Expecting...in Texas by Marie Ferrarella Read Free Book Online Page A

either.”
    Had she offended him? There was so much pride in Cruz, so much in the way for her to wade through. She knew she didn’t want to inadvertentlyput him down. Even if she never wanted to tell him that the child she carried was his, she still wanted to get to know him. For her baby’s sake, as well as her own. To get to know him and to perhaps become his friend, at least for a little while. Her parents had been lovers, but never friends—and in the end, Savannah knew it was friendship that kept love alive.
    He held the reins for her as she mounted the horse. “So, where are you going?”
    She looked toward the wide, open spaces that beckoned to her. “Just for a ride. To clear my head a little.”
    He still held on to the reins, even though she reached for them. “Alone?”
    Firmly, she leaned over and took the reins from his hand. “I don’t mind being alone. Dallas offered to come with me, but—”
    At the mention of the other man, she saw Cruz’s mouth harden just a fraction.
    Dallas again. Was there something serious going on between them? Dallas had his own house on the ranch, yet Cruz knew that last night, the other man had slept in the big house.
    As had Savannah.
    He raised his chin, his eyes cool. “And you turned him down?”
    Why was he looking at her that way? What hadshe said? “I didn’t want to take him away from anything.”
    “That’s very kind of you.” The smile returned, as if nothing at all had crossed his mind except to enjoy the day as it unfolded. “But we can’t have you riding around and getting lost. I’ll come with you.”
    She looked toward the corral. It was where Cruz worked to train each horse individually. There was one in there now. “Aren’t you working?”
    Taking hold of the mare’s bit to keep Savannah from suddenly riding off, he led her horse over to his own horse. Releasing Pixie Dust, Cruz easily slid onto Hellfire. He needed no saddle, no reins—just his skill.
    “Even employees get to have a lunch break. I’m just taking mine a little early.” Cruz gestured for her to lead the way. “I was about to go for a ride anyway.”
    Savannah turned the mare toward the open country. “Where would you have gone if you hadn’t seen me?”
    “To a very lonely place. Now it won’t be so lonely.”
    Savannah shook her head. Heaven help her, but she was enjoying this, even when she knew it wasn’t real. “You don’t stop, do you?”
    Cruz was the picture of innocence. “Stop what?”
    She played along, though she knew that he knew exactly what she meant. “Flattering.”
    Solemnly, he shook his head. “Not when I’m inspired by an angel.”
    If she was an angel, she thought, it was of the fallen variety. “What we did that night wasn’t very angelic.”
    “No?” His brows rose so that they melted into the hair that fell into his eyes. “I could have sworn I heard heavenly music and angels singing at one point.” He saw her looking up at the sky as if she was searching for something. Or waiting. “What are you doing?”
    “Looking for lightning.” An impish smile curved her mouth, though she tried to sound serious. “It should be striking you at any minute.”
    He laughed, kicking his heels into the horse’s flanks to pick up a little speed. “Lightning never strikes down a man who speaks the truth.”
    Savannah slanted a knowing look in his direction. “Yes, I know.”
    Cruz laughed again.
    Maybe she shouldn’t have come.
    God knows she’d wanted to. The minute she’d turned around to see Cruz at the stables, she’dwanted to be alone with him like this. But it wouldn’t be right, not with this secret between them.
    And making love with him, the way she so desperately wanted to do, would only further entangle her heart. She had to concentrate on the future, not the immediate moment, no matter what sort of ecstasy it promised to bring.
    But all her logical thoughts kept flying away from her, just as they had that first night they’d been