A Gift For Baby

Cover Page

Excerpt

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

The Invitation

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

The Baby Shower

Preview

Copyright

“Do You Want To Be Kissed?”

He Asked.

“I’ve been, thanks,” she said, though he thought he heard growing excitement in her voice.

“Oh, I see,” he said, his voice very low. “Once was enough, was it?”

She nodded. “Just about. I’ll admit I gave it a few more tries, but the result was the same.”

“You know what that tells me?” He had her shoulders in hand. He knew he was crossing the line, but it was too late to turn around now. “It’s been much too long since you’ve tried it.”

She stared up at him, fascinated by how full and soft his lips looked all of a sudden, by how fast her heart was beating. “Do you really think so?” she said faintly.

“Yes, I do,” he murmured as he bent to find her mouth with his.

Dear Reader,

Cowboys and cops…sexy men with a swagger…just the kind of guys to make your head turn. That’s what we’ve got for you this month in Silhouette Desire.

The romance begins when Taggart Jones meets his match in Anne McAllister’s wonderful MAN OF THE MONTH, The Cowboy and the Kid. This is the latest in her captivating CODE OF THE WEST miniseries. And the fun continues with Mitch Harper in A Gift for Baby, the next book in Raye Morgan’s THE BABY SHOWER series.

Cindy Gerard has created a dynamic hero in the very masculine form of J. D. Hazzard in The Bride Wore Blue, book #1 in the NORTHERN LIGHTS BRIDES series. And if rugged rascals are your favorite, don’t miss Jake Spencer in Dixie Browning’s The Baby Notion, which is book #1 of DADDY KNOWS LAST, Silhouette’s new cross-line continuity. (Next month, look for Helen R. Myers’s Baby in a Basket as DADDY KNOWS LAST continues in Silhouette Romance!)

Gavin Cantrell is sure to weaken your knees in Gavin’s Child by Caroline Cross, part of the delightful BACHELORS AND BABIES promotion. And Jackie Merritt—along with hero Duke Sheridan—kicks off her MADE IN MONTANA series with Montana Fever.

Heroes to fall in love with—and love scenes that will make your toes curl. That’s what Silhouette Desire is all about Until next month—enjoy!

All the best,

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

A Gift For Baby

Raye

Morgan

RAYE MORGAN

favors settings in the West, which is where she has spent most of her life. She admits to a penchant for Western heroes, believing that whether he’s a rugged outdoorsman or a smooth city sophisticate, he tends to have a streak of wildness that the romantic heroine can’t resist taming. She’s been married to one of those Western men for twenty years and is busy raising four more in her Southern California home.

The Invitation

“Hmm, pretty nice fit on that pair of jeans,” Hailey Kingston thought idly as she glanced over the top of her sunglasses at the ranch hand walking by the pool. Then she stopped herself, appalled.

Good grief—had she come to this? Was she really so bored that she’d sunk to checking out the attributes of the local cowboys? There had to be something else to occupy her mind. Had to be.

Groaning, she stretched back on the chaise lounge and turned her face up to the sun, completely oblivious to the effect she was having on those very same cowboys. That was the way it always was. She just didn’t care. She could walk around in a bikini as though it were a sweat suit, completely unconscious of the picture she made. Hailey Kingston was, in many ways, as natural as a child.

She wore her honey blond hair haphazardly, shoulder length and untamed. She seldom used makeup, and when she did, it was nothing more than a slash of pearly pink lipstick against her smooth, tanned skin. She was drop-dead gorgeous, and she couldn’t help it. It was her blessing; it was her curse.

But it didn’t mean much out here in the middle of nowhere. There was no one to see her but the two tiresome excops who’d been sent to watch her every move, and the ranch hands and they’d been warned to stay away from her. At first, it had all seemed deliciously peaceful and serene, but after three weeks, it was just plain boring.

She heard the sound of boots scuffing along the gravel pathway and she turned, feeling defensive, to find one of the cowboys coming toward her, a shy grin on his young face. She frowned and waited until he reached where she was lounging, then asked, “May I help you?”

“Uh…” He held out a courier’s packet awkwardly. “Up at the house, they told me to bring you this.”

Lifting her sunglasses, she stared at his offering. “What is it?”

“I think it’s your mail, miss.”

“Mail!” She jumped up and took the bag from him greedily. Her quick thank-you was laced with a smile that made him gape, but she hardly noticed. News from the outside. Hallelujah. Maybe it was a letter from her father saying that this long nightmare was finally over and she could go home. He was the only one who knew where she was, the only one whose letters she was allowed to get.

But it wasn’t from her father at all. What she found inside the packet was a pink envelope that smelled like…she gave a sniff. Baby powder. How in the world had this made its way through to her?

She knew they were holding back her letters. They didn’t want her to have any contact with the outside world at all for fear someone would find out where she was. And yet, this little pink envelope had gotten through. This was her lucky day. It was bound to be an invitation to something. She ripped it open eagerly and pulled out a card shaped like a duck, wearing a silky satin bow and a silly smile.

A baby shower! She flipped open the card and read the details inside, along with a personal note at the bottom. “Hailey, it’s me! Can you believe it? You have to come and help me celebrate. No RSVP needed, because I know you’ll be here!”

Hailey laughed softly. So, Sara was going to have a baby. “Oh, how wonderful,” she said, sighing.

“What’s that, ma’am?” The cowboy had been taking his time sauntering away, and when she spoke, he stopped and looked back hopefully.

“Uh, nothing,” she said, nodding at him, then lifting her chin coolly. Tommy—wasn’t that the name she’d heard him called? She was always careful not to give them false hope. It was best to let on right away that she had absolutely no interest in making friends. She’d learned young that her beauty could be a danger to everyone involved. He looked suitably abashed and she felt a twinge of remorse, but she knew better than to act on it. Best to let him think she was a snob. That would keep him at the distance that had to be maintained. He turned and went on his way, and she sighed.

Leaning down, she groped in her purse, found her wallet and opened it to the pictures. The wallet fell open naturally to a snapshot of the four young women, and she smiled at it.

There they were, the Fab Four—she and her three roommates in college. She’d carried that picture with her for eight years, and whenever things got a little too glum, she’d pull it out and remember the good times they’d had together.

Sara was going to be the first to have a baby, and maybe the only one, the way things were going. Hailey had talked to Cami Bishop, one of the foursome, on the telephone only a few months before, and Cami had more or less conceded defeat. She’d said she wasn’t even looking for the “right man” any longer. She’d decided that illusive person was a member of a race that was now extinct. “Only a few fossils left,” she’d joked, “to remind us of what we’re missing.”

Her other roomie, J. J. MacKenzie, was too full of ambition and in a career that demanded every ounce of strength. She didn’t have time to think about babies. And Hailey herself—well, she had realized long ago that she would never be able to trust a man enough to build a lasting relationship. That was just the way it was.

But Sara—yes, they’d always known she would do it. Sara had come from the most perfect family and married someone who was, by all accounts, the most perfect man. And now she would have the perfect baby. It had been in the cards all along.

“Great,” Hailey said softly, smiling a dreamy smile. “Good for her. Let her have a perfect baby. And let her have a perfect baby shower, too.”

She pressed the invitation to her chest and looked around as though to guard it from prying eyes. “Oh yes, Sara. I will get to your shower,” she whispered under her breath. “Somehow, someway, I will escape and get to you.”

One

“Hey, Mitch. Look at that. It’s the Ice Princess, come into town.” The tall, handsome cowboy rapped his knuckles against the glass of the telephone booth to get his friend’s attention. “Whachya say we go over and make ourselves helpful?”

Mitch Harper turned in the tiny booth, with the receiver still against his ear, more annoyed at the interruption from Larry than interested in seeing Hailey Kingston emerge from her low-slung sports car. Glancing at her, he shrugged and gestured his disinterest.

“I’m on the phone,” he told Larry. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

Larry nodded good-naturedly and started across the street toward where Hailey stood adjusting a scarf she’d worn over her hair in the open car. Mitch watched her for a moment, his eyes narrowing, then his gaze focused on a pair of brightly attired men getting out of a gray sedan half a block away, and he shook his head, going back to his call.

“You really ought to do something about those two excops they’ve got covering her,” he said softly into the receiver. “They stick out like sore thumbs.”

“Aren’t they dressed for the area?” asked the gruff voice on the other end of the line.

“Sure. Circa 1950. They look like Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.”

There was a pause. “Aren’t they both guys?”

“Yup.”

“Oh.” The man on the line gave a snort of quick laughter. “I’ll say something to the surveillance coordinator.” He snickered again. “They don’t suspect you, do they?”

“Those two?” Mitch smiled. “They don’t have a clue. They think I’m a cowboy, just like everyone else does. Just another ranch hand.”

“Good. I thought you would fit in pretty easily.”

“Don’t worry about me. I grew up not far from here. I know the area.”

“But do they know you?”

“No. Not in this end of the valley.”

“Good. Be careful.” His voice got more businesslike. “Got anything for me?” he asked.

“Not yet,” Mitch replied. “She’s barely left the side of the pool for the past four days.” He glanced across the street at where Hailey Kingston was still talking to Larry. As he watched, she began to walk into the store, and he had to admit, her walk had something to it, something a man couldn’t ignore. Good thing he wasn’t affected by things like that.

Yeah, right. Pulling himself together, he returned to his call. “If she’s got anything inside that pretty head besides fluff, she’s pretty good at hiding it.”

“Don’t underestimate her. She’s the apple of her daddy’s eye. If he’s told anyone where the money is, it’ll be her.”

Mitch shook his head and his mouth turned down at the corners. The signs were not auspicious as far as he was concerned. “If she knows anything, she’s a great bluffer.”

“Hey, the best of them always seem innocent. Just keep an eye on her and give me a call if she does anything suspicious.”

“Like booking a cruise or buying a diamond?”

“Like that, and any number of other things.”

“You got it. And hey, Donagan.” A smile crept into Mitch’s voice. “Next assignment is back in the real world again—you got that? No more baby-sitting jobs.”

“Hey, the next suicide mission is yours, Harper. You got my word on it.”

After an exchange of friendly obscenities, Mitch rang off and made his way out of the booth, starting across the street toward where Larry was attempting to charm the lovely young woman in the sky blue jumper whose blond hair tumbled about her shoulders like surf on a rocky shore.

There was no doubt she was beautiful, and he was only human. But despite the reluctant admiration he couldn’t help but have for her looks, he had nothing but contempt for everything else about her. The virtuous act didn’t fool him for a moment. He’d been on a lot of these cases over the years, and it was his experience that these women were usually into things up to their delicately trimmed eyebrows, no matter how much innocence they pretended.

He hung back a bit, not wanting to draw attention his way. He’d decided not to get to know her from the start. Each job was unique. In some cases, the closer you got, the more you learned about the subject of the investigation. In others, it paid to stay back as an anonymous observer. That was the way he’d been playing it so far. Of course, it hadn’t paid off with much information as yet, had it? Still, his instincts told him to keep his distance. He would just as soon she didn’t notice him at all.

But he realized, with a wry twinge of humor, that he needn’t have bothered to worry in this instance. Hailey Kingston’s attention was focused fully on Larry Bartelli’s handsome face as he helped her with the packages she was picking up at the local dress shop.

“Thank you,” she told him as he stowed the parcels away in the boot of her foreign car. “I appreciate the help.”

“My pleasure,” Larry responded with a smile that he obviously hoped exuded raw seductive appeal. “Anytime you need me, you just call. I’m at your service.”

“How comforting,” she said after a pause. She reached into her purse. “Here, let me give you something for…”

“Oh, no, ma’am.” Larry waved away her offer. “I don’t need money. You can pay me back with just one of your pretty smiles. That’s all I need.”

She looked up at him and laughed softly. “If feminine smiles were really worth something, I have a feeling you’d be rich,” she told him.

“Oh, no, Miss Kingston,” he insisted earnestly. “Your smile is the only one that means anything to me.”

She laughed again, tucking her purse under her arm For just a moment, she glanced at Mitch, but he had his Stetson pushed down low over his eyes, and she didn’t seem to see anything there worth lingering over.

“You’re a lucky man, cowboy,” she said, regarding Larry again with her head cocked to the side. “To be happy with such a simple gesture.” She gave him a quick grin. “Especially since that’s all you’re ever going to get from me,” she noted dryly under her breath. As she spoke, her two bodyguards approached the car, one walking with an exaggerated swagger, the other with a scowl.

“Move along, boys,” the swaggerer barked at the two cowboys. “You know you’re not supposed to bother Miss Kingston.”

“No fraternization. That’s the rules,” the scowler added for good measure.

“It’s all right,” she said, turning to give them both a winning smile. “I asked for help. It’s my fault.”

The swaggerer looked aghast. “But we’re here to help you, Miss Kingston. That’s what they set up through the D. A.’s office. We’re always here.”

“Yes, I know.” Her dry tone belied her feelings on the matter, and for a split second, her gaze met Mitch’s and he saw the frustration in her eyes. But before he had time to connect with her look, she’d already turned and was sliding behind the wheel of her small car. Identical looks of panic crossed the faces of the two guards and they ran for their gray sedan. It was obvious they were afraid of losing her.

“She’s ditched them before, I’ll wager,” Mitch muttered to himself with a smile as they roared off, chasing her dust.

But Larry wasn’t listening. Sidling up to his friend, he clapped him on the back with a hearty pat. “Hey, she loves me,” he announced happily.

If Larry had been looking, he might have noticed that the twist to Mitch’s wide, hard mouth held more than a hint of sarcasm. “Is that right?”

“Yeah, can’t you tell? Didn’t you see the way she looked at me? She’s crazy about me.”

Mitch turned back toward the truck where they’d left it parked down the street a half block.

“Lucky you,” he said dismissively. “But in the meantime, we’ve got things to do. We’ve still got to stop in and see the vet about those vitamins for that pregnant mare.”

Larry fell into step beside him, his eyes sparkling from the encounter with Hailey. “She’s gorgeous, isn’t she? On a scale of one to ten, I’d give her a twenty. What do you think?”

Mitch was beginning to lose interest in the subject. “Personally, I’d give her a pass,” he said shortly.

“You know what’s wrong with you?” Larry babbled on happily. “You’ve got no romance in your soul.”

Mitch nodded, in complete agreement on that score, and proud of it. He glanced at Larry. “And you’ve got no brain in your head if you think the powers that be are going to let you get anywhere near that woman.”

Larry’s smile was still just as broad. “Don’t worry, pal. Love will find a way.”

Mitch grunted a noncommittal sound and turned back toward the truck.

“Hey, man,” Larry insisted, as though he felt he had to prove something to his companion. “I’ve got a knack with the girls, pal. They go for me in a big way.”

Mitch gave him a pitying look. “Yes, I can tell girls like you a lot.” He coughed carefully. “You might have a little more of a problem with real women, however,” he murmured.

“Huh?” Larry frowned. “What does that mean?”

Mitch shrugged. “Never mind. Let’s get out of here.” He pulled open the door of the truck, ready to climb behind the wheel, but Larry couldn’t let the subject go.

“Ah, you’re just jealous,” he ribbed as they got in and Mitch started the engine. “I know females. She’s dreaming about me right now.”

Maybe he was right, Mitch thought rather grumpily as they drove toward the office of the veterinarian. After all, he hadn’t seen much evidence that she was much more than the bubbleheaded type who would go for a lightweight like Larry. And if she was dreaming about him, she probably deserved the fate that lay in wait for her. He certainly would do nothing to intervene. He just wanted to get this job over with and go back to something with a little more substance than this boring stint of surveillance.

“You’re probably right,” he muttered to Larry, to quiet him down. “You’re probably right.”

But Larry was wrong. Hailey’s thoughts, as she drove toward the ranch, were a thousand miles away. They were centered somewhere outside of Denver at the moment.

“I could just keep driving,” she was whispering to herself. “I could just go and go until dark.” Looking in her rearview mirror, she could tell her bodyguards hadn’t caught up with her dust trail as yet. “I could take a side road and lose them in minutes. No one would ever catch me.”

But she laughed ruefully, knowing it was only a fantasy. She’d promised her father that she would stay put, and that was what she was going to have to do, no matter how agonizingly boring it became.

The first two weeks hadn’t been too bad. She’d spent a lot of time catching up on her reading and her sleeping and her sunbathing. But now time was dragging, lengthening before her eyes, and she desperately needed something new to do.

She’d come here reluctantly. “Daddy,” she’d insisted when her father had first brought it up. “I can handle myself. I’ve lived in the big city for too many years to be scared off because some sleazy mob guy is on my tail.”

“It’s more than that, sugar,” he’d told her, shaking his shaggy white head of hair. “Much more. If someone got hold of you, they could buy my silence in a minute, and they’re going to know it.”

“Oh, Daddy.” She loved the man so much. Ever since she’d lost her mother when she was entering her teen years, she’d depended on him in ways her friends never seemed to depend on their fathers. He was her confidante, her staunchest supporter, her buddy, her rock in a sea of uncertainty. The fact that he’d disappointed her in major ways in the past didn’t matter. Her love went beyond that. She looked at his handsome, aging face and sighed. “Oh, Daddy,” she said again softly.

“I mean it, honey. These guys play rough.”

By now it was a foregone conclusion. Of course she was going to do as he asked. But she didn’t tell him yet. Instead she played for time. “But…how did you get involved with these people in the first place?” she asked him.

“Doing business, sugar. My restaurants have been three of the most popular places in San Francisco for the past ten years. When you have success like that, the jackals start to circle. There are always people who try to horn in and get a share.”

“But…”

He shook his head decisively. “I’m not going to listen to any more opposition on this, Hailey. I’ve found a place for you. It’s a resort, really—horses, swimming, peace and quiet. You’ll have time to read all those books you keep telling me you’ve been putting off reading because you just don’t have time. You’ll be in the nice warm sunshine while the rest of us are still dealing with winter. You’ll have the time of your life.”

She knew she was going. Still there were loose ends to tie up. “But my job…” she reminded him. She worked as a buyer for Ganby’s Department Store, and she loved the career she was blazing for herself. It would be hard to put it on hold.

She might have known he would already have that problem taken care of. “I’ve talked to Warren. He understands the situation and he’s willing to give you a leave of absence. He’ll hold your job for you.”

There had been times when she’d cursed the fact that her boss and her father were good friends, but this seemed to be an instance when it would help rather than hinder. She sighed. They were ganging up on her, weren’t they?

“How long will it take?” she asked, her submission already clear in her voice.

He smiled at her. “I don’t imagine it will be for longer than three or four weeks at the most.”

“Oh, Daddy.”

He put an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. “Sugar, I hate to be dictatorial, but you’ve got to do this. If you don’t, I won’t be able to testify, and I might have to leave the country.”

She looked at him sideways. He sounded quite sincere and she truly wanted to believe him. He’d lied to her before, lied in ways that had cut into their relationship and almost ruined it. But that was in the past. She’d dealt with it, accepted that he was what he was, and moved on. He was her father. She loved him. And there was absolutely no reason she could think of that he would be hiding anything from her. She decided he had to be telling the truth. This time.

There was nothing left to do but agree. So here she was, and the desert that had once looked magically mysterious now looked hypnotically tedious.