His Callahan Bride's Baby (Callahan Cowboys) (2 page)

“Falcon doesn’t need to know that I received another marriage proposal. It’s none of his business.” At the moment, Taylor didn’t want anyone in Diablo to know more about her than necessary. She’d grown up here. People talked, and talked
a lot
. And she hadn’t quite accepted the astonishing proposal of Storm Cash. She’d said she’d think about it.

Falcon’s proposal was the second she’d received in a month. “I’m in shock, to be honest.”

“I am, too.” Jillian walked over, took the dishrag from her. “Go home. Think about all this. Talk to your mom about everything. It’s not often a woman gets proposals from two men almost at the same time.”

“They’re enemies,” Taylor murmured.

“True enough.” Jillian nodded. “Falcon’s going to hear about it eventually.”

A chill teased at Taylor. “Do you think he knew that Storm proposed?”

“I feel certain that Falcon isn’t the kind of man to do things out of a sense of competition for a female. There’s too many pretty ladies around who would give anything to go out with him, or any of the Callahan boys.” She shrugged. “Tell me again why Mr. Cash offered to marry you?”

“He said he needed a wife,” Taylor said. “He said he’d heard that Mama was ill, and he didn’t want to take me away from her when he knew she needed help, so he would wait for me. But he also wanted to help Mama out. I told him we were fine, that we didn’t need his assistance. To be honest, I thought his proposal was more sincere than Falcon’s.”

“Never underestimate a Callahan. They don’t do anything half-baked. It just seems like they’re half-baked, all of them.” Jillian laughed. “They are wild men, for sure—both sides of the Callahan family tree. And Ash follows in her brothers’ and cousins’ footsteps. In fact, I do believe Ash taught those boys a thing or two about staying crazy and free, at least according to what Fiona has shared.” She smiled, enjoying telling the yarn. “No, Callahans are fully baked, like clay fired in a kiln. Falcon was serious.”

Taylor realized she’d completely dismissed Storm’s proposal, kind as it might have been. Yet her heart had leaped at Falcon’s words—first in surprise, then with what she could only identify as happiness, even as she knew he couldn’t truly love her. He was too wild.

How long had she carried a secret torch for the handsome, long-haired cowboy? Months. Maybe ever since he’d ridden into Diablo. She heard the tales of wildness surrounding him and his family, and every time he’d come into the diner and ordered a meal, his dark navy eyes staring into hers, her heart had sung.

“You better straighten it out, honey, if you’ve got a yen for that man.” Jillian turned the lights low and switched on the small neon closed sign in the window. “I can only warn you that if you have any feelings at all for Falcon, any idea at all that you might want to consider dating him, you want to turn down Storm Cash as quickly and quietly as possible. If Storm should tell anyone in Diablo that he offered to marry you, Falcon will run in the opposite direction. Those two are natural enemies, like an alpha wolf crossing into another alpha’s territory. You have to decide if you want either of those gentlemen, or neither, before they catch wind of each other. Some men compete over a girl, but I think Falcon’s got too much baggage and too many girls after him to expend the effort. He did say he was looking for an easy thing.” Jillian gently smiled. “I wish I was still young enough to have two sexy hunks vying for my hand in marriage.”

Taylor picked up her purse and followed Jillian from the diner. It was hot now in New Mexico. There were fires burning in different parts of the state, feeding on the parched land. Soon, hopefully, the heat would break, and more temperate conditions would settle over Diablo.

Christmas wasn’t that far away.

“You could get him if you play your cards right,” Jillian said cheerfully. “And if you want to know about playing man cards, you might consider asking his aunt for information. Goodness knows no one loves a wedding like Fiona Callahan.”

Once again, Taylor felt that leap in her heart.

And guarded herself against it.

Chapter Two

“Don’t know if you’ve heard,” Ash whispered in Falcon’s ear as they crouched around the white stone circle near the canyons that night, “your sweetie’s in town agitating.”

He couldn’t help a smile at the thought of Taylor “agitating.” She was a firecracker, and he was dying to light her on sexy fire. “What’s up?”

Ash seated herself cross-legged on the ground and grinned. “First, it seems she has a problem with the way one of her neighbors is treating his horses. Taylor’s been making noise about someone needing to take the animals from their owner. Then,” Ash continued, as if that wasn’t enough for one woman to tackle, “Taylor’s decided the town elders need to do something about the panty raid the high school kids had on Friday night. Some people thought it was harmless fun, but some people thought the kids ought to get suspended, since all the panties ended up on the lawn of Miss Lyda’s old folks home south of town.” His sister laughed, delighted.

Truthfully, he didn’t care much about the shenanigans of the high schoolers, and preferred to spend some time thinking about the type of panties Taylor might wear. “What’s Taylor agitating for?”

Ash grinned. “She thinks the high schoolers involved need to be commissioned for a sing-in on the porch of Miss Lyda’s, to entertain the live-in residents. And she wants them to spend an afternoon painting Miss Lyda’s fence and porch to freshen it up a bit. Miss Lydia does her best, but everybody’s wallets are a little thinner these days. She could use the help. Taylor believes the kids need to spend a little time around their elders, who could teach them a thing or two about life. Panty raids are fun, she told the town council, but life lessons are important, too.”

And that’s why Diablo loved her. Falcon grunted. “If she gets it arranged, I’ll put up the paint.”

“You will?” Ash stared at him.

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “The town’s wallet isn’t so full these days, either. And I’ll go check out the farmer whose horses Taylor thinks aren’t in great shape.”

“Why are you doing this?” Ash demanded. “I mean, I guess it’s obvious, but it’s not necessary, just because you lost your mind for a moment and proposed. You don’t have to convince her you’re a saint.”

“I’m no saint.” That was absolutely true. Falcon couldn’t care less if people thought he was saint or devil. “I need to get off my butt, anyway.”

“Yeah. Right.” Ash gave him a sidelong look. “We prefer to keep your goodness under wraps, you know. Your Boy Scout side is for family consumption only. You’re going to make Taylor fall in love with you.”

“That’s the plan.”

Ash shook her head. “I’m beginning to think you honestly mean that.”

Taylor was strong, strong enough to match him and stand up to him. She wouldn’t wither away under the stress of his lifestyle.

Their grandfather came to the circle and lit the small fire.

“You remember that you were brought here to protect Rancho Diablo, the Diablo spirit mustangs and your cousins,” Running Bear said. “The Callahan bond to earth and sky is strong.”

His brothers and Ash nodded. Falcon stayed still, his gaze on his grandfather’s weathered face.

“More importantly, you know that you protect your parents, Julia and Carlos, and the parents of your Callahan cousins, Jeremiah and Molly, from discovery. From attack. Dark forces have gathered on the land in the canyons and gorges. In the last year, three mercenaries have followed your every move, even kidnapping one of your women.”

Falcon glanced at his brother Sloan. Sloan’s wife, Kendall, had been briefly kidnapped by one of the mercenaries, who’d turned out to be a family relative—Uncle Wolf, brother to Jeremiah and Carlos, and determined to harm his own brothers. Wolf was the dark, fallen angel of the family.

“Now that the Diablo Callahans remain in Hell’s Colony, Texas, it should have become quiet here at Rancho Diablo.” Running Bear looked at the sky for a moment, thoughtful. “You will be stretched a little thin when Dante and Tighe leave.”

Falcon stared at his brothers. The twins looked a bit sheepish in the face of their family’s shock.

“What do you mean?” Ash demanded. “Where are you going?”

“We might try our hand at rodeo,” Dante said. “We’re not cut out for this detail. The constant waiting is making us crazy.”

“Yeah,” Tighe said. “It’s like we’re waiting for a war that never starts.”

“Finks,” Ash told her brothers. “How can you turn your backs on family? Jonas and Aunt Fiona and Uncle Burke wouldn’t turn their backs on you!”

Dante and Tighe looked crestfallen at their sister’s criticism.

“Let them go,” Running Bear said. “Dreams cannot be ignored. They must be lived.”

“Oh, bother.” Ash glared at her brothers. “Well, maybe I’ll go off on a toot myself. Maybe we’ll all just pack up and go off chasing rainbows and unicorns.”

“You can’t,” Dante said. “Who would watch over Fiona?”

“It’s all right,” Falcon said, opting to play the role of peacemaker. “The ranch will survive.”

Ash turned her head away from Dante and Tighe. Falcon thought his brothers seemed to shrink at her obvious censure of them.

“I agree with Falcon,” Galen said. “We’re all following our own dreams. We have to live our lives to some extent. This commission is going to take years. Besides, Falcon’s proposed to a woman in town. Sloan’s married. Life goes on.”

“We just don’t feel like we’re doing anything,” Tighe said. “The mercenaries haven’t been around in months. For all we know, they’re gone.”

They all looked at Running Bear. He shrugged. “Tonight, you must focus on deciding to stay here or to go. This ring of stone and fire is your home, for as long as you want it to be.”

“We’re never going back to the tribe, are we?” Jace asked.

Running Bear shook his head. “That path would lead the enemy to your parents’ door. I remind you that one of you is the hunted one. You must guard against any division that may reside inside you. There will come a time when you have a split second to make a decision, a moment when you stand at a fork in the road. You will not recognize the danger, but the choice you make will live with you, and all of us, forever. Until then, here you stay, until you walk away.”

His grandfather’s ominous words were chosen carefully, a warning. Falcon had only one choice, and that was to stand and fight. “I’m staying. Rancho Diablo’s good as anyplace else to live, and besides, I really like Aunt Fiona and Burke.” For that matter, he liked the town of Diablo. He felt his soul take flight on the rare occasion when the Diablos were spotted in the dusty canyons that were the ancient, stunning backdrop to the ranch. “Family’s first with me. I’m a soldier, and then I’m a family man. Can’t walk away from a good fight, especially since it involves family.” He tossed a handful of dirt into the fire, where it briefly dimmed the flames.

“I’m staying,” Ash said. “I’m hard core.” She flung dirt into the fire and walked to kiss her grandfather on the cheek, then mounted her horse. “I’ve got land to win,” she told her brothers. “The only way to win is to hang tough.”

“And lure Xav Phillips to fall for you,” Dante said.

“Good luck with that,” Tighe said.

“Just because you two got dumped on your heads by the nanny bodyguards is no reason to doubt Ash,” Falcon said. “She’s smarter than all of us. Good luck with the rodeo. Let us know where you’re riding sometime. We might come around.”

He left the stone circle, following his sister off on horseback. He knew who would stay and who would go; there was no need to linger.

Every man had to do what he had to do.

Falcon was called to serve.

* * *

F
ALCON
KEPT
FOLLOWING
Ash the second he realized his sister wasn’t heading toward the Tudor-style Rancho Diablo mansion with the seven chimneys, but toward the canyons. He knew Xav practically lived in the canyons, rarely returning to the ranch for supplies, but Ash wasn’t heading in the right direction. It looked as if she was skirting the deep crevasses of the mesas, heading to the opposite side of where Xav kept his camp.

Falcon tried to envision what life would be like if he didn’t have a headstrong sister, and realized it would be dull as dirt. Probably one reason he was attracted to Taylor was that she was a spitfire, cut from a mold similar to Ash and Aunt Fiona, and his own mother, Julia. No wallflowers among the women he knew.

Taylor was more right for him than she knew.

Suddenly, Ash halted her big horse, wheeling around to glare at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you think
you’re
doing?” Falcon asked. “Have you heard that there are mercs in the canyons who are known to kidnap Callahan women for sport?”

“I can take care of myself.”

This was true. “Let me go with you. I’m feeling a need to ride and clear my head.”

“And babysit me,” Ash said disapprovingly.

“It’s my sense of adventure. If I don’t hang out with you, I’ll probably end up following in Tighe and Dante’s footsteps.”

“Traitors. Both of them.”

“No.” Falcon shook his head. “All of us have a destiny to follow.”

“Whatever.
Destiny
is just a pansy word for shiftless. Lazy. Spineless. Maybe it was my destiny to get up this morning and eat chocolate chip cookies and drink beer for breakfast, but I didn’t. I told Destiny to get the heck away from me.”

“And ate rocks instead,” Falcon said. “You have to forgive people who aren’t as strong as you.”

“Whatever,” Ash said. “Tighe and Dante are strong. They just want to chase buckle bunnies. Their pride’s a bit stung because they got smacked down by River and Ana. And right they were to turn my brothers down, since they’re spineless weenies.” She turned her horse and took off like the wind, riding across the flat land as if demons were after her.

Falcon checked his gun, made sure it was locked, and tucked it into his jeans. Then he followed his sister at a leisurely pace, his mind turning to Taylor again. Seemed as if he thought about her a thousand times a day. Maybe more.

It felt great.

* * *

T
WENTY
MINUTES
LATER
, Ash finally stopped her horse, slid off and tied it to a wizened tree where it could get a bit of shade and cool off in the late evening air. Falcon stopped next to his sister, knowing exactly what she was up to now.

“Looking at this land isn’t going to do anything but make you hungrier for it,” he said, dismounting.

“I like being hungry.” Ash stared at the wide expanse of empty land. In the distance a small traditional adobe stood, marking the emptiness. “You’re hungry, too, or you wouldn’t have proposed to that town girl. You barely know her.”

“I don’t have to know Taylor. I like the way she looks.” He watched as his sister pulled out small binocs and peered toward the farmhouse.

“It’s going to be mine,” Ash said. “You can propose to fifty girls, but this is going to be Sister Wind Ranch.”

“Nice. But I have a different name in mind. Thanks.”

She glared at him. “You don’t have a name for it.”

“I do.”

“What is it?”

Okay, so he didn’t have a name. He hadn’t thought about it much. He just knew he hadn’t wanted to get beat by his siblings in the race for the ranch. “It’s on the tip of my tongue.”

“And there it will stay. Fibber.” Ash put away the binocs. “Come on. Let’s walk to the farmhouse.”

“Why?” He followed behind her. “This is private property.”

“Yeah, it’s private. Fiona owns it.”

“Do we know that for sure?”

“She said the Callahan estate bought it.”

He wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but Ash had a determined tilt to her posture, so he went along for the adventure.

A man came out from the house and walked to meet them. “What brings you out here, folks?”

Ash glanced around. “I didn’t know anybody still lived here.”

“Of course I live here. This is my ranch.” The white-haired farmer shrugged. “Been in my family for years.”

“Oh.” Ash looked concerned. “You didn’t sell this property?”

“Thought about it. Had a couple offers. One from a little old woman who lives across the canyons, and a bigger one from an older gentleman who rode in here one day and told me whatever the old lady paid, he’d pay more.”

“Was his name Wolf?” Falcon demanded.

“It was.” The farmer nodded. “In the end, I decided I didn’t want to leave my place. It’s been in my family for years,” he reminded them.

“I see,” Ash said. “We’re sorry to have bothered you.”

“No bother at all.” The rancher went off, his stooped body heading back toward the coolness of the adobe.

“Fiona told a whopper,” Ash stated. “It’s just like she did to our cousins. Got them married off, made sure there were lots of babies, then pow! So happily married they never battled for Rancho Diablo.”

He laughed. “Let’s not tell our brothers.”

“Why not?” Ash looked at him as they walked back to their horses.

“It’ll be fun to watch them work hard for something they’re not going to get.”

Ash mounted, waited for him. “I like the way you think. And now you can tell Taylor you don’t need her anymore. You’re a free man. There’s no ranch to win. No ranch, no wedding.”

He wasn’t about to do anything of the sort. “So you’re going to quit chasing Xav?”

“I don’t chase him,” Ash said. “And no, I’m not. Pretty sure he needs the exercise. But Taylor might just let you catch her. And you wouldn’t like that, Falcon. You know you aren’t the committing sort.”

They rode along in silence after that. Falcon tucked his hat down low on his brow, letting his horse follow Ash’s. It was true. He wasn’t the committing sort, and there was no prize. Fiona had set them up.

But Ash was wrong about one thing. He was certain he’d like Taylor letting him catch her. “I can keep a secret if you can.”

“I’m not telling a soul. I’m going to watch Tighe and Dante run away from their
destiny,
and watch our other brothers get hitched and have families. Watching Fiona spin her web is fun, now that I’m onto her.”