Page 65 of Her Guarded Hero

“So, you knew that despite all my big protests I was going to tell him, huh?”

“You always do the right thing,” he smiled with pride.

“I have to figure out the way to tell him in the most loving way.”

“You know he’s going to love him because he’s Reagan’s little brother, have you thought of that?”

She nodded. She thought of the pictures she’d seen of the little girl and imagined how their son would most likely look like her.

Gunnar leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “If you want me to be with you when you tell him, I will.”

Aurora laughed. It felt good.

“I’m serious,” Gunnar said.

“I know you are. But I think I can manage that on my own. I just have to figure out what to say.”

“And even if he doesn’t want to be in his boy’s life, you have all of us who’ll be here for him.”

“I always knew that,” Aurora smiled.

“Good, because tonight Tate and your other uncle Zebadiah will be here for dinner along with all three of your cousins. We’ve invited the good sheriff to join us.”

“Three? You mean Lindy too?” Lindy Dressler worked in Los Angeles on the SWAT team.

“Yep, Lindy too. Can’t imagine why she might have taken some vacation to visit her family, can you?” He raised one bushy eyebrow.

“But-”

“What did you expect?” Gunnar’s blue eyes were the color of steel. “There is something going on around here, and it didn’t end with Ned Little going to jail.”

* * *

Aurora wandered into the barn and her eye immediately went to the end of the aisle and saw the closed door to the tack room. It called to her. It was the last place she and Dalton had made love, in the hour before he had left the ranch for good. Maybe if she could just untangle what he’d said that afternoon, she’d figure out the right way to tell him about their son.

She walked purposefully down the long aisle and opened the tack room door and was immediately transported back in time.

“Sunshine, you stay here,” Dalton smoothed his hands down her arms. “I’m going to talk to your grandfather.”

“I’m not twelve,” she huffed in amusement.

His hands came up and cupped her face. “We’ve been in the stables for three hours. He’s going to know why. I need to talk to him, man to man.”

“Dalton, my grandfather has eyes, he knows we’re lovers. And if he didn’t, Uncle Tate has told him.”

“I still need to go and talk to him.” Dalton was resolute.

It took everything she had not to roll her eyes. Then he stroked her bottom lip with his thumb. “Please Aurora, I have to do this.”

He was so damn solemn, how could she do anything but say yes? She nodded. Dalton dipped down and gave her a toe-tingling kiss. She whimpered when he lifted his head.

“Give me twenty minutes, and then come to the house, okay?”

She watched as he left the tack room. She looked around and realized she would never be able to come into this room again without thinking of Dalton, of the gentle and passionate storm they had created together in one another’s arms. Of course, he’d already put the saddle back up on the wall and helped her fold up the blankets. And, of course, being a guy, he thought the blankets could be put back onto the shelf with the other clean ones. Silly man.

She set those on the grain bin, then went over to Vertigo and gave him some love, as well as Troy, Siren, Lucky and, of course, Aladdin.

“So, would you also insist on going and talking to your girl’s grandfather?” she asked the big stallion. She grinned when he shook his big head. It was almost as if he could understand her. Maybe he could.