine,” I said.

He nodded respectfully and eased himself out of the car. Again, the suspension creaked. He leaned down to speak to me. “Well, if you change your mind--”

“Thanks,” I said quickly. “Bye.”

And I slammed the door, gunned the engine and drove away.

Well, I tried to. It actually took three turns of the key for the engine to catch, but Troy was polite enough not to say anything. He just stood there in my rear view mirror, watching me sadly as I finally moved off.

Chapter 2

It was getting, if anything, even colder as I coaxed the station wagon along the backstreets, looking for the address a passer-by had given me. But I wasn’t going to be deterred. I finally found the graveyard and hopped out, clutching the wreath that had cost me most of my remaining money.

It was a small graveyard for a small town: finding Dr. Barker’s grave wasn’t difficult. I was surprised to see the number of wreaths already there. He must have been a popular guy.

I dropped to my knees and laid the wreath. No one was around, but I still felt a little stupid. “Um. Look, you barely knew me, aside from email. But I wish I’d been able to meet you in person before you—“ I swallowed. “I wanted to thank you, for offering to put me up, and take me out into the wilds. Even though it didn’t work out, I just wanted to say that: thank you.”

I felt a little better, when I stood up. I was glad I’d done it, even though it meant I was now pretty much broke.

Back in the station wagon, though, I just felt utterly exhausted.
What now?!
I had buyers lined up for my shots of the horsehead nebula. I couldn’t get them just anywhere--I needed a really dark spot away from any light pollution. Dr. Barker had had a cabin out of town somewhere that he’d said we could sleep in. Town was too light, and it wasn’t as if I could just drive out there on my own and….

Unless I did exactly that.

Unless I just grabbed some supplies and drove up into the mountains, found a place to set up the telescope and slept in the car. I’d done it before...true, that had been in a desert, with some other astronomers, but what choice did I have? The alternative was to give up and hit the road, tell my buyers I had nothing for them and hope I could get another gig before I ran out of money for gas and food. Before I had to sell--

I looked in my rear view mirror and my hands tightened on the steering wheel.
No.
I wasn’t going to sell my dad’s telescope. It was the one thing he’d most treasured, right up until he died.
No way.
If I had to do this whole damn thing on my own...so be it.

This time, the engine caught first time. I headed straight back to Main Street.

***

In the general store I stood comparing cans of chili and stew, trying to get the most nutrition per buck with the few dollars I had remaining. I also shelled out for a few blankets. They were scratchy and not very thick, but I hoped that, if I wrapped enough of them around me, I’d be able to get through the night.

I spotted canned mac n’ cheese on special and grabbed two cans, only to wind up dropping one of the ones I was already holding. I chased after it as I rolled. It came to rest against a familiar-looking cowboy boot.

A big, tanned hand reached down and picked it up and I followed the can as it rose. I found myself looking into Troy’s clear blue eyes. “Going on an adventure?” he asked.

I plucked the can from his hand. Suddenly, my face was hot, my breathing fast. “Just stocking up,” I said. I glanced at the shopping cart he was pushing--easily a few hundred dollars worth of food and other groceries.

Troy frowned at me. “You weren’t heading
up,
were you? Up into the mountains by yourself?”

I shrugged in a non-committal way and turned to pay. Only to find a strong hand on my shoulder, turning me back to face him. It’s funny, but...the way I’m built, I’ve never felt
small,
before. I’m not one of those girls a guy can pick up and twirl around in his arms, you know? But when Troy grabbed my shoulder like that, suddenly I
did
feel small.
He’d
be able to pick me up, no problem at all. Grab me and pick me up and twirl me around. Or do whatever else he liked to me.

I blushed.

“You weren’t heading up there...
were you?”
he asked incredulously.

I looked at my feet and then at the wall behind him--anywhere but his face. “No,” I said. “Of course not. This is just road snacks. To eat as I’m driving along.”

We both looked down at the can of mac n’ cheese.

“Emily,” he said--and just him saying my name made my chest tighten--”I’m serious. You can’t head up into the mountains on your own. It’s going to be minus ten tonight. And there are bears.”

Bears?!
I rolled my eyes. Okay, sure, I was from San Francisco, but even I knew that bears hibernated in the winter. “I’ve been looking after myself a long time,” I told him. “I can manage just fine for a few days.” And, pulling free of his hand, I paid for my groceries and headed out.

***

The station wagon slowed as it neared the peak of the hill. Another thirty feet and I’d be there.
Come on.
The engine started to labor.
Come on!

I was about two miles out of town, following a road that was so far free of snow. I’d picked the road because it went up, and up was what I wanted...but I hadn’t planned on it being quite this steep. I remembered now why I hadn’t towed the trailer when I was still living in hilly San Fran.

The station wagon slowed again. We were at walking pace, now, and I’d run out of gears. The problem was that the road had been cleared, but there was still a thin, slippery layer of hard-packed snow crushed into the dirt. The car went slower...slower… I felt like a hot air balloonist, trying to clear a mountain. I seriously considered tossing the mac n’ cheese out to save weight.

We slowed.
Come on!

Slowed.
COME ON!

Stopped.

And suddenly, the weight of the car and the trailer was too much for what little grip the tyres had left. We started to slide back down the hill. I hit the brakes and the wheels simply locked up.

Behind me, I could see bright headlights. I was about to slide ass-first into someone’s car--

The other car pulled out to the side, missing me. As I swept past it, I glimpsed Troy, in a cherry-red pickup at least twenty years younger than my station wagon. He looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and horror, and then I saw him throw his pickup into reverse and come speeding back down the hill after me.

Fortunately, the hill levelled out gently at the bottom. I slowed enough for the brakes to work and came to a stop while I was still on the road. For the second time that day, I was shaken but unhurt.

A second later, Troy was wrenching my door open. “You okay?” he asked breathlessly.

I nodded. I was too shaken to speak.

Troy sighed and shook his head. And then, in a tone that suggested he’d regret it, he said, “Come with me.
I’ll
take you up the mountain.”

I blinked. “What?”

“That’s where I’m heading. I have a cabin up there. I was going to spend a couple of days, clear the place up. It’s dark as hell around there. No electricity for miles. That’s what you need for stargazing, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, but--”

“It’s basic, but it’s got a stove and beds and you won’t freeze your butt off.” He stared at me. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

“I--” I didn’t know what to say. Then the independent, living-off-her-wits city girl in me kicked in. “I can’t just--I don’t even
know
you! I’m not going off to some deserted cabin with you. Are you
nuts?
”

“I’m not trying to murder you,” he said. “I’m just trying to make sure you’re not frozen solid in the morning.” He looked at the hill. “Although, I’m not sure you would have actually
made it
to the mountains on your own.”

A little more of my fire returned. “I would have been fine. I just needed a little more of a run up on that hill.” I thought about the offer. I had no idea where I was going, it was getting dark and cold and a cabin--however basic--sounded a lot more appealing than my car. And okay, he was a stranger, but I’d only known Dr. Barker over the internet.