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with horses every day, wild or otherwise,
until he’d lost his job. Before then, it had been restricted to weekends.
    If her remark bothered him, he hid it well. “Only until they’re
trained. Which doesn’t usually take long.”
    “You are good at it. You could train horses for a living if you
wanted.” Shoot, another stupid slip. Would she ever learn? “Not that you aren’t
a great systems analyst.”
    Ugh! That sounded worse.
    “Ethan’s the resident horse trainer on Powell Ranch. I wouldn’t
want to take his job away from him.”
    Like Richard had taken Conner’s job.
    “I, um, was just—”
    “It’s okay, Dallas. You don’t have to walk on eggshells. I got
laid off. Now I’m training horses and leading trail rides, and glad to have a
job. Plenty of the people I worked with at Triad Energy still don’t.”
    “Something’s going to break for you soon. I have faith.”
    “Glad one of us does.”
    “It’s all about networking,” she said enthusiastically.
    “So I’ve heard.” His grin strived for teasing—and fell
short.
    Had she overstepped?
    Dallas kept quiet rather than commit another blunder.
    Conner broke the silence first. “Do you mind if I ask a
personal question? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
    “I don’t mind.”
    “Why did you break up with Richard?”
    She took a moment to collect her thoughts. “Technically, it was
mutual.”
    “It still must have hurt.”
    “Not really. Which says a lot. I took it in stride. Sure, I was
a little lost at first. But by the end of the following week, I was ready to
move on. Which says even more.”
    “What happened? Between you.”
    “Nothing happened, which was the problem. Whatever we had, it
wasn’t head-over-heels, can’t-live-without-you love.”
    “When did you find out you were pregnant?”
    “A week later.”
    Conner nodded, watched the trail ahead as it grew steeper and
steeper.
    Her curiosity got the best of her. “What are you thinking?”
    “I’m surprised you didn’t change your mind and decide to get
married, after all. Richard has his faults, but he’s a responsible guy.”
    “If you must know, he did ask me.”
    “Hmm.”
    “I said no. Nothing’s changed.”
    “Except you’re having his baby.”
    “Which hasn’t affected my feelings for him. I care for him, I
really do. And I imagine I always will. But not enough to marry him.”
    “You could do worse.”
    Dallas stiffened. Now Conner sounded like Hank.
    “My mother spent five years married to a man she didn’t love.
He wound up walking out on her and my brother and me. It sucked, and it’s the
last thing I’d want for my child. Given a choice, I’d rather call off the
wedding than go through with it, only to wind up divorced a few years
later.”
    “Sounds like you’re justifying the breakup.”
    She scowled at him. “I am not.”
    “A father has a duty to fulfill.”
    “My father? Or are you referring to Richard? Forget it,” she
said, before Conner could answer. “Richard will do his duty. We just won’t be
married.”
    “I admire you. It’s a big risk you’re taking. Most women would
be scared.”
    “I’m scared, all right. Petrified. But I have the support of my
family and friends. And my work. Photography is something I can continue while
I’m pregnant, and after the baby’s born.”
    He made a face.
    “What?” she demanded.
    “You’d bring a baby along on a wagon ride?”
    “Not all my shoots are in the mountains.”
    “Or from three thousand feet up?”
    He’d remembered the photos she took last year that now appeared
in a calendar. “Guess I won’t be hot-air ballooning for a while, either.”
    He was right. Her entire life would soon be completely
different.
    Was she making the right decisions for everyone concerned? Most
important, her baby?
    She and Conner reached the top of the hill. He drew the horses
to a stop so they could rest.
    Dallas had lived in the Scottsdale area her entire life