Carrying the Rancher's Heir / Secret Son, Convenient Wife. Charlene Sands
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“I’m running late. I’m gonna have to leave the crew in your hands today. I’ve got an appointment in town. Tagg, keep those boys in line for me. Seems every one of them is already smitten with Callie.” Clay winked at her and the sound of her sweet throaty chuckle set Tagg’s nerves on edge.
“Something tells me Callie can take care of herself.”
Clay narrowed his eyes and the conversation quickly died.
After a few seconds of silence, Callie chimed in, “Now, don’t you go worrying about me. Those boys are treating me just fine.”
“Glad to hear it.” Clay darted them each a curious look as if trying to figure out something.
Tagg set his jaw, waiting for his brother to leave.
“I’ll be in touch,” Clay said finally, then bid them farewell.
Tagg stood alone with Callie in front of the general store. They stared at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds until Callie’s smile brought him up short. “Well, I’m glad I stopped by your house the other day to break the ice. Because that wasn’t awkward.”
Callie’s remark broke the tension. Tagg relaxed and sent her a smile. “Do you always blurt out whatever’s on your mind?”
Callie smiled back and her caramel eyes lit up. “Yeah, most times I do.”
“What about those other times, when you don’t? How does that work for you?”
Callie thought about it for one second then replied, “It works fine. When I keep my words in check, it’s usually to keep the peace with my father.”
“The Hawk,” Tagg bit out.
“My father.”
“Are you afraid of him?”
“Heavens, no. Let’s just say it’s usually easier to deal with him without hysterical drama. Which is what it would be if I really let loose on him.”
“So you hold back.”
“I deal with him in my own way and, most times, I’m successful at making my point. What about you, Tagg? Do you always hold in your feelings?”
Tagg didn’t like speaking about feelings. What man did? “What feelings are you talking about exactly?”
Callie got a distant look on her face and then blinked it away. “Scared feelings. Like leaving a girl a note on the hotel bed instead of facing her.”
Tagg wasn’t going there. He chose to ignore Callie’s comment. It was safer that way for both of them. He put his hand to her lower back and applied slight pressure. “Let’s get to those horses. I’ll drive.”
They strode toward the Jeep in silence, Tagg aware of Callie right beside him. Her unique scent wafted up to tease his nostrils and remind him of things he wanted forgotten. His foul mood kicked up a notch. When they reached the vehicle, he opened the door for her before he walked to the driver’s side and got in. He turned the engine key and gave it gas, but didn’t put it in gear. Hesitating, he stared out the dashboard window.
They’d both entered into the one-night fling. Callie wasn’t completely off the hook. She’d done her part in tempting him beyond his willpower. But Tagg never shied away from his responsibilities. And he had felt responsible for what had happened between them because he knew going in that Callie Sullivan was off-limits for more than one good reason. She was the daughter of his biggest competitor. She was his neighbor and a woman he’d be bumping into at times. But perhaps most importantly, Tagg knew Callie wasn’t the one-night stand kind of woman. She didn’t play loose and fast, which was the only kind of woman Tagg ever got involved with these days.
After mulling it over in his mind, Tagg figured an explanation was exactly what was needed. Basically, he was an up front kind of guy. He liked to lay things on the line. “Callie, I wasn’t afraid of anything. I had to leave and didn’t want to wake you. That’s the truth.”
“The whole truth?” she asked.
With an inward sigh, he rested his arm across the steering wheel and turned to probe deep into her eyes. “Look, I don’t want to be a jerk about this. But that night wasn’t about feelings.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Okay, it was about feelings, but not my feelings for you.”
“I know that. You were hurting.”
“Yeah, I was and you were there. Easy. Convenient. Beautiful.”
Callie’s eyes grew round with stunned surprise and then they squeezed shut. “Oh.”
Tagg cursed under his breath.
She squeezed her eyes even tighter as if to ward off the pain he’d just caused. When she opened them she nodded quickly. “Got it.”
“I didn’t say that right.” He felt like a heel and hated every second of this conversation. Moments like this one were the reason he didn’t get involved with women anymore.
“Oh, no. You made yourself perfectly clear.”
Callie refused to look at him. She stared straight ahead, her body as rigid as an ancient statue. Tagg put the Jeep in gear and drove toward the Worth stables. About five minutes into the ride, Callie shocked him when she began making small talk, seemingly fully recovered from his callous words. “You know I went to Boston College for four years. I only came home for short summer stays and holidays.”
“Yeah, I know.” He glanced at her. She appeared more relaxed and looked him square in the eyes.
“You know?”
He shrugged. “Nothing’s a secret in a small town. We all thought The Hawk’s only child couldn’t wait to get as far away from him as possible.”
“He’s not that bad, Tagg. He loves me. And I love him. But I really liked having a life without a lot of meddling.”
“Can’t imagine he could do too much meddling from over two thousand miles away.”
“He managed some, but overall my stay in Boston was wonderful. It’s a very quaint city in many regards.”
“So why did you come back?”
“I missed Arizona. I missed the ranch. Silly me, I’m not a city girl after all. And my father had a little health scare. He’s really the only family I have. Except for my mother’s side. I have an aunt and a cousin who live in Reno.”
The Jeep barreled over some rough patches in the road and tossed them both forward. On instinct, Tagg threw his arm across Callie’s body to keep her from hitting the dashboard. The back of his hand connected with her chest as he pressed her back to safety. His knuckles grazed her breast and met with resistance, the contrast of firm giving way to soft, so female, so Callie, that his blood pressure elevated. Instant images flashed in his head of touching her there, pressing his lips to her perfect pink tips and filling his mouth with her taste.
He swallowed down and slid her a glance. “You okay?”
Her lips curved up in a soft smile that unnerved him. A smile that seemed to suggest touch me anytime, take me anywhere. “Yes.”
He turned to face the road and kept on driving, obliterating that memory, denying the inviting look on her expression and refusing to acknowledge that he was damned attracted to Callie Sullivan.
Three
Callie bounded out of Tagg’s vehicle, keeping her spirits up. Tagg’s cutting words a few minutes ago had hurt, but she couldn’t let them discourage her. She’d known Tagg was a loner when she’d approached him that night. She’d known about his past heartache. She couldn’t expect him to claim undying love for her at this point, not when he’d been wallowing in grief for years.
They’d had a great