She’d lied when she told him she didn’t want to do it again. Despite everything he’d said, she couldn’t stop thinking about how great they’d been, how right they’d felt together. At least it had felt right to her. Obviously Jack had felt something else.

He’d turned a wonderful moment into an ugly memory, and she would never forgive him for that. Unfortunately nothing could change the fact that she was stuck loving a man who didn’t want her.

He was the enemy of her family. His sister hated her, her father hated him. Half her siblings would never speak to her if they knew what had happened, and the same could be said for his brothers and sisters. She was homeless, struggling to help her son make an adjustment to a new town. Her father’s second marriage was dissolving. Oh, and she’d just realized she was immune to the only other single, attractive man she knew. Could it get worse?

Her brain, ever helpful, supplied an answer. Yes. Of course it could. She and Jack had made love without using protection, so she could very well be pregnant.

Oh, joy.

Chapter Ten

Katie arrived at the Darby ranch a little after three. She parked her Explorer next to Nora’s car and grimaced. Apparently discovering that her life was a mess, that she was still in love with Jack and that she might be pregnant wasn’t bad enough. Now she had to deal with Nora and her bad temper.

“I don’t think so,” Katie murmured as she turned off the engine.

A flash of movement caught her attention. She turned and saw her son riding in one of the corrals. Teacher meetings had given him the afternoon off. He was obviously taking advantage of the free time to have fun. Shane was a far better bet than Nora, Katie thought with a smile, and stepped out of her vehicle. She would spend a couple of uncomplicated hours with her son until Jack’s sister left.

She walked eagerly toward the corral, hesitating only when she saw the tall cowboy leaning against the fence rails. Her heart kicked into overdrive, her palms got all sweaty and she had a sudden urge to run in the opposite direction.

Through careful planning-apparently on both their parts-she and Jack had managed to spend the past few days avoiding each other. The last time she’d seen him, she’d been furious and hurt and stalking out of the line shack after they made love. Since then she’d thought of a thousand clever ways to start a conversation. She wanted him to know that she was fine, completely untouched by what had happened between them and prepared to put it firmly in the past.

Now, as her steps slowed, she found herself unable to remember even one witty opening line. Her insides felt all funny. She loved him. She always had. Going away, marrying someone else, having a child and starting a new life hadn’t changed the fact. Katie had a bad feeling she was going to love Jack forever. There were a thousand reasons for them not to be together-the biggest one being he wasn’t interested. So what on earth was she supposed to say to him now?

Katie continued walking toward the corral. When she reached it, she put her foot on the bottom rail and watched her son. Shane rode straight and tall in his battered saddle. Jack had obviously found the child-size support in some dusty corner. No doubt it had been well used by at least two generations of Darby kids.

The small bay gelding moved in a slow circle, responding to her son’s eager commands with the patience of an animal used to the enthusiasm of children. A sawhorse with horns had been placed in the center of the ring, and Shane held a rope in his hands.

“He’s got this idea about running off and joining the rodeo,” Jack said by way of introduction. “I told him he needed to learn to rope first. I figure that’ll buy you at least two years.”

His voice was light and friendly and didn’t give anything away. Katie glanced at him, but he was watching Shane. She looked from him to her son. Shane waved at her.

“Look at what I can do,” he called, then circled the short rope over his head and tossed it toward the stationary target. It flew less than ten feet, then tumbled to the ground about halfway to the sawhorse.

“You’re getting there,” she yelled. “It takes lots of practice.”

“I know, Mom,” he said, with the slightly frustrated air of a child dealing with a not very bright parent. “I didn’t expect to do it right the first day.”

Katie held in a smile. “Very wise.”

Her son collected the rope and tried again. His seat had improved. He was steady and comfortable in the saddle. “He’s about ready to go out on the range,” she said conversationally, careful to keep her attention on Shane.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Jack told her. “He’s not going to be ready to ride the roundup this year, but next spring he’ll pull his weight.”

Shane continued to send his rope toward the fake steer and continued to miss. He didn’t give up or get frustrated. When he accidentally caught his horse’s head in the noose, he laughed.

“I can’t believe the change in him,” she said, more to herself than to Jack. “This is what I wanted when I moved back here. I wanted my son to have a happy life. I wanted him to experience the best a ranch has to offer. Back in Dallas I was afraid he would spend so much time in front of his computer that he would forget how to have fun anywhere else.”

“He’s a good kid, Katie. Honest, smart. Quit worrying and enjoy yourself.”

Easy for him to say. He wasn’t a parent. But as she studied the color in her son’s face and the excitement in his eyes, she felt some of her tension ease.

“Turn around and go the other way,” Jack called to the boy.

Shane looked surprised. “But I can’t rope from this side. Turning is going to make it harder.”

“You think the steer is only going to come up on your good side?”

Shane considered the question, then shook his head. “I guess not.” He pulled in the rope, then carefully tugged on the reins until his horse shifted directions.

Jack moved a little closer to Katie. “He’s not a natural athlete,” he said quietly so the boy wouldn’t overhear. “But he’s got guts and he’s not afraid of hard work. Most of the time that’s better than raw talent.”

Katie told herself to pay attention to Jack’s words and not dwell on the fact that he was right next to her. She kept thinking about how it had been when they were together. The afternoon breeze teased her short hair, making her remember Jack’s fingers playing with her curls. Which was really annoying because she doubted he remembered anything. She wanted to move into his embrace and have him hold her. She wanted to make things different between them. But she couldn’t do the first and didn’t know how to do the second.

“You’ve been very patient with him,” she said to distract herself from her attraction. “He’s responding to your friendship. If my dad was more like you…” She sighed. “Like that will ever happen. Aaron will always be someone who yells. I wonder if his father yelled at him. Grandpa died when I was pretty young, and I don’t remember anything about him. My brothers don’t yell. At least I don’t think they do. When we were growing up-”

“I can’t stop thinking about it, either,” he said, cutting her off.

She looked at him and found him staring at her. “What?”

His dark eyes brightened with fire. “I can’t stop thinking about us making love. It’s not just you, if that’s what you were trying to find out.”

She hadn’t been, but she was happy to have the information. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“That works both ways.” He gripped the railing and looked at Shane rather than her. “I’m sorry about how it ended. I didn’t mean to hurt you. What I was trying to say was that you’re not going to be comfortable having an affair, and I’m not prepared to offer anything else.”

“I didn’t ask for either.”

“You will,” he said with a certainty that made her blush. Because she had been wanting more than one night. Why wouldn’t she? She was in love with him.

“Jack, I-”

He cut her off with a shake of his head. “It won’t work, Katie. I’ve tried. I was married before, and it was a disaster. I don’t want another failed marriage.”

“It’s a big step from one afternoon together to marriage,” she said, even though it was tough to speak. Her throat had gone completely dry. Marriage. The thought astounded her. She’d never considered…Is that what she wanted? To marry Jack?

He continued to stare at Shane. “I don’t believe in love anymore. Not between a man and a woman. It never lasts. It’s easier to keep things simple and casual. Neither of those are your style. You’re very complicated and anything but casual.”

She leaned her head against the fence post. She wanted to protest what he was saying, but she had a bad feeling he was telling the truth. So this probably wasn’t the time to confess her innermost feelings. Or that she’d spent the past eleven years hiding from the fact that she still loved him. She was an idiot. Worse, she might be a pregnant idiot.

“I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.

“Katie, please don’t be upset.”

What, she should be happy with the news?

Before she could respond, she heard someone calling her name. She turned and saw Nora running toward them.

“Katie, hurry!” Jack’s sister yelled. “You have to hurry. There’s been an accident.”

Katie’s heart jumped into her throat. “My dad?” she asked, running toward the other woman.

“No. It’s Josie. She’s been in a car accident.”

Katie sat in the hospital waiting room sipping awful coffee and trying not the think about her sister struggling to stay alive in surgery. Conversations drifted around her, but she didn’t listen. She was still in shock.

“You okay?”

She looked up and saw her stepsister Dallas crouching in front of her. “No, but I guess none of us are. I can’t believe this happened.”