Page 31 of Top Secret Cowboy

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Page 31 of Top Secret Cowboy

The surprise picnic had been magical, Coyote and I had talked some more and kissed until my lips were swollen and tingling. They weren’t the only part of me that was tingling, but we were taking it slow. I wasn’t sure what was happening between us, my heart was ready to jump back in to being madly in love with my handsome biker, but my brain told me to hold back. I was keeping something massive from him and he had the right to know he might be a father.

We’d gotten back from the picnic at four and Coyote dropped me off at the store so I could collect my car. I’d popped in to thank Reggie for my surprise afternoon off, typically of the man he made it out to be nothing. Nessa had been playing in the back office and it looked as though she’d been having a picnic with her dolls. Her favorite stuffed toy was sitting in front of a tiny cup and a plate of cookies lay in the middle of the floor under a copy of the local newspaper.

“Did Mr. Monkey enjoy his picnic? Uncle Reggie was telling me about what fun you had.”

“Picnic,” Nessa said with a giggle like she thought the new word she’d learned was the funniest thing ever, “We got cookies!”

“I can see that sweetheart,” I said, hoping she’d not eaten too many of them otherwise I’d have difficulty getting her to eat dinner.

“Yum! Cookies are my favorite,” a deep voice called over my shoulder, and I turned to see Coyote standing there, grinning at Nessa. Seeing the two of them together made me catch my breath. While she was clearly her mommy’s daughter, that cheeky smile was pure Lucas.

“You wanna cookie?” Nessa asked, her big, brown eyes staring up at Coyote. I’d told her not to talk to strangers, but I guessed she thought that because he was in my office then he was a friend. I’d have to have a stranger danger talk with her again later on, but in the meantime, I was astonished to see my daughter, who never shared, happily offering Coyote a cookie.

“Sweetheart, you’ve already taken a bite out of that one, I don’t think Coyote wants it,” I said, looking around to see if there were any unnibbled ones left. It looked like she’d been picking out the chocolate chunks.

Coyote reached over for the half-eaten choc chip, “You really sure you want to spare this one, princess?”

She nodded emphatically, “Gotta full tummy.”

Oh great, she’ll definitely be picking at her dinner tonight, I thought. Meanwhile Coyote took a bite as Nessa watched on curiously.

“Did you forget something?” I asked, while I didn’t mind him dropping in, I thought we’d said our goodbyes in the parking lot.

He lifted the bag he held in his non cookie eating hand, “We still had some empanadas left over, I thought you might want them. I’ve got another full box at home.”

“Thanks, that’s tomorrow’s dinner sorted then.”

With that he turned to go, but not before fixing me with a pantie-melting look, “Querida, this afternoon was fantastic, I hope we can do it again sometime soon,” he crouched down so he was eye-level with my daughter, “Nice to meet you too, Miss Nessa, and thank you for the cookie.”

Chapter Nine

Coyote

Tonight, everything had to be perfect. I had invited Bethany to my home for the evening. Over the last couple of weeks, we had been having lunch quite regularly and we’d had a picnic at the park, but tonight was the first opportunity we’d had to become reacquainted romantically. Bethany ran off and left me years and a world of heartache ago. Now, it seemed she was open to getting close to me again and it looked like we were both on the same page. Since our time together had been the best of my life, it made sense to do everything in my power to lure her back to my side, but I’d wanted to take it slow to show her I could be a good protector for her and her kid.

I put on some background music and walked around tidying up my house. A tan face with a graying muzzle and huge ears peered around the corner from the hallway then skittered away, her claws click-clacking on the floorboards. I still wasn’t sure what I was gonna do with my new houseguest. I’d done a job with my friend Manny earlier on in the week, his abuela had just passed and he needed help clearing out her house. He also needed someone to find a home for her dog because his youngest kid was allergic—so that’s how I was now dog sitting Ruby until I could find her a home. The elderly chihuahua kept herself to herself, on my way home today I’d picked up some fancy top-of-the-range dog food and gotten her some chew toys, and a fluffy blanket for her bed hoping to coax her out.

“Dinner’s ready,” I called out, but from the lack of response it looked like she’d gone back to the spot she’d picked in the corner of my guest room. Seemed I had my work cut out persuading two females to give me a chance.

After giving my house a once over, I decided that it was as clean as it was gonna get. My mind drifted back to when I’d invited Bethany to have dinner at my home, I’d asked her if she wanted to spend the night afterwards. She said she would think it over, which was fair enough. We’d kissed some, since we’d reconnected and it was clear that she was as into me as I was her, but I didn’t want a one-night stand, I wanted this woman back in my life for good. Rather than pestering her with questions, I decided to just wait and see if she showed up with an overnight bag.

Back when we were first together, I used to order in from her favorite local restaurant and Bethany had loved that. Since I couldn’t cook, ordering in had been the obvious choice. I puttered around setting my table, trying to match up flatware, which is something I never cared about before. I needed to make a good impression on Bethany, and I wanted tonight to be special. When the last glass was in place, I walked around the living room and dining room, switching on the multitude of flameless candles I’d bought with the hope of creating a romantic atmosphere.

A thrill snaked up my spine when the doorbell rang. I hurried to open the door, finding Bethany standing on my porch. She was stunning with all her dark hair pulled up on her head and wearing a pretty red dress that clung in all the right places. It also had a deep V-neck that gave me a tantalizing glimpse of what lay hidden. She usually dressed conservatively when at work, so maybe the outfit choice showed we were both thinking about romance.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Her softly spoken words made me realize that I was standing in the doorway like a fool staring at her rather than being hospitable.

Immediately stepping back, I murmured, “I’m sorry, please come in.”

She handed me a bottle of vodka cleverly hidden in a wine gift bag. I could tell from looking at the top of the cap it was my favorite brand and she’d remembered. “Gray Goose? Thanks sweetheart, but you didn’t have to bring a gift. You’re enough.”

Damnit, how cheesy did that sound? Luckily, I didn’t think she noticed as she was busy gazing at my hallway. I’d made every effort to tidy the house, but there was no hiding the V-twin panhead engine that was propped up on a crate with newspapers underneath to catch any oil drips.

“Bringing work home?” she asked with a smile, as she delicately stepped around it.

“Something like that,” I muttered, hoping she didn’t think I was a total neanderthal. When we’d dated before I was living at the clubhouse, and yeah, it was like a frat house. I normally did bike repairs in my carport, but last night when I was working on the engine, I could hear Ruby yipping inside, she must have gotten lonely. As she’s not yet used to the neighborhood, I didn’t want to let her out to sit with me at night, so I did the next best thing and brought my work indoors.

As Bethany maneuvered herself around the engine and my toolbox, I caught sight of the duffle bag she’d brought, and I did my best to keep a knowing grin from eating up my face. So, she planned on spending the night…


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