Read The Cowboy's Little Surprise for Free Online

Cole’s return on her, after all.
    Unfortunately, his secret would pale by comparison once he learned about hers.
    She couldn’t let the impending disaster make her forget her obligations—no matter how eagerly she wanted to run to the kitchen, grab Robbie and head for the hills. She took a deep breath and said, “Welcome back to the Hitching Post.”
    “Thanks. Are you managing the place now?”
    “I’m the assistant manager. And bookkeeper for both the Hitching Post and the ranch.”
    “Bookkeeper, huh? That fits. You always were good at math.”
    “What can we do for you? I know you can’t be looking for a room.”
    “Why not?”
    Her fingers tightened, crumpling the long-forgotten brochure she still held. “You’re staying with Layne at her new apartment, aren’t you?”
    “How did you know that?”
    “It’s a small town.”
    “Yeah.” For a moment, he looked irritated. “And speaking of small, that describes Layne’s couch. Now you mention it, the idea of taking a room here doesn’t sound bad at all. It would get me off the hook for minding Scott, too.” He laughed and shook his head. “And before you take me too seriously, I’m just kidding about that. But let me tell you, babysitting is not the gig for me. When I swore off marriage and kids, I should have added extended family to the list.”
    The statement hit her like a fist to the chest. “You don’t mean that. And you wouldn’t say it if you’d never had a sister or brother.”
Or if you already had a child.
    Would learning about Robbie make any difference?
    “In any case,” he said, “I’m not looking for a room. Jed wanted me to stop by to fill out some forms.”
    “Why? New hires usually do that on their first day of work.”
    He shrugged. “Beats me. He wanted me to come by. Since I had some time as well as the kid on my hands, I thought I’d take care of it today. Is that a problem?”
    “Not at all.” With the rate of turnover of temporary wranglers, she always kept a blank set of employment forms on a clipboard in Jed’s credenza.
    “You know where Jed is?”
    “In his den.”
    “I’ll just head down there, then. Keep an eye on Scott for me, will you?”
    She nodded, willing to do anything to get some space from him.
    Leaving the crumpled brochure on the desk, she crossed to the sitting room and smiled at Scott. He ducked his head shyly.
    Sighing, she watched him play with Robbie’s favorite toys.
    And she thought about Robbie’s daddy.
    No matter how she felt about Cole, she had to tell him the truth. What he did once he heard the news would be up to him. She had no doubts about what she had to do. Her job was to protect Robbie.
    She also had to tell Abuela and Jed. They loved her son, had helped her raise him from the moment he was born. She owed them so much, and she wanted them to hear the news first.
    * * *
    B Y THE TIME Cole returned to the lobby, Tina stood behind the registration desk again, waiting. “All done?” she asked.
    “Yep.”
    “Good. Now you’ve taken care of your business with Jed, I’m sure you’ll want to head back to town. It’s getting late, and Scott’s hungry. He said you’re all going out to dinner tonight.”
    “That’s right.”
    “Scott,” she called. “Your uncle’s ready to go.” Turning to Cole again, she added, “I’ve got to go help Abuela in the kitchen.”
    Almost sighing with relief, she began to move from behind the desk. The sound of sneakers slapping on the hallway floor froze her in place again.
    “Mama?” Robbie entered the lobby and ran up to the desk. “I didn’t know where you was.
Hey!
” His blue eyes widened. He pointed across the reception area at Scott, who now stood in the doorway of the sitting room cradling a toy Appaloosa. “That’s
mine.
”
    She couldn’t manage to force a word past her tight throat.
    “It’s okay,” Cole said, sounding as though he had trouble speaking, too. “He’s not doing your horse any harm.”
    She kept