Kidnapped At Christmas. Barb Han
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her back. Was she this stunning before? Damn. She was and more.
Seeing her again awakened cells he thought were beyond resuscitation. Too bad she wanted something from him. And then he thought about it. News must be out that he was a Butler. A small town like Cattle Barge would have trouble keeping anything secret for long. Was she making a play for his inheritance? His heart argued against the idea even as the thought made him frown. Besides, he had no plans to claim anything about being a Butler, so she’d be out of luck.
A waitress brought over a menu. She was short, maybe five-feet-three inches, and had mousy brown hair. Her name tag read Hailey. The woman was the complete opposite of Meg, who had those long legs and shiny blond locks.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” Hailey asked.
“No. Thank you, Hailey.” He didn’t figure this conversation was going to take long enough to stick around. Meg would make her demand. He’d say no. Problem solved.
Ignoring the tug at his heart, he said, “I’m not staying.”
Meg let out a little grunt.
“You sure about that?” Hailey asked with a smile and a wink.
“Never been more certain of anything in my life.” Out of respect for his companion, he didn’t flirt back.
“Let me know if you change your mind,” Hailey said with a pout.
There was another emotion radiating off Meg—impatience. Or it could be jealousy, but that was most likely wishful thinking on his part. Sue him. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, and another pang of something—remorse?—hit as he acknowledged to himself she didn’t seem to want to be there any more than he did. At least he was trying to make the best out of a bad situation. What was her excuse?
Her arms were crossed and her gaze laser focused.
“Might as well go ahead and spit it out.” He didn’t bother hiding his impatience. “What do you want from me?”
A sound ripped from her throat and she made a move toward her purse.
“Do us both a favor.” She looked him square in the eyes. “Forget I called.”
“Suit yourself,” he said without conviction as he stood.
Wyatt turned around and walked right out the door.
With every step the handsome cowboy took toward the parking lot, Meg’s pulse climbed another notch. Let him leave and it was all over. She couldn’t imagine finding the courage to contact him again, and even if she did he wouldn’t take her calls.
Seeing him again, all bronzed hair and steel-gray eyes with thick lashes, had thrown her off. The restaurant should’ve been full over the lunch hour but she’d forgotten about the midday tree-lighting ceremony in the park. The place must be bustling about now, and she figured that was half the reason she hadn’t heard from Stephanie yet.
Meg pushed off the chair and followed Wyatt. A young guy held the door open for her, but their feet collided and she had to take a couple of steps to recover her balance.
She acknowledged his mumbled apology with a nod. Her gaze was locked onto Wyatt’s back side as she ignored the sensual shivers running through her.
The fact that he’d been clear about flying solo had been the exact reason she’d ended their fling last year and walked away before her emotions got involved.
“Wait,” she said to his back, a strong one at that. Birds fluttered in her chest. When he didn’t stop, she added, “Please.”
Wyatt slowed his pace, which allowed her to catch up to his long strides without breaking into a run.
“I’m sorry about before...” Now at his side, she could see him smirking. Meg stopped. “I have something serious to say, but if this is just a game to you then forget it.”
Wyatt turned to face her and put all signs of his playboy swagger in check.
Wow. Meg had been nervous before, but she had totally underestimated how much harder this was going to be in person while staring into his eyes. Her legs threatened to give.
“Last year, I stopped returning your calls—”
He brought his hand up to stop her.
“If that’s why you called me here, save it. It was a long time ago and I don’t need an explanation. We had fun. You moved on. End of story.” Was there a momentary flicker of...hurt?...in his eyes? Meg must be crazy and seeing imaginary things. What was next? Unicorns? She’d been reading too many fairy tales to her daughter because her mind was flirting with believing them.
He made a move to walk away again, and the pressure mounted...
“We had more than fun. We had a baby,” she blurted out, her pulse pounding wildly in part because of what she’d just shared and in part because of the strong virile male standing two feet in front of her.
He looked her up and down like he was evaluating her for a trip to the psych ward. His eyes grazed a hot trail as they lingered on the curve of her hips and then the fullness of her breasts. An unwelcome sensation of warmth slid along her belly and heated her inner thighs despite the frigid December temperatures.
“How do you know it’s mine?” That question was the equivalent of a bucket of ice water dumped over her head.
“You were the only possibility.” She brought her fisted hand to rest on her hip and her body shivered to stave off the cold.
Wyatt glanced around. “I don’t exactly see a baby, so...”
“She’s at the park.” Meg fumbled inside her purse for her cell, willing her shaky hands to calm down. After his accusation, they were trembling with anger. She needed to check her texts to see if Stephanie had tried to reach her. “She’s eight weeks old and I haven’t slept since she was born, so excuse me if I’m a little rattled.” She threw one of her hands up in the air.
“If you’re after the Butler fortune you’re going about it the wrong way.” The words knifed her chest. She’d expected him to be surprised but not condemn her as money-grubbing crackpot, but hold on a minute. Had she heard him right?
“What does my daughter have to do with the Butlers? Your last name is Jackson.” Now it was Meg’s turn to look at him like he’d lost his mind. Although, she shouldn’t be surprised at the news. Maverick Mike Butler had fathered at least one other child that no one knew about.
Wyatt stared at her, same as before, with a raised brow and unbelievable expression.
“No, I’m not in need of psychiatric care.” She located her cell and white-knuckled it. “And I do have a baby.”
Meg entered her screensaver password and noticed there was still no text from Stephanie. An uneasy feeling gripped her as she stuck her phone out at Wyatt. A picture of Aubrey was her wallpaper and, therefore, proof. “See.”
He nodded as he scrutinized the image.
“You still haven’t answered my question. What does Aubrey have to do with the Butlers?” Her patience was running thin and she really was starting to get worried about Stephanie.
Wyatt looked at a loss for words.
“Never mind. Excuse me for a second while I make a call. My friend took my—” she flashed eyes at him “—our daughter for a walk around the park. She was supposed to text me in case things went sour...” Meg ran her finger along Stephanie’s name. She didn’t dare turn her back on Wyatt for fear he’d disappear even though she wanted to make this call in private. The cell ran straight into voice mail and her pulse shot up a couple more notches. “Stephanie, give me a call as soon as you get this. Hope everything is okay.”