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Tessa’s heart turned over. “Ornery as ever?”
Cassie laughed. “He tried to take a bite out of my back side. Fortunately, I’m quick.”
Chuckling, Tessa opened the door and snapped on the lights. The two calves were still in the stall, but they were both on their feet. At the sight of Tessa, they began to bawl.
“Hungry?” she asked.
Cassie opened the gate and caught the first calf. He tried to struggle free. The heifer, too, backed away. “They look good to me,” Cassie said, examining first one calf, then the other. Both animals tried to escape, running into each other and nearly knocking Cassie down. “Mitch said he thought they’d eaten pine needles.”
“No one said they were Rhodes scholars,” Tessa replied, and Cassie smiled—a wide feminine smile.
“Well I don’t see any reason to keep them penned up any longer.”
“Good.”
Together, they herded the rambunctious calves outside. The ruddy heifer and steer took off, tails switching, galloping through the dry field toward the rest of the herd.
“Thanks for stopping by,” Tessa said as she walked Cassie back to her truck.
“No problem. I’ll send you a bill.” Cassie’s hazel eyes gleamed and her mouth curved into a feminine smile. She climbed into the cab and leaned out the window. “Is Denver around?”
Tessa rammed her hands deep into the pockets of her jeans. “I don’t know where he is,” she admitted, wondering at the ease with which she confided in a woman she barely knew. “He was in California, but he left.”
Jamming her key into the ignition, Cassie asked, “Has he heard anything from Colton?”
“Not a word,” Tessa said.
“I guess that’s not a big surprise.” Cassie slid a pair of sunglasses onto her nose. Her mouth twisted wryly. “I don’t think there’s enough adventure or danger in this world to keep Colton McLean satisfied.”
“Probably not,” Tessa agreed, her thoughts with Denver, wherever he was.
“I’ll see you around. Let me know if those calves relapse.” Cassie stepped on the throttle and waved as she drove away. Tessa watched the white truck ramble down the drive and wished she had some inkling about Denver. Where was he? Frowning, she walked back to the house.
* * *
Get up! she told herself nearly a week later, but couldn’t find the energy. She hadn’t heard a word from Denver. Not one lousy word! “A lot he cares,” she grumbled as she tossed off the sheets, then gasped when she felt the overpowering urge to vomit. She barely made it to the bathroom where she retched for a full ten minutes.
Sweat collected over her brow and the sensation slowly passed. She cleaned her mouth with water, then leaned against the sink. She’d suspected for two weeks she might be pregnant, this morning nearly confirmed it. She smiled wanly at her white-faced reflection in the mirror. Maybe she and Denver would never be together, but at least, God willing, she would have his baby.
Her heart bled at the thought of Denver. He hadn’t wanted a child. Hadn’t he asked her if she were protected on the first night they made love? Since then, he’d forgotten about birth control, but she knew in her heart he wouldn’t want this baby. Nor did he want her.
Why else would he avoid her?
If Denver had wanted her, he would have called. If he had intended to sell the ranch, he would have returned to Montana to meet with the bank. And if he had loved her, he never would have left. Aching inside, she glanced at her reflection. Her eyes were shadowed with dark circles and her skin had paled. She looked every bit as miserable as she felt.
“Idiot,” she accused, yanking the brush through her hair until the golden-red strands crackled. How could she have been such a fool—and for the second time? She tossed her brush onto the bureau, changed into clean jeans and a T-shirt and muttered, “Some people never learn.”
By the time Milly arrived a half hour later, Tessa had convinced herself that Denver had conned her. Though part of her wanted desperately to trust him, the reasonable side of her nature wouldn’t let her fall for his lies all over again.
“Trouble?” Milly asked as she entered through the back porch.
Tessa felt like a fool. She poured herself a glass of orange juice. “A little,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Let me guess. This has to do with Denver, doesn’t it?”
Tessa nodded. “You could say that. He had no intention of selling this place to me.”
Milly’s eyebrows raised a fraction. “And just how have you figured this out?” She tucked her purse in the pantry, hung up her jacket and whipped on an apron. “Didn’t he try to call you?”
