“Do you do this often?”

“Meet men by swooning into their arms?” Annie asked, struggling for normalcy. “No, as a matter of fact, you’re my first.”

He gave her an assessing look. “You’re pregnant.”

He said it calmly, but to her it sounded like an accusation, and she bristled. As an unwed mother-to-be, she bristled a lot lately.

“Really?”

The stranger looked up at her for the first time, really seemed to look into her eyes and see who she was. Annie didn’t think she’d ever seen bluer eyes.

But there was more. He had the look of a man who did and said whatever occurred to him. Everything in her wanted to like him. He looked…well, nice. And that was even more dangerous than his undeniable sex appeal. The way he took charge so naturally. The way he was poised, down on one knee before her, like a knight asking a lady for her scarf to wear into battle.

The Boss’s Special Delivery
Raye Morgan

RAYE MORGAN

has spent almost two decades, while writing over fifty novels, searching for the answer to that elusive question: Just what is that special magic that happens when a man and a woman fall in love? Every time she thinks she has the answer, a new wrinkle pops up, necessitating another book! Meanwhile, after living in Holland, Guam, Japan and Washington, D.C., she currently makes her home in Southern California with her husband and two of her four boys.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Chapter One

Annie Torres was going to faint. The signs were all there. Staring hard at her order pad, she tried to fight the feeling.

Just give me one more minute, she begged silently. Just let me get into the break room.

“Oh, wait,” her customer was saying. “I think I want a side of fries with that. And can I get a serving of blue cheese dressing to go with the fries?”

The room was starting to turn, very slowly, but it was turning. She felt clammy. It was only a matter of seconds. Flipping her book closed, she started to step away, desperate to get to the break room.

“Miss? Wait a minute. I forgot about dessert. Do you have any of that great fresh peach pie today?”

It sounded like the woman was talking to her from the end of a tunnel. The words were echoing in her head and something was pounding in her ears. She had to get out of there. She tried to turn back, but it was too late. She was wilting like a rose in the hot summer sun. It was all over.

“Hey.”

She opened her eyes. There were faces all around, staring down at her. Something in her wanted to laugh. They looked so funny. Then she realized she was lying on the floor of Millie’s Café and it didn’t seem so funny any longer.

Each face had a mouth and each mouth was moving but she couldn’t tell what they were saying. She closed her eyes, wishing they would all go away and leave her alone. Her head was throbbing.

“I’ll handle this.”

Finally a deep, masculine voice stood out from the babble and she felt cool, strong hands probing for injuries and testing her reactions.

“Does anything hurt?” he asked her.

She shook her head and regretted it, because her head hurt like crazy. But it wasn’t from hitting the floor, it was just a headache.

“Sorry,” she muttered, trying to get up. “I’d better get back to work.”

“Not likely.” Suddenly she was being swung up into the arms of what had to be a fairly strong man.

“Hey,” she said weakly, pushing back and trying to look up into his face.

“Just relax, honey,” he said in a soothing voice. “I’ve got you.”

“But I don’t need getting,” she protested, pushing ineffectively against his shoulder with her hands.

“Don’t try to talk,” he told her as he carried her through the crowded café. “You’re obviously delirious.”

He said it with a touch of humor, so she didn’t take it seriously. He was probably trying to put her at ease about the situation. That wasn’t necessary, because she didn’t need his help. Much.

Though she had to admit, it felt so good to have such strong arms holding her. They were protective. Safe. And from what she could feel of him, pretty darn sexy. Which was exactly why she had to resist. If he would just put her down and let her get oriented…

But at least he knew where to take her. In just seconds she was in the break room and he was lowering her to the couch.

“Thank you, ladies,” he said as someone handed him a damp cloth and a cup of water. “Just give us some room, please. Let me give her a quick examination. She’ll be good as new in no time.”

Bossy guy. As far as she was concerned, he could take that take-charge attitude and—

“Okay, Doctor,” someone was saying.

Actually, it might have been Millie. Annie’s eyes were closed and it was just too hard right now to open them and take a look. But if Millie was giving him permission to handle this, maybe she could relax a little. Millie was her boss, the owner of the café, and a thoroughly decent woman. Annie had come to realize lately that thoroughly decent people were hard to find and worth their weight in gold once discovered.

And he was a doctor, anyway. She relaxed a little more. She was more disposed to trust a doctor than she was to trust most men. After all, there was that Hippocratic oath thing.

“Just give a holler if you need anything,” Millie added.

“Will do.”

Annie finally got her eyes back open in time to see Millie leaving, and the very large man staying. As he continued to hover over her, he murmured something that made the others melt away. She appreciated that he’d dismissed the audience, because she’d had about enough of being the center of attention for a while.

Still, that meant she was alone with this man. Needing to reassert a little control of the situation, she pulled up to sit rather than staying down where he’d put her.

He didn’t object. Instead, he put the cool cloth to her forehead, gave her a sip of water and then began taking her pulse. And finally her head cleared enough so that she could see straight again.

She looked him over, still groggy, head aching. Not bad, actually. He was handsome in a rugged, outdoorsy way—his thick hair dark and windblown looking, as though he’d just come in from chopping wood or chasing bears or something, and his eyes incredibly blue against his tanned skin. He looked familiar. She’d seen him in here at Millie’s before. And she was pretty sure she’d seen him in years past. But it had only been a month since she’d come back to the Texas town of Chivaree and her ten or so years away had dimmed a lot of memories.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, studying her in a detached, clinical sort of way.

“Woozy.”

He nodded and his eyes narrowed a bit. “Do you do this often?”

She struggled for normalcy. “Meet men by swooning into their arms?” she asked as impudently as she could manage. “No, as a matter of fact, you’re my first.”

He gave her an assessing look. “You’re pregnant.”

He said it calmly, but to her it sounded like an accusation, and she bristled. As an unwed mother-to-be, she bristled a lot lately.

“Really?” she responded quickly, straightening her shoulders as though she had to get ready for battle. “What was your first clue?”

He looked up and really met her dark gaze for the first time, really seemed to look into her eyes and see who she was. She had to stifle a shiver. She didn’t think she’d ever seen bluer eyes.

But there was more. Something about him made her feel uncertain and a little self-conscious. He had the look of a man who did and said whatever occurred to him, without much worrying about what was appropriate to the occasion. If he saw something about her he liked…or didn’t like…he was likely to be quite frank about it. And he proved she’d read him right with his next statement.

“You’re also a smart aleck,” he said dryly.

Still defensive, Annie stared right back at him. She had to make sure men like this knew she couldn’t be intimidated. She’d had a lot of experience at this sort of thing lately. Learning how to protect herself by being a bit caustic hadn’t come naturally, but she was learning.

“If I want character analysis, I’ll go see a psychologist.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. She wasn’t sure if it was with humor or a quick irritation. Either way was okay with her—just so long as he realized she wasn’t going to put up with any baloney from him—or any other man.

“Why pay for that when I’m prepared to analyze for free?” he said. Putting his head to the side, he pretended to study her. “Let’s see if I’ve got a proper fix on you. You’re headstrong, stubborn, sure you’re usually right…and a hard worker.”

His casual assumptions—as well as his cynical tone—were really annoying her, and she said the first thing that came to mind.

“So’s your old man,” she shot back.

His sudden grin was a stunner, white teeth flashing, eyes crinkling, and real humor lit up his face. “I didn’t know you knew him.”

Okay, there it was—the main thing she had to watch out for. Everything in her wanted to like him. He looked…well, nice. And that was even more dangerous than his undeniable sex appeal—the macho way he took charge so naturally; the breathtaking chest muscles that seemed to swell under his light polo shirt; the way he was poised, down on one knee before her, like a knight asking a lady for her scarf to wear into battle.

She blinked quickly and shook her head, furious at herself for letting her imagination run wild on that last one. What was she doing, sinking back into childhood? She’d spent a good part of her youth blocking out reality by creating a dream world in which she was a lost princess. She couldn’t go back to that. Too much fantasy could corrupt her reasoning powers and that would be a gateway straight to the danger zone. She was a grown woman with a baby on the way and she couldn’t indulge herself like this anymore. Life was tough—she had to be hard to survive it.

Still, that was difficult to do when the man she faced was so incredibly good-looking and dressed so well. Besides the blue polo shirt, he wore clean fashionable denim slacks that fit like a glove and a soft suede jacket that clung to him in all the right places. What a contrast to her slightly silly green waitress uniform. And also, what a clear picture of their different stations in life. He looked like he shopped at Neiman-Marcus. She looked like she hadn’t shopped in years. Hardly princess material.

She looked away quickly, aware more than ever that they were alone. This was not a place she wanted to be. Besides, it was time she got back to work. Millie was shorthanded today and Annie didn’t want to risk bad feelings at this job. She needed it badly, and there weren’t many who would hire a woman almost seven months pregnant.

“May I go now?” she said, needing to ask as he was blocking her way.

He gazed at her levelly. “No, you may not. You’re still pale and I don’t like your pulse rate.”

She flashed a quick glare his way. “There are things I don’t like about you, but I’ve got the manners not to list them.”

He made a comical face. “Impossible.”

She frowned a little nervously. “What’s impossible?”

“That there’s something about me not to like.” He was grinning again. She really wished he wouldn’t. “I’m a terrific guy. Everyone says so.”

Great. That was all she needed. Not only was he incredibly handsome and a great dresser, he was popular, too. At least, if you asked him. Reaching up, she pushed her thick dark wavy hair back behind her ear.

“That’s what happens when you depend on selective polling,” she said coolly. Even if she looked like a waitress, she could act as snooty as any Dallas cattle heiress if she tried hard enough. “All the votes aren’t in yet, mister.”

One sleek dark eyebrow rose with just a touch of surprise. “Doctor,” he corrected smoothly.

She blinked. “Doctor who?”

“No, that was the TV show. Just plain old Dr. Allman. Or better yet, Matt Allman.”

She shook her head. Now he was being plain old annoying and he had to know it was bugging her. Was he doing it to put her down? Somehow she didn’t really think so. It seemed more like teasing, like he thought he was being playful. Like he was attracted to her and—

No. Now that was going too far. Why would a man like this be attracted to a woman in ugly green who was carrying someone else’s baby? That was just her fantasy side coming out again. She was going to have to learn to turn that little talent off.

“I should have known you were an Allman. I guess that explains it.”

“Explains what?”

She flushed, not sure what to say. The Allmans had been one of the founding families of the town, but their reputation hadn’t been good when she’d been here in the past. She always had the idea the Allmans were “this close” to being outlaws. Of course, that might have been pure gossip at the time, but something about the family always seemed to signal danger of one sort or another.

“That explains why you look as much like a rebel without a cause as you do a doctor,” she said a bit lamely, knowing he was waiting for an answer.

“A rebel.” He savored the word, eyes narrowing as though he saw himself from a distance. “I kind of like that.”

“Of course you do. You’re an Allman.”

He thought for a moment, his penetrating gaze clearly taking stock of her. She stared right back at him, not giving an inch. But inside, she quivered, wondering what he saw. A mouthy waitress who ought to be more grateful for what he’d done to tend to her? A pain in the neck? A pitiful ragamuffin, her dark hair a tangled mess?

None of those things were good and she wished, suddenly, that she knew a way to act that wouldn’t put her at odds with him. Sometimes it seemed she only had two speeds, mad attraction or complete hostility. And since she’d vowed she would never let herself get fooled by an attraction again, the tough-girl pose was just about all she had left.

But maybe that was okay. It gave her armor against falling for the sort of charm that had left her pregnant and alone. It helped let a man like this doctor know his handsome face and hunky physique weren’t going to bowl her over any time soon. If she had to be hard and caustic to make that plain, so be it. Better he know right up front. Better they all know. And better that she keep in mind the consequences of letting silly romantic notions creep into her thinking.

“So I’m an Allman,” he was saying, looking quizzical. “What exactly does that mean to you?”

She drew herself up a bit. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes.”

She sighed. “Okay. To me, growing up around here, the Allmans were cowboys, trending toward the wrong side of the law. The Allmans always seemed to be starting fights or causing trouble. Especially for the McLaughlins.”

He laughed, and she flushed, not sure what he found so funny. He couldn’t possibly know her relationship to the McLaughlins. No one knew. So that couldn’t be it. Frowning, she went on.

“Now I come back to town and find the Allmans are the movers and shakers of the place. What happened?”

It was a remarkable transformation from what she’d seen. Those low-life Allmans now had a thriving company and the high-and-mighty McLaughlins had hit hard times. That had to be difficult for everyone concerned.

She’d been thirteen when her mother had finally told her that her father had been William McLaughlin, from the family she’d worked for years ago. And because that family was so important in Chivaree, she’d held the secret close and been proud of it. Watching McLaughlins whenever she came to town, she’d felt an identification with them that she couldn’t communicate—and they had fascinated her.

Now, all alone with a baby coming, she’d come back instinctively to the place where her “family” lived, to find out a few things. First, was it true? Did she really have blood ties to these people? And second, would they accept her? Or would they want to deny that she had any right to their attention at all?

So far she hadn’t decided exactly what she was going to do—which McLaughlin she would approach and what she would say when she did so. The man she’d been told was her father had died a few years before, so that bit of closure would be forever denied to her. But he’d had other children, three sons. What would they say when she showed up on their doorsteps?

Soon after she’d arrived in town, she’d found a way to insert herself into the McLaughlin consciousness. She’d seen a wanted notice for a once-a-week housekeeper at the McLaughlin Ranch, and she’d applied for the job right away. Since she was only working part-time here at Millie’s, she had plenty of time for it, and the housekeeping job gave her a sort of foot in the door. The fact that she was working in a position very like what her mother had once had with the family was a little troubling. But she couldn’t be choosy at this point. She needed to get the lay of the land. Time was moving on and a baby was coming. And she knew she was going to have to do something about that very soon.

“What’s your name?” he was asking.

“Annie Torres.” The first name was pinned to her uniform, but she wondered if he would recognize the last name. Probably not. After all, why would he remember the name of the McLaughlin housekeeper from so many years ago? The McLaughlins themselves hadn’t.

“Nice to meet you, Annie,” he said casually. “In time I hope you’ll come to see that Allmans aren’t so bad.”

“But that doesn’t mean you’re now the good guys,” she said hastily. “Just because you’re rich and all.”

“Oh? Why not?”

She shrugged, turning her palms up. “Leopards and zebras.”

He looked as though he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. “What?”

“Spots and stripes don’t change that easily.”

“Ah.” He nodded wisely. “Wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

“Exactly right.” She gave him a skeptical look. “For all we know, you could be playing possum.”

He groaned. “Are you always this glib with the animal aphorisms?”

A small spark of satisfaction flared in her chest. She finally felt as though one of her barbs had hit home. “Not always. I’m as game for a good sports metaphor as the next girl.”

“Good.” He rose and held out a hand to her. “Because you’re being traded.”

“What?” For some reason, maybe because she was still trying to figure out what he was talking about, she meekly let him take her hand and pull her to her feet.

“How do you feel?” he asked, studying her eyes.

She took a deep breath. He hadn’t let go of her hand, but maybe that was to help her steady herself. Frowning, she pulled her hand out of his and rubbed it against her skirt, trying to erase the delicious feeling his touch had given her.

“I’m fine,” she said crisply. “I need to get back to work.”

He shook his head. “Negative. I’m taking you in to my clinic. You need a thorough checkup.”

“I need not to lose my job,” she told him, trying to maneuver around him toward the door and failing to make any headway.

“You’re quitting this job,” he told her, looking intently into her eyes for a moment. “Doctor’s orders.”

This was crazy. It was all very well to tell her not to work too hard, to get plenty of rest and keep her feet up and so forth. But the fact remained that she had to make a living somehow. Lifting her chin, she glared at him defiantly.

“Doctors can throw their weight around all they want, but patients have still got to eat.”

She turned toward the door but he moved to block her progress and she looked up, a little startled by how big he was, how wide his shoulders seemed. And how knowing his gaze seemed to be. Did this man ever have any doubts about anything?

“You’ll eat,” he said. “I’ve got another job for you. One that won’t keep you on your feet all day.”

She wondered why he so casually assumed she would trust him enough to hand over life’s little decisions to him.

“And that would be…?”

“Office work. My office assistant abandoned me. She’s gone back East to help her fiancé pass the New York state bar exam. I need someone to fill in until she gets back.”

Office work. Air-conditioning. A soft, plush seat. Regular hours. It sounded heavenly. But it never paid as much as waiting tables and getting tips.

“How long will that be?” she asked anyway, tempted against her better judgment.

“At least three months.” His grin had become endearingly crooked. “That fiancé of hers needs a lot of work and she’s the determined type.”

She looked at him curiously. “What makes you think I’d be good at doing the sort of office work you need done?”

He shrugged. “I’ve seen you working here with Millie over the last few weeks. Competence just radiates from you. Don’t you know that?”

It was a nice compliment, but she hesitated, then shook her head.

“I can’t quit here,” she said, putting a hand on her rounded belly. “I’m totally dependent on what I make and I need to save for my recovery period after the baby comes.”

His blue eyes darkened. “No husband handy?”

He asked it quietly, no moral judgment implied, and she felt a small twinge of gratitude for that. She’d spent too much emotional energy lately in resenting the looks and comments made by people once they realized her situation. No one could be more contemptuous of her idiocy in landing in this fix than she was. She didn’t need to hear it from others. Lifting her head, she met his gaze with a steady look.

“No. I’m not married.”

If anything, his gaze grew warmer. “No family of any sort?”

She shook her head. “My mother died about a year ago.”

“And your father?”

“I don’t have one.”

He frowned. “Everyone has a father.”

“Only in the biological sense,” she said.

She could tell he didn’t like that answer, but he let it go.

“How much do you make?”

She told him. It wasn’t like it was a secret. Everyone knew how much this job took in. She didn’t add the amount she made at her second job, but he didn’t need to know that.

“You’ll do better working for me.” He told her a figure that got her attention. “And you’ll get benefits, too. You’ll need that for when you have the baby.”

She shook her head. “My delivery fees will be covered.” She hesitated only a second or two, then went on. “I’m considering giving my baby up for adoption. The lawyer will take care of everything.”

The very air seemed to go still. And at the same time, something flashed across his face. He looked as though her statement had stunned him. His face was like stone but his eyes were blazing.

“What?” he said softly.

She licked her dry lips. She had expected surprise, maybe bemusement, but nothing like this.

“I think you heard me. Why the shock and amazement? I’m not married.”

She hated having to explain. The pain of having to make this decision bled freshly every time. She threw up her hands, half a gesture of exasperation, half a plea for understanding.

“I want what’s best for my baby. Adoption can be a wonderful thing. A nice couple who can’t have a child of their own would be a lot better for this child than anything I can promise.”

She hated that she sounded defensive, but there it was.

The muscle at his jaw worked for a moment as his gaze seemed to cut through to her bones. Was it the fact that she was considering putting her baby up for adoption that was bothering him so much? She didn’t know what else it could be. Something was sure going on inside him. Some emotional chord had been yanked with a vengeance. She watched curiously, wondering what he was thinking as his gaze dropped to study her rounded belly. But his eyes were cool and impenetrable and his face was giving nothing away.

“Let’s go,” he said shortly, putting a hand in the center of her back to help lead her out the door.

She balked. That hand felt too good—and too controlling at the same time. “Wait a minute. I’m feeling a bit bulldozed here.”

He nodded. “You want some time to think it over?”

“Yes. That would be helpful.”

His smile was humorless. “You’ll have plenty of time in the car on the way to the clinic.”

“But—”

“Am I going to have to pick you up and carry you again?”

She drew in her breath sharply. “No.” Biting her lip, she let him lead her. After all, what choice did she have?

Chapter Two

“I hope you don’t think I’m taking any clothes off.”

The first thing Annie noticed when she and Matt arrived at the clinic was that the place was empty. It was getting late. Obviously, the staff had all gone home for the night. Still, it made her feel a bit awkward. Not to mention suspicious.

That was actually somewhat new for her, but she was learning. Don’t trust anyone, especially studly-looking men with flattering words and a roving eye. She tugged her light sweater tightly around her shoulders and glared at Matt as though he were the archetypal representative of that very group.

“Because any test that needs me naked isn’t going to happen,” she added, just for emphasis.

To her surprise, instead of getting annoyed, he laughed out loud as he turned to look at her.

“No need for to strip down for this,” he assured her.

Ushering her into the room where various types of medical examination machines stood around like alert soldiers, he glanced at the way she was hugging her clothes around herself.

“But tell me—do you usually bundle up as though expecting snow when you’re preparing to be examined by a doctor?”

“Not with my real doctor,” she said archly.

“What do you think I am?” he asked as he motioned for her to take a seat on the end of the table. “A phony doctor?”

“That remains to be seen.”

Sliding the blood pressure cuff up her arm, he gave her a sardonic look. “So who is your real doctor?” he asked.

“Dr. Marin.”

He nodded, adjusting the tester and inflating the cuff, then listening as he watched it count down.

“Ah yes, Raul Marin,” he said as he released her again. “His son was a friend of mine in high school.” He jotted down her blood pressure reading and turned to get the fetal monitor set up. “Well, if you prefer, I can take you over to his office. It’s after office hours, but—”

“But that’s just the point. I don’t need a doctor. I need to go home.”

She frowned. How had she let him talk her into coming here, anyway? What she said was true. She needed to go home, get into bed, pull the covers up…and wait for all this to end.

But her argument didn’t seem to be swaying him at all.

“I think we can get a few tests in right now. Enough to reassure me that you and this baby are doing okay.”

“Oh, well, as long as you’re reassured, the world can rest easy tonight.”

Her sarcasm fell on deaf ears. He jotted down some figures on a chart, then turned and motioned for her to lie back on the table.

“Let’s see how that little guy is,” he said.

“Little guy.” She liked that. She’d purposefully avoided finding out the gender of her baby, and resisted the temptation to name the child. If she was going to give the baby up for adoption, becoming too close and intimate would just make things that much harder. But when he said “little guy,” her heart skipped a beat and she felt a sudden surge of warmth that almost brought tears to her eyes. He was obviously ready to feel an easy affection for this new life she was carrying. She had to blink hard to keep from letting him see how that touched her.

“Okay, Doctor.”

He glanced into her eyes. “Call me Matt.”

She bit her lip. “How about Mr. Allman?”

A muscle twitched at his jaw. She was finally needling him just a little too much, and when he responded, there was a thread of annoyance in his tone.

“Whatever, Annie. Call me Dumbo if that makes you feel safer.” He moved closer, freeing some cords that had become tangled. “Now just relax and we’ll get this over with.”

She put a hand over her belly, automatically protective. The baby was doing just fine. She was sure of it—as sure as she could be. She was taking all the right vitamins and appearing regularly for her checkups, even though it was difficult to pay for them. She might be seriously considering giving her baby up to someone else to raise, but that was because of how much she loved him…or her. She’d never felt so close to anything in her life as she felt to this baby.

“How much do you charge?” she asked warily as she watched him prepare the monitor. She had some money saved and she didn’t want him to think she was expecting a handout.

He waved the question away. “First exams are freebies.”

For some reason, that irritated her. She wasn’t a charity case. She could pay her own way, even if it was hard sometimes.

“If you’re giving people freebies all over the place,” she said crisply, “I don’t see how you’re going to make enough to keep any sort of staff for long.”

He looked up after strapping her up to the monitor and laughed aloud. “My God, I’m hiring someone who actually understands how things work. Keep this up and I’ll have to make you office manager.”

It was humiliating how those half-mocking words of praise made her glow with satisfaction. She had to cover that up quickly.

“You can’t make me into anything.”

He didn’t bother to respond. He’d caught on long ago to the fact that most of her words didn’t mean a thing and were just a way to keep him at arm’s length. That was okay. Although he understood her need to protect herself, he just wanted to make sure that she didn’t lose sight of what was important—the welfare of this baby she was carrying.

He’d noticed her over the last few weeks, whenever he’d stopped by Millie’s for a quick bite. He’d been keeping an eye on the evidence of her baby’s progress, though he’d never said anything to her until she’d dropped into a faint at his feet. She had a bright, intelligent look to her that he’d liked and he’d wondered about her. He’d noticed that there was no wedding ring and it reminded him of his own unsettling situation….

It had only been a few weeks since an old friend passing through the area had called and innocently asked him what had ever happened to Penny Hagar, a young woman Matt had dated in Dallas a couple of years before. And then he’d asked about the baby.

“Baby?” Matt had responded, startled. “What baby?”

That was the first hint he’d ever had that Penny had become pregnant during their relationship. Since that day, searching for Penny and her baby had begun to consume more and more of his time and energy. He’d hired a private investigator once his own efforts had come up dry. So far, even the professional wasn’t having any luck. But the whole affair had made him much more aware of the babies around him. The world seemed to be full of them. Including the one Annie was carrying. And considering giving away.

“So what kind of staff do you have, anyway?” Annie asked, assuming she would be working right alongside them soon.

“Here in this office? There are two of us family practice physicians. We’ve got a combination receptionist-bookkeeper, a practical nurse and an RN. We’re thinking of hiring a physician’s assistant, too.”

She blinked, taking all that in. “So where exactly will I fit in?”

Turning, he looked at her. “I guess I didn’t make myself clear. You won’t be working here. I’ve also got an office at Allman Industries. That’s where I’m going to need you.”

“Allman Industries.” She said the words slowly, thinking it over. There had been no such thing as Allman Industries when she’d lived here off and on as a child, but she’d heard it mentioned since she’d come back. As she remembered, it was housed in a big old building just off Main Street, one of those structures with gargoyles at the corners, looking like something that came from times gone by.

“Does that meet with your approval?” he asked her, getting a little sarcastic himself.

“I don’t know,” she said pertly. “We’ll have to see.”

He nodded. “I’ll be awaiting your judgment with bated breath,” he said. “What I need at the office is someone to keep track of what the hell I’m doing. I’m basically the company medical staff at Allman’s, but I keep getting drafted into business meetings as well. My father is doing his best to lure me away from medicine. What he’d really like is for me to take over the company. It gets a little difficult to know where I am or what I’m supposed to be doing sometimes.”

She couldn’t imagine him having trouble telling anyone what he wanted or what he thought they should be doing. The man exuded confidence.

“Why don’t you just tell him you don’t have time for the meetings?”

He stared at her for a long moment before responding. Then he grinned. “Why indeed? That will be your first assignment. Tell everyone who calls that I’m too busy to accommodate them. You don’t know how that would simplify my life.”

She shrugged. “That seems easy enough.”

A series of expressions moved across his face. She didn’t know if he was amused or incredulous.

“You just wait,” he said, shaking his head and laughing softly.

“And I can assist you with some of the medical stuff, too,” she said, suddenly feeling she needed to explain that she had certain skills that deserved recognition.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “You don’t have any nursing training.”

“But I do.”

That got his attention. He straightened and stared at her. “What?”

“I was in my second year at Houston Medical School in the nursing program when I got pregnant and had to drop out.”

He made a whistling sound. “Wow. That will be very helpful.”

She shrugged. “I don’t have certification.”

“No. And of course, you won’t be expected to take over any nursing duties. But just to know you’re experienced will be a big help. In a town like this, every little bit of knowledge counts.”

He favored her with a lopsided grin that hinted at a new respect for her. That curled her toes for some unknown reason.

“So you see, you were always meant for this job,” he said. “Kismet.”

Kismet. She shivered. She knew the word just meant fate, but she didn’t like it. There was something romantic about it and romance was something she was dead set against.

And that reminded her of something. Millie’s beautiful daughter Shelley was set to marry Matt’s brother Rafe. Everyone at the café had been buzzing about nothing else for days. Annie liked Shelley a lot, and she’d been just as interested as anyone in the progress toward the ceremony. Now she wondered about Matt. She knew he wasn’t married, but she couldn’t help but speculate about why that was. He was successful and attractive and wasn’t getting any younger. Men like him were usually spoken for by now.

“Okay, Doc,” she said, forcing a stern frown. Craning her neck, she looked at the monitor screen. “What’s the verdict?”

“You and the baby seem fine.”

The sense of relief she felt surprised her. She hadn’t realized she might be more than a little concerned.

“You see? All that worrying for nothing.”

“No.” He shook his head. “It’s never for nothing.”

He had that one right. The longer she hung around this man, the more attractive he was looking. Reason enough to worry. Reason enough to be very, very careful.

And time to escape from this situation.

“You going to let me out of this thing?” she asked.

“Sure. Hold on.”

He was turning off switches on the fetal monitor and she watched, starting to feel pretty darn pleased with herself. She’d been in close proximity to this very appealing man—he’d even had his hands on various parts of her body and had leaned very close a few times, so close that she could feel his body heat and catch a hint of some sort of clean and soapy scent—and had been assaulted with all sorts of tempting male virility. Yet she’d remained completely unmoved by it. She was doing okay. She wasn’t even hyperventilating.

Hooray for me, she thought silently, giving herself a little smile.

And then, as he removed the strap, his hand brushed her breast. She froze and her gaze jerked up to meet his. Intentions were everything and she needed to see his, right now. What she saw didn’t make her feel any better.

There was no hint of any intention to mess with her, or even to take the chance at a little touching. But there was something else that was even worse. Something in his eyes held hers for a beat too long and while it did, she felt a jolt, a sudden connection, a new sensual awareness that snapped between them and made her gasp.

His eyes changed. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Sorry,” he murmured, turning to put away the equipment.

But she was breathless and desperate not to let him know, slowly pulling air into her lungs and forcing back the panicky feeling in her chest.

“If you want to get your things together, I’ll drive you home,” he said, still working with the equipment.

If only it was that easy. If only she could zing back a one-liner that would singe his hair. If only she could tell him to take a hike, that she could just darn well take care of that herself. But she didn’t have her car and she didn’t have any friends she could call. So unless she wanted to walk across town as night set in, she would have to let Matt drive her home.

She closed her eyes for a moment, making a silent promise. As soon as she could, she was going to get out of this mess. And once she was back on her feet, she was never, ever going to put herself in this kind of dependency again. One way or another, she was going to take control of her life.

Cruising slowly down the side street and turning on Main, Matt glanced at Annie. Somehow she managed to look as if she were perched on the edge of her seat despite the seat belt that had her securely strapped in. A casual observer would have thought she was being abducted. She looked ready to wrench the door handle open and leap from the car once she got the chance.

Shaking his head, he stifled the impulse to let her know how annoying it was to be treated as if he were conducting a shanghaiing operation. But he was pretty sure complaining would only make things worse. He couldn’t yell at someone to stop being so scared of everything. That didn’t ever work.

He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up taking care of her anyway. He was too busy for this. He’d only gone into Millie’s to grab piece of pie and a cup of coffee that was supposed to keep him awake while he worked late at his office at Allman Industries, and the next thing he knew, he was volunteering to take charge of another stray being.

That was what she reminded him of: an injured animal. As a boy he’d been famous for bringing home lost things—puppies, kittens, a garter snake, a baby skunk. He remembered a wounded bird he’d once found. He’d carried the poor thing around in a shoe box, doing everything a ten-year-old kid could think of to help it heal. He’d lavished all sorts of attention on it, trying to get it to eat and drink, and it had learned to stay still in his hands. But the look in its bright black eyes was always wary, as though it was sure, despite all his kindness, that he was probably going to hurt it in the end. And that was the look he saw in her eyes as well.

He felt a quick stab of anger at whoever had done this to her. A woman just didn’t get this skittish without cause. He wanted to soothe her, tell her not to worry, but he knew that anything he said might just make things worse.

“So tell me, what made you head back to Chivaree?” he asked, hoping he sounded casual.

She glanced at him sideways. “I told you. I lived here when I was a kid.”

“Did you go to Chivaree schools?”

“Off and on.”

This was like pulling teeth. She’d dropped the smart-aleck attitude, but now she was being so stingy with her answers, he almost wished she’d come back with another good insult.

“How about your baby. Boy or girl?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t asked.”

He looked over at her, puzzled. “You don’t want to know?”

“I’ll know soon enough.”

He grimaced, his eyes back on the road. “You’re keeping your distance, aren’t you? Trying not to get attached.”

She turned away. She wasn’t going to get into this with him, especially knowing how he felt about it.

“How about you?” she asked instead. “Have any children?”

He didn’t answer right away and she looked at him, surprised.

“I’ve never been married,” he said at last.

She shrugged. “Neither have I.”

Turning the car off Main Street, he headed toward the side of town she’d told him to aim for. Chivaree had changed a lot over the last few years. Used to be the place had a lonely, wind-swept look that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in an old-fashioned Western. But lately the population had surged and new subdivisions were going up on the hills around the town. Chain stores and restaurants were opening up near the highway. Growth was good but it carried with it the inevitable costs.

“Turn left at the next stop sign,” she told him.

He nodded, then frowned as he made the turn. He didn’t much like the look of the neighborhood. He hadn’t been on this seedy side of town for a while. Things had gotten worse in this crime-infested area.

“You living with somebody?” he asked hopefully. He didn’t want to face the possibility that she hung around here alone.

“No.”

“You’re all on your own?”

“Yes.”

“You should have someone else with you.”

She gave him what sounded almost like a snort. “That’s a nice theory. But the fact is, I don’t have anybody. I’m fine on my own.”

Fine on her own, huh? Then why did she sound so defensive?

She glanced at him sideways. He couldn’t help admiring that flash of her dark eyes and the way her thick, chocolate-colored hair swirled around her face.

“Here it is. Pull over behind that red car.”

He pulled over and turned off the engine, grimacing as he looked at the grungy building she had indicated.

“Thanks for everything,” she said with a breezy tone he knew she was forcing. “I’ll see you at Allman Industries in the morning.”

“Wait a second. I’ll walk you to the door.”

She flinched as though that startled her.

“No,” she said quickly, that wary look on her pretty face again. “Don’t.”

He frowned at her. “Why not?”

She ran her tongue across her lower lip nervously. “The neighbors will see you.”

“The neighbors?” He stared at her incredulously. “So what?”

“They’ll talk.”

“They’ll talk? Just because I act like a gentleman and—”

“They don’t know from gentlemen around here.” She pulled her things together and released her seat belt, ready to fly. “The men they see around here are no gentlemen.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you telling me—?”

She glanced at him. “Yes. They’ll think—” She shrugged and looked away. “Just let me go alone. I don’t need to be fodder for gossip.”

He bit down on his tongue. Anger was threatening to take over if he didn’t smother it fast. Taking a deep breath, he turned and challenged her.

“Annie, what the hell are you doing living in this kind of neighborhood?”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “The rent’s cheap.”

“Sometimes cheap is the most expensive of all.”

“Listen, Matt. I don’t come from money. I was raised by a single mother who did what she could, but couldn’t do much. I’ve lived in places like this lots of times in my life. I can handle it.”

Giving him a reassuring look, she slipped out of the car and walked quickly toward the entrance to her building.

He sat where he was, staring after her. He didn’t like it. This was no kind of neighborhood to bring a newborn baby back to. He shrugged away the fact that she was considering putting her baby up for adoption.

Assuming, for the sake of this argument, she would be bringing a baby home from the hospital, how was she going to cope in a place like this?

Well, maybe she had some friends.

No. She’d only been in town a month, so she couldn’t possibly have built up the sort of friendships that went with providing for a baby’s needs.

He thought of her, of her pretty face and those dark, beautiful eyes. She didn’t belong here. He wanted to throw caution to the wind and stomp in after her, grab her and—

Yeah, then what? He didn’t know anything about housing here in Chivaree. For all he knew, she was right and this was all that was available. On the other hand, once he got her installed at his office in the Allman building, once he started paying her a decent wage, maybe she would be able to afford a better place. He knew that was a better course. If he tried to go in and force her into doing things the way he thought they should be done, he was going to put her back up permanently.

He almost grinned, thinking of how fierce her pretty face would get, how her perfect little chin would jut out as she defied him. She was a charmer in her own way. Funny how hard she tried to resist that.

Still, the more he thought about it, the more he knew this was just an unacceptable place for her to live. No employee of his should live like this.

He grimaced. Who was he trying to kid? Annie wasn’t going to be just any employee. That baby she was carrying was taking on larger than life proportions in his mind—and it was no mystery to him why that was.

It had only been a few weeks since he’d found out he had a child himself. Out there in the world somewhere was a baby he’d never known about. That was a completely mind-blowing concept and he still wasn’t used to it. So many questions remained unanswered.

It made him sick to think that Penny, the ex-girlfriend who’d had his child and never told him, might have had to live in places like this dump where Annie was staying. But from what he’d learned so far, she’d been on her own when she was getting ready to go through delivery…and preparing to put the baby up for adoption, just as Annie was thinking of doing. So chances were, she’d had to take what she could get at the time.

It was hard thinking that while he was casually going on with his life, laughing, dating, getting a residency in family practice in Dallas, Penny had been taking on all the responsibilities he should have been sharing with her. And that she had made the solo decision to give up her baby—his baby—to someone else.

He should have been there.

Maybe he thought helping Annie would make amends to a certain degree. Could that be part of his interest in Annie and what was to become of her? Sure, he knew it was nuts to get involved. And maybe he was crazy. But babies had to be protected. Absolutely. A no-brainer. And if he had to take on the mantle of guardian angel, he would.

He switched the engine on and started slowly down the street, but his mind was still back at the grungy apartment building with Annie.

Chapter Three

Annie’s eyes shot open. She stared into the dark, wondering what had jolted her awake this way. Had it been a scream? A gunshot? She’d heard plenty of both those things since she’d moved into this dank, dark room.

There was a thump and someone began yelling in the hallway. She tried to relax. Them again. It was just the couple next door. The woman was always throwing her partner’s things out the window and then he would storm up the stairs, yelling and pounding on the door she’d locked against him. The yelling would go on, back and forth, for what seemed like hours. Finally she would let him back in the apartment and then dishes would crash into walls and he would yell and she would scream. The ridiculous thing was, once they made up, the lovemaking was just as noisy as the fighting had been.

Meanwhile, the people in the apartment on the other side of her had turned on some strange foreign music, very loud. She knew they were doing it to drown out the fighting, but it was almost worse. Pulling her pillow up over her head she groaned. How was she going to start a new job in the morning with no sleep at all?

Something hit the wall hard and she jerked in response, adrenaline surging. This was impossible. But more than that, it was scary. One of these days she had a feeling something worse than her peace being disturbed would happen. Matt had been right. She had to find another place to live. But how? With no money beyond just enough to feed herself and pay for this place, life was tough.

The woman screamed again and Annie winced. This was just too awful. And the worst was not knowing whether she should call the police again or not. Was the screaming for real? Or just a weapon the woman used against her boyfriend? Annie didn’t know how much more of this she could stand.

Suddenly there was a new voice and she raised her head, listening intently. The yelling was more hysterical and the thumps sounded more like a real fight. And then, there was nothing. Silence.

She sat up, frowning. What the heck was going on? The fights were never over this quickly.

Someone banged on her door. She jumped a foot into the air and cried out softly.

Her heart was thumping so hard it felt like it might burst. She closed her eyes for half a second to catch herself, then slipped from the bed and ran softly to the door, just listening, trying to figure out what kind of monster might be on the other side. Was it the man who had been yelling? The woman looking for refuge? The new voice she’d heard?

“Annie? Are you in there? Are you okay?”

It took her a moment to realize it was Matt Allman, and once she did, joy burst inside her.

“Matt?” She tugged on the multiple locks, sliding each back in turn and opening the door. “What are you doing here?”

He looked very good standing there—all tall and dark and strong and male. Just what she needed right now. Relief swept through her and she did something completely unexpected and totally ridiculous. She threw herself into his arms.

It only lasted for seconds, and she jumped back away from him again so quickly, he might have thought he’d imagined the whole thing. But for those few seconds, his warm arms had felt so good against her almost-naked body, her head was spinning.

“Where did you come from?” she asked, backing into her apartment again. A strange fuzzy place in her sleepy mind seemed to think he might have appeared in a puff of smoke. But the strong, protective arms around her had been so real, she might never get that short but sweet memory out of her head.

“I came to get you,” he responded calmly. “Get your things together. Let’s go.”

She stared at him blankly. “I—I can’t go. It’s after midnight,” she added irrationally.

“It’ll only get later the longer you procrastinate,” he told her gruffly. He glanced down the hall, then looked back at her, his gaze taking in the lacy nightgown and her slender body showing through it. “Let me in. I’ll help you get your things ready to go.”

She knew she was probably crazy for letting him into her lonely apartment in the middle of the night. After all, the way he’d looked at her had reminded her of just how nearly transparent her nightgown was in the light from the hallway. Not good. Even a pregnant woman might look enticing in flimsy lace in the middle of the night.

“Oh,” she said, looking down. Maybe she could ask him to wait in the hall until—

But he wasn’t waiting any longer. And suddenly there he was, inside her apartment, closing her door.

“Come on. I’m getting you out of here.”

She shook her head, then glanced around for her robe. “No. Where would I go?” she said, lifting it off a chair and slipping it on, hugging it close to her chest. “This is where I live, I—”

He grabbed her arm. She looked up at him, startled. He obviously meant business.

“Look, if you want me to get all caveman on you, I will. Bottom line, I’m not going to let you sleep here one more night.”

“But—”

“Annie, be reasonable. It was like World War Three in your hallway when I got here. I had to kick some butt to get them to quiet down. There’s no way you can live with this stuff going on.” He glared at her. “Don’t you ever call the cops on these people?”

She nodded. “I’ve tried that. They came once, but they don’t like to come over here to this neighborhood.”

He groaned. “Annie, I mean it. You’re coming with me. You have no other option.”

Looking in his eyes, she knew there was no point arguing. Turning, she looked at her closet. “Okay. Let me change and—”

“No time for that. Grab your toothbrush and let’s get out of here. We can get the rest of your things tomorrow.”

Matt took charge. In no time at all she was sitting in the passenger seat of his car, cruising through the dark streets. She was wearing her robe over her nightgown, but her hair was billowing wildly around her head and her feet were in thongs. She did have her toothbrush clutched firmly in her hand. At least there was that.

“I don’t know why I’m letting you do this,” she said, shaking her head at her own folly.

He glanced at her and a half smile softened the hard edges of his face. “I don’t know why either. But it’s probably because you know I’m right.”

She sighed. “I’ll bet you’re right a lot of the time, aren’t you?” she said.

He shrugged. “Pretty much all the time if you want to know the truth.”

She was quiet for a moment, thinking about what might be coming next. She supposed he was taking her back to his place. Where else was he going to take her in the middle of the night? She had to be out of her mind for going along with this. After all, she might have to listen to fights at her place, but at least she was just a spectator, so far. At Matt’s apartment she would probably be one of the main combatants. Because if he thought her gratitude for his concern was going to get him anything, he could think again!

She bristled, ready to hate him. Men were all alike, weren’t they? A pregnant woman with no man around seemed to act like catnip on the average male. She’d better get ready to let him know just what she thought of lechers. Bracing herself, she waited for him to turn down the street where all the new apartment buildings stood.

But he didn’t turn there. He just kept going and she looked at him in surprise.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“Home,” he said shortly, not taking his gaze off the road.

She frowned, looking out at the simple frame houses they were passing.

“Whose home?” she countered.

“We’re here,” Matt said instead of answering her question. He pulled the car up a driveway to stop in front of a house that had obviously once been just like all the other simple frame houses on the block, but had since morphed into something much more grandiose.

“The Allman homestead,” he said, squinting as he looked through the windshield at it.

She leaned forward to stare at it, too. The place looked huge, three stories tall, with gables and a round tower, as though someone had taken a liking to the Queen Anne style somewhere along the way. To Annie it looked like a fairy-tale house, with windows for princesses to lean out of and dark recesses for villains to hide in.

“The reason it looks sort of odd is that Pop keeps putting on additions,” Matt said. “If he had his way, every Allman would marry and keep his family right here, so there’s got to be plenty of room.”

“That seems very…” She was about to say generous, but she had second thoughts. Controlling was probably a better word. “Wait a minute. You live here with your family?”

“Sure.”

She looked at the house with alarm. “Are you going to tell me this place is full of Allmans of all shapes and sizes?”

“Yup.”

She swallowed hard. She was a McLaughlin, even if he didn’t know it. The Allmans and the McLaughlins were like the Hatfields and the McCoys. They didn’t mix, didn’t speak, didn’t tolerate each other at all. And here she was being ushered into the belly of the beast. Yikes! Was this really a good idea?

She was stalling for time and he made an impatient gesture.

“Come on, Annie,” he said, sliding out of the driver’s seat and coming around to help her out. “Keep it kind of quiet, though. Everyone’s in bed.”

“So who all’s here right now?” she asked, looking nervously up at the second-floor windows.

“Let’s see.” Leading her across the lawn, he started counting on his fingers. “Pop, two sisters, Rita and Jodie, my brother David…and me.”

She came to a dead stop, horrified, as the magnitude of it all rose up in front of her. “I can’t go in there.”

He frowned at her. “Why not?”

“Because…what is your family going to think?”

He groaned. “You care too much what other people think. Don’t worry about them. I’ll explain it all to them in the morning.” She still didn’t move and he added, “Look, where else are you going to go?”

Well, that was it, wasn’t it? She had no choice. How the heck had she let this happen to her again? He was right. She looked at him, feeling frustrated and a bit angry. She hated being in this position. But she knew she was going to have to give in to the inevitable. Unless she wanted to sleep in the car.

“Listen, don’t worry about it,” he said, still trying to convince her. “We’ve got a lot of extra rooms.”

She blinked. “There will be a room just for me?” she asked incredulously.

“Sure.”

Touching his arm, she looked up at him searchingly. “So—let me get this straight. You’re not trying to smuggle me into your bedroom?”

He opened his mouth to say something, closed it again, then half laughed. “Annie-girl,” he said in his best Texas drawl, “you’re nervous as a cat in a dog pound. Don’t you ever drop the suspicions? You’d think you’d never met a stranger who didn’t turn out to be a horse thief.”

She shrugged. “The good ones are rare as hen’s teeth,” she muttered, turning to look at the house again. “But I’ve still got hopes for you.”

He grinned. “You and me both.” He tugged on her arm to make her face him and looked down earnestly. “Annie, I’m interested in two things. Number one, getting a good employee. And number two, making sure your baby is okay. Got that?”

“My baby is fine,” she said, knowing the words sounded defensive. Again.

“Good,” he said. “Let’s keep it that way.”

She stood where she was, frowning at him. His handsome face was contorted by the harsh light from the porch, but his determination was clear. This was something more than his professionalism as a physician.

She didn’t get it. And because she didn’t get it, she was suspicious. What was his angle, anyway?

“You do understand that I’m probably putting this baby up for adoption,” she reminded him.

A flash of something that looked close to pain came and went across his face so quickly, she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it.

“So you say.”

She shook her head, trying to puzzle him out and failing at it. “Why does this bother you so much?”

“Who said it bothered me?” He started to turn away, then slowly turned back as though he’d thought better of it. “It’s just that…well, I want to make sure you think this through.”

She fought back a wave of weariness. Did he really think she’d come up with this idea on the fly? It had been the hardest, most heart-breaking dilemma she’d ever faced. How could it be anything else?

“Believe me, I’ve done plenty of thinking about it.”

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