Beneath the Stetson(49)

His sigh was theatrical. “I guess so.” He rubbed the puppy’s head, his eyes downcast. “He likes you.”

Oh, crap. How dignified was it to pump a kid for information? But the temptation was too much. “How do you know?”

Cade’s expression was earnest when he looked up at her. “I heard him singing in the shower this morning.”

Bailey frowned. “So?”

“So my dad never sings in the shower.”

“Maybe he was in a good mood.”

“I told you. He doesn’t sing in the shower.”

Clearly, Cade’s logic made perfect sense to him. But Bailey was befuddled. “I’ll take your word for it,” she said. Reminding herself that she was a mature adult, she derailed the provocative conversation. “Let’s go back to the house. Chance’s cook promised to fix a snack for you.”

Cade stood up, a piece of hay stuck to his pink, round cheek. He tucked his small hand in hers as they walked back to the main house. “I like you, too, Miss Bailey. Thanks for babysitting me today.”

* * *

An hour later, Bailey took Cade up to her room and washed his face and hands and removed the worst of the mud from his shoes. She couldn’t return him to his father looking like a ragamuffin. “We’d better head out,” she said. “If I’m late getting you home, I’ll be on your dad’s bad list.”

Cade giggled. “Dad says people aren’t bad. But sometimes they do bad things. Is that how you get on the list?”

She picked up his jacket and the small cowboy hat Chance had given him. “I suppose so. Your dad is a very wise man.” And a darned good father. Cade’s maturity and grounded personality didn’t happen by accident. It was the result of unwavering love and the confidence he possessed that his father would always protect him.

* * *

Her car was warm from sitting in the sun. She cranked up the air and then made sure Cade was properly strapped into his booster seat in the back. His eyelids were drooping. He considered himself too old for a nap, but he had played hard today.

As the crow flew, the trip from Chance’s ranch to Gil’s wasn’t all that far. But the only way to get from one to the other was to drive the several miles out to the highway, hang a right for another six or seven miles, and finally, traverse the long road out to Gil’s house.

The whole trip took thirty minutes or so. Cade, bless his heart, was conked out before she even got to the main highway. Keeping the radio turned low, she hummed along to a favorite song, feeling her pulse race at the thought of being with Gil again.

Imagining what he wanted to talk about was tantalizing. But she kept her anticipation in check. It was a long time until Cade would be tucked in tonight. By the time she and Gil talked, it would be late. After that, would he expect intimacy? With his son asleep down the hall? Or would they go their separate ways?

She couldn’t imagine that. Not after yesterday. Gil looked at her with such intensity in his gaze that she was under no illusions about what he was thinking. He was a virile man. A sexy, masculine alpha male. And he wanted her.

The knowledge was exciting. But she felt restless and nervous. The sting of continuous desire was a unique experience. She didn’t know it was possible to feel such gut-level need and still be so uncertain about the future. Would tonight be a watershed moment? Or was she making too many assumptions?

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a car pulled out to pass her. She grimaced. Impatient drivers were the worst. In slow motion it seemed, she glanced in the rearview mirror to look at Cade and almost simultaneously realized that the vehicle beside her was not merely crowding her accidentally. The driver jerked his wheel sharply and sideswiped her, pushing her toward the side of the road.

Her training clicked into gear. She had to outrun them. But even as she stepped on the gas, she despaired. The car responded sluggishly, the front right tire hung up in the ditch. With shaking hands she grabbed her cell phone and texted 9-1-1 to Gil...and seconds later to Nate. Then, dialing 9-1-1, she dropped the phone on the front seat and left the call open.

Her heart in her stomach, she prayed that Cade would stay asleep. The thought of him being scared made her angry. When she determined that her car would go no farther, she put it in Park. Bitterly regretting that she had not brought her service weapon, she debated her options. If at all possible, she would not let whoever had disabled the vehicle get near Cade.

At the moment, there was no movement from the other car. It had stopped, as well.

She glanced at Cade. His thumb was in his mouth and he clutched the small plastic pony that was his favorite. But still he slept.