DONNA ALWARD - The Cowboy's Convenient Bride

Tanner turned Bingo around and returned to the ranch a little less on edge, but still unsettled about the whole situation. It wasn’t just Laura. His life seemed stuck in place. What was he going to do, live with his parents forever? Satisfy himself with short-term hookups now and again? That whole scene was getting old. Maybe having a place of his own would be a start.

When Tanner returned to the house, he found Maddy there, helping his mom paint the back deck while the boys napped. Cole and Dad had driven down to Butte to look at some stock. Tanner was at loose ends, so once he grabbed a sandwich for lunch, he hopped in his truck and drove into town. And through town, and west. There was no sense kidding himself. He was going to see Laura. Just to see how she was making out. If there was anything she needed.

He pulled into the driveway and noticed things he’d missed the last time he was here. Like how the paint was peeling on the railing of the front step. A piece of soffit was missing from the roof overhang, and one corner of her eaves trough needed to be repaired, too. Nothing major, but little things that needed fixing that she probably couldn’t do herself. Or could, but because of her situation, didn’t have the time or money.

She came outside the moment he got out of the truck. He lifted a hand. “Hi,” he greeted, and a lot of the restlessness he’d felt all day dissipated at the sight of her. She wore a pair of faded jeans and a cute white top, and Rowan was on her hip, dressed in a pink flowery outfit. They made a sweet picture.

“Hi, yourself. This is a surprise.”

“Yeah. I’m not here at a bad time, am I?”

She shook her head. “Come on in. Rowan’s up as you can see, so I’m spending some time with her and I’ll go back to work when she’s napping again.”

“Work? What are you doing?”

He climbed the steps and she opened the door, leading the way in. “I’m working on a web design for a new client. I only had a six-month contract at the last place, and with Ro being so little, day care’s not an option. This gives me some freedom and some income.”

“That’s smart.” He followed her inside. Just like the other night, the place was spotless. His respect for her grew. She might not have much, but she took pride in what she did have. “What about Charlie?”

She laughed. “Oh, he’s been back home for about a week. And thrilled about it. Gram’s still taking things slowly, but at least he’s eating better. Do you want some coffee or tea? I have both.”

“Naw, I’m good.”

“Then what are you doing here, Tanner?”

He floundered for a moment, and then decided he might as well tell her the truth. “I guess I found myself thinking about you a lot, and wondering how you are. Wondered if you, uh, needed anything.”

Her gaze turned sharp. “You feel sorry for me, is that it?”

“No!”

She sat at the kitchen table, so it only made sense for him to do the same. “Not sorry, per se,” he continued. “Well, crap. I have no idea how to say this in a tactful way. I’m a guy. And this is kind of like navigating a minefield.”

She put Rowan on her lap and handed her a plastic ring with big, colorful keys on it. The baby shook the keys and a little giggle bubbled out of her mouth. Tanner couldn’t help the smile that tugged on his lips. The kid was so darn cute. A few short months ago she’d been tiny, all arms and legs and thin cries. He couldn’t help feeling a strange sort of attachment, knowing he’d helped bring her into the world.

“You want to ask me about Gavin.”

He met her gaze. She was looking at him evenly, but as though she was bracing for whatever he was going to say or ask. “Not exactly. I just noticed the other day that...” He hesitated.

“Just say it, Tanner. I’ve heard it all.”

He sighed. “That’s what I mean. I noticed you’re kind of, I don’t know, set apart. People treat you differently. Not mean, just...”

“Polite. And look at me sideways like they’re trying to figure something out.”

“Yeah. And I wanted to say I’m sorry about that. And if you need anything, you can give me a shout. I don’t judge. If Rowan is Gavin’s...well, it took two of you, and until someone walks in your shoes, they really don’t know about a situation.”

She smiled softly. “That sounds very insightful. Is this about you or me?”

“Maybe a little of both,” he admitted. “You didn’t know me when we were all kids. I’m a few years younger than Cole, and you were gone when I ran off to Vegas with Brittany. I screwed up, but people have long memories around here. It’s like they’ve never made a mistake in their lives.”

“So what is this? Are you championing an underdog? Or maybe throwing things back in their faces? Proving they’re right about you, that you’re a screw-up by hanging around with the wrong kind of woman?”

“Ouch.”

A wrinkle formed between her eyebrows. “Sorry. That was me being superblunt again. I’m the first one to admit I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder.”

Despite the harshness of her words, he could tell she’d asked an honest question, and he thought hard about how he would answer. Was he doing this to prove a point? Because if he was befriending her in a way that was anything less than genuine, that made him no better than anyone else.

“No,” he said softly. “That’s not what I’m doing. But that was a really good question to ask, Laura.” Rowan dropped the keys on the floor. He leaned down, picked them up and handed them to her. He received a toothless grin as his reward. “It’s more that I know how it feels, and it’s wrong. I’m not afraid to be your friend if you need one. You and Rowan. I was there when she was born. It was a big moment.”

He didn’t expect tears to gather in her eyes. It made the blue depths even bluer, and his heart stuttered a little. He wondered what the heck he should do now.

“Sorry,” she murmured, and reached for a paper napkin to wipe her eyes. She took a few deep breaths. “Honestly, you’re the first person to say that since Gavin. That you’re my friend, that is.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and he meant it.

She cuddled Rowan closer. “Tanner, I can trust you, right?”

A little ripple of warning slid through him. No one asked that sort of question unless they were planning on revealing something personal. But then, he’d just said he wasn’t afraid to be her friend. So he nodded, holding her gaze. “Yeah, you can trust me.”

“Because there are only two people in Gibson who know the truth besides my lawyer. One is your brother. The other is Maddy Wallace.”

Gavin’s widow.

“This has to do with Gavin?”

She nodded. “Okay, here goes. The baby’s not his, Tanner. Gavin was a good friend, but nothing more. He was married. I would never get involved with a married man. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions, but that’s not one of them.”

Tanner sat back in his chair. On one hand, he felt a surge of relief knowing she’d never slept with Gavin. But on the other, he was completely perplexed. If their relationship had been nothing more than friendship, then why didn’t she set the record straight?”

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“You want to know why I let everyone think otherwise.”

“Well, yes!” He frowned, leaning forward again and resting his elbows on the table. “Laura, you know that people think you two had an affair. That Rowan is his. You’re deliberately letting that happen, and letting them make you an outcast. Why would you do that?”

“Because the truth is worse than the lie,” she said quietly. “And as difficult as it is for me, it’s in Rowan’s best interest, and I have to put her first.”

Which really didn’t explain anything.

Rowan started fussing, so Laura got up and put her on her shoulder. Tanner noticed again the difference in coloring. Laura’s hair was wavy and a gorgeous auburn shade of red that he knew most women coveted and few came by naturally. Her skin was creamy white with a few light freckles, her eyes a clear summer blue. Rowan, while having the same pale skin tone, had perfectly straight dark brown hair, and her eyes were blue, but not the same vibrant shade as her mother’s. Gavin’s hair had been brown like that, too, but he couldn’t remember the man’s features well enough to know if there was any imagined resemblance.

To the townspeople, the implication was enough. He knew that people often saw what they wanted to. Such was the power of suggestion.

So if Gavin wasn’t the father, who was? And why was that truth so much worse than letting the world think Rowan was Gavin Wallace’s?

“Tanner? Let’s go into the living room. She’s got a bouncy seat in there that she loves. It’s almost nap time anyway, and I can explain a little better.”

He followed her into the living room and sat on the sofa while she settled Rowan in the little chair and gave it a bounce. The girl’s face lit up and she smacked at the toys on the activity bar in front of her.

“Best thing I bought for her,” Laura said, smiling. “She loves it and it’s saved my sanity more than once. Now that she’s awake longer through the day, she gets bored.” She sat in the chair to the right of him and let out a big breath. “I suppose I need to elaborate a bit, don’t I?”

Did she? Was it really any of his business? He thought about what it meant to be a good friend. He had friends, but Cole was really the guy he was closest to. And even then, there were things his brother didn’t know. Tanner totally understood how it felt to want to keep the darkest parts hidden away. Curious as he was, he knew how he had to answer. “Tell me only if you want to,” he said. “You don’t owe me any sort of an explanation at all.”

“And that’s very generous of you. And surprising.”

“Like I told you before, I’ve had a few moments that are not my finest. I don’t judge.”

She smiled at him then, a soft curving of her lips that reached in and grabbed him right by the heart. It was sweet, and perhaps a bit vulnerable—something he hadn’t seen in her up to this point. Except for one moment, last December. When she’d had a particularly nasty contraction and she’d reached out for his hand in the ambulance. She’d looked so scared and yet so trusting.

“You know, I’m starting to believe that’s true,” she whispered.

There was a long pause, and then she put her hands on her knees. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I trust you. So here’s the truth, leaving out some names if that’s okay with you.”

“You can tell me as much or as little as you like.”

She looked relieved. “The truth is, up until last spring I lived in Nevada, in Reno. I was working for a small graphic design company and my roommate tended bar. Through her, I met this guy and we went out a few times. He was really handsome and charming, and he said he was in sales.” She laughed bitterly. “Pharmaceutical sales. God, I was so dumb, so naive,” she said, giving a bitter laugh. “Anyway, it was a bit of a whirlwind thing. But then he said he was being transferred to a new territory for a few months and he ended it. A few months later, he came back, and he was still handsome, still charming...but something felt off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was an edginess to him that hadn’t been there before. A...hardness. I think I knew I should end things, but I told myself I was imagining it. I ignored all my instincts.”

Tanner didn’t like where this was going. At all. “Did he hurt you?” he asked gently.